Archive for Internet Marketing Coaching
Internet Marketing Outsourcing Tips
Posted by: | CommentsIf you’re considering outsourcing for your business or wondering how you’re ever going to get everything done (think Life in the Grind) then there’s a launch that will be of interest to you. As is often the case these days, there’s a lot of gold to be found in the pre-launch. What I heard last week, has already galvanized me into getting over my resistance and giving outsourcing a try again. But this time, based on the expertise provided by John Reese, I will be doing it differently.
Word of warning though. There’s some great information in the first video, with hopefully more to follow, but you’ll need to put up with the usual sun glasses, shiny car, ocean back-drop etc. – barf, barf. Don’t let that put you off though, if you’re serious about learning to outsource.
John Reece’s prelaunch series is here:
http://www.outsourceforce.com/2-dollar-per-hour-power-formula-sp
And there’s more useful information in an interview of him by Ed Dale where Ed pre-empts some of what is to follow later in the series:
http://www.eddale.co/general/the-dirtiest-of-internet-marketing-secrets-revealed-in-this-video
The main shift in my thinking about outsourcing, as a result of listening to the interview, is to think of hiring someone for a number of hours, rather than on a per project basis. And, according to Reese this can be done for $300 per month, full-time.
My experience of outsourcing has, in the past, been on a project by project basis. A couple of drawbacks with this is that I had to keep training new people when they changed their mind about wanting to work part-time, or they got a “real” job or someone made them a better offer. A good thing about having someone work full-time (and exclusively for you, as recommended by John Reese) is that you can build a long-term relationship with them and reward them for their innovation and loyalty.
Other points that were useful included:
- the more detailed the specification you can give, the better and faster you will get the work done.
- don’t give any one person access to all the parts of your business or to critical financials such as Paypal.
- ask for regular reports (e.g. every 2 days), create milestones and hold them accountable to them.
- look for someone with multiple skills such as designing and content writing
- require them to sign a contract to work exclusively for you
There’s much more good stuff in the interview but these were the most important points for me. I’m looking forward to the next video. But before that . . .
. . . here’s a tip of my own:
If you don’t have a good system in place for the work you’re doing, don’t even think about outsourcing. Instead of having one disorganised and unfocussed person you’ll just end up with two AND be paying for the privilege. A lesson I learnt the hard way.
But, if you’ve read my past posts such as “how to manage boring and repetitive tasks” you’ll know I’ve been practising keeping on keeping on, even when I’ve been bored with what I’ve been doing. And the result of that is that I’ve pretty much set up a system for spinning and publishing articles that maximises my time and the results achieved. So I feel that this is something I could now outsource (along with some of the more straight forward link building).
I notice that I’m not bounding into the sunset, thrilled to be able to do this though. Because I know that getting everything running smoothly and managing a new relationship will be another steep learning curve. However, I recognise that if I want to develop a real business, rather than one I’m just playing around with, I won’t be able to do everything myself. And, even if I could, I wouldn’t want to. So, I’m putting my fear behind me and rising to the challenge.
Critical Focus Time In Internet Marketing
Posted by: | CommentsThe first “lesson” from Ed Dale’s mentoring program was on what he calls Critical Focus Time or CFT. Basically it’s about committing yourself every work day to a certain amount of time during which you will only work on actions critical to your business.
This is something I’ve frequently struggled with for 2 reasons:
- I’ve not been committed enough to the outcome to practice getting good at CFT (see internal motivation post for more on this).
- I’ve misunderstood, in realtion to internet marketing at least, exactly which activities should/shouldn’t be done during my CFT blocks.
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1. Critical Focus Time Takes Practice
A mistake I’ve made in the past is to think that a commitment to being focussed is sufficient to make me so. I’d start out all keen and determined and then discover that creating a new habit was not as simple as saying as I was going to do so. I’ve learned that, like any new skill it requires consistent effort.
For example, one strategy I’ve found to be helpful is to work in 45 minute blocks – what I call the 45/15 rule. I’ve been applying this idea for a number of years, on and off, and reaping the benefits. But I forget to do this every day. It has not yet become a habit so I’m still practising. I have to remind myself each day to set the timer and then discipline myself to stop when it goes off.
So, don’t expect to get your CFT right the first time you try it. Chances are you will need to practise until it becomes a useful habit. While you’re learning accept that you will make mistakes and let that be OK. If you see this in the context of learning a new skill you will be more motivated to keep practising until you’ve cracked it.
In order to get the most from your Critical Focus Time:
- Remove All Distractions – turn off your phone, clost your office door, ask your family/colleagues not to be disturb you for your allotted time, etc.
- Set A Timer – start with 10 minute blocks is you’re new to this, working up to whatever you’re optimum work block length is. You will need to expereiment and find what works best for you. However, never go beyond 45 minutes as studies have shown that this the the maximum amount of time we can focus for effectively.
- Take Regular Breaks Between Sessions – up to a maximum of 15 minutes for the 45 minute block. Use that time to get up from the desk and away from the computer. Do something that requires you to move our body.
2. Critical Focus Time for Internet Marketing
Here are the tasks that Ed counts as IN:
- activities that directly relate to bringing money in
- content creation
- link building including using Market Samauri Rank Tracker for finding and making back links
- outsourcing guides
- prospecting, e.g. active Joint Venture making (by phone not email) or looking for clients
- creating/tweaking PPC campaigns
Tasks That Are Not Included in CFT
- anything passive
- learning
- answering emails
- editing writing
- ANY social media (I was a bit surprised at this one!)
- exploring new keywords
- checking ranking
So, now you know what and what not to do in your CFT sessions. Make a commitment to how many blocks you will do each day. Start small and work your way up and, remember, practice, practice, practice.
———– An update on this post can be found at more on critical focus time.
Internet Marketing Coaching
Posted by: | CommentsI have a confession to make. For a number of years now I’ve been wearing two different hats. One for my internet marketing (IM) career and one for my life coaching persona. I have moved back and forth between the two businesses, never quite settling exclusively for one or the other but this year, I thought I’d get a bit radical, wear both hats at the same time and see what I could develop in internet marketing coaching.
In the latter part of 2009 I attended Steve Chandler’s Coaching School which made me rethink how I wanted my practice to look and I found I was drifting a bit, undecided.
Then, an opportunity occurred that I might have said “no” to because it was in the online marketing field and I thought I’d left that behind. Ed Dale was offering an internet marketing mentoring programme and I decided to apply.
The more I thought about it the more attractive the prospect became. A full 12 months when I would know what I was up to, where I would be supported to stay on track and where I would have access to the expertise of someone on the cutting edge of a field that, no matter how many times I walk away from it, I seem to be drawn back in. I decided this was an opportunity to combine both interests into a grand internet marketing coaching experiment. And, hoorah, hoorah, I was lucky enough to get a place. So the game begins!
This website is the story of that year and a resource for all of you who have struggled/are struggling to make a success of your own online marketing businesses. However, this is not a place to find indepth tactics and instruction (there are plenty of websites out there doing that far better than I can) but more of an exploration of why some people succeed in this game but most don’t and how we can turn past/current failure into future success.
For those interested, however, I will record the specific steps I am taking and the results I’m achieving in the web marketing strategy and results section.
