Are you making the right choices?

Posted on July 6, 2012 by Nancy Radlinger

In the movie, “The Renaissance Man,” Danny De Vito’s character makes a profound statement…“The choices we make dictate the lives we lead.”
To paraphrase…“Where you are today is the result of all the choices and actions that you have made in your life.”

I ran across this today and thought wow this would make a great blog post and so here I am writing because this runs thru my head daily- maybe yours too – are you making the right choices?

People tend to blame a lack of success in life or the event in their life on “bad luck” or “poor timing” or other people. And yes, at times, that can be accurate. A heck of a lot of factors beyond our control can blindside us. In the long run, however, as long as we persist in our efforts, these factors tend to even out and De Vito’s statement remains valid.

With the economy as it is today and so many people losing their jobs, gas prices skyrocketing, and going to the grocery store is crazy these days – how is a person not blame what is going on and all the circumstances around us – well you can if you want – and whine just like most out there or you can really take a closer look at your life. If you dwell on the issue and don’t move on and find a solution you will stay stuck – so I’m going to give you an example in my own life.

As most of you know I have been self-employed for many years and have had to pay for my own health insurance. When I got divorced six years ago – my payments were $600.00 a month and have been paying that with increases thru out the years and just got notice the other day that it was going up again – this increase would put it to $702.00 per month and that is when I finally said enough is enough. So where did that decision leave me – without insurance yes- like so many people in the country.

BUT did I let that get me down, did I whin about it, did my life stop because of it and was it the right choice – well for me at this time the answer is yes it was the right choice. See I believe that God has a plan for each and everyone of us and sometimes we need to pay closer attention. See I was trying to stay in control of my life instead of letting God lead me and listen to Him I let myself get in the way and tried to do things how I thought they should be done. So the moral to this story is that I found different health insurance and it’s only costing me $85.00/month and I have to say that I have been blessed.

If you don’t think that the power of prayer works then I feel sorry for you. I normally keep my faith and religion out of my business BUT with the way things are today and all the stories that I hear online and even offline – I just felt it was time to speak up. When I ask you “are you making the right choices?” I hope that you are relying on your faith in God to get you thru – he is there for you and yea maybe the solution to your problems that you are having is NOT what you had pictured BUT there is a solution if you will just let Him guide you.

Last but not least – are you making the right choices with your business – are you taking it serious – are you just chasing the money – are you taking action or do spend your time online in chat rooms keeping up with the latest gossip – are you out there helping others??????? I personally found that my life online sure turned around when I started getting serious about my business, when I started helping others, when I stopped chasing the money – joining the hottest new thing out there, when I started keeping my appearances in the chat room to a minimum, and when I started to use that time more wisely and wrote more blog posts instead, doing more with what I already was a member of, started learning places to meet other business owners, etc.

This is all working for me and each and everyone of you will have choices that will be suited to YOU and your life – just keep asking yourself “Are YOU making the right choices?”

Incredible Internet Marketing Tips To Take Your Business To The Next Level

Posted on July 4, 2012 by Nancy Radlinger

So you have gone to all the hard work of establishing your business, either in a physical location or on the internet, but how do you get the word out? Internet marketing will bring customers to your website and if you have one, to your physical location. This article will give you tips on how to make that happen.

A great internet marketing tip is to complement any copy of product descriptions with corresponding pictures. If you have a site with just written descriptions people will not be able to visualize themselves with the actual product. Including pictures gives customers and idea of what it would be like to own the product.

When working with Internet marketing, just like any other business, you must know when to cut your losses. If, after a set period of time, you are seeing no growth in your web hits than it may just be a bad product or service that you are working with. Try to find another option.

When you are communicating with the customers on your site, try to be unique and interesting. If you come across as a robot with no personality, your customers will be drawn away. Developing a personality on your site, will help establish a stronger personal connection with your potential customers, yielding more sales.

Make your customers feel for your business. Including emotional statements appeals to the customers emotions, which can make them feel more inclined to purchase from you. Telling them you love working with them, or that you feel true happiness from their satisfaction will allow customers to feel closer to your business.

Be sure you know what you want from internet marketing before you put in a lot of time and effort. If you don’t have goals, you will simply end up wasting your energy and getting nowhere. Do a little research on internet marketing and what it can do for you, then establish a reasonable timeline with realistic goals for success.

A good internet marketing plan will cater to potential customers at many different levels of expertise. Selling a product to a professional or a neophyte earns the same amount of money, but each transaction requires a different sales approach. A good business website will have appropriate information for any sort of visitor, from the experienced veteran to the total novice.

A great tip for Internet marketing is to make your web site more user friendly. With a more user friendly web site, users will feel more comfortable visiting and navigating your site. There are a lot of scams online so you want to do everything you can to make your visitors feel safe.

If you were paying attention to these tips, it can be easy to see how some of these simple things can have big results. Marketing yourself and your business online is essential in today’s business marketplace. Follow the advice here and you will be well on your way to driving up sales.

APSense has done it again – a new tool to help BRAND you

Posted on July 1, 2012 by Nancy Radlinger

Well you all know by now that I love APSense and I can’t believe all the tools that are there for helping you connect with other business-minded people. They have done it again – they created a new tool to help BRAND you. You can create what you want and I decided to do one on my blog – here is the link http://www.apsense.com/brand/NancyRadlinger

What I like about this page is that you get to design it and they have made it so easy for you – you just fill in some blanks – add your logo, your own background picture, and that will get you set up. Now to keep adding to it and you will want to do this – you just login to APSense and on the left side you will see Brand Pages. Click on your page and click on edit and make any changes that you want, add to it – it’s really that easy.

When I read that you could do this in 5 minutes – and being pressed for time – I thought I would give it a try – well needless to say this ole granny didn’t do this in 5 minutes. I think that if my granddaughter was here she would have told me to turn on my brain as it took me longer then that to find the background picture that I finally liked and believe me I tried alot of them lololol

Now the other cool part that I really like is the fact that all your social info is right there in the left column – now don’t do like most do and don’t think that this is important to take the time to fill out because it is – and when you are filling out that page – click the icon at the end and make sure that it takes them to the page that it should. Remember, it’s worth taking the time to make sure this is filled out and working correctly and you are asking why…………. well the way I’m going to use this page is when I meet a new contact and when they want to know more about me and what I do – instead of giving them a big spill about who I am, what I do and where they can find out about me – I’m going to give them the link to this Brand page.

I don’t know about you but when I first meet someone I don’t like to talk business – I like to just chit-chat and find out about that person, their likes – listen to what they have had problems with and the key there is LISTEN that way I know what I’m going to be able to help them with and where their mindset is – if you don’t know those two things – you are wasting your time and their time. You can only learn these things by LISTENING to the person you just met – let them feel comfortable chatting with – YOU DO NOT want them to have in the back of their head – ok when is she going to be pitching me or what has she got to sell.

You may call me old fashion but when I get that feeling from someone that just contacted me – I clam up – how about you???? When I first meet a contact – I want them to know that I a grandma, live in WI, love gardening and line dancing – I NEVER talk business until that person ask me what I do – and then I only answer with that I work full time online doing internet marketing. Then I change the subject – I ask a question back to them to get them talking about themselves and back to the listening mode – this is soooooooo important.

So this is why I am loving this new BRAND page at APSense and hopefully you can see why this tool is going to save you time and is going to help you BRAND you – after all that is what a person has to do to be successful online.

Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until
they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.~ Anais Nin

ALSO, if you get your Brand page done by July 7th, APSense is giving you 2000 credits – now that should give you a kick in the rump

Affiliate Marketing Tips That Can Make You More Successful

Posted on June 24, 2012 by Nancy Radlinger

Anyone capable of educating themselves on the topic and committing themselves to practice what they learn can find success in the field of affiliate marketing. By learning as much as you can about affiliate marketing, you can make sizable profits. The article below provides some solid information to get you started on your way.

When selecting affiliate partners you should look for companies that offer a lot of support and resources to their affiliates that help to increase sales. Affiliate companies are far from stupid. They perform research to determine which marketing strategies are most effective for converting leads to customers. The companies that are worth working with will share this information. They can make their strategies work for them.

So called “secret links” can be a subtle, yet effective strategy. Links to affiliate sites can be unobtrusively placed so that they fit in naturally with the page rather than making them blatantly obvious. Use these techniques, but never try to trick your readers. Let your readers know the context behind the link so that they will not be surprised.

Instead of wasting capital on market research, try to sell what you already know is popular. Affiliate marketers often avoid popular products because of the sheer numbers of competing affiliates. Keep in mind, though, that popular niches are already proven successful markets, while less popular niches are a wild card. Beyond that, there is a larger pool of potential customers to pick from in popular niches. The competition may be fierce, but there are simply more buyers. All you have to do is come up with a marketing angle that makes you stand out from the competition.

For those who have ad banners, try posing an interesting question that would only be answered if a visitor goes to your site. Most people will feel compelled to click the banner to find out the answer. You can offer a nice discount to visitors who correctly guess the answer.

Join social networking sites, forums, and email lists devoted to sharing strategies related to affiliate marketing. There are a number of different online forums where affiliate marketers can get together to share ideas and help each other.

Complete a thorough review of referral programs that your affiliates offer. You may benefit from better compensation by referring people to companies that offer additional bonuses for this. Some even give you a percentage of your referrals’ sales. Use your position in the market to build an active referral portfolio.

If you take the time to plan your next move and keep these tips in mind, you are going to see the positive outcome that you were hoping for when you decided to get involved. So make a action plan – including these tips – and get to work!

Don’t have an affiliate program yet or don’t know which one works – this one does – every month for me

Social Media Marketing And You: How To Expand Your Business.

Posted on June 17, 2012 by Nancy Radlinger

You may already know this, but when you start a business on any medium, you have to have a solid business plan if you are to be successful. This is best achieved by making the most of the latest and greatest social networking strategies. It is especially important to adopt these methods early in the game, before they become obsolete.

While you are probably aware of the well-known social network sites, there are many smaller social networks that are targeting specific audiences. Particularly if your target customers are youth oriented, research what networks they are using and why.

You want to be sure that all of your ads are visible and in places that can be seen by anyone. Even if the page where your ad is located gets a lot of visits, you will not benefit from it if your ad is not noticeable. And take the time to fill out your profiles – this is your business card to the world.

Try playing games on Facebook. Imagine creating a game that features your products. Some of these Facebook games featuring well-known brands have even gone viral. You may consider it money well spent to hire a professional game design company to help you with game development.

Marketing with social media is increasing in popularity, but you should not jump into it until you have yourself a plan. Take a little time to build an outline of the campaign and figure out how marketing methods operate. Also, prepare for a little of the problems SMM faces. By doing the necessary preparations before executing your social media marketing campaign, you will be able to prevail over your competition.

A brand related photo contest can be an effective strategy to increase excitement about your product among your followers. The prize can go to the customer who enters the most creative picture that features your brand. When they share these photos in their networks to other people, it will expose your company to some new markets.

Sign up for an account with Yahoo, so you can start perusing Yahoo Answers. This feature on Yahoo enables users to ask questions, and then receive answers from fellow users. Search the internet for customer questions or issues related to the type of products you sell and try to answer them with links to your own products where allowed. By consistently providing informative answers that help users, you will quickly earn the reputation of an expert.

Make sure your posts aren’t condescending or give the reader the impression you are too cocky. It doesn’t matter how good your reputation is or how many followers you have, being arrogant or boastful can hurt your image. Remember that the customers come first: if you are satisfied with your results, thank your customers for it. Success is determined largely by your clients and they are the foundation that you need to value.

Even though social media marketing might be something new to you that you are toying with, don’t think that the basic fundamentals don’t apply. Do your research, create a campaign and bolster it with press releases and other traditional marketing methods. Combining both new and old techniques is what helps social media marketing to become influential.

Talk to your customers on a regular basis. Find out if they have any blogs or popular threads online and post whenever you can generate appropriate and engaging comments. This does not mean jumping in on a personal exchange, but it should be aimed at issues that are relevant to your product or service.

Follow a successful strategy with well defined step and boundaries when launching your social media marketing operation. It’s not as difficult as you might think to advertise using social media; trust that you can succeed at it.

Notifications on Facebook

Posted on June 10, 2012 by Nancy Radlinger

Does the notifications on Facebook drive you crazy? I know they do me especially since they fill up my email box and most of the time it’s someone just spamming a group that I’m in. Well my friend, Philippe Moisan, did a blog post the other day and there was my answer. Often times a person gets so busy that they don’t take the time to learn the things that they should and I feel that he did such a great job for people that are just starting on Facebook – but he also made it easy for us seasoned Facebook users. I really recommend that you read this post

Facebook for online marketing beginners

This was just a true blessing for me yesterday when I read it as I didn’t have to spend hours trying to figure out how to turn off those pesky notification and after watching his video – it was so simple then to go and get rid of them. The reason that I feel this is so important is that once you have done this – you will ONLY get the notifications that you want to get and just think the time it will save you going thru your emails and deleting 12 emails from same person that is just spamming groups.

After doing that yesterday, I found that there were still alot of emails in my file today and guess my brain had gone to sleep as duh……………..I have two accounts and only did the one. So what I have been doing instead of delete all of them – I have been opening the email – scroll to the bottom and click on View on Facebook. This will take you directly to the group that it came from and then you can turn them off and make sure that you go to setting and unclick sending them to your emails.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh life is going to be less stressful for me as do you know how long a person can take deleting all those emails. So thank you Philippe for doing those videos and the lesson here people that even tho you think that you are wasting your time doing videos on simple things – here is proof that you are not. You have to keep in mind that not only do the newbies need to have some guideline BUT us seasoned marketers sometimes need to see shortcuts that we just don’t have time to look for.

Now I know you are just chomping at the bit – so click on the link above and watch Philippe’s videos – bet you will be surprised at what you learn. And if those notifications on Facebook was driving you crazy like they were for me – now you know what to do.

Simple Ways To Succeed At Online Marketing

Posted on June 3, 2012 by Nancy Radlinger

Many businesses have turned to Internet marketing as their preferred marketing method. It has never been easier to market your business using the Internet, as you can utilize everything from electronic newsletters to static websites. Look at this article to find out how you can use Internet marketing to your advantage.

You can cultivate some extra traffic by using subtle advertisements that will link readers to a page that tells them more about your product. Just make sure you use appropriate text around the ad that does entice them to click on the ad, so they also know where they are being taken to. This way, your ad won’t even look like one.

You can always market your site as a place for social conversation instead of it being a business. You can have more site traffic if people are communicating with others! By using this technique visitor will want to visit often. Providing free graphics for people to use on their own websites will increase your visibility and give you free advertising.

Choosing the right niche for marketing your particular product is crucial. Someone who collects Star Wars action figures isn’t going to be interested in baseball cards. It just becomes easier to sell a product or service you are passionate about, as opposed to anything else. Know who your target audience is.

Integrate social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter into your Internet marketing efforts. The beauty of social media is that it allows you to maintain close connections with customers, making it simple to keep them updated on upcoming promotions or launches. Although, it is always best to manage how you interact with the customers because you don’t want to always be advertising something in all your comments. Rather, provide posts that are informative and witty, with a little bit of sales lingo scattered here and there.

Producing online videos that include tags can help your online marketing campaign succeed. You should also add a link to your site in the video’s description. This can increase your site traffic!

The look and feel of your site, as well as the ease of use, are important factors in making your customers feel like they are shopping in a store. Regularly test your ads, links, graphics, and checkout system for problems that may inconvenience site visitors. Costumers will leave if your site is not working properly.

Your CRM or “customer relationship management” is a useful database to help you assess and create marketing success. You can use this to see the purchasing habits of all your customers. You can use this to customize each communication with the customer that shows only things that they might be interested which helps them to purchase additional items.

You do not have to make internet marketing complicated or confusing. Apply one of the many tips you learned today towards building success for your site. Most consumers like getting information through the Internet these days, which is why Internet marketing is ideal for expanding your business.

Believe me I have been here and done that and I know the times that you just want to give up because it don’t seem that things are working. Over time I have found that when I’m doubting myself then it’s time to Google yourself – see what others are seeing – is that what you want them to see and if not change it. After all your business is YOU – it’s you that will make it or it’s you that will not – it’s your decision – don’t blame someone else.

Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.~ Lou Holtz

“There’s a difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in doing something you only do it when it’s convenient, when you’re committed you take no excuses only results.” Author Unknown

“Edison failed 10, 000 times before he made the electric light. Do not be discouraged if you fail a few times” (Napoleon Hill)

Michael Jordan. He says : I’ve missed over 9000 shots, I’ve lost hundreds of games and 23 times was i suppose to win with the last shot. And that is the experience that makes me legendary
Everyone who got where he is, had to begin from where he was.

Nancy Radlinger

Just My Opinion

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