Work Your Network

If you're networking with strangers, you're wasting your time. A consultant friend of mine recently complained, "I'm doing 2-3 networking events a week – and I'm worn out." When I asked why she felt networking was important, she replied, "One of my marketing goals is to do at least 1 networking event a week." (I pointed out that she just admitted to doing 2-3 a week – and perhaps doing 1 a week is smart and doing triple that goal is causing some of the fatigue.) But there's much more to the great American business myth of networking.

Myth 1: The more you network, the more effective your networking activities become.

Truth 1: It's much more important to become well-known in 1-2 circles than to spread your networking activities over many different groups. Depth beats breadth every time.

I then asked her how networking was working for her. She said, "I don't think I have gotten a shred of business out of it in the last six months." Her rationale for doing networking: "Everybody knows that you build a business by networking!" Does this make any sense? Or worse, does it sound familiar?

See if this networking scenario has happened to you:

You meet someone for 30 seconds. They mumble something about real estate as you are tuning them out. They ask you what you do, and you say you are in insurance. After 10 seconds of staring blankly at each other, you both head to the celery sticks for lack of anything better to do.

Myth 2: The cocktails and miniature wiener circuit is the way to network to success

Truth 2: Networking with strangers to build business is about as effective as going to a bar to get married. In the words of Dr. Phil, "It simply ain't gonna happen that way."

Here's why you're not going to meet your business soul mate at a networking event:

1) You aren't going to do business with someone after meeting them for a few minutes and getting handed a poorly printed card.

2) Businesses are built on relationships and not "30-second commercials," no matter how effective and intriguing.

3) Most of us have major trouble in explaining what we do, much less getting past that explanation and listening for what prospects need.

4) Networking with strangers is not targeted or specific and in fact is completely random. For some people, networking is exactly as effective as cold calling, which is the least effective marketing tool there is.

So am I saying that networking is a waste of time? Absolutely not. What I'm saying is you need to start networking smarter.

Here are a few thoughts to jog your noggin:

* Network by having coffee or lunch with people one on one. Get to know them and their business. They may become a prospect, alliance partner, or referral source. But aim first and foremost to make them a friend. The rest will follow naturally.

* If you're going to network with strangers, go with the goal of making 2-3 lunch or coffee dates with people you find interesting.

* Ask every happy customer you have (they're all happy, right?) for just one referral of someone who would be interested in your type of goods or services, then call and use their name. ("Hi I'm Fred and Ginger said I should call you. Isn't Ginger great?") You already have one thing in common – Ginger!

* Create a network "hit list" of the exact kind of businesses you want to network with – maybe you sell software and you want to meet IT managers at medium-size companies. Make the list and put it in your little black book or PDA. Focus your networking and outreach activities on only those people – or others who can refer you to those people.

* Join non-business groups and spend time doing non-business activities: Civic, social, religious, recreational, musical, athletic... the list is endless. Establish relationships with people in your group. Perhaps you're a Moose and a realtor. A Moose, as it turns out, wants to by a house from another Moose. If so, you have the Moose Market cornered! Are you into hand-drumming. Guess what? A hand-drummer will want to do business with another hand-drummer. Get it?

* If you do go to a "mixer" go with a targeted goal in mind. For example, your goal might be "to meet three people on my target list and get their card so I can follow up for breakfast, lunch, coffee or badminton." A traditional "networking event" now becomes simply the first phase of your targeted plan for global domination, and not an end in itself.

Here's a final thought to shake up your networking mindset: Network with people who already know you, like you, or have done business with you.

Myth 3: Networking is all about getting more people to know what you do.

Truth 3: Networking is all about getting people that already know you to share opportunities where you can be helpful to each other.

Make 2-3 phone calls a day to connect with people from past jobs, former clients, or influential people who have expressed interest in you in the past.

We all have a "fan base" that we grossly underutilize.

Think about tapping into friends, colleagues, mentors, and family to mine the connections you already have at your fingertips.

So get out there and network – but make it worth your investment of time and energy by networking smart. As your mother always said, "Don't network with strangers."

How To Get Free Publicity For Your Home Based Business

If you are just starting a new business or simply operating one on a budget, there are a lot of ways to get free publicity for your home based business. Not everyone can afford an aggressive marketing or advertising campaign. Lets face it - advertising is expensive. In fact, for many business, advertising is the largest expense that they incur. This is especially true of home based businesses due, in part, because there are not many additional expenses for a business operated in the home.

In order for customers to find you, they must first be made aware that your company exists. One such way to get free publicity for your home based business includes the distribution of a press release. A well-written press release will be one page or less in length. It will offer the basics - who, what, when and where. In order for your press release to gain publication, your business must be noteworthy or be hosting something that is of interest to the public. For example, if you are launching a home based business and would like to share your story, this would make a great press release. If your business is launching a new website, promotion or product line, these would provide for good quality news as well. In order for a press release to be printed, you must include a contact name, address and telephone number at the top of the page. Press releases can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to newspapers, magazines and local trade publications. This is a terrific way to get free publicity for your home based business.

If you are operating a home based business, its likely that you will also have a website. The internet is a gateway to a world of potential customers so, if you haven't already, now is the time to launch a new website. Promoting your spot on the world wide web is an excellent way to get free publicity. If you sell collectibles, then you will want the major search engines to list your site high in the rankings for that keyword. It's important to be ranked well on search engines so that customers may find your website, so make sure that your site is generous in its use of keywords, contains active links and is updated with new content regularly. Search engine rankings are one of the greatest ways to get free publicity for your home based business, especially if that business is primarily web-based.

In addition to the methods above, many webmasters are finding that article marketing can provide a powerhouse of traffic to their website. And, after all, each new visitor is a potential customer. If you are an expert in your business field, write a brief article about it. There are people who may be interested in reading what you have to say, so make sure that your article is informative. At the bottom of the feature, include a brief paragraph with your name, brief biography about you or your business, along with the business name and website address. After submitting this article to one of the many article marketing websites, other webmasters may pick up your content for use on their site. The more distribution your article receives, the more potential you will have for more traffic to your own website.

Just as there are plenty of ways to gain paid advertising, there are many ways to get free publicity for your home based business. Publicity doesn't have to cost a fortune and, for those who are truly creative, it may not even cost a penny

Networking To Find Music Education Jobs

For those most passionate about their music, a job in music education is a natural fit. Far from being a case of "those who can't do, teach", those who take music education jobs are talented not only as artists but as teachers who want to pass their love of music on to another generation, to ensure that there is always music in the world.

Once upon a time, a degree in music education was seen as a 'fallback option'- the job that would always be there if a performing or production career didn't work out. That time is long gone now as states have cut funding for enrichment education across the country. While the job outlook for music teachers is still good, the Occupational Outlook Handbook says that jobs for musicians and teachers will grow at about average or a little faster than average rates through 2014 - school departments, private institutions and universities have the luxury of being able to be choosy about whom they hire to fill music education jobs.

One of the best ways to hear about music education jobs and openings is to establish a network of contact within the music education community. While basic networking is good, there are ways to network more effectively to concentrate your focus on finding and improving your chances of being hired for music education jobs.

Network locally.

Lucky you, you actually have three different sources of local networking that can help you narrow your job search focus. As an educator, get involved in local organizations for teachers and get your name out there. If you've made contacts while interning and practice-teaching, keep up with them, and ask their advice and guidance in your career path. By all means, let them and others know that you're looking for a job in music education. Other teachers are often the first to know that one of their own is leaving.

School department contacts are invaluable.

In most cities, the school department must post vacancies internally before advertising them to the general public. Those vacancies are often posted on a bulletin board in each school within the district. Let teacher friends and contacts know that you're looking and ask them to keep an eye out for you. Knowing that a vacancy is posted internally can give you a leg up on the competition and cue you to submit your resume and cover letter for music education jobs before they're advertised.

Network online.

Join national and local music teachers associations online, particularly those that hold regular events, symposiums and have a discussion board. Many of them post job openings for members, and more than a few allow members to post job leads and requests for job leads on their boards. Some organizations that you might consider joining include:

Technology Institute for Music Educators (http://www.ti-me.org/)

Music Teachers National Association (http://www.mtna.org)

Teachers.net Chat boards (http://teachers.net/mentors/music/)

The National Association for Music Education (http://www.menc.org/)

Keep in mind that in networking, you get out what you put in. Don't just join a group and start soliciting for music education jobs. Look for what you can offer - the more you become involved the more visible you'll become and the more willing others will be to recommend jobs to you

The JV Cassanova

Joint ventures are the key to financial happiness on the internet, and I do believe that they are related to dating - they follow the same structure.

Now most people date a few people and then settle down with one person, or into bachelorhood where they "have to do everything all by themselves"; most people find the dating process extremely difficult and nerve racking.

Which is why they'd rather sit at home, even if they really want to "meet someone special".

Now internet joint ventures are a lot like that.

And the success rate either way, be that in the one time happy hit Casanova stakes or to find long term happiness in mutual relationships, depends on whether the 1st principle of Speed Seduction is known, and observed.

Speed seduction, and especially for beginners and before they become so good at seduction that ANYONE AT ALL becomes an easy mark, relies on making MANY approaches RAPIDLY.

So as opposed to sitting around in a bar and WAITING all night for the right moment or an opportunity to go after a single target, a beginner speed seducer will simply blanket bomb - try one, get a response, try the next.

That way the stakes are significantly shifted in the favour of the young speed seducer; with three approaches the chances of ANY FORM of success are significantly lower than with 30, or 300.

Now in seduction, you don't go up to some person and just blurt out, "Do you wanna sleep with me ...?"

But even if you did, and did it 300 times on the trot with 300 different people, you WOULD ACTUALLY get many different responses and SOME responses that would OPEN THE DOOR TO FURTHER COMMUNICATIONS.

And here's where the process of learning how to become a REAL LIF Cassanova starts, this is the ground point zero of seduction skills.

With that many approaches, you can't help but start to LEARN SOMETHING - what works and what doesn't, what is culturally unacceptable and leads to you being beaten, what OPENS DOORS even a tiny little bit.

Another thing.

Imagine you've spent a WHOLE NIGHT courting just one individual - only to find that they are actually not what you had hoped for, or not really your cup of tea.

What happens in relationships of the romantic kind is that when a SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT of time and attention has been paid, people have the unfortunate habit of not cutting their losses QUICKLY and continuing on in the hope that it'll sort itself out or magically get better somehow.

And so a pointless, doomed relationship that will never get anywhere just DRAGS ON.

Joint ventures between marketing sharks on the internet may SOUND all scientific and bottom line, but actually, they're not.

They happen when there's a CLICK between the potential partners involved; when there's recognition, common ground, the mysterious "something" that makes people WANT to interact.

And when you're proposing a joint venture to anyone, that's what needs to happen just as surely as it needs to happen as you step up to a prospective date with a smile on your face.

So here's the trick and the lesson.

Go to the meeting places where your prospective dates are likely to gather - marketing groups, for example; or just pick them up from what you can see around and who's successful and who you want to work with.

Don't "set your heart on THE one", because we really don't want to get into wrongfully translating our meaningful marriage vows to our business behaviours.

Think as a junior JV Cassanova would, and behave accordingly - get up, introduce yourself, see what response you get, and then MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ONE.

Don't make one overcautious, over-thought-out, mirror-rehearsed, trembling proposal in a whole long month - make 50! 500! Easy, quick, light, friendly enquiries, that's all that is required.

Try it on EVERYONE!

The world is FULL of people to JV with :-) and the bigger the sample you go for, the greater the opportunities become.

Also, and every real Cassanova knows this, there are other pay offs.

So what if you don't get to have an orgy immediately?

A nice smile, a dinner invitation, a contact made that can be expanded on later is FINE.

That translates to a link exchange or just a pleasant awareness that the other even exists and upon which you can build later on if you want to.

The more you do this, the more you learn.

The more you learn, the more you understand what you have to present, what you have to say or do to "get the foot in the door" and make a contact.

The more approaches you make, the higher your chances of finding "perfect fit" JV partners EVERYWHERE.

Just as the scared wannabe lover stands trembling in a world of their own, and right next to them the experienced Cassanova is standing in a world that is OVERFLOWING with possibilites, so it is for JVs on the net.

Get started.

Just ask - lots.

Don't be afraid of rejection - the world is FULL of people.

Simply say, "NEXT!" and build your experience.

And that's the way to really become a true JV Cassanova in due course.

Cheers!
Silvia Hartmann

Consumer Psychology in the Industrial and Manufacturing Equipment Marketplace

People like a "special" price or exclusive offer directed only to them. Most Industrial and Manufacturing equipment buyers are seeking to be told that they are special.

Through a great deal of trial and error writing advertisements for Industrial and Manufacturing Equipment classifieds, I have learned to employ this technique to each and every classified and auction description I create.
Most successful online auction and classified listings are based on the element of exclusivity. First and foremost I almost always use a "special deal" offered only thought the channel I am using to market my equipment. It is important to stress that No outsider can participate and that the offer is only available if the buyer responds to the specific equipment listing where the savings or price point is offered.

Keeping with the same theme "FREE" is becoming an over used term on the web. While offering free shipping, free equipment installation or free support can be a useful technique in driving sales, it's important not to over use the term. If you choose to use a "Free" offer of some kind it's important to stress to you potential buyer why receiving the free service or ancillary product is so beneficial.

Remember that selling Industrial Equipment online is no different than selling any other product. Those of us that endeavor to sell not only the highest quality products, but to understand the buying habits as well as the psychology of our consumers, will succeed where others fail.

Network Monitoring for Serious eCommerce

In the real world, businesses come in every size, from self-employed entrepreneurs like me to mega malls like Wal-Mart.

On the Internet, companies come in every size, too, from a stand-alone ebook sales page with webmaster and owner all in one, to 300 pound gorilla like Amazon, with over a million pages, who requires the entire population of a small country to serve as webmaster.

If your site is a single page, it is its own network. But if your site is any bigger, and you have plans to grow, it is a network or is fast becoming one. You need network monitoring.

Most ecommerce webmasters are at least somewhat familiar with website monitoring. Many use a website monitoring service or software to keep track of "uptime" and "downtime".

At your local shopping mall, serious business requires more than just knowing when the front doors are open and when they are closed. Serious ecommerce needs to know more than just when the site is accessible. That is what network monitoring is all about.

What Network Monitoring Monitors

Chances are, your e-business owns one of the following, or uses one of the following remotely:

DNS servers: These are used to translate your site name, like www.URL.com, to the numbers called "IP addresses" that computers understand. If DNS servers are not working properly, end-users will not be able to find your site and will get an error. Usually only an external or remote monitoring service will detect such a problem.

An FTP server: File Transfer Protocol servers are used to help you
exchange files with remote users. If you use FTP, a monitoring
service can make sure it is always up and running.

POP3 and SMTP servers: These are used for exchanging emails. If you are using email, chances are you are using SMTP and POP3. If your SMTP server is down, everyone who sends you email will receive an error, stating that your mail server is down and cannot accept incoming email. To say that the impression this leaves your customers is bad would be an understatement. If your POP3 server is down, you will be unable to retrieve email from your mailbox. Once again, only external monitoring will prevent such a problem.

Firewalls: Many businesses use firewalls to protect their internal network from un-authorized traffic, such as spyware, viruses and sabotage by competitors. Furthermore, a firewall is your first line of defense. If your firewall goes down, your whole network may actually become inaccessible from outside. In other words, if you host your own web site and mail servers, those will become
inaccessible to the outside world if your firewall goes down. Once again, remote network monitoring is required to detect that a problem exists and quickly get it repaired.

Internet connections: Users come to your network from multiple backbones, depending on the company they use to connect to the Internet and their location. It is important to insure that your connection performs well for each user. A remote monitoring service can ping your networks from multiple locations around the world, thus testing most major routes to your web server or network. Before hiring a network monitoring service, check to see that they have both your customer geography and the Internet backbone layout covered.

Very few websites of any size and functionality are anything less than a complete network, and many networks rely on servers in different parts of the world.

A good network monitoring service can ensure, as a base, that all servers are properly functioning, that data can be sent to and received from each server, and that each function sharing the server responds as required. An advanced network monitoring service can even remotely monitor the temperature of your servers.

What you need to monitor depends on how extensive your network is. A network monitoring expert can help you determine what needs monitoring. If you own the servers, or are remotely hosted on dedicated servers, you most likely need everything monitored. If your site is hosted on shared servers, you might need fewer functions monitored

5 Tips to Get More Results from Your Marketing Materials

The moment I decided to specialize as a direct response copywriter (which means you get a response directly from the marketing materials, there's no middle person involved, like a sales rep) I knew there would be one thing that would determine if I would be eating steak or eating mac and cheese.

And what's the one thing? The results I got for my clients.

Therefore, improving results became a pretty big focus of mine. You might even call it a passion. (Some people who aren't nearly as nice have called it in an obsession.)

Regardless, here are 5 tips that can help you improve the conversions of your marketing materials.

1. Know who you're talking to. If I hear anyone say "women are my potential customers" or "anyone with skin is my target market" (yes, that really was a direct quote from someone who sold Mary Kay or Arbonne or something like that) I will send my border collies (all 3 of them) to your house and force you to play fetch with them until your arm falls off. Seriously, the quickest way you can end up with the most dismal results imaginable is to try and talk to everyone. Come up with a specific customer -- the more specific the better -- and make sure your marketing materials speak directly to that customer.

2. Make sure you write benefits, not features. This one is probably the hardest one to "get" but also one of the most critical. People buy benefits, not features, so if you only talk about features you're just asking for people not to buy what you're selling.

So what is the difference between features and benefits? Features are a description of a product -- for instance, if we're talking about a diet pill, a feature would that the product is a pill. A benefit would be the solution the product provides -- in this case, losing weight.

As much as you possibly can, write about why someone should buy your product. No one buys diet pills because they like taking pills, they buy them to lose weight. Think of the solution your product or service provides and write about that.

3. Work on that headline. David Ogilvy, famous ad man and author of Confessions of an Advertising Man, has said that people make the decision to read your marketing materials based your headline.

Your headline should: a. speak to your potential customers, b. contain a benefit, c. be so compelling your target market is compelled to read further. That's a lot to ask for from basically a handful of words. So don't rush the process -- take as much time as you need to create the very best headline for your particular piece.

4. Don't forget the call to action. You've got to tell people what to do next. If you don't tell them what you want them to do, chances are they won't do anything.

Don't assume your potential customers know what you want them to do. They don't. They can't read your mind. Nor do they want to. They're busy people. They don't have the time or the energy to figure things out. Tell them what to do next, or don't be surprised when they don't do anything.

5. Use P.S.'s or captions. Postscripts (P.S.) are the second most read item in a sales piece. What's the third? Captions. (The copy under photos, diagrams or other illustrations.) Now that you know that, think of the ways you can use either or both of those items in your pieces. Maybe you put a special offer in there or you highlight a particularly compelling benefit. Or you tell them again what you want their next step to be. Whatever you do, don't waste that space.

If you even do just one of these tips, you should start seeing better results. Work on all five and you might be amazed at how much your results improve.