Kickstart #983: The absentee returns…
December 10th, 2008______________________________________________________
Kickstart Today
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Friday December 1st 2008: Issue #983
Kickstart Today is published three times each week for opted-in
subscribers only. Publisher: Martin Avis. Your comments are
always welcome - to respond to anything you read here, please
click ‘Reply’
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Greetings!
Last week was a ‘Kickstart Free Zone’. Unfortunately, events
conspired to make it impossible for me to write, but hopefully
things will be a bit calmer from now on.
The big event of the week was, of course, the London Lunch. We
had a record turnout, even though five people had to cancel due
to bad colds and flu. The 35 of us all had a really great time
and I know there were still a few stalwarts chewing the fat at
9pm!
I tried to talk to as many people as possible because I love to
hear about what people are up to - or plan to be up to - online.
It is incredible how diverse this thing we call Internet
marketing really is! 35 people and 35 completely different ways
of working online.
Although the vast range of different methods of making money
online can be confusing to newbies who often ask me which method
is best, I think that the choice just makes it easier to succeed.
After all, if one method doesn’t suit your circumstances or your
personality, there are plenty of other proven ways to try out.
The only trick to it - as far as I can tell - is to give each
method a really good try, one at a time. As with most things in
life, if you dissipate your efforts by chasing too many
strategies, none of them tend to work well. But when you focus
and put your efforts to their best, concentrated, use, success
will be close by.
#~#~#
The next London Lunch is set for Friday 30th January 2009 and I’m
taking bookings already. So if you’d like to secure your place at
the hottest IM networking event around, please send me your £30
as soon as possible (by PayPal to the usual address).
#~#~#
We just spent the weekend in Portsmouth to attend the famous
Christmas market on Sunday. It rained all day and was cold, wet
and miserable. Even the Christmas Spirit tends to go missing when
the weather is that grotty.
As the market is held in the Historic Naval Dockyard in
Portsmouth Harbour, we also were able to take tours of the Mary
Rose - Henry VIII’s flag ship that was raised from its 500 year
sleep on the sea bed in 1982, HMS Victory - Admiral Lord Nelson’s
ship, the one he died on, and HMS Warrior - the last British
Warship to be built with sails (in 1860).
The ship tours gave us some respite from the rain, but were
fascinating as well, and contributed to us all having a good day.
Later, we all went to Pizza Express in the Gun Wharf Mall and
were treated to four of the best tasting pizzas that we have ever
had. I have no idea what the chef did differently to other Pizza
Express chefs, but please let him continue to do it!
We were all so taken by these excellent pizzas that I asked the
waitress to tell the chef how much we enjoyed them. Unfortunately
I had my back to him and so couldn’t see, but my daughter said
that when she spoke to him his entire face lit up in a big smile!
People who work in restaurants get used to customers complaining,
but I don’t think they expect to get praise very often. It costs
nothing to say thank you, but when you do, it can really make
someone’s day.
#~#~#
I just saw a link on the Warrior Forum that I have to pass on. It
is to a blog that has a great entry about 20 highly successful
Internet entrepreneurs.
It is worth reading to see just how diverse Internet marketing is
- 20 successes and 20 different business models. But even more
interesting is that all 20 of the people featured are under 21
years old - and some by a long way!
Inspiring stuff …
http://www.retireat21.com/blog/top-20-young-internet-entrepreneurs-under-21/
#~#~#
I was very lucky to be sent a review copy of Rob Benwell’s latest
ebook, ‘Blogging to the Bank 3.0′ a few weeks ago, but as it
coincided with when I was focused on building sites using the
Info Product Killer method, I
quickly scanned it and put it to one side to review later. And,
naturally, I forgot all about it.
That was a big mistake.
Luckily I put it onto my beloved Sony Reader and spend the time
to thoroughly read the book over the weekend.
I’m writing about this a few weeks after all the big affiliates
have managed to sell almost 6000 copies, so the chances are that
you have already grabbed a copy, but if not, I strongly recommend
that you do.
Just don’t leave it weeks to read - like I foolishly did!
Rob Benwell shot to fame a few years ago with his first Blogging
to the Bank book, in which he explained what was then quite a
revolutionary concept - making real money from easy-to-produce
blogs.
Rob is still quite a young guy, but he really knows his blogging,
and has proven himself many times over. He doesn’t write about
fluffy theory - he explains what he actually does himself to make
a huge income from blogging. Stuff that works.
But nothing stands still on the Internet. Google shifts the goal
posts all the time and something that works beautifully one day,
can be less effective, or even totally useless the next.
The first two incarnations of the Blogging to the Bank book
included techniques that dated very quickly, and could even be
classed as black hat. Although I could see the potential that
they offered, in retrospect I wasn’t 100% comfortable with them.
The new version, Blogging to the Bank 3, is a completely
different beast. This time I have no secret qualms about
promoting it because this time Rob has gone right back to basics
and teaches a totally white-hat, sensible approach.
Consequently, it could be argued that the book is more suited to
newbies that the more advanced marketers he has perhaps aimed at
in the past. And that is no bad thing in my opinion. (It would
also be a mistake - too many ‘experienced’ marketers fail to make
much success because they over complicate things. Going back to
basics once in a while is a good thing.)
Blogging to the Bank 3 is a great primer on how to set up a blog
the right way - with clear examples. It explains the three things
you have to optimize to be a successful (money-making) blogger,
and how to get each of them right.
If you already have a stable of WordPress blogs, then you don’t
need Blogging to the Bank 3. You probably already know what it’s
all about.
But if blogging is new to you - or still confusing - then
Blogging to the Bank 3 is the lifeline you have been looking for.
For newbies, looking to find out what this blogging lark is all
about, or for intermediate marketers who have yet to make their
blogs work as well as they should, Blogging to the Bank 3 is
highly recommended. And for all you experienced marketers, ask
yourself this question: why are Rob Benwell’s blogs making him a
fortune, while your’s aren’t?
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The Quote of the Day
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John Wesley said,
“Get all you can, without hurting your soul, your body or your
neighbor. Save all you can, cutting off every needless expense.
Give all you can.”
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Today’s Power Thought
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Why do some people seem to effortlessly rise through the ranks in
a company, even when they appear to have very little talent,
while most of us get stuck in jobs knowing that we could do
better?
What is it that marks some people out as being worthy of notice
from ‘above’?
Is it the way they dress? They way they talk? The way they walk?
Surely it can’t be the way they do their job - we do ours so much
better, don’t we?
It is a combination of all those things - people who get promoted
tend to have rehearsed their new job long before they were put up
for it. They notice the behaviors of the people above them in the
organization and subconsciously (or even consciously) begin to
emulate. They demonstrate in many small ways that they are worthy
members of ‘the club’.
If you feel that promotion is your due, start to become an
observer. What tiny things do the people higher up in your
organization have in common?
Do they all use a particular type of fountain pen, for instance?
Then save up and buy one!
Do they always have shiny shoes?
Do they keep certain office hours?
Do they wear a particular style of clothing?
Don’t be obvious about it, but gradually assuming the
characteristics of the managers and directors of your
organization, you will slowly be accepted by them as part of the
club.
But before you do all that, there is one more thing that you must
do - that 90% of employees never even think about. The 10% who do
are generally the ones who enjoy seemingly meteoric rises through
the ranks.
That one thing is to realize that you actually have two jobs. The
first job is your normal everyday one. You must get that right
and deal efficiently with the day- to-day tasks.
The second, and usually forgotten job is to realize that you are
working for the benefit of the company. You must always keep an
eye on how you can further the cause of the organization you work
for.
Out of every nine co-workers that you are in competition with for
promotion, statistically, only one will have their eye on the
bigger picture. Let that one be you.
Most people, when they are sitting in an interview for a better
job talk about how good they are at their current one. But their
bosses know that already! That’s why the interview is happening
in the first place!
What the interviewers really want to see is a broader vision.
So if you want more success at work, take a look at the bigger
picture, show your managers that they will be comfortable with
you in their club, and get ready for lift off!
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The Foolproof, No-Nonsense,
Kickstart Guide to Making Money Online
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*** Catch up with parts 1-30 of the Internet Marketing Kickstart Course at http://imkickstart.com
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Fascinating Facts
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The jellyfish, known as the Portuguese Man-of-War can grow so
large that its stinging tentacles reach a mile in length.