My Blogs Had a Facelift!

I was never a fan of the new magazine style blogs and confess to even providing some negative feedback to those who used them primarily because bloggers go so OTT that you can’t find anything on their blog.

That said, there are those using better quality versions of the magazine style type blogs and for a number of reasons, I decided to give it a try.

My initial intention was the use the Revolution Theme and while the final decision hasn’t been made to ditch it just yet, someone recommended the One Theme and in a weekend, I put my blog back together again.  So, if you visited my blog over the weekend and it looked a mess, sorry!  The work needed to be done and I decided to build it on the fly.

There are some great features about Semiologic that I’ll miss and when they come out with their new magazine style, I may revert to Semiologic but for now, I wanted a few more elements such as a decent size video in the sidebar that I couldn’t do with Semiologic.

I’ve already been asked to do a review of the One Theme and just as soon as I’ve done my membership site which, uses the One Theme, I will do a full review.

What I can tell you right now is that if you want more control over your blog with a magazine style layout, I recommend you take a close look at the One Theme.

If I’m honest (which I am!), I don’t think it’s quite as sophisticated looking as the Revolution Theme … now don’t shoot me guys, this is just my humble opionion.  There are also some really cool features that I loved in the Revolution theme but the truth is, the more sophisticated the theme, the more coding required to get what you want.  The One Theme on the other hand will give you all the necessary features and more for creating a great looking blog in less time.  And, they are adding more new features with each release.

They may even knock spots off the Revolution Theme in time, “who knows!”

Oh, and you ought to go check out their video … these guys know how to create videos that sell!!

Look out for some new marketing tips videos from me in the future.

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Don’t Let Recession Hold You Back

You know what, turn off the TV!  Stop reading the news about the recession!  It’s crippling your business and your success.

I’ve just been watching Rich Schefren on his 24 hour Ustream live incentive.  Personally, I just can’t turn it off - it’s great.  As I’m writing this, Rich is interviewing a copywriter, Clayton Johnson, and he said that if you focus on helping others build businesses, during a financial downturn, you can actually captitalize on this.

People are fed up of being laid off the minute there’s a hint of financial distress

People don’t want to be “in” on the Rat Race and so when laid off, many people look to starting up their own business.

These people are usually aware of the failure rate in starting a new business but, at least they can give 100% to their own business and walk out with 100% minus costs.  They’re not being told what skills they should have and what aspects of their biggest strengths are not required for their business - boy did I hate this when I worked in the corporate world.  When did these people suddenly become my maker?

Anyway, I digress …

The point I really wanted to make here is …

Just because there is a downturn in the economy, it is not the end of the world!

There is still enough money to go around to pay your bills, buy you a decent holiday, allow you to eat well, you just have to get that money from a new and different source.

It’s time to dig!

Pearls, diamond and gold are not found on the surface.  You have to dig for them and so long as you’re digging in the right place, you’re persistent and consistent, you have to strike gold at some point.

This is why the old saying is “hidden treasures.”

So, what’s the difference between Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Sir Allan Sugar and you?  Bill Gates, Richard Branson and Sir Allan Sugar are “diggers,” who refuse to give up digging.

So, how do you keep digging during a financial downturn?

If your online business does not focus on business building, then focusing on solving people’s problems will not diminish because of the recession.  People still want to know how to get rid of migrains, how to manage ADD, how to fix their PC etc.

And the great thing is, the Internet is termed “WWW” for good reason … it’s the World Wide Web, and so just because recession is prevalent in one part of the world, it’s unusual for it to be world wide.  So, get creative and offer your products and services to others around the world.  Information products allow you to do this.

I could make this a long post, but I highly recommend that you grab a copy of Rich Schefren’s report “The Entrepreneurial Emergency.”  In it, he will tell you the difference between having potential in your business brought about by your knowledge, skills etc versus what “constraints” you need to overcome in order to be successful.

This report is relevant no matter what business model you’re using to make money online and it really gets to the heart of why you should be focusing on business building and not on the website or blog which, are just tools to help you market and grow your business.

Get the report now, enjoy the read and, go implement.  Oh and for the sceptics - this is not an affiliate link … I just felt it necessary to share this great resource with you.

Are You Worth Your Time …

In business, effective time management usually equates to the saying “time is money.”  And whether you’re a consultant, other service provider or online marketers, the one thing you get no more or less of is time which, is the reason you have to manage it well.

But do you know who your “time suckers” are?  And more importantly, do you know how to manage those “suckers!”  No pun intended - seriously! :-)  Just sounded good!

I receive the Coaching Compass newsletter from The Coach Training Alliance on occasions and today’s article was one I felt would speak to many of my readers as it did to me.

Apart from the effective time management element, the real question is whether you’re worth the value you provide and therefore, is your time worth more than you’re charging for.

Take a look at the article and make a decision today to value yourself more by beginning to value your time:

***********

Are You Undercharging?
by Kendall Summerhawk

The topic of money can make even the most confident entrepreneur start squirming in their seat. What we charge seems to get tangled up with how much we value ourselves.

Our sense of self-worth and our rates are in synch with each other. This is why it’s crucial to take a good, hard look at how we spend our time and plug up leaks in our “money bucket.”

If you suspect you undercharge here are a few pointers that will help:

As change experts and choice architects, we Professional Coaches face two fundamental challenges:

Tip #1 - QUIT WORRYING ABOUT GETTING IT RIGHT
Worrying about what to charge chews up valuable time and energy you could be devoting to getting more business or improving your packages. There is no such thing as the “right number” to charge. More worry will only zap your confidence.


Tip #2 - START ‘UPPING’ THE VALUE OF YOUR TIME
It’s tough to command higher fees if behind closed doors you’re doing tasks you can pay someone else to do. It can feel like a stretch to pay someone for support when you might not be bringing in that much yet but you have to start somewhere.

Tip #3 - PLUG THE LEAKS IN YOUR BOUNDARIES
Letting people steal your time is like throwing money out the window. Client calls that go over time… the person who calls you with the request they “just need a minute”… or letting yourself be interrupted while working on your business.

It’s okay to have some doubts or even fears about raising your fees. What’s not okay is to stop there. Once you start changing your inner relationship with money, you’ll find it easier and easier to charge what you’re worth…and get it!

Kendall SummerHawk, the “Horse Whisperer” for Business, is a leading small business expert, a Professional Certified Coach and an avid horsewoman. She is the author of the new program, How to Charge What You’re Worth and Get It! See below…

What’s the Deal on Blog Directory Submissions?

Is it worth submitting your blog to Blog Directories?

Basically, I’m asking the question because there seems to be so much controversy as to whether they work or not.

I know it takes a lot of time submitting to them and even as a member of PortalFeeder, I used their automated service which was still lengthy and time-consuming and I had to beg the question, is the time worth the effort?

Like anything else in this world, you also don’t get something for nothing.  What I found was that the better directories cost anywhere from $2 to $20 per year of just a few months.  And this is fine until you decide that you want to submit to a whole lot of them.

So as I said earlier, I want your comments.  Are Blog Directory Submissions worth the effort and worth paying for?

If so, should you just stick to using leading directories such as Dmoz, Yahoo Directory and Jayde?

Look forward to your response.

Ciao for now,

Okay, The StomperNet Storm Is Almost Over …

You may or may not have had your inbox raining “StomperNet” this week due to their launch of Stomping the Search Engines 2 and their monthly publication, “The Net Effect.”

Well, I was one of the lucky people who received a review copy and now the storm is dying down, I wanted to give you my feedback on both the DVD course and their snazzy mag.

First off, for the “freebie seekers,” it’s FREE!  Yep, you read right … “Stomping the Search Engines 2″ and the Premiere issue of “The Net Effect”  are BOTH FREE!

The Stomper guys tell me it’s valued at $500 but the real value is only what you make of it and to what extent you implement what you’ve learnt.  Sorry guys, this course does not come with a Virtual Assistant. 

The DVD’s

As is always the case with videos put together by Andy Jenkins, the two DVD’s are easy to follow, they are fantastic quality and if you know nothing about SEO, you will do by the time you watch just a few of the videos.

If you don’t yet have a site and you’re getting stuck on how to structure it for maximum effect in the search engines, you really do need to get this course.  I spent months as a newbie trialing which structure would work best and, I wasted a lot of time trying to work out why certain people structured their site the way they did and analysing it against another marketer’s site.

Leslie Rohde tells you how you should structure your site and why you should structure it that way.

If you’ve ever wondered whether “linking” is a myth and why should you have it, Leslie busts this myth and tells you why a linking strategy is critical to the longevity of your business.

Recently, I’ve been reading articles with the statement “SEO is dead,” and often these are from people who have gained good ground in getting traffic via social networking sites and, those who use Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising.

Each of these have their pro’s and con’s but the biggest benefit that you have as an online marketer getting traffic via the search engines is that you are going to get Targeted Traffic and Brad Fallon explains how and why this should be the case.

From my own personal experience, I sell consulting services in the main and the majority of my clients find me via the search engines.  Why?  They were searching with the intention of buying.

What I liked about the DVD’s was that it made me realize more than ever that if you want to play “big” online, you have to use an integrated approach to traffic generation and, if you want free traffic, the reasons why you cannot dismiss search engine results.

The Net Effect

I only received my review copy of the Stomping the Search Engines 2 and The Net Effect on Saturday and to be honest, I had zero intention of looking at it because we were chilling for the weekend in preparation for my daughter’s return to School on Monday.

However, during a movie I was watching with my daughter (Stuart Little 2 - you can all laugh now), I started browsing the magazine and could not put it down.  And the trouble is, I do not read without a pen or highlighter in hand but my little girl would not let me leave the room!

So I had to sit there making mental notes of the pages so I could return to them later.

There is a lot packed in this edition and, not only is it well layed out, the paper quality is second to none and, the Stomper guys have practiced what they preach … they know how and where to add the visual elements to catch your attention so you don’t miss the important elements.  Good practice for writing your own copy.

I have to be careful about giving away too much here but I have to say Andy Jenkins article on The Vision Mindset Vs. The Process Mindset bought a tear to my eyes.

I hope Andy never reads this, but I always thought of Andy Jenkins as a bit of a “tough nut,” as we say here in the UK, and it wasn’t until last week when I was on a webinar with him that my mind started changing towards him.

Andy had a dream that many of us have … to retire our parents - EARLY!  I’ll say no more, but Andy Jenkins used this touching story to explain the powerful concept of having a vision mindset.  Enough said!!

But like I said earlier, there is a lot of content (46 pages in this edition) so, how do you keep on top of everything.  The Stomper boys got this one covered too.  For a start, some of their articles use a Q&A format which is great for people like me who don’t want to dig too hard to find what I’m looking for but the real gold is a the back of the magazine …

Your Monthly Action Plan …

It’s a kind of Précis of what’s contained in that particular issue of The Net Effect and, they tell you exactly what to do monetize your efforts having read the articles.  And, the way it’s layed out, you can pick and choose the areas that most apply to you and your business.  Brilliant idea.

So, what about the negatives of the program?

I’m not just saying this for saying it sake, there are none.  I wish I’d had this level of training when I first got started online because I know from experience that this is what gives you the confidence to make your online business work.  It’s the foundation that too many online marketers ignore and then wonder why they’re struggling online.

I learnt to play the clarinet as a young teen and when I arrived at my first lesson, I was expecting to play some jazz and I was greeted with playing scales!!  And, because I hated doing them so much, I didn’t really practice them and got through the concerts okay so didn’t bother.

And then as a young adult, I decided I wanted to play the piano.  Guess what my first lesson entailed?  You got it! Scales!  Now, because I wanted to play Jazz and Blues, my piano teacher explained why I needed scales and so I learnt them which helped my playing no end - I no longer play so don’t ask me!

I only wished my Clarinet teacher had explained the importance of scales when I was 11 years old.  perhaps I would have turned out to be a better musician!

Don’t be this ignorant with your online business.  I was never destined to be a concert Clarinetist so not too much lost in my view, but how about you?  Could a good foundation make a difference to you, your family and if like me you want to retire your parents, the joy of seeing them not having to work!

Get your free copy of Stomping the Search Engines 2 and The Net Effect if you want a solid foundation and, the best training in SEO.

Best,

Marketing Consultant to Solo-preneurs
and Business Owners Around the World
www.trishjones.com