Archive for November, 2008

Social Networking: Are You A Player Or A Spectator?

Friday, November 28th, 2008
 

Two Types Of People At A Sporting Event

Have you ever been to a sporting event or seen one on TV? ou will find two types of people at any sporting event. First there are players – people who make the event happen. Without them there would not be a sporting event.

Then there are spectators, people who come to watch the sporting event. There are many more of them than players. They are here to watch, not play and participate.

 

Same Two Types Of People Dominate Social Networking

You will see exactly the same thing on social networking web sites. There are players – people who actively participate, share and teach. They usually set the tone of the social networking site.

Then there are many more spectators – people who read and follow, but rarely express their opinion or do anything else.

Some people use a combination strategy. They sometimes participate and at other times observe. I call them playtators, a combination of a player and spectator.

 

Is Being A Spectator Bad?

No, all of the three models that I described can work, they will just work for different people. The model that you choose will depend on your goals for social networking.

For example, if your goal is to do research and find a target market for your business, being a spectator is fine. You will observe and see what your target market is doing, how it interacts and what kind of issues it is experiences.

But if your goal is to get clients in addition to doing research, then you must participate. First, listen and see what others are doing. But then jump in, participate, share your point of view and show your expertise. That is the only way to get clients and stop being a spectator.

 

Sounds Like A Playtator, Doesn’t It?

The model I describe above, both listening and participating, sounds like a combination of being a player and a spectator. Being a playtator (player and spectator) is best for social networking. You should definitely participate (player), but at the same time, if you keep talking without listening to others, many people will tune out.

Social networking is a two-way street. You will get the best results when you participate and listen to others.

For more information on using social networking to get clients, get my How To Get Clients With Social Networking Home Study Guide at https://www.avocadoconsulting.com/rlinks/znetwork

What are you? A player, spectator or playtator when it comes to social networking? Share in the comments!

Biana Babinsky

How To Thank Others This Thanksgiving

Tuesday, November 25th, 2008
 

What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving? No matter what you are thankful for, don’t just be thankful around Thanksgiving. Make it a habit to say thank you every day of the year. Take the time and say thank you to your clients, vendors, colleagues, mastermind group members, and all of the people who have helped you make your business successful.

Here are four ideas to help you say “thank you!”:

– Offer A Referral Bonus. Everyone likes to be thanked for something they have done, but what they like even more is getting something in addition to the thanks. If you have people who send clients your way, why not say thank you with either a monetary bonus or a gift? People love receiving unexpected bonuses and will be more likely to refer more clients to you in the future.

You may want to set up a formal referral system to offer referral bonuses and get more clients referred to you. You can also set up a formal affiliate program or you can do this informally. If you offer products such as seminars, teleseminars, e-books, etc, an affiliate program can greatly increase your sales.

– Offer An Unexpected Testimonial In Social Media. Did you receive exceptional service from someone you are connected with on social networking web sites, such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or others? Thank them for their help publicly instead of privately.

That way you will help the person who had provided great service for you to get more clients. This is the best way to thank them.

– Thank Your Clients By Underpromising And Overdelivering. You like your clients and you want to help them as much as you can, right? You can do that by underpromising and overdelivering on everything that you help them with.

– Just Say Thank You. This is a very simple, yet very powerful technique to thank someone in your business or life. Thank your clients, your coach, your assistant, everyone who in any way is responsible for your success.

Take a moment and thank someone today! You will be glad you did.

How are you thanking people in your business and life? Post a comment and let us know!

Biana Babinsky

What Is Twitter? Answers To Popular Questions About Twitter

Tuesday, November 18th, 2008
 

As I share with my clients and colleagues about how useful Twitter has been for promoting my business this year, many people are asking me questions about Twitter. Here are the seven most popular questions that I have received about Twitter:

 

1. What Is Twitter?

Twitter is a social networking web site where you can network with others. You are networking in real time and your have to fit what you want to say into 140 characters.

The beauty of Twitter is that unline many social networking web sites it offers very few options. But this simplicity also makes Twitter a very powerful social networking tool.

 

2. How do I use Twitter to promote my business?

You can use Twitter to connect with your target market, share your blog posts, promote your expertise, build relationships, gain affiliates and many more things. You are only limited by your imagination.

 

3. How to use Twitter to promote my website?

– Use the URL field to list your URL

– Fill out your biography and your real name – more people will click on your link when they see a name and a bio.

– Share links to your web site in your twits

 

4. I want people to subscribe to my twits using RSS readers. How do i find my twitter rss feed URL?

Go to your Twitter page and scroll to the bottom. The link to your Twitter RSS Feed is on the left hand side of the page.

 

5. I want to follow more people on Twitter. How can I follow other twitter member’s followers?

Go the person’s Twitter page and click on the number of people that follow them. You will be able to look through the list of the person’s followers and follow the ones that you want.

 

6. I want to update my Facebook page through Twitter, I have seen other people do it. What Facebook Twitter status update client should I use?

Use the Twitter application on Facebook. It will update your Facebook status with your Twitter twits.

 

7. Can you give me some advice for using Twitter to promote my teleseminars?

Twitter is great to promote your events and products. But remember this – share useful information first, and promote yourself second. The vast majority of your twits should be about useful tips, sharing information, helping others. Then, use your other twits (one every 10 twits or so) to promote your teleseminars. That way those who find your information and tips useful will click on your links and check out your teleseminars.

For more information on how to use Twitter to promote your business, register for How To Promote Your Business With Twitter Teleseminar at https://www.avocadoconsulting.com/rlinks/ztr

Biana Babinsky

Coaches, Are You Asking This Very Important Question?

Friday, November 14th, 2008
 

I have been participating in coaching social networks and lists for many years, and have seen many new coaches asking the following questions:

How to become a certified life coach?

What makes a good coach?

What is a life coach and where can I study to become one?

How to become a life coach?

And many more questions just like these.

These are all good questions, but what these coaches should be asking about is:

How do I get clients for my coaching business?

This is the most important question that all the coaches – new and seasoned – should be asking. Without clients, it does not matter what kind of title, preparation, education or certification you have. Without clients you will not be able to share your coaching gifts with anyone.

So my challenge to you today is to fist ask yourself – how do I get clients for my coaching business? If you don’t have a satisfactory answer to this question, ask others. Ask your coach. Ask your colleagues. Ask people on social networking sites you are a member of. Look for information on getting clients, so that you can build a successful business and share your coaching gift with others.

Don’t be satisfied until you create a plan for getting clients online. This is the only way you will become successful as a coach.

Biana Babinsky

How To Create Your Revenue Model

Tuesday, November 11th, 2008
 

Many business owners are very concerned about their revenues in today’s economy. They usually have only one source of revenue – their services. So when just a few of their clients stop paying for their services, their revenue takes a big hit. If your revenue will take a huge hit if just a few of your current customers stop doing business with you, listen up! You must create more income that you can
add to your revenue model. Doing this will help you shield yourself from revenue going down dramatically when just a few of your clients decide to stop doing business with you.

Here are other income streams you can add to your business immediately:

E-books. An e-book is a digital document that is anywhere from 30 to 500 pages. Create e-books on topics that are of interest to your target market and increase your revenue with every e-book sale.

Teleclasses. Teleclasses are classes that taught over the phone. Teaching teleclasses is a good way to demonstrate your expertise and increase your revenues at the same time.

Material taught and discussed during teleclasses can be reused to create special reports, audio and other products.

Audio Products can be delivered in two different formats. They can be instantly downloaded from your web site any number of popular audio formats, or you could burn them onto a CD and physically ship the product.

Either way audio products will help you increase your revenues since many people like listening to
information instead of reading it.

Affiliate Programs. Even if you do not have your own products yet, you can still increase your revenue by promoting other people’s products. You can do that through affiliate programs. When
you register for someone’s affiliate program, you can promote their products and receive commissions every time you sell a product.

Multimedia Products. You can create a large multimedia product by combining a few different formats of the same product. For example, when you teach a teleseminar, you can bundle together the teleseminar, its audio recording, a transcript, etc, and create a large multimedia product that you can sell.

Advertising. You can sell advertising on your web site, blog and in your newsletter and create yet another income stream.

Brainstorm and get creative! There might be another product that I haven’t mentioned but that you can create and use as an income stream for your business.

As you can see, there are many different products you can create for your business. Having many products and many income streams will help you keep up your revenues in any economic times.

Following My Passion

Tuesday, November 4th, 2008
 

When I got online in the 90s, the Internet became a hobby of mine. I discovered e-mail and the web, forums and social networking, and really enjoyed the Internet. As I was using the Internet, I saw huge possibilities for doing business online. I started looking into running an online business. After some time my hobby became a business.

I love my business – I help business owners get more clients and make more money online. My business model is creating multiple streams of income, by offering both products and services to my clients.

As my hobby became a business, I was in need of a new hobby. In early 2000’s cooking became my new hobby. It started with me wanting to replicate different foods that I had tried at restaurants. But as I started cooking, I started to really enjoy it. I also realized that being able to cook meant that I could create food that was both healthy and delicious. Cooking has been my hobby for some time, and in this time, I have given out a lot of cooking advice and taught many people how to cook, and, more importantly, how to enjoy cooking.

And after a while of enjoying cooking as a hobby, and becoming passionate about it, I am doing it again! I am turning my hobby, cooking, into a new income stream. I just launched a new blog, Tasty Galaxy, Easy Cooking For Busy Professionals, to help busy professionals cook healthy and delicious meals. I am looking forward to developing this blog in the next months, and turning my passion into an income stream, using my online marketing expertise. Just saw that the blog is already getting traffic from search engines, and this is after being launched just last week!

I will be documenting the steps I am taking to turn this blog into an income stream for members of my online business mentoring web site, MarketingSalad.com.

To get access to all the information on how I am turning the blog into an income stream, register to become a member now at www.MarketingSalad.com

And now that my passion for cooking has just become an income stream, I will be looking for a new hobby to take up :)

Biana Babinsky