August 27, 2009

Four Ways to Overcome Delays... Stuck Behind the Coupon
Clipper? Try Following Their Lead... Fixing the Score to Get
You More Cash... Content Exchange in Information
Marketing... and More.

Isn't it always easier to put that project off until tomorrow or the next day? Or how about putting it off to next week even?

Procrastination is a trap that lies around every corner and is baited with television shows to watch, phone calls to make and walls to be stared at. Everyone knows when they've fallen into a lazy trap...but getting out of one can be challenging.

It takes a lot of willpower and a little elbow grease to get things back on track.

For example, a colleague of mine had a pressing deadline for a project and told me that, no matter what he tried, he couldn't seem to buckle down and get things taken care of.

As soon as he sat down to his desk, he'd have to take an important call or would find himself with other, smaller projects that required less effort and could be done quicker.

You see, his problem was solved with one simple solution. He just couldn't go back to his desk. All he had to do was find another place where he could isolate himself and focus on just that one important task. In the end, he went a little bit further and booked a study room at a local library, because even in the office but away from his desk he found he couldn't achieve the focus he needed.

Now, not every project requires isolation, so here are four ways I suggest for you to free yourself from the lazy trap:

1. Set deadlines for everything. Going to get groceries? Set an arrival and departure time. Making dinner? Set a time frame for preparation and completion of dinner. Once you make setting deadlines a habit for everything, you won't be as intimidated by the deadlines for the big stuff.

2. Give yourself no choice. This involves a little risk, but when you absolutely have to do something or face embarrassment or let someone down, then you can't put it off any longer. Anyone can let himself down, but it's much harder when you're disappointing someone else.

3. Remove distractions. Turn off your phone, get away from the Internet and lock yourself in a room. Some things you simply can't get away from, but, more often than not, you can do without them.

4. Offer yourself rewards. Sure, it sounds childish, but when you're working for a reward, you're almost always going to work harder. Whether it is treating yourself to dinner at a nice restaurant or simply watching your favorite television show, you'll have both the satisfaction of finishing what you started and enjoying your reward free from guilt.

Buying groceries is a necessary evil for many of us. Scanning the endless aisles, while navigating them with a rickety cart isn't the best way to spend a Saturday morning. But, until they invent a fridge that stocks itself, many of us have to make that weekly trip.

Quite possibly, the worst part of the whole experience is waiting in line at the checkout. Removing each item from your cart in order for them all to be scanned, bagged and then returned to the car seems rather redundant and is quite time-consuming. But, again, there really isn't another way to get around this.

And, finally, getting stuck behind a coupon clipper searching through a stack of odd-shaped pieces of paper to save 10 cents is certain to drive some people to insanity.

However, I'm not writing you today to complain about a trip to the grocery store. Not at all; I'm going to share with you why you should be a little -- even a lot more -- like that coupon clipper.

Now, coupons can help you save money. Even a few pennies on the dollar add up over time, allowing you to stretch your dollars further and further. But, of course, we all know that.

What you may not know is that by scanning flyers for coupons and keeping an eye out for special deals, you develop a better relationship with money, and, more specifically, your money.

You see, while scanning for coupons and deals, you are actively thinking about the value of each of your dollars and the products you spend them on. Rather than making quick decisions and getting what you want as soon as possible, you are beginning to evaluate your wants. And then you begin to see that what you want isn't always what you need.

Coupon clippers are also better at organizing their trips to the grocery store. They have a list of items they want and tend to stick to it. Rather than being pulled in by the items placed throughout the store to lure more cash out of our pockets, the coupon clipper often develops tunnel vision set only on the products on their list.

When dollars and cents really count, having a clear vision of what you need is always going to help you steer clear of items that are simply a waste.

Ask anyone with a lot of money. They didn't get to where they are now by blowing their paychecks at the drop of a hat.

By adopting the mindset of the coupon clipper, you could begin to plug the drain on your leaky bank account.

These days, it's tougher than ever to get a loan. In fact, what used to be viewed as a decent credit score is now barely up for consideration by money lenders. If you had a middle of the road credit score a few years ago, say in the 600 range, you could qualify for a decent interest rate. These days, to get a good rate, you're often required to be in the 700-750 range. Keep in mind that your FICO credit score only goes as high as 850.

If you want to get the loan you need, you're going to try to get your credit score as high as possible to limit the amount of risk creditors associate with you. In order to improve your credit score, there are a number of things you can do.

The first step to improving your credit score is learning what it is. There are three credit unions that track your score: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Each of these companies will have their own score for you, but they will generally be in the same ballpark. You're entitled to one free credit report per year, so call and inquire.

Once you receive your report, look for mistakes. Oftentimes, these reports contain mistakes about payment history, delinquent accounts and other factors that can negatively impact your credit score. Fixing these problems and getting things straight has the potential to boost your credit score considerably.

If you could still use to improve your score, start focusing on making timely payments. One of the biggest ways to hurt your credit score is by making late payments to creditors. Keep your payments regular by putting as much as you can towards your various debts every month to bump your score up.

Another way to boost your score is to look at the percentage of the available credit you have that you're using. Your goal should be to use no more than roughly 20% of your available credit. This is because it makes you seem like a low-risk user who has the credit for safety purposes, rather than necessity. The closer you are to using your credit limit, the lower your score will be. Of course, this is tougher to do these days, as creditors lower what kind of credit is available, but do your best to limit usage and stay in the 20% range.

The best way to fix a problem is to learn about it and take the necessary steps you need to do so. Get a copy of your credit report soon and see what you can do to help you secure the loans you need.

** Content Exchange in Information Marketing
By James Burt, Online Marketing Expert

The road to success in any job these days is pretty long and hard. Just being educated or moderately experienced isn't good enough -- you have to often juggle different projects and sometimes you don't get paid really well.

But let's say things are looking up. You are now the highly experienced info marketer. Your info products are getting to people on a regular basis and as such the money is coming in on a regular basis. Things seem to have developed into that long sought-after but highly devious phenomenon known as "routine."

You let out a sigh of relief. And then some change happens again, in the form of a message that reads:

"...we would like to offer you a joint partnership with our organization through an exchange of information content..."

At first this seems like the best thing ever: an offer for you to join another organization based on their respect for your information-creation skills in order to produce more profits for the two of you mutually.

Actually, it probably is one of the best things ever to happen to your business. Content exchange is a great way for you to broaden your professional horizons. You can create a good partnership with another company and get more exposure for your work, thus getting more clients to pay for your stuff.

But like any business deal in information marketing, content exchange should not be approached without some caution. By just exercising the slightest bit of philosophy, you can ensure that both the exchange and the partnership succeed in getting both parties the success they want.

It's best to get on the Internet and/or the phone with the other party as soon as possible to work out the details of the content exchange. To be safe, it doesn't hurt to do it up in writing in the form of a contract, with both parties signing the agreement. Include how long the deal is tentatively going to last, how much content you are going to provide, and what compensation both parties should receive.

Fact: a lot of content exchanges are done for free. Two parties exchange content and then work out a percentage to pay the other person once profits are incurred from the exchange. Make sure you go over this with your partner and work out how much each person should get ahead of time.

Next, decide what content you are going to use in the exchange itself. It's usually best to offer the stuff that is your best in terms of previous customer success or, at the very least, the stuff that you think represents both yourself and your business. As well, offer some introductory content to your partner's web site, introducing yourself to their client base and explain your information goals for the future.

Over time, monitor the effects of the content exchange. Ask yourself: are more people coming to check out my web site? Have sales gone up? Is my partner seeing more business? What is working and what can be improved? These simple inquiries should only be done after a few months when some time has passed and there are figures to evaluate.

In today's worldwide electronic market, a content exchange can be the most potent asset to your info marketing business. On the Internet, any kind of exposure to your business is essential for its success. When a good content exchange comes along, work out the details with your partner, and then sit back and watch your success blossom!