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How to make money with your website or blog.
It’s not easy to make your website or blog profitable but it is possible.
Here are, what I believe to be the most important things you need to have.
The Blogger’s Bible
by Pat Sutton
FREE when you buy our full e-book package.
1. Products that sell.
2. An opt-in box on your website with a sign up gift like a useful e-book.
3. A great opt-in mailing list.
4. An easy to use e-mail marketing system.
5. Good affiliate partnerships.
6. Good publisher partnerships.
7. Traffic
8. Traffic.
9. Traffic.
10. Traffic.
1.) Here is a list of items that sell quite well on the Internet.
- Tangibles – items like mobile phones, gadgets and other IT stuff. The reason that people buy these things online is that they are usually cheaper than on the high street and sometimes difficult to find. The problem with selling tangible items is that you would either have to risk a lot of money to buy stock or you would have to use a drop shipping company. Drop shipping companies hold the stock and you merely showcase the products and set up a good shopping cart. When you make a sale they then ship the item to your customer.
- E-Books, any electronic device that features a controllable viewing screen can be used to read e-books. You can buy e-books to give to people who opt-in to your newsletter or you could even sell the e-books on your website. It is important to choose great titles and well written books to sell. We at “The Business Woman” sell our e-books for just $1 each to cover administration but you could sell them for much more. It is important that you buy e-books that give you reseller rights, as ours do, or you would not legally be allowed to sell them on. Take a look at our bookshop.
- Internet services, if you were looking for digital services like website builders or domain name registrations then you would automatically go to the web to find them.
- Normal books and DVDs. Amazon do very well selling paperbacks and hard cover’s as they have a massive infrastructure in place. It would not be a good choice for you as a start up for obvious reasons. Can you imagine how many books you would need to stock.
- Tarot readings and esoteric goods. There are so many Tarot reader hosting sites. The readers wait at the end of a phone for your call and you pay them for the reading by the minute. As a professional Tarot reader myself I am a little skeptical that one could read for someone they have never met. I believe that there is no replacement for a comforting, inspirational reading, face to face, but many people swear by these telephone services.
- Dreams. The Internet has spawned an enormous amount of “get rich quick” schemes. Some are great but some are…quite honestly, a mis-representation. My rule of thumb is…if it sounds too good to be true then it is too good to be true!
What ever you are selling there is one thing that is paramount….give them a risk free call to action! In other words make them feel safe buying from you.
Think of all the things that could be going through their head at that moment before they buy.
Is there a catch?
If I don’t like it, can I have my money back?
Can I hear from someone who has used this?
Do I trust this person?
Will my hair fall out?
Will my………
Remember a busy website with the right money making products can actually make money for you while you sleep but you need to work very hard at marketing it when you’re awake!
I have made a pact with myself, I will only sell products that I firmly believe in, like Darren Rowse’s Bloggers Workbook. This course actually helped me to change my blog into a great little business.
So my advice to you is to only sell the stuff that you would use yourself, that way you have more conviction in your sales pitch.
2.) and 3.) The mailing list is your life’s blood. Always have a sign up box on your website. If you can give something away as a sweetener then that is even better. Make sure that it is something worth having.
I would like to E-SHOUT an important point at you….do not abuse your mailing list. If they have signed up to receive a newsletter then that is what you should send them. Your marketing can be inside your newsletter.
If thay have signed up to a general mailing list then you have a little more freedom but the content of anything you send to them should be, value, value, value, a subtle sales pitch, then more value.
4.) There are many marketing systems out there, the one I use is Aweber, I find them the easiest to use and one of the cheapest. There are many more like IContact, Constant Contact, Getresponse.
The marketing system works by allowing you to set up e-mail campaigns. So when your visitor registers to be added to your mailing list it automatically generates an e-mail from you. You will have already been in to the system and prepared your follow up emails, all you need to do is tell the system which ones you want sent and when.
It’s as simple as that!
The beauty of this system is that any new subscriber, no matter when they join, will receive the first message and then the second and so on.
You can actually configure your sign up box within the system too! Here is a link to Aweber, take a look and see what they have to offer.
5.) Affiliate partnerships. Most online businesses have affiliate schemes nowadays. If you like a product, either you have used it or have bought it then search their website and see if they have an affiliate scheme. The other option is to join Commission Junction or one of the many other Affiliate management companies. Once you join you can search and apply to many different schemes.
6.) Good publisher partnerships. I am a publisher for a company called LinkLift. They are a link placement service. I would write a blog post and they would ask me to include keywords and phrases that would link to their client’s website. You see having external links is a great way to encourage Google to spider their site so people pay LinkLift to pay me to host the links in my posts. You would need to have a relatively busy website to become a publisher so that leads me to the last on my list….
7.) and 8.) and 9.) and 10.) Traffic.
We would all love to be seen on the first pages of the search engines and if you are selling something unique then you will probably be there after a couple of days. But there are many thousands of blogging sites out there, all trying to get to the top spots so the competition is fierce for us.
My answer for you is to do what you do best…blogs, blogs, blogs and more blogs.
“Blogging is a lucrative source of profit and blogs are easy to set up and maintain. Imagine a life where you are paid to write on stuff that interests you, whenever you want, wherever you are. The mere flexibility of blogging makes it easy for you to just kick back, relax and go on a vacation whenever you feel like it.
In this book, we are going to look into the profitability of a blog and set up a blog of our own at no cost! Interested? Read on!” from The Blogger’s Bible by Pat Sutton
When you write your blog post on your website you need to also upload it to the best networking sites as well, sites like EZines, Ecademy, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
There is no easy way to do this, you need to work hard at it but the rewards can be great. To make it a little easier, make sure that you have social bookmarking share buttons at the bottom of your blog posts so that you and your visitors can syndicate your writing out across the web.
Here is a screenshot of Google, notice how my blog, “6 steps closer to monetising your blog”, had actually got three….not just one spot, on the front page of Google and that’s not paying a penny in advertising.
Clever eh!
One last word:
“The baker puts bread on your table, not to feed your family but to feed his own“.
Using your blog post to sell products.
It’s funny how a text laden-ed front page of a website is said to be a “no no”. The reason for this is that you probably skim website content, you rarely read every word, yet if you came across a blog post that interests you then you are likely to take it all in, even referring to it later.
A great way to make money with your blog is to blog with a product in mind. This kind of blogging is becoming more and more popular.
A word of warning, the blog post should not be a blatant pitch, it must give enormous value too.
This is how it works.
OK, so you want to write a blog post that is built around selling one or more products, this could be an affiliate’s product, your own products or even joint ventures with others.
Whatever your product is, you need to be a bit of a wordsmith if you want to send the right message and make money with your efforts. In other words, you’ll need to learn how to sell in your blog post without the reader ever realising that they are being sold to.
Here are some key pointers.
What is the first thing you want people to do with your blog post?
You want them to read it!
So you need to write a great headline.
Which of these headlines are more powerful?
How to make money with your blog.
or
10 effective ways to turn your blog into a money making machine.
(A little tip here…people like lists…top 10 tips, 6 best ways, 5 reasons why, you know what I mean.)
The format of any blog post, article or even a book should be….one sentence so compelling that the reader wants to read the next one and so on and so on.
The backbone of the article or blog should be….an article consisting of many variations of the word “you”. You need to focus on the reader, they have to believe that they are going to get something valuable out of reading your blog.
The underlying strength of your article should be….your credibility, why you are the expert. You should try to mention proof of your credibility throughout the article and also in your signature.
Once you have made the reader feel at home and that they are important, you can then move onto your pitch.
Tips like this and more are available in The Blogger’s Bible.
Why not take a look at my Blogger’s Bible which, at the moment, is available for Free from this website?
In The Blogger’s Bible, you’ll find detailed information on promoting your blog.
You will learn how to promote your blog on the internet for free so that you can receive thousands of unique visitors each month, or week!
The Blogger’s Bible will also show you how those visitors who stop by your website can earn you a nice residual income.
Top 3 Ways to Turn the Right People Away and Stop Wasting Time & Energy so you can Boost your Revenues
- When you network/market online or offline, know who you want to reach. If you don’t take time out before you start networking or marketing online you may find yourself just talking to people and ending up making no real business connections. After all, if you don’t know who you’re looking for, what qualities you want these ideal clients to have, or what problems you want your ideal clients to have, then you’re going to have a difficult time finding the “ideal client”. As a result, it is quite likely that your website content will reflect this indecisive thought process, and come across as if you are trying to be all things to all people; not pinpointing an exact issue that visitors to your website can read, picture in their minds, and think “oh, you do this? Well, I have this problem….maybe this company can solve it” or “oh, my friend Mack is having this exact problem! Maybe this company can help…I should tell him about it.” If you don’t communicate clearly what characteristics your ideal client has, people can’t form pictures or pretend scenarios in their minds as to what you do and how you help people, and you end up missing opportunities to build new business relationships. If you communicate clearly what the problem is that you solve and why your ideal client should try you and your company, you end up increasing the likelihood that you will boost your revenues.
- When you are marketing and you meet someone – either in person or in an online chat group like linked in or Facebook – pre-qualify your ideal client when you first communicate. And by “pre-qualify” I mean go beyond the basics of asking the person’s name, where they work and whether they need what you are selling. The danger of not pre-qualifying your ideal clients beyond the basics is that if you leave your qualifying questions to those three mentioned above, you are setting yourself up for disappointment down the road when the prospect goes and tells you that – after you have spent time and energy trying to make this person a client – your solution wasn’t really a fit in the first place because of this, that or the other excuse. It is better to ask too many questions up front and find out early on in the sales game that you are not a match, than to spend lots of time and energy communicating with someone who is not a true ideal client (which is very easy to do – especially in this slow global economic recovery we are all experiencing right now). So what kinds of questions do you ask to find out if this new-found friend is indeed an ideal client? Read point three to find out!
- If you decide to have a needs analysis meeting, know what questions you need to ask to get the answers you want. So how do you know that? There are typically three things you want to find out from an ideal client:
- What are their needs?
- What are their preferences?
- Where do their strengths/abilities lie?
If in the meeting you discover – for whatever reason – you cannot help this prospect, be up front & tell them. It annoys people to be lied to, deceived or misled, and they could badmouth your company, ruin your hard-earned reputation or worse. In addition, it improves your reputation if you are seen by others in the business community as a trustworthy truth-teller who directs not-so-ideal-clients to others you know and trust that can help your current prospect. If you discover your services/products are a match for what this person needs, give the person 2-3 easy, low- or no-risk ways to move forward and try your product/service. You may be thinking “why do I have to give a prospect the easy way?” The answer is simple: business is built on relationships. Many business owners and executives are too busy with their days as it is. If they become dissatisfied with a current supplier, they may feel uncomfortable that the relationship with that supplier has come to a close, and also may feel stressed by the difficulty of trying to find a trustworthy replacement who is worthy of receiving his hard earned business dollars. Add to this the simple facts that many people in the market-place today do whatever it takes (including embellish the truth or out-right lie) to make a sale, and that many people have been “burned” before by characters who say one thing and do another in attempts to earn a buck, and the consumer is left feeling jaded, probably nervous, and unsure of whether this new business person can be trusted. If you remove some or all of the risk of trying your product or service and you deliver a winning sales presentation, the prospect is more likely to try your product or service to see if you can indeed follow through on what it is you say you will do.
Did you like this article? Was it helpful? Do you want to learn more about how to write sales content that attracts only your ideal clients and convinces them to start sales cycles for you? Do you want to learn more about how to customize qualifying questions so that you can properly filter your prospects list and only deal with truly ideal clients? Book your complimentary 60 minute coaching call – regularly priced at $150, but it is yours for free if you call in the next 3 hours!
About the Author: Alison Silbert is the author of Boost Your Revenues by Turning People Away. When not running her business Passionate Web Creations, she is a mentor, coach, and teacher, supporting individuals in living their dream of having a successful online business. For more details about the book, email us at info@idealvisitor.com; to order copies of the book go from Amazon.com, Barnes & Nobile and http://idealvisitor.com/idealsite/book-2/.
The Art of Child-Proofing Your Office
A home-based or virtual office is often an irresistible temptation to the young children of a household. The desire to be with the parent who works in the office and to be included in their activities is a powerful attraction. Young children love to mimic the activities they see their parent involved in, whether it be sitting at a big desk with the computer or writing important documents. The key to child-proofing your office is to provide space and materials in a safe environment so the time your child spends there does not upset the productivity and peace of your office, but rather adds to quality time with your child.
Keeping safety as the major motivator, develop a plan of action to make your home office a welcome place for your child to spend time. Some ideas to consider when developing your plan are:
- Create a distraction. Set aside a corner of the office where you can have a toy box filled with toys that are suitable for the space you have available and is out of the traffic area required for the smooth operation of your business. Encourage your child to keep the toys in the designated area so they don’t become a hazard.
- Provide materials similar to those you use while you work so the child can “do work like Mommy or Daddy.” Be sure to emphasize that they now have their own things that are like yours to work on and that yours are off limits.
- File important papers promptly. Papers that are left sitting around are often attractive to children; they see you working and writing on them and want to do the same. Don’t leave important papers out where your child has access to them. Provide your child with paper and crayons they can draw on, allowing them to be creative.
- Make sure the area is physically safe for your child. Attach electrical outlet covers to outlets that are not in use. Look for window blind cords, hazardous chemicals and other such items that are used in your daily business making sure they are stored out of the reach of children.
- Get rid of the electrical wires. Cable ties can be used to tidy and shorten wires that can be a danger, not only to children but to anyone who moves around the office. Making sure wires are not in the way protects the people in the office, as well as expensive equipment, from damage.
- Keep garbage contained. The answer to this can be as simple as purchasing a garbage container with a lid.
- Keeping drawers and cabinets inaccessible to children with child-proof latches is another great idea. Small items present a safety risk for young children. Storing loose staples, elastics, tacks, and paper clips in plastic containers with tight fitting lids will remove this risk if you don’t have a drawer or cabinet that is equipped with the appropriate hardware to make it inaccessible to a child.
These simple ideas, do not take long to implement and the cost is minimal. Having a child-proof office in your home gives you peace of mind and has the added benefit and pleasure of you being there for your child.
About the Author: Michelle Jamison is a Virtual Assistant, Coach, Speaker, College Instructor, and Author. Her latest book, Virtu@l Office Essentials provides virtual office workers with solid strategies to ensure a successful virtual work environment. http://www.virtual-office-essentials.com
Contest–Describe Your Female Model of Leadership
First, if you buy a copy of Wander Woman on June 15th and forward the receipt to Marcia@WanderWomanBook.com, you’ll receive a free workbook and half of the proceeds will go to the Phoenix Crisis Nursery.
Second, I’m holding a contest. Here’s the background information. Scroll down if you’re impatient!
I was describing what I view as the emerging identity of strong, smart high-achieving women when a woman said, “It sounds like you advocate that women should be more like men. I would rather see men honor feminine power.”
I explained to her that I don’t think these women have lost their femininity. As women gain more freedom, education and economic power, they are becoming more confident and assertive. Being self-assured and outspoken does not mean a woman is not feminine. She is just a stronger woman.
Girls now are being brought up to be compassionate and assertive, sociable and analytical, collaborative and self-reliant, and empathetic and directive. Unfortunately, some people see powerful women as acting more like men. This is a short-sighted, unfair and damaging assessment.
That being said, I think the model of leadership for women needs to be redefined. The model must also allow women to be human, to be both aggressive in their pursuit of goals and to show vulnerability when they feel fear or disappointment, like any human would do.
Whether or not all people will accept these women as leaders, if we align around what we believe to be a feminine model of leadership, we can make an impact in the world. When all strong, smart women make their voices heard, we can tip the scales of power forever.
How then will we define our model of female leadership?
I am drawn to women who demonstrate strength and grace instead of trying to bully their way to the top by ridiculing others. Although the “pit bull” approach may get you noticed and you may be able to right some wrongs, “women of strength and grace” accomplish their goals differently. Showing confidence doesn’t have to include displaying your muscle.
Women of strength and grace admit when they are wrong, can change their mind as they learn and share a vision of the future that is so clear and inviting that others are eager to follow. This is a part of the model I’m building. What would you add or change?
Who are your role models of strength and grace? What woman do you know alive today who demonstrates intelligence, courage, compassion, decisiveness, assertiveness and passion? It could be your grandmother, Sandra Bullock, your former boss or even your daughter.
Share your model of strength and grace as a comment on this post. Include the person, if she exists, as well as the qualities.
I will work with a team of colleagues to pick the top three submissions from this blog, from the WanderWomanBook blog, and from Facebook to win a copy of Wander Woman: How High-Achieving Women Find Contentment and Direction. I will then feature the winning submissions in an upcoming Huffington Post Blog. So even if you have bought the book, I’ll give you the gift of visibility.
If we can get clear on what we call a model of female leadership, we can begin to allow for, even honor, this behavior at work. We can quit defining women as too strong or too weak and never let them be who they are as the strong, smart, and wonderfully imperfect humans that know how to help their children, their companies or their countries succeed.
Contest ends midnight June 18th, pacific daylight time.
An Interview with Linda Lord about her book “The Pitch”.
Linda and I discussed her recently published novel that reaches out to business owners, entrepreneurs, and working women who are looking for practical business strategies.
Her book “The Pitch” explains how soccer has very similar strategies that can be used to be successful in business.
This book provides sound business concepts in a fable format. This engaging story traces the journey of a single mother, whose business is floundering, from the brink of personal and professional disaster through the tumultuous learning curve of self-awareness to a place of success and self-acceptance.
And now for my interview with Linda~
The title of your book is The Pitch was does the title mean?
The pitch is where the game of soccer is played; the pitch is the field. What Liz learns
from there, she is able to apply on her playing field − her business. Also, in business,
the ‘pitch’ is what gets people to buy, so it is a play on words in a couple of ways.
The Pitch draws on my experience as a soccer mom. Strategies used to be successful
in soccer and very similar to strategies used to be successful in business. Such
strategies include: getting in touch with who and what matters to you most, because
until you do that, you are just going through the motions, and maybe building the wrong
empire; having a plan that provides a structure to follow during strong economies and
soft ones; taking to time to evaluate the choices you make and whether or not they are
based on sound business information or just expediency.
At what age did you discover writing and when were you first published? Tell us
your call story?
I have always been writing something. Most of the time I write for stage. I wrote a selfhelp
book titled, 31 Days Toward Maximum Living, back in 2001, but I never really
promoted it.
Tell us about where “The Pitch” is available.
In The Pitch, a business fable written by author and performer Linda J. Lord, we follow
the powerful story of Liz, a struggling single mother whose business is in steady decline.
To turn her business around, Liz relates the concepts learned at her son’s soccer
practices, but how will she balance her effort to save her business with trying to save
her relationship with her son?
Linda captures our imagination with the fictional story of Liz and Justin and then adds
the power of direction and possibility by coupling fiction with sound business coaching.
She paints a picture of possibility for other struggling business owners. Linda creates a
place for business owners to consider their strategies and reflect on ways to improve
their companies. There is no better time for this book than now, when so many business
owners are struggling find meaning and direction. This fable fuses a compelling story
with realistic struggles and a series of instructions for improvement. The Pitch is
available on Linda’s website, Amazon and on the iuniverse website.
So let’s help some struggling women business owners get started here. What is
the first thing you need to do to grow your business?
Make sure that you want to own a business and that it’s not simply a career option;
then ensure that you will be working with your strengths (talents, and gifts) most of the
time. You can create the business to serve you and the needs of your life; you don’t
Linda J Lord 1 (519) 257-7363 linda@lindajlord.com The Pitch
serve the business. Being strategic from the beginning enables you to make a living and
still have the time and energy to have a life.
Describe your writing in three words.
Practical, entertaining and applicable.
Why did you write this book?
I wrote the Pitch because stories help us to understand our experiences and to imagine
how we might handle the presented situation. Liz’s story is not uncommon. Many
business owners start businesses without a plan and without much preparation; then hit
a wall in terms of growth or even struggle to survive. I wanted to present the material in
a non-threatening way so business owners would be receptive to it. I had people
comment that they had started to implement the same things Liz did as they were
reading the book. That may have never happened if I had simply written a ‘how to’ book
because there wouldn’t have been the connection between Liz and the reader.
Who is your intended audience?
My first audience is the female business owner who is juggling work life and home life.
My second audience is the male business owner who is juggling work life and home life.
Both genders can relate to the challenges of making a living and having a life.
How does this book benefit the reader?
The book provides a succinct blueprint for struggling business owners that saves them
research time, makes reliable recommendations on what to do, and serves to
encourage and motivate.
About the Author
As a professional resource to individuals and groups, Linda provides training and experiences that enable busy people to make a living and have a life by getting to know themselves and by making better choices based on who and what matters most to them. Linda presents in her own individual and insightful way. She talks business, psychology, sociology, and faith whether in one-person performances, productions, or the written word.
Linda has been self-employed for 13 years and presenting to audiences for more than 21 years. Graduate of CoachU training program and Corporate Coach U Facilitator’s Clinic, Linda is founding member and supporting member of CoachVille; member of ICF, and founder of LindaJLord.com
How Soccer Relates to Business–Author Linda J Lord “The Pitch”–Virtual Book Tour Starting May 3, 2010
During the month of May, Linda will be interviewed on May 19th at The Business Women – Official Blog.
Linda will be discussing her recently published novel that reaches out to business owners, entrepreneurs, and working women who are looking for practical business strategies.
Her book “The Pitch” explains how soccer has very similar strategies that can be used to be successful in business.
This book provides sound business concepts in a fable format. This engaging story traces the journey of a single mother, whose business is floundering, from the brink of personal and professional disaster through the tumultuous learning curve of self-awareness to a place of success and self-acceptance.
One dollar from the sale of each book goes to the Hemophilia Society of Ontario, South Western Ontario Region.
Leave a comment, Linda will be available to answer questions.
Go to http://virtualbooktour-theyppublishing.blogspot.com/ website to follow Linda’s full tour schedule or visit her website http://www.lindajlord.com/.
There will be an Amazon contest at many of her virtual book tour stops. Visit participating sites to find out more about contests and giveaways!
How Soccer Relates to Business–Author Linda J Lord “The Pitch”–Virtual Book Tour May 2010
Join Author/Coach, Linda J. Lord on her Virtual Book Tour, Starting May 3, 2010
During the month of May, Linda will be traveling the hemisphere.
India * England * United Kingdom * Canada * New Zealand * USA
Linda will be discussing her recently published novel that reaches out to business owners, entrepreneurs, and working women who are looking for practical business strategies.
Her book “The Pitch” explains how soccer has very similar strategies that can be used to be successful in business.
This book provides sound business concepts in a fable format. This engaging story traces the journey of a single mother, whose business is floundering, from the brink of personal and professional disaster through the tumultuous learning curve of self-awareness to a place of success and self-acceptance.
One dollar from the sale of each book goes to the Hemophilia Society of Ontario, South Western Ontario Region.
Go to http://virtualbooktour-theyppublishing.blogspot.com/ website to follow Linda’s full tour schedule or visit her website http://www.lindajlord.com/.
There will be an Amazon contest at many of her virtual book tour stops. Visit participating sites to find out more about contests and giveaways!
How Soccer Relates to Business–Author Linda J Lord “The Pitch”–Virtual Book Tour May 2010
Join Author/Coach, Linda J. Lord on her Virtual Book Tour, Starting May 3, 2010
During the month of May, Linda will be discussing her recently published novel that reaches out to business owners, entrepreneurs, and working women who are looking for practical business strategies.
Her book “The Pitch” explains how soccer has very similar strategies that can be used to be successful in business.
Such strategies include: getting in touch with who and what matters to you most, because until you do that, you are just going through the motions, and maybe building the wrong empire; having a plan that provides a structure to follow during strong economies and weak ones; taking to time to evaluate the choices you make and whether or not they are based on sound business information or just expediency.
One dollar from the sale of each book goes to the Hemophilia Society of Ontario, South Western Ontario Region.
Go to http://virtualbooktour-theyppublishing.blogspot.com/ website to follow Linda’s full tour schedule or visit her website http://www.lindajlord.com/.
There will be an Amazon contest at many of her virtual book tour stops. Visit participating sites to find out more about contests and giveaways!
The Beauty of Affliction
Ever heard the term, “turn a positive out of a negative”? I have. It is with this same sense that I write this blog I call, “The Beauty of Affliction.” 
Just think, without affliction, we may not have ever had our current USA President, Mr. Obama. So moved by the distressed world conditions that it caused him to place his name on the presidential ballot. Because of injustices and afflictions amongst classes of people, Dr. Martin Luther Luther King Jr. was provoked to civil rights work to help bring about equality. Just think, without affliction the world may not ever have heard of a Helen Keller, nor would we have the diary of a young girl named Anne Frank.
Though unfortunate, it is at the expense of their affliction, pain, hurt, grief and distressing situations that caused great gains in varied ways on behalf of others. Without the afflictions and complexities surrounding the lives and circumstances of these individuals, chances are you may not be reading about them on this page today.
Additionally, scripture denotes another famous person who was a son of Jesse, named David, who drifted astray from the commands of his Heavenly Father. But because his Father loved him so much, he used trouble to draw him back, close to himself. Yes, he allowed affliction to come upon David, one in whom he loved so much. God had a great plan for his life. In other words, there was a “big-picture.”
Scripture further tells us that at one point David (the King) wrote, “before I was afflicted I went astray, but now have I kept thy word.” Then just four verses down he adds, “it was good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your ways.” Now I tell ya, the affects of trouble doesn’t get more beautiful than this.
Psalm 119:67, 71
Jeremiah 29:11 “…thoughts of peace and not evil, to give you an expected end.”
Genesis: 41 Joseph moves from imprisonment to the palace
Linda Johnson Belfrey has 14-years of radio experience working in faith-based broadcast ministry including, JFM LIVE, www.jfmlive.com. Additional media ministries include her cable market telecast, Reaching a People, by Any Means Necessary and A Word for You print news media inspirationals.
Email inquires to: Johnsonbelfrey@aol.com
Website: www.ljbelfreyministries.com
This blogger is on Twitter: twitter.com/ljohnsonbelfrey
What affiliates should I use in my blog?
A lot of people ask me to suggest affiliates. They want to know which ones are the most effective at monetising their blog. I suppose it would be safe to say that I have done a hell of a lot of research on this subject as bad choices can make the difference between a profitable blogging business and bad choices can mean no business at all.
It is a difficult one because it all depends on your target audience.
Of-course there are some great generic ones like Chitika which is an online advertising network which works a little like Adsense. For me Chitika far surpasses Adsense because not only can you earn with click throughs you can also earn a residual income for 15 months on your referrals earnings. Read More…
But, I want it now!
Many of us have witnessed little children who almost always want things now! Funny thing is that as adults our attitudes as it relates to this haven’t changed much. We still want it our way or the highway, and now!
We want our small business to grow large, now. We want the job promotion, now. We want our tiny children to grow-up, now. We even have the urge to tell the boss off, now.
It would do us good to become cognizant of the importance of time. Did you know that over 20 times in eight verses the wisest man that ever lived instruct’s us of the appropriate “timings” in which to: speak, be silent, laugh, mourn, to build, as well as to restructure, or to tear-down?
Though she desired it to be much earlier, you may recall Sarah, though 90-year’s old birthed her infant baby Isaac, at the perfect (set) time.
I want to admonish you that life, what we want, and when we want it involves “the process of important and divine timing.” In your lust to “want it now,” strive to become sensitive and keenly aware as to what time it is.
Ref.: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Linda Johnson Belfrey has 14-years of radio experience working in faith-based broadcast ministry including, JFM LIVE, www.jfmlive.com. Additional media ministries include her cable market telecast, Reaching a People, by Any Means Necessary and A Word for You print news media inspirationals.
Email inquires to: Johnsonbelfrey@aol.com
Website: www.ljbelfreyministries.com
This blogger is on Twitter at: twitter.com/ljohnsonbelfrey
How to market your website so that people buy from you!
It doesn’t matter what kind of business you have and how benevolent you are, you can give things away for free, you can raise money for great causes, you can hold people’s hands but everyone at sometime needs to make a living.
The baker puts bread on your table, not to feed your family but to feed his own!
I am sure, if you own a bakery or a grocers then online marketing is not so important but if you have a product or service that has a website at it’s heart then you need to know how to drive traffic, create a contact list and to make sales.
Ok, so you have a great website that showcases your products or services or you have signed up for an online, work at home business that has provided you with their propriatory website to promote – what next?
It doesn’t matter what kind of online or offline business you have, if you sell from a website then you need to get it out there to the right target audience.
Not many of us are really clever enough to know, for sure, who will buy from us, I promise you, I have had many surprises! But somehow we need to work out how to get our business in front of buying customers. So a scatter gun approach is not really the way to do it, you need to target the right people.
So how do you recruit people to an online business. How do you get people to come to your website?
Online? Offline? Cold calling? Friends and family?
Let’s look at Friends and Family first.
If you want to lose friends then pitch to them, the same with family members. I don’t know about you but I would hate it if my loved ones avoided me because they felt guilty for not buying into my business! So that is a definite “no no”.
Cold calling? Hey! I’m into this online gig because I want to enjoy it, I want a better quality of life and cold calling just does not do it for me! So, for me, that’s out too.
Offline – now here’s a thing – yes it can work, even for an online business. You could:
1. Get out there to your local business networking events.
2. Build relationships with local business owners to encourage referrals.
3. Take stands at exhibitions.
4. Advertise in the newspapers.
5. Give out flyer’s in shopping malls and markets.
6. Carry business cards for those chance encounters!
Then there’s ONLINE.
Now this is where your marketing can really rock!
Here are my 5 very best online marketing tips.
1. Any good at writing?
You don’t have to be Jeffrey Archer but a good clear blog with all the right keywords can be a fantastic marketing tool.
The article should not be about your business but about something helpful for the reader. Of-course it should be linked to your business, for instance if you are a garden landscaper then an article or blog about growing roses would be good but a blog about baking a chocolate cake may not be.
You need to engage with the reader, they need to see you as a leader and expert.
Once you have constructed your blog or article you then need to add a clear succinct signature at the bottom, this is very important for obvious reasons.
I know what you’re asking….what do I do with my blog once it is finished?
Well if you have a blog section on your website then that is ideal as readers can click to your website to read the blog.
You would open your blog on your website, copy the URL or address and add that link along with a catchy intro like:
An easy way to bake a chocolate cake – if you love chocolate you’ll love this – http://www……
You would add it to places like Facebook, Twitter, Ecademy, LinkedIn etc that’s assuming that you are a member of all these social sites, if not why not???
If you have written your blog on someone else’s website, like Blogger, Ezines or another blogging platform like my site for business women, TheBusinessWoman then you need to make sure that all your website details are in your signature.
2. Twitter!
I know a lot of people think that Twitter is a waste of time well, I promise you that it is not, if you do it right.
A daily tweet containing great advice to followers who are your target audience can really boost your profile. If you have a good profile then people will see you in a good light and are more likely to buy from you. If you read my blog, How to market on Twitter, you will see how you can make Twitter really work for your business.
3. Facebook Fan Pages.
Create a fan page with the same name as your business then set to work making friends and then inviting them to become fans of your page. Once you have a reasonable amount of members you can create a badge to upload onto your website. This creates a sense of community and will give confidence to your website visitors. Of-course you also have your fans to market to as well.
4. Relationships.
Join groups and forums to get to know people, (not to pitch to them), once they get to know you they will eventually ask you what you do and then you can get away with a subtle pitch.
5. LinkedIn groups.
Join the groups on LinkedIn, you are allowed upto 50 group memberships. Of-course you need to find groups of people who would be interested in your sector and will be beneficial to you as well. Then once in a group you can upload your articles or blogs to their discussion pages. These are then sent out by the system to the group members in update e-mails. Some of the groups have memberships of thousands of people each so your one article alone can get you enormous exposure.
Pat Sutton – Internet Marketing Specialist – Official Blog Site http://www.PatSutton.com
Business Mentor with LifePath Unlimited – http://www.ThisBusinessRocks.com
D5 Creation