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We’re all familiar with the “reviews” that are actually sales material in disguise. That’s not what we’re talking about here. If you want to write legitimate, believable reviews that attract search engine attention, increase traffic and build your reputation as an influencer and thought leader, here’s how to do it – complete with a template you can use today…

1. Realize you’re going to be spending some time on this. Commit to using the product yourself and writing a bare minimum of 1,000 words.

2. Choose the product. It should be something you want and you can use, while also being of interest to your readers.

3. Know your audience. What are they most interested in? What are their goals? Keep them in mind during the entire process because you’re doing this review for them.

4. Be unbiased and objective. Don’t bring preconceived notions to your review. Start with an open mind, looking for all of the positives and all of the negatives. Remember, your reputation is on the line so be honest.

5. Use the product. Some reviewers try to get away without using the product, and it always shows in their reviews. Don’t fake it – use it.

As you’re going through or using the product, keep these questions in front of you:

– What does the product do?
– How is the product different from similar products?
– How difficult or easy is it to use this product?
– What makes this product worth the purchase?
– What’s wrong with or missing from the product?
– Who is this product intended for?
– Where can this product be purchased?

6. Take notes as you’re using it. You won’t remember everything later when you go to write your review. Plus your notes will make the writing process much faster.

7. Don’t rely on PR and marketing material. Yes, you can use their photos. But write your own review from scratch.

8. List the good and the bad. You might make a Ben Franklin style list, placing the pros on the left side of the page and the cons on the right. Remember, even if you are acting as an affiliate for the product, your review will be much more believable when you also list the cons. And your reputation will remain intact for future promotions, too.

9. If it’s relevant, include technical information. Just ask yourself – would your readers want to know this?

10. Provide examples of the product’s use. You could write about different situations it might be used in, different outcomes it could facilitate and so forth. If you put the product to use yourself, write about your experience and the results you achieved.

11. If you’re selling the product as an affiliate, be sure to disclose that fact.

Product Review Template:

Writing a professional looking review isn’t difficult when you follow this simple outline…

> Introduce the product and write something interesting about it
> List the key product features
> Talk about the benefits of using the product
> If relevant, include information on the author as well as author case studies
> Discuss the good and the bad; pros and cons
> Explain who would best be served by the product
> Include pricing and purchase information

Unbiased, honest, in-depth reviews aren’t the fastest posts to write because of the research and testing needed. But placing your readers’ interests ahead of your own can help you build a solid reputation as an industry leader.

And in the long run your readers will love you for it, trust you because of it and be more likely to buy your highest recommendations.

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.

Rosa Parks was a woman, a relatively ordinary black passenger on a bus going into town one day in 1955. At this time, black people had to give up their seats on public transport for the white passenger; a rule that most followed to keep the peace. But not Rosa.

One day, she had had enough. Her mission was to encourage the civil rights of black people in her community and she felt that this rule was both unfair and demeaning to her cause. So when the bus driver got angry and told her to give up her seat for a white person, as was normal – she did something unheard of. She said no.

This small message to the people around her was the sparking of the Civil Rights Movement and was a key action in the future equality that stemmed from this fight.

Sometimes, in life, you have to be congruent with what you want others to see and experience. Sometimes your business name is not nearly as important as what you stand for. In fact, a well – written or explained mission statement can be the most vital part of your marketing strategy and it can change customer loyalty.

For example, the first store branded as “Trader Joe’s” opened in 1967. This Californian store, despite having a very unexciting name quintupled the number of its stores between 1990 and 2001, and multiplied its profits by ten. Trader Joe’s sales for 2009 was estimated at $8 billion.

In 2010, Fortune magazine estimated Trader Joe’s sales per square foot of floor space to be $1,750 — more than double that generated byWhole Foods Market even though technically they were much bigger with more advertising coverage. Why? Because they had a very clever mission statement that customers believed in and backed. Their statement was this:

“The mission of Trader Joe’s is to give our customers the best food and beverage values that they can find anywhere and to provide them with the information required to make informed buying decisions. We provide these with a dedication to the highest quality of customer satisfaction delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, fun, individual pride, and company spirit.”

This statement puts the customer and the customer experience central to the reason that they do business and their customer service policies back that up.

If you wish to succeed online in the same way, you must ensure that no matter how small you are or what product/service you may be selling – that you include a mission statement. One that shows the potential clients what you stand for, what you wish to achieve for them and how you plan to do so. This makes you believable, it gives you value and shows that you have ethics.

Not every online business has a mission statement. They think they don’t need one. They focus all their energy on branding, naming and selling their products and forget that being personal and driven in a very transparent way can absolutely double or triple your profits.

If you are one of these brands that have not yet developed a mission statement – I suggest you get working on one. It is also good to help you understand where you are at and where you want to go. Research some of the most effective mission statements and see what the biggest companies are portraying on their websites and through their ad campaigns to generate inspiration for your own mission.

People like to buy from genuine businesses who know and are congruent with what they are doing. It makes you unique to your message and shows people that you are not all about making money – you have some aims and objectives too that are very important and should be known.

If one black woman on a bus can spark an entire change in the world, who’s to say that your well designed mission statement won’t change the face of how you do business and how important you become to the customer?

Yes, you can work like a horse, make all kinds of big plans, stay up late and get up early. But if your head isn’t in the right place, you’ll never get ahead. It’s really that simple.

A second job? Forget about it. Unless that second job is digging gold bricks out of the ground, you’ll never get ahead. Lack of sleep, lack of a life, an abundance of stress, poor eating – the last thing you need is a second job.

And you know it. It’s why you’ve got your own online business or you’re starting one. So is mindset even important? Shouldn’t you be concentrating exclusively on the mechanics of your business?

The fact is this: Without the proper mindset, the mechanics really won’t amount to much. If you don’t believe you can do something then the odds of you actually accomplishing it are slim. And if you do momentarily succeed, your own self-sabotage will reverse that victory in a hurry.

Here then are 5 money mindset hacks you MUST have to permanently increase your income in a dramatic, gratifying fashion:

Believe in yourself and your abilities.

To say this is key is an understatement. If you don’t believe in yourself, you will actively find ways to fail, whether you realize you’re doing it or not.

We all deal with being vulnerable, feeling uncertain and fearing failure. But you’ve got to trust that by moving forward despite these feelings, you’ll figure it out. It’s a matter of stacking small victories one on top of the other. Each victory should give you some small boost in confidence that you can use to earn the next victory, and so forth.

This is why having a big hairy goal often doesn’t work – you don’t believe you can accomplish it because you’ve never done anything like it before. But if you break that big hairy goal down into tiny simple goals, and then accomplish them one by one, soon you will believe that yes, you truly can do anything you set your mind to.

Lose your money blocks.

If you’re perpetually short of money, you’ve likely been programmed to have a negative relationship with it. During your childhood you heard things like, “Rich people are crooks,” and “Money is the root of all evil.”

Two things you can do to lose your money blocks are…

Reprogram yourself. The subconscious believes whatever it hears over and over again. To reprogram your subconscious takes work, but it’s worth it. When you think, “I have to work hard to make money,” correct yourself with a statement such as, “It is so easy and fun to earn money.” Choose 2 or 3 positive affirmations and turn them into mantras that you say to yourself throughout your day and as you fall asleep.

Find friends who are good at making money. Connect with others who are on the same entrepreneurial path you’re on. Talking to, relating to and being around people who easily make money will help you to see it’s alright for you to make money as well.

Declutter your life.

This one is simple – if you have a lot of useless stuff lying around your office, your home and your car, you don’t have room for the abundance you’re seeking. You don’t have room to grow. Money loves speed, clarity and clear space. It hates clutter. Get rid of everything in your life that serves no purpose and organize the rest.

Be ever so grateful.

Let go of resentments. Forgive positively everybody of everything, with no exceptions. Holding resentments only hurts yourself – it doesn’t hurt the person you refuse to forgive. And be grateful for everything you have in your life, as well as those things about to come into your life.

Forgive yourself for your financial past.

The person you most need to forgive is yourself. And you might have to do it over and over again. Forgiveness is a funny thing – today you forgive yourself, tomorrow you’re berating yourself again for the less-than-wise decisions you made.

Any time you find yourself beating yourself up, forgive yourself. You did the best you could at the time. Remind yourself that the past can never be undone, and you can’t live there, either. But you do have today, so make it count.

Now, most readers will nod their heads at what they just read and forget about it. But a few – perhaps you – will take this advice to heart and begin making the changes necessary to realize your financial goals.

For you, this could be the start of a whole new financial life – one of abundance.

Hi it’s Richard,

I got this email the other day thought it was a good read.

Ever wonder why some people “make it” while others stay stuck?

Here’s a shocker:

It’s not about havein a fat bank account to start with.

Nope, the real difference is much simper… and it’s all in your head.

I’m talking about the stories we tell ourselves every single day.

You see, both successful entrepreneurs and 9-5 workers have dreams.

but here’s where things get interesting…

The go-getters think: “How can I make my dreams happen? I deserve an amazing life!”

The stuck folks? They’re like: “Who an I kidding? Rich people are just lucky. I should be greatful for my job.”

Spot the difference?

It’ all about empowering yourself vs. holding yourself back.

The achievers fuel them selves with positive, can-do thoughts.

The others?

They’re convinced they don’t deserve success before they even try.

So here’s some food for thought: What stories are YOU telling yourself?

Try this: Jot down your biggest dreams. then tell yourself you CAN make them happen.

And if your’re struggling to believe in yourself right now…

Let me tell you something: I believe in you!

This email is by

Karla Marie

With Gratitude,

Much Love,

Good Luck & Have FUN!

Richard Dansie

Hi my name is Richard, I have been internet marketer for some time now, I’ve made some money with some programs. I think that I don’t stay focused long enough to make a lot money, I keep coming back to this one program, plug-in-profits. I have read day 1 in the training, and I am really motivated to stay focused on this program. I will keep you up to date on my progress.

You might be thinking, “Why would I want my website to be like a grocery store? I don’t sell meats and produce, I sell information and opportunity.” Good question. But if you’re a fan of all things marketing, this is one article you do not want to miss.

Case in point: Did you know that nothing is left to chance in a supermarket? Everything in a grocery store is orchestrated to increase sales. In the same way, we want to be 100% intentional about how we guide people to the right place on our websites so they do what we want them to do (subscribe, buy, etc.)

Yes, it’s manipulative. But it comes down to a choice – are you going to be smart about your website, or are you going to leave it to chance and hope for the best? Being smart builds a real business, while hoping you accidentally get it right is a hobby. BIG difference.

Here’s a prime supermarket lesson we can use on our websites: When one very successful store cut their product line by 40% their sales went up 20%. Why is this? Because before people had too many choices, resulting in confusion and loss of sales. Reduce the choices and you reduce the confusion. This is why UK supermarket giant Tesco cut their range of products by 30% to simplify the experience for shoppers. After all, who needs 98 different extra virgin olive oils?

If you have too many products, pull the ones that aren’t selling well and focus just on your best sellers. This will benefit you in that you’re more focused on promoting your best sellers only. And it will benefit your customers because it’ll be easier for them to make a buying decision.

Here’s another juicy marketing morsel: When a four-foot cardboard cutout of a glass of beer was placed at either end of the beer shelves, sales increased 23% overnight. Crazy, right? The big beer glasses acted as sign posts, directing customers towards purchasing beer.

So how can you guide people on your website into making purchases? Good question. Give them a clear path from start to finish – a path they cannot easily deviate from. Guide them. Make it clear what their choice should be (to buy, versus to leave without buying.) Make it as simple as seeing a signpost and making the appropriate turn to get to the destination.

And speaking of making things easy – for years supermarkets hid things like bread and milk at the back of the store, with the theory this would increase sales. After all, if you make people walk past all the other items, they’re bound to buy some, right?

It turns out that was a bad theory. Instead of increasing sales, it had the long term effect of making people mad enough to not return to the store. Ouch. Now they know that by placing essentials at the front of the store, they are more likely to get repeat business from the goodwill they have built.

Again, it’s all about making the shopping experience easy for the customer. To get more ideas about how to make your website more like a supermarket, go here:

www.convinceandconvert.com/customer-experience/how-to-build-your-website/

It seems like everyone these days is an entrepreneur. After all, anyone with a computer and an internet connection has the opportunities to serve a global audience. The harsh reality is that the vast majority of these budding entrepreneurs will never make the money they hope to through their new business venture. Most will fail to ever make a dollar, others will earn very little and eventually abandon the idea as the novelty wears off and discouragement sets in. 

The difference between the runaway success stories and the masses of entrepreneurs silently toiling in their businesses is that the former possess a skill that the latter do not. The winners know how to sell.

Weekly, I encounter starry-eyed entrepreneurs with big ideas and a palpable disdain for sales, sales processes, and anything that conjures mental images of used car salesmen in cheap suits who reek of equally cheap cologne. These entrepreneurs likely won’t make it. If you want to succeed you have to learn to sell.

Here are three lessons from top sales leaders on how entrepreneurs can improve their sales results:

1. Educate, don’t pitch

Don’t even think about pitching your offering until you know exactly what ails your would-be buyer. The fastest way to sink a deal – and your reputation – is by pitching an offer that won’t actually work to alleviate your customer’s pain point. A superior way to sell, however, is to avoid pitching at all. This proverbial high road is one that will set you apart from virtually every other sales person who comes knocking. You will become more than another offering in a crowded field; you will become the trusted advisor.
The first thing you must do in any selling situation is take the time to self educate by asking thoughtful questions that invite your prospect to open up about their current situation. The best sales leaders do this effortlessly and the meeting begins to feel more like therapy than a sales call.

Once you’ve established a level of trust with your could be buyer, now is the time to show them how your offering would be the right next step to solve their problem – but only if it actually will. Spinning your offering to shoehorn a customer into a deal they’ll later regret is a fast way to trash any trust and goodwill you’ve managed to create. By demonstrating how your offering will make their lives better, you have put yourself into the role of the trusted advisor and your soon-to-be customer will thoughtfully consider your offer free from the typical pressure of transactional sales.

“Keep yourself positive, cheerful, and goal-oriented. Sales success is 80% attitude and only 20% aptitude.” – Brian Tracy

2. Expect to hear ‘no’



Hearing no is hard. Especially when you know that the product or service you’re selling will genuinely help make your customer’s life better. The first time you hear a no it can be pretty devastating, especially true when it’s your business that you’re trying to get off the ground. Rejection is always hard though a healthy perspective can go a long way towards keeping you on the path to eventual success.

The good news is that every no is a great opportunity to learn. From building your confidence as you pitch your offer to modifying how you present the benefits of your offering each no give you permission to experiment with your presentation.

3. Do the Hard thing

Bottom line is you’ve got to put yourself out there. Yes, it’s easy to send out a handful of cold emails to potential prospects and wait, with fingers crossed, and hope for an unlikely ‘yes’. Unless you are able to craft a curiosity inducing subject line and an email that provides an astounding amount of value, cold emails seldom work. That widely accepted reality doesn’t stop scores of entrepreneurs from spending untold hours in their inbox sending messages to every email address they manage to track down.

If you want to succeed you need to strand out and that means finding less crowded spaces to occupy with your message. It means doing the thing that no one else has thought of or that no one else wants to do. Sending an email is easy while getting up on a stage at an industry trade show is not. Neither is cold calling prospects out of the phone book. Consistently do the hard thing that no one else will and you’ll find success sooner than later.

“If people like you, they’ll listen to you. But if they trust you, they’ll do business with you.” – Zig Ziglar

Falling in love with the process of selling is no small task but it’s critical for entrepreneurs who desire to leverage their businesses to achieve lifestyle and wealth. The most successful entrepreneurs and sales leaders are the ones who have designed processes that align with their personality and strengths. Ultimately the road to success is one of consistency so map out your path and commit to walking it out every day.

Published 3 years ago 

on Sep 22, 2020

By Bryce Conlan

This is the light house that my wife and I built.

Hi everyone, my wife and I fashioned the light house from a small one we have in our front yard. We started by getting the materials we needed to start the project. We collected rocks from the mountains, roadside, and back yard. We also got a bag of white cement to use for the tower, and a bag of grout to use as mortar for the rocks. We started building the light house by first prepping the ground, then built the base, next we built the house. more to come soon.

Having Fun Building a Back Yard Water Fall.

Building a backyard waterfall can be a fun and rewarding project. Here are some steps to help you get started:

1. Plan and Design: Decide on the size, shape, and location of your waterfall. Consider the available space, the natural slope of your yard, and any existing landscaping features. Sketch out your design and make a list of materials needed.
2. Gather Materials: You will need materials such as rocks, pond liner, a submersible pump, tubing, and a water basin. Visit a local garden center or home improvement store to gather these supplies.
3. Prepare the Area: Clear the area where you want to build the waterfall. Remove any plants, rocks, or debris. Level the ground if necessary.
4. Dig the Basin: Dig a hole for the water basin at the base of the waterfall. The size of the basin will depend on the size of your waterfall. Make sure it is deep enough to hold the pump and provide a sufficient water supply.
5. Install the Liner: Line the hole and the waterfall area with a pond liner. This will help retain the water and prevent leaks. Cut the liner to fit the shape of your design, leaving some excess for folding and securing.
6. Position Rocks: Start placing rocks around the waterfall area, starting from the bottom and working your way up. Use a variety of sizes and shapes to create a natural-looking waterfall. Stack the rocks securely, ensuring they won’t shift or collapse.
7. Install the Pump: Place the submersible pump in the water basin and connect it to the tubing. Run the tubing up through the rocks to the top of the waterfall. Make sure the tubing is hidden and securely positioned.
8. Test the Water Flow: Fill the water basin with water and turn on the pump. Adjust the flow rate and position of the rocks to achieve the desired waterfall effect. Make sure the water is flowing smoothly and evenly.
9. Finish and Landscape: Secure the excess pond liner around the edges of the waterfall and cover it with rocks or plants to create a natural-looking finish. Consider adding additional landscaping elements like plants, flowers, or lighting to enhance the overall aesthetic.
10. Maintain and Enjoy: Regularly clean and maintain your backyard waterfall to keep it functioning properly. Remove debris, check the pump, and monitor the water quality. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the soothing sounds and beauty of your new backyard waterfall.

Remember to check with your local authorities or homeowner’s association for any permits or regulations that may apply to building a backyard waterfall in your area.

If you’ve ever read Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich,” you know that he repeatedly alludes to “the secret” without ever stating exactly what the secret is.

A quick aside here – I wonder if his book would still be popular to this day if he had simply STATED the secret, rather than leaving it a bit of a mystery? I don’t think so.

Some have said the secret is to, “Conceive it, believe it and then achieve it.” That is, you need to decide what you want, believe with all your heart that you can and WILL achieve it, and then take the action necessary to make it happen.

Others have said the secret lies in Chapter 2, where even Napoleon’s own son said he was able to identify the secret. That chapter is about “Desire: The Starting Point Of All Achievement.”

Chapter 2 reads, “The method by which desire for riches can be transmuted into its financial equivalent consists of six definite, practical steps…”

“First. Be definite as to the amount.” Desiring a lot of money or to be rich won’t work. Making a goal of $5,000 a month in income will.

“Second. Determine exactly what you intend to give in return for the money you desire.” You don’t get something for nothing – if you did, you could simply make a wish and your desire would appear. You’ll need to exchange your efforts for the money you desire, so what is it you can do? How can you give tremendous value to others?

“Third. Establish a definite date when you intend to possess the money you desire.” Never underestimate the power of a deadline, or the need to be accountable to someone. Tell the person you least want to disappoint of your deadline, and be sure they hold you to it.

“Fourth. Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire, and begin at once, whether you are ready or not, to put this plan into action.” Decide what you’re going to do, and then just do it. Don’t wait – procrastination leads to excuses which leads to more procrastination. Begin immediately.

“Fifth. Write out a clear, concise statement of the amount of money you intend to acquire, name the time limit for its acquisition, state what you intend to give in return for the money, and describe clearly the plan through which you intend to accumulate it.” You’ve heard this before – Write it down. Make it concrete. Make it REAL.

“Sixth. Read your written statement aloud, twice daily, once just before retiring at night, and once after arising in the morning. AS YOU READ – SEE AND FEEL AND BELIEVE YOURSELF ALREADY IN POSSESSION OF THE MONEY.” Twice a day? I would suggest several times a day. Keep your goal right in front of you so that it’s on your mind always, like a mantra. It should be the last thing you think about as you fall asleep, the first thing you think of upon waking, and your predominant thought throughout the day. As you think about it, BELIEVE it is already done – you are simply going through the formalities.

You’ll notice that these 6 steps assume one thing – that you will take ACTION and do whatever it is you need to do to make it happen.

Six steps, plus action.

If we were to boil this down to its essence, what would it be?

Conceive it
Believe it
Achieve it

And there you have it – Napoleon Hill’s secret to Thinking and Growing Rich.

Famous sales person Ben Gay tells the story of being on an ocean going fishing boat with a very successful friend. His friend hooked a whopper of a fish on his line. The crew went crazy with someone shouting out “slow down, speed up, hard to port, etc.” Crew members were running around doing whatever they do and the entire boat had a feeling of total chaos while his friend was working on landing this fish.

But his friend was as calm as could be. When Ben asked his friend how he could stay so calm amid all this frenzy, his friend replied, “While the fish and the crew don’t know the outcome of this struggle, I do.”

His friend had already conceived and believed he would catch a giant fish. All that was left was to calmly and serenely land him.