Business Lesson #2:

Top Secret Method Successful Business Entrepreneurs Use To Grow Their Business

Wow, amazing what a hyped up blog title can do… get you all expecting the next big secret right?  Well, I just wanted to test you. I don’t deal in hype, so I have no secret for you… sorry!

What I do have, is very common sense… so common most people forget how powerful it really is. I am going to share a personal story with you, to make you realize what any business owner should know and do to get success.

When I was growing up as a child, going to school, I hated gymnastics and sports. I tried to do everything I could to skip my classes. I even had my mother take me to my doctor and he prescribed some bronchitis medicine for me, an inhaler, and then I could escape this tormenting. But it did not last very long before an expert doctor had me tested, and the result….. “she is just badly out of shape!”… talk about embarrassing. I lost my inhaler and had no excuse to not take my classes. But I found other ways of cause.

Why am I sharing this with you?

Well… here is another story.

Do you know of a chap called Tiger Woods? He might not be in good standing with you, but bare with me, he does something you should do too!

What was it that made Tiger stand out a few years back? He treated his sport like a business… others did too, but he was so committed that not only did he train on the golf-court, he also did massive workout in the gym… can you see where I am heading? Why did he do that? Golf is not a particular tough sport… you walk a few miles, but don’t really do anything that requires lots of physical strength… or does it?

My claim here is that keeping yourself in good shape, will make you perform better even if your work doesn’t require muscles like an ox. Why? Because being in shape, makes your brain function better. You have more energy, you feel good about yourself and you train discipline. There are lots of other great benefits, like having a great health and so on, the point is… You Should Keep Yourself Fit If You Want To Succeed!

Back to my personal story….

My entire life I have been avoiding physical demanding tasks. But…. After my car accident (read the about me) and having two babies, my body was in a sorry state. I was overweight, had no figure what so ever (looked like a lump of deform clay) and I had no energy. About two years ago I decided to change all that. For the first time in my life I wanted to get to know the feeling of being in shape. I don’t know exactly what happened. But I slowly started to first walk, then walk and run and finally run small distances. Last year in august I was finally ready to run my first ½ marathon and I did!

Wow, what a tremendous feeling it was to cross that finish line. It had taken me 1½ years to go from lump to fit and it was just the most amazing feeling I had ever felt. Even beat having kids…. why? Because now I could actually feel something. Before when my body was totally wasted…. I couldn’t feel very much… not physically(besides the pain from my car accident) or mentally. Getting my body in shape has indeed increased my connection to my feelings and also my creative intuition. And that is key to business success!

So I dare you… If you are not exercising on a regular basis… get started right now. Not only for your health but for your business and every other aspect of your life! – Come on… There are no excuses, just do it!

Love Marlene

PS… more business lessons on the way, stay tuned!

This is not going to be a pretty blog post… be warned!

As you might have noticed, its been a while since my last blog update…. A lot of really nice people have been concerned for me and have been writing very heartwarming mails asking what happened to me…Thank you for that

I left you all just before I went to the Internet millionaire summit in London… I did attend, my plane did not fall from the sky, or anything like that… I did have a great time and I met really nice people there too…. So what did happen to me?

Well, I got what I came for…Networking, meeting gurus…. See I got pictures:

Cool huh…hope you recognize some of them …. From top left: Alex Jeffreys (Marketing With Alex – Great mentor!), George “sniper” Brown ( I made my first online money following the google sniper system!) And last … Dean hunt (famous branding expert).

and….. Get the newest hype!   —-  I almost bought a branding coaching program from Dean hunt for ***$… but bailed out in the last minute. I am sure the program was pretty good… its just that I came to realize something…. I Did Not Need It At This Time And Stage Of My Business!!!!

And there you have it…. It got so sick and tired of the hype, that make you buy things, you don’t need. In fact, it made me completely turn off internet marketing for months…as you might have noticed.

Meanwhile, I have been focusing on my offline marketing education from my Danish business school… And I came to realise, I learn everything there, that I need to know…. (except for online traffic and list building…which I already know)…. and I get to study in a non hype way, to fit both off- and online businesses.

So, what am I doing back here?

Well, I am almost done with my education… Have just scored two A’s in my last exams and only have my practical placement and final project left. I should graduate in June, hopefully      —-  This got me thinking… I want to help you guys off the hype junk too… Some of you are junkies you know, just like I was…. and I want to help you learn marketing without the hype… if you are ready for that?

Here is what I have planed… I have removed my auto responder… I have no list.. This is not about me building a huge list. I just want to give you straight up marketing and business building advice. You can subscribe to my blog through rss-feed if you want to keep up. Later I might create products for you, if you need them and I might take a reasonable fee for that… its only fair, right? But until then I  will practice my marketing skills by teaching you! Then I will ace my exams in June and be ready to start my own company teaching marketing to struggling off- and online businesses…. sounds good to you? Great, stay tuned for lesson number one….coming very soon, you dont want to miss that one, promise!

Love… Marlene

Wow, this is going to be a crazy weekend!

But before I tell you why, let me first THANK YOU for all the great, positive and inspiring comments for my opportunity of a lifetime post. I am really looking forward to coaching all of you and I know we are going to have a ball!

I will send you more info on this next week, so patience is a virtue

Ok, back to why this is going to be a crazy weekend… well I will tell you in person. Here you go….

So, you see I am in for an exiting weekend and challenging my self… I’m in the yellow zone, where we all are when we grow inside… I am a bit scared, but very exited at the same time!

I will get back with an update on how the trip went on Monday, so take care and talk soon!

This is going to be a very personal post, so if you are soft and cant handle the truth I suggest you find somewhere else to be right now.

A month ago I was just starting with Alex Jeffreys marketing 3.0 class and was also following John Thornhills Masterclass program (I had finished Chris Frevilles masterclass a couple of months earlier). I had my Instant Guru System out there and I was working on my product creation workshop.

Alex taught us about making an event around a product releases and in general always think in terms of event marketing, so I figured I would try it out.

At this time I had around 700 people on my Aweber list (mainly from WSO’s, AdSwaps and GiveAways) I also had around 250 people who had access to Instant Guru System.

I decided to run a competition on my blog where the grand price was the product creation workshop. All you had to do was comment on why you should win and what kind of product you would like to create. I got about 6 responses…

It might be that I expected to much, but I got a bit disappointed. I had done everything that I was supposed to. I even sent out a press release. I thought that my list liked me and my stuff and would fight to win… my bad!

Then I thought I was missing out on some vital piece of information so I started to find, download, printout and read: Rich Schefren’s Internet Business Manifesto, Alex Jeffreys trilogy (Gurus Dream, Newbies Nightmare and Gurus Nightmare) And Mike Filsaime’s ButterflyMarketing Manuscript.I read all of these very high level reports in one go!

Then I got a nervours breakdown!

Why? Because these reports reveal the real world behind the hype. They show you what is really needed to build a real million dollar business. They are striped of the hype and leaves the internet business lying naked for you to see….. And it scared the H… out of me! I was in schock, in denial, angry at myself… I almost cried for being so stupid that I thought I could do this. So I finally realized I was not cut out for this business. I needed to face reality and start to work towards getting a solid carrier in the corporate world. I am currently getting very good grades in my marketing economics education so I could definitely get a good job when I finish…

But I was not satisfied, I have tried the corporate world before and I had a hard time fitting in and working with passion. If there is one thing I have learnt in my life it is that I need passion or else I might as well lie down and die.

So now I was getting my second dispare and depression wave. I decided to go for a long run (I tend to think better when I run and I am training to run ½ a marathon in the fall so it felt natural to me).

While I was out running a plan started to emerge in my mind. Slowly my subconscious tied every little piece of information I had picked up from my months online and especially from the reports that I just consumed. (The subconscious is a genius by the way). The farther I ran, the more clear these new ideas became until it reached a point where I was so trilled about my self and my mind that I was almost flying home. I immediately started to fill out a piece of paper with this great new business blueprint that is going to transform me, my life and my business and hopefully a lot of other people’s lives and businesses as well.

So here it is… the genius marketing plan:

I am going to give 100 students access to 2 months of free coaching from me. I will personally work to get each of these students the success they deserve and that in turn will give me credit, testimonials and experience to help my business move forward. ( you have to give before you receive… give enough people what they want and you will receive what you want)

The students will all recive a product to build there list and an upsell product to make money from. They will get weekly seminars, email, skype and forum access. I will teach them internet business buttom up for 8 weeks.

I will record all of the sessions and create a $97 coaching program that the students can become an affiliate of, getting 75-100% comissions (making it viral). I will then create a back-end to back the system up and this is where I will get a return on my investment.

Once again I am goin to create an event on my blog. The people who would like to be coached by me personally for 2 months will be required to fill out a simple questionare and comment on my blog. I will use forums, press releases, mailing my list and my blog to promote the coaching program. After the initial coaching is done, I will personally monitor how my students are doing, helping them on there way.

Simple but beautiful!

I have to tell you though, I am very scared to do this. I like to hide behind my computer and just write blogposts, articles and so on. I will have to get out of my comfort zone to do live webinars, but I will do it because this is what it takes. I will also stretch myself in another area. I have already booked a flight ticket to the London IM summit here in June. I have never traveled alone before and only once by plane(scred of hights and flying). I am not comfortable with networking, but I will do it because this is what it takes. I am also working at getting to interview some IM gurus and hopefully I will be up on the stage speaking at some event in the next year or so.

To take my own learning to the next level I will signup for Rich Scefrens Founders club or something similar, the  decission I will take after the London summit on June 18th-20th 2010.

So there you have it, simple but beautiful… create a killer upfront free offer, create an event around it, make it viral and make money on the backend. Sounds easy enough and it is, but for me it is like crawling through the eye in the needle. I am my own worst enemy, but I have to do this or my fate will be the boring old corporate world, and that would be even worse! The bonus is, I get to help a lot of people, watch them grow and succeed, and hopefully make some very good friends too, this is why I am doing this…. Feeling that I mattered, that I made a difference in someones life, that is even more amazing that overcoming my own fears!

Well, this was a long post, sharing my fears with you have drained me, but this is good, now I am ready to get new fresh energy. All there is to do now for you, is wait for the next post where I give you the details of how to be one of the lucky 100 people to get a spot in my coaching program. I will be posted today or tomorrow so keep coming back or signup to the news letter, what ever suits you best.

Remember I see potential in you, so use it!

Marlene

Oh my, time has passed by so fast…. I am very sorry, but I have to compress the last week into one post. I just didn’t have time to write every day!

First, one of my kids got sick… then the other one and now I am feeling a bit Ill… That’s life for you!

Oh well, I have had a great week any way!

First of, I finished my affiliate tools page! That was a tricky one… took me a whole day to do it. First I bought a program to do it for me, but it did not give me many tools on the affiliate page… then I tried customizing it, but that did not work either, so I ended up with a free online tool, that created the html code, so I could paste it into my web page template…

If you are looking for a affiliate page generator, that is free, you can go check this out: http://www.canibeamillionaire.com/NixieAffiliate/promopagegenerator/

The next thing I did, was create a popup/drop down email capture page… I used the code from Dynamic drive: http://www.dynamicdrive.com called: Drop-in content box

I got the idea from the Google Sniper page.

Then I bought access to the My IM Mentor program and landed a SUPER BONUS! Now I have Ray Johnson promoting my launch! – I also look forward to participating in the program of cause

Then I did something that, looking back, was not totally thought through! I posted my sales letter for review on the Warrior Forum… I had a lot of comments to my sales letter… mostly negative… It has been a great learning experience for me, and I give you the link to the post, so you can learn from it as well! http://www.warriorforum.com/copywriting-forum/186385-does-my-copy-make-you-want-buy-best-review-wins-product.html

I now have a professionally copy writer, doing my copy!

Ok, what else… Oh yes – I had the 5th lesson in John Thornhills masterclass program… I grew my Twitter list about 10% and I have received some great testimonials for my product, that will soon be on my new sales page!

AND MY PRODUCT GOT APPROVED BY CLICK BANK AFTER ONLY 2 DAYS!

So, yes it is live!

What and where is it then?

Tadda…. drum roll… here is the link: http://www.instantgurusystem.com/

Wow that felt good!

Ok, the 30 day diary is complete… what now?

Well, I will continue to post on the blog off cause, I will also start on the two upsell products that I need done.. Then get the product launched and start to work on my weekly membership… doing webinars, videos and so on!

Much to do, and much to learn, thats how I like it!

OK, take care now – remember: I see potential in you – use it!

Wow… I put my product on Click Bank!

No, you cant buy it yet – it is pending approval and that can take 3-5 days… if it is not approved, I’ll have to change what is wrong an resubmit for approval.. good thing there is lots of time…

I also managed my Twitter account… I usually do this on Mondays but I had to much to do yesterday, so I could squeeze it in today…. I use TweetsBot by the way.. great software to get targeted followers, schedule tweets and much more.

I also managed to get a new big JV partner…. I’m not revealing the name at this time, but I feel so lucky that this person is going to promote my product…

How did I get him to promote? Well, I created a relationship with him a few months ago and now I can benefit from this relation! I suggest you go and mingle in the big boys forums and try to get noticed… It will help you later on!

Yesterday I forgot to tell you, that i participated in our weekly mastermind webinar. A private group of former Chris Freville students… it was really great, I got some good advice about getting on Click Bank and got to hang out with like minded people. I strongly recommend that you create or get into a mastermind group…. it really helps your business!

Ok, that is it for today… talk to you soon!

Monday – a new and busy week begins!

Today I was determined to get the sales page, legal documents (TOS, earnings disclaimer and more)(I bought a software program to do this called: Legal Forms Generator), and download page done…. I was a strait forward task, but it did take a bit longer than I expected..

Getting links to work, graphics to appear where you want it and creating good copy, takes time!

I am going to put two days of work on this… so I will be finished tomorrow and hopefully get the product on click bank.

Another thing I have been messing around with is my members area… I use Digital Access Pass, and it is really great, but this is the first time I use this so there is a lot to learn here as well.

I am also thinking about my up-sell and I am planning the product in my head right now… hopefully I can have everything ready for when I launch i about 2 months….

I have to test conversion rates and get it registered on JV Notify… hmmm lots to do!

See you tomorrow!

Finally Friday – deadline for finishing my product… Did I do it?

YES – I did it! I finished my very first information product… 50 page pdf guide and 17 videos of pure IM gold. This system takes any struggling marketer by the hand and teaches every thing from blogging, article marketing, video marketing and more. But most importantly, it is focused around turning the reader into an expert rather than a consumer, a guru rather than a fan. It also focuses on relationship marketing and building trust with your list… very important stuff!

OK, what next?

I am going to do the sales copy, download page, legal documents, get product on to click bank, get affiliates and a lot more…

I have a bussy week ahead of me, next week!

Until then: Take Action – it works!

I am so close!

Today I created 3 more videos for my product…. that means I have only 2 left!

Only 2 videos and my product is complete…. that is just an amazing feeling.

Last night I was barely sleeping, my head was filled with all kinds of things I still need to do in order to have a successful launch. I created 3 pre launch videos in my mind, sales copy, up sells, membership site and more… It went on for hours, so I was a bit waisted today! But it was fun and well worth it!

I created a to-do list from all my inspirational thoughts and have created a master plan to launch this product into the sky!

I have a busy day tomorrow and wont get much marketing done, but I have committed myself to do the last two videos on Friday!

So talk to you soon…

Hi there and welcome to day 19 of my IM diary…this is written on a Tuesday

Today I created another video for my product, only 5 more to go, I’m planning on doing 3 tomorrow and the last 2 on Friday…

I have changed the font from Calibri size 11 to Ariel size 12, this enhances the reading of the book!

I had some feedback on my product and it needs more pictures, so Friday I’ll try to find some good fotos or screenshots to pep it up a bit. Then I have the weekend to do the sales copy and Viola, all done by Monday!

This is going to be so cool…. I cant wait!

Another thing i did today, was posting a guru post on Mike Filsaime. I will post more Guru posts in the near future. I like to know the other marketers. You got to know your competition, not just to try and compete, but to learn from them as well!

Did you get the 7 figure code yet? It is free in the digital version, go read my post to find out where to get it!

So, see you tomorrow for another glorious day of internet marketing