Backlinks — Getting Back to Basics

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Stronger TogetherBacklinks. We all need them to survive. But how do we go about getting them?

The Early Web

I remember when the web was young. Me and Suzi had so much fun …

I didn’t get into making sites way back then, but I did surf the web a lot. This was before Google. Before Yahoo. I mean, I remember when Alta Vista was the new kid on the block and I was using a browser called Mosaic (rhymes with archaic 8=)

The internet was called The Web for a reason. Articles written always had links to other articles that related to the given topic. Sometimes they were articles by the same author on the same site (internal links we call them now) but usually they were references to other sites. The links formed an intricate web pattern when they were graphed out.

The idea was that the web was to share information (and entertainment) and to provide easy access to related materials. Before the web an author could reference another writer, but the reader would have to find the book or periodical referenced somehow before being able to gather that extra info. Hyperlinks changed all of that.

Fast Forward to Now

But the web grew up. Commercial interests came in. Search engines grew. And links became a way to make money.

I just finished reading a post by Mark Thompson called Google Hates You. Mark talks about how Google and other search engines are doing a pretty poor job of sifting out the crappy web sites and allowing quality sites like yours (and mine 8=) to fall way down in the rankings. In fact, many White Hat websites are punished by Google while Black Hat sites manage to get top rankings.

Who is to Blame?

But is the fault entirely with Google and the Black Hats?

Perhaps we need to look inside for a minute. Perhaps we, as bloggers, can take some part of the blame.

I know that my backlink strategy (which I don’t work very hard) consists of posting comments (good ones, not spammy) on other related sites and forums as well as social media. I also dabble in article marketing and want to get some more guest posting done.

But as I read Mark’s article, I had to think, when was the last time that I referenced another blogger’s post in the body of my article? I mean, other than an affiliate link?

I’ve done this in the past, but not often enough. I think that we as writers should pursue at least 1 outbound link in at least 25% of our posts. Some articles could have dozens of links. Some might not need any.

But at a minimum we should strive to find at least one article out there that is relevant to what we’re writing about and link to it.

And we shouldn’t expect anything in return.

What Do Others Say?

It seems like I’m not alone in thinking this. Some of the A List bloggers have this on their minds as well. Brian Clark of Copyblogger wrote Why Linking to Other Blogs is Critical back in 2007. Pay close attention to what Brian wrote about linking to your competition.

And if you look through the list of trackbacks, you’ll find Linking Out Instead of Link Building to Rank in Google as a recent entry by Tad Chef at SEOptomise. I especially like one thing that he said: “Linking out is a strategy you have to embrace holistically.” Read the article to see what he means.

I found another great article by Dawud Miracle as a guest post on Lorelle on WordPress. Dawud wrote Why You Want to Link to Other Blogs where he explores more than just the page rank/traffic benefits.

Ben Yoskovitz has some excellent tips about finding interesting articles to link to as well as how to add them into your post. Blog Hack: Link to New Blogs and Get More Readers is definitely a resource you need to look at.

You’ll even find a couple articles here ProBlogger that talk about how to use outbound links. Kimberly Turner’s Monthly Trends + 10 Tips for a Flawless Linking Strategy touches on the subject. And Darren Rowse himself wrote about this back in 2009 in Outbound Links – An Endangered Species? [And Why I Still Link Up].

Explore the trackbacks and links found in those articles and you’ll find lots of people writing about how important linking out is to your blog.

So you can see that there are great benefits available to you when you implement this strategy. And not just SEO benefits.

Where do We Go Next?

I firmly believe that if we, as White Hat writers, get back to the basics of backlinks (i.e. letting our fellow writers create them for us as we create backlinks for them) then the search engines will take notice. They will see quality sites linking to other quality sites.

The links will be deep (i.e. to specific pages) and relevant. Because of this, we should see lower bounce rates and more time on page from people who follow those links. These make Google and the writer happy.

Here are some guidelines that I think we need to have in the blogosphere:

  1. When you write a post, look for 2 articles that you can link to that relate to your thesis. They don’t necessarily have to support you. They can be contrary opinions.
  2. If your post is inspired by someone else’s post, link to it (as I’ve done here).
  3. Don’t get all your links from the same source — spread it out. Spread it out wide. It doesn’t hurt to have a couple sources that you go to regularly, but don’t be exclusive.
  4. Don’t expect links back. That defeats the purpose. You may get links back, but if this works as it should then you probably won’t. You may see that writer link to something else you wrote down the road though as you probably caught their attention (and you hopefully have something worthwhile for them to link to).
  5. Don’t focus on the big blogs. If you find a relevant article on a smaller blog link to it.
  6. If you can’t find anything that you want to link to a given post then don’t force it. Aim for at least 1 link in at least 25% of your posts.

I’m sure that there are other factors that you can think of that I’ve missed. Feel free to share them in the comments. But feel even more free to write your own post on this topic and link back here 8=)

5 Reasons To Use Giveaway Events To Build Your List And 3 Not To

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Growing Your List is Tough

I’ve been trying out the world of Giveaway events lately to build some of my lists.  I’ve had some mixed success and I think it’s time to share a bit of what I’ve learned.  I’ll assume that you have a general idea of what a giveaway event is all about (if you don’t, contact me).

Five Reasons To Use Giveaway Events

1 – They’re Free!

You can join a giveaway event as a contributor for free at most events.  There are some events that require you get a minimum number of points before you can contribute — you will either need to buy points or get contributors to sign up with your referral.  But most allow you to have a gift to contribute just for signing up.  You can upgrade your membership if you like.  This will give you the option to add more gifts to the event and even add OTO’s on the various landing pages.  It also puts your gift higher up in the list when the members start pouring in.

But when your budget is tight, you can simply join at the free level and add your single gift.  You will need to promote the event, both to potential JV partners and to general members once the event opens.  If you don’t do this you’ll run the risk of having your gift removed from the list and you’ll get no sign ups.

2 – They’re Easy … ish

Once you get the hang of them, it is really easy to set your profile up.  There are 2 main scripts that are used to run these and you’ll begin to recognize which one is being used just by the sign up page.  The less common of the two will require you get points (from having referrals sign up) before you can add a gift.  So until you’ve got a list of others who are using giveaways you’ll learn to avoid those ones.

Profile:  You sign up with your email address and create a user name.  NOTE: This will put you on the email list of the event organizer(s).  Then you can update your profile with a few pieces of info.  I always put in a decent profile pic to help build my brand but you might want to use a logo or just leave the image blank.  Not all of the events use the image.

Promote for Contributors:  Get your referral link and start promoting.  You need to make sure that you are promoting to marketers at this point since your goal is to get other JV’s to sign up under you.

Gift: Before the event opens to the general members, you’ll need to add your gift.  An image, a short description and the links to your squeeze page are needed here.  Make your copy compelling and you might try to customize your squeeze page for the event.

Some events require a direct download page so that some upgraded members can get your gift without joining your list.  It seems unfair, but if your free gift is done properly you should have links back to your squeeze page or sales page.  And there usually aren’t that many members who take that option.

Promote for Members: Once the doors are open you’ll need to promote again.  This time, it is a general promotion for anyone who might be interested in the niche.  Once again you’ll get points for referred members and that will bring your gift higher in the list.

3 – You Can Make a Bit of Dough

There is money to be made in a giveaway event.  When someone that you refer joins and purchases an upgraded membership or one of the one time offers, you will receive an affiliate commission.  Some events increase the percentage for upgraded members.

This isn’t a big consideration since the primary focus (at least for me) is to build my lists, but it’s nice to know that you could make a few bucks at the same time.

4 – You’ll Meet Your Competition (and Potential Partners)

At a giveaway event, once the doors open you can go in to see what others have to offer in the event.  You’ll pick up valuable free information that you can use to build your business (although you’ll also end up on lots of email lists — you’ll have to prune them as time goes on).

But there are two things you can get in addition to the free gifts.  First, you can see what types of products are on the market (i.e. your competition).  Secondly, you can make contacts with other marketers who have complementary products.  JV partnerships and affiliate opportunities can be found if you watch for them.

5 – You’ll Build Your List

This is the ultimate benefit.  Provided you’ve got a reasonably compelling free gift and decent copy in your promotional blurb and squeeze page you will add subscribers to your list.  If you’ve managed to get the credits to keep your gift near the top of the list you’ll see more traffic than the end.

But either way, you’ll get some traffic.  And at the end of the day that’s what it’s all about.

Three Reasons Not To Use Giveaway Events

Like all marketing tactics, giveaways are not perfect.  They have some drawbacks that you need to watch out for.

1 – They’re Hard for Beginners

When you don’t have a list to begin with, it is pretty tough to promote an event.  Who do you tell?

I struggled with this and actually got downgraded at one event since I didn’t get anyone to join as a contributor.  Most of the other events let it slide but some are more strict than others.  I promoted the events to my small lists and also hit my Twitter followers (you can imagine how well that worked 8=).

I did manage to grow my lists though.  For this next round I’m planning to focus on building a list in the IM market so that I have a higher possibility of contributors when it’s time to promote.  My other lists are not really interested in getting traffic or building mailing lists.

I’m also looking at other ways to promote such as traffic exchanges and list exchanges.  These are interesting topics that I’ve been leery of up til now, but I’m learning how they work and giving them a try.

2 – They’re Not For All Niches

The most common events are in the fabled Make Money Online niche.  They’re full of SEO, Twitter/Facebook secrets, list building, PLR/MRR, etc.  These are great events if you are building your list in that niche.

But I struggled with building my personal development lists.  In the MMO niche there is some cross over but a large percentage of the crowd just doesn’t care about goal setting or simplifying your life.  It is tougher to find giveaway events in other niches, but it is worth it if you can find a good one.

3 – They Add a Lot of Freebie Seekers

You’ll get a lot of people who just sign up for the free gift.  They may hang on your list or they may unsubscribe right away.  Don’t get discouraged when that happens — it will happen.  But that is the nature of the internet.  Many people are only out to get what they can for free.  Every marketer has to face that.

But this does mean that your list may not be as responsive as you would like.  You may have heard that a list is worth $1/month/member or something along those lines.  Well, a list full of freebie seekers will be worth a lot less than a list of buyers.  So keep that in mind if you decide to use giveaway events.

The Bottom Line

As Hamlet might have asked, “To JV, or not to JV?  That is the question.”

The answer is not cut and dried.  If you don’t have a way to get other marketers to the event and promote it then you run the risk of putting a bit of effort out and having your gift cut from the event.  If your niche isn’t a good match for the event then you’ll get very little return for your effort.

But when you get the right event you’ll see an influx to your list.  I haven’t seen the kind of numbers that they promotional materials promise at any of the events, but I do see enough new subscribers to make it worth while for me.

My plan is to join 1 or 2 events at a time and experiment with different types of offers, copy and promotional techniques.

If you would like to try this as well, you can see what events I’m joining and promoting on the Giveaway Events page.  If one of them interests you then join up and I’ll see you there!

You can also subscribe to the newsletter.  In addition to keeping you up to date with Giveaway Events and other opportunities, it’ll have tips, news and free stuff periodically.

NOTE: This post is the first of the Ramblings Classics. It was originally published at Ramblings on April 15, 2011.

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My First Attempted Money Making Web Site

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Screen capture of The Electronic Fortune CookieThe first web site that I ever built in an attempt to make money is The Electronic Fortune Cookie. I’d developed other sites before, but not monetized sites.

I naively thought that I could make a site that is incredibly entertaining, put up some AdSense ads and affiliate banners and that would be that.

I developed the site in xhtml/css and php (I am a programmer after all 8=) with an excellent template as the base for the site. It randomly spits out quotations, jokes, etc. from a database that at this point has about 10,000 entries (there are about 100,000 more on my computer waiting to be converted to go in — they’ve been waiting a long time 8=(

What I expected was that this would be so entertaining that it would go viral. People would come, have fun and tell their friends. Plus they would come back day after day.

Didn’t happen.

I invited my friends expecting they would share it. Some of them came and told me they liked it. But that’s where it stopped.

I was very puzzled and started my adventure trying to figure this thing out. EFC is a labour of love on my part. I like the concept and the way the site is laid out. But I didn’t know enough about how to get the traffic (not to mention how hard it is to get relevant AdSense ads to show up on random content 8=).

I hope to come back to EFC at some point and add some of the sharing features and integration into Facebook that I’m learning about. It would be great to turn it into a Facebook app.

But other projects have taken the front burner — those that I feel have a better chance of turning a return on investment. And I still have so much to learn.

So EFC languishes … for now.

4 Common Misconceptions about PLR Content

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QuestionsBy Nicole Dean

Recently, in an interview, I was asked this question:

“Can you explode any misconceptions that stop people from using PLR content?”

Here is my answer.

There are four main myths that I run into regularly.

  1. The biggest misconception that people have is that all PLR is crap.
  2. The second biggest misconception is that ghostwriters are not good writers. We can even take that a step further and add that people assume they are stupid, taken advantage of, and/or they don’t speak English as their native language.
  3. The third misconception is that using PLR takes away from your expert status.
  4. The fourth misconception is that PLR and ghostwriting are somehow dishonest.

Let’s run through those one by one.

Myth #1: All PLR is Crap.

If you go back to about 2003, then I’d say that you are absolutely correct. Nearly all PLR at that time was junk. There may have been a few exceptions, but I wouldn’t touch most of that PLR content with a 10-foot pole.

We’ve made great strides in the last few years to raise the standards for what is acceptable and what is not in the PLR world. I’d like to think that I was one of the leaders in that movement.

Myth #2: Ghostwriters are Stupid.

I’ve got to tell you that I’ve worked with some ghostwriters who are brilliant in many ways. Oftentimes, they’re fabulous communicators, smart marketers, and hard working entrepreneurs. And, yes, they’re qualified to write quality information on many topics on the internet.

For instance, for a long time, I had a nurse writing my health PLR articles. I’ve also got a writer who graduated from Stanford University, who writes for several popular print magazines, and is a published author. Yes, she has her own book. And, another who had a career as a Political Speech Writer (before having children). That’s just three of my writers. They’re all amazing people, each with a variety of skills and life experience.

To assume they aren’t capable of writing quality content would be just silly.

I don’t just go to eLance.com and take the lowest bidder. To think that’s how all PLR sites work would certainly be a misconception.

Myth #3: You’re Not a “Real” Expert if you Use PLR.

The other misconception is that using PLR articles takes away your own value as the expert. That you are somehow cheating, plagiarizing, or that you’re a phony if you use PLR.

If ONLY you could see my customer list. It reads like the “Who’s who of Successful Online Business Owners”.

Business is all about cutting costs while increasing the bottom line. What better example is there than PLR content?

If you use PLR articles as drafts, they are delivered to you, ready for you, as the expert, to add your unique thoughts to them.

If you look at PLR like that – you can still keep your personality in your brand – and your sanity at the same time.

Myth #4: Using Ghostwriters or PLR is Cheating.

Most biographies in the bookstores are written by ghostwriters.

Most of the famous orations from our history were written by someone other than the public figure who gave the speech.

It’s not cheating to get help. It’s smart business.

Nicole Dean is the owner of www.EasyPLR.com – where you’ll find high-quality PLR articles sold in very limited quantities. The PLR articles at EasyPLR are professionally written and professionally edited — top quality at an affordable price.

Integrity Marketing – Using Alternate Identities

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Mask of FlameOne controversial feature of the internet is that it makes anonymity very easy. You can create many alternate identities and slip from one to another with ease.

Like everything, this has a good side and a dark side.

Alternate Identities in the Real World

Secret identities are nothing new. Writers (pseudonyms), movie stars and musicians (stage names) and superheroes (alter egos) have used alternate identities for centuries. So have spies and con artists. They can be used to protect the innocent, provide privacy or hide evil intent.

Pseudonyms, stage names, etc. are alternate identities that are designed to protect the privacy of an author or present a more marketable brand. I’ve written several stories for children and I hope to have them published under a pseudonym to make them more fun and entertaining.

Online Identities

And there is a place in Internet Marketing for alternate identities as well.

There are many marketers who use pseudonyms to set up niche web sites so that their competition doesn’t know and to make it easier to flip the site if they so choose. It is also used if you want to create a different brand in one niche.

I’ve read work by a lady freelancer who uses a male pseudonym to overcome gender bias for her business (a real life Remington Steele for those of you old enough to remember that show) — it was amazing how much better her business did when clients thought she was a man.

The important thing is that the identity is not intended to defraud anyone (although the female/male thing is close to the line). They are merely used to protect identity and/or for branding purposes.

The Dark Side of Alternate Identities

But the dark side of alternate identities lurks everywhere.

The obvious problem is the con artists who create an identity, run a campaign, pocket as much cash as they can and bail. Then they create a new identity and start again. They sell crappy products, ignore refund and support requests and sometimes don’t even deliver the product.

But there is a more subtle use that many marketers fall prey to — multiple Facebook/Twitter/Email/{insert your favourite here} accounts. It seems innocent enough, but the intent is to defraud and I think that you need to think twice about doing something like this.

Don’t get me wrong — I have several Twitter and email accounts. This is allowed and I’m not using them to defraud. What I’m talking about is setting up multiple accounts and false identities for driving traffic by creating false social proof.

The way it works is this (I’ll use Facebook as an example).

  1. Create 10 gmail accounts.
  2. Create a Facebook account for each one.
  3. Have them “friend” 5,000 people (the maximum allowed on Facebook).
  4. Have them Like and promote your fan page(s).

I’ve seen several How To Rock Facebook type reports recommend a variation on this technique. One actually suggested setting up accounts for your relatives who aren’t interested in Facebook for this!

The problem here is that you are using the alternate identities (false email accounts as well) in a dishonest way. You’re pretending to be someone who hasn’t got a commercial interest in the fan page. That is a lie. It is dishonest. The reports even go so far as to misrepresent yourself when trying to make friends.

The same technique is used in many social media sites, including bookmarking sites like StumbleUpon and Digg. I have read reports recommending that you set up 30 or more accounts and use varying subsets to bookmark and vote on your blog posts or whatever.

The intent is to create a false social proof. I imagine that there are those who post multiple comments on their own blogs or have several accounts in forums for the same purpose.

The problem is that this is creating a falsehood — intentionally. Not something that a practitioner of Integrity Marketing wants to do.

What About You?

Do you use alternate identities in your marketing? Do you use them honestly, or you ever been tempted to use these techniques? The problem is that they work until you get caught.

Please share your experiences in the comments. I’d love to hear what you’re going through.

Integrity Marketing – Honesty in Internet Marketing

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Solution of a mazeThere seems to be a growing number of people who are getting fed up with the lack of integrity in internet marketing — me included.

With the scope of the internet and the ease of changing identities, it is quite simple to use tactics that are less than honest without getting caught. A marketer can milk as much money from unsuspecting consumers as possible. Then they can move on to a new identity and run another campaign.

The problem is that these techniques work and many new marketers just follow them — it’s Standard Operating Procedure.

I would love to see an increase in honesty in internet marketing. If you’ve read this far I assume you would as well. So what do we do about it? I see 3 basic options at this point:

  1. Nothing. Just let it slide. Hope that karma will catch up with them.
  2. Fight back. Complain to the affiliate centers like Clickbank. Complain to the government. Write ranting posts and scathing reviews of the offending products.
  3. Educate people. Teach people what to look for when evaluating a product. Show new guys how the dirty tricks will work for a time, but bring a backlash that no one wants down the road.

I don’t think that options #1 or #2 are all that great — they lead down a road that sees more government intervention, red tape and overhead for online entrepreneurs. That being said, there will be times when the these options are valuable.

But I believe it is best to focus on option #3.

Let’s find ways to educate other marketers who may have learned some bad habits without realizing it. Let’s find ways to encourage honesty in internet marketing. Build relationships that strengthen integrity in the market.

We can also look for ways to inform the general public. Help them see through the scams, the false promises and dishonest techniques.

I know that we may not always agree on where the lines are, but it is important that we agree that the lines exist. If we don’t, then we’ll all need to find a new place to play when the governments and big business come to paint the lines for us.

I plan to write more about this subject under the title of Integrity Marketing. So watch for more posts and share your thoughts on the subject. If you’ve written on this subject I’d love to hear about it.

And don’t be afraid to disagree with me. All I ask is that you keep it civil.

Let’s get talking.

Cloaking Links – My Dumb Mistake

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D'oh!I hope that you’ll get a kick out of this. I do now (but I didn’t on Friday 8=)

The Setup

Last Friday I decided that I wanted to promote a new product as an affiliate (you can probably guess which one if you try hard enough). I went and built a cloaked link using Pretty Link [I’ll be writing more about Pretty Link down the road].

It is pretty easy and I had a link running in no time.

First thing to do — Tweet it! Then set up a couple blog posts and an email to the list. By the time I get back to check the stats PL is telling me I’ve had 25 hits! Fantastic!

The Screwup

But then, I notice the link I’ve created. I’ve made a dumb, newbie mistake. The uncloaked version has this big, huge “CLICKBANKID” in the middle. The humanity!

I can’t believe I forgot to put my id in the url before sending it out. D’oh! There’s 25 hits I’ll never get credit for.

The Fixup

But the nice thing is that with Pretty Link I can correct the link so that any future hits will end up with the correct url. Not that I expect too many from Twitter posts that are more than an hour old.

And I didn’t have to go back to my posts or emails to change the link.

Cloaking Links is Important

My little mistake could have been more costly. But because I’m cloaking my links for affiliate programs I am able to fix the backend of a link without affecting the places where I’ve submitted it already.

I don’t have to mess with articles submitted to an article directory. I don’t need to re-email the “fixed link” (although it wouldn’t hurt if the original was out there for a long time).

Anywhere that the cloaked url is in use will automatically redirect to the proper place from now on.

And it can be great if you want to change the place where a link ends up down the road. Use them in articles in case you want to have a different landing page without having to change them (an affiliate program closes or you create a new landing page that you want to test).

Are You Cloaking Links?

Tell me, are you cloaking your links? It doesn’t need to be hard. You can get some decent software to do it for you and install it on a domain that people associate with you (I use lonewolfmuskoka.ca). If you’ve got WordPress installed there, it is as simple as getting a plugin to do the job.

I’m very pleased with Pretty Link (you’ll notice the link is actually cloaked using Pretty Link). There is a basic version which I recommend that you try first. Then, once you’ve seen what it can do you can choose to upgrade to Pretty Link Pro.

So, before you jump down to the comment section to tell me your linking horror story, make sure you check out Pretty Link or some other link cloaking software. You’ll be glad you did.

Oh yeah, don’t forget to share your story below!

How to Overcome ANYTHING That is Keeping You From Making Money

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Dollar SignsBy Jimmy D. Brown

It’s frustrating.

Seems like everywhere you look – from business forums to Facebook – someone is sharing their story of amazing business success.

Their businesses are growing as quickly as weeds in July. And no doubt their bank accounts are growing just as fast.

But you feel stuck…

You feel like you’re being held back. You feel like you just don’t have the same advantages of those with the mega-success stories.

Those guys have big lists. They have lots of traffic. Some of them have amazing technical skills that allow them to get ahead faster.

Sound familiar?

If so, then I have some great news: You see, you too can overcome any obstacle, grow your business quickly and easily, and level the playing field with the “big dogs” in your niche.

How?

By outsourcing!

You can outsource virtually any task in your business. This frees you to focus on the most important “high value” tasks. And it allows you to grow your business quickly and virtually hands free!

Let me give you a few examples of common obstacles:

No list. The money is in the list – but you don’t have one! The solution is simple: Outsource this task! You can hire someone to manage the entire process, from creating your subscription page to writing your newsletter content to driving traffic to your newsletter landing page!

No traffic. You can hire a variety of freelancers to handle many of the most common and most effective traffic-generation strategies, including: recruiting an affiliate team, search engine optimization, pay per click marketing, content marketing… and many more!

No time. This is huge – many people can’t get their businesses off the ground simply because they don’t have the time. Maybe you’re already working full time, and you can’t quit your job to focus on your business. Or maybe you have a lot of family responsibilities. Whatever the reason, you’re constantly crunched for time, meaning you probably can only carve out an hour or two here and there. Here’s the good news: Once you start outsourcing, all you need are a few hours per week – and your business will grow faster than you ever thought possible!

No skills. Everyone says you need content to succeed, but you can’t write. Others say copywriting is the money-maker, but your sales letters couldn’t even sell lemonade to a thirsty crowd. Listen, whatever skills you’re lacking, there are freelancers standing by to pick up the slack. And they’ll do the job faster and better than you ever could!

Point is, you too can run with the big dogs in your niche. You can grow your business. You can enjoy more free time. And you’ll enjoy all of these benefits and more once you start outsourcing.

But one word of warning: You need to know what you’re doing before you start outsourcing, otherwise you could find yourself walking an expensive, time-consuming and frustrating path.

That’s why I suggest you click here now to pick up your copy of the H.A.N.D.S. Free Formula guide – it’s the quickest and easiest way I know to discover the secrets of getting more done in less time and overcoming ALL your money-making obstacles!

All the details are at:

http://lonewolfmuskoka.ca/recommends/JimmyDBrownHANDS

Jimmy D. Brown is one of my heroes. He has built an amazing business by helping others achieve their goals. The most important thing for me is that he markets with integrity. This post is part of a series he has released to coincide with the training course he is selling on outsourcing.

How to Outsource Any Project in 4 Easy Steps

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Lost in a MazeBy Jimmy D. Brown

You’ve heard that outsourcing is a great way to grow your business (that’s true). And while you’d like to get started right away, maybe it all seems a little overwhelming. You’re not sure where to start or what steps to take to get the process rolling.

Good news: You can get started with outsourcing in just four easy steps. Read on…

Step 1: Determine Your Needs

Your first step is to figure out what to outsource. Ask yourself these questions:

What jobs do you need done? Here you need to evaluate all areas of your business, including: Writing, copywriting, graphics, design, programming and other technical jobs, marketing and customer service. Then draw up a list of jobs you have in each of these areas.

Is it cost-effective to outsource? First attach a dollar figure to your time (such as $50, $75, $100 or whatever your time is worth). Then figure out how long it would take you to do a particular task. Next, multiply the hours it takes you to a complete a task by your per-hour worth.

Example: Let’s say your time is worth $75 an hour and it would take you two hours to create a graphic – that’s $150 of your time. If you can find someone to do it for less, then it is indeed cost effective to outsource the task.

Step 2: Advertise Your Job

Once you’ve figured out what tasks you need to outsource, your next step is to advertise the job in order to attract as many qualified prospective freelancers as possible.

While there are a variety of ways to do this – and you should utilize as many of these methods as possible – one great way to do it is to post your project on a freelancing board Elance.com. You’re bound to attract plenty of qualified candidates!

Step 3: Choose a Vendor

At this point you’ll get to choose from among a lot of vendors. But don’t make your choice based on price alone.

Instead, you need to do your due diligence to find the most reliable freelancer who’ll get the best results for you. That means checking the freelancer’s feedback rating, testimonials, business history and portfolio.

This step takes a bit of time upfront, but it will save you a lot of time, frustration and money in the long run.

Once you’ve researched all the candidates, select the best one and hire him or her. Then move on to the next step…

Step 4: Manage the Project

Whether you get mediocre or great results is largely going to depend on what you do at this step. That’s because you need to do the following:

Provide a clear brief and instructions. Your freelancer may have some amazing talents, but mind reading probably isn’t one of them. And that’s why you need to provide a clear and accurate “no guesswork required” brief for your freelancer.

Offer protocol checklists to help your freelancer produce the best results. Secondly, you need to continue to communicate your wishes and help your freelancer do great work for you. And one way to do this is by offering a protocol checklist for each project.

At this point you’re probably thinking at the whole four-step process sounds simple enough. And you’d be right. But you may also be looking to fill in the gaps.

Example: Where can you get sample briefs and protocol checklists? How, exactly, do you do your due diligence? And what are some of the other reliable ways to find freelancers?

You can find the answers to all of these questions – plus all the checklists and protocols you need – inside the H.A.N.D.S. Free Formula! This is outsourcing made easy, so check it out now at:

http://lonewolfmuskoka.ca/recommends/JimmyDBrownHANDS

Jimmy D. Brown is one of my heroes. He has built an amazing business by helping others achieve their goals. The most important thing for me is that he markets with integrity. This post is part of a series he has released to coincide with the training course he is selling on outsourcing.

5 Reasons Why You Should Outsource Your Entire Business

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GrowthBy Jimmy D. Brown

“Isn’t outsourcing expensive and difficult?”

Lots of people who’re new to outsourcing ask this question.

They’ve heard horror stories of projects that have dragged out for months. They’ve heard of people getting low-quality work. There are even a few cases of people paying and getting nothing in return.

But here’s the thing: All of these horror stories happen to a tiny minority of business owners. And it often happens to those who don’t know the right way to outsource. But for those who do know the truth about outsourcing, you’ll see them singing its praises.

Truth is, NOTHING will help you grow your business faster than a handpicked outsourcing team!

Here are five reasons why business owners all over the world happily outsource their entire business… and why you should too:

Reason 1: You get to focus on the “high value” tasks.

There’s nothing worse than spending hours doing a low-value task (like creating a graphic or writing articles) when you have other high-value tasks on your to-do list, like recruiting joint venture partners or drafting a marketing plan. Savvy business owners know that the key to business growth is to hand the low-value tasks to someone else so that you have time to focus on the high-value tasks.

Reason 2: A professional often can create better results.

I don’t know about you, but I’m far from being an expert on a variety of business tasks, like graphics, programming, design, copywriting and more. Sound familiar? Then start outsourcing, because a professional will most certainly do a better job since he’s the expert.

Reason 3: A professional can often do it for cheaper than you.

Time is money, right? So every hour you spend on a task may cost you $50, $100 or more. If you attach a dollar figure to your time and then start calculating how much it “costs” you to do a job yourself, you may be startled to discover that a professional can actually do the job for less cost than you!

Example: If your time is worth $50 an hour, and it takes  you an hour to write an article, then that article costs  you $50 to do yourself. I bet you can find a competent  writer to do the article for half the cost – thereby saving you both time and money!

Reason 4: You’ll stop struggling to move forward.

One of the major reasons business owners struggle to grow their business is because they spend too much time struggling with daily tasks. For example, it may take a beginner an entire day to install a script on a website. But a professional could do the same task in as little as 10 minutes.

Point is, stop struggling. Stop trying to climb steep learning curves. Stop wasting time learning how to do frustrating tasks. Just hire a professional to do it instead!

Reason 5: You’ll enjoy more free time.

You don’t have to be chained to your business 24 hours a day in order for it to grow and be successful. If you outsource, you can spend just a few hours a week working in your business. And that frees you to do the things you really enjoy, like spend time with your friends and family, enjoy your hobbies and do more traveling!

In summary…

It’s clear to see why so many savvy business owners outsource their entire business… and why you should too.

But before you even think of hiring a freelancer, you need to learn the ropes. You need to make sure you the process is painless, productive and profitable. And that’s why you need to check out the H.A.N.D.S. Free Formula for outsourcing. Do it now, because you won’t be disappointed!

Complete details are at:
http://lonewolfmuskoka.ca/recommends/JimmyDBrownHANDS

Jimmy D. Brown is one of my heroes. He has built an amazing business by helping others achieve their goals. The most important thing for me is that he markets with integrity. This post is part of a series he has released to coincide with the training course he is selling on outsourcing.