Interns can be a huge asset to your business – and you’ll want to pick the best, right? But who will be the best? This can be a tough one, and just because it’s a time-limited placement doesn’t make it any easier.
Here’s a key tip: have a good idea of the profile of the intern you’d like to select before you start. What does your business need? What specific tasks will you be assigning to your intern? You could get a lot of applicants, especially if you advertise on the Internet. Make sure you spell out the qualifications of the position so applicants are pre-briefed to tell you about the skills or personal qualities they can bring to the job.
Selecting an intern can be even more difficult than hiring a new employee because you won’t necessarily be able to rely on evaluating their resumes. Internship programs are usually designed to give people the work experience they don’t yet have. That means you’ll have to rely on other criteria to pick the best candidate.
Do you want a self-motivated person who has a good grasp of the working world? Then you might want a person looking to change careers, rather than a student. Do you need someone to interface with clients? An interview will reveal applicants’ interpersonal skills and some aspiring interns may have valuable experience in public-facing work in other sectors.
An interview or online application process will give you opportunities to assess an applicant’s specific practical skills for the job. It helps to make a list prioritizing the skills that are needed. Examples include computer literacy (including specifics such as working with spreadsheets), and language and writing skills.
If the work you are offering is something that any reasonably intelligent, adequately educated person could pick up on the job, you may need to make your ultimate decision on other criteria than existing and transferable skills. Here’s where you draw on your own business acumen and intuition!
A positive attitude, willingness to learn, communication skills and organizational ability are things to look out for. Internships are usually not well remunerated, and some are unpaid, so the very fact that they’re applying may serve as some evidence of applicants’ motivation to learn and grow. Asking for testimonials and character references may also help if you’re in any doubt about who to select.
You’re not looking for a new CEO, so don’t be over-demanding or set your sights too high. In a way, adding an intern to your team makes you a teacher as much as a boss and you need to tune into people’s untapped potential. There are bound to be lots of suitable candidates, and making a call between people with different skill sets can be difficult. If you'd rather not choose between two, you could consider bringing them both on and having them work together on a team. You'll have less work because they can brainstorm together, answer many of their own questions, and you know what they say, two heads are better than one.
Deanna Maio, the Intern Expert, guides small business owners to find, select, and manage interns successfully to grow their business. Take the first step towards having interns help you get clients, develop new programs, attract prospects, and make more money by downloading Deanna's absolutely free Internship Discovery Kit at http://www.GetFreeHelpWithInterns.com.
Time is the great equalizer. Everybody gets the same amount: 24 hours in a day, 60 minutes in an hour. We can't save time or accumulate or rearrange it. We can't turn it off or on. It can't be replaced. You can always make more money but, you can never make more time. But these days, it seems as if the lament of not having enough time has become a national anthem. Everywhere women and men, especially small business owners, find themselves constantly in a rush, over-booked and over-scheduled with no time off. Life is accompanied by the ongoing stress of not enough time. And sometimes doing too much and being too busy can be a way of numbing feelings or disguising depression or anger.
Though it may not always seem so, how we fill our time and how we spend it is our choice.
Answer "true" or "false" to the following questions to discover if you're caught up in the "too-busy" cycle. If you answer "true" to four or more questions, it's time to reach outside yourself for help to step off this treadmill and start living a life you love!
- I constantly find myself doing "urgent" things and trying to catch up.
- I allow myself to drift into obligations when I don't know how much time or energy they'll require.
- I find myself running from when I get up in the morning until I go to bed at night. I'm always tired and never feel like I accomplished enough.
- I seldom schedule a day off for myself and when I do, I tend to fill it with activities.
- I don't make time for "self-care" activities: physical exercise, nurturing or "pampering" myself, cultural stimulation, spiritual well-being, learning something new, playing, or simply doing nothing.
- I seldom have time to do the things I really love.
- My work and project areas are cluttered with "I'll look at this later" stacks and "to-do" piles.
- I often miscalculate how long certain activities will take.
- I often miss deadlines or work long hours to meet a deadline.
- I respond to interruptions such as phone calls, faxes, email, beepers and pagers, and allow them to take me off track.
- I try to keep things in my head rather than making lists. If I do make a daily "to-do" list, it's impossible to complete in a day.
- I tend to move from one urgent thing to the next, rather than working toward specific goals and objectives.
- I find myself constantly wishing I had more time or projecting an imaginary future when I have more time, making comments such as "as soon as..." or "next year..."
- I spend time running errands and rushing because I didn't plan well enough.
- I spend time doing things I could pay someone else to do.
- I often do things because I "should," or continue to do things that no longer fit who I am.
- Other people complain that my schedule doesn't allow enough time for them.
Deanna Maio, Business Development Strategist & Speaker, teaches women business owners how to grow their business significantly while still having time to live a great life. For FREE tips on how to get more results without working harder, attract more clients, and grow your profits, visit http://www.savvygals.com/
Author's content used with permission, © Claire Communication
Starting and growing a writing business can be a simple and straightforward process. However, many aspiring writers struggle. The most common reason for their struggle is simple. They’ve made one or more of the classic mistakes. Here are eight writing business dos and don’ts.
Do – Always deliver your writing projects on time or early
If you have a complication, address it with the client right away. For example, your computer broke and you lost everything on it. Let your client know immediately and provide them with an out. Ask for a brief extension and offer to refund their money if an extension is not possible. It pays to always make sure your work is done well ahead of time; that way if there is ever an issue, you have time available to make up for it.
Do – Stay visible
One of the biggest mistakes a writer can make is to deliver a project, cash the check and never contact that client again. If you enjoyed working with them, stay in touch. It doesn’t have to be a big deal either. Send them a note from time to time. Use an autoresponder to send special promotion offers to past clients. Connect with them on social networking sites. Stay visible. If you forget about them, they’ll forget about you too.
Don’t – Be afraid to ask questions
Clients are notorious for expecting writers to be mind-readers too. Even if you’re 99% sure you know the answer, ask the question anyway. In fact, one excellent way to establish trust with a client is to ask questions. It shows them that you’re invested in working with them and delivering quality work.
Do – Ask for referrals
If your client expresses pleasure with your work, don’t hesitate to ask for a referral. In fact, consider launching a referral program. For example, each client that refers a client to you gets 10% off their next order.
Don’t – Panic when you’re going through a slow spell
Things slow down from time to time; think positively and use the time to plan your business. Brush up on your skills, create marketing materials and focus on growth. Slow spells pass.
Do – Commit to lifelong learning
You can always improve your skills, offer more value and learn more about your industry. Become, if you’re not already, the kind of person who is always striving to improve.
Do – Create systems
Systems help you move through your business efficiently and effectively. Create payment and invoicing systems. Create autoresponder messages, client communication system and even editing and delivery systems.
Don’t – Let go of your passion for writing
Your writing passion is contagious. Your clients and customers will recognize it and appreciate it. If you become apathetic about your business, your clients will too. Starting and growing a writing business can be a lot of work but it’s also tremendously rewarding. You’re creating a business made just for you. You’re offering value and helping people achieve their goals all while making a living. It just doesn’t get much better than that.
Deanna Maio, Business Development Strategist & Speaker, teaches women business owners how to grow their business significantly while still having time to live a great life. For FREE tips on how to get more results without working harder, attract more clients, and grow your profits, visit http://www.savvygals.com/
Have you ever wondered what super affiliates do differently? How do they earn such high commissions? What tools and marketing tactics do they use that you can use as well? While there may be a number of things a super affiliate does successfully, chances are they’re also a super reviewer.
The Amazing Power of Reviews
A review is more than a valuable piece of content you can publish on your website, blog, or article directory. A review is perhaps one of the best ways to pre-sell a product or a service. As an affiliate marketer, you know that the best way to earn commissions is to pre-sell your affiliate products. Reviews get the job done because they offer unbiased information. They highlight the pros and cons of a product or service, summarize the benefits and then tell a reader where they can buy the product or service. However, a super affiliate takes their reviews a bit further. A Super Review is:
#1 Benefit focused
It highlights what problem the product solves and stresses the benefits. It answers the question the reader really wants to know: “What’s in it for me?”
#2 Personal
It shares examples or tells a story about how the reviewer benefited from the product or service. This turns the review almost into an endorsement. Personal experience is very persuasive.
#3 Unbiased
It provides an honest look at both the pros and the cons of the product or service. If a review doesn’t list any flaws, then the reader is going to be suspicious and not trust the opinion of the reviewer. Nothing’s perfect.
#4 Factual
It provides the raw data too. People make buying decisions based on their emotions. This is why it’s so important to stress the benefits and what problem the product or service solves. However, they reinforce their buying decision based on facts. These facts include price, features, and even where the product can be purchased.
#5 Purposeful
It includes a call to action. While you may have a few links to the sales page throughout the review, a super review always ends with a call to action. For example, “Visit LINK to learn more now.”
For a great example of a super reviewer, visit Rosalind Gardner’s website, netprofitstoday.com. She reviews most of the products she uses to build her affiliate empire. Rosalind Gardner is a fantastic example of a super affiliate and a super reviewer. Her reviews are benefit focused, personal, unbiased, and factual and they all end with a call to action.
To make more commissions and become a super affiliate, take steps to write reviews. Incorporate these ideas and steps to become a super reviewer and watch your profits soar.
Deanna Maio, Business Development Strategist & Speaker, teaches women business owners how to grow their business significantly while still having time to live a great life. For FREE tips on how to get more results without working harder, attract more clients, and grow your profits, visit http://www.savvygals.com/
If you’re like other motivated entrepreneurs, viral marketing plays an important role in your marketing strategy. Viral marketing, when successful, has the ability to skyrocket awareness and profits.
What Is Viral Marketing?
Viral marketing is content that’s captured the attention of the mainstream consumer. It’s content that people bookmark, forward, post on social networking sites and link to. Viral content has the ability to spread from one corner of the globe to the other. It spreads like a virus and can change a business overnight.
Nine Top Viral Marketing Tactics
First, let’s be clear. Viral marketing is content marketing. However, when you’re creating your content, your goal broadens. You want to offer value to your prospects and customers. However, you also want to go beyond offering basic value. You want the content to be so compelling that it goes viral. There are several types of content that can help you reach your viral marketing goals.
#1 Lists
People love lists. In fact there are many popular books that are nothing more than a long list. For example 101 Uses for a Dead Cat. This book was a big seller and was nothing more than a long, and perhaps humorous, list. Lists are easily downloaded and shared, and they’re often linked to. They make great viral content. Think about your audience and the value they’re seeking. What lists can you provide that might go viral?
#2 Quizzes
Ever notice that just about every magazine has some sort of quiz inside? That’s because people like their content to be interactive. Quizzes offer the opportunity to learn something about yourself or reinforce something you know about yourself. They also allow you to interact. Quizzes, like lists, can be funny, interesting and informative for the user or interesting and informative for you. You can use a quiz to learn more about your prospects and customers.
#3 Tools
Tools are things people can use. One great example of a tool might be an iPod application or a downloadable worksheet. A tool is also something that makes your prospect’s life easier. It offers value.
#4 Video
Video may be the most popular type of viral content. Most often the videos that go viral are funny, but they can also be informative or heart wrenching. Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture is an example of a viral video that is heart breaking and inspirational at the same time. Explore your audience’s needs and preferences and then brainstorm ideas for a video.
#5 Images
Photos and cartoons are common viral images. They can capture an idea, make people laugh, or inspire them to take action.
#6 “How to” content
When it comes to standard content forms, it doesn’t get better than the “How To”. Your “How To” content can be video, audio, or print – whatever your audience responds to.
#7 Funny story (or meaningful/touching story)
Humor tends to be the most popular type of viral content found online. However, a touching story, life lesson, or an inspirational story also spreads quickly. If you have a story to share, craft it well, make it public and then share.
#8 Controversy
Loud opinions about situations always stir up a controversy. Many people will want to weigh in and share their opinion too. Reports are a great way to create viral marketing content that’s controversial. Blog posts work quite well too because they provide people with a format to respond. One way to capitalize on controversy is to create a free report, promote it and discuss it on your blog. This way you’re reaching your audience quickly and the viral report will spread quickly.
#9 Sweepstakes, contests and giveaways
Finally, the last type of content that can easily go viral is a contest or sweepstakes. This is because everyone likes to get something for free and everyone likes to win. The bigger the prize, the more quickly word will spread. For example, if you’re giving away an iPad on your blog, you’ll likely gain a ton of traffic. People will be linking to your blog and there will be quite a commotion. Give away a free report and you’re not going to have as much activity. The key to capitalizing on this type of viral content is to build your opt-in list at the same time.
Creating viral content is the first step to a successful campaign. You’ll also want to integrate it into your overall marketing strategy. Use every tool available to get the word out quickly.
Deanna Maio, Business Development Strategist & Speaker, teaches women business owners how to grow their business significantly while still having time to live a great life. For FREE tips on how to get more results without working harder, attract more clients, and grow your profits, visit http://www.savvygals.com/
Blogs are a great format for a business website. They also work quite well as a branding tool for a website. However, in order to achieve your business goals you need blog traffic. If you’re looking to increase traffic to your blog, there are a few tried and true tactics that work. Here are seven tips for getting more blog traffic.
#1 Title tags
Your post title has two purposes. It’s there to attract attention and motivate people to read your blog post. It’s also there to help drive traffic to your blog. It’s there to be indexed by the search engines. That means you want to have keywords in your post’s title as well. Consider doing a bit of keyword search to find common search phrases before you post to your blog. The more search engine friendly, the more traffic you will drive to your blog.
#2 Comment
One of the best ways to get more blog traffic is to become active on other industry blogs. That means registering and commenting on blog posts. Be sure to use your blog’s URL as your website address when registering.
#3 Tag your posts
Tags are a way to label your content. Online databases like Technorati use tags to help bookmark content for users. Tagging essentially helps people find your content. It makes your posts more user friendly and helps drive traffic to specific categories and posts.
#4 Invite guest bloggers
Guest bloggers bring with them their own audience. They help add credibility to your website and in turn, they drive traffic. Additionally, guest bloggers are sure to promote their posts on your site through social media and their own blog. This means added traffic.
#5 Social networking
Link to posts on your social networking profile pages, fan pages and through your posts. Include a teaser or ask a question to motivate social network users to click through to your blog post.
#6 Social bookmarking
Sites like Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon and other social bookmarking sites are great for driving traffic. The mistake some users make is to bookmark every single post on their blog. Instead, submit the top posts only.
#7 Use your analytics
Find out what posts are most popular. Look to see where your readers are coming from and explore how they find your site. Then repeat those posts and marketing measures. For example, if you find that most of your traffic is coming from social networking activities and they really like your weekly quotes, then you know you can capitalize on that.
Above all else, focus on creating quality content. The more personable you are and the more value you offer, the better. People will naturally link to you and promote your blog. You’ll attract an audience and your blog traffic will increase.
Deanna Maio, Business Development Strategist & Speaker, teaches women business owners how to grow their business significantly while still having time to live a great life. For FREE tips on how to get more results without working harder, attract more clients, and grow your profits, visit http://www.savvygals.com/
Did you know that some of the most successful business owners and copywriters are exceptional storytellers? Advertising executives know this too. Story-telling is one of the most effective ways to influence a prospect.
What is Storytelling?
Storytelling is the tactic of creating an image about your company. Officially, storytelling is “the conveying of events in words, images and sounds often by improvisation or embellishment.” In the world of marketing, storytelling offers a number of advantages and opportunities.
1. Storytelling establishes a brand
Many of the world’s most popular brands were built on stories. Ford Motor Company for example, was built and still thrives on the story of Henry Ford. Think about the other stories that are connected to brands. They don’t just have to be about the founder of the company either. Many commercials are essentially thirty-second stories. They leave the viewer with an image about the company. This image can help establish or reinforce a brand.
2. Helps readers connect with you
Storytelling is often used in sales copy. It helps the reader connect with you, the sales person. A typical sales page may start out with identifying a problem and promising a solution. Then the copy might move into an “I understand this problem, I’ve experienced it too; this is how I solved it” approach. This is the storytelling aspect of the sales copy. It helps your readers, and potential buyers, identify with you. This establishes trust and liking – two powerful buying triggers.
3. Storytelling helps make a point
Storytelling can be used in content to help make a point. For example, if I told you right now how I used storytelling to sell a product, that would be using storytelling to make a point. I’d be sharing with you how I used storytelling to achieve my goals.
4. Storytelling helps your message go viral
Authenticity has become an important aspect of internet marketing success. When you share personal stories and they have an impact on others, they want to share them. They link to your content, they discuss it on social networking sites and they forward your content to others. For example, a few years ago a woman sold a $3 deck of cards on eBay for $141 all because she had a hysterical story about the cards. The story went viral and people were bidding on those cards like crazy.
5. Storytelling motivates others to share
When you share your story, particularly on blog posts, others are motivated to share too.
Try a little storytelling on your blog and watch your comments soar. Our lives are made up of stories. They’re what connect us. We have an emotional response. That response can motivate us to share, to connect, and to buy.
Deanna Maio, Business Development Strategist & Speaker, teaches women business owners how to grow their business significantly while still having time to live a great life. For FREE tips on how to get more results without working harder, attract more clients, and grow your profits, visit http://www.savvygals.com/
Ever wonder if it is really possible to make millions online? With so many promises and scams it may seem impossible. Take heart; it is possible to achieve your financial goals and dreams online. Here are four real life internet millionaires.
At the age of twenty-three Rob Benwell created an ebook called “Blogging to the Bank.” He sold it on ClickBank and on his own website. This information product has earned Rob a whopping $1.2 million annually. He released the first version in 2006 and today in 2010 is on his fourth version of the book. With the help of affiliates and a quality affiliate program, Rob has turned information marketing into a million-dollar business. And his book doesn’t cost a fortune. The latest edition costs only $37.
At the young ages of seventeen and nineteen, brother and sister Catherine and David Cook created My Year Book. My Year Book is a social networking site that is targeted toward teens. Since its beginning, myYearbook has grown to be one of the top teen sites and one of the 25 most trafficked sites in the US, earning Catherine and David ten million in annual revenue.
Mario Lavandeira, aka Perez Hilton, created his gossip blog and has grown his empire to three million annually. He started his blog as a hobby in 2002 because he was bored with the standard variety online journal style of blogging. He found gossiping about celebrities much more interesting and apparently so do millions of others. Who says blogging doesn’t pay!
Markus Frind founded the dating site, Plenty Of Fish, in 2003. It has since grown to an annual revenue of ten million dollars. The site, free to members, profits by offering a paid service to their site for serious members. Markus also makes money from advertising.
As you can see from the variety of internet millionaires listed, no single business model holds the key to millions. You can be a blogger, host a dating site or social networking site, or you can make millions as an information marketer. There are literally hundreds of other real life examples of internet millionaires to be found, each with their own passion, inspiration and internet marketing idea. The question is, what are you going to do to make it to the list of internet millionaires? What’s your passion, purpose and internet marketing idea?
Deanna Maio, Business Development Strategist & Speaker, teaches women business owners how to grow their business significantly while still having time to live a great life. For FREE tips on how to get more results without working harder, attract more clients, and grow your profits, visit http://www.savvygals.com/
The internet has changed the world. Children do homework and go to school online. You can shop for anything online. You can learn anything online. It’s also opened up an entirely new way of doing business. In fact, there are many ways you can make money on the internet.
Affiliate Marketing
This business model is one of the most popular. It’s also one of the easiest ways to get into internet marketing. An affiliate marketer earns money by pre-selling products or services for other companies. An affiliate marketer begins with a niche - a specialty topic. You then create a website based on that topic. You provide an abundance of article content and information about that topic. This draws traffic to your website. You promote affiliate products by writing information about the products or services you’re representing.
For example, you could create an affiliate website on slow cookers. The content you create on your website could range from reviews of slow cookers to slow cooker recipes or unique ways to use your slow cooker. In the review articles and other content you include a text link or two to the company’s sales page. For each slow cooker you sell, you earn a commission.
Information Marketer
Information marketing, like affiliate marketing, is a fairly easy way to make money on the internet. However, unlike affiliate marketing, as an information marketer you’re creating your own information products and promoting them online. Information products are products that provide information. They include books, videos, online courses and even seminars and workshops. Like an affiliate marketer, the key to success is to choose a specialty topic or niche. Create content to support that topic and draw traffic to your website. You can then build an opt-in list and begin marketing your information products to your visitors.
Ecommerce
Ecommerce is essentially selling a product online. You can sell a handmade product such as jewelry or bath products, or you can become a representative for another company, or manufacture products. Many internet business owners are artisans. They create what they sell online. There are sites that support this type of business owner. They include but certainly aren’t limited to Etsy, Foodzie, eBay and so on. You can use these ecommerce sites to create a store, or you can create your own website to sell your merchandise.
Service Provider
Finally, the other major business model is to become a service provider. This is a great way to make a supplementary income or to create a full-time business. You can provide services ranging from freelance writing, administrative help, graphic design, personal coaching, or even health and fitness training. If you have a background in a service, consider creating an online business around that experience. You’ll market your business with a website. It’s a great option because you can choose your hours, your clients, set your own rates and make a living helping other people while doing something you enjoy.
We’ve covered four of the most common types of internet business models. However it’s not an exhaustive list. If you’re interested in making money online, take a look at your skills, interests and what people need. Design a business that helps solve a problem and you’re off to a great start.
Deanna Maio, Business Development Strategist & Speaker, teaches women business owners how to grow their business significantly while still having time to live a great life. For FREE tips on how to get more results without working harder, attract more clients, and grow your profits, visit http://www.savvygals.com/
It takes a lot of courage to start a business. Once you start it and have established your business, it’s also easy to become complacent. You’re making money and have achieved your initial business goals. Many business owners stop here. They allow their business to plateau. One of the most common reasons is a fear of taking their business to the next level. They’re afraid to grow their business. Here’s how to get over that fear.
Explore Your Options
Before you can face a fear head on, you may want to explore what your options are. One of the reasons you may fear growing your business is that you only see one option to grow your business and that option isn’t appealing. When you sit down and think outside of the box, and allow yourself to daydream and innovate your future business, you may find a growth idea that’s inspiring and motivating. This will help you move past your fear.
Determine Where the Fear Is Coming From
What are you afraid of? Are you afraid of more responsibility? Are you afraid of more commitment to your business? Are you afraid of the steps required to grow your business? There are many emotions and things that may be contributing to your fear. Spend some time documenting what you’re afraid of. Once you have that information you can determine if:
- The fears are reasonable
- You’re willing to face the fears to achieve your goals
- You can eliminate the task and achieve your goal another way
Set Goals
It’s sometimes difficult to face your fears if you don’t have any motivation or inspiration. Goals can help you push through your fears. For example, you could set a new sales goal or profits goal. If you’re money motivated, that will work well to help you push through your fears. If you’re motivated to help others, then you can set a new customer goal. Find what motivates you and set goals that reflect your motivation.
Push Through
Sometimes there’s nothing you can do to avoid or manage a fear. You simply have to push through it. A positive mindset and confidence in your abilities will help. If you’re struggling with fear of growing your business, create an affirmation to help you push through the fear. You won’t be able to avoid the fear or the pain associated with it, but you can modify your mindset to help you manage it. Fear is a part of life. However, you’re an entrepreneur. That means you have the skills, mindset and ability to manage your fears and achieve tremendous business success.
Use your planning time to explore what your fears are, what you can do about them and where you want to take your business. Then take action to make it happen.
Deanna Maio, Business Development Strategist & Speaker, teaches women business owners how to grow their business significantly while still having time to live a great life. For FREE tips on how to get more results without working harder, attract more clients, and grow your profits, visit http://www.savvygals.com/
