How I Manage My Time

This is an excellent article by Donna Gunter. I adopted this long range planning a couple of years ago and it works well for me. My weeks are broken into the three categories she speaks of - Rest days, Business Development days and Profit-Generating days. My schedule looks like this:

Monday: Business Development
Tuesday - Thursday: Profit-generating
Friday - Sunday: Rest

I stick closely to this most weeks. And because I have a home office, I don't keep the regular "corporate hours".  I work an hour or two and take a break and as you saw, I don't work even 5 days a week. I'm trying to scale that back to even less days and still get stuff done! Ever heard of the 4-hour work week? I'm going to look into it.

Read on for the details as Donna writes below...

One of the primary issues about which my clients complain is that they never stop running their businesses. They say their day is an endless cycle of completing tasks for clients, having conversations with prospective clients, and networking to find clients. They know that they need to find some time to plan what they're doing and where they're going in their businesses, and the only time they manage to carve out for themselves to do this is late at night with a glass of wine in hand, on Saturday morning in the midst of a child's soccer game, or on a Sunday afternoon at the dining room table when the kids are working on school projects. How productive can anyone be in that kind of environment?

Normally, when you think of time management, you're told to put your tasks in 3 categories (A, B, and C) based on priority, with the As being the highest priority, and then do all the tasks the A list. Poof -- time management -- done! If it were only that easy!

The time management system that I'm currently using is a bigger-picture system, focusing on the overall plan of how you structure your time rather than on the actual tasks, although that does come into play. In this system, you have 3 kinds of days: Rest Days, Profit-Generating Days, and Business Development Days. You can set as many (or as few of these) as you like each week, as long as the total number adds up to 7 for a full week.

I've purchased a large laminated wall planner for the current year and a set of colored sticker dots to graphically represent on this calendar my Rest, Profit-Generating, and Business Development Days. I've found that having this hanging on the wall in front of me helps tremendously in my planning, and when presented with an opportunity, helps me determine how viable it is in relation to the time I have available.

On your Rest Days, you are free to do anything at all except work-related tasks. You can meditate, veg on the couch, spend time with friends and family, go for hike, or take a vacation. The goal on your Rest Days is to revitalize and rejuvenate your spirit and not think about business, work, or money. This is the first set of days I'd like you to plan for yourself. Yep, you heard me right. Repeat after me, "Pay yourself first." What works with money also works with time! Currently, for me, that translates into 2 Free Days per week. I then have a number of longer vacation periods kicking in and 3 and 4-day weekends. Remember, all work and no play makes Jill a cranky girl....

Next fill in your Business Development Days, which is the time when you're working ON your business, not IN your business. The Business Development Days are the most important days for a business owner because they're serve as your business management days, or time when you focus on finances, marketing, sales, resources, and personnel.

Let me repeat -- this is the most important day of your week. You can't grow and market your business while you're doing the actual work of the business, so devote at least one day per week to developing and overseeing your business. Even if you're a solo entrepreneur, Business Development Days are vital to your success. Your business will not be able to grow and prosper without regularly scheduled business development time. My business development day is sacred, and I guard it like the Hope Diamond. Only in extreme emergencies do I let other things interrupt my Business Development Day.

The most compelling reason that Business Development Days are vital to your existence is because without that time, you don't have any of the third kind of day, the Profit-Generating Days.

Whatever is left of the week are Profit-Generating Days, or the time when you're actually working in your business, doing the work of the business. These are the days that you're working with clients, answering their problems and concerns, or conducting other activities in which you're directly generating revenue. In some businesses this time might be called "billable hours."

So, my current schedule is as follows:

• Saturday and Sunday: Rest Days
• Monday and Tuesday: Profit-Generating Days
• Wednesday: Business Development Day
• Thursday and Friday: Profit-Generating Days

I started this type of long-range planning several years ago, and have found it to be incredibly empowering. I guess I'd fallen into the M-F, 9-5 rut again without realizing it, and spent all that time working with clients rather than spending any time on the business development side and taking a long, hard look at what I really wanted out of my business. What was helpful to me was realizing that I'm not going to always be 100% faithful to this system, as opportunities arise that I can't control. However, I know if I commit to being 80-90% faithful to the system, I'll do just fine.

Start planning time for your business development today. Buy your calendar, set aside some time to map out your year, and begin to experience the power of actually being in the driver's seat of your business.

More info about Donna: Online Business Coach Donna Gunter helps baby boomers create profitable online retirement businesses by demystifying the steps needed to successfully market a baby boomer business online. Would you like to learn the specific Internet marketing strategies that get results? Discover how to increase your visibility and get found online by claiming your FREE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, at == > http://www.TurbochargeYourOnlineMarketing.com

How to Get Free One Way Backlinks Virally

As many of you know, one way backlinks is one of the best and most effective ways to get high positions in search engines resulting in targeted traffic to your site. But getting quality one way links is a big job.

Free Traffic System is a system that helps you to get an unlimited number of one way, top quality links. Free Traffic System has integrated a concept of viral marketing, rewarding its members with bonus one way links. I use the free version - it's a good place to start. There is also a pro version (paid) that will allow you the opportunity to increase the number of backlinks you can receive from each article you post.

Before getting to the viral part of the project, I'll explain exactly where you are getting these backlinks. The backlinks are built inside real blog posts, not in the footer or blogroll - in the very body of a blog post. This is a natural way to build one way links, because you give real unique content to your visitors in the blog posts, and search engines will always welcome it - search engines were created to help people in finding quality information in the Internet. When you submit an article, you can choose up to 30 related and relevant blogs. The blog owners can grab your article(s) for adding content to their blogs thus creating a backlink to your site from the article you created. These are backlinks from relevant blog sites that belong to real people in different niches. It's a natural and smart way to build backlinks for free.You submit one article to Free Traffic System and it converts into up to 60 top quality one way backlinks!

The viral part of Free Traffic System is simple - you get rewarded for referring others.You get a BONUS backlink on every 3rd post that your referral makes. This means you get bonus backlinks on article No 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, etc. of all people who got into the system via your referral. [Inside the system you get to choose your sites and related keywords so that your backlinks appear in relevant blog categories.]

Every article can be republished on up to 30 blog sites in the Free Traffic System, this means that one article with your bonus link equals to 30 backlinks from Free Traffic System. 2 articles = 60 bonus backlinks, 3 articles = 90 bonus backlinks. And this is in addition to the unlimited backlinks that you can build yourself by submitting your own articles.

The final perk of the viral strategy: If you add at least one WordPress blog to Free Traffic System, you will instantly increase the number of bonus backlinks by 7%.

So, you get 3 ways to build backlinks virally:

1. Free backlinks that you build yourself by submitting articles
2. Viral bonus backlinks for referring others
3. Viral bonus backlinks for adding your WordPress blog(s) to Free Traffic System

With this free backlink building power, targeted traffic from search engines becomes just a matter of time. And like with everything else you do to marketing your business online, it comes with consistent effort.

Get more information and details here.

Ciao for now, Paula

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10 Questions to Ask Yourself : Should Your Business Tweet?

David Berkowitz of Social Media Insider puts good thought into 10 ways to decide whether your business should Tweet.

There's certainly a lot of talk when it comes to Twitter and I'm still figuring out the best way to use it!.

Many small business owners have asked me if they should be using Twitter. Of course, my first question to them is "Are your customers using this medium?" If they are, then they will probably be open to you communicating with them via Twitter. Read David's entire article here.

You can also read a few more tips on my site.
Ciao for now!
Paula

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Make sure your SEO strategy includes these 2 main components - making sure your site is search engine friendly and building relevant links to your site.

Before we get to those 2 components, you must target the keywords your customers are using to find your business. Many small businesses target the wrong keywords. Ideal keywords and/or keyword phrases should represent 3-4 focused terms that are not too general. For example, you sell widgets - widgets by itself is probably too general and too competitive a term. Try a more focused version like 'blue widgets' or 'widgets for small business'. Make sure your keywords are highly targeted to your audience - matching the right offer to the right audience - yours.

Keyword research tools:
Beginner (free) - Google search-based keyword tool
Advanced (fee-based) - NicheBot

One note about these tools - don't rely solely on them. You know your business and customers best. Gather a list of general keywords that your market would use in a query and use the tool(s) to uncover more targeted terms that you may not have come up with on your own.

Choose a combination of keywords. Choose some with a fair amount of searches/competition, as well as terms with low competition. The terms with low searches will help you easily rank for these lesser searched keywords.

Search Engine friendly web site
If you are using site builders like WordPress, Drupal, or GoDaddy your sites will already be search friendly when they are hosted.

If you are maintaining your site manually (or using a web master to do so), implement these 2 things.

1. Make sure the keywords you chose are included in the META title, META description and META keywords tags. The title and description tags are used in compiling and displaying your listing in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). Since this mini listing is the first thing a visitor sees, these 2 things need to be as effective as an advertisement. Use the title as your headline and the description as your call to action. The goal is for them to click-through to your site.

2. Make sure you use keyword-rich file names for your web pages (ex. www.mysite.com/keyword-here.html)

Remember your primary goal is to make it easy for the search bots to find your web pages and easily determine the overall content/subject. It's also for your customers to easily navigate your site. Simple is better! Don't overcomplicate things.

One other note about navigational linking - be sure you have text links that lead to other pages on your site. Graphical or flash based menus are not easily read by the search engines and may be not be seen by your users if they have chosen not to display images while browsing.

Other formatting - the actual content on your page should always be written for your visitor. Your content should include your keywords in the most natural, appealing way possible. And make sure you deliver what is promised in your title and description tags or they won't stay long. Now's the time to get them to convert to customers.

Building relevant links back to your site
There are SO many ways to build links to your site. You have to review your options and choose what's best for YOUR business. You need to choose something that you know you can continue to maintain. Here are some starting points:

Blog - use regular blog updates to keep your content fresh. These are some free blog templates to get you started fast:
Google Blogger
WordPress

Press Releases - write and distribute press releases. These are usually fee-based.
PRWeb
PRNewsWire

Article Marketing - Write and distribute articles. Many free sites are available for you to distribute your articles. Here are a few:
ArticleMarketer
EzineArticles
GoArticles

In the search engines 'eyes' every link from an external source to your site is a 'vote'. The more links you have pointing to your site, the better your site will rank in the search results. Keep in mind that these links have to be relevant - they need to be links from authority sites with relevant web pages. Linking to unrelated resources will not count as a 'vote'.

In all instances of link building I've referenced above, write on topic and include your keywords as anchor link text back to your site. This is another way the search engines determine the theme and relevancy of the content of your web site.

Don't expect this SEO process to be a quick fix and don't expect miracles right away. Consistent and steady improvements/actions over time is what will help your site rank for the long term. Do your part by giving your visitors valuable content, great products, and excellent customer service and you'll soon be enjoying the rewards!

Ciao, Paula
MarketYourBizOnline.com
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Smart Marketing in Recessionary Times

In a recent article in DMNews, Ashley Johnston of Experian Marketing Services talks about taking advantage of social media as part of your marketing mix and also how to spend smarter instead of spend more. It's a great follow-up to a conversation I had recently with a small group of business owners. We talked about doing the same kinds of things she discusses.

Excerpted from the June 1, 2009 issue:
"It's not a time to spend more, it's a time to spend smarter. Recessionary periods are a great time for customer engagement. Focus on tactics that increase customer loyalty and value. Some of the simplest activities don't take long to implement, require only a small investment and yield quick returns.

It's cost-effective to re-engage lost customers and current customers. By combining email marketing and Web analytics you can deliver a highly targeted message that can be adjusted as you move forward to best suit how your customers search, browse and shop. This will help engage them for the longterm.

Take advantage of the power of social media. Promoting your company through blogs, social networking sites where your customers hang out, and ratings and reviews programs are great ways to stay on their mind and keep the conversation open with them. Encourage customers to share what they like about your business and be a part of more conversations in your industry.

Don't overlook the power of really LISTENING to your customers. Make it easy for them to tell you what they want by using surveys, response cards, online forms - whatever works for your business and customers. Asking and then giving your customers what they want goes a long way in building loyalty and increasing the lifetime value of your customer.

Take time to re-evaluate your relationship with your customers. How do you interact with them? What will help you communicate more effectively? Making even the smallest adjustment will increase retention now and for the long haul through these tough economic times."

Ciao, Paula