Vision Of Success

Imagine sitting in a class room. The instructor stands at the podium and gives his presentation.

Off to the side is a big screen with a projection system attached to the instructor’s laptop. He refers to a PowerPoint presentation, and intermixes it with live Internet displays to further the instruction process.

Two other screens are on display at the front of the room. Both are interconnected to various chatrooms and microblogging sites where people are attending the class via satellite from locations all over the world. They watch through streaming video, and can communicate with both the instructor and the audience by making posts within these sites. Their comments are instantly posted to these big screens, allowing them to give feedback and have communication with everyone in attendance.

With over 100 people in attendance, each has a laptop and actively takes notes throughout the training. They also search for supporting sites as the instructor speaks, and perform a variety of other tasks at the same time, such as emailing, blogging, microblogging, searching, etc.

They can snap a photo with their camera phone or Flip video camera. They can plug in and upload photos instantly to their various accounts, allowing them to remember details within their notes.

Sound like something that will take place years from now? Think again.

I attended a blogging convention over the weekend, and was amazed at the interconnectivity. The speakers did more than speak - they communicated and interacted every second they were on the stage. They adjusted their ideas, answered questions, and communicated in a way to interact with everyone.

As an audience member, you not only paid attention to the speaker, you had access to streams of thoughts from multiple users both in the room and across the world.

Does this enhance your learning? Definitely. It’s much easier to get your thoughts into the stream of discussion, and actually have control over how much detail is covered during the presentation.

Will it eventually be used in all forms of class room training? [yes, even down to the elementary level] I sure hope so. This is how kids will learn what they need to know in the future, and how they can grasp the knowledge they need to move into certain areas of specialization.

Learning the “old” way is no longer applicable to our lives. With the tools and technology available, its amazing how fast we can learn and communicate with people just like us - around the world.

The future is now.

I just noticed my class is online. I’ll be teaching a class at Arapahoe Community College on October 7th from 6 to 8:30 pm.

The class is titled, How To Use Social Networking To Boost Your Business. If you’re in the Denver area, I’d love to have you in class.

We’ll be talking about a variety of different ways to use the new social media to build up connections for your business, where to look for social sites, and how much time it really takes to stay active online.

Hope to see you there.

Last night I enjoyed another great dinner and conversation with my mastermind group. Every three weeks we get together to discuss business. We’re all building businesses online in some manner, and we ended up together to help each other grow and succeed online.

After a year and a half together, it’s amazing how much we’ve all grown. We’ve seen many changes in our business, some successes and some failures. But the great thing is every three weeks we can share our ideas, ask for opinions, and get honest feedback from people that share a common interest.

I started thinking about why being a part of a mastermind is so important. Obviously there are a ton of reasons. But the one that kept coming to my mind was having a group that in no way is impacted financially by what you do, yet know you well enough to see exactly what you should be doing, and has no reservations on telling you exactly what you should be doing.

Let me give you an example. One of the members has an incredible niche, and has made her full time income from her website for many years now. She’s been adding a few products and changing some of her ideas over the past year and a half. But a few months ago, as she started developing a coaching program, the rest of the mastermind group told her she needed a membership site. It was a perfect fit for what she was doing.

She was skeptical at first, but kept pursuing it. She’s been working on building it during 2008, and last night she reported she’s almost got it all together. Way to go!

It’s so amazing watching things come together for the people around you. And what’s more amazing is that while you are watching their progress, it usually comes together for you too.

We’re not meant to do things by ourselves. Instead we’re meant to build things together. If you’re a solopreneur, get in a mastermind. They are highly worth it - I can’t rant enough about the benefits of a mastermind. You don’t have to meet in person; some very good ones have formed through phone calls.

The important thing is to find people that have something in common, and work to help build the knowledge base of all the members. 

What’s the fastest growing way to sell your products and services?

Online of course.

It’s been estimated that up to 85 percent of all people who regularly spend time online also make purchases online - up over 10 percent from just 2 years ago.

If you’ve been following my ezine for any length of time, you know that I teach people how to capture attention from your website or your blog. But did you know it takes more than a simple website or blog to capture attention? It’s not what you say, but how you say it that matters most.

Sales Letters - Yes, those longgggggg letters you run across on certain sites. The reason you see them is because they work. They allow you to communicate with a variety of different people in a way that they enjoy most. Some say sales letters aren’t as effective as they once were. I’ve found them to be incredibly effective - if you combine them with a variety of other sites. For instance, photographers that follow me know I have my main site filled with photography information, and have a sales letter set up for my programs.  I suggest you follow the same format with your sites.

Blog Posts - Sure, you can add just a few lines a few times a month. But will anyone truly follow you with so little content? Nothing is better than receiving an email from a potential client saying, “I loved your post on _____, and it motivated me to contact you.” But your posts have to start with quality information that people are looking for in order to achieve those results.

PPC Ads - Did you know you can double, even triple your sales just by changing one word in your ads? I’ve seen the results. It’s amazing how little things can make a huge difference in your bottom line. Writing ads isn’t easy - it takes time to develop the right combination of words, and a whole lot of testing to make sure you get the results you’re looking for.

As more businesses find success online, your goal isn’t just to get online, it should be to succeed online. Just a few simple words and a handful of pictures won’t do it. It’s all about what you say!

photo source abcdz2000

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Are you looking for a writer that can help you achieve the results you’re looking for? Maybe it’s time to hire someone that knows how to write for the Internet.

Well I did it. I put down my reservation to be the proud owner of a Smart Car.

It’s funny how things work online. I’m on all the time. So when my surfing led me to the Smart Car last week, I was amazed to see that a dealership had opened up here in Denver at the end of February. So after a meeting last Thursday, I stopped by to take a look at them. And I fell in love with how cute they are.

It’s not like any ordinary dealership. You have to make an appointment for a test drive because they are so busy. So today at 4 we headed over to test it out. If you haven’t sat in one, I highly suggest you give it a try. It’s amazing how big it is on the inside, and how roomy it feels for a little two seater.

So we looked around, tested it out, and chose our color. (Can you guess? )

I love the idea of small cars - in fact I can’t stand big ones. I like being able to park quickly, and buzzing around town quickly without a lot of “bigness”. But I was worried about the safety.

Well you can head over to YouTube and see the videos of crash tests, and its amazing what it can withstand. I was sold.

You can’t order it at the showroom. Instead you have to head online and put in your reservation fee. Right now they are looking at up to a one year wait; but they will call you if someone turns one down and you’re next in line.

So I guess now we wait.

The US Postal Service announced Monday it will again raise mail rates in May, by an average of 2.9%.

So is it worth it to continue to use the mail? If you’re doing it the right way.

If you have a ton of money and are only looking to brand your business, then it doesn’t matter where you spend it on advertising. But as a small business, you watch every penny (I know I do). I want to make sure I’m always getting the biggest bang for my buck.

So will I still use the mail? You bet. As long as you are using it efficiently. Make sure you have a call to action. And be sure to drive them to a landing page on your website that states exclusively what your letter/postcard did. Make an offer they can’t refuse, and get them to give you their information, even if its only an email address. With an email address, you can continue to make contact for a very low cost, again and again, month after month.

Maybe you’ve built a blog and typed up a few posts. Maybe you’ve been working with your blog for several months. Or maybe you’re still trying to figure out what a blog is. Wherever you’re at, what if I told you businesses just like yours are making money right this very moment with their blogs – and you can too.

To get started, you blog must have 5 things in place to attract attention.

1. Focus your blog on one particular part of your niche.

2. Add quality content to your blog regularly.

3. Make your content visible throughout the Internet. Your blog is a feeder to other parts of the Internet – you must connect all the pieces to make it work.

4. Choose a quality blog to put your content on. Your own customized blog will offer your more freedom over the long haul.

5. Have your readers take an interest in what you do.

Once your blog is in place and you’ve been working at it, its time to make it work for you. Use these 5 tools to make your blog profitable.

1. Promote your own products. Just because your providing quality information doesn’t mean you can’t promote yourself once in awhile. Just don’t overdo it.

2. Promote other products. If you have a great recommendation, direct your readers to the website. Sign up for affiliate programs, when appropriate.

3. Use Google Adsense to deliver text and image ads along with your blog content.

4. Provide links to niche books you enjoy. Amazon has a great referral program that allows you to easily put links to book recommendations (and other products) right in your copy.

5. Allow others to advertise on your blog. When you build up your content, and gain popularity, people will begin contacting you.

Create Your Blog Today >>

Did you enjoy the movie The Secret? Did An Inconvenient Truth make you think? I was just introduced to another movie that makes you think about this time in our lives - how we’re living - and what’s ahead in our future. Take a look - and let me know what you think.

Watch and find out.

Do you have a website and wonder why its not working for you?

Does the phrase “Internet marketing” trigger more questions than answers?

If you are a creative professional, ready to grow your business by using the Internet, its time to invest in GetKnownMarketing. This online marketing strategy manual will help make sense of being online, and give you real answers to your most common questions.

Learn all about my new for 2007 GetKnownMarketing now.

http://www.getknownmarketing.com/

I’m starting a series of teleclasses, and went in search of a system to allow up to 100 people onto a line. I may eventually want to invest in a secure line full time for my business, but I wanted something quick and easy; something I could use almost instantly.

I found a great service in www.totallyfreeconferencecalls.com I signed up for my free account, which allows you to have access 24 hours a day to a conference line, exclusively for your business. Then I also upgraded for $25 per month, which allows me to record my calls and have the ability to download the file for further use.

I’ve used the system twice this week, both times with success. The quality of the line was outstanding, the ease of the system was much appreciated, and my call recordings were waiting for me by the time I logged in at my computer. Within 30 minutes of the end of the call, I had my recording up and on my site, and available for listening.

The only downside: a voice advertises TotallyFreeConferenceCalls.com at the beginning when each person dials into the given number.

I can live with that!

Lori

p.s. If you are a photographer, I’m adding a whole new series of teleclasses and podcasts just for photographers. Visit www.VirtualPhotographyStudio.com to see a listing of my recorded teleclasses and podcasts, and to view my current schedule.