Ebook Sample Content Preview:

Chapter 4: Additional Tips For Making Money On Your Blog

Synopsis

If you are planning to advertise on your blog, you probably already heard about Adsense. Itrs the biggest online market for internet bloggers. Most individuals who advertise on a blog do very well.

More Tips To Be Successful

If you are planning to advertise on your blog, you probably already heard about Adsense. It's the biggest online market for internet bloggers. Most individuals who advertise on a blog do very well. How come? Most of the times the blogger did his research. If you would like to maximize your chances of advertising, these eight tips below will help you.

1. Make sure your blog is generating traffic

This is the most crucial factor. If you want to advertise on a blog with success your blog has to have huge traffic, listing it before monetizing that traffic would be a bad decision. You would be able to advertise it, but the money you'd get might be far below the real measure of the site.

2. Work on your trust rating

Each member on the internet has a trust rating, and most advertisers will check it before placing their bids. In other words, the higher your trust rating, the higher the chances of advertising on your blog. As a result you should take all the actions that will improve your trust rating (e.g., connect your Flippa account with Facebook and Linkedln, verify your telephone number and so on).

3. Don’t hype your description

The more hype you put in your description, the more people will think you're desperate to advertise and that your blog isn't a solid one. Examples of remarks you should avoid include: “Huge potential!”, “A lifetime opportunity!”, “My loss is your gain!’’Secondly, don’t hypothesize what the blog could be earning. Some people list blogs that are making $10 per month currently, and they go on saying: “This blog has the potential to make $4,000 per month easily!” If you knew this for certain you would not be selling the advertising space for such a low price....

4. Answer to every comment

Even if you write a crystal clear description people will still have questions, and they will ask them through the comment section. It's important to answer to every single comment, as this won't only encourage these commenters to want to advertise on your blog, but it will also improve the overall credibility.

5. Have a plausible reason for advertising

One of the first things people will ask you is why you are advertising? If there is no plausible reason, they will rightly assume that the blog is going downhill, and that you want to get rid of it before it becomes worthless. In fact it would be a good idea to include the reason for advertising. You definitely need to find one that fits with your blog, and doesn’t annoy your readers with ads that have nothing to do with you blog.

Chapter 5: Does Writing About What You Love Make Money?

Synopsis

That's the most common cliche amongst bloggers, online experts and internet entrepreneurs. I'm sure you heard it before. I utilized this advice myself. It goes like this: If you want to make money online, you got pick a topic that you're passionate about. You need to enjoy it, else it won't work.
Writing About What You Love?

That's the most common cliche amongst bloggers, online experts and internet entrepreneurs. I'm sure you heard it before. I utilized this advice myself. It goes like this: If you want to make money online, you got pick a topic that you're passionate about. You need to enjoy it, else it won't work.

I used to agree with it, one hundred percent. Lately, however, I started calling into question that rule. Creating a site on a topic that you love is certainly a great technique, and it does work well for many individuals, but I'm not sure if it's the only way to go. The first flaw I see on that rule is the following fact: if the niche or topic you love isn't a profitable one, it will be pretty hard to make a lot of money online with it no matter what you do.

Suppose you love tea. Should you write about it if you want to make money online? I am not sure. You could certainly create a popular website around tea, but if you decided to go with a more profitable niche instead, while putting the same effort and time, you could end up making much more income.

One argument that people use to back up the “you got write about what you love” theory is the fact that if you choose a topic merely because it is profitable, soon you will lose the motivation. If you write about something you love, on the other hand, you will have content for years to come. This is partially true, but not completely, because some people get motivated by the pure desire of making money or becoming successful.

In other words, if they start a website on a profitable niche and see that their efforts is bringing a good amount of money, they will get motivated no matter what the topic is. They will even do research and learn about it if needed. So what is my position now? I think that both strategies can work.

Choosing a niche or topic because you love it is a good route to success, but choosing a profitable one and approaching it scientifically can be equally successful. “You need to try my assistant in Bharat who can do that for you for $3/hour and this new free plugin for your wordpress blog.” When you need a little bracer Google the word of the area you need help in and add either “help” or “community” to it.

Seek a community, forum or blog online you are able to hang out in for a while. You'll come off feeling refreshed and possibly even with some great new tips from individuals who are out there suffering the same troubles as you and turning them into successes.

Ebook Sample Content Preview:

Chapter 3: Blogging

A third way to make money online is by blogging. Blogging is defined as continuously writing about a situation, event, or other interest and posting it online for others to read. If you can create quite a following with your blog, you can also create a decent income.

HOW TO GET STARTED

To create a blog that draws major attention and begin to draw money from it, here's what you need to do:

Step #1: Decide what you want your blog to be about. What topic or topics interest you most? Are you a car geek who knows everything and anything about the cars and trucks on the road today, or do you have an insatiable appetite for cooking and want to share your passion with others who feel the same?

Some of the most profitable niches and blog ideas are tech review blogs, beauty and fashion, health and nutrition, how to make money, or even teaching people how to blog! However, it is very important to only blog about things that you are genuinely interested in. Otherwise, you won't be able to engage other people in the topic if you have no interest in it yourself.

Once you have a list of options, pick a topic and tailor it down as specifically as you can to better resonate with your target market. For instance, if you enjoy cooking, what style speaks to you most? Are you a farm-to-table chef or do you like making traditional foods with a modern flair? The more specific you can make your topic, the easier it will be to reach the people you intend to reach.

To look for inspiration with this, check out related blogs that others are writing. This may help you come up with ideas for your own, in addition to helping you see what parts of their blog you like, and which ones you don't, making your blog easier for you to create, which is the next step.

Step #2: Create your blog. If you already have a blog in place, you are one step ahead of the game. If not, then you need to create one. You can do this by putting a blog page on your own website, or by joining a pre-existing blog platform, such as WordPress, that has easy-to-use themes that make setting up your blog a cinch.

Your number one priority is to come up with a domain name that suits you and is easy for your followers to remember and recognize. Something short and catchy will often do the trick, like 3 Fat Chicks who offer weight loss support or Dumb Little Man who provides tips about life. Also, don't try get too close to a well-known trademarked name in an attempt to get more followers or you could run into problems.

If you are setting up your blog on a self-hosting website such as Hostgator, Bluehost, or Dreamhost, all of which have packages for less than $10 per month, remember that .corn's often work the best as that is what most people are used to. At this point, .net is becoming more universal as well, so that is an option you may want to consider.

You also want to create a page that is pleasing to your target market and consistent with your brand. Choose colors and graphics that are representative of your style and topic, making it easy for your potential client base to tell who and what you are about at a glance.

Step #3: Start posting. The key to effective blogging is to create articles that your target market would want to read that contain keywords so you are easier to find. This involves creating a title that draws them in and writing a blog that engages interests, entertains, and benefits them in some way, while still making sure that each part of your blog has the keywords where they need to be. Also always format your articles to look appealing and to be easier to read.

You can either write these on your own or hire a ghostwriter to write them for you. If you choose a ghostwriter, one great platform to hire from is Elance. Each freelance writer is rated based on their past performance with previous clients, allowing you to pick the one that is best for you after reviewing their profile and job proposal on your specific project.

Don't be afraid to post videos or pictures on your blog either. People resonate with different types of material, so mix your blog up to suit most every type of reader or viewer and you'll have a larger impact, as well as a larger following.

One very important thing to remember is to post regularly. Get your readers used to seeing your name so they feel like you're a trusted friend and make them look forward to your posts, as if you are a part of their everyday life.

Some people choose to post on a specific schedule, like every Saturday morning at 8:00 AM. However, others post randomly and only when they have something to say. Find what works best for you and stick to it. I recommend that in the beginning you post as much as possible, without sacrificing quality of course. Aim at 2-3 times a week in order to build a larger following on your blog.

Step #4: Build your following by promoting your blog. Once you have some posts on your blog, now is a good time to promote it to build your following. First and foremost, you want to add the right keywords to your blog and the posts it contains so that your target market can easily find you when they do a search.

Second, you want to encourage them to follow your blog by offering a free download upon signing up, building your followers quicker and more effectively. Put a "Subscribe" button on it so that they can easily sign up to receive your posts as you make them (I recommend using AWeber.com or mailchimp.com for this purpose). Ask them to share them with their family and friends, who can then subscribe as well.

Step #5: Monetize your blog. Implementing what you've already learned about making money online in Chapter 1, your blog is a great place for affiliate marketing and CPC (Cost Per Click) ad networks like Google AdSense. Both of these options can draw in some good money if you have a huge following on your blog.

Ebook Sample Content Preview:

How to Join a CPA Network

Joining a CPA Network is more difficult than joining a basic market affiliating program. But if you know how this system works, you can certainly create your own opportunity especially using these steps:

#1 Choose one or more networks that you would like to join. You definitely want to choose more than one CPA Network. There is a wide collection of networks to choose from and apply to several in order to land up with the best offers, since more applications means an increase in your options. Make sure that you take the time to compare the options and features of each of the networks since different networks will have different pay for the same offers. Choose the network that best seems to suits your needs.

#2 Fill out the submission form and do the best to answer all the questions as best that you can. The network managers are interested in knowing about your website, how much traffic you generate, the methods you wish to use to make online sales, etc. Don’t be scared by these questions. Just be honest. If you have extremely limited knowledge in this business scope, it will not be the end of the world. They realize that you have to start somewhere, so just be honest in answering the questions.

#3 After you submit the forms, expect to wait of a week or sometimes even longer before you hear from anyone. If you want to speed things up, all you need to do is give the CPA network a call and you watch how quickly you get admitted to their CPA network! When the managers see how enthusiastic you are to get the job they will be impressed enough to have you working for them immediately!

#4 You might discover that some CPA networks are difficult to get into. In these situations, it is better that you tell them what your business plan looks like to promote their offers. This will allow them to see that you have the initiative to make sure everything is in order. This will make them far more likely that they accept you right away!

In the rare occasion that these tricks don’t work, you can have a successful CPA marketer put a good word in for you. Begin to work in those networks that you have been accepted, and then you can begin to build more experience. It doesn’t hurt to build on your contacts. Before long, you will start to work as a CPA marketer!

Business is all about making money. So as long as you can keep the green flowing to a business, they’ll be interested in having you on board.

3 Steps to Implement CPA Marketing

CPA Marketing is an excellent way to generate revenue on your site. You can accomplish it with three simple steps. Let’s get started.

Step #1 - Go Find an Offer

The first step is to search for an offer that will align with the traffic you get on your site. There are many different CPA networks to choose from all with hundreds of offers so you should not have a problem finding something that’s right for you. You can search based on network, category, price, keyword, etc.

Once you find an offer that seems to match your needs you can read the offer details. The listings generally offer basic information such as what kind of traffic is allowed or what users are required to do. If it seems like a good match, click the ‘landing page preview’ button. Now you will see the pages that your visitors will see when they click the CPA link. If it looks shady, walk away, because it will shady to your visitors too and it will not convert. The more fields on a page the lower the conversion rate so keep this in mind, although more fields compensate with higher commissions. You’ll have to weigh it out.

Step #2: Join a CPA Network

Once you decide the offer looks right for you, you need to join the network that runs the offer. To apply simply click the link on the offer page. The application will ask you for your phone number, which they will call you at. For many affiliate marketers this poses a bit of a problem, as we aren’t used to talking with others when making money.

You are going to need to get accepted. The CPA network isn’t trying to be difficult. They just want to make sure that you are as legitimate a business as they are. Just be transparent. Keep in mind you don’t have to be a ‘rock star’ to get accepted, so if you are new, be honest and tell them that.

Step #3: Build Your Website around CPA

After you are accepted at the network you want to join, and you have a CPA offer that’s read, it is time for you to implement your CPA into your website. What’s great about CPA you can have a website that looks like a Fortune 500 Company and you don’t waste your time putting up ugly banners that pay hardly anything if at all. There’s no need for in your face advertising with CPA.

There you go - three easy steps and you too can be participating in CPA Marketing.

The #1 Fear in CPA Marketing

You are reading this because you want to know what the main fear is when it comes to CPA marketing. If you are new to CPA marketing, it can be kind of scary. Don’t let the fear of you losing your money be the reason that you stop yourself from making money. Success is really based on making sure you test - test - test - stay on top of what you are doing, know what’s working and what’s not working.

The fear of failure is the number one fear in CPA marketing. It’s also what will stop most people dead in their tracks before they even get started. After all, if you never start, you can’t fail, of course, you also can’t succeed. Having this mentality is not the mentality for success.

Perhaps it’s because of a lack of self confidence, or maybe you don’t have good self esteem. Whatever the reason, you need to address it if you are going to enjoy success in CPA marketing. You need to patient and you need to be willing to step out of your comfort zone.

Ebook Sample Content Preview:

Chapter 4 - Social Media Marketing

Invest your valuable time & resources on developing social media campaigns because it is a platform where you can get engaged with real people and talk to them. You can surround yourself with qualified prospects and thus generate enormous traffic towards your site. In the previous chapters, you have learnt the ways to identify best social media channels to find your targeted audience. By utilizing that information, you can solidify brand messaging and improve the conversions drastically. Before digging deep into the subject, you need to decide on the social networks that you want to go with. Let's have a look at top social media networks you can choose for your marketing campaigns.

Facebook: Undoubtedly, it is vibrant, crammed with features and tools to deliver a strong business message to larger audience. You can generate high level of engagement; utilize fan pages, paid ads and even viral effect on your posts if executed just perfectly. It is ideal for all kinds of businesses.

Twitter: This micro-blogging channel has an amazing ability to distribute information quickly. The use of hash tags in Twitter has opened new avenues for businesses to reach their potential prospects. It is an ultimate platform to develop a strong and impactful branding.

Pinterest: It can be an awesome referral traffic generator and offers visually appeal to the posts. It can be bit challenging for those businesses with minimum images but ideal for those who would like to focus on audience that love to see content via images or Info graphics.

Quora: Serve your community by answering their questions and concerns via Quora. This platform can be utilized by small, medium and large businesses to build their brand. Intelligence in answering questions plays vital role here and a great way to distribute blog posts but needs significant amount of time and research.

Linkedln: It is the biggest professional network that is especially designed for businesses to develop new connections and relationships with individuals and other businesses. Employee recruitment, interest based groups and various paid marketing solutions are key strengths of Linkedln.

Yelp: Build a super effective local business page by utilizing the power of Yelp. Enhance business effectiveness by exhibiting useful customer reviews and get engaged with your audience directly. By executing appropriately, it can prove to be a wonderful source of traffic for your website.

How to Generate Traffic through Social Media Channels?

In order to succeed, it is essential to build a super strong social media presence so that your business can get visibility that it needs. Choose optimal networks to get started and you will witness a good social media engagement. Get connected with people if you want them to follow you. It is also crucial that you talk with them consistently. Understanding their demographic, preferences, browsing and interest patterns can work wonders for you.

Build Your Own Community

Online community can add value to your content marketing and distribution efforts. Chances are that small amount of your followers can convert but needs a powerful plan for distribution. That is why increasing your fans and followers can be of utmost advantage when it comes to generating traffic and sales. Increasing fans and followers does not mean to buy them instead make sure to get them organically. Only organic followers can engage and reply to your posts consistently. Referral traffic can bring over 30 to 40 % shares in overall web traffic.

Develop Email List via Social Media

There are various tools such as 5 Minute Fan Page in order to gather leads through your Facebook fan page. You can also create a landing page on Facebook and offer the audience something free but of great value to them. Ask them about giving their email addresses and create a huge list this way. Another way is to buy email addresses of people in the same interest or category as your business.

Post At Right Time

There is a wonderful tool called Simply Measured which helps businesses to identify at which time their posts got highest number of visits or exposure. It is free to use and provides useful social media analytics data that you can utilize to target audience at the right time. In this way, you can schedule your posts and get best results out of your efforts.

Post Valuable but Entertaining Content

Content marketing through social media can yield great results. Post all kinds of content i.e. text, videos, images, Infographics etc to provide actual value to them. Your business could have different kinds of customers from different backgrounds. Some may like text based content while some could get engaged via videos. It is not only about posting business content instead you need to develop a special relationship with them. You can do that by posting some other interesting things, apart from your business. Act like their friends to let them connected emotionally with you. Do not shy in sharing posts from other people in your community.

Hosting events online not only helps in building a brand but also establish brand loyalty. Hosting online events specifically for your fans and followers can be a great way to address their questions and concerns. You can host events online using Facebook and get connected with them like never before.

Use Images

Many of your online audience can easily get bored from text based content but you can grab their attention for sure by distributing excellent looking images. For instance Infographics can generate huge amount of attention from people looking for highly useful content. Hire a designer who can develop interesting and valuable content images for the audience.

Measuring Results

Just like other online marketing campaigns, ROI from social media should be tracked and measured. From engagement to vitality and conversions to value should be measured. Make sure to keep a close tab on unique visitors, page views, bounce rate and number of shares. You can easily track conversion rates, leads and users behavior via this way.

Ebook Sample Content Preview:

Where to Send the Traffic?

We've said it a few times already but it's so important that it bears repeating. When you come up with your AdWords campaign or any advertising campaign, you need to be focused on results. That's why using CPA is a good strategy.

But what's key here, is that your ability to convert isn't going to be entirely down to your AdWords strategy. What's just as important if not moreso, is the page that you actually send people to. In other words, you can have the best advert in the world but if your eCommerce site is confusing, hard to navigate and doesn't look trustworthy, then you will lose customers.

For maximizing direct conversions there are two main places you will probably send your traffic: landing pages and ecommerce sites. Here we will look at how you can best utilize each.

Creating a Landing Page

The basic idea behind a landing page is to have a single page that converts your visitors into buyers. You've probably visited these sites before and in most cases they will consist of a long, narrow passage of text with a 'Buy Now!' button at the bottom and interspersed throughout the text.

These pages exist purely to make sales and as such they contain no navigation or anything that might lead visitors away from the page. What's more, they tend to use a number of strategies throughout the text to try and really sell the product.

The main objectives of a landing page can be explained simply with the acronym AIDA - Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action. Your goal then is to introduce your product/service, to explain what it is, to make the audience want it and then to get them to click on your 'Buy' or 'Sign Up' button.

Throughout the process, you will be fighting a natural inclination that those visitors have to simply leave. Most of us are in a rush these days and we all have very short attention spans - especially when it comes to surfing the net where we're constantly distracted by about 20 exciting looking things at once.

Your job then is to make sure that you grab the attention of your visitors and that means using large headings that tell the full story even if they skim read. It means using short paragraphs and a narrow format and it means utilize bold, capitals, colors and underlining a LOT.

Another good strategy is to create a narrative around your sales pitch. We are naturally inclined to be engaged by stories because we presume that the information can benefit us. If you want to prevent people from leaving then, you should real them with a personal and intriguing story.

And again, make sure that you focus on a) your value proposition (what is the emotion that they will feel when using your product?) and b) allaying fears (why can then trust you?). Try to really paint a picture of what life will be like after your product (the narrative structure helps with this) and make sure they know they can trust what you're saying. To help with the latter points, alluding to facts and appealing to authority figures can be very effective.

Applying time pressure by running a limited time offer or saying you have limited stock is also a good idea because it gets your visitors to act on the impulse to buy rather than going away and thinking about it. Ideally you want to create a situation where they are feeling desire, while at the same time a little anxious about missing out.

An example might start out something like this:

AMAZING NEW EBOOK SHARES A POWERFUL ABS ROUTINE THAT REALLY WORKS!

I don't know about you, but I've tried just about every workout under the sun to try and get an amazing six pack. Every time I was let down and found that I just couldn't shift that 'skinny fat' around my waist.

Luckily though, I discovered the work of world-renowned fitness trainer John Champ. John's 'Maximum Muscle' technique is aimed exactly like people me who struggled to lose the last inch of tummy fat to reveal a stunning six pack.

And trust me, when you see how easy and simple the technique is, you'll be blown away.

Since finding the Maximum Muscle technique, my life has completely turned around. I've never had so much confidence, I've been getting attention from the ladies and I've been waking up with more energy and enthusiasm than ever before. I finally know what it must have been like to be one of the jocks in school!

Simply put, I've gone from beta, to alpha male... and in just THREE months!

FROM SKINNY FAT TO RIPPED ABS IN THREE MONTHS -WITH THREE SHORT WORKOUTS A WEEK!

This program isn't like other fitness programs. Why? Because it's focused on simple results with a program that's easy to follow.

If you.

Notice how the writing uses very short paragraphs, how the story gets you to keep reading and how it encourages you to imagine what 'life with abs' must be like. It hits emotional points, it sounds official and it has a quality that makes it hard to stop reading.

Ebook Sample Content Preview:

The Tease Is In The Squeeze

First of all, a brief explanation of what a squeeze page is and how it works is in order. In the purest sense, a squeeze page is a highly optimized and focused lead generator catering to a specific niche; the public-facing top (aka "mouth") of a highly profitable Traffic Funnel.

The very best converting squeeze pages are the ones that never attempt to be "all things to everyone": They excel at catering to one specific niche's problems and concerns.

Think of your squeeze page as your rapport-building mini "solutions provider" that never sleeps and is willing to tirelessly serve your niche aficionados 24/7 (yep, even on Holidays).

For example, your visitor lands on your site, and sees your invitation to a...

Free download,

Free subscription,

Free trial / sample,

Or some combination thereof.

Done right, your visitor is practically salivating to get in on the action. And unless you have a REALLY damn good reason for doing so, your squeeze page should never, ever ask fer more personally identifiable info than just an email address (and at the very most, maybe their first name).

Numerous marketing studies over the years have shown that opt-in rates are directly related to the amount of information being collected. When split-tested, just an email address and nothing else generated the highest response.

Opt-in conversions were discovered to rapidly decline on opt-in form split tests requesting more than just an email and first name.

Now after your visitor submits their details, your autoresponder then automatically sends them an email with an opt in verification link. Right after clicking on the verification link, they are either:

Automatically sent a second email containing the access link,

Or instantly able to access whatever the promised goodies are (depending on how you set your Traffic Funnel up).

Although there's a wide variety of different squeeze page strategies, that's the overall gist of a basic squeeze page.

However, it's the different Traffic Funnel styles that open up exciting venues of opportunity for you to get creative. Let us now explore several intriguing Traffic Funnel tips, strategies, and characteristics.

Traffic Funnel Style Example

The following Traffic Funnel style example consists of a highly compelling opt-in offer and a download page containing the access link(s) to the goodies promised; with a precisely-matched premium offer presented to the viewer.

Except in this case, this good ol' fashioned Traditional Sales Funnel has been optimized for Affiliate Marketers with a couple of innovative twists:

Your Thank You Page: Right below your "Thanks for subscribing!" spiel (and of course, the download links to that which was promised), start a new paragraph with something like...

"Hi, my name is {name}, and just so you know, I'm a practical, no-nonsense kind of {guy/girl} who accurately reports both strengths and weaknesses of the products I review. In other words, I am an actual end user of the products and service that I recommend.

You might find the following candid review I did on {insert product here} a real eye-opener. If nothing else, my unbiased reporting on {insert product here} will definitely come in handy for knowing the pro's and con's. Enjoy!"

Proceed to do exactly that... A detailed honest review with an investigative journalism feel to it. Hold absolutely nothing back: what you loved about it, what you weren't so thrilled about, how it could stand to be improved, any real positive results you experienced with said product, etc.

You'll be pleasantly astounded at how fast this can build rapport with your subscribers, while at the same time conveniently lowering buyer resistance.

The key to making this approach work like gangbusters is to be 100% honest and sincere with your reviews.

However, the absolute worst way to go about it, is to force your new subscriber to endure a mile-long sales page BEFORE getting access to that which was promised. It's rude, pushy and creates dissonance between you and your new sub (i.e. pushing them to quickly and easily opting out). Bad Juju.

Ebook Sample Content Preview:

81. There's always more—There is always more you can do to reach your goal. Don’t settle for what you can do right now. Don’t focus on what you’ve achieved in the past, focus on what you can do in the future. You can always achieve more.

82. Results matter most—No matter what anyone says, it isn’t just that you try and do your best. Never forget—Results matter most. Never get complacent or comfortable just because you check a lot of tasks off your list every day, or you use strategies that your friends all agree are the best. Don’t confuse activity for accomplishment.

There's a big difference between the two. If you aren't getting the results you want, you're probably working too hard on the wrong things.

83. Science and technology aren’t everything—Use technology and science, but don't make them everything. Use the latest and most effective research to help you reach your goals. It doesn’t mean anything that you can use technology if you don’t ever reach your goals. That's like a person priding himself on being a business school graduate but losing the sight of the fact he wants to become a successful businessman.

84. Perfection isn’t everything—Look for effectiveness, not perfection. A strategy doesn't need to be optimal in order to be effective. An optimal strategy, without desire and determination, can be just as ineffective as a terrible strategy. Although perfect is great, you don't always need the perfect strategy if your head and heart are in the right place.

85. Let yourself be motivated by others—If you see people who have better accomplishments than yours, admire them. Use what they've accomplished as a source of inspiration. Don't assume they have done anything extraordinary to reach their goals or were bred by geniuses. Use them as motivation that can end up proving you sold yourself short.

86. Associate with people at the level you hope to achieve—If your goal is to get a promotion to a specific position, hang out with people holding that position. See how they got there, and learn from their successes. You’ll find hanging out with determined, optimistic, and driven people will help you maintain motivation and reach your success faster.

87. The basics work—Things don’t have to be glamorous or ingenious to work. Remember that the basics work too. Sometime getting back to basics helps you focus on the goal itself instead of a creative way to achieve the goal.

88. Keep moving forward—It’s not uncommon to get in a slump when working toward your goals. Remember—it will pass. Keep on striving for success and focusing on the goal.

89. Think it and do it—There’s truth to the saying, “If you think you can, you can.” Just think you can do it and start doing it. It may take a while, but always believe you can, and you will. Instead, too often people think they can’t, so they can’t—or don’t.

90. Actualize your potential—Potential is nothing until it’s actualized. People often say, “They have great potential” when speaking of someone. You might have it, but what good is it if you don’t put it to work. Knowing that you have the ability to do it isn’t enough to keep you motivated. Seeing that you can do it and actually achieving it, however, is a great motivator.

91. Measure from start to finish—The most successful person creates the largest gap between where they started and where they are now. The person who starts with few advantages but works his tail off to produce remarkable results is far more successful than the person who is extremely gifted and only ends up with good results. Being one of those who reaches remarkable results will be motivation to start your next project with gusto and you’ll be surprised how your motivation for new tasks will grow over time.

92. Remember...you’re not alone!—You’re not the first person who has struggled to reach a goal, and you certainly won’t be the last. Everyone struggles with staying motivated and reaching their goals. The reality is that refocusing, changing, or making a new start on

something, no matter how small, is a big deal, but it's not impossible. With the right approach, you can definitely do it.

93. Recommit to your goal if you slip up—We all slip from time to time. If you slip up, don't give up. Forgive yourself and make a plan for getting back on track.

94. Don’t beat yourself up for mistakes—Instead, pat yourself on the back for everything you did right. Remember, mistakes are a natural part of the process.

95. Learn from your mistakes—Look at your mistakes as lessons and reminders of why you're trying to make a change. When you mess up, use it as an opportunity to learn something new about yourself.

96. Adopt a stick-to-itiveness attitude—Don’t just stick to working toward the goal. Stick to doing everything you can to make sure that you reach the goal. That includes learning more if necessary and revisiting the goal at a later time.

97. Use positive self-talk—Tell yourself things like, "I deserve to get the promotion because I've really been working hard" or "I feel great when I swim because I'm doing well on my exercise plan."