Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Things In Life Happen For A Reason

An Inspirational Video “Everything Happens For A Reason”


I came across this video, a few short paragraphs by an unknown author put to inspiring music and some awesome images.


An interesting way to get you to ponder the message.


It may also be interesting to ponder what message you have that could be presented in a similar fashion?


Enjoy:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyQ5ZSMENF0



Things In Life Happen For A Reason

Pinterest - Should You Pin The Same Image To Multiple Boards?

A Question Of Pinterest Etiquette Which Is Important To Your Business


If Pinterest is part of your business marketing plan, here’s a simple article that answers a simple question you may also have:



What is the proper etiquette if you want to pin an image to multiple Pinterest boards? And, is it spammy to do so?



Alisa Meredith provides an excellent answer and tips!
Pinterest FAQ



Your pin is good. Really good. It is an amazing image with keyword-rich description and linked to an out-of this-world blog post. The whole world needs to see it.


But, which board should you pin it to? The one with the most followers? The group board? The one with the right subject matter? Is it considered spammy to pin it to many boards?


Pin it to Your Blog Board


If you have a blog (and you do, right?) you need to have a board that houses all your great content. Only your great content. This is a quick and easy way for people to see what content your business writes and what you’re all about. You may find it’s your most popular board!


Every blog post you publish to your own blog needs to go here. First. So you don’t forget. Do it now. :)


Pin it to Your Most Popular Board – Maybe


If your blog board isn’t your most popular, find out which is. I use ViralTag for scheduling, analytics and for getting information like that. It’s a little cumbersome to use, but the price is right!


If your pin relates at all to the subject of your most popular board, pin it there. Give it the best chance to be seen by your followers. If it doesn’t relate at all, find it another home.


Pin it to Related Boards


If your blog post is about, let’s say, which type of cookware is best for making omelets, you might pin to your cookware board, your omelet board and your cooking board. (Now I want an omelet). Not all of your fans follow all of your boards, and you don’t want the guy following only your cooking board to miss out because you only put it on cookware, do you?


Pin it to Group Boards


Group boards area incredibly powerful for getting large numbers of repins, likes and clicks back to your site. So, pin it there, too! This gives your pin greater exposure as not just your own followers will see it.


What About Appearing Spammy?


Read more and get all the details at the original article



Pinterest - Should You Pin The Same Image To Multiple Boards?

Keep You Temper - Why?

What is it with people with a temper?


Here a simple truth.



“Keep You Temper. – Nobody Else Wants It.”


— John Mason


Keep your temper, nobody else wants it


 



Keep You Temper - Why?

Sage Advice

A Quote From Leadership Expert John Mason



“Gain Control Of Your Time, And You Will Gain Control Of Your Life.”



Gain control of your time, and you will gain control of your life



Sage Advice

Your Words Can Determine Your Future

In This Talk Joel Osteen Says You Must Say What You Want To Be


Osteen has been featured in success magazine about the power of words.


If you say you will be talented, strong or successful you will gravitate toward that.


“If you want to know where you’re going to be five years from now, just listen to what you’re saying about yourself. Your words are telling what’s in your heart.”  – Joel Osteen


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ad62Qij9XNA


 



Your Words Can Determine Your Future

11 Ways To Increase Your Blog"s Conversion Rates

It’s Not Just More Visitors You Need It’s Also More Conversions


Always be testing something. Better conversion rates can massively increase your success. In this article you will discover 11 different ways you can make changes and test to see which way works better.


Blog Conversion



Luckily, there are a ton of tests you can run to optimize your blog for clicks and conversions. So, to help you get into the habit of always testing stuff on your own blog, here is a list of things you should try out for yourself. Remember — what doesn’t work for one blog, might work for you!


Note: Blogs are very variable by nature, oftentimes making it difficult to completely isolate the variables you’re trying to test. While you should do your best to isolate your variables, keep in mind that your tests may not be perfectly scientific. 


Blog Publishing Optimization


Things you can test to optimize your blog publishing activity …


1) Frequency


Is more always better? Test your publishing frequency to identify your “sweet spot.” Is there a point at which an increase in volume of posts doesn’t actually equate to more or better results? At what point are you sacrificing content quality for the sake of quantity?


Suggested Testing Methodology: Increase (or decrease) your publishing frequency by a certain amount for 1-2 weeks. Then, isolate the number of views you received to those new posts and compare it to the views of the new posts you published during one of your typical 1-2 week time frames. Continue testing until you find your frequency sweet spot.


2) Timing 


Do certain times of the day and days of the week correlate with better traffic results? What about how far apart you space your published posts — does that impact an individual post’s performance?


Suggested Testing Methodology: Test publishing at a variety of times. Then export your blog analytics (e.g. HubSpot’s Pages Report), sort by time of day and day of week, and analyze trends you see in performance.


3) Content Balance 


Which blog content types (e.g. text-only, SlideShare-based, infographics) and topics perform better for you? Knowing this, what’s the ideal content balance? In other words, while SlideShare-based posts may perform best in terms of traffic, you probably can’t only publish SlideShare posts.


Suggested Testing Methodology: Test different content types and subjects on your blog, then analyze how those posts perform. Map blog content to your various content goals to determine what your ideal content balance is (e.g. X SlideShare posts per month for traffic, X posts per month about subject A to support campaign B, etc.).


Blog Subscriber Email Optimization


Things you can test to optimize the notification emails you send to blog subscribers …


4) Email Subject Line


Do your subscriber emails generate more clickthroughs when you use a generic subject line (e.g. “Here’s Your Latest Blog Post”), or when the subject line matches the title of the blog post you’re emailing about?


Suggested Testing Methodology: Test a generic subject line for a period of time until you have a large enough sample size of emails that your test is statistically significant. (Learn what “statistically significant” means for marketers here.) Then, test subject lines that match titles of the blog posts you’re emailing about for the same number of emails. Compare the performance (in terms of clickthrough rate) of those emails.


5) Email Timing 


Read More At Pamela’s source article



11 Ways To Increase Your Blog"s Conversion Rates

Rookie Facebook Mistakes - Are You Making Them?

8 Facebook Mistakes Nobody Should Still Be Making


If you want to dramatically increase your Facebook engagement you should take a close look at this article and make sure you aren’t making these mistakes on your Facebook page.


Rookie Facebook Mistakes



This post originally appeared on the Insiders section of Inbound Hub. To read more content like this, subscribe to Insiders.


Just because you have a kitchen doesn’t mean you’re in the running for the next episode ofChopped. I mean, sure I have a kitchen too, but my list of specialties includes cereal, macaroni and cheese, and toast that’s often burnt.


Well, the same can be said for Facebook: Just because your business has a Page doesn’t mean that you’re using it right. Even with 10 years of Facebook behind us, we’re all guilty of committing our fair share of social oversights and slip-ups. It happens to the best of us.


However, before we all start thinking about what Facebook’s next 10 years will bring about, let’s be sure that we’ve got a handle on what Zuck’s given us to work with so far. Below are the eight most common mistakes brands are making on Facebook.


1) Unoriginal Tone


Everyone has a few little peculiarities and mannerisms that set them apart from the next guy. Certain sarcasm or unparalleled modesty will come across in your communications and serve as a defining aspect of your identity.


The tone that your brand employs works in the same way, and each bit of language you put forth should be aligned with your overall messaging, objectives, and goals.


For example, what does the tone of this post from Philippine Airlines say to you?


imp1


Photo from Carly’s original post


If you answered: “What tone?” you read my mind.


There isn’t anything unique about this post. It’s vague and so overly simple that it could have been posted by almost any brand.


What brands are failing to understand is that the way a brand sounds and interacts will ultimately work to set a customer’s expectations for the rest of the interactions they have with your company. Point being, don’t try to squeeze yourself into a mold that just doesn’t fit, but instead, create your own identity. If you want to see some examples of brands with brilliant tone in their writing, check out this blog post.


2) Way Too Much Content


With the introduction of short form social platforms like Snapchat and Vine, people have developed an insatiable appetite for snack-sized content. The brands that are dominating their industries have not only recognized this shift in consumer behavior, but they have in turn begun to adopt a more succinct approach to content creation.


Unfortunately, Mercedes Benz missed the memo.


imp2


Photo from Carly’s original post


Just because Facebook budgets a bit more space for content than platforms like Twitter doesn’t mean that you need to fill it. This post, for example, would have been much more appealing and effective without the long text accompanying it. In fact, according to research by Buddy Mediaposts with 80 characters or less in length have 27% higher engagement rates.


Believe it or not, nuggets of information can pique your audience’s interest more effectively than long-winded explanations. To put it quite simply: less is more.


3) One-Way Engagement


The copy you put on Facebook should begin a dialogue, not just a one-way broadcast.


Your Facebook Page is no place for stale traditional marketing efforts focused on pushing out information that may or may not speak to the needs of your audience. Facebook is a modern marketing machine that runs best on quality content that is designed to feel more like an authentic exchange and less like a static offering.


After all, Facebook is a social network. It thrives off of native content that doesn’t just speak atcustomers, it speaks with them. For example, look at the way these two Budweiser posts performed:


Screen_Shot_2014-02-20_at_9.01.07_AM


Photo from Carly’s original post


The post on the left that talks at the audience boasted far less Likes and shares than the post to the right, which probed the question, “Is your fridge stocked for the weekend?


In order to land a sale, you must first build a relationship, which is why issuing content that engages your audience isn’t just recommended — it’s necessary.


4) Inconsistent Branding


Get the rest of the details at Carly,s original post



Rookie Facebook Mistakes - Are You Making Them?

Blogging Is Changing - 8 Rules You Need To Re-examine On Your Blog

The Goal  Is To Get The Best Return For The Time You Spend Blogging


Your blog should form the core  content strategy in your business. Think of it this way, your blog is  “land.” you own.Whereas, your social channels are all “rented” land. While it’s important to build an audience on your social sites (Facebook and Twitter recommended, at minimum), here the must do practice, provide regular invitations (links) to come read your blog posts, join your email list and, of course, ultimately do business with you!


Best Blog Practices



Here are eight current blogging practices that may be near the end of their lifelines:


1. Post Five Times a Day to Increase Traffic


It was once considered a standard rule that traffic is directly proportional to the number of posts. Therefore, to increase traffic, you upped output and frequency. There are many bloggers who would benefit from an increase in post frequency. However, each blogger’s threshold of that frequency will vary.


For example, a prolific high-profile blogger such as Michael Hyatt recently stated: “I used to recommend blogging five times a week. For some time now I’ve blogged two to three times a week and have seen the same level of reader growth. By cutting back the frequency I freed myself up to do other things.”


Hyatt also referenced Tim Ferriss’ book, The 4-Hour Body, where Ferriss discusses the concept of the Minimum Effective Dose (MED). The MED is the “smallest dose that will produce the desired outcome” or as Ferriss quotes Olympic coach Henk Kraaijenhof: “Do as little as needed, not as much as possible.”


The concept of blogging as much as is needed to maintain or grow traffic is a new one. No longer do you have to increase blog frequency to increase traffic. Glen Alsop from Viperchill posts once or twice a month and gets 120,000 visitors per month while Seth Godin posts daily (sometimes even twice a day) and has similar stats.


New Rule: Therefore, the new rule of blogging is to find your frequency sweet spot. It may be more or less than your current frequency, but by experimenting, you’ll be able to find your optimal posting frequency – the minimum number of posts needed every month to keep your blog on an upward trajectory.


Put another way, Hyatt states, “To make progress on the things that matter most, we can’t afford losing ground by trying to do too much — even if we’re trying to do the right things.”


2. Leave Blog Comments


Like most people, I was quite surprised when Copyblogger closed off comments on its blog. Weren’t comments supposed to be the life-blood of engagement? And wasn’t Copyblogger all about encouraging a dialogue with your blog audience? These questions swam in my mind before I read Sonia Simone’s post explaining why.


It seems that the decision was in large part administrative. Copyblogger receives a lot of spam and to sift through that was becoming counter-productive for them. Instead of comments, they encouraged their audience to start a discussion on their social media outposts, most especially on Google Plus. But more than that, they lobbied that those who have something substantial to say should say it on their own blog and reference the Copyblogger post.


What Copyblogger ended up doing, in fact, is helping us remember that the only way to cut through the noise is to produce substantive content. And if a comment is thoughtful, then why not put it on its own pedestal as a complete blog post?


New Rule: Thanks to Copyblogger, the new blogging rule is to write out a blog post in response to a post and expand your initial comment to include a divergent viewpoint or more insights. Remember, if your insights are substantial, they probably warrant a blog post of their own.


3. Outsource Your Blog to a Professional


Content creation has always been outsourced and will always continue to be outsourced. But more and more bloggers are now realizing that outsourced content will never get them the leadership status they crave. This point is ironic coming from me, as my company produces content for clients.


Neil Patel recently wrote an excellent article for HubSpot titled “Why You Should Write Your Own Content,” where he said, “Content writing isn’t just something that I do on the side. It is a core component of what I preach and practice every day of my life. Content is that important. As an entrepreneur and a content marketer, I recommend that you write your own content.”


Patel cited five reasons why entrepreneurs should write their own content: better expression, brand authenticity, experience of speaking and responding to your audience, and staying abreast of industry trends.


New Rule: Produce your own content. If you absolutely can’t, then make content creation a bilateral process. Have brainstorming content meetings where the client and the bloggers together forge topics, direction, and voice. I encourage my clients to write their own posts in addition to the ones that we write for them. And I have seen the results first hand.


Entrepreneurs who write for their own blogs (in addition to outsourcing content creation) are more confident about what they want to say and are more in tune with their audience than those who outsource the entire process.


4. Always Write 100% Original Content


Oh pffft! With so much pressure to create content, bloggers need to cut themselves some slack and embrace the time-saving practices of content curation and repurposing. No one creates 100 percent original content all the time anyways. People are always getting inspired by others and riffing off of others.


New Rule: Curate, re-purpose, mash-up other people’s content and give your unique take on it. Give attribution and credit to your sources and references always.


Go to Salmas original post to discover the other 4 old Practices you need to change


5. Not Every Post Needs to Have an Image


6. Stick to One Type of Format


7. Write a 500-Word Blog Post


8. Don’t Publish Your Articles on Third-Party Sites


 


 



Blogging Is Changing - 8 Rules You Need To Re-examine On Your Blog

Make Hangouts On Air And Events Work For You

Discover these Three Different HOA Events


The 3 types shown are:
1:44 ► Google+ Scheduled HOA Events
2:51 ► Google+ Traditional Event with an HOA included or inserted
3:47 ► YouTube Live Event using the HOA ‘quick’ option


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpZBwp5XO2A



Make Hangouts On Air And Events Work For You

Great Leadership - What You Actually Have To Do To Be A Great Leader

How Do We Become Better Leaders?


In this video Brendon shares six practices of great leadership.


One of the most important topics talked about is vision. If there is no vision there is no leadership.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SOTBHAcLV4


 


Vision


Enlist others


Integrity, stand for somenthing


Empower others to win


Evaluate what is going on around us


Honest , direct, immediate feedback


Encourage, inspire others on a continual basis.


 



Great Leadership - What You Actually Have To Do To Be A Great Leader

Successful People Know That Failure Is A Stepping Stone To Success

Are Successful People blessed With An Easy Life?


That’s a common misconception.


The truth for most is that they fail over and over again till they learn their lessons. They never quit.


Now here is the key point Successful people treat failure differently then most other people do.


In this article by Saren Stiegel you’ll discover the techniques successful people use:


Time For Success


1. They don’t blame anyone; instead they get curious about the facts.


By taking responsibility for all setbacks, you become curious about what worked and what did not. Not sure how to take responsibility? Start with the facts. The fact is that there was a failure: you didn’t get the job, you didn’t make the sale, the relationship didn’t work out, and so on. Those are facts. Anything beyond that is an interpretation, a meaning you’re giving to the situation.


Successful people drop the interpretation, all blame (outward and inward), and instead reflect on what’s true and what’s up for interpretation. This gives you the power to recreate the interpretation.


I’m not saying that the failure IS your fault and you need to shame yourself. I’m saying that when you investigate your actions and reactions, you take back your power and then you can you learn and grow.


Some questions to ask yourself:


  • What did I miss?

  • How could I have done better?

  • Who has had successful results in this realm and can see my blind spots?

2. They don’t get stuck in the past or the future; they act now.


I invite you to consider how much time you spend thinking about the future versus the past.


  • Do you have buyers’ remorse?

  • Do you wallow in regret?

  • Do you get indecisive and change your mind often?

Successful people take action fast. They move quickly and decisively, learning from mistakes, while moving forward. Instead of waiting until they’re ready or lamenting not getting enough training, successful people just keep growing. They take classes, read books, ask questions.


Release thoughts of the past being different. It’s over. You can’t change it. Remind yourself: That was just another experience that can contribute to reaching my goals right now.


3. They use failure as a call to action.


Why can’t we be kind to ourselves and create a life that’s radically successful? Why is it that you can feel a tremendous amount of frustration with fear, but still not take different actions? Likely, you haven’t experienced enough pain.


Get the rest of the details back on Seren’s blog post


 


 



Successful People Know That Failure Is A Stepping Stone To Success

It"s "The" Marketing Question

Everybody Is Always Selling, But What Are You Really Selling?


We are never buying what we think we are buying.


It’s all about feelings.


The key to getting people to open their wallets is to get them to open their hearts.


What future experiences are your customers hoping to get?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJlCnAhcsvU


 



“The Best Way To Close A Sale Is By Getting Your Customer To Open Her Heart”


                                                                         – Marie Forlio


 



It"s "The" Marketing Question

You Really Are Limitless

Study, Get The Skills, Complement Your Natural Talent, You Can Have Success


Here’s the thing – You got to give it everything you got.


You gotta want success as bad as you want to breath.


You can’t just kinda want it.


You gotta want it bad!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXJ1FZKwI7c


You are Limitless!


Believe It.



You Really Are Limitless

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Music For You Jedi Adventures

Just for fun


I like Star Wars and Camille and Kennerly’s Masterful music. enchanting costumes  and great video work.


So the next time you go on one of those Jedi adventures – here’s some background music to spur you on.


Jedi Adventure


 


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAxdlPZ37Gc


May The Force Be With You



Music For You Jedi Adventures

Do You Want To Live The Good Life?

So What Exactly Does The Good Life Look Like For You?


City life? Country life?


A big house or a loft downtown?


Days in the sun, on the beaches of the world?


Making a difference?


Doing what you love.


For me — Being An Entrepreneur Is The Good Life


Think about your good life as you listen to this song


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZhQOvvV45w


What’s to complain about?


It’s just got to be  the good life.


A Good Good Life



Do You Want To Live The Good Life?

12 Steps To Social Media Mastery

It Can Be Difficult To Build A Social Media Presence


Here’s the thing: We all know that providing value to our customers and prospects is the thing to do.


We also know that in this internet age social media is one of the most effective ways to provide that value to the largest number of people.


The trouble is how do you get good at doing social media without spending a lot of time learning how to do it effectively?


In this presentation by Rebeka Radice you’ll learn her 12 steps to becoming a social media master:


Social Media Mastery



12 Steps to Master Social Media


 


 



So lets get started, Rebeca’s got some must do steps here to get you up and running on your way to becoming that social media master we all wish we were.


Social Media Mastery



  1. Choose Your Channel


Facebook, Google Plus, and other social networks allow you to interact with potential clients. You can also find your next job, shop, sell, buy, auction and exchange just about anything you can think of.


No matter your reason for using social media, make sure you choose your main networks wisely.


Choose one or two social networks that allow for the greatest exposure and then use them daily. We all know time is money. There’s no sense in starting something if you’re not going to consistently stick around.


  2. Define Your Target Market


Do you know who your target audience is? Have you identified your specific area of expertise?


Don’t try to cater to everyone by being all things to all people. If you want to reach the right audience, your content should be hyper-specific. Write your posts and speak directly to their wants, needs and desires.


  3. Share Appealing Content


Sharing content in an appealing way is tougher than it seems. How often have you stumbled on a post or tweet that left you shaking your head at an opportunity lost?


Share interesting, relevant and insightful content and share it often. This is the single best way to establish your expertise and credibility.


You have knowledge others need. Give it away freely!


  4. Listen and Respond


While social media is an excellent communication tool, it is also a very beneficial listening tool.


As you listen to your customers, take time to truly hear what their needs, wants and desires are. Then work to fulfill those needs with your content, time, compassion and genuine feedback.


  5. Establish Your Genuine Voice


People want to get to know the real you. Social media gives you the opportunity to share your authentic voice, no matter the format.


Discover more about your genuine voice and the rest of the tips on Rebeka’s blog






12 Steps To Social Media Mastery

Will Smith - Insights On Success

Success Doesn’t Just Happen


In this video Will exposes a number of insights, principles that lead to success. Some of my favorites are


  • You control your destiny

  • You have to believe it

  • Your life will become better only by making other people’s lives better

  • Provide value

  • Make a positive difference

  • There are no shortcuts to success

  • Your talent will fail you if you don’t develop the skills to go with it.

Watch, get more insight on success an Will’s take an the above points:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ucv8O75erpg



Will Smith - Insights On Success

Do You Deal In Hope?

Hope – It’s a Powerful Concept


I know in the internet marketing world the leaders I follow are the ones with absolutely huge visions.


Visions that align with my vision about helping as many others as possible to become successful.


The visions we share provide hope to our followers and the more hope we can provide the larger the number of followers we will have


Napoleon Bonaparte put it this way:



“A Leader Is A Dealer In Hope”



A leader is a dealer in hope


As an entrepreneur, are you a dealer in hope?



Do You Deal In Hope?

Songs For Entrepreneurs - Power Of The Dream

Celine Dion’s Inspirational Song The Power Of The Dream


As an entrepreneur you have a dream, all entrepreneurs do. You set your goals, craft your vision based on those dreams. And no doubt if you examine your dreams closely you’ll discover they align with your core WHY.


This is a great song. Take a moment sit back and reflect upon your dreams and you why in life. Enjoy:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg5HbooxKm8


Is Your Why and Are Your Dreams Crystal Clear?


For Quick Success They Should Be.



Songs For Entrepreneurs - Power Of The Dream

How Bad Do You Want Success?

An Amazing Video Telling You What It Takes


How bad do you want it?


The choice is yours


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsSC2vx7zFQ


How Bad Do You Want It?



How Bad Do You Want Success?

Look Up - Social Media Insight

Get Personal – A Leadership Skill Worth Engaging In


‘Look Up’ is a lesson taught to us through a love story, in a world where we continue to find ways to make it easier for us to connect with one another, but always results in us spending more time alone.


If you haven’t seen the following video, it is powerful and true. Take it to heart leaders wherever you may be serving. - 


Written, Performed & Directed by Gary Turk.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7dLU6fk9QY


Source Article


 


 



Look Up - Social Media Insight

Chivalry Never Died

Want To Be A Knight?



“Chivalry never died, the gentleman in most men did.


Being a male is a matter of birth.


Being a man is a matter of age.


But, being a gentleman is a matter of choice.”


– Unknown __




Chivalry Never Died


 


What is your choice?



Chivalry Never Died

Your Peer Group Matters!

Your Peer Group Matters More Than You Think – Here’s Why


We’ve heard it since we were kids. “Watch out who you hang out with”.


But its matters way more than that. You position in life today is probably a result of the people you hang out with.


Here is a great article that delves into the reasons:


Have you ever noticed how the people in your life affect you? The impact can be so significant that one of the best things we can do to change our lives for the better is change our peer group.


Your Peer Group Matters



In the 1930s C.S. Lewis started a small literary circle called the Inklings. The group started with J.R.R. Tolkien, and eventually included others like Owen Barfield and Charles Williams. The influence on works in progress of the different members was huge.


Lewis actually scrapped the first draft of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe after his friends heard some chapters. They considered it “so bad that I destroyed it,” he said. It’s impossible to discount the influence of our friends.


That’s why Solomon stressed friendships so much and so often. “Iron sharpens iron,” he says in one place, “and one man sharpens another.” He also warned about negative friendships: “Make no friendship with an angry man, and with a furious man do not go, lest you learn his ways and set a snare for your soul.”


Our peers really matter. And we can put that to work for us if we’re intentional about it.


Usually we drift into peer groups. They could be associates from work, our kids’ school, church, whatever. The important thing to notice is how often these relationships just happen. They’re not intentional. But if iron sharpens iron, shouldn’t we be careful about the kind of edge others are giving us?


Instead of random relationships, what if we could create communities that helped everyone involved achieve their goals together—like Lewis and the Inklings? We can, and these kind of intentional relationships are invaluable in at least three areas:


  1. Learning. Getting connected with a good group can accelerate your learning, provide key insights, help you find important resources, and teach you best practices.

  2. Encouragement. Whether it’s business, family life, or our faith journey, life can be tough. A good peer group can give you the validation and support you need to keep going and rise above the tempests.

  3. Accountability. We need people who can speak into our lives and help us when we’re veering off track. The right peers are essential for this.

And of course, it’s not just about what you get. You can offer the same learning, encouragement, and accountability to others in the group.


These peer groups can take different shapes and configurations  ** Read More **



Think of the relationships you’ve had in your life and how they have affected your success.


We’d like to read your comments.



Your Peer Group Matters!

Facebook vs YouTube - The Battle Is Heating UP

Have You Noticed What Happens When You Publish Your Video To Facebook Compared YouTube?


It may just surprise you how much Facebook in favoring video posts these days.


If you are an internet marketer this deserves a closer look.


The speed your Facebook video can be shared with your followers can is equally amazing.


This article will tell you more:


Facebook vs YouTube


A battle royale may be brewing between two internet juggernauts over video. Facebook said it is introducing new YouTube-like features in an apparent effort to capture more of the video market.


Starting today, Facebook users can now see how many views a video has received on the site once it has been uploaded to the social networking site. This is something that’s been part of YouTube’s service for years. Facebook says its is to help users discover new, popular videos.


Facebook is also testing a feature on mobile that displays related videos after users finish watching a clip. This feature has also been on YouTube for a long time. In addition, Facebook also has future plans to allow users to embed Facebook videos on third-party sites.


Facebook vs YouTube – Which Gets More Views?


I did an experiment today to compare YouTube with Facebook videos.


I posted a still-shot from a YouTube video and included the link to the video this morning. After 5 hours, the post had only reached 9 people, and the video itself had been viewed by four people!


During the afternoon, I uploaded the same video to Facebook, and as you can see in the image below – the reach and engagement were noticeably higher.


Facebook vs YouTube


The story is much the same on mobile too. As of 5 pm ET, the YouTube post had been viewed by 11 people, while the Facebook video post had been viewed by 70 people.


I’m not the only one to discover that Facebook videos get more engagement. SocialBakers did a study last year and found that Facebook videos got a 40% higher engagement rate than You Tube videos. It makes sense actually. Facebook wants people to use their service!


What does this mean for the average small business owner? — Find Out Here –


Images taken from the origi nal article




Facebook vs YouTube - The Battle Is Heating UP

Bad Money Puts An End To All Empires

It’s A Saga That Has Been Repeated Again And Again For Thousands Of Years


It’s almost crunch time. The world is full of bad currency. The printing presses are running overtime. The governments get to spend (distribute the extra currency) at its current value, but it is just a matter of time until the unsuspecting public gets wise to all this excess paper and it value will plummet big time.


Watch “The Hidden Secrets Of Money ” to discover this sinister truth.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdSq5H7awi8


 


What are you doing to protect your wealth?



Bad Money Puts An End To All Empires

Les Brown - Hard Times - Turn Them Around

Believe In Yourself – Better Your Best


Live your life on your terms.


Fear, Double – put them aside.


Come back again and again.


Discover your why. Your why will push you forward.


It’s up to you to decide!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwfhH8yDZQo


Push on to greatness


Never give up, never give in.


You can win the game of life!


 



Les Brown - Hard Times - Turn Them Around

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Media Embeds Built Into WordPress 4.0

Now It’s Just So Darn Simple To Get Video Into Your Blog Posts


The audio-video guy Mike Steward made this short video to show you exactly how it’s done.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AIwa9S26hs


Well isn’t that easy?


So what’s your next video going to be about?


Here are some of the media sources Mike showed in his video.


embed media WordPress 4.0



Media Embeds Built Into WordPress 4.0

Some Advice For Entrepreneurs From Richard Branson

Advice on running a company


Richard shares his advice on listening to your people, being a great motivator,  looking for the best in people and a whole lot more.


He also shares his insights on how the dividing line between success and failure can be very small.


Watch the video and discover more:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VH35Iz9veM0


What did you learn from this interview? Share your comments.



Some Advice For Entrepreneurs From Richard Branson

Songs For Entrepreneurs - When You Believe

Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston – “When You Believe”


This is a great song. This time listen to it from an entrepreneurs point of view and it becomes extra special.


Just close your eyes, listen to the music and bring to mind what you really believe you can accomplish.


Enjoy:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAM2-hg7xJs


What Do You Believe?


Entrepreneurs have to really believe to achieve their goals.


Believe


Believe in yourself.


Believe in your dreams.


Believe the vision


Believe and Go Do It!


See you at the top!


 


You Can Do Internet Marketing



Songs For Entrepreneurs - When You Believe

Entrepreneurs Changing The World

An Interesting Little Video With Numerous Lessons For Aspiring Entrepreneurs


If your an entrepreneur at heart, this is a fun video to watch


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6MhAwQ64c0


 



Entrepreneurs Changing The World

Ikea Viral Video Feaver

The Swedish Furniture Giant Ikea Takes A Cue From Apple


As if right out of Apple’s marketing playbook this satirical Ikea video has hit the marketing jackpot as it has gone viral in the last few days.


This video titled “Experience the Power of a Bookbook”  was created to promote Ikea’s 2015 catalog. They took an interesting aproach as they portrayed their catalog as if it was a new Apple product launch.


“Content comes preinstalled via 328 high-definition pages,”


“To start browsing, simply touch and drag.”


“download” — from one’s own mailbox


I think this video will bring a smile to your face. Feel free to share and comment.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOXQo7nURs0


 


P.S.:  For more online marketing wisdom get your 7 day trial at our  marketing community site


https://isuccessformula.com/chris/?id=lee33&tid=EDIkea



Ikea Viral Video Feaver

Personal Development - A life Changing Discipline

What You Have At The Moment You’ve Attracted By The Person You’ve Become


If you will change everything will change  for you.


So here’s the great message from Jim Rohn on personal development.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZR1wYcB1IM


 How valuable have you become?


 



Personal Development - A life Changing Discipline

What"s The Difference Between Winning And Loosing?

Do You Believe It Can Be A One Millimeter Change?


In this video Tony Robbins explains the difference between winning and loosing and how small that difference can be.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3sk0rQS58c


What will it take for you to be a winner?



What"s The Difference Between Winning And Loosing?

Have Great Conversations On Your Blog - Here"s How

13 Tips To Have Those Conversations


Why do you need to promote conversations on your blog?


Comments to your post add value for future readers. When you get a loyal following, your blog can turn into a community with followers coming back again and again and interacting with others in the comments.


So here is a great article by Darren. He gives you 13 tips to get those great conversations going.


Great Conversations


It’s all about the Art of Conversation


What I do want to focus on in this post goes beyond getting comments and how to grow ‘conversations’ (something that I think is a little deeper). There is some overlap – but I hope this post goes beyond that previous one.


1. Set Time Aside for Conversation


The biggest conversation killer in my own life is simply that I’m too busy. This is true in ‘real life’ as well as blogging. If you don’t set aside time to have conversation it is highly unlikely to ever happen because it takes time.


Again – I’m not talking here about leaving comments (leaving a comment can take a second or two) – but actually engaging in conversation means listening to what others are saying and thoughtfully responding in a way that goes deeper, adds value and says something meaningful – this takes time and if you don’t prioritize it you’re not likely to fit it in.


2. Ask Questions


As mentioned in my post on how to get comments, ‘asking questions’ is a powerful technique for starting off a conversation. If you want people to respond to your posts include questions within them – it’s key to get the comment thread started, however it’s also a great technique for keeping the conversation going.


One way to add depth to a conversation and to draw out more from those commenting is to take their comments and ask questions of them that elicit a second response. Rather than just responding to someone’s comment with a ‘great point’ type comment – why not go a little deeper with a question that draws them into extending their idea.


3. Answer Questions


Not only is asking questions powerful – but so is answering those that readers ask. This can be challenging when you get a lot of comments on your blog (I’ve had to hire someone to help me manage this lately) but it makes your posts more meaningful and helpful to readers who come away wondering about some aspect of what you’ve written.


4. Track Offshoots of Conversation


The beauty of blogging is that posts that one blogger publishes can inspire other bloggers to write posts on a similar topic on their own blog. While the comments section of your blog might be the place that most of your readers interact with your ideas – a good post might inspire multiple conversations in all kinds of places in the blogosphere.


It is important to be aware of these offshoot conversations and to participate in them. Start a vanity folder in your news aggregator to help track them and when you find them visit the blog and add value to the conversation there. Don’t feel you need to drag people back to your blog – but add value on that blog. In doing so you will build a relationship with the blogger who has posted about your idea but also potentially could find yourself a few new connections (and even new readers) among their readership.


5. Add Value and Depth


I’ve talked many times about writing blog posts that are useful and unique (the secret to great content) – however it struck me recently that the same advice actually applies to comments. If the comments that YOU leave (either on your own blog or others) are not actually useful (if they don’t add value and/or depth to the conversation) and if they are not simply echoes of what others are saying (ie unique) then there is little point in leaving them.


One of the best ways to kill a conversation is to respond to something that someone else has written with a generic comment like ‘great point’. Before you comment, consider what you’re writing. Does it add something to the conversation? Will it elicit a response from others? Is it unique from what others are saying? If the answer to these questions is ‘no’ – work on your comment until it does.


6. Listen, Listen, Listen  *** Read More ***


 


I’d love to hear what you do to foster conversation on your blog?


Let’s get the conversation going – leave a comment below.



Have Great Conversations On Your Blog - Here"s How

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Today Only - Get your 30 Day Free Trial

Are You An Internet Marketer?


This internet marketing system may be what you are looking for.


Nothing to loose – Lots to gain!


30 day free trial ends tonight Sept 3


Click Here — http://freetrial.itsabigidea.com


 


Fotolia_49255138_400x400



Today Only - Get your 30 Day Free Trial

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Choose To Become!


“I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to Become.”


—  Carl Jung


 


Choose To Become


 



Choose To Become!

Dare To Be Different - Dare To Do Things

Those Who Dare Will Fail Occasionally – In The Long Term Look To Their Success


One of those age old quotes:


“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that things are difficult.”


– Seneca


 


 It is not because things are difficult


 


Dare To Be Different



Dare To Be Different - Dare To Do Things

Advanced Marketing Techniques

Choose Your Mentors Well


One of my mentors for marketing is Vick. Here is a video he posted on his blog going into some of the advanced techniques you need to know to be really successful.


To join Vick’s Big Idea Mastermind Group click here.


Watch the video on Vick’s blog


Advanced marketing



Advanced Marketing Techniques

Polish Your Blog Posts Till They Shine

Design Your Individual Blog Posts – How They Look Is Oh So Important


These are simple things you can do that are totally in your control.


The results can be amazing.


Here is an article that gives you the insights:


Polish That Blog Post


The result was amazing!


The next day the post had 50+ comments, was on the front page of Digg and it was being linked to by blogs everywhere. The old version had received 2 comments and had previously gone largely unnoticed.


This is the power of paying attention to how your blog posts look.


Why Polishing Blog Posts Works


There are a number of important reasons why polishing blog posts is worth putting a little extra time into:


  • First impressions – in the same way that your overall blog design conveys messages to readers about what your blog is about and whether they should subscribe – the formatting and design of single posts says a lot about you to first time visitors.

  • Grabbing Attention – loyal readers may rarely visit your actual blog if they follow it via RSS so one might not think post design matters – but in actual fact post design has a massive impact in the realm of RSS where there is little to set your posts apart from others. A good picture or clever use of formatting can really grab the attention of someone scanning through their feeds.

  • Reinforce Content – visuals in a post can reinforce points that you’re using within content. Illustrative images, video, charts, graphs, tables etc – all will connect with visual readers in a way that text cannot.

  • Connect with Web Reading Habits – most web users don’t ‘read’ content word for word. They scan content, looking for elements of web pages that draw their eye and for keywords that connect with what they are interested in. As a result the way you design your posts can be the difference between someone actually ‘reading’ your post or just glossing over it.

How to Polish Blog Posts:


Following are a number of areas that I consider when polishing blog posts ** Read More **


 


Do Your Blog Posts Absolutely Shine?



Polish Your Blog Posts Till They Shine

The Unstoppable Business Mindset

Do You Have The Right Mindset?


You know I was at an internet marketing conference a couple of months ago where they brought all the people earning $5K or  more up on stage. Then they asked each of them for the secret of there success. Of the 15 people on stage (out of about 400 in the room) 50% of them said the biggest thing contributing to their success was mindset.


Here is Frank Kern’s take on the right mindset:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6yv-fiEiYE


Do you have the RIGHT MIND?



The Unstoppable Business Mindset

Using Progressive Agreements In Your Sales Copy

Dan Kennedy – The Great Sales Copy Expert – Exclusive Interview


In this video Frank Kern interviews Dan Kennedy, and between the two of them you will be amazed at these multitude of sales copy nuggets.


This is a copy writing resource.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au3l4yBG__M#t=117


Do you use the brilliant sales copy strategies revealed in this video?


How about that “Progressive Agreements” technique?



Using Progressive Agreements In Your Sales Copy

Ideas That Spread Win

Do You Know How To Get Your Ideas To Spread?


Otaku


Sell to people who are listening and maybe, they’l tell their friends.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBIVlM435Zg


Who does care? – Market to them.



Ideas That Spread Win

Viral Marketing With Contagious Content

Viral Marketing Can Be Huge – But Do You Understand How


In this video you’ll discover Jonah Berger’s key steps to make your content contagious.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5q2JoXpfdZU


  • Make your customers feels special

  • Understand triggers

  • Consider offering discounts

  • Give people a reference point

  • Dial up the emotions


Viral Marketing With Contagious Content

Using StumbleUpon To Get Traffic

My Google Analytics Show StumbleUpon As One Of My Sources Of Traffic


Every time I make a blog post, a WordPress plugin automatically makes posts on a number of different social media sites for me. One of the best sites I have found at getting traffic back to my blog is StumbleUpon. So I found this video that explain what StumbleUpon Is and how to use it.


 


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbx-MiQUL28


 


I hope you now have an insight into how to use StumbleUpon to get more traffic.


 


StumbleUpon Traffic


 


image source



Using StumbleUpon To Get Traffic

Quality Control Is Essential For Your Blog Posts

So You’ve Written That Perfect Blog Post – Are You Really Ready To Publish It?


There are a few things to look out for first.


This article may help:


punctuation-spelling-grammar


Image by geminicollisionworks


Today I want to talk about Quality Control – one of the last tasks that I recommend before hitting publish on your blog posts.


Having put so much time and effort into getting the content of your post into tiptop shape it can be tempting to put your post ‘out there’ for readers to engage with as soon as possible.


However, taking just few extra minutes to check for ‘errors’ can take a post to the next level.


This is an area that I admit I need to improve.


On a daily basis I find spelling and grammatical errors on my posts and embarrassingly, so do my readers.


I put it down to excitement and wanting to get posts out quickly – but if I’m honest with myself I’m sure it’s also partly laziness.


While some of your readers will gloss over these kinds of errors and won’t let it impact how they engage with the content – some will not be so forgiving and will be distracted by your mistakes.


Every spelling error that you correct and every awkward sentence structure that you improve removes a barrier to readers engaging with your content.


The solutions are simple (yet a struggle for so many of us):


  • Take your time in writing posts

  • Take time to look at spell check in your writing tool of choice.

  • Reread your posts to see how they flow (sometimes reading them out loud will help).

  • Have someone else look your posts over (I know of at least two bloggers who do this for one another – they have logins to each other’s blogs and edit the post that the other one writes on a daily basis).

  • Test to see if links in your posts work.

Source Article


Pay attention to the details.



Quality Control Is Essential For Your Blog Posts

It"s What You Do After You Cross The Finish Line That Really Counts


“Being first across the finish line makes you a winner in only one phase of life. It’s what you do after you cross the line that really counts’”  –  Ralph Boston, Olympian


 


Being first across the finish line


 



It"s What You Do After You Cross The Finish Line That Really Counts