Tips from Tonia Boterf

[tonia boterf]

I thought this was a good article and I'm paying attention to it too. tonia

Building a Strong Brand in a Weak Economy
By Lou Bortone |
Why it's more important than ever to have a breakthrough brand
As an entrepreneur, I try to be upbeat and optimistic, but let's face it... It is UGLY out there! If you're a solo professional or a small business, it is down right scary! As the worldwide economic roller coaster ride continues, consumer confidence continues to decline. That means our customers and prospects - the folks who (we hope) buy products or services from you and me - are getting a whole lot more cautious and conservative about how they spend their hard-earned and quickly disappearing cash!
Consumers are freaked-out, confused, uncertain - perhaps even panicked. And that means that they are thinking long and hard before they reach for that credit card or click the "buy" button online. That's why it's more important than ever to have a breakthrough brand! If you've got a strong, well-defined brand identity, you have a much better chance of not only surviving, but thriving, in a down economy.
In uncertain, tumultuous times, people stick with what they know. They want the familiar, the predictable, the reliable - They want the safe choice. More than ever, consumers want to buy from a "brand" name. Someone they know, like and trust. Someone they can count on. Someone who stands for something. Better yet, someone who shares their values.
A personal brand is the foundation of building the trust and credibility that a consumer demands. It's your connection to your customer. It's much more than a slogan or a tagline - it's your promise. Deliver consistently on that promise and you're on your way to developing a strong brand.
If you ever hope to achieve that glorious and coveted "brand loyalty" - the kind that weathers economic storms - then you must first create a brand that is unique, memorable and remarkable. Your personal brand must be authentic and relevant. It has to "speak" directly to your target market. Most of all, your brand has to be true to you.
Fortunately, you don't need to be a mega-corporation with an ad agency, million-dollar media buys, or an office full of brand managers to build a breakthrough brand. You can compete with the big guys and level the playing field with a little creativity and some simple Web 2.0 technology. In fact, with the tools and resources of the Internet at your fingertips, there's never been a better time to build your personal brand...
How to develop a strong personal brand identity
While the Internet has made it a whole lot simpler for us so-called "little guys" to compete, that doesn't get you off the hook for creating the basic, standard credibility-builders. These are all the pieces that make up the framework of your brand: Your name; your logo; your business cards; your website; your e-mail signature; your photo; your tag line. These are all part of the branding process, but they are not your brand.
Your brand is who you are, who you serve, what you do, and what you stand for. Everything else must fit into that structure. Don't get hung up on your slogan or your logo. Unless your logo has achieved icon status like Nike or Apple, no one is ever going to buy anything based on just a logo. Consumers are much more likely to part with their money if they understand who you are and what you stand for. As " Book Yourself Solid" author Michael Port says, "People buy based on what they value." If your customers share your values and your world view, you're on your way to the blissful state of brand loyalty.
In order to develop a strong personal brand identity, you have to first decide how YOU want to be known in your market. If you don't proactively and intentionally create your own brand, someone else will do it for you - and that is never a good thing! You want to control your own destiny, right? So, what do you want to be known for? What kind of image do you want to portray? Advertising types would call this your "unique selling proposition." It's how you differentiate yourself from everyone else and stand out from the competition.
Again, borrowing the language of the Book Yourself Solid system, "a personal brand will help clearly and consistently define, express, and communicate who you are, whom you serve, and why you have chosen to dedicate your life and work to serving your target market."
As a Book Yourself Solid Certified Coach, I use Michael Port's proven and powerful method for helping solo professionals develop their personal brand. That process has two components: Your "who and do what" statement and your "why you do it" statement. As Michael points out: "Successful people find their style, build a brand based on it, and boldly express themselves through that brand. It's powerful and it makes you memorable."
Your "Who and Do What" Statement
Developing your "Who and Do What" statement will clearly define who you help and what you help them do. The "who" is your target market' and the "what" is the primary benefit they get from you. One way to create your phrase is to start with "I help (who) do (what)." For example, my who and do what is: "I help first-time entrepreneurs build their brands so that they can get booked solid."
Your "Why You Do It" Statement
Your "Why You Do It" is the reason you do what you do. It's what you stand for. It's why you get out of bed every morning. It's personal - and it's vitally important because it is how your ideal clients will "connect" with you. Those who resonate with your "why" will be attracted to you and inclined to work with you. That's the power of your why, so it should not be taken lightly! My why I do it is because "I stand for your brand!" In other words, I help solo professionals and newbies take charge of their own destinies. (Amazing what a strong brand can do for you!)
How to use Web 2.0 tools to build your personal brand
Once you've got your Who and Do What and Why You Do It statements, you're ready to further expand and promote your brand. Obviously, there are dozens of ways to promote your brand, but the quickest, easiest and least expensive is online. Because the Internet has leveled the playing field and made it possible for solo professionals to play with the big boys, I like to focus on using Web 2.0 tools and technologies to extend our brands.
When I refer to the much-ballyhooed and often-misunderstood world of Web 2.0, I'm really talking about interactive and creative uses of web technology such as online video and social media. In fact, these tools are not even as technical as you might imagine. Best of all, online video and social media are fast, powerful and (mostly) free. Resources like YouTube, UStream, Facebook and Twitter can potentially turn you into a brand name almost overnight.
Online Video
Video is an extremely powerful marketing and branding weapon, because video creates a personal connection. The intimate nature of video allows people to see and hear you, providing you with an opportunity to develop your online personality and become more familiar with your potential clients. As you create and deliver your content via video, you are increasing your trust and credibility, as well. This becomes even more important in a challenging economy, as consumers strongly to prefer to do business with people they know, like and trust.
Online video is an excellent branding tool, allowing you to expand your presence and broadcast to a worldwide audience, 24/7. Be sure to sign up for a free account at YouTube.com, if you haven't already! Once you put your video on the web by uploading it to YouTube or Blip it can be shared on your own website or blog, or on your Facebook page. Make your video clever enough to be passed on, and there's no limit to the exposure you can enjoy. Another benefit: Video improves your search engine rankings!
Other free ways to use online video to build and expand your personal brand include using distribution sites such as TubeMogul to "blast" your video to several video hosting sites at once, or creating your own live, streaming web TV show using Ustream.tv.
Social Media
Aside from the magic of video, social networking sites like Facebook and micro-blogging platforms such as Twitter and Ping.fm make extending your brand fast and easy - maybe too easy. One cautionary note: Just because you can set up a Facebook profile in minutes, doesn't mean you should jump into social networking willy-nilly. Remember, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn and the like are all part of your public face to the world. Be sure that your presence on these sites is well thought out and in line with the brand you are building.
That being said, social networking can be an amazing strategy for increasing your online presence. Facebook and Twitter, my personal favorites, can help you become better known quickly and efficiently. Facebook helps you connect with like-minded individuals, join groups, share updates and stay current, while Twitter allows you to stay in touch with your connections by way of brief (140 characters or less) updates throughout the day. These online communities are yet another venue for you to shine, share and shape your brand.
You can add value to these communities - and build your social currency - by sharing relevant news, information, tips, links or contacts. However, blatant pitching and hawking your wares is generally frowned upon. Once you've built some credibility and goodwill, then you can invite people to your teleseminars or promote your products - just use your discretion and don't be obnoxious!
Does your personal brand meet the Six C's?
When you've created your Who and Do What and Why You Do It statements, and started to further develop your brand using Web 2.0 resources like online video and social media, you'll be well on your way to having a solid, breakthrough brand. No matter what the economy throws at you, you'll be well-positioned to weather the storm. But just to be sure, let's put your brand to the test. Does your personal brand meet the six C's of branding? Before you re-launch your website or order new business cards touting your brand, ask yourself these questions:
1. Does your brand reflect your CORE values?
2. Does your brand CONNECT with your target market?
3. Is your branding CONSISTENT in all areas?
4. Is your brand CLEAR and not confusing?
5. Will your brand CAPTIVATE your customers?
6. Is your brand COMPELLING enough to move your customers?
These six C's will help ensure that your personal brand is unique, memorable and authentic. That's the kind of distinction you need to become your target market's "go-to" source in good times and bad.


About the expert(s):
Lou Bortone is a long-time marketing and branding consultant who helps entrepreneurs build breakthrough brands on the Internet, with services such as copywriting, online video production, coaching and creative support. Lou is a former television executive who worked for E! Entertainment Television and later served as the Senior Vice President of Marketing & Advertising for Fox Family Worldwide, a division of Fox in Los Angeles. Lou is an author and ghostwriter of six business books, a Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach and a Book Yourself Solid Certified Coach. For more information, please visit Lou's website at http://www.OnlineVideoBranding.com.

[tonia boterf]

The 5 worst article writing mistakes you can make when you're trying to grow your business

Article marketing is an incredibly effective tool for growing your business, especially when compared to other forms of promotion. People are online every day looking for information to help solve their problems.
Just make sure you're not making one of these detrimental article writing mistakes:

5. Hiding your articles. If you write an amazing article, send it out to your list once a month and then head back into the woodwork, you're denying the world of your talents and denying your business the growth it deserves. For starters, submit that article to an article directory (general or targeted). Next, post a link to your new article to your social networks so it's easy for your contacts to read and share your work (hint: if you publish a blog, you can set this up to happen automatically).
Read more about Mistake #5: Improving the open rates of your articles and this content case study from Bob Knorpp via @marketingprofs.

4. Writing from the rooftop. If you're writing in a stuffy or academic style, throwing in lots of theories , jargon or technical terms (without explaining them), it can distance you from your readers and you'll have to work harder and longer to make a meaningful, trusting connection.
Read more about Mistake #4: Readability Secrets for Coaches Who Write and Want your readers to keep reading? Plain language is the key.

3. Leaping too many tall buildings in a single article. If you're jamming too much information into an article, you're liable to leave your reader's head spinning. Is that the effect you want them to associate with you? If you've got a lot to say, try introducing the material briefly in a list, and then expanding on each item in a separate article. That's what I did in this post about article marketing skills. In a blog post, you can provide links to related reading, as I have here.
Read more about Mistake #3: Trying to write the article of a lifetime? and De-clutter your message.

2. Trying to please everyone (and standing out to no one). If you're writing generic articles that could have been written by any coach around the globe, you're doing a disservice to the ideal client who is your perfect match. Instead, address the specific problems that your ideal client is dealing with, and use the same language they use. This will also make it easier for people to refer others to you, because you will be the first person they think of when someone mentions the problem that you solve.
Even if your niche or problem area are general, be willing to inject your own unique personality into your writing and be strong with your opinions. That saves the wrong people from wasting their time (and yours), and allows the right people to find you more quickly.
Read more about Mistake #2: Article marketing is tribal marketing, Who are you and what do you want? and Direct traffic is golden, SEO traffic is a bonus.

And now here is the worst article writing mistake you can make:
1. Not writing articles because you're worried they won't be good enough! Do you notice that this list doesn't say anything about typos, grammar errors or commonly misused words? That's because perfection is not a requirement for article marketing. Yes, I want you to proofread and deal with common writing issues, but I want you to do that WHILE you're plugging away and honing your skills. So find the time and get going!
If you're worried about that stuff, make sure you know where to look for the answers or hire someone to help you.
Read more about Mistake #1: Article marketing magic: Consistency is the key and Article marketing: What once was old is new again.

Are you making some of these article writing mistakes? Yes? You mean your writing isn't perfect yet?? Welcome to the club! Mine isn't either.
For more free article writing tips and a step-by-step guide for writing your next article, please visit www.GrowYourBusinessWithArticles.com or sign up now:

[tonia boterf]

Article marketing: Should you share experience or expertise in your articles?

Many coaches and other service providers struggle with feelings of being an imposter. "Why would anyone hire me?" they wonder. "Why would anyone want to read what I write?" they ask. "I'm no expert!" they proclaim.
Part of my mission has always been to encourage my clients and readers to claim your expertise; to recognize that your unique combination of experiences, knowledge, skills and personality are exactly what someone else needs to overcome their problems and achieve their goals. Your experience has granted you expertise.
So now there are two distinct voices you can write with in your articles. The first is to focus on sharing your experience with your reader. Maybe you are a member of your own target market. Maybe you have helped many other people with these exact same problems. Or both.
Either way, by sharing your experience you help build trust as someone who really knows about and understands the situation. You build a connection by identifying your involvement in the community of people that your reader belongs to. And you provide hope and proof that others have solved this specific problem.
You can share your experience with case stories, examples or by making interesting connections between the topic and things that happen in your day-to-day life.
The other voice you can try on is that of an expert. You may have used your experiences to create theories, explanations or models. The most common expert offering is a list of tips or how-to's. When you present a list like that, it's not likely you would introduce each point with, "In my experience, a good way to start your spending off right in the New Year is..."
Instead, you present each recommended action using direct, active language and a clear suggested action for your reader to take (e.g., "Create a plan for your spending, not a budget"). And this is a perfect place to take an expert authoritative tone. Sharing your expertise this way increases your credibility and further reinforces your reader's trust that you are committed to providing them with solutions now and in the future.
So should you share your experience or your expertise? The answer is YES! You need a balance between them. If you only share experience, your readers may value you as a peer but may not think of you when it comes to paying for solutions. If you only share expertise, your readers may respect and revere you, but lose touch if they start to feel lectured to.




January 04, 2010 in Article Marketing

[tonia boterf]

A few posts ago, I gave some ideas on how often to post in your social media and for many, it was an eye opener at the amount of posts done but remember, after the initial set-up in an automatic social media feed engine - it is on auto-pilot for a month.

To help you further understand, here is my posting schedule for the next month, so you can see the detail and help you devise your own.

1. Attached are the social media posts for Feb and into March (50 of them). How we will do things different: need LinkedIn to be connected with Twitter and Facebook. Please make sure that e-zine articles is connected to Twitter and auto when an article is accepted by E-zine Articles. Sequence of posts to be changed.

i. 4 new posts a day and two of those repeated = 6 posts a day = 42 posts a week = about 168 posts a mn
ii. 2x wk, put an old article of ours out too. = 2 posts wk = 8 posts mn
iii. 3x wk put each of the following out: = 18 posts wk = 72 posts mn
1. Wondering how to care for yourself & your aging parents, visit www.thepracticalexpert.com.
2. New free e-book to help you pick up your aging parents finances at www.thepracticalexpert.com.
3. Keep your new year resolutions going with the limited time only coaching special at www.thepracticalexpert.com.
4. Try a free life coaching session and you’ll be amazed by the results – www.thepracticalexpert.com.
5. Want to know more about Natural and Holistic Health – check out the great e-book at www.thepracticalexpert.com
6. 4 great e-books on caring for your aging parents now available at www.thepracticalexpert.com

2. Timing of posts: for i. = 4:30 am, 10 am, 1:30 pm, 4:30 pm, 7:30 pm, 11 pm ii = 6:30 am, 3 pm iii = 8 am, 12 pm, 9pm

I do a sheet with my social posts on it for a month at a time and it takes about 1/2 hr to 1 hr.

The time of day of the posts is based on what my stats tell me and on social marketing research done.

From my stats, I know which days I get more visitors and I take advantage of that to.

The above is all on auto-pilot (that's a lot of posts marketing me in several different ways without extra work on my part). I am making a new commitment to being 'live' on-line daily too.

There are plenty of %s given on the web of how much of your posts should be of info, personal, marketing. Follow what you are comfortable with to start but then get feedback from your audience and watch you social and website stats to help you make changes - which is what I am doing too.

I'll keep you posted on my progress, what is and isn't working and stats, to help you create your own method.

tonia boterf
www.thepracticalexpert.com
twitter - practicalexpert

[tonia boterf]

How to Calculate your E-zine List and/or Customer Value

You write e-zines/newsletters to keep in touch with your list of customers, to continue to build trust and demonstrate knowledge and for marketing purposes. We know that our 'list' building activities are very important to contributing to the successful of your business.

But do you really know the worth of each of your names on your list, how to calcuate and why? It is an important element to know as part of your biz. Have you seen this info anywhere else, doubtful - that's why The Practical Expert is bringing it to you.

The simplest computation for the value of an ezine subscriber is to divide your gross revenue by your average open rate (in actual numbers, not percent) over the same period.

For example, if you made $100,000 in 2009 and you had a list size of 2,000, of which 25% was your AVERAGE open rate over the course of the year, each ezine sub would be worth

$100,000 gross revenue divided by 500 (25% x 2000 = 500) = $200 revenue per average ezine opener

You could be more specific if you use ad tracking links in your ezine to see what people purchase from it over the course of the year.

The lifetime value of a customer is a lot more complicated...you need to know what's your Customer Value (how much does your average customer purchase over a certain timeframe -- and you'll probably want to break this out into A, B, C customers where A buy more, more often).

The second figure you need to know is how long the average customer stays with you. Do they purchase once and then leave? In this case, the lifetime value would equal the total of that single purchase.

OR do they stay and purchase again and again? If so, how long?

We have members in this program who have been my clients (defined as purchasing regularly from me) for 3 and 4 years. We also have others where this is their first-ever purchase.

So what's your average in terms of how long a customer stays with you?

For "quick and dirty", you can stop there and take the Customer Value ($) times how long they stay (time) and you have your Lifetime Customer Value.

If you wanted to delve deeper, you could segregate your clients by profitability.

For example, those who purchase downloadable info products only will be more profitable (in terms of % to bottom line) than those who require you to hire a team and outsource or who require a lot of maintenance.

If you have a lot of the latter and less of the former, then your Lifetime Customer Value, in profit (not revenue) terms will be lower.


Here's another way to figure our your customer value:


Here's the formula for LTV - Life time value

Average time in months or years a customer does business with a company
Average number of transactions per customer monthly or yearly
Average dollar value of transaction

Example:
Average customer stays for 12 months
Average customer does 10 transactions within that time
Average customer spends $10

LTV = $100

For short term planning, do both of these - calculate First Time Value and Yearly Value of a customer.

[tonia boterf]

When Should or Shouldn’t You Attend Tel-seminars?

By Tonia Boterf

Is your in-box full of invites to tel-seminars? At any given time, there are hundreds of tel-seminars you could attend on every subject you could think of. But what are your expectations of a tel-seminar and should you attend tel-seminars?

Tel-seminars can be very informative but don't expect to get piles of information, nor all of the information 'promised' from one. Tel-seminars usual sole purpose is as a marketing tool.

Tel-seminars SELL you on how good someone is, trying to establish someone as an authority. You'll hear about their successes, awards and such, while the host is praising them and using words of high respect.

Tel-seminars SELL you to buy the next great tel-seminar, kit, mastermind group, product or event.

Tel-seminars SELL you via your emotions using such phrases as: 'exact blueprint to success', ONLY for those folks on this call, you can't get this/or that/or bonus any place else, limited time offer - usually they'll say 'available for' the next # of hours or # of people. Don't forget the limited seats at the next event or discounts or bonus’s either. You get this, especially during the 'big wrap-up' during the end of the call.

Usually there is some type of time frame you have to 'urgently' take action on. Strong sales pitches, using sense of urgency or scarcity language are common, as well as strong calls to take action.

Tel-seminars SELL you on your achieving your goals easily and quickly because they've 'done all the work' for you - you just do what they say or buy something and you'll be earning $ fast or having outstanding results overnight!

Tel-seminars SELL trust. You'll hear their story of rags to riches, how they fought and found success and want to share it with you because they were once just like you.

Tel-seminars SELL by getting you to the website to download the tell-seminar's audio which the new trend is that the audio is only available for 24-48 hrs, after which you'll have to pay for it.

Tel-seminars SELL- more and more often they are now really about selling you another event or group to participate in to get the real in-depth information you want and need. The trend is selling all the way through the tel-seminar.

So, does this mean ALL tel-seminars are not worth attending? 'NO' Many tel-seminars do still provide good quality and quantity of content but as the saying goes - "Buyer Beware".

Your time is priceless, so make sure you know what to expect to get from different speakers and from the tel-seminars. Only attend tel-seminars where you know or really think you will benefit a lot from the tel-seminar and not have a huge time allotted to 'selling' during the tel-seminar and that the subject of the tel-seminar is worth your time.

So, 'Yes', attend tel-seminars as some are extremely helpful but spend some time thinking about it first. Check the speaker out by asking others who have attended that speaker's tel-seminars before. Try an open free Q&A tel-seminar of a speaker first. Check out the speaker's website and free information. Is the subject of the tel-seminar really something you need to use your time on, right now? After checking things out, now you are ready to decide whether to attend a tel-seminar or not.



Tonia Boterf – The Practical Expert™ - Through coaching, articles, books and other resources, www.thepracticalexpert.com, is your best experienced (25+ yrs) resource in helping you live your life fully while assisting your aging parents in living their lives fully too. Try a free trial coaching session to get some individualized help with some of your tough challenges in your life or with dealing with your elderly parents. Call 617-895-0249 or visit our website today! Follow me on Twitter - practicalexpert


Copyright 2010 All Rights Reserved. The Practical Expert ™ at www.thepracticalexpert.com This article may be reprinted if done so in its entirety and all material is kept intact.

[tonia boterf]

Building your client list is the biggest, most important and most time consuming task you'll do in your business. 3-4 hrs a day must be spent on marketing and includes building & 'touching' your list. Even if you have a full caseload, if you don't continue to market and list build, you won't keep it full.

List building is something you do, even before you have a website and long after. Throughout other Tip postings, I've offered ways to list build but I will do a 'list' type of one soon.

Having a list isn't enough though, you want your list to buy your coaching programs, buy your products, and pay to attend your tel-seminars.

Potential clients just don't say, 'Hey, I think I should get some life coaching to help me get a better job or ....' Potential clients must feel trust in you as a person and that you can deliver what you say you can!

Building trust means that your materials (brochures, website, articles, e-books, pink spoon, etc.) all have something of 'you' in them. Intersperse little facts or opinions, stories, your bio, something of your life and utilize your resource box - all of these can be sentences or just a couple of words that will give the reader a 'flavor' of you.

Social Media can really show case your personality, being a speaker on your own site or on tel-seminars. Videos & audios are great. You may have a signiture laugh, phrase you often say, your voice, your style of writing or saying things. Would people know you are humorous, professional, warm, caring, compassionate, etc. from all the ways that they find you?

Clients will not buy until they trust you. They first visit your website and read, then if your marketing funnel is good, they will may a purchase - an inexpensive product or sign up for your freebie. It then takes quite a bit of time and trust to actually sign up for a free trial coaching session or buy a higher priced product.

Once you have clients, keep in touch, send e-mail encourgements and particular articles of interest to them, send for free a product they would normally have to buy, send a written card or send a gift (flowers, candles, timers, calendar, organizer, etc.) for those who purchase mid to high priced packages of services. You need to keep 'touching' your list to keep them and to keep them coming back and purchasing throughout your funnel.

It is easier to keep a client who has been paying then to create new paying clients.

Tonia Boterf
The Practical Expert
www.thepracticalexpert.com
tonia@thepracticalexpert.com
copyright 2010, all rights reserved

[tonia boterf]

Think Outside The Box On Coaching Opportunities

I spoke with a gentleman last night who reads my posts and he had questions about writing proposals as an independent contractor to offer a coaching program for kids.

If you've never seen, written or evaluated a proposal, I'll try to give you some of the basics in it. If you are replying to an RFP (request for proposal), you would follow their format but the following elements will most likely be in it.

Even if you make a verbal proposal - I just did one with the entire team of lawyers in a firm, you need to know clearly what you want to do, how you plan on doing it, what are the benefits, timeframes, your expectations of them and what they can expect from you, your credentals (bio) and successes (throw in as many numbers and data as you can) and though it may be verbal, be pepared to present something later in writing.

Your proposals will get more of a look if they are consise, provide quality info while not being too long. But really short poposals rarely give enough info. Personal contact is a hugely valuable way to better undersand the 'headset' and expectations of a company and also may lead to many opportunies. The chance for them to know you will always work in your favor, even if all you do is personally deliver the proposal and chat a bit.

Your proposal (beyond what I've already listed) needs to include:

Clearly noted what proposal is about (and if in response to an RFP - which RFP). Your company and all contact information, plus date

You will need a table of contents; opening paragraph and then general summary.
You'll want to go into what you plan to do, how you plan to do it, a budget which includes what you are contributing that has monitary value (most proposals will only accept 50% or less of the desired funding to be admin. costs), timeframes, staffing.
Of great importance will be your Performance Indicators. These are how you will specifically measure what you do and be able to see how successful you are - this will be compared to the goals and objectives you have written in the proposal. Everyone wants the biggest bang for their buck, the performance indicators is how you know how much bang was gotten.


Other material to be included: independent contractor agreement that contains clearly labeled sections on the following areas of an independent contractor agreement:

• duties, compensation, and the term of the contract
• out-of-pocket expenses
• required reports and when they will be delivered (usually 1/4ly)
• statement of status as independent contractor, not employee
• termination of the relationship (because independent contractors are not employees, "termination" would be done according to the provisions of the contract)
• confidentiality
• inventions, improvements, and innovations conceived by the contractor during the term of the agreement
• conflicts of interest
• non-hire provision
• right to injunction
• status of contract in the event of merger
• successors and assigns
• statement of choice of law
• arbitration
• waiver
• assignment
• notices
• amendment of contract provisions
• enforceability

It also includes a sample appendix that can be used to spell out, in further and specific detail, the duties, term, and compensation.

Still not sure? Ask a non-profit that has done something like what you want to do for a copy of a proposal they did. Volunteering at a non-profit (relevant to your goals) for the specific task of learning how to write proposals, who your competition would likely be and what types of projects have already been done. State Non-Profit Associations often offer reasonably two day training too. Also check for free info and help with your State's Small Business Association and SCORE.

Create your own signiture program that can be replicated (with all trademarks, copyrights, etc.) - gives you lots of options.

As far as learning to be comfortable presenting (selling) an idea or proposal - practice does make perfect. Develope great cold calling skills selling (take a part-time selling job). You very quickly learn to speak on your feet, be able to handle situations and develope your own style.

Think outside the box - coaching is not all about 1 on 1 (in fact that is the least financially successful), you can do coaching in all kinds of ways, and in places you never would have considered. Say youth correctional centers or battered women's groups - just write a proposal. Mine was to work with attorneys and CPAs dealing with clients who now had to handle their aging parents needs.

What's your passion and how would you like to express it? Now go make a proposal!

Tonia Boterf
The Practical Expert
www.thepracticalexpert.com
617-895-0249

Copywrite 2010 All Rights Reserved

[tonia boterf]

I have put in some posts this week but the forum isn't working right and my posts are gone! and, of course, I wrote directly into here and didn't have a copy. so it's lost.

There is a tel-seminar coming up:
CPH Teleconference: How to Avoid Common Ethical Complaints

Please join Sara Oberg, Marketing Manager of CPH & Associates (www.cphins.com) and Dr. Patrick Williams, President and CEO of the Institute for Life Coach Training, (www.lifecoachtraining.com), author of "Law and Ethics in Coaching," on February 27th for a discussion of the "How to Avoid Common Ethical Complaints"

Registration Information
===================
When: Wednesday February 24th
Time: 3:00pm Eastern

Can’t make the call? Register and you will receive an email with a mp3 file of the conversation after the call to listen to at your leisure.

To register, please go to:
http://www.lifecoachtraining.com/courses/free_intro/ILCT-CPH_Call.shtml

Fee: No charge. (Long distance charges may apply)
For additional registration information, please contact Edwina@lifecoachtraining.com


I thought people might be interested in and here is the website for 3 yrs worth of audios on all types of coaching business needs and ethical issues. http://www.lifecoachtraining.com/media/audio-misc/ilct_cph_call_archive.shtml

Enjoy
tonia

[tonia boterf]

Did You Graduate From Link Building High School Yet?

In a recent blog post discussing the importance of link building for search engine optimization, I asked people to share how they build links to their website. I recommend you go read the responses. I also recommend you read that article so you know how to construct inbound links so they affect your search rankings for individual keywords that you want to rank for.
....
Link building is not easy. And it's not that intuitive until you do it. There are also many different techniques and methods that will have varied results. Below is how I recommend clients start and master link building.
I tell people that there are 4 Levels of Link Building Excellence. And it usually takes 4 years to master it - just like high school:
9th Grade: Links You Can Build Yourself That Require Little Time Investment
Before I get into this, I'd like to stress that you should have a really good keyword strategy and make sure you've optimized each page on your site around a different keyword phrase. Any link you're building should be designed to help a specific page rank high in the search engines for a specific keyword.
That said, the first set of links that every business should get are the ones that don't require anyone else's help. There are lots of business directories out there where you can just submit your URL, company name and a description of your business. Some of them require approval. Some of them require a fee. Yahoo's directory, Joe Ant, Aboutus.org are some of the ones you should do right away.
In this class of Level I links, there are also many social media sites where you can simply build links to your site. Most of these no longer pass SEO credit, but they're still good links to get, assuming your target audience visits the site or these sites rank high for your keywords already.
It's arguable that you should hire someone to do (or start) this stuff for you. It's low level work that generates low level returns. Just make sure that you don't hire a firm that will get you 1,000 links for < $1,000 dollars. If it's too good to be true, it is.
10th Grade: Links You Build Yourself that Require Effort
Before I get into this level, I'd like to stress that launching a business blog should be done before doing this. Without having a blog on your site with lots of good well optimized content, you don't really have anything to link to.

That said, there are two very common link building techniques that work well that don't require you to be a "thought leader". Yet. These activities require a bit more time investment and a small financial investment. They are article marketing and press release optimization. With both of these methods, you have to create relevant content that will appeal to your market. So, it requires more time than Level I. Also, the process of getting your articles syndicated and your press releases submitted and picked up - takes effort. You might consider hiring a wired pr firm or a strong seo firm to do some of this stuff for you.
If done correctly, both of these methods can significantly increase the links to your site. Also, if you write your articles and press releases with a keyword strategy in mind, and with links that support your keyword strategy, it can significantly raise your rankings for specific keyword terms. Run your press releases and your articles through press release grader to determine whether they're going to help.
11th Grade: Links You Network For that Require a Significant Time Investment
This ....
If you're a natural networker and you're in this for the long haul, I'd recommend being a bit more patient. Apply your persistence and spend your time building relationships.
No matter what route you take, the goal of this level is to make yourself visible among people interested in the same topics as you. This process is a bit self promotional. But, you must promote yourself in a way that you're adding value. You master this level by acting like a resource for people in your industry. How do you do this? It's all about networking and building meaningful relationships. The first step is reading other people's blogs. Then, commenting on them. Then, eventually starting a relationship where you're communicating 1 on 1 with them. I recommend you take the leap from reader to 1:1 with a blogger, by pointing them in the direction of other people's content that might be interesting to them. ..world, this usually happens through Twitter. If you're techy, this might happen through Delicious. If you use StumbleUpon or Digg, those are great platforms to share things with peers. ...From a link building perspective, the ultimate goal of this level is to get invited to write a guest article for other people's blogs or website. For example, I wrote an article ..., I linked to relevant resources on my blog and the HubSpot blog and site. These are great links from an authoritative source. Aaron reaches our target market sending relevant traffic. These links also help us rank for our target keywords.
During this process, you're also building up a group of people that will most likely begin following you...
Seniors Rule! (12th Grade): Links Other People Give You Because You Create Remarkable Content.
This level is like the last month or two in high school .... You've done the hard work already. Now, it's time to go to parties and enjoy being the care free big man on campus.
You don't necessarily halt the activities above. But, you spend more of your time just creating remarkable content. (And some link bait.)
At HubSpot, we do some guest articles once in a while and we optimize our press releases. But, mostly we just put time into churning out content on our blog and producing other online marketing resources like webinars and white papers. ... generally creates great conversations in our comments, strong attendance at our webinars and lots of white paper downloads. And regularly, people link to our webinar announcements and blog articles of their own accord.
This doesn't start happening overnight, unless you're already famous. ...But, we did it in < 2 years. If you're a small business and you follow the path above, there's no reason why you can't stake your claim on the web. Link building is an important part of that.
The biggest mistake that newbie internet marketers make is thinking that creating great content on their blog will be all it takes to be successful internet marketers. My biggest frustration is when newbie bloggers pack up shop after just a month of writing because the blog doesn't have an immediate impact on their search traffic and lead volume.
At the end of the day, if you publish great content on the web AND connect, relate and build relationships with other humans, really good links will come naturally. Until then, put in some homework and earn your way through link building high school.


Here’s a list of top link-building directories, which are all FREE resources to help you get started.
Local Directories:

Loopt.com
Localeze.com
Biglocal.com
Openlist.com
Outside.in
BOTW.org/top/Regional/United_States
Superpages.com


Search Engine Local Business Listings:

Yahoo.com, Google.com and Bing.com Local
Getlisted.org (to double check if you’ve been listed)
Blog Directories:


DoFollowBlogs.com
PlaceBlogger.com
Bloglines.com
Blogsearch.Google.com
Technorati.com
Blogged.com
BlogCatalog.com
Blogmarks.net
MyBlogLog.com
Zimbio.com


Review and Rating Directories:

Yelp.com
Rateitall.com
InsiderPages.com
Hotfrog.com
www.brownbook.net
8 Quality Blog Directories with Free, No-Reciprocal Links
Blog Directory
Page Rank
Blogarama

7

Globe of Blogs

6

Bloggapedia

6

BlogFlux

6

SuperBlog Directory

5

Bloggernity

4

Blog Listing

3

Bloggio

3