Tag: internet marketing

Posted on

Five Tips for Better Task Prioritization

The secret to a successful to-do list or plan is understanding how to prioritize your goals and requirements for life and business. Prioritization orders tasks in the importance of urgency or in the most organized fashion to promote a consistent and smooth workflow. If you think planning is getting in your way of success, it’s likely your priorities that are in disorder.

 

Here are five tips and methods that allow you to prioritize more effectively to be sure you start each day more productively and better manage your time:

 

Consolidate and Analyze All Tasks First

Categorize and break it down into similar properties, deadlines, or time it takes to complete.

 

Keep in Mind All Requirements for Tasks

Consider the effort and the time it will take to accomplish each task as well. Who may you have to work with, or what environments may you need to change?

 

Remember the activities that you have a little resistance to or cause extra stress and anxiety. These tasks should likely be higher on your to-do list as they may take longer to accomplish.

 

Assign A Priority Number

Each day list your tasks in the order they should get done for optimal productivity. Keep in mind due dates or how urgent and vital it is to get done compared to the other tasks. If something is easy, it doesn’t always mean it is the best idea to get it done first when you know you have a deadline for a completely different project coming up tomorrow, for example.

 

Create A Priority Matrix

From the list you created earlier, take each of the tasks and organize it into two categories: important or unimportant. Then list whether the task is urgent, not urgent or if you should delegate and eliminate it instead—the following chart is an example of a priority matrix you can use to order your tasks better.

Chart

 

Use The “ABCDE” Method
Invented by Stephen Covey, the ABCDE method uses a grading system to apply a straightforward approach and visual representation to each task. Allowing you to quickly see what you should get done first without having to analyze too much.

Learn to Create Realistic Schedules

The rules to this method are as follows:

 

  • A – High priority tasks
  • B – Medium priority tasks
  • C – Low priority tasks
  • D – Delegate the tasks to others
  • E – Eliminate the tasks completely

 

This information will help you create your daily to-do lists or 90-day action plan to ensure you use your time efficiently. The last thing you want to do is have the right plan for success, just in the wrong order.

 

 

 

Posted on

Why Your To-Do Lists Are Failing You

Did you make a to-do list for the day? If so, how far have you gone, or did you completely forget about it already? Well, don’t worry too much. As roughly 41% of items on most people’s to-do lists never get done, you are not alone.

Get Your Goals into Your Calendar

Most people are not making the right to-do lists either.  The best way to fix it and have it work for you and not against you is first to understand the common reasons why they fail in the first place.

Here are five common reasons to-do lists fail and how you can do better:

 

Way too Many Things to Do

To-do lists should never be pages long or used for the long term. Instead, they should focus on daily tasks within a certain period of time you plan to get to work. Meaning you should have multiple to-do lists, not one overwhelming one that will surely get you lost.

 

Unclear Deadlines

You must set hard deadlines and have the discipline to follow through. A to-do list without them only gives you the permission to take your time or not do it at all. Understand how long it really takes to do each activity, including prep, and clean up – and never assume you can do double the amount of work you can do overnight.

 

You Don’t Account for The Unexpected

No ones’ schedule is perfect, so don’t plan it that way. Account for flexibility and always include an extra fifteen minutes each day for the unexpected. You may end up in the bathroom or traffic a little longer than you realized, for example. So, don’t schedule important meetings or errands to accomplish back-to-back with the idea that everything will go smoothly.

 

It Was Created with A Long-Term Mindset

In other words, you are giving yourself too much time to complete tasks or are creating to-do lists for more than one day. Your to-do lists will guide and maintain your 90-day action plan. They are not meant to replace it. Be sure the lists are to the point and a direct path for achieving your primary objective for that day or even a 90-minute period.

 

Unorganized and Unclear Main Objectives

Taking the time to dissect and pinpoint what you want to achieve is crucial to accomplishing them. If you can’t have a firm grip on what you want, you can’t be sure you will have the right plan either. Unclear objectives lead to unorganized plans, ideas, and actions. Learn to understand what you need and want and prioritize to get things done in a timely and orderly fashion.

 

Don’t let your to-do lists fail you anymore. To-do lists are great to utilize and guide your day to ensure you are on the right trajectory to long-term success, as long as they are done correctly.

Posted on

Monetizing Your Email Messages

You have created an extraordinary and compelling lead magnet that is persuasive and solves one problem in a hurry for your ideal customer, depending on who you’re targeting in their buying journey, but just getting people on the list is not the end. You have to find ways to make money too. You only make money by making paid offers.

Lead Magnet Ideas You Can Use

  • Promote a Product You Use – If you’re part of your own audience, the products and services you use to solve those problems are of utmost interest to your audience. Tell them what you think about each resource you use and invite them to use it, too, with your affiliate link.

 

  • Promote Your Own Products and Services – Every three to four emails, send information about the products and services you have created for them. Anytime you bring up one of these problems, you can promote the solution.

 

  • Promote a Service You Love – Did you use a service you like recently that will be useful for your audience too? Let them know about it. Just like you’d tell your best friend about the yummy restaurant you went to last night, you should tell your audience about the services you get results from.

 

  • Tell Your Audience About a Product They Need – Even if you don’t use the products because you’re not part of your own audience, you should tell your audience about the products you need. Just like a doctor tells their patients what they need.

 

  • Create a New Product or Service – As you learn more about your customers, create products that fit into your niche that solve their problems.

 

  • Promote Memberships and Subscriptions – Continuity programs are awesome to promote whether you own them or not. Subscriptions and memberships usually require a monthly payment, which can really add up over time.

 

  • Sell Another Product on Your Download Pages – Anytime you create a thank you or download page, add the next product or service based on what they’re getting now, whether a freebie or not, as a suggestion.

 

  • Maximize Error Pages – Edit your error pages to take advantage of the space by recommending products, freebies, or whatever your current promotion is at the time.

 

  • Host Flash Sales – Keep your audience open and ready for more email messages by surprising them with list member-only sales periodically that thanks them for being VIPs.

 

  • Segment Your Audience Based on Their Behavior – Remember that you can keep segmenting your audience even after getting on your list by telling them about your newest offers, freebies, and so forth and using the automation inside the autoresponder to segment and tag them based on their actions.

 

  • Set Up Low-Cost Tripwires – A tripwire is a low-cost product that tests your audience’s interest. Usually, the cost is less than $27 dollars and is also a great way to build your list with your ideal audience.

Value Ladder

  • Up-Sell, Cross-Sell, and Down-Sell as Needed – Send the right offers to the right people. Based on their behavior, you may need to send information for up-sells, cross-sells, or even a down-sell if needed to keep their interest.

 

  • Remarket to Your List Members Via Paid Ads – One effective way to keep your list active is to use technology such as remarketing ads via social media. You simply upload your email list, and only those who are on that list will get your ads. You can use this to remind them to check their email.

 

  • Email Regarding Abandoned Carts – If you have a shopping cart, set up automation that automatically sends reminds to them if they abandon their shopping cart. You can do this via email, but you can also use remarketing ads to bring them back too.

 

  • Offer Coaching and Consulting Services – Personal one-on-one services and consulting is a very lucrative way to earn more money. Make these offers to those who have purchased most of your products and services.

 

The more ways you can offer opportunities for your audience to buy something you recommend, the more money you’re going to make. That’s just math. Make more offers, make more money.

 

 

 

 

Posted on

How To Manage Your Energy

Life is not meant to be done at full speed twenty-four-seven. It’s not a sprint or a race; It’s a long and steady marathon or voyage. You can’t expect to do anything right or get work done if you are exhausted all the time. You need to slow down and find ways to manage your energy better to be more productive and flourish within your business or personal life.

 

The following are five ways to help manage your energy:

 

Learn to Let Go

You don’t need to be in control of everything. In fact, the only thing you are even allowed to control is yourself. You cannot possibly do each and everything on your own in a realistic amount of time. Learn to let go of control, especially in areas you don’t understand and only cause you pain or frustration. Find ways to outsource or automate the process.

 

Create and Follow Realistic Schedules

If you don’t set aside enough time to finish certain projects or tasks, you will always feel like you are rushing to complete your work on time. The less you put things off for later or “I’ll do it Monday,” the more energy you will have to get through the day.

 

Create Proper Routines and Take Breaks

Always take breaks and schedule more time than you think you need. Ensure you know exactly how much time you need for each task and always include a little more time than you need to account for the unpredictable. This way, you are sure to never go over schedule, miss meetings, important deadlines, or worse, be late and affect other people’s schedules.

 

Leave Easy and Mindless for Last

These tasks don’t need your full energy and attention, so don’t give it to them. It may seem more straightforward to go ahead and get it out of the way, but you will only use your most productive hours and energy on activities that really don’t matter—giving you less energy for more important things.

 

Do It or Else

In other words, create things or activities that are non-negotiable for you, just like how you can’t live your whole day without going to the bathroom. You can make this same concept in every area of your life. Don’t permit yourself not to do it.

 

Fully understand the consequences and remember your “why” for establishing the goal in the first place. As you keep making yourself do it no matter what, it eventually will become a habit you can’t or won’t want to break.

Setting Boundaries: It’s Not Selfish to Go After What You Want

In the end, you need to be realistic, honest and evaluate your actions to be sure they are helping you sustain your energy, motivation, and determination. For better energy management, be sure you really know what it takes to crush your goals, eat healthily, create realistic schedules, and stick to it.

Posted on

Delegate More Effectively: 5 Tips

It’s hard to let go and let others do the work, but if you want to run a successful business, it’s likely something you will need to do eventually. You really can’t be an expert in everything, and even if you were, there is not enough time in your day to do it all. You need breaks to stay healthy and efficient, just like everyone else.

Delegate

If you are not used to delegating, here are a few tips on how to do it more effectively:

 

Know What NOT to Delegate First

What are the things and activities you do well and feel the most comfortable in? These are things you shouldn’t delegate because you can likely get them done fast or efficiently. Other areas to keep in mind include tasks that require your personalization or communication that you can’t replicate.

 

While it may be easier to get an assistant to make all your calls, for example, that doesn’t mean your customers appreciate it or make it easier for you. Ensure it works for your business idea, strategies, and skillset.

 

Understand How to Complete Each Task Fully

Even if you are not the best one for the job or even perform the job, it’s important to know how to complete it before telling someone else to do it.

 

This way, you can be sure it gets done correctly in the most efficient amount of time by someone who is best for the job and can better communicate if something were to go wrong. You may not understand every part of the job, but you can better help assign tasks and guide them to get the job done if you know how to get it done.

 

Be Open to Questions and Changes

Allow others to let you know they are actually not the best ones for the job. Sometimes you might not be correct. However, allowing for open communication or questions can speed up the process and prevent errors by moving the assignment to the next person right away.

 

Clearly Outline Your Expectations and Provide Necessary Resources

Communicate your expectations and what you expect to receive when the work is done. Provide links, your ideas, or any information that’s required to get it done fast. Avoid too much back and forth with questions. Just supply the information right away.

 

Overall, you must understand exactly what needs to be done, the tasks you need to keep to yourself, the resources it takes to get there, and always have clear and open communication to delegate more effectively.

The Ultimate Boost in Productivity: Automation and Outsourcing

Posted on

Deprioritize Non-Essential Tasks: Know What’s Important

Proper time management skills, high productivity, and achieving your goals all require knowing when and how to deprioritize. Just because you do everything or are extremely busy every day does not mean you are being most productive or will be successful one day.

 

Efficiency and high productivity stem from understanding that the effort you put in should equal the same or more output. Every time you work, if your actions don’t chip away at your tasks helping you reach your goals, you are not the most productive – you’re just busy.

 

The following tips will help you learn to deprioritize the right tasks so you can run a more successful business:

 

Goals First Tasks Later

In other words, when you create your daily to-do list, you should keep in mind your goals first. For example, don’t organize your day to leave easy tasks last unless it makes sense for your business and overall plan for that day. Think about your most important goal, then organize your actions or tasks around it.

 

Understand the Value of Your Time

Twenty-four hours a day may seem like a lot when you look at it numerically, but it goes by quite fast in realistic terms. For eight hours, you need to sleep, and then you only get sixteen hours left to share between work, friends, family, fun experience, and your life.

 

You can’t be bogged down constantly by things that don’t matter when you don’t have that much time to spare between everything and everyone. Highlight the essential tasks that get you closer to your dreams. Learn when to say no. Remember, you are missing opportunities when you spend all your time on one thing.

 

Start with The Most Obvious

What brings you pain, discomfort, and anxiety? Are there people in your life that only bring you stress and frustration?

 

Be sure the answers to these questions are not the first thing you are trying to do each day. For example, if a friend only keeps you distracted from your goals, stop going to breakfast with them every morning or being around them in general.

 

They are not worth your time and value. If you know checking emails, first thing in the morning will throw off your whole day, leave them for last or outsource it. Just because you put something at the bottom of your list doesn’t mean you can’t get back to it eventually or let someone else handle it.

The Secrets to Time Management and Why You Need It

In the end, if you want to have more time to focus on the things that truly matter to you, then take a moment to evaluate each area of your life and make sure your focus is on the right priorities. Start with your calendar right now. Are they a good use of your time?

 

 

Posted on

5 Rituals to Boost Your Energy and Productivity

Wish you had more energy throughout your day to get each and everything on your to-do list done? You are not alone. Many people, tiny business owners, and entrepreneurs struggle to keep up.

 

Here are five rituals to add to your daily routine that will boost your energy to live each day more productively:

 

Sleep for 7 to 8 Hours Every Single Night

You can’t have good energy and be productive if you don’t get sleep. You may think you function great off 4 or 5 hours, but science doesn’t support this. You are more like a walking zombie. Even one to two hours less than a full night’s sleep of 8 hours can reduce your productivity by up to nineteen percent.

 

Getting a full night’s rest also affects your overall mood, health, and outlook. Your sleep pattern and routine are the first places to look when living a more productive life. Sleep and proper food equal optimal energy. Without both of those, you can’t expect to feel optimal.

 

De-Clutter Before You Get to Work

Nothing is better for freeing your mind than getting rid of clutter and ensuring your workspace is organized. When chaos is around, your brain will feel cluttered too. That will affect your work more than you may realize. Practice decluttering or quickly picking up everything before you get to work. It’ll be one less thing you will have to worry about later. Giving you clarity, focus, and peace to do your work right.

 

Meditate or Stretch with Sunlight

Your body requires vitamin D to feel optimal, and the best way to get that is through natural sunlight. Start each morning off with a short five-minute meditation routine or stretch outside or with your blinds open in the living room. As you clear your mind and de-stress, the sunlight will wake you up and energize you for the day.

 Avoid Burnout: How to Exercise and Sleep More

Wake Up Early and Get Moving

Science has shown that those who are early to bed and early to rise are healthier. They have smaller waist sizes and have longer life expectancy than those who refer to themselves as “night owls.”

 

Even if you feel like you may be a night owl, you can change your habits and morning routine to become one. Try going for a walk, light jog, or practice yoga to wake you up. The workout will provide you a boost of energy to help you work efficiently and allow you to get a full night’s rest once the day is over.

 

Never Skip Breakfast

Breakfast is when your body finally gets a moment to refuel after a long rest. It needs healthy fats, sugars, proteins, and other vital nutrients to be strong and alert. If you feel like you suffer from a lot of mental fog, especially in the mornings, your diet is probably to blame.

 

Watching motivational videos before you get to work or accomplish your goal, always taking a lunch break, or any repeatable task that benefits your life are good rituals to adopt if you want to be more productive. Remember, consistent, repeatable actions get you to the finish line.

 

 

Posted on

The Importance of Continued Learning in Life and Business

There is one thing that is certain in life, and that is change. You can always bet that something will change throughout your life, big or small. While change may be scary and uncomfortable to most, there is also a beautiful and different side. The chance to learn and gain something new, an opportunity you should always take no matter what.

 

Reasons to keep learning for a lifetime:

 

To Increase Your Confidence and Motivation

A lot of anxiety or fear stems from a lack of knowledge. If you strive to learn something new as often as possible about your niche and the world at large, you will empower yourself to do better, thus making you believe in yourself, and boosting your confidence while giving you the knowledge to be successful.

 

To Keep Up with Your Competition

Do you remember when Netflix used to mail DVDs to your house before there were streaming companies? If you don’t know, that’s okay too because Netflix did precisely what they were supposed to do to power through their industry and be the leader. Netflix saw a change in technologies and tried to understand and learn new ways to improve its business model.

 

They now lead their industry by streaming movies and television shows straight to your T.V. and skipping the mailbox altogether. They would become the next Blockbuster, whom Netflix and Redbox destroyed with their mail-in service if they didn’t. Something Blockbuster adopted a little too late and ultimately had to shut down.

 

To Fully Understand Your Potential

Learning unlocks skills and resources about yourself that you would have never discovered if you didn’t make an effort to do so in the first place.

 

To Run A Realistic and Successful Online Business

To be successful and keep up with an online business, you must continue learning new technologies, software services, and social media platforms. If not, you will undoubtedly stay behind the crowd and won’t get any foot traffic you may be used to with a brick and mortar store. Even brick and mortar stores have to keep up with social media and techniques as more and more people stay indoors or work from home.

 

To Create the Job or Life You Want

There are so many different paths, careers, or choices to make in life that it is impossible to know them all. You will discover this and unlock worlds, ideas, values, and inspiration you never knew existed when you learn—giving you the knowledge and more choices to live the way you want.

 

In the end, education, knowledge, and experiences are fun and rewarding. They, together with practice, are vital for growth, understanding, and compassion for the world. Education and learning provide no consequences if you want to accomplish your dreams and be more productive. Keep reading, experimenting, and jump out of your comfort zone to learn and gain more knowledge.

Are You Being Realistic About Your Goals?

 

Posted on

How to Outsource to Save You More Time

Stop doing everything yourself. Outsource your work before it’s too late. To be successful, you need to save your time and energy for what you do best. If accounting, customer service, marketing, or technology isn’t your thing outsourcing the work by finding an online freelancer is a great option to save you more time and frustration.

Positive Attitude

The following are a few areas to outsource in your life and business to save you more time:

 

  • Making hotel reservations or booking meetings and other appointments.
  • Social media, email, and other marketing projects and tasks.
  • Laundry, cleaning, and other housework or maintenance.
  • Content writing, administrative or human resource tasks such as payroll.
  • Customer service and support.
  • Shopping and dry cleaning.
  • Other repetitive, time-consuming, and frustrating tasks.

 

What to outsource depends on what you need the most, what you can afford, and what goals you are looking to accomplish. Ask yourself this one simple question to get started: “What takes up most of my time?” Then decide from there if it something someone else could be doing for you instead.

 

Depending on your needs, there are many different platforms to choose from online to hire independent contractors to do various tasks from content writing, social media marketing, answering phone calls from customers, sending out emails on your behalf, or even delivering your groceries other materials.

 

The following are a few popular choices:

  • upwork.com – Post your job and let freelancers come to you with Upwork. Their freelancers offer many different services, including development and IT, sales and marketing, finance, accounting, administrative or customer support, etc. Whatever it may be, they likely have the freelancer for you.

 

  • fiverr.com – Graphic design, video, and animation, voice overs or content writing are just a few of the many different categories of freelancers you can find on Fiverr. For just five dollars a service, you can outsource just about any project on this platform.

 

  • getfriday.com – This is the best online marketplace to find virtual assistance that can perform repetitive, mundane, or time-consuming tasks for you and your business. If you need help with market research, bookkeeping, web, or IT services, you can also find that here with their Business Support Services.

 

  • instacart.com – With Instacart, you can pay a monthly or delivery fee per order to get your groceries, prescriptions, alcohol, or other similar items delivered. This application has partnered with many popular stores, including Publix, Costco, CVS Pharmacy, and more.

 

As you can see, depending on your needs, you can find a freelancer to do the job for you. Doing everything and not outsourcing only decreases your productivity. While we often joke about business owners working 24/7, the truth is that you do not have to work all the time to be successful as a business owner.

The Ultimate Boost in Productivity: Automation and Outsourcing

 

Posted on

Yes! You Can Automate That

Automation can simplify your life and provide you more time to focus on the things that truly matter to you. It leads to better communication, higher productivity, and overall success in your business and life. The secrete to gaining more free time or time to accomplish more tasks is automation.

 

Here are five things you can automate in your business and at home:

 

#1: Grocery Shopping

Companies like Shipt, Instacart, and Cornershop by Uber have created a business model to shop and deliver your groceries for you. Grocery shopping can take hours and sometimes be stressful. Let others do it for you. Pick the items you want and the time you wish to deliver, and you’re all set.

shopping

#2: Inventory Management

Keeping up with inventory is costly and time-consuming, even if you have a small business or just buying groceries at home. Setting up a proper inventory management system right away is crucial. Software like NetSuite and Shopify will do this for you after the initial setup.

 

To combat this at home, create laminated lists for each category and mark the items off as soon as you throw them away. This way, you know exactly which items to buy again when you create your next grocery order on Shipt.

 

#3: Budget and Expense Management

Keeping track of everything on paper isn’t needed anymore, and in fact, you are only opening yourself up for mistakes if you insist on staying old school for everything. Accounting software such as Wave Accounting or QuickBooks provides the tools you need to set up a budget, generate sales or other business reports or pay your bills or taxes on time in an instant.

 

#4: Task Delegation or Chore Assignments

Trello, Basecamp, and other project management systems are an easy way to streamline your task delegation. These systems have many different tools and widgets that make it fast and easy to communicate and send or share resources to different or the same people. Chorebuster.net is another excellent resource that automatically assigns, schedules, and sends printable chore lists to the whole family.

 

#5: Contact Forms, Autoresponders, or Other Online Marketing Materials

Pop-up forms or other plugins should be downloaded to your websites or blogs to make email collection almost automatic. If someone has a question, contact forms are a great way to keep it organized too. Other programs like Zapier can help automate your social media campaigns by scheduling the posts for you.

Free and Low-Cost Automation Tools You Can Implement Today

Thankfully as technology advances, your life gets easier with automation, so you can spend your energy and time where it’s needed. One reason you want to work for yourself is to gain free time. You might as well set yourself up to achieve time freedom.