Inside Out
Business Edition
"You can't change the direction of the wind. . .
but you can adjust your sails!"
--Jimmy Dean

Kim Olver, MS, NCC, LPC

www.Coachingforexcellence.biz
Kim@Coachingforexcellence.biz

To read our blog click here or go to www.coachingforexcellence.biz and click on "Blog" on the left hand navigation bar. Read some of Kim's musings and add some of your own!

A Message from Kim

I want to start by apologizing for the lateness of this newsletter. I wanted to get it out last week but this month has been an exceptionally busy one for me and I’d like to share some of my news.

First, my son, Kyle, who has been stationed in Iraq for the past year in the Army, returned home! Naturally, I wanted to spend some time with him. I thank all of you who were praying for him. He did exceptionally well over there and I am so thankful to say that he has returned physically and mentally healthy. I am extremely grateful for that. It is truly a joy to know he is stateside. Thank you again for all your support during that difficult time.

Secondly, the Reality Therapy Conference was this month. It was an incredibly busy time for me. I taught my first certification week, which went very well. I presented two workshops–one on Relationship Empowerment and the other on Diversity from the Inside Out. I had great attendance at both sessions and the energy was quite high.

Thirdly, I launched a new website on self-development which can be found at www.insideoutcentral.com. Check it out!

Lastly, I wanted you to know that we are changing the format of our newsletter. It was brought to my attention that having newsletters in HTML format, while attractive, often get caught in spam filters. So, to maximize the likelihood that all subscribers will receive our publication, we will be sending it out in plain text. However, there will be a link at the top of that broadcast that you can click on to get to our web-based HTML version of the newsletter, if you prefer that. Please email me at kim@coachingforexcellence.biz if you have any questions about this change.

In This Issue

Feature Article
Creating an Effective Online Presence Part Three

Upcoming Events
Teleclasses
Chat Room

Quote of the Week
“Your likeability factor can have enormous impact on your perceived value. Develop your credibility, establish yourself as an expert, strive to be your best, most likeable self, and you’ll quickly become the best and most obvious choice for your potential client.”

Book Review
Book Yourself Solid
by Michael Port

Tip of the Week

Business Q&A

Reports & eBooks

Check our New Book!
Leveraging Diversity At Work

About Kim Olver

Feature Article

Creating an Effective Online Presence Part Three
by Kim Olver

This article will be the last in my series on Creating an Effective Online Presence. This article addresses blogs, newsletters, your sales funnel, and joint ventures. This is certainly not meant to be an exhaustive review of each category but rather a quick synopsis of each one.

Blogs

A blog is short for weblog and it’s in actuality, an online journal. Blogs can be stand alone websites or can be incorporated into your website with its own page.

Creating a blog can be advantageous for a variety of reasons:

• They will improve your standing with search engines as long as you post to them regularly.
• They help your readers get to know you in a more personal way.
• You can use your blog to market your existing products.
• You can use your blog to announce new product offerings.
• Blogs can help you create new information products. As you blog each day, you can actually organize your posts in such a way that you could blog a tip sheet, e-course, article or even a book.

If you want to start a blog, it’s easy. You don’t have to be a web designer or have any particular web expertise. All you need to do is go to www.typepad.com and start using their system. They will take you through the process step by step.

Newsletters or eZines

Having a newsletter or eZine (electronic magazine) is a great way to stay in contact with your clients and potential clients. A newsletter is one of those products you can offer for free to entice casual browsers to give you their name and email address. Some people argue that newsletters are no longer useful but I disagree. While some people are overrun with newsletters that hardly ever get read, for the amount of work it takes to put one together, it is worth the potential audiences you will reach.

One of the things about online marketing that will help you stand out from your competition is over delivering. A newsletter is one way to do that. Use your newsletter to deliver outstanding information to your targeted market that directly addresses their pain or their desires. Giving away great information is another way to build trust on the web.

Sales Funnel

The sales funnel is a metaphor for the way your bring clients to increasingly higher levels of commitment in their buying cycle. The idea is that all your potential clients will enter the mouth of the funnel by agreeing to give you their name and email address. Then, the concept is that you create increasingly more expensive products and attempt to move your customers through your sales funnel progressively by offering them the next product.

The funnel analogy is used because at each level, less of your customer base will pursue your offer until you get down to the skinniest end of the funnel where only a few choice clientele will go.

You must create a progressive line of product offerings that are targeted to your audience both in content and modality. Don’t offer teleclasses to a group who historically doesn’t purchase teleclasses. Perhaps you will need a CD product instead.

And you will need to draft compelling sales letters for each of the products you offer, which was discussed in part one of this series.

Joint Ventures

The last area I want to talk about may be the most lucrative on the Net, actually. Anytime you can partner with another professional you are increasing your exposure and broadening your client base.

There are many advantages to joint venture partnering:

• You gain access to another person’s email list.
• You gain access to another person’s expertise.
• You increase the odds of others wanting to partner with you.
• You get to put yourself in front of audiences you wouldn’t otherwise have access to.

There are many opportunities for joint venture partnering but the typical one you see is one person promoting another person’s book in an attempt to make it a bestseller on a particular day. In addition to the ones who send this notice out to their list, there are other joint venture partners who offer free bonus gifts in exchange for increased, targeted traffic to their sites.

I know I have covered many topics briefly and you may have multitudes of questions. I recommend Michael Port’s book, Book Yourself Solid, as an excellent resource to fill in the blanks for you.

If you would like to view Part One and Part Two of this article, click here or go to http://www.coachingforexcellence.biz/eZines.shtml.

Copyright © July 2006 Kim Olver. All rights reserved

NOTICE: This article is free and can be copied and reproduced
as long as the copyright and bio is included at the bottom of the article

*Click Here or to read some of Kim's other articles*

Upcoming Events

Teleclasses
(Times in EST)

All teleclasses are one (1) hour in length and all you need is a telephone. When you register we will send you a phone number that you will call five minutes prior to the start of your teleclass. You will have the opportunity to ask questions, but if you prefer to just listen that’s all right too. You do not need a computer or Internet, only a telephone. Don’t delay. There are a limited number of slots available.

Free Teleclass
Celebrate Diversity
August 29, 2006 -- 9:00 - 10:00

Do you maintain a diverse workforce in your place of business? Do you celebrate diversity? Would you like to learn how to create a diverse workplace that embraces diversity? Register for this call and learn how creating a diverse workforce in your place of business can increase your bottom line and create a more pleasant work environment for you, your co-workers and your employees.

FREE Teleclass
Anger Management (De-escalation Skills)
October 11, 2006 -- 9:00 -10:00 p.m.

Are you someone who is confronted with angry people in the course of your life? Spouses, children, extended family members, neighbors, community members who have tempers and like to yell at you? Want to learn ways to take the wind out their sails and have them communicating more cooperatively? Then this class is for you!

FREE Teleclass
Goal Setting & Attainment
December 27, 2006 -- Offered at two times for your convenience:
3:00 - 4:00 p.m.
9:00 - 10:00 p.m.

Come on now; are you serious this time about keeping those New Year’s resolutions? Let’s really get serious about setting those goals for next year. This teleclass will give you a time-proven system for setting and actually attaining those New Year’s resolutions. No more excuses. Register for this call today. All you need is a telephone. Once you register, we will email you a phone number that you will call five minutes prior to the start of this class. You will have the opportunity to ask questions, but if you prefer to just listen that’s all right too. You do not need a computer or Internet, only a telephone. Don’t delay. There are a limited number of slots available. Click here to register for this informative class.

Chat Room

Kim will be available in her chat room for questions
and dialog on the following dates and times:

July 27, 2006 -- 8:00 - 9:00 p.m.
August 1, 2006 -- 3:00 - 4:00 p.m.
August 8, 2006 -- 7:30 - 8:30 p.m.
August 14, 2006 -- 8:00 - 9:00 p.m.
August 22, 2006 -- 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
August 29, 2006 -- 7:30 - 8:30 p.m.
September 5, 2006 -- 7:30- 8:30 p.m.
September 12, 2006 -- 7:30 - 8:30 p.m.
September 19, 2006 -- 7:30 - 8:30 p.m.
September 26, 2006 -- 7:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Quote of the Week

Book Review

Book Yourself Solid
by Michael Port

If I had to recommend one book to help you get started in your online business, this would be the one. The first thing I love about the book is the author himself. He comes across as a genuine, caring and competent individual who loves what he does and who is serious about your success. He writes in a conversational style and explains all the technical information of web design, search engines and internet marketing in easy to understand terms.

Michael’s book is organized into three parts–the foundation, building trust and credibility, and core self-promotion strategies. He holds nothing back. Thorough out the pages of the book, Michael’s genuineness shines through. He is truly committed to the success of YOUR business. He covers it all from start to finish.

One of the unique characteristics of this book is the way he blends print with online resources. He begins his book by offering a 92-page action workbook completely free! He is a generous man who really understand the world of online marketing.

If you are considering beginning an online business or are thinking of taking your currently existing business to the next level, this is one book that will take you there. Buy it now.

Click here to order this book

Tip of the Week

If you are serious about creating an effective online presence, then you will have to have a shopping cart. This is a software program that basically automates your businewss. It will keep the email addresses of your potential and current clients organized, provide autoresponders, send out targeted email broadcasts and allow your products to be bought and sold online.

I highly recommend www.1shoppingcart.com as an excellent shopping cart program for the money. I attend many conferences on building your web-based business and I have heard 1shoppingcart recommended more frequently than any other program out there by far.

When it comes to a shopping cart, you want one with a proven track record. I benefit in no way from you choosing them. Go ahead and check it out.

Business Q&A

Question: What is the best way to build my subscriber list?

Answer: This is a great question and one I recently found the answer to. I was at a weekend workshop with Matt Bacak last month of www.powerfulpromoter.com and he taught me so much I didn’t know about Internet marketing.

The item he shared that is most pertinent to your question is that of a “sqeeze page.” What Matt recommends is that you don’t need the big fancy website. If you already have one, that’s OK–it makes a great branding site but if you are trying to make money from your website, then you need a squeeze page.

What is a squeeze page? A squeeze page is a short sales letter outlining the benefits of signing up for your free product offering–whether that’s your monthly or weekly newsletter, a coupon for your products, a special report, an e-course, or any other free offer you make. On this page, you get very focused and clear about what you want the visitor to do. All you want is to capture his or her name and email address, which gives you further permission to market to them over and over again.

When you have a highly targeted squeeze page, the quality of your list will be excellent, thus increasing the odds of conversion when you do start your marketing sales cycle.

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Copyright © July 27, 2006 Kim Olver. All rights reserved.