Note: This is a guest post by Rebecca Zwar. Rebecca is a Marketing Tech Coach and the owner and founder of Marketing Geeks Intl. She is passionate about the way the Internet combines creative and technological possibilities for even the smallest of businesses to market themselves online. Marketing Geeks offers coaching and virtual assistance packages to help entrepreneurs create web-savvy marketing plans, and provide the tech-smarts to connect the “what to do” with the “how to do it.”

Rebecca has been featured in the print book “The Business of Being Virtual” and has been a speaker at the 2009 IVAA conference, the Summer Speaker Series and other online telesummits. She grew up in Chicago, but now lives on the shores of Lake Michigan in Michigan with her handsome husband and two gorgeous, brilliant children.

Do you like working out? I do. I especially like running. It’s my quiet, me-time for thinking. But even though I enjoy it and know I should be working out most days, I get busy and it doesn’t always happen. And my tendency is to try to make up for a whole week’s worth of exercise in one or two sessions.

Unfortunately, that’s just not the way it works. Weight loss comes from a consistent calorie deficit. If I try to lose weight by working out for 2 hours once a week, my results will never be as good as they could be if I worked out even just 20 minutes a day 5 times a week. That consistency sets up a system in my body to burn more calories all the time.

The same thing goes for online marketing. Posting a couple posts on your blog one day while you’re thinking about it, or tweeting a bunch one morning and then disappearing for a week will not get you regular traffic to your site. Nor will it help you make connections with other bloggers, possible JVs or potential clients.

Online marketing, done regularly, can do wonders for your web traffic and filling your client funnel. And it doesn’t have to be hugely time consuming. Here are a few ways you can fit it into your schedule:

• Take one day per month to write several longer articles (think: 500-700 words). If you’re keeping a list of ideas, this probably won’t take you much more than an hour or two. But don’t do anything with them just yet.
• Once a week, take one of those articles, and break it into 2 or 3 blog posts. Preschedule these into your blog. Should only take about 15 minutes.
• Once every week or two, take the previous week’s article, and post it to 2 or 3 articles sites. Should only take about 20-30 minutes.
• Set up an RSS reader with the blog feeds from industry leaders, people you’d like to partner with in the future, or blogs that have a similar target market to yours. Once a day, find one post that you can comment on. Now, you can’t just say “Great post!” You have to add something to the conversation. But this shouldn’t get too overwhelming if you know you’re only looking for one to comment on. Time? Probably no more than 10 minutes.
• Use a service like SocialOomph.com or Hootsuite.com to schedule in some tips, links, articles etc. (your own, or good ones from your RSS reader) to go out throughout the week on Twitter. Then you’re maintaining visibility, even if you haven’t stopped by yet that day. When you do stop by, you can focus more on conversation and relationship building, knowing that you’ve already shared some great content. If you are very clear on your purpose for social networking, you should be able to come up with ideas pretty easily. And since you’ll be looking at your RSS Feeds daily, you’ll be able to grab good articles to share quickly too.

So while it’s tempting to tell yourself that you’re on top of your online marketing because you took 3 hours one day last month to do some, you’ll be a lot more happy with yourself and your results if you make it happen regularly. And you’ll get that web traffic sleek and sexy in no time!

Like this post, and want more? Check out the Social Media Content Creation Kit, a step-by-step system for quickly creating lots of content for your blog and social media. It lays out a simple strategy for creating a content calendar, generating original ideas for your own content, finding & repurposing other people’s content online (you’ll love this!), and automating your social media. You’ll design your own “almost-hands-off” system while taking advantage of all the new traffic, clients and sales that come with having an Expert presence in social media!

Few things will help you keep your focus and kick things into higher gear than having a good buddy along for the ride.

You remember the “buddy system” from grade school—someone you paired up with who was supposed to help you stay in line, learn how to swim or keep your stuff picked up. In turn, you were required to do the same for your buddy.

When you have your own business, it pays to have at least one reliable buddy who can relate to your situation and make sure you’re heading in the right direction.

The Buddy System 2.0 goes by lots of names—mentors, masterminds, coaches and gurus. However you like to think of it is fine! The main point is to use the power of two or more people to  challenge yourself and make continual improvements.

Here are six tips for choosing and working with a buddy:

Find Someone Who’s “Been There and Done That”

Ask any successful business person, and chances are pretty good that at some point (probably throughout their career), they turned to others for advice. Jack Canfield (co-author of the Chicken Soup series and numerous other bestsellers including The Success Principles) recommends finding people who have already achieved the level of success you are seeking. You will be surprised how many people “above you” will gladly and willingly share their expertise if you ask nicely.

But don’t abuse the privilege; they may be happy to give you some of their time and tips, but recognize that what they have to give you is valuable. At some point, you have to be willing to pay for their time or their training products or services (if they offer any).

Make A Commitment

Just finding someone you can spill your guts to is great, but what you really want is someone to hold you accountable. Sit down and map out your goals with another person (or a group of like-minded people) and make hard commitments to take specific actions by specific dates. Force yourself to stay on track and avoid making excuses why you don’t get things done. Ask your colleague to check in with you at regular, frequent internals to gauge your progress and provide guidance when you hit the inevitable roadblocks.

Give Something In Return

Determine what is a fair exchange between you and your buddy or other partners. That may be an exchange for your dollars for their counsel, or it may be a barter situation where you give them your expertise in another area. Another idea is to find out what causes your mentor supports and offer to donate part of your earnings or time to support one of his or her favorites. Be creative in figuring out ways to demonstrate your appreciation.

Teach Others

Often the best way to learn something is not simply to glean knowledge from others, but to actively seek it out yourself. Pick an issue you are trying to solve and commit to teach someone else how to do it—even if it’s just your buddy. In doing so, you will be forced to stretch yourself, acquire new knowledge and apply new skills. Remember the old agage that if you just read five books on a subject, you’ll know more than most people about it. Choose those five books wisely and really study intently and put into action the information they provide. Supplement your learning by subscribing to blogs on the subject and seeking out podcasts, e-books and all the training classes (both online and offline) you can afford.

Remember to document everything you discover during your studies, especially meetings and discussions with your buddy and other advisors. Personally, I find that I’ll forget a lot of excellent advice if I don’t write it down! I use Evernote and Delicious, among other tools, to keep notes and bookmarks of important resources.

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

I appreciate the Catch-22 of wanting to learn as much as you can with limited resources. Especially when it comes to something as broad as Internet marketing, the choices for information are literally overwhelming. The good news is, with unlimited time you can pretty much find out about how to do anything for free. The bad news is, you don’t have unlimited time. Nor would it be wise to hunt-and-peck around aimlessly. Ask your mentors and others in your area of interest what products they have bought that were truly worth the money. For example, several people have told me how good Jeff Walker’s Product Launch Formula is (if you’re looking to launch a product or service online). I personally haven’t bought it (and I can’t now anyway, until Jeff’s next release), but they validated that it was worth shelling out close to $2,000 for it. If you don’t have that kind of money, you might look for a monthly subscription based members-only site. Two that I have been part of and gained both expertise and contacts from include Internet Business Mastery Academy and Third Tribe Marketing. A word of warning: you tend get what you put into these sites. Don’t expect to simply pay the monthly fee and magically see your income skyrocket. You have to diligently work these sites, which means consuming and digesting the content and engaging with other members.

Never Undermine A Mentor

Never, ever seek advice from someone in order to compete with them. Professionals can spot this from a mile away, and it is one of the easiest ways to make enemies.

If you are trying to set up a business you feel may be competitive with a potential mentor in any way, state this upfront when you approach them. Tell them you respect them and want to ensure you are not asking for proprietary knowledge, and that you are not looking to steal business from them. Often, you may find the person is actually receptive to “competition.” I have found people, for example, whom I could actually outsource work to—things I might be able to do myself, but that I can’t due to scheduling or other commitments. Another approach is to ask for the mentor’s advice on how you might become a specialist in the field, take on work they don’t want or perhaps even serve as an apprentice or intern to learn their business. Seek ways to complement and work together with others rather than compete with them.

Buddy, Can You Spare Some Advice?

If you have worked successfully with a mentor or coach, what other advice do you have? Please share your comments below.

 

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In this episode of Web Business Freedom, I discuss get-rich-quick schemes online and other dead-ends to building wealth, whether online or offline.

Lots of people are digging for gold these days—literally. Prospecting is up, and so are other ways that people can supposedly find easy money. Learn to spot the too-good-to-be-true offers and understand what it really takes to make money.

Last week, my friend and fellow entrepreneur Donna Maria of Indie Beauty Network and Indie Business Blog interviewed me about my fledgling company. You can read her article here.

One of the topics that struck a cord with both of us was around the challenges of working from home. Especially, like in our cases, when you have a spouse (hers works in the business, mine does not) and children. For many other people, substitute the words “roommates” or “noisy neighbors” and the same issues will probably arise.

Below are more of my thoughts on the subject.

Lose the pajamas, shorts and t-shirt.

I’m a big believer in dressing for success. For me, that means putting on business casual clothes when I’m working, even if I’m not going anywhere that day. There have been many times when an opportunity to meet with someone came up suddenly, and I’ve been able to jump in the car and go.

Hey, if you are as brilliant as Steve Jobs and can pull off jeans and a black turtleneck every day (or whatever you’re comfortable in), go for it. But my guess is that most people will feel better about themselves by consistently showering, brushing your teeth, combing your hair and putting on something they wouldn’t be embarrassed to be seen wearing in public.

Establish a routine. Set “office hours” and stick to them.

Resist the urge to just pop into your office at any hour of the day. Otherwise, it’ll become a black hole that continually suck you into the void of work and away from the rest of your life.

I say that as I sit here “after hours” writing this, but the wife and kids are away for a brief bit and it’s the only chance I’ll get! (See how easily the justifications to keep working become?)

Set clearly defined boundaries.

This one is especially tough with small children around, but you gotta do it. Make sure that everyone knows that when mommy or daddy is in this room, he or she is working, the door stays shut and you keep the noise away.

Unfortunately, this is easier said than done, but something you must try and adhere to. Few things are as awkward as a screaming infant or toddler interrupting a business call, but it’ll happen. Your goal is to minimize those interruptions, focus on what you’re doing and above all stop feeling guilty that you aren’t helping when it sounds like the house is crashing down around you. If you have a stay-at-home spouse or roommate, tell them politely but firmly that you are in there to work, and not to bother you unless it is absolutely necessary. Hopefully, they will be understanding and honor your request. Be as firm as possible—until you see smoke or hear sirens.

As for noisy neighbors, you need to be upfront with them and explain your situation. It will not always be possible for them to accommodate your every wish (e.g., complete silence from 9-5), but hopefully if you are on good terms with them, they will be respectful during certain times of the day, or agree to tone things down when you have important calls or meetings scheduled. Otherwise, you’re going to have to be more defensive on your end in sound proofing your workspace. If diplomacy fails and they don’t pipe down, then check with your local authorities on your rights. I wish you the best of luck on this one—the last thing you need when trying to run your business is having a simultaneous feud with a hostile neighbor. Your best best might be to clear out and work someplace else.

Pimp your workspace.

First of all, get rid of the spare bedroom furniture, kiddie toys, dog beds, cardboard boxes and whatever else is junking up the room and make it a real office. That means getting a proper desk, good lighting, ample filing and storage bins. The photo I used for this post should give you plenty of inspiration (an architect’s home office, no less) .

It took me a solid weekend to break down and reconfigure my own workspace, and it was well worth the time. I no longer stare at a rumpled bed, clumps of dried up Play-Doh and assorted other non-work-related objects. Getting your office properly configured will help give you more energy and focus.

Get your own stuff.

First, get your own computer. Next, make sure you have your own phone line. I use two very inexpensive services, Skype and Kall8.com. Neither requires a landline. Whatever your preference, just make sure you aren’t competing with family members or roommates for phone time.

The same goes for having your own printer, paper, stamps and other basic office supplies. Make sure everyone knows it’s yours and not to mooch off of you. Other than interrupted phone calls, few things are as maddening as needing to get something done on a deadline and finding you are out of essential items. Do your part also and regularly check and replenish your stock. If necessary, keep them under lock and key.

What about you? Do you (or have you) worked from home? If so, I look forward to getting your comments about the trials and tribulations of calling home your workplace.

Photo credit: Jeremy Levine Design