Relationship Marketing | Build Your Online Business

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 Even if there is a resemblance of order, are you surrounded by outdated and irrelevant materials that take up space but have no real value?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 🙂

If you are just starting out online, or maybe in the first three months you may be considered a ‘young online entrepreneur”.  You probably feel intimidated much like a young child who starts attending a new school in the middle of the semester.  Everyone seems to know someone else or have a large following, but no one knows who you are.

I can relate to how you feel because I felt the same way when I started my online business.  What I found out, through observation and training,  is that if you are willing to do what it takes, you can expand your reach and establish your credibility online fairly quickly.  Unfortunately I was not aware of some of the points I'm about to share until quite some time after I'd started my first blog.

1.   Start or re-commit to your blog:  Many people, including offline small business owners or entrepreneurs, hear the word blog and it conjures images of what blogs originally were: somewhat like an ongoing diary of events, or blurbs of what you're doing.  Not anymore. Blogs have evolved into valuable websites managed by people who have information to share with others.

2.   Your blog is your hub or can be compared to your ‘home' on the internet.  Just as you would want to keep you home attractive and appealing so that guests will want to visit with you and return, so you'll want to make your blog visually appealing and easy to navigate.  Make sure that your name is somewhere on your blog as the author.  It can be frustrating to visit a blog and find no information on the owner and the posts just say “by Admin.”

3.   Creating great content is essential.  Build the “wow!” factor by giving your readers valuable information in your posts.

4.   When your readers leave a comment, acknowledge and thank them.  They did not have to do this.  If someone asks a question, no matter how trite it may appear to be to you, make sure to reply as this will show that you really care about people and respect those who choose to visit your blog and are looking to you for more information.  At the same time, you establish your own credibility when you do so.

5.   Become a part of the blogosphere. You may find this confusing because it's understood at this point that you have a blog; but there is more involved.  The blogosphere is made up of many bloggers in various niches where people with  similar or complimentary niches connect or link with each other.

To be part of the blogosphere you will need to leave your ‘home' and visit other people's ‘homes', which means visiting other blogs, leave meaningful comments, and place your link on their blogs.  You'll find that many of these bloggers will reciprocate by visiting your blog and leaving comments as well.

This is a great way to establish your credibility and help others to get to know you.  When I visit other blogs I often take the time to read comments on a post.  I'll sometimes click on the name of someone whose comment I found interesting to learn more about them and I'm usually taken to their blog.  The same will be true for you.  Think of this as one aspect of networking on the internet.

Would you like to discover more tips on how easy it is to build a blog to give you massive visibility, attract people and establish your credibility online?  Click on  https://mysuccesscircleonline.com/VideoSeries now then share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.

In my previous post it was emphasized that a blog is an important part of your online business and is critical to your success.  To many this may sound like an exaggeration, but the success of ordinary entrepreneurs who have seen an increase in their connections and possible JV partners by participating in blog challenges is testimony to the power of building relationships through your blog.
Another important reason for having a blog, even if you have a static website, is that it increases your visibility.  Although I started my first blog in December 2008 I did not understand the concept of increasing my visibility online through my blog.

Earlier this year I participated in Denise Wakeman’s Online Visibility Secrets Course and was amazed at the volume of information she shared over a 26-week period.  One of the things I came to appreciate is that in order for you to become visible online, which basically means that you show-up ‘everywhere;’ is that it takes time, effort and consistent action.  Instead of just repeating the same actions over and over, (more…)