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The “Marketing Guru” Seth Godin provides another of his insightful interviews discussing the “New Face of Marketing” in the 21st Century.

Through the interview, Seth Godin describes how it is necessary to “tell a story” to the consumer in such a way that they believe the story and sell themselves.

During his explanation, Godin names three key factors each story must have to enable the consumer to be “self-sold”:

• First, the story must provide something the consumer wants;
• Second, the story must be true and authentic; &
• Last, the story must be remarkable ….

Watch the video below and listen to the marketing master reveal the details of selling via story-telling:

Now take your notes and spin your yarns (authentically and remarkably of course) and apply this insight into your own home-based business marketing efforts ….

One of the first pieces of advice many home business owners get when inquiring about online marketing approaches is the need to establish a blog.

As with anything else on the Internet, there are several paths a budding online marketer can take when preparing to establish a blog site.

Two of the more popular blogging options are to use either a free blog service like Blogger.com or WordPress.com or a self-hosted WordPress blog that has been installed on the users own website.

The following video was prepared in support of the “Build Your Own Site” page found elsewhere on this site, which provides a written overview along with a set of tutorial videos on how to set-up self-hosted WordPress.

In this video I  introduce you to each of these three different blog options (Blogger.com, WordPress.com and self-hosted WordPress) and discuss the pros and cons of each type:

If you didn’t know it, I became a very big Seth Godin fan after reading his penultimate book released late in 2008, “Tribes – We Need You to Lead Us”.

Right after I started reading the book, I was so blown away I subscribed to his blog (strangely named – Seth Godin’s Blog) to monitor his nearly daily postings of marketing advice and pure gold nuggets.

As I opened my email this morning, his latest post was waiting in my in-box; the title instantly caught my eye.

After reading through the short but powerful piece, I quickly decided to add it to this blog (with the appropriate links back to the original in case you would like to subscribe yourself)!

So without further hesitation ….

Pay for stuff (by Seth Godin)

As a bootstrapping entrepreneur, my instinct has always been to work before spend. If there was a way to spread the word virally instead of buying ads, I would. If there was a way to change the project so I could do it myself, I would. If I could trade or whittle my way into getting an asset on the come, I would. That’s the mantra of the bootstrapper.

It turns out that paying for stuff works too.

Ads that pay for themselves are worth buying. Employees and freelancers that produce more than they cost are worth hiring. Office rents that generate productivity, foot traffic or revenue are probably worth paying.

In the free media world in which we’re living now, it’s so easy to get stuck on not investing, on avoiding outlays at all cost. Frugal is an admirable trait, but being a miser is dumb.

An interesting message don’t you think. Definitely more gold business/marketing advice from Mr. Godin.

Many, if not most of us, who are trying to leverage the Internet to assist in building our home-based businesses are likely guilty of what SG discusses above (I know I am).

This piece was enough of a wake-up call for me to commit to re-evaluating my daily “Net-related” activities to determine how to best balance my time and marketing budget (yes I actually do have one).  Perhaps this is something you may want to do as well to insure you are best applying your resources.

Something we often seem to forget …. In any business, time is indeed Money!

As Bob Dylan once wrote and sang … “The times they are a-changin‘” and a digital shift many initially thought a mere fad; social media is proving it is not only here to stay but it has started an outright revolution!

The following video by “Socialnomics” provides not only an entertaining view of social media’s impact on both our life and business; it is an extremely powerful one as well …

Give a watch, then reflect about the potential impacts to your business marketing strategy …

If you would like to learn more about “Socialnomics” or check out the background sources for the video, visit the site by clicking on either link above (both name references are active).

What’s your next move?

Either subscribe to the RSS feed or email notifications for this blog to be the first to hear about new articles on social media marketing strategies, techniques and trends as they periodically hit the new post position!

As a home-based business owner interested in online marketing in the 21st Century, you may well be struggling with the “techie” details about websites and then how to gain great page position on search engine results.

Many people will provide great advice regarding the use of blogs as your initial website platform for reasons discussed on a previous post on blog traffic.

Beyond the fact that blog sites can be magnets to both people and the search engines like Google, blogs make great focal points (also referred to as central hubs) for your online marketing efforts.

Using a blog as your central hub enables you to build a “Perpetual Internet Traffic Machine” as described by Charles Heflin of Social Media Sciences in the following video:

Hopefully you noted Charles describing the steps required to build a “Perpetual Internet Traffic Machine” including posting quality blog content to your central hub, then syndicating the content via your social networks and creating social buzz.

Want more insight on the process and the “how to” of combining quality blog content with syndication of that content via your social networks to generate social buzz and build your own “Perpetual Internet Traffic Machine”?

Click on the “Social Media Science” banner link located on the right-hand sidebar to gain access further information about SMS and the Synnd Network.

I have personally used this system to gain fantastic search engine page position and drive traffic to blog sites less than two weeks old!

The power of this system and approach is truly amazing and completely revolutionary!

So elevate your home-based business Internet marketing game to 21^st Century standards and combine the power of content syndication and social buzz and kick your “Perpetual Internet Traffic Machine” into high gear today!

Today, most home-based business owners are interested venues to market their products or services via the Internet.  One of the main tools used as a focal point to Internet marketing efforts is a dynamic website called a blog.

And once you understand the basic blog traffic techniques and a few secrets on increasing traffic to a new blog, gaining great search engine page position is a snap!

Blogs, Marketing on the Web & Traffic Techniques

Why is there so much attention to blogs as central hubs for online marketing efforts?

Simply due to the fact the most effect blog sites deliver a steady stream of value-oriented content that both the prospective customers and search engines like Google absolutely LOVE!

This provides a one – two punch since the prospects become steady readers gaining more exposure to your online marketing/sales process (mostly where they are selling themselves) and the search engines thrive on finding fresh, quality content.

Great … just hop onto your computer and fire up a new blog, post a steady stream of quality content and “they will come”, right?

Well not quite ….

A significant obstacle awaits most newly launched blog sites since it typically takes a fair amount of time (sometimes months) for the site to get found and indexed by the search engines before gaining decent page position.

So the main goals when starting a new blog include: getting found by the search engines; gaining search engine page listing position; and ultimately increasing traffic to that new blog more quickly than the norm.

Is it possible to expedite the process?

Absolutely, at least it is with a little helpful insight …

In the video below, I identify some of the “secret” tips to gain fast search engine recognition and obtain page one position for a number of posts on a blog that was less than two weeks old (launched May 2009).

(The actual blog site is “Nature’s Green Remedy”: http://naturesgreenremedy.com .)

During the video, I also showed a few of the keyword phrases that gained page one position within 24 hours when all the techniques were used including:

• green remedy
• nature’s green remedy
• green fishing tips
• personal perspective green living
• cleaning products and green lifestyle.

Did you find the information helpful and intriguing?

Interested in learning more about the blog traffic techniques I used along with a few secrets on increasing traffic to a new blog?

Enter your contact information in the form below for a free 30 minute consultation and Front Row Ticket to a special web-based presentation revealing the secret process later this month!

One of the growth markets discussed on the previous post is the “Wellness Industry”.  Many people believe this is definitely one market to be considered when researching potential home-based business opportunities.

A few years ago, leading economist and author, Paul Zane Pilzer wrote a book entitled: “The Wellness Revolution” where he predicted increasing health concerns by baby boomers would propel growth of this market for the next several decades.

In the following video, Pat Robertson interviews Mr. Pilzer about the factors at work behind this revolution to enhancing wellness and how it will distinctly benefit the individual entrepreneur and home-based business owner:

For those of you researching the different types of home-based business opportunities, Pilzer makes a clear case for considering an opportunity with a wellness component as you begin your own revolution on the track to personal freedom!

If you are one of those people interested in starting a home-based business but do not have a skill as an artisan or background in things like accounting, financial planning, etc., one of the possibilities you may be considering is a network marketing opportunity.

Once you open up to network marketing as a possible answer to fill your home-based business desire, how do you choose between the many opportunities available?

Use this list of eight key questions as you consider the different network marketing opportunities:

• Is the company participating in growth markets?
  • Make sure the company’s products align with the major growth markets including health and wellness, green products, anti-aging, etc.
• Is the company financially stable?
  • Many start-up network marketing companies fail within the first few years of existence.  Make sure the companies you are evaluating are stable and can weather the current economic conditions.
• What is the company’s reputation in their marketplace?
  • Check out the company’s reputation and history in the network marketing industry and whether they have had product, service or issues with distributors either today or in the past.
• Can you make a legitimate initial and residual income?
  • Evaluate the compensation plan and be sure the bonus plan provides for a potential income both in the near-term as well as long-term residual income.  Many older compensation plans were structured to focus on the long-term residuals and provided little or no early bonus structure meaning it takes longer to build a positive cash flow.
• Does the company produce a viable, consumable product?
  • Another way to phrase this question is …. Are the company’s products in demand and readily consumed?  This is important to maintain repeat sales from satisfied customers as you build your distribution base.
• Is their credible research and QA/QC conducted on the products and ingredients?
  • As you evaluate the company and its products, make sure they both conduct in-house and support external research on the products. You also want to check to insure the company conducts their own in-house QA/QC tests on ingredients used to manufacture the products as well as the end products (think about what happened with lead in toys!).
• Does the company introduce new and revolutionary products on a continuing basis?
  • As you undertake your research, check to see if the company actually researches and produces new and innovative products on a regular basis to enhance growth and keep renewing their product lines.
• Do the company and team under consideration provide training on realistic business building methods along with the products and opportunities?
  • Check to be sure the company and the distribution team you are considering offers training beyond the products and compensation plan. They should also offer training on variety of business and marketing topics including up to date prospecting methods (traditional, social networking, using Internet) and delivery techniques (teleconferences, webinars, multi-media presentations, along with traditional live events).

Careful consideration of each question will greatly assist you in during your evaluation process.  Take the time to gather your facts; gain a realistic understanding of your selected opportunity; and what it actually takes to build the business will help set a firm foundation enabling you to be successful.

Would you like to see how these questions can be used during your evaluation process of different network marketing opportunities?

Enter your contact information into the form below for a personal consultation and evaluation tour one team’s approach to address each of the questions:

Every one knows the online World is constantly evolving and playing an ever-increasing role in our everyday lives.  One manifestation of this is the fact that a growing number of people are following the day’s happenings by visiting various news sites like CNN, Fox News, etc.  More evidence is shown in the expanding number of blog sites (~ online journals on different topics) and readers following them.

With more and more interesting sites popping up everyday, how is anyone supposed to be able to keep it all straight?

Up until recently, most people bookmarked each site and would then visit them on occasion to read any new posts.  As the number of blog sites skyrockets however, that task is taking more and more time consuming and virtually overwhelming!

Fortunately we have now entered the 21^st Century and a group of techno-gurus have developed a neat solution called Really Simple Syndication or RSS.

As a matter of fact, this blog has a way to invoke RSS by clicking on the graphic image of the dude reading the “RSS” newspaper (upper right side of blog page) or the RSS link to his left.  (A standard RSS image is shown in the upper left corner of this post).

If you happen to be enrolled on an RSS Reader site (Google has one), a window opens up for you to log into the site and the RSS feed link is saved.  Each time you visit a new site and want to track new articles, just click on their RSS feed button and the connection will be made.

Here is a short video provided by Lee Lefever of the Common Craft Show providing an overview of RSS basics:

Now that you understand the basics, head off to Google Reader (or research others if you have something against Google), get signed up and start syndicating!

It will definitely help you keep track of all that interesting information (and your competitors!) more easily ….

Over the years it is likely you have run into people who hear the words network marketing or MLM and instantly condemn those home-based businesses as scams or pyramid schemes.

In my case those innuendos started when I first looked at network marketing opportunities over 30 years ago.  Even though those voices were always echoing when the subject arose, I spent a lot of time researching the scam/pyramid scheme claims and derived my own conclusion.

My conclusion ….

Although there are some fly-by-night, get-rich-quick companies promoting themselves as networking marketing companies, there are plenty of legitimate network marketing – direct selling companies out in the marketplace today.  A few of those companies have been in business selling quality products for over half a century!

Do you still have doubts? … Then consider this …

Several years ago, billionaire investor, Warren Buffett’s company, Berkshire Hathaway purchased a network marketing company, The Pampered Chef.

Earlier this year (2009), “The Donald” a.k.a. Donald Trump launched a new network marketing-based health and wellness company.

Need More Proof?

Then watch this video from a top business leader, Robert Kyosaki, author of Rich Dad – Poor Dad, and hear his take why network marketing – direct selling maybe a great fit for many people:

There is little doubt that MLM – network marketing opportunities are not for everyone but those with real product lines are not just viable; they also offer many people the perfect home-based business opportunity.