Friday, June 5, 2009

Achieve Your Results - 7 Principles to Stay on Course

Do you ever find you are going in one direction and suddenly you turn from that direction and you follow a new path? As you are on the new path another path comes along and you are soon following that path? Soon you find you have lost your focus. Learn to stay focused and going in a clear direction by applying these principles to your life.

1. Know your purpose. What have you decided to do with your life? What is it that inspires you in what you are doing? Be clear in your mind of what your purpose is for you.

2. Focus on your purpose. Focus is key. Learn to be laser focused on what you desire to accomplish.

3. Don't allow distractions. You will always encounter distractions. There is a lot of noise clamouring for your attention. We can be easily distracted if our focus is not sharp and our purpose is not clear. Don't let distractions take you away from your purpose.

4. Know your direction. Study and know your path. Know where it is you are going. Have a clear map that you will follow to success.

5. Establish your direction. Well-established plans are not easily shaken. Plant yourself firmly in the work you are doing.

6. Order your steps. Have a plan that is precise and on target. Your plan must be so clear that you always know that you are working on target and what you must do next.

7. Be sure in your purpose. Have you ever known a sure thing or a person who is sure of themselves?

They are not doubtful or indecisive. They know what they are about and they are on course. Let your purpose be sure - well-established and not distracted. Follow the direction you should go and live on purpose.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Pat_L_Anderson

Marketing Strategies - 4 Keys to Making Yours Work

So, you are excited because you have discovered the perfect marketing strategy for your business. But before you get too overjoyed, take time to sit down and do a full analysis of your strategy to ensure its success. The worst thing you can do is have a really great marketing strategy only to have it fail because you didn't properly evaluate it to determine exactly how this new strategy fits into your marketing plan. Some primary areas you need to focus on include your marketing plan, target market, SWOT analysis and frequency.

Marketing Plan - Whatever you do, always have a well written marketing plan. A marketing professional can help you with this or you can find examples of marketing plans online and follow the template to create your own. Remember, the Holy Scriptures say to "write the vision and make it plain." That includes the vision for your business. So, let this be the very first thing you do to ensure success.

Target Market - Within your marketing plan, you will identify your target market or those consumers that will buy your product or service. For example, if your product is compression stockings, then, your target market will be different from that of a company that sells sheer, bodyshaping pantyhose. You would need to research consumers who might have certain medical problems or edema causing them to have to wear special hosiery. Then, you would have to find out where they purchase compression stockings. Once you identify your customers and their buying habits, then, you can proceed to pinpoint the best media with which to reach them. The best medium might be a particular trade magazine, website or radio program. Know your customers inside and out and impact them in every medium that is relative to them.

SWOT Analysis - You should always explore the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of your marketing strategy. What is it about your project that makes it great? What does it lack? What opportunities are there and are there any threats involved? Be as objective as possible when answering these questions. It will pay off later.

Frequency - When I was a radio marketing consultant, I had corporate clients who clearly understood the importance of placing ad buys with frequent rotation in order to impact listeners. But there were always those clients who thought that one or two commercials a week would literally bring the masses to their business. Not so. I remember declining a particular client because I knew his money would be wasted with one commercial spot a week. Eventually, this client decided to do a higher frequency ad schedule which resulted in better results. But, whether you're using radio, TV, direct mail or Internet, frequency is the key. Don't have unrealistic expectations for a one-time ad placement. Commit to frequency in your marketing and see the difference. It may take several impressions before your audience is ready to buy your product or service but the more they see your ad, the more credible you will become.
While all of these factors help in making your marketing strategy work, do not be afraid to re-evaluate your plan periodically to see if changes or adjustments need to be made for better results.

Louise Moore is a marketing professional, publicist and writer with several years experience in media including radio, TV and print. Her articles have been published in various publications and on numerous Internet media. Additionally, Louise has written, edited and proofread material for magazines, corporate training manuals and inspirational books. She is also editorial consultant for AIRPLAY 360, a web magazine designed for independent gospel artists. For more marketing tips and strategies, visit http://www.inspirationalmediaviews.blogspot.com/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Louise_M_Moore

Blogging - What is it and Why Would I Do It?

We first saw weblogs in the mid-90s with people taking their journals, or diaries, to the internet. It was a fun, rather quirky way for people to share their thoughts with the wider world. Net users quickly shortened weblogs to blogs and some blogs garnered an almost cult following.

The popularity of blogging really began to take off in the late 90s when software was created just to facilitate the ease of creating and maintaining a blog. OpenDiary created the first blog community in 1998 and introduced interactivity by allowing readers to be able to comment. In 1999, blogger.com was launched and this service was to bring blogs to the masses. In the decade since their introduction, blogs have taken off on a scale that would have dumbfounded the first bloggers. There are still bloggers who use their blog as an online diary of sorts but the purposes of blogs are almost as varied as the people doing the blogging. As technology has advanced, so have the ways to blog. Additions like audio blogging (podcasting) and video blogging (vlogging) have made blogging a rich, multimedia experience.

Blogs are one of the easiest ways to establish a web presence, as there are many blog platforms that eliminate the need to learn how to create a website. Blogger.com is still one of the most popular of the free blogging options. Purchased by Google in 2003, blogger.com offers anyone the option of creating one or more blogs in a matter of minutes. Blogger.com not only has the platform but even provides the web space so that users don't incur hosting charges.

Another popular blog platform is the WordPress platform. WordPress started out in 2003 and is an open source platform. Open source is code that is basically a collaboration with many coders and programmers. No licensing is required and anyone can freely use and modify the code to improve usability or add features. This has resulted in WordPress being the most customizable platform and added to its popularity. Today's blogs are still being used for online diaries but even more are being created every day for a myriad of purposes. Politicians use blogs to tell their constituents what they stand for. Journalists are blogging the news as it happens. Celebrities, like actors and authors, are keeping in touch with their fanbase. Businesses use blogs to inform their customers of new products and developments.

Blogging is an easy way for anyone to be able to express themselves online. There's no need to learn complicated programming or coding and a blog can be set up almost instantly. You can use your blog to communicate and share with people in ways that email just doesn't allow. Updating your blog is easy to do from just about anywhere you are. If you're at home on your desktop or on the train with a laptop or a cell phone - if you can get online, you can publish to your blog. So if you're not blogging already, what are you waiting for?

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cathy_A_Lindsay