What Are YOUR Three Thoughts?

Just about every week, I give you 3 thoughts on a particular subject. Well, you know what? I’ve been depleted of thoughts! I know, it sounds crazy, but it’s true. I’m sure it’s just a temporary thing, but I’m hoping you’ll give me a little hand on this one.

And besides, listening to me all the time get…well…a little dull. I want to hear from you instead.

PLEASE POST YOUR 3 THOUGHTS on the 3 key activities for your online business.

Now, I don’t mean to give us your important business secrets, but what 3 general things do you do on a regular basis that are crucial to your success/productivity.

Can’t wait to hear!

Why Swiping Sales Copy is a Good Thing

When I first heard the term “swipe file” in regard to copywriting a few years back, I was horrified. If you’re not familiar with the term, it’s basically keeping a folder (printed or digital) of sales copy to refer to for your own copywriting.

Here are three thoughts on why keeping a swipe file is a GOOD thing:

I soon got over myself because I realized one of the best ways to dramatically improve your own copywriting, is to study the copywriting of others. Yes, getting a foundation in copywriting principles is important, but honing your skills comes from study and of course, practice. Studying shows you how people can create compelling stories, make copy flow and transition seamlessly and more.

Studying the copy of others increases your copywriting vocabulary. By studying copy, you start to see which words and phrases can be most powerful. Sure, you can buy lists of “power words” or “power phrases”, but seeing them in action really solidifies how it all works.

Just use your brain when you use your swipe file. Realize that every product and every target market is different. What works well with one, may not work well with others. Also, there is often some specific logic in using a particular angle, wording, etc. in copy - and you need to build your understandings of the WHY certain things are done in certain ways. Through basic and then in-depth study and practice, these things will become more obvious to you.

So…what’s in your swipe file?

Three Thoughts on Why All-Nighters Are NOT for Me

I’m always amazed when I hear other online marketers talk about how they’ve been up all night working tirelessly on a project or launch. Me? No way. Even if I was up against a deadline, I’d find a way to work around it creatively so I did the minimum work needed or I’d simply extend the deadline. I’ve never stayed up all night (except to party as a college student) and I’m not going to start now.

And outside of the fact that I’m a mama and my kids/family are way too demanding for me to pull it off, here are 3 thoughts on why I don’t do all-nighters:

Productivity goes down the tubes when you’re tired. Minds tend to wander, mistakes get made and less work gets done. I know that ultra-successful individuals like John Reese frequently pull all-nighters and not that I’m qualified to give him any business advice, I bet he’d fare better with a more regular sleep pattern. Plus, he doesn’t have kids jumping all over him for breakfast, help with art projects and more.

The next day is a write-off. After a sleepless night, the next day is a complete write-off. Either I’d be sleeping all day or feeling so jittery and sick, I couldn’t get anything done anyway. Why not get a good sleep and start fresh the next day?

A regular schedule is good for your mental and physical health. Even though we’re online entrepreneurs and one of the perks is a flexible schedule, maintaining some type of sleep/work/play routine is remarkably good for you. Personally, if I feel good…I get a lot more good stuff done.

Of course, that’s just me. You might prefer the all-night craziness. What say you?

Three Thoughts on Better Affiliate Promotional Tools

Sure, it’d be terrific if we could recruit a handful of Super Affiliates that would sign up for our programs, take action and send us a flood of sales. If you’ve been an affiliate manager for any amount of time, you’ll know that life doesn’t work like this.

Most people who sign up for an affiliate program may not have huge resources at their disposal and may not have a lot of marketing savvy, but reach highly targeted markets that could collectively bring in a lot of new customers. It’s your job to create the promotional tools they can easily use to tap into the resources they have.

This coming Sweetie Saturday, I’m going to offer a free download with “28 Affiliate Promotional Tool Ideas”, but for now, here are 3 thoughts on creating better affiliate promo tools:

Affiliates like things easy. Give them as much copy-and-paste stuff as possible. Yes, they’ll often get better results by modifying the materials to suit their audience, but give them a starting point.

Ask your affiliates what they want. Keep the dialogue open between you and your affiliates. Be sure to ask them regularly what they need to promote your products and be willing to offer customized solutions.

Test your materials. Track the results of your various promotional materials and tweak and improve as you go along. The better the results, the more likely affiliates are to continue to promote for you.

Just a few things to consider for now. Feel free to share your own ideas and questions…and I’ll be back soon with those promised 28 ideas.

Making Fast Work of Blogging

A little while back, I was feverishly working on scheduling my blog posts so I’d have plenty of content before the birth of baby #3. I had managed to schedule 20 posts in about 2 1/2 hours and some of my Twitter friends were dumbfounded. They said 1 blog post could take them up to that much time - how could I do 20?

If you’re interested in making fast work of blogging, here are my 3 thoughts on getting more (GOOD) posts done in a short time:

Plan your topics and make notes ahead of time. I regularly get my notebook out (no, not my laptop…an actual paper notebook) and write down my ideas ahead of time. I keep the notebook with me at all times and I plan posts a few weeks (or in my recent case, a couple months) in advance.

If you prefer to use your PDA, go for it, but I do recommend getting away from the distractions of the computer to start your brainstorming. If you need to do research, that’s fine…but do your final planning away from that computer.

Novels are not required. There is no length requirement for blog posts. In fact, some of my shortest ones ar the most popular with my readers (ex. the whole Tough Question Tuesday category). Sure, sometimes you have a lot to say on a subject, but overall - keep it short, sweet and to the point. Your readers will likely appreciate and you don’t have to be chained to your computer for just 1 blog post.

Use the scheduling feature of your blog. You probably do use your scheduling to some degree, but really take advantage of it. If you plan a few weeks in advance and realized you don’t need novels, you can load up your blog with plenty of fresh content to roll out over the next few weeks. Just doing everything in chunks (a bunch of planning and then a bunch of writing), makes it a whole lot easier.

Time to write this post: 8 minutes.

Three Thoughts on Why You Don’t Have to Do All the Writing for Your Business

This topic is nothing new to the Sweetie blog and it’s no secret that together with my business partner, Annette Elton, I run a content writing business that stands to profit if I convince you that it’s okay not to do all your own writing.

But there’s a reason we gathered some great writers to offer our services to online marketers - it’s because we KNOW and UNDERSTAND the power of content creation. And we also know there just aren’t enough hours in a day to get it all done yourself.

And regardless, NOT writing all your own content doesn’t mean that you have to hire someone to do it. There are different options for having others write for you that don’t require a ghostwriter. You can work on co-projects with other business owners, offer guest writing opportunities and more.

But let’s get back to the subject of this post and WHY you don’t have to do all the writing:

In most cases, you are a business, not an individual. Even if your own persona is important, there is always room for other voices. Ghostwritten, paid contributors or volunteers…allowing others to express a unique voice can be valuable.

The more content you have, the wider your reach - but you don’t have endless amounts of time. You can work yourself half to death trying to find ideas and typing away, but then other aspects of your business get neglected. Letting others do the hard work frees up your time to focus on the big picture of your business.

You still have the last word. Just because someone else writes it, doesn’t mean you need to accept things as is. It doesn’t matter if you have guest contributions or ghostwriters writing for you, reserve and use the right to edit content as you see fit.

Of course, you can continue to be a control freak and limit what you can do with your business. The choice is entirely up to you.

Information Products: Adding An Income Stream to Any Online Business

If you’ve been online any amount of time (whether as a seller or a consumer), you’ll know that information is in demand.

Yes, a lot of information is free…but every day people shell out hard-earned cash to buy information. Whether it’s for the convenience, the reputation of the creator or the handy tools and guidance that come with the information - it’s absolutely no secret that information is BIG business.

Some online business owners base their businesses on information products only, some just dabble in it and others think that information products just wouldn’t work with their business. For those who think it won’t work, I challenge you to think out of the box. There is ALWAYS something your market needs to learn, to do better or wants help with…and when you educate your market, they are more likely to consume your products or the products you recommend.

Information Products don’t have to be for sale, but they should have value. Even if you don’t sell your information product, make it valuable to your readers. You can do this by offering information in different formats (PDF, audio, video, etc) and having your readers have to sign up to access your product. Even taking the time to have covers and graphics designed for your products can boost the perceived value for your readers. If they value your information, they are more likely to consume and take action on what you recommend.

Information products help you and your business establish expertise and trustworthiness. If you’re a seller of consumer goods, putting out quality and useful information can elevate your status in the market. It shows you know your stuff and go the extra mile to give your readers the guidance they need and not just a continuous sales pitch.

Information products help sell your other products. By teaching people how to do something or improve their skills, you naturally open the door to recommend the tools to complete the various tasks/steps. This is the perfect time to introduce your own products (or products through an affiliate link).

It really doesn’t matter what you sell, you can reach new prospects and deepen a connection to existing ones through well-presented, quality information. What does your target market want to learn?

Three Thoughts on Regular Research for Your Online Business

Recently I asked if you regularly spend time on online research for your business. If you’re looking for ideas on what to research and how it can benefit you…well here are 3 right here:

Find out what products are popular and see where you might step in and sell those products or do something even better. For information products, you can search ClickBank by category and see which items are popular. For consumer products, you can go to Amazon, click on a category and look at “Most Popular” on the left menu. You can also search popular content sites, blogs, etc. and see which products they’re promoting.

Find new partners for your business. Whether it’s to find new affiliates, people to interview, a site to publish your content or someone to work on a co-project, you can always keep your eyes peeled.

Obviously, you can conduct research for relevant keywords on your favorite search engine. You can also find out who is already partnering with some of your competition by using the “link:http://website..com” search string at Yahoo. Keeping tabs on websites either by signing up for their mailing list or RSS feed (use the free Sweetie Reader here) can also keep you on top of what’s going on in your market.

Find content ideas based on topics that you know are already in demand. Try WordTracker for keyword research, article directories that show popularity of articles, social bookmarking sites like Digg, popular posts on forums, etc. No sense in guessing what people want to read/listen/watch.

(Once again, if you didn’t already know, we do Internet-based research at AllCustomContent.com…so if you don’t feel like you have the time or discipline, we’re here for you.)

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