The power of “why?”

Why. Such a small word but it can have amazing power when setting goals and objectives to move your business forward. Children ask it all the time throughout their development but as adults we seem to be a bit apprehensive. Perhaps it is admitting our own ignorance that holds us back, but your business will thank you for asking it. You should be continuously asking “why?” during all stages of your business development  and keep asking it until you are able to visualise the simplest solution to the question.

Just take a look at this to see what I mean:

Your main problem is that your business isn’t making you enough money. Why?

Maybe you’re not selling enough products or services. Why?

Maybe you haven’t got enough customers. Why?

Because you are not capturing their names on an email list. And here is your solution – try to capture the email address of as many visitors to your site as possible to build your list of prospective customers.

Once you have narrowed down your potential solutions it will be much quicker and easier to implement them and see your business grow. Don’t try to guess – just ask yourself – “why?”

This may seem simple and it is, but don’t underestimate its power. It just forces you to treat each problem in a logical way until you find the best solution.

Try it for yourself and see what happens and if it can help you remove any constraints on your own business.

This can also work in your everyday life too. So I urge you to unleash your inner child and start asking “why?” And see your business grow as a result…

Are you monitoring your website performance?

I really hope you are is the answer!

Every business needs to know how well they are performing and this is the premise behind exit surveys, customer feedback requests and suggestion boxes. If you don’t monitor customer feedback or your stock, expenses and revenue your business can quickly go downhill and you may be caught completely unaware.
There are several key areas you should be monitoring on your website(s) and they generally fall into two categories, namely traffic or server performance related. Here are some of the things you should be monitoring:

Monitoring your traffic

Traffic totals. You really need to know how much traffic your website is generating. As has been said before, more traffic equals more sales so if the trend is heading down, you know you MUST find out why and act as soon as possible.
Referrals. As well as knowing how much traffic your website is generating, you also need to know where they are coming from. Is a particular article or blog post generating more traffic? If so you can target your promotions more tightly to take advantage of this valuable information.
Searches. How are people finding your website and what keywords are working well for you? You may be surprised by what you find! I have had people visit my site with really obscure searches but if these keywords were relevant to my niche this information would have led me to properly optimise the page to generate even more traffic.
Number of pages viewed per visit. Are people only visiting one page per visit? If this is the case you need to work on convincing them to visit more pages, especially those that contain your promotions and are going to make you some cash!
Which pages are being visited? If you put something on your site that other webmasters are linking to and sending a lot of traffic your way make the most if it! Put some sales copy on that page to entice visitors to take a look at the rest of your site.

Monitoring website performance

Web forms. Do they all work? Sounds obvious but you may be surprised at the amount of websites that have non-functional forms. A good website monitoring service can help you keep an eye on this as the last thing you want is to have lost hundreds or even thousands of subscribers because a sign-up form stopped functioning!
E-commerce and Shopping carts. As with forms make sure that your cart is working as intended. Slow and complicated shopping carts can lose you a lot of sales so make sure that yours is functioning properly. The website monitoring service mentioned above can also monitor this for you.
Download speed. Take the time to clear your cache and test your pages. Are any images too large? If you think so, then compress them or remove them altogether. Always keep in mind that some people will not have your ultra powerful pc and will be on a much slower connection than you are so try to optimise your site with this in mind.  

Server speed. Do you have any problems with server speed? Once again this may not be a problem where you are but what about the other side of the world? Global website monitoring can alert you to any global connection problems, so you can take it up with your web hosting service.
Server accessibility. The majority of web hosts promise 99% accessibility but is that realistic and who monitors them? It has been estimated that in fact 75% of inaccessibility is not on the hosting server, but rather on the Internet’s backbone network and in global routing. If you are having any problems a global website monitoring service can help identify the problem, so that you can work with your web hosting provider to resolve it before you lose too many sales.

Are you having fun? I sincerely hope so because if you’re not having fun you won’t do your best and will then become disillusioned due to a lack of results – it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Honestly, there is no point spending your time doing something that doesn’t interest you. Web mastering should be fun, enjoy it…

Three simple rules to virtually guarantee business success

Having your own online business is a very enticing idea for the would-be entrepreneur. The common belief is that these are easy to set up and are a fast track to untold wealth.

However online businesses need to be approached the same way as any other business or it will fall flat. Yes, it may be easy to set up a free blog, or very cheap website, but you must develop good content and drive traffic to your site and this takes work!

I think that everybody is guilty of this misconception to some degree and it is how you deal with it that will inevitably determine your success or failure.

Sometimes it isn’t what you are doing but rather what you aren’t doing that affects your success. When you realise that you aren’t doing something that perhaps you should, it can have a great impact on your results.

There are three rules that I follow in my business and these apply to both on and offline business opportunities.

The first rule is to acquire knowledge. You MUST learn about your business and any product or service you are developing. You must become the expert that people will turn to in order to help them. The acquisition of knowledge is life-long and should be exciting for you. You learn about the business, product development, marketing and customer service. As your knowledge grows so does your confidence. And remember you need to learn before you earn.

The second rule is to determine your capital investment. This is important as you do not want to make life too uncomfortable (especially in the early days) or you will be more likely to quit. Try to use money that you won’t miss – difficult I know at the moment!! Look at low-cost or free ways to start your business. Blogs and a forum in your niche are a great way to start building your online presence and developing your reputation as a subject expert, and they are free. You may not be investing money, but you are investing time. It is also a good way to test the water to see if there is a market for your particular product or service before you commit.

The third rule is to develop your marketing plan. You must be systematic with product promotion or you will not target a large enough audience and this will mean low sales. This is probably the most important aspect of your online business, hence why so many people call themselves internet marketing experts and try to capitalise on this status. Devise a plan to capture people’s email addresses, and to push more traffic to your website. More traffic equals more sales, simple. If you use a methodical approach you are much more likely to successfully promote your product or service. And keep learning as there are always new techniques developing in this field and you don’t want to be left behind. 

Follow these three simple rules and you are much more likely to succeed in any business adventure. Now it’s up to you…

Writing your ebook part 2

Following on from my previous post:

B       Research and gather information for your ebook. 

Top tips to help research your ebook

• The amount of research that you will need to do is dependent on your level of expertise in your chosen subject.
• If you are already knowledgeable, write down everything you know. Write this under each chapter heading, then do extra research if you need to fill in any gaps in your knowledge. Also, it is important to ensure that your information is current.
• If you don’t know much about your chosen subject, you will have a lot of work to do in terms of research in order to provide value for prospective customers. Organise your research. Take methodical steps. Use files and folders and begin collecting and organising your information. Always try to keep hard copies as well as digital copies. You could use Squidoo lenses to help organise your research. Squidoo lenses provide modules which you can use in the same way you would use index cards. Use a different idea for each module and link to the source of the information for easy reference.
• Keep a record of your sources of information. You never know when you’ll want to go back to a specific resource so make sure that this is easy to find. Also give credit to others if you are using their ideas.
• Don’t just limit your research to online search engines. Make sure you make good use of books and magazines too. If you know, or have access to subject experts, talk to them; you could then use these interviews as an audiobook option.
• Look at all the points in your outline/mind map and research them all thoroughly to ensure that you’ve covered everything that is needed to convey the information that your readers need. Be clear and concise. Don’t be tempted to waffle.
• Whilst researching your topic, if it looks like your book is going to be 500 pages long, your topic is too broad. See if you can narrow it down into sub niches. If you are lucky, your broad topic could provide you with subject matter for several products. You could then sell them separately, as a bundle or give some of them away as a free gift.

Next time we will look at writing the ebook…

I am writing a FREE guide!

This is just a quick post to let you know that I am writing a new guide about making money by writing letters and articles. This will be FREE to all my email subscribers and I when it is finished and uploaded I will let you know.

To receive this guide, just pop your email address in the box on the right and you will receive it when it is ready.

This is just my way of saying thank you to all those people who take time out to read my musings.

Thanks…

 

Choosing a topic for your Ebook

This may appear simple but it is surprising how many people get stuck at this stage and can’t decide what they want to write about. Keep in mind that it’s not just about selling information as people are bombarded with information all the time. More importantly, it’s about selling advice, ideas, original concepts, analysis, expert guidance and how-to guides to help people solve their problems.

The most popular topics for ebooks are:

• How to make money.
• Self help.
• How to save time.
• Learn how to do something with the least amount of effort.
• How to achieve better health (through diet, exercise, etc).
• To learn more about their hobbies and interests.
• To have better relationships.

You need to start thinking of a long list of possible topics that you would like to write about.

Brainstorming ideas for your Ebook

Remember that you’re looking to solve a problem for others. Whilst brainstorming, remember that your main goal is to come up with as many ideas as you can (think quantity, not quality at this stage). Don’t judge, evaluate, or criticise the ideas that you come up with at this point. You will probably come up with a lot of ideas that are closely related, as well as ideas that may seem farfetched.
Here are a few ways to start your brainstorming:

Use your own knowledge, skills, and talents

• What are your innate abilities  (your information product can be based on something in which you excel).
• What skills do you use at work?
• What did you study at school/university? What additional courses/seminars have you studied?
• What do you like to read or learn about? What types of magazines do you like to read?
• What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? What are your hobbies?
• Do you have pets? If yes, how do you look after them?
• Are you a parent? Can you provide practical advice on parenting?
• Do your friends and family generally turn to you for help or advice in a particular subject?
• Have you overcome a problem in your life that may be experienced by others, such as ways to deal with a difficult boss, got out of debt etc?

Visit Clickbank and Amazon

• Find topics for ebooks-or even printed books-that people are buying right now, and enter the market yourself.
• To find popular ebooks visit Clickbank (they let you sort by popularity).
• Also research which topics are selling well in printed books by visiting Amazon.

If you have a blog

• What are your readers saying?
• Which are your most popular posts (in terms of visitors and/or comments)? Can you expand on them?
• What questions do your readers tend to ask you in the comments section or via email?
• Consider conducting a poll to ask them what they would be interested in learning more about.
• What trends are emerging in your niche?
• What’s the biggest problem or challenge for people in your niche?

Ebook Tip

Pick a topic that you’re passionate about. You’ll be spending a lot of time researching and writing your topic and you’ll also have to spend a lot of time marketing your ebook. This does take some work, and if you’re not passionate about your chosen subject, this will come across in your writing and you will be much more likely to give up.

Write an ebook that contains information that people are desperate for.

Another option for finding a great topic for your ebook is to brainstorm a list of problems that people are desperate to solve. Instead of selling basic how-to information-such as an ebook about how to take a great picture with a digital camera,you should sell to desperate buyers. That is, people with pressing issues they need to solve right now; people with problems that are clear, bothersome (eg. haemorrhoids), and maybe even embarrassing. These people are going to be rushing to you for a solution to their problem instead of you having to chase after them to try to sell them your ebook.

Once you have finished brainstorming and have a long list of ideas,  examine them critically. Evaluate their merit as possible subjects for your ebook. Consider related ideas or concepts. Try to establish three or four strong ideas that are good potential topics.

“And remember this; you need to give customers what THEY want, not what YOU think they want.”

That’s it for now…

Could I ask you a quick question?

I am trying to determine what obstacles stop people from starting an online business. I will use the results to try to tailor my posts to address these issues.

So, if you could  please take a few seconds to answer this quick poll I would be most grateful.

Thanks…

Identify the right keywords for your online business

Continuing from my previous post…….Most online business owners make the  mistake of not taking the time to conduct thorough keyword research. With regards to our “martial arts business” they would brainstorm the first 10 words that pop into their heads for their niche (like “martial arts” and “Huddersfield martial arts lessons”) and never dig deeper into the minds of their prospective customers.

Effective targeted marketing  relies on proper keyword research. A keyword can be a single word (like “martial”) or words strung together to create a keyword phrase (like “martial arts lessons for adults”).

The more specific your keyword phrase is, the better. This helps to narrow down the people searching in your niche. Plus, it usually means fewer competitors for the phrase in search engine results pages.

Use keyword tools, such as those from WordTracker and Google AdWords to really dig down to come up with the best keyword phrases for your website.

The more in-depth you get, the more you’ll be able to find the words or phrases that your prospective customers will type into a search engine. If you can hit upon some of these phrases, you’ll see a big increase in the right kind of traffic.

You can look at keyword phrases from a number of different angles. Many keyword research tools provide information on how many searches are being done for a particular keyword phrase, but that’s not all there is to it. You should also look at how much competition there is for that phrase, as well as its Keyword Effectiveness Index (KEI).

KEI refers to the ratio between the amount of competition for a particular phrase and the number of searches done for that phrase. The higher the KEI value, the better. You’ll usually want to use phrases where the searches for it have been plentiful and the competitors scarce.

WordTracker allows you to find the number of searches being done for a particular keyword phrase, and to see how much competition there is for that phrase, along with the KEI value.

WordTracker isn’t free to use, although it does provide a  free trial which allows you to research 30 keyword phrases, but it only returns search results from MSN. The paid option gives you a number of different ways to research as many keyword phrases as you like and you can specify which search engine you want to receive results from.

To start your keyword research in WordTracker, enter a basic keyword or short keyword phrase that describes your business. For instance, you could type “Huddersfield martial arts lessons” into the search box.

WordTracker will then return a list of related words and phrases for you to choose from – like “martial arts,” “martial arts lessons,” and “instruction.” Click on one to see related keyword phrases on the right side of the screen. Clicking on “martial arts,” for example, might elicit a list that includes “martial arts shoes,” “history of martial arts,” “martial arts moves,” and “martial arts lessons.” Clicking on “martial arts lessons” might then elicit a list that includes “martial arts lessons for adults” “martial arts lessons for children,” and “free online martial arts lessons.”

The next step is to pick the keyword phrases that are most closely related to your product or service. In WordTracker, this adds them to your “keyword basket.” For our martial arts business, we’d choose “martial arts lessons for adults” instead of “martial arts lessons for children” or “free online martial arts lessons.”

Try to think of as many specific keyword phrases as possible, and use WordTracker’s “dig-down” feature to get even more specific choices. Once you’ve filled your keyword basket, you can look at  the competition.

The competition analysis page is where you’ll get the most information regarding your chosen keyword phrases – the number of searches that have been done on them, the amount of competition for them, and their KEI values.

WordTracker recommends using keyword phrases with a KEI greater than 10, but if possible try to come up with keyword phrases having a KEI over 100. A real gift is a phrase with a KEI greater than 400. A high KEI value means that you’re likely to be ranked within the first few pages of your targeted visitors’ search engine results pages… if you optimise your website pages for that phrase.

By identifying and choosing very specific keyword phrases with a high KEI value, and sprinkling those keywords around your website and advertisements, you’ll be able to get the most targeted traffic to your website i.e. the people most likely to actually buy your product or service.

As you build your list of keyword phrases, start putting it to use by including these phrases on your website, in your blog, in content you post in article directories, and in pay-per-click search engines. As time goes by and you see how important keywords are to the success of your online business, you’ll get into the habit of conducting thorough research and expanding your list for a greater reach on the Web.

How to drive the right type of customers to your website

Whether you already have an online business or you’re thinking of starting one up, the most important thing you should focus on is driving traffic to your website. Learning this skill is vital to your success. After all, if you don’t have potential customers browsing  your products or services, how can you sell them anything and make money?

Let’s say you’ve started teaching martial arts lessons in Huddersfield and you’ve set up a website to help you find more students.

Now, you probably realise how important it is to get as many visitors to your site as possible. Common sense right…more visitors equals more sales. However, you may not realise that there are two types of traffic – and only one of them is really worth the effort to attract it.

In general, traffic is classed as targeted or untargeted. Targeted traffic is the best.

The most effective way to generate targeted traffic to your site is to master the use of keywords. Please don’t underestimate how vital keywords are to your success in making money online. Try to learn how to use the various tools on the Web that can help you maximise your ‘findability’.

When creating content for your website, whether it be information about your product , information about yourself, even articles related to whatever it is you’re selling – you want to make sure you include plenty of keywords that your potential customers could be searching for.

Well, that’s it for now. Next time, we’ll look at how to identify the best keywords for your business…

Can you monetise your hobby?

Previously we discussed whether you could replace your job with a hobby and I would like to expand on this a little.

So, is it possible for you to monetise your hobby? In short, yes. Virtually all hobbies will have  saleable elements, it is just a matter of determining what they are. There will normally be a product element, where you could produce and sell products such as a guide, and a service element where you can charge people for your services.

Let’s take a look at DIY. You are a keen DIY enthusiast and have a wealth of experience across the whole spectrum of home improvements. The saleable elements of this particular hobby are pretty obvious. You could sell a variety of guides to help novice (and expert) DIY enthusiasts save money by doing their own home improvements. You could also sell your services as a DIY expert and undertake the home improvements on the customers behalf.

You can use both of these elements to build an income , but it would be best to keep them separate, as two different ventures.  On the whole you can use the same techniques to sell your hobby product as your hobby service, but there may be a few minor differences here and there.

So, you’ve identified that your hobby has two saleable elements. The question is: how do you go about selling them and generating a regular income doing the things you enjoy?

You need an outlet.

The simplest and most cost-effective outlet available is the internet. You are going to need a website that potential customers can visit, view your products and place an order. The website doesn’t have to be flash, all it needs to have is
three basic functions:  Can people visit it, can people view your products and can people order your products? If you can answer “yes” to all those questions you’re pretty much sorted. You can always tweak your website in future, but basically that is all you need to get started.

You can also set up a website to advertise your service element. In this case the three questions you need to address are: Can people visit it, can people see what your service is and what’s included and can people book your service?

Keep your website simple and easy to use, making sure prices and contact details are easily identifiable.

Website hosting doesn’t need to be expensive. In fact to get started you could use WordPress or webs.com which are both free.

The only real drawback with such free services is that online order forms are more difficult to set up. But you can get around this by providing your customers with a telephone number or an email address with which they can order directly from you. At this early stage of your business this may be a lot more effective.

Ok, now you’ve set up two websites. One for your products and one for your services. You have taken the first steps on an exciting journey, and remember this is easily achievable whilst working in your current job. Hopefully your business will take off and you will finally be able to give up your job and earn your income by doing what you enjoy.

Go for it, you have nothing to lose…