July 29, 2009

Turning Risk into an Investment in Yourself... Like Seed
Money for Your Mind... Word-of-Mouth Recommendations
Just Got Faster... Be an Information Marketing Technical
Ace... and More.

So, you are planning on going into business for yourself.

Most people would consider such a strategy to be risky, yourself included I am sure.

They are right in the sense that going into business for yourself is risky. But, it is a calculated risk in that, by purchasing a franchise, you know that it is a solid business idea that has proven successful.

If you are thinking of launching a new career, delete the word "risk" from your vocabulary. Instead, think of your new direction as an investment in yourself, or as an exciting new opportunity.

Think about all the other things you have invested in: your family, your career, your education, your home. None of this was a waste or a risk; it was an investment in yourself. All of it has brought you to exactly where you stand right now -- ready to embark on the next leg of your journey; the next phase in your life; your next investment.

Perhaps you tried running your own business in the past and ended up worse off than when you started out, which is what has you hesitant this time around.

Maybe you are letting a bad experience influence your decision not to go into business for yourself. Learning from your mistakes is a much better solution than running away from them.

So, get ready to learn from your mistakes and move on to bigger challenges. You are headed in the right direction, having decided that franchising, while still giving you the freedom of having your own business, will provide you with just the amount of security and cushioning that you need.

If you were to read the stories about the world's greatest millionaires, you'd see that many of them started from scratch -- without a dime in their pockets. Without seed money, if you will.

What they started with was even more valuable. They started with a strong belief in themselves.

Think about the story of "The Little Engine That Could." It sounds silly, but it's a technique that works. While there are a few different versions of the children's tale, they all focus on the same idea -- that if you believe in yourself, you can do anything.

The story is about a little steam engine working in a train yard. He is the only one willing to pull a large train up a steep hill.

All of the other larger engines have come up with a number of excuses as to why they cannot help pull the train over the hill. The little steam engine, determined he can do it, attaches himself to the train and, with all his might, starts chugging, repeating to himself, "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can."

Defying all odds, the little steam engine gets to the top of the hill and, on the other side, chants "I thought I could, I thought I could, I thought I could."

Despite his size, the little steam engine did not doubt that he could complete his task. The lesson? When it comes to big tasks, neither should you.

There is nothing you can't do when you put your mind to it. And that includes growing your wealth from scratch.

Wealth is your birthright -- believe it, and it could happen for you!

I've always been a firm believer that the best way to advertise your business and the strength of your products is through word-of-mouth advertising. Word of mouth is intimate, timely and takes advantage of true human-to-human interaction.

Of course, many businesses don't rely as heavily on word of mouth as a part of their marketing strategy as much as they do on print and the Internet. Of course, the two latter options cost the kind of money that most small business operators just don't have.

Well, these days there is a way to bump up your word-of- mouth advertising by getting to more people even faster, while decreasing your other advertising campaigns or even eliminating them altogether. The social phenomenon known as "tweeting" or "Twitter" is catching on as one of the best ways to spread the word about your business. For the most part, it's word-of-mouth advertising on steroids.

A number of entrepreneurs are currently using Twitter to fuel their new advertising campaigns. In fact, it's becoming a mom- and-pop shop's best friend.

For starters, if you've got a new product or offer or just want to inform customers or others about what's going on with your business, send out a tweet. Once you've done that, you've passed on a message to your customers that they can take advantage of, or they can tweet it to friends. The truth is that Twitter allows word-of-mouth advertising to hit thousands of people at once.

Another benefit is that the cost is peanuts compared to maintaining a web site, while it directly targets customers. In fact, the maintenance and cost of even the cheapest web site is astronomical next to the free price tag of a Twitter account. Not to mention, there is no maintenance. If you have a message you'd like to disclose, you type it and send it. Done and done.

What's even better is the option it gives customers to instantly share their feelings with friends or contacts. For instance, let's say you've opened up an ice cream shop. If a customer loves your Heavenly Hash, all they have to do is post a tweet saying, "best ice cream in town. 244 Jones Avenue." It's quite possible that you'll see a boost in business in the days that follow.

In fact, I was watching the news last night and they were talking about Twitter's direct impact on Hollywood movies. For example, this summer's blockbuster comedy, "The Hangover," has apparently been a hit at the box office because of Twitter. After a showing ends, thousands of people tweet that it's definitely worth seeing.

The truth is that if your friends tell you something, you're more likely to listen than had you heard the same thing from a stranger.

For more information on how Twitter works, visit www.twitter.com and set up an account. Put your advertising into overdrive by reaching more people and spending less money with this exciting new form of communication.

** Be an Information Marketing Technical Ace
By James Burt, Online Marketing Expert

Despite the rainy weather of late, I was happy to get out this past weekend with a good friend of mine for our annual burger lunch. There is a special restaurant we like to go to once a year in July and eat the special burger topped with three patties, triple cheese, bacon, and fried egg, while sitting in seats taken from old mini vans. Trust me: any restaurant lover should visit this place at least once in order to sample its truly well-made and generously portioned food in a very unpretentious atmosphere.

In order to work up an appetite for our meal, my bud and I usually walk the whole 20 city blocks to the restaurant's front door. This time, as we headed off, I happened to look up and saw the sky going gray.

"Is it going to rain again?"

My friend reached into his pocket and said:

"Let me check."

He pulled out the very latest model of the "BlackBerry" mobile device. Within two seconds, he had the weather forecast on the screen, complete with the whole weekend forecast. It said that it was going to rain, so we got going as quickly as possible.

I've never pretended to be tech-savvy. I was always late in adapting to cell phones, the Internet, web page markup, etc. But a lot of people like my friend are anything but. They know all the ins and outs of these devices and are able to give long explanations of them at a moment's notice.

If you are one of these, count yourself lucky. If you are one of these and an information marketer, count yourself even luckier.

Creating information products about technical information is a very lucrative avenue for the information marketer. A lot of people are strapped with these new products -- BlackBerry devices, laptops, etc. -- for personal or business reasons and are clueless on how to use them. Creating guides or how-to manuals is a great way to help them understand new technology while creating income for you.

If you decide you want to create technical-based information products, here are some tips:

-- Keep your writing simple: Remember how oddly phrased and convoluted stereo or computer instructions used to be? Avoid any kind of jargon and big words when writing your products. Keep directions simple and only use correct terminology for the product components.

-- Be thorough: Try and go through all the functions of whatever it is you are writing about. Think about all of the technology's applications and how they are accessed by the consumer.

-- Give trouble-shooting tips: It's also a good idea to think about what could go wrong with your piece of technology. No doubt you are not the only one who has encountered viruses, shutdowns, and programs fizzling out. Try to create content that provides advice for any foreseeable problem. Your clients will be happy to pay for this sort of extra advice.

-- Use graphics: When I wrote a program guide for a previous employer, I was advised to use screen captures and graphics of the program. This was a good tip and my manual now had visual aids to help guide the reader along. Do the same. Incorporate graphic files into your content or at the publication stage to help give reference for what you are writing about.

Being a technical ace is an asset in just about every facet of modern life. Take advantage of what you know of new gadgets and gizmos and apply it to information marketing. Especially with guys like me who will pay for this sort of information; it will be well worth it for you in the end.