Elaine Evans Wilson.com

Build an Online Business, Quit Talking and Begin Doing

“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” ~Walt Disney

I love this quote from Walt Disney because it can be applied to your personal life and business.  There are so many subjects that this can cover like eating healthier, spending money wisely and the list could go on and on….

In the online business I have heard the sayings “I’m going to start …..”, but I see no action.

Are you only “downloading” information to your brain and not taking action?

Build an Online Business by starting a blog if you don’t have one.  You will be glad you did!

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This is my challenge to you.  To start taking action!

Even if they are baby steps.  They all add up.

What have you been talking about and not doing?

Would you like to share it here with a comment?

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Blogging – Benefits of a Blogging Challenge

I have now been in three blogging challenges and I can tell you that they are quite beneficial.

The best part is meeting and sharing ideas with other bloggers, but there is more.

1. Increased traffic to my website.  My analytics showed the increase.

2. The writing was easier once I started!  You only need to have 100 words in a blog post  in this current Blog Challenge.  This blog post is 183 words, so you can see 100 is not much.

3. It only cost time, but the time spent was worth it.

4. Invitation to write a story on another blog.

A member of one blogging challenge connected with me on Facebook.

She saw an interest of mine(birding) when she saw my photos on Facebook and asked for a story.

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If you currently do not look at the analytics on your website then you are missing a very important evaluation of your marketing efforts.

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Here is the the next one I joined on October 1st. : Ultimate Blog Challenge

As you can see there are many benefits to a blogging challenge.

So, what are you waiting for!

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List Building – 7 Ways for Getting More Subscribers

There are numerous ways to build your list.  Here are seven ways to increase your list, but remember that it is best to share your content with those that are in your niche.

1. Include a call to action in your blog posts.

Let your visitors know that if they like your blog posts, they’ll love your newsletter content. That’s because you save some of your best niche tips, tricks and secrets for subscribers.

To get more subscribers, include a link to your landing page at the bottom of your posts, along with a reason to click on that link.

Example: Discover more organization management tips for free – click here!

2. Encourage a viral effect.

You can get more subscribers simply by including a note at the bottom of every newsletter where you encourage your existing subscribers to forward your email to their friends, family and colleagues who could benefit from the information.

Example: “Do you know someone else who could benefit from these dog training secrets? Please forward this email to them – they’ll thank you for it!”

3. Use your forum signature file to get new subscribers.

If you’re visiting busy niche forums, include a call to action in your forum signature.

Example: “Free report reveals the health secrets your doctor doesn’t want you to know! Click here to claim your copy now…”

4. Point your Twitter followers to a free report.

You can Twitter as well as other social media like Facebook to grow your list. Simply point your fans and followers towards your squeeze page to pick up a free report. Include this link on your profile page as well as in some of your posts (“tweets”).

5. Embed your links in your products.

Sometimes people share your digital products with their friends. Sometimes they give away or sell pirated copies of your product. Either way, you can benefit from this if you include links to your squeeze page in your paid products.

6. Drive traffic to your landing page using videos.

You can create You Tube videos for the sole purpose of driving traffic to your newsletter sign up page. To get the best results, include a call to action at the end of your video where you promise viewers they can get the second part of the video – for free – when they join your list.

7. Tap into Squidoo to get new subscribers.

Create Squidoo pages around niche topics with the purpose of driving visitors to your landing page. In other words, all your Squidoo links should point to your squeeze page.

Summary

You can use each of these seven methods to get new subscribers.  Just remember to have quality content!

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Time Management – Note Taking

Steno pads. Spiral notebooks. Legal pads. The back of an envelope.  A cocktail napkin. Receipts. The corner of a newspaper. If you’re like most entrepreneurs, you’ve got ideas striking you every hour of the day and night, and you grab the nearest writing implement and snippet of paper to scrawl a few words on. But how often do those pieces of paper make it into something more permanent?

With today’s variety of note-taking and idea-gathering software, there’s no excuse for using crayons anymore. Take a look at these multimedia opportunities for storing your thoughts, ideas, photos, blog posts, and more… and best yet, they’re all free!

Evernote

Collect, sort, tag, and annotate a variety of notes and other information. Log in online or access it via your iPhone.  Store your web clips, text clips, videos, audios, and more in a single file. You can even snap a photo with your mobile phone and save it. Oh yeah, you can Read More Here…

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List Building – Building your List with Social Media Sites

Experts predict that the social media trend will only grow by leaps and bounds. That means if you don’t start using social media now you’ll be left behind.

Here are some tips for using social media to drive traffic to your sites to help build your list:

1.    Complete your profile.

When you first open your Twitter, Facebook, or other social media site account, fill out your profile (including a picture). Doing so makes it easier for people to get to know you and build a relationship with you. Read More Here…

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Time Management – Build Your Business In Unexpected Circumstances

I learned about time management at a early age from my father. I can remember one time when he was stuck at the top of a highway overpass because the freeway and exits were flooded.  He was stuck there for five hours.  It made such an impression on me because he missed dinner.  Dinner was promptly at 6:00 pm every night and he rarely missed dinner.  He always had plenty of paperwork in his line of work and I remember my dad telling my mother that he did all his paperwork in the car while he was waiting for the water to recede.  Back in those days there were no portable cell phones.

I always have a computer, paperwork or book while I travel.  You never know when you will be stuck in an airport for a long flight delay.  It is interesting to see other people in the airport that get upset, stress out and pace when there is a flight delay.  I take out my paperwork and read.

When I worked in the corporate world I would leave in plenty of time to get to work early to avoid Read More Here…

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“Ask Elaine Questions” Teleconference

Welcome and Thank You for registering for “Ask Elaine Questions” Teleconference.  If you have found this post prior to signing up, and would like to do so, go to www.askelainequestions.com to register.  For those of you who have registered, you will be receiving an e-mail shortly that has the call in number and the conference code number.  Be sure to save that e-mail and add Elaine to your list of contacts so a reminder e-mail can be sent  the day before the teleconference.

We encourage you to ask questions prior to the class.   We look forward to having you on the teleconference and answering your questions.

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Avatars Make a Difference

An Avatar can be a simple image such as your company logo, your picture, your pet’s picture or whatever photo.  Your avatar can get you quickly noticed.

If you want your avatar to automatically be added to a comment you make on a blog post then go to gravatar.com and upload your image.  Gravatar is a globally recognized avatar.  The website you are commenting on needs to have the ability to show avatars.

I currently use a WordPress theme that has the ability to show or not show avatars for those that make comments on my blog posts.  I can also decide on the avatar rating(G,PG,R,X).  There are default avatars to use if a person who comments does not have a custom avatar of their own.  I access this information on on my dashboard in Discussion under Settings.

Avatars are great for branding yourself for your online business and makes your comments more personal.  Feel free to comment about your experience with avatars!

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Start a Business Online

Confused?  Do you have information overload or not much information?  Don’t know where to start?

I’ve heard this over and over again from many new internet marketers.  In my first year online I almost gave up because I did not know what piece of the incomplete puzzle  to do next or it took way too long to do one small item.

You could start with a flow chart on a poster board like I did and try to piece it all together yourself.  The problem with that is it could take you a long time to figure out the pieces from different places on the internet.

I am almost finished with the step by step program from  Stephen Beck and I highly recommend this for anyone who wants to learn the basics of starting an internet business.   You can access his

FREE VIDEO, “Making Your First $1000 Online!”…

Your reputation is at stake when you recommend programs, so I only recommend valuable content.  Yes, there is affordable help out there to get your online business going because the price for this system is unbelievable.

Stephen Beck created this uncomplicated system for those new to  internet marketing.   I wish I would have known about this program in Feb. 2009 when I first went online.

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Blogging – Three Important Decisions

Blogging is a powerful tool for your online business. However, there are three important decisions to make when posting to a blog.

1. Is your blog going to have useful high quality information or just fluff?  It is common knowledge that most website visitors only stay a few seconds on a page to see if the information there is what they are looking for.

2. Keywords in your blog categories and blog content are important.   Find out what those words and phrases are that relate to your niche.  This is probably one of the most important decisions to make.

3. The decision to post or not post about your political and religious beliefs is something to think about.  Some bloggers try to weave in their aforementioned beliefs in their posts.  You have to consider the risks of readers never returning to your blog because of your beliefs, especially if you have an informational blog.

As you can see these are only three decisions to make when you blog, but there are many more. Ultimately are you blogging for yourself or the reader who visits your site?  Feel free to comment below.

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