Internet Lifestyle
Jul 21 by Marcus Hochstadt | Posted in Lifestyle
It was a long time ago when I was so excited to travel like I am today.
Right in this moment, we are in the airplane and just taking off, flying from our home in north-east Brazil to my ‘ol comfort homeland, Germany, spending some time there.
I really love both places, Brazil and Germany. Both have their qualities. And most importantly, both places offer Internet access. ;-)
What a wonderful world it is that we’re living in, isn’t it?
Go ahead and create your own Internet Lifestyle and enjoy life wherever you want.
—Marcus Hochstadt
Content Vs. Design
Jul 18 by Marcus Hochstadt | Posted in HTML, CSS, Design, Marketing, SEO
I will offer some opinions here, and you can take them or leave them. However, due to my experience (and actual tests run), I hope you will take what I have to say to heart! :-)
What is it that gets visitors to your Web site to stay there, browsing, looking and buying? Is it the design? Is it the layout? No, it’s the CONTENT. The written content keeps your visitors on your site and viewing your pages.
What causes your visitors to purchase from you? The content. They read, they read some more, they find good points that creates enough interest for them to purchase.
Let’s imagine you go to a Web site and the design is wonderful. Fancy, creative graphics. It really wows you. But the content is boring, or hard to understand, or it simply doesn’t capture your interest. Will you be encouraged to buy from them?
Another important question: Will you come back? It’s extremely doubtful. Maybe you’ll go back to get that wow effect from the design again, but not because of the content. Right?
On the other hand, if you go to a site that provides excellent content (like articles or informational text) you will likely bookmark that page. You will probably share that site with others.
Maybe this page with fantastic content has just a basic design, or an ugly default WordPress template. But you still bookmark and share it. You are likely to return for a visit. And this is because there is content that is more than interesting to read and that holds your attention.
Finding a template for a Web page should be a fast and painless process. Google doesn’t care about your design, they only care about the written content and the human behavior based on that content.
My opinion is that folks spend too much time on the design of their site, modifying the template, etc… way too much time. They miss the boat in this regard. What they should concentrate on is having great content that captures interest and encourages people to return.
High quality content goes a long way to getting your visitors to come and stay. You will attract many more visitors through the search engines. You will SELL your product because of that.
Obviously, the above wouldn’t necessarily apply to those selling templates or promoting design services… ;-)
And I can’t say I am completely innocent when it’s come to getting carried away sometimes with the design. But I am ridding myself of that compulsion step by step!
—Marcus Hochstadt
10 CommentsPermalink Tags: design, SEO
The 72-Hour Rule
Jul 14 by Marcus Hochstadt | Posted in Strategies
Do you make lists of things to do? If so, do you carry over to the next day(s) the things you didn’t accomplish the day(s) before? Most of us have things on our list that carry over… on and on and on it goes.
Ever heard of The 72-Hour Rule? I had heard of it a couple years ago from the German Money Coach Bodo Schäfer.
It implies that the longer you postpone something the less likely it is that you’ll actually do it. In other words, when you postpone something for longer than 72 hours, you usually found enough excuses to not do it. Really, it works that way. Sort of a rule of the universe or something… at least you will probably find that it has held true for you in the past.
Think about it. You’ve decided to do something… maybe replace that broken gate in the yard. You write it on a piece of paper and stick it with a magnet on the refrigerator where you can see it every day. And you do see it every day.
But do you get out there and replace the gate? No. In fact that little piece of paper stays there on the door to the fridge for 4 days. It becomes second nature to see the paper there… so second nature that you don’t even “see” it anymore, if you know what I mean.
It’s a bit funny, but I’ve found that the longer you wait to do the action, the longer it takes to actually get around to it. You’ll find you will create more and more excuses for not getting it done.
You might even eventually just take it off the list altogether, figuring the gate actually doesn’t look that bad at all really. ;-)
A friend of mine tells me that she would take all the things that she had been moving forward on her “to-do” list for days and days to a new list of “Things I May Get to Someday if I Think of It” list. Hey, no pressure!
A way to handle this trait of procrastination is to realize the motivation to act upon the idea or stimulation decreases after each hour that passes by. You then ask yourself, “I have to do it anyway, so let’s do it NOW and it’s done.”
I think Internet business matters should be at the top of this list, and you should get in the mindset that you really ARE going to get this thing done (or at least to get started), and no later than within the next 72 hours, no matter what. If you can’t get started right away, put the deadline on your calendar in three days time.
Remember that you may have to do some preparation to actually start on your activity by that date, but determine you are going to do it—for sure—in this 72-hour time frame. Again, the likelihood that you actually do it decreases after each hour as your brain finds more and more excuses and “good reasons” for postponement.
Longer projects can be divided up into steps and you can schedule that first step in 72 hours. Then once the first step is done, ensure you get the second step started in 72 hours, and so on.
You really can break the procrastination habit. It just takes a little planning, fortitude, discipline, and the courage to form the opposite habit. ;-)
—Marcus Hochstadt
7 CommentsPermalink Tags: habits, procrastination, self-motivation
Finding Your Profitable Market
Jul 10 by Marcus Hochstadt | Posted in Business, Marketing, Product Creation, Strategies
When in search for a product or service to sell online (or off, for that matter), you must take some steps to get the perfect market (or some call it niche) that will have a high desirability in today’s marketplace. The public must want it! :-)
Normally, you’d research the supply and demand of a market first, then locate the product that market is demanding specifically. But let’s take a look at starting with the product first.
So how do you find that perfect thing to sell in your Internet business endeavors? There are many workshops that offer advice and recommendations, but it’s really you that has to come up with an answer. It’s crucial to find something that will give you a good chance at success.
First, get a list of products or services that are potential items you would like to market. Each thing on your list should be something you have some knowledge about… Don’t try and sell ski boots when you have never been skiing or have even looked at a ski boot. Of course, if you absolutely LOVE ski boots, you can always learn all about them! :-)
That brings up the other point… and one brought up by almost every seminar ever given on the subject—find something you love! When you are going to be spending hours and hours of your days (and sometimes nights) setting up your Internet business, working on building traffic and getting things moving, and this for the next 3-5 years, you better enjoy what you are doing.
So… the items you put on your list should be products or services that reflect specific skills or aptitude you have, hobbies you are interested in, or things you know a lot about. You can add items that you have a high interest in learning, too. Just don’t make the runway for takeoff too long by needing to devote a lot of study to the subject first.
The idea is to leverage and improve your strengths, not your weaknesses.
Break down your list into three sections. First, list all the things you enjoy doing, such as baking, drawing, traveling, etc. Then list all the things you are good at doing… which could also overlap the first list. Now list your unique skills, perhaps playing the piano, computer programming or the like. And finally, list all the things that you have a lot of knowledge about.
Work out for each thing on your list what could be a product or service entailing the action involved with each one. This will at least give you some ideas—maybe really interesting and unique ideas at that!
Let’s say you came up with a product to sell such as fishing equipment. Some folks feel more comfortable to narrow the product/market down to something less competitive and more specific than “fishing equipment.” Perhaps you could just sell reels, lines or rods. Now you will need to find out if there is a market for this product. You instinctively know that there is, but research it anyway.
Find out how many out there will be your competition (or possible future partners). How much demand is there for the product? And is that demand high enough to sustain a business? Is it just too low, go back up a step or two until the demand number gets exciting. And ask yourself how you could create something unique—something that could be a Unique Selling Proposition that would make you stand out from the competitive crowd?
Turning your product or content rich Web site into a profitable Internet business venture is really doable if you are doing something you love, you are selling a product that is in high demand, and you stand out from the crowd in what you offer. You’ll have fun running your business every day, and will know how to handle customers’ questions effectively.
What an adventure!
—Marcus Hochstadt
3 CommentsPermalink Tags: internet business, market research, Product Creation
Competition Vs. Joint Venture
Jul 7 by Marcus Hochstadt | Posted in Marketing, Strategies
Here’s a new look at your future Internet business endeavors. Think in terms of “if you can’t beat them, join them.” Rather than compete with other similar Internet businesses, you can join them as partners, escalating your business more than you ever imagined. :-)
In other words, Internet business doesn’t have to be about being “better than the competition” but can be about doing some business together and therefore growing together.
As an Internet business owner, you are likely searching out ways to increase your reach within your market, breaking down barriers and rocketing your revenues. And of course, you want to do this in a short amount of time!
In recent years, so many Internet businesses have united to augment their survival odds. It becomes necessary, I suppose, with many small businesses failing (or quitting) within the first five years.
So you hear more and more through various means that work-at-home parents and entrepreneurs have been looking into the possibility of working together with those who were competitors, thus becoming more successful in their endeavors.
Yes, many marketplaces these days are highly competitive. Of that there is no doubt. But when you look long and hard, you can find ways of overcoming. That’s why I wanted to include this topic for you to read about Competition Versus Joint Venture. It’s something to consider in your Internet business.
Taking part in a joint venture is basically teaming up with others (one person, a group or a business entity) in order to expand your business influence and to create a powerful market presence. It’s important, if you are going to do this, to do it soon… because otherwise your competitors may beat you to it!
Formally speaking, in a joint venture, an entity is formed between two parties (or more) to take part in economic activity together. They both contribute equity and share in the expenses and in the control of the business. It can be for only one project or be a continuing relationship.
So much to the formal stuff… ;-)
In a joint venture, you won’t be transferring ownership in any way. It’s not a merger, just a sharing. So what do you share with a partner?
You can share markets, assets, or knowledge, and of course, you can share (higher) profits!
For example, a large company may decide to start a joint venture with a small company to get some intellectual property not available to them otherwise, or to obtain hard-to-come-by resources.
Or a small business person with a Web site and hundreds or thousands of visitors per day shares the traffic with another webmaster who is in the same market but with eventually a slightly different audience (not necessary though!). Both have excellent products or services and share their excitement by recommending each others products. As a result, each of their audiences get more of what they want and improve their lives, so it’s a true win-win-win situation.
The advantages are great! It’s possible to expand into foreign markets, lower production costs, increase sales, etc. Collaborating with others definitely has pluses.
Bottom line, rather than invest large amounts of resources to enter into new areas of the marketplace, you can join forces with others who have identical products or services. And you will possibly find yourself able to compete (together with your partner) against some of your larger competitors—or even joint venture with THEM later, too!
So, before talking about “that competitor” again, why not shift your mindset from Competition to Joint Venture?
—Marcus Hochstadt
Freebie Seekers
Jul 4 by Marcus Hochstadt | Posted in Business
Freebie seekers are those looking for free stuff. And who doesn’t like getting something for nothing? Everyone has tried at some time or another to enter those sites that offer free samples, free reports or e-books. Who hasn’t put their contact information into some form so they will be entered into a contest to win a free vacation?
Apparently, the term “FREE” sells. People who do marketing know this. They put this word in headers of their site, and in all their ads. This goes to show there are lots of people out there searching for free stuff. I mean, doesn’t it tickle your fancy when you see: “I have something for you that will increase your profits by 500%. And you don’t have to pay a dime! It’s free! Click here!”
But consider this… When freebie seekers come to your site, whether contractors, partners, students, etc. and are looking for something free—it’s rare they do anything profitable for you. Studies show, it’s a sad fact but true, you will find complaints increase. Why do they complain about something they got for free? Who knows, but it happens. Besides, they aren’t motivated to take action.
I feel that those who seek things (like tools, advice, reports, etc) that cost nothing are a different kind of people. They’re a different breed of cat than someone looking for something they need and who are happy to pay money for targeted information and great products or services. I can say that even though I, too, was a freebie seeker myself. :-) But no more! Here’s why…
There are countless Web sites where you can download a “Free Report” for only signing up by entering your e-mail address. You may think, “Oh, I’ll get some emails from them, but what the heck.” Then you find your inbox deluged with junk mail offering a wide variety of products, all of them claiming you requested them. What really happened is that they harvested your email address by offering this report or e-book or whatever, and then they turn around and sell your address to others. Or at least upsell you on their more expensive products or services.
Not only that - but think about it… what happens with that Free Report you downloaded last week or 2 years ago? It’s still sitting there on your computer, taking up hard drive space and unread, isn’t it? That’s the crux… because you didn’t have to pay something for the item, generally you won’t put the tips and strategies revealed in the report(s) to use. You won’t act upon them. It seems as though you don’t feel as if they are truly valuable.
I’m sure people take to heart those things they pay money for. If you pay $30 or $100 or even $1,000 for something, you will have a different mindset. You are much more likely to act upon the information you paid for. You will take the tips and strategies and put them to use.
This is not to say there aren’t some freebies that are completely genuine, filled with great information that you can implement in your business. But the real question is—will you put them to use? Or will you let them sit there with their interesting icons on your desktop?
—Marcus Hochstadt
Increase Ranking With Contextual Linking
Jun 30 by Marcus Hochstadt | Posted in SEO
Do you have a “link page” on your Web site? Well, think about changing. A better and more effective way to have quality links on your page is by using contextual linking.
What is contextual linking, you might ask? Well, the answer is simple… it’s adding links that are embedded in your existing content-rich pages.
Forget those pages where you’ve just added a whole bunch of links to various companies. Even dividing them into industries doesn’t help (unless your Web site happens to be a directory). There’s no CONTENT on these pages to make the search engines happy. And who is going to voluntarily visit your link page? Probably nobody; conduct a survey and you shall see… ;-)
A simple text link will normally consist of a few anchor words, with a link to that other Web site. They aren’t within actual content on the page. But a context link will exist within lots of text that is relevant.
The number of links within that text should not be overwhelming to the visitor. And it’s important to know that these contextual links are particularly high quality. Search engines will rate them as such because of the content of your pages, as well as rating the quality of the content of the pages that your link links to.
You can ask others to add your link into their pages by already having their link on your page, but you will find that if you are not indexed in the major search engines, they will refuse to reciprocate. Why? Because no one is going to find that link. Ensure you are indexed. How to find out?
Type in your Web site address into Google. Does your site come up? If so, you’re indexed.
Also, be sure that the site you are asking to contain your link comes up as being indexed. Place their Web site URL into Google as well. If they aren’t indexed, forget about them for now.
Having contextual links has become a viable way to drive traffic to your site. You’ll find targeted traffic will arrive, eager to see what you have available.
Remember: Relevant text is important. You don’t want to be selling services as an auto mechanic and have links to laser printer sales companies. But if you have links to businesses that sell auto parts or cars or tires… well, you see what I mean.
Here’s an example of how it could work. Let’s say you have a Web site where you’re writing about your travel experiences. Here’s a part of your possible content and a contextual link…
The last time I traveled to Europe I booked my ticket to Germany at TicketsFor99.com.
That “ticket to Germany at TicketsFor99.com” is an in-context text link, a link within and relevant to the content.
Doing contextual linking will set you up to get more quality traffic and thus more sales. Do it!
—Marcus Hochstadt
16 CommentsPermalink Tags: link building, SEO
72 Hour Special
Jun 27 by Marcus Hochstadt | Posted in Specials
International Market & Keyword Research
Discover Hot Markets And Spot Killer Keywords Of Any Country And In Any Language… 100% Guaranteed!
(<- Click on the image on the left to see the large version and to rotate the cover; opens in a new browser window.)
Starting an Internet business without proper research is like opening an offline store without investigating the market potential and its “monetizability” first. While we would not do this in the offline world, why do so many people start an Internet business without doing proper research first?
I know, it’s easy to register domain names. “One minute and the click of a couple buttons!” That’s what Webhosting companies state in their advertisements. But what about the necessary research before the registration of a domain name? They don’t care…
Do you know the market potential of your product ideas? Do you know which keywords visitors enter into the Search Engines and how many? Do you know what to write about so that Search Engines deliver visitors over and over again?
In case you ever researched markets and keywords, you certainly used one of the countless keyword tools available. Did you know that some of them do not deliver reliable results, or that most focus on the US market only? Why leave money on the table?
With the Home Study Course I’m releasing today—International Market & Keyword Research—you can finally discover hot markets and spot killer keywords of any country and in any language… 100% guaranteed!
Before I get ahead of myself though, here is what others say about this Home Study Course…
Marcus,
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to view these videos. The videos were extremely helpful to me.
Over the last year I’ve had “gurus” tell me about these tools, but apparently had no idea exactly how they worked and the extent of the information that I could get from them.
Simply put, these videos have taken all the guess work out of market research and have provided a very realistic and easy to understand approach to market research with keywords.
Instantly after watching them I started applying what I had learned and have in turn learned more about my niche in one day than I have learned in the past year.
Thank you for taking the time to thoroughly explain these tools in these easy to comprehend videos!
And I meant it all! :)
—Pat King, FitnessLifeClub.com
Marcus,
I went through your videos and really like them. You provided a lot of good information that even someone with very limited knowledge would be able to follow along. The sound and video quality was great and I enjoyed going through them all at once.
I am sure with some playing around it would be neat to target and geotarget certain keywords to be shown up on a blog or website.
—Josh Whitford, JoshWhitford.com
Hi Marcus,
I enjoyed your course very much.
I liked your in-depth look at free tools that people can leverage and assess online market potential as well as select relevant keywords.
Your introduction made a case for research, and I was lead to believe that the course would be for beginners. Once I got into the body of the course, I realized that it is also valuable for professionals.
I have experience, so I found your course very valuable, because it took me to places where I hadn’t gone before.
—Larry Brauner, Online-Social-Networking.com
Until noontime on Monday, June 30 (PDT/GMT -7), you can get the DVD International Market & Keyword Research for $35. After this special, the price will go up to $100.
Here is the link to order the Home Study Course DVD…
http://kunaki.com/sales.asp?PID=PX00RIHGCZ
—Marcus Hochstadt
Good Internet Business Practice
Jun 25 by Marcus Hochstadt | Posted in Business, Strategies
When running an Internet business, it’s important to maintain good business practices, just like when having an offline storefront establishment. The major difference in operating online is that you have a much larger market—and therefore potentially can do many times the business that you would be doing locally. All the more reason to keep your business practices up to snuff! :-)
An example of how you can go off the rails in your business practices is this…
Say you are communicating to customers via email. You should treat email as if it was a handwritten letter. Sign it! Otherwise how does the person receiving it know who you are? Then how do they address you when they write back? “Dear Ghost”? Or “Dear you-won’t-reveal-your-name”? Or “Dear you-want-me-to-visit-your-web-site-and-search-for-your-name?”
You won’t be using letterhead with email, so the best way to handle that is to have not only your signature at the bottom, but the name of your company and your contact information, too. Or perhaps a great, catchy headline making them want to click through to your Web site.
The same goes for greetings. Don’t just start messages with “I wanted to write to you about your last purchase…” Use their name in a proper greeting, “Dear John,” and give them some respect. In your offline business, you would never write a letter to a business associate and fail to use a greeting at the head of the letter, would you?
In a store or office, when a customer comes in with a question or complaint, it gets answered right away. You can’t turn away someone standing there in front of you. Even phone calls are answered and you deal with the person on the other end.
The same goes for an Internet business. The communication methods will often be different. They will usually email you or fill out an online form. These have to be handled rapidly.
When you don’t answer communications right away, you can lose a good customer. They wonder if you are really there at all, or if you are really serious about your business.
Perhaps you went out of business. They don’t know. It’s not like calling a company and hearing a voice on the other end stating the company name and giving you the option of speaking with a live person.
Truthful and accurate descriptions of your products or services are a must, too. If someone can walk into a physical store, they can inspect the merchandise for themselves.
They can’t see the actual item online, so you must be able to substantiate whatever claim you make as to its appearance, ability to do any function, etc. To advertise a product otherwise would be misleading and can result in less sales and countless refund requests.
Offline, when a store gets unsolicited referrals from a “competitor” it is likely that competitor becomes a partner in that you also refer customers to that store. Do the same online.
Does someone recommend and link to one of your products? Recommend and link back to one of his/hers, at least to his or her Web site!
Bottom line? Run your Internet business with all the care of one offline, and you will be respected for your good Internet business practices… and likely get more business through word of mouth!
—Marcus Hochstadt
SundayTV
Jun 22 by Marcus Hochstadt | Posted in Better-Than-TV
Imagine doctors tell you “you will never live independently again”. See what happened to Bill Cawley…
This tells me, again, to be aware of which messages we let into our life.
—Marcus Hochstadt
Travel Ghostwriters Needed
Jun 20 by Marcus Hochstadt | Posted in Announcements
I’m looking for one or two more excellent travel writers for one of my Web sites (a content rich travel site).
Do you love to travel? Have you been to different places, eventually to Europe? Do you love to write? Is English your first language? Do you have a broad vocabulary? Is your writing style captivating and exiting so it grabs the visitor’s (i.e., traveler’s) interests to an extend that s/he will browse the site to read more, more, more? Would you like to get paid for ghostwriting? (The common request is for short 300-350+ words articles plus headline & short description; usually $5-$7 per 300+ words article.)
Note: All content you provide should be original and publishable by me with no fear of infringing on someone’s copyright. Articles that are borrowed, copied, or roughly compiled from other sources will not be accepted. We will be checking for plagiarism.
If the above sounds appealing to you, send your info using the contact from at MyGermanCity.com. Give a sample travel article with your submission (in the message itself), and indicate your rate.
Payments via PayPal. You will receive the topics and can work at your own pace, but it is desired you write five or more articles per week.
Thank you!
—Marcus Hochstadt
Firefox 3 Is Ready!
Jun 19 by Marcus Hochstadt | Posted in HTML, CSS, Design, Pickups
I exclusively use the Firefox browser for more than three years now. It never ceases to amaze me. It’s fast, it’s reliable, it’s safe. And Firefox is predictable in terms of coding.
What I mean is when you know how to code (html, css, that sort of thing) and you do it correctly, the Firefox browser will display your code just the way you intended. Whereas when you deal with Internet Explorer’s and Safari’s idiosyncrasies, it can give you headaches as to why they behave to strangely.
Sorry, Safari enthusiasts, but how come a page displays and a video plays correctly in Firefox, IE, Mozilla, Opera and Netscape, but not so in Safari? I don’t get it…
Not only that though, Firefox is fast, too. In fact, it was faster than IE and now they made it even faster.
I downloaded Firefox 3 last night. Already after browsing a couple sites I discovered how fast it has become. Internet Explorer is now up to 20 times slower!
I know that 73% of my visitors are Firefox users. Therefore, I encourage you to download the newest version 3 from www.mozilla.com or the World Record page they’ve set up…
http://www.spreadfirefox.com/en-US/worldrecord
On that World Record page, you can see how many downloads where in which country.
What amazes (but not surprises) me is the numbers of Germany. Out of more than 8 Million downloads worldwide, there where almost (or, by now, probably more than) 1 Million downloads in Germany alone and more than 4 Million downloads in Europe, making Germany the #2 country and Europe the #1 continent in terms of downloads.
Anybody still concerned about the German and/or European Internet market? ;-)
—Marcus Hochstadt
6 CommentsPermalink Tags: ff, firefox, ie, internet explorer
The Importance Of Rapid Communication
Jun 17 by Marcus Hochstadt | Posted in Strategies
In any business, online or off, your communication with your customers and business associates alike is extremely important. Whether you have a Web site, a regular store front establishment or have a mail order company from your kitchen table, you have to maintain rapid communication with all concerned; clients, customers, partners, and others.
It isn’t just what you say that’s the crux of your communications, but the speed with which it is delivered. Of course, what you say is vital. You are, after all, imparting a message with what you are saying—a message that should travel over to the other person by whatever means, and be understood. But perhaps you have that down. It won’t matter what perfect message you are relaying; if it comes too late, it won’t make a big difference.
What I’m saying is that speed in delivering the communication is very important. It can actually make or break you as a business. Here’s an example…
A lady wants 10 small booklets printed. It’s a pretty simple job, with no huge design challenges. She walks into a printer’s shop and tells them what she wants and gives a couple options, wanting to get a price range. The printer takes down all the details, and then says she will email the quote by the day after tomorrow.
The lady is sort of stunned, since the job seemed pretty simple. But she thanks the shopkeeper and leaves. She drives down the street to another printing shop. She walks in and tells them what she wants and gives a couple options. The printer pokes at a calculator and gives her a quote.
Guess who gets the printing job?
Take complaints within a business for another example. A customer with a complaint, although sometimes hard to face for a businessperson, needs attention, and needs it fast. It’s the complaints that aren’t “communicated to” that escalate into legal suits and other things.
This world has become one of customers desiring instant gratification. With the speed of the Internet and the ease of phone calls, this continues to increase. The same goes for communication. People with questions of you expect rapid response. If you don’t respond at all… well, they think you don’t exist anymore and go somewhere else.
So, okay—you know that you must respond to communications fast. Good! But now, how to you prioritize these communications? Glad you asked… ;-)
You should treat any communication as a priority when it’s related to your business, but how do you break them down more thoroughly?
Prioritize communication handling this way as a suggestion:
- People appearing in person
- Telephone calls
- E-mail messages
- Letters
There’s nothing worse than being in the middle of a business transaction in person with someone and having the phone ring to interrupt. What’s worse is when you are the customer and the business owner stops, picks up the phone, and begins a whole new transaction. It would be just as simple for him to either put the person on hold, explaining that he was going to be a few minutes, or taking a number to call back.
E-mail messages can be answered within a few hours with no real problem, and letters can be replied to within 24 hours to three days and still be considered rapidly handled.
Fast communications are vital to today’s business practices. Get good at it. You’ll have more business—guaranteed!
Or as Joe Vitale famously says, “Money loves speed!”
—Marcus Hochstadt
Law Of Attraction In Action
Jun 13 by Marcus Hochstadt | Posted in Strategies
The term “Law of Attraction” is used a lot these days. And because I’m far from being an Law of Attraction expert, there are two sources I visit often and highly recommend, Abraham-Hicks and Gary Evans.
As far as I know, it’s based on the principal of “like attracts like.” Simply stated, if your emotions and beliefs are all positive, you will attract positive things. It precludes actually having to take action to attain these things. The idea is “they will come.”
It has been considered that you get what you feel in alignment with, and what you feel in alignment with determines what you will experience.
And yes, this can be applied to any area in your live, including the thriving Internet business you are building.
Let’s share a story with you…
A friend of mine had the Law of Attraction work for her—and she didn’t even know about it as a subject. That just goes to show that laws are laws. The law of gravity works whether we know about it as a law or not.
She had recently divorced and her children were grown and out on their own. She thought this was the perfect time to change everything in her life, move to a new city and start over. She could do all the things she had not had the chance to do before. She sat down for a couple of nights running and started making a list of the things she wanted.
She wanted a cheap place to live to start out. She wanted to get a job in which she could advance, and she even listed out certain things that she would like that she never had with her family. For instance, her family had hated chocolate (for whatever reason) and she loved it. She wanted to have Boston cream pie until she could stand it no more.
Once she arrived in the new city—with a friend putting her up until she could find a place to live—she almost immediately found the perfect place in the exact price range she pictured. (And it was commented by her friend that NOBODY found apartments that cheap in this area.) She got a job and was promoted in two weeks to an executive position. And when her birthday arrived, what did the office have for her celebration? You guessed it! Boston cream pie.
These were just a few of the things she had visualized. In fact, she had kept a little notebook where she wrote down all the things she had listed. A year later, she came upon the notebook while cleaning. Opening it to her list, she began highlighting all the things she now had that she had wanted back then. Every single one she had or had accomplished!
My friend had never heard of the Law of Attraction. Yet it worked for her. She knew what she wanted, listed it down, pictured what it would be like to have those things, and forgot about it… everything just happened from there.
If you have never seen the film entitled “The Secret,” you should see it. The way the Law of Attraction is defined presently is largely due to this film and its popularity.
Without getting into the history of the concept, suffice it to say it’s been around for a long, long time… like from the times of Babylon. :-)
The concept is simple. How you feel is shaping your future. If you have good thoughts, positive ideas and feel good, then that is how your future will be. The good things will come to you.
Following with the rule of like attracting like, you must therefore avoid negative feelings. If you are concentrating on the negative, negative things will come into your life.
For instance, if you are thinking how broke you are and how hard it is to get money, this will manifest for you. You’ll be broke and have a hard time getting money.
So how do you “practice” the Law of Attraction to change your life for the better? It’s only a few steps, and there are many details to each, but here is a summary.
- First you know what it is you want, and know it with conviction. You can list the things you want, like a shopping list.
- You ask “the universe” for it. The universe can be whatever you envision it is—God, some other higher power, a kind of energy source, whatever.
- You then focus upon the thing you want with an upbeat emotion like cheerfulness or enthusiasm or gratitude. You experience the emotions and feelings you have as if you already achieved or have what you want. You do this on a daily basis.
- You are open to receive it. If it doesn’t just appear, you might expect it to come in the form of some opportunity—and you should go with the flow if it feels right. Take advantage of the opportunity that will likely bring you what you want.
There isn’t any time frame. It will come about in its own time and space.
Do things that make you feel good, practice the Law of Attraction, and make your life better. Opportunities will unfold, and you can get what you want!
Keywords, Search Engines, And Your Content
Jun 11 by Marcus Hochstadt | Posted in SEO
When creating content for your Web site, you should be aware of some tips in regards to keyword placement that will make for happier Search Engine results. You want to have interesting content as well as keywords in the right places and in the right density. Here are some ideas for you to make optimizing your site much more effective.
How People Search
When someone wants to find something using a Search Engine, they usually use some sort of word combination. For instance, when looking for information about where to go in San Francisco, they may type in “san francisco sights” or “activities san francisco.” You would consider this to be a specific keyword since they do not use general info about San Francisco but info specifically about sights and/or activities in that area.
Another example: Someone wants to purchase a fax ribbon. They might type in the model fax they use and “fax ribbon.”
The first thing you want to do is consider how people would search for your service or product to come up with the specific keywords you want to use. The more specific the search term is (i.e., San Francisco as the specific word and Bay Bridge for the general term), and the more specific you present your page’s content, the more targeted your visitors are supposed to be.
Headline
Your headline, of course, has to pull the reader into the rest of the body copy. So it not only has to be exciting and stimulating, but it also is advantageous to contain your specific keyword. In addition, you can also include general keywords if they fit in nicely. If you entitle your article something completely different in trying to be creative, you may find that no one will be reading it, because Search Engines and humans may find it confusing.
Then you will take the picture your headline has painted and continue it into the main body of your content.
Placement of Keywords
Before we get into covering the body specifically, we should go over the placement of keywords (although I strongly recommend you to write the content first and then go to “editing mode”!)
You will need to put the specific keyword into the text just a tad more than “normal” writing. But you also don’t want to overuse the word. One trick is to use related words or synonyms with it. To use the above example here, you would not only have “San Francisco” appear by itself, but could mention “San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf” or “the sunset over the San Francisco Bay.” You can work out combinations to use with general keywords, as well.
The closer to the beginning that your specific keyword appears, the higher you will likely score in the search engines. Put the specific keyword in the first sentence of your first paragraph. If you can include it within the first 90 characters, all the better! But if that reads awkwardly, you can put it a little later in the text. It won’t be the end of the world. And be sure to include it in the last paragraph of your text.
Now put your specific keyword into the rest of the text in a pattern something like an hourglass. You will have the word appear more frequently at the top and bottom, but it should still appear in the middle—just less often. If you put it in too many times, you may show up in Search Engines as a “keyword spammer.” This will hurt your ratings.
Formatting and Style
Formatting is important. You don’t want content that will fail to interest the visitors. If too short, it won’t really catch their attention and cause them to read on, and if too long, they will lose interest and not keep reading either.
You want a correct length that will provide high quality information that is informative and exciting. A conversational tone is excellent to engage readers, keeping to maximum five lines per each paragraph and using active verbs. Sentences shouldn’t be too long.
Text Body
Now as you tell your story, you need to remember to start strongly. What you write in your headline and the first part of your content will most likely appear in some of the Search Engine listings. You want to compel the person to click on your listing when it shows up.
You are basically building your content around that specific keyword. In other words, each page of your Web site should focus on one specific keyword.
When you over deliver with superior content, the visitor will be more inclined to read down the whole page and get to the links that will mean income for you. The content should be answering the visitor’s question of “What is in it for me?” That would be the question they have when they arrive at your site.
And with correct keyword placement, the Search Engines will “understand” what your page is about, without “feeling” they are being manipulated.
Really, the engines and human visitors both want the same thing, excellent high-quality content. So the bottom line is to have proper keyword placement, and a smart use of related words, increasing your relevancy and getting your visitors to buy your service or product.
—Marcus Hochstadt
4 CommentsPermalink Tags: keyword placement, keywords, search engines
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