Category Archives: Online Marketing Tips

Your Productivity Plan as an Entrepreneur

Do You Have a Productivity Plan?

When I came online over a decade ago I soon realized that I was a natural when it came to time management and productivity. I’ve written a bestselling book on this topic (Time Management Strategies for Entrepreneurs), as well as mentored more than three hundred twenty-five entrepreneurs on how to increase their work output to increase their bottom line by implementing a productivity plan.

I thought that I would share with you the five activities I do each morning before I do anything else.

Productivity Plan (You Decide What Time Each Day)

1) Write from five hundred to a thousand words. Sometimes this is for a new book and others it’s for my blog(s). This is what I wrote and published at the beginning of this year (2017):

http://hugeprofitstinylist.com/think-like-a-publisher/

http://connieragengreen.com/repurposing-content/

Each of these articles was also published on Medium and on LinkedIn for increased visibility. At this point I am publishing about five articles each week on one or the other of my two blogs.

2) Write and send an email to my community. Over the years I have sent thousands of email messages to my community. It is the way to stay in touch with those who trust you to provide them with the latest information about the topic or topics they are interested in learning more about.

3) Go over my daily, weekly, and overall goals for my life and business. Your goals must be specific and in written form for best results. Also, reviewing them lets you know when you need to change or at least alter them. This piece of your productivity plan is crucial!

4) Read at least twenty pages from a book that will increase my knowledge and understanding of
business and the world around me.

Today I’m reading “Be the Elephant: Build a Bigger, Better Business” by Steve Kaplan.

See my 2017 Reading List at:

http://hugeProfitsTinyList.com/reading-list/

Also, my bestselling book The Transformational Entrepreneur: Creating a Life of Dedication and Service is a free download today. Click the title to go there directly.

5) Work on a new product or course or event. Today I’m making additions to my next live event in Los Angeles during the first week of March. Check it out at:

http://weekendmarketerLive.com
(Code LIVE brings it down to $99)

So, how can you do this five activities in conjunction with your own productivity plan?

I recommend using a professional Planner like the ones I purchase from Nicole Dean and Melissa Ingold at Coaching Sticky Glue. The topics include:

* LinkedIn Planner
* Passive Income Planner
* Email Follow-Up Planner: Turn Leads into Clients
in 7 Days
* Your Amazon Author Page Monetization Planner
* How to Host an Off the Charts Book Signing Event
* Book Brainstorming Planner
* Cash Calendar: Your 12 Month Marketing Profit Plan!
* Your Keynote + Presentation Speech Planner
* Your Story. Your Brand: Embrace your Unique Story
to Create a One-of-a-Kind Business

…and many more.

Right now they are only $20 each at:

http://connieLoves.me/CGPlanner
(Use Code 2017 to Bring Them Down to $20)

And f you don’t yet know the Coaching Sticky Glue folks, start with a free download at:

http://coachingStickyGlue.com/

There are twenty in all, and if you’d like my recommendation I would say to purchase the one on “Your Story” and the one on “Passive Income”. Then your 2017 will be off to a fantastic start. Your Productivity Plan is only as powerful as you set it up to be, and as an online entrepreneurs you can achieve great things simply by increasing your productivity.

Promote Your Live Streaming Show

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Tips And Ideas To Promote Your Live Streaming Shows

It may seem counterintuitive but in order for your marketing efforts to work and to achieve your goals, you have to make sure that your audience knows about them. You have to essentially promote your marketing channels. The good news is that you’re probably already using many of these promotional tactics and leveraging them for your live streaming broadcast will be easy. Here are some things to think about before you promote your live streaming show.

Use your Tweet It

Both Periscope and Meerkat use your Twitter profile and this makes it easy to leverage this social media channel to promote your periscope. To maximize the connection, update your profile with the date and time of your broadcast. (This also helps you stay consistent with your shows).

For example, if you have a show every Friday at noon, then you can add that to your profile. Additionally, you might share a Tweet the day of your show to tell followers what you’re talking about. And of course, once you’re live, Twitter will automatically announce your broadcast to your followers. Consider also tweeting during the broadcast and afterwards as well.

Countdown On Your Blog

There are scheduling apps that you can use to schedule a countdown to your next live streaming broadcast. You can publish the countdown on your blog as part of your sidebar. You might also schedule your own countdown posts on social media. Schedule tweets and Facebook posts to gradually countdown to your show. For example, “Going live in one hour.”

Tell Your List

Announce your live stream broadcast in your e-newsletter. Tell people what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. Tell them what they have to gain and how they can get involved. And be sure to let them know that they can share the good news with their friends and family. Invite them to share and to check out your new show. When they show up, welcome them and engage. They’ll be more likely to tell others and spread the word.

Announce your next Scope on Facebook and on your blog too. The bottom line is that any marketing channel or tactic that you’re using can become a tool to promote your live streaming shows. If you have an affiliate program, let them know about your new program. You might even invite a few top affiliates to be interviewed on your show. Tell your customers and consider inviting them to participate in a show as well. The more you can get your existing community involved, the larger your live streaming audience can grow. They’ll help spread the word when you promote your live streaming show.

Planning a Successful Product Launch

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Planning Your Product Launch

Hardly anything is more stressful than planning a new product launch. But, if you are prepared, do your research, and plan everything out to the letter when things pop up you’ll be ready for it. If you’re ready to work smart, you can have a very successful launch without feeling too overwhelmed.

Do Your Research for Your Product Launch

Like with most things, research has to come first. You need to know everything you can about your customers such as:

Who They Are: Create an ideal customer avatar to help guide everything you do in creating products and in marketing products. Spend time getting to know your audience.

What Their Pain Points Are: You probably already have a product, but if not, try writing down three pain points and then figuring out how you can solve each one. Pick the best one and make one product for one pain point.

Where They Are: Knowing where your audience hangs out can help you devise your marketing plan because this information will inform where you spend advertising money and time.

Why They Need Your Product: This goes back to the pain points, but this is a little different because you should write a sentence that phrases how your product benefits your customer. For example, “My customers need my product because they like to save time.”

Once you’ve done your research, you can focus on creating the message. It should be directed toward your audience in such a way that they’ll really want what you the solution or benefits you promise them.

Craft Messaging

Everything always starts with your audience. When you truly target your audience with the message, you’ll use words they like to use, bring to mind the thoughts you want them to think, and the feelings you want them to feel. That can only happen if you do your due diligence and learn as much as you can about your audience on a continuous basis.

Problems/ Pain Points & Solutions – Focus on problems and pain point you solve with your offer, in order to create the best message. Your audience wants to know what the benefits are, who you are, why you’re the best person to help them, and how you’re going to do it. Look at this sales page. You can click the image to go to the site directly. This is a good example of knowing your audience’s pain points and solving a problem for them. Plus, the sales page addresses objections, shows science, and more.
Make Your Message Compelling – One way to get free marketing from others is to make your messages so interesting and compelling that people not only sign up for your offers but they share them with others. The best way to do that is to touch your audience’s emotions. Tapping into what makes them feel is as easy as figuring out the benefits of your offerings for your audience and telling them what they are.
- Speak Your Audience’s Language – Learn to speak using the words and terms your audience understands. You want to use their language. When you speak to them in this way, they’ll respond better and trust you more.
- Write Down Your Purpose – Some people call this a mission statement or a purpose statement. It should be one to three sentences, no more than a paragraph, that will explain what you are doing, why you are doing it and who will benefit.
- Know the Goal of the Message – When you create a message it should support the mission, the reason for doing it. The goal of the message may be to, get customers to sign up or buy a product. Sometimes there are multiple goals; however, they always support the purpose of creating the item. When you include the goal, people are more likely to take action.
- Outline Your Messages – Now it’s time to outline the message. Mapping out the message before you get down to writing, or send it to a writer, will go far in helping you stay on topic, create intriguing messages that get customers to take the actions that give you the the results you want.
- Finally, remember that every single message you send, whether it’s a blog post, a Tweet, or a Facebook Live message, stay on topic and convince readers that this one point is what’s important right now. That way each message stands on its own. Since each work with your mission statement, they all reinforce your branding efforts.This will help to make your product launch a success.

I’m Connie Ragen Green, online marketing strategist, bestselling author, and international speaker on the topics of entrepreneurship and inner game mind shifts. Let’s connect to see how I may best serve you in the near future. And be sure to check out my popular training course, the Internet Marketing Six Pack.

Repurposing Content to Build an Online Business

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Why Repurposing Content Just Makes Sense

When I create content of any type, and that would include written content, audio recording, and videos, it isn’t long before I begin repurposing content into other formats. I’m going to share with you here how to get started with this marketing and content creation strategy for best results in your own online business.

You may be thinking that people do not wish to be exposed to the same or similar content more than once, but I have found that not to be true at all during my decade working as an online entrepreneur. Instead, we all welcome the opportunity to revisit topics again over time, especially in a variety of formats.

You have a different learning style and preference than the next person, and if you are able to consume information in a way that is easier and more enjoyable for you to absorb then you will benefit. And if your business has grown within the last 6 months? If so, there’s a good chance that your content is going to be reaching an all new audience for the most part. Also, I’ve found that if I wait at least six months to share content with my community they are quite receptive to it.

Repurposing content is based on finding evergreen (something that will be relevant for many years to come) content and turning it into a slightly different format to share. For example, repurposing content that was originally created in a written format into audio or video content makes a lot of sense. My personal preference is to consume content while reading and listening to it simultaneously, and many people love this as well. You will want to survey your target audience to see which formats they prefer before you begin repurposing content for them.

Start by reading through your blog posts to see which ones could be put together into a short report with audio or a slide presentation. The best idea is to combine your content into something new that is also more substantial in terms of length. Then get busy repurposing this content and immediately begin distributing it to your community, both as free giveaways and as paid products and courses.

If you make a plan and a schedule for this, you will find that you have more content than you could ever get to over time. Perhaps spending two days a week in content creation and three days a week repurposing content will be the most effective strategy for you. Find a rhythm that works for you and stick with it for at least a month before evaluating what you have done.

As you can see, the idea of creating content and then repurposing it into other formats is a solid business model that can be replicated easily over the lifetime of your business.

I’m Connie Ragen Green, online marketing strategist, bestselling author, and international speaker on the topics of entrepreneurship and inner game mind shifts. Let’s connect to see how I may best serve you in the near future. Be sure to take a look at my Really Simple Content Marketing training course to help get you started on how to think like a publisher.

Why Entrepreneurs Must Think Like a Publisher

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Why Authors Must Think Like a Publisher

When I got started as an online entrepreneur over a decade ago things were very different than they are today in regards to writing and publishing. In those days authors went through traditional publishing houses to publish their books, information product creation was in its infancy, and entrepreneurship was still attached to the brick and mortar world of business. These days one person can wear all three hats, and it is very common for someone like myself to be an author, publisher, marketer, and entrepreneur. Thinking of yourself as a publisher from the very beginning will serve you well over time.

The writer as a publisher is not a new idea, and before the 1950s self-publishing was widely accepted. For a period of fifty years this strategy was looked down upon to some extent, and since about 2010 it is once again a widely accepted method for authors all over the world to become published. When you think like a publish you are in control of your destiny.

Also, when you think of yourself in these terms the future of your business opens up in a way that was not even possible years ago. For example, I created Hunter’s Moon Publishing as my own publishing house back in 2010. This immediately enabled me to have the final say over everything I wrote and wanted to publish. I was also able to help other authors and entrepreneurs to publish their books more easily.

Information products also fall into the realm of publishing. You are, in effect, teaching someone the solution to their problem in written format. Once you think of yourself as a publisher of this type of information than as simple an information marketer, your business will evolve to the next level more easily. Being a publisher is very different work than what is required and expected of a writer.

Make a list of the ideas and messages you wish to convey to your target audience over the next three months. Create an outline to work from and write down everything you will include, along with the information you will exclude. Then plan out an eBook or short report you could publish on your topic, information products that would make sense, and a full length book that could be the ultimate goal for your business. Also, don’t forget about creating an online course where you teach the content contained in your information products, reports, and book. When you think like a publisher, your horizons are broadened.

Take some time to incorporate the ideas I am presenting here into your own business. I truly believe that online entrepreneurs must take it upon themselves to elevate their status to that of a publisher so that their businesses will grow. It also changes the thinking and allows you to take full responsibility for your life and for your business. Once you begin to act and think like a publisher rather than an author and/or information product creator and marketer you will experience a new world of opportunities.

I’m Connie Ragen Green, online marketing strategist, bestselling author, and international speaker on the topics of entrepreneurship and inner game mind shifts. Let’s connect to see how I may best serve you in the near future. Be sure to take a look at my Really Simple Content Marketing training course to help get you started on how to think like a publisher.

How to Create Online Courses from Your Writing

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Learning How to Create Online Courses

Everything you write can be repurposed into another format, allowing you to create many types of content for your audience. Today let’s discuss how to create online courses based on your writing. I’ve actually done this successfully several times myself and want to share how this will be effective to build your business. It all comes down to choosing the topic you will teach to others, creating an outline to work from, and then preparing the material you will use during your online course.

Most likely you write about many topics under the umbrella of your overall topic. For instance, my overall topic is internet or online marketing, but within that I write about blogging, publishing, affiliate marketing, list building, information products, social media, traffic generation, video marketing, traffic generation, and so much more. When I set out to create an online course I am focusing on just one aspect of my business. This is based on what my clients have been asking me about most during the previous month or so, what is needed by my community, and how I wish to position myself in my business.

The next step is to create a tight outline of exactly what I want to include in my online course, as well as what information I will exclude. I have learned over the years that having a thorough and complete outline is crucial to this process turning out well. Dividing your online course into logical sections is a part of this, and making sure that you start at the beginning of your topic instead of somewhere in the middle is also very important.

Finally, it’s time to create your online course. I name my course, purchase a domain name, set up a site with a sales page and a membership site, and create a slide presentation. This may seem like a lot of work the first couple of times you go through it, but finally it will all fall into place like clockwork, I promise. Learn the rhythm of creating presentations that appeal to your audience and everything else will come together seamlessly.

As you can see, learning how to create an online course can be easier and more simple than you might have previously thought possible. Take the time to choose a topic that you know enough about to teach to others and that will position you as an authority on that topic. And make sure your audience is interested in learning all about the topic before you choose it. Start creating your outline right away, making sure to write down every single thought and idea that could be included. You will find that the outlining of your course allows you to think back to ideas, concepts, and strategies you may be taking for granted right now. Then, create your online course by adding content to your membership site, as well as by teaching webinars live. Don’t forget to add additional content and materials, such as study guides, templates, workbooks, checklists, and short videos.

Now you know how to create an online course to build your business. What other questions do you have for me on this topic?

Podcast: New Rules for Online Marketing 2017

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New Rules for Online Marketing Each year at this time I write about the “new rules” for small business owners and entrepreneurs in the new year. This year I thought I would share my thoughts and observations here with you, and the link to the audio version of this discussion is at the end of this article.

We have now welcomed the new year of 2017 and it’s time to take focused action in your life and business to ensure this is a year filled with success and prosperity. But first, think back to 2016. How would you sum it up, personally and professionally? Are you accepting full responsibility for both the positive and the negative events that occurred?

Let’s begin by tying up any lose ends from 2016. First, complete any projects that you intended on finishing, unless you have abandoned the idea or concept completely. Next, take the time to thank and acknowledge those who helped and supported you last year. Finally, write down your goals and plans for 2017 to give yourself a roadmap to guide you in the right direction every single day. Commit to reviewing these goals at least on a monthly basis.

Each new year brings with it new opportunities, as well as new challenges. As I enter my eleventh year as an entrepreneur I am more committed than ever to helping you succeed. Make sure you have positioned yourself for success by following the “new rules” for life and business. These are my suggestions for 2017.

1) Become a bookworm and read every day. Give yourself the gift of a business education through reading books that will make a difference in how you think about and approach business for the remainder of your life. Also, read books for pleasure and for spiritual enlightenment.

2) Set and achieve your goals and dreams. Decide exactly what you want from your life and business. Write down your ideas and goals for at least the first quarter of 2017 this week. Review these and update them regularly.

3) Focus on time management and productivity. Be selfish and greedy when it comes to spending your mental and physical energy with people and activities that do not serve you well and do not lead you to your goals. Every moment is precious!

4) Write every single day. Once I got myself into the habit of daily writing, my world expanded and my life changed forever as a result. Writing allows you to find your voice, shape your ideas, and share your message with the world.

5) Seek out opportunities to speak and present to others, both virtually and in person. Public speaking opens doors you previously could not have imagined were even a possibility for you. People need to hear and learn things from you.

6) Be willing to “up your game” for 2017. Do whatever it takes to accomplish your goals. We live in a global economy, filled with people who have a strong desire to share their perspective with the world. How can you approach a situation in a way that embraces this world view?

7) Embrace a ridiculous work ethic. Get up earlier, give up activities that simply pass the time, and reach for a level of accomplishment that scares you. Once you work hard and achieve success you will never be able to go back to the status quo.

8) Begin each day with the end in mind. What will you have accomplished fourteen to sixteen hours from the time you awoke? How will you get there?

9) Join a Mastermind group filled with people who are smarter and more successful than yourself. Get involved in conversations that expand your thinking and encourage you to take inspired actions towards your future.

As you can see, these “new rules” are direct and to the point. Any entrepreneur or small business owner can commit to working on these areas of their life and business very easily. Will you be one of them? Be sure to visit the link below to listen to the audio version of this article and to download your own study guide for reference.

I’m Connie Ragen Green, online marketing strategist, bestselling author, and international speaker on the topics of entrepreneurship and inner game mind shifts. Let’s connect to see how I may best serve you in the near future. Be sure to take a look at my books on entrepreneurship.

Writing for Visibility as an Online Entrepreneur

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Why Writing for Visibility is So Important

Everything changed for me during the summer of 2010. That was when my first book was published and I was not prepared for what was to come. Established marketers began asking me to speak at their live events, to collaborate on joint venture projects, and to share my knowledge and experiences with their audiences. It was as though overnight I had become a different person. It was wonderful and scary all at the same time, and I was determined to learn from what was unfolding. Writing for visibility had become an integral piece of my entrepreneurial pursuits.

Soon I realized that a certain level of celebrity came along with being a published author. All of a sudden people knew my name and wanted to be associated with me. I took this all in stride and catapulted my business to the next level during that year. I also began writing my second book right away, and within another year I had three titles under my belt as my writing for visibility strategy took off.

Writing every day is a habit you want to take on. It was so difficult for me at first, but once I established the habit of writing it became second nature. Also, everything I write gets repurposed into other writing and presentations. Even a relatively short article like you are reading here will become a part of something much bigger over time. Remember that you are writing for visibility as you blog, write articles and short reports, and complete your book.

Remember that I started out as an online entrepreneur back in 2006, when there was no social media to speak of and publishing belonged to the traditional publishers. You have a distinct advantage in being able to connect more easily with people on social media and to embrace self-publishing as a means to increasing your visibility more quickly.

Choose your topics wisely, as people will tend to associate you with the subject matter you write about. I am careful to only write about the topics I have experience in and want to be known for in my online business.

The idea is that people will find your blog by searching for certain keywords on Google. They will find your book(s) by searching with the same phrases on Amazon, and they will find your podcasts by searching over at iTunes. This all adds up to millions of potential prospects and clients at any given time. I’m including podcasts in this discussion because you will always want to include your show notes so that listeners know what to expect from your call. I am not including YouTube because that is almost exclusively a visual medium.

Write every day. Write about yourself to find your voice. Write in a more determined way to build credibility. And be meaningful and purposeful as you are writing for visibility. You’ll be so glad you did this as you look back over your body of work a year from now.

Authors and Information Marketers: Sell eBooks Online

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How to Sell eBooks Online

An eBook is an electronic version of a book in print. Long before Amazon created the Kindle readers, people decided to sell eBooks on the internet. This was so that readers could have a copy in their hands within seconds instead of having to wait until the paperback or hard cover version was available at their local bookstore or arrived through the mail.

The idea and implementation of books consisting of electrons being sent through cyberspace from one person to another was appealing from the very beginning. If you chose to print out your eBook that was always an option. If reading the book on your computer screen was more comfortable, that was an option as well. And finally we had smart phones and tablets, so if reading on a smaller device was of interest to you it was also there.

I can remember almost a decade ago now meeting a friend for lunch. Under his arm he had a file folder which contained the printed out copy of an eBook he had purchased online. The topic was “restless leg syndrome” and he had purchased it for a friend who was struggling with this condition. He had paid twenty-seven dollars for it and felt like it would be worth every penny in alleviating some of the agony of his friend’s situation. This was excellent research for me in terms of what the purchaser of an eBook might be thinking when they consider the product being offered on the Internet.

But what about the marketing possibilities for eBooks versus printed ones or even those on Kindle? Could you sell more copies of your book and ultimately earn more income using this mode of delivery? In many cases, yes.

Many of us continue to sell eBooks on various topics. We set them up on a “stand alone” website with its own domain name. The download is available immediately after someone purchases and is protected in a membership site to deter buyers from sharing the content openly.

Remember that you cannot use this model if you are simultaneously going to sell your eBook on Amazon through their Kindle Select program. There are strict rules about this. What I am recommending is that you sell your eBook yourself first and see how well it does. You can typically sell it for twenty dollars or more, whereas on Amazon the pricing will be less than ten dollars for best results. Niche topics may even do better on your own site than they would on Amazon, regardless of the price.

Becoming an author is a worthwhile goal. Selling many copies of your work over the years can be challenging, but if you sell your eBook online on your own site you may be pleasantly surprised at your results. Learn more about marketing eBooks and see where this can take you.

My friend and colleague Jim Edwards has the most complete and professional training on how to write, market, and sell eBooks on any topic. This training will teach you everything you need to know from start to finish and is priced so that everyone is able take advantage of Jim’s knowledge and expertise. Take a look and decide for yourself.

I’m Connie Ragen Green, online marketing strategist, bestselling author, and international speaker on the topics of entrepreneurship and inner game mind shifts. Let’s connect to see how I may best serve you in the near future. And please be sure to check out my popular training on affiliate marketing.