Category: Knowledge

Using Keyword Research For Online Marketing of Your Businesss

Get Results: Marketing is about being found
Get Results: Marketing is about being found

This article is about using KEYWORD RESEARCH to understand how customers are finding you, or your competitors on the net. It is a look into the psychology of the people looking for your products or services. Use keyword research to GET RESULTS online.

What is keyword research?

There are a number of tools available online, that allow you to see what people are typing into search engines like Google, when looking to buy from businesses like yours. You can use these keywords to better understand your prospective customers, and apply the same search terms to rank your website, so that it appears at the very moment, prospective customers are looking for a product that you sell. It’s the ultimate in matching supply and demand.

The information is provided to businesses looking to advertise through platforms like Google Adwords, and details things like monthly  search volumes, and estimated cost per click (if you advertise on Adwords). This information can also be used for Search Engine Optimisation purposes, aligning your website with searchers intent, and the good part is it’s FREE traffic.

Remember your website is useless if it doesn’t appear when searchers type in a search query. If your site isn’t optimised for these same search terms, you won’t appear in the search results, which means you won’t get any relevant visitors and customers.

Google Adwords for instant traffic

If you have a new website it can take months for your site to appear in organic search results, depending how competitive your niche is, even if your site is well-optimised.

Using advertising tools like Google Adwords, allows you to rank your site much quicker. In fact, if you know what you’re doing it can be ranking on the first page of the search results, within minutes, but you will have to pay for this rapid success. The cost for which varies, depending on your niche. Let’s look at how keyword research works and what you can learn from it to benefit your business online.  Prices per click can be as low as 30p or be multiple pounds depending on how much money can be made by advertisers. Insurance companies tend to have a CPC of as much as £5-£10. Florists can pay £2-£3 per click.

At that cost, you really don’t want people just looking for information or searching for pretty pictures, clicking on your ad and costing your £2. You only want serious buyers to do so, so you need to focus on keywords that include buying intent.

Let’s look at keyword research for a typical local business, floristry.

Keyword research for florists

“Flowers” is the top searched-for-term, relating to florists, however it is too general, it could include searches for photos of flowers, or for information to identify flowers. There is no buying intent connected to this search term.

“Flower delivery” on the other hand is much more “buying intent” driven. People wouldn’t likely be using this search term unless they were looking to buy flowers or at least, find out information about flower delivery.

You would expect “flower delivery” to have a relatively high cost per click if it were purchase driven, which it does, at £2.81.

Other top search terms include:

  • Rose
  • Orchid
  • Plants
  • Florists
  • Lily
  • Funeral flowers
  • Flowers by post
  • Artificial flowers
  • Flower delivery UK
  • Red rose
  • Mothers day flowers
  • Send flowers

These are the top searched-for keywords. As you can see by this list there are a number of very general searches, which you would expect, with longer tailed searches being used less often. A long tail keyword would use more words, for example “cheap flowers online same day delivery” which had just 10 monthly searches compared to 201000 searches for “flowers”.

Get results; keyword research
Get results; keyword research

If I were a florist, I would use from the list above, only maybe “flower delivery UK”,  and maybe “Mothers day flowers”(if it were coming up to mothers day of course), “Send flowers” seems to be an information gathering search term on the face of it.  All the other terms would be fine to use for Search Engine Optimisation purposes, but not for Pay Per Click advertising, where each click is going to cost you.

If you’re a small business owner, and would like a full list of keywords for your business, please provide your email in the box below and we will get one to you, free of charge. If you’re an entrepreneur, you should try to figure it out yourself, you’ll need it going forward, if you’re intending to keep building businesses.

Please check out our marketing guide.

Below is an article I did back in 2013 regarding Keyword Research which was, at the time on another website, so I thought I’d include it here, as I think it contains some interesting material.

Get Results: Google Adwords
Get Results: Google Adwords

What is Keyword Research

Keyword research can be used in a couple of different contexts, the first would be by a business owner or niche website owner, looking to improve visibility on the internet, so that they appear higher up in search results of popular search engines such as Google and Bing. If you are such as business owner, this would involve finding out what your target market is typing into the major search engines to find the products, services or information that you provide. Once you have these keywords you can use them to optimise your website so that you show up in those very same search results. When I say “optimise your website” I’m talking about writing articles that are centred around those keywords, as well as adding the keywords to your page title, and description.

The second context in which you can use keyword research is when you’re looking to start a website from scratch and want to set it up solely around monetising it around adverts such as Google Adwords (where you are paid if someone clicks on an advert on your website). To do this you look for money keywords, which can be compared to ‘panning for gold’ where you sieve out all the dirt and soil (poor quality keywords) until you are left with little gold nuggets (money keywords).

The golden rules for gold nugget keywords are:

#1 Relevance – keywords relating to niche to attract ‘targeted traffic’

#2 Traffic – high traffic volume is best to ensure there is sufficient potential custom.

#3 Competition – low competition is best but not too low as this might be evidence of there not being much of a market.

#4 Commerciality – is the measure of high value keywords.

Keyword research can be done in Google Adwords for free, by simply signing up for an account, alternatively there are a number of software solutions available that will do more in-depth analysis of potential keywords such as Market Samurai which I have used myself in the past.

#1 Relevance

Relevance is important if you’re a business owner and have particular products to sell or already have a website in a particular niche. It is about finding keywords that will attract ‘targeted traffic’ This is traffic that is going to be interested in your offering, and who are likely to buy from you or click on the ads on your site.

If you’re using PPC such as Google Adwords, where you’re paying to drive traffic to your site then Keyword research is vital to make sure you’re not spending money on unnecessary clicks. For example If your selling ‘dog collars’ then you will want to remove keywords such as ‘training’ for instance, because these searchers are not looking to buy dog collars at this time. You can set such keywords as negative keywords in Google Adwords so that when someone types in this negative keyword your advert will not show, and you won’t be charged for an inappropriate click.

You will definitely want to include the word ‘dog’ as a keyword rather than something like pet, otherwise you might find cat searches are included in the results. Using long tail keywords can help qualify searches. for instance ‘buy dog collars’ is likely to qualify potential purchasers rather more than ‘dog collars’ would.

tip – Go to amazon.com and type in keyword, look at books section (relating to your niche), and look at the table of contents, and check some of key terms and add the interesting ones, and do further searches of these ‘semantic’ keywords. This tactic can be used for writing articles and also to find what subjects would be popular to include on your website.

If you fall under the second context of keyword researcher (described above) than relevance doesn’t matter as much because you don’t have a particular product offering. Whatever you make the website about, Google Adwords will match the advert content to your content. In this circumstance you want to make sure you are targeting niches and keywords that have a higher value, see #4 commerciality below for more information about this.

#2 Traffic

It is important to know the difference between “total searches” which are cited in most of the keyword research platforms and the volume of traffic you are likely to actually get on your website should you rank on the first page of the Google SERP results. Below is a table showing the typical breakdown for traffic that is likely in each of the 10 listings on the first page of Google

  • 95-98% of traffic come from 1st page of Google
  • Even if you are #1 you won’t get all the traffic
Google position clicks Traffic per 1000 Incremental Improvement in clicks
1 42% 420 254%
2  12%  120 40%
3 8% 80 39%
4 6% 60 24%
5 5% 50 20%
6 4% 40
7 3% 30

#3 Competition

There are two important measures when looking at the competition for a particular keyword phrase the first is the amount of competition. Ideally look for a lower amount of Google searches ideally less than 30,000 search results for any particular keyword phrase, you can check this by going to www.Google.com and typing in your keyword to see the amount of searches found.

Secondly consider the strength of competition. It’s best to avoid competing with professional websites, that have been around a long time, and that are highly optimised for the particular keyword phrase you are targeting. Also avoid competitor websites that have lots of webpages and a lot of backlinks pointing to them. If the first page on Google or Bing is mainly made up of these kinds of sites you are unlikely to be able to outrank them, so it is better to avoid these competitive keywords phrases altogether. Of course you have little option if you have a particular product offering and these keywords are the ones used by your target market, in this circumstance, where you are unlikely to get a first page listing you may consider PPC (pay per click) advertising to get a first page presence.

#4 Commerciality

The commerciality of a keyword is how much a particular keyword is worth. Google Adwords is a bidding system for keywords and is based on supply and demand. The more demand for a particular keyword the higher the cost per click (CPC) for that keyword. This is a good indicator of how much money is being made on a particular keyword. If an advertiser is paying $10 per click for a keyword it is likely that they are making more than that from their website sales, otherwise they wouldn’t be willing to pay that to Google to drive traffic to their site.

So when your conducting any keyword research keep in mind these golden rules and your more likely to find those golden nuggets.

Check out market Samurai’s explanations below of each of the golden rules. Useful information even if you aren’t considering using their software.

Relevance

Traffic

Competition

Commericality

Promotion

Track your Ranking

Market Samurai is a great tool which saves you valuable time and helps give you a greater insight into your keyword selection. Alternative you can use a free service provided by Google called Google Keyword Planner. You need to sign up for an account to access this online tool, but it’s a great resource. However it’s not as good as Market Samarai in terms of depth and insight. In fact MS uses your Google Keyword planner account to access much of the data needed but is much better at organising it for analysis.

…. hope you found this article useful.

While you’re here, check out my marketing guide.

Why Do We Often Misread How Others Perceived Us? 

Get Results: We judge ourselves by our INTENTIONS and others by their ACTIONS
Get Results: We judge ourselves by our INTENTIONS and others by their ACTIONS

Many people provide a true projection of who they are. They are true to themselves, and are easy to read.  What you see is what you get.

However some people can initially appear to have certain characteristics or attributes, but when we get to know them better, you find they are not really “like that”.

I consider myself a good judge of character, but occasionally I have had an instant dislike for someone, only to grow fond of them over time. Why have I misjudged them?

I have also had a view of myself, that has differed from the view others have had of me. How can this be?

How do we misread how others think of us? How can we think we are coming across one way, when indeed we are coming across completely differently from the perspective of others?

One example that jumps to mind from recent experience, is the boy racers that rev their engines, screech off from lights, wheel spinning as they go, only to be sat waiting at the next set of lights, when you catch them up. They deeply believe they are projecting coolness, male prowess and demonstrating what a catch they are for the opposite sex. When indeed they look immature, and quite ridiculous.

It can be a real problem, if we see ourselves one way and everyone else see us another, particularly if the two views greatly contrast. If we think of ourselves as warm , friendly , approachable, and likeable and others see us cold, abrupt, unapproachable and not very likeable there is a real disconnect that can be very problematic for our business and personal lives.

Now there is an element of showing your best side, when you first meet strangers, and showing your true colours later, when you get to know people better. But we’re not talking about this, we’re talking about the discrepancy of what you think you are projecting, compared to how others perceive you.

So why can there be such a disconnect for some people? Stephen R. Covey explained “We judge ourselves by our intentions and others by their actions.”

This is where the discrepancy lies, we judge ourselves differently to how we judge others, and  how we judge others is closer to how others actually judge us.

When perceiving yourself you have lots of background information. You understand your intention, what you’re trying to achieve by your actions. You are more likely to blame situational factors if things don’t work out as planned. You are also privy to your mental and emotional state at the time, and their influence on your behaviour.

When you perceive others, particularly in relation to people you don’t know very well, you’re likely to consider their behaviour as much more representative of the persons underlying character, and a truer reflection of WHO THEY ARE, without much consideration for situational influences.

Likewise, this is inevitably how they will perceive you. They are likely to interpret your actions as an indication of your personality.  This difference in how we perceive ourselves versus how others perceive us, is referred to as the Fundamental Attribution Error or attribution effect.

It describes the tendency to overestimate the effect of personality and underestimate the effect of the situation in explaining other people’s actions.  For example, if you are in a rush, and cut someone off in traffic because you have to get to the hospital to care for a loved one, you will interpret cutting the person off as totally justifiable. You are not a jerk, in fact, you are trying to help someone. The person you cut off, however, will have no idea you are going to the hospital, and will likely think you are a jerk.

How we see ourselves is intrinsically connected to our self-image, which is developed through our life experiences.  A poor self-image can deeply affect our relationships and interactions in the world, which in turn, are perceived, by others, as being who we are, without the deeper understanding of why we may act this way.

A theory coined by Charles Horton Cooley provides us with insight as to how we see ourselves. The concept is called, “The Looking-Glass Self.”  As each individual interacts with others in society, a relationship develops. It may last only a few seconds, yet our perception of how others view us, shapes our image of ourselves. It is like looking to a reflective glass for a glimpse of what it is like to be “us.”  Cooley’s theory suggests our perceptions of how others see us, inevitably shapes our image of ourselves.

So if you find there is a disconnect between your view of yourself, and that of everyone else around you, there is a need to improve your self-awareness.  Be wary that your attempts to be appear confident, aren’t being misinterpreted as arrogance. That trying to appear witty isn’t being seen as sarcastic, cutting or uncaring.  Put yourself in the other person’s shoes, and try to be empathetic to their viewpoint.

Better still, don’t try to put on an act, and instead let your behaviour be a true representation of who you are, without the insecurities, and fears that might cause your behaviour to be undesirable. Embrace your inner being, and let your light shine through.

Check out my article about spirituality and wellbeing, that might give you some insight into letting your true self shine.

What Drives All Human Behaviour?

Get Results: question mark
Get Results: question mark

What are the driving forces that make use take action or prevent us moving forward?

Why do we do what we do and not do what we don’t do?

What makes us do good things, and what makes us do bad?

What makes mankind perform incredible feats and what makes mankind act like monsters?

Why does mankind strive to achieve greatness, why does mankind seem hell bent on destruction?

If we know what drives human behaviour, maybe we can hack it to serve us better.

Get Results: The desire for pleasure and need to avoid pain
Get Results: The desire for pleasure and need to avoid pain

The Law of Attraction

Get Results: the law of attraction
Get Results: the law of attraction

Below is an inspirational video with quotes and affirmations from the “Law of Attraction” teachings.

Check out the “Law of Attraction” which is the idea behind the popular movie “The Secret”. However I would suggest checking out some of the videos done by Abraham Hicks on youtube for some really interesting in-depth videos about the subject. I recommend keeping an open mind when approaching the subject.

The 3 laws that are detailed by Abraham Hicks are:

  1. The Law of Attraction – says “That which is likened to itself is drawn” and refers to the magnetic power of thought
  2. The Law of deliberate creation – says “That which you give thought to or that you believe, allow or expect, is” we are all creators, most thoughts are by accident or default but holding deliberate thought will allow it to grow stronger and manifest itself into our life, good or bad.
  3. The Law of allowing – says “I am that which I am, and I am willing to allow all others to be what they are”

You must understand the first before you can understand the second, and you must understand the first and second before you can understand the third.

Author Napoleon Hill also advocates the use of the Law of Attraction in this book  Think and Grow Rich. He outlines the stages that need to be taken to live a fulfilled life:

Develop a burning desire, have faith, learn how to feed constructive ideas to your subconscious mind, acquire specialized knowledge, put your conscious mind to work, have a written plan, be decisive, be persistent, join forces with like-minded individuals, understanding the function of sex as related to success, understanding the power of the subconscious mind, trust your inner voice or six sense.

Although the book was written 1937 many of its teachings are still relevant today and is certainly worth a read. If you search there are a number or free PDF downloads available and the book is also available from Audible.com in audio form.

In a nutshell the premise of the Law of Attraction is:

Whatever you focus on, good or bad, you get more of. So be careful what you lock your thoughts on. Try to positively frame things in your thoughts such as wanting to be rich, instead of not wanting to be poor. If you think of poor, even in the negative you will get more of it in your life. The law of attraction does not understand the difference between not wanting or wanting. If you think poor, even in not wanting to be poor, that is the overriding focus of your thoughts and as a result you will get more of it in your life. So just to clarify, if you don’t want to be poor, think about being rich.

Just thinking of something is not enough, it needs to be mixed with a strong emotion to really work. so desiring something with all your heart will be more effective. So will fearing something. If you fear something greatly and keep that fear in your mind, you will, like a magnet attract that very thing into your life…so be warned!

Don’t just wish for something, believe it is waiting for you in the future, just waiting for you to meet up with it. Believe it is already yours, it’s just waiting for you to claim it.

For more about spirituality and wellbeing check my spirituality guide.

The Art of Persuasion

Get Results: persuasion
Get Results: persuasion

Let’s start by having a look at the definition of persuasion:

noun
The action or process of persuading someone or of being persuaded to do or believe something.

Synonyms: coaxing, persuading, coercion, inducement, convincing, blandishment,encouragement, urging, prompting, inveiglement, temptation, cajolery, enticement, wheedling, pressure, moral pressure;
Informal: sweet-talking, smooth-talking, soft-soaping, arm-twisting;

There needs to be at least two parties involved in the persuasion process, these being the…

  • Sender of message
  • Receiver of message

For the purpose of this article, we are going to look at how persuasion is used within MARKETING although it is used in many other real world situations, with good or bad intentions. One of the best ways to protect yourself from its influence, is AWARENESS. If you know how it works, you can defend yourself against it.

As Marketers we are, in our role as “sender of message” ultimately hoping to persuade the “receiver” to buy our product, there are a number of ways we can do this. The bare bone approaches being:

  • Control
  • Convince
  • Convert

Control

If we have power over the receiver we can use this to pressure them to buy. Power can come from..

  • Using your authority, if you have it,
  • The lack of options open to the receiver (no substitutes or alternatives available),
  • If receiver is desperate,
  • The scarcity of time to make the decision.

The receiver may feel their hand being forced, which might well lead to a feeling of resentment and resistance and is not likely lead to any kind of ongoing relationship, loyalty and bonding between the receiver and sender. I personally, don’t like to be pushed, manipulated or forced into buying, and I’m sure most people feel the same.

Hard sales tactics are often used by the sender, when trying to invoke some level of control over the receiver, and are common in the following circumstances:

  • When PRODUCT is temporary, limited use, or one-time use: fads, fashions, entertainments, seasonal clothing, equipment, perishable foods, collectables
  • When SELLER is temporary: door-to-door selling, telephone solicitations (“boiler room”), fly-by-night operations (“one shot”), con games (“pigeon drop”)
  • When BUYER is temporary, that is, in an unfamiliar area or condition: tourist, travelers, newcomers, inexperienced, immature
  • When a sense of CRISIS exits (a real or imaged emergency, time limit, or deadline): pain, genuine close-outs, elections, TV “shopping clubs”
  • When GUARANTEE (refund, or return of goods) is missing: unknown companies, “fronts”
  • When DEMAND exceeds SUPPLY: SURPLUS situations

Let’s look at a couple of real life examples: Some caravan parks limit the maximum age of caravans on their site, to say, 10 years old and then force caravan owners to buy a replacement new caravan from them, rather than from 3rd party suppliers.

Cinemas often discourage or even stop customers bringing their own refreshments into their venue, so they have to buy them from the foyer, at inflated prices. This control is enforced by the venue as a condition of using its facilities.

Convince

“Convincing” the receiver of your message to take a particular course of action, takes more effort than the “control” method, but is more ethical and rewarding. Getting attention is the first objective, followed by, creating a convincing argument that promotes your case and negates the alternatives. This is illustrated in Professor Hugh Ranks “Intensify and Downplay schema (see below).

If we present a clear cause and effect appeal to the receiver we will find our message more readily accepted from a rational perspective. So we must communicate the benefits and features of our offering and answer any objections that the receiver will inevitably have.

However emotional appeals have proven to yield better results because receivers engage the right-side of their brain more when emotionally aroused, as a result, they think less rationally, and are prone to act without thinking it through fully.

Intensify and Downplay Schema

Professor Hugh Rank’s model of persuasion, describes how promisers (marketers) intensify their own good and downplay their own bad. This model shows how marketers only tell receivers of product benefits using composition, association and repetition, But downplay any negative aspects by omitting this information, diverting attention away from it or trying to confuse. If you want to learn more about Hugh Rank’s model check it out here.

Pros, cons and objection handling

When I’m putting together a marketing message I look at the pros and cons of the product and note each down. I view the “cons” as possible objections and try to answer these objections, turning them into positives where possible. I also look at the benefits of using the product compared to not using it. Here is an example I have done recently for Thrive Landing page WordPress plugin to illustrate the process I use myself.

Positive/pros/for – ask why would they want to buy the product and keep asking why to dig deeper

  • No coding needed – drag and drop
  • No design skills needed – pre-defined templates
  • One off fee – No monthly recurring cost
  • One interface for website and thrive themes – within WordPress site
  • Professional looking landing pages
  • Better than many of competition because no subscription needed
  • Great support – fast replies via online forum
  • Lots of tutorial videos provided by Thrive themes

Negative/cons/against/objections (Turn these into positives where possible using law of opposites)

  • It isn’t free and costs $49 – better than having to pay monthly subscriptions like some of the popular alternatives such as Leadpages.

Negatives if not using product

  • Need to get a designer to do for you or learn HTML and have good design skills
  • Other options seem to include monthly subscription charges which mean when you stop paying you can no longer use the landing pages, with Thrive there are no monthly costs anyway, but the landing pages are built into your WordPress site so can be used forever.
  • With some suppliers you have to login to a remote interface to access your landing page editor
  • If you’re doing the HTML yourself and if you don’t have any coding skills these can be time consuming, look amateurish, and have limited template options

From this information I can now sell the benefits of the products

Selling Benefits

If you’ve done any marketing in the past, you’ll know about selling the benefits of your product. Getting these benefits over to receivers as early as possible is crucial to marketing effectiveness. Benefit seeking is the main driver of customer motivation. If receivers (customers) are looking for investment opportunities, their main motivation is “making money” or “preserving the value of their money”. So if you’re selling an investment product of any kind you need to communicate the making money aspect of your offer to appeal to the receiver of that message.

It is important to get the product benefits over to the receiver as early as possible, so it grabs their attention. The first thing a receiver sees on most marketing material, is usually the initial headline. Some examples of good headlines include:

You’ll never have Y (without X)
• You’ll never make money from your website (without having professional landing pages)

Buy X to achieve Y
• Buy Thrive Landing pages and make money from your website

How to achieve Y with less effort/cost/time
• How to make money from your website with less effort, cost and time

The Only Way to [Do Something Desirable] Without [Doing Something Undesirable]
• The Only Way to build landing pages Without learning to code HTML

[Do Something Hard] in [Period of Time] or [Promise]
• Make stunning landing pages in minutes or get your money back

[Do Something Desirable] Like [an Expert] Without [Something Expected & Undesirable]
• Make stunning landing page like a marketing expert – without any design or coding skills

Other examples
How to….
• How to Win Friends and Influence People
• How to Save Time and Get Things Done

Lists
• 7 Reasons Why List Posts Will Always Work
• 10 Ways to Beat the High Cost of Living
• Do You Recognize the 7 Early Warning Signs of High Blood Pressure?

Who Else Wants [blank]?
• Who Else Wants a Great WordPress Theme?
• Who Else Wants a Higher Paying Job?

The Secret of [blank]
• The Secret of Successful Podcasting
• The Secret of Protecting Your Assets in Litigation

Little Known Ways to [blank]
• Little Known Ways to Save on Your Heating Bill
• Little Known Ways to Hack Google’s Gmail

Get Rid of [problem] Once and For All
• Get Rid of Your Unproductive Work Habits Once and For All
• Get Rid of That Carpet Stain Once and For All

Here’s a Quick Way to [solve a problem]
• Here’s a Quick Way to Get Over a Cold

[Do something] like [world-class example]
• Speak Spanish Like a Diplomat
• Party Like Paris Hilton

See How Easily You Can [desirable result].
• See How Easily You Can Learn to Dance This New Way.
• See How Easily You Can Own a Lamborghini Miura.

Convert

This is the hardest of the three ways to persuade. Attempting to convert someone’s beliefs and values is really difficult because people hold them tightly and often associate their very being with deeply ingrained value and belief systems. If you’re message contradicts such values and beliefs you will need to provide hard factual evidence to back-up your message to have any chance of converting the receiver. However not all values and beliefs are made equal, and we may convert some, using emotional appeals that do not need complex reasoning to back them up.

The role of Emotions

Emotion makes people act in irrational ways and prevents them thinking clearly, and marketers know this and attempt to use it to their advantage. Many big organisations with vast marketing budgets look to get some incite into their customers inner workings, finding out what they like and dislike and what presses their buttons. They track shopping habits and develop marketing messages designed to get them to take action. Even small businesses need to have an understanding of who their customers are and what they want. The easiest way to do this is carry out surveys, hang out where prospects hang out, ask existing customers for feedback and run test campaigns online offering searchers a choice between options and measuring what choices they take.

Many large companies try to associate their products with popular celebrities, hoping some of that popularity will rub off on their brand. They know that if our idol tells us it’s good, we are more likely to act on their endorsement. On the flip side, if a celebrity encounters controversy, brands are quick to cut ties, and end sponsorship deals so that they are not cast in the same negative light.

If people are made to feel fearful that their family might be in danger, they are more likely to buy a security system, if they are scared their family will be left to struggle if they were to die, they are more likely to buy life insurance. If someone describes how we can live life on a sunny beach, having an amazing time with our families and have no money worries ever again, working a job that takes just thirty minutes  a day, simply by reading a $99 Ebook, or joining the latest magic money making system, yes you got it, we will buy the Ebook, if we believe what we are being told.

The emotions of greed and fear are the most often targeted ones, but other emotions like curiosity are often used to pull the reader into marketing messages.

  • “Check out the one plugin that will turn your website into a money making machine”,
  • “If you’re not enjoying success online, this is the one thing you NEED to become a success”,
  • “What Everybody Ought to Know About making money online”.

People are very curious creatures, it is hard-wired into the human psyche and it’s very difficult to ignore curiosity laden statements or headlines. However the subject needs to be relevant to the interests of the reader. or it won’t work.

Summary

Persuasion is a fascinating subject, and the more that is understood about human psychology the more sophisticated the marketing messages will undoubtedly become. The key points to remember are:

  • Have a clear understand of who your customer’s are or are likely to be
  • Craft marketing messages from your customer’s point of view (what’s in it for me)
  • Sell the Benefits of your product, this is the core reason for them to buy
  • Pre-suppose their objections and tackle these head on
  • Find an answer to this prospects question “Why should I do business  with you, instead of any and every other option available to me, including the option of doing absolutely nothing at all?”
  • Try to evoke emotion from your prospects to take action NOW
  • Add value, don’t try to manipulate your audience, try to persuade them that doing business with you is a win win situation, and make sure you mean it.
  • Manage expectations – Disappointment is based on expectations. Under promise and over deliver.

If you would like to learn more about marketing, check out our marketing guide.

Redefining Success

Get Results: redefining success
Get Results: redefining success

My mother was rubbish at finances, she had no business sense whatsoever, she couldn’t understand spreadsheets, profit and loss accounts, or marketing principles, she couldn’t even work a mobile phone, let alone a computer. I don’t think I ever saw her read a book during the 46 years I knew her. She didn’t obsess about personal development, or being a better person, none of that stuff.

But she was pure of heart, she was always there for anyone without judgement. She was an extraordinary person, probably the most extraordinary person I’ve ever known. She listened, loved, and was deeply loved by those around her. She is sadly missed by all who knew her. The world is not the place it once was, when she was in it. The definition of success that I learned from her comes from the ability of positively answering these questions at the end of your life, when you look back at how you lived it.

DID I LIVE?

DID I LOVE?

DID I MATTER?

If you can answer yes to these questions you have been incredibly successful x

Finding Out WHO YOU ARE

Get Results: Self Awareness make champions of us
Get Results: Self Awareness make champions of us

Gary Vaynerchuk recently did a video talking about the importance of figuring out who you are. Check it out below.

He’s right, without a solid grasp of knowing what you’re about, life can feel somewhat pointless. I don’t mean in the sense of what’s the point in living, but rather, knowing what you should be doing, and where you should be heading.

Those we look up to

We look up to people that have found their niche, who seem to be living the dream. They love what they do, and can’t get enough of it. Productivity is at an all time high, because they are consumed by their passion 247.

No clue

I am aware there are a lot of people, particularly those leaving school, who haven’t got a clue where their destiny lies, and frankly, how could they? Without gaining some practical experience, how can you know what you like and don’t like. You may romanticise certain professions, but until you’re doing it as an occupation, there’s no way of knowing if it’s for you.

Hobbies don’t always make good occupations

All occupations have their downside, and it’s often very different doing something for a living, to earn an income, than it is when you’re doing something as an hobby. There is a certain level of pressure, a certain degree of “have to” and deadlines to consider. This is often enough to take the fun out of it for many. So don’t fall into the trap of thinking every hobby will translate into a good occupation.

The hard bit

So back to Gary, he says “Punt everything else and go all-in. The best blue print for your success, is to look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself “What’s the purest form of who I am?“, then build a thing around that.”

So that’s the easy part, recognising you have to start by figuring yourself out. The hard part is actually doing so.

Self awareness is a key step in the process of building a life you love to live. It’s not just knowing what you like and don’t like but figuring out what you’re good and not so good at. This part is difficult and requires some soul searching. None of us like to admit we’re not so good, or even bad at things, particularly if we like to do that thing. If we don’t care about it, there’s no problem, if we care about it, or have invested time and effort into it and are still not very good at it, then there’s a problem.

We’ve all seen the Xfactor contestants that can’t hold a note, but have fooled themselves into thinking they’re the next big thing.

How to improve Self Awareness

Take a long hard look at yourself, be completely honest, ask for a honest second opinion from someone who’ll tell you the truth. Family and friends are usually not good for this, they just don’t want to upset you.

Putting your work out into the market, and seeing if people are willing to buy your stuff is probably the best gauge of the standard and desirability of your talent or lack of. I use a few methods like PPC adverts or Facebook adverts, which are great for fast, inexpensive feedback, but you need to know what you’re doing before burning through your money, if you go down this route.  Drop me an email if you want some help with this at info@getresults.org.uk.

Now be warned you have to ensure you have not invested too much of yourself in whatever you are shining a light on, otherwise a knock back can be hard on your self esteem. Don’t let it be, take it as a positive, it’s informing you, it’s being honest with you and allowing you to find a more fruitful path, and preventing you from wasting our most important resource TIME.

To uncover your own interests, tendencies…

  • Look at what you spend your time actually doing,
  • What you like to read about,
  • What websites you visit and are interested in,
  • What TV programs you spend your time watching,
  • What you find yourself doing when on holiday or during leisure periods
  • Ask others that are close to you, what they think you like and don’t like, this can be very enlightening sometimes

And then ask “why?”. What is it about these things/activities that you enjoy, is there a common thread that runs through them. Sometimes identifying what you don’t like or even hate, helps to focus you on what you do like, so build a list of these as well.

It’s a journey of self discovery. Don’t try to fool yourself, be honest. For those that have a negative perspective of themselves already, which are usually as disproportionate as those that have overly positive perspectives, also look for a reality check, as others will not judge you as harshly as you judge yourself. So allow more positivity through if merited.

That’s it, you’ve got to do the rest for yourself. Use those around as well, in the ways discussed above. Enjoy the process, and don’t be too frustrated if it takes a little time. I often find once you have made your mind up to make a start, your unconscious mind springs into action and will gently help inform you, but you can’t push it to do so.

The Suffering of Mankind

Get Results: thinking instead of feeling
Get Results: Thinking instead of Feeling

If you refuse to put other people first, you’re failing
If you want to beat another, you’re failing
If you’re bitter, angry, or sad you’re failing
If you’re fearful, you’re failing
If you’re lost in the past, you’re failing
If you want the future more than the present, you’re failing.
If you hate, you’re failing
If you dislike, you’re failing
If you need more or better, you’re failing
If you don’t want a certain other near you, you’re failing
If you don’t give a s**t, you’re failing
If you wish harm on others, you’re failing
If you’re resisting “what is”, you’re failing
If you’re judging others, you’re failing
If you’re labelling others, you’re failing

All these failings exist in the mind, in thought. The more you think the more you fail. Thought initiates feeling. We feel bad because we think bad. If you shortcut thought and go straight to feeling, you cut out pain.
Feeling is “now”, being in “the moment”, feeling life, feeling wonder, feeling alive. Feeling without thought.
If you think this is boll**ks you’re thinking and failing, again.

For more info check out our spirituality and wellbeing guide

There’s Knowledge and there’s Knowledge

Get Results: Knowledge
Get Results: Knowledge

There’s two types of knowledge you can have, the first is knowledge that’s wide and shallow, like general knowledge. The person with this type of knowledge, knows a reasonable amount about a lot of things. They might include diverse topics or be more closely related, something like the knowledge held by a GP doctor is an example of this type of knowledge set.

Then there’s knowledge that’s narrow and deep. This is specialist knowledge that is obtained by studying a specific topic for many years. These people might not know much else other than their area of expertise. And given enough knowledge about a particular subject, this is were expertise resides.

There are arguments for gaining both types of knowledge. Business owners, particularly small business owners are usually better with a reasonable knowledge about a lot of business related functions. They can, after all employ experts to do particular functions that require more specialised knowledge.

You could argue that running a business is a specific skill in itself and can be developed into expertise, but I guess it’s all relative. You have a finite amount of time to learn an infinite amount of possible things. The fun, I guess is deciding what best fits in with your long term plans.

If you want to be a business person, you need to learn what’s needed to be a successful business person, and focus on that until you’re as good as you can be. Maybe learning to be a good recruiter (of labour and freelancers) is more valuable than acquiring the knowledge to be able to do those particular functions yourself.

Should you spend your limited time, acquiring the knowledge for implementing an effective marketing strategy, understanding the principles that drive human psychology, so you know an effective advert and offer when you see one. Or should you spend your time gathering the knowledge and perfecting the skill to be able to create great visuals for your adverts, and write amazingly persuasive copy that entices your audience to your offer, for yourself, so you can be self sufficient.

These are the kind of choices you need to make in your pursuit of knowledge. It all depends on what you’re trying to achieve, I guess. It’s all about prioritising, which is dependant on what you’re trying to achieve as part of your end game (goal).

 

 

How To Lose That Belly Fat

Get Results: lose belly fat
Get Results: lose belly fat

When it comes to losing weight, many people’s focus is directed primarily on their wobbly belly fat and trying to squeeze in to that old pair of jeans still hanging in the wardrobe. Belly fat or “subcutaneous fat” to give it its technical name, is the loose fat we grab from our midriff when we are testing to see if we can pinch an inch. We loathe it predominantly because of its aesthetic appearance, particularly when we are fed the flawless hard bodies shown on magazine covers and mainstream media.

The more worrying “Visceral fat” which can be found around the organs like the liver, pancreas and intestines is much more dangerous for our health, but because it can’t be seen, is not very well known about. You would need to undertake an MRI scan to see it. Visceral fat tends to be the fat that appears first when you gain weight and thankfully is the first to lose when you lose weight.

Some of my friends who are trying to lose weight have asked about how best to lose inches from their waist in a spot reducing type of remedial action, particularly if a holiday deadline is fast approaching and they want to look as trim as possible.

Now I’ve always said this is difficult, even impossible to achieve, although the muscles in a particular area can be toned by doing specific exercise to that area. For the stomach, you would need to do sit-ups to tone those mid-section muscles. This might help in tightening the muscles and as a result cutting some of the inches, but this would have to be part of a wider strategy of consuming less calories through diet and aerobic exercise to burn additional calories.

Belly fat reduction study

I then noticed a recent study conducted by the BBC “Trust me I’m a doctor” team who recruited 2 doctors who are experts in the field, Fredrik Karpe, a professor of metabolic medicine from the University of Oxford, and Prof Dylan Thompson, from the University of Bath, along with 35 volunteers. The volunteers would take part in a number of tests to see which was more successful in losing belly fat and provided other health benefits.

Before the six week study began, each person underwent health parameter checks and measurements, including undertaking a DEXA scan which gives detailed information about how much fat each participant had and where it was distributed in the body, along with resting heart rate, blood glucose, blood lipids, weight, blood pressure and of course waistline measurements.

Prof Thompson then took on two groups for two types of exercises, while Prof Karpe took two groups for two dietary interventions for a six week test.

Group #1 – volunteers were told to eat as normal but told to be more active in their normal routine, increasing their step count for instance.

Group #2 – volunteers were told to do sit-ups, including six exercises three times a day, every day for six weeks.

Group #3 – volunteers were told to drink milk 3 times a day (1 litre in total) as it has been suggested that milk prevents the body absorbing fat, instead excreting it as waste when you go to the loo.

Group #4 – volunteers were told to reduce portion sizes and stop snacking in between meals. They were given coping strategies for dealing with hunger pangs and supported by a dietitian throughout the study period.

Results

At the end of the six weeks study all participants had their parameters tested again. The results were as follows:

Group 1 – who were more active. didn’t lose any fat but had greatly improved health measurements such as blood pressure and even blood glucose levels.

Group 2 – who did the sit-ups, didn’t lose weight or get any healthier but did lose 2 cm from their waistlines, which backs up my hypotheses that toning the muscles would impact waist size.

Group 3 – who underwent the milk test, didn’t lose weight or improve their health. However they didn’t gain weight either even though they had consumed an extra 400 calories a day from drinking the milk

Group 4 – who consumed smaller portion sizes and stopped snacking lost 35kg between them which was an average of 3.7kg each, over the six weeks. Their waistline also reduced by an average of 2 inches. The DEXA scan readings showed 5% less body fat and an impressive 14% reduction of the dangerous visceral fat inside the abdomen. This group lost overall body fat as well as abdominal fat. They also saw improvements in other health parameters. On the downside they also lost some muscle mass, due to muscle cannibalisation, which is common with weight loss.

Conclusion

So the BBC study provided a clear winner in group #4, who cut calories by reducing portion size and stopped snacking in between meals. So the lesson to learn is that if you want to lose that stubborn belly fat, cut your calories. You don’t have to go mad, just reduce portion sizes and keep away from snacking in between meals.

However to prevent muscle loss, which is an inevitable side-effect of dieting, undertake some muscle building or toning exercise in addition to your diet reduction plan.

If you want to tone your stomach muscles, which will help reduce your waistline, than exercising that region is the way to go, particularly using stomach crunches. To do effective stomach crunches…

  • Lie on your back, knees bent and feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart.
  • Place your hands on your thighs, across your chest or behind your ears.
  • Slowly curl up towards your knees until your shoulders are about three inches off the floor.
  • Hold the position for a few seconds and lower down slowly.

When doing crunches avoid…

  • Tucking your neck into your chest as you rise
  • Contracting your abs throughout the exercise
  • Yanking your head off the floor

Hope you found this article informative, please share it with your friends and family if you did. Also check out my Weight loss ultimate guide for more health information.