Here we are again, another new year is upon us.  The most important thing that any of us can do is to nurture our relationship with our spouse, children, parents, friends.  This will always be number one in my life.  In addition to this,  I have compiled 11 things that I plan on doing in 2011.  Feel free to add to the list!

1.  Make a Plan.  This is obvious and yet so many people feel that their business is just going to happen.  One habit that has proven very effective for me is to take a couple of hours every week, perhaps Sunday evening, to plan out the week.  This plan can be flexible but it gives me a road map of what I want to get done, need to get done, to move my business forward.  At this time of the year, I make a plan for the next three, six, nine and twelve months.

2.  Set Goals.  The goals that I set are based on the Plan that I have created.  Take time to set both business and personal goals.  I review these goals monthly.  It helps to keep me on course.  This site has a good goal setting sheet that you can download for free.

3.  Spend Time Brainstorming. This can be the single most important thing you do for your business.  Taking time, at least monthly, to brainstorm can bring a fresh prospective to your business.

4.  Take Time for Yourself.  If you are working full time, taking care of a family, trying to start an online-business, chances are you have very little time for yourself.  By taking time every day for yourself, even just a short walk, a long shower, a few minutes alone, can refresh and invigorate both your mind and spirit.  Don’t let your busy-ness consume you!

5.  Take Time to Learn.  Set aside time each month to learn one new thing.  It may be a new business model or technique, or something for yourself like scuba diving or crocheting.  Learning new things keeps you engaged in life and it is often during these times that new ideas spring forth.

6.  Use Your Time Productively.  You can spend the day reading forum posts and email, or you can spend the day moving your business forward.  Not enough time?  Dennis Becker of 1K a Day fame has written a fabulous blog post about how you can move your business forward with just 30 minutes a day.

7.  Surround Yourself with Positive People. I did not realize what a drain being surrounded by negative people was until I left my job in April.  Within about a month I felt so darn good — and it wasn’t simply being away from a toxic job.  Several months after leaving that job I was talking to one of my colleagues from that job and as I hung up the phone I felt engulfed with anger, sadness, depression.  Just from that one phone call, my empathy for my friend had brought me to a deep funk!  It took several days to shake off that feeling.  Surrounding yourself with positive people keeps your energy high.

8.  Join a Membership Site.  Joining a membership site will keep you surrounded by like-minded, positive people.  If you join a membership site that has to do with your business, it will help your business.  I currently belong to three membership sites:  1K a Day, Wealthy Affiliate and WP Classroom.  By doing so I am connected to people who can answer my questions, partner with me, give me knew ideas.  Internet Marketing can be a lonely business, but it does not need to be.  I have earned far more since joining these membership sites because the people I have met have motivated me as well as have given me information that I would not have found otherwise.  Whether it is for business or for personal interests, joining a membership site can help you meet your 2011 goals.  Most have introductory offers of a few dollars so you can see if it is right for you.

9.  Get Active.  This does not mean ‘be busy.’  Everyone is so busy.  But when was the last time you played a game of tennis, swam a lap, or went for a walk — just for fun?  Taking time to exercise keeps your mind and you body active and ready to tackle the day.  I find that my best ideas come when I am taking a walk.

10. Find a Mentor.  This can tie in with joining a membership site.  I have met so many incredible people through membership sites — people I know I would not have met otherwise.  You can also find mentors on forums, or through products you have bought.  Most people are very open to answering questions about their products or ideas that you may have.  Of course you don’t want to stalk them!  I have also gathered mentors without the evening knowing it.  I find Jason Fladlien to be a mentor.  I have bought many of his products, read all of his free reports, and through the information I have received I feel like he has mentored me in my business.  I have learned a lot just reading Jason’s blog!   I also subscribe to Tony Shepard’s monthly newsletter, which has also been a great source of mentoring.

11.  Find Joy! Don’t forget the reason why you have created your business.  Whether it is to become more financially secure, spend more time with your family, create a business you can be proud of.  Find joy in what you are doing.  Don’t let setbacks get you down.  With every setback you are learning and moving forward, even if it feels you are moving backwards.  Finding joy in what you do will make your success all the more sweet!

I hope you have a happy and very prosperous 2011!

Until next time,

~Norene

Greetings All,
I apologize for missing a weekly wrap-up last weekend. The swine flu finally caught up with my family and we were down and out for the count. But here we are again, with another weekend upon us!

This week I would like to talk about Twitter. I find that most folks on the internet either love or totally dismiss Twitter. I have to admit that I was one to totally dismiss it. I certainly saw the value of it, both personally and in my business, but I felt like I just didn’t have the time to “twitter away” my day. After finally jumping on board, I have found how truly fun and valuable Twitter can be.

One post that I came across that I really loved was Steve Wakefield’s blog article called, “My Top 10 Twitter Tools and Then Some.” If you are new to twitter, or not, you will find his list really compelling.

Of the ten tools that Steve lists, I have to say that I liked Twitter Packs the best. Twitter Packs, according to Steve, is a “useful directory of twitter users sorted into specific categories so that you can find people who are interested in the same things as you. You can also add yourself to the directory so that people can find and follow you.” Take a moment to read Steve’s blog post. If you love twitter, you will be glad that you did.

As happens quite often in the world of the internet, once you find a product that you love, another comes along to rival it. Such was the case with me this week. I literally stumbled upon Sokule (pronounced So Cool).
Sokule is a free product, or you can upgrade to obtain more features. You’ll find all the applications you need to make your business hum in one convenient location. You can even choose the applications you want. Applications like Adding your Bio, Edit Posts, Live Profile Links, Auto Welcome, Scheduled Posts, Video Ads, Autoresponder Messages, ClickBank plugin, Sokwall, and lots more.

One of the things that makes Sokule so cool is that when you post on Sokule, your post will automatically show up on Twitter just like magic. Sokule’s website states that they will soon be adding 40 other social networking sites like Facebook, Myspace, Giblink, Friend Feed and many more.

Follow me on twitter at http://twitter.com/nbroyton or on sokule at http://www.sokule.com/postit/Norene My sokule page is just beginning to be built — hopefully by the end of this week there will be more to show.

Until next time,

~Norene

Whether our business is just taking off, or has been established for years, how great would it be to not only get a second opinion, but a third , forth….up to 53 opinions….for FREE!

That is what Rich Schefren and Jay Abraham have created in the League of Extraordinary Minds.  Their goal is to help every entrepreneur and business owner become successful, and it is completely free.

Since becoming an Internet Marketer, by biggest success came only after I acquired mentors.  You can check out my blog post Over-Delivering, The Key to Success for more information on my mentors.  I will now be adding Rich Schefren and Jay Abraham to that list, and I hope that you will too.  There may not be bigger names in Internet Marketing than these two, and they have gathered more world-class experts in business, internet marketing and entrepreneurship in one place than ever has been done before.

When you join for free you will receive a 36 hours of content-rich, non-selling, expert panel interview series.  Each expert that they’ll interview has the distinction of being THE absolute “top”” mind in their field.  These are not lightweights.  They earn seven, eight figures for what they know.  They’re respected buy the biggest leading company, the world over. They each have either identified, uncovered, deciphered or invented more business breakthrough strategies, concepts, techniques or approaches than anyone else in their space.

These 53 experts include:
Jay Conrad Levinson, Stephen Covey, Brian Tracy, Tony Robbins, Michael Masterson, Michael Bosworth, Dr. Paul Schoemaker, Lou Adler and John Kotter. Check out the League of Extraordinary Minds website to see the rest of this business all-star lineup!

Does your business suffer from any of the following:  Poor marketing * No distinction or preemptive advantage * Ineffective sales efforts * Poor marketing message * Lack of credibility, trust in marketplace * Limited capital to market?  Jay and Rich have purposely put this group of extraordinary business minds together and focused each expert’s content on ideas and advice that will quickly help any business out there that’s suffering from any of these problems.

I joined the League of Extraordinary Minds because I have seen the benefit of having mentors for my business.  I know that adding 53 more to my list of mentors can do nothing but help me to skyrocket my business to further success.

If you think you may need a second opinion about the direction your business is moving, take a moment to check out the League of Extraordinary Minds and let me know what you think!

Until next time, keep moving forward!

~Norene

Last week marked a huge milestone for me. I created my first ecourse! It is   called  Joint Venture Secrets.

It is a *FREE* e-course that is delivered over a five-day period.

* What a JV Partnership is and how it can benefit your business;

* How to find JV Partners

* The different types of JV Partners and how to determine what is right for you and your business;

* How to approach JV Partners;

as well as providing additional resources and information to help you in your JV partnership.

To obtain the course, simply fill in your name and email at the box to the upper right, and Day One of the course will be sent to immediately.

Once you have finished the five days, please post below and let me know if you found it valuable or not.

Thank you!

Until next time,

~Norene

This tool is called Odiogo and you may have noticed it as something new added to my blog. Odiogo’s motto is “Give your text content a voice…and legs!” Once installed as a wordpress plugin (can also be used with RSS feeds, Blogger, Typepad and Overblog), Odiogo appears as a small “listen now” icon under your blog post title and before the content. By clicking on this icon, your readership can listen to your post or they can download it to listen on their ipod, iphone or MP3 player. This convenience can expand your readership into listenership very quickly. The quality of the reading is pretty good…click on the listen button on any of my blog posts and check it out yourself!

Odiogo is easy to install and they provide very detailed installation directions. I often have a glitch or two when installing products of various kinds, but this was installed perfectly the first time through. Once installed and used, they also provide data and graphs displaying how often this feature is used on your blog.

Another great aspect of Odiogo, is that once your listenership reaches a significant level (as of this writing, their website does not define what that means), you may qualify for a share of their advertising revenue. How cool is that?

Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Until next time,

~Norene

Inspiration
I think we all need inspiration to keep us going when we are feeling down or lost and even when we are feeling like all is going well. A pick-me-up can do wonders to propel us forward. In Rod MacBeth’s blog post The Mayonnaise Jar and Two Cups of Coffee, he shares a wonderful story about setting priorities and remembering what is most important in your life.

Fabulous Tools/Resources
This week I came across two blogs that shared tools that I found helpful. The first is from Adam Sicinski who posted an amazing mindmap and blog post about Twitter called How to Twitter: A Beginner’s Guide. It is so complete it could have easily been an ebook. For those of you who twitter and/or market with twitter, you don’t want to miss Adam’s post.

Paul Hooper blogs about a free Squeeze Page Generator in his post called Create a Squeeze Page Using Instant Squeeze Page Generator. This is a great post if you are looking for an easy and free way to create squeeze pages.

Alexa Ranking

If you are interested in lowering your Alexa ranking, there are several excellent posts that I have come across this week. Rob Canyon wrote a blog that started me on my journey to creating a better blog that would help my Alexa rank drop. It is called How to Get Your Alexa Ranking to Drop Like a Rock to Increase Your Popularity.

Tom Burke wrote a fabulous post about how to use Alexa to determine how interesting your blog is in his post Alexa Engagometer. He also blogged about increasing your ranking in a post called Secrets to Boost Alexa Ranking.

Finally, Paul Lear has written a wonderful post about how to lower your alexa ranking in Top 10 Tips to Increase Alexa Rank.

I started tracking my Alexa ranking on September 26 and in 24 days I was able to lower my Alexa ranking from 2.8 million to ~750,000 using some of the tips that Rob, Tom and Paul speak about. Great stuff!

Finally, to end this weekly wrap-up, I’d like to mention a wonderful free ebook called Failing Forward By Design. This ebook was written by Heine Wentzel and it speaks about how to use failures to propel your success. It is an incredibly inspirational ebook and well worth the read.

I hope you enjoy these posts as much as I did! Let me know what some of your favorite blogs have been this week!

Her resource list includes graphic design, wordpress themes, video production, ghost writers, copywriters, competitive intelligence and more. She has created a pdf file for downloading ease, and her post and the file contain all of these resources along with their links. As is everything that Kim does, it is quite a gem of a blog post.

Check it out. It’s a little bit like Christmas in September.

Until next time,

~Norene

For me, however, journaling never took off. I just couldn’t sit down and write about what I had done in the past, and I couldn’t write about what I was doing as I was doing it — it just messed up my momentum. However, I always saw the value and so I tried to figure out a simple way to incorporate this into my day.

What I came up with is quite simple indeed. I have a text file on my desktop. In it is a simple to-do list. This list contains my daily, weekly and monthly plan. As I check off an item on the to-do list, I cut it from that list and paste it into another text file called “Done”. In this way I can monitor what has been done and what still needs to be done easily. My done file also accomplishes the role of creating a template of the steps of what has been successful.

Having these files on my desktop, I can easily see the progress that I am making (or not). I have noticed that this has increased my productivity as I want to get items out of my “To-Do” file and into my “Done” file as quickly as possible. It is also easy to add to the “To Do” list as I come across ideas that I want to implement. In this way I never spend time thinking about what my next project should be — I just look at this file.

Wishing you great success and productivity,

~Norene

I have found the following sites that have very cool tools that have really helped me with my research. By becoming better at searching the web, I have saved myself lots of time and frustration. These tools not only make research much easier, but if research is not your favorite activity, these tools also make the process a whole lot more fun.

I hope that you find them useful too. Oh, and they just happen to be free. My favorite price!

1. Power Search Tool. This is a fabulous tool where you can target your searches for websites, files, images, videos or documents. You can also search for specific information about countries, world cities and maps. And one of my personal favorites — it has a feature called “Bargain Hunter” which will search the web for the best price for any product that you want. It allows you to perform all of these advanced Google searches from your browser. The only caveat to this tool is that it seems to work better (at this writing) in IE than in Firefox.

The video below shows the “power” of the powersearch tool.

2. Brupt file search. Brupt is a Google based search tool that lets you search for Microsoft Word (.doc), Microsoft Powerpoint (.ppt), Microsoft Excel (.xls) and Adobe PDF (.pdf) documents. I use this tool whenever I am looking for article ideas.

3. Soovle. This tool is just too fun. Soovle allows you to search within Wikipedia, Answers.com, Youtube, Bing, Yahoo and Amazon. Very cool! It is a great place to start if you don’t know exactly what you are looking for. As soon as you begin to type in a search term, Soovle will offer suggestions for related terms that help you refine your search. Warning for all self-proclaimed procrastinators: You can lose hours immersed in the fun of searching with this tool.

Any others that make research easier and more fun for you? Drop me a comment and let me know what tools you use to do research! Keep moving forward!

Until next time,

~Norene

It wasn’t until I started the coaching program with Alex Jeffreys that it dawned on me one day that I Was Having Fun! The reason I was having fun wasn’t related to making money, as I hadn’t made any money yet, it had to do with the networking that was occurring as a result of the coaching program. Through forums and blogs I was learning more and more about Internet Marketing and these wonderful people that I was meeting along the way were making what had been overwhelming for years, doable. I had heard many times that Internet Marketing was simple but it was not easy. And I let that thought really paralyze me. What I found was that once I started networking with other internet marketers, all that I thought I could never do, really was easy. One step at a time.

Reading other people’s blogs, you really get a sense of the person’s personality and strengths. I came across so many really good, helpful, instructive, motivating posts and I wanted to share some with you. Today I will share some of my favorite blogs that were written in the areas of Blogging, Traffic, and Motivation/Attitude/Goal Setting.

I hope you find them helpful as well.

Blogging
If you are having trouble blogging or want to improve your blog, Matt Wolfe is truly one of the most knowledgeable bloggers that I know. One of his blogs that really shortened the learning curve for me was his blog post about plugins called The Best Plugins for WordPress. He also has numerous short posts that are extremely valuable to the both the new and advanced blogger, making everyone who visits feel comfortable and competent due to how easy to understand his posts are. One such post was about scheduling blog posts in the future called How to Schedule Posts for Later. This was a simple post, but it gave me immediate information that I hadn’t known previously. Matt’s blog is just a wealth of information and he has a free course called WordPress Classroom that is outstanding.

Another blog post that I found really helpful was Lee Berlemann’s pinging post, Follow Up to My Additional Pinging Post. In this post he lists tons of sites that will ping your site bringing in more traffic. I would have never found and compiled this list on my own and I’m very grateful to him.

Traffic
Getting a constant stream of traffic is critical to an internet marketer’s success. The following blog posts were extremely useful to me.

Rob Willis lists 13 different tips for getting traffic to your website or blog. His list is detailed with how to set up these traffic generators easily.

Kim Roach lists 21 ways to get traffic in her blog post titled, 21 Untapped Traffic Sources. I have written more extensively about Kim and her traffic generation strategies in a previous blog post.

Another very extensive description of ways to increase blog traffic can be found on the problogger.net website. Additional information on what might be causing a decline of traffic to your blog can also be found on the problogger blog.

Motivation/Attitude/Goal Setting
One of the most important part of an internet marketing business is to maintain a positive attitude and to keep motivated. I found several excellent posts about this topic.

One of the best posts I have read about goal setting I have mentioned before. It is Paul Norwine’s blog post titled, Goal Setting for Dummies. In this post he explores being specific about your goals and how to whittle down your goals to one main goal to focus on.

Another excellent post is Rob Willis‘ blog post titled, Simplify – Prioritize. Rob lists 5 action steps to help prioritize to make attaining your goals achievable.

A fun blog post was created by Huddson Lee titled What I Learned From My Dog about Online Marketing. It is a post about setting priorities and living in the moment. Well worth the read!

Heine Wentzel writes about his method for always staying positive in his post SOTOFOT.

Finally, a huge part of goal setting and moving your business forward is to remember the importance of continuing to learn. Many people, especially those who are comfortably successful, slow down or even stop learning new ways to use the internet. This attitude can quickly leave you behind. Daniel Scocco talks about this in more detail in his post, Always Be Learning New Skills.

The internet is a big place. Learning from others, networking with like-minded folks, this is what makes this business fun!

What are some of your favorite blog posts about Blogging, Traffic and Goal Setting/Motivation/Attitude?