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Giving Credit Where It’s Due

You probably don’t hear it often enough from enough people, but THANK YOU for your support and encouragement.

Without you,  I wouldn’t and COULDN’T be me.

You’re amazing,  don’t let anyone tell you different.

Hope Can Help Your Business – But How Can You Be More Hopeful?

Hope in business

By Tylie Eaves for Vertu Marketing

If you’ve been in business for very long, you’ve probably heard the phrase “hope is not a business strategy.” And while this is true, at least for the most part, if you aren’t making hope at least part of your business strategy, you’re setting yourself up for failure.

It’s true, the word ‘hope’ doesn’t necessarily conjure images of business power, and that’s probably one of the reasons many business leaders shy away from the discussion of hope as part of a business strategy.

Hope in business

Believe it or not, studies indicate that hopeful business owners have more engaged employees, are more efficient when it comes to problem-solving, and generally see more success than their more crotchety counterparts.

But the big question is, if you are habitually negative, how do you turn it around?

As a person of faith, I obviously always turn to my faith to answer questions like this. But, not everyone believes what I believe, or knows what I know. So the real question is, how can I, as a business coach and leader, help those who have different spiritual views than I do to change their mindsets, and recognize the value in maintaining hope?
Finally, my study of psychology has given me an answer.

The American Psychological Association has released information surrounding years of study on the benefits of hope in the human experience.

One of the most promising components of this information that, in a study published online, researchers compare the relationship between hope and productivity by analysing 45 studies that looked at more than 11,000 employees, across various workplace conditions. At the end of the study, They concluded that hope accounts for 14% of the productivity in the workplace. This percentage amounts to more than intelligence, optimism, or self-efficacy(Journal of Positive Psychology, 2013). 

“Basically a hopeful person does one day a week more work than a less hopeful person in a seven-day work week,” the researchers  say. “It’s quite a big chunk of the pie.”

So, how can you begin to foster feelings of hopefulness within yourself?

I recommend that your first step be gratitude. If you begin to pay close attention to the things in your life for which you should be grateful, it will be easier to make the transition to hopefulness.

There are always things for which we can be grateful. If you recognize that you have things other people lack, like shoes on your feet or clean water, among thousands of others, you can begin to feel gratitude for even the simplest of things. Making the transition from gratitude to hope is recognizing that without certain characteristics, you would not be who you are. Nor would you have the things you have.

Obviously, I could go into a diatribe about my faith at this point, but I’m not going to. Instead, I’m going to tell you that hopefulness in business is recognizing that things could be better, and acknowledging your power to help make them that way. No matter what things need improved upon, knowing that they can be improved upon inspires feelings of hope. Beyond that, acknowledging that your everyday actions can contribute to the betterment of everyone around you, can also foster further feelings of hope.

So first things first, take stock of what you have, no matter how tiny. Recognize the value in your tiny ‘having,’  and use that gratitude to help you identify the things you can make better. It’s a small step, but as they say, that is how every great journey begins.

Easy Riches and Other Lies

building a business

When it comes to building a business, there is a lot of ‘fluff’ online – lots of “business gurus” selling their millionaire stories with headlines that say things like, “How I went from $100k in debt to making $100k per month,” and so on. Some of these stories may very well be true, but many of them aren’t.

The people who work with Vertu, take our courses, or hire me to speak know that I am an advocate of big dreams – huge even – I believe that EVERYONE has the seeds of greatness inside them. But, sadly, not everyone has what it takes to see them through to the harvest.

You see, the reason so many businesses fail isn’t because their strategies are bad, or even because their products and services are bad – most businesses fail because the people who start them don’t have the discipline to stick it out during the blood, sweat and tears phase.

Overnight success is SO RARE that it makes me physically sick to see how many people online want to sell others the hope of overnight riches without tacking on the reality of how rarely they occur. For every ‘automatic millionaire software’ ad there are a hundred people who spend money they don’t have believing that’s how the top 1% must do it. I know, because when I started online a million years ago, I was one of them.

And now, as a member of the club, I want people to understand what building a business really takes BEFORE they start – not after. I want to teach people how to build businesses that last, by instructing them on the REALITY of what it means to build a business.

I am a regular girl who has learned the art of successful habits and has learned to develop the discipline to take my opportunities all the way to the bank. But NONE OF IT happened overnight. Yes, Vertu is so blessed in so many ways. We’ve seen tons of success – but it certainly didn’t come without sacrifice, effort, and a lot of discipline. And it sure as H-E-double-hockey-sticks didn’t happen on auto-pilot whilst I sipped umbrella drinks on a beach in Tahiti.

This video is from our free “30-Days to Profits” course. It’s a raw look at the truth. Please, if you do nothing else on your business journey, take these words to heart – if you want to see that harvest that is.

If you want all 30 Days of training, you can get it for free on our home page at http://vertu-marketing.com. If not, that’s cool – this is all part of YOUR choice. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

 

Boost Site Traffic: Get A Better Return On Your Time

site traffic

Do you know what it takes to boost site traffic and market your business online? There are multiple ways to move higher in search results, but you may not have weeks or months to wait and see some of these pan out. You work ever hard on your business, and need a positive, fast return on the time you have put in to market your business online and get more people to your site. Thankfully, you can do a few things to boost your search engine results pages without costing too much of your valuable time. Here’s how:

  • Blog regularly. Regular blogging should be an integral part of your online marketing strategy. Regular, high-quality posts will add value to your marketing plan, but you may not see results overnight. Blog consistently, and it could drive more traffic to your site, as well as establish your name as a leader in your niche.
  • Consider Facebook ads. While not free, Facebook ads are a relatively low-cost way that you can reach your target audience. Finding the right “recipe” to make this work for you may take some trial and error, but the potential payoff is well worth any investment of your time.
  • Use email marketing. Email marketing is an often overlooked method of building a relationship with your customers. Use this strategy to connect first, and sell second.
  • Optimize your website for SEO. Search engine optimization is critical for boosting site traffic. You must optimize the relevant keywords used in your copy, which, by the way, must be excellent. Think about your site speed, the meta description, inclusion of links, etc. If you put it in a little time here, you can expect BIG payoffs in site traffic increases over time.

Don’t have time to do any of these things? Not sure where to begin? Do terms like “relevant keywords” make you squirm? Don’t worry — we can help. At Vertu Marketing, we come alongside businesses and entrepreneurs and provide the support and guidance needed for a profitable online marketing campaign. If you need to boost site traffic, get a good return on your time by working with a team that knows what they are doing.

Simple Reverse Engineering Technique for Facebook Marketing

I recorded this audio for the benefit of my 30 Days to Profit group  (a free beginner’s business builders course available at the top of our home page ). After sharing it with them, I decided  it might be something that could benefit many of our readers. If you want to know more about Facebook Marketing and a few of the reverse engineering techniques I use,  give it a listen.

 

Seeking Input From The Right Sources

input

In the quest to seek beneficial advice and meaningful input, you may find yourself vulnerable to bad advice. As a career-oriented individual, you know the value of seeking the input of others more experienced than yourself, but you must be able to effectively filter out what is actually good advice and what could have a negative impact. If you own your own business or are preparing for a jump into entrepreneurship, you may not have a team of people to bounce ideas off of and work through difficult situations. When the need for advice arises, don’t hesitate to get the support you need — just be sure that you are going to the right source.

Friends and family love and support you, but they may not be the best source of financial or business-related advice. While these people may offer input and provide you with a compassionate, concerned sounding board, be very careful about following the advice of people with no experience or a limited business background. While no advice can be frustrating, bad advice can be detrimental.

Advice from other entrepreneurs or successful business people can be a great resource, but be wary of the person who is overconfident. Simply because one scenario played out successfully does not mean that yours will have the same result. When a person is adamant that you follow exactly what he or she did, chances are, you are not receiving advice, you are receiving a list of instructions that may not actually be relevant to your situation.

Be wary of advice from individuals who may have conflicting interests, who have no financial or business acumen, or who have no practical experience in what you are dealing with. Most advice is offered with good intentions, but always use common sense and your instincts when receiving input or advice. If you are in need of guidance, be very specific about what you need. General advice sounds nice, but you need pointed, specific solutions and suggestions in order to resolve your situation effectively. Go to the right source, be smart and use common sense, and you will be able to sift through the not-so-great advice to find the real nuggets of wisdom.

By Meagan Kerlin for Vertu Marketing

THREE Secrets to Funnels That Actually Work

It seems like everywhere I turn, there’s another ad for funnel this and funnel that. And I have to be honest, I’m getting a little bit tired of the massive level of complication that has been put into teaching a subject that really shouldn’t be all that complicated.

I’ve got news for you friends, sales funnels are not rocket science.

Every successful sales funnel has three things in common and as long as your sales funnel incorporates these three things, it won’t matter what your landing page looks like, it won’t matter what opt-in form you use, and truthfully it won’t matter what industry you’re in, you will see results.

Do some landing pages work better than others? Yes. Absolutely. But by and large, any example of a successful landing page you see online can be readily replicated (I should clarify, a successful landing page you see online could be used as inspiration for building your own unique landing page. Do not plagiarize another persons work). And, let’s just face facts, it wouldn’t be an online example if it weren’t a successful landing page. You do not need to make it an integral part of some complicated process through which you develop 80,000 steps for funnel building that you will finally be able to launch in the year 2027. It really doesn’t need to be that bad.

For beginners especially, I suggest a simple funnel to start with — 3 to 4 steps maximum is a good rule of thumb when you’re new to the funnel building process.If you want to use some point-and-click funnel builder, then that’s fine. But do keep in mind that it is not necessary.

The take away for today is that funnels do work, they need not be painful or stress provoking, and the most important thing is that you take action. Taking action on a simple funnel today will offer more rewards than struggling through some complicated funnel building process and waiting months before ever taking something live.

Leadership: The Forgotten Component In Business

leadership

Leadership is not a skill only reserved for those in a position to make an impact in the classroom, on the football field or the nation’s capital. Business owners, managers and entrepreneurs are leaders in their own right, but the need to develop this essential skill is often pushed to the side, long forgotten in favor of management skills, improving profits or navigating the nuances of Facebook marketing. There is not only a need for strong leadership in the business world, as it is one of the key components of successful individuals and companies.

If you are a boss, a shift manager, supervisor, entrepreneur, small business owner or fit into any role in which you find yourself with a measure of influence over your coworkers, you are a leader. In the right situation, leaders can boost morale or destroy motivation, encourage people to work toward a common goal or incite division, encourage or tear down, secure success or cause failure. It is no small thing to be a leader, and in the business world, it is a skill that should be encouraged, cultivated and revered. Strong leaders build strong businesses, and strong businesses are successful businesses. If you want to practice incorporating stronger, more consistent leadership practices in your day-to-day tasks, try implementing a few of the following:

  • leadershipEncourage others to use their strengths
  • Be accountable
  • Communicate clearly
  • Set goals and be consistent in pursuit of them
  • Avoid micromanaging
  • Be organized and have a daily schedule
  • Be consistent
  • Praise good work and encourage people where they fall short
  • Set a positive example in speech and attitude

Leaders are not perfect people. Leaders are people who make themselves better and positively influence people around them. They innovate, set daring goals, lead the charge and, in business, they bear the responsibility to move a company in a positive direction.

If you are a leader, be a good one, no matter the capacity in which you find yourself leading. Work hard to improve your skills and strengthen your influence. Don’t settle for the status quo or “just okay” — leaders look ahead, meet challenges head-on and add value to their sphere of influence.