Ever wonder why there are so many blogs appearing online these days? If you are reading this and have a business of any kind online, and are reading about your competition, you have answered the question. A blog is vital to your online success and here are 4 reasons why :

1) A Way to Find Your Business – You need a place to drive your targeted audience to your business and to create your sales funnel through your opt in form. You will give them value through your information and articles, they will then return for more and may buy from you.

2) Keeping In Touch With Your Clients – When your clients hear from you they feel connected and appreciated. Connected is a good thing, you stay on their mind and then you continue to provide quality information that they need and can use. Friends work with friends…
3) Creating Traffic – You need to keep the clients you have, and gain new ones to stay in business. Traffic increases subscribers, more subscribers increases sales and search engine rankings improve (more on that in another strategy post)
4) Building Your Social Media Networks – Your blog will have buttons to inform your guests how to stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social media. This becomes a continuing source of new visitors and traffic magnet. Now go back to #1 and repeat over again.

Now you understand the “why” of the blog.

For ways to create a blog from the ground (or keyboard) up, click here. Also, be sure to check out a website called How To Make My Blog that may help you keep your blog in order.

I hope you find this information helpful and it helps you take action toward your own blog.

Want to set up your blog FAST? Click Here for the process.

Already have a blog? Great! Still need help? Click here to take the proven next step in driving traffic to and monetizing your work.

Popularity: 8%

What is an entrepreneur? There are several definitions, so I will combine them into a basic one: An Entrepreneur is an individual that creates opportunity through strategic thoughts and actions; one that has the will to overcome any obstacle in the pursuit of the success they are searching for. Wow, this sounds pretty powerful, and it is. The reason is that this is exactly the type of person needed to create a new economy, the one that is needed right now in the face of a global collapse of “what we used to do for a living”.

Finding that entrepreneur is not easy. Too many people became used to cozy jobs, the ones that are now gone, where company benefit packages were normal. We all saw the world changing, but not enough of us changed, then when the economy exploded, we were not really prepared and many were somehow shocked. The entrepreneurs have come out of this crisis fine. Their resilient shell seems to repel any financial disaster. Read it here, again…In these times, you must find a passion of your own and then create your own business! The answer for many could very well be network marketing.

As Rich Dad author Robert Kiyosaki writes in his book, The Business of the 21st Century,“I saw network marketing as a great personal development type of business. It is about developing people, not pushing them down. It’s about building them up so they can take better control of their lives and their future without worrying about being fired all the time, or will I be downsized, or what if the economy changes. Network marketing business, the business in the 21st century, is about turning people from employees to entrepreneurs. That’s what I support”. Sounds a lot like what entrepreneurs do. Is there a direct message here?

Being an employee means that you might lose your job one day. You have no control. Your family and your life may be altered forever. Why risk that? Why make another person rich with your work, isn’t that what you are doing? It’s OK to learn from someone for awhile to pay the bills while you “entrepreneur” on the side. But when your efforts take effect and can match that “job” income, its time to finally control your life and be able to live in freedom. It’s time to take action, those that do will be the foundation of tomorrow’s economy.

If you are ready to look at a fantastic network marketing opportunity now click here! Take Action!

If you are ready to start building an existing business or network marketing (mlm) and need a plan, click here!

Popularity: 3%

When should your business get involved in using social media? The answer is yesterday. Not only have the giants in social media like Facebook and Twitter become useful in the branding of your business, but they are options that nearly everyone with internet access expects (demands) as a client or customer these days. If you’re not doing social media, start now.

Using social media takes a plan in order to be successful with it. It is pointless if people that follow you on Twitter don’t use or even know what your product is. Relevancy is the key. Find a common interest with your target market and then provide value when you connect through these channels. The same idea is true for Facebook. The “like” button allows people to become part of the base that you should be able to interact with. But remember, simply running a popularity contest with no connection to your audience may look good to some, but really has no benefit to the business or those that “like” it.

Your business must be using social media to create your brand and to blast it everywhere over the web while maintaining control over that defined identity. Your followers need to know you, trust you and be able to see that you are “X Brand” and recognize it when they see you. This is another reason to get involved now -before someone else takes your opportunity to lock in the identity you want and use it for their own products.
Be creative, but not too much that people cannot remember your logo, spelling or catch phrase. Have a plan of action and purpose for using social media before you dive in as well. What are you looking to accomplish? More traffic? Logo or name branding? Blog subscribers? Or, maybe you want to survey your customers to see what they want and then move in that direction with product development? With these focus points clearly defined, your social media strategy will need to be tailored in a way to best reach that agenda. Then you will see success.

The bottom line is simple. Using social media is a must for all businesses big or small. Start today and create your brand if you plan on competing in both the short and long term.

Go To “Work With Steve Lheureux” on Facebook or Follow Steve LHeureux on Twitter

Popularity: 3%

While companies struggle with campaign marketing to attract new clients, some are returning to time-tested and somewhat old-fashioned techniques but with a modern technology twist to “deliver” the message. The focus here is on getting back to the human side of marketing. Since the internet craze and daily email started in the mid-1990′s, people have become immune to a lot of sales pitches through ingenuine, “I am a robot sending this” piles of inbox messages from alleged real persons. When was the last time you received something from a company that you could physically touch and had a personal greeting? Exactly.

Campaign Marketing through an “appreciation strategy” can accomplish relationships that separate your company from the other 99 percent that hope to gain a new client or customer. Simply put, it is the strategy that lets your client know that they are special and appreciated and psychologically ties them to you. The chances of them working with your company are much greater if a choice is to be made between you and the other company.This is all because you used a human approach and became likeable. Lets face it, it’s more comfortable to work with someone you know and trust and that cares about you.

Retention is increased using campaign marketing with an appreciation strategy. Your client is attached to your style of “I am glad that we have you as a customer” and that alone deters the temptations when your competition moves in. You take care of your client and they feel special with your team. This can provide resistance to change (meaning the other offers being considered), and would be like them “leaving a friend”. No one likes to do that.

When it comes to referrals, who is your client going to mention? Yes, it is your company. You have that attraction factor, the ability to connect in a human way with your customers.This means using your marketing dollars in a way that creates meaningful relationships, increased respect and sales -instead of tactics that are boring, typical and often ignored, turning your potential (and current) clients away. Congratulations on your new campaign marketing strategy.You and your clients are much happier and they now want to hear from you again and again.

If you are interested in FREE appreciation campaign marketing strategy programs, information and/or training, click here! or email Steve LHeureux today!

Popularity: 4%

There are so many people out of work or displaced due to downsizing in this current economy.What can you do about it? Actually the first thing is not to blame the economy for your troubles and look at yourself. Only you can make a change and take action toward making things better for yourself and your family? How? By working for yourself. Why work for someone else’s company so they can get rich? I always refer to people like Robert Kiyosaki or Donald Trump, who are advocates for the concepts of Network Marketing. Network Marketing is also called MLM, but that should not scare anyone as this is not a scam, it is something that is creating personal wealth for those willing to work at it and eventually free themselves from a regular job and all that goes with that circle of potential disaster tied to working for corporations for a paycheck.

What happens when you work at a “job”? You get paid – but only as long as you continue to be employed. If you miss a day, you lose pay. You work on their schedule, not your own. If the company closes, you could lose everything practically overnight. Not a strong position to be in. By being in network marketing, you create your own independent “business” within a structured and established system. Selection of your network marketing opportunity should include due diligence into the operation, compensation and details to decide if it “fits” with your personal ethics. After all, you are going to be the local face for this company as an independent distributor, (not an “employee”) and it should be a company you are comfortable with and ready to stand behind.

Remember that network marketing is not a get rich quick opportunity…it takes time and effort as it is your “job” and must be treated like one. Simply thinking you are in business and suddenly a check will appear making you rich is foolish. Success can be had by steady, step by step “daily” consistent habits to build your business. No secrets (but plenty of strategy) on that, along with good old fashioned common sense.

Get a proven system and FREE training that supports any network marketing opportunity while you build it, click here.

Popularity: 4%

Just about everyone that has gone online turns to affiliate marketing to begin their website and their work from home business. Looking to monetize their project and add content of some sort, they locate affiliate sources from search engines, go through a sign up process and finally get their own unique “money making” code which needs to be put into a link or banner by html code. Next, it is added into their page and then…well, then they need traffic to their site. This is the frustration part and actually harder than anything else (and will be discussed soon in another post). For now that is the “what” of affiliate marketing.

Work With Steve LHeureux - Grand Canyon Pic

Just who should you look at when adding an affiliate program? If you have a few hours, I can list a ton of quality companies that have nice payouts and have been around long enough to feel safe about. It’s not really about who, but what the item is you are offering. So, first of all your affiliate program should reflect the content or related items to your site. As long as that is consistent, it will make sense on your page. You do not want to market health products on a technical writing blog, for example, as your readers are not likely there to buy those type of items and sales would likely be non-existent. Stick with your site’s theme and things (clicks) will follow.

Why do people begin with affiliate marketing? Normally it is due to the fact that they do not have their own product lines – yet, so in order to monetize as they grow and develop that part, it serves as a nice addition, provided again that it is relevant to your visitors. If money is made, it certainly helps to support and help grow your new opportunity as well.

How long does one continue to use affiliate marketing? That depends on your testing and success with certain programs and your ability to replace them with your own quality content or product line or getting others to begin advertising on your site later on. By creating abundant quality content and building a list of loyal subscribers, which takes some time, your site should begin to be your brand and trusted by many. Traffic and sales of your own merchandise or informational products should then carry the torch of your success.

**SPECIAL OFFER** for friends of this site only: If you need help and want FREE increased traffic secrets and FREE Auto-Pilot Training, be sure to get my Free Program here on this page. It includes ideas for some of the best Free Affiliate Marketing Programs and step by step instructions! Simply type your name and email/phone in on the form to the right (look for the red arrow) > and click Sign Up! and it will be on its way to you NOW!

Popularity: 4%

So, you are ready to start your blog. Assuming you have done the essential items first that I recommended, it is now time to begin using WordPress and start your writing. The easiest way to install wordpress and get it connected into the domain name you have selected and hosted is through Fantastico. This handy tool is likely included in your hosting package in the host site’s cPanel. I provide step-by-step instructions when you join my team as this is an absolute must for branding yourself (more on that vital topic will be a separate post here coming soon.)

Which wordpress is which? Well, this is the answer: You want wordpress.org as it gives you the freedom needed to host and control your content. The free version at wordpress.com is one of those “you get what you pay for” things, meaning that it is a great product either way but the .org is your place if you want to blog for your business, you need the control that wordpress.org offers you.

Setting up wordpress for your basic settings, themes, plugins and widgets will be done before any postings. Many of these are personal preferences, but there are some that you will want, to give your blog a bit of a boost and some protection before sending it out on the web to compete. More of the specifics on which of these work well and why will be in future posts here. There are countless items you can add to your wordpress blog through the dashboard and I will share with you where to get these when you simply enter your name and email for “Work From Home Success Secrets” here on this page on the right side. At this point if you have not done it already, get your domain name selected and set up along with your hosting. Then install wordpress and you will be on your way. More soon as we continue get you up and running to work from home…stay tuned.

P.S. If you have not connected with me on Facebook yet, do it here now. Also follow me on Twitter here.

Popularity: 3%

If I only had one dollar for everyone on the internet that has asked themselves or others, “Where do I start?” when it comes to an online business that they can work from home. Then another dollar for too much information (TMI) frustration on getting more traffic, building a blog, which program to use…on and on. It is literally mind blowing.

It is tough to find a person, whether successful or not, that cannot echo that they have had the same feelings as the rest of us wanting to get online with our business and make a fortune on the web. Do not quit your day job yet…it is going to take time (more effort will likely shorten that) and some amount of investment, even a little is better than none, if you really want to truly be independent in your own business.

Taking action is great -if you have a plan first. Do not start by buying every program you see as that will certainly drain your available resources. Begin to read the free advice first including books from successful, proven educators and prepare yourself a bit before simply jumping in. There are a lot of systems that are incomplete and will leave you at the first paragraph here if you simply buy them without some investigation or valid recommendation. Too many of us have purchased nearly everything out there and been left disappointed with the overall content.

This is my first things first approach:
1) Read at least one or two foundational books from proven financial leaders to instill the core basic concepts of creating wealth. The Business of the 21st Century
by Robert Kiyosaki – on this page to the right is a perfect read as to what type of businesses to get into for our current economy and provides a wealth concepts base. Without understanding this information and knowledge is power here, you may never see how the rich got that way.
2) Take some notes and develop your first action plan of things you will accomplish such as coming up with your main strengths and interests to later base your blog or website on and some key words or ideas of a relevant domain name that you must register and claim as your own to start anything.

I really need to stop you here if you are a novice. Once you have the above 2 things done, then some of the next steps can be implemented. Getting too far ahead of yourself will only cause more stress. You have to build a foundation and get the minimum basics in place before you can start putting up the walls to your new work from home business…more on that soon.

Popularity: 3%