This is a guest post by Barbara Lopez, The Elevator Pitch Coach.  I like to say that Barbara elevated my elevator pitch as a Direct Sales Consultant so that I became much more effective at networking events.  I chose this article by Barbara because she wrote it so well that I did not need to, and it is so easy when you are new to internet marketing to want to try to be like the ‘gurus’ in order to cover the fact that you are relatively new.    The downside to this is that you would not be authentic and people can see through pretense.  Instead of building the know, like and trust factor this is more likely to alienate the very people you want to attract.

“There is only one you for all time. Fearlessly be yourself.” –Anonymous

Have you ever received some advice, but it didn’t really “click” or resonate with you until many years down the road? When I was a teenager, and I’d be getting ready to head out with my friends, as I’d get to the door to leave my father would always say, “Remember who you are!” At the time, as a naive yet typical teenager who thought she knew everything, I’d always think to myself that it was such a weird thing to say – of course I’d remember who I was! How could I forget? I know who I am! I’m Barbara!

It wasn’t until many years later, when I became an adult, that I really understood the meaning behind those words, “remember who you are”. I realized that my father wasn’t telling me to remember my NAME, but to remember who I am as a person. What he was trying to advise me at the time, very gently, was to remember who I am as a person, and to be true to it. That, no matter what activities I’d be up to that evening, no matter whose company I was spending time in, that it was important for me to be true to myself – and to not stray from that – ever.

As I’ve grown older, I think that is actually the best piece of advice I’ve ever received. It’s great advice for a teenager, but I’m also seeing how applying it to my adult self has done great things for me both personally and professionally.

Reflecting on this advice of “remember who you are” recently, I also realized this is SO important when making a first introduction. There are a few reasons for that; allow me to explain.

You are more relaxed. When meeting someone for the very first time, if you just remember to be yourself, you’ll automatically relax a bit and enjoy the introduction more. Plus, if you’re attending a networking function where you’re meeting a lot of people at once or giving your elevator pitch to an entire room of people, you’ll feel more at ease. (more…)

During a recent 30-day blog challenge I was part of, I endeavored to visit 3 to 5 blogs each day, read a post on each, and leave a meaningful comment.  I noticed that on many blogs there was a gray rectangular box on the top right-hand of each post that indicated how many tweets had been made on that post.  Under the box was a green box that showed if the post had been tweeted by me on a previous visit or not.  It would show “retweet” or “tweeted.”

I became curious because I had a  widget installed from Add to Any, but this one seemed much easier to use, and if not placed correctly could be overlooked.  Eventually I went to tweetmeme.com to learn more.  I found out that the Tweetmeme button is a plug-in you need to download and then upload to your Plug-ins in your admin area, after which you click to make active.  It’s been fun using it, but for this post I decided to (more…)

In my last post we discussed the fact that many people have unique skills, hobbies, and ideas.  The Internet allows you to reach others with similar interests effortlessly and in a way that reduces rejection and bolsters your confidence.

From my personal experience and that of many others who come online, it can be challenging to start  with creating your own product. For many this could take a long time and derail their efforts to launch their business.  You could, instead, chose to promote someone else’ product, that matches your niche and receive an affiliate commission. That’s called Affiliate Marketing.

In recent times product creation has become a little easier with the use of PLR products.  PLR stands for Private Label Rights. PLR articles are usually written by a ghostwriter and sold to several website owners. This means that you (and a limited number of other bloggers) can edit the articles and publish them without being required to link back to anyone or give anyone credit for writing them. You become the expert when using PLR articles. (more…)

You have heard that the money is in the list; however, successful marketers will tell you that this is only partially true.  If you are new to Internet Marketing one of your first goals is to build a responsive list.  There are many important reasons for that, which we will discuss in another post.

It’s important to note that the level of responsiveness that you will receive from your list of subscribers is in large part due to your efforts.  I firmly believe that communication is the lifeblood of any relationship, and building a relationship with your subscribers, your readers, even other online marketers, is cemented by communicating with them. (more…)

If you are fairly new to internet marketing and consider yourself a newbie, there are certain things you can do to determine for yourself how well you are progressing in your internet marketing career.  I use the word career, because this is how you should view it so that it has a place of integrity in your mind.  This post is not intended for the person who is just toying with the idea of having an online business, but for the person who is serious about providing products of services for their market and is interested in creating the right mindset and building their brand.

You must have a framework in which you are able to identify where you currently are, and where you would like to be in three to six months, and even in a year’s time.  Within this framework here are five of the many questions you can ask yourself:

• How much money are you currently earning, and how much would you like to be earning in six months?  It’s important to be realistic.  Set achievable but realistic goals.
• How do you currently make your  money online? Are you using Affiliate Marketing?  If so , are you using effective strategies? Is this something that you will continue to do in the next six months? (more…)

One of the challenges beginner online marketers and even many seasoned online marketers have is to develop a product so they can monetize their website in a short time.  Of course, there are many other methods, including Affiliate Marketing, that allow you to provide a service to your website visitors.  However, experienced marketers agree that your goal should be to create your own product as soon as possible.

It took me several months to understand the value of PLR products and since then I’ve come to appreciate their role in my online business.    Some people will download a PLR e-book and just add their name to it and offer it to their visitors.  Others use it as a supplementary resource.  But there is more… (more…)

I am so excited! This video was created as part of an assignment from my Mentor, Connie Ragen Green for the Internet Marketing 6 Pack Course. Creating videos is an effective way to connect with your readers on a different level and you may choose to do these so your readers will see and hear you. Or you may choose to do videos where only your voice is heard, but based on the statistics, creating videos should become an integral part of your online marketing strategies. It can also help to build your brand. Now that gives me something new to work on!

Please leave your comments below if you’re already using video as a marketing tool and the results you’ve experienced. If like me, you’re not doing so, do you plan to?

A customer is anyone for whom you provide a service or sell a product and the names or terms customers are referred to may differ depending on your market.  A customer may be called a client, a purchaser, a buyer, or even a student. A customer who has not yet made a purchase or exchange of service or product may be referred to as a prospect.  Regardless of the terminology unique to your business the bottom-line remains the same: your customer if the lifeline of your business.  The service that you as the business owner provides will have a direct impact on the success or failure of your online business and so it becomes critical to be sure that you always provide superior customer service. This is a part of building your personal brand.

In building your brand online your goal should be to be recognized as someone who goes over and beyond what is normally required to take care of their customers.  I happen to like the term ‘over-deliver.’  No one usually complains if you over-deliver.  This is the kind of reputation that will set you apart from the pack and make you stand out.  On the other hand using underhand tactics and not keeping your promises is the way to go to experience the death of your business.  Pete Blackshaw says it very well in the title of his book, Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000: Running a Business in Today’s Consumer-Driven World. (more…)

Yesterday we talked about 5 personal action steps that are essential to building your brand for success online.  Today we will focus on how to build your brand in practical ways.  What are some of the action steps you should start taking, if you have not done so already, to build your reputation online?  This is only a brief list, but it covers 4 of the most readily available steps you can take and they are all free. These are also the first four steps that were recommended to me by my Mentors and have proven to be very effective.

1)  Join Social Networking Sites and set up a well thought out Profile on each.  You want to be authentic but reveal only what is relevant and in keeping with the brand you are building.  The sites most frequently recommended are:  Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

2)  Blogs:  You may start your own blog, which is one of the easiest way to become known online.  If that seems daunting at first or you don’t have the know-how, start by leaving comments on blogs in the category you will be focusing on initially.  Leave meaningful comments that add to the conversation and demonstrate your knowledge or expertise. People in your target audience will begin to know you and associate your name with quality information.  You will usually be asked to leave your website address when you leave a comment.  If you do not have a blog or other static website set up, use an addresses from one of your social networking sites, for example, your Facebook or LinkedIn address.

3)  Article Writing: If you like to write and are willing to share your knowledge then article writing is an effective way to build your brand.  There are many Article Directors on the Internet and you can easily find these through Google, but the only one I’ve used is Ezinearticles.com.  It’s very easy to join and start submitting articles, being careful to follow their guidelines to avoid rejection.  These articles can be as short as 250 words.  At the end of each article is one of the most valuable ‘real estate’ online – your Resource Box, which allows you to include information about yourself that is relevant to the articles you’ve written as well as include links to your blog, if you have one, or to your profile.

4)  Book Reviews:  When we read a good book we are usually excited about sharing the valuable information with others.  When you read books that are specific to your area of expertise, you have the opportunity to do book reviews for both Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  There may be others, but those I personally know of.  This benefits you significantly because you first create a profile, then by providing a thoughtful and beneficial review you add value to other readers and enhance your position as an expert.  These reviews are also indexed by the search engines, which further builds your brand.

5)  Be consistent.  A hit and miss attitude does not contribute to success; consistency does.

As you work to build your brand, keep track of your progress towards your goals and be prepared to add further steps or make adjustments to align your vision with your goals.

Simply put your brand is basically the reputation that you build through your online activities over a period of time and how people think of you when they see or hear your name and or the name of your main website.  You will first have to determine who you are, what sets you apart from everyone else and what image you want the world to have of you through your online activities, then work towards developing and building your brand for online success.

This can be challenging because for the most part your brand will be conveyed through words that more often than not appear on a computer screen.  In face to face contact there are opportunities for your emotions and thoughts to be expressed through conversations, body language, eye contact and voice inflection, among others.  On the other hand, being able to convey warmth, compassion, understanding, a positive attitude, etc. becomes a lot more complex. Following are just some of the personal action steps you can take to build your brand for success:

Personal Action Steps -

1)  Do you have a vision of where you want to be? What are your short-term and long-term goals?  You must identify your vision and determine what your goals are and set dates or time periods for their achievement.

2)  You must have a purpose for doing what you do and this purpose must align with you values for true satisfaction.

3)  Identify your particular strengths and amplify these to set you apart.

4)  Determine what online tools you will use to be most effective in building your brand.

5)  Set up a Marketing Plan that will maximize your work to build your brand, without which you are only doing a half of what’s required to maintain success in your online business

In my next post, we will consider practical steps that can be taken to build your brand for online success.