» Internet Marketing Tips

The StumbleUpon Blog is a Great Model for Your Coaching Site

Gordon — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 19:27:31 +0000

Where is the first place you’ll hear news about StumbleUpon? Where do you look to discover what StumbleUpon is, how it works, why you would want to use it, how it can help your coaching business, as well as find out the latest updates and services offered? Why, on the official StumbleUpon blog, of course.

When you take a closer look, the simple tabs on StumbleUpon’s official blog are a good model for our own coaching sites. The tabs on the StumbleUpon blog are:

- About us
- Recommendation Engine
- Official Blog
- Press
- Legal

We should always make sure that information specific to our coaching business, as well as basic coaching information, is provided on our web pages within plain sight, the way StumbleUpon’s blog lays them out in its “Recommendation Engine.” It’s so important to provide interesting, valuable, relevant, and original content, as StumbleUpon’s official blog does.

We should all have a Press Page, but too many of us don’t. And, of course, legal disclaimers are a must. But it’s the blog page that keeps our readers and prospective clients up-to-date on our coaching services and programs. Take StumbleUpon’s example. Some recent entries on their official blog include news about StumbleUpon’s capabilities, news about important community events, organizational changes, contests, and news about StumbleUpon-compatible technology.

The information is concise yet gives the detail you need. And it’s always up to date! It is very frustrating for someone interested in our coaching services to read about a coaching program but discover that the program was offered two months ago. A blog let’s you communicate on a daily or weekly basis with your clients.

So check out StumbleUpon’s blog and see if you can incorporate some if its ideas into your own coaching site today. And for more info on how StumbleUpon can help your coaching business, check out Stumble Traffic Map.

3 StumbleUpon Video Secrets

Gordon — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 17:38:05 +0000

You know that videos are one of the best ways to let your prospective clients get to know you and decide if you are the right life coach for them. But do you know posting those videos on the Internet and marketing them effectively can bring more prospective clients to your website?

Yes, you need to distribute the videos on sites like YouTube and other video sharing sites, but don’t forget about the social bookmarking networks, too.

It can be as simple as creating a video for your site or on YouTube and submitting it to StumbleUpon. But there are definitely 3 tips you should pay attention to, as well as other tactics you need to be aware of, to get the most impact for time invested.

1. Don’t stumble just your videos. This looks overly self-promotional and spammy. It’s important that you also stumble videos and content from other sites as well.

2. Make sure you have a Stumble button on your video page! It allows stumblers who come to it organically through search engines to instantly stumble it, putting it in StumbleUpon’s database.

3. Don’t set your videos to autorun when people open your page. Give them the option of clicking Play. People are more likely to “thumbs down” videos that autorun. When fellow stumblers were polled about videos set to autorun, many reactions went along these lines:

“It feels like a pop-up when they start playing before I can think and decide”
“I don’t like being hi-jacked”
“It didn’t say how long it was going to run, and I have to watch my bandwidth”
“I like to choose what I click on”

Using Videos As A Strategy on Your StumbleUpon Profile

When you click on your Favorites page in StumbleUpon, notice there’s another horizontal menu bar underneath the Discover, Favorites, and Stumblers tag. As well as All, this menu bar includes:

- photos
- videos
- discoveries
- your tags

Is your video tab empty?

If so, give your potential subscribers one more facet of your online personality to feel enthusiastic about. Be sure to include a few videos of your own.

And start stumbling your videos – and others’ – today!

If you’re using StumbleUpon for your life coaching business,or you want to learn how, CLICK HERE for quick pointers with screenshots to save your time and fast-track your way to StumbleUpon proficiency.

Supercharging Your StumbleUpon Search Results

Gordon — Sun, 23 May 2010 17:38:50 +0000

If you’re a serious seeker after information, and you depend on solid online research for your living, you may find it’s not enough simply to wait until you’ve logged in enough clicks via StumbleUpon, to refine your results.

Waiting for this powerful social network to learn your preferences is all well and good – but there are definitely ways you can trim the fat from your Stumble results, leaving only those valuable golden nuggets (and I’m not talking about the McDonald’s variety, here!)

Here are my 3 best tips for getting better StumbleUpon search results:

1. Pay attention and subscribe to Superstumblers. These are people whose content is even more ideal for your needs than your own. Remember that when you subscribe to them and befriend them, their favorites are added to yours in StumbleUpon’s algorithms. Search their content, if your own is proving too slow.

And if you’re subscribed, you can receive updates whenever they have something to share. (It can be rather like going through your ultimate coach’s personal library and files, with permission!)

2. Don’t stumble by topic or category, if you’re really serious about finding specific information. Search by long-tailed keyphrase instead. You can do this by clicking through your “All” button until you locate the “Search” channel. Click on “Search” and enter your long tail. You’ll find the results well worth it!

3. Don’t forget to visit your favorite power stumblers’ profiles. Subscribe to them (the green “Subscribe” button in the top right-hand corner. Check “accept shares to my toolbar” to be party to their new discoveries. Review their entries (not every one, but your genuine, absolute favorites) – it’s well worth it, when they (hopefully) review one of yours in reciprocal gratitude. And because you’re both like-minded.

These three tips may not seem like the be-all and end-all of power searching, but put them into practice and I guarantee you’ll see a significant positive impact in your StumbleUpon search results – and who knows? Perhaps in your own traffic and fan base, too!

10 More Ways to Boost Your Coaching Business with Ebooks

Gordon — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:00:35 +0000

The response to my previous blog post about 26 Ways to Boost Your Coaching Business with One Ebook has been awesome. So awesome that I’ve been inspired to think of even more ways to use ebooks – 10, in fact!

But before I get into that, let me just remind you that you don’t have to write these ebooks yourself. Here are a few providers I highly recommend, because I’ve purchased from everyone of them:

Mom PLR eBooks – “Done-for-you” complete packages for the Mommy market. Use coupon code “ebookboost” and get your first month membership for only $5.

Special Report Club -”Done-for-you” complete packages for the Internet business market. Read my review.

Nicheology – Two “Products in the Rough” each month that target the current hottest niche markets on the Internet. Read my review.

Easy PLR – Ebooks in the Internet marketing niche.

PLR.me – Self-help and personal development PLR. Read my review.

1. Blog Comments – Use content from the ebook to post meaningful and valuable comments in blog posts related to your niche.

2. Guest Posts – Write a blog post about each topic in the ebook’s table of contents and use as guest posts in related blogs.

3. Surveys – Use the ebook as the basis of an online survey, to help you learn more about your market such as what type of information they want.

4. FAQ Page – Create a FAQ page or special report with links to your site and/or affiliate links. Then make it go viral.

5. Motivational Posters – Distill the key points of an ebook into a poster – to give away or sell.

6. Landing Pages & 404 Pages – Use information in the ebook to create high-quality landing pages for your Pay Per Click campaigns or to put your Error Pages to work for you.

7. Comics - Based on the ebook contents, develop a set of comics you can give away to build your list.

8. Pre-loaded USBs and MP3s - Pre-load a USB flash drive with several related ebooks and sell at a premium. You can also record the ebook as an audio file and pre-load a MP3 player to sell along with the transcript of the ebook.

9. Coaching Tool – Offer the ebook as an add-on to your coaching program.

10. Webinars – Organize a webinar around the ebook. Record the webinar, have it transcribed, and you’ve got a brand-new product to either sell or give away.

Whew! With our previous blog post, that’s a total of 36 ways you can use ebooks to build your business. If I’ve missed any, please feel free to let me know by posting a comment below.

There’s so much you can do with content, but it takes time, effort and money to create it. When you have access to high-quality PLR content for a specific market, then you’ll have plenty of time and energy to get maximum profits from the content.

I have given you so many ideas for building your biz with ebooks – which one will you do first?

Using Teleseminars to Launch Your Coaching Business

Gordon — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 18:44:08 +0000

As life coaches, one of the best ways for our potential clients to get to know and like us is through teleseminars. We know this, but how many of us have actually hosted a teleseminar?

Have you ever done one? Do they confuse you? Not sure how to make them really effective?

If you want to gain more clients and more stability in your life coaching business, then you should start thinking about using this strateg. You start building your list faster, creating more online content quickly, and establishing your name and expertise as a leader in your field.

But if the process of hosting a teleseminar leaves you feeling overwhelmed, today’s your lucky day!

Bob the Teacher, one of the leading teleseminar trainers, has an excellent teleseminar training course, Teleseminar Formula. And because of my relationship with Bob, I got you free access until July 9. And not just to Module 1, but to the whole entire course! This is typically a $497 course!

So if you’ve ever considered teleseminars for your coaching business, take advantage of this excellent training for FREE now.

And if you take action on what you learn, I bet you’ll fall in love with teleseminars like I have.

Once you’ve gone through the modules and come up with your own teleseminar, came back here and let us know about it. Enjoy!

4 Ways to Reach Out and Connect with Your Clients

Gordon — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 15:00:02 +0000

You know the one thing that is your lifeblood, the one thing that keeps your income steady, is finding clients. Luckily, there are several ways to keep a steady stream of clients coming in through your door. Here are just a few:

1. Advertise in ezines. There are online newsletters everywhere that accept advertising. Find publications that reach your target market then create your ad to showcase your expertise. Don’t try to be everything to everyone or you won’t attract clients.

2. Article marketing. The key here is to stay on topic. Don’t submit articles about subjects unrelated to your coaching. One of the most effective types of articles is one that presents a problem your particular target client faces and solves it. This gives your client useful information and makes you invaluable to them. You become an expert in their eyes. And make sure your author bio is very compelling and contains a link to your Web site.

3. Network with your clients. Joining coaching associations to network with fellow coaches as a way to foster business relationships is a great idea, but don’t limit your networking to these memberships alone. Join associations or online forums for your target market as well, and you’ll find yourself in the “inner circle”. Of course, joining the group isn’t enough; you have to get involved, too. For instance, in the case of online forums, you should pose questions to the other members and be ready with a quick, relevant answer when someone else asks for help. If you become a valuable resource for them, they may just end up as clients.

4. Guest Post. An often over-looked opportunity to get more exposure for your coaching business is guest posting for a blog that also targets your potential clients. For example, if you coach moms on how to start a home-based business, then search for blogs that cater to work-at-home moms.

This is just a sampling of the many ways to get yourself in front of your prospects and attract more clients for your coaching business.

Leave a comment telling us others methods that work for you.

How Viral Marketing Can Help Pre-Launch Your Coaching Product

Gordon — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:00:57 +0000

It’s Third Degree Thursday!

I know I often focus on finding quality PLR to provide good content on your Web site, blog, and in your newsletter, so I wasn’t surprised when I got this recent question:

“I’ve created a great info product from PLR for my coaching clients and would like to sell it online. What’s a good way to ‘get it out there’?”

I won’t lie and say there’s only one way to market a product, because you and I both know there are literally hundreds. So I’m going to choose a somewhat broad method – viral marketing – and give you a few different techniques with which to implement it.

What is Viral Marketing?

Viral marketing is one of the least expensive forms of marketing, but can also be one of the most effective means of marketing an information product, even if your product is still in pre-launch. Viral marketing is the digital age’s version of word-of-mouth marketing. It’s essentially the same thing as word-of-mouth marketing, but the difference is that viral marketing passes information from person to person via the internet. There are a number of means by which this can occur, through links, emails, blogs, videos and podcasts just to name a few.

How’s it Done?

Again, there are numerous means of viral marketing, so I’m going to touch on just a few of the most popular methods.

1. Social networks like Facebook and Twitter are a good place to start when beginning a viral marketing campaign for your info product. These sites work by finding and building a list of friends based off common interests. When marketing your coaching product, the interest would be the topic of your info product.

The same goes for businesses, like your life coaching practice. You can make use of these social networks by getting in contact with your clients and alerting them to your new coaching product and any of your services that complement the product.

Since each of your clients have a network of people they are friends with, encourage them to pass on the information to their network. Each person in that network also has a network and so on, and the message is passed from person to person.

2. Video networking sites like YouTube are an extension and specialization of social networks that get a tremendous amount of traffic, so it’s highly recommended that these sites also be considered when marketing your info product.

When tagging a video on a video network site it is important to know the right keywords that people use to find the information you are selling. A little research is in order to find out the right keywords. Once you have them and tag your video appropriately, anyone looking for information or videos on those keywords will pull up your video, which should lead them to your info product.

3. Your blog ties in with all these forms of social networking and video networking through links. Embedding the video in a blog is another great way to gain exposure for both the product and your blog. In addition, by putting teasers, such as “For more Information…,” in your posts, you encourage people to click over to your sales page and get more information about your coaching product.

These are just a sample of the many ways you can use viral marketing to get exposure for a new product. And the more exposure you can generate for your info products in their pre-launch phase, the more successful that product is once it launches.

The great thing about viral marketing is the fact that it does not cost anything to implement. You simply post and allow it to spread.

How to Become an Expert in Your Coaching Niche

Gordon — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 13:00:17 +0000

If you’re launching a new life coaching business, a sure-fire way to quickly connect with your potential clients is by being the expert in solving the challenges they face. But how do you become an expert in your niche?

Research Your Market

To become an expert, you’ll need to do some studying. Many coaches start off by choosing to work with a certain group of people, like single moms, couples seeking relationship help, or small business entrepreneurs. We may have a good idea of some of the issues these groups face, but to really learn their challenges, you need to conduct market research. Learn everything there is to know about your customers and how your coaching will help them.

Set Yourself Apart

Experts within a niche typically have something that sets them apart from all the others in the same field. How will YOUR coaching business be different from other life coaching businesses? Offering a different point of view or a unique solution to a problem will set you apart.

Buzz Your Business

Obviously, you want to share your coaching message with others, and the best way to do that is to become active in social media groups and forums which reach your target market. Being a guest on some targeted podcasts, or starting your own podcast, will also get your message out there.

Let Others Speak for You

If you have been coaching for a while, then ask your clients for testimonials to add to your Web site. Ask their opinions about what makes you and your coaching unique, how it has benefitted them, and how it can help others.

Becoming an expert in your coaching niche means learning who your clients are, staying up to date with their needs, and offering innovative solutions to their problems. If you have a genuine interest in solving these needs, then your market will embrace you as an expert and your client base will likely increase as a result.

No related posts.

Choosing a Hosting Company for Your Life Coaching Web Site

Gordon — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 10:00:51 +0000

As coaches, we know that a Web site can bring us many new clients, and depending on how you structure your coaching business, it can be crucial to its success. But if you’ve never had a Web site before, the process can be overwhelming and confusing.

This brings us to today’s Third Degree question:

“I need a Web site for my coaching business, but I am SO not a techie, I have no idea where to begin. What should I do first?”

One of the first things you need to do is find a reliable web hosting company. Of course, this task alone can be quite daunting, but I’ve made it easier for you. I’ve come up with a checklist of essentials that your Web host must have before you should even consider working with them.

Excellent Reliability
Since your site is often the best way for your potential clients to get to know you better, there is nothing more frustrating than finding out your Web site is down, and has been for hours. You must make sure that the Web host you select not only has good reliability, but superior reliability. This is your business on the line, after all. Treat it as such and get hosting that works for you when you need it.

Superior Customer Support
When you do need help, make sure that your hosting will provide it. One thing I recommend is to contact support to ask a simple question about the hosting, before buying. That will give you an idea of what the customer service is like before you make a commitment. Because if they can handle a newbie question in a friendly and supportive manner, without talking down to you, then you can comfortably assume that they will professionally handle any major issues you may face down the road.

The Stats You Need
Several of the most popular hosts do not offer the statistics that every online business owner needs. Why should you be concerned with statistics? Stats tell you, among other things, where your visitors are coming from, how long they are staying, and which pages on your site are getting the most traffic. This information helps you tweak what isn’t working and enhance what is. So make sure you can view your site’s statistics. If the host has a CPanel as their control panel, then you’ll have the stats you need, so find a host that uses a standard CPanel.

Room to Grow
The web host you choose should offer unlimited hosting. This means that, if you add more websites to your package down the road, the price does not increase drastically for each one. Many online businesses start with one site and grow over time. Can your host grow with you?

Bandwidth and Disk Space
Also, make sure that the host you choose is in the ballpark for bandwidth and disk space. Most programs offer approximately the same amount, but if you plan to add a lot of audio or video, you will need to have adequate bandwith. So be sure to look into this as well.

A History of Happy Customers
New hosting companies are popping up daily. Some are being run by a couple of teenagers in their garage. Obviously, that’s not who I want to entrust with my business. I want to know that the company I’m choosing has been around a few years, and has a history of happy customers to show for it. Look for testimonials on the Web host’s site and ask your fellow coaches who they use.

Affordable
Last, but certainly not least, make sure you aren’t paying more than necessary. When looking for a Web host, price is always a factor, so shop around and make sure that the web host you decide upon offers a great price, BUT has all the features you need.

These are the key features that any Web host should offer before you consider doing business with them. Taking the time to find a reliable host at the start of your coaching business will help ensure your success.

If you’re looking for a few suggestions, these are the hosts that I personally use:

Bluehost – I’ve been using this host for a year and have several sites and email accounts with them. I have even registered a few domains through them. The only negative I have experienced was a less than friendly response I received via email on a support question. However, I must say that it is difficult to accurately gauge someone’s “voice” from an email, so I have not let this affect my otherwise excellent impression of them.

Reliable Webs – this is the host for Essential PLR, the site you are on. I didn’t intend to have two hosting companies, because that means I’m paying twice as much per month than I should be. But Reliable Webs has a great deal where you can buy a preloaded blog for a very low price, so I thought I would check it out. Once I purchased the blog, I was so impressed with their service, that I haven’t been able to bring myself to switch my site over to Bluehost. I’ve even considered switching my other sites over to Reliable Webs. (Big sigh.) I’ll have to make a decision soon. I’m a big tightwad and hate spending more than I have to.

Of course, there are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of Web hosting companies out there, so check out several before deciding. Just keep in mind the essential features above.

Marketing Your Coaching Business Through Social Networking

Gordon — Mon, 25 May 2009 17:29:45 +0000

If you have a coaching Web site, but aren’t using social network marketing to promote it, you are losing out on literally thousands of potential readers and customers. Social network marketing is probably the number one way coaches are marketing their businesses today, because they have the potential to reach many people all over the world.

Of course, the hottest social networks right now are Twitter and Facebook, but check out other communities like Digg, De.lic.ious and Stumble Upon. Yes, there are lots of other social networks you can join too, but you will be plenty busy trying to keep up with these five, so start with these first.

The first step in making social networking work for your coaching business is, obviously, to join the major social networks. BUT, joining them isn’t enough. You must be ACTIVE on the social networks. Interacting with other members is what drives them to check out your Web site and services. Through the interaction, your potential clients begin to trust you as a coach and want to learn more about your products and services.

So, how do you go about making social networking work for your coaching business? One way is to add, follow, or friend people in your target market or niche. For instance, I am a wellness coach that focuses on stress management, so I follow lots of other wellness coaches and businesses related to wellness on Twitter. I get into conversations with them and also let them know when I post to my blog or launch another product or service.

But I make sure that most of what I tweet is about them, not about my business. This is where the relationship comes in. Once your followers and friends know they can trust you, and that you’re not just out to sell them something, but you genuinely want to help them, they will be interested in what you have to say and what you have to sell.

Don’t forget that social networking can be an integral part of your marketing effort, so it takes time and effort. If you don’t have the time to devote to building your social networking presence, consider hiring a virtual assistant or social network manager to do it for you. It won’t do you any good to put up a profile on the social networks if you don’t follow up by building relationships with your potential new clients.

But remember, helping your friends and followers is what’s going to bring them to your site to learn more about you! Don’t let your relationship become all about selling to them.