I’ve been undecided about what to write today. As most of you know I always write about what’s been going on in my life. I’m a great believer in people buy from those they like and trust and try to build relationships with my lovely subscribers.

I also always say never write about negative or sad things.

But today I’m breaking my rules! Sadly my wonderful aunt died last Friday. Sunday we had the funeral and last night we had a beautiful memorial service for her.

My aunt bless her was a good age; she was 89 and had a wonderful life. We were very close; she was like a grandmother to me as mine died when I was very young.

Often when we are faced with death or sad things it makes us reflect on our lives. We are only given one life and it’s so important to live it free from regret.

My aunt’s carer came up to me yesterday and told me how proud my aunt was of me, all my achievements both in business and personal. I do feel proud of what I have achieved and often forget how far I’ve come. When I went to Downing Street for Best Mumpreneur of the Year my aunt and all my family were so proud of me.

Remember your dreams, your aspirations. Dreams CAN come true. Sometimes they just need a bit of work:)

What are your dreams? What do you hope to aspire to?

I feel very privileged to be able to be in a position where I can choose the hours I work, how much time I want to work, be able to pick up Emily every day from school and of course earn a good income.

But it wasn’t always like that. I chose to have my working life like that. I’ve chosen a path where I can spend more time at home and be with my family. Yes, it can still be stressful, but I have “procedures” in place to help reduce the stress. We all get stressed, its natural, it’s how we deal and cope with it.

Today I’m back at work so please do give me a call on 07590 554292 if you would like to have a chat about how I can help you with your business or if you have questions about Yournetbiz.

Being in a network marketing business and in particular, making money online there is a lot of hype in this business.

Do you believe in the hype? Are you sucked in?

Should I as a mentor and someone who is clearly trying to get you to sign up with my opportunity, Yournetbiz be using it?

What is hype anyway? Who is attracted to it?  Does it sell?

Well clearly it does sell but it only attracts a certain type of person.

Personally I avoid the hype like the plague!  Websites with fancy cars, fancy houses, just don’t do it for me.  Should they when I’m trying to make money?

Does seeing a picture of a nice car and lovely big house make me want to buy from you?  Does it automatically mean I’m going to have a piece of that too?

Well sadly it doesn’t.

Hype is old school.

Sex and money have always sold well.  They are appealing to others.  They are news worthy stories in magazines, papers and TV.  People are naturally drawn to them looking for get rich quick schemes.

But do they work?

How many of us have been sucked into buying a product because of an eye-catching  advert and then been  thoroughly disappointed that it didn’t live up to our expectations.  Is it clever marketing or hype?  Is there a difference?

Ok, so you’re looking to make money online.  By showing that one has got lots of fancy cars, a huge house and go on holiday 4 times a year to 5* accommodation is showing that they have made lots of money.  But does that necessarily mean that you will?

Let’s look at the maths.  The people who have made their money and are living this amazing lifestyle that we are seeking don’t have time to help you achieve it.  They are too busy going on holiday, playing golf and having lunch.

Now I’m not for one minute suggesting you go with someone who is a pauper and hasn’t achieved financial success.

Let’s think about the scenario above for a moment.  If you’re looking for an opportunity to make money online are you going to be attracted to all the hype that goes with it?  OR be attracted to a new approach.

I’m talking about attraction marketing.  People buy from those they like and trust.  Can we sell “make money online opportunities” without the hype?  And if so, how?

Firstly hype and marketing are two different things.  Every business needs marketing in order for it to survive.  It’s how you brand yourself and your business.

By becoming a leader and an expert in your field people will naturally be drawn to you so they can learn and duplicate what you have done to achieve success.  Do we really need to show people our income so they believe us?  Is this business that sceptical? Or are we just showing off?

Whether you believe in the hype or don’t is a huge debate and I look forward to receiving your comments.

A short video about one of the many questions I receive from people wishing to sign up to Your Net Biz. Can I make money in time for Christmas?  Here are a couple of ideas to get you started…

When times are hard, your business will have to put in that extra effort to attract the loyal customer. You may have the best quality product, but your competitor may offer the best value – and that is why the customers are going there.

Value is not merely about ‘quality’, especially if that quality has too high a price tag. In fact value is a balanced combination of a number of things: price, features, how well-made is the product and the benefits to the purchaser. In summary value answers the questions: what is it worth to the customer and how well does it meet their needs?

For example, if the customer primarily wants transport for shopping at the local supermarket, they probably do not want a Rolls Royce.

So, while you may have the best-made product with the most features, do your customers think that they can afford it in a weak economy? It all depends on your marketing approach and how you represent ‘best’ and price.

Value is perceived

There are no fundamental values in your marketplace that cannot be influenced by good marketing. You need to understand your customers and provide a solution to their problems. If you do, you will be providing value to them.

If your solution provides much more than they expect, then that perceived value may increase, subject to cost. If you can provide products of exceptional quality but at a reduced cost, then you have a high-value offering. But quality relates to the ability to meet the customer’s needs and is subjective. In many instances this perception can be influenced to create greater demand.

A possible place to start

Information products can provide the basis for low-cost, high-quality offers that result in the perception of high value. These products can be developed with little time and money. Using the Internet they can be duplicated and delivered ad infinitum. Since the manufacturing costs are reasonably low, you can create bundles of these products as high-value packages without additional cost. Then instant delivery, via the Internet, will result in instant customer satisfaction.

Marketing over the Internet

You can market most things over the Internet. However, some market niches are more suited to this medium than others. To those providing high quality, low cost and quick delivery, the Internet can be a blessing in difficult economic times. You need to concentrate on products and services where you can influence the perception of value. This will help keep demand constant or even increase it during hard times. For the next few years at least, value will be the key factor in both online and offline marketing strategy.

Hi everyone

Just a very quick update to welcome my latest team member, Donna Bond. Today Donna came over to my house for a one to one mentoring session. We had a lovely day together and I am confident that Donna is going to be a huge success with Your Net Biz.

Check out our video below!

So, who said marketing was expensive?  Who said paid marketing was the best way?  Below are 50 of my favourite FREE methods to market my business.  I try and use them all and have had very successful results with each and every one of them.  Which methods will you use?  Don’t forget to let me know how you get on and which results work well for you.

1. Networking
2. www.youtube.com
3. www.viddler.com
4. www.facebook.com
5. www.ecademy.com
6. www.linkedn.com
7. www.trafficswarm.com
8. www.craigslist.org
9. Forums
10. http://www.bttradespace.com/
11. www.twitter.com
12. http://hubpages.com/
13. http://www.squidoo.com/
14. www.myspace.com
15. Ezines
16. www.bebo.com
17. http://www.ezinearticles.com/
18. www.wordpress.com
19. www.blogger.com
20. http://www.thearticledirectory.org/
21. www.digg.com
22. http://www.jumptags.com/
23. www.vivastreet.co.uk
24. www.ebay.com
25. http://www.usenet.org/
26. www.problogger.com
27. http://www.affiliateshowcase.com/
28. http://www.prweb.com/
29. http://www.prleap.com/
30. www.clickbank.com
31. http://www.trafficexchangelist.com/
32. http://www.hitvortex.com/
33. Postcards
34. Flyers
35. Back of Car Bumper
36. Testimonials
37. Article Submission Sites
38. Free Classified Ads
39. http://www.socialmarker.com/
40. http://www.uniquearticlewizard.com/
41. http://www.weebly.com/
42. http://www.mybloglog.com/
43. www.ping.fm
44. www.businessscene.com
45. http://www.business-scene.com/
46. http://betternetworking.co.uk/
47. http://technorati.com/
48. www.gumtree.com
49. http://www.onlinemarketingtoday.com/software/link-management-assistant/
50. Network with your family, friends, colleagues and wider circle

I hope the above tips help you.  There are many more free places to promote your business, but these are just a few to get you started!  It’s important to remember that effective marketing doesn’t always equal big budget.

Below is a short video which I did yesterday with my 5 year old daughter.  It’s been half term and I feel very fortunate that I have been able to hardly work throughout the week so that I can spend time with her.  We’ve been to London, had parties, Beaconsifeld village, the farm and various other fun activities!

For me, this is what it’s all about, I joined Your Net Biz so that I could spend lots of time with my family whilst at the same time earn a fantastic income, which before joining seemed like an impossible dream!

What is Your Net Biz? What’s it all about? What do you get? This informative video tells you everything!

Most people starting up their own business don’t have a big budget or very little to spend on their marketing efforts. But do you really need to spend a huge amount anyway?  With social media playing a huge role in many companies marketing strategies it’s cut the cost of most marketing budgets.

Below are my favourite top 10 FREE marketing strategies that I use and personally can recommend. The important thing to remember is to be consistent with your marketing and to do it regularly. I would recommend doing each of the following on a weekly basis. I have seen amazing results and you can too!

1. Youtube

Youtube was founded in February 2005 and now is ranked No. 4 of the top sites on the web. It has millions of people watching video’s every day so is a great way to increase your SEO (make sure you choose your key words wisely) by driving people to your website(s). Don’t be shy about networking on Youtube as well. Post comments and build up a subscription base. Youtube is a really great way to not only drive traffic to your website but also generate business. Check out my channel here

2. Article Submission

Writing articles and submitting them to the various directories is another free and great method to bring people to your website. It also helps you become an expert within your chosen niche. There are many article directories that you can submit to, below are my favourite ones:

EzineArticles
GoArticles
WebProNews
ArticleDashboard

3. Blogging

Blogging is an excellent method that should be used as part of your online marketing plan. It is a great way for getting people connected to you and drives people to your website. By posting regularly you also raise your profile online. One of the most immediate great things about blogging is getting people to comment and seeing discussions start. This gains interest to the blog and back to your company, particularly if you do it well and consistently.

You can set up a blog for free. I recommend using http://www.wordpress.com or http://www.blogger.com

Check out my blog here

4. Twitter

Twitter would have to be the fastest growing site on the web today. It is currently ranked 13th of the most used websites on the web and is taking the internet by a storm. There are around 10,000+ new users per day signing up to join.

Twitter is best described as a micro blogging platform. You are limited to 140 characters each time you do an update, which initially, may seem a small amount. However, as you become more experienced, it’s just amazing what you can fit into 140 characters.

Twitter is one huge global chat room, but then again, it doesn’t have to be. It all depends on how many people you follow on Twitter.

I highly recommend using Twitter for business, it’s a fabulous way to drive traffic to your website as well as gain business. Follow me here

5. Facebook

Facebook is the 2nd most used website on the web (after Google). It’s a social utility that connects people, to keep up with friends, upload photos, share links and videos. It’s also a fabulous way to promote your business, drive traffic to your website and gain new business. Connect with me on Facebook here

6. Squidoo

Squidoo is a popular publishing platform and community that makes it easy for you to create “lenses” online. Lenses are pages, kind of like flyers or signposts or overview articles, that gather everything you know about your topic of interest. Another great free way of promoting your business and driving traffic to your website. Check out my lens here

7. Free Classified ads

There are various websites where you can place a classified advert for free. Here are my favourites:

http://uk.freeads.net/#
http://www.vivastreet.co.uk/
http://www.classifieds.co.uk/#
http://www.freeukclassifieds.co.uk/

8. Ecademy

Ecademy is a Social Business Network founded in 1998. Ecademy enables business people to connect through online networking as well as business networking events. You are also able to post blogs, and “marketplace listings”. Ecademy is a great way to generate business together with driving people to your website. Connect with me here

9. LinkedIn

LinkedIn is an interconnected network of experienced professionals from around the world, representing 170 industries and 200 countries with over 48 million members. LinkedIn is another great online network which raises your profile online, drives people to your business and generates business. Connect with me here

10. Network

Okay the last free place is pretty obvious but often forgotten. I recently went to one of my daughter’s friend’s birthday party. I met a guy that I hadn’t seen for ages and, of course we got talking. I had no idea that he was interested in Online Marketing and when I told him about what I was doing now he was incredibly keen and wanted to know more about it. He also had a few friends who liked the opportunity. (By the way after the party we got chatting via Facebook too!) Networking amongst your friends, family, colleagues and wider circles is a huge and incredibly powerful way to get business. People buy from those they like and trust, and who better to buy from you?

Don’t forget to do simple measures to ensure that you can network wherever you go! Always take your business cards with you and don’t be afraid to talk business at social gatherings.

I hope the above tips help you. There are many more free places to promote your business, but these are just a few to get you started! It’s important to remember that effective marketing doesn’t always equal big budget.