Entrepreneurship

Marketing Your Biz Online: 3 Factors That Can Stop You From Succeeding

Leave a comment

Who should read this article? Anyone running (or planning to run) an offline business, who desires to take advantage of the Internet to achieve cost effective marketing reach and impact. I assume you already have a website or plan to get one. It’s a basic requirement for marketing your business online. My purpose here is to challenge you to avoid the pitfall of investing your hard earned money in building a website just for the sake of looking good, or keeping up with others. (NB: At the end of this article, I invite you to post ANY questions about how to attract potential customers via the Internet, so I can provide answers to them. )

Your purpose should be to make your business run more profitably (through reduced expenses on business promotion, increased leads generation/customer conversion etc). Sadly, in building their business websites, some CEOs still focus narrowly on how they feel, rather than aim to serve the interests of those they wish to do business with, who NEED the solutions they offer.

The truth is people looking for solutions get attracted to the person who offers the most convincing “argument” or “presentation” for addressing the problem they have. Now, sometimes, that person may NOT be the best looking or most attractively dressed. This is especially true on the Internet – which is why I call it the greatest leveler of all time. The Internet allows small companies or individuals compete on an equal basis with large corporations, and even win.

If your website only “looks pretty”, but does not make a compelling offer, it will lose potential buyers to the competitor. This is a proven fact.

Below, I discuss 3 important factors you need to consider carefully to ensure marketing your business online is successful:

1. Your Web Marketing Strategy

A Web Marketing Strategy spells out periodic steps you will take, to promote your business using carefully adapted marketing tools and resources based on (and off) the Internet. In a way, it’s like a business plan – albeit a dynamic one, to be tweaked based on results you get – for your online presence.

Most progressive minded and profit focused individuals/businesses today, use the Internet to dramatically cut their business promotion costs, while extending their marketing mileage. They do this based on a carefully developed plan of action – or Web Strategy. It is crucial that you implement a sustainable web-marketing strategy, to fully reap the rewards of taking your (brick and mortar?) business online.

By this I mean:

1. Your website’s appearance must be consistent with your offline image/status as a business aiming for constantly improving performances. So, the design should not be sloppy. You need not aim to win a beauty competition with it however. Such extra efforts should be channeled towards creating response generating content on it.

2. You must agree a formal strategy for leveraging the website to be used as the cost effective yet highly powerful marketing tool that it can be.

3. Your clients (prospective or existing) should be able to find – on your site – anything and everything they need to know/use in order to do business with you quickly – and easily. Simply put, your website should make you do less work in continually “selling” yourself to get more business, from new or existing clients. In other words, you need more than web design.

The days when a website design with bells and whistles swayed visitor buying decisions are long gone. These days, such aesthetics are readily delivered within minutes using powerful automated web design applications. Even a 5 year old can do it. What you NEED instead, is to use a custom web-marketing strategy to make it “sell”.

2. Your Website Leads Generation Ratio™ (WLGR™)

One effective way to asses how well your website is doing, is through the measurement of a parameter I call the Website Leads Generation Ratio™. That’s why I’ve listed it as another factor you need to pay attention to, if you want to succeed in marketing your business using the web.

If a reasonable percentage of your website visitors do not contact you (giving you the opportunity to convince them to do business with you), then your website is wasting money. The standard for the web is quite similar to that for traditional offline marketing i.e. 1 to 3% of those exposed to your marketing messages are likely to respond (NOT buy).

WLGR™ is calculated as follows:

Number of visitors to your site who decide to make contact with you(via email, office visit, phone etc) : Total No. of visitors to your website.

i.e. Website Leads Generation Ratio™ = Website Respondents : Total Website Visitors.

Using the above formula, if 100 people visit your website in a month, and only 5 contact you, then your site’s WLGR™ will be 5 :100 = 2%.

To get your website to deliver satisfactory WLGR ™, you need to build it to convert visitors to leads, by incorporating response generating copy, and not just content.

Like Michel Fortin says “content informs“, but copy “invites people to take action.” And that’s what you want to happen on your website i.e. for more people who visit it and who fit your ideal customer profile, to take action to at least get in touch with you about your products, and services.

If you cannot set this up yourself, I suggest you hire the right person or company to do it for you. There are eight(8) Questions I recommend you ask anyone you’re considering, in order to verify they have the ability to give you the desired value for your investment.

Send me an email via “8questions at cbstudio.biz” with your name and phone number, and I’ll send you a PDF containing the questions. Read through them, and then call me on 234-803-302-1263, if you’d like me to give you a general idea of the kinds of answers that the right provider is likely to supply. You’ll come away better equipped to make the right choice!

3. Getting The Right People To Visit Your Website

Not every business will offer products and services that are wanted or needed by virtually everyone such as toothpaste, water etc. This is why you need to get the right kind of people to visit your website – if you want to make sales.

You may not even need to aim for high traffic to your site. Instead work hard to attract optimal traffic of people looking for the solution (product or service) you offer. When such people visit your website, they are MORE likely to contact your with enquiries and/or orders, because what they see and read will interest them.

Some business owners very unwisely purchase traffic. Most times this yields less than profitable results. And that’s because that method involves getting large numbers of people with widely differing interests driven artificially to your website. Without the right web marketing strategy, you might have people who do not fit the profile of your intended customer, visiting your website. And they will often leave without even saying hello. That doesn’t help you in any way!

So, how do you get the right kinds of people – aka “Pre-Qualified Prospects” – to visit your site?

The simple answer is, by creating website content based on accurate insight into what your target audience wants, and where they can be found. In short, this amounts to creating content that will get them to find you through search engines.

It is a well known fact that organic or natural search results are most favoured by people searching for information on the web, compared to the sponsored ads that pop up on the SERPs (i.e. Search Engines Results Pages).

With Google’s re-invention of what it takes to achieve top search engine ranking, websites that pay attention to doing what I propose above, today enjoy well deserved search engine visibility for their favoured key words and search phrases.

You can achieve similar results. But your website copy alone may not do the magic.

For best results, you’ll need to develop an integrated approach. This will involve leveraging a variety of web based platforms (e.g. social media, e-mail newsletter management services etc), in conjunction with your “response generating” website, to capture the attention, and interest of potential clients or customers. That’s why I always advocate adopting a custom Web Marketing System(WMS)*. Once you have your WMS in place, you can continually tweak it, to maximize pre-qualified leads generation, which over time will eventually convert into sales.

TIP*: Among other actions, you will write useful articles, special reports, white papers etc. Then publish them on your website and promote them via social media platforms, as well as through a newsletter medium(if possible). Do this on a regular basis, without fail. The objective is to cultivate a followership of potential customers by publishing informative and educative content that is likely to appeal to them. Sooner than later, they will come to trust you, and eventually decide to buy from you – and even refer others.

For The Same Amount Of Money, You Can Get More Than Just A Pretty Website!

If you place an advert in a news daily for instance, it faces these challenges:

(a) “Expiry” due to between 1 day to 1-week newspaper shelf life.

(b) Difficult odds of getting read by your target audience due to over 80 pages of news/competing adverts in the same paper.

(c) Not everyone who reads that paper will fit your client profile.

(d) Also not all who fit your client profile will read that paper – or see your advert.

Your website should complement – but not replace – your offline conventional marketing efforts (such as the above), in such a way that you dramatically cut down your expenses on the latter.

Interestingly, the money and time you’ll spend getting a bells and whistles website, will often be the same – or even more than – it would cost you to cater for the three powerful factors discussed in this piece. Yet, the latter can determine the success or otherwise of your business marketing.

Adopting a Web Marketing System (which effectively incorporates the 3 factors discussed in this article, and more), will get you more marketing mileage, while complementing your use of newspaper adverts/other conventional advertising/marketing methods.

It will do this by :

a). making them MORE impact-full (because you’ll include “offers” from your Web Marketing System in those ads that’ll boost responses

b. reducing your need to use them as frequently as you used to (because you’ll get MORE results from combining them with your Web Marketing System). This will save you loads of money.

c). drastically reducing the time and effort it takes to carry out your routine marketing and advertising activities, especially creation/generation of leads, responses to enquiries and follow-ups (through intelligent use of automation).

So, do not just build a website and fold your arms waiting for it to grow leads. Go further to set up a self-sustaining custom Web Marketing System around it .

If you don’t know how to do it yourself (or you need a few pointers) get in touch with someone who does. Someone with real world relevant experience. Who understands the unique marketplace in which you have to operate. And who will be willing to go the extra mile to help you succeed in spite of any obstacles you may encounter. Someone who knows what it takes, having successfully done (and probably still doing) it for him/herself. Someone like…well…me.

===

My name is Tayo Solagbade (doing business as “CB Studio“). Unlike most other providers, I sell “Solutions” and NOT “Commodities” or “Processes”. In otherwords, I solve problems. Would you like to spend less money to make more sales of your products and services? I can help you harness technology & the Internet to do that – and a lot more. If you’re willing, we can build a profitable relationship in which I continually apply over 10 years experience to help you succeed in marketing your business online.

Need help attracting potential customers via the web? Post your questions and any other details of what you need my help with in the comments section, and I’ll respond with answers you can put to immediate practical use. If you wish to keep it private, send your message to info at cbstudio dot biz. You can also call 234-803-302-1263. Visit www.cbstudio.biz to learn more about how I can help you make your website work.

Entrepreneurship, Farm Biz

A Poultry Disease That Kills Profits: Protecting Your Poultry Layers From “Fatty Liver Syndrome”

Leave a comment

On Sun, 1 Jan 2012 17:44:21 +0100,  a gentleman who had already purchased my popular Livestock Feed Formulation Handbook as well as the accompanying Excel-VB Driven Feed Formulation Spreadsheet Software sent in this question:

Hi! Tayo,

I recently transferred my layers to cages and they are doing well but they have gained a little weight. I have read about “fatty liver syndrome” for layers on cages due to lack of physical activity.

The formula I used is maize 500 kg, SBC 75kg, GNC 115kg, BDG 50 kg, PKC 50 kg, whe(a)t offal 70 kg, plus other fixed ingredients in one tone.

Are my birds likely to experience this condition?

Thanks

B.

Below are excerpts from my response to him that I’ve made into a post. If you find the answers I’ve provided useful, please use the social share buttons to tell others you know may find this post of interest. 

Hi B…

Now, your question is interesting because it requires the application of KNOWLEGDE about a principle which has been scientifically established. Feeding of excessively high energy and/or high fat content feeds often causes problems in MOST animals – man included.

In Commercial Poultry Farming however, such inappropriate feeding of in-production birds, as well as a combination of a number of other factors has been shown to pre-dispose them to Fatty Liver Hemorrhagic Syndrome, which you mentioned. I have personally never seen a bird afflicted with it, but I’d read enough and learnt what measures to take via MAINLY feed formulation, to reduce chances of causing it via wrong feeding regimes.

The key is for the farmer to check energy content of EACH feed formula s/he uses and ensure it matches the needs of the bird group to be fed with it. My handbook supplies recommended values you can start with. As always, I encourage finding out via practical checks, what works best for you. So, subject the formula you sent me, to the check and see if you’re within the acceptable limits.

Note that THIS alone, especially in our hotter and more humid tropical environment, tends to be the major cause of FLS. As you rightly noted, battery caged birds naturally get to enjoy LESS exercise, making it difficult to burn off ANY excess fat that may accumulate from consuming high energy foods. THAT is the reason why, target kcal of energy per unit of food is lower for caged birds than those on litter etc.

Some sites have provided more literature on various causes of this ailment. I am however a believer in focussing on what I can put to use for myself in practical terms. What I can CONTROL by myself – considering that I operate in a limiting environment. With that in mind, it is my opinion that the other implicated factors (mentioned on sites I’ve supplied links to below) such as “deficiency of nutrients that mobilise fat from the liver (lipotropic agents), endocrine imbalances and genetic components” may not readily offer themselves to YOU, as a farm owner, to control.

In summary therefore, I am saying I agree with the following recommendation, if you wish to protect your birds/investment:

Protecting your poultry layers from fatty liver syndrome

Whatever I (or any websites) may have to say on this however, B…, as the farm owner, YOU must take appropriate due diligence measures to ensure you arrive at solution(s) that give(s) you the best results. The decision is ultimately yours to make. Information supplied can only HELP YOU arrive at that decision.

Suggested Further Reading:

1. Diseases: Fatty liver haemorrhagic syndrome (FLHS)

http://www.worldpoultry.net/diseases/fatty-liver-haemorrhagic-syndrome-flhs-d24.html

2. Fatty Liver Syndrome: Introduction

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/202400.htm

3. Important Nutritional Diseases that Affect Laying Hens

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/1600/important-nutritional-diseases-that-affect-laying-hens

GOT ANY QUESTION(S) – OR COMMENT(S)?

Do you have any question(s) relating to this subject or theme?

Why not post it(or them) in the comments section below, and I’ll either do a direct response or if I find it worthwhile, I’ll research and publish a separate post on it!

Entrepreneurship, Farm Biz

Livestock Feed Formulation: Are You Looking For Practical Training?

Leave a comment

I’m writing this based on a response that I sent out recently to someone who contacted me saying he saw a post on Nairaland.com referring persons interested in feed formulation to my Cost-Saving Farm Business Ideas website.

This will not be the first time I’ll be getting such enquiries based on link backs from other websites. Indeed, I have in the past come across websites linking back to my Farm Biz site while I was doing some searches.

Anyway, I’ve used excerpts from the response I provided to this gentleman, to make this post, for the benefit of others who may be interested. If you can come together as a groups, a significant discount on the “fee” for conducing the training can be had.

Below: The enquiry

Hi,as per our discussion.i would like (you to) teach (me) and also have an on-farm practical trainning on livestock feed formulation.please,how do i go about it and what is your advice?thanksediang aniekan archibong

…And my response…

It’s 1.13a.m and I’m still up, working on an Excel Software development project for a client of 5 years.

I mention this to give you a picture of the kind of schedule I keep. Apart from developing Automated Excel Software (like the one for Feed Formulation), I also develop and implement web marketing systems, in addition to a lot of (freelance) writing for clients and my own websites/blogs.

This is why the attention I pay to the Cost-Saving Farm Business Ideas service is designed to be on a needs basis. Your request fits in with my expectations of what people want from that area of my service.

However, many do not find my terms of service acceptable. I am hoping you will. So, here are my responses and comments…

1. To “teach” you practical feed formulation in person, one-on-one, will require a 100% advance payment of a non-refundable fee of N35,000.00.

This will get you a 2 hour session with me, in which I will take you through the theoretical aspect of using the Pearson Square Calculation to formulate your livestock ration. This will be followed with the physical selection, weighing and milling of the feed ingredients in the appropriate quantities at a feed mill.

You will get a printed and bound copy of my popular Practical Livestock Feed Formulation Handbook at NO EXTRA CHARGE (N7,500 value).

2. You mentioned on-farm practical training on livestock feed formulation.

First of all, I do NOT run a farm currently. Like I said above, I am a multipreneur, earning income using a variety of skills.

As is stated on the Cost Saving Ideas Website (http://www.iff.spontaneousdevelopment.com), I plan to establish a Farm Business Support and Extension Advisory Services Center at some point in the future. But for now, I do NOT run a farm.

However, a read through the website will reveal I have reliable farm business exposure, experience and network of contacts with farm business owners within and outside Lagos.

One major challenge for me has been getting most farm business owners and those aspiring to understand that my services CANNOT be provided FREE or at unprofitable levels.

Now, I’m not sure how much experience or knowledge you have of feed compounding, but the truth is most of what it entails can happen right in your bedroom – and you’ll only need to step out when you want to measure out the different ingredients in your formula, so as to take them down to the feed mill.

What I’m saying in essence is that typically a farm owner, if knowledgeable about feed formulation, will do his/her calculations, and then measure out the different quantities of feed ingredients based on his computed feeding formula.

S/he will then grind them all together to the right consistency for the livestock s/he aims to feed. Indeed, you may find you go from your home, to the feed mill FIRST, and only arrive the farm when you have the milled feed ready for use in feeding your animals.

Simply put therefore, Ediang, “on-farm practical training on livestock feed formulation” is not really an issue to worry about. Once you understand the practical science of feed formulation, and gain insight into how to select good quality ingredients (with reasonably accurate nutrient composition data), you are good to go.

A SUGGESTION FOR YOU

It’s up to you to decide, but I believe unless you doubt your ability to understand written notes and follow step by step guidelines, you would save a lot of money by simply purchasing the feed formulation handbook, and/or the software with it’s user guide and video tutorials. This entitles you to get FREE support via phone and e-mail whenever you need help.

My SPECIAL BUNDLED OFFER

You can buy the 60 page handbook as well as a CDROM containing my feed formulation spreadsheet software, the software’s PDF user guides, and its 3 audio-video tutorials for N18,500.00 (excluding delivery costs).

Alternatively, simply buy the handbook for N7,500.00 (excluding delivery costs).

LEARN MORE

You can learn virtually everything you need to know about my Feed Formulation Handbook and software by visiting http://www.cbstudio.biz and clicking either “Excel VB Feed Formulation Software” or “A Buyer’s Questions About Feed Formulation” on the vertical left side menu bar.

Among other things, you’ll:

A. gain access to links leading to a video demonstrations of the spreadsheet software being used to formulate a ration

B. read answers to Frequently Asked Questions from past buyers and enquirers

IMPORTANT NOTE ON PRICES

I am currently updating various pages on my websites to reflect my new price regimes. As a result, prices on some of them may be dated.

You should note that any price (be it lower or higher) that I give to you directly via an e-mail like THIS one, takes precedence over any other you may see on ANY of my websites, flyers, Facebook page or other media.

Call me on 234-803-302-1263 if you need further details or require clarification.

===SPREAD THE WORD!===

If you think it will help others, please use the share buttons provided on the blog to let others know about this latest post. Thank you!

Entrepreneurship, Self-Development

Your Passion Will Give You The Patience To Achieve Business Marketing Success

Leave a comment

“Patience is a virtue that carries a lot of WAIT.” – Anon

Whether you’re marketing online or off the web, one very important virtue you must develop, if you lack it, is PATIENCE. That is, IF you are to succeed with your business marketing for the long term.

You need to be patient. VERY PATIENT. You have to think like a hunter on the trail of nervous wild deer. Successful business marketing requires the foregoing as a basic minimum. That’s what will equip you to extract useful insights from the different efforts you make to sell your products and services.

Rarely can you reasonably hope to get overnight results. You are more likely to engage in testing and re-testing, till you get something that works just right for you.

That nurturing process can be quite taxing and time consuming. If you lack patience, you are likely to cut corners and not do it right. But that will show in what you send out to the market place – and the results will be just as disappointing.

Making sure you are in a business you absolutely LOVE doing, is what determines whether you will be able to find enough PATIENCE to keep going till you get IT.

"Unless the person running your marketing is patient, it will be difficult to practice commitment. View marketing as an investment, be consistent, and make prospects confident. Patience is a guerrilla virtue." – Jay Conrad Levinson in "The 15 Secrets of Guerrilla Marketing" – http://www.gmarketingcoach.com

If It Was Easy, Everyone Would Be Succeeding At It

In order to succeed, a business must make sales. Not credit sales, but sales that result in money received and in the bank. Marketing creates selling opportunities. However, very often marketing must be repeated or continued for considerable periods before the desired sales happen.

Records show that more businesses fail every year, than those that succeed. The latter are usually those able to make enough sales happen to cover expenses and keep them going. The fact that not every business succeeds in doing that proves that it’s not easy to do.

Which is why you will need to creatively leverage unconventional strategies, tools and technology, to get high impact marketing exposure. A willingness to be patient is a crucial requirement for making that happen. Business marketing requires unrelenting persistence, and is unlikely to yield 100% profitable returns overnight. Accept that reality, and be prepared to do what is needed, or you may not make it.

Measuring Your Business Marketing Success : An Index You Can Use

On a final note, it’s useful to measure your progress. You can, for instance, correlate your marketing expenditure to your client conversion. One useful parameter to periodically measure in this regard is your COCA i.e. Cost of Customer Acquisition. With patience, you get enough information to realistically determine what marketing method(s) wins you customers most cost-effectively. You would then improve on it to boost your conversion rates. Your patience would have paid off.

General

Where to Submit Your Guest Posts (Big & Popular Vs Small & Lesser Known Blogs)?

6 Comments

Are you a blogger using writing to get marketing exposure (and traffic/back links) to your blog? If yes, then there’s a good chance you know guest blogging is an excellent way to achieve that purpose – and you probably already use it.

But Just In Case You Don’t Know, I’ll Tell You

There’s always the possibility that someone reading this post will be new and looking to learn. If that describes you, here’s a quick definition: guest blogging involves submitting high quality blog posts you’ve written on a topic related to your blogging niche to specific blogs you identify.

The Key Benefits

Apart from helping you steadily gain name recognition and develop authority status, it also generates for you a stream of new, fresh traffic from other blogs, in addition to quality back links.

All of these will over time make your blog show up more often in search engine results pages.

Now, who doesn’t want that?

Where to Submit Guest Posts: Big/Popular Vs Small/Lesser Known Blogs

Conventional wisdom suggests best results can be had by getting your guest post published on a big and popular blog. If you can pull this off – and your post resonates with the readers – it rarely fails to yield multiple benefits for both the host blog and the guest blogger.

However, I suggest you consider adopting the approach I’m about to describe, especially if you are just starting out, and your blog is yet to chalk up any noteworthy rankings.

There’s no harm in aiming high or thinking big, but when you’re starting out it can help greatly, if you keep an open mind about choosing legitimate outlets to promote your blog.

The way I see it, pretty much everyone will be aiming to get published on the most popular blogs. Let’s face it, we all want to play in the big leagues and rub shoulders with the top guys. But with so many people trying to get in the same door, this can take time.

The truth however is that many not so big or popular blogs get decent amounts of traffic/ranking, and CAN give you good quality exposure, traffic and back links. This is truer even now because of Google’s improved ability to ensure good quality content websites show up more often in searches.

But what is probably an even more compelling reason to focus MORE of your attention, on getting published on not-so-big blogs, is that they have FEWER submissions to sift through in order to decide what guest post to publish next. Many of these big guys are overloaded with submissions. There is a long queue, and you may have to WAIT a while before your guest post goes “live”.

Of course, if the guest post you submit is really great, there’s a good chance the blog owner could send it right to the top of the pile for immediate publication. But that may not happen often – or with every blog. So, spreading your stuff around to other decent ranking, but not so well known blogs can help you make progress.

How Getting Published More Often On Smaller Blogs Can Add Up…To “Big Blogs” Exposure

Now think about it this way. If you submit your new guest post to a smaller blog that’s not over loaded with submissions, it’s likely to go live on the Internet faster than it would on a “busier” blog. Every time this happens, you instantly get at least one new back link to your site (via your byline).

But if you’ve done a good job of the post, it won’t end there. For instance, since everyone knows Google penalizes duplicate content, if the post is good, it’ll ONLY get shared, and linked to by more people – thereby generating buzz.

That buzz would attract the attention of Google bots, so your guest post will show up in more search results for its keywords. In addition, the social media spotlight would get other people (some belonging in the bigger and more popular blog networks) to “discover” and also link to it.

Sooner than later the traffic and other benefits you seek will be yours.

The Best Approach Is Always a Combination of Methods

Of course I’m not saying there’s harm in shooting to get published on large blogs. But NEVER make the mistake of focussing exclusively on big ones, and snubbing the smaller ones. This is because having your guest posts showing up on many different blogs – even if they are small – can eventually ADD up. And it could even leave you better off in the long run.

Having said that, you’ll find from watching a video demonstration I’ve just created for my MS Excel Guest Posts Submissions Manager & Performance Monitor, that I used it to choose websites to submit to, based on Alexa traffic and Google page ranks.

That was mainly for ease of explanation.

In reality, my preferred strategy is to periodically “identify” and submit guest posts to some big name blogs. However, I will actively look out for/evaluate and submit to lesser known blogs that I identify to fit into my target niche.

If you want to get your guest posts published faster, and not have to wait endlessly to reap the rewards for the efforts you put into writing them, you might want to do the same thing.

Any thoughts on this post?

What do you think about the perspective to guest posts submission discussed above? Has anyone got experience on the benefits (or otherwise) of going this route?

Share your thoughts or opinions by posting your comments!

General

UPDATE: MS Excel Based Guest Posts Submission Manager – 2 Videos On Youtube!

1 Comment

Watch the videos and you’re likely to come away with a few ideas of how to become more efficient in your guest blogging efforts. I’ll be writing a useful guest post on the steps involved in building a simple Excel based Guest Posts Manager like this one soon.

Send in your comments/requests: If you have any questions, comments or requests regarding this topic/application, I’d be glad if you post them right here. I’m trying to see if I can build this app to be useful to as many guest blogging enthusiasts as possible! (And if you want to send yours in privately, use this form).

Annotated screenshot image, showing how to view Youtube video in full screen mode

=============

In Video 1 of 4: I point out that you can build an Excel Guest Posts Submission Manager & Performance Monitor like this. Just watching these 4 videos can give you enough ideas to create your own custom spreadsheet based Guest Posts Manager.

In video 2 of 4: Continuing from video 1, I show how the Guest Post Manager can manage a huge list of target blogs. It instantly creates clickable links to each blog’s “Write for Us” page so you can submit with ease. And it also stores clickable URLs, traffic, link backs & other metrics for each published guest post.

Among other things, this application:

(a). stores URLs and Alexa traffic/Page Rank data for up to 1000 websites

(b). automatically generates clickable links for you to open the “Write for us” or “Submit Guest Post” page on the websites in your list

(c). also generates clickable URLs that open each of your published guest posts on the host blog

(d). Autocomputes a Weighted Average Performance Index (FWI) that identifies your best performing guest posts – AND presents it in an easy to understand ready-to-print dynamic
bar chart format.

Watch ALL 4 videos + get a FREE copy of this app ($500 USD value) at : http://spontaneousdevelopment.com/gpmanager.htm

Entrepreneurship, General, Self-Development

Would Your Friends Welcome A “Friendly” LEPER? (How to Discern REAL Friends)

Leave a comment

This morning I came across the following quote while reviewing past tweets by Corey Jahnke (@CWJahnke):

“The only man who makes no mistakes is the man who never does anything.” – Eleanor Roosevelt.

Do you have dreams or ambitions that haunt you because you keep letting a fear of making mistakes hold you back? Are you one of those who start each year setting ambitious resolutions only to falter when others question your sanity or ability to achieve? Have you ever felt “isolated” by disapproving friends and family members because you persisted in the pursuit of your valued goal, in spite of their advice to the contrary?

If yes, know that you are not alone. People, who achieve success by achieving the uncommon, often have to travel a lonely road to success.

Ask Nelson Mandela about the 27 years it took him (while “roasting” in jail) to bring apartheid rulers round to his line of thinking. The truth – as all success conscious people know – is that your conviction is what will see you through. Mandela’s conviction about his purpose led him to become a living legend today. But the road was not smooth.

When many people start out, they will often have heard stuff like those I’ve outlined above. However, as human beings we hear a lot, but consciously apply too little. Today’s fast paced world makes us even more distracted. We never pay close attention until something hits us where it hurts. Then we start looking for solutions – often desperately.

Human beings have a need to experience things in order to retain what they learn for the long term. That’s the reason why even when we were told as kids that the kettle is hot, very many of us never really listened to our parents until the day we got burnt while fooling around in the kitchen. The cycle repeats itself with our own kids.

To consistently succeed at anything you set your mind on, you must accept that intelligent mistake making will help you learn. You’ll need to take risks. Leave your comfort zone. Do the unfamiliar. Without going out on a limb, it is unlikely that you’ll be doing anything out of the ordinary or note worthy.

Making mistakes means you will not always come across as being “cool” to those other “safe playing” friends, relatives or associates watching from the sidelines. During the time you’re trying and failing at reaching your goals, some may be sneering or laughing in the background…sometimes to your face.

After the news has filtered out that you have (once again) “failed” at your new attempt, even those who stayed in touch may begin to carefully distance themselves. The could for instance fear mockery from others.

It is important that you welcome and relish periods like this, because they present you a perfect opportunity to know those who really like you for whom you are, and NOT just for what you are (e.g. a celebrity) or what you own (riches).

A lot of people miss out on gaining this extremely liberating insight into life. I come from a culture in which “friends” and relatives (no matter how distant) frequently announce their relationship to successful people to gain the respect and admiration of others.

Indeed, some celebrities get accused of failing to pay such friends and relatives visits whenever they are “in town” for instance They’ll say: “So, you’ve forgotten us so quickly now that you’re successful? When was the last time you visited us at home? You’ve got to come over and stay the weekend next month. We absolutely insist.”

Fast forward to 2 years later, after the “celebrity” has run into a patch of bad times. Maybe he’s been the victim of an elaborate scam that forced him to adopt a modest lifestyle while trying to start over. The news would have spread quickly.

And when he shows up at the same relatives’ place to ask for a loan, he may be accorded a guarded reception. Suddenly there may be little if any enthusiasm to see him. And the entire proceedings during the short lived visit would be tense and uncomfortable for all present. When he gets up to leave, they most likely won’t ask: “What, you’re leaving so quickly?” If anything, they will appear in a greater hurry to get to the door than he is!

And that’s probably the closest most people not afflicted with leprosy, may ever get to experiencing what it feels like to be a leper. Like I tell people based on my personal experience, if you want to know those who really like you for who you are, watch what happens if/when bad times appear. If such times don’t show – and you’re keen – try the trick of “pretending” that things are not going well for you.

Note that it may take a while to see the ripple effects. People like this generally stick around to see if things will get better. If you keep it up long enough, they’ll show their true colours. Some will come to see what they can get off you in your vulnerable state. But most will simply disappear – and won’t even return your calls. You would have become a leper in their eyes. And no matter how “friendly you try to act, they’ll be resolute about keeping you at more than arm’s length.

The irony is that when a person is successful, but won’t let them get close to him/her, these same friends and relatives (and even strangers!) readily accuse him/her of being “unfriendly”.

Isn’t it funny how the successful person who chooses to be friendly and makes him/herself available to them, gets conveniently dumped or even ostracized as soon as misfortune befalls him/her?

Here’s what you should take away from this: You can never be sure why people choose to befriend or associate closely with you – especially when you’re doing well. Develop the ability to better identify those who seek you out for selfish gain, so you do not waste energy investing emotionally or otherwise in building relationships with them.

To become successful – and stay that way – you must surround yourself with the right kind of people. True friends will readily support you regardless of what happens – even if you get falsely accused and it’s in the news. When the inevitable challenges come, if you don’t have such people in your inner circle, you could end up being a friendly leper no one likes!

 

Entrepreneurship, General

Blogging, Article Marketing, & 21st Century Illiterates

Leave a comment

Since 2003, I have actively used my writing (articles, reports etc) to promote different aspects of my business to potential customers. The (well) written word has always had this powerful effect on people.

I have learnt from personal experience – and observation of others over the years – that creative writing, weaving useful information with promotional copy, in a way that does not offend, can generate valuable sales leads.

In June 2012, after changing hosts, and re-organizing my website content, I launched this Word press blog to manage the changing content I have been serving to my different target audiences since 2005, when http://www.spontaneousdevelopment.com first came online.

This blog aims to attract buyers for NOT one, but a variety of services (and products) I offer:

  1. MS Excel-based custom spreadsheet software development
  2. Web Marketing Systems Development (including web content writing)
  3. Best Practice Systems Development/Extension Advisory Services Support for Farm Businesses.
  4. Performance Enhancement Talks, Seminar and Coaching Programs for my target audience of Entrepreneurs, Corporate Decision Makers, Employees, Parents, Teachers & Students.

This Blog Is Part of a Larger Web Marketing System

Using my skills as a multipreneurial service provider, I deliver products and services that help clients achieve their goals at work and in life, with less effort, and at less cost.

This is what I do – and it’s why I call myself a Performance Enhancement Specialist. There’s a good chance that you belong to one or more of the groups I identified above. And that means I may be able to help you.

The above is why even as I publish new posts on this blog, I WILL progressively relocate my over 171 articles from my main website (http://www.spontaneousdevelopment.com) into it, so that they can be more easily found by people who need them. This also will make it easier for me to update them – the static HTML pages built in Dreamweaver over the years, always made doing that a bit tedious in the past.

Data/statistics for my articles have helped me identify topics attractive to visitors fitting my client profile. I’ll be publishing posts here, to serve more of such audiences. By implication therefore, this blog is now an integral part of my re-invented Web Marketing System.

What I’ve enjoyed the most about using my Web Marketing System, is that it has repeatedly served as a SELLING TOOL with which I have closed profitable sales opportunities with clients. In many interactions with prospective clients, I have successfully used different aspects of my web marketing system in face to face meetings, to demonstrate to, and convince them to engage my services, or extend my mandate.

And this is apart from people who have purchased my products online after finding them through an article I wrote on a subject that interested them.

So, if you’re here and wondering why I have IMPORTED my write-ups labeled with dates going as far back as 2003, into this blog, the above clarification should hopefully have answered your question(s).

High Website Traffic May NOT Necessarily Win You Clients

Here’s the most important lesson I’ve learned in using my website as business marketing tool. This is a truth that I always make a point of alerting clients to – IF they listen:

You do NOT need tons of website traffic to sell your services. Depending on the kind of service you provide, it is actually possible to get more business than you can handle from as few as 1 to 3 clients in a year.

So, your website and all your web marketing efforts can be deliberately set up to CONVERT such high value/premium prospects into clients when they visit it.

If ten such people visit your site in one year, and one or two engage your services, you would be better off, than if a million visited but none stopped long enough to buy. Same rule applies when selling products. Some information products cost $29 USD. Others cost $3,500 USD. The two products may not target the same kind of visitors or require equally high traffic.

I operate this blog based on the above insight – gained from experience. And I also put my understanding of this fact, to the best possible use for my clients.

How I Can Help YOU

We all have our strengths. My greatest strengths are my adaptability/work related stamina, quick-learning skills, versatility and resourcefulness. I have used them to the benefit of my employers in the past, and clients MANY times since becoming self-employed over 10 years ago.

It’s those same multiple competencies that I now offer to any visitors to this blog who may seek solutions I offer. As long as you are sincere, and prepared to provide a clear brief about what you want done, you WILL get value for your investment in my services.

Take a tour of this blog, and review the depth and variety of experience based content on offer. Notice the deliberate effort made to include anecdotal accounts ane industry relevant research based information, to enrich your reading experience. That’s what will demonstrate to you that this blog is NOT an ego trip.

There’s more to see on www.spontaneousdevelopment.com

This blog is however NOT all there is. I say this at the risk of stating the obvious. I have set it up to make it easier to create, and maintain NEW useful content to visitors – some of who may fit my desired client profile.

However, I’ll also be incorporating links to different sections of the larger website in some of the write ups that are related to the theme or subject of any post I make.

Four key areas I will incorporate links for are:

(1). Creating automated MS Excel applications

(2). Developing low cost Web Marketing Systems

(3). Providing Farm Business Best Practice Ideas and Solutions

(4). Performance enhancement learning events

(5). Information products

FREELANCE WRITING

As you will see from the link provided at the top of this blog, I offer to write for interested persons. Since 2004, I’ve done A LOT of freelance writing for clients (in a wide variety of industries) in the course of developing web marketing systems for them.

Do You Have A Topic/Subject or Theme You would Like Me To Write A Blog Post About?

If yes, click here to send in details of your request for me to write on it.

You can use this as a risk-free way to evaluate the quality of my writing, if that aspect of my services interests you.

FINAL WORDS: About Article Marketing

From 2005, I leveraged articles marketing online, to attract traffic and generate pre-qualified leads for the services I offer as an MS Excel-VB Solutions Developer and also a Web Marketing Systems Developer.

Articles Marketing helped me achieve name recognition quite quickly. And it also helped me sell many of my information products.

However, following the recent Google algorithm updates, article marketing as a strategy suffered a drastic setback due to the abusive manner (frowned upon by Google) that some people had used it to create duplicate content online.

As a result, I’ve NOT submitted any new articles to Ezinearticles.com since December 2011, because I’m trying to decide on a safe and effective way to continue using that strategy. Some people have already thrown the Article Marketing baby out with the bath water. I believe that’s a mistake. And it might cost them later. A smart way is always to adapt.

That’s what I do quite well i.e. adapt. It is also why I love the following quote:

“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read or write. They will be those who cannot learn, unlearn or relearn” – Alan Toffer

I believe article marketing done with integrity still offers major benefit. And it can be done to complement one’s blogging efforts. You just have to spend time learning HOW.

Now that this blog is up, I’m beginning to gain clarity on how I can use my Ezinearticles.com submissions to complement my blogging efforts.

Tayo K. Solagbade | 02 July 2012

Update(25th Aug. 2012) – I have since resumed publishing articles on EzineArticles.com:

1. 14th Aug. 2012 – Speaking Success: Abuse Your Audience and Lose Credibility (True Story).

2. 15th Aug. 2012 Ideas for Exploring Low Cost Feed Ingredients, When You Have No Laboratory On Your Farm

Click here to view my over 170 other published articles at the Ezine Articles Directory:

Career Development, Self-Development

Why Do People Attend The Same Classes & Get Different Exam Scores?

Leave a comment

Unlike machines which once exposed to the same inputs and conditions, are able to turn out similar performances, human beings are incapable of delivering uniform output when subjected to similar stimuli.

Recall back when you were in school. All the students in a particular group attended the same classes/lectures for weeks. Often, the teacher or lecturer would be the same person, possibly even using the same old notes from many years before. Yet, at the end of the semester or term, some students would score “A”s while others would score “C”s – and some would fail!

I have always wonderered what could possibly cause so much variation in the final performances of people exposed to the exact same “learning sources”. Admittedly, some students may do well because they are gifted in “class work” or academics. Oftentimes however, the reality tends to be that those who did not do well actually failed to make adequate personal efforts, to ensure they understood what was taught in class and prepare properly for the exams.

Similarly, whether or not an employee’s workplace performance improves will depend mainly on his/her readiness or otherwise, to use the resources around him to do so. If s/he decides for instance to practice some self-development, then reading a book on “How to apply Statistical Process Control” in the department’s manufacturing process, could prove just as useful as an expensive course on the same subject in a business school class.

Waiting for the company to send you on business school courses each time you want to improve yourself, may however not be realistic. Employees who become high flyers often do so by taking the initiative of managing their own training and development. I recall attending a management-training course in 2001, at Ijebu-Ode while employed as a middle level manager in a large multinational manufacturer.

During the course, we were taken through what my boss later summed up – quite aptly – to be a training on “Best Practice Management concepts”. About 14 management competencies, considered desirable in every good manager were elaborated upon. At the close of the course, the UK based expatriate facilitator encouraged us to read management books that could help us build on learnings from the course.

The books he recommended covered topics such as “Influencing others/Managing disagreements”, “Motivating others”, “Coaching others”, “Fostering teamwork” etc. After listening for some time as he elaborated on the benefits of the books, and the fact that we might have to part with some good money to get hold of them, I raised my hand. He signalled for me to speak, and I said (though not in the exact words below):

“Just a suggestion John, but I believe most of the competencies we’re discussing are actually quite well covered in a book written by Dale Carnegie titled “How to win friends and influence people” in very simple yet concise language. Many people will find the book invaluable as a practical guide to developing most of these competencies. Copies of the book are now locally available in Nigeria at N400.00. It’s that cheap because it is now reprinted in Nigeria – with permission – by an African pastors’ group based in Benin City”.

John went on to express his agreement with my comments, and confirmed that the little book did actually offer useful practical tips in the areas we had been discussing. The point being made here is that oftentimes what we think will require a complex solution, actually might be easily addressed using the simplest resources/methods well within our capability/control. There’s no point trying to kill a fly with a hammer.

Your development into a high flyer in your current workplace, is unlikely to require exclusive attendance of expensive courses. Most of what you need is already in your company – especially the on-the-job workplace experiences you can expose yourself to, in any department you fancy. You also stand to gain a lot from experienced employees (both subordinate and superior), from whose well of wisdom you can reliably drink to quench your thirst for knowledge that will take you to the top.

If you’re not lazy, and you adopt a pragmatic approach, you’ll rise quickly to any position you set your sights on by quietly acquiring useful knowledge and skills, then using them to excel in a way that impresses your company’s leaders. Sooner than later, they’ll call on you to show them more of what you can do. Why? Because your performance will make it obvious you can be more USEFUL to the company, if given a chance.

If your peers who joined the company at the same time as you did, fail to diligently pursue their on-the-job development in the same way, you’ll climb up the corporate ladder to recognition and prominence, leaving them behind.

Then they’ll find themselves getting asked by others in the company how come you’re up there, and they are still down there! The human tendency for non-uniform performance would have again manifested.

But at least for you, it would be a story with a good ending.

Good luck.

…a multi-disciplinary blog for people passionate about reaching their goals!