I have posted a guest editorial for you today, Enjoy and Prosper
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I started my
Internet business from scratch.
In the early days it was
AOL and
Compuserve marketing.
Later, the
World Wide Web burst onto the scene. If you're
starting from scratch, I've been there. If you're already got
"something" going but you wanna have multiples of that
something going, this article will help you.
Key #1: Build your lead generation
The heart and soul of your online business is lead generation.
You've gotta have traffic to your site. And you've gotta get
people on your email list and make sales.
The most important skill you'll develop is the ability to generate
leads for your business. Never lose focus on that fact.
If you haven't started a daily lead generation activity,
start today.
Find something (anything) that generates leads and get it
running. Even if it's only one lead a day.
If you've heard the
Promo Dashboard interview with
Daegan Smith, you know he converts
3% leads off of
Traffic Swarm. He gets leads off of ezine ads.
I personally am going back to running ezine ads.
You can write articles, submit them,
turn them into videos, submit those,
record an audio and submit it to podcast directories.
You can post in forums 3X daily with a signature line offering
a freebie. You can run a few pay-per-click ads or buy a banner
on Adbrite.com.
Just get started.
It IS the engine of your business. It's everything. Without it
you are nothing.
Key #2: Add a new skill weekly or monthly
I believe that success in this business is built one skill at a time.
You stack skill sets. Maybe this week or this month you learn
to do screen capture video using Camstudio or Camtasia.
Next week or next month you learn to use Dreamweaver,
Sonic Memo or Photoshop Elements.
But you keep layering in skill sets. In my Dashboard series,
I try to turbocharge people's skillset stacking.
That's my objective. To put it on fast forward.
You need to learn how to submit articles using article marketer
or submit your article. You need to learn how to use tracking links.
There are many skills to learn. Just add one a week and you'll
be rocking in no time.
Key #3: Outsource once you have a system
I really think some people are getting the cart before the horse.
Once you have something rolling, you outsource it. It's difficult
in my experience to get results by outsourcing what you don't
already have rolling.
First get it rolling. Then outsource it.
Key #4: The hardest person you'll ever hire is person #1.
You'll worry and fret about whether or not you can afford them.
If they have talent, you can afford them. If they have mediocre
talent, you can't afford them. If they have a low level of talent,
they'll suck money out of your pocket.
But once you have something coming in, don't be afraid to pay
for help. If you don't, it'll cost you in the long run.
Key #5: Never take your eye off the ball
The ball is your lead generation. Whether you use an affiliate
program, article marketing, seo, ppc, paid advertising or viral
marketing, that is the engine of your business.
Never take your eye off of it.
In
Key #1 I said you build your business by lead generation.
Now I'm telling you the secret to staying in business is to keep
the pedal to the metal when it comes to lead generation.
Key #6: The better you convert visitors to sales,
The easier your lead generation will come. You'll find it's easier
to afford media, outsourcing and help the more visitors you
convert to sales.
Key #7: A robust back end fuels the fire
The more you have rock solid upsells in place, the more you
have recurring billing or forced continuity, the more you have
big tickets, the more you sell on the back end, the more
lubrication your business has and the easier it runs.
A skinny rabbit will lose a long race for lack of fuel.
Keep your back end (your repeat business) fat and happy.
Out of all these keys, the most important one is
#2. Because if
you keep doing that, you'll eventually do all the other keys.
Leaders are readers.
Charlie Tremendous Jones said that many years ago.
And it's true. There's a niche market I'm involved in as a buyer,
not a seller. And what I've noticed is that the people who succeed
in this field are ones who have an awesome skill set.
While some people complain about how hard it is to learn new
things and how tough it is, the winners just keep plowing away.
Some people succeed in business due to genius. But the surest
route to success is to keep plowing away.
Keep learning. Keep doing.
Balance your learning and your doing. If you spend 80% of your
time learning, that's likely too much unless you're a newbie.
If you spend 90% of your time doing, you probably aren't building
your skill set enough and sharpening your saw.
Have a great week,
Marlon Sanders
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Marlon Sanders is the author of
"The Amazing Formula That Sells Products Like Crazy."
I'm starting a new MasterMind so to speak. You gotta get
Promo Dashboard first to be a member.
But you can watch the video on it here:
Marlon's Video
Marlon Sanders Copyright 2008
Higher Response Marketing Inc.
All rights reserved.
Higher Response Marketing, Inc.
11844 Bandera Rd. #469
Helotes, TX 78023
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Marlons article hold a lot of great information to help you.
Michael Dlouhy's Freedom Tour is a business building workshop
that will have even more infomation to help you in your business
Learn more about the
Freedom Tour Workshop
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Gary McElwain
216-539-3553 Anytime
My Success Manual
Being a Mentor with a Servants Heart