Live Events Or Webinars – Which Business Training Is Best?

DSCN1326 300x225 Live Events Or Webinars   Which Business Training Is Best?Recently I asked some of my online friends whether they preferred to attend live events for business and marketing training, or if webinars they could watch from home were sufficient. It turns out that many people strongly prefer one over the other, and others are more flexible when it comes to online business training.

The main reason I asked the question was that I have been attending the NAMS Total Business System live event in Atlanta this weekend, where I am a marketing trainer and faculty member. Twice a year I speak and present at this conference, and then throughout the year I’m a part of the online training that is part of the membership site associated with this excellent business training program. Some people attend the live events twice a year, while others regularly show up for the weekly webinar trainings.

One person I asked, Pamela Wynn, brought up an excellent point when she said that she loves the live stream when she is unable to attend in person. NAMS does not currently offer a live stream, but perhaps that could be discussed for the next live NAMS in August. Live stream, if you are not familiar with this, is a way for you to watch the live event from the comfort of home via webinar, based on having video cameras set up at the event location so that it can be ‘streamed’ in real time to locations all over the world.

Traveling to a live business training event can be difficult for some people due to a variety of scheduling conflicts. William Chaney said, “I would enjoy the live events but not because I learn more, but because I get to inner act with the instructors and my fellow “classmates”. However, travel has not worked for me over the past year. For the money I spend on hotels and air travel, I can purchase much needed products to help me on my quest.”

Tara Kachaturoff said that because of her other commitments, it’s best for her to attend webinars. She can only attend local events live.

Melissa Ingold says “I love being able to learn from home because traveling to all kinds of events just isn’t doable when you have kids. The reason I decided to go into business for myself was so that I could take care of my kids and be with them, not so I could travel more than I’m home – which I’ve seen so many business owners fall into and it kind of defeats the purpose of being a freedom based entrepreneur. However, I think going to some events is a great for networking and learning. I’ve never been to an event yet, but I plan to attend my first offline event this August.”

Others like to learn from both webinars and live events. Robin O’Neal Smith said, “I like both! Live events are great for networking and asking questions. I also enjoy and learn a great deal from webinars.” Adrienne Dupree agrees, stating that “I love live events so I can meet the people I hear online. I also am a webinar junkie. I could attend a webinar every day if I had enough time. There is so much information out there.”

Some of my friends feel very strongly about the importance of attending live events. One of them, Brad Spencer, says “I prefer live events by far…webinars are too linear the way most do them. Live events= party atmosphere (educational party) Webinars= (most times) boring like high school (full disclosure: I know you’re a pro teacher, Connie, and you rock!”

Colin Theriot explains, “You MUST attend live. The networking is the whole point. The WORST is when you go to a live event and a bunch of the people there just go up to their rooms and go to sleep instead of mining the gold that is in the hall and at the hotel bar and out to lunch, etc.”

Debbie O’Grady shared that “I love attending live events to meet face-to-face with the people I’ve “met” online. It gives me the chance to interact and know people better.

As Jeremy Ginn put it, “There is something powerful about shaking hands, eye to eye, smile to smile that you just miss on a webinar!”

How do you feel about this issue? I’d love to hear your thoughts on whether you prefer attending live events or webinars to grow your online business.

 

 

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Online Marketing Tips With Connie Ragen Green – Podcast 004

Online Marketing Tips Connie Ragen GreenIn this fourth episode of Online Marketing Tips With Connie Ragen Green, my new podcast series, I discuss the importance of connecting with other business owners from the very beginning in order to achieve success as an online entrepreneur. You can do this through Joint Ventures (JVs), paid online forums, and by attending live events.

I also answer questions on a variety of topics, including the importance and value of blogging regularly, creating an irresistible free giveaway so people will join your list, creating your first product, using article directories and distribution services, finding relevant PLR (private label rights) content, choosing the right niche to get started online, creating eBooks and books for Kindle and how to best start marketing them, and much more.

Be sure to download your Study Guide to follow along with the podcast. I will always be creating these to give you a frame of reference as to what I am discussing during that episode.

Be sure to subscribe to this new podcast series over at iTunes.

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Library Research: Online Marketing Opportunity

Library Research Marketing OnlineYesterday I spent the afternoon at the library. I do this twice a month, spending one day at the Santa Clarita Public Library (that’s a picture of it on the left) and another day at the library in Santa Barbara. This is where I curl up with lots of good books, doing research for my business, learning from people who have written books on a variety of topics that are on interest to me, and writing down my ideas for new information products I will create, books I will write, and courses I will teach. Library research (online marketing related) is powerful – and free!

On this most recent excursion I went upstairs and sat in front of the fireplace to look through my picks. These included Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson, M.D.; The One Minute Entrepreneur by Ken Blanchard and Don Hutson; and For The Love of Letters by Samara O’Shea. I also checked out Shorter, Faster, Funnier: Comic Plays and Monologues, edited by Eric Lane and Nina Shengold.

The first two books are ones I have read in the past and enjoy rereading every couple of years because of their excellent business strategy. The third book is one that caught my attention after one of my students expressed her passion for note and letter writing, which has almost become a lost art.

The last book, a collection of short comic plays and monologues, is strictly for fun. This is most likely the book that will inspire me to be the most productive in my business. Yes, that’s right, when you lighten up a little you are able to open up your creativity and let your juices flow.

I would encourage you to dust off your library card and introduce yourself to your local librarian, if you are not doing so already. The people that choose a career in the library system are typically well above average in intelligence, well read, and see life from a very different perspective than the rest of us. Of course, I am making a generalization here, but having grown up in a home where reading was valued more than watching television, as well as having spent twenty years as a classroom teacher, I am bound to be prejudiced.

The original ideas for much of what I have created online were born and nurtured at the library. Book stores are also a great place to spend time, but the energy is quite different, I have found.

Use your library to research your topic, discover forgotten interests and passions, and to uncover gems from people all but forgotten. Most of what I see and experience online is not original at all; the library is filled with innovation and buried treasure.

 

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Online Marketing Tips With Connie Ragen Green – Podcast 005

Online Marketing Tips Connie Ragen GreenIn this fifth episode of Online Marketing Tips With Connie Ragen Green, my new podcast series, I discuss all things Kindle! I shared my experiences as an author or eight books and contributor to many more, and how to get started as an author in this ever-changing marketplace.

I also answer questions on a variety of topics related to writing eBooks, books for Kindle, paperback books, and hard covers. Our discussion included when and how to use Kindle Select, my strategy for publishing both with Create Space and Kindle, how long your book should be, why marketing your books is so important, the proper format for Kindle, recent changes to the Amazon affiliate program regarding free Kindle books, pricing your books for maximum profit potential, using press releases to sell more books, turning your books into products, and much more.

Be sure to download your Study Guide to follow along with the podcast. I always create these to give you a frame of reference as to what I am discussing during that episode, as well as to share valuable resources with you.

Be sure to subscribe to this new podcast series over at iTunes

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How To Become A Kindle Bestseller

How to Become a Kindle BestsellerBecoming a Kindle bestseller on Amazon can be accomplished in about thirty minutes a day, if you are willing to focus on creating an online marketing platform for yourself.

I have now taken seven of my books to bestseller status on Amazon. This was purposeful on my part, and you can do the same thing if you’re willing to spend about thirty minutes each day getting the word out about who you are and what you do. This is a training on how to become a Kindle bestseller that I highly recommend from having gone through it personally.

By creating an online marketing platform you will then have the unique opportunity to position yourself as an expert and the authority in your niche. The information I share here with you will enable you to build your credibility, increase your visibility, and create the platform necessary to market yourself and your books to your target audience.

The first step is to set up a hosted WordPress blog. Less than ten percent of Kindle authors are doing this, so right there you will be set apart from the other authors. Blogging changes the way you are perceived and enables you to leverage the power of the Internet to sell more books and other products.

Let’s begin with a discussion on how to increase your credibility on the Internet.

How To Become A Kindle Bestseller With Credibility

Think about your Mission and Vision for what you are doing in your business. What exactly do you stand for? The answer to this and other questions will help you to become the ‘go-to’ person in your niche.

This is achieved by answering questions and solving problems for the people who come to you as their trusted advisor. Credibility builds when you:

  • Blog regularly – twice a week is optimal, especially during your first year online
  •  Use storytelling to get your message out to the world
  •  Begin hosting your own teleseminars and webinars to share your knowledge
  • Start reading and writing and talking about your topic every day
  •  Show the world that you care about your topic and the people in your community
  • Write short articles to submit to the directories
  •  Put together short reports based on your articles and blog posts
  •  Host teleseminars and webinars
  •  Send press releases about what you’re doing
  •  Speak in front of groups to share your ideas and information and to have an exchange of ideas
  •  Tell everyone about your book!
  • Give away your book when you speak using Kindle Select

How To Become A Kindle Bestseller With Visibility

Increasing your visibility is all about getting your name and your content out to the world. Unlike credibility, where you are focusing on your target audience, visibility makes people say ‘I see you everywhere!’

Listen to the questions people are asking about your niche topic. Be the person who answers these questions and provides valuable resources. Doing this regularly will help you to attract more of the right prospects and clients into your business.

You will be able to increase your visibility by:

  • Getting involved with a charity you believe in
  • Utilizing Social Media to extend your reach
  •  Interviewing others and requesting interviews
  •  Attending live events – both local and international
  •  Writing for a local publication
  •  Sending press releases
  •  Becoming active on forums
  • Syndicate your content with RSS, an Author Page on Amazon, and Networked Blogs on FB
  • Mention your book every chance you are able to!

Channels are also what I use to create a marketing platform for my books on Kindle. These include YouTube, Amazon’s author page, iTunes, and my social media pages. Channels make it possible for me to distribute my content, establish credibility and reputation, and massively increase my visibility.

By sharing your lifestyle, values, knowledge, and opinions you can have an impact in the minds of your prospects around the world. A bestselling Kindle author is expected to have something to say on every aspect of their niche.

I like to recommend the strategy of cross-promoting on your channels. For instance, talk about your videos on YouTube during your podcast; mention you podcast on your Facebook page; and discuss the use of social media pages in your videos. And, above all else, mention your book everywhere!

Some more advanced strategies on how to become a Kindle bestseller include:

  • Building a list – it’s alright if it’s tiny to begin with
  •  Leveraging affiliate marketing by recommending what you love
  •  Creating a course around your book’s content
  •  Creating related information products
  •  Giving away your book for five days every ninety days using the Kindle Select program

Focus on creating your online marketing platform, and this will result in you becoming a Kindle bestselling author. This brings you more clients, more opportunities, and massive profits, and it can be done in thirty minutes a day. I highly recommend this training on how to become a Kindle bestseller so you can get started today.

 

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Online Marketing Tips With Connie Ragen Green – Podcast 006

Online Marketing Tips Connie Ragen GreenIn this sixth episode of Online Marketing Tips With Connie Ragen Green, my newest podcast series, I discuss how to get started online with affiliate marketing. I define affiliate marketing as ‘recommending what you love’. We discussed the importance of choosing a niche, setting up a hosted WordPress site, only recommending what you have used and benefited from, and affiliate contests.

I also answer questions on a variety of topics related to affiliate marketing and online business success, including how to shorten your links, how to become my affiliate to promote my products and courses for lifetime commission, starting with Amazon as an affiliate for books and other products, using Squidoo to create sites to recommend products and services you are an affiliate for, and much more.

Also, you can now pick up my training on winning affiliate contests for only seven dollars at Affiliate Contest Secrets.

Be sure to download your Study Guide to follow along with the podcast. I always create these to give you a frame of reference as to what I am discussing during that episode, as well as to share valuable resources and online marketing tips with you.

Be sure to subscribe to this new podcast series over at iTunes

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Email Communication Tips – Put Your Name on Your Paper!

www mouse 300x224 Email Communication Tips   Put Your Name on Your Paper!It happened almost every day while I was a classroom teacher; someone would turn in a paper without a name on it. After a while we could recognize the handwriting, and the students came to know who the likely culprits were and would hand the paper back to them and wait for their signature.

During those years I decided that it was a lack of confidence that kept someone from making sure the teacher knew whose paper they were reading. It seemed like it would take the entire school year for me to finally make the necessary connection with that child that would finally encourage them to be proud of their work.

Little did I know that I would encounter a similar problem when I came online. On a regular basis I receive emails from people that contain no name at all. The ‘from’ section of the email only contains their email address, and they do not sign their name or have a signature line that lets me know who they are. Unless their email address contains their name, I am unable to guess as to who is contacting me.

I asked some of my colleagues if they are experiencing the same situation, and the answer is a resounding Yes!

David Perdew, founder of NAMS, shared that they spend much time tracking down e-mail addresses or corporate names to figure out who the person is and which products they are talking about. In their new support desk, they’re actually making the name, product and the URL in issue required fields.

Dale Anderson made me laugh when he said, “Whatever made you think that a child who did not bother to put their name on a paper would develop into an adult who would do any differently in their email communication? I know you are just too optimistic at times, and this is one of them.”

Make sure that you are communicating professionally with email by taking a look at your own messages. Does your first and last name appear in the ‘From’ area? Do you sign your name at the bottom of your message? Do you utilize a signature line so people can learn more about you and what you do? These email communication tips can help you to build your business in a professional way.

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Podcast: Jack Born, Direct Response Marketing Expert

jack born Podcast: Jack Born, Direct Response Marketing ExpertJack Born, direct response marketing expert and entrepreneur, is someone I met through my NAMS work as an instructor and presenter. He is obsessed, in a very positive way, with the concept of metrics marketing. This means that he is constantly tracking his site conversions and knows exactly what is working and what isn’t when it comes to his online business. Jack has worked for top sales organizations like AT&T and Merrill Lynch, and is also Perry Marshall’s Affiliate Manager. In addition, Jack knows the technical side of building websites and creating software applications, and has created a graphics program that I am very excited to share with you. It is because of this vast experience that I wanted to include him in my podcast series.

During our call we discussed why everyone needs to be aware of their ‘numbers’ when it comes to doing business online, and Jack shared his insights into how even those online entrepreneurs who are new to the business can utilize these concepts in a way that will increase your bottom line over time. He has been working online for many years now and truly has his finger on the pulse of what is working today in our industry. We also talked about something that I know you will be interested in learning more about – how to easily make your own graphics to make your web pages look more professional without having to hire a graphic design artist.

Jack is the creator of Boxshot King, an easy to use program that allows you to create professional looking 3-D graphics without having to know anything at all about Photoshop or other graphic design software. Boxshot King runs in the ‘cloud’, on their server, so there is nothing to download. It also works on both Mac and PC, and in all major browsers. When I first saw this program I thought that it was simply too good to be true, but that is not the case at all.

connie green ipad 193x300 Podcast: Jack Born, Direct Response Marketing ExpertThe image at the left was made in less than five minutes using Boxshot King, and I know you’ll agree that it turned out extremely well. It’s am image using a screen shot of my blog, and then inserted into the iPad design. Being able to create these types of graphic from the more than forty designs that are included will give your online business a needed boost very quickly.

Please listen to our interview and decide for yourself if this could be exactly what you’ve been looking for. Jack Born is definitely someone you’ll want to know and learn from, and this is the perfect opportunity. No matter where you are in your online marketing career, Jack’s knowledge, experience, and insights will help you to move forward.

 

Subscribe to this Podcast Series

 

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Ryan Deiss: Digital Marketer Authority ROI

Digital Marketer AuthorityLiving the Internet lifestyle is a life like no other. You have the time and financial freedom to live the life you choose, with no one to tell you that you can’t leave early or take the entire week off, and no one may limit the amount of money you earn. In other words, you are the boss when you become an online entrepreneur.

No matter what you are doing right now, I can almost guarantee that you will enjoy this more. It’s also an opportunity to bring your family members and close friends into the business with you, sharing your knowledge and helping them to live a lifestyle of freedom and abundance as well. That is a great gift to be able to give to the people you care about most in your life, and I have been able to do this successfully several times.

But starting an online business and making it profitable is just not that easy without a plan. I spent my first year struggling because I just was not sure what to do next. You need a process and system that is realistic, repeatable, and one that can be done by most anyone, regardless of their technical skills or other abilities.

There are many people claiming to have this type of ‘system’, but once you spend your hard earned money on their programs you see that they do not work at all. This leads to frustration and disappointment and it’s why many people believe that Internet marketing does not work and sounds too good to believe. If this describes you then you know what I mean. People come into my programs regularly whom have had this type of unhappy experience.

Ryan Deiss – Digital Marketer Authority ROI Program

Well today I have good news. There is a training program out now, and out only for a short time, that can and will change everything you thought was true about building a profitable business as an online entrepreneur. If you know me at all then you know that I hate hype and false promises, so please allow me to explain why I believe this program is a game-changer. Then, if you feel compelled to do so, use the link you will find below to learn more and get started.

First, here are the reasons I am endorsing and recommending this training program:

  • I bought this product on the day it was released and have gone through it completely. I would never suggest it to you otherwise.
  • It comes from a trusted source – I have known the person behind this product (Ryan Deiss) for five years now and I have benefited in a huge way from other programs of his I have been involved in.
  • Ryan has now added the upsell to the member’s area at no additional cost. This is huge.
  • It’s very affordable. You should be able to easily afford this and there are almost no “after the sale” costs to worry about. The investment is a one time cost of $241 or three monthly payments of $97 each.
  • This is something anyone can do. I know you can do this. The reason I can say so is that Ryan has made this process both easy to understand and incredibly easy to duplicate. He not only gives you access to the people who do the work for him; he actually does the beginning work for you.

Let me repeat that last point because it is important and you may have skimmed over it.

Ryan’s team will do the work for you to get you started.

We’re talking set up, hosting and much much more. That alone is a very big deal.

I’m offering a Bonus that I will extend to you if you sign up right away. The Bonus is three full months of my Mentor program, where we meet three times a month on a Tuesday or Wednesday evening at 7 pm EST for a webinar. I teach you everything I can, answer your questions, share your sites with the group, and help you to connect with others for Joint Ventures and more. I’ve been hosting this Mentor program for four years now and many of my people have been extremely successful in their various niches. You also have email access to me during that time, and I will answer one question a day for you Monday through Friday, personally.

Ryan’s program is here. Watch the video (it’s 28 minutes long), have an open heart and mind, and then decide if this is for you. Once you sign up please email me by responding to one of my emails to you and let me know you are in. I will confirm your purchase of the program and add you to my student list.

Enjoy your weekend and let me know if you have questions.

 Get Started Today With the Authority ROI Program

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