Facebook – How to motivate visitors to click on your links

In my research,  I found a fantastic blog and website “Wishpond.com“. It is manna for the hungry 🙂

This site is just a fantastic source of information on how to drive free traffic to your social media pages and I have already downloaded two of their free eBooks on Content Marketing and Contests & Promotions on Facebook.

Fresh from Wishpond blog is an article on 8 sure ways to drive link clicks on your Facebook posts.

In short, the 8 ways are:

1. Give a preview with a “See the whole thing: [Link]” Call-to-Action
2. “Our Contest is on! Enter to win [Blank]: [Link]”
3. “Want [Blank]? Check out [Blank]: [Link]”
4. “Learn how to [Do Something]: [Link]”
5. “Need to [Solve a problem]? Here is an easy way to do it: [Link]”
6. “First-Time/Behind-the-scenes/Exclusive” [Blank]: [Link]
7. “Check out this great [Food/Beverage/Item]! Click here for the Recipe: [Link]
8. **Bonus  – Drive more clicks with links to Facebook page tabs

Reading the entire post completely opened my eyes to what was possible on Facebook and especially on how to use Facebook in a constructive manner to drive traffic to a page and obtain leads without needing to spam groups or my own timeline…

I really want to succeed online without having to resort to online pollution!

I actually don’t even read the posts which come from the groups I am part of anymore. It is a real turn off to see all these “get-rich-quick” schemes which do not bring any added value. I might be a bit old fashioned (that’s probably my age lol :-)) but I am certain that I can achieve my goals while still being able to keep my ethical values. I want to be able to build a strong following and a list of people who can relate to me and not people who are going to unsubscribe from my list as fast as possible because they feel pressurize to part with their money.

Maybe I am still full of illusions… Let me know how you feel on ethic in affiliate marketing, I would be interested to get your feedback.

Well Folks, that’s all for today, I am looking forward to write another post for you very soon.

Running the Rat Race and letting your life pass by…

I have read an article on “Big Think” last week titled “We’re all too Busy… Missing amazing opportunities” which came back to my mind when I read the post by my friend Jennifer Ebermann on “Enjoying the Present moment – the Story of the snail” that she posted yesterday.

It comes back to what I had been writing a few days ago about one of my day at work, doing things which are not fulfilling and especially doing things automatically without thinking about it. We just let our life pass by…

I have woken up and this is why I have decided to look for alternative ways to earn a living. I want fulfillment in my life and I want to be able to choose when and where I am going to work.

So here are a few excerpts from the Big Think’s article but you should read the whole thing as it is full of good advices:

Move from Being Busy In the Present to Being Strategic About the Future

As change accelerates and the pressure to keep up intensifies, the natural tendency is to try to speed up with it—to be busier. But rather than try to speed up even more, you need to slow down, stop, and think. Put aside all your current problems for a moment. Make the decision to devote a little time, on a regular basis, to looking at the Hard Trends and predictable opportunities that will happen in the near future.

Juggle Your Time Wisely

You’re juggling a lot of balls these days. You have your work ball, spouse ball, family ball, community ball, and many others. Fortunately, the work ball is made of rubber so if you drop it, it will bounce back. Many of the other balls are made of various thicknesses of glass. However, you can’t tell how thick the glass is until you drop it and see if it shatters. Therefore, you need to be careful.

So take a look at all the things you’re juggling. There are some things that are precious that you never want to drop. Identify those. Many people do drop those balls and that’s why there are divorces, kids you can’t relate to, and all kinds of family problems. So which balls do you never want to drop?

A good idea is to make a list of the balls you’re juggling and order them in terms of relevancy, from most relevant to least. Include everything, such as publications you read, clubs or groups you belong to, specific tasks you do at work and at home, etc. Which are the most relevant? Maybe there are things you read that are really wasting your time. Perhaps you commit time to groups that are no longer meaningful or profitable for you. Maybe you do tasks that someone else can and should do.

After you do this, will you still be busy? Yes, but it’ll be the right kind of busy. When you can be both anticipatory and strategic in all areas of your life, you can be busy based on opportunities, not based on the latest crisis you need to address. Only then will the busy pace of life feel worth it, and your personal and professional life will prosper.

I think it is so important to be able to live the present, life is too short and I really do not want to have any regrets when I’ll be too old to do much about it.

So my advice would be, live your life to the full and enjoy each moment given to you on this earth.

Best Headlines are not for SEO

My friend Vicki Berry has just done that very useful video on how to measure if a headline is going to have an impact on your reader or not. I thought it would be worth sharing it in my blog because it is a tool I will definitely use in the future.

Vicki is one of the first person I have been in contact with when I started looking for opportunities to make money online. She introduced me to network marketing, which I had not considered before, and since then has been shouldering and motivating me in that field. But she is not only a very experienced network marketer, she is also a pro on blogging and on online marketing. You should check her blog out on MLM Dream Savers.

I am really grateful to Vicki Berry to have helped me manœuvre through the internet marketing pitfalls and to still be here for me when I need it. Thank you Vicki 🙂

I hope that this tool will be as useful to you as it will be for me.

This was just a short one from me Folks but until next time 🙂

Believing in myself… Sometimes it is a raging battle, who is going to win ? The little monkey on my shoulder or my inner strength?

On Thursday night I went for a girlie’s night out at a locale Auberge and it was lovely to see my friends. Especially since we do not see each other very often. And of course, when you haven’t seen each other for a while, what do you talk about? well, on what you have been up to these past few months…

The discussion was flowing, we were enjoying a glass of wine and our meal when the discussion turned to what I had been up to. So I explained that I was looking at ways to make money on line and to, hopefully, resign from my job by the end of the year and to start a new life with financial independence. I told them I had started writing a blog and that I was really enjoying it and actually finding that it was helping me a lot on staying focused and motivated in what I was doing. I also told them of my ultimate goal to create a foundation or a charity  when I would have enough money to make a difference.

They listened to what I was saying but I could already see all the objections and remarks which were going to follow…

They thought I was completely unrealistic, that even being self-employed would give me more headaches than being employed, that I would never make enough money to make a living out of it and that I should work for a charity instead of creating one (but I’ve done that, haven’t I, I worked for 10 years with the International Committee of the Red Cross). They didn’t get the concept of a digital lifestyle, the opportunity offered by being in a good affiliate program with high ticket commissions as well as residual commissions.

I suddenly felt very alone…

My little monkey was very happy and very much alive, whispering in my ear, “they are right you know, you’ll never make it, you’re not good enough to succeed in this market, you’ll never be consistent, you’ll stop before you can do anything, you’ll never make any money, who would want to be interested in what you promote?” etc. etc. You get the picture (see my previous blog on my audience and the XFactor).

I was a bit down after that evening, and I don’t blame my friends at all, they cannot have the “vision” as they do not have this burning gut desire to succeed in something different. They are content with their life, one is a happy mother, they have successful careers and loving partners. I know that all their advices were given because they care about me and they don’t want to see me hurt once more. It is so difficult  to explain to people outside of the digital world how it could work and how someone can succeed in it. They just do not understand, and usually, things people do not understand frighten them.

That night just made me realise how important it is to keep faith in one-self. If I was not so motivated at being successful online I would probably let all these self-doubts eating me up and I would find a very quick excuse not to pursue what I am doing now. But deep down, in my inner-self, I know I CAN DO IT. And actually, writing this blog is helping me so much in keeping my self-confidence, the fact that 100 and so people like what I am writing means that I must be doing something right :-).

Well Folks, another insight on my life lol. Let me know if you are also struggling with keeping faith in yourself and in what you are doing. Sharing one’s doubts definitely helps reduce them.

Marketing Tip: 5 ways to put your Email Call To Action to work

I have subscribed, on LinkedIn, to several streams of information and one of them is “Marketing”. I get lots of really interesting articles and one of them caught my attention because it is something I would definitely use in an email campaign.

This article comes from “Marketing Land” and is very comprehensive.

In resumé, the five ways to put your Email Call to Action to work are:

1. Image can cost you sale: too heavy to load or being disabled by the email recipient
2. Focus on Value and Direction: always focus on the next step
3. Repeat your call to action (CTA): use a P.S
4. Use urgency: give deadlines
5. Test unique formats

If you are interested in the subject, I really advise you to read this article from “Marketing Land” as it is full of seriously good tips.

’till next time, bye for now.

Versatile Blogger Award – My nominations

I was really humbled by my nomination to the “Versatile Blogger Award” by my friend Jennifer Ebermann. Jennifer has a fantastic blog “Mindful Leadership & Intercultural Communication” where she shares her knowledge on intercultural communication and on mindfulness. She is a great leader and Coach and I am convinced she has a great future ahead of her as a person of influence.

I was so humbled by this nomination because I have seriously started blogging only about 10 days ago and I am slightly amazed by the number of people who liked what I am writing about. As of today I have 101 likes! For me it is already a great achievement!

So If you also want to participate in the “Versatile Blogger Award”, here are the rules:

• Thank the person who gave you the award.
• Include a link to their blog.
• Next, select 15 blogs/bloggers that you’ve recently discovered or follow regularly
• Nominate those bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award.
• Finally, tell the person who nominated you 7 things about yourself

My nominations for the “Versatile Blogger Award” are:

• http://jennyebermann.com
• http://cristianmihai.net
• http://christinajoneswriter.com
• http://urbanwallart.wordpress.com
• http://matt.wordpress.com
• http://bethtourek.com
• http://www.onewomanmarketing.com
• http://atlantamomofthree.wordpress.com
• http://sueannporter.wordpress.com
• http://reachingutopia.com
• http://stevenwaddell.com
• http://getyourdeals.wordpress.com
• http://7quickweightlosstips.wordpress.com
• http://myprosperityformula.net
• http://superaffiliatemarketingsecretsexposed.wordpress.com

And here are the 7 things you should know about me:

• I love my two dogs “Patch” and “Beni”, I’m actually crazy about them and my husband might sometimes feel left out 🙂
  
• I get attacked on a regular basis by my Bengal cat “Bavu”, he loves to jump, all claws out, on my back when I’m brushing my teeth…
• I love travelling and discovering new cultures
• I am a bit obsessed with looking for alternative ways of earning a living and achieve financial Independence
• My husband has introduced me to DIY and house renovation and now I have the bug. We already renovated two houses in England and are now trying to renovate our farm house in Switzerland (but that’s another story :-))
• I am always mothering everyone and I have to learn to let go and let people take their responsibilities
• I often need reassurance in new things I am doing, wanting proof that it’s good.

Well, this post is a bit different from the other ones I did up to now but I really think that this “Versatile Blogger Award” is a fantastic way to share the blogs we like.

5 Social Media Rules every entrepreneur should know

This is another very educating post from “Entrepreneur Magazine” but slightly frustrating for me. I’ll explain: One of the most important rule is “quality content”, as in blogging, but how can I know that I’m having a good or interesting content when I write my blog? All I can do at the moment is sharing my journey and the things I read which I find helpful in learning my new skills but is it worth my reader’s time?

Here I go again with my insecurities, as would Jay Kubassek say, it’s my little parrot or monkey talking over my shoulder, letting me know that I cannot string two sentences together and that I don’t have anything interesting to write about! I should just gag the little devil and keep on believing in myself!

So to come back to these five rules, here they are :

1. Produce Quality Content
2. Be open and engaging
3. Focus on a specific Niche
4. Use Social Media to build your business and vice-versa
5. Embrace each Social Network’s unique culture

So, I am pretty confident on about two of them but the rest is still a work in progress… My two strong ones are number 2 and 5 but for the other one I still have a lot to learn.

From the very beginning when I started this adventure, I decided that I was going to be myself and definitely not try to act or play a game. I know that one of my strong point is my easiness at being with people and in interacting with them so I guess that the rule about being open and engaging fits me pretty well :-). And regarding the fifth rule, it is not very difficult as, at the moment, I am only using Facebook lol!

I told myself I had to go on Twitter but I am actually scared… Stupid isn’t it? I don’t want to spend hours each days on social media and maintaining contacts and contents on Facebook is already taking enough of my time. The most important for me at the moment is to get these blogging skills under my belt before I start twitting away 🙂

In conclusion, I can only recommend that you read this article from “Entrepreneur Magazine” it is really interesting and it definitely gave me some extra knowledge to add to my bag of tricks.

Well, that’s all for now Folks and do not hesitate to comment or give me any suggestions, it is always appreciated.

Traditional entrepreneurs are yearning to “unplug” but I am yearning to “plugin”… What is the best?

I follow “Entrepreneur Magazine” on Facebook and today one of their article caught my eyes.

It is all about giving busy and stressed out businessmen/women a safe heaven to allow them to unplug. These places offer a retreat without phone or internet connections which gives the space and time to these stressed out individuals to unwind, relax and forget about their busy lifestyle.

I, on the other hand, am looking to reduce my busy lifestyle to one which will allow me to choose where and when I want to work but it will be with the help of technology (laptop and internet). What I am expecting, is that once my system is well in place, I will be able to go places, unwind and relax but with my business still working in the background and paying me commissions. I will not have to worry that if I go away one or two weeks I will come back to work with hundreds of emails to be dealt with and stack of files to sort out.

Traditional Lifestyle vs Digital Lifestyle, I will definitely choose the latter !

Read the article, for me it was another eye opener.

Thank you for your comments and reactions to this article. ’till later Folks.

Spamming groups on Facebook. Is it really the way to go?

Today I’m in the mood for a rant! Yes, that’s right, a rant!

In my networking efforts, I thought it would be good to be part of some like minded groups on Facebook to exchange ideas and promote businesses but I never imagined that the results would be that my facebook newsfeed would be totally highjacked by people spamming these groups with their wonderland get rich quick schemes!

I don’t know if Saturday is the day when everyone things, YEAH we have a full day to copy and paste as many badly written promotions as possible in as many groups as possible on Facebook! Do people really spend their time doing these type of things? Wouldn’t their time be put to better use actually learning how to market a product professionally instead of spamming groups? I have noticed that the specialists in these kind of messages where the one trying to promote “Empowered Network”. It’s a scheme where you pay USD 25 to register and another USD 25 every months as a membership. This membership  allegedly open the doors to all sort of trainings and tips to increase your network and leads but the truth of the matter is you have to find as many people as possible to purchase the USD 25 membership for you to make any money whatsoever…

To tell you the truth, a few weeks ago, I nearly got caught in it…. Started chatting on Facebook with this young woman who was telling me how fantastic that program was to get more than 500 leads per week etc. but she was so pushy that I immediately put my brakes on (something I absolutely cannot stand is pushy people) and didn’t opt in on her link and thank god for that :-).

Well, to come back to my ranting, I am a bit fed up that groups created to allow people to network with each other are taken over by people who do not want to put in the effort to build a genuine business. There are so many opportunities out there but very little are genuine and/or ethical. All I see around me are get rich quick schemes and my understanding of it is that people are getting more and more desperate to get out of the rat race. I fully understand that because I am the first wanting to get out of the rat race but I also want to build a long term income and not just some short lived burst of money.

But with all that, I still don’t know if I should come out of these groups or stay. I am afraid that other members are like me and just ignore whatever is published by other members of the group which, in my view, makes being a member of these groups completely redundant! It is a bit of a dilema.

What would you do in my place? Stay or leave?

Well Folks, that was my Saturday night burst, I hope you enjoyed it 🙂 Have a great weekend and until next time.

One day at work… why do I want the digital lifestyle so bad !

With this post I wanted to take you through one of my typical day at work just to help you understand why I want that digital life so badly. I am the Facility and Health and Safety Leader for a big multinational headquarters, my wage is far from bad but working just to get the pay check is really not very inspiring.

I have some fantastic colleagues and thank god for that because the rest of the employees are quite high maintenance! Being a Facility Manager means that you have to be at disposal of everyone and you are expected to jump straight away whenever there is a problem (i.e. the toilets are not cleaned, it is too hot, it is too cold, the air is too dry, the photocopier is not working properly etc. etc.). When you are managing a building with 350 people, it is a bit stressful at times and that is only the half of my job 😉 The other half is taken by the Health and Safety side and that is not much better, there is a lot of policies and procedures to write and implement, risk assessments to do and to tell you the truth, it is a bit boring.

My main problem is that I worked for 10 years for the International Committee of the Red Cross where I travelled extensively, worked in various countries in Africa, Middle East and Asia and had the most motivating job helping victims of war. So now, I am always comparing what I am doing with what I used to do and frankly speaking the comparison doesn’t fare well for my current job lol!

People around me are constantly stressed, overworked and afraid of loosing their job. Due to the overall world economy, a lot of my colleagues have been made redundant and not been replaced so their jobs falls on the desk of the remaining employees. Most of the employees are expatriates who moved to Switzerland for a job and if they loose their job, they don’t have much left. Sometimes they cannot even leave Switzerland as they have children at school and have built their social life in their new country. If they go back home (being the UK, US or anywhere else in the world) the wages are much lower, schooling might not be as good and they will also have to re-establish a social life. You can imagine that this overall scenario does not create a very good atmosphere at the office… This drives me even more in wanting to succeed in earning money online!

My ultimate goal is to be able to have the financial independence which would allow me to create a small charity, having enough money to live without counting and on top of it having more than enough to give to a needing cause. For me, this would be the ideal digital lifestyle! I guess I still have a long road ahead of me but I am ready to learn and to work hard to get there, there are no other ways as I am not in the mood to rob a bank 🙂

Well Folks, I don’t know if this post rings some bells in you but if it does, I’d love to hear from you, so do not hesitate to comment herebelow.