Enter to Win a Fellowes Shredder! #FellowesInc

This post brought to you by Fellowes. All opinions are 100% mine.

I was excited to receive the Fellowes 79Ci paper shredder to review, as I’ve never owned a shredder before. Getting rid of important documents without worrying they’ll be stolen has always been an issue – so I’m thrilled to finally have one in the office.

It’s a sweet stand-alone machine on wheels, so no desk space is necessary. I parked mine just beside my desk, and it’s the perfect height to shred documents while sitting in my office chair.

As you saw in the video above, you have a chance to win one of these for your home office too!

Interesting to note, Fellowes designed the very first personal shredder back in 1990, and they are still the leader in shredding innovation and technology to this day.

Since this is my first shredder, I don’t have any comparisons to make, but I really loved the fact that it destroys documents into almost 400 pieces – making it nearly impossible to piece back together. AND the fact that it runs so quietly!

Fellowes POWERSHRED 79ci Features

Jam Proof: Fellowes is the only brand on the market that offers 100% JamProof Technology. It has multiple levels of advanced jam prevention, not just standard anti-jam features like other brands.

Cross-Cut Technology:  The 79ci has heavy duty blades that shred a single sheet of paper into 399 particles.

SilentShred: One of the features you’ll probably love most! Perfect for shared workspaces, or home offices where you share your workspace with your family.

SafeSense: the 79ci has a safety sensor that completely disables the shredder when a hand touches the paper opening. No worries!

Enter to Win a Fellowes Shredder: the POWERSHRED 79ci

It’s easy! All you have to do is leave a comment on this post (below) stating what you would be shredding if you won. A winner will be selected in a random drawing from all comments left. One entry per person.

See official contest rules

The Fellowes 79Ci is available at Staples for a suggested retail price of $239.99. For more information on Fellowes, please visit www.fellowes.com

Good luck!

Best,
Lynn Terry

Category: Online Reviews

View the original article here

5 Steps To Get More Email Subscribers

Tags: LBFB, list building

We’re now in Chapter Four (pages 23-33) of List Building for Bloggers, as we walk through it here in our LBFB Series.

Ready to grow your mailing list? Today we’ll discuss strategies for promoting your newsletter and to improve your opt-in conversion rate.

You have a subscription form on your blog or website, but is it in the right place? Is it drawing attention and converting your visitors into email subscribers?

There are three things you should analyze before you start heavily promoting your newsletter or mailing list, to ensure you get the best possible conversion rate…

By now I assume you have a mailing list manager, such as Aweber, which hosts your email lists and provides you with list statistics and opt-in forms to place on your website. If you don’t, you’ll need to set up an account.

There are other options of course, but be sure to do your homework. MailChimp, for example, does NOT work with affiliate marketers – you can lose all of your lists (!) by including an affiliate link in an email.

1. Your Opt-in Form: Placement, Color & Copy

The first step, before marketing your list, is to make sure that you have the highest converting opt-in form possible. This will take some testing on your part, but there are some basic principles you should be following to start.

Placement is key. Your opt-in form should be “above the fold” (meaning it is visible on your page without scrolling). Ideally it will be at the top of your sidebar. If you use a 3-column layout, test between the top left and the top right sidebar.

Color is also important. Color should be used strategically to draw the eye to specific areas of your pages. Pull up your site in a new tab or window and view it objectively – as if you were a first time visitor. Where is your eye drawn? Does your subscription form stand out or blend in?

Once your eye lands on the subscription form, does it compel you to subscribe? This is the one place you really want to put your copywriting skills to the test.

Basic copywriting 101 is to describe the benefits, not the features. Why should your visitor subscribe to your list? How will they benefit from your emails? Be sure you are answering those questions, in as few words as possible – short & sweet!

“The absolute best place to have a subscription form is at the top of your sidebar, above the fold, clearly marked. If it’s unclear, make it more visible. Other places where forms can be effective are above your logo or banner (yes, you read that right), or below every post as part of the footer.”
-Phil Hollows, LBFB page 25

2. Customize Welcome Message Plugins

If you’re using a WordPress Plugin such as WWSGD, you should customize it. This plugin will display a message to new or first-time visitors inviting them to subscribe to your RSS Feed by default. You can actually put code there instead, and display your Aweber opt-in form with an invitation to subscribe.

3. Create a Squeeze Page for Signatures & Bio’s

Consider your email signature, forum signatures, and the bio you use in various places: on social networks, when you guest blog, etc. Instead of sending people to your main page, send them to a custom squeeze page that invites them to join your mailing list – with an offer they can’t refuse!

Tip: Don’t name the page /newsletter.html. Get creative and create a file name like yoursite.com/freedownload.html or yoursite.com/secretpage.html that will entice them to click on your link.

4. Add Your Subscription Form to Your Facebook Page

Are you inviting your Facebook fans to subscribe to your mailing list? You should! This is actually something I’m off to do myself today. For detailed instructions, see: How Do I Add an Opt-in Form to My Facebook Page?

5. Give Visitors an Incentive to Subscribe!

If you look below this post you’ll see that I offer “Free Tutorials Every Monday”. It’s not a super compelling incentive to subscribe, but it’s MUCH better than “Hey, sign up for my newsletter!” (how I created that opt-in form below posts)

I’m actually in the process of putting together an awesome free report (inspired by this series, of course!) which will be a much better incentive to sign up. I’ll be updating my opt-in forms with a cover graphic and compelling copy as well.

Consider what your visitors most need or want, and offer it as an incentive to subscribe to your mailing list. It’s important that you let them know they are not just requesting a free download, but also signing up for your mailing list. Otherwise you’re “tricking” your visitors, which could result in complaints.

There are other things you can do to grow your mailing list, but these five steps are a great starting point! Have additional ideas or resources you’d like to share for list building? Leave a comment below. And of course, if you have questions about any of these steps – ask away!

Best,

p.s. If you don’t yet have a copy of List Building For Bloggers, and you want to follow along in the series this month, grab a copy here and use the coupon code “clicknewz” for $10 off. That makes it only $14.95!

Category: Email Marketing

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Celebrating 15 Years In Business :-)

This month, February 2012, marks my 15 year anniversary in business. And boy does it ever make me nostalgic!

My daughter was only 5 months old when I quit my job to start a business. She’ll be 16 this year, and my son – who was then only 5 years old – is turning 21 this Fall.

It’s amazing how time flies…

I think back to all the reasons I quit my job, started my first business – and then my second, and shut down my offline shops & offices to work from home full time.

It has been one crazy roller coaster ride! But I can’t help but feel grateful (and incredibly satisfied) about where it all brought me, and how it changed my life.

15 years ago I could have never dreamed I’d be living the life I am now…

That’s not to mean that it took me 15 years to achieve my goals, or to create a successful online business. It has been an incredible experience every step of the way! I had the opportunity to homeschool my children when I needed to, take care of my grandmother during her last two years, be a full time mother as a single parent… and strategically create a life that I love.

I’d hardly ever left the state of Tennessee before I was 30. I’ve now been to Australia FIVE times, flew over White Rock Beach in Vancouver, spend weekends at the beach with my girlfriends, and basically LIVE to put new stamps on my passport and eat in as many new places as I possibly can. (I do love to eat, LOL)

I’m incredibly happy. And that is NOT all about money. In fact, I learned the hard way that money does not buy happiness. But my business success HAS allowed me to be the great mother I wanted to be, to travel and make wonderful friends all over the world… and to have a huge sense of accomplishment and pride for all I have achieved. Not just in business, but in my life as well.

It wasn’t all easy. I often joked that being an entrepreneur is the best therapy you could ever have. LOL. It’s definitely a great way to learn your weaknesses, face your fears, overcome your imaginary obstacles, and test yourself to the farthest limits.

15 Things I’ve Learned In The Last 15 Years

1. Perfection does not exist. Only Perception.
2. There is no ONE right way to do anything.
3. Doing is better than planning.
4. You can always fix it later.
5. Being an entrepreneur means going with MY ideas.
6. Nobody is going to do this for me. It’s up to me, and me alone.
7. Finish it. Whatever it is, finish what you started.
8. I’m the only one judging me. Nobody else really cares.
9. My biggest business fears… are kinda silly.
10. I’m not competing with anyone. I’m on my own timeline.
11. We’re all somewhere. There will always be people ahead of you & behind you.
12. If I’m not totally into it, it ain’t gonna happen.
13. Forget money goals. Plan a LIFESTYLE.
14. Take breaks when you need them. Long breaks, even.
15. Give back, every chance you get.

And above all… take time to LOVE, LAUGH and LIVE.

I worked *hard* to get where I am today. But it was all worth it. I have absolutely no regrets. I look back on where I was, how far I’ve come, and what all I have accomplished… and I’m incredibly proud of myself. I pushed through obstacles I wouldn’t wish on anyone, and I never gave up.

Yes that meant long days (and nights) of working, and even breaking down in tears a few times along the way. But I did it. And that feels GOOD!

A Special Offer To Celebrate This Special Occasion

When I started out, I did everything on my own. There were very few ebooks or mentors back then. I can remember pulling my hair out trying to figure out code, and learning the simplest of things with no real help. Talk about frustrating.

Since then, I’ve made it a point to help others whenever I could. I started a forum around 10 years ago, which I’ve since moved here to ClickNewz, and then started a small Private Brainstorming Group.

It turned out to be one of the most rewarding experiences of my career, and the closest peer group I’ve ever had. Many of the members have been there with me from the start. Watching their businesses grow and take off has been amazing!

It is currently $27/month to join the group, which is a great rate. We have five live calls a month (“Brainstorming Hour”), live case studies, and discuss everything from ideas to implementation to technical issues.

To celebrate my 15 Year Anniversary, I’ve created a special option to join us for one month for only $15.

There’s no flashy sales copy. It won’t renew automatically, or set up recurring billing. It’s simply a full month at a great rate, and a nice opportunity to check out my Private Brainstorming Group and see if it’s something you would like to be a part of while you grow your successful online business.

All you have to do is register on the forum, confirm your registration by email, and then you can upgrade to an Elite Member to access the active private forums.

* Be sure to choose the “February Special” to join us for the single $15 month.

Again, it won’t recur so you can just join in and take advantage of this opportunity to get some serious help with your website & business for the next month.

And if you love it, we hope you’ll decide to join us long term!

This is a great chance to tap into my 15 years of experience – for only $15

THANK YOU…

Thank you for being part of my business, and my life.

So many of you have contributed to my success in a variety of ways – with likes, links, shares, comments, clicks, encouragement, feedback and so many other ways. And some of you have become wonderful friends as well. I’m grateful to know you, and really enjoy sharing my days with you here…

Here’s to 15 awesome years… and many more! *cheers*

Best,

Category: Coffee Break!

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6 Ways to Get Free Targeted Web Traffic

Susan Brown asks: “What’s the best way to get your website discovered by a lot of people in your niche besides forums, social media, and guest blogging?”

I smiled when I read Susan’s question above. It made me wonder why she chose to exclude those specific methods for free targeted web traffic. My guess, and I could be totally off base, is that Susan doesn’t enjoy the social aspect of marketing for one reason or the other. Or perhaps she doesn’t enjoy creating content.

Maybe you can relate to one or both of those issues yourself…

Two Requirements For Free Targeted Web Traffic in 2012

There are two things that are pretty much required to succeed at online business right now: content and social media. This is different than a few years ago, where SEO (Search Engine Optimization) would have been been my #1 answer.

Quality, unique content is particularly important since the Google Panda Update.

It also plays a huge role in your pages getting liked/shared across social media channels. Which brings us to why social media is so important right now…

Search is changing. It’s moving more toward “social proof” instead of “link proof”. So right now, and going forward, your “Social Media Rank” will be even more important than PageRank ever was.

Every Facebook share, Tweet & Retweet, Plus One, etc will play a role in how well your pages rank in the major search engines. And even more important – your Click Through Rate in the search results.

This means you need strong social media channels with frequent content & high levels of engagement with your market. If you’re not already on top of this, see the page I linked to for specific instructions.

Without these two marketing strategies, awesome content & social media engagement, you’ll be missing out on TONS of free traffic to your website. And that’s just plain silly!

Six Ways To Get FREE Targeted Web Traffic – Easily!

With that said, variety is the key to a great marketing strategy. The more sources you have for your site traffic, the better. Here’s a quick list of the bases you should be covering in your marketing plan:

SEO / Search EnginesSocial MediaLink BuildingEmail MarketingGuest BloggingLeverage Market Leaders

SEO is first on the list for a reason. Everything you do should revolve around a Keyword Strategy so you can easily reach your market at the exact moment they are searching for what you offer. This involves researching keywords, and proper web page optimization for ALL of your content. Once you get the hang of it, it will be like second nature every time you write an article or blog post.

Social Media is a two-for-one. It’s like Link Building in that it helps with your search engine rankings, but you’ll also reach your market directly in the process. See How to Use Social Media, and also add Pinterest to your list.

Make sure you have social media buttons on every page of your blog/website so that your readers can easily share, like, stumble or vote-up your content FOR you.

Link Building is NOT dead, and you should still be searching out quality inbound links to your pages to help them rank higher in the major search engines.

See: Does Link Building Frustrate You? for a new perspective on this mundane task. Also see One Way Link Building and Quality Inbound Links.

Email Marketing and List Building are two things that should be HIGH priority in your marketing strategy. If you’re not building a mailing list, today is the day to start. If you have a mailing list, but you’re not emailing them consistently – again, today is the day to start communicating with your readers! See: Do You Ignore Email Marketing?

I highly recommend List Building For Bloggers by Phil Hollows. We have an exclusive coupon code for this guide. Download it for only $14.95 using the code “clicknewz”. This is one of my personal favorites and we’ll be working through this guide together in March, so grab your copy and stay tuned!

Guest Blogging is an awesome way to get the BEST possible quality inbound links (and a *free* permanent link at that!), and also get in front of an established readership. Often when you guest blog, you not only get in front of that blogger’s readers, your post will also be shared to their email list & social media channels.

See: How to Increase Blog Traffic – Fast! for proof, and to learn about my favorite resource on the topic. Also see: Blog Interviews & Guest Blogging for tips, examples – and a funny video.

Leverage Market Leaders: What does this mean exactly? It means you should find the top podcasts, magazines, blogs, forums, radio shows, etc in your market. Find out what content your market is consuming, and where, and leverage that to your benefit. Brainstorm ways to get in front of your market where they are, which is much easier than trying to get them to come where YOU are.

Comment on their blogs, join their forums, guest blog for them, submit content, interview them, review their products, submit testimonials, advertise with them, etc. Get creative and figure out ways to get in front of their established audience!

I hope this answers Susan’s question, and also gives you some fresh ideas for getting free targeted web traffic to your own blog or website.

Best,

p.s. Notice how I just created a 900+ word blog post from a single question on Facebook? That’s a little bonus tip for you. There’s no end to the sources for great content ideas! But if you find yourself struggling to come up with topics for fresh, unique content… see: Fast Content Ideas for Easy Writing!

Category: Website Traffic Q&A

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Fast Content Ideas for Easy Writing

Tags: product reviews

I just connected with Peggy Baron at the NAMS event a couple weeks ago, and pulled her aside to comment how popular her Easy Article Starters had become.

I’d been hearing great things about it everywhere! I decided to check it out and see what everyone was raving about…

I’ve talked before how important consistency is when it comes to blogging & content. Yet there was only ONE post on my blog last week – and it was a guest post at that! LOL

I opened Easy Article Starters, scanned through the content, and ended up writing TWO posts in the amount of time it would have taken me just to come up with ONE topic to blog about! To show you live examples, those two posts were What it Takes to Become a Super Affiliate and When You Can’t Afford To Invest In Your Biz.

Obviously I put my own spin on them, but the cool thing is that I also have TEN more posts in queue, already outlined and just ready to finish & publish. Nice!

Like I said, I’d heard really good things about EAS, but it totally exceeded my expectations. I’m sure you’re curious what it’s all about, so here are some details…

Easy Article Starters

First, it’s not just for articles. You can use the Easy Article Starters for blog posts, article marketing, guest blogging, short reports – even videos and podcasts.

It’s basically a variety of content ideas, with the content already outlined FOR you. Here is an example to give you an idea what that looks like:

There are five Article Starters in each category. You will see they’re all outlined – intro, body, and conclusion to give you some structure to work with. These are not finished articles – finishing them (with your own voice) is what you do.

On many of them Peggy has added helpful instructions in [brackets] to give you an idea of how to best flesh out your article. And then at the end of each pack, there are Kick Start Titles that help you come up with even more content topics. I found these especially useful, which is how I came up with 10 more blog posts so fast.

Peggy also shares her resources for finding new topic ideas, and shows you how to come up with endless topics to write about – whether you’re creating articles, blog posts, reports, or basically any type of web content.

I was impressed with how easily she comes up with her topics! Brilliant

Easy Article Starters FAQ

There are currently two packages you can get. The original Easy Article Starters, and the new Affiliate Mega-Pack.

The original Easy Article Starters packages include topics such as:

Internet MarketingFamily & Home (parenting, food, etc)Weight Loss & FitnessSelf ImprovementDogs

These packages are currently discounted, and you even get a price break on multiple packs. They’re a great deal, and like I said – I was amazed at how FAST I had over a dozen blog posts drafted!

The Affiliate Mega-Pack is for those who like to promote internet marketing products and make affiliate commissions. This 50-starter mega pack features 10 different affiliate products and it’s currently discounted at only $19.95. It includes topics specifically for affiliate promotions, and you get a full 50 starters on:

hosting (promote your favorite)domain names/registration (promote your favorite)autoresponder (promote your favorite)Earn 1K A Day (membership site)Nicheology (membership site)AmazonEasy Video PlayerThesis WP ThemeKeyword Scout (need to be a member of WSOPro to promote)Contest Burner (WP plugin)

Again, this huge package is currently on special for only $19.95 (a steal!).

All of these packages are more than just templates, but they are not full articles. They are not PLR (which IS a finished article) but you can use them in many of the same ways: for blog posts, article marketing, guest blogging, podcasts, videos, short reports, etc. Basically anywhere you need to publish content, in any format!

Why would I want to use these and not PLR?

You can use either or both! Some people don’t like to write at all, or can’t, so it’s easier for them to put PLR content on their niche sites and just tweak it. Others like to write but just get a little stuck coming up with a topic or the direction the article should take. Easy Article Starters are perfect for those types!

Also, if you’re looking to do some article marketing on EzineArticles, you’re not allowed to use PLR unless it’s 100% rewritten. With an Easy Article Starter you’ll end up with an article that’s in your own words and unique so you should have no problems submitting it to EZA.

Can I sell the articles I write from these as PLR in my own PLR store?

Yes!

That’s one of the reasons Peggy Baron created them. She wanted to help out the PLR providers that were always asking her what they should write for their PLR.

Check out both Easy Article Starters, and the new Affiliate Mega-Pack. You’ll get a lot of details on those pages, and see just how cheap these packages are! Like I said earlier, I was extremely impressed with the product and will definitely be using them again (and again! lol)…

Best,

p.s. I am not sure how much longer the discounts will last, but do give them a quick look while you’re thinking about it. There’s no sense paying a higher price later!

Category: Online Reviews · Web Content Development

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Social Media Success Summit 2012

Free Class, Free Download and 50% off your ticket to this virtual event!

Have you heard the buzz about Social Media Success Summit 2012 – the web’s largest online social media marketing conference?

Before I tell you how this virtual summit will help your business gain more exposure, increase traffic, cultivate loyal fans and increase sales, let me share a story with you…

Proof social media marketing works:

In October 2009, Michael Stelzner started Social Media Examiner, a blog for marketers and small business owners. Almost overnight, his site became one of the top business blogs in the world. He didn’t advertise, didn’t rely on the press and almost none of his traffic came from search engines…

Now, after two years, he has 600,000 unique people visit his site monthly, more than 132,000 email subscribers and 80,000 Facebook fans. His site has become one of the top 1000 in the United States.

His secret: create valuable content his audience loves and apply intelligent social media strategies.

Michael’s story is not unique. A significant 68% of business owners and marketers plan to increase their use of social media in 2012 (2012 Social Media Marketing Industry Report).

What’s the connection? Your customers (and prospects) are using social media every day. Social media is a new marketing frontier because it bypasses all the costly middlemen and allows you to engage directly with your customers and prospects! You’ll never need to advertise. AND this presents an enormous opportunity for you.

So what’s this about??

Michael (and his team) have been working for months to bring the best minds in social media together in a fully online event: Social Media Success Summit 2012.

A significant 3,000 marketers and business owners from around the world attended his last Social Media Success Summit. Businesses were transformed.

In fact, 98% of attendees said they’d attend again and invite their friends.

This summit’s focus is to empower you to implement successful social media marketing tactics, track and measure your social media ROI, and see how successful social media campaigns were executed.

Twenty-seven of the world’s leading social media superstars will be summit instructors, including: Jeremiah Owyang (Altimeter Group), Chris Brogan (author, Google+ for Business), Mari Smith (co-author, Facebook Marketing), Brian Solis (author, Engage), Jay Baer (co-author, The Now Revolution), Jason Falls (co-author, No Bullshit Social Media), Frank Eliason (author, @YourService), Michael Stelzner (founder, Social Media Examiner, author Launch), and experts from LinkedIn, Dell, Ford, Citigroup and Citrix.

Plus join Jesse Stay (author, Google+ for Dummies), Mark Schaefer (author, The Tao of Twitter), Dave Kerpen (author, Likeable Social Media), C.C. Chapman (co-author, Content Rules), Kipp Bodnar (co-author, The B2B Social Media Book) and Amy Porterfield (co-author, Facebook Marketing All-in-One for Dummies) – just to name a few.

Attendees at our last summit included well-known organizations such as General Mills, Microsoft, Kraft Foods, SAP, Tyco, 3M, LexisNexis, Disney, Mayo Clinic, Coca-Cola and Wells Fargo. But you don’t need to be a big business to benefit!

This is the world’s largest online social media event designed to empower marketers and business owners to master social media marketing. And the great news is it’s a live online conference you can attend from your home or office.

For a limited time, you can get 50%-off tickets to this online event!

Click here now to get all the details

Here’s to your success!

Best,

P.S. Twenty-seven of the most successful social media pros will show you how to use social media to market and grow your business. Remember, the experts teach the sessions live (and it’s all online). So you don’t need to leave your home or office!

http://www.blogsuccesssummit.com

P.P.S. As a way of saying “thanks” for checking out the summit, there’s a gift just for marketers called “How to Hug Your Calculator: The 6-Step Process for Measuring Social Media” by Jay Baer (valued at $59) waiting for you.
Get Your Gift Here! (see yellow box on upper right)

Enjoy

Category: Conferences and Seminars · Social Media

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When To Mail Your List, and How Often

Tags: LBFB

We’re now in Chapter Three (pages 19-21) of List Building for Bloggers, as we walk through it here in our LBFB Series.

When should you mail your list (what are the best days & times), and how often should you send emails to your subscribers?

A common perception is that if you email your list too often, they’ll unsubscribe.

But consider that if you don’t email them often enough, they’ll unsubscribe when you do because they may forget who you are and why they’re on your list…

“Why? Because you’re not top of mind with your subscribers, and irregularly sent emails that arrive months after a subscription was confirmed will feel “out of the blue.” They are more likely to be less relevant to the list and, therefore, that much more likely to be marked as spam.”
-Phil Hollows, LBFB

This takes me back to when I started my very first mailing list well over 10 years ago, and it’s a list I still maintain to this day. I offered weekly tips, which I planned to send out to my list each Monday morning.

The first week I only had a couple of subscribers. The following week, when I sat down to look at it and consider writing the first issue, I only had 9 subscribers.

Hmm. I decided to wait another week, and send my first issue when there were enough people on the list to make it worth it. And then it occurred to me… none of those subscribers even knew there were only 8 other people reading. All they knew was that they signed up for weekly tips, and they weren’t receiving them!

And that’s when I started mailing my list on schedule, and treating each email as if I were writing to each individual person on my list…

The Best Time To Mail Your List

There have been many studies done on the best days and times to email your list, those with historically higher open rates. If those numbers still held true, and were not outdated, having an optimal mailing schedule would be a very nice thing, wouldn’t it? Then you could just mail on queue!

The fact is, your best days/times to send emails will be unique to your list and to your market. The best thing you can do is test, analyze your results, and adjust according to how your subscribers best respond.

Autoresponders are particularly nice because they communicate with your subscriber immediately after they have opted into your list, and at regular intervals on the days/times they are most likely at their computer.

People are creatures of habit. Consider your own routine – aren’t you often at your computer at the same times on the same days, for the most part?

Most people are. You can use this to your advantage and set up autoresponders that keep your list “warm”, as autoresponders go out at regular intervals – at the same time of day they originally subscribed.

Consider setting up a weekly autoresponder, or every two weeks, to touch base with your readers, as it will reach them on the same day of the week and same time of the day that they first interacted with your website.

How Often Should Your Mail Your List?

This brings us to how often you should be communicating with your subscribers, and the “how much is too much” conundrum.

The biggest fear is that if you email your list too frequently, people will unsubscribe in droves. This is not always the case, as I mentioned above. Sometimes not emailing them frequently enough can cause an unusually high unsubscribe rate.

More often than not, regular frequent mailing will keep your subscribers “tuned in” and create a higher sense of community and loyalty. The real problem comes with lack of relevance, not meeting their expectations, and a higher percentage of “pitches” than the content you promised them when they first subscribed…

“Mass unsubscribes and complaints are caused by losing relevance or over-selling (i.e. spamming your list). Once the pitch to post ratio gets too high – and the unsubscribe rate will clearly tell you when that is – relevance is lost and subscribers will flee…” -Phil Hollows, LBFB

Tip: Go back to your squeeze page or your opt-in form and study it for a moment. What incentive did you use to encourage visitors to subscribe to your list? What do you feel they expect from you via email, given the context of your subscription offer? Are you delivering that – specifically?

How often do you email your list, and do you have set times/days to send out your broadcasts? Leave a comment below and we’ll brainstorm options & ideas!

Best,

p.s. If you don’t yet have a copy of List Building For Bloggers, and you want to follow along in the series this month, grab a copy here and use the coupon code “clicknewz” for $10 off. That makes it only $14.95!

Category: Email Marketing

View the original article here

Celebrating 15 Years In Business :-)

This month, February 2012, marks my 15 year anniversary in business. And boy does it ever make me nostalgic!

My daughter was only 5 months old when I quit my job to start a business. She’ll be 16 this year, and my son – who was then only 5 years old – is turning 21 this Fall.

It’s amazing how time flies…

I think back to all the reasons I quit my job, started my first business – and then my second, and shut down my offline shops & offices to work from home full time.

It has been one crazy roller coaster ride! But I can’t help but feel grateful (and incredibly satisfied) about where it all brought me, and how it changed my life.

15 years ago I could have never dreamed I’d be living the life I am now…

That’s not to mean that it took me 15 years to achieve my goals, or to create a successful online business. It has been an incredible experience every step of the way! I had the opportunity to homeschool my children when I needed to, take care of my grandmother during her last two years, be a full time mother as a single parent… and strategically create a life that I love.

I’d hardly ever left the state of Tennessee before I was 30. I’ve now been to Australia FIVE times, flew over White Rock Beach in Vancouver, spend weekends at the beach with my girlfriends, and basically LIVE to put new stamps on my passport and eat in as many new places as I possibly can. (I do love to eat, LOL)

I’m incredibly happy. And that is NOT all about money. In fact, I learned the hard way that money does not buy happiness. But my business success HAS allowed me to be the great mother I wanted to be, to travel and make wonderful friends all over the world… and to have a huge sense of accomplishment and pride for all I have achieved. Not just in business, but in my life as well.

It wasn’t all easy. I often joked that being an entrepreneur is the best therapy you could ever have. LOL. It’s definitely a great way to learn your weaknesses, face your fears, overcome your imaginary obstacles, and test yourself to the farthest limits.

15 Things I’ve Learned In The Last 15 Years

1. Perfection does not exist. Only Perception.
2. There is no ONE right way to do anything.
3. Doing is better than planning.
4. You can always fix it later.
5. Being an entrepreneur means going with MY ideas.
6. Nobody is going to do this for me. It’s up to me, and me alone.
7. Finish it. Whatever it is, finish what you started.
8. I’m the only one judging me. Nobody else really cares.
9. My biggest business fears… are kinda silly.
10. I’m not competing with anyone. I’m on my own timeline.
11. We’re all somewhere. There will always be people ahead of you & behind you.
12. If I’m not totally into it, it ain’t gonna happen.
13. Forget money goals. Plan a LIFESTYLE.
14. Take breaks when you need them. Long breaks, even.
15. Give back, every chance you get.

And above all… take time to LOVE, LAUGH and LIVE.

I worked *hard* to get where I am today. But it was all worth it. I have absolutely no regrets. I look back on where I was, how far I’ve come, and what all I have accomplished… and I’m incredibly proud of myself. I pushed through obstacles I wouldn’t wish on anyone, and I never gave up.

Yes that meant long days (and nights) of working, and even breaking down in tears a few times along the way. But I did it. And that feels GOOD!

A Special Offer To Celebrate This Special Occasion

When I started out, I did everything on my own. There were very few ebooks or mentors back then. I can remember pulling my hair out trying to figure out code, and learning the simplest of things with no real help. Talk about frustrating.

Since then, I’ve made it a point to help others whenever I could. I started a forum around 10 years ago, which I’ve since moved here to ClickNewz, and then started a small Private Brainstorming Group.

It turned out to be one of the most rewarding experiences of my career, and the closest peer group I’ve ever had. Many of the members have been there with me from the start. Watching their businesses grow and take off has been amazing!

It is currently $27/month to join the group, which is a great rate. We have five live calls a month (“Brainstorming Hour”), live case studies, and discuss everything from ideas to implementation to technical issues.

To celebrate my 15 Year Anniversary, I’ve created a special option to join us for one month for only $15.

There’s no flashy sales copy. It won’t renew automatically, or set up recurring billing. It’s simply a full month at a great rate, and a nice opportunity to check out my Private Brainstorming Group and see if it’s something you would like to be a part of while you grow your successful online business.

All you have to do is register on the forum, confirm your registration by email, and then you can upgrade to an Elite Member to access the active private forums.

* Be sure to choose the “February Special” to join us for the single $15 month.

Again, it won’t recur so you can just join in and take advantage of this opportunity to get some serious help with your website & business for the next month.

And if you love it, we hope you’ll decide to join us long term!

This is a great chance to tap into my 15 years of experience – for only $15

THANK YOU…

Thank you for being part of my business, and my life.

So many of you have contributed to my success in a variety of ways – with likes, links, shares, comments, clicks, encouragement, feedback and so many other ways. And some of you have become wonderful friends as well. I’m grateful to know you, and really enjoy sharing my days with you here…

Here’s to 15 awesome years… and many more! *cheers*

Best,

Category: Coffee Break!

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Your Blog: Where It Starts And Ends

Tags: LBFB

As we continue the LBFB Series, based on List Building For Bloggers by Phil Hollows, we get into Chapter Two – which deals mainly with basic Email Marketing terminology.

It’s important to have an understanding of all the points covered. Particularly “relevance”, which we’ll discuss more in the next post.

First, let’s focus on the “Hub & Spoke” system (see image) that Phil mentioned in the beginning of this section (page 9).

You may be familiar with this term as it relates to Link Wheels or SEO methods, but it also applies to blogging. Your blog is your primary hub, the one property you own and control, with the spokes being all of the channels & methods you use to reach out to your readership and bring targeted traffic into your blog…

Your Blog: Your Hub

Your blog or website is the one property that you own, and have complete control over. While Facebook may be hot, Google+ on the rise, and who knows what may come down the pike next… you do not own these properties, and you have very little control over those channels.

The spokes should each have a life of their own, but your main objective should always be to funnel traffic back to your blog – and ultimately onto your Mailing List where you can communicate with them in a more controlled way.

Your blog should always be your “core”, and the source for all of the content you share through your “spokes”. While this may seem like a no-brainer, I’ve seen plenty of people neglect their blog to build active Facebook Pages – or create a Facebook Page in place of a blog, even. Shocking, but true!

There are a number of reasons you should focus on your property above all the others, including:

to build your mailing listbecause other properties are out of your control
ie could get deleted, blocked, or lose mass appealto get more visibility to ads & advertisersto improve traffic stats for higher ad ratesbecause blog posts & pages rank long-term!to improve the overall value of your property

Basically, it should ALL start and end at your blog. Make sure you are investing at least as much time on your own property as you are across your social media channels and other “spokes”.

Note: Merchants, Sponsors and Advertisers will be analyzing engagement on your blog. While your “social media rank” will be important too, they are most interested in how engaged your readers are ON your blog.

The Spokes

The spokes are your social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, Google+ – and even your RSS Feed and Mailing List.

They are each a means of reaching out to your market where they are or where they most prefer to get their content updates.

Note: It really doesn’t matter if you don’t like Twitter (or Facebook) and don’t *want* to use it. Go where the people are, go where your market is, and serve your market!

While your ultimate goal should always be to funnel traffic (fans, subscribers, followers, etc) back to your blog or website, you want to have strong engagement on each of your “spokes” as well. Strive for high response rates, ask leading questions, and build out strong properties that entice people to stay engaged with you.

Your “Social Media Rank” is very important to your overall marketing strategy, and even to the ranking of your blog/site’s pages and posts in the major search engines. So it shouldn’t be ignored by any means. Just keep in mind that your primary objective is to hook it into your main property.

How It All Works Together

I know it seems like a lot to manage. You write content, publish blog posts, share them on your social media channels, email your list, yada, yada, yada…

Do you ever feel overwhelmed with it all??

Honestly, it just *seems* like a lot. The overwhelm usually comes in when you go about trying to find ways to “automate” it. This plugin, that program, this option, etc. None of that is really necessary in my opinion.

There’s smart automation such as using Aweber’s Blog Broadcast feature to automatically send updates to your mailing list, but when it comes to my social media channels… I update them all manually.

It only takes a few seconds to post your new blog post to Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Tumblr, etc after it’s published. And updating manually gives you the opportunity to use appropriate @’s and hashtags and tags that will improve your reach on each of those channels.

I would love to hear your thoughts. How do you manage your blog, your social media channels, and your content distribution as a whole?

Where do you get frustrated, or feel most confused with the process?

Like I said, in the next post in this series we’ll discuss Relevance. Stay tuned, as this is a crucial element to your blog’s success!

Best,

p.s. If you don’t yet have a copy of List Building For Bloggers, and you want to follow along in the series this month, grab a copy here and use the coupon code “clicknewz” for $10 off. That makes it only $14.95!

Category: RSS & Blogging

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