I’ve been looking forward to the release of this book since I was at his Expert’s Academy last September and he said he was going to take 4 weeks off to write his next bestselling book. He did, the book is out, and it going to be FABULOUS, I already know it!! I know it because all of his book are fabulous and this one is of particular interest to me since it’s all about High Performance!

For the past few years Brendon has been running this amazing academy called High Performance Academy to teach the public how to perform at our peak levels. Interested?? Me too!

Simon Leung, me and Brendon Burchard

I actually met Brendon, oh, five or six years ago I want to say at an event I was running in Denver. We got to hang out all weekend and I can tell you this for sure… Brendon is one of the most genuine, authentic, energetic, successful (not just financially) people I’ve ever met. I knew back then he was going to be a superstar and have been a dedicated follower of his work ever since.

So now, his new book is out and he’s giving away free copies. Click Here for the promo page to get your copy of The Charge

After I signed up for my free copy, there was a $197 promotion which I said “no thanks” to. I wanted more free stuff first! I knew it would be there since I am used to how he rolls out his academy events.

Beyond that page was a link to 3 incredible VIDEOS all about “6 High Performance Secrets of Multi-Millionaires.” It’s all about how to move on from feeling sluggish and always behind to feeling energized, empowered and ALIVE! How could anyone say no to learning that?!? So, I signed up and watched those videos. Amazing. As usual.

I AM FIRED UP and you know what it did? It gave me validation. It gave me energy. It gave me a focused plan. I have a big stack of work on my desk and I literally could not send another email or do another task on my list without writing this article. Why? Because it is NOT FAIR of me to just keep Brendon’s wisdom to myself and not share it.

You know how they say “word of mouth is the most powerful form of marketing”? That’s true and I genuinely believe that you will get some huge takeaways from watching these videos that I watched.

Click Here for the page where you can watch his free video content

Book? Check. Videos? Check. Well now I’m on Brendon’s list and what do I hear about today? That tomorrow he’s officially letting people register for his next High Performance Academy. I have been waiting months for this!

All I got was this link… Click Here

Right now it just says registration will open tomorrow but I know by the time most of you read this it will be open. I think he’s doing a live webinar which you won’t want to miss. Now, here’s what I remember from the last time he did an event launch for Expert’s Academy (which I’m going to this Fall!)… A bunch of you registered and I can’t wait to see you guys this Fall!! But… some of you heard about it too late or waited too long and registration is only open for a few days so the opportunity to get in was GONE. I pulled some strings for one client, but in general, you have to act fast with Brendon IF you have interest.

Only a few of you will be at a place in your life where you’re ready to explode with personal and professional growth to the point where you’re sick of waiting for “the right time” and just want to friggin go out there and MAKE IT HAPPEN! I’m soooo that person right now… omg. Most of you will not be at that place, and that is OK. In that case, it’s a great idea to sign up and get all the free content you can from Brendon and implement it on your own and your own pace. You can always unsubscribe from an email, so no harm no foul.

For me though, I’m taking the bull by the horns. If you’re going to the webinar let me know and we can chit chat during it via Facebook and email. If you end up going to High Performance Academy, let me know and maybe I’ll see you there.

For now, I mainly just wanted to tell you about it because I know that in a flash Brendon offers free content, and in a flash it’s GONE forever… pretty smart marketing guy.

Cheers on your journey to High Performance! 

How are you supposed to stand out? What can you possibly sell?

Even if you are still in the stage of dreaming what it would be like to have your own website, it’s important to actively think about what you can create that is of value to others. Each person has a unique view on life and their particular set of issues to overcome. So, yes, you too can create a product or series of products to sell online and feel good about it.

A list of product ideas:

1. Create an eBook and sell on Amazon, add to Google Books and submit to directories.
2. Record a webinar series, then package as a DVD set. Sell a downloadable version and a physical DVD Set version.
3. Offer coaching or consulting services in the forms of one-on-one calls, in-person meetings, weekly calls, monthly live group phone conferences, etc.
4. Make designs and graphics to sell at places such as GraphicLeftovers.com and iStockPhoto.com.
5. Run a monthly teleseminar training series for 6 weeks or 6 months for your focused elite followers.
6. Write a white paper on a system you developed to overcome a problem that your market faces.
7. Become a reseller or affiliate of almost any product or service of your choosing. From online shopping cart softwares to watches to baby clothes, most products online will give you 25-75% + commissions for selling their product/service. Check out sites like ClickBank.com and Commission Junction.
8. Start a paid newsletter and have users pay monthly or yearly to get training, tips and resources.
9. Sell email coaching and allow users to consult with you over email for a pre-determined amount of time. Even better, create a 52 week autoresponder email program where each week you sent training via email (but it’s all automated so you set it up once and let the program run on auto-pilot!)
10. If you have a pre-existing blog, find your top 25 posts and turn them into a hardcover book and an eBook. You could create this type of book for each 40 blog posts you write. Keep ‘em comin’.
11. Create a series of “how-to” videos. Use software like Camtasia for screen recordings, or a camcorder or webcam would be great for all other video. You could create four 15-minute videos, package them and bam! you have a product.
12. Internet Marketers aaaalways have a wealth of ideas and little time to pull them all off. Network to find these guys and ask if they have any projects you can complete for half the profit.
13. Home Study Courses are great! This could involve a video series with companion PDF guides and some sort of add-on support module.
14. Create and customize apparel, t-shirts, postcards, banners and more with sites like Zazzle.com.

There are TONS of creative ways you can take your knowledge and expertise, package it and offer it to others. Once you build an email list online you can sell to your following time and time again.

I personally like to keep a Brainstorming Journal lying around. It is consumed with my ideas and as I get time, I try to chip away at the projects on those sheets that are filled with potential. Give it a try! Creating online products is a really fun project and can bring income steadily if you have the right plan.

HOWEVER… it is NOT just about making money people!! The reason to make product is to ADD VALUE into the lives of others. If you focus on the value, the income will flow.

According to eMarketer and Hubspot.com, in 2012, there will be about 169.3 million online video viewers, and about 51.2 million Smartphone video viewers. Video is becoming a hot topic in the world of blogging, and it’s one that today’s bloggers need to pay attention to.

As readers become more and more overwhelmed with information, many will turn to the more passive option of viewing videos, rather than the more active, time-consuming option of reading blogs and online information. While you may not want to base your entire blog on video blog posts, you should definitely consider adding some of them to your blog.

It’s actually not that difficult to craft decent video blog posts using some basic technology and equipment. But most how-to’s out there are going to tell you what you should do, instead of what you should avoid! Knowing how to avoid major pitfalls, though, will make a big difference in your video blogging experience. With that said, here are three major things to avoid when it comes to video blog posts:

1. Avoid Unscripted Videos

If you know your topic really well, it can be tempting to start a video blog with little more than idea or topic in mind. Avoid this route, though!

The main reason to script your videos is that without a script, you’ll end up using conversation fillers as you catch up with your thoughts. While you might be able to get away with “um” and “like” in everyday conversation, this will not be the case when it comes to your video blog. Viewers will pick up on every instance of a conversational filler, and if you use too many of them, they’ll simply tune you out.

While you do want to script your videos, you don’t want to sound like you’re reading straight from the script. There are a couple of ways to avoid this. One is to simply practice your script several times before doing it on video. Another is to write detailed bullet points for your script and to “wing it” while you’re shooting the video. Either option can work, depending on your topic and personality. However, having some sort of script or plan for your video will ensure that you cover the necessary information without getting off topic, inserting filler words and sounds, or completely boring your viewers to death.

2. Avoid Totally Boring Visuals

If your blog is primarily informational in nature, you’ll probably end up with lots of “talking head” videos. However, it’s important to remember that the videos are meant to be a visual as well as an auditory way to get information across to your regular and new blog readers. There are lots of ways to spice up the visual aspect of your video blogs so that they are more interesting for viewers. Here’s an example:

Let’s say you’re blogging about financial topics and are creating a video blog to compare credit cards. You could just talk about the pros and cons of two different cards, which would be fine. One way to step up the visuals would be to stand in front of a large American Express vs. Visa sign, or whatever would be suitable for your blog.

An even better option would be to insert actual illustrations or actions into your video blog. You might make a whiteboard chart or drawing comparing the basics of each type of credit card as you’re making your video. You can also add in cartoon-style drawings in post-production if that suits you.

The point here is that you can use your video blog to just talk about different credit cards. Or you can create a totally engaging, eye-catching video blog that your readers and viewers will want to link to on Facebook and Twitter because it’s just so fun to watch!

3. Avoid Talking to Too Long

Unless you already have a big following who loves your video blogs and trusts you not to waste their time, your videos shouldn’t be longer than ninety seconds – and they should preferably be under a minute. Internet users are, again, bombarded with information every day, and they need bite-sized pieces of information rather than large chunks.

Here are a few ways to avoid letting your video go on for too long:

• Break down larger topics. Instead of a video comparing five different credit cards, make one video for each card, listing its pros and cons. Or make a series of how-to steps for your video, rather than a complete start-to-finish tutorial.
• Time yourself. Keep a watch or timer nearby as you’re shooting your video. If you reach and pass the ninety second mark, scrap it and start again, figuring out where you can be more concise this time.
• Have a script. This is another place where a script comes in handy. A script helps keep you from wasting time with fillers and off-topic conversation so you can use your ninety seconds to the fullest.
• Give the big picture. You can always use a video blog post to give the overview of your blog topic. Then, use words below the video on your blog layout to give more details about the topic at hand.

Creating a video blog post for your blog isn’t too difficult, but it does take practice. You’ll need to practice using your equipment, getting the lighting right, and even talking in front of a camera without seeming too stilted. But by avoiding these three pitfalls from the beginning, you’ll start out ahead of the crowd when it comes to video blog posts.

Ashyia Hill is a social media advocate at CreditDonkey.com, a website for entrepreneurs to compare business credit cards.  Creating a video log may seem easy, but prior preparation will make it a success!

Being an entrepreneur is very challenging and can get overwhelming quick. You must manage your existing projects well so you can increase retention and build a committed following, but then you must also have a strong focus on product creation and expansion (not to mention just maintaining the work you’ve produced so far).

So how to you manage the overwhelm you feel when you’re getting so many good ideas and you know you don’t have time to execute them all?

Below I’m going to offer you a few things I do that you are welcome to try:

Write it down.

Obvious? Maybe, but it really works! I have an ideas folder I keep close by which is full of good ideas (if I do say so myself). Entrepreneurs by nature are creative so expect those ideas to keep flooding in.

By writing all of your ideas down, you let the paper take the weight of the idea. You don’t have to stress about if you will remember, or how to execute this idea, or when because you know the idea is written down in a safe place and will be happy to see you when you return to it – whether in a few days or a few years. Write it ALL down even if it’s a tiny idea.

You wouldn’t believe how many ideas of mine seem to be bundled into a recent big idea I had. It is all relevant and writing down your ideas can serve your greatly in the future.

Create an Outline.

When I get an idea for a product or service, the next thing I do is create an outline for it. For example, one of my ideas is to create a DIY Guest Blogging Package where a business owner could have everything they need to setup a well-oiled machine of guest bloggers on their site to increase traffic dramatically and gain lots more subscribers. There are tons of benefits to this program and it’s a hot topic for 2012 and beyond.

Well, shoot, there’s TONS of ways I could produce this product – enter overwhelm. Before I think about all the success I’ll have, and ways to market, and the income it could generate, I stop. I know that the product is really all about the content I deliver so I create an outline of everything the product would need to be SUPER valuable for business owners who buy it. I am totally the type that wants to give away the farm to people who put their trust in me – I’ll give you everything I know and how I do it so you have the best shot at success.

The outline for this DIY Guest Blogging Package included things like: Promotion page content (what needs to be said on the ‘write for us’ page on your website), what the exact process is when someone wants to be a guest blogger (they need to send in a sample article with their bio and photo, I review to make sure they follow any guidelines I’ve given, etc.), in this product I need to create 5 emails templates that the customer can use (a rejection letter, approval letter, general inquiry response letter, etc)… Point being, I write down everything I can think of that would need to be included to make this product a success.

Honestly, it is at this point that I decide if I am going to pursue this idea aggressively, or when I get around to it, or never. I look at my material and evaluate if there is a gap in the marketplace, if this would be valuable to someone, if this would really work for people, etc. Getting the details of my idea on paper in this way reduces the overwhelm for sure!

Make a plan.

Obvious? Of course. But do you do it? gotcha. If I have an idea that I just can’t stop thinking about and one that I really want to pursue… I have my outline and I know it’s a ‘must’ to create… then it’s time to make a plan to make it happen.

Now, this is where the overwhelm really starts to come flooding in because now you actually need to execute. The fun creation part is generally behind you and now you actually have to carve out time, while managing your other projects, and make sure that you don’t NOT do this product idea like so many others that have since collected dust.

The truth is that YOU have a gift; YOU have a message. It is a complete waste of your talents if you don’t do something with it.

So you make a plan by taking your outline and breaking it up into 5 parts, or whatever. You make a commitment to yourself to do one part each week for the next five weeks. Caution: Look at your list and decide what you think you could pull off, then trim that list down by 30% and that is actually what you’ll be able to pull off.

A primary reason people can’t follow-through with their ideas is that they put way too much pressure on themselves upfront, they can’t deliver because they don’t plan for the unexpected, then they put it off once (“I’ll get to that next week”) and then you don’t come back to it, then you feel like a loser so you need time to recover, then before you know it, another 2-3 months rolls by until you feel the pressure that you need to create a product and motivate yourself to get serious about this next new idea. (Ew, too much accountability there?) I’ve been here, that’s how I know this is true.

Make It Happen.

So you have your outline, you have your plan on how many weeks it’ll take to get it done, hopefully you’ve exercised caution to not put too much pressure on yourself and you’re ready to really make it happen this time. Now, you just need to make it happen.

There are a few ways that I “make it happen” which work really well for me. First, I tell someone I really look up to about the idea and plan. I know that if I tell someone I really respect that it will create accountability for me. I want to be known for someone who makes things happen and gives tons of value to others – I would not risk taking that away just because I found eighteen excuses of why I couldn’t follow-through.

Next, I dive right in. I don’t waste time (because I know that if I delay on anything for too long, the idea will be lost and the product won’t be completed). I make damn sure I get that first week of to-do’s done, no matter what. That gives me momentum and confidence to go into week two of my plan. No matter what, I get it done… no matter what!

All we need is a little momentum and confidence. A big part of the overwhelm again is putting too much pressure on ourselves to “make it perfect” or “add more to the plate.” Once you have made the outline, made the plan, you just DO. Sure, you can add little creative twists here and there… but you do not deviate from the plan!

Entrepreneurs are creative minds – we can easily think for 350 cool ways to execute on something. Trust yourself and your original plan. You can always build more products as a spin-off of this one and try out one of your fancy ideas then. For now, stick to the plan and execute it. Every week you put this off is another week the world does not get your value, and another week you are not building your business, and another week you’re not making the income you need to sustain the message. This is bigger than you – make it happen.

The best path to success as an entrepreneur is to keep creating. I don’t mean create a dozen half-finished products. Create one product 100%, launch it, then immediately dive in and start creating your next product. Period – there is no other plan.

To manage this around your existing work load you just need a little discipline, a little accountability and you need to be organized. Don’t try to do too much at once. I’d much rather see you take 4 months to create a product then try to do it in 2 weeks, burn out, and never finish it. YOU put the pressure on you, so knock it off!

If you are serious, join me and make the pledge today. All you need to do is share this image on Facebook or Pinterest and in the description tell people what you want to create. Then go out and make it happen.

Simply right click this image and click "Save As" to download to your computer and then share on social networks. Tag me in your post so I can give you a virtual high-five!

If you thought this post was helpful, please help me share it with others on Google+, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

I appreciate your support! Even more, I’d like you to commit to making a product today and tell me what it will be in the Facebook comments box below. I’ll be your accountability cause I’d love to see your product when it’s finished!

Today’s training is shared from HubSpot and an article posted by Pamela Vaughan. It was just too good not to share. 

The Ultimate Facebook Marketing Cheat Sheet

Facebook’s social network domination may frequently get challenged by emerging social media platforms like Google+, but the facts remain. With more than 845 million members in its user base, it’s still the most popular social network around.

And yes, businesses are beginning to understand its potential to help them achieve their marketing goals. In fact, 41% of B2B companies and 62% of B2C companies using Facebook have acquired a customer from it.

That being said, learning all the nuances of various social networks can be a tricky and time-consuming feat, especially considering how frequently they add, remove, and modify features. To help you stay ahead of the curve, we’ve put together a handy cheat sheet that businesses and marketers can use to make the most of Facebook.

35 Tips and Tricks for Mastering Facebook Marketing

1) Create a Business Page, Not a Profile

First things first. To maximize Facebook’s business potential, you need to create a business page, not a personal profile, to represent your brand. Setting up a page is simple. Just visit https://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php, and follow the step-by-step setup instructions. (Already created a profile for your business? No worries — Facebook now allows you to easily convert it into a business page.)

2) Claim Your Page’s Vanity URL

Once you’ve created your business page, make it more shareable and easier to find by creating a recognizable vanity URL (e.g. http://www.facebook.com/hubspot) at http://www.facebook.com/username.

3) Add a Creative Cover Photo

Facebook’s new page design enables you to feature a 851 x 315 pixel ‘cover photo’ at the top of your business page. Get creative with it to capture the attention of new page visitors. Just be sure to follow Facebook’s cover photo policies by excluding price/purchase information (e.g. “40% off” or “Download it at our website”); references to Facebook features/functions (e.g. “Like,” “Share,” etc.); contact information such as website address, email, mailing address, or information that should go in your page’s “About” section; and calls-to-action, such as “Get it now” or “Tell your friends.” Here are some awesome examples of business page cover photos to get your creative juices flowing.

4) Auto-Publish Blog Content

Start populating your page’s timeline with content! If you maintain a business blog, you can connect your blog to auto-post links to new blog content you publish. Many blogging platforms like WordPress and HubSpot automatically offer this feature within its software; you’ll just need to turn it on and sync it with your page. (Warning: Don’t put too much emphasis on automation. It’s okay to auto-publish some content, but make sure a real human is posting and engaging with your fans, too.)

5) Make Sure Meta Descriptions of Blog Posts Are Complete

Have you noticed that when you post a link to Facebook, it pulls in a brief description as well as an image? The description gets pulled from the page’s meta description, so make sure any blog content you publish has a complete and enticing meta description to optimize its presence if it gets shared on Facebook.

6) Pin a Post Every 7 Days

Another feature of Facebook’s new page design allows you to ‘pin’ or anchor one of the posts on your page’s timeline to the top for 7 days at a time. Pinning content to the top of your page will prevent it from getting buried by more recent updates. Use this feature to highlight specific posts about remarkable content, calls-to-action for your best marketing offers, or other events/promotions you want to feature. Update your anchor pin every 7 days once the old one expires. To pin an update, hover over a story, click on the pencil icon in the top right corner, and choose ‘Pin to Top.’

7) Star or Hide Posts

Modify the items in your page’s timeline to highlight certain posts more prominently than others. By hovering over individual stories, you can make them wider and more prominent on your page by clicking the star icon, or hide them from your timeline (or delete them entirely) by clicking on the pencil icon.

Leverage Your Most Visual Content

Facebook’s new timeline page design places more of an emphasis on visual content like images and videos, so use that to your advantage. According to an internal Facebook study, “posts including a photo album or picture can generate 2X more engagement than other post types.” Because these images will now appear larger and more prominently on your page, make it a point of posting your best visual content to your Facebook page, or make more of an effort to make the content you already create more visual. Think photos, charts, infographics, and other content visualizations. And hey — you can always use it on other visual-oriented social networks like Pinterest and Google+, too!

9) Create Custom Page Tabs

While Facebook’s new page design eliminated the ability to create a designated ‘Welcome Landing Page’ for new visitors to your Facebook page, you can still create and leverage custom tabs which are accessible via the ‘Views & Apps’ section of your page (see tip #17). Think of these as landing pages within your Facebook page. Learn how to create custom tabs here, which you can use as calls-to-action to feature anything from case studies to marketing offers to other promotions you’re running. (Note: With HubSpot, you can take this one step further by installing HubSpot’s Facebook App. While it can no longer support ‘welcome’-style landing pages, you can use it to create custom tabs containing lead-gen forms so you can convert page visitors into leads … right within Facebook!)

10) Add Milestones

Another feature the new Facebook page design supports is ‘Milestones,’ which allows you to call attention to significant events in your business’ history. Use the feature to highlight some of your business’ biggest accomplishments, such as fan growth, award wins, product releases, major events, or other accolades. You create a new (or past) milestone via the status update box, which will prompt you to input information about your milestone such as its name, location, date, story description, and an image, which is set at 843 x 403 pixels.

11) Use Facebook Insights

Facebook Insights is Facebook’s internal analytics tool right that helps you measure and analyze your Facebook presence. The tool provides Facebook page administrators with analytics data about page visits and engagement and can help you understand which content is and isn’t engaging to your fans. Access your page’s Insights at http://www.facebook.com/insights or by clicking into the ‘Admin Panel’ on your page. We’ve also published an informative blog post and video that walks you through how to analyze Facebook Insights to improve your content strategy.

12) Tag Other Users and Business Pages

Although you used to only be able to tag other users on Facebook, you can now tag other pages, too. Make your page more engaging and interactive by enabling others to post content on your timeline. Enabling this feature will also automatically publish posts to your page’s timeline that are from other users who have tagged your page in their posts. To enable this, check off “Everyone can post to HubSpot’s timeline” and “Show the box for ‘Recent Posts by Others’ on the top of HubSpot” in ‘Manage Permissions.’

13) Connect Your YouTube Channel

Does your company have its own YouTube channel? Add the YouTube App to your Facebook page so your fans can view your YouTube videos directly within Facebook.

14) Add the SlideShare App

Similar to the YouTube App, you can also add a SlideShare tab to your page that will also pull in your SlideShare presentations.

15) Connect Your Flickr Account

While you’re at it, why not pull in your Flickr photos with the Flickr App, too?

16) Create an Open Graph App

With Facebook’s new Open Graph applications, you’re not just limited to other people’s apps — you can also create your own apps that support your very own marketing initiatives! The new and improved Open Graph allows third-party developers to create ‘frictionless’ apps that, after a user provides permission once, automatically share users’ engagement with the app on Facebook. Furthermore, users’ friends are easily able to join in on this shared activity. Furthermore, the new Open Graph apps support customizable calls-to-action, which you may have already noticed in apps already floating around Facebook like Spotify, Hulu, and the Washington Post, which prompt Facebook users to  “read,” “watch,” and “listen.” Creating an app for your business will obviously involve a developer’s time, but if you’re interested, we have a list of ideas to get you start brainstorming here, and Facebook has published guidelines on how to get your application integrated with Facebook here.

17) Organize Your Views & Apps

After you’ve added new custom tabs and apps to your page, organize them! Facebook’s new page design features photos, likes, and apps at the top of your page below your cover photo. Photos are automatically featured in the first spot, but page admins can rearrange the rest to highlight the most important ones first. Overall, a total of 12 apps can be shown here. Four are visible at the top of the page, and the rest can be viewed when page visitors click the dropdown arrow (highlighted in orange in the image below). Admins can also customize the images that get shown for each app in this toolbar using the ‘Manage’ >> ‘Edit Page’ dropdown via the ‘Admin Panel,’ which is accessible at the top right of their business page.

18) Use Links & Calls-to-Action to Generate Leads

Start generating leads from Facebook! Optimize your page for lead generation by posting links to landing pages for content behind forms, and add calls-to-action (CTAs) to the custom tabs on your page. [Bonus! Research suggests that links shared on Facebook have a high impact on SERP (search engine results page) rankings.]

19) Use Questions/Polls for Fan Feedback

In the status update bar on your page, you have the option of posting a question or a poll (click on ‘Add Poll Options’). Use this to ask your fans for feedback about your products/services or the content you post to your timeline. The possibilities are endless, and it’s a great way to engage your fans and increase participation on your page.

20) Experiment With Interest Lists

‘Interest Lists’ are a feature that allows users to organize updates into separate topics from a collection of fan pages and/or public figures who have the subscribe button enabled on their profile. For example, a user could create a “Recipes” Interest List, adding to it fan pages like Betty Crocker and the Food Network, as well as the profiles of their favorite food bloggers to which they subscribe. Users can also subscribe to Interest Lists created by other people, as Facebook suggests popular lists and make it easy for users to discover lists created by their friends. Consider experimenting with Interest Lists by creating awesome lists in your industry; promoting the ‘Add to Interest Lists’ button on your Facebook page; creating content about industry news so your updates are the first to show up in any lists your business is apart of; and creating a must-subscribe, content-rich Facebook presence.

21) Customize Who Can View Your Posts

Facebook’s response to Google+’s Circles feature was a feature that enables users to customize who can see their Facebook posts. For your Facebook page, this means you can limit posts to only display to fans in a certain location or language.

22) Schedule Posts in Advance

Using a third-party Facebook application like HootSuite or HubSpot’s social media publishing tool, you can schedule Facebook posts in advance. However, just as we advised against too much Facebook automation with blog auto-posting, the same holds true for scheduling. Don’t get caught in the trap of turning your page into a robot, and make sure you’re actively engaging with your fans, too.

23) Understand the Impact of EdgeRank

EdgeRank is Facebook’s algorithm for deciding what gets shown in a user’s news feed. It’s important to understand that not every post published to your page’s timeline will be visible to every one of your fans. A post’s engagement level factors into your content’s ability to spread across Facebook. Interactions with a post such as a Like, share, comment, tag, etc., create what Facebook calls an “edge.” The more edges an object has, the more likely it will be displayed in a user’s News Feed. This means it’s important to post engaging content so your fans are more inclined to interact with it, thus increasing its reach.

24) Add Facebook Social Plugins to Your Blog/Website

Promote your business’ Facebook presence and help your content spread on Facebook by adding Facebook Social Plugins to your website and/or blog. This will encourage visitors to your site to also interact with you and become your fan on Facebook as well as spread your content and expand its reach. Social Plugins include ‘Like’ buttons, ‘Share’ buttons, and more.

25) Encourage Your Business’ Execs to Add the ‘Subscribe’ Button

Encourage the public-facing executives and thought leaders in your business to add the subscribe button to their personal Facebook profiles and share your business’ content. This will help extend the reach of your business content. Furthermore, individual people can only be added to the Interest Lists we mentioned in tip #20 if they’ve implemented the subscribe button, so doing so will enable users who are creating new Interest Lists to add your business’ thought leaders to their list, increasing the chances of exposing your business’ content to people who subscribe to those lists.

26) Subscribe to Facebook’s Official Blog for New Feature Announcements

Give yourself a competitive edge. Stay on top of the latest announcements from Facebook such as new features and tools by subscribing to the official Facebook Blog.

27) Monitor Activity on Your Business Page

Don’t neglect your Facebook presence. Use social media monitoring software like HubSpot or a third-party app like HootSuite to monitor activity and regularly participate in your Facebook page. A page that is engaging and updated regularly will be much more successful than a static one.

28) Switch Your Posting Identity Between a Personal Profile and a Page

As a page administrator, within your page’s settings you can choose to always post to your page with that page’s identity (i.e. If I post to HubSpot’s page when I’m using Facebook as my personal profile, it will show as posted from ‘HubSpot.’). Furthermore, if you want to use your page’s identity in general, you can switch that as well. Doing so will enable you to receive notifications about activity on your page, see stories from the pages you Like in your news feed, and interact with other pages as your page. Just click on ‘Account,’ then choose ‘Use Facebook as Page.’

29) Experiment With Facebook’s Ad Platform

Test the effectiveness of Facebook’s advertising platform for your business. Here’s a complete ebook on the subject to help get you started. Then become well versed in Facebook’s ad metrics so you know how your ads are performing.

30) Use Group Chat for Collaboration

Facebook recently introduced Group Chat into its mix of features. In the Facebook chat pane, click on a user you want to chat with. Then click on the icon between the video icon (oh yeah — you can do a 1 on 1 video chat, too!) and the ‘x’ icon, and choose ‘Add Friends to Chat.’ Think of it as a chat room that can enable you to collaborate with teammates or conduct a small, live focus group with prospects or customers.

31) Enable Messages

With Facebook’s new page design update, page admins can now allow users to send them personal messages. This makes it much easier for admins to engage in private conversations with their fans. Use this feature when you need to discuss a topic or customer service issue in more depth, and when you’d prefer the conversation not be made public for all page visitors to see. We don’t recommend limiting methods of communication available to your fans, but admins can also choose to turn off messaging capability by accessing the Admin Panel, choosing ‘Manage’ >> ‘Edit Page’ >> ‘Manage Permissions,’ and unchecking the ‘Messages’ box.

32) Integrate Facebook With Google+

Download the Google+Facebook extension (currently available for Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, and Firefox) to add an extra tab to your Google+ account, which accesses your Facebook news feed. The tab also enables you to Like, comment, or post status updates to Facebook from your Google+ account.

33) Take Advantage of Facebook Keyboard Shortcuts

Use Facebook at the speed of light with Facebook keyword shortcuts for Google Chrome, Firefox, or Internet Explorer. Access Facebook’s keyword shortcuts here.

34) Launch Contests

Contests can be a great way to increase engagement and attract new fans for your page. Be aware of Facebook’s contest/promotion guidelines, and consider using an application like Wildfire, which works closely with Facebook to make sure its guidelines are followed appropriately. Here’s a helpful blog post on the subject if you want to learn more.

35) Add More Page Administrators, Engage, and Be Social

As we mentioned before, although there are a lot of tools available to help you maximize the effectiveness of your Facebook presence, remember that social networks are based on the concept of being social. Make sure there is a member of your team devoted to managing your business’ Facebook presence and that they’re committed to participating using a real, live human voice. You can also add more than one administrator for your page when you’re editing your page under ‘Manage Admins’ to help you split the responsibility among team members.

However, your email list is STILL your #1 online asset! You can market to those people again and again, they will stay loyal to you (assuming you have good email practices) and they will buy from you down the road. The key is to offer a free incentive that showcases your expertise and value, that people WANT.

Do NOT make a free report in an hour or two and throw it up there as a Microsoft Word doc that is not formatted, and then expect that to boost your credibility and sales. Yuk! This is a critical part of the public’s first impression of you. You want to spend the time to come up with a great idea, produce it the best you can, get it professionally formatted and designed – in short, spend the time to do it RIGHT.

Below I have a lot of really great keys to a successful free introductory product incentive that you can offer on your website in exchange for people to signup for your mailing list. Note to Self: You may way to print this puppy out. 

Do the brainstorming work:

• What are the top 3 problems your audience faces? (depression, weight gain, bankruptcy, etc.) In a free gift, people want an answer to their biggest problem in a formula or process that they can start today. Examples can be, “3 Steps to Triple Your Energy Levels,” or “5 Ways to Dump Depression and Gain Gusto,” etc.
• People will want to instantly download your free gift (not have it sent to them a week later) so I suggest the format you consider to be video, text (like an eBook) or audio. There are reasons behind which format to choose and why. To give you a taste:
• Video is great for giving off energy that transfers to the listener. It creates a longer lasting impact, can go viral, plus they can watch it again and again. Video is ideal for emotional topics. If you are a personal or life coach for example, this is for sure the format to select.
• Text is great for writing out a technical process so someone can pint out the document, paste on their mirror, or just review easily. It’s probably the easiest format to share. You MUST get your eBook or workbook professionally formatted and designed to make a visual impact which is necessary for getting readers engaged and excited to share with others. (If your topic is not technical or in a process, I do not suggest creating an eBook – I would suggest you to create video, period.) For example, my free product incentive right now is a 23-page eBook titled, “Share My Message! 7 Key Steps to Social Media Integration.” I show lots of examples of how to brand your social networks and I explain how to do it ALL! So I for sure had to choose an eBook format so my readers could print it out, refer back to it again and again, etc.
• Audio is “ok,” but video is for sure a preferred format by the majority. Audio is good for meditations and technical personal development/motivational/how-to content. Audio can be uploaded to an iPod so people can listen in the car, while working out or taking a bath, etc.

More Key Tips:

• By now we’ve identified the top 3 problems our audience face and we’ve selected a format for the product.  Next I would start working on an outline of what you’re going to discuss. Another KEY to this process is that people will want to download something they can start TODAY. No one wants to go to a website in search of a problem they are facing, get all jazzed about a free product, sign-up and realize that the author is telling them how to ‘repair their credit in 6 months.’ That subscriber needs a solution NOW. So let’s give it to them. If it’s a topic that gets them on the road to success TODAY then people will signup for it.
• The higher the monetary value of the bonus, the more people will want it. So if you have an eBook and a video as a package deal, more web visitors will download it. If you give away an event ticket or teleseminar call series – since a higher value – more will download (Note: These two ideas are more if you have an opportunity to give a bonus away during a book launch or product launch).
• As you create your product, always be thinking, “How can I make this so good that it goes viral?” I want people to share my eBook with as many people as possible! I don’t even care if they signup for it! If I produce a high-quality product that is of great value to others, I know they’ll come back to me anyway. They will come and check out my website, signup for my mailing list to get more great training, hire me for website development or social media branding, etc. I’d love nothing more than people to think my product is so good they send an email out to 100 people saying “Here, thought this could be a useful resource for you.” Goosebumps! Since we’re on the topic, a great read is, “6 Ways to Make Your Video Go Viral.”
• Always, always, always, always, always, always(!) end with a “call to action” by suggesting to the reader or viewer what to do next. Offer a discount on becoming a member, invite them to join a free teleseminar call, ask them to follow you on social networks, etc. Tell people what you want them to do with this material or next in general.

So what do you think, some good tips in here? Did it get you to evaluate your online marketing efforts and make a decision to step up your game? I bet it did and that rocks!

If you thought this article was helpful, I would love to hear your feedback and help me share it on Facebook, Twitter and Google+. If you are interested in writing for InsightfulDevelopment.com, click here to learn about out Guest Writing program.

If you do not have a YouTube account, then first, I need to urge you to get on this wagon by setting up an account and taking the video plunge today.

If you do have a YouTube account, you must, must get it branded, otherwise you are literally wasting the opportunity. Every single time someone views your video, they should be staring at your website URL, photo, logo, tagline – or testimonials, a service list – anything that will drive people back to your website to learn more about what your message is.

See below for my YouTube background and examples of a recent YouTube channel backgrounds we designed: (click to zoom)

What does the new Timeline look like?

What is the greatest addition for Facebook pages?
The Facebook Cover is by far the greatest because we now have an 815px X 310px header that sits at the top of our page which we can use to further our brand messaging!

Get Your Facebook Page Timeline Cover Header Designed »

Important! There are some critical points of information to note about the Timeline for Pages. Some include:

• Facebook no longer allows you to set a default landing tab for your business page.
• Your Facebook Cover can not be a space to promote any call to action (including your URL or free product offer – don’t worry, our covers will still promote you and your brand in a very effective way).
• Between milestone images, your apps bar and offer ads, businesses will have much more freedom to effectively promote their products and services (yay!). See the resources links below to read up on these additions.

I encourage you to take a half hour and fully read up on the do’s and dont’s for this exciting new change. If you’d like to get a head start and get my help in setting up your new Facebook Timeline for your company page you can view our social branding packages or contact me for support.

Resources to Read:

• The Complete Guide to Setting Up the New Facebook Page Design
• Interactive Course on Facebook Timleline for Pages
• Facebook Timeline Complete Guide

In my last post, I discussed getting your blog up and running. Why are you blogging? What is it about? How do you get started? Hopefully you’ve now had a chance to move forward in your own blog creation. Let’s assume you now at least have your blog generated, your categories set up, the theme customized, and (maybe) you’ve posted one or two times. What’s next?

Be Consistent.

When you’re first beginning, it might seem overwhelming to imagine yourself writing a new post every day – so don’t. Start small and manageable, like once a week; just be consistent in how often you post. Don’t worry if your posts aren’t the Holy Grail of the blogging world. As long as you are true to why you started your blog in the first place, and keep your posts authentic, then you have little to worry about.

The best piece of advice I ever got was to be consistent.

Once you get into a rhythm and feel more comfortable with the whole posting process, you can start to increase the frequency of your blog posts. Now, I have to admit, there are times when I barely get one post done a week. I don’t beat myself up about it. I acknowledge what’s happening in my life at the time, and then I write about it (remember, my blog is about sharing my experiences and having a personal, creative outlet). However, to create the most value in your blog, keeping a consistent posting schedule is important.

There’s more to consistency than just frequency.

It’s great to have a regular schedule of blog posts, but if they aren’t consistent with your topic, then it becomes confusing to both you and your readers. “It is important to remember that your blog should only have one topic.” If your blog is about your video production business, don’t slip a post in there about your recent family vacation to Italy, unless, of course, you filmed the whole trip and are offering tips for other travelers wanting to do the same.

Keep your articles relevant to what your blog is about.

The last part of being consistent has to do with tags and keywords. Huh? Yes. When I first started blogging, I considered myself a fairly computer-literate person, but there were certain terms (like tags and keywords) that I didn’t have much experience with. I had heard them being tossed around and talked about, but I wasn’t exactly sure how to effectively use them.

The easiest way for me to explain them, is to consider them a lot like your categories, which help you “file” your post in the right location. Your tags and keywords help you, your readers, and search engines find those specific articles within your filing system. The trick about tags and keywords, much like categories, is not to go overboard.

You can, and should, have multiple tags for each post (unlike categories), but be consistent in the words you choose to highlight as keywords.

There is often the temptation to add a tag for every possible description of the same word. For example: Mommy, Mother, Mom all mean the same thing. Pick one and stick with it.

Comment on and follow other blogs.

I remember how excited I was when I got my first notification that someone liked and left a comment on one of my blog posts. It was the highlight of my day, my week! Imagine giving someone else that feeling. It might not be their first ever comment, but everyone loves feedback. Not that it should matter, but knowing that someone is reading your blog (and paying attention to it) offers validation for having it.

In today’s world it’s all about creating relationships.

Choose wisely the blogs you decide to follow. It’s fine to read about varying topics, but don’t just follow all the blogs you happen to browse upon in a day. When you are thoughtful about the blogs you patronize, those blogs will start to notice you and hopefully return the engagement.

Link to your social media sites.

If you are a beginner in the online world, then this might seem like another overwhelming task. What if I don’t have any social media sites? What if I’m only on Facebook and not Twitter, Linked-In, YouTube or the oodles of other available sites? Don’t worry! It takes time to build your online network. Take it slow, one step at a time. Do what’s comfortable for you, at your own pace.

Once you have your social media accounts set up, link your blog to them. This usually is a simple action, as most social media sites now expect you to link between them and are very accommodating.

Why is this important? It creates efficiency.

If you could automatically update several sites at once, each time you made a new blog post, why wouldn’t you? The more you are visible in the online world, the more people will find you and get to hear your message.

Create an ‘About Me’ page.

If you haven’t already done this, do it now! You’re to the point now where people are starting to find you, whether they stumble upon you browsing the web, or whether you have directly given them the link to your blog. Once they’re there, people want to know who you are.

By creating an ‘About Me’ page, you are letting people know you’re real.

Important tip: be concise in the information you share.

It doesn’t have to be elaborate, with your complete biography and business history. In fact, by keeping it short and sweet, it is more likely to get read in its entirety, rather than passed over to the next page, or worse yet, the next blog.

Don’t get discouraged.

You’ve been blogging consistently for several months. You’re sticking to your topic, categories, tags and keywords. So where are all the people? How come no one is following you?

Be patient. It takes time to build presence.

Noah’s Ark wasn’t built in a day, and it’s unrealistic to expect that your blog will become famous overnight. Keep writing, and your followers will come.

Be Authentic.

If there’s one piece of advice that applies to everyone, in every situation, it’s to be authentic. Often easier said than done, I know, but so important!

No one wants to read something that isn’t genuine.

When people take the time to read your posts, whether it’s a story, a product review, or a welcome to your newest employee or business partner, offer them a reason to come back. By writing what you’re passionate about (which is hopefully also what your blog is about), and by coming from your heart, it’s hard to go wrong. It might be scary at first to open yourself up, but trust me, it’s worth it.

When all else fails, or when you find yourself off track, remember why you started your blog in the first place.

Reflect on the beginning; take yourself back to the dreams you had and the vision you saw.

I have a saying, which sometimes I find myself using all too often: “Life happens.” When life happens to you, embrace it. Keep in mind, it’s just a blog, have fun with it.

I sincerely hope you find success with your blogging and I can’t wait to find you!

Connect with Pamela on on Facebook, Twitter and Linked-In.

Pamela Zimmer quit her career for Motherhood. Being an Architect, and an entrepreneur at heart, Pamela struggled with her decision to have her own Architecture firm. She knew she always wanted to be a stay-at-home Mom, but also knew she wanted to have a successful career. After 13+ years of working in Architecture, 7 of which she ran her own successful business, Pamela finally chose to listen to her heart and realized that being a stay-at-home Mom was her true passion and life purpose. She is now a #1 best-selling author in the book ‘Get Your Woman On!’ and strives to support and inspire other women who are ready to make their life transformation. Pamela is working on her own book, as well as starting a business as a peer-to-peer counselor for Postpartum Depression. Her blog, Stories of a Mom, is where Pamela shares her experiences, from one Mother to another.

• Do you feel clueless about social media? Questions come up such as, “What do I say on Facebook?”, “Is this really as important as people say?”, “Which social networks are the best to be on and why?”
• Are you curious how to maximize social media interaction on your website so more web visitors share and like your content?
• Have you considered the powers of branding your social networks to drive all that traffic back to your website?

Don’t worry, most online business owners share this frustration and confusion. Today my goal is to help you build a sturdy bridge so a steady stream of people flows between your website and social media touch-points. The goal is to maximize ease for people to join your social networks from your website AND to find your website while visiting your social networks.

HOT OFF THE PRESS, I’d like to invite you to download my new eBook, “Share My Message! 7 Key Steps to Social Media Integration”
FOR FREE!

This 23-page eBook has two parts. The first talks all about what you need to do on your website to get more likes and shares for your content. Learn the resources and tools I use in my business! Also how to gain a much bigger following on your social networks – all without visitors leaving your website.

The second part of “Share My Message!” is all about social media branding. Learn how to brand your Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts so you drive ALL that social networking traffic back to your website (where you can next get them to opt-in to your mailing list and buy products or services from you).

What People Are Saying:

Thank you SO MUCH for all your AMAZING, HELPFUL INFORMATION! I am a new website owner and I am LOST when it comes to the social media angle–even with a personal coach. There is such a MASSIVE amount of information, decisions to make, TIME involved–at least 300 hours so far for me!  I will DEFINITELY be checking with you for more ideas on how you may be able to assist me! Thank you, again, for all the free information you have already provided to me!
Lisa

Amber– I had a chance to read your ebook. It’s fabulous…really. I read it from my perspective which is someone who really wants to learn the best ways to maximize my online presence using my website and other social media tools. This book is chock full of juicy nuggets that are immediately useable for integrating social media, and you explain it so well (a talent for this topic). Really liked the look and feel of the book…worked really well with the subject matter.
Great job for someone who continues to be blazing along and making a difference for people.
Take care,
Terry

Register in the right sidebar!

To download your copy today,please fill out the short form in the right sidebar, blue box. This registration will also allow you to join my emailing list – but don’t worry, you can unsubscribe at any time.

After registering, you will immediately get an email with a link to download “Share My Message!”

You’ll want to take action now so you don’t feel continue to feel behind. It’s time to take action in your business and make success happen.

This isn’t one of those resources that you should read when you get around to it. A lot of very valuable information has been shared and it is truly my pleasure.

I would love to hear your feedback on this eGuide by filling out the Facebook comment box below. Also, please feel open to share this guide with anyone whom you think can benefit.

Thank you for your support and interest!