I’ve never considered myself a ‘pack-rat’ but I must admit I have a challenge with throwing things away – ‘just in case I’m going to need it.’ We are shaped, in part, by our childhood and I often wonder if I hold on to things because of my mother’s painful experience when I was a child. I grew up hearing about the unfortunate day she cleaned out drawers and destroyed some very important documents that were irreplaceable and were closely tied in to her family history. That may have created my reluctance to throw out papers.

Are you a hoarder or is your philosophy like my husband’s, “If you haven’t used it in six months, you don’t need it?”  What does this have to do with our business?  A lot!

What is your work environment like?  Is it cluttered? Even if there is a resemblance of order, are you surrounded by outdated and irrelevant materials that take up space but have no real value?   As I look at the shelves in my home office they are weighed down with three-ring binders of different sizes and colors, neatly arranged but packed with lots of files. I’ve finally come to grips with the reality that I need to go through those binders and get rid of files that are no longer relevant.  I have to make office decluttering a goal!

When I started my online business at the end of 2008 I basically stopped buying shoes and started buying programs, packages, and training manuals  of all kinds that I hoped would guide me on the path to  success with my online business.  I printed everything!

Unfortunately, with the passage of time and changes in technology, etc. some of these are no longer relevant. For example, there is a binder filled with an entire training series – free and paid – on Facebook.  Facebook has undergone so many changes in just the past year alone that there is very little value in those files anymore.  There are other binders that contain information I can refer to that can help with research, but will I ever take the time to do so?

In addition, before starting my online journey, I had offline businesses, and there again are several binders with information on prospects and customers, training materials, etc. Those will be on their way out!

Of course, my shelves are also filled with valuable eBooks and training like Dennis Becker’s $5 Bucks a Day Report, Willie Crawford’s 20 Ways to Make $100 and Denise Wakeman’s Online Visibility Secrets.

My paperback collection of business books include Connie Ragen Green’s Huge Profits With Affiliate Marketing, Michele Scism’s Makeover Your Business in 6 Weeks or Less and Bob Jenkins’ Take Action Revise Later among many others.

This decluttering project is one of my projects for the first quarter of this year. How about you?  What is your working environment like?  If you work from home, does it motivate you to produce your best or does it sap you of your energy.  Make decluttering a goal rather than  a ‘New Year’s resolution!’ Set a goal with a completion date. You will be glad you did.

Is decluttering a challenge for you? If not, what suggestions do you have to keep this recurring? Please share your experiences with us and leave your comments below.  We can support each other

“Success is just around the next corner…

You may have heard that statement many times, and if you’re a new online business owner you may have doubts about ever seeing that success because there seems to be so much to do.  And yes, it can be confusing and daunting unless you have someone to guide you.

I remember when I first started online, in one of the first classes I took we were told we could model the trainer’s optin page, which was great as it would have reduced a lot of planning and designing.  However, I had no idea how to get that site from my computer to the Internet.  I’d never heard of FTP and wouldn’t have known what to do with it. Have you faced any situation like that in your business to date?

It’s important to believe that you can experience success in your online business.  Adopting the following five “attitudes” for success can play a significant role in  finding your success around the corner regardless of how deep the corner is:

Have a Positive Attitude:  It’s important to cultivate a positive attitude in how you approach your online business and in your life in general.  ‘Cultivate’ means that this attitude may not come naturally; you may have to work very hard to achieve it.  You may have to change your mindset and learn positive thinking, then nourish it as it grows.

Develop a Business Mentality:  While there are some internet marketers who had successful offline business and are now transferring those skills online, the majority of persons who start an online business had no previous business training.  Research indicates that people who succeed are people who approach their online business with a business mentality instead of treating it as if it were a hobby.  Allocate time to work in your business at the outset so eventually you can work on your business.  Identify what you need to do on a regular basis and set a schedule of when to do it.

Have Fun With Your Business:  This may sound like a contradiction to the previous point, but is not.  When you enjoy doing what you need to do, it will not feel like work.  Take time to find the fun in your business so you’ll enjoy doing the things that make for success.  Be excited about taking action to move forward.

Expect Success:  There is thin line between success and failure.  Persons the world over have sabotaged their success by thinking they could never achieve success like So and So.  Invariably we compare ourselves with someone who is doing very well forgetting that they likely were at the point new business owners are at right now.  Their success was as a result of identifying what to do, how to do it, getting help from a Mentor or a coach to provide guidance.

Be Realistic:  While success may be just around the corner, it does not come overnight.  You must be realistic about how quickly your business will grow.  There are no shortcuts and any thoughts of getting rich on the Internet in a short time will only lead to disappointment. Work is required and sticking to one thing and getting good at it before moving to the next thing will lay a foundation for success.

Starting an online business can be challenging, but working with someone who has been where you are and is willing to hold your hand and guide you forward can help to give you the momentum to move your business forward in 2012.  Celene Harrelson will do that in her new membership program as she covers more than 12 steps to increase your momentum and take you to profit.  Check out Celene’s program at http://yoursuccessbiz.com/celenepm.  By adopting these 5 attitudes for success, coupled with the training Celene provides, the new online business owner can experience success just around the corner.

Every person who has an online business wants to get traffic to their website. There are many ways to do this using effective SEO strategies – some are paid while others are low cost SEO or even no-cost SEO.  It follows that the foundation for getting traffic to your website rests on a well-optimized website so that it can be found by the search engines and receive high rankings.

Whether you’re just starting out, or if you’re on a shoestring budget, following are 3 effective SEO strategies that you can apply to your website to improve results.

1. Link exchanges

Link exchanges or linking to and from other web sites is a no-cost way to improve your website rankings. This can be done in various ways:

i) Contact the author or owner of the web site you want to have a link exchange with.

ii) Get high-ranking links from Article Directories like ezinearticles.com by submitting well-written articles that meet their standards.  At the end of each article is a Resource Box of Bio where you can provide content that points back to your website.

iii) Write Press Releases and submit to sites that have a ‘Follow’ policy. Again you’ll want to link back to your website.

2. Write keyword rich articles

i) Writing truly informative and keyword rich articles is one surefire way to make your online business more visible than ever. You may write your own articles as recommended above, or you can get them from article directories that allow you to post these articles on your website as long as you keep the resource box or the author’s byline in tact.

ii) Do research, if necessary, and write good quality content on your website, which should have a blog, that have your main keywords in them so they can be found through organic searches.

3. Domain Name

Another low-cost SEO strategy is an easy-to-recall domain name, which may be harder to find.  Something sweet and short will prove to be very invaluable, but you may have to get creative and place another word at the end of your keyword rich domain. Sometimes it’s as easy as adding your city, other times it may take a little more creativity.

You will have to purchase the domain name, but you can get really affordable domains at http://yoursuccessbiz.com/domains.

Your goal should be to take advantage of  effective SEO strategies that may involve low-cost SEO and no cost SEO to drive traffic to your website as much as possible so that your site can be found through organic searches.

My Internet Marketing Mentor has often recommended the value of viral marketing with ebooks or reports and so far I started but have not completed my first viral report.  She highly recommends this as a means of getting your information into the hands of many more persons that you normally would.

I’ve been focused on building my new niche, but this is one of my goals for October. Would you like to join me?  Ok, you may not be familiar with viral marketing or need a little more information in order to start, so I’ll discuss the topic in two three posts.

Normally when you write an ebook or report you’ll place a copyright on it and expressly state that it should not be copied or forwarded without your permission.  In the case of your viral report, you want people to forward your report to others and you give permission in your report to do so.

I did additional research on viral reports and found some interesting information which indicate that there are many ways to accomplish the objective of creating a successful viral marketing campaign. 7 (Seven) avenues of distribution are:
1)  E-mail: You can create a report and give this away to your community on your e-mail list and encourage them to share it with two or three friends.

2) Newsletters: If you include enough timely and valuable information, a good newsletter can drive up the number of visits to your website. Included in the newsletter could be excerpts from your report with a link to the full report.

3) Blogging: Providing the tools on your website to enable bloggers to interact with one another is a terrific way to get the message about your product of service out there and being talked about. Bloggers are usually on the lookout for good products and services.  Blog about your report.

4)  Forums: When you visit Forums, have the URL for the report as part of your signature line.

5)  Tell-a-friend Script: If you add this with a statement saying that e-mail addresses supplied will never be shared with third parties, you can increase your potential customer list greatly. (Part of 1. above)

6) Video Clips: Including cool video clips on your website that describe a couple of  points from your report will keep the interest up and increase traffic to your website and downloads to your report. These can be Powerpoint videos.

7)  Other People’s Lists: If you have built a good relationship with several marketers, you could ask them to give your report to their list.  This is especially effective if you’ve included a link to one of their products or services in your report.

Now that you understand the avenues where you can use to distribute your viral report, will you join me in creating a viral report in October?  We could be accountability partners   If this is something you’d like to do or hear more about, please share your thoughts in the Comments field.

Do you ever feel like the hamster? Your business isn’t growing at the pace you’d like and you seem to be just spinning your wheels?  I’ve felt that way from time to time.  In order to take your business to the next level, there are five areas of focus you should not neglect.

1.  Content: This is the only way people will get to know what you do and what you have to offer.  Your blog should be your home for your content, and should allow you readers to get to know you through informative topics where you share your knowledge.

2.  Traffic:  Traffic or readers are essential to our business.  We want to invite and encourage visitors to our website to read and comment on our posts.  At the same time we want to return the compliment by commenting on the blogs of fellow bloggers.

In the interest of growing our knowledge a strategy that was recommended to me quite some time ago, and which I’ve found beneficial is to take time to visit authority sites in my niche. This may not necessarily result in traffic from these blogs directly, but by leaving thoughtful comments, other readers of those posts may see my comments and decide to come over and check out my blog.

3.  List Building:  This takes traffic a step further because it’s a way to capture this traffic so that you can build a relationship with them and market to them.

4.  Product Creation: Every marketer should have the goal of creating your own product.  This is so even if your niche in internet marketing is affiliate marketing. This can be a lucrative form of marketing, however, you will experience a different sense of accomplishment when you’ve created your own product.

5.  Repurposing Content: You always want to seek ways to leverage your time and an effective way to do this is repurposing.  Once you’ve created content for your blog, you can repurpose that content by sending it in an email to your community of subscribers; you can use the content, along with other posts, to create an ebook.  You can also add to the post and make some changes to the content, which you can then submit to article directories.

Article writing is a great way to get more visibility and accomplish all four of the above points. Connie Ragen Green who’s written over 1,000 articles  is offering a free report on “How to Write A Keyword Targeted Article.”  Visit http://mysuccesscircleonline.com/crg-ampw to claim your free report today.

In order to successfully move forward in your goals for your business, you have to stay in constant learning mode. You can never stop learning.  This does not mean that you have to go back to school and take formal courses, but you can seek ways to increase your knowledge and take steps to sharpen your skills on a regular basis.

• Make use of your waiting time:  Always have material with you so that you make good use of time you spend waiting – for meetings to start, for a doctor’s appointment, at the beauty salon, at the barber’s, to pick up your children from school, waiting at the airport, to name a few.

• Turn travel time into productive time:  Use your car as your mobile university.  This is one of the reasons I don’t mind traveling long distances alone.  I can listen to whatever I want freely without having to be concerned about imposing on other persons in the car.  I keep CDs with motivational and training topics, as well as books on CDs.  How about you? Traveling on an airplane is another great time to increase your knowledge.

• Keep a notepad and pen close by.  As soon as you think of something you want to do more research on, write it down.  It’s easy to forget and when the opportunity arises for you to search for that information, you’ve long forgotten what it was you wanted to learn more about.

I read an article in which Chris Palmer, who teaches communication at American University in Washington, was quoted as saying that your daily interactions with people provide plenty of learning opportunities. He noted that friends and colleagues are a valuable source of coaching; and they provide feedback, which prevents you from becoming isolated and arrogant.

A learning tip that I especially appreciate as it can increase your knowledge exponentially and help you reach your goals, “Be an active listener when you seek advice.  Repeat what you’ve heard to make sure you got it right.”

Everyday, make an effort to do one thing to increase your knowledge, whether it’s searching the Internet  for specific information (otherwise you could waste hours), reading a book – your own or from the library, or calling a friend and discussing a topic that stimulates your mind and boost your learning at the same time.

Would you like to get more information on how to motivate yourself and move toward your goal by increasing your knowledge daily?  I invite you to read Tom Connellan’s “The 1% Solution for Work and Life“.

The headline reads, “Smiles Can Ease Stress at the Office.” The article was written by syndicated columnist, Michelle Singletary, and in it she mentioned the number of businesses that were laying off staff and closing locations leaving those employees who kept their jobs to shoulder more responsibility.  She noted that this added more stress to the employees who remained.

In the article Michelle also reviewed a book that focused on the the need for levity in the workplace. The book highlighted the need for employers to create a fun and light atmosphere on the job and incorporate these in emails, memos, voice mails, meetings, and training sessions.

As I read the article I thought of how this article could be applied to entrepreneurs and small business owners. Do you work from home full-time? Are you alone in your home office day after day? Do you take time to smile or even laugh? If you are a small business owner with a brick and mortar store, like a boutique, do you find ways to inject humor into your interactions with your clients and prospects?

There are many types of small businesses where there is a lot of interaction with the public. For example, hair salons, spas, auto supply stores, hardware stores, fabric stores, etc. Because of this interaction there is no shortage of communication and opportunities to inject humor into your day; but taking or making opportunities to smile or laugh when you’re alone may not be something many of us think about.

Most entrepreneurs, especially ones who are just getting started, find that they stay busy doing all the things necessary to create a profitable business, including marketing and product creation.

From this article, and in reviewing the book, “The Levity Effect: Why it Pays to Lighten Up” by Gostick and Christopher, it’s clear that it’s important to find things to laugh about during your day. It lightens your mood and relieves stress. Stress is something that can sap your energy and make you lose the fun rather than keep the fun in your business.

The fact is that small business owners are usually busy working on their business by planning, organizing, thinking of ways to increase cash-flow, marketing strategies, talk with mentors and other professionals. They’re often also working in their business – doing the actual work. But amidst all of this, it’s important to take time to smile, or even laugh during your work day.

Here are a few suggestions. You may think of many more:

• Your Daily Newspaper: Read the Business section and the local news, but savor the Comics as well. You may be surprised at the chuckle you can get from some of the characters. If your newspaper has a “Good for You” section, you may find it pleasant to read of the accomplishment of others.

• I love reading “Awake” magazine as there is always an article on an everyday topic that makes me smile, while providing benefit at the same time.  A current title is “A Bird’s-Eye View of Fishing,” which discusses the methods different types of bird use to fish for their prey. Some are quite amusing to read about.

• Call a friend during your lunch time or break time and exchange pleasantries. Do not call the friend who you know is going to complain about everything that’s going wrong in her life. Save that call for other times.

• Where possible, close the doors of your establishment, or if you’re at home, close the door to your office, get a sandwich and take a walk or a seat in a nearby park for even half an hour. You may find that simple act allowed you to exchange pleasantries or even just a smile with someone and you return to work with renewed vigor and a positive attitude.

The important thing is to take time to smile or laugh every day so you do not lose the fun or joy in your business.  How do you keep the fun in your business?  Please share in the comments.

Is traditional marketing dead?  Despite the fact that social media provide tremendous opportunities to reach a wider audience in your target market, there is still a place in the life of the small business owners or entrepreneur for  traditional marketing strategies like business networking.

Attending networking events by the  Chamber of Commerce, Kiwanis, Business Network International (BNI) and other events put on by local groups  provide opportunities to meet people and get to know people in your area of expertise.  Like any other successful marketing strategy, there is an art to networking.

In the book, Make Your Contacts Count: Networking Know-How for Business and Career Success, Anne Baber and Lynn Waymon note:

• It’s important to be strategic. “In networking strategy equals results.”
• Have the right mindset. Determine how you will present yourself and what you reasonably expect of others.  Remember that any negative thoughts you have about the value of networking may be discerned by others.
• Allow people to get to know, like and trust you before you expect them to help you.  Go with an attitude of giving and helping. “Your contacts won’t help you until they can trust you.”

If your goal is to get your card into the hands of as many people as possible without taking the time to find out who they are, what they do and how you can help them, then your purpose for attending would have failed.  Networking is about building relationships and to achieve this it’s important to be others focused. Get to know people by asking questions about them. Ask simple conversation starters like: What do you do? You can follow with questions like, How long have you been in business or working this particular business? Who is your target market? How can I help YOU?

Networking allows you to meet people face to face and removes any barriers to communication.  While it’s important to participate in social media online, it’s also good to keep in mind that there are still some traditional networking strategies that work.  The people you meet at business networking events can become a part of your online community as your subscribers and later your clients or customers.

How has traditional marketing helped you to grow your online or offline business?  Please share in the comments box.

Did you ever dream of being a well-recognized writer?  How about becoming a published author?  Have you realized your dream, or is it still on hold?

From as early as nine years old I discovered my love of writing and my parents encouraged this by giving me lots of books to read that I could learn from.  My professor also encouraged me many years ago to start writing on a regular basis, and start with short stories.  Life happens and I did nothing with it.

Has that happened to you?  You’ve put your dreams you had as a boy or girl on hold and focus on daily living instead?

Then we got to the Internet, started our business online .  One of the first things we were told to do to give us greater credibility and to let people get to know like and trust us is to start a blog.  As we write our own blog posts and become part of the blogosphere, we get to read other people’s blogs and learn from their style as well.  We also started writing articles and submitting these to article directories.

Now it’s easier that ever to go back and recapture your dream of becoming a published author.  There is a lot of information available on self-publishing, and Amazon has made it very easy to do so.  First there is Create Space where you can publish hard copies of your book.  Then there is Kindle where you can publish eBooks or digital books.  You can do it!

My great novel is yet to come, but I recently had my first book published on Kindle.  It’s on a topic I’m very passionate about – Customer Service/Customer Care.  The title is “Superior Customer Service for Small Business Owners & Entrepreneurs: Satisfy the Needs of Customers to Earn their Loyalty.”

If customer service is important to you, I encourage you to get your own copy, which is available at http://budurl.com/kindleSCS.  If you don’t own a Kindle, you can download the free application from Amazon for your desktop or laptop, or even your smart phone.  I welcome feedback as that’s an effective  way for me to make improvements.

What topic would you personally like to write about, and how can I help you?  You’re invited to send me any questions about writing and submitting to Kindle to yjones at mysuccesscircleonline.com

I love sales!!! Did I always feel that way? I’m not sure, but it seemed to fit my entrepreneurial spirit, which started as a little bud in my early 20’s and blossomed later on.

I continue to hear people speak of sales in a negative way and many online marketers literally cringe at the mention of sales. I’ve seen the comment where someone said she started her online business so she would not have to go into sales. Hmmm…

As an online marketer, are you in sales? If you say no, because you do not sell a product, then the question begs to be asked: What is you business? To experience success online every one of us has to sell products or service – that’s the bottom line to sales success.

Just as a young lady who’s interested in finding Mr. Right puts herself together – keeps herself well-dressed, practices good communication skills so she can carry on an intelligent conversation, associates with the kind of people she hopes to find her soul mate among, if you offer a service you have to market or sell yourself first.

You do this through blogging, article marketing, social media. You then allow people to get another dimension of your personality – your voice – and so you hold teleseminars and webinars, create cinches, podcasts, etc. You join groups where your target market can be found and you participate in forums. You could further add another dimension by creating videos. Together, these are you selling tools so people first get to know you, like you and trust.

Hopefully you have a goal to provide your community with information in the form of ebooks, audio, affiliate products etc. In my next post we’ll talk about how the mindset is involved in creating sales success.

What are your thoughts?  Do you believe that all marketers are involved in some kind of sales?  Not that this should not be confused with Direct Sales, which is a category of sales in general.