“For the just man does not permit the several elements within him to interfere with one another, or any of them to do the work of others, – he sets in order his own inner life, and is his own master and his own law, and at peace with himself…” (Source: The Republic By Plato)

Decide Already

“Being “on the fence” is one of the worst places you can be.

Being undecided means you’re uncommitted. It means you’re not sure if the thing you’re considering is worth it. Instead of moving ahead, you stay in one place, weighing your options.

When you’re undecided, every move you make lacks the full force you’re capable of. You can get away with things because your ego is protected. You haven’t decided, therefore you can’t be held accountable.

When you’re undecided, you dabble, trying to “decide” whether it’s worth it. What you’re really doing is hoping for new evidence or a push in one direction or another. Most times that new evidence doesn’t show up, and that push never comes. So you’re stuck on the fence, waiting to make your decision.

For anything worth pursuing long-term, there are rarely big events early on that tell you you’re on the right path. Only after months and months or years and years can you look back and see the progress and the signs that were there. In the moment, it just looks like hard work and uncertainty.

So deciding is one of life’s great challenges.

Deciding is critical because without a firm commitment, you can’t make long-term significant progress. If you don’t decide, you’ll likely bounce from one idea to the next, weighing options, trying to know which decisions to make.

There are no perfect decisions. Every time you choose something, by default you rule something else out. That’s something you have to get comfortable with in order to make progress.

For people who decide and do, life is long and full of accomplishments. For people who sit on the fence for year after year, life is short and full of regret. Most people put off decisions because of uncertainty and what they might miss out on otherwise.

Here’s the crazy thing about decisions: when you decide, you miss out on one set of possibilities but gain another. When you don’t decide, you miss out on both sets of possibilities.

So decide already. You can always change your mind later.

Then commit to giving yourself long enough to actually see progress from your decision (and be honest about how long it should take, don’t give up early). (Source: Decide Already By Corbett Barr.)

Begin thinking of faith in terms of ‘something to do’ rather than something to ‘have.’ Faith must not be of the kind that sits and holds its hands, but rather the sort of faith that spurs one on to work tirelessly and relentlessly.

If it makes a man work-and keep on working-it is genuine.

You must act as if you knew your success were already assured or you’ll never make the necessary efforts…There is nothing mysterious about it. You don’t even have to ‘feel’ faith. If you’ll only begin to act ‘aas if,’ then the feeling will come of its own accord. (Elmer Wheeler, The Wealth Within You [New York City, Prentice-Hall, 1955]

Two months ago, she received Envoy Medical’s Esteem Implant, which utilizes ear drum vibrations to bring hearing back to its users. The reaction, captured by her husband on video, is nothing short of extraordinary. Her pure joy is contagious.

Here’s what she said on her YouTube page:

“I had an implant put in 8 weeks ago called The Esteem Implant by Envoy Medical. I was born deaf and have worn hearing aids from the age of 2, but hearing aids only help so much. I have gotten by this long in life by reading lips. This was taken as they were activating the implant.”

Check out the video, and feel free to share your reactions in the comments.

One quick way to ruin your Twitter credibility, is to use Twitter as a platform as a sales broadcast tool. Twitter is about networking – not about direct sales. It’s Twitter not XanGo. Your goal isn’t to see what the tally is at the end of the day. Instead, your goal is about connecting with people on a somewhat personal level. Here’s a great example of what not to do. You wouldn’t broadcast on the streets of New York like this gentleman does, nor should you broadcast on Twitter (or Facebook, Google+, or any other social media site).

Disclaimer: Of course, sales are the lifeblood of every business and whatever industry you are in, if you can sell aggressively and deliver what you sell, you’re on the road to mega-success.

My point? Twitter is not your store front. It’s the vehicle that drives your connections to the storefront. Twitter is simply a way to get to the store.

To be a successful ‘tweeter’ vary your messages between encouraging and uplifting others, offering helpful tidbits in your area of expertise, and sharing a little something about real life sprinkled with the occasional offer or link to your site. I recommend you consider a ratio of about 20 to 1. For every sales tweet, you need 20 interactive tweets without pitches or site links. The exception to this is if you have a blog with frequently updated content. There is nothing wrong with letting people know you’ve posted to your blog, but it is critical that you are also posting the other types of tweets.

So get tweeting and have a little fun. Try connecting with people BEFORE you try to sell them your products and services.

It could be because when you have to focus on your word choice, with only 140 characters, you take the time to make sure every word counts. It could come down to the fact that Twitter is downright fun – and addictive!

Of course, some folks will tell you Twitter is a great marketing tool because you can find a targeted audience who CHOOSE to follow you and read your messages and they’d be right.

The truth is Twitter works for a variety of different reasons. The good news is, those reasons all add up to the reality that Twitter DOES WORK! Even though it is a serious marketing tool, there is something about the way people get real on Twitter that you just don’t see in many other platforms, that lets you get to know people’s real personalities. That is what inspires trust and creates bonds that lead to sales.

In my next post we’ll look a bit closer about how to get started on Twitter, and how to begin using this amazing networking tool in your business today.

Twitter’s popularity comes from its ease of use. It’s also quite addictive! Many people who questioned whether Twitter was worth the effort find they love the fast-paced interaction of the site. Twitter is all about immediate connections and real-time relationship building. Human beings are social animals who thrive on relationships and interaction with each other. Twitter provides immediate contact with others- no waiting for return emails or finding people on various Instant Messengers. You can jump on Twitter any time, day or night, and connect with someone immediately. Often, just taking five or ten minutes to tweet with others is all it really takes to build your followers, bring people to your website or break through a struggle.

Twitter hasn’t updated their official tally since April, but clearly the membership has grown in that time. Indeed, Twitter’s own data suggested that back in March the network was seeing 460,000 signups per day, with a total right now of over 360 million users!

Twitter is popular with many different kinds of people. In business, you’ll find lawyers, realtors, writers, web designers, Internet marketers, coaches, entrepreneurs, bloggers, small business owners, large corporations, and politicians. You’ll find famous people, infamous people, unknown people – the truth is, Twitter is being used by people from every walk of life you can imagine to connect with others and market their businesses.

Twitter connects businesses to customers in real-time. Businesses use Twitter to quickly share information with people interested in their products and services, gather real-time market intelligence and feedback, and build relationships with customers, partners and influential people. From brand lift, to CRM, to direct sales, Twitter offers businesses a chance to reach and engage their audience.

This is part two in a series of articles on A Beginner’s Guide to Marketing with Twitter.

Twitter is a micro-blogging site – meaning you can state your thoughts, views, opinions and links, but in a super-compact way. In fact, with Twitter, you only get to use 140 characters for each post, affectionately known as a tweet. At first glance, you may think 140 characters can’t possibly give you enough room to say anything of value, but once you jump into the flow, you’ll be amazed at the way Twitter can change your social media marketing world.

How Does it Work?

Twitter works as a real-time social media platform for users to update their followers with 140 characters and tidbits of information, chat, tips and tricks and other short messages that are broadcast to a group of users who have chosen to stay updated to your messages. While there are over 6 million users on Twitter, according to the latest statistics, individuals choose who they want to interact with by “following” them.

Every user gets a profile page, with room for a short bio, a photo and a link to the site of your choice. Your profile page also includes a button people can click on to begin “following” you – which means they will have access to all of your updates.

The more followers you acquire the stronger your networking capabilities become on Twitter. Twitter functions as an ever increasing network as each person interacts with their following, who then connects them to their own group of followers and on and on it grows.

Let’s break it down a bit.

When you create your user account and choose some people to follow, they have the opportunity to follow you back. As your followers start to get to know you, they will look to you to promote other people on Twitter and when they find people they relate to, they will begin following them as well. This “tell two friends who tell two friends who tell two friends” networking will expand your network faster than you can possibly imagine.

This is part one in a series of articles on A Beginner’s Guide to Marketing with Twitter.

Misconception 1: Not a lot of people use email

Email marketing is one of the most effective marketing methods nowadays simply because virtually almost all people use email. Check on those email fields or blanks required to be filled up on various forms needed in processing different transactions. A person without an email address is tantamount to a person without an online home, which is one big shameful truth for this generation.

Misconception 2: Email marketing campaigns can offend a lot of people

The not-so secret way to surmount this dilemma is through permission-based advertising. There’s no harm in trying after asking for permission.

Misconception 3: It’s stupid to send email to all the people

The key to this predicament is to have a very discerning eye on who to email and who to not email. Better look for some metrics on how to know which group of people would give you high ROI or return on investment.

The Real Deal with Building Opt-in List

After clearing the fog regarding email marketing myths, here’s how one can benefit from employing the power of email marketing campaigns – building an opt-in list.

However, building an opt-in list is not a piece of cake particularly for the uninitiated. Here is a rundown of tips on how to succeed in this kind of marketing endeavor.

1. Strategic Collection of Data

Know which information from your audiences will help you in lowering expenses and/or make sales flourish. Devise a tactic to make people voluntarily provide you with the information necessary to create higher conversion.

Overload of data is not good. Ask only for opt-in, with their full name and email addresses. Make sure that the profiles that you gather are updated to aid in improving the relevance, timeliness and satisfaction from each deal you make.

2. Good Implementation

The old adage says it all – ‘action speaks louder than words’. This easily translates to the difficulty one has to undergo during the execution of his or her email marketing efforts. It’s a good thing that various methods, often low-cost, abound to hasten and facilitate the building up of one’s opt-in database.

Tracking your email marketing results can pose great hardship, too. Technology and relevant sources should be employed in making this aspect of your marketing a lot manageable. Your high traffic groups of opt-ins with the greatest result should be taken noted of.

The following are the most widely used methods to leverage channels without overspending:

Make use of websites.

It is an excellent tool for data collation and providing you with relevant info regarding your email offers. Use forms that solicit your visitor’s email address and consent.

Make use of print ads, brochures, TV, radio and direct mail.

These are the more popular ways of marketing aiming to lead traffic to one’s site. You may want to ask for signups for email services. Make your website more visible through these media. Offering free electronic newsletters and or rewards program can do well in making it easy to win the nod of your audiences, too.

Maximize your sales force.

Customer service associates can help a lot in making you benefit more from your email correspondence. Sales people with proper education on how to aid you in this endeavor can very well contribute to higher ROI. Techniques like offering account updates and special programs through email can easily land you those lists of valuable visitors.

Don’t make your point of sale pointless.

Forms for signup located at cash registers and other high-traffic and highly visible spots can be very excellent venues for your business to collect email addresses. Notification of upcoming sales through their email addresses and names can coax them to supply you with the information you need.

Conferences or trade shows can work, too.

Giveaway offers or entries on sweepstakes are great for opt-in to volunteer their contact details.

These tactics should be applied with adequate caution and should focus on earning the trust of your opt-in list instead of simply collating data for your sole own benefit. Always make sure that the forms that you will use and other methods that you will employ will not necessitate too much fuss to subscribe. This is for people to not be annoyed during the process of data supplication.