Do you remember when you first started your blog?  Remember how excited you were, and how easy it was to write posts?  Well, after a few dozen blog posts it seems like you have talked about everything sometimes, doesn't it?

A few weeks ago I picked up an idea from one of the Internet marketing "gurus" about how to quickly create content for your blog.  I really like it because it helps leverage technology, which I'm always a big fan of.  The technology is voice recognition software.

How This Works for You

Most people can talk more prolifically than they can write, and in fact I'm dictating this to my computer right now!

At first, I was a bit hesitant about trying out this technology.  My previous experience with voice recognition software had not been real positive.  But now, I have taken some time to learn how this works and have put it to great use.

More on The Quick Way To Create Original Blog Content

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It has been awhile since I've talked about building up the "you" brand, but I think it's time to re-emphasize it. With a growing number of marketers going to social networks to practice their trade, I have seen a lot of bad examples of what you should not do in those networks.

Let's look at some of this, shall we?

Stop Selling!

The main thing that people really ought to pay attention to is how they are coming across to other people. The first thing is stop selling. Imagine you're going to a cocktail party, and you know that you're going to meet some really interesting people in there. And you could probably have really good conversations with them. What is also going through your head is that you're a marketer and these people would be a great audience for your product.

Get that thought out of your head right now!

You go to a cocktail party to meet some friends and make new friends. And not just friends for the sake of marketing to them later. It's true that some of them may do business with you in the future, but you can't know that right now. The people you talk to may actually be a great fit for what you offer, but if you come across too strong that's going to turn them off immediately.

More on More On Building The "YOU" Brand

I had an enlightening conversation with a network marketing business colleague the other day.  This is someone I've known for years and who originally taught me to prospect via telephone.  He has a nice system for doing that, but it turned out to be just not my thing, and also not a thing for people who want to do Internet marketing combined with network marketing.

He was calling to ask me what I thought about a new MLM training course he had come across.  This is kind of ironic, since I had told him about my experience in Internet marketing and network marketing as well as the trading course that I support here.

He Was Pretty Excited

Now my friend was pretty excited about the system.  I can understand that as it is pretty exciting when you learn how to combine Internet marketing with network marketing.  It opens up a whole new world of possibilities for you.  He was learning about affiliate marketing, creating your own products, and learning how to create your own personality on the Internet for people to find.  Of course, these are all things that I teach here and in the MLM training course I support.

I let them go on for quite awhile and he was me a lot of the things that I had told him previously, but he wasn't paying attention then apparently. When he finally wound down little, I tried to explain to him that we do the same thing in our course.  But he would have none of it.  And he would go on another tirade for several more minutes.  I would try to contribute some of my experience and knowledge on the subject, but  he would just completely ignore what I had said and go back on another tirade.

More on When You Can't Give Away Good Advice

This week, the uVme game system and business has finally gone live!  Now not only can we promote our uVme business, but we can invite people to play games against us as well.  From the feedback that I've seen, people are really having a good time with the games and so promoting the business should be a piece of cake.

At this point for those of us who've already signed up for the free membership, we need to contact our existing outlines and let them know that everything is gone live and that they could begin earning income right away.

The Product: Casual Online Games

One of the very important and attractive aspects of this business is the product.  If you have seen any of the videos for uVme you can see that the online games market is large and getting larger all the time.

Why is that?

These things are just fun!  Playing games online is a neat little break from the stresses and routine of the day.  Games like these can give you a sense of satisfaction and some positive feedback in a day when that may be the only place you're getting some positive feedback.

An additional fun aspect of these games and how uVme is doing it.  Is that you actually get to challenge other people to play against you.  So it adds a social aspect to what used to be a solitary activity.  And people are loving it!

More on A Big Week in Network Marketing

Things are happening so fast anymore it's difficult to keep up with. Six months ago the top internet marketers were saying there was no money to be made from spending time on social networks.

Now people are paying upwards of $1,500 for courses on how to market in social networks. What a difference a few months makes, eh?

The good news for network marketers is that the online world is starting to look a lot like the offline world when you start thinking about how we are able to build relationships, make friends, and find new business partners. Marketing in the online social space is a lot like working in the offline world. You build your reputation and people get to know you. If you are too blantant that you are trying sell people stuff, then you will turn off just about anyone you come in contact with. Just like it happens in the offline world.

If you have been following an mlm training system, it likely does not go into a lot of detail on how to navigate these networks. It's not because those marketing systems are bad, it's just that it takes time for the trainers to learn it, and then translate it into something they can teach. And I can tell you from experience there are a lot of people doing it wrong.

What is "wrong"?

More on More Changes Coming to a Marketing System Near You!

How much "work" did you do last weekend?  How much will you do next weekend?  How many hours are you working each day? 

If you're like many Internet Marketers and business owners you're working incredibly full days and you're even squeezing in work time on the weekends.  Is it working for you?  Why did you get into Internet Marketing or owning your own business?  The answer for many  is to be able to make money while still having time to do the things we love, whether it is fishing, volunteering at your children's school, or just having time to spend time with and take care of your family.  It's one of the reasons I started my own business. 

What I found is I now work 60+ hours a week taking care of the business of doing business.  Borrowing from Michael Gerber's great book, the E-Myth, as an Internet marketer you're an Entrepreneur, a Technician and a Manager.  You're doing it all.   You're probably throwing away money because you're too busy to focus on the key tasks that bring in more profits.  More on Outsourcing, the Key to Saving Sanity and Making More Money in 2008

As we get closer to the official launch of uVme, I just keep getting more amazed at well things are going with so little input from myself. Not that I would be affecting the success of the overall endeavor, but the growth happening in my own business group.

In fact, at first I did promote the uVme business strongly using the methods in my MLM training course because I was at a point in my business cycle where I had some time to focus on it. Through those efforts there were about a hundred people that joined my group. Out of those, perhaps a dozen continued to work on bringing new members in. Since there is no cost to join and promote the business (at least until the launch in January) it's pretty easy to introduce new people.

Then a couple of months ago the thing happened that we all like to see in our businesses - explosive growth!

It turns out that my earlier business building efforts reached into Thailand where dozens of people are joining my group each week. And that is the power of having a business that works globally. I've been in network marketing businesses where you need to ship a physical product and you always end up with a problem when you want to expand outside of your home country. Plus you have the expenses associated with shipping physical product and handling any returns.

With uVme there are none of those hassle because the product is entirely online. The product (the games) are turning out to be hugely popular and successful as reported by the beta testers. This is a business model that is easy to get behind and promote, so I'm going to enjoy seeing the efforts of all the people in my downline get rewarded as people both come in to play games or come along to join the business.

If you have not been introduced to uVme yet, check out this uVme intro video for an explanation on how it works.

The headline probably has you scratching your head and wondering where on earth I'm going to go with this.  I'm training for a marathon, you can read about it at  www.yourmarathontraining.com, and as I grunt out each mile, I am reminded of how similar the process is when you're struggling with a sales letter, and article, or a simple AutoResponder.

When you're writing you have one goal - to write a polished piece of copy.

When you're training for a marathon you have one goal - to be able to run 26 miles. 

Both tasks are much easier to accomplish if you break them into manageable steps. 

You can't go out and run 26 miles right away and you can't always sit down and write a perfect piece of copy.  During the difficult days, when putting one foot in front of the other, I deal with it by breaking the run into stages.  I'll run to the fence line. I'll run to the next stop sign, I'll run to the end of the block…you see the pattern.  Small steps. 

The same holds true if you're struggling with writing your copy. 

A letter, article, and even an email require:

• A headline
• An intro paragraph
• Relevant key points or benefits in the body of your copy
• A closing
• Occasionally it requires a signature or bio

These features of your copy are easy small steps you can take to make the project more manageable.   And don't forget to take breaks in between each stage of the process.  Over training will burn you out!  You'll lose focus and enthusiasm.  The same thing happens when you're writing an important piece of copy. 

Happy writing!

Do you have a favorite company you like to buy from? Do you know why you like to buy from them?

Does it have something to do with how the company provides value to you?

There are a couple of companies that come to mind as my own favorites: Apple Computer & Subaru. Apple is legendary fro having a fanatical following. Why is that? Well you'll find a lot of places that will give you a detailed analysis, but it basically comes down to providing a great product and paying attention to the detail of aesthetics. And Steve Jobs is a marketing genius, but we can't all be Steve Jobs.

Subaru is on my short list for similar reasons. I've driven one of their vehicles for over 10 years with hardly anything more than routine maintenance. Also, ten years ago, there was nothing on the road quite like the Outback, which again plays into aesthetics. That's a lesson that US car makers are only recently applying.

I'm using the term "aesthetic" pretty broadly, taking to mean not only style & appearance, but customer service, long term value and overall quality. Apple and Subaru have used these qualities to build their businesses by developing a dedicated following.

With this in mind, what can you think of that you're doing in your own business to build a following? What makes you stand out in your market?

What is your aesthetic?

When you communicate to your audience, whether that's through email, blog posts or article submissions, you are (or should be) communicating in a voice that conveys your own personality. Your personal experiences color and enhance what you have to share with people, even if it's only a variation on knowledge that is already "out there". The way you communicate it can really help someone understand a subject in a new light.

This is why being yourself in your business is so important: it will help you build a following that really wants to your perspective on a subject, even if they are hearing about it from other sources. So listen to your audience and help them understand. Your biggest fans will help you spread the word and bring even more business your way.

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.  It may be a bit cliche to post on what I'm thankful for during this particular holiday, however I believe it offers a valuable point.  As a copywriter and ghostwriter I have a number of wonderful clients.  I've had my share of doozies too but everything has always worked out in the long run, and for that I'm grateful. 

What I've learned along the way is to tell my clients "thank you" as often as I can.  Not just because they're clients and they're helping me to keep my business profitable but because they're good clients.  They're clients that express what they want, offer helpful feedback, and of course generally pay on time.  By offering up a genuine thank you when emailing or talking on the phone, I know that they know they're appreciated. 

I'm also incredibly fortunate in that my clients are quick to share a "thank you" right back and that of course makes me feel appreciated.  Appreciation makes me work harder for my clients and I'm certain I'm not alone in this.  As a provider of a service or a marketer selling a product, it is important to know your products, services, and business efforts are appreciated. 

As a customer, it is helpful to share your gratitude because it will result in better service, better products, and an overall better customer experience. 

Reciprocal gratitude, that's good business!