Tides And Waves In The Affairs Of Men

There is a tide in the affairs of men
Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.

- William Shakespeare


Bill was a pessimist.

If you listen to big ticket salesmen - the deal of the century is available right now - but will be gone if you wait until tomorrow. I have calculated closely, and I am certain that in reality a deal of the century arrives every three weeks.

There is always a deal of the decade available. The trick is we do not know which deal is going to be the big one in advance. The truth is that almost any of them could be.

The key is to be at the top - a deal you have salesmen offer others as a deal of the century is far more likely to insure your success than when you take the bait and buy someone else's deal and then sit and wait.

How do you learn the varied skills and knowledge necessary to create your own deal? How do you learn to get salesmen out there working for you?

You take the bait, dedicate yourself to someone else's deal - and keep your eyes open.

Putting in a year or two vigorously promoting a multi-faceted offering for someone else may not ensure your success at that venture, but that dedication does frequently pay off quickly.

If you do your homework and learn everything you can about making their project succeed through you - they will probably be there to help your first project succeed.

This is an entertaining education with a big payoff. Take any reasonable deal at the flood - and learn to ride the waves.

Here is one deal of the decade that will let you learn a full quiver of marketing tools - apply them and develop more yourself - you can be successful at this.

Then in a couple of years let me know of your own new and creative venture - I just might want to help you get it going.

Then we can be at the top of the next deal of the century - together.

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Promote Your Business With A Mailing List

As you cruise the net you see lots of requests for your e-mail address.

These will normally give you some information, and add you to a mailing list. Under current US law you can get off the list easily - but many either don't want off, or won't bother un-subscribing. If the offered information is seen as valuable - the list will continue to grow. (example)

The software that picks up your name in an autoresponder, it automatically sends the requested information, and probably has programmed a series of follow-up e-mails or newsletters at set intervals.

As a small businessman with a unique product - these lists can become invaluable to you.

The building of your first autoresponder takes a bit of effort - but the resulting list will bring you business for years - you will have the ear of the respondent until they quit or die.

A low effort alternative is the My Lucky List list generation site.

As soon as you are signed up with YLL send out an e-mail - even if you have no list yet, this seems to trigger their system. As a free user You will be allowed to mail to a redrawn random list once a week. You will also receive several e-mails from folks that are provided your e-mail. My list sizes have grown and shrunk, but it is worth getting that e-mail sent - I have received some nice business from it.

The e-mail subject line says YLL first - I'm sure many are deleted by reflex. I scan the e-mails I receive and open only those that interest me. A compelling and original subject line is therefore imperative.

Sending just one e-mail a week to a growing audience takes little time - but your YLL list may yield some fine results.

Building you own exclusive list that is targeted from your special business is far better. It is worth the effort to learn to use your own free autoresponder.

There is of course no reason not to do anything and everything that ethically helps your business.

Best,

Allan

P. S. One additional tool would be ad tracking. As you get clicks and sales it helps to know which ads and headlines worked. You can even change a small element and compare the results of two ads - that makes ad tracking a very powerful marketing research tool.

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Affiliate Marketing

Using your blog or website for affiliate marketing is like being a commission only receptionist.

Some might say doing affiliate marketing is like being a commissioned salesman - but the job isn't that tough. Your job is to pre-sell potential customers, helping them to understand that they may find something good if they click through from your site.

The site you are an affiliate for does all the selling.

At my finance sites I have a button to reach Elliott Wave International. For investors or speculators they offer many excellent "tried and true" services - many of them, including investment training, are available for free.

That prior paragraph was affiliate marketing. I have referred investors to two of my other sites where a referral button waits to Elliott Wave International. While I have done my readers a service - I know and trust the quality of EWI, I may earn a small commission if they find the advisory or educational services a good fit for themselves.

As in all business, integrity is rewarded by confidence.

With some affiliate marketing relationships you do not even need a blog or website - there are online sites you can refer others to and still have done your job.

Affiliate marketing is a great first step to start discovering about Internet businesses. You will get help with marketing, and you can learn various tools like blogs and how to use them best.

If you are interested, successful Internet Marketer David MacGregor has put several Internet tools together to support an affiliate marketing program. Spend half a day setting up the basic Internet business relationships - and spend some time each week adding to your marketing knowledge and effectiveness.

This can be a very profitable experience.

You can earn some online money - you will also learn a great deal about online affiliate marketing.

This will translate well when and if you decide to commit to a complete at home business lifestyle.

David MacGregor calls his integrated affiliate marketing system -

Income Boost.

Best,

Allan

The Price Of Success

Actually the price of success is a bit of a misnomer.

Life will extract its price from you if you succeed - and if you fail.

You are the one that determines what your chances of success will be. The price will be paid regardless.

You have the choice of increasing your chance of success using one tool - your best.


You can diddle and piddle about through life - rightfully complaining about the price it is charging you to live.

Or

You can apply what you have in the best way you know, keep learning and enhancing your best, and probably enjoy the price more often than you will have cause for complaint.


With the first attitude you can win the lottery and still be a loser. With the second attitude you will have enabled a great potential for success.

The choice is yours.

You were created with the ability to accomplish great things. That success capability lies within each of us, if we are only willing to wake it up and sustain it.

Here then is your success question:

Why not your best?

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DreamPower Is Staying Power

When Martin Luther King intoned the words "I have a dream" he was stating that he had a goal that drove his life.

Whether you think Martin Luther King was a socialist rabble rouser or a saint, he was a man dedicated to a goal.

It was a goal that survived past the end of his life.

If you are floundering, flopping around like a fish on the shores of indecision, it is perhaps time to pick a stream and dive in.

In a recent article I inserted occasional thoughts about finding a sustaining goal for your life - one that would motivate you in good times and bad. I'll post three of those thoughts on dreams and goals here:

1)

If you have a need or goal, write it down right now. As you read through this article imagine how you can use these tools to realize your desires. What you write is your reason to continue - and succeed. You might need to refer to this often.

To succeed you will need to discover other's needs and goals - and help them understand that they too can also succeed by applying these same simple tools.

2)

This is a good time to take another look at your written reason for pursuing your own success.

Is your written goal strong enough to get you to expand your comfort zone and try new things? If not - spend the time to add some notes toward your commitment to that dream, need fulfillment, or goal.

3)

• Regardless; that written statement of what you want to achieve is very important to your future. Write a desired date for fulfillment on it now.

Of course if you want to see these in context - go here.

The main idea is simple - take a driving need, dream, or goal and focus on it. Review that dream often - if it is big enough and powerful enough it may last longer than you.

That could be a very good thing.

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Playing with business toys

You will notice a little box to the left - for now.

It is another "tool" to try.

Instantbuzz has several such traffic devices - I show other's ads - they show mine. A bit like blogmad or blogexplosion - but mainly aimed at business sites - and pyramid schemes.

It is worth a try.

I'm experimenting with all sorts of interrelated systems, most of which will be marginal at best. I am still using traffic swarm, it has been effective at driving traffic to Bastiat Free University entrepreneurial college, and a bit less effective for my other sites. There are so many similar affiliate sites my real sites seem to stand out.

Just as trafficswarm has paid for itself - it looks like TopSurfer will work - and for many of the same reasons. I am even stretching out a bit and trying a paid solo ad on TopSurfer, if I see a positive return on the investment I will try it again.

If playing with all these different sites seems a challenge, go check out the free internet marketing e-book mentioned in the prior post. The e-book publisher and author has done the heavy lifting for us - at least as far as researching and testing the best web based business marketing systems.

I admit sometimes this is frustrating - but the long term payoff should be very good. For instance I no longer need to surf trafficswarm - I just change the adds occasionally. Even the marginal systems will be additive once they require no further effort - each contributing a small piece to the expanding whole.

These other tools should work the same way - you fight inertia until it starts rolling - then you can step back and play elsewhere.

Best,

Allan

A Little Help - Please

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Thomas Edison is supposed to have said something to the effect "I have not failed to find a proper filament for a light bulb - I have successfully eliminated 10,000 fibers that will not work.”

A single test that just succeeded in eliminating several options:

I could use your assistance if you have a minute.

I am trying a free ad tracking system track that ad to see if it really does help my Internet marketing research. I also want to find how difficult it is to use, both for me and also for you.

I have a free e-book at the end of the rainbow, and it is a doozy.

In marketing a well written e-book can be worth a thousand pictures.

A single picture may carry the emotions of a thousand words - but when you want to communicate a specific message a well organized written presentation carries more power.

I will use a special tracking link from track that ad to send you to a short review of the e-book. Back out there or download the pdf - it is after all an exceptionally useful read if you have or want a business.

If you encounter any problems or delays please let me know. It would be nice to know the source of my link responses - but it is even more important not to annoy the responders.

I have done some basic research, Track That Ad has gotten great reviews, I'd just like to do a bit of field work myself.

for the short review on the e-book:

Seven Super Strategies - by David Macgregor

Thanks in advance,

Allan

Blogger did not like a script command that somehow appeared in my post when I used the Blogger spell check. I then had a period of testing and succeed at eliminating unfruitful options. Lots of time playing around - but I don't think it was the tracking links fault.

I have used the spell checker from open office this time - no funny html code appearing yet.

Please try that link test. It did not work for me - but that may be a problem of it being my own link - or of firefox - or of my add blocker - or any one of 10,000 other issues.

Thanks again,

Allan

P.S. Here is a direct link to the e-book review if your test link failed - Seven Super Strategies

Best to you

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Three reasons To Have Your Own Business

You can find all sorts of specific reasons to have your own business.

These reasons for having your own business include perks such as cash flow, tax breaks, or pride of ownership.

The three basic reasons are actually quite general.

You may want a business so you do not have to work for someone else. Personal freedom and the ability to call all the shots yourself makes this an attractive option for many people.

Another reason is to create a valuable property and perhaps steady cash flow. This will normally require a set of entrepreneurial tools in your management and leadership tool boxes.

There is a third reason that appeals to many - myself included.

When you start a business you have to do many tasks you would prefer to avoid. As your business grows you can hire and train specialists for the tasks you like least. You can even hire outside companies to take over entire sections of business tasks.

I sum this up with a short couplet that reminds me how the future will unfold.


I'll do what I enjoy -- for the rest I'll just employ.

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Two Quick Notes

I may get a chance to write another post soon.

Take a look at my son's new site on job search and job recruiting.

Yes he is a head hunter, mostly in the mining and resource sector. If you know a mechanical engineer looking for a job send him over. If you are looking for an executive in the mining or engineering industry give him a call - or wait for him to call you.

In two weeks this site should be fully operational - and its usefulness should just keep growing.

If you are wondering what I'm doing - I'm kicking back.

My new business is going fine - and growth is above projection.

For a small Internet business that cost nothing to start - my total investment so far is about $12.00 - and I this month I should have break even cash flow. Within a year I anticipate several hundred dollars a month cash flow, within two years over a thousand. That may not seem like much - but it is better than not earning an extra thousand a month - for little effort - and almost no investment.

Also remember I am ahead of my anticipated plan, so these numbers might be low. I'll keep you posted as I find this interesting.

If you want to look at this business for yourself or a friend - I've put up an article Here -

A Small Business Consultant Recommends It.

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