The Value of Time

Russell Brunson is one of my favorite people to learn from when
it comes to online marketing. He has advanced very quickly in a
very short period of time starting out with affiliate marketing
as his base.

His story shows that we all can do this with the right mindset
and determination. You can discover more about Russell on his
blog where this excellent post originated. Just follow the link
directly below.

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The Value Of Time
Posted by Russell Brunson on November 27, 2006
Author Message
Russell Brunson

The value of time.
I'm not sure when you are reading this, but I'm writing it
the day after Thanksgiving. I saw a lot of stuff happen this
weekend that made me think about the value of time.

If you are living in the US, the day after Thanksgiving is
called "black Friday" because all the stores have huge sales
to get them back into the black.

Now, Friday afternoon I was playing w/ my twin boys, but when
my family got back from shopping, I heard stories about saving
$20-$30 on some stuff... but having to wait in line for 2-3
hours to buy the product.

That doesn't even count the time it takes to drive to the store,
find parking and then fight your way through all the people.

This made me think...

If someone spent 4 hours saving $20.... how much did they
actually save?

I'm not sure about you, but I value my time very highly.
It's the only thing in the world that I don't get more of.

So, what do you value your time at? If you are working for
a job, getting paid $8 an hour... then your time is valued
at $8 an hour.

So, if you were shopping this weekend, and you spent 4 hours
- it cost you $32 (if you are charging $8 an hour). If you
value your time at higher - then it could have cost you a
fortune.

Well, I personally value my time around $1k an hour. The
reason...? If I spend a focused hour on a project, it will
always turn into at least $1k (usually more).

So, when people call and want me to consult them on a project,
I charge between $600 - $1,000 an hour depending on the client
and the situation.

That is why I believe so strongly in outsourcing - because
it's usually a lot cheaper to hire someone to do a task - then
to personally do it myself.

Last weekend we paid 2 people $650 to clean up my yard for the
winter. It took them 7 hours each to get the job done.

So, If I would have done the work myself, it would have cost me
$14,000 to do it (7 hours X 2 people X $1k an hour).

In that case - $650 is a no brainier.

Now, with that said... I want to show you some ways to free up
some more personal time for yourself to get done the stuff that
YOU have to get done.

1st - learn to cluster your time. One of the things that
kills the productivity of online business owners is instant
communication.

People want to answer their emails or phone calls the second
they come in. I can tell you from experience that this will
kill your productivity.

Every time you start into a project, you are interrupted by
email, phone calls, instant messages....

Learn to cluster your time - take 60 minutes at the end of
your work day when you are less productive... and then (and
only then) answer your emails - and make phone calls back.

You need large clusters of time that you can focus 100% on a
project so you can get more done faster.

2nd - Kill your email addresses. Have you ever tried to email
me? If so you've probably got a response saying that you have
to submit a ticket to my help desk.

The reason?

First - so I can cluster my time
Second - because I've outsourced my customer support

I think email is the biggest killer of productivity in the
world. I've turned off all but one of my email addresses -
and if more then 10 people find that one out - then I kill
it and start over. Beware of email.

So, what help desk software do I recommend? There are a lot
out there - currently we are using www.kayako.com and it's
been great.

3rd - Charge for your time. You should not be giving away
your most valuable asset for free. Every second that I am
spending with a client, I am not able to spend with my wife
or the twins.

We talked earlier about the value of your time... how much
is your time worth? As you grow in your niche, people will
start trying to get your time for free.

Beware of this - because it will quickly kill your
productivity and your business.

Have you ever tried to call me? I've set it up where it's
impossible for anyone besides my wife to call me and get
through. My assistant tells anyone calling requesting my
time to visit www.JVWithRussell.com.

I have my call times clustered, and charge $300 for every
30 minutes that someone wants to talk on the phone.

I use a company called "Ether" (see the pic above) that
charges the person and then lets them ring through to my
line. www.Ether.com

The service is free to use - they just take a % of what
your client is paying you to talk. You can bill people by
the minute, hour, per call. It's awesome way to make sure
you are charging for your time.

4th - Replace yourself. Your goal as an entrepreneur isn't
to work forever - it's to create a business that will
generate the money you need to live the life you want.

So, from day #1, you need to be thinking about HOW to replace
yourself.
The first thing you need to replace is your customer support.
Do this as fast as you can. Then follow it with website design,
writing, link trading, research... anything and everything else
you can until your business can run without you.

That should be the end goal of your business. That is the dream
that you, me and everyone is looking for online.

Replace your self by either outsourcing the tasks you currently
do - or hire employees.

NOTE: When hiring employees - be sure to read "The E-Myth"
by Michael Gerber and save yourself a few of the headaches
I had before I read his book. You can get it on Amazon for
about $12.

I hope that this newsletter has been beneficial. As your
business grows, you are going to find yourself with less
time every day. If you're not careful, it will consume you.

What you started so you could have more time - will be taking
every last second you have. Remember the value of your time
because every second it precious.

I hope this helps.

Thanks
Russell Brunson

Using Ezine Ads for Traffic

There is no better way of reaching your target audience than by way
of email newsletters that are being sent out regularly. Subscribers
give out their email addresses in return for receiving the ezine on
a weekly, biweekly or monthly basis. Essentially an ezine has an
opt-in list since that is how a person joins.

And what better way to get results then by advertising in that ezine.
People often look forward to their weekly ezine or newsletter because
they have acquired a relationship with the writer and value what is
written in it. That is why ezine ads produce results. People read the
ezine AND they read the ads.

That brings up a very important point. You MUST target your ad to
your audience. There are at least 80,000 ezines or newsletters being
published each and every month. So there are probably more than a
few that would be relevant to your particular product or service.

Subscribe to the ezines you would like to advertise in and pay close
attention to the ads they show. If there is a single ad that is
shown over and over you know that it is getting the desired results.
What does this mean to you? You have just found an excellent ezine
to advertise in.

Be sure to check the number of ads in the ezine. If there are quite
a few, the possibility of your ad being lost amongst the crowd does
exist. Also readers become so used to the plethora of ads that they
no longer pay any attention to them.

As well be sure that there is only one ad for one type of service
or product in each ezine. Your ad will lose power if there is a
competitor in the same or similar area also advertising that week.
You want your ad to be a 'one-of-its-kind' to attract the readers.
You want them to follow directions and click through to your site.

Follow the age old rule of thumb. Offer something free in your ad.
That fact alone is enough to encourage the readers to respond in
a positive way and click on your link.

Remember to keep your ad short. Short sentences get read. Short vs
wordy wins hands down. Every time! Don't forget that. Use the word
'you'. Tell them what your product does -- for them.

If you have the funds repeat your ad a minimum of 3 times. If it is
pulling well keep using it. Don't make any changes until it is no
longer working for you. At that point you can either try another ad
or just tweak the original one. Both are good options.

Small ezines often target your audience more AND with fewer ads.
Bigger ezines will get your message out to more people but they
also tend to have more ads.

Last but by no means least, it is important to track your ads if
you have more then one running at a time. How will you know which
ezine ad is working for you if you are not tracking it? There are
many programs out there that do a good job of tracking for you.
Some are free and some are not. If you look it up on the search
engines you will find there are many options.

By following the above guidelines your ads will soon have you in
profit. You will have your own list or downline. You will be on
your way to winning the internet marketing game.

Lynn's notes:
(I prefer track that ad as it gives me multiple choices for one
link plus shows me how many times each has been clicked on.)
http://www.trackthatad.com/?s=51987

Lynda Shelvey has been having fun with the marketing game for
about 8 months now. The mother of 6, she enjoys writing articles
and you can see more on her blog which can be accessed through
her site at http://www.teamtrafficbuilders.ws

The Death of Internet Marketing

This has proved to be very interesting so I thought you should
have this report asap.

I just got an email about Mike Filsaime's Free Report called -
"The Death of Internet Marketing"

I will admit, like you may be feeling now, that I thought it
was some hyped up offer to get me to join for free and get
some offer...

...Turns out I was wrong. Way wrong.

The bottom line is, this report really opened my eyes to what
really is the death of Internet marketing. The good news is,
the report also shows you what you need to know to succeed in
the near future.

The times are changing and I it would be a shame for anyone
to not read this report and fail like many will.

I read it, and I wanted to share it with you ASAP.

I recommend you take a break from what ever it is you are
doing if you can and get access to this report now.

Consider your future success by going here now...

http://www.TheDeathofInternetMarketing.com/?see-why=1112

Oh and by the way, Mike says this will only be up for 2
weeks at the most so you'd best jump on this now. ;-)
http://www.TheDeathofInternetMarketing.com/?see-why=1112

Product Review

Does Prospect Response deliver responsive prospects?


I recently signed up for an excellent email promotion service called Prospect Response:

http://www.prospectresponse.com/cgi-bin/pr/d.cgi/LS43015

We are all faced with mounting problems getting email out to our lists. Spam filters and places like AOL are making it more and more difficult every day even to deliver legitimate messages in the process of fighting spam.

Even though email marketing has been tainted by the endless flow of spam (and overzealous email filters), email promotion need not be a frustrating experience any more.

Prospect Response ensures your message always gets there:

• They PAY your prospects to read your ads!
• You can get hundreds or even thousands of fresh leads every day!
• Each message is double-checked to ensure it does not trigger spam filters
• All email is delivered with personalized precision though proprietary technology
• The company works with ISPs to ensure your messages are not trashed into spammers' blacklists

and a lot more...

Bottom line: Your ads reach lots of responsive prospects. This makes you more profits/signups. Try it now since they are giving away 30day gold trials.

http://www.prospectresponse.com/cgi-bin/pr/d.cgi/LS43015

A Common Question Answered

Do I really need a blog?

Blogs have been around long enough now that most people know what
they are and a large percentage of small business owners have
found ways to use blogs as part of their web presence. There are
those who are still sitting on the fence though so let’s count up
a few good reasons to go ahead and get one started.

Blogs make adding fresh content easy. Posting to your blog is as
easy as writing an email. You don’t need any special skills or
web design knowledge. Just start sharing what you know about your
subject and even ask for comments.

Blogs help to pull traffic in a new way. Blog posts are
distributed by RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds. If you
take some time and submit your RSS feed address to a wide
variety of RSS and Blog Directories, every time you post to your
blog, the directory will know about it. Recently updated feeds
are featured prominently, bringing you greater exposure. RSS
also connects you to individuals who subscribe to your feed.
By using a resource such as pingoat.com your updated blog is
broadcast over the internet. How easy is that!

Blogs also help to pull traffic through the search engines as
each blog post or series of posts depending on how you set up
your blog, creates a new page of content. And what do the search
engines love? Right - good quality updating content.

Blogs give your website the sticky factor. Partly because your
readers subscribe to the RSS feed and get alerted whenever you
post, but also because readers can comment on the blog if you
allow that option. Your visitors return again and again to
check for comments.

Blogs add personality to your website and to your business in
general. It gives you the freedom to let your customers,
potential customers and business acquaintances see your lighter
side. You don’t have to get too personal, but sharing little
bits of yourself can be beneficial to your business relationships.

Frequency is important but blogs don’t require a lot of time and
effort to keep them fresh. You don’t have to write full length
articles; you can share shorter, useful tidbits as a series and
keep your readers quite satisfied.

Perhaps the biggest reason to have a blog is simply that they are
so popular with so many people. Blog fanatics can hardly resist
clicking on a link to a blog and will subscribe to your feed to
satisfy their hunger for fresh blog reading. Makes you want to
come down off the fence doesn’t it?