Digg Gets an Update""

If you're a fan of Digg.....you're going to really like the recent update and facelift. Upon logging into your account you'll be given the opportunity to "follow People". Hey, sounds like Twitter. Anyway, after picking those you'd like to follow, you can also add RSS feeds for your blog or newsletters. Digg gives you a piece of code you'll have to paste into your blog post to verify the feed. Now all of your posts will be  submitted to Digg automatically. Nice...very nice.

All stories you submit are also sent to those who follow you. This is slick and I like the way it looks.  If you don't have any followers you'll have to ask people to start. All in all I think Digg did a nice job making Digg a little more socially friendly.

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Free Ebook- “Words That Make Them Buy”

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People usually buy something not because they need it but based on emotional reasons. A good copywriter knows how to weave in just the right words when crafting copy that makes someone reach into their pocket and pull out that credit card number.

With this 17 page pdf ebook you can find out what those trigger words are so you can start using them when writing your own content. It’s not magic, rather a science that makes a person want to buy from you.

Download “The Top 10 Words that Say Buy and Why They Work” at

http://www.mcpromotions.com/ebooks/words-that-say-buy.pdf

If you like it download it to your own server and give it away to your site or blog visitors. It’s good stuff Maynard!

Helpful Resources:

Red Hot Copy's retiring award-winning, step-by-step copywriting 
system Speed Copywriting Workshop Home Study at 50% off! http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/?af=1120620&u=www.redhotcopy.com/scwcourse.htm

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“How To Stand Out From Your Competition For Extra Sales”

Many information marketers have the erroneous belief that if they find a market with too many competitors, they shouldn’t write an ebook for that audience. To the contrary, competition can be beneficial for a variety of reasons including – * Researching. If there IS a lot of competition, you can reasonably expect there this to be a lucrative marketplace.

Generally speaking, a large product and service line means there is large consumer interest and demand. I encourage you to LOOK for markets with lots of competition as it’s a shortcut to researching where revenue is available. * Partnering. The more competition there is, the more likely you can find other like-minded marketers to partner with in cross promotion efforts, co-op advertising, and other related joint ventures.

This is especially true if your ebook is “related” to other ebooks without DIRECTLY competing with them. (I.E. Raising metabolism is “related” to cutting calories in that they are both agents of weight loss.) * Educating. Another reason why competition is good is simply because your target audience is educated, at least in part, on someone else’s dime. That is, the marketing materials of your competitors educates the market on why the products are necessary or beneficial.

A good example is this: many marketers “educated” consumers on the need for using audio and video on their web sites, opening the door to a variety of related products and services to be sold. So, competition isn’t always a bad thing. It can be a good thing for these reasons and a handful of others. But ... The challenge comes in when you want to stand out among the competition so YOU can get marketplace interest.

There are many ways to stand out by creating your own “USP” (Unique sales proposition) that could be covered here, but I want to mention is this – Create a demographical version of your ebook.

Let me give you an example – Let’s suppose you are going to write an ebook entitled, “Weight Loss Secrets”. So, you write it and then you create a “demographical version” that is entitled, “Weight Loss For Christians”. Other examples might include – * Time Management For Homeschoolers * The Internet Marketer’s Diet * The Senior Citizen’s Guide To Investing * How Ace Your First Teacher Interview * How To Get A Hot Date: College Student Edition * Fundraising For Youth Groups

All you would need to do in order to create this “demographical version” of your ebook is take the same exact ebook you’ve written (your “regular” version) and add some specific references and ideas that relate to the particular demographic you’ve chosen. * If you decide to create “How to Get A Hot Date: College Student Edition”, then you’d add in a few references to specific places a college student can find a date that wouldn’t apply to your regular audience (I.E. Frat party), as well as pick-up lines, first-date ideas, practices and other content that apply only to college students.

In other words, you share the same content, but you speak THEIR specific language and provide ideas that THEY can put into practice in their setting. The PRINCIPLES of finding dates may be the same across the board, but the PRACTICES of finding dates are completely different for college students and widowed senior citizens! And if you can get creative in your content, you can make your demographical version even more appealing. Your “regular” version may have 5 main practices for time management. But in your “demographic version” those practices become 5 “Homeschooling Habits”.

So, what’s in this for YOU as the author? Let’s take a look at a couple of noteworthy advantages - Firstly, you STAND OUT among your competition. As a Christian, I can tell you that if 20 ebooks were available on weight loss and one of them specifically mentioned being for believers, I’d immediately take a look at that one.

Secondly, you EXPAND OUT among your competition. Now you can market your ebook to TWO entirely different audiences. For example: You can look for “weight loss” ezines and buy advertising in them. But, you can also look for “Christian” ezines (that have NOTHING to do with weight loss) and buy advertising in them. This allows you to reach audiences that you likely would have never been able to reach! Then, it’s simple a matter of doing it again for other demographics.

Rinse. Repeat. Reprofit. Start with ONE demographic and move on to many others ... * Christians * Homemakers * Senior citizens * Students * First-timers * Newlyweds * Office Workers * Teachers * WAHMs The list could go on and on. Most information products can be custom-tailored for different demographic groups to STAND OUT among the competitors ... and open up the door to new contacts that might never be reached through other means. If you want to STAND out and EXPAND out then create one or more “demographical versions” of your ebook. Like a screaming child at the library, you’ll get attention!

" 3 Steps for Creating a Social Media Strategy"

"Social media is all about engaging with people whether it be clients, friends, or relatives. As Li Evans of Serengeti Communications explains, “Everybody likes to share, and they like to share a story.” Let's listen in.

More WebProNews Videos

"More New Sales- Tips for Sales Success"

20 Best Sales Tips-

1. Make contact

Make contact with all of your customers who either haven’t bought yet, or have only recently bought.
If it’s a potential customer, find out what you can do to move them along in making their decision. Not the used car sales guy-high pressure way, but by trying to sincerely serve them. How can you help them? You are trying to solve a problem they have, and whether they called you or you called on them…if they wanted to hear your sales presentation, they need or want what you’re selling. Make it a problem solving expedition, and SERVE the best you can.

This is tip #1 because it’s easy, and it’s a great place to jump in. Talking to customers is the only way you’re going to sell. Call them. Drop in. Make contact. Sell.

2. Trial close

Closing is the most important thing you can do. If you don’t ask for the business, you’ll lose more sales than you make. That’s the obvious part.

The not-so-obvious part is when to start closing. Almost every training course discusses this so you probably already know it, but it’s one of the biggest ways to find out how far along the decision making process the customer is at any time.

Ask questions throughout. “Will this option meet your needs? Is this component something you are interested in? Will this meet your need, and/or am I on the right track?”

Trial closes accomplish two things. 1.) Let you know if you are heading in the right direction. 2.) Keep you from over-shooting the buying decision. If the customer is ready to buy, you don’t want to talk yourself out of a sale. Close throughout the sales call…it’ll make it easier to close at the end.

3. Capture trust

In order to close effectively, you must earn trust. This means many different things to many different people, but to you it means the difference between selling and “giving a quote”. How do we capture trust? What do clients want from us?

Part of this goes back SERVING. You’re going to hear this a lot in this sales, because service is at the heart of any successful sales venture.

Service during the initial presentation

Service during the sale

Service after the sale and product delivery

Service any time the customer needs you. ANY TIME.

Deliver on your promises. Do what you say you are going to do. Return calls, answer questions completely and honestly. Nothing is worse than nailing a sale and then losing it all on a technicality. Don’t be “that guy (or girl)”. Don’t lie…it won’t work out in the long run.

Answer calls in a timely manner

Call back with solutions

Be on time

Follow up

Be honest

Be friendly and positive

Be confident in your knowledge without belittling theirs

Capturing trust is at the heart of sales. Whether you’re asking someone to part with their own hard earned money, or asking a corporation to narrow its profit margin with an added expense…you must deserve the business. If they trust you…you’re one step closer.

4. Answer objections appropriately

At some point and time, most customers will have questions that can lead them to either wait to purchase, or purchase from someone else. Or they can talk themselves out of buying altogether. These questions are actually objections. Sometimes the customer doesn’t even know it. Sometimes the objection is completely different than the question being asked. You need to know what is stopping the customer from buying.

Sometimes the “objection” is a smokescreen. Just an excuse not to buy because the customer is not comfortable with you yet, or your product. Re-state the objection, ask questions about it, respond appropriately with a real solution. Cushion, probe, respond.

5. Probe

I know, we all hate this word. It’s been used in alien abduction movies, doctor’s offices…it’s never a good thing. You’ve also probably heard it over and over again in every sales training course.

There’s a reason for that…IT’S IMPORTANT!

This can be a make or break moment in the sales call, and it comes early. You could spend a ton of time working with a potential client who’s already decided they’re not buying from you. Or, you could blow right by serious concerns and never address the real need, losing a valuable sale.

Start early. Don’t bombard the client with questions, but you do need to probe to find out how you can serve them. Listen to the answers. Take notes. Make sure they know that you are sincere in your desire to find a solution custom fit for them. Effective probing is the key to unlocking the best possible sale in each and every circumstance.

6. KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid)

First and foremost, don’t talk yourself out of a sale. Don’t “show up and throw up” by reciting every detail about your product every time.

If you’ve done your probing and found out what the customer needs, you can simply tailor the presentation to the points they need to know about. If there is additional information that relates to an important point, by all means throw it into the mix.

Just the basics, then get them involved. If you refer to your notes on the customer, you can get them to ask questions, and then you’re helping them instead of feeding them a pitch.

7. Feature/Benefit

I shouldn’t even have to say it, but every feature should show the customer a benefit. It’s Sales 101. If you don’t know about this part of sales…find a basic sales class and sign up. You’re not ready to talk to customers.

Even though it’s a no brainer…I HAVE to mention it here. It’s crucial. Features mean cost…benefits mean solutions to needs, wants, or problems.

8. Expand Your Knowledge

You MUST know more than the other salesperson. You need to learn everything you can about your product or service, and every part of your business that relates to it. You also must learn your competition inside and out.

If your customers can’t tell that you are the expert, it’ll be up to them to make the decisions. If they rely on you as the best source of information, they’ll be more comfortable with you making decisions for them, ultimately leading to a successful close.

9. Use “Best Practices”

In pharmaceutical sales there is a huge emphasis on sharing “best practices”. Every week we would get voicemail from regional directors or area vice presidents with attached messages from some of the nation’s best performing districts. These messages would be “best practices”. Or…”how they are doing so well.” What is working for them in the field? What resources are they using? What is resonating with a particular kind of client? It works the same way in every other kind of sales, too.

Find out what other successful reps are doing, and use their successes to create your own. Sometimes the difference is just a word or phrase, or a different approach with a certain client type.

10. Teach Others

Sometimes, the easiest way to learn is to teach. Having two kids, I learn more and more everyday. It’s the same it any situation.

If you want to be the expert for your customers, that should also set you up to be the expert for your peers. One of my favorite parts of selling was always going on sales calls with other people.

I especially enjoyed ride-alongs with new reps. I liked to share what I knew (imagine that). At the same time, a new rep can also be another resource for you. I always learned a lot while teaching others. Everyone brings something to the table.

How much do you know? It will become apparent when you have a “newbie” riding with you asking questions all day. It’s a good test. If you are teaching someone how to do what you do, it will reinforce your own knowledge base, and at the same time show you where you need to learn more.

11. Ride-Alongs – or “Co-selling”

One of my favorite ways to learn (or teach) is a ride-along. Go on sales calls with other reps at times. Sometimes, just the way a phrase is framed in a conversation can change the way you see a product, feature, benefit, or customer interaction.

Some reps are more laid back, some are more aggressive. Make note of which style works with each type of customer. Use what you learn to customize your own style of selling. If you are great at selling penny-pinchers, and your colleague is great at up-selling and nailing big ticket items…you can learn from each other!

12. Referrals

Face it, a large part of your business should rely on referrals. You MUST ask for them at every opportunity.
It only takes a minute, but it’s vital to your business. Use whatever technique you want to ask…be passive, direct, assumptive…whatever. Just make sure you ask the question.

If you’ve already SERVED, and the customer is happy with your service, they should be more than glad to refer others to you. You’ve already made the sale! You have nothing to lose. Ask for referrals. Every time.

13. Lead Generation

There are a number of ways to keep your lead quiver full. You need prospects to turn into customers.
Don’t be afraid to pay for leads. You can pay fellow employees a “bird dog fee” for sending leads your way, or you can use online paid lead services. Just Google “sales leads” and see how many hits you get.

The point is, you need to have clients to talk to, and the more pro active you are in getting them, the better your sales results will be.

14. Take Notes

Buy a digital voice recorder. Keep track of ideas you have throughout the day for leads, new customers, or things to do for current customers. Finish your day by checking through your voice notes and acting on them. It’s easier than stopping to write something down on the fly. Transfer to do lists into your planner as needed, but when you think of an opportunity, don’t put it off. Make note of it right away.

When I sold security, there was that one guy that kicked all of our butts. He was a small business sales guy. He made about twice as much as the rest of us. His biggest tip, best advice…the digital recorder. Any time he saw a new business or a business he wanted to call on…he spoke into his little doo-hickey. Then, when he had the time…he acted on it. That’s the key here…it’s not enough to record your ideas. Implement them.

15. Sell Outside Your Market

We tend to have labels. Residential, individual sales, small business, commercial sales, etc. Can you sell outside of your market and label?  Did you sell to a big business? Well, do they buy from or sell to small businesses?

Can those businesses use your product? Referral opportunity.

Did you sell to a small business? Can you sell to an individual? Depending on your product, you may be able to sell the owner or employees as well.

Did you sell to an individual? Where do they work? Can you sell to their business?

There are plenty of ways to look at it, but the main point is the old cliché…”think outside of the box”.

16. Play the Numbers Game

I always hated hearing this, but sales IS a numbers game. The more people you ask, the more presentations you make, the more you’ll sell. Get out and sell! It’s what you are paid to do.

I know this is probably an oversimplification, but the fact remains that you need to see more customers in order to close more sales. It’s not always easy, but the best way to deal with it is to get busy. Make them tell you no. A lot of them will also say yes.

17. Embrace “NO”

You must not be afraid to hear the answer “no”. IT’S GOING TO HAPPEN. A lot, if you sell for very long. It’s not personal, so don’t take it personally. Embrace it. Learn to appreciate it.

You see, as with number 16 above, the more times you ask, and even hear “no”, the more opportunities you have to hear a “yes”! No’s can lead to yes’s. Sometimes a no can uncover a problem, objection, or issue that can be resolved and lead to a yes. Even with a definite no, if you’ve served your customer properly, you can take an opportunity to try and get referrals. Always sell. Always ask the questions. The no’s can’t hurt you if you don’t let them, but they can be a big help.

18. Leave Work at Work

This one isn’t going to directly get you more sales…but it will help your overall attitude, and that can definitely lead to more sales and a better career in general. It is VITAL that you have a good work/life balance, and that you leave work at work. Don’t carry all of the “no’s” home with you. Home is where, hopefully, the yes’s come out to play much more than the no’s.

Go home, have fun. Forget about that presentation or why you may have lost it. If you do all you are supposed to do to serve the customer, and they still say no, it’s not your problem anymore. Don’t brood over it. Don’t air it out too often at home. Make sure you have a hobby you enjoy. Spend time with people you love. Enjoy your time off. You should be working to live, not living to work.

19. Listen…

to the customer if they want to sell themselves. Sometimes we get so caught up in our own
expertise, our own plans, our own ego’s, we forget that the customer just might already know exactly what they want. Give it to them.

Yes, you still need to sell. You can up-sell, or make recommendations if what the customer wants is impossible or will not serve them properly, but don’t “sell” yourself out of a sale. Sometimes it’s okay to be an order taker.

20. Be Helpful

In all areas of your work life…and I mean ALL areas…aspire to be as helpful as you can. Help your customers, first and foremost. Help co-workers, other departments, even the competition in some circumstances (don’t give them a sale, of course!). The point is, if you are helpful, they’ll appreciate it. Appreciation and a good reputation go a long way.

Not only will this help you get More New Sales…it can help you sell yourself along the way, which could mean raises, promotions, or any number of things.

Plus…it just makes sense. Be kind, be helpful. You never know, maybe we are entertaining angels unaware…

Until next time, happy selling!

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"What are 4 Things a Blogger Can Easily Outsource?"

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Blogging is a great way to get started making money online – BUT – it’s work. (All good things come with some effort, right?)

The absolute worst thing a new blogger can do is to do nothing. Yet, that’s what happens to many bloggers when they’re first getting started. While waiting to get their blog just perfect, they do nothing and, instead, spin their wheels – stuck in one place.

Meanwhile, they get frustrated, their dreams fade, and they end up giving up before they even had a fighting chance. It’s sad, especially since many of them are talented writers, are passionate about their topic, and have a lot to share with the world.

So, what can a new blogger do to avoid this from happening?

Simple. Outsource.

But, what, exactly is “Outsourcing“?

Outsourcing is just a fancy word for getting someone qualified to quickly and efficiently do a job for you that you

1. don’t have time for,

2. don’t want to do, or

3. don’t have the skills to do.

But what can you outsource, and how? And, can you afford to?

All great questions. Here are 4 tasks you can immediately outsource for a modest price (and boost your blogging efforts at the same time).

1. Blog Installation and Optimization.

If you’re planning to blog, the one thing you’ll need is a web host. Why not choose a multipurpose web host that will also install your blog for you? Both MomWebs.com and ReliableWebs.com will install your WordPress blog for you. Why would they jump through these hoops? They want you to succeed so that you become a customer for many years. As part of their service, both web hosts will also recommend and install plugins for you for a reasonable fee.

There’s no point in getting paralysis by analysis. This is an easy decision to get over your first hurdle – actually getting your WordPress blog online and ready to roll.

2. Design.

One thing I outsource gladly is graphics. When I try to do my own, they look unprofessional and, downright tacky. When I pay a more talented professional to create my graphics, they look awesome! You can find a professional designer at Shelancers.com who can make your blog look snazzy – just look around. Of course, you can also search places like eLance.com, but I’d suggest that you ask for a recommendation from a friend (or even on Twitter) before going with someone totally untested.

3. Content Management.

Keeping your blog active with fresh content can be a feat in itself. BUT – there is a big secret that bloggers use to make their lives much easier. It’s called PLR content and it’s something that I’ve also used in the past.

What is PLR content? Basically, PLR articles are written by ghostwriters and sold at a very affordable price (usually around $1-2 per article) to multiple bloggers and website owners. So, as a blogger, you can purchase these articles, and stick them on your blog. Or, as I recommend, you edit them a bit before posting them to your blog. While PLR is not totally hands-free – it can help you to get over the hurdle of having to write all of the content for your blog all by yourself.

By the way, the place I recommend you look for PLR Articles is EasyPLR

Of course, you can save even more time by hiring a Virtual Assistant to add the PLR that you purchase to your blog for you so that it’s waiting in there the next time you face writer’s block (as we all do).

4. Community.

Do you ever hear the sound of crickets when you go to your blog? How do some bloggers get such a conversation going while others seem to be talking to themselves? The answer may not be what you think. Another big secret of top bloggers is that they sometimes “seed” conversations with their own assistants and friends. Yes, they have commenters who are paid to come by and leave comments to keep the conversation going. Pretty cool, isn’t it?

While you don’t have to go quite that far, it doesn’t hurt to be “comment buddies” with some friends and help keep each others blogs active with conversation.

What Next?

Learn More about Outsourcing at my Recommended Resource. Outsourcing can be a big scary thing if you’re trying to figure it out on your own. So, if you’d like to learn more about how to Outsource in your Online Business, I recommend this course: http://www.outsourceweekly.com/ You’ll see a free series of lessons on the top of that page.)

For more resources and a complete list of outsourcing resrouces see http://www.mcpromotions.com/outsourcing/index.htm

Further Resources:

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“Tracking Your Article Marketing Results”

When developing your article marketing campaign – or any marketing campaign for that matter – it's a good idea to track your results to analyze what's working and what's not. Figuring out where you're getting the biggest bang for your buck helps you maximize your results and minimize your investments. There are many affordable and easy-to-use tools to analyze your web site traffic statistics to give you a better picture of your results.

The easiest way to keep an eye on your article marketing efforts is through your web hosting stats. If you're using a hosting company with a standard Cpanel, you can easily see where your traffic is coming from over time. If you're using a company like HostGator.com, ReliableWebs.com, or MomWebs.com, you're already set. Just log into your Cpanel and click on Awstats to look around. The important stats to look at are “referring” traffic to see where your traffic is coming from.

Another free way to track your success is with Google Analytics at Google.com/analytics/. Google Analytics will help you determine where your visitors are coming from, which article directories are referring the most traffic, and which of your articles are paying off. Their easy-to use interface allows you to also track your sales and conversions from articles, test a variety of resource boxes, measure your site's bounce rate and much more – all by installing a tracking code on your blog or website. 

Google Analytics’ features are too many to list here, but suffice it to say the service will help you fully and completely analyze your website traffic so you know exactly how to tweak your article marketing efforts for better results. In addition, Google Analytics interfaces with other Google tools such as Adwords and WebOptimizer. Using Google Analytics in conjunction with your article marketing strategy may also help you increase the effectiveness of your Adwords campaigns.

The next step is knowing what to do with the information that you uncover with these two tools. The first thing is to find all the sites are already publishing your articles (by looking at the “referring” sites) and contact them to see if they'd like more of your content. Also, find out which of your articles seem to be the most popular based upon the amount of traffic you're getting. Using these articles as guides, figure out what the commonalities are. Are they all on similar topics? Are they about the same length? Are their titles or resource boxes alike? Replicate what's already working.

By figuring out what you're already doing well, you can easily tweak your future efforts to be more and more successful over time. Just remember that gathering data is easy; putting it to good use is more complicated, but that's where the results come from.

Helpful Resources:

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“What Makes Quality Content for Short Articles”

Whether you write about coin collecting or gardening, there are key ingredients that go into the creation of a good article. Providing quality content involves providing website visitors and readers with information they find useful and informative. While the details will vary, depending on your topic and article structure, there are some common ingredients of quality content:

Answer a question.

What answers are people in your niche market searching for? What are the frequently asked questions in your niche? Are there subject areas in your niche for which few articles have been written? Find out what readers in your niche are looking for and write articles that will answer those questions. Brainstorm a list of questions and topics. Providing the answers that readers (and potential buyers) are searching for will help to establish you as an expert who meets their needs.

Write clearly and accurately.

Minimizing – or eliminating – grammatical and spelling mistakes is essential to good, high-quality content. Before submitting any article for publication, run spell check and proofread it to catch any spelling and grammar issues. If possible, have another set of eyes look at the article to catch anything that you missed. Another tip is to read your work out loud to catch awkward phrasing or repetitions.

Include a compelling title.

If your title isn't interesting, no one is ever going to get to your beautifully crafted article. Scan a few newsletters and blogs and see what articles and posts grab your attention. When in doubt, consider possible titles that include “5 Ways to...” or “10 Tips for...” Such titles always attract readers who expect short tidbits and quick reads for their time. Good titles require some effort, but since the title is the first thing potential readers see, it’s worth your time to craft a strong one!

Be concise.

Online readers prefer short articles, ideally those between 300 – 500 words. There’s a fine line between providing enough content to answer your reader’s quest for information while not providing such a long article that they don't make it to the end to click on your resource box.

What makes quality content? It’s content that a reader is looking for, that answers questions, offers information a reader wants and promises more of the same if they click on your link. Quality content is what will attract visitors to your website and make your article marketing efforts work.

Helpful Resources:

Need help distributing your articles? Pay a visit to Article Marketing Automation and you can visit them at http://www.articlemarketingautomation.com/1000219-0-5-3.html

Do You Write Articles? Do You Want To? Grab This Free Tool And Start Cranking Out Articles In 10 Minutes Or Less!

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“WordPress PayPal Button Generator PlugIn”

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WordPress has become the standard for blogging. Many folks are even using it for their complete website. And why not? It’s simple to use and there are thousands of awesome themes that can be downloaded, free and paid, that can make you look like a superstar in a heartbeat.

But what if you want to sell something from your Blog? That’s where this neat new plugin comes in handy. It’s less then 7.00 and makes it super easy to create your very own shopping cart, buy now buttons and more from within your Wordpress interface. Check it out by clicking here.

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"Checking Your Own Search Engine Ranking"

"What is the best way to check your own site for keyword rankings, e.g if I wanted to target a new phrase and wanted to check the progress of its ranking - what is the best way to check it?" Listen in as Matt Cutts gives you the inside scoop.

Free Ebook-“ Outsourcing Mistakes”

This free ebook covers the top mistakes entrepreneurs make when outsourcing, and how to avoid them. Written by Nicole Dean who runs a top notch PLR website, that I love, it’s full of excellent tips and ideas that will get you up to speed quickly on the topic of outsourcing.

If you run a website, or several websites for that matter you know how hard it is to get it all done. Most days you feel as if you need a clone. Well, outsourcing is the next best thing.

It’s 15 pages long and in PDF format. If you like it feel free to spread the word to others or download it and give it away from your own site or blog. It’s good stuff Maynard.

Download your copy here:http://www.mcpromotions.com/ebooks/outsourcing-mistakes.pdf

If you need more resources for Outsourcing check this out.http://www.mcpromotions.com/outsourcing/index.htm

“The Video Call to Action – Keys to Getting Them to Take the Next Step”

You can produce the most compelling, interesting video online, but without a clear call to action, your video is just pure entertainment. Whether you want a viewer to buy your product, sign up for your list, or take another action, you have to tell them what you want them to do.

A call to action can take many different forms. Do you want the viewer to click on a link, click the “buy now” button, watch another video, or take some other step? Know what you want from your viewer before you even create your video so everything you do points to that desired end result.

Some people believe that if you push your message on your audience, they will resist any kind of “sell”  and turn away. While you want to avoid the used car salesman approach, remember that when you have the solution to your audience's problems, you're doing them a favor by sharing it with them.

Your call to action can take many forms. Here are some examples:

Click here to download your free report on X.

Click here to visit X and sign up now for more information!

Enter your name and email below to sign up for the free teleseminar now.

Fill out the form below to request your free consultation.

Enter your information below to apply for this special program.

The logistics of creating a call to action within in a video will vary depending on the type of video you use, the location of the video and the rules of the site where you are hosting your video. Here are some ideas:

Mention in Video – You can include a call to action within the video itself. Create the video to capture the attention of your audience, give them the information they need and then tell them what action to take next.

Text on Video – Another way to tell your viewers what move to make after the video is to add it across the screen of the video. This text can be a link to your website or an explanation of any other action you'd like them to take.

Clickable Video – By using 'Flash' software or YouTube's video tools, you can create video that, when clicked on, can link the viewer to the desired page.

Video Descriptions – You can add a call to action within your video descriptions. If you have uploaded a video to a hosting site, check the rules as to how you can link to your site and how promotional your videos and descriptions can be.

The most important part of your call to action is ensuring it fits with what your audience needs. When the call to action matches the exact needs of your audience, taking your recommended next step will be a natural next step for your viewers.

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“Marketing Your Business With Video – 7 Benefits”

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You've heard that using video to market your business can bring incredible results. But do the benefits outweigh the effort it takes to put your video online? In a word, Yes! Shooting a video, editing and formatting it, uploading it to the internet with the right title and description takes a bit of time. But the payoff for video marketing can be tremendous. Here are seven real benefits of marketing with video:

1.Personal Connection – Especially for internet based businesses, the personal connection with your potential market is a huge selling factor. With video, your audience can truly get to know you, eye-to-eye. They get to see that you are indeed a real, live person. They start building a deeper relationship with you and feel as if they actually have met you.

2.Social proof – There's an old proverb: “Believe nothing of what you hear, and only half of what you see.” On the internet it's so easy to be a fake and a fraud. People are skeptical about claims they read online, and rightfully so. But video puts a face to your words and makes you more believable and trustworthy.

3.Traffic – People are watching 2 BILLION videos per day on YouTube alone! That's a whole lot of traffic you're missing if you're not marketing yourself with video. It's free and easy to add your video to a large number of the video sites available online.

4.Emotional Influence – The classic horror movie is a great example of how the audio has an emotional effect on us. The creepy music comes in, immediately cluing you in that something bad is about to happen. Now, imagine combining that audio with powerful video cues to influence the emotions of the listener and create a much more compelling message than with just text alone.

5.Portability – Maybe even more so then articles and ebooks, video is portable. iPhones, Smartphones, iPads and all kinds of other devices allow video to be seen on the go. You can also allow people to download video easily so they can view it over and over again.

6.Demonstrations – Reviews, case studies and examples are great ways to sell products and services. It's the reason why infomercials make millions of dollars. Now there's no need for you to be as annoying as the Sham-Wow guy to make money with video; you just need to create videos that show and tell your potential customers why your product will be helpful for them.

If you think you can’t create a video, how about taking your short articles and converting them into videos. I bet you never thought of that. Simple and easy with Article Video Robot.

7.Engagement – There are many reports available online to show that video boosts response and conversion rates. When someone is watching a video, you have their full attention – eyes and ears. Unlike with the written word, they're not likely skip ahead or gloss over important information. Most people will watch a video from beginning to end, allowing you to clearly create a message and call to action that engages your audience.

Overall, video is an effective marketing strategy that is only growing in popularity. Since video is here to stay, it's time to check out the options and see how quick and easy video marketing can be.

Additional Resources:

Create Video for your articles with voiceover, animations, all the graphics and submit it to 17+ top video sites in 3 minutes flat- Click here to find out how

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“How to Use Video for Business Promotion”

If you have a business and a website, then you've likely considered video marketing. Once you're convinced of the power of marketing, the next step is to decide how to use videos to promote your business. Here are just a few examples:

1.Testimonials – Ask your customers or clients to give you quick 1-minute videos of their feedback. You can also interview them about your business for a more structured testimonial.

2.Product Demos – One of the biggest drawbacks to buying online is that you can't actually test the product. Bypass that objection and demonstrate your product on video to help increase sales.

3.Case Studies – If you're involved in some kind of before-and-after (website design, fitness, SEO, etc.) case studies are an excellent way to demonstrate your expertise. Seeing an example helps the potential customer understand exactly what impact your service or product can have on their business.

4.Product Reviews – Video brings an added element to product reviews, particularly if you're reviewing a physical product. But hearing you talk about a book or piece of software is effective too.

5.Education – Use video to educate your market on the use of your products. Lead them towards the sale by answering their most frequently asked questions and objections.

6.Entertainment – People love to be entertained! If you can entertain in your video and combine that with a call to action, you'll have a winning combination.

7.Webinars – If you provide webinars or other video presentations to your market, capture them via video and offer a replay to generate leads or even sell as a product.

8.Commercial – Done correctly (meaning compelling with a clear call to action), commercials for your product or service can be very effective.

9.Business Overview – One of the first things many people look for is who they are buying from and what they stand for. Let your potential customers learn about you and your business through a business overview.

As you can see from the list above, there are many ways to use video to promote your business. Just creating video is not the only step to effective marketing. You must craft a video that responds to the wants and needs of your market. They are looking for solutions to problems and questions. It's your job to figure out how to use a video to solve issues, answer questions, provide the right solutions and lead them to the next step.

Additional Resources:

Free 12 week ShoeMoney Marketing Course course – Click Here

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"AdWords Campaign Experiments: Introduction "

Google's testing a new Adwords tools called "Adwords Campaign Experiments, aka ACE. It allows you to test and measure changes in your bids and keywords and how they will impact performance of your campaigns. Watch the video and learn what it is and how to use it.

Do you use Adwords? What has been your experience? Like it? Hate it?

“Save on Startup Costs with Your Online Business”

Starting a business takes determination and preparation. Oh, and it also takes money. How much money you need depends on the type of business you want to start. For an online business, you can make that dream come true and save some green in the process. It really doesn’t have to cost you much to get started.

What is the first thing that people ask about with a business? Usually it’s “What will it cost me in the beginning?” With an online business you are already ahead of the game because you avoid many of the costs that come with owning a traditional brick-and-mortar company. You’re virtual.

Even so, there will be some costs that you have to shoulder. If your capital is limited, you can still get things going. It may take some legwork and time but it is absolutely doable.

Here are the 3 main costs associated with starting an online business.

Domain Name Purchases – In order to have a presence online, you’ll need a website address or URL. There are specials all the time for domain name purchases, but you can get your domain name for less than $10 a year in most cases. Be careful not to get sucked into buying all the extras most domain name registrars try to get you to purchase when you purchase a domain. Stick to only purchasing the domain name. And make sure you own the domain, not the hosting company. You don’t want to be held hostage should you decide to move down the road, or even lose your precious name.

Hosting – In order for your website to actually show up on the Internet you’ll need to purchase hosting for your domains. You can purchase this as low as $7.95 a month and there are thousands of hosting sites to choose from. One of my absolute favs and where I host all my sites is HostGator. They offer unlimited domain hosting for a set yearly or monthly price, and it’s very inexpensive. If you’ll be setting up multiple sites you can’t go wrong here.

Website Design – If you aren’t proficient in web design or HTML, you’ll need someone to set your website up for you. There are a few different options for getting this done:

• Hire a Designer: This is the most expensive way to get things done.

• Site Builder: You can build your site yourself with programs like SiteBuildIt. Learn how and save money by doing it yourself.

• Included with Hosting: Look for deals with your hosting company. For instance, when you purchase a ReliableWebs.com hosting package you can get a WordPress blog (using the WP platform as your main site is very common due to its ease of use and flexibility) installed on your domain for free. Any customization is up to you, but it’s a start that doesn’t cost anything extra.

A complete Shopping Cart System can be found here.

QuickPayPro is one of the fastest and easiest ways to automate your credit card processing, follow-up marketing and affiliate program.

For content you’ll find high quality PLR over at Easy PLR

Here are some tips for purchasing additional items you’ll need to run your business online.

1. Negotiate – All you can do is ask for what you want. When it comes to buying computers and other office equipment, there is some room for haggling. Find the best payment plans you can to help you to offset the cost. This goes for telephone services, answering services and high-speed Internet rates too.

2. Shop around - Buying computers online at sites like Dell.com allows you to add the features you need and pay the price you want to pay. Printers don’t cost as much as they used to. If you need a fax machine and a printer, look for deals on all-in-one equipment so you can save money.

3. Buy in bulk – When you need paper, printer ink and other office supplies, buy as much as you can when a deal comes along. Even if it takes you an entire year to use the paper, you know that you will use it so it doesn’t matter.

4. Ask for advice from others – For example, you’ll need hosting for your website. While there are dozens of web hosting companies out there, both paid and free everyone’s needs differ. What are your needs? If you know other online entrepreneurs, ask who they use. Keep in mind that high price doesn’t necessarily equate with good quality, just like low price doesn’t always mean poor quality.

5. Use what you already have for now – The best thing about an online business is that it is operated from your computer. Most people already have one of those. It may not be the top of the line model, but if it has high speed Internet access and a word processing program, you can get started. 

There are costs that you can avoid by starting an online business versus an offline one, but you still have to spend some money. The above five tips will help you to whittle down the costs you do have even more. This allows you to get your new enterprise up and running as soon as possible. And, don’t forget all these costs can be written off on your income taxes so don’t forget to keep records.

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Top 20 Free Android Apps

A few weeks ago I purchased my first SmartPhone, the Google Droid. Did I need a new phone? No, but I had been hearing so  much about how awesome the Droid was and after popping into Verizon to listen to the sales speech, I was instantly in love. I had to have it. My boyfriend didn’t seem to think so, but that’s another story.

Now don’t get me wrong there are a few things that need improvement like text messaging. The ability to forward and select multiple contacts from within the “to” field is not available. If you don't know exactly the names of everyone you want to forward the message to, it's annoying. As hard as that is to believe. I had to download a third party app called “HandCent” that fixed that problem. I’m still trying to get use to the message “threading” which I’m not a fan of, but maybe with time. If anyone knows how to unthread them, please let me know.

Like a kid in a candy store there are so many apps and so little time. I think the apps are the best part of the whole phone. I love Google, so a phone powered by Google is right up my alley. There are apps for everything you can possibly think of. Being able to share things with Facebook or Twitter immediately is another plus. Here’s a nice list of the top 20 free apps http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2356306,00.asp

The GPS on the phone is absolutely amazing. Getting turn by turn directions as I drive and not needing to purchase a GPS separately is the bomb. On the negative side the battery is not as strong as I wish it was, but I did find a secondary OEM battery that I have my eye on at Amazon.

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"The Truth About Twitter's Promoted Tweets"

Since Twitter's launch in 2007, it has seen huge growth and has become one of the dominant players when it comes to social media. If you're trying to establish an online presence, and have no idea what Twitter is - or aren't using it in some way to promote your brand - you haven't been paying attention. Shame on you.

“Twittering” has become a national phenomenon with its use trailing slightly behind Facebook’s. Recently Twitter shared some interesting statistics at "Chirp", the Twitter developer conference.

- 105,779,710 Registered Users of Twitter
- Approximately 55 million Tweets being sent daily
- 180 Million unique visitors monthly
- Signing up 300,000 new users daily
- Twitter’s search engine getting 600 million searches daily

For more stats, see http://tinyurl.com/2b8749v . Another Report, "Twitter Usage in America: 2010" by Edison Research, who presented three years of tracking date from national telephone surveys, found Twitter's awareness has exploded from 5% of Americans in 2008 to 87% in 2010. Another stat shows that 51% of active Twitter users follow companies, products or brands on social networks. For the complete report see: http://edisonresearch.com/twitter_usage_2010.php

Having said that, the problem all along has been how to take all of this growth and turn Twitter into a service that generates revenue. It has always been free to use, but like any company, Twitter's objective is to make money. Enter "Promoted Tweets", Twitter's new advertising program. It's very similar to Google Adwords. Advertisers bid on keywords and when a search is done on Twitter, triggering one of those keywords, an ad will be shown at the top of the results page - at least in phase one of the rollout. Only one promoted Tweet will be shown on the search results page.

In phase two of the roll out, the plan is to incorporate the ads into users Twitter streams, of course only when they're relevant. Eventually, the ads will be syndicated via third party apps too. This is important considering a huge amount of Twitter users access the service using various types of software.

The ads are clearly marked as such, and at the bottom they say "promoted by advertisers name", as well as being highlighted in yellow.

So what's the plan for pricing? For now, advertisers will bid on keywords based on CPM's (cost per thousand impressions), viewers who will see the ad. Twitter plans on using something called "Resonance Score" to help determine how well the ads are being received by viewers. This score includes factors such as number of clicks the ad receives, how many times it is “retweeted”, number of people who reply to it, and how many people decide to follow you as a result of seeing the ad. A low resonance score will result in the ad being removed.

Twitter's pricing model will eventually use the "Resonance Score" in some way down the road, but they first need to collect the data so they can "better understand the value of promoted Tweets".

Before you get too excited, understand that the initial launch of Promoted Tweets  is limited to a handful of customers. The Initial test group includes customers such as: Starbucks, Bravo, Virgin America, Best Buy, Sony Pictures. These are big companies with very deep pockets.

Advertising to Twitter users is not a new concept. There are other third party advertising programs already in place, such as http://www.SponsoredTweets.com and http://paymetweets.com/, among others, who have been selling ads in Twitter streams for a long time. How will Twitter's new ad program affect them? Twitter recently announced they will not allow third parties to inject ads into timelines. A bold move on Twitter's part, and putting them in a good position to be the dominant player when it comes to Twitter ads. For more see: http://tinyurl.com/2b3wpp6

Everyone will be holding their breath to see how Twitter users respond to this new advertising program. Some feel it's an invasion of their privacy, and other loyal users fear Twitter has sold out to "Commercialism". Whatever your feelings, ads are coming to Twitter - and who can fault a company for trying to earn a profit.

Twitter is a valuable tool when it comes to promoting your brand and/or products online.  Those who understand that won't mind a few ads, those who don't - well, they can just take their ball and go home <grin>.

"How to Use Twitter for Business"

A simple basic video that will show you how to use Twitter for business.

"Is Google becoming like Microsoft?"

Is Google becoming the next Microsoft? Listen in to what Matt Cutts has to say.