What I’m about to say goes against almost every self-help book out there. It goes against what you’ve been told time and time again. It might even go against your moral code…

Then again, if you want to be rich, you might want to consider where your ‘moral code’ came from. The advice everyone loves to trot out and display to anyone who will listen is, “Do what you love, the money will follow.”

Hmmm…

What if you love writing poetry? Or gardening? Or making baskets? What if you love crochet? Or cats? Or hiking? Yes, you can make money in all of these niches.

But… how much?

Making money and getting rich are two entirely different things.

Making money is getting the bills paid and maybe being able to scrimp enough together to take an annual vacation.

Getting rich is, well, getting RICH. Whatever that means to you – a 6 figure income, 7 figures in the bank, 8 figures in investments and real estate – you decide.

But guaranteed, you’re not going to attain any of those levels of wealth if you’re focused on the crochet niche.

(Do you even know what crochet is? It’s taking a hook and some yarn and making an sweater, scarf, etc. Enjoyable and relaxing, yes. Profitable, NO.)

Okay, so if the key to getting rich is to follow the money and not the passion, what exactly does that mean? It means you go where the money is. You find something that is highly profitable and focus on making those profits.

You don’t strive to be the best blogger or the best website builder or the best social media maven. You focus solely on where the money is and you do whatever it takes to make that money. (Staying 100% legal.)

We’re talking about a mind shift here – a different way of viewing your business.

If your focus is to be the best life coach, then you are a coach. But if your focus is to have the most profitable coaching business possible, then you are an entrepreneur. And as an entrepreneur, you’re going to quickly realize you need to hire others to be the coaches while you find the clients. Then you’ll put systems in place to get the clients while you focus on scaling, and so forth.

Notice that you are not a coach, you’re an entrepreneur. You’re not working IN your business, you’re working ON your business. I know this difference might seem slight to the uninitiated. But if you look at anyone who has built a business to 7 figures or more, you will see that they set aside passions and followed the money.

They’re not experts at the products and services their business delivers. They hire or outsource experts for that. They are experts at making their businesses big and profitable. That’s entrepreneurship.

And what about those who go even further, building one successful business after another? They’re focused on something even beyond money.

Walter White, from the television show Breaking Bad, sums it up like this when talking to his partner Jessie…

“You asked me if I was in the meth business or the money business. Neither. I’m in the empire business.”

But that’s a step beyond.

For right now, if you want to become rich, focus on where the money is and how best to deliver the stellar products or services that will bring that money to you by the truckloads.

And by the way, if you’re really, really passionate about crochet, or poetry, or gardening… you can do as much of it as you want once you build your wealth building business (or empire) and then sell it for megabucks.

One of the things we hear all the time is that we need to ‘avoid shiny object syndrome’ and focus on what we’re doing. And they’re absolutely right. Nothing beats focus and work for getting something done. That said, I’m going to make a case for the fad bandwagon – but not the case you might expect.

First, what do I mean by a fad or trend?

Simple – every time a new social media platform becomes popular, or a new marketing technique is the latest rage, it becomes a marketing fad. Everybody is talking about it. Some people are doing it. And a few people are profiting from it like crazy. These are the marketers who are creating and selling the products to feed the ‘fad frenzy.’ And they are making a killing.

The fact is, you can do the same if you choose to, without sacrificing your focus on your main objectives. Here’s how:

Keep an eye out for the next up and coming trend. When you see it, decide if you want to try it. Not in a super-serious, set-everything-else-aside way, but simply as something you do for fun to see if it works. If it interests you, then play around with it. See if you can make it work, and if so, how well.

Frankly just about every one of the latest greatest marketing techniques does indeed work. It’s just a question of do they offer a high enough return for the time and effort involved. If you’re short on time, outsource the experiment and have someone do it for you. Keep close tabs on the steps involved and the results achieved.

If you have success, record it on video or write it up in a pdf with screenshots. And sell it as a product.

That’s right – I’m going to tell you what a lot of big marketers already know but frankly don’t talk about – give the people what they want.

These products on the latest greatest marketing techniques sell like hotcakes. For example, a while ago there was hardly a TikTok marketing course to be seen. Now they’re everywhere. And the people who produced these courses are making bank.

Now to be clear: Do not offer something that you haven’t proven works. This is not a method to scam people – this is a method to give them what they want. If the technique doesn’t do what it says it will do, don’t make the product. Be 100% honest. And have fun.

Experimenting with new marketing techniques can be a blast. And now and then you’ll run across a new system or technique that you want to add to your own marketing arsenal on a permanent basis. Think of this testing of marketing techniques as a hobby that can pay off handsomely.

It’s a win-win-win because:

– You make a new product with proven results that sells like hotcakes.

– Customers get to buy exactly what they want, and you can feel good about selling it to them because you KNOW for a fact it works (you tried it!).

– And sometimes you learn a very valuable new skill for your own business.

So yes, if you’re interested and if it won’t interfere with your main business, by all means jump on the next new shiny object and see where it takes you!

A lot of people think that to be a coach or consultant, you must have built a few million dollar businesses and have a ton of experience under your belt. Not true.

To sell coaching services, you have to be really good at ONE thing. Just one.

It’s up to you what that one thing is.

Maybe you have a unique traffic system. Or you’re really good at guest blog posting. Or you can make videos that set people’s hair on fire.

Whatever your one thing is, if you’re good at it, there are people out there that want you to show them what you know. And they don’t just want a 20 page pdf or even a set of videos.

They want one-on-one HELP.

And that’s where you come in.

True, in the beginning you might charge lower prices for your coaching.

But as soon as you can show you get results not just for yourself, but also for others, it’s time to raise your fees.

And don’t even let anyone tell you that you can’t coach. Don’t even let you tell you that.

People need your help. It’s selfish not to offer it.

It is a win/win for both you and your new clients to get them off to a fast start. Leverage your knowledge to help others, grow your business and create a new income stream through coaching.

There are lots of great ideas here so please pay close attention… Let’s say you write an email to promote a product. Your email is basically a review of the product, and with it you make lots of sales. Now you’re done, right? Not even close.

Take that very same email and repurpose it into a review. Post the review on your blog under “reviews” and optimize it for SEO. Don’t panic – you’re basically optimizing for just a couple of key phrases like “XYZ Product Review.” Done right, you’ll get steady free traffic to your reviews, and sales, too.

Capture the email addresses of these additional visitors when possible and of course capture your buyer’s emails addresses so you can sell them more stuff.

Now think about what you just did – you wrote one email, made some sales, put the email on your site, made more sales and got more people on your list. Not bad.

But we’re just getting started.

Let’s say you write a 35 page report on traffic strategies. You sell the report for $10, and you make lots of sales. It’s a good start. But you are leaving SO MUCH money on the table.

Here’s what you can do…

At the end of your report (which is a really great report, btw) offer the reader personal one-on-one coaching tailored to them, based on the report, and charge a whole lot more than $10. A LOT more.

And don’t panic. You already have the information you need – it’s in the report you wrote. All you’ll be doing is working with this client on-on-one to tailor a solution for their business. “Let’s do A, then B, then C.” You’re simply acting as a coach or consultant. They’re getting the result they want and you’re getting a nice 3 or 4 figure fee.

But we’re not done yet.

Take the content from your report and make a video course. Put the course on ClickBank and pull in more sales. Setup an affiliate program while you’re at it (super easy to do with ClickBank), and the sales will continue to flow without any additional effort on your part.

Now take the content from your report and create a webinar with it. At the end, offer your personal coaching service. Or an upsell. Or whatever you want that fits.

Are you getting the point?

These are just a few examples of how you can repurpose your best content to earn yourself 10 times more money. You don’t necessarily need more content. You just need to use the content you do create wisely, and repurpose whenever possible to reach more people and create more customers for your business.

I can’t stress the importance of what I’m about to tell you enough. If you look at entrepreneurs who have made fortunes – I mean SERIOUS wealth – in almost every case the money came not from inside the business, but from SELLING the business.

You’ve heard numerous news stories of internet companies selling just 1-3 years after their initial start-up. And the businesses you hear about sell for 7, 8 and even 9 figures.

If this sounds out of reach right now, picture this scenario: You start a business today, and in 6 months to 2 years you sell it for 6 figures. Would that make a great payday for you?

Now you might be thinking that selling your business is something you don’t need to worry about until long after you start it. Not so.

If you are starting a business right now, you should also be considering your exit strategy. After all, you could get bored with what you’re doing and want out. Or maybe you need quick cash. Or you decide to go in an entirely different direction. So you decide to sell your business.

If you’ve laid the groundwork, you should be able to sell quite quickly and for a very good price.

Here’s what you need to know:

– Don’t think of it as flipping a website. Think of it as selling a BUSINESS. That’s because buyers don’t want a website. They can build their own website cheap enough.

What they do want is a ready to go, money-generating cash-cow business, so make your plans accordingly.

– Make your business transferable from Day 1. Every product should be its own entity – after all, a single product can actually be an entire business.

Give it a website of its own, its own list, its own customer base, its own affiliate program and affiliate list, etc.

– Don’t brand it exclusively with your name. It’s fine to attach your name to your XYZ product, but don’t call it “yournameproduct.”

In other words, “Bob Smith’s Traffic Gorilla Mania Course” is fine. “Bob Smith’s traffic course” is not. In the first case, the product is Traffic Gorilla Mania, a name that anyone can sell. In the second case, the product is Bob Smith’s Traffic, a product forever branded as belonging to Bob Smith.

Imagine you’re Bob Smith, and you sell your traffic course business to someone else. That person then sells the course. Who do people ask for help? You. After all, your name is on the course.

Then let’s say the buyer alters the course and now it stinks. Who will people blame? You. Now you see why your name needs to be completely separate from the product name.

Yes, it’s a bit strange to think about your exit strategy when you’re just starting a business. But when it comes time to sell, you’ll be glad you did.

One more thing – what if you have a partner?

Write into your agreement what will happen if you sell. Just look at the possibilities and agree on how it will play out if one of you wants to sell to the other, or if you both want to sell to a third party.

You can make a good amount of money by making each of your businesses as stand-alone as possible, and then selling them when the time is right. In fact, selling your business can potentially earn you more than you made running the business.

So plan ahead, and make sure you are building your business-selling exit strategy directly into your business itself!

If you were a college student who never stopped attending school full time… how much would you earn. Likely nothing. You’re too busy learning to earn.

When does a college student start making money? When they leave school (graduating or not, doesn’t matter) and start working.

So why do we think our online marketing businesses are any different?

When you put education in front of ‘doing,’ you’re a perpetual wannabe marketer.

But when you put the doing first, you’re building a business.

It’s a simple mind-shift that can take you from broke to six figures.

I’m not saying you should stop learning – not at all…

What I am saying is you should devote your best hours to working on your business. And devote your ‘spare time’ to learning.

Of course, sometimes you’ll need a crash course in something. Like when you try to build your first squeeze page. This is when you go to Google or YouTube, find a video that walks you through what you need to know, and do it as you follow along with the video. Yes, you’re learning. But you’re doing it in context with working on your business.

Bottom Line: There is a point when you have to put all the courses and programs aside and get busy doing something. And while you’re actively engaged in that, don’t learn anything unless it directly relates to what you’re doing.

Think of doing as your full time activity, and learning as something you do during off hours. You’ll make a lot more money that way.

It’s a New Year – time to plan your best year ever! And before you groan and run away, get excited because we’re going to make this the easiest, speediest marketing plan ever!

After all – if you have to spend a week tediously writing out a 50 page plan – seriously, will you do it?

No.

But anyone can take a few minutes and plan out how they are going to double, triple or quadruple their income over the next 12 months.

Ready? Let’s get started:

1. Choose a goal. A big, fat, hairy, audacious goal is good, just as long as you BELIEVE you can reach the goal. Your deadline to reach this goal will be December 31st, 2021.

2. What are the strategies you’ll use to achieve this goal? You don’t have to know every step right now. But you do need to have a basic plan.

3. Tactics: what are 3 to 5 things you need to do to implement your strategy? For example, build a website, open social media accounts, create a lead magnet to build your list, etc.

4. The to-dos: these are the steps you’ll take to implement each of the tactics in #3 above. For example, to create a lead magnet you might write these steps: Brainstorm topics, choose one, do research, write/create lead magnet.

5. Timeline: How long it will take to complete each step, with deadlines.

Now create your 6 month goals. This is the halfway point between the first of the year and reaching your goals. This will let you know what you must accomplish by June 30th to be on track.

Next, create 3 month and 9 month goals. These are your quarter year marks, and again they tell you what you need to accomplish by those dates – March 31st and September 30th – to be on track.

Finally, create goals for January 31st and February 28th to also stay on track.

When it’s time, you’ll do the same on April 1st for April 30th and May 31st, and so on.

Finally, create a budget so you know how much money you’ll need, especially in the first 3 months. If you structure this correctly, your budget for the remaining 9 months will come out of profits.

That wasn’t so hard, was it?

Now you have a real plan on how you’re going to make 2021 your best year ever.

The only thing left to do is follow your plan and success is yours. Here’s to your advancement and growth in 2021 and beyond!

These are super easy to pull off, yet so effective you’ll be kicking yourself for not using them sooner…

LinkedIn: See Restricted LinkedIn Search Results

When you search for people on LinkedIn, you might not see the search results you’re looking for. This is because results can be restricted based on your membership level.

But there is a way around this…

The majority of LinkedIn profiles are indexed on Google.

Thus all you have to do is search Google to find what you’re looking for, like this:

Site:linkedin.com “name of person”

And let’s say you’re looking for social media managers in New York. Type this into Google:

Site:linkedin.com//pub “social media manager” New York

Now you can find the information LinkedIn is hiding from you.

Sweet!

Twitter: Send Tweets Longer Than 140 Characters

No, I don’t mean send readers to another site to see what you have to say. We’re going to keep our readers right there on Twitter by doing this:

Send out your tweet just like normal, ending it with a (…) or a cliffhanger.

For example,

“Did you know you can send out a Tweet that’s longer than 140 characters? First you tweet like usual. Then…”

Reply to your own tweet from your own stream. Seriously. Remove your @name so you don’t look like you’re talking to yourself (which would be weird!) Like this:

“…you reply to your own tweet in your Twitter stream. Remove the mention of your name and finish your tweet.”

Visitors see either tweet in your stream, click on ‘view conversation’ and see the full length tweet.

Facebook: Reduce Attack Posts and Salty Comments

The Internet can be a rowdy place, especially in social media. But if you go to the Page Moderation section of Page Settings, you’ll get some relief.

Simply enter common inflammatory words such as “unlike,” “clickbait,” “idiot” and so forth. Then when a banned word is used, the comment will be hidden from the general public.

The comment still appears to the person who left it who is none the wiser. And their friends will be able to see it as well, but no one else.

You can also hide comments from trolls after they’re posted. The troll will still see the comment, so unless he compares his account with someone else’s he’ll never know the comment is hidden.

And it’s better than deleting the comment and banning the troll, since they’ll then email you and complain you’re stepping on their freedom of speech.

YouTube: Research What Viewers Want

It can be difficult to move viewers off of YouTube and onto your website. But now you can use YouTube cards to poll your audience and find out what they really love.

Ask the right questions and you’ll discover what will make them go to your website and opt-in to your mailing list. Then simply present them with the strong call to action they need, and they’re yours.

Any Social Media Platform: Vastly Increase Your Social Media Followers

Share for Share or Shoutout for Shoutout (S4S) is basically forming mutually beneficial partnerships with other people in your niche.

You post each other’s content with a reference back to them. Sort of like emailing your list to tell them about another email marketer (also called a solo ad) only it’s done reciprocally on social media. And it costs nothing because you are doing it for each other.

But what if you’re new to the platform? If you have social clout on other platforms, you might do a cross promotion in which you promote them on your established platform and they promote you on your new platform. And the best thing about this technique is it works on any social media platform, including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and so forth.

There you have it – 5 genuine social media hacks that can make a real difference in your marketing. Pick your favorite and start using today.

20 Hot Tips for Hot Subject Lines that Get Opened

Obviously if the subject line of your email doesn’t get the open, it’s all over. No clicks. No sales. No anything. But with the right subject line, you can get your readers to open and devour your emails. Here then are 20 eye-opening tips for subject lines that get results…

Short is better

40% of emails are opened on mobile, and they’ll get cut off if they’re too long. Aim for 50 characters or less.

Another reason shorter is better – it’s more eye-catching. Compare these two subject lines and ask yourself which would catch your eye:

“Warning!”

“Warning, that early morning habit of yours might be causing a serious problem”

For the best of both worlds, consider this… with most email programs, you can place “Warning!” in the subject line, and use “That early morning habit of yours might be causing a serious problem” as the first line of the email, which will show up as preview text.

As always, test.

Still don’t believe that shorter is better?

According to Contact Monkey, subject lines with 3 or more words are opened 15% less than those with 1-2 words.

Don’t get cute

Some emailers like to begin their subject lines with “fw:” because they believe it increases open rates. But according to Convince and Convert, it actually reduces opens by 17%.

However, Contact Monkey also reports that the top five subject lines in their recent study all included “Re:” This just goes to show you the importance of testing.

Create urgency

Subject lines that evoke a sense of urgency and exclusivity receive a 22% higher open rate, according to Email Institute. Use deadlines such as “today only” and “12 hour giveaway” to encourage readers to act now.

Do NOT use the word “newsletter”

A study from Adestra found that email subject lines containing the word “newsletter” received an 18.7% decrease in open rates.

Why? Maybe because recipients think it will take too long to read, or they can always read it later; which of course they seldom do.

Use the person’s name in the subject line

Yes, it’s an old school trick. And yes, for a while it seemed like it wasn’t working as well as it did.

But these days, people get so many emails that once again having this little bit of personalization can make a difference. In fact Adestra found that personalized subject lines were 22.2% more likely to be opened.

Just don’t do it every time or it will lose its effectiveness.

Words to avoid –

“Meeting” reduced opens by 7% according to Sidekick.
“Quick” reduced opens by 17%.
“You” reduced opens by 5%.

Words to use –

“Tomorrow” increased opens by 10% according to Sidekick.
“Free” increased opens by 10%.

Test to find the right sender name

If the recipient doesn’t recognize the sender name or doesn’t have a positive association to it, the email likely won’t get opened. If your business name implies a benefit “Your Best Body” then try sending from that name, as well as “Joe Smith, Your Best Body” and your full name “Joe Smith.” See which one gets the most opens and then stick with that.

Never use noreply@yoururl.com as your sender name

It creates a terrible impression, looks anything but personable, and prevents recipients from adding it to their address book.

Use list segmentation

You don’t want to send news of your children’s clothing sale to a guy who only purchased men’s work shirts. Personalize each person’s experience according to the action they’ve taken – which list they’ve joined and which product they’ve purchased.

Who says you need a subject line?

According to Sidekick, emails with no subject line were opened 8% more than those with a subject line. But use this trick sparingly, if at all. And remember, preview text will be visible, so make it good.

Make readers feel like they’re on the inside

The psychology of exclusivity is a prime motivator. Give your subscribers a sense of belonging to your group, your tribe or your inside circle.

In other words, make them feel special with subject lines like this:

– “An exclusive offer just for you”
– “My personal gift to you”
– “For members only, you’re invited!”
– “Private: For beloved customers ONLY.”

3 words to use

Using the words “Sale,” “Video” or “New” in subject lines boost open rates.

Don’t bait and switch

Any promise made in the subject line needs to be fulfilled in the email.

For example, don’t put “27 Free Ebooks” in your subject line, and then try to sell them 27 Ebooks which will ‘seem like they’re free because they’ll make you so much money.’

I’ve actually received this email – and unsubscribed because of it.

Tell them what’s inside – and make it good

Did they just join your list to get a free book? Then your subject line might be, “Your new ebook inside!”

Are you announcing a new service that is perfect for them? “Joan, this service is tailor-made for you.”

Use numbers

“Increase your traffic 200%” is better than “How to increase your traffic.”

Use action verbs

Think of a subject line as a call to action – you want the language to inspire people to click on the email. By starting with an action verb, you’ve got a much greater chance of motivating them to click.

For example, which of these stimulate you to want to know more… “Notice: The New Nissans are here” or “Drive a Brand New Nissan Today”?

“Daily’ and “Weekly” in subject lines boost open rates

But the word “Monthly” hurts them, according to Adestra.

Oh yes…

The subject line word that increased opens by 61.8% according to Adestra?

Believe it or not, it’s the word “alert.”

Again, don’t over use it, but instead reserve it for those times when it really, really counts.

You motivated your readers to open your email with a great subject line, but now what?

It’s all about your first sentence. And your second, and your third… You’ve heard how the purpose of the first sentence in a sales letter is to get them to read the second, and the second is to get them to read the third. Treat your emails the same way, like every sentence counts. Because it does.

Google says that a healthy, active online community is one of the signals they look for to determine your blog’s quality. Comments are considered part of your content, so the better they are, the better your blog does in search results.

The problem is, of course, that a lot of comments are either spam or they don’t add anything to the conversation. For example, “Great post!” and “Love it!” might feed your ego, but that’s about it.

So how do you encourage people to leave thoughtful, well-written comments that add to the conversation?

By using a seed question.

Once you upload your post, be the first one to comment on your own post. For example, let’s say you wrote a blog post titled 7 Ways to Get Free Traffic.

Your comment might be, “Thanks for checking out my post. I thought I’d kick off discussion with a few questions about how you get free traffic. What’s your favorite technique? How much time and resources does it take? And how effective has it been so far? I would love to hear from you on this.”

When you do this, you’ll likely find that more of the comments you receive actually ADD to the conversation.

One more thing, and this is a little sneaky – up-vote your own comment to keep it at the top. Odds are others will begin up-voting it as well, but it doesn’t hurt to add your own up-votes. You want your comment to be the first one people read.

Try this technique out on the next blog post you write, and I bet you’ll significantly increase the quality and quantity of comments you receive.

Not only can this help you with the development of your own community and search engine rankings, you’ll also likely find the seeds of inspiration for future blog posts as you interact with your blog readers in this way.