Displaying Others RSS Feeds on Your Website: Freebie Friday
If you’ve got a blog or website you just love and the content is something your readers are interested in, adding the site’s RSS feed to your own site is a great way to give your readers the information (just make sure you have permission to use the feed). No need to send them away from your site...keep 'em right there for the awesome content.
Here’s a short video that shows you how.
If you’re looking for other cool things you can do with your blog check out Blog Starter Pack.
Tonight I was looking at a report of this month's Outsourcing Sweetie BETA (it's closing Thursday at 12 PM PST, by the way) purchases and I browsed through the "How Did You Hear About Us" column. There were a variety of answers, but these in particular, made me smile:
"YOU :-)"
"everywhere"
"Been a 'Sweetie' for a while"
"Girl are you kiddin ' :) I love your work!"
Thanks...you made my day. Much better than the OUCH customer service day Kelly McCausey had. Man, she almost said that "A-word"!
Getting What You Want...EXACTLY What You Want: Tough Question Tuesday
Communication is important in all aspects of our lives and most definitely in our businesses as well. In fact, one of the greatest benefits I’ve found from Internet marketing is learning to communicate with people so I get exactly what I want.
The benefits come in handy every single day for business AND my personal life.
No, I don’t mean any Jedi Mind Tricks that manipulate anyone into doing something they may not want to. I simply mean being clear and concise, mixed with a little bit of persuasion.
On the receiving end of online communication, sorry but I’m often a little frustrated when asked to do things by other Internet business owners. Whether people are submitting questions for my Internet Marketing FAQ or submitting requests for Training Sheets at Outsourcing Sweetie , you’ve got to tell me specifically what you want.
(And hey, I'm not saying this to complain. I'm saying it to help you get exactly what YOU want!)
I'm busy and you're busy so - please don’t ask me to solve all that ails your business, especially without giving me any clue as to what might be ailing it. Please don’t ask me to summarize Internet marketing into one-page. Be specific on what you need. If you don't know what you need, take some to think about it and research it.
I completely understand what it’s like to need a LOT of answers, but you have to start small. People are more likely to help you if you ask them to help you with very specific things.
The same with JV offers…or more like non-offers, as often happens. I receive emails that say, “I really love your work. I’d love to do something together.” Please tell me what your offer is and exactly what you have in mind. Then I can consider it. Yes, you can still tell me you love my work and WHY (hehehe), but do get specific, so you can get exactly what YOU want.
Same goes with your own offers on your web pages and in your emails – tell your prospects exactly what they’re in for and tell them what you want them to do. Don’t get wish-washy or vague…it’s not going to work. If you want them to sign up for your newsletter, tell them to do it. If you want them to buy something, tell them to buy it.
How being specific worked in my personal life
It's funny how the communication skills I've learned in business have definitely passed on to my personal life - helping me get more of what I want. Here's a little example:
In June, I pulled my son out of preschool for the Summer. He was very sad that he wouldn’t be seeing one of his friends for 2 months. So, to help him feel better, we wrote a little card saying, “I’ll miss you over the summer. Please have your Mom call my Mom so we can have a play date,” and I included my number.
No phone call. :-(
Then, just recently we needed to switch preschools and again, my son was concerned about leaving this one particular friend. Determined not to have his little heart broken again, I wrote a new card. This time I got specific. “I am going to be going to a new preschool and I will miss you when I’m gone. Can you come for a play date at my house on November 10 at 1 PM? Please call my mom to let her know,” and I included my phone number.
What do you think happened? Yep, she called me. I sent out a specific invitation and instructions to help ensure we got we needed. The boys had a great play date!
Now, that may seem like a simple example, but it rings true. If you want something, always be specific; whether you’re asking for help, arranging a play date or making offers to your own prospects.
So, here’s your Tough Question for this fine Tuesday – How do you get what YOU want? In business and in life?
More on the Myth: Do What You Love and the Money Will Follow
Last night, I posted a Silly Sunday cartoon from Blaugh. Although the cartoon was pretty funny, it really rings true to some dangerous advice that runs in Internet marketing and home business circles. The myth was: "Do what you love and the money will follow."
I think the true statement is: "It is possible to do what you love and with proper research, planning and marketing, you might make money doing it."
There is the definite perk of starting your own business - you can make the choice to only do what you love doing.
But the problem is, not everything you love doing will turn directly into profits. That's ludicrous.
Let's create a common scenario:
Imagine that I wanted to start a content site on a topic I was passionate about. I said I wanted to make money through affiliate programs and possibly create some ebooks. It's a common scenario, seen on Internet Marketing forums everywhere. Then someone inevitably responds to the thread and says:
"What is your passion? Build your website around that."
Here's the Problem:
- How many people are potentially interested? If very few people share your passion, it's going to be tough to capture an interested audience.
- Do they spend money on it? Even if a lot of people share your passion, do they ALSO enthusiastically spend money to pursue it?
- Have you considered competition? Of course, there are ways to get around competition with a well-crafted USP (Unique Selling Position - i.e. what sets you apart from the competition), it is still something that needs to be taken into consideration.
- How will you generate traffic? Without the skills and knowledge to build your traffic from a variety of sources, it's going to be tough to make things happen.
- How will you get people to buy your products or take your product recommendations? Getting people to say YES is not as simple as getting people to your website. You need to understand how to talk to your target market, know what types of products they want and how to present your offers to them.
- How will the money keep flowing? If you do see money coming in, how are you going to maintain that? Can you keep the traffic coming on an ongoing basis? Are you going to successfully build a mailing list that is interested in and takes action on your offers.
No...I'm Not Trying to Be All Doom & Gloom
Certainly if you find a topic/target market that has an interested audience with their wallets wide open - you can conquer the other obstacles of getting traffic, making offers and maintaining the income flow.
You've just got to be prepared to learn, test and improve.
I'm pleased to announce our random draw has been completed and our winners are:
Danielle Anderson
Sue Fleckenstein
Gordon Mutch
To the winnners, please email Mel at news @ internetmarketingsweetie.com with "Sweetie Saturday Winner" in the subject line. She'll hook you up with your access to Easy Article Marketing.
I’m back this week with another Sweetie Saturday giveaway and since I started the week out by busting a myth about article marketing, I was quite happy when Kelly McCausey and Nicole Dean they'd be glad to offer their product for this week’s giveaway.
Easy Article Marketing is a full course that will help you not only write articles, but get the most benefit from the articles you write or those you have written by a ghostwriter. You’ll even learn how to determine the effectiveness of article marketing.
I’ve got 3 copies of the Easy Article Marketing course to give away to 3 of my readers. Here’s what you need to do in order to be one of the lucky 3.
Head over and check out everything that comes with the course by clicking here.
Come back to this post and enter a comment simply letting me know that you want to be entered. Please include your full name along with your state or province in your comment.
Post your entry no later than Sunday, November 25, 2007 at 10PM PST. Not sure what time it is on my side of the world? Click here to find out.
I’ll announce all 3 winners on Monday right here on the blog, so don’t forget to drop by to find out if you’re one of the lucky ones!
Sticking with the topic of article marketing this week I thought DupeFreePro would be a perfect freebie for this week.
If you’re relying on search engines traffic or need to submit revised articles to different sources, DupeFreePro is a viable option to help you achieve the needed results. It’s a great tool for rewriting PLR Content and for checking possibly plagiarisms when hiring a writer to produce content. Unfortunately, it does happen from time to time.
A few of my assistants use this tool quite frequently and have found it to be a great timesaver. One of them uses it to compare different versions of articles and another uses it to be sure all of our writers at All Private Label and All Custom Content are submitting unique articles. We pride ourselves in giving our members quality and original content they won’t find elsewhere online and thanks to DupeFreePro, it makes it easy for us to do exactly that.
You can get your own copy of DupeFreePro by clicking here. It’s free!
3 Thoughts: Getting Publicity for Your Business with Press Releases
Press really is easy exposure for your business, but you’ve got to do it right in order to reap the benefits. Many people write a press release, submit it to PR Web or other online newswires and nothing happens. This leaves them wondering what went wrong.
Here are today’s 3 thoughts to help get the most from your press releases.
1. Submit your press release locally. Just because your business is done online, doesn’t mean you should limit yourself to only online press. Local newspapers and television stations love to learn about businesses in there area - start there for quicker results. NOTE: My very first press release ever was accepted by my local TV station and in a few days I was on the 6 o'clock news. Pretty cool!
2. Submit to highly-targeted online publishers. When you do publish your press release online, in addition to submitting to the online newswires, be sure to do your research and find sites that fit your target market and reach a decent-sized audience.
3. When you get press from a source be certain that you follow up. Once a media source knows you and your business, they are more likely to want to include you in stories in the future. Stay in touch!
Yeah, you guess it...this topic is on my mind because of mine and Mila's new project (along with the AWESOME Shannon Cherry) - All Press Content. Grab a press release template pack or two...and we'll show you the right way to get the ball rolling!
I know many of my readers are about to start their Thanksgiving holiday, but before you do...I wanted to give you something to get started on before you head off.
If you're like most --- err...all --- online business owners, you probably want more traffic to your website and more customers.
Search engine rankings are getting tougher to achieve all the time. It's no surprise with all the competition out there and it's growing every day.
Pay-per-clicks require some start up cash and careful monitoring to ensure good conversions or you're throwing your money down the drain.
Banner and text ads can be very costly and are hit and miss...but not impossible if you know what you're doing.
Articles are decent, but with articles we often reach small-time publishers, so our traffic levels can surge...but we still want MORE!
Now, don't get me wrong, I am not knocking any of the above methods. Of course not! We need to get traffic and leads from as many sources as possible. I'm just pointing out some of the frustrations we often encounter with various promotion methods.
Here's something that a lot of online business don't consider and that means a potential loss of tons of traffic.
I'm talking about gaining positive publicity through press releases.
Sure, some Internet Marketers are submitting mediocre press releases to the online newswires - but very few are taking it far enough to really get the exposure their businesses deserve.
Just imagine, charging up your local business because a story was written about you in the local paper.
Or wouldn't it be great if an international national magazine writer sees your informative press release on dog training (just an example, of course) and contacts you for your expert opinion for an article she's writing.
I know, I know...you might be saying that the task of writing a press release is daunting or you don't want to shell out a bunch of cash for an unsure result.
I hear ya.
It's true Press releases don't come with any kind of results guarantee, but when you get the media's attention (and it's really not that hard), the benefits are immeasurable.
That's why Mila and I have rounded up 15-year media & publicity veteran, Shannon Cherry, to make things ultra-simple for you AND most importantly extremely cost-effective (less than a cost of a banner ad or a few clicks on a pay-per-click campaign).
See what we've got cooking (nope, not a Turkey dinner...but definitely something yummy for your business) at
All right, let's shake it up a bit today. Usually I ask YOU the questions and recently I let you ask me the questions (great ones, by the way!) in "Reverse Tough Question Tuesday". Well, let's shake it up a bit with "SIDEWAYS Question Tuesday." Today, I'd like to invite you to ask questions from #1 VA who's forever keeping me on track and watching my back. You know, I'm not 100% sure how long I've been working with Mel Spier, but I believe it will be 2 years in the next few months. She's so awesome, I'm pretty much unable to imagine work life without her. REALLY.
Having someone you can rely on for administrative tasks, customer support and other day-to-day details is an absolute lifesaver for any online business. If you don't have "a Mel" on your team (you can't take my Mel away, but you can have some of her this coming December 1...as long as you're an Outsourcing Sweetie Gold Member before that date), I encourage you to find one.
So, in your quest for your ideal VA, please post any questions you have for Mel in the comments area.
-> If you're curious (or even nosy), you can ask about the day-to-day things about working with me. Find out if I'm a tyrant, a kitten or somewhere in between. Am I organized or a raving lunatic? You get the picture...just ask! ;)
-> Ask Mel about hiring a VA, keeping a VA happy and working on your team for a long time coming.
...whatever you want to know, ask her.
But first, the rules. This time there is only 1 rule:
Please keep the questions simple and precise. Please don't ask for any type of review of your business or ask general questions about the best way to deliver customer support, etc. Tough Tuesday is meant to be a quick Q&A type thing, so again, let's keep it simple and precise.
All right...ask away, but it today (Tuesday only!). Mel will be around soon to reply in the comments area.
It seems that a lot of people are questioning whether article marketing is “dead”, but I think it’s quite bizarre. Newspapers still publish articles, all the big news sites are still delivering news…so where is the death?
I figure it’s because people equate article marketing with distributing to ezinearticles.com, isnare.com, articledashboard.com, etc. With everyone jumping on the bandwagon and many talking about Google slapping duplicate content, the competition on the article directories has become fierce.
For me, article marketing is not dead…as I’ve never limited it to that. Article marketing is using articles on your own site, contacting BIG and targeted website/newsletter publishers directly and REALLY getting your content out there, instead of just passively submitting to directories.
Use your articles to your advantage by re-using them in different and unique ways. For instance, publish them in your own newsletters or combine articles on the same topic into a report or ebook. Get everything you can out of your articles! The possibilities are endless as long as you’ll open the horizon and think outside the box just a bit.
As with anything in business, don’t put all your eggs in one basket by only doing one or two of these things. Give yourself multiple areas to work in. Then, if for some reason one of them isn’t working the way you’d hoped, you aren’t finding yourself at a complete loss.
Find out more about keeping your article marketing efforts alive and well at Article Marketing Sweetie.
Myth Crusher Monday - Hiring a Programmer Is Expensive
Lynette Chandler posted an interesting entry in the Private Strategies Area in the Outsourcing Sweetie Gold (BETA) Membership area and I wanted to share some of it with you and perhaps my own thoughts to the subject (if you don't mind!).
Lynette writes:
"For example, when [programmers] install a script it takes us only a few short minutes. If it’s something we haven’t installed before it would take a tad longer. But usually, it’s not that difficult to figure things out because of our knowledge, background and having the right tools. So, the final billable time to clients is not that much.
Yet, it’s not uncommon to see people try to install things on their own when they don’t even understand how to upload a file. Other times, they are a little more experienced but get hung up on one small detail that keeps them running around in a loop for hours, days sometimes weeks. You can often feel the frustration when they post on forums asking for help. I’ll bet their blood pressure is also through the roof. So much stress. All unnecessary."
A few years ago, I was in that very boat. I felt like I couldn't afford to pay someone and in fact, at first, I didn't realize that there were such talented people out there that I could easily hire. When I discovered that I was able to save the tears and stress involved with all those techy details. And trust me, there were a lot of tears.
Now I don't cry or fret - I hand it to my programmer and get back to marketing my business. I can also get more creative and use technology in a way that was never possible on my own.
It's so amazing to say, "Can you make it do this?"
And your programmer says, "Yes, it's very doable."
SWEET!
There are so many hats to wear in an online business and you yourself should never try to wear all of them. Pick the ones you're good at and focus on making your business more profitable.
OT Silly Sunday & What’s On YouTube at the Seba House
Even though my kids (4 and 6 years old) quickly pointed out that is NOT a salmon, but a “squirrelfish”, they still love it and it’s a big dance number in this house. Other than the beat, I’m thinking my son’s obsession with all things related to sea creatures is what makes it such a hit.
(NOTE: This is an edited and more family-friendly version of the song so if you search it later and find another version, it may have words you don’t want to share with your kids.)
Wow! I’ve been having a blast since the newest Sweetie release on Thursday, but I tell ya I’ve been one busy woman because of it.
The members at Outsourcing Sweetie Gold BETA mean business. I’ve been really busy getting things going over there, but never fear, I’ll be back with a Sweetie Saturday offer next week.
And if you aren’t already a member, you get full access to Outsourcing Sweetie Gold BETA for only a buck ($1). Your $1 BETA trial runs until November 30th. Get in now, so you can enjoy ALL the benefits. Click here to check it out.
As I was searching Technorati to see who was talking about me, I discovered the Nell Taliercio has insisted that I take a personality text. Do you think she might be worried about me?
Nah...I think she just wants to make me think just a little too hard and complete this test.
Interestingly enough, I have very similar results to Nell. I am also a choleric/sanguine. Frankly, I had NO IDEA what that meant as I believe this was my first personality test.
In detail I am:
- 18% melancholy - 20% sanguine - 10% phlegmatic (thank goodness, phlegm is kind of gross!) - 53% choleric
I did read a little into those personality-types and it seems quite accurate...but man, I have absolutely no patience for those idiots who wrote all that stuff I need to read and I expect them to redo it all, so it's easier for me to read through.
(Ummm...just kidding on the last part. I was trying my best to show my choleric weaknesses)
Using Google Docs Effectively With Your Team Members - Freebie Friday
When you work with team members, it’s inevitable that at some point you will have a problem sending and receiving or tracking changes in a Word or text document or spreadsheet. Normally this will happen right about the time you need something ASAP.
I don't personally use Google Docs, but it comes highly recommended by a few of the people I work closely with. Google Docs is free to use and allows you and your assistants to create, edit and manage documents without the hassle of sending emails that don’t get delivered for reasons such as spam filters or size restrictions.
All you need is a Google account, which is also free to create. For those with an Adsense or Gmail account, you already have a Google account and just need to add Google Docs to it.
To help you out in understanding how Google Docs can work for you, Lynette Chandler has put together a great FREE report for you.
Grab Lynette’s free report, 6 Ways Google Docs Can Improve Your Team’s Efficiency, by clicking here.(PDF)
And hey, did I tell you that smarty pants Lynette is an advisor at Outsourcing Sweetie? Check out her free report at the link above and then come by for $1 BETA trial of your Outsourcing Gold Membership.
Keeping Your Contractors and YOURSELF Happier: Three Thoughts
With today’s launch of Outsourcing Sweetie today, I wanted to talk about a few ways to keeping your assistants and yourself happy and what a better time than for today’s Three Thoughts Thursday. So, here we go!
There are many things you can do to keep the relationship with your contractors a blissful one, but here are my top 3.
1. Give them Ongoing Work If you have an assistant who does good work and you want to keep them, be sure you are giving them work on a regular basis. If you don’t, they’ll keep on taking on more clients and giving priority to clients that give ongoing work.
2. Pay Them on Time & Regularly A contractor can go as easily as they came and therefore if the money isn’t on time or they can’t rely on you to continue to pay them consistently, they will go. Don’t forget contractors have businesses to run and bills to pay just like you. To keep receiving the top notch level of help you’re used to, keep your end of the bargain by paying for it on time and regularly every time.
3. Reward Them for Great Work It’s too easy to get into a routine of assigning work and paying for it. If you want to keep your contractor happy and continuing to provide you with excellent service, be sure you let them know how much you appreciate it…and for goodness sakes, give raises. Once someone has been working with you for a while, they are more valuable to you than when they were brand new. They know more about how you like things done, can make decisions on their own and should be paid accordingly.
How do you keep satisfied contractors on your team?
As I am gearing up for tomorrow’s Outsourcing Sweetie launch I was going through the entries for the most recent Sweetie Saturday giveaway. I wasn’t expecting so many kind words of thanks and sincere appreciation for the product that the entrants added to their post. I just wanted to give a big thanks back and share some of those words.
”I've always been a big fan of your work and can't wait for the unveiling next week!” Rebecca Wolf
”Thank you for the fun and please definitely count me in! I will be needing all the outsourcing help I can get as I launch my own affiliate program later this month :-) (I like your Sweetie Affiliate and Sweetie Affiliate Manager letters. Great ideas! I love great ideas...)” Suzanne
”Hi Alice, Thanks for all the great stuff you send me and all you do for us.” Mike Cubberly My Bayonne Online
”This is undoubtedly the kind of help anyone running a home based business.....or any business for that matter, could readily use to dramatically simplify their hectic schedules. Who couldn't use an extra dose of simplicity? Looking forward to checking this out Alice and best of luck with the launch! P.S. Will you have an affiliate program for this? Keep these great things coming.” Jeff Steffens Home Biz Warrior
”What a sweet offer!” Delilah Smith
”I am definitely a fan, and would really appreciate this opportunity, I realize that I cannot do it alone. To our success.” Mary :-) Creating Profits from Home
”As a brand new outsourcer (thanks to your outsourcing report) I'd love to be entered! TIA!” Anita 2 Wahms
Thank you everyone for taking the time to not only enter for the giveaway, but also for showing appreciation for the hard work my team and I put into each and every product we have. Now I must go and put the final finishing touches on Outsourcing Sweetie so it’s ready for tomorrow’s official grand opening. Be sure to head over and sign up to be notified the minute it’s launched! Hope to see you there!
Internet Marketing Definitions Update: Cost Per Action, Latent Semantic Index , One Time Offer
In response to user requests (THANK YOU!) some new definitions have been added to Internet Marketing Definitions. Expand your Internet Marketing vocabulary by clicking the links below:
I guess we can blame Timothy Ferriss, author of the Four Hour Work Week for this one because everywhere I go, Internet Marketers are inquiring on how they can find reliable help in India. It's almost as if they feel this is the only and best option for getting help in their business.
I don't necessarily think so.
Disclaimer: For those who know me, I don't think disclaimer is necessary...but I want to clarify that my object is not a knock on any person or service provider from India or any foreign country for that matter. It has everything to do with what is best for your own business.
In fact, recently John Reese suggested to outsource customer support and to outsource it to India to save some cash. This was my comment on his post (I have edited slightly for clarify and relevance to this blog entry):
Awesome advice…ALWAYS outsource customer support, but I’m a tad surprised to see suggestions to outsource to countries where English is not the native language just to save a buck or two. Or do you really save?
I may be naive and it seems like “all the big companies are doing it” (see my recent eFax rant) but are they doing themselves damage in the process? I’m sure you’d agree that customer support is a HUGE part of profitability and good customer service is what keeps customers coming back for more and it also helps encourage word-of-mouth.
But what happens when your customer service is not what it should be? I think you run that risk when you run your support through a company that staff non-native speakers of English. It doesn’t matter how much school they had or how much they practiced their English, a non-Native speaker who doesn’t live in an English-speaking country doesn’t understand the colloquialisms and idioms your customers are going to use…among other things.
And my goodness, I’ve experienced this first hand on a number of support calls, and on particular one of note (and now another with eFax, argh!). I don’t think I used any irregular language (I was careful not to as I instantly knew what I was dealing with).
The people I spoke to just didn’t understand what I was saying. And as I spoke to everyone from staff member to manager to the manager’s manager, it was clear they were reading from a script and a manual that didn’t allow them to use their own instincts or experience to assess the situation. They simply didn’t comprehend the situation as a whole.
Of course, if you are doing email / help desk support, your issues may be different. And as a former ESL teacher, I can tell you, that there are different countries in the world where people either write more fluently or speak more fluently in English. It is rare that they can do both as a generalization. I won’t post those comments here because I certainly don’t want to appear to stereotype, but it all comes down to the education system where they are taught English and to some degree, how closely related their native language is to English.
So, my thoughts are - definitely outsource your support…just be careful where you outsource it to.
The Most Important Message - Cheapest is Not Always Best
Customer service issues aside, it's not necessarily what's cheapest that's the best. It's about what produces the best results for your business. Whether it's programming, design or link building where fluency in the language isn't as important as it is with customer service - you need to find the best for you.
Here's what I suggest as best for a solo online entrepreneur: Finding the right key people and keep them by your side.
It doesn't matter if they charge $5 per hour or $50. I don't know about you, but I'm not a huge company with tons of staff where I can play the numbers game that the big guns do. I need good help and I'll leave the nickel and diming to people who can afford to make their labor force a disposable one.
I'm a solo entrepreneur who needs a few key people by my side that will grow with me and come to intuitively understand my needs. For that, I'm willing to pay a premium and I am always willing to reward my key people by valuing their work more and more.
So outsource where you will...but do what's best for your longterm business success - not just temporary relief to your PayPal account.
The draw took place this morning at Sweetie Headquarters in the storming Lower Mainland of Vancouver, B.C. and we have drawn three lucky winners. There's also more information here for you, even if you didn't win.
Here they are:
Mike Cubberly
Home Biz Warrior
Jan "QueenofKaos"
Please join me in congratulating this winners (it's good for your karma!).
To Do Next for the Winners:
To the winnners, please email Mel at news @ internetmarketingsweetie.com with "Sweetie Saturday Winner" in the subject line. She'll take good care of ya on Thursday when we open up the doors to Outsourcing Sweetie Gold BETA.
If You Didn't Win:
No worries...this Thursday, you'll have a terrific opportunity to get into the members area and see what's going on. I'm sure you'll love it.
Don't forget your FREE Training...and you can do it now...
- A 54-minute interview giving you the basics and more advanced strategies to approaching outsourcing as an Internet marketer. - Full transcripts to the interview
Get Gold...for LIFE - > Sweetie Saturday Giveaway!
It's been a long time coming, but finally Outsourcing Sweetie Gold (BETA) is officially launching on November 15, 2007. We have been working round the clock to help make outsourcing (i.e. less work and more profits for you) a near no-brainer. Now, we're just about ready to let people in for a sneak peek.
When it launches this coming Thursday, if you're one of THREE Sweetie Saturday winners, you'll get access to your LIFETIME membership for FREE. Not just some itty-bitty BETA trial, but you're in for as long as you want to stick around...and once you get a taste, you aren't going to want to leave.
Many of the details of Outsourcing Sweetie are still under wraps until November 15, but here's a few of the benefits you can expect:
Training to help you outsource the right things in your business and find just the right people for the job.
Interactive help from my own personal team to ensure you get the most out of your "work less, get more" experience.
Take the grudge-work out of training your contractors - we've prepared a lot of the ready-to-use training materials for you.
Here's How to Win:
1. Leave me a comment letting me know you want to be entered into the random drawing. Yep, just let me know you want in…nothing more, nothing less.
This One Went SOUR - Sorry, But Anti-Freebie Friday
...or is it?
This week, I intended to tell you about the voice mail / fax service that I use. I actually use their Pro version, but there is a free trial and even a free version that allows you to send and receive faxes at no charge.
(By the way, sorry this Freebie Friday is so late...I was debating whether or not to share it at all. Well, I decided to and as I write this sentence, it's still 11:08 PM PST, so I've still got time!)
I’ve been a client of eFax.com for about a year and a half. It's been a great option for a voicemail/fax service that runs completely online...until I ran into a snag.
Before I mention the snag, I'll tell you a bit about how I use the service and you can make your own decisions:
When I receive a voicemail, my VA (virtual assistant) receives a downloadable file to listen. No need to pick up a phone to listen to message, just CLICK. She tells me what I need to act on or takes care of the rest.
I received faxes and can send them out (well, I started to once I figured out that mysterious scanner that was in my office for several years).
If want my VA to send faxes, it's so simple to ask her to do it...right from my very own fax number even though she lives in Tennesse and I'm in British Columbia, Canada.
It's been pretty handy and I've been completely satisfied with the service...and that's exactly why I wanted to mention it to you.
Until this week.
And the problem is two-fold.
Problem #1: Script-Reading Support
This week, I tried to send a few faxes that just wouldn't go through. While all my faxes to regular numbers always went out with no problem, I seemed to be having an issue with a couple of toll-free numbers. No matter how often I tried, these two faxes wouldn't go through.
Obviously, I needed to seek some support help. Perhaps, I was messing something up or there may have been a flaw in the system somewhere. Who knew. I was happy to accept the blame, but I wanted a SOLUTION.
Unfortunately, eFax clearly outsources ALL of their support (from what I can see) to a non-English speaking country that is instructed to read scripts. Period. Anything that happens beyond the script is just too bad for me.
This is outsourcing gone all wrong and probably a good reason why I have some anonymous posters come to by blog and tell me outsourcing is bad. When I say outsourcing, that is NOT what I mean.
I call and tell them what happened. They ask me how I sent the fax (you can send it in your account, via software and even via email) and I tell them I've tried all the options, but didn't know about sending by email. The guy tells me how to send by email, but surprise, surprise, if it didn't work the other ways, it didn't work by email.
I call again. The lady asks who I'm faxing. I tell her. She asks me to hold and tells me the line is busy, so it's probably busy when I'm faxing.
(And nobody EVEN bothers to look at the faxes I sent to see if I actually made an error somewhere, which is quite possible!)
First, I mention that most regular faxes redial (at least a few times!) to try to get around a busy signal. Apparently, eFax.com does not. She says it tries once and that's it. So, I'm annoyed after this call, but accept that perhaps the line was busy.
So, I try again a few times in the evening and no luck. I call the numbers. They are not busy. I call them a few times. They are not busy, but I get that annoying ERRRRR-EEEEEER of fax noise in my ear.
Annoyed and finding it frustrating to communicate, I decide to send an email support ticket. As you may know, I used to be an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher and I pride myself in being able to communicate with people for whom English is not their native tongue. But I'm sorry, I kept having to say, "pardon me," and whenever I apparently veered from the script they expected, they had to ask me to clarify...over and over again, so I was forced to stop talking about things that might have widened their support horizons.
So email support it was. I wrote to them and said I was having trouble that is going way beyond the scripts they set up for their support people. I told them I had contact support a few times, had followed all their instructions and the main thrust was that I wanted my problem escalated to a manager or the actual technical people to see if there was an issue. No joke, this is what I got back:
"Dear Alice,
Thank you for contacting eFax Customer Support. We apologize for the inconvenience caused. If your fax has failed due to unexpected busy signals, please ensure that the fax number is entered correctly: - When sending a fax from your personal email: Enter the number in the "To:" section as faxnumber@efaxsend.com, where "faxnumber" is the complete destination number including the country code and city/area code. For Example: If dialing to a US number 1 (310) 555-1234, enter 13105551234@efaxsend.com, where "1" is the country code and "310" is the area code. If dialing to a UK number +44 (020) 7555-1234, enter 442075551234@efaxsend.com, where "44" is the country code and "20" is the city code (it is not necessary to include the “0” in front of the city code). - When faxing via eFax Messenger Fax Compose options: Enter the fax number in the same format as above but omit the @efaxsend.com part and the country code, since the latter is selected from the dropdown. If you have confirmed that the number is correct, try calling it to confirm that it is indeed not busy. Keep in mind that our servers make several attempts to send a fax before reporting that the number is busy.
Sincerely, - Pete M. eFax Customer Support"
Well, "Pete"...if that's your real name (sorry, not trying to be insensitive, but I'm really not stupid), we already went through this and I asked this to be escalated.
I called once more and sent a reply to this instruction, but I got nowhere.
Problem #2: Ignore Your Customers Who Want to Promote
As I mentioned, it was not too long, I was happy with this service and I'd probably still be happy if they had people who were even remotely prepared to deal with REAL issues.
In preparation of my Freebie Friday post, last I looked to see if eFax might have an affiliate program...and they did. It was in Commission Junction and I thought, hey I'll apply to the program. I heard nothing for a few days and then on Monday, I logged in to check I didn't miss an email. Nope, my application was still pending.
(Hey, I hope you don't mind me trying to get a little cut of the action if you decided to sign up for the service...we're all Internet marketers here, right?)
So, I shot the affiliate manager an email saying I've been a happy (at the time I was) customer for a while and I'd love to spread the word. I asked if they'd be so kind as to approve me for their program.
Nothing.
Then another nothing.
And nothing again.
As nothing went on, my support issues with the actual services blew up and I wasn't sure if I should talk about this at all.
Anyway, today I decided that I would definitely mention what happened and out of curiosity, logged into CJ to see the status. Guess what?
Oh yeah, you know it...I've got the big Scarlet A in my account and it says "Declined Application".
Screw it. I don't know what else to say. I think the service is cool and when it works, it's fine...but if you want any support from these people, forget about it.
Three Thoughts Thursday: Protecting Your Email Inbox
As entrepreneurs, we’re too busy to deal with mass amounts of email. I have a TON of ideas on how to protect your inbox, but here are my top 3 thoughts on the subject:
1. Get a VA to receive your customer service / general inquiries emails. Although some fear of loss of control, when planned out and done correctly, you’ll find the email gets answered efficiently and probably faster than when you yourself do it. Just listen to this Outsourcing Training Interview to hear about the amazing revelations Kelly McCausey and I had when we had a VA take over our email support.
Hiring an assistant to handle your email will also keep you from getting worked up over emails that you don’t need dragging you down. Your helper has no personal ties to the subjects of your email, so won’t have to worry about the stress that comes with taking things personally when you receive those nasty emails. Even if we’re as good as gold, that nastiness always creeps in at some point.
2. Don’t use a common address like sales@ / admin@ or similar. Spammers will automatically email those addresses. You’d be surprised at the number of emails this will eliminate from your inbox.
3. You don’t need every newsletter subscription out there. Find a few that you can’t live without and unsubscribe from the rest. If you aren’t sure if a subscription will be exactly what you’re looking for, send them to a free junk email address set up for things just like this.
Protecting your email inbox can do wonders for your productivity…how do you protect yours?
Dr. Mani Cheated, But Since He's a Sweetie Himself...
...I'll take part. In yesterday's Reverse Tough Question Tuesday, Dr. Mani practically held me at gunpoint and demanded that I answer 5 QUESTIONS, instead of the alloted 1 question I requested.
Okay, there were no guns, demands or anything of the start, but I shall participate in the good doctor's meme.
Here are his 5 questions for me:
1. How long have you been blogging?
Just over 3 years. Phew, that question was easy.
2. What inspired you to start a blog and who are your mentors? Frankly, I was totally confused about the concept of a blog and it was Lynette Chandler that finally made something click in my brain on that hot July day (LOL...actually, I don't remember the weather and since I live in Vancouver it was actually probably rainy). Lynette just has a way of doing that - making these tough tech concepts easy to understand.
As far as mentors question goes, wasn't sure if it was supposed to be specifically for blogging or not, but I think Lynn Terry's blog is pretty rockin'. She's fun, she's informative and she still sells on her blog - the precise combination I'm into.
3. Are You trying to make money online, or just doing it for fun?
I can no longer separate that two. Even when I'm having fun online, I keep thinking, "How can this make money?"
4. Tell me 3 things you LOVE about being online. Uno: Don't have to leave my house to work. I can leave it to have fun.
Dos: It allows me to work in a medium I am most comfortable with - writing.
Tres: Meeting lots of cool people.
5. Tell me 3 things you STRUGGLE with in the online world.
Uno: Even after all these years (5 years is eons in Internet time!), I sometimes veer from my original course and lose focus.
Dos: Unleashing the technology available to me to its fullest. Yes, I've got Lynette on my side, but sometimes I still find it very overwhelming...imagine if I was without her. :-(
Tres: That darned Warrior Forum. It's really distracting. Too much drama for this mama.
So, now I'm done and it's time to pass the torch with a little game of tag:
Lynette Chandler - cuz you're an inspirational techy (umm...yes, that appears to be an oxymoron, but not in your case)
All right, that's just about it. By the way, Dr. Mani says that once the above 5 complete their answers, they should comment here so I can "check their answers". I will tell you if you made any mistakes, correct your grammar and more. Ha ha.
I received the email below this past week and wanted to share the biggest reason I do what I do online.
“Hello, I don't have a question at the moment but I would like to tell you that your article on Internet traffic for beginners helped me so much. You ladies are a God send. I just started my own business with Shaklee and I am a single mom just trying to figure out a way to work from home. All the valuable information you have out there for moms like me is truly unbelievable and I just wanted to let you know I thank you for being so genuine and helpful.”
Thanks so much for your kind words Anna. It warms my heart to know what I originally started out to do online, help moms stay at home and earn an honest income, is happening. To receive genuine feedback like yours makes it all worthwhile and I’m glad I have the ability to help. It really does bring a huge smile to my face to hear feedback like this.
I have to admit, I don’t know which article Anna is referring to, but if you sign up for my free Internet Marketing Prescriptions you get full access to the Truth about Traffic course.
Let's turn the tables this week. I'm having kind of a crazy, backward week, so this will fit right in.
Usually on Tuesdays, I ask you a "Tough Question" regarding being an at-home Internet entrepreneur. This time, I want you to ask me any tough (or not-so tough) question you want.
Here's a Few Rules: I want to be able answer every single question I receive, so let's lay out a few ground rules.
1. Please keep the questions simple and precise. Please don't ask for reviews of your site or ask me general questions about getting traffic, etc. Tough Tuesday is meant to be a quick Q&A type thing, so again, let's keep it simple and precise.
2. Please ask me questions about me and my business. The idea of tough question Tuesday is to reveal something about the person answering. Although, my answer might be helpful to your own business...please don't ask questions about your own business. Sorry to be selfish, but let's keep with it in the spirit of Tough Question Tuesday.
3. Personal questions are okay, but be reasonable. You can ask me how many kids I have, what my favorite color is (not that those are TOUGH questions...LOL)...but don't ask for my Social Insurance Number (SSN for my American readers), my home address or the details of my last tax return. Sound fair?
Okay, this week's Myth Crusher is a little tongue-in-cheek. I'm having "one of those" Mondays and a little cranky, so thought I'd keep it light today.
For the record, I do agree that search engines can bring amazingly targeted traffic. But as you may know, now and then I like to look at the key phrases people enter to get to this website and the results are often somewhat surprising!
Here are some of the "targeted" visitors I received last month (and these are the full keyphrases entered...not just popular words in my stats):
used cars
bathtime
great
subject
press
comments
internet
people
really
thanks for lunch
www.alicesexy.com - (I am so red right now)
slouch socks galleries
today
wednesday
ladies in the pen - (Oh my! Sorry, I'm out of the slammer and don't need a pen pal)
voyeur
waitressing faqs
there
explorer
bare feet
crusher lies in the plan
about
butt kicking
plr and hydroponic
1 alice (well, I guess I can understand that one!)
Granted, most of these searches are small in number - but in most cases, what the heck were these people looking for? LOL!
But my favorite was:
"crazy things people try to sell on the Internet"
Oh and here's one for you Kelly McCausey: "safelist free kelly"
Did you know that you don't need to go dumpster diving to get a great deal on Internet marketing products? This one starts out slow, but I love the woman's revelation at the end. Made me laugh out loud.
"I loved the Fall/Halloween Recipe Bundle and really hope you will add more bundles such as these. In fact, I have already paid for it with Adsense by posting most of them on my blog."
Thanks great news, Angela...and by popular demand, we've added 5 new recipe bundles at the links below:
Sweetie Saturday: Information Product Sweetie Up for Grabs
Earlier in the week we talked about info products and I gave my 3 thoughts on info product pitfalls. On that note, I wanted to do a Sweetie Saturday Giveaway that could help you avoid those pitfalls.
In order to be the lucky winner here’s what you have to do:
1. Head over and check out Information Product Sweetie to find out what all is included and how it can help you in your product creation journey.
2. Come back and (THIS IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT THIS WEEK) just tell me you want to be entered into a random draw. That's all!
3. You’ve got until Sunday, November 4th at 10PM PST to post your response. Find out what time it is now in the PST by clicking here.
4. Come back on Monday when I’ll announce the winner right here on the blog.
One last quick reminder, before I forget. If you’ve got a product you’d like to contribute to Sweetie Saturday in the future, be sure to let me know by submitting it here.
For those keyword serious, they may already be familiar with and use the Google Adwords Keyword Tool. If you use it, you’ll know that it’s not only perfect for Adwords campaign research, but for organic keyword research and helping you find topics for articles and other content.
On the first (and default) tab, you’ll see “Keyword Variations”. Simply enter a keyword phrase or phrases in the box and click “Get Keyword Results” as you can see below:
You can uncheck the “Use synonyms box” to remove synonyms. That way, you’ll only see results with the precise keyword phrase you chose.
In addition, you can click the “Filter My Results” link and remove any words or phrases you don’t want included in your results.
The second tab, called “Site-Related Keywords” is pretty cool, but often overlooked. By entering a URL, you’ll get site specific suggested keywords. Just enter the web address and the tool suggests keywords based on the URL and the pages the URL links to.
Once you’ve chosen your keywords you can use them in your Adwords campaigns with the click of a few buttons.
…or export the results to a .csv file for your own use.
Check out the Google Adwords Keyword Tool by clicking here.
If you’ve got a blog or website you just love and the content is something your readers are interested in, adding the site’s RSS feed to your own site is a great way to give your readers the information (just make sure you have permission to use the feed). No need to send them away from your site...keep 'em right there for the awesome content.
