lifestrategy360.com

Outsourcing Advantages Make A Difference

Natalie Critchley — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 03:14:30 +0000

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMtlb6mKeEI[/youtube]

The old saying time is money is so true! Your time is valuable. How much are you worth per hour? Really think about it. You are the CEO of your company. If you have administrative tasks that could take many hours per week, is pushing paper cost effective? Would you be better served hiring a virtual assistant to do the non-revenue producing tasks? My guess is yes. You should focus on what you do best. For many of us, our time is best spent generating sales, sales, sales!

Outsourcing advantages include focusing on the big picture, that is, strategic planning rather than getting lost in the weeds. Home based and small business owners usually work alone or with a partner, thus resources are scarce. Starting a business can be overwhelming especially if you are building your business part-time. Be smart. Share duties with your business partner or consider delegating tasks to others to utilize outsourcing advantages that can make a difference. Outsourcing ritual assistant partners can be find here in the US or overseas. Popular countries such as the Phillipines and India offer many outsourcing opportunities. My suggestion would be that regardless of the company you chose for your outsourcing needs, carefully interview the person or persons you plan to hire. Require work history, portfolios, feedback ratings, and test scores from your candidates. Using offshore companies will provide some financial relief as outsourcing overseas is less expensive than here in the US. One of our favorites is “oDesk.” You can hire one or more people for a single job , full-time or part-time projects. This firm, “oDesk” makes it easy to track work and pay employees. Don’t settle for managing your business alone. Build a team using outsourcing advantages.

Happy Holidays!

Natalie Critchley — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 02:03:17 +0000

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkGAUCUm7Kw[/youtube]

Merry Christmas!!!!

Keyword Research And Your Blog

Natalie Critchley — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 15:11:48 +0000

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sn0Ek9LJ31w[/youtube]

How important is keyword research and your blog? Very, very important! Its all about Search Engine Optimization. Here’s why. People search the internet 24/7 looking for something. Think about it. When was the last time you picked up the yellow pages or phone book to call a phone number or find an address? I can’t remember the last time I flipped through the pages of a phone book. So if the majority of the population is searching online for something, then you want to be found online. The key is visibility. You want your name, business, or product seen by everyone 24/7. If you do keyword research correctly, you will be seen by the people looking for you.

They are a few great keyword research tools you can you use. We use Market Samuri. The program is awesome. With a few clicks of the mouse you will have all the information you need about the keyword you are targeting. Once the research is done and you are satisfied with your results, you can starting writing your blog. Some people blog for fun, but as a business owner your goal should be to write with purpose. What do you want your readers to learn about you and your business in this post? Start with that keyword. Craft your message around the keyword and starting writing. Don’t forget to include your keyword in the your title. We search the internet using keywords so you must remember to include that information in the title.

In addition to just a keyword, you could also target long tail keywords. Long tail means its a phrase that is three or more words in length. Bloggers can use either single keywords or long tail keywords in messages to their followers. Shorter keywords are more targeted and have stiffer competition. Long tail keywords might be an easier win. The goal is to win! Do your keyword reach and your blog will be seen by those looking for what you have to offer. What keyword research tool do you like and why?

Is Blogging A Scam?

Natalie Critchley — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 22:31:44 +0000

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qwd0e7r6E-I[/youtube]

I laughed when someone asked me the question. I said, ”are you kidding, is blogging a scam?” Why would the words blogging and scam be in the same sentence? The word scam implies deception. Good bloggers share valuable information by journaling online. They provide information believed to be important, relevant, and/or entertaining. The strategic use of key words within the blog drives traffic to the bloggers site. The internet is a vast, sometimes entertaining, and often informative space in which a wide variety of things are placed. Lets look at YouTube. YouTube has created an ideal platform for blogging using video instead of the written word. For people who don’t like to write and wouldn’t blog otherwise, getting in front of a camera might be easier and more personal. Its amazing what people are willing to put out there for the world to see!

Bloggers come in all shapes and sizes from small business owners trying to be seen in their local markets and large to giant corporations seeking to improve their competitive position. Non-profits use grass root campaigns to stay in touch with their followers and supporters. Political parties use blogging to interact with the communities they represent and groups they are trying to convert. Now many entrepreneurs use blogging to generate traffic to their sites while working from home. Although there may be a few deceptive bloggers using blogging as a scam, the vast majority are legitimate business people or persons passionate about specific areas of interest. They are just people trying to connect with other people.

I love to blog because it allows me to communicate and open up my world to you! It is a source of great happiness. It enables people from all over the world to find Lifestrategy360 and learn about us. In turn, we get to read your comments and learn about you. Do you think blogging is a scam? Let me know what you think.

Success Is A Choice When You Play To Win

Natalie Critchley — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 21:29:43 +0000

I love to travel. I’m one of those crazy people who actually loves to be in airports. The people watching, the hustle and bustle puts a smile on my face. I recently took a trip that put me in the same state, same city, same restaurant as a sports hero of mine. The highlight of the trip was having a picture taken with tennis champion Martina Navratilova. Back in the 80′s I watched her transform from an average player to a powerful competitor. I believe success is a choice. Her record of 1442-219 stands as one of the all time best. There are too many accomplishments to mention in this blog. Martina overcame so much coming to the US in 1975. Her courage and determination were put to the real test this year as she was diagnosed with breast cancer. The lefty, took cancer head on just like she battled her opponents on the tennis court.

I wasn’t at all surprised when I heard she was cancer FREE and feeling pretty good. I can tell you first hand she looked great and at 54 still has biceps most men and women would die for! Look what Martina has overcome to be successful on and off the court. Do you have the courage to step outside of your comfort zone and work harder than you’ve ever worked before? Are you willing to do whatever it takes to be a champion in Network Marketing, Internet Marketing, or any field you wish to build a business? Sports and business are alike in so many way. Success is a choice. Its all about planning, strategy, practice, and above all teamwork. As a former collegiate athlete I totally get it. I love the thrill of victory and I hate the agony of defeat. The reality is someone will win and someone will lose. At the end of the day if you gave it your best effort, your a winner regardless of the score.

Think like a champion, be a champion. Success is a choice. Share your success with us!

Lead Your Team With The Key Factors To Success

Natalie Critchley — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 03:42:55 +0000

Over the weekend, I had the good fortune of visiting George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate. It serves as a lasting reminder of Washington’s great leadership as the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army and subsequently first President of the U.S.

If you are thinking of launching your own business as an entrepreneur, it is important to note his key factors for success: 1) the self-confidence required to select outstanding and intelligent subordinates; 2) the ability to encourage input from others with a free exchange of ideas; 3) superb time management and organizational skills; 4) the ability to secure and maintain a unity of purpose in adverse circumstances; 5) strength of character; 6) an appropriate level of modesty and lack of power obsession; and 7) an extraordinary level of determination and leadership skills.

While not everyone is expected to achieve the same heights as the “father of our country,” certainly Washington’s key factors to success are worth studying. What impresses me the most about Washington was his lack of desire for absolute power, preferring to be called into service by his peers and citizens of the new nation. Further, he recognized early on that teamwork is a key factor to success. After all, what is a General without an Army? Think about your business. Without your leadership, how far can your business grow in 2011 and beyond?

Fortunately for all of us in the U.S. Washington was an inspiring and charismatic leader that led a nation during its most formative years and is considered by historians to be one of our greatest leaders. Build a team that inspires you to be a great leader everyday. Do you have the key factors for success built into your business?

Learn How To Make A Fan Page On Facebook

Sandy Sinden — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 16:26:19 +0000

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgsFBBFrvM4[/youtube]

Learn with Nathan Latka how to make a fan page on facebook. Nathan’s new tool Lujure has made it so easy to set up your customized fan page. It is literally a drag and drop application that will take you minutes to have a professional fan page up and running. You can now make a fan page on facebook without having to hire a developer and spend hundreds of dollars to do it.

In this video he will tell you how to make a fan page on facebook and more. It’s really critical if you have a business that you create a fan page and do not use your personal page for business. Fan Pages have much more capability that are geared for businesses. They allow you to add extra tabs for your business and unlimited fans. I always get asked from folks how to make a fan page on facebook. Now I can say it’s easy as pie just get Lujure and drag and drop your customized page.

Listen to the video and you’ll hear just how easy it will be for you. Share with us your fan page or your favorite fan pages. Good luck and we look forward to seeing your work.

Lujure Founder Nathan Latka Speaks Out About Fan Pages

Sandy Sinden — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 18:30:16 +0000

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EClNgKq4FI[/youtube]

Lujure Founder Nathan Latka speaks out about the importance of having a Fan Page rather than a personal Facebook page for your business. Nathan has launched the long awaited Lujure on December 4th and has already seen phenomenal excitement. He is one or our social media partners and we were able to get an”exclusive” interview with him on the importance of having a Fan Page for your business. Is your Fan page not what you want it to be because of not knowing code or wanting to spend thousands to have it done for you. Lujure has taken the challenges of knowing how to code out of building your custom fan pages.

Your marketing strategy for 2011 should absolutely include a hot new Lujure Fan Page. You should not be depending on your personal page to market or brand your business. Personal is for just that personal…family, friends, social engagements etc. Your Fan Page is another story. Nathan Latka talks about it in this video. A Fan Page allows you to customize it with video, opt-ins, shop, invites and so much more. Lujure has built in easy to use widgets so that all your doing is dragging and drop what you want for your page. You can create as many tabs or pages as you want.

Check out our Lujure link to learn more about Lujure and Nathan. Please share with us your fan pages when you build them with Lujure. Would love to highlight them.

Targeted Lead Generation Is Key To Your Business Success.

Sandy Sinden — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 01:24:10 +0000

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNnNljV32mk[/youtube]

The one thing Natalie and I have learned is how important it is to have a targeted lead generation campaign running for your business at all times. In any business your only has strong as your list of prospects and clients. It’s important that you always have a sales funnel full of opportunity. This is probably one of the hardest parts of growing your business. Where do I get the next lead or prospect? Do I buy leads? Do I advertise? All of these methods can work to drive leads into your sales funnel.

It’s critical that you create a targeted lead generation campaign versus just buying any type of lead. It can become very expensive if your leads are not qualified. The more targeted your are with your marketing the better your ROI. Natalie and I have found a new lead generation software that does an amazing job. Your able to target exactly the leads that you want. This way your conversion rates are much higher.

Check out our video to get the details. You can also click here to learn more about the program.

Blogging For Money, Does It Work?

Sandy Sinden — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 20:47:36 +0000

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7H6w2BSonn4[/youtube]

Blogging for money, does it work? It absolutely does work. There are many people out on the internet right now making a very profitable living from their blog. But I would caution that when you decide to start an online blog you focus it on something that you’re passionate. It is much easier to write a blog and for it to be good relevant content if you have a passion.

The other thing you want to make sure before you begin your blog is there is a need/want for your content. This requires doing some keyword research before you begin your blog. Once you’ve done this ground work than your ready to go.

Here is a Blogging Guide to show you top 5 ways to begin blogging for money:Step 1: Focus your blog on your passion

Blogs that make money are blogs with a specific niche/market and a solid PageRank within google. Be passionate about your subject and generate as much traffic as you can. If you’re excited and obsessed, others will be as well.

Advice: Don’t expect to get rich instantly from your online blogging. It does take time. Some of the more popular blogs report making more than $30,000 dollars a month in earnings—but they’ve got the traffic to sustain it already, don’t quit your day job anytime soon.

Step 3: Create Ad Banner space on your blog

You can create ad space on your blog to sell Ad’s. The key is to create good traffic and then you will have companies wanting to buy Ad’s on your site.

Advice: The upside is that you’re in control; the downside is if you set the prices too high or are too picky about advertisers, you won’t make any money. This can also be a bad user experience if you put too many Ad’s on your site so make sure you balance it.

Step 3 Sell Google advertising

Selling advertising is one of the top moneymaking methods with a blog. AdSense is a service from Google; it will place relevant ads from advertisers on your blog. If your reader clicks on the link, you get paid. Exactly how much depends on your traffic.

Advice: The upside to this method is that it’s very easy; the downside is that you don’t choose who advertises or what you get paid. An adsense blog can be a bad user experience too. If your blog is about Fitness and a toe fungus Ad shows up probably not the most relevant content.

Step 4: Sell affiliate programs

Partner with affiliates that you believe in their products. Offer these products to your users and you have another stream of revenue. But tell your users why you like these products and how you used them to grow your own business.

Advice: Affiliate programs are a great way for newer blogs to make money, since it won’t be so crucial to have thousands of clicks before you see a check.

Step 5: Sell a product

Create your own product and sell it. Your product needs to be relevant to your site and add extreme value to your user.

Advice: Always give away a lot of stuff too. And when I say stuff I don’t mean junk, give them good solid content and value.