August 10, 2009

Establish a Direct Line for More Money... The Power of
Positive Thinking: Attracting Money to Yourself... Where
Cutting Corners Leads You... You've Got to Fight for Your
Right (in Info Marketing)... and More.

Do you know the difference between marketing and
advertising?

I ask, because it seems to me that there is still a lot of confusion over the difference between the two. I see it every day. As I drive to the office, as I walk around my neighborhood and as I read letters from aspiring entrepreneurs.

You see, advertising is a part of marketing, but marketing is much more involved.

With advertising, you're developing ways to communicate with potential customers. TV ads, billboards and web sites are all a part of advertising. But, once you've made your voice heard, and once you've piqued a potential customer's interest, you've got to focus on the big picture: marketing.

Marketing is all about strategy. You can walk around town yelling about your product or service, but unless you have a plan for converting customers from your yells, well, you're not marketing at all.

A marketer looks at converting browsers into buyers as a sort of journey. First, you need to identify who you believe your target market is. Advertising works best when it is targeted to and delivered to the market most in line with what your message is. Your thought-out calls to action are useless when the people who hear them aren't interested in that action at all.

Once you have identified who you want on your marketing journey, you need to talk their language. Are they interested in every minute detail of your product? Or are you going to connect with them through end benefits? The best way to determine this is to test. Smaller markets in large markets respond differently, so just because your competition is marketing one way, it doesn't mean you always have to follow suit.

Next, make the path to a purchase as straightforward as possible. I recommend suggesting just one route in your ads. Rather than listing every place your product is available, with a phone number and a web site, give the viewer one item to remember. Web site marketing is growing rapidly, and seems to me one of the most used ways to educate prospects about your product or service.

Advertising plays a very important role in marketing, but you can't survive on advertising alone. Establishing a plan, testing out options and continually adjusting your marketing to change is how some of the most successful businesses get to their top positions.

Whether you're working with a huge budget or scraping together the funds, when it comes to marketing, the plan is often more valuable than the execution. Keep that in mind and get your message out there.

Attitude is everything. It can make all the difference in achieving your goals. Don't ever doubt the power of a positive attitude. The way you approach the world will determine how you will be received by it. Millionaires have gained their success because of their attitude.

Do you think they let setbacks get them down? Of course not!

They kept on the path to meeting their financial goals, and you should, too.

There are always going to be setbacks, but if you stay on the path to meeting your financial goals by maintaining a strong, positive attitude, then you could come out a winner.

Plus, I find a positive attitude to be absolutely infectious, and I also find it difficult to fake. I've known people my whole life who have attempted to fool others into thinking that they have a positive attitude, but their true nature was always revealed when times got tough. So, in order to have a positive attitude, you must be honest and truly believe in yourself and your actions. If there are things about yourself that you aren't happy with, then they will affect your attitude, so go ahead and make the necessary changes.

A positive attitude is extremely important when you are in pursuit of your biggest dreams. There are going to be obstacles, but by maintaining a positive attitude, they will be a lot easier to overcome. When you are thinking big, you need to maintain that train of thought. You can't start doubting yourself in the middle of your pursuit of success. Maybe you didn't get the job you wanted or a sale fell through. Well, this isn't the time to crumble -- it's time to pick up the pieces and keep moving toward your goals.

Staying positive will also encourage others to help you. Would a bank lend money to someone who isn't being positive that his/her business will flourish? Absolutely not! If you are enthusiastic and positive about a business transaction or price negotiation, then you will do everything in your power to see that you achieve your goals. That's the type of attitude that could bring wealth into your life.

Positive thinking can affect every aspect of your life, particularly in your pursuit of wealth and personal success. From getting a raise and increasing your value within an organization to starting your own business and everything in between, positive thinking could help get you there. Knowing that you can achieve your goals will increase your chances of doing so.

It's not a way of fooling yourself; it's about the confidence that you will convey to others. Confidence is attractive to people and it draws positive attention to you and your project or request.

If you want to get the things that you desire, be it money, investors, a job, or anything else, then first and foremost you have to know that you can achieve it before convincing others of that fact.

Sometimes, we all get a little lazy. It's a simple fact of life. We may not always have enough gas in the tank, so to speak, to go out and give our best efforts, 100% of the time. The problem is, however, if we let up once, it's easy to fall in to a bit of a rut.

You see, once a corner is cut, it's much easier to continue along the same path, cutting the corner a little deeper each time. The result is usually a sizeable decrease in production that can lead to problems down the road.

In order to ensure you don't fall in to a trap of laziness, there are some things you can do to keep yourself motivated and ensure your business remains successful.

Remember why you started: When most entrepreneurs started their businesses, they did so with an unbridled enthusiasm and passion for their idea. They were willing to put in treacherous days and long nights to ensure the success of their dreams. They started because they wanted to make a difference and create a mark on the world around them.

People notice: Another reason why it's important to try your best all the time is because, when you don't, other people notice. If it becomes clear you're not putting forth a solid effort, the image others hold of you could suffer greatly. This can have an enormous impact not only on your own credibility, but also on the credibility of your business. If it doesn't seem like you're up to the task, customers won't hesitate to take their business elsewhere.

Satisfaction: When a person gets lazy, oftentimes their personal pride can head southbound. This can lead to an overall decrease in production and self-image that can be very detrimental to a number of aspects of their life and not just the business. Relationships may suffer and people may start losing respect for them. It's important to remember what truly satisfies you, and try to achieve it every time you put your mind to something. If you're not doing things that give you satisfaction, it's easy to fall into a bit of a rut. Set small goals for yourself that you can achieve on a weekly, or even daily, basis.

With the economy in a poor state and a bleak job market, it's quite easy for many of us to fall into a rut, because we feel powerless. It's important, however, to use this situation as motivation to succeed. Get busy and prove to yourself that you've got what it takes to sail through this financial storm.

** You've Got to Fight for Your Right (in Info Marketing)
By James Burt, Online Marketing Expert

Once a collector, always a collector.

The other night, I got an e-mail from a friend asking me to go to a concert. We hadn't been to one in a while and it promised to be a fun night out. A few nights later, my friend called.

"Did you hear their new album?"

I said yes. Being a vinyl record collector from way back, I told him that I had actually bought the vinyl edition a few days earlier.

"What?!" he said. "You spent all that money on old school vinyl. Here, let me e-mail you the songs I downloaded."

I thanked my buddy with a polite "No." He's the master of downloading. His computer is loaded with movies, music, and television episodes that he has scored for free from various web sites. He seldom goes to the movies now unless it's with friends, and has his laptop on him at all times, to do some downloads at a moment's notice.

"Napster," file sharing, "illegal digital pirating"...these were things I used profusely at one time. On one hand, it was great, because it was free, provided you had an Internet connection, and I will not deny that I participated in it. Later on, however, my conscience changed a bit and I vowed to go back to buying vinyl and CDs, and attending concerts whenever I could. Especially if there was a performer who was young and starting out, I figured it was worth it to dig into my pocket to pay for their wares, so they could pay for their creative materials or, hopefully, a meal. I am still pretty divided on this issue, but will not go into a large political debate out of respect to you, the reader.

The entertainment industry is changing, thanks to the Internet. And so is the information marketing industry. Words, images, and even sounds can be sent to parties anywhere, anytime, right over the wires. That being said, it's important that you protect your content. You are making your living off of your published content.

Here are some ways you can protect your information:

--- Trademark everything: My colleague Doug D'Anna has written extensively on the subjects of trademarks, incorporating businesses, etc., and I can highly recommend his publications to you. What you have to remember is that, once you create your business and related material, it's yours by sheer default of you starting it. That's good, but you may want to save any copyright hassles by incorporating and trade-marking your business. You can do this by registering through your local small business assistance offices. Always sign off on what you do and include disclaimers, headers, terms and conditions, etc. Thus, if someone does copy your work and use it in their web site publications, you can prove that it is yours and prevent them from profiting off of your labor.

--- Be careful who you give access to your content: Your content is yours. I am not one to spread distrust, but make sure you save all of your content templates and only allow those you trust to access them. Remember: we live in an age where you can now send whole music files through e-mail and post videos online in a matter of minutes. Things can get transferred easily, so it's important that you protect them.

--- Be leery of giving stuff away: This relates to my tip above and a recent newsletter article I wrote about volunteering too much. It's great that you help a friend or colleague by giving out some of your work for free. But be careful. Not only will that other party gladly take your work for free, but they also might use it to profit and not credit you. Be careful of what content you donate or loan out from your information marketing business.

--- Get legal: I hope you never have to go to court over a copyright issue, but if you do, get a good lawyer who is skilled in the law amendments of modern technology. Their expertise will help settle disputes quickly and help you claim what is rightfully yours.

New technology is always a mixed blessing. In the end, you just have to be prepared for it. Keep a recorded trademark of everything related to your business, so that, in the rare event you have to, you are prepared to fight for your rights in info marketing.