Introduction to Leadership

Napoleon once said: “One bad general does better than two good ones.” It takes a moment for the sense of this to register, but it is the same as our modern saying that “too many cooks spoil the broth”. Having one set of instructions, even if they are flawed, is preferable to having two sets of perfect directions that, when enacted together without reference to each other, cause havoc.

This is the principle of leadership in a nutshell. It is all about maintaining focus and creating positive outcomes.

The same can be applied to individuals who strive to become leaders. There needs to be focus and determination. Advice can be given, but does not have to be heeded. History is full of leaders whose beginnings were disastrous, and had they listened to the naysayers of this world, the world would be a poorer place today.

Leadership can be learned. Some people are certainly born with leadership skills, but this is not a prerequisite for becoming a leader. More important is dedication to the art of leadership. Leadership involves understanding how to inspire, influence and control how people behave. It is not a simple matter of shouting, or having a deep and booming voice; or being great in physical stature; Gandhi possessed none of these attributes, but managed to lead a nation and inspire millions around the world.

Sometimes, leadership may be no more than having a poignant message for a receptive audience at an opportune moment. Of itself, leadership is neither good nor bad; the world has known more than its fair share of evil and charismatic dictators.

In the world of business, the perception of leadership has changed from its early days when it largely mirrored the military model of leadership from the top down, with powerful individuals dominating large groups of less powerful people.

Nowadays, leadership in business is far more knowledge-driven. The lowliest employee may end up effectively leading the direction of a vast corporation through his or her innovative ideas. Anyone with critical knowledge can show leadership. This is known as thought-leadership. In other situations, leadership can be about taking a stand for what you believe in, and trying to convince people to think and act differently.

Leadership has been variously described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task”; “creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen”; “the ability to successfully integrate and maximize available resources within the internal and external environment for the attainment of organizational or societal goals”; and “the capacity of leaders to listen and observe, to use their expertise as a starting point to encourage dialogue between all levels of decision-making, to establish processes and transparency in decision-making, to articulate their own values and visions clearly but not impose them. Leadership is about setting and not just reacting to agendas, identifying problems, and initiating change that makes for substantive improvement rather than managing change”.

There is truth to all of the above definitions, but they all apply to the ideals of leadership.

So what of leadership gone awry?

Understanding the Dark Side

The dark side of any individual when allowed to go unchecked can create a rigid and dysfunctional personality that stifles creativity, and taints or ruins relationships. When such characteristics are given reign in a leader, a self-righteous and bombastic person can result, who alienates the very people they are meant to inspire.

The Compulsive Leader

Compulsive leaders feel like they have to do everything themselves. They try to manage every aspect of their business, often refusing to delegate, and cannot resist having their say on everything. As they lack trust in others, they cannot let anyone else take responsibility, therefore they restrict personal growth in their team.
Compulsive leaders have many other traits. They are perfectionists who must follow highly rigid and systematized daily routines, and are concerned with status. Thus they strive to impress their superiors with their diligence and efficiency and continually look for reassurance and approval. This can lead to them becoming workaholics, and their team is viewed as failing if they don’t keep pace. Spontaneity is not encouraged as this bucks the routine.

Despite this appearance of total control, such leaders can be fit to explode on the inside, and this can be the result of a childhood environment where unrealistic expectations were placed on them. Their attempts to keep control are linked to their attempts to suppress anger and resentment, which makes them susceptible to outbursts of temper if they perceive they are losing their grip.

The Narcissistic Leader

Narcissistic leaders are focused on themselves. Life and the world revolve around them, and they must be at the center of all that is happening. Whilst they exaggerate their own merits, they will try to ignore the merits of others, or seek to devalue them, because other people’s accomplishments are seen as a threat to their own standing. The worst type of narcissistic leader cannot tolerate even a hint of criticism and disagreement, and avoid their self-delusions and fantasies being undermined by surrounding themselves with sycophants.

Where possible, they will attempt to use the merits of others for their own advancement, and think nothing of stepping on people to get ahead. Their own feeling of self-importance means they are unable to empathize with those in their team, because they cannot feel any connection. Their only focus is on receiving plaudits that further bolster their sense of greatness. Such an attitude is often the result of a deep-seated inferiority complex, and thus no matter how much they are achieving, they will never feel it is enough.

Some narcissistic leaders take on a sidekick, but this person is expected to toe the line at all times, and serves only to reflect glory onto them and loudly approve of all that they do. Clever sidekicks can subtly manipulate the leader into focusing on the operational outcome of their plans, rather than just their own self-aggrandizement. Ultimately, this type of leader can be very successful if their vision is strong and they get the organization to identify with them and think like they do. Such productive narcissists have more perspective, and can step back and even laugh at their own irrational needs.

Sample Content Preview

Introduction To Domain Flipping

Buying and selling domain names can be an exceptionally lucrative venture to get into, however if you are starting off with very little cash flow, it's always best to purchase lower cost domains and generate small profits as you work your way up to larger flips.

I have sold hundreds of domain names that I secured from marketplaces like Ebay and resold on marketplaces like NamePros.com or DNForum.com. While the marketplaces where domain sales are most lucrative will change from that of website flipping, the game remains the same with your focus being on locating and purchasing low cost domains and flipping them for a higher price.

One of the great aspects of domain flipping is that the efforts required are minimal. No longer must you locate or integrate content, tweak website pages, outsource tasks, or transfer websites.

All you need to do is find memorable, appealing domain names in niche markets and sell them to buyers, eager to create their own website on this domain.

Furthermore, the risks are quite low as are the investment costs, and once you have set up your system so that you are generating daily profits, it will require no more than one hour a day to keep the cash flow going.

Many of my partners, students and friends are earning $500 - $2,500 per week from flipping low cost domain names, while others have gone to

secure high value domain names that are generating them revenue even before they are resold.

It's not a difficult business to get into, if you follow my simple guide to buying and selling domain names.

To start, you will want to create accounts at the following places, where you can both buy and sell domain names:

www.NamePros.com www.DNForum.com www.Ebay.com www.SitePoint.com

Choosing Winning Domains

When it comes to finding the best domain names, the easiest route to take is in exploring the expired domain listings.

With expired domain names, it simply means that they have previously been registered and left to expire. These are far more appealing to buyers due to the fact that they are considered 'aged', despite the fact that they have expired and are no longer active domains.

I use a few different resources when locating expired domain names that I believe to be winners, one being the free service located at www.WSMDomains.com and http://www.RedHotDomainNames.com

Here, you are able to access and download lengthy listings of both expired domain names as well as domains that are about to expire.

Download lists of expired domain names each day, and run them through a filtering script, such as the one available at: www.alouwebdesign.ca

Another filtering tool is available at: www.DomainPunch.com/products/domainfilter and it’s entirely free.

What this script will do is enable you to sort through the listings of domains by extension, as well as weed through domains that have numbers or hyphens.

It’s quite flexible in how you can set it up to filter through these lists for you, hands free.

Best of all, it can handle very large text based lists.

Download and install the software and check it out. You will find it will save you an incredible amount of time and make the job easier and more enjoyable. When it comes to purchasing domain names for resale, you want to stick with the top level extension, the dot com, and avoid any domains with numbers, or other characters.

You will also want to focus on searching for expired domain names that are as short as possible, and with utilities such as the one available at alouwebdesign.ca, you are able to search through your lists by setting a maximum and minimum length, meaning that you can sort through the domains so that only ones that are shorter will appear.

Personally, I set the maximum length to 20 characters and of course, the minimum to zero, so that it includes the shortest domain names on my expired lists. You will also need to enter in specific keywords, these are words that when contained within any of the expired domains, will be included in the results page after you have entered in your list and filtered through the results.

Creating a keyword swipe file is an ongoing job, and one that you should concentrate a lot of effort on, as the more prime keywords you enter into the software, the better your chances of finding true gems.

This comes down to the niche markets you cater to, and you should take a bit of time to start creating a list of keywords in a text file that you can copy and paste into the software.

Apart from targeted keywords, you should also consider thinking outside the box a bit, by drumming up a list of memorable keywords that when added to a domain can be used for branding purposes.

I've sold countless domain names contrived of two keywords that really made no sense together but because of the sound, the appeal and the brandability factor, they were gobbled up quickly.

Think about some of the Internet's most popular websites like Twitter.com, Facebook.com or FeedBurner.com whose domains are off the beaten path but definitely memorable, which is one of the best important elements of a domain names profitability.

Take some time to get familiar with both the expired domain websites as well as the software available to help you manage the lists and weed through potential gems. Once you have sorted through your lists, it's time to run the remaining domains through a bulk domain registration tool, to determine what domains are still available, as others downloading these lists may have scooped up a few already.

One great resource for checking large domain lists for availability is available at www.Moniker.com where you can enter in hundreds of domain names and allow the software to validate whether the domains are available or have been registered.

With Moniker, you can check up to 500 domains at once, which will free up a lot of your time so you can continue searching for solid and available domain names. You can visit Monikers bulk domain registration page at: http://www.Moniker.com/domains/batch_reg.jsp

On this page you will see the following form:

Once you have a solid listing of available domain names, it's time to follow the advice of many who have garnered wealth in the domain industry for many years through proper and careful selection.

Copy and paste a portion of your domains from your list into the text box. Remember, it can only check 500 at a time.

Once you have entered them in, click the Search tab to send your query off. Wait a few minutes for the results. (This can sometimes take a few minutes, so be patient). When checking for domain names you can choose to have Moniker search for only dot com extensions which is what you should focus on primarily, when you are new to domain names.

Sample Content Preview

Awesome Character Building

UNCONSCIOUSLY we are forming habits every moment of our lives. Some are habits of a desirable nature; some are those of a most undesirable nature. Some, though not so bad in themselves, are exceedingly bad in their cumulative effects, and cause us at times much loss, much pain and anguish, while their opposites would, on the contrary, bring as much peace and joy, as well as a continually increasing power.

Have we it within our power to determine at all times what types of habits shall take form in our lives? In other words, is habit-forming, character building, a matter of mere chance, or have we it within our own control? We have, entirely and absolutely. "I will be what I will to be," can be said and should be said by every human soul.

After this has been bravely and determinedly said, and not only said, but fully inwardly realized, something yet remains. Something remains to be said regarding the great law underlying habit-forming, character building; for there is a simple, natural, and thoroughly scientific method that all should know.

A method whereby old, undesirable, earth-binding habits can be broken, and new, desirable, heaven lifting habits can be acquired, a method whereby life in part or in its totality can be changed, provided one is sufficiently in earnest to know and, knowing it, to apply the law.

Thought is the force underlying all. And what do we mean by this? Simply this: Your every act - every conscious act - is preceded by a thought. Your dominating thoughts determine your dominating actions. In the realm of our own minds we have absolute control, or we should have, and if at any time we have not, then there is a method by which we can gain control, and in the realm of the mind become thorough masters. In order to get to the very foundation of the matter, let us look to this for a moment. For if thought is always parent to our acts, habits, character, life, then it is first necessary that we know fully how to control our thoughts.

Here let us refer to that law of the mind which is the same as is the law in Connection with the reflex nerve system of the body, the law which says that whenever one does a certain thing in a certain way it is easier to do the same thing in the same way the next time, and still easier the next, and the next, and the next, until in time it comes to pass that no effort is required, or no effort worth speaking of; but on the opposite would require the effort. The mind carries with it the power that perpetuates its own type of thought, the same as the body carries with it through the reflex nerve system the power which perpetuates and makes continually easier its own particular acts. Thus a simple effort to control one's thoughts, a simple setting about it, even if at first failure is the result, and even if for a time failure seems to be about the only result, will in time, sooner or later, bring him to the point of easy, full, and complete control.

Each one, then, can grow the power of determining, controlling his thought, the power of determining what types of thought he shall and what types he shall not entertain. For let us never part in mind with this fact, that every earnest effort along any line makes the end aimed at just a little easier for each succeeding effort, even if, as has been said, apparent failure is the result of the earlier efforts. This is a case where even failure is success, for the failure is not in the effort, and every earnest effort adds an increment of power that will eventually accomplish the end aimed at. We can, then, gain the full and complete power of determining what character, what type of thoughts we entertain.

Shall we now give attention to some two or three concrete cases? Here is a man, the cashier of a large mercantile establishment, or cashier of a bank. In his morning paper he reads of a man who has become suddenly rich, has made a fortune of half a million or a million dollars in a few hours through speculation on the stock market. Perhaps he has seen an account of another man who has done practically the same thing lately. He is not quite wise enough, however, to comprehend the fact that when he reads of one or two cases of this kind he could find, were he to look into the matter carefully, one or two hundred cases of men who have lost all they had in the same way. He thinks, however, that he will be one of the fortunate ones. He does not fully realize that there are no short cuts to wealth honestly made. He takes a part of his savings, and as is true in practically all cases of this kind, he loses all that he has put in, Thinking now that he sees why he lost, and that had he more money he would be able to get back what he has lost, and perhaps make a handsome sum in addition, and make it quickly, the thought comes to him to use some of the funds he has charge of. In nine cases out of ten, if not ten cases in every ten, the results that inevitably follow this are known sufficiently well to make it unnecessary to follow him farther.

Where is the man's safety in the light of what we have been considering? Simply this: the moment the thought of using for his own purpose funds belonging to others enters his mind, if he is wise he will instantly put the thought from his mind. If he is a fool he will entertain it. In the degree in which he entertains it, it will grow upon him; it will become the absorbing thought in his mind; it will finally become master of his will power, and through rapidly succeeding steps, dishonor, shame, degradation, penitentiary, remorse will be his. It is easy for him to put the thought from his mind when it first enters; but as he entertains it, it grows into such proportions that it becomes more and more difficult for him to put it from his mind; and by and by it becomes practically impossible for him to do it. The light of the match, which but a little effort of the breath would have extinguished at first, has imparted a flame that is raging through the entire building, and now it is almost if not quite impossible to conquer it.

Sample Content Preview

Chapter 1 -- Why Get Organized?

If you are like most people today, you feel that you have too little time and too much to do. As a result, you often end up not getting the things done that are needed to be done. And even little things grow into a mountain of work that you feel you can never climb.

I used to be very unorganized. On all of my report cards that I received as a kid, the teacher always made that cute little comment “needs to get organized.” I had a desk that was a mess at school and a room that was a mess at home. One day, the teacher dumped out everything in my desk on the floor in front of the class and told me to pick it up. I can still feel the sting of that humiliation.

My mother was not as cruel. She would clean my room so that the Board of Health didn’t come in and condemn our house. Both of these people tried to help me get organized, but neither one of them really helped me at all. My teacher used drastic and humiliating tactics that didn’t work but just made me upset, and my mother did the work for me instead of making me do it myself. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I realized how to get organized, why it was so important and how to teach my own children how they could stay organized as well.

The purpose of this book is not just to tell you how to clean your home or desk so that everything is where you can find it, but also how to organize your life so that it is easy to manage and you do not feel overwhelmed. Although I eventually realized that it was much easier to have my important papers at a place that I could find them and the value of having a home that didn’t look like a pigsty, my mind was unorganized throughout much of my life. My kids were forever joining activities and I was forever driving them around to different events after school while trying to maintain a job as well as my home. I often felt like a hamster on a wheel. It wasn’t until much later when I learned not only how to organize my home and work place, but also my mind.

This book will teach you how to organize every aspect of your life - from your home, your work and even your life. It will also teach you some valuable tips and teaching secrets that you can pass on to your children so that they can learn the value of organization as well. You will learn valuable lessons on organization that you can use to keep your life in order and avoid feeling overwhelmed all of the time as well as read some anecdotes that perhaps you can relate to.

It will also teach you how you can stay organized even when things occur that throw you off your routine. We are not robots, we’re humans. And as everyone knows, we have things that come up that are unpredictable that can throw us off our kilter. You want to be organized, but you do not want to be so rigid in that you cannot handle a break in the routine without, as the kids nowadays say “tweeking out.”

Organization is essential for you to live a healthier life in both mind and body. When you feel as though you are well organized, you also feel as though you have more control in your every day life. It makes those around you more comfortable and also lends to harmony in the family. Why get a little organization in your life? The answer is simple - to retain your sanity, make you more efficient and to also give some sort of structure to your life and those around you.

No matter how unorganized you are, you can become the epitome of organization by taking the tips from this book. The first step is to realize that you did not get overwhelmed at once, it took months, years or even a lifetime for you to get to the state you are in now. However, even if your house is a total wreck, your kids are sapping all of your energy, your dog is constantly having accidents in the house and your work life is a mess because you keep skipping from one project to another, you can get it all back on track. It is important to know the first step in the process is to take it one small step at a time.

Trying to get organized can be daunting if you look at the entire picture. Therefore, you have to remember the old adage that my father always uses when it comes to getting organized: “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”

So sit back and enjoy reading this book. Remember that you have to take your organization skills “one bite at a time” and start with small goals that will eventually lead up to the big goal, which is having organization in your life, work and home. Trust me, if I can do this, so can you.

Chapter 2 -- How To Get Rid Of Clutter

There are good ways to get rid of clutter and bad ways. The bad way is the route you usually take when you get disgusted with the fact that you have too many things all over the place and decide to get rid of everything. I know this because during a time when I was in the mindset to get rid of all the “clutter” part of it turned out to be my high school yearbook and my mother’s wedding dress that I was holding. Things that cannot be replaced and are gone forever. But such was my zeal to get rid of clutter that I discarded these items without realizing what I was doing. Like everything else, clutter has to be evaluated before you get rid of it. And you should also make sure to bear in mind things that other people can use, even if you no longer want them.

Another example of how I got rid of clutter was when I moved from my home to a smaller apartment and had a ton of kids toys that my kids no longer used. I ended up with a heap of toys in my driveway ready for the garbage truck. These could have been donated to a number of different charities, but I was so overwhelmed that I just wanted them gone. The good news about this is that my neighbours had a field day picking through the garbage and getting themselves some free goods. It was particularly gratifying to see those who did not want to attend my estate sale in that upscale neighbourhood because they did not want to be seen buying used goods actually climbing the trash heap to get what I now considered to be trash. But that is not the point - the point is that the toys should have been donated and could have been had I been a bit more organized when getting rid of clutter.

The good way to get rid of clutter is the way that I now use. I go through my home periodically and get rid of clutter in the places that is most likely collects like the closets. Those coats and other garments that I have not worn for the past year get tossed into a bag for the many organizations that come around to take these items for charitable causes.

Some things, however, are not meant for charity as they are too worn , stained or have something broken, like a zipper. What I do when I want to get rid of clutter is to have two bags, one for items that are to be donated and the other for items that belong in the garbage.

Sample Content Preview

Introduction

You cannot become rich or achieve any other kind of success in life if you don’t have passion about what you are doing. Be it the simplest thing or the most sophisticated thing, you need passion in order to succeed.

Here we take a look at how important passion is and what different forms it must take in order to point our lives in the right direction, i.e. in the direction of super success.

Chapter 1: The Highway of Passion

Summary

What’s the importance of passion in your life? Where does it take you?

The Highway of Passion

“When work, commitment, and pleasure all become one and you reach that deep well where passion lives, nothing is impossible.”

You have a 9 to 5 job drawing a good pay, you have a good family and all’s well with the world. But deep inside, you feel like you are going nowhere. The job isn’t moving upward either. You are actually stagnating in your career and mentally and spiritually. Something is missing.

Passion. The one quality that textbooks and instruction manuals and company procedures will never talk about. Everyone is in such a hurry to make you fit perfectly into the machine like a well oiled gear, that they forgot you are a living, feeling human being. Even you have forgotten.

Ask yourself. If I had a million bucks in the bank, what kind of work would I be doing? Would I chuck this humdrum job and move on to something really exciting? Something that I have always wanted to do? Then ask yourself – why am I not doing that right now? Is it because of peer pressure or because I don’t want to move out of my comfort zone? Don’t want to rock my boat? You are half asleep in your boat already and in a few years, you could be put out to pasture! If the boat rocks now, you could be jerked awake and come to your senses. Your passionate senses.

In the aftermath of the recession of 2008, millions of people lost their jobs. Many of them took up new vocations and suddenly found that they were finally following their dream. Many of them are now highly successful in their new found professions.

You don’t have to wait for dire straits to rock you out of your present mediocre life. You can decide right now, that you want to live and work passionately and
make your life worthwhile. The Highway of Passion is an amazing ride. And Prosperity is just one of the landmarks on this route! Get ready for the ride of your life!

Chapter 2: Finding Your True Passion

Summary

What’s your real calling in life?

Finding Your True Passion

“Nothing great in the world has been accomplished without passion.’

– Georg Hegel, German philosopher

So you have decided to break away from the pathetic monotony of your regular job. You want to live fully and passionately and reap all those rich rewards at the end of the rainbow. How do you find out what you are truly passionate about?

How do you separate the delusions from the do-able? You could be passionate about becoming the King of Spain, or winning the lottery or ruling the world. Indeed, there are people who have dreamt of that and done it. Alexander the Great ruled almost the entire known world in his time. But what is your true passion?

Here are a few steps you can take to discover the currents that move you deep inside:-

1. Read your own body language. How does your body behave at your present job? Does it tense up and ache all the time? Do you get panic attacks very often? Are you so bored that you doze at your desk? Do you keep looking at the clock as break time approaches? Then you are in the wrong job. You simply don’t have the passion for it. When you work on a job that you are passionate about, all your aches and cramps will dissolve. You will find yourself working extra hours, talking to your friends about your work and simply bubbling with life.

2. What did you love doing as a child? Your childhood hobbies and obsessions can indicate a genuine passion. Education and family pressures often move us away from our true calling. Did you love bikes or gardening or trekking? Then maybe a career in the automobile or landscaping or travel industries is where you should be! So sit back and recall your childhood and write down your memories. What made you smile then may still make you grin today and in the future.

Sample Content Preview

Introduction

Smart business owners should always be on the lookout for tools and strategies that will help them run their organizations more easily, quickly, and profitably. One of the toughest parts of an online business is the need to keep generating useful, high-quality content for your newsletters, ezines, videos, audios, and blogs. Thank goodness, there's a tool to make this constant content generation easier –PLR, or Private Label Rights. As you'll discover in the following pages, when you purchase PLR content, you get the legal right to use it in your business in a variety of formats. When used well, PLR is an information marketer's dream come true... but when done poorly, it can cost you more time and money than it's worth.

My goal in this short report is to answer the most common questions about PLR, including how you can use it for your business, what the different rights mean, and how to avoid some of the all-too-common mistakes many entrepreneurs stumble on. Trust me when I say, PLR is a shortcut no forwardthinking internet business owner can afford to skip.

Let's get to it!

What Is PLR: The Basics

To the uninitiated, “PLR” sounds like an airline or a record label. But instead of just being another common internet abbreviation, it's one of the most valuable shortcuts an entrepreneur will find to creating fantastic content for their audience.

What is it exactly? In it's simplest version, you can purchase articles or reports that have been written in advance. The PLR site owner sells these articles or reports (or videos, ebooks, etc.) with special rights that allow you to edit them and use them as if you'd written them yourself (although there may be certain restrictions).

So, the PLR, or Private Label Rights, is the means by which a business owner, like you, can purchase rights to pre-created content, and then use that content in a variety of ways as your own.

• Unlike ghostwritten articles, you'll pay much less for PLR (approximately one dollar per article), because others are purchasing the same articles to use, too. (I'll show you how to stand apart form all those other users in a bit.)

• Unlike free reprint articles, you can edit the PLR content you purchase and you do not have to link to an author.

PLR content is available in scores of topic areas, from health and fitness, to internet marketing, to parenting, to pet training, and everything in between. Good PLR is written by professional, native-language speakers. You, as a business owner, can purchase single pieces of content or packs of articles at a relatively low price, and then use them for your website, blog, newsletter, podcast, etc.

One of the first questions many people ask is, “Is this legal?”If the content is created and sold with the express intent of offering it as PLR, then you are legally permitted to adapt, use, and disseminate the information, according to the specific rights you've been granted.

The next question people typically ask is, “Why would anyone sell PLR? How can they possibly make any money?”The answer is in volume. They may charge only a dollar or so per article, but by selling multiples of the same article to many different business owners, they make their money in numbers.

Now you're probably wondering what happens if a bunch of people purchase the same articles and publish it via their websites or newsletters –won't their customers notice, or get mad that they're using someone else's material? Well, here's the real secret about PLR. You need to see it as a starting point for your content. Sure, you could cut and paste it into your blog or ezine as-is, but savvy business owners know that they need to put their own spin on PLR to make it really work. We'll cover more about how to do that in the following sections, but for now, what you need to know:

• PLR is legal
• PLR is easy
• PLR is effective
• PLR needs to be “massaged” into a format that fits your brand and voice

PLR is a great tool for any business owner, regardless of niche or market. Read on and I'll show you how to make it work for you.

Who Should Consider Using PLR?

PLR may seem like it's only for certain big business owners in particular niches, like internet marketing or finance. While there is a plenitude of PLR content available in those markets, you can find PLR to fit virtually any business. Ifyou have a business where you regularly provide blog posts or articles to your prospects and customers –or SHOULD be doing so but haven't yet started –PLR is for you.

Sample Content Preview

Introduction: The Top Ten Mistakes Information Marketers Make

Information marketing is in it's most basic definition “the process of selling information”. That sounds simple enough, right? But how exactly does that work in an internet-based business?

Well, first of all, let's figure out what kind of information we're talking about here. Typically, it's information that serves to educate and, hopefully solve a problem that a potential customer is having.

For instance -

- Teaching a busy executive how to lose weight.
- Showing a single mom how to make more money.
- Helping a couple to avoid a divorce.

The information is typically delivered electronically (digitally) via eBooks, membership sites, audio and video downloads. It’s a multi-billion-dollar industry, several times over, and has generated millionaires such as Dan Kennedy, Yanik Silver, and Frank Kern, to name just a few.

Why is information marketing appealing?

Entrepreneurs are drawn to the low barriers to entry, high profit margins, hands-off management, and quick time-to-market. An information marketer can dream up a product one day and release it overnight, seeing a return on their investment almost immediately.

While it’s easy to become an information marketer, doing it successfully is another matter. Many bright-eyed would-be millionaires dive into the market, hoping to discover the fabled rivers of gold, much like the 49’ers in the Gold Rush of yore.

In this short report, I will share several of the common pitfalls that information marketers can fall into, as well as provide tips as to how to become one of the lucky – and hard-working – few who strike it

Mistake Number One: Aiming for Perfection

When the Wright brothers took their first historic flight on December 17, 1903, they weren’t trying for perfection. They weren’t trying to offer great cocktail service or wireless Internet or 100 channels of TV aboard their flying machine. They just wanted the darned thing to stay up in the air for a few seconds!

And a few seconds – twelve, to be exact – was all they got. And they became famous for it.

Now imagine if they had been concerned about the extras – no, I don’t mean beverage service or comfy seats. But if they had wanted a crash-free landing, a three-hour (or three-minute!) flight, a stylish rig – they’d probably have never gone out to that sand dune in Kitty Hawk in the first place. They’d still be in the workshop, tinkering with the wheels or wing flaps.

What Orville and Wilbur knew – and what information marketers would do well to take note of – is that perfection is overrated. In fact, it doesn’t exist. So waiting until your product is “perfect” before you release it means you have a good chance of either never releasing it at all, or delaying so long that someone else beats you to the punch and scoops your market out from under you.

Hesitant to release a product that is less than perfect? Well, Microsoft – and pretty much every other software company – does it all the time! And if “good enough” is good enough for billionaire Bill Gates, it’s good enough for you.

Of course, there is a fine balance between releasing something that’s not ready and releasing something that’s valuable but a little rough around the edges. This is where having a handful of beta testers can come in very handy. Send out your product to a group of people for their feedback, and see what they think. Ask them:

• What’s missing?
• Can you use this product to create more value in your business or life right now?
• On a scale of 1 to 10, what would you rate this product?
• If you could change one thing, what would it be?

If you get overwhelmingly positive feedback and your ratings are all in the 6-plus range, you’re good to go. If you’re getting comments like, “I couldn’t understand what you meant,” or, “I’m not sure how to use this,” or, “You need to rewrite Chapter Three,” then you’re not quite there. Take another look at what you have, make the requested changes or suggestions, and try again.

Remember, you don’t have to make it across the Atlantic in one piece; you just have to make it around the block.

Mistake Number Two: Releasing a “Me Too” Product

When you see other information marketers making big bucks from an ebook on, say, Twitter traffic generating strategies it is really tempting to jump up and say, “I could write an ebook on Twitter traffic generating strategies, too! And then I could make big bucks too!”

It sounds good – but it doesn’t necessarily work that way. In fact, if you create and release a “me too” product that is nothing more than an imitation of a more successful product already on the market, don’t be surprised if the world doesn’t rush to your door. (And, don't be surprised if you tick off the original product creator, too.)

Sample Content Preview

Introduction

At first thought, the idea of holding your own teleseminar might seem as out-of-reach as starting your own professional basketball team. As you'll discover in the next few pages, however, that's simply not the case. Teleseminars aren't just for the likes of Tony Robbins, John Grey, and Suze Orman. In fact, thousands of internet marketers, small business owners, and solo professionals regularly use teleseminars to reach new audiences, establish themselves as experts, and create new products. And so can you.

Some people charge thousands to teach you how to master the fine art of teleseminars, but you really won't need to spend that kind of money to learn the ropes. Teleseminars don't have to be flashy events with slick graphics, big-name speakers, and four-figure price tags. Instead, most of the best teleseminars are much more down to earth. They're a lot like traditional seminars, except that they are usually less formal and presented over a teleconference or bridge line rather than in person and at a physical location.

It's easy to see the advantage of teleseminars. You won't have to limit yourself to the number of people you can round up and lure into a hotel room or lecture hall. Instead, you can draw your audience from all over the globe and connect with them by phone.

And it doesn't have to be fancy either. In fact, any time you're on the phone, talking about your products, services, or on anything else related to marketing your business, you're conducting a teleseminar. Of course, you can also host teleseminars that are more formal and require more planning and care in execution. And that's what you're going to learn in this report.

First, I'm going to cover the basics of teleseminars: Why you should incorporate teleseminars into your marketing mix, how you should set them up and promote them for best results, and how you can leverage the power of what you have created. In a matter of days, you could be producing top-notch teleseminars that grow your business as well as your bottom line. Let's get started.

What Can Teleseminars Do for You?

From the day the first caveman tried to convince his cohorts how great saber-tooth tiger tasted once it had been cooked over a fire, humans have been “selling” their ideas to each other. The practice of sharing with and educating others hasn't changed. We just have a whole lot more options when it comes to choosing the medium.
With the ready availability of low-cost (or no-cost) long-distance service and conference call lines, teleseminars have become increasingly popular. Instead of spending thousands of dollars traveling to give an in-person presentation, you can meet your customers and prospects right where they are, without even having to change out of your pajamas. Here's what you can do with teleseminars:

• Introduce new products
• Get known in a new market -- and get to know that market in turn
• Explain how a product or service works
• Interview experts and share their knowledge with your audience
• Answer questions about your area of expertise

In addition, teleseminars can help you do the following:

• Sell more. By presenting a sales presentation over the phone, you offer much more interactivity and a stronger personal connection than you can through a website or direct mail piece.
• Create products. The calls themselves can be turned into products or classes. You can sell access to your live events, or you can record them and sell them later as CDs or audio downloads. And that's just for starters.
• Get to know your audience. Being able to interact with your audience in real time allows an unprecedented level of market research, right in the moment.
• Establish yourself. If you interview experts in your area, you will quickly be seen as an expert by association.
• Build your list. Teleseminars are popular ways to introduce yourself to a new market. It's easy to invite people to your free events -- and as they sign up, they become part of your list.
• Create trust. Trust is crucial when you want to do business online. And one of the best ways to build trust with your audience is to interact with them directly. As they hear your voice live on the call -- and as they ask questions and get answers right then and there -- you become "real" to them and they'll be able to bond with you. This is something that's much harder to accomplish through sales letters and emails.

But what about skills? Don't you have to have some kind of “chops” to host a teleseminar? Stop wondering! If you have enough experience to start a business, you
have enough experience to produce and host a teleseminar. Read on and I'll show you how.

Planning for Success

In order to pull off a great teleseminar, you'll need to plan for success. Sure, there are things that can go wrong, but if you plan your teleseminar well, most of them can be avoided. Let's review what you need to do to ensure your teleseminar will go as smoothly as possible:

1. Choose a good topic. Choosing a topic for your teleseminar is much like choosing a topic for a blog post. You don't want something too broad, or you'll have no focus. And you don't want something too narrow, or you will run out of things to say. Instead, you want to balance your need to cover new ground with your need to keep the length and breadth of your teleseminar manageable. For your first go-round, I suggest keeping things tight and focused. You should also plan keeping your call to an hour or so. Any longer and you may burn yourself out or run into more problems than you're prepared to deal with! Start by brainstorming a list of possible topics for your teleseminar. When it comes to scope, ideal topics are suitable for magazine articles rather than books! In short, go through your list of topics and decide for each one whether it is so broad you'd need a book to cover it, or if you could do it justice in a magazine article. Then make a list of your top picks. Can't pick just one? Remember, you can always hold another teleseminar -- and you should! Right now, you're just getting ready for the first one, so select a topic you feel comfortable with.