How Many Children Can We Feed?

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In the May/June issue of Networking Times, Phil Mims, president of Nussentials was featured for his efforts to give something back to those less fortunate.

This should come as no shock to those of us in Nussentials who know his heart and his mission to “Feed The Kids”, but it’s great to have your president, a man you admire and respect, recognized for all that he does, and helps us do.

Way to go Phil!

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Phil Mims: Beyond Business as Usual
By Marian Head

Phil learned early on that to have the things he wanted in life, he had to be his own boss. He liked the idea of network marketing and became extremely successful at it. But the economy changed and his company went out of business.

Phil knew that if he ever operated a large organization again, he would make sure it would give back in a bigger way than anyone had ever dreamed of before. Today he is president of a new company that meets his two objectives: rewarding the field distributor and founding a charitable giving program. He is realizing his dream of making a significant impact on the world—and helping others do the same.

Read the Rest…

To learn more about Nussentials and the great business opportunity it presents with it’s Network Marketing model, dedicated team members and a president that has made it his missions to “Feed The Kids“, please visit http://www.Nussentials.com

Knowing that not everyone has time to make the Wednesday night “Personal Branding and Marketing Online” calls, I decided to record them and make them available online. This way, you can listen to them on your schedule.

Since I setup all the audio stuff for that new page, I will also add special recordings as well. These aren’t “calls” but rather me just grabbing the mic to talk about something to help you with your personal branding.

So, check out “Podcasts” in the top navigation bar and give a listen. You can also download them and put them on your MP3 player so you can listen to them as you are driving to work or sitting on the freeway in bumper to bumper traffic.

Let me know if you need anything special, and I will try to work it into the schedule.

Right!

I started a new case study over on my other blog which I think will help you get traffic, gain a Google Page Rank (PR) and improve your Alexa ranking.

Head on over to Behind The Curtain and follow along with this 30 day case study to achieving Google Page Rank. I welcome your comments, feedback and suggestions.

Okay, you have a hosting account, you bought a really cool domain name and now it’s time to put up a capture page and start building your list. What’s first?

This article will cover some capture page basics. It’s not meant to be the be-all-end-all reference, but should be enough to get you started. Please note that like ANYTHING you do online, you need to test and track how it works. Only if you are testing and tracking your results will you know if it is working, and what needs improvement.

First, let’s discuss the “elements” that make up a successful capture page. While there are some exceptions to these rules, for the most part, a good capture page contains all of these elements.

The Pre-Head

This is the smallish text at the very top of the capture page. It is used to help identify your target market. For example, if you are promoting a weight loss product, a sample pre-head might be “Have you tried everything and nothing works?” or “Looking for an easy way to lose weight while you sleep”?

The pre-head is often called the pre-qualifier. If someone lands on your web page who ISN’T looking for a weight loss product, the pre-head quickly “qualifies” them, or rather UN qualifies them. They can move on in other words.

The Headline

Also called the “Ad” for your page, this should show them in easy to understand language the exact benefit they can expect if they continue reading and purchase your product or download your ebook/whitepaper — whatever your offer is.

Please note I said benefit, not feature. They didn’t surf to your page to find out about features, they are surfing because they have a “pain”, a problem they want to solve. They aren’t looking to spend $40 a month, they are looking for a solution. They will pay $40 a month to get that, but you have to sell them on the benefit of your product first.

I think it was Perry Marshall who said it best. (I am paraphrasing here…)

People searching for a drill, aren’t really looking for a drill, they are looking for a way to make a hole. The drill doesn’t matter, it’s the hole they care about. So, don’t advertise the horse power, amps and length of the cord, show them exactly how it will make the hole they want in less time with less effort.

The headline is the short answer to that. If the headline grabs them, and shows them a possible solution to their problem might be found if they would only continue reading, then they will.

The Sub-Head

A continuation of the Headline, the Sub-head allows you to add detail, ask a question, suggest an answer or just expand on what the headline is saying. This one is optional, but works well if the message supports the headline.

The Body

The body is where the benefits are listed (usually in “bullet” form), the call to action is located and a story is told. I say a story, because if you engage them in a story then they are more likely to get emotionally involved in the outcome. A story also “slips past” the automatic defense most people have when surfing the web… I call this the “Ad Blindness Defense”. If the story is good, and the reader can related to it, then you move from a “salesman” to an “advisor” in short order.

The body should ALSO contain bullet points. These are the short, easy to understand benefits they can expect if they buy your product/service or download your free ebook. These should also be benefits, not features. Remember, a feature is something that excites you as a business owner but does nothing for the reader.

Let me give you an example.

Let’s say your company is 12 years old and debt free. These are “features”. Why should the surfer care? He won’t, unless you can show him the benefit that a 12 year old company offers him, such as being there for years more to come so he can continue to get said wonder-product.

The Opt-In Box

Clearly, the most important element on a capture page. This element should be “above the fold” and clearly visible. By Above the Fold, I mean in the first 700 to 800 “pixels” of the web page. You don’t want the surfer to have to scroll to see this element, ever.

The Opt-In box should recap the reason for them to provide their name and email address. This should be a compelling reason. Privacy is a major concern for everyone these days and our “inboxes” are stuffed full daily by spam, offers and junk. No one wants more junk, including your reader.

So, the “offer” should be compelling. A reason for them to give up their name and email address.

I have read many “guru’s” on the subject of the “voice” to use on the opt-in box, and I think that most agree that while the web page itself is written in your voice, the opt-in box should be written in the readers voice.

In other words, something like “Yes Cenay, please send me this free report on how I can protect myself from the danger side effect of drugs used to treat my arthritis pain. Here’s my name and email address, please send that right away”.

The idea here is that the opt-in box is a way for your reader to acknowledge the benefits, “buy into” you sending him info and saying that he trusts you enough to handle that simple task.

The Submit Button

The last element we are going to talk about today is the submit button. This is the button they click to say “Let’s Go”. Again, this should be in the “voice” of the reader, not yours. For example, it should say something like “Send My Free Report Now”, or “Give Me Instant Access!”.

Most web surfers recognize a web button on sight, so don’t make it look exceptionally different, you don’t want them to miss it. The only thing you should be changing in the text.

Remember, you have to provide a compelling reason for each step of your reader going through your capture page. In the event of a long capture page (you shouldn’t but if you do…) be sure to use “sub-headlines” throughout your text. Most readers will quickly scan these large font “subheads” to see if the information warrants their time. They will scan first, and if you convince them, then read the content.

One last thing. Don’t expect them to read every word. It’s a rare web surfer that has that much time and it’s a rare capture page that is that well written. Put the important elements into bolded or headlined areas for the “scanners”.

You have probably heard your upline say this to you if you have been in network marketing for more than a month. There are several variations, but the basic statement is “Keep the main thing, the main thing”.

What they fail to mention is that the *Main Thing* is different for everyone.

Since the *Main Thing* is working for them, they assume it will work for you. It’s what they teach, it’s what they preach and it’s what they ask you to do 100 times a day. But what if your *Main Thing* is focusing on product customers (as opposed to sponsoring new teammates)? Will their *Main Thing* work for you?

Or what if you are focused on one specific type of product customer, say … Arthritis Sufferers. Are the techniques they are asking you to use going to work for that *market*? Probably not.

So, while you should keep the *Main Thing*, the *Main Thing*, yours might be different. And that’s okay.

So, “Keep the Main Thing, the Main Thing, and make it your Main Thing”

Success is a direct product of focused action towards a specific goal. That “focused action” is your *Main Thing*. It’s something you should be doing daily. It’s something you should be improving upon, refining, and expanding.

And it should be uniquely yours.

Find what works for you and stick with it. And for heaven’s sake, don’t force your new team mates to use your *Main Thing*. Let them develop their own. Your job is merely to point them in the right direction and give them the tools to accomplish what they want to.

You can’t force a square peg in a round hole, so don’t even try.

Recently received this question from a loyal reader named Jim F. (Okay, gotta protect his privacy unless he says differently), about a conversation we had recently regarding “Article Marketing” and improving your SEO rankings and traffic to your website.

Decided to start a new category on the blog to handle those questions I get asked a lot so everyone can see the “answer”. If you have a question yourself, drop me an email and let’s feature you in the category. (Please let me know if using your name is acceptable)

Jim writes:

Do you use an article placement program or do you just manually place the articles on each site?

Just wondering. So much stuff out there.

Thanks

Jim

Thanks for the question Jim.

Here’s what I do. I currently use two important tools in my article marketing efforts.

Article Submitter is a tool that allows me to put all my articles into one local repository, and upload to multiple directories with a few clicks of the mouse. As anyone who reads my blog knows, I am all about “easy” when it comes to repetitive tasks. To see the demonstration video, get more info or to download your free copy, follow this link: Article Submitter.

Before I found Article Submitter, I had created a template in Word that contained all the “fields” the article directory was likely to ask during my manual submission. Article URL, email address, bio info, etc. When I got ready to publish a new article, I browsed to their location, logged in, and manually copied and pasted from my Word document into each of the form fields the directory had. A few times doing this, and I got where I could submit a new article pretty quickly, but man was it boring!

Once I got Article Submitter, the whole process got a lot easier.

I “insert” a new article into Article Submitter and save it. Then I just double click on each of the directories in their extensive list of online article directories, click a couple of times to submit my login info (the program fills it in, I just have to click “submit”) and I am done. Double click on the next one in the list. Fast, easy, painless.

There are something like 700+ directories out there today — with each having a different reach, market and readership. Plan to spend a little time finding and setting up your accounts on each directory (with Article Submitter you just have to setup account with the listed directories, they have already found them all for you) and determining which directories are targeting your market before you go off “half-cocked”. Jot them down somewhere safe, along with login info for each one you sign up with (or just record them one time in Article Submitter so it can log you in every time you are ready to submit a new article).

I mentioned I used two tools for my article marketing… the second is a research tool that helps me investigate additional topics within my keyword group.

It’s called Instant Article Wizard and this cool piece of software makes creating articles a LOT easier than it was before. Give it a keyword to focus on, and it goes out and finds 200 references to it. Click and drag a few sentences into the “preview” area, change to another keyword and repeat. It takes about 17 seconds to gather all the research I need to support my articles. I can’t work that fast and I type 120 words per minute on a good day. While this one isn’t free, if you are having trouble writing or researching articles, it can really make the difference in success or failure. You can see it in action in the video located on the page this link leads to: Instant Article Wizard

So, Jim. I hoped this answered your question. If not, drop me another note and I will try harder.

Keep those questions coming in, they are keeping me on my toes!

When you decided to start your own business, whether it’s a brick and mortar shop, a consulting service from your home office, or direct sales using the Internet and a phone, you probably spent some time reading and watching other successful businesses in your chosen area. At least you should have.

The Tools Our Parents Never Had

One of the most important tools in 2008 for the successful work at home entrepreneur is the Internet, both in terms of training and research. You do need to employ a little discretion though. There are literally thousands of sites that are promoting hyped up promises requiring little to no effort on your part. (Yeah right)

There are some gold nuggets out there too.

The skills necessary to succeed in business are definitely available today in a way that wasn’t possible for our parents, thanks to the Internet, teleseminar’s, webinars and global tele-conferencing.

There are a couple of important things you need to do first though. In fact, skip one of them at your own peril.

Did You Miss This Important Step?

What is the one thing that you must do first? Decide. Make a plan. Know what results you are expecting. Build the foundation upon which your successful business will stand. In other words, stop the multi-tasking long enough to take a serious look at what you want to do. Write it down. Define it. Quantify it. See it.

And no, “saying” you want to make a million dollars this year, isn’t a plan. That’s a dream.

It’s a plan when you know exactly how many people you have to “sign up” or “sell” to achieve $1,000,000 in income. It’s a plan if you have benchmarks, milestones and intermediate goals that move you along the path to success. And if you are using some type of leveraged business model like network marketing, what is the average growth rate of those who are on your team. How will you help them succeed? Is there a way to earn commissions or income, even from the one’s that say “no” to your opportunity?

Personal Development

The second important step (a very close second), is to educate yourself. To succeed online, you are going to need skills.

New skills.

Whether it’s “closing” on the phone, “presenting” your message to a larger audience, “training” your business partners to duplicate your success, or “automating” the sales process, you are going to have to learn at least the basics, even if you plan to out-source a lot of the work. How will you know if your “vendor” is doing a good job if you don’t have a clue what results to expect?

Frankly, I haven’t met a single successful entrepreneur yet, that ever feels like they have learned enough.

When you are first starting out, you can take a couple of shortcuts by finding and utilizing a “mentor” and getting yourself the best “training” available today.

A mentor is someone who is already successfully doing what you want to do, and willing to work with you. There are a lot of “guru’s” out there, but few genuine mentors. When you find them, hold on tight and soak up the lessons.

As for training, there are some good programs out there, just spend some time looking them over. They should meet a few simple criteria such as a) Be specific to your business or niche, b) be professionally run, c) be presented in a way that eliminates as many distractions as possible and d) be taught by successful people actually using the techniques they teach.

Seminar’s are a good place to start for this type of training, if they are well done. And the additional benefit of meeting and “networking” with other entrepreneurs and the “teachers” (or faculty) is often worth the price of admission. Remember that for most home based businesses, this type of training can also be tax-deductible.

Armand Morin’s Big Seminar

One of the best of these types of training seminar’s is Armand Morin’s BigSeminar, held twice a year. His seminars always sell out (seats are limited) and produces more success stories than any other training of this type.

The next one is coming up soon.

To get an idea if this type of seminar is specific to your business needs and growth plan, visit the BigSeminar Video Sales Letter and listen as real live people who have attended, discuss doubling and tripling their income in 6 months or less.

Complete the short easy form on that page, and Armand will send you call details for the remaining “live training calls” he is holding between now and the seminar date. Access to the calls is free and immediate if you tell him you want to claim it. He is doing pre-interviews with each of his guest trainers, and allowing them to explain what they are doing successfully, and what they intend to teach.

Remember, personal training is a must. Get the best available.

Just a quick note to say… It’s finally done!

Yes, it took a lot longer than planned. Yes, it wasn’t as easy as it looked on paper. And no, the directions found in various places didn’t always agree with real life. But, the “facelift” is complete and the training blog is officially back online.

For those of you affected by the blog being offline, and I can only say — I’m Sorry. All PDF files that have been branded to you are here at the new site, and each link has been tested. (However, if you find a broken link, please let me know immediately).

We will get back to our “capture page” discussion shortly, so keep your eyes on the Blog Feed, but until then, I would love to hear from anyone who has had similar experiences with their blog. Or, for that matter, non-similar experiences. For all those that come after us, let’s help them avoid our mistakes.

Your public awaits you, share your thoughts, experiences and frustrations.

Hey to all the Nussentials representatives out there!

Just a quick update on something of importance to you if you are giving out the “links” to your customized report… the new site changes mean there have been a couple of changes.

• File names are now case sensitive. This means if your “Hero Book” has a file name of OurHeros_CenayNailor.pdf, then the capitalization is a requirement! If you are not sure what the file name is, please visit the Reports link and review. In fact, you can click on the report link and open the report in your browser and then copy the URL from the address line. Please use this new link when sending people to see your report online.
• The URL where the “Get The Arthritis Pain Relief Shouldn’t Be Deadly” or “Nussentials Is Changing Lives ~ Stories From The Heart” eBooks has also changed. Again, you can use the links at the top of each page in this site to get the new address.

I am sorry for the additional effort of replacing existing bookmarks and links, but the benefit to the blog required I take some action.

Just since the new design, traffic to this blog has increased 200% and Google is indexing the pages within minutes, instead of days or weeks.

I appreciate you all. Thanks for the positive feedback and keep those comments coming!