Articles
Taking Control Of Your Life – A Wake Up Call
Do you ever get the feeling like you’re constantly firefighting problems, like life is one continuous uphill struggle to stay afloat?
Do you come home from work feeling tired and stressed and without the energy to do anything other than collapse in front of the TV?
Do you always feel like you’re just not quite as happy as you think you could be/should be?
That’s life I’m sure you’ve been told! Or at least it’s life as many of us have come to “experience” it. But in truth there’s no real reason that this should really be the case.
One of the biggest problems is that we’re always chasing after the gold at the end of the rainbow and in doing so, we never stop to smell the roses and live in the now and appreciate life.
Sorry to use all these metaphors but I feel it paints a pretty accurate picture of many people’s life experiences. We’re never happy because we’re always striving for what’s next or “better.” As marketers this manifests itself as “Shiny object syndrome” and we wonder why we never make any real progress in our business becasue we are always chasing the next big thing that makes things easier or quicker. The result of all this undue pressure is we’re always stressed about what’s coming up and whether it will work and we never truly appreciate what we have until we lose it.
We think that the only way to change this is to change our lives. To work harder and longer.
But it’s not.
The way you bring about this change is from the inside out. We need to change the way we think about our situation and we need to change the way we approach life’s problems and the way we enjoy the moment.
And that means taking control of our minds. Once you can do that, you can take back control of your life and this will make you feel more confident, relaxed and happy in the exact same circumstances that you have now. It’s all about focus and once you can do this, you can start to actually plot a course of action to start changing your life for the better. You can stop treading water and start swimming.
Isn’t your life worth it…?
Grow Your Mind And Your Business Will Follow!
If you’re a new internet marketer who is serious about creating your first information marketing business but don’t know where to start or you lack the confidence in your ability to create a product that people want to buy then please read on.
It’s no secret that more and more business is being done online than ever before and that more and more people are turning to the internet to search for the solutions to their problems. People will always be willing to pay for quality information to help them in all areas of their life.
These problems may be physical – being in pain, being overweight…
Or emotional – mood swings, depression…
Or sports related – improve golf swing, run faster…
The problem is that if you approach your business incorrectly you will see very little in the form of sales and your confidence will drop and this is when self-doubt appears. To counter this you need the correct business strategy and mind-set to overcome any frustrations.
Remember that you’re in business to help people!! In fact, Thomas Oppong, Founder of Alltopstartups.com and contributor to Entrepreneur.com stated…
“Don’t Just Start a Business, Solve a Problem
Think about this typical scenario…
A budding entrepreneur decides to sell an information product showing a consumer how to “Add 10 yards to their golf swing” And it tells them what they need to do; things such as invest in better clubs, get a mentor for some personal coaching etc. Unfortunately they make very few sales and become disheartened and this is a very common occurrence because their mindset and business approach is actually all wrong.
If you don’t believe me, just look through some articles on sites like Entrepreneur.com to realise that you need to produce a MUST HAVE product, not a NICE TO HAVE product.
And it must focus on what the consumer WANTS, not want they NEED.
The golfer WANTS a set of quick fixes he can use to improve his swing. He doesn’t want to waste time and money buying better clubs and paying for expensive one to one coaching; although this is what he NEEDS if he is to improve long term.
Now I love the Information marketing business and it is undoubtedly one of the most lucrative business models available and now is the perfect time to get started.
Not convinced yet? Here are a few more reasons…
- The start-up and running costs are minimal
- It is low risk
- It has a perfect sales model; selling 1 to many i.e. you are selling to a global audience and can even make money while you sleep!
So if it’s so good why aren’t we all doing it? Well, many internet marketers suffer from the idea that creating information products takes a lot of time, money and expertise in the niche but nothing could be further from the truth!
The thing is: Information marketing is SIMPLE but it isn’t EASY
And many people fail before they even start!
Why do people fail?
- Is it technology? No
- Is it a lack of money? No
- Is it a lack of time? No
Now you may think that all these things are reasonable obstacles and they are but it goes much deeper than that and the root cause of these obstacles is because they don’t have the correct mind-set and are full of self-doubt. The good thing about this is that can be easily fixed! You need to realise that success is more about mental endurance than physical or educational ability.
Harvard professor Dr. Ellen Langer once said “Where the mind leads, the body will follow”
The first thing you need to do is to determine your “Why”
- Why are you starting this business?
- What are your ultimate goals and dreams and why do they attract you?
Wasn’t it the ancient Greeks that stated “Know thyself” And when you do know yourself something magical happens and you lose self-doubt and begin to smash down the barriers of your business, you stop procrastinating and you achieve SUCCESS! So don’t be discouraged, especially if you have tried before and not got the results you wanted…
And remember:
- Most experts started off where you are today
- The tech stuff isn’t that difficult and a lot can be outsourced
- Find a course that fits YOU and USE IT; TAKE MASSIVE IMPERFECT ACTION or you will NEVER see results
- You must believe in yourself and develop a positive business mind-set
SO many people give up after trying something once, or worse just as they are about to make the breakthrough that could change their lives. So take a moment and “know thyself.” Know your reason why and then you can start the shift in mind-set that will explode your success once and for all. Mind-set and a positive attitude are a crucial part of the puzzle for any entrepreneur yet it never gets discussed in traditional information marketing courses or coaching. In fact, there is a reason for this: Most people want you to fail because they can then sell you more products!
You see, any successful business owner has a specific mind-set which stimulates creativity, increases productivity and reinforces self-belief even when faced with so-called “failure.” So you really need to study and emulate these people and develop a positive wealth mind-set. You can make this shift all on your own but please be aware that it takes precious time and this is time you can never get back. You see, the information marketing business is exploding and it’s only going to get bigger so you really need to know how to create and market information products, BUT before you even begin to think about marketing and product creation, you need to have the positive mind-set that is crucial to success. Some people are born with it but most are not! But you can train your mind to work in different ways and to create new habits that empower you and greatly increase your chances of success.
Is this what you want? Well, if you do, please watch this free video which covers what we have just discussed and will offer you the opportunity to invest in an inexpensive course that will enable you to find your reason why, overcome FEAR, set goals, cultivate the wealth mind-set, overcome procrastination and greatly increase your chances of success.
So many people underestimate the power of the mind and how it can directly affect your business success. It took me a long time to realise this but when I did and made the changes outlined in the course I noticed a massive change, not just in my business life but also in my personal life so I heartily recommend taking a look.
Expand your mind and watch your life become richer in every way…
The Downsides of Living The Digital Lifestyle
Living as a digital nomad means that you’re able to grab your laptop and travel the world. This normally means that you are involved in some kind of online business model, which in turn means that you earn money as long as you have access to a computer and an internet connection. This allows you to work where you want and how you want and many people use this to fulfil their ambition of seeing the world and of living a lifestyle of freedom. This is one of the truest examples of being free and it’s something that many people who work online aspire to.
But let’s not pretend that this kind of existence is all rainbows and sunshine. Like with any lifestyle, there are downsides to this style of living too and it’s very important that you understand what those are and that you are able to cope with them. So what are they?
There’s No Place Like Home
One of the most obvious disadvantages of being a digital nomad is that it robs you of your ‘creature comforts’. Travelling around means that you’ll probably be living in hostels and eating cheap fast food when you can. If you’re someone who loves to kick back on the sofa with a cup of tea and a blanket, then you might find this a bit difficult.
You Will Miss Family And Friends
Assuming you’re a regular person, you’ll probably find you start missing friends and family after a short while and this can be hard as you’re constantly travelling. It’s especially hard when you see them start to get married, attend important events or generally continue with normal life that you’re no longer a part of.
It’s Hard to Return
When you’ve lived a life that is full of fun and adventure, it can be very hard to return to normality. You may find it difficult fitting into a more regular (read boring!) routine and many people find they must keep travelling as a result because they quickly develop “itchy feet.”
You Need To Work
Even with a very passive income model, you will still need to do some work to make ends meet. This can be difficult when you have 101 exciting things that you would rather be doing, but all you can do is to sit in a dingy coffee shop somewhere and plough through your tasks.
Working Can Be Difficult
The simple fact is that working on the move on a laptop is challenging and there are many ways in which you may be forced to compromise. Sometimes your internet connection will be down, sometimes you’ll struggle to find a power point. Sometimes there will be a lot of sun glaring on your screen and bees buzzing past your keyboard. This makes travelling and working that much more difficult and shouldn’t be underestimated!
Your Business May Suffer
There are some things you simply can’t do while travelling – meeting people in person is a great example. I was recently given the opportunity to star on a YouTube channel and the company invested in me by buying me filming equipment and lighting equipment. This was all very exciting – but it wouldn’t have been possible if I didn’t have a home to store all those things in!
But please don’t let any of this put you off – living the laptop lifestyle is still a fantastic experience. You just need to realize that it isn’t perfect either!
Build A Blog And Make Money Part 7
Monetizing Your Blog
As a niche blogger, you want to always be thinking about your reader, but not to the point where you neglect your own financial success. That should be a strong part of your formula.
So after you map out the categories for your blog, you can rotate the topics when you create new content. Each time you pick a topic, think of two things:
- What good, valuable tips can I share?
- How can I monetize this post?
So let’s use weight training as our example again. Suppose you wanted to create a blog post called 7 Tips for Weight Training at Home. You would create 7 tips and for one or more of those, include a casual mention and link to a particular product.
For example, you might have a tip about choosing an area with plenty of space, and you could talk about why that’s important, and then say something such as, “If you live in a small area, then I recommend choosing space-saving equipment, like resistance bands that use your body weight.”
Then link to the one you recommend and talk a bit about it before going on to your next tip. The last thing you want to do is write one big ad. The reader should walk away feeling fulfilled if they don’t happen to buy anything that day.
You’ll be building trust with your readers that way.
What other monetization can you place on your blog? Banner ads – but don’t create a hostile environment on your blog where banner ads and buttons are flashing all over the place, blinding your readers.
Depending on your theme, you might be able to place a horizontal banner ad right below your header. You can promote products as an affiliate or promote your own products. These are usually called Leaderboard size.
The sidebar provides ample opportunity for vertical banners and smaller buttons. Try to select choices where they match the color of your site, or complete it in coloring – as long as it doesn’t clash.
You can also put banner ads and buttons inside your actual blog posts. So let’s say you were reviewing an info product from JVZoo or ClickBank. You could look for affiliate tools from the product creator and embed them into your posts so that they align with your text to the right or left, or break up lengthy blog posts right in the middle, too.
Make sure you monetize with text hyperlinks whenever you blog. These convert well. You don’t want every other word to be a hyperlink, but sprinkle them throughout wherever relevant.
Some blog themes don’t make your links stand out very well when you make them, so always go to the extra step of bolding the word or phrase and underlining it. Depending on the colors of your blog, you might also want to make them blue, like a traditional hyperlink.
Some of your monetization will occur from repeat contact with your readers. If your reader doesn’t notice your sidebar opt in form, they might sign up if you include the form at the bottom of your post.
There are plugins that can do this – or, you can simply paste the HTML code into the text – not visual – portion of your blog post. That way, not only are they expose to your offer during that first blog read, but you can promote to them repeatedly (as you serve their needs) over time and enjoy repeat commissions and sales.
Build A Blog And Make Money Part 6
Get Ready to Start Posting
Some newbies mistakenly start creating content and putting it all on pages. This messes up your navigation. You want just about everything to be a blog post, not page.
Click on Posts and you’ll see some subtopics you can navigate to. Start by going to Categories and edit the Uncategorized option to something else.
Have you mapped out your site yet? You need an idea of how to have a well-organized site, so just as you did with your niche research, go through the process and group concepts together.
For example, let’s say you were in the “exercise over 40” niche. You might brainstorm the following:
- Safety
- Low Impact
- Weight training
- Kettlebells
- Zumba…etc.
You could safely nestle Kettlebells under weight training instead of having dozens of categories all over the place. You might put Zumba under a category called Recreational Fitness.
Create a set of Categories and make sure you format them the same. For example, capitalize the first letter of each word like this:
Weight Training
When you create categories, you can have “parent” and “child” categories, which simply means you can create it so that it looks like this:
Weight Training (parent category)
-Kettlebells (child category)
-Dumbbells (child category)
Under the Posts section, you can add tags – but it’s easier to just add them each time you create a blog post where it asks for tags.
In the final part of this mini training we will look at monetizing your shiny new blog…