Every year, I create motto. Last year's motto was "Get It Straight In 2008!"
I just returned from overseas. I spent over a week traveling through the villages, cities, and hamlets of Ireland. After driving over a thousand miles through the beautiful historic countrysides, I found my inspiration for this year's motto. The motto for the year will be:
Let It Shine In 2009
What does that mean to me? To me it means the following:
To be more authentic. To be more fun. To be more friendly. To communicate my feelings more freely and clearly. To allow my spirit and my will to be freed from pessimism. To allow others to see the joy in my life.
Many of you have done resolutions, some of you have already broken them. I don't have a resolution for this year. I just have my motto. I will use this motto when I am faced with the obstacles that will come, the challenges that will be placed in front of me and the hard decisions that I will have to make in the near future.
Yet this year, in everything that I do, I'm going to make it shine. I want to make it shine around me. So that my sphere of influence will see that, like the apostle Paul, I am content in all of my circumstances. And I will fight the good fight!
If you would like to join me in letting it shine into 2009, leave me a comment or subscribe to this blog. This year is going to be one of the most important years of my life and yours. We are all going to have to work smarter, more efficiently, effectively and say no more often than we ever had before, but I promise you this... There will be a select few of you, who will walked with me all the way to December 31. When we both look back on 2009, for all the heartache and happiness that it brought, we will be able to say "We Shined in 2009!"
"Want To Have Prospective Clients Call You?" HassleFree800.com Toll-Free Call Capture System Review
Before I go any further in this article, I’d like to make a few things crystal clear. I was not given a “review copy” of HassleFree800.com. In 2004, I bought the 800 number service, I forget where I’d first heard about it, but I believe it was when I went to a By Referral Only or Craig Proctor workshop.
I reviewed it, compared it, liked it, bought it, tweaked it and played with it. I like the service… thus why I have been using it, went back and bought a distributors license so I can use it and tell the world my likes and dislikes.
Ok, with that out of the way, I really think HassleFree800 is the best “in the box” toll-free call capture I’ve ever come across, though I still have a few wants on my wish list for future upgrades.
Purpose: To make it simple for prospective buyers to use their phones to get the information they want, when they want it; and make it possible for the owner/seller to track advertising dollars and marketing campaigns.
3 Things You Will Learn From This Review
How Does Toll-Free Call-Capture Work
How I Use My 800 number
FAQ of People Who Want To Use a 800 number
So How Exactly Does HassleFree800 Work?
Here’s a break down of how to make the HassleFree800's Adtrakker system work for you:
Create Scripts & Dialogues: Do you say the same thing over and over again to qualify prospects? Record those scripts into the 800 number and have it do the majority repetitive work for you.
Publicize your call capture number. Have it turn cold suspects into hot prospects.
Optimize your marketing time and dollars by tracking what campaigns are generating the best results. Place the 800 number call capture extension on your blogs, websites, signs, sales letters, post cards, and articles.
Prospect listens to your offer and raise their hand if they are interested by leaving a message or dialing an extension to connect directly to you.
Follow up with the prospect to turn them into a client/customer using various closing techniques.
Sign the contracts--closed the deals--cash the checks.
Then do it all over again from step 1.
That’s it in a nutshell. It’s not rocket science, but there’s work to do. Your job, if you follow this path, is to be diligent by forcing yourself to take action... to complete every step above... for every marketing campaign you create. Some recommend having voice professionals or a person with a smooth voice do the recording for you; but I have found, if you're a small operation, the person who has the initial voice-to-voice contact should record the message. Because when you do the follow-up call your voice will be familiar to the prospect, makes sense?
My Two Niche Examples
The following are two specific ways I use my HassleFree800 number to make enough money to pay the cat doctor bills. This is not about becoming a dominant player - an expert - it's just one man's opinion on how to making things happen.
Although your overall strategy might be quite different from what I do, the fundamentals remain the same -- no matter what business your in.
Capturing Renters For Investment Real Estate
My Hasslefree800 number system sift and sorts prospective renters for my investor clients who rely on my marketing principles to get their properties occupied, which are -
1. Produce a compelling message to renters 2. Create an ad that will force the type of renter you want to call. For example: Home For Rent Sec. 8 ok $800/mo Free Recorded Message 888.462.3771 ext. 403 3. Market your the 800 number to build traffic 4. Call back only those who leave a message
I'll break down my section 8 niche further in a future article. Using this strategy for a recent property I received over 150 calls, 63 message, 20 showings, 10 applications, and finally one renter -- it’s almost robot-like.
Capturing Corporate Catering Events for BBQ Restaurant
In St. Louis, Missouri, my folks run Ms. Piggies' Smokehouse & Catering Company. Years ago, I told my mom how I was using HassleFree800 to acquire leads. She stored the idea in the back corner of her mind; however, the latest employee episode pushed her over the edge...
If you know of someone who owns a restaurant, you may have heard the number one and two issue they have is... reliable employees who show up on time and won't steal from the cash drawer. A few weeks ago, we had employee, who was reliable and never stole from us, but has a show-up-on-time problem.
When he finally made it in, the line was out the door, the phone was wringing off the hook, he rushed in the store, picked up the phone. On the other end, it was a company that wanted to place a big catering order. In his rush, he got the order wrong.
It was not just wrong, it wasn't even close, he’s simply rushed through the call. We nearly lost $2,500 deal.
Never, again!
A few days later, mom called me and I had the restaurant purchase its own HassleFree800 call-capture number and here's a quick snapshot of extension I created:
If you need Our Quick Pick-Up & Carry-out service press 101
For Food Catering services for 50+ guests press 102
If you need Catering services for 10+ guests press 103
To order our Hickory Smoked Turkeys press 104
To speak with the management team press 143
What I Like About HassleFree800.com
The system has been nearly perfect, but let me start with what I like followed by where I think it could be improved.
It’s efficient - there’s no waffling. I record my offer, the prospect listens to it, if they are interested... they leave a message.
I can load it with different qualifying techniques, like fax offers and "if then" extensions.
It can identify the addresses of those who called, even if they didn't leave a message.
Voice Broadcasting is a great feature. I can load a message to the system and have it call prospects and clients for me. For my restaurant niche, I'm using this feature to let 100 businesses know about our corporate catering specials. For my renter niche, I had it call 63 prospective renters at the same time. The message notified them about an open house tour and when the available time slots were.
I can retrieve prospects messages by phone or by any Internet browser, the qualifying selection process really is a process - there’s no “interrupting my personal or marketing time” or anything of that nature - I look for those who left a message, follow up with the warm lead, qualify them further to see if they could become a client by signing a contract.
Just like the service team at my local Lexus dealership, great technical support is priority. I have always been able to pick up the phone and have my issues resolved and questions answered the same day.
What I DON’T Like About HassleFree800.com
Here’s where I think they could improve on -
The 800 numbers also does double duty as a fax machine. Yes, this is an advantage too, because my business card is less cluttered. But there has been a few time that people who have tried to fax became confused when they heard my voice on the initial greeting. Some people started hitting the send button on their fax machine which actually stopped the fax from going through. Others who had to send their fax to me a few times before they figured it out. This hiccup didn't affect my pocketbook greatly, since I have the 250 minute bulk plan, but it has been a little frustrating when I needed to get title documents in a hurry.
That’s a minor complaint for me, I know, but there is nothing else I have a problem with in using the system. But here's...
Other Small Business Owner's Concerns About Call-Capture Lead-Generation 800 Numbers
Now, is having a toll-free call capture number the sole marketing strategy that will make money rain from the heavens and fill you bank account with buckets of gold? No.
I have heard few gripes and questions about call capture 800 numbers, I found them on different forums. Here is my answer to them, because as you know I don't like to repeat myself:
Question: On your signs which is more effective in getting quality prospects to call; 800 numbers or local numbers?
Kendall's Answer: I use two signs for my listings. My HassleFree800 number is on what I call "Ugly Yellow Soldiers" signs and my local number and website is on my official real estate sign. On one recent listing, I received three transactions from the people who called and listened to my free recorded message loaded on my 800 number extension.
Question: How does the recording portion of the 800# work? Do you need a different number for each listing?
Kendall's Answer: I call my 800# or upload a recording with a wav. file. Each listing/offer has a different extension.
Question: My limited understanding of 1-800 numbers is that you pay per call and it is really expensive. Is it really worth the added cost? In today's day and age, is having a 1-800 number a must when most people can dial local numbers at no cost on their cell phones?If it is worth it, where do I begin searching for a toll free number and how do I get it to have that cute and memorable letter/number sequence? 1-800-HOMERUN or 1-800-JSSELL
Kendall's Answer: I don't care about having a cute or memorable letter/number sequence. I focus on having a great offer to get people to pick up the phone and dial. HassleFree800 is not expensive. The cost per minute is between 4 to 6 cents per minute.
Question: Does this help your business? Do you get more calls from the 800# or from the office number?
Kendall's Answer: This has helped my business. I get more calls on my HassleFree 800 number because I have so many targeted offers.
Statement: I canceled my 800# service last year, and threw away all of my sign riders with the 800# displayed. I had used the 800# system since 2000, with declining results nearly every year. While most drive-by buyers have cell phones, most are also aware (via Blogs) of the call-capture on 800#s, so they became more hesitant to call.
Instead, I changed all my signs to have only my mobile # displayed. For those few buyers who call, they now get me directly, rather than some call-capture 800# voice message. It's something I prefer to do, and I still get the call capture on my mobile.
Kendall's Answer: That's too bad, I prefer to only have folks who know, like, and already trust me to call my mobile phone. I use an 800# on all my marketing pieces; blogs, sign riders, websites, fliers, sales letters, postcards, business cards. Anywhere I publicize my website I attach my HassleFree800 number to it. Remember, people aren't hesitant to call if you have a strong enough reason for them to call.
Question: I had an 800 number for years and it very seldom got used, so I 86ed it. I wonder if I should bring it back?
Kendall's Answer: Only bring it back if you can provide great offers to make the phone ring. Then market that number to specific audiences. Otherwise, if you are not going to go all out... don't go out... stay home and wait for the cell phone to ring and business to fall into your lap. Like Larry Winget said, "It's Called Work For A Reason!" If you don't work it, it won't work.
Who Shouldn't Invest into a HassleFree800.com Call Capture System?
I’m going to be completely honest with you -- using this 800 call capture phone technology is strictly for the people who care about controlling their time, financial resources, and dealing with prospects and not suspects.
At this point in your life, you realize that you don't like a formulaic and systematic approach to generating leads, then this system is not for you. The call capture system is for people like me, undercover control freaks who want a life; and more importantly, the ability to have lead-generating systems that can automatically repeat sifting and sorting leads over and over again.
If you don't struggled with acquiring leads to consistently feed your business because you get so many referrals, stop caring so much about your marketing and just improve your networking skills; just tell everyone you work by referral only--otherwise find the low-hanging fruit in lots of different niches and build lots of 800 number extension to tap into them.
If you already have a market you are trying to dominate with your personal brand and your expertise and you have already invested time and energy into building a presence in that niche, this is not the time to change course. Sure, you might still buy a HassleFree800 number, but use it as a supplement to your current strategies by either having a testimonial line, fax offer of a free report to businesses, or have it explain to people your unique selling proposition.
Final Call Capture Review Thoughts
One important point to make here is that HassleFree800.com won’t… break the bank. We’re not talking about a $150 investment here, or even a $97 a month - my monthly invoice is between $28 to $43 per month. In the two niches I spoke about, I've sold over $5 million worth of real estate and will soon book around $60,000 worth of catering jobs... in a state I don't even live in.
To let you know they offer the obligatory 15 day money back guarantee. You can take a full two weeks to decide whether it’s worth keeping. In that time you could even run a test of marketing and advertising templates that come with the system.
Remember, what Michael Gerber said, "The entrepreneur builds an enterprise; the technician builds a job." What are you building?
Ps. If you don't have scripts readily available, the system includes a complete mortgage and real estate marketing library and all the supporting advertising materials.
Pss. If you are a partner in a restaurant, like I am, you'll be interested in the review that I'll write in a few weeks, about the marketing program I bought in 2006 that has helped my little carry-out bbq place in St. Louis generate over $40K per month in food sales.
Attention Loan Officers: In 4 years, I originated over $15 million in homes loans and generated a substantial amount of side income. But because of the Federal guidelines and new licensing requirements, you'll benefit since my loan business was shut down by the government.
As of December 12, as a licensed real estate agent, I no longer can do home loans. So what does the new mortgage broker licensing law mean for loan officers?
If Your A Newer Loan Officer Here's Your Immediate Opportunity.
Since producing real estate agents like myself, can no longer do loans, here's 3 things that you could do tomorrow:
Contact all those real estate agents who use to do mortgages, but no longer can't. (Some have newspaper ads running stating their dual roles).
Give them strategies on how you could partner with them in no-to-low cost strategies to increase their business. (Guest articles in a blog maybe).
Lay-out clearly and have proof of how you professionaly communicate to prospects, clients, and to the agent (this was my biggest problem with loan officers and why I became one).
Well, since I can't do them anymore, here's what I am going to do...
A) Open Up My Mortgage Marketing Library To All Of My Readers and Subscribers B) Spill The Beans About What Did Not Work And How Much I Lost Doing It C) Explain Step By Step How To Acquire 40 leads Before Dinner and A Movie D) Give You The Magic Sentence I Used To Get One Investor That Generated 10 Loans for me. E) How To Use A Small Government Program To Fill Your Own Pocket With Large Amounts of Money
And I'm going to throw all this information down your throats like caster oil in the next 15 days. Here's why...
On December 10, 2008, I received a call at 4:07 pm. It was a return call from the marketing manager for the mortgage bank I originate loans for. After the niceties, she stated because of the new licensing guidelines, all realty and mortgage consultants (RMCs) could no longer do loans under their platform.
Since I have my real estate license, I can't receive direct compensation from FHA loans, which I knew (they did have a RESPA backed and approved way for me to receive a small referral fees). However with the new guidelines, every mortgage loan officer must be licensed, something I applaud and agree with.
Then she lowered the boom, that made me nearly made me cry and shudder.
"Currently, Kendall, 96% of all our loans in the pipeline are FHA refinances around the 4 to 5% interest rate," she said. "And unfortunately, we have to take you and the other 1,300 RMcs out of the system by Friday, December 12, 2008."
I almost cried because, talk about a marketing opportunity that most people who follow the media think doesn't exist...
Target people with FHA loans. Refinance them to a lower interest rates. Or target a select group of conventional loan holders and refinance them to FHA assumable loans.
I shuddered at the next thing she told me.
"I know your not married, don't have kids or a girlfriend and just have two cats you live with. If you had someone who could do the loans for you even part-time, we would put them in the system for you, but we have to know by Friday morning."
"I'm receiving this call on Wednesday afternoon." I said, "Wednesday! Thanks for the short notice, right!"
More importantly, who did she think I was anyway, I thought to myself, living alone with two cats?!
First, I love my cats. Their names are Flavio and Roxy.
Second, I'm married. Soon, we are going celebrate our 10 year anniversary in Ireland.
I told her that I was married. She stated with enthusiasm my wife could do the loans for me as a part time loan officer. I could refer the business to her. I said great send me the paperwork, when do I need it by again...Friday! No problem!
Problem.
I came home with excitement and frustrastion. Told my wife everything that happened and how I was going to have her do the part-time loan thing. I explained to her that on Saturday, I was going to meet 3 people who would complete $1.1 million worth of loans in the next 30 days.
If you are a women or married, you know my first mistake already, but if your not I'll spell it out. I stated to my wife, "I was going to have her do..."
After ten years, you would think I would realize. If your a happily married man, telling your wife you going to have her do something is not the way to go.
"I don't want to do that," My wife told me. "Yes, it stinks that we are going to lose another stream of income, but maybe working with them isn't going to be for you anymore."
My jaw-dropped.
Sign the documents for part-time employment, take my place and I hand over to her $1.1 million loan origination package...and she says no. Then she says the new rules and guidelines are there for a reason, why can't I get licensed to do both.
I explained to here about FHA guidelines. I explained to her the long process to get licensed. I explained to her my point of being an RMC was not to be a full-blown loan officer, but to guide my clients through the process and understand completely what my clients were going through and connect them directly to the underwriter, the person who ultimately makes the decision.
I've seen incompetence and gouging, and I do not want that to happen to any of my clients.
"That's nice," she said, "But I don't want to do it, but don't throw away the paperwork, I'll look it over on Thursday."
Thursday night. I get home from work (my wife is a stay-at-home mom for Flavio and Roxy), and I see on my desk... the paperwork... perfectly unblemished and unmoved... I have my answer.
Plan B
I called a young college student that I have mentored in the past. He doesn't have a real estate licensed and is always talking about wanting to go into business. I tell him my problem, I tell him I'll start him off right by sending him 3 hot-pre-closed leads with $1.1 million in slam-dunk loans that could close in the next 45 days, but I had to know by Friday morning if he wanted to do it.
I don't know about you, but have you ever heard the expression, "Throwing a juicy prime rib steak on a trash can lid as the serving plate."
That's what I felt I did, but time was of the essence.
Naturally, 10 am past, then 11 am past, noon, 12:14... at 12:38 he left a voicemail that he would pass on the offer, my wife was right.
My loan origination days have been foreclosed on, and I can no longer due loans for my clients.
That means everything that I have with regards to mortgages is of no use to me: the home study courses, the mortage marketing packages, the ebook on improving credit, all the techniques that I've learned over the past 4 years in mortgage origination, I no longer need. I don't need to hold the information close to my chest and not tell anyone how I did $15 million in loan originations as a supplemental business.
So I decided to just Give It Away for Free.
If someone wants to be a full-time/part-time home loan consultant with the mortgage bank I worked with (type in my name you'll see that I've been removed) then I will give them the employment paperwork. Have them complete it and send it back to me, and I'll forward it to the right people.
Yet being a real estate and mortgage consultant is no longer in the cards for me. My energies will solely focus on investing, development, and marketing. The loan origination money stream is gone.
Remember, Over The Next Few Weeks Here's what I'm going to do.
A) Open Up My Mortgage Marketing Library B) Spill The Beans About What Does Not Work And How Much I Lost Doing It C) Explain The 20-minute Solution for Searching D) Give You The Magic Sentence I Used To Get One Investor To Do 5 Loans With Me E) How To Use A Government Program To Fill Your Own Pocket With Money
And I'm going to give you all this information before I go on my trip. The only thing you have to do. The one thing that I am going to ask of you. To get all this heavy information I'm about to lay-out in the next couple of weeks is to...
I'm not asking for credit cards, social security numbers, or bank accounts, I don't want your money for this information.
So you ask why are you doing this Kendall?
Simple, because...
If I don't write it down I will forget it.
If I put it in an obscure file on my laptop, my hard-drive will crash.
If I write it on a piece of paper, my cat Roxy will eat it (she also like to chew holes in stinky gym socks).
There you have it no-strings, no e-books to buy, no guru course to invest into, just a personal frank discussion about my many Abraham Lincoln type failures and a few of my successes thrown in to keep things interesting.
All I ask it that you subscribe to my website if your interested in letting me spoon feed you nearly everything I know about mortgage marketing.
Here are 5 reason's why I want you to subscribe:
You never have to check for updates again, and you get to be the early bird and get the worm of information first.
It's completely free.
Your information will never be shared with anyone.
You'll won't have to remember where you found this great information.
Subscribers are intelligent, good looking and highly favored.
Have you ever read a novel call 'Line of Duty' by Michael Grant?
One of his characters delivers this line, see if you can relate:
" A guy I fish with once told me a funny story. He'd just bought an anchor, and as he went foward to tie it to the anchor line, he slipped and fell overboard.
"Suddenly, he sitting on the bottom of the lake in 15 feet of water, cradling his brand new anchor. He didn't want to let go, but he was running out of breath.
"Realizing his choice was drowning or losing the anchor, he reluctantly let go and swam to the surface."
The character in the novel, a police detective, went on to say:
"The 'Job' has been my anchor and I've been holding it for 23 years. I don't want to let go either, but I've run out of breath."
Most people can be caught holding onto prized anchors. If you've been blogging for a while and no one is reading (100+ visits per day), it might be time to let go.
But for those who want to keep holding that anchor, here's the last three tips of the series, I broken down from Yaro Starak, a professional blogger and my blog mentor, "10 Steps To Generating Blog Traffic":
3 Tips To Change Your Blog Traffic Problem
3. Submit your blog to www.blogtopsites.com. To be honest this tip is not going to bring in a flood of new readers but it's so easy to do and only takes five minutes so it's worth the effort. Go to Blog Top Sites, find the appropriate category for your blog and submit it. You have to copy and paste a couple of lines of code on to your blog so you can rank and then sit back and watch the traffic come in. You will probably only get 1-10 incoming readers per day with this technique but over time it can build up as you climb the rankings. It all helps!
2. Submit your articles to EzineArticles.com. This is another tip that doesn''t bring in hundreds of new visitors immediately (although it can if you keep doing it) but it''s worthwhile because you simply leverage what you already have - your pillar articles. Once a week or so take one of your pillar articles and submit it to Ezine Articles. Your article then becomes available to other people who can republish your article on their website or in their newsletter.
How you benefit is through what is called your "Resource Box". You create your own resource box which is like a signature file where you include one to two sentences and link back to your website (or blog in this case). Anyone who publishes your article has to include your resource box so you get incoming links. If someone with a large newsletter publishes your article you can get a lot of new readers at once.
1. Write more pillar articles. Everything you do above will help you to find blog readers, however all of the techniques I've listed only work when you have strong pillars in place. Without them if you do everything above you may bring in readers, but they won't stay or bother to come back. Aim for one solid pillar article per week and by the end of the year you will have a database of over 50 fantastic feature articles that will work hard for you to bring in more and more readers.
First... watch this video... and then continue reading
Have you ever asked yourself, "What is the purpose of all this work? I see others enjoying the warm soup of success and prosperity. Yet, I can't enjoy it... because I have no spoon."
In 2005, I joined a real estate investment program led by Mike Watson. During the early days, when Mike did the free seminars himself, he spoke about a process he called The Foundation to Success. At that time, there were 10 points to his process. Today, I am going to expand on point number two...which is "Know You're Why." I believe he calls it your "Red Button Statement."
It has taken three years and tens of thousands of dollars, but I've finally embraced my "why."
Have you seen the movie called, "The Bucket List" with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson? The story follows two "seasoned citizens" on their travels around the world as they cross-off the things they want to do before they die of cancer. For all the exotic traveling, fine dining, and car racing they did... in the end they both realize that life is about having meaningful and loving relationships.
I have a big Why. I will tell it to you shortly. Its like the fabric that made Joseph's coat. My big Why, keeps the vision I have for my life warm on gray dreary days, were it seems to only rain problems and inconveniences.
One patch of my big Why or item on my bucket list, is to be able to afford a special cruise. Not just any type of cruise. I want to do a Norwegian Cruise line, like one my wife and I took to Alaska.
Let me explain, my mother is from Selma, Alabama. She is the youngest of nine brothers and sisters. Currently, their age ranges are from 58 to 77. It is my desire to take all of them on an all-expenses paid five-day cruise.
They are one of big why's, the reason I work so hard. I want to cross-this-off before, as my dad would stay, "I would rather have the Upper-Taker than the undertaker...," take them all away from me...and investing is the quickest way for me to accomplish this.
Simple Steps To Developing Your Big Why
Mike Watson talks about creating a red button statement, he came up with the idea of red button statement from observing chickens in a science project. I won't go into the whole story of behavioral shaping. Just understand that a red button statement is similar to your life's mission statement or unique service proposition.
Here's the steps you need to take for your own red button statement:
The Red Button Statement Broken Down:
1. Finding your why
2. Finding your who
3. Writing your statement and living by it until you posses it.
Template for Writing your right button statement
Part 1 -- The Why
I will not stop investing/working/(whatever action) until I _____.
Part 2 -- The Who.
I will not stop investing until I _________ lives are impacted.
Putting Your Red Button Statement Back Together. Here's my life's red button statement:
I will not stop working investing until I share my vision and goals with everyone I come in contact with.
I will not stop working and investing until my wife can live the life she deserves, my extended family and close friends live in abundance and prosperity, and I touch all of those people that will hear my message with the gift that I've been blessed with and the plan that I am implementing.
Why Do I Need To Step It Up
Every Sunday evening, my family does a teleconference call (we each live in different parts of the country, my brother Karnell Matthews and my folks in St. Louis). Last night, my mom informed us that one of her sisters had to be rushed to the hospital; because of chest pains.
My mom’s announcement was a wake up call. If I want to realize my vision of having all 9 brothers and sisters enjoy the fruits of my labor, then I have to get busy. I have to generate more massive action from the gray matter swishing around my skull, I have to make a way out of no way.
Life does not stop because of recessions, depressions, or political changes. It keeps moving. If I am going to fulfill my red button statement, then I have to move faster than life. I have to demand my spoon and taste the soup of success, and if no one will give me one... I will make my own.
One of the hardest things for me to do is to stay focused. It's probably not that hard for you, correct?
What I've found helpful, is to break down every hour into 15 minute segments. I tell myself---- "Self, what is the most important thing you can do in the next 15 minutes? What can you do that will be highly productive and beneficial in the long run?"
Well last night at around 11:47 p.m., "Self" told me, "The most important thing you can do, the one thing that will be highly productive and beneficial in the long run is... TO GET OFF THE COMPUTER AND GO TO SLEEP!"
Below is part 2 of the 10 Powerful Steps Every Real Estate Should Use To Get Blog Traffic. Remember, to subscribe to my blog "Adventures in Door Knocking" to have my musings come to you automatically.
7. Start commenting on other blogs. Once you have your pillar articles and your daily fresh smaller articles your blog is ready to be exposed to the world. One of the best ways to find the right type of reader for your blog is to comment on other people’s blogs. You should aim to comment on blogs focused on a similar niche topic to yours since the readers there will be more likely to be interested in your blog.
Most blog commenting systems allow you to have your name/title linked to your blog when you leave a comment. This is how people find your blog. If you are a prolific commentor and always have something valuable to say then people will be interested to read more of your work and hence click through to visit your blog.
6. Trackback and link to other blogs in your blog posts. A trackback is sort of like a blog conversation. When you write a new article to your blog and it links or references another blogger's article you can do a trackback to their entry. What this does is leave a truncated summary of your blog post on their blog entry - it's sort of like your blog telling someone else’s blog that you wrote an article mentioning them. Trackbacks often appear like comments.
This is a good technique because like leaving comments a trackback leaves a link from another blog back to yours for readers to follow, but it also does something very important - it gets the attention of another blogger. The other blogger will likely come and read your post eager to see what you wrote about them. They may then become a loyal reader of yours or at least monitor you and if you are lucky some time down the road they may do a post linking to your blog bringing in more new readers.
5. Encourage comments on your own blog. One of the most powerful ways to convince someone to become a loyal reader is to show there are other loyal readers already following your work. If they see people commenting on your blog then they infer that your content must be good since you have readers so they should stick around and see what all the fuss is about. To encourage comments you can simply pose a question in a blog post. Be sure to always respond to comments as well so you can keep the conversation going.
4. Submit your latest pillar article to a blog carnival. A blog carnival is a post in a blog that summarizes a collection of articles from many different blogs on a specific topic. The idea is to collect some of the best content on a topic in a given week. Often many other blogs link back to a carnival host and as such the people that have articles featured in the carnival often enjoy a spike in new readers.
To find the right blog carnival for your blog, do a search at blogcarnival.com.
P.s. Yarak, has some free blogging set-up videos that was helpful for me in setting up RSS Feeds and other technical things I couldn't figure out, would you like for me to create a post review about that? Let me know.
In every bloggers life comes a special day - the day they first launch a new blog. Now unless you went out and purchased someone else's blog chances are your blog launched with only one very loyal reader - you. Maybe a few days later you received a few hits when you told your sister, father, girlfriend and best friend about your new blog but that's about as far you went when it comes to finding readers.
I have a list of top 10 techniques new bloggers can use to find readers created by Yaro Starak of BlogMastermind. These are tips specifically for new bloggers, those people who, like me, have next-to-no audience at the moment and want to get the ball rolling.
Yarak states, it helps if you work on this list from top to bottom as each technique builds on the previous step to help you create momentum. Eventually once you establish enough momentum you gain what he called "traction", which is a large enough audience base (about 500 readers a day is good) that you no longer have to work too hard on finding new readers. Instead your current loyal readers do the work for you through word of mouth.
To make his list a lot more easier to read. I've broken it down into a 3-part series. I've found that things are much easier when broken down into smaller chunks, don't you agree? Here are tips 8 through 10 tips by Yaro Starak, a professional blogger and my new blog mentor (point of disclosure I purchased his mentoring program last week.)
Top 10 Powerful Blog Traffic Tips (#10, 9 and 8)
10. Write at least five major "pillar" articles. A pillar article is a tutorial style article aimed to teach your audience something. Generally they are longer than 500 words and have lots of very practical tips or advice. This article you are currently reading could be considered a pillar article since it is very practical and a good "how-to" lesson. This style of article has long term appeal, stays current (it isn’t news or time dependent) and offers real value and insight. The more pillars you have on your blog the better.
9. Write one new blog post per day minimum. Not every post has to be a pillar, but you should work on getting those five pillars done at the same time as you keep your blog fresh with a daily news or short article style post. The important thing here is to demonstrate to first time visitors that your blog is updated all the time so they feel that if they come back tomorrow they will likely find something new. This causes them to bookmark your site or subscribe to your blog feed.
You don't have to produce one post per day all the time but it is important you do when your blog is brand new. Once you get traction you still need to keep the fresh content coming but your loyal audience will be more forgiving if you slow down to a few per week instead. The first few months are critical so the more content you can produce at this time the better.
A technique that I use, from reading the book "Getting Things Done" by Robert Allen, is what he calls, "batching." I block time every day, to write at least four 300 to 600 word articles. This has helped me stay ahead of the game. In a future article, I will let you know the program I bought at Best Buy, that has been very helpful with writing.
8. Use a proper domain name. If you are serious about blogging be serious about what you call your blog. In order for people to easily spread the word about your blog you need a easily rememberable domain name. People often talk about blogs they like when they are speaking to friends in the real world (that''s the offline world, you remember that place right?) so you need to make it easy for them to spread the word and pass on your URL. Try and get a .com if you can and focus on small easy to remember domains rather than worry about having the correct keywords (of course if you can get great keywords and easy to remember then you’ve done a good job!).
I've started www.ThePhoenixGolfer.com blog a few weeks ago, and I'm going to put in place these exact strategies and more. I'll keep everyone abreast of how it progresses by way of page rank from Alexa. Last night, my blog rank was around 5.3 million.
I've been doing the blog thing for awhile, but I've decided to really step-it up a notch and treat it as a business. I hope you enjoyed these 3 tips. However, if want more tips? Here you go.
There are multiple ways to grip a golf club. Although it sounds overwhelming, it truly is not. Once you begin to experiment you will eliminate four or five of them instantly. I will give you a guide to get you started on the right track.
Which Is Better Interlocking or Overlapping Grip
For starters, if you have small hands and fingers, the interlocking grip will probably work best for you. It helps you wrap your fingers and palm around the grip handle.
On the other hand, if you have large hands, the overlapping grip will probably work best for you.
The above-mentioned grips are the proper way to hold a club- however there are three different ways you can apply them to the golf club.
3 Types of Positions
You can grip the golf club in a weak position (no knuckles of the left hand showing), neutral (one knuckle of the left hand showing) or the strong position (2 or 3 knuckles of the left hand showing).
During your experimenting, if the golf ball has a tendency to curve to the right, you will want to move BOTH hands to the right (strong). When you move the hands make sure you do it slowly. If the golf ball has a tendency to curve to the left, you will want to move BOTH hands slowly to the left (weak). Now, if the golf ball is flying without a curve, you have the correct grip for you. DO NOT EXPERIMENT WITH ANY OTHER GRIP.
Feel The Grip Pressure
OK, you have found the correct grip for you. There is one last item we need to deal with. The amount of pressure you apply to the club plays a major role in how you swing the golf club. The tighter you grip the golf club the slower your arms will swing and the longer the clubface will take to release in the downswing (causing a slice). This is a good thing if you HOOK the golf ball. This will definitely stop the ball from curving from right to left. On the other hand if you have problems SLICING the golf ball this amount of grip pressure will make the ball slice more.
If you are struggling with slicing the golf ball, you will have to hold the golf club like you were holding a baby’s hand. Gently, the lighter you grip the golf club the faster the club will swing and the quicker the club will release in the downswing. If you do not have any problems with the ball curving, you have found the correct amount of grip pressure.
I call myself “The Vice President of Shanks and Slices.” You can check out some cool videos I gathered at http://www.ThePhoenixGolfer.com
Tools and Techniques You’ll Need To Repair Your Golf Grip Part 1
Let’s Focus on Your Left Hand
When you pick up a golf club your hands are the only part of your body that touches the club. For many years the hands (grip) have often been referred to as the steering wheel of the golf swing. I don’t believe this could be truer. Gripping the golf club correctly makes playing this game a much better experience.
Gripping the golf club at first glance does not seem like a very difficult thing to do, however, it can take a lot of trial and error to figure out the correct grip for you. This is a very interesting aspect to the game of golf. Gripping the golf club is a VERY INDIVIDUAL thing for everyone that plays golf. There are no two grips alike. You can only find what works for you through hitting golf balls. I can and will guide you, but ultimately, results on the golf course speak louder than me.
Place the golf club up in your left hand, the golf club goes across the left palm- from the base of the forefinger to the pad above the pinky.
Now, hold the handle steady with your left fingers and wrap your palm around the top of the grip.
1. Club Goes Across the Left Palm
2. Wrap Palm Around Top of the Grip
The grip does more to effect actual ball flight than anything else in the game. That’s why we’ve started with the grip. It’s the foundation of the swing, and a quick fix for those of you that have undesirable ball flight patterns.
The more you grip the golf club in the fingers, the faster you can swing the golf club and the quicker the clubface will close. If you grip the golf club further up in the palm, the slower the golf club will travel and the longer it takes for the clubface to close. If you are slicing the golf ball, you will want to move the grip more into the fingers (the base of the fingers), if you are hooking the golf ball, you will want to move the grip more into the palm area (higher up in the left hand).
Let’s Focus On Your Right Hand
Now that the left hand is in place you are going to place the right hand on the golf club. With your right hand on the side of your right leg, slowly bring it towards the bottom of the golf club. The right hand will be placed on the golf club more in the fingers than the palm. You will simply fold the right hand around the fingers of the left. BOTH PALMS MUST ALWAYS FACE EACH OTHER. It is not a difficult thing to do but it is mandatory, no gray area.
3. Bring your Right Hand Towards the Bottom of your Left Hand
4. Fold your Right Hand Around the Fingers of the Left Hand
5. Both Palms MUST Face Each Other
Congratulations, you have now GRIPPED the golf club.
But hold on a second, there is a good chance this is not the correct grip for you, so you will have to experiment. However, I have given you a great starting point. The placement of the hands on the golf club controls what the clubface will do during the golf swing and ultimately what the clubface will look like at impact. In the next section I will show you some variations of the grip that will help you find the one that works best for you.
**SPECIAL NOTE Most golf clubs either have a “ladies” grip or a “men’s” grip on the golf club. If you have small hands it is very important to make sure you have your clubs gripped with a ladies grip, it doesn’t matter if you own men’s clubs. If you have large hands you should have your clubs gripped with men’s grips. There are a couple more options, if your hands are really small you can have “junior” grips placed on your clubs or if you have x-large hands or arthritis you can have “jumbo” grips placed on your clubs. The grip size also effects ball flight. Large grips tend to make a person fade the ball and small grips tend to make a person draw the ball.**
I call myself “The Vice President of Shanks and Slices.” What title would you give yourself?
Have you ever lost nearly $175,000 investing in the stock market?
I haven't, but my newest investor clients have.
I don't know the final straw that finally broke their confidence in the brokers of Wall Street. It could have been when they didn't get out in time during the "dot.com" crash (lost $125K); or when their broker change companies to go to a big investment firm (they liked the broker, but never received good service from the firm, so they went against their gut instinct and transferred their funds); or it could have been when the economy started to go south late last year, but most folks didn’t realize it (lost $30K)…
Or maybe it was when the investment firm went belly up like a dead fish and their broker stopped returning phone calls. It could have been that during the last two month they still lost another $17K.
I don’t know what pushed them over the edge, but I do know this…
I met “Mrs. Newest Client” at Starbucks, the new one in Tempe next to the Tempe Town Lake, and she told me something very revealing.
“You know Kendall, we have always made money in real estate, and seem to always get killed in the stock market. My husband and I don’t know too much about investing in the stock market, but we do know real estate.
“We’ve never owned more than one home; however, the homes that we purchased to live in have all appreciated greatly. Even in this down market, we would make a $500,000 profit if we sold our current home.
“Could you tell me more about that self-directed ira or 401K you told my son about?”
The story goes on, but I’ll pause here to tell you what I’m looking for.
I want to know if anyone here on the forum has good resources for self-directed retirement accounts.
I’m going to put all those resources together and give them to my clients in one format. And if you want what I put together, I’ll give it to you for free… If you ask!
I’ve already started compiling information together, but I know there is more quick resource information out there and maybe some of you have in-depth experience with self-directed retirement accounts.
What I’m looking for is:
• Reputable companies that administer these accounts, (I already have Entrust, Pensco, and Equity Trust, but are there any others?
• Company 800#’s are easy to find, but is there a particular person that gives good clear guidance that you may have dealt with?
• What were some of the concerns you or your clients had with rolling over a company-sponsored retirement account into a self-directed one? For example, “Mrs. New Client” stated, “When our account lost money I blamed the broker, but if I would lose it… then it would be my fault.”
• What were your experiences investing with self-directed retirement accounts?
I’ll probably have more questions and discoveries; I will place them in this thread… Thanks in advance for participating.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
Kendall E. Matthews (Keller Williams Realty)
—
Before I go any further in this article, I’d like to make a few things crystal clear. I was not given a “review copy” of HassleFree800.com. In 2004, I bought the 800 number service, I forget where I’d first heard about it, but I believe it was when I went to a By Referral Only or Craig Proctor workshop.
;)
;)
