Business Development Advice

We have now reached the end of the StomperNet SMARTS coaching program about social media marketing.

Boy was this tough.

There is so much to learn and the Webs 2.0 social media is such a fast developing area and there are so many options and opportunities.

Could I cope with all this on my own?

No.

You don’t have time to find, evaluate and find out the best practices (and just as importantly find out what you must not do) so I am really pleased that I made the snap decision to take the StomperNet SMARTS course.

StomperNet SMARTS Review

How was the teaching?

Excellent. You can see how much Don Crowther delights in explaining the social media marketing concepts and the videos were very clear.

Is StomperNet a fair dealing company?

Very much so. I have talked before about how they extended the bonus and the course so that people had the chance to get the most out of the StomperNet SMARTS course.

They were regularly asking for feedback and we had several catch up weeks because it was so hectic.

Was The SMARTS course fairly priced?

Yes. We got a lot for our money.

Was the SMARTS program difficult?

In terms of the volume of work I wanted to do, there is no doubt that it was very demanding. In terms of the intellectual challenge, Don Crowther built up from the basics very nicely. Perhaps a little too slowly for some but this was a very mixed talent group.

At times I thought the course was too slow, for example on Facebook I already had an account created but in other areas I was very grateful for the methodical approach.

Was the coaching group active?

There was a lot to do but the forums were active which is always a good sign of a program which engages the students. People wanted to be involved and I am sure that there would have been much more involvement if there hadn’t been so much to do.

Was the entire SMARTS course relevant?

At this stage no.

Partly this is because of limited time.

Tapping into all the social media marketing channels could keep a small department of people busy so there were some things that I have accepted I am either not going to do (e.g. MySpace where they won’t let me create an account but they are currently very strict on slapping down marketers) or not ready to do yet (e.g. video where I have been slightly overawed by the issues of video creation and production but Jeff Walker’s approach with the Product Launch Formula is certainly changing my views. There is a charm to the home produced, personality based videos that can be extremely effective with the marketing gloss of a big budget video.)

Do I feel more informed about the Social Media Opportunities?

Yes much more informed.

It is one thing to not do something because you don’t know about it and another entirely to say that you have looked at the issues, had both the opportunities and issues explained and then you’ve decided not to go ahead.

One is inaction from ignorance, the other a considered decision based on knowledge.

Now the big three questions

Did the SMARTS course increase my traffic?

This is the only negative.

Although I have been trying to drive traffic to my main business coaching blog, my traffic growth which was rising sharply from September through to January has stalled over the last three months.

Partly this is a time issue. I haven’t spent as much time creating content for my blogs as I would have done if I hadn’t signed up on the StomperNet SMARTS coaching course.

But it is now much more difficult for me to monitor my overall hits because I have content spread over the web and it all helps to grow my “Your Profit Coach” brand.

As Jay Conrad Levinson of Guerrilla Marketing fame is keen to point out, it takes repeated exposures to move many people to action.

I expect traffic to increase from the actions I have taken from the SMARTS course but it may take a few months for everything to knit together.

Has StomperNet SMARTS made me more money than it cost?

Yes.

Thanks to the SMARTS course I was able to promote one launch in particular much more effectively than I would have done through my blogs alone and I did very nicely from that thank you.

The other thing to consider is that I now have the content in place and this should continue to provide income opportunities.

Some of the success stories from other people were amazing but they may be operating in more social media friendly markets. While SMARTS coaching group is full of people who want to grow their business, I know that they have been too busy to look at other opportunities and ideas.

Knowing What I Now Know, Would I Do The StomperNet SMARTS course again?

Yes without a doubt.

It was hard work. It did take more time to go through the training content each week and to then apply that training than I expected.

But I know that the knowledge stands me in good stead, both to grow my own business coaching business through the social media but also to help clients capitalise on opportunities.

Without the SMARTS coaching, I would not have the confidence to advice clients that they should do A but ignore B based on the time issues and likely profit generation. That would have reduced my effectiveness in helping my clients to develop their businesses.

What Comes After SMARTS?

The main StomperNet program has been closed for some time but it is being re-opened for the SMARTS members who are interested in the full StomperNet service. It costs a lot at nearly $800 per month but you get a lot for your money.

I was tempted but I know that it is more suited to people who are full time Internet marketers.

There is also an ongoing SMARTS club which requires a monthly subscription to keep the social media marketing ideas moving forward. This I have joined because I still believe that the Web 2.0 and social media is very much at the beginning.

Individual sites may be flavour of month, shoot up in popularity and then fade but the social interaction is going to continue. It may become more fragmented with teens popularising one area, students another, small businesses another, each hobby may have its own key social media sites. But I believe social media is here to stay.

As I said, I have seen more than enough in the StomperNet SMARTS course to make signing up for the SMARTS club a no-brainer, even though the price is on the high side to what I expected.

I have confidence that StomperNet will over-delivery.

There is no sign that StomperNet will open its main doors again soon but I do expect SMARTS to open up again and maybe a few other specialised services.

I recommend that you sign up and get your name on the StomperNet mailing list. This is a company going places as their faculty is attracting more heavy hitters who recognise how much they gain from association with StomperNet.

Step 6 into the Nitro Blueprint System is “Revising Your Sales Letter, Setting Up Split Testing and Launching Your Website” so this is an action packed stage.

Revising Your Sales Letter

Back in step 4 of the Blueprint System, you are asked to write your sales letter but anyone who has written copy and especially long copy knows that you have to put it to one side and come back to it.

The reason is simple.

You spend a long time working out the logic, drafting it and refining your persuasive prose and the more you polish it, the more you are convinced that buyers will be “snapping your hand off” to get whatever you are selling.

But come back to it after a week and you suddenly notice the typo in the first paragraph and how long-winded or boring some of the sections are. What had felt compelling is tedious.

So now you have to edit it ruthlessly and make sure that you are building in emotion, excitement and urgency.

The Nitro Blueprint Manual takes you through the key elements again so that you can check that you really do have a compelling sales letter which will maximise your chances of conversion.

But here’s the rub.

However good your letter is, you can’t predict what the prospective customers will do and that’s why all great copywriters emphasise the importance of testing.

Setting Up Your Split Testing

Now split testing is not the process of having one headline up for the first week and then the second headline up for the next week and comparing results.

Instead a half of the website visitors will see headline 1 and half headline 2 and you monitor what happens. Is one headline better than the other in the “stay or flee” decision when people first land on your site? Do people stay longer on the site for one or the other? Which is producing the most sales?

This has all sounded very technical to me and I’ve found myself listening to people talk about Taguchi testing but not really understood.

Thanks to the Nitro Blueprint System I know that there is a simple, easy way to introduce split testing but not many people use it.

I am in discussions with a web designer about having my main website re-developed and although the firm had heard of splitting, they hadn’t done it.

Not to worry with the Nitro Blueprint System though. Not only do you have the demonstration videos to show you how it’s done, you also have the “done for you” service to fall back on.

Launching Your Website

We knew it was happening but at the end of step 6 of the Nitro Blueprint System, your website is ready to launch.

Or is it?

The Nitro Blueprint manual takes you through the final checklist, just like an aeroplane about to take off.

Some of the Internet marketing gurus need to read this section as I seem to be quick on the uptake and I’m getting to sites which don’t work as they should.

Now that you have your site published, the next step is traffic and that’s the topic of step 7. In fact it’s split into 7a, 7b and 7c.

Conclusion

I remain extremely impressed with the thoroughness of the Nitro Blueprint System.

As I continue my review of the Nitro Blueprint System, this is where the Nitro Blueprint System gets technical in step 5 with “Creating your website and sales system.” At this stage you may want to hand over to one of Nitro’s outsourced service providers to at least get your website up and running.

You can then watch the Nitro videos and study your own site so that for your next website you can do it if you really want to.

But first the Nitro Blueprint System forces us to think about money and in particular collecting money. I like this bit as being paid is definitely what your online business is all about.

Before you create your website you have three main decisions:

1. How is your ordering system going to work and how are you going to collect payments?
2. How will you capture email addresses of people interested in your free offer but not yet ready to buy?
3. How will you process affiliate promotions and payments?

Good questions and the Nitro Blueprint System provides the answers.

Internet Payment Processing

First on the payment system you have a very nice “Fors” and “Againsts” for Clickbank, Paypal and your own merchant account.

I know you want the best system for the least money but unfortunately it doesn’t work like that. The best, most flexible system is the one that costs you the most but Nitro very fairly point out the issues and allow you to make an informed decision.

Email Hosting

You want an email solution which automates the creation of the email capture form, stores the email addresses and allows you to send out and track emails. I uses Campaign Monitor which is free to create but costs you to send emails. It works very well but I doesn’t have an auto-responder system beyond the initial sign up process so you can’t use it to deliver a seven email course.

The Nitro Blueprint System makes a specific recommendation which I will have to check out soon.

Affiliate Programs

You may not have considered having an affiliate program where you pay people a share of the sales proceeds in return for promoting your website but it is an essential part of Internet marketing.

Why rely on just your traffic when you can have ten or one hundred affiliates telling their readers about your product or service?

The Nitro Blueprint System again takes you through the options and what you should look for when choosing your affiliate system.

Putting It All Together

The best solution is a complete shopping cart but it does cost.

My Guerrilla Marketing friends recommend Easy Web Automation but Nitro recommend another solution and many of the Internet marketing gurus use Infusion. This is a big decision to make and will depend on how big you intend your Internet business to become.

Designing Your Website

Do you really want to become a web designer or do you want to master Internet marketing? My advice is to pass over to an expert at this stage but if you really want to do it the Nitro Blueprint gives you the step by step videos of formatting your sales letter and FTPing (?) files up to your website.

It then introduces the essential topic of monitoring and adding Google Analytics to your site.

Me, I’m definitely happy to pay someone else to handle what I think of as the techie aspects.

Conclusion

That’s it for step 5 and you now have a functioning website ready to take your customers money.

In the next few steps the Nitro Blueprint System goes into topics like split testing and attracting traffic.

I remain very impressed with the Nitro Blueprint System and regard it as the system to buy for move you from inception of the idea through to having a finished website which makes money. It saves you wasting time looking at what other gurus are offering when you could be taking the actions necessary to build your online business. Get your business up and running, get the most out of the Nitro Blueprint System and then start learning about other people’s ideas for generating extra traffic.

It’s no surprise but Jeff Walker’s launch for his Product Launch Formula 2.0 was a major success despite the computer programs.

It was a fascinating experience watching the launch process move from stimulating some modest interest through to the decision to buy before the launch was made. Interestingly part of this was based on the fact that Jeff Walker just seemed so nice.

The Product Launch Formula 2.0 coaching is going to be a very intensive program but it is going to be fascinating.

1. The bonus of the original Product Launch Formula CD rom and workbooks was delivered yesterday so that was great service from Jef Walker’s organisation. This product is currently off the market to create space for the coaching program.
    
2. The Coaching call videos for week 1 of the five week program were released overnight together with videos from Jeff Walker’s Product launch workshop last year.

I am very excited about this because it is easy to see how these techniques apply to both my business and the business of my personal clients.

Future of the Product Launch Formula

Jeff Walker’s focus is on the coaching program at the moment and Jeff has indicated that he probably won’t repeat it.

But the Product Launch Formula concepts have been too successful so I would expect another home study program to appear. After all it was convenient to people who find themselves thinking about a new launch or trying to re-group after a failed launch.

To make sure that you don’t miss out, sign up to the Product Launch Formula email list.

I will let you know what I think as the next five weeks develops.

The Jay Abraham and Rich Schefren coaching program for Maven Marketing Intensive has now started in earnest.

If you remember, this is the coaching program to help you to be seen as the expert in your market whose opinion really matters.

This is clearly very relevant to what I am trying to do and I had no hesitation in signing up with two of my favourite gurus, Jay Abraham and Rich Schefren.

What I Want To Achieve From Maven Marketing Intensive

I want to be seen as the maven of independent reviews of business books and business development products.

It requires you to start trusting my opinion but I can only earn that trust by giving you my honest opinion although I need the affiliate income to cover the cost of the programs and my time. Of course some programs will cross-subsidise others.

Future of the Maven Marketing Intensive

I understand that this is the Beta version of the Maven Marketing Intensive and that assuming it is a success, will be a bigger product launch at some stage.

If you missed this opportunity but you are intrigued by the concept Rich Schefren and Jay Abraham have written a free report - Maven Matrix Manifesto.

Two Streams Coming Together In Maven Marketing

The Maven Marketing Intensive coaching program is bringing together two streams of people:

1. The people who attended the Maven workshops tagged on to the end of Rich Schefren’s February 2008 conference.
    
2. The home study group.

The Maven workshops were recorded for distribution to be sent to both groups but I haven’t received my copy yet so those people who attended the conference have a big heads-up about what Jay Abraham and Rich Schefren have covered so far.

What we do have is a series of reports, interviews and existing audio programs to work through of associated material. Some of these are conceptual while others tell the story of how well known people became established as thought leaders.

The Maven Marketing Coaching calls

The coaching calls have started with an overview of what happened in the workshops and what will be covered in the two calls per month.

Impression So Far

I am very glad that I took this opportunity, not just because of what I want to do with the third party business development reviews but also for my own two projects - The Eight Pillars of Business Prosperity and the Custompreneur Revolution (which is intended to set the benchmark for the development of customer focused entrepreneurs.)

I have checked and it appears that the home study program is still open so follow this link if you want to join the first Maven Marketing Intensive and get ahead of the crowd but I recommend that you download the Maven Matrix Manifesto first.

In my last update I was concerned just how long the social media marketing strategies and tactics recommended by the StomperNet SMARTS program were taking together with how long it was taking to work through the training materials.

How things change in a few weeks.

Blogging 

First we had the blogging course week and that brought a few very valuable messages home to me.

It is funny how easy it is to be like an ostrich and to effectively have your head in the sand and miss some points that with hindsight are obvious. But they weren’t obvious to me and I was missing some big opportunities to promote my blogs.

I am also starting two new blogs, one to cover business book reviews and the other will pick up more of the Internet Marketing opportunities that are too specialised for many of my readers.

Social Bookmarking

The following week we moved into social bookmarking. I may have seen comments like “please Digg this” or asking for a Stumble. Instead of saving favourite webpages to your own PC, you could save them to one of these social bookmarking sites and you can then gain access where you are or send other people to see your recommendations.

For the blog/website owner, social bookmarking can deliver targeted traffic for people interested in the particular subject. You see, the more people who Stumble an article, the more votes it gets and people like to see the best pages.

Second Week Off

Full marks to StomperNet for taking surveys of members as I wasn’t the only person who was struggling to keep up with the SMARTS program. We had a vote and won an extra week to catch up.

The beauty of this is that it allowed me to put more of these social media marketing strategies into practice.

Bringing It All Together

Week 9 is fantastic as we were shown how all the ideas that have been introduced to us so far all work together, each building on the strengths of what has gone before.

It really does make a lot more sense and I have definitely discovered my enthusiasm for making social media work.

Social Media In The Future

There is little sign of the social media phenomenon slowing down although I have just checked the Alexa traffic and Facebook is opening a gap over MySpace.

Another SMARTS Course?

StomperNet haven’t said that they will open up the SMARTS course again but I think they’d be crazy if they didn’t.

Last week was the StomperNet Conference and some of the stories coming back about social media success are stunning and any program that can generate this kind of result deserves to be repeated.

But with StomperNet you can never be sure. The original StomperNet launch for the web marketing services was a stunning success despite the $800 per month subscription fee but I believe that they only opened it up for a second time for a very brief time. 

But I have just checked out the originally sales letter link and StomperNet do say that they are planning to when the current program is finished so you may want to sign up for receive their next set of StomperNet SMARTS emails.

You can still download Don Crowther’s SMARTS Social Marketing Strategy report.

The Accelerated Business Growth System is the compilation of the best business development ideas from Peter Thomson, the UK’s leading business growth expert.

The Accelerated Business Growth System is a 36 module multi-media business development system which also includes personal development.

This combination of business and personal development makes a great deal of sense but it is often missed from business programs. 

To change and improve your business often means that you as the business owner also have to change. How you set goals and plan for the future, how you manage your time, how you influence people to accept your ideas.

I am planning to feature the Accelerated Business Growth System regularly on this blog as I feature particular modules and blog around the business development program.

For more details see Accelerated Business Growth System

My blog has drifted too far into Internet marketing, partly because that is where a lot of the recent launches have been so it is nice to come back to an excellent, very comprehensive business growth system for real businesses with real products and services.

Peter Thomson has written a great report 7 Common Business Mistakes which you can download for free.

The Accelerated Business Growth System Is Also Available As The Probiz Edge

Peter Thomson has licensed the Accelerated Business Growth System to the PROBIZ Network of accountants in the UK to deliver business growth coaching.

If you would prefer to be trained/coached rather than work through the modules on your own, I recommend that you Google PROBIZ Edge and your local area to see if there is a PROBIZ member who provides business growth coaching based on Peter Thomson’s business development ideas.

It is my understanding that not all PROBIZ members will provide the PROBIZ Edge as for some the material is a stretch from their usual accountancy/tax work. However many PROBIZ members have great commercial reputations and extensive experience in the world of general business development and the PROBIZ Edge is a natural product extension.