It's Time to Set Your 2005 Business Goals
IN THIS ISSUE
1. Ready to Set Your 2005 Goals?
2 . Getting Higher Paying Clients
3. Quote of the Week
4 . A Little Fun
5. Smell the Coffee
This ezine is for anyone who wants
to attract more customers, close more sales, earn more
revenue, boost their bottom line, and drive their competitors
crazy.
Don't
forget to tell all your friends and business associates
about this informative newsletter!
You don't want to be the only smart one in your group,
do you?
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1. Ready to Set Your 2005 Goals?
As I begin each new year, I think about the year that has
just ended and consider what to change or improve. Sometimes
I set formal goals, and sometimes I don't. I guess it
depends on whether I'm in a positive or negative mood while
I'm evaluating the previous year. (Does this ring a bell?)
If I'm feeling stinky, I say to myself, "Oh, what does it
matter? My New Year's resolutions only last about a month,
anyway." And, if I'm honest with myself, I have to say that
it's significantly harder to improve my business when I
start out with stinky thinking.
This year I'm feeling very positive, so I decided to set a
few goals for myself. Why am I feeling positive? Because I
have several new clients, lots of new ideas, a couple of terrific mentors, and
new things to offer my subscribers. And I'm really
passionate about my new website for women business owners.
So What's My Number One Goal for 2005?
Modeling it after one of my informal mentors, Lynn Terry of
the Turning Ideas Into Dollars forum, I've
decided to use my 25th hour for learning and improving my
business.
What's a 25th hour, you ask?
It's the hour that I waste every day piddling around,
shuffling papers, avoiding doing work or doing stuff that I
really don't have to do right then. Only I'm going to
consider my first hour of work, from 7:30 to 8:30 am, my
25th hour. Heck, I shouldn't be working this early anyway. I
should be having a nice, rich cup of coffee while I read the
newspaper or a good book.
Instead, I grab a cup of coffee, head to my computer, check
email and take care of little things I can do quickly (so I
feel like I've accomplished something and can continue to
work. Remind me later to tell you about how I clean my
house.)
So what am I going to study in 2005 during my 25th hour?
This year, I plan to learn and implement:
. How to write better sales copy.
I'm a very good writer, but I write like a P.R. person
instead of a good direct-marketing sales writer. So my goal
here is to learn to focus on the benefits, the offer, and
how to get my website visitors and ezine subscribers to want
to pull out their wallets more often.
Right now, I'm reading Bob Bly's book, The Copywriter's
Handbook, and avidly reading the masterful emails I receive
from some of the giants in copywriting, like Yanik Silver,
Jim Edwards, Sean D'Souza and Mark Hendricks. If you'd like
to read Bob Bly's book, too, you can pick it up at Amazon.
. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques to drive more traffic to my websites.
Toward that end, I have already enrolled in Sharon and Roy
Montero's 6-week online SEO class. Both Lynn Terry and
Adriana Copaceanu of ABC Gifts and Baskets
have told me how useful this course is. Since I know how
smart THEY are, I decided to learn from their SEO mentors,
too.
Why don't you join me? You can read all about it and sign up
here.
How to successfully advertise with Google AdWords
Everyone says the king of Google AdWords is Perry Marshall.
And I can see why. He's amazing. Even the "traffic master"
John Reese says so.
I'm busy reading Perry's ebook, "The Definitive Guide to
Google AdWords," and it's excellent. I encourage you to
learn this, too! Pick up this terrific ebook and learn how
to write a Google text ad that really sells.
==> And if I have time, I'll finish John Reese's "Traffic
Secrets" program.
This program is overwhelming to me. It's so extensive and
comprehensive that I've temporarily put it aside. After I
study the other three programs, I'll come back to John
Reese's program to fill in what I've missed. He thoroughly
covers copywriting, SEO techniques and using Google AdWords
(along with a ton of other traffic secrets) in his "Traffic
Secrets" program that includes two books, 13 DVDs and a CD.
And he certainly knows what he's doing. When he launched
this program in August 2004, he made a MILLION DOLLARS in 24
HOURS. Wouldn't you like to do the same?
If you'd rather start with John Reese's Traffic Secrets
program instead of the smaller ones listed above, here's a
link to read more about it.
So there you have it. Over the course of this next year,
I'll be studying copywriting, SEO techniques, and Google
AdWords. And as I learn and implement what I learn, I'll
share my thoughts and accomplishments with you. So keep
reading!
Oh! I almost forgot. I promised to tell you about how I
clean my house. I'm a person who gets overwhelmed by messes
(thank goodness, today my house is usually rather neat and
clean).
My first husband was a pigpen. He never picked up a thing
and created a mess wherever he went. I couldn't keep up with
it. But once a week I would clean all day and get everything
back in order. (And if I didn't, I couldn't get a THING
done.)
I felt I couldn't tackle the big messes first because I'd
sit back and say, "Whew! That was a tough job, and didn't I
do it well?" And then I'd quit working so the rest of the
house wouldn't get clean. I quickly learned that I had to
clean the least dirty room first, then move to the next room
that wasn't so bad, etc. That way I could say, "That wasn't
so bad. It's nice to have one clean room. Now I just have 7
more to go." And I'd eventually get the entire house clean.
So now you understand why I'm starting with one goal that
can be split into three (or maybe four) parts. One step at a
time...
So what about you? Are you ready to set your 2005 goals?
.
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JOIN WOMEN'S FORUM NOW
As a New Year's gift to you, I want to remind you of the
introductory membership rate for joining my new Success
Secrets of Women Entrepreneurs Private Online Forum. In the
forum you'll find women (and possibly a few men) business
owners who would love to be part of your community and help
you through your business challenges. It's like having your
own Mastermind Group. Plus, when you subscribe, you'll have
immediate access to several ebooks FREE. I've decided to
continue to include my ebook, "Marketing Plan Essentials:
Online & Off," as one of the free gifts when you become a
paid subscriber. So there are 8 ebooks waiting for you!
You can subscribe to the forum for a LIFETIME rate of just
$12.95 per month (or sign up for 3-month, 6-month, or 12-
month membership and save even more) if you do it before
February 15.
Don't miss this chance... Here's the link to join.
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"In terms of a challenge, what I am looking for are ways to
get larger, higher paying clients. I get work, but
it tends to be all small budget projects."
I can tell you several ways that I have been able to move
into higher-paying gigs, but I'll hold off. My subscribers
are pretty darn smart. Let's ask them to help you. How about
it, readers? Any advice for Dale? Send your comments to me here and
I'll print your responses next week.
