Making Sure You Manage Your Time Instead of Your Time Managing You

Time management is essential in the success of any business. It is especially important to the person that runs a business on the internet. There are so many distractions from the radio, to Oprah to Jerry to Dr. Phil to the kids to...well you get my drift.Here are a few tips to keep you on track:1. Name your projectYou may name your project as a final name of the product or you may just give it a code name that means something to you.2. Understand what part of the three step process you are in:Acquisition, presentation or promotion.Here is a simple question to ask yourself to check if you are on track with your time budget, "What is this activity designed to do?" or perhaps, "What is the outcome of this activity?"This will help you to identify if you are spending time in the wrong area at the wrong time.3. Set up check lists to make sure everything is covered. Focus on completion.4. Promotion: Clearly define your action steps.5. Track the results or your promotional campaign in terms of traffic, click through rates, subscribers and purchasers. Include costs of conducting your campaign and compare that to your sales to determine your return on investment. It is only by tracking the results of the promotion that you will know how to effectively change the presentation for further testing.A spreadsheet is an invaluable tool as a template for specifying your promotional campaign and also for tracking results, costs and return on investment. Adding in columns for each day of the week allows you to allocate your time so that all your promotions are covered in a time effective manner. This becomes your business gauge by which you assess the effectiveness of your promotional campaign.Earning an income on the internet is a process that in broad terms involves three stages:1. Getting your product (acquisition)2. Developing your product presentation3. Promoting the productIn this article, "product" means any tangible product, digital products (ebooks and software) and services such as membership sites, web design and development, hosting, "print on demand" for ebooks, fulfillment for orders and so on.By necessity you will spend time in each of these stages. Each stage will involve a learning phase and an action phase. It's important to identify clearly what stage of development you are currently working on and to focus on completing that stage.1. Getting your product (acquisition).Choose between your own product and an affiliate product.This will involve identifying a demand using for example surveys or the popularity of search terms.Key Point: Once you have your product you can stop spending time looking at other product possibilities for the time being.2. Developing your product presentation.Once you have chosen your product you will need to develop a presentation.This will include your website primarily and can also include autoresponder sequences and a newsletter.Key Points: Once your website and presentation process is completed you can move on to the promotion. You can always improve the presentation but once your presentation is "presentable" you should move on to promotion. Don't get caught up trying to make things perfect. Good, yes; perfect, no. The reality is things can always be changes. It does not matter if you have the best product in your niche and the best presentation if nobody knows about it. Give your presentation your best shot and then start promoting.3. Promoting the product.No matter now good your product and presentation are, you must get your presentation in front of your intended audience or nothing happens."We have to become better at promoting what we do than doing what we do."This is where it is also important to be clear about what stage you are in. Remember, time is limited, so if you have already chosen your product and developed your presentation it is not productive to keep looking for products or spending a great deal of time "tweaking" your presentation.Time can always be spent tweaking sales copy, images, layout, web presentation, upgrading or trying new software, investigating new product opportunities (before the current one is complete), improving design skills, keeping up with the changing web "standards"... The list can seem endless.Key Point: Time is better spent developing a clear promotional strategy and putting it into action. Only when you are seeing results from your promotional activities should you consider altering your presentation (such as modifying headlines and sales copy) to assess how that affects conversion of prospects to customers.A spreadsheet is an invaluable tool as a template for specifying your promotional campaign and also for tracking results, costs and return on investment. Adding in columns for each day of the week allows you to allocate your time so that all your promotions are covered in a time effective manner. This becomes your business gauge by which you assess the effectiveness of your promotional campaign.Understanding the three stages of the business process and the stage you are in, using checklists and tracking your results using business gauges are the proven ways to maximize your time, your effectiveness and your profits

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Boy, What a Difference 6 Months Makes
Hindsight, we all know only too well, is a wonderful thing. For example, if we had only known that the ceiling on membership at a popular site was going to be subscribed so quickly - we would have joined up the minute we heard about it.If we had only known that niche marketing was going to be so wildly popular we would have focused on that instead of MLM.If we had only known that Google was going to change its algorithm and the rules of AdWords were going to change we would have...Stop.Stop, stop, stop.In the world of Internet marketing, you can safely bet that the only constant is the rate of change! There's always news of the latest product dropping into your email inbox. There's always another promise of quick and easy money. Google will keep changing its algorithm, and new search engines are quite likely to pop up to challenge Google.What can you do about this? Four main things:(1) Continue To Educate Yourself.Understand that those who rise to the top of any field - whether it's internet marketing or something else - are good at what they do. This means that they never stop learning. There are always new materials, new techniques and probably new 'experts' showing the way.Most of us learn in three main ways: (a) from experts who specialize in a certain niche related to our field; (b) from others who are following the same path as we are, and (c) by trial and error, from our own results.You will find that the more you immerse yourself in the world of internet marketing, the more you will be able to analyze which products, services and opportunities are right for you.(2) Focus. Pick One System And Give It A Fair Go.Countless people who start out on the internet with high hopes follow the same pattern. They get excited about a new product or system. They throw themselves into it and invest long hours (and potentially quite a bit of money) in getting it up and running. It might be e-books sold from mini-sites; it might be setting up an eBay business; it might be directory-type sites with text manipulators; it might be AdWords or content sites optimized for AdSense.Then one day they get wind of another new system (probably one created by someone who claims "the gurus are angry with me for giving away all their secrets..."). Discouraged by the lack of results with the first "opportunity", they decide to let it rest for a while and try the new one. Back they go into the cycle of try-the-new-product, get-discouraged, discard-it-and-try-the-next-thing.And so it goes on. Months pass. Perhaps years pass. They struggle to pay the credit card bills mounting from buying into every new system that comes along... with very little money coming in to offset their 'investment'. As they look back, they start muttering "If I had only known then what I know now..."If you can recognize yourself in this scenario, the good news is this: Now you DO know better. You don't know what the next new product will be that's going to set the internet world abuzz, but you do know enough to choose a system that's right for you and stick to it.(3) Take The Time to Plan.Give yourself from two to four weeks to regroup. Go through all the products you have on your shelves or on your computer. Make a list. Decide which products you now know (so wise with hindsight!) to be worth keeping. Then analyze the 'keepers' and pick on the best system for YOU to use at this time. (This will depend upon your level of knowledge and which one you would enjoy most. Work with your strengths.)Finally, devise a game plan. You are going to focus on this ONE method and devise a practical time-line to achieve results. Don't be in a rush. Make sure you give yourself enough time to see it 'take hold' so the money starts flowing in. That will give you the motivation to continue.Clear the decks, physically as well as mentally. Put all the products that don't fit in with your plan in boxes or on disk for safekeeping. You may return to them one day, but if you've chosen the system that's right for you, you probably won't.4. Don't Get Distracted by New Products.Resolve to buy ONLY products or services that will save you time or money in implementing the system you have chosen. Never buy anything on impulse. Print out the sales letter, read it through, then put it aside. Read it through again the next day. Does it still seem so appealing? Check out a few forums to listen to the buzz. If a product doesn't deliver, you'll soon hear about it. If it is exceptional value, you'll hear about that, too.Some questions to ask: "Will this help me to streamline the business I have chosen? Is it worth the money? Will it make a significant difference?" And above all, "Do I need this, or is it just another distraction?"Resolve to make this the year you will succeed. No more pocket change. No more "If I had only known..."You DO know.So make it work.

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Network marketing is the same as any other business -- to succeed you need a system, and more importantly you need to follow it! There are many different techniques that successful network marketers have used, and it is tempting to look at another system, think that's far easier, and try to change what you are already doing. A big mistake! Find a system that works and don't let yourself be distracted. When your income is secure then perhaps you can experiment, but even then it could slow your progress. Information about your product and recommended promotional techniques can be discussed, but the most important benefit of these real life, or virtual, meetings is that they help to keep your attitude about your life and business positive. A good network marketing company will supply you with a list of recommended books. Some even go so far as to say, "I will not work with you unless you read X, Y, and Z". A good diet of positive and motivational books will build your belief in yourself and your business, and can serve as an alternative or an add-on to your meetings.Success for a network marketer starts in the mind. More than any other business you need to have a positive attitude. Remember this key point if nothing else. Believe that you will build a business and you are on your way. If you have doubts they will slowly sabotage your success, and this can be amplified if the only people you associate with don't understand what you are doing. This is the reason that traditional networking companies have opportunity meetings and sizzle sessions. So that you associate with like minded individuals who are positive and goal-oriented, and so that their knowledge and belief rubs off on you. If your company is internet based you will find that they have conference calls, forums and chatrooms to keep people motivated and focused. Your own mind is the biggest barrier to success in network marketing, and the influence you allow others to have over it. The development of a great communication system with people in your upline and your team is the key to any networking system. You can distribute flyers, business cards and put up notices, but if you don't connect with other people in your business, and maintain a positive attitude your networking business will stagnate. But if you work hard at improving your attitude, and use the above tools to dispel any doubts you may have you will find that your network marketing business will grow by leaps and bounds. As they say, "it's all in the mind"!