The Future of Podcasting - The Life of a Wannabe Pirate
June 30, 2009
The Future of Podcasting - The Life of a Wannabe Pirate
by: Brent Paine
For anyone who isn’t aware what Podcasting is, be advised that you are missing out on one of the biggest technology trends since this little thing we like to call “The Internet” first got started!
Yes, despite all the nay-sayers the popularity of Podcasting is increasing at an astronomical rate. The question is no longer whether Podcasting is a fad, but on how large an audience this new media can sustain!
If you peek back in time, it was around 1994/1995 when the National Science Foundation opened its main backbone to the Internet, giving way to the flood of popularity that followed.
Similar to Podcasting now, people in the mid 90’s claimed the Internet was just a fad and would never amount to more than a fancy means of research. Of course, with advances in software and technology, we began seeing pictures, graphics and yes, even streaming video crop up and it was only a matter of time before it was adopted by tens of millions, and eventually hundreds of millions of people.
Podcasting Is Not The Internet!
Creating a Marketing Plan for Your Website
June 29, 2009
Have you created a marketing plan for your Website? If not, it is time to think about developing one. An Internet marketing plan helps you make the right day-to-day and long term decisions. Without a marketing plan, it is more likely your Website will be a drain on finances rather than a business builder.
Creating a marketing plan need not be scary or difficult. It does not require a marketing degree or a lot of experience. You do, however, need to put some quality time into writing your plan. There are different ways to write a marketing plan, one of which is to create a marketing plan outline (or single summary page) through a five step process.
5 Steps to Creating a Marketing Plan
Those five steps are:
1. Gather and Analyze Information
2. Verbalize Your Main Challenge(s)
3. Develop Your Website Objective(s)
4. Create Strategies
5. Choose Marketing Programs
As you create your marketing plan, fill in the knowledge you gained while developing the five steps.
Step 1: Gather and analyze information.
My Competitor Has a Better Product
June 28, 2009
The topic of this issue’s article is a response to a question submitted by one of my newsletter readers.
QUESTION - “At the moment, my competitor’s have a far better product/deal, due to circumstances out of my control. However, customers go to the competitor and then come to me to compare. How do I go about convincing the customer that our service/product is better even though on paper it isn’t???”
ANSWER - Thanks for the question. I’m going to answer this to the extent that I can without knowing what it is that you or your competitor sell.
I believe that this is a common experience for many of us in sales. Customers use us for free for all kinds of freebies - information, demos, test drive’s, consulting, etc. Sure, it is good to give away something free to expose people to your offering (my newsletter is an example of this).
This has gone way too far however, and it’s our fault in the sales profession. We have been bludgeoned into thinking that we must do whatever it is that the customer asks of us. That we should jump through hoops like trick dogs, if that gets us just a little bit closer to *possibly* getting a sale.
Four Keys For Successful Foundation and Corporate Fundraising
June 28, 2009
Earlier in my career, I worked for a training and technical assistance service provider with significant revenue from foundations and corporations. What was the key to success? It was targeted fundraising based on the needs of the donors.
Unfortunately, many organizations take another approach. They send a shower of requests hoping one might land in the right spot. As a board member of a grantmaking organization with no paid staff, I review requests that are based on this “shower” approach. They have little chance of being funded. Why? In most cases, the requests either do not relate to our grantmaking initiatives or the amount of money requested is well above our capabilities.
In the current fundraising environment of fewer dollars and more nonprofits, you can’t afford to waste your time and resources. There are four keys to more successful fundraising.
Be clear about who you are
You must be clear about:
The community need you are addressing
How your mission addresses that need
The precise activities or services for which you are seeking support
Who will benefit from these activities or services
Your expected outcomes
Your measures of success
Online Business Start-up
June 27, 2009
Online Business Start-up
by: Bill Naugle
Are you thinking about starting an on-line business? Maybe you have a vague idea of what’s required - maybe you haven’t a clue. This article outlines three basic, non-negotiable things that you will need.
1. Premium web hosting
I suppose it is possible to make a modest income on-line without your own website. But, it is practically impossible to make serious income without your own site. This applies whether you’re selling on EBay, marketing affiliate programs, or selling your own product or service.
A web host provides you with your space on the internet. You want to make sure you get a host who can provide you with plenty of space to grow and excellent data transfer rates. The last thing you want to do is fall for one of the free services that only gives you a small amount of space or can only handle a very limited amount of traffic. You don’t want to be forced to move your site to a different web host after quickly outgrowing your free space.
2. Sequential auto responders
Create a Win Win for Your Small Business
June 26, 2009
Discover How Specialized Cost Containment Creates A New Win-Win Position For Property Owner’s And You
Property Management: A simple strategy to increase client loyalty
Property managers who pro-actively employ advanced techniques to help property owners and anchor tenants reduce operating costs, will most certainly be considered a more valuable business asset. When you can achieve this with lower administrative functions and no out-of-pocket cost to you or your client’s, you’ve created additional benefits.
In the world of commercial and apartment properties there resides a constant un-ending challenge for property owners ? As a savvy professional property manager, you have the opportunity to meet this challenge and potentially save your client’s considerable money. The "constant challenge" of course is how to effectively control operating costs and potentially increase the N.O.I. on any commercial or apartment property. These factors are paramount and fundamental to commercial investments and they can weigh heavily on the properties capacity to support preferred level financing as well as future value.
In a professional setting and as an investment property owner and developer, I understand the importance and the impact that effective property management can have on real estate and property owner’s. The outstanding P.M. that pro-actively controls costs is the company that creates ongoing loyalty, gets referred more often and prospers financially. The opposite is also true!
Better Management Performance - The Easy 3-Step Way
June 25, 2009
Managers make three mistakes when they try to run businesses. They do too much, they don’t trust their people and they don’t have enough skills. Here we explore an easy 3-step process to get your business back on track and get a life.
Managers work in increasingly challenging circumstances and workload seems to ever increase. There are opportunities to use the capabilities of each and every one of those who work with them. Yet many managers struggle on, carrying the burden until finally, that straw comes along which breaks the camel’s (aka manager’s) back.
So what happens? Well, managers choose not to give tasks away, for several reasons.
- The manager may feel obliged to do most of the work - after all, that’s what he believes he’s getting paid for.
There is a knowledge gap.
- He may not wish to let go of some workload because his role would then be ‘let go’, so makes himself look very busy and thus indispensible.
There is a confidence gap.
Marketing to Success on a ZERO Budget
June 24, 2009
TOP 10 TIPS TO GET YOU MARKETING TO SUCCESS ON ZERO DOLLARS!
I come across so many people that absolutely freak out when they think about having to market their business. Heaps of questions come up like, ‘Where do I start?’, ‘I hate selling’, ‘How do I market my business when I don’t have any money?’?.. Most of these people absolutely LOVE what they do, but detest having to ’sell’ their service to receive an income from it.
You’ll love it when I say it’s easy to start and anyone can do it with a little planning and preparation, you DON’T HAVE TO SELL, yes believe it! If you market well and consistently you won’t EVER have to sell again ? now how’s that for great news?! And best of all you DON’T NEED MONEY to do it. Its music to your ears isn’t it?! And it’s true, I created, built and established a business that replaces my income from every job I ever had based on some simple strategies that you can adapt to your business and your style ? and in addition to that, they’re easy and I’D LOVE TO SHARE THEM WITH YOU RIGHT NOW! Ready? You’ll be surprised?.
Lets Talk About Trust
June 23, 2009
I agree with Brooker T. Washington, “Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon him, and to let him know that you trust him.” I agree with Mr. Washington because I’ve experienced trust. I’ve been on both the giving and receiving side of the equation, and I know first hand the power of trust.
That’s what trust is. It’s power. Power to transform an ordinary, everyday, OK place to work, into an environment where people are almost unstoppable. Power to unleash creativity, commitment, enthusiasm, and fun. Power to bring out the energy, talents and gifts of individuals, to build teams, to achieve amazing results.
Look around your organization. There’s some division or department or work unit or team that’s like that … some pocket of excellence where people shine, ideas flourish, and exceptional work is achieved. That’s where trust is.
People work for people, not for companies. And no one needs permission to create his or her own pocket of excellence. Trust is not about them giving it to us. Trust is an action we can take. We start trust by giving trust.
Legitimate Home Based Businesses - PAS tops the list
June 23, 2009
Legitimate Home Based Businesses - PAS tops the list
by: Charlie Golick
Have you always struggled to find the right home based business or the right coach? Though there are plenty of home based business opportunities floating around amidst a lot of hype, it is difficult to locate one that really fulfils all of the tall promises it makes.
Things to keep in mind before starting work at home business
Making money on the Internet from home based businesses is easier when you start at the top - the proven home based business opportunities.
There is no dearth of home business scams. While most home based business opportunities claim that you will earn guaranteed money where you have to do little or nothing - only some actually deliver.
Prosperity Automated System(PAS) is the best home based business program, where anyone can make money! Developed at the cost of $3.5 million and years of research and planning, PAS is a fully automated hands free home business system. PAS does it All, everything is OUTSOURCED. You basically DO NOTHING.
