Marketer of the Day with Robert Plank: Business Growth & Entrepreneur Stories

Today's Sponsor: Website Remote (99 cent trial)"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." -- Leonardo da Vinci

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7ezxDoMhTI

Only think three "content ideas" ahead (i.e. podcast episodes)

Have your own system or weekly structure. Promote ONE thing this week, email every day, and have a webinar in the middle if possible

Don't check email, Facebook, or Skype for a few days. The world will still be there when you come back.

Four Daily Tasks: all money making tasks, and one of them is some form of content creation

Don't Force It: if you can't seem to get anything done, get away from the computer, but also get away from TV and your phone (possibly, read to collect your thoughts). Get back "in state."

Stop Multitasking: Turn off all pop-ups and keep your phone out of your office (or in a drawer) so you can focus on those money-making tasks

It's Just One Hour: Time yourself and put even one focused hour (all other windows closed) on a timer for your business

Clear files off your desktop every week (into a monthly "overflow" folder)

Don't have a notebook filled with ideas. I have one single piece of paper and one pen on my desk to take notes, then I delete them.

File everything away and have it on auto-backup. I have a G-SAFE external drive and Cloudberry Backup running every night to Amazon S3.

Today's Sponsor: WP Import

"Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, only this time more wisely." -- Henry Ford

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_798OLb72o

Loopholes, superstition (H1 tags, meta tags, duplicate content), shortcuts/hacks, or a "good" user experience? Dwell time and human reviewers.Consistently put out content (at least once a week), promote it using Facebook, Twitter, eClincher, Zapier -- save "temporary" content like webinars, Periscopes, Snapchats, FB live into YouTube, iTunes, etc.

1. Use WordPress and a mobile theme (built-in or WP Touch)2. Install All in One SEO Pack and Google XML Sitemaps plugins3. Install W3 Total Cache and set it to minify JavaScript and CSS -- this will shave a few seconds off load time and give you a boost (and use Google PageSpeed Insights and tools.pingdom.com)4. Add 10 years on the domain (only gives a slight boost but is easy to do)5. Verify the site with Google Webmaster Tools (and Add Google Analytics code if you know how to do that)6. Buy an SSL certificate and redirect the site to 100% forced SSL (a little bit of work)7. Link to your legal pages at the bottom of every page. Terms and conditions, earnings disclaimer, and especially a privacy policy (PaperTemplate.com is great for this)8. Add a physical mailing address and a phone number at the bottom of every page, even if it's just a PO box and a Google Voice number.9. Load up your WordPress ping list10. The next step for my blog: Signup for Facebook Instant Articles and install the plugin (this is new and I haven't done it yet)

"Fail in private, succeed in public." -- David Ogilvy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YCATKDakWM

Stage 1: Quick Research

Find the intersection of: what people want, what people need, what you're good at, and what's fun for you -- forum search, Amazon table of contents, ask your list if you have one

Build a better mousetrap than your competitors, find their holes, absorb the changes, combine things from two competitors, give away one piece that your competitors normally charge for

Important: teach something you've already known for several years, that way you're saying "something" (as opposed to bizopp stuff), and you don't have to do any new learning

Stage 2: Find Competitors Making Money

Are there high ticket items, seminars, and membership sites about this?

Paid ads?

Do the high profile guys keep promoting it and keep their websites around for a long time?

Stage 3: Is There a Future In It?

Why is weight loss a good idea but back pain isn't? Weight loss is an ongoing problem you can continuously help them with, back pain isn't.

Huge offer: what can you sell for $100 that's worth $1000 to $10,000?

What can you checklist and systematize to "dumb it down" and make it super easy

Resources

Dropship CEO (Build an Amazon business)

Profit Dashboard (Build a Fiverr business)

Income Machine (Build an Information Product Business)

Today's Sponsor: Profit Dashboard (Make Money on Fiverr course)"You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks." -- Winston Churchill

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dgj2bxhJEA

The Steps

Phase 1: day job (get some income rolling in, overlap skills with your internet business if possible, find the win-win scenario)

Phase 2: freelancing (small jobs, don't become a monthly employee, get good at just one hour per day, avoid scope creep)

Phase 3: information products (solutions to real problems, find the sweet spot between power, simplicity, and speed)

Phase 4: membership sites & passive income (use the untapped potential of your list, 2 week mini-launch & pitch webinar, keep piling in a batch of members)

List, Traffic, and Offers

list: prospects and buyers (email autoresponder, opt-in page, follow-up sequence)

traffic: bigger community than yours, joint ventures, SEO (blog posts, guest posts, YouTube videos, podcasts), PPC (retargeting, AdWords, Facebook, Bing)

offers: affiliate products, resale rights, $7 solutions, $197-$497 four-part membership course, $2000/month coaching program

time management: four daily tasks, wake up one hour earlier, leave the computer when you're done

Fiverr Income (ProfitDashboard.com)

goal: one hour, 1 dollar per minute, 10 repeat clients

ranking: deliver fast (easy if you enjoy what you're doing), leave feedback, tweak gig description, get ratings

process: wake up to orders (knock out audios, videos, written material, software reports), tweak those numbers to grow and avoid a slump, upsell and scale (i.e. charge higher rates for the same time/effort)

Today's Sponsor: ProfitDashboard.com"Learning is a gift, even when pain is your teacher." -- Maya Watson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhcY31lr5ws

You should be excited to get out of bed in the morning. You should be itching to knock out 40 minutes of money-making tasks on the computer, then leave the computer.

If you're feeling unmotivated, get off the computer until you do.

THE LONG GAME1. Treat your business like a real business: boundaries for "focused" time (Four Daily Tasks) -- no split focus2. Anytime you're making a decision or deciding to commit time to a task, ask yourself: will doing this really earn me more money? If you're not sure, then is it worth risking an hour or 5 minutes to find out? (Usually: yes.)3. Look to put yourself out of business, because if you won't, someone else will. (Which means: move your business to the next logical step.) Complete what you start, but after completing and getting the low hanging fruit, don't rely on that income stream to keep paying you for 10 years.

SETBACKS4. Support System & Mastermind: have someone to talk to who understands you5. Light at the end of the tunnel: don't plan more than your next product, next book, next three podcast episodes, etc. Go back and connect the dots later.6. Make Money: you'll be more excited (and have an easier time justifying what you're doing to others) if you're making some initial money

MINDSET7. Take Time Off the Computer to Think: Either weekends, or specific days of the week. Don't just "zone out" all day and all week staring at the screen. Take quiet walks or drives to think, too. Exercise to clear your head and reduce stress.8. Be an Above-Average Person: Actually listen to what people say in your everyday life. Avoid being the zombie who drifts through things. Don't watch so much of the news, and avoid live TV if possible. Quit gossip and complaining. You take actions, things don't happen to you.9. Have an Abundance Mindset: Provide lots of help for free to others, not to feel superior or to get credit, just because it makes you feel good.

ACTIONS10. Traffic: most people setup their site hoping everyone will find it. WSO's, seminars, viral affiliate program, retargeted traffic -- get lots of people to your site11. Strengthen Your Content Muscle: this doesn't necessary mean writing. It can be webinars, podcasts, YouTube videos, product creation. Get used to producing "something" helpful to others at least every few days -- paid or free. Note: build content on sites you control, not forums and Facebook.12. Minimum viable product: What's most important is that you take action, that it leads you to making more money, and that you complete and follow-through. Getting it "done" and 80% right is better than getting it perfect and 100% right, which is impossible.

"Be big enough to admit your mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them." -- John C Maxwell

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfQkwrl8v2w

Traps you fall into: perfectionist, self doubt, self defeatist, the stars have to align. I need to "force" myself into getting motivated. Yeah, right."Usual" advice I'll skip over: Four Daily Tasks + Camtasia babysitter + accountability partner + computer hotseat + one take contentUsually, the "thing" you have to do is just 5 minutes, or just 1 hour: speak out book, run webinar, send emailStop multitasking with the phone, email, Facebook, TV. Leave it out of the room.

Stop watching TV: biggest time waster (or at least put it off for a couple weeks)

Schedule time on the calendar to get it done

Throw away the old notes and papers, you don't need that clogging up your mind

Don't walk into the office after a specific hour: this forces you to get more done

Anchoring: associate your office, sitting at the computer with fun, creativity, productivity, flow state (leave windows open so you can sit down and go)

Take short breaks without the phone: it'll be easier to multitask when you get back (take up walking during your breaks if you can)

Spend just 5 minutes doing something you love like playing the piano

Read a lot more: just one page per night

Leisure goals: running a certain distance, scoring high at a certain sport (create something).

Enjoy the "fun" of building your business. The meaning is what you make it. Get to the making-money phase and get to stoppable/resumable milestones.

Bonus: Wake up one hour early for an "easy" boost to the day.

Important Quotes & Terms

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_4Sb-XvDJw

Jeff Bezos: "Entrepreneurs must be willing to be misunderstood for long periods of time."

Lao Tzu: "The journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step"

T. Harv Eker: one foot on the brake

Grant Cardone: you must put 10X the amount of effort you think you had to put in to create that goal

Resources: positive affirmations about money

Resources: Socratic questions to change limiting beliefs into empowering beliefs

Reasons We Became Entrepreneurs

Result: travel, retire, better house/car

More time for what matters

Break out of the daily grind

Freedom

Control

Less stress, work

Build something undeniably great with your name on it

Crack the code (or nut) using your intelligence

Help others to build their business, write a book, lose weight, etc. Change lives.

Get the high score

Reasons You're Trapped in That Money Zone

self-esteem (you think you're not smart enough or don't deserve it), too old or too young, fear of change, fear of losing friends, comparisons to your parents and friends

scarcity mindset instead of an abundance mindset

it's hard to speed towards a brick wall: you tend to slow down when those bills get paid, instead you need 10

problem: what we resist persists

Quick & Easy Solutions

Meanings don't exist: any meanings or conclusions you come up with are in your own head. There is no absolute truth. Only many truths you have created.

Locate the source: Write down the specific issues that are holding you back from making more money -- people, attitude, obligations

Counter example: Find the exception that proves the rule: when were you productive? When did you have more money than you needed at the time?

Provide real value for others

Cut out the negative people (and customers) in your life

Write down a daily metric for how you're doing (as in, money, sales, content created)

Write down issues to correct them

Socratic Questions

Clarification: why do you say that?

Assumption: what could we assume instead?

Evidence: what's an example?

Perspective: what would be an alternative?

Consequences: how does it affect other things?

Meaning: what does it mean and where does it come from?

Questions to Correct Mistaken Beliefs

What's the evidence for this?

Does this ALWAYS hold true or has it ever been wrong?

Does this take the big picture into account, both positive and negative?

Are you being fully objective? Where did this idea come from? Or is it only emotional?

Negative Self Talk

Worrier: anxiety. Worst case scenario, overestimate the bad, exaggerated images of that. What if? Change to: so what?

Critic: self esteem. Judging. Ignores positive qualities and emphasizes the bad. I'm ok with the way I am.

Victim: depression. Helpless, powerless, regret. Belief that nothing will change or is too difficult. One step at a time.

Perfectionist: burnout. Says you should be working harder. Intolerant of mistakes and setbacks. It's ok to make mistakes.

If you do the things you've always done, you'll get the results you've always gotten.

Questions must be answered. Ask your "computer" brain for more negative answers and it will provide this to you. Ask for positive things and it also can't stop.

"Destroy Overwhelm" FREE Report

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZEki_gNCyI

Important Quotes

"You either create or allow everything that happens to you." -- Jack Canfield

"Today may not seem like much, but you're trading a day of your life for it." -- Anonymous

Questions As We Get Started

Take stock of what matters and what doesn't. What can you let go?

What is your usual reaction to: your bank account, your significant other, bad news, good news. What can you change?

Do you work better under pressure (just enough chaos) or do you like getting further and further ahead?

Do you have some skin in the game or are you just a spectator?

Psychological Triggers to Become Instantly Productive Even in Overwhelm

countdown timer (creates artificial urgency)

Seinfeld technique (mark each day on the calendar when you complete something and don't break the chain)

accountability partner (someone who can be proud of you when you finish)

Resources

Four Basic Emotions: happy, sad, afraid/surprised, angry/disgusted

Plutchik Wheel of Emotion: joy, (love), trust, (submission), fear, (alarm), surprise, (disapproval / disappointment), sadness, (remorse), disgust, (contempt), anger, (aggression), anticipation (optimism)

The "Feel Wheel" (Plutchik Wheel on Crack to identify an exact emotion)

Combinations of the Plutchik Wheel

Abraham-Hicks Model: joy, passion, enthusiasm, belief, optimism, hopefulness, contentment -- boredom, pessimism, frustration, overwhelm, disappointment, doubt, worry, blame, discouragement, anger, revenge, hatred, jealousy, insecurity, fear

Tony Robbins' Six Human Needs: certainty, uncertainty, significance, love, growth, contribution

Tony’s Classes of Experiences: feels good, good for you, good for others, serves the greater good. Transform Class 2 experiences into Class 1 experiences. Throw away Class 3 and Class 4

100 ways to say "great"

7 responses for common negative thoughts from Wayne Dyer

Solutions to Overwhelm

Helpless: Get some control back by making your bed. It's at least one thing you can control and one accomplishment you made today

Disorganized: Four Daily Tasks: write down those quick goals. Break your problem down into component parts.

Alarmed: Play it out to the logical conclusion. As in, if you're worried about money, take it to the most extreme conclusion. Will you be homeless? No, then it's not super terrible.

Anxious: Exercise (even walking), eat better, move around, have better posture

Indifferent/Unmotivated: Journal what you're feeling: sounds cheesy and is time consuming but works as a makeshift therapist. Combine something you don't like to do with what you do like to do, like play music while writing.

Lonely: Be more social, find a mastermind or mentor

Annoyed & Negative: Redirect Automatic Negative Thoughts and Absolutes ("this always happens"). Ask yourself, what's good about this or what could be good about this?

Depressed: smile, laugh, change your usual "predictable" reaction. Confuse your mind and break out of that pattern. Be careful with the "negative" words you use.

Bored: Move to a new location. Get your writing done in a coffee shop today, with a laptop and no charger

Distracted: shut out noise and create boundaries. Develop better habits, i.e. not checking FB, stats, email when you get bored. Separate the forest from the trees to get that clarity.

Conclusion: which is the reason you feel overwhelmed?

a. you perform best under pressure (you need a way to relax and unplug but this mode works for you): tweak those deadlines so it's interesting but you deliver on timeb. you're worried of what others think: do your best, you do you. You need more confidence which you get as feedback from your victories.c. you simply can't decide: scale down so that you make lots of small decisions (i.e. just decide on the book title)

"The worst people to serve are the poor people. Give them free, they think it's a trap.Tell them it's a small investment, they'll say can't earn much.Tell them to come in big, they'll say no money.Tell them try new things, they'll say no experience.Tell them it's traditional business, they'll say hard to do.Tell them it's a new business model, they'll say it's MLM.Tell them to run a shop, they'll say no freedom.Tell them run new business, they'll say no expertise.Just ask them, what can they do? They won’t be able to answer you.Poor people fail because of one common behavior: Their Whole Life is About Waiting." -- Jack Ma

"The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change.The leader adjusts the sails." -- John Maxwell

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_-PIV0UihI

Thought #1: Wealth is a choice: make up your mind. If money was distributed equally, it would be back in the "old" hands within 90 days

Thought #2: Stop fooling yourself about what you're after. Peace of mind, being able to do good in the world, is easier with money

Thought #3: Realize that you're the one holding yourself back, but don't be "happily miserable" about it

Factor #1: Relationships

Mastermind: associate with successful people (who challenge you) and not miserable people

Gossip, jealousy, nastiness. It's easy to be a critic. Why not do something if it's so easy?

Do a nice thing because it makes you feel good, before you need help, not just to use people

Be 100% there: don't try to "balance" business, family, day job, and fun

Factor #2: Abundance Mindset (skeptical vs. trusting)

Avoid the transactional trap where you either do something and expect a favor, or you play chicken to see who can do the least "work"

"Don't buy any courses... why would they give away their secret sauce?"

Zero sum: I'll have to steal money or sucker someone into working for me to make money

Factor #3: Take Control of Your Own Destiny (enjoy problems instead of placing the blame or making excuses)

Self-sabotage: one foot on the brake, the wrong kind of control, leads to "misery loves company" and trying to "save" others

Be coachable: Make some mistakes, or go into coaching with "what I've already built and here's where I'm stuck" as opposed to "I don't know where to start." Instead of a long-winded sob story, get to the point and tell me the one area where you need help.

Limiting beliefs, confirmation bias, self fulfilling prophecy, shooting yourself in the foot vs. The Four Minute Mile & The Mastermind

Find a way to enjoy building websites and making money

Minimum viable product and proof of concept: complete something so that you can contribute value

Let go of what doesn't matter

Factor #4: Time Management

Appointment Based Business: I have enough questions answered that I can now act (the calendar is immovable)

Anchoring: you become what you focus on, and your daily "time system" is only effective if you take it seriously

Train your brain. For example, set a timer for 10 minutes, start writing, and don't stop writing. The instant the timer stops, leave the computer. Don't act like you're smarter than the system. Don't just shrug it off and say "I got it."

Journaling, meditations, affirmations, daily actions & habits

Factor #5: Learning, Curiosity & Simplicity (lottery vs. action)

Crack the code: get to the goal in the least number of steps and make it repeatable

Specialized knowledge vs. "hard work"

Intake of information to solve a real problem instead of watching reality TV

Repetitions to improve your skill and repeat the positive result

Failure is a learning experience and the chance to begin again or change course, but don't give up too soon or set yourself up for disappointment

Don't ignore the simple or familiar stuff. Don't get caught up in buzzwords that make it more difficult. Avoid professor or student mode

Factor #6: Money Management

Emotional vs. logical

Gambling vs. saving

Live below your means

Factor #7: Future vs. the Past

You make your own story. Life is meaningless but then you assign meaning to a series of events.

Become desperate to reduce clutter (throw out what keeps distracting you)

Move out of your comfort zone: do what you are afraid to do

Pursue a real dream with milestones instead of just the status quo

"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future." -- Steve Jobs"A real decision is measured by the fact that you've taken a new action. If there's no action, you haven't truly decided." -- Tony Robbins

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HblUBT3hS5Y

Criteria for updating a course you're selling:

Has it be at least 1 year since I launched this?

Is it still selling, or have sales dropped off slightly? (as I'm promoting it heavily?)

Is there something new I'd change in each module of this course?

Is there a new sexy hook I can add to justify this new course? (examples: transcripts for videos, tools/templates, coaching calls using TimeTrade)

Tune in to today's Robert Plank Show where we talk about taking action and how to decide between the "product launch frenzy" versus income streams that make you money for years to come...