Who Knew Amazon Reviews Could be So Useful?!

I got a brilliant tip from Paul Elliott, an Internet Marketing Ninja! He led an expert session at a 4Networking Make It Happen Monday event earlier this month.

He shared with the group how powerful Amazon Reviews can be and not in the way you might think! He explained the power of them in helping you find out where demand is for your products and/or services.

I'm a huge advocate that every business owner should be creating products based around their business. You should write books, create DVDs, host workshops, and hold seminars all based around your area of expertise.

Paul shared a huge nugget of gold with us. If you are wondering what to write about or which particular area of your expertise to focus on, then check out the reviews on Amazon.

Let me explain. Search on Amazon for books which have been written about your industry or chosen subject and scroll down to the reviews. You're looking for the detailed reviews; not the ones which just say "This is a great book, buy it!" What you want are the reviews which give detailed feedback.

For example: Nick Dougan's review of Inbound Marketing goes into some detail. Nick is a Top 1,000 reviewer on Amazon so you can take it his reviews are always pretty good and spot on. Have a read through and you'll see him highlight some areas which he found interesting:

1. Using social media along with search engine optimisation and customer conversions
2. Explaining the different social media platforms
3. Converting customers
4. Using landing pages on your website
5. Sing up forms so you can get customer contact details
6. Autoresponders & email marketing
7. Focusing on strategy
8. Negative about quality of paper used in printing book - so think about this with yours

So from just 1 review of a book about Internet Marketing I've found 7 points worth focusing on and a great tip to avoid - make sure your book is published professional using quality paper.
And I love Nick Dougan's final comment: "If there is a better book covering this subject matter in such an integrated way, please use "comment" to tell me about it."

That tells me if I was an Internet Marketing person and I wrote a book based around these points, then it would be worthwhile, because if Nick Dougan is interested in a similar book to Inbound Marketing, then I'm sure there will be plenty of others too.

So if you're considering writing a book; holding a seminar or webinar, or launching a new product or service, before you do get yourself onto Amazon and check out some of the relevant reviews of products in similar markets to yours. You'll find out what others like and dislike and this useful feedback might just be really useful to you.

See also - Have You Productised Your Business Yet?

Have You Productised Your Business yet?

I'm constantly looking to stretch myself and learn more from life. I think this is one of the ways we grow; become better people; become more successful. I'd hate to stagnate. I'm never going to be someone who accepts life as it is. I believe there are people who go through life accepting the cards they have been dealt; accepting mediocrity. This is a crying shame.

I'm the opposite - I strive to further myself and to grow and become the best I can be. Thanks to this way of thinking I chose to attend one of Peter Thomson's brilliant seminars in London in September 2010. It was a product creation seminar.

Every Business Should Have Products
Peter spent the day explaining how important it is for every business to have products which it can sell and what he means by products is physical products such as books, CD Audios and DVDs with content based around your business and your area of expertise.

My Book
My book "31 Mistakes Every Online Business Makes" is a great example of a product which I created to share my knowledge and help other people. I've already had it turned into a Kindle version so people with a Kindle and people with an iPhone or iPad can download it via the Amazon Kindle website. And thanks to Phil Clarkson, a Bristol based business trainer, I'm now creating an audiobook version of it.
Phil saw my book and congratulated me but explained he would never buy it. At first I was a tad upset, but Phil immediately explained that he doesn't like to read books, but he loves to listen to books in his car! So one product very quickly turned into three products!

Leverage
Brad Sugars, the CEO and Founder of ActionCoach shared with me at one of his seminars the secret of "Leverage". Brad explained the beauty of leverage was only doing the work once and getting paid over and over and over again! Brad's written over 14 books on business and he gets paid each and every time somone buys one of his books. Compare this to any consultantcy or training based business where you get paid for your time. Sure, the money can still be good, but we only have 24 hours a day and most people only work a maximum of 10 hours so you only really have 10 hours to bill out your services. So you have to keep on keeping on!

Every time you get paid, you have to do the work all over again. If you run seminars you have to keep doing the same seminar over and over again. However, instead, you could record a video of your seminar and then sell it on DVD. Now wouldn't that be cool? Think how many times people have said to you, "I'd have loved to come to that but I can't make that date." If you had a DVD of your seminar you could sell them a copy to watch at their leisure! 

What Products can you Create?
So think about your business - what products can you create? When I ask people this question I usually get the standard repsonses of "I can't write" or "I don't have anything worth sharing" or "I don't want to share my secrets; my competitors will copy me" etc.

Lucky for you Peter Thomson says you can; you do and you should share! Each and every one of us is unique with a wealth of experience, advice and guidance we can share with our target market. If you're a business coach, your experience of life and business and coaching is completely different to any other business coach out there.

So get your thinking cap on and start creating products for your business. No matter what your business is, you can create a product or products which will provide useful advice to your target audience.

• If you're a car valeter, you could sell DVDs showing people how to polish a car properly.
• If you're a personal fitness trainer, record your exercise sessions and create a DVD.
• If you're an estate agent, start using video to market your client's houses.
• If you have a blog and been writing it for a while now, use your blog posts and turn them into a book!

What products have you created for your business? Please share them by adding a comment below.

Why You Should @Reply on Twitter

Did you know that if I start a Tweet with the @ symbol when I reply to somebody, for example:

@jamieforster Yes let's do that; good plan mate.

only people who follow both Jamie Forster and I will see the tweet in their Twitter stream.

A lot of people worry about being "too noisy" on Twitter and so don't want to reply to people or carry on a conversation with people on Twitter for fear of filling other followers' streams with the tweets.

By knowing this, more people will engage with each other in conversations on Twitter without having to worry about drowning the streams of their other followers.

You can watch the video below on this by Gary Vaynerchuk - "The @ system, do you understand it?" where Gary explains that most people he speaks to had no idea about this aspect of the @ reply feature.


You'll see that Gary is very passionate about this!!

So start to use the @ reply and don't worry about drowning your followers with your conversations. Actually, it's quite important that you do @ reply to people - one of the criteria I and many others use when choosing to follow people on Twitter is whether they have conversations. The @ reply in your timeline shows me that you engage with others and I like that.

If your Twitter feed is just full of broadcast message then I won't follow you back.

The screenshot below shows you what I mean:

However, if your Twitter feed has @ reply messages as well as content then I am way more likely to follow you back. 

The screenshot below of @thebrandbuilder shows you a good mix:

So don't worry about replying to your Twitter connections with the @ reply. In fact, I suggest you should do it more often. Not only does it show to potential followers that you'll engage in conversation with them; it will make your Twitter connections deeper and more enriched.

4 Steps to Help You Develop Persistence

As many of you know, I'm a huge fan of "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill.

If you would like a copy of his book you can enter my FREE prize draw here -

This was me finishing the Windsor Triathlon!

www.thinkandgrowrichoffer.co.uk

The following is an excerpt from the book which I hope you'll find useful.

How to Develop Persistence

There are four simple steps which lead to the habit of persistence. They call for no great amount of intelligence, no particular amount of education and but little time or effort.

1. A definite purpose backed by a burning desire for its fulfillment
2. A definite plan, expressed in continuous action
3. A mind closed tightly against all negative and discouraging influences, including negative suggestions of relatives, friends and acquaintances
4. A friendly alliance with one or more persons who will encourage one to follow through with both plan and purpose

These four steps are essential for success in all walks of life. The entire purpose of the thirteen principles (from Think and Grow Rich) is to enable one to take these four steps as a matter of habit.

There is a magnificent reward for all who learn to take these four steps. It is the privilege of writing one's own ticket, and making life yield whatever price is asked.

I speak to hundreds of business owners in the UK and most of them don't have a definite of purpose, or a goal of where they are heading. Without knowing this how can you back it with a burning desire?

I have had huge success from applying many of the 13 principles in Napoleon Hill's book and the 4 steps laid out above are one of the key "secrets" to success.

I urge you to get your hands on a copy of "Think and Grow Rich" and begin applying Hill's 13 principles as soon as you can. I'm giving away a FREE copy of a beautiful, hard back version of the book, every fortnight until the end of next year, 2012! Go to www.thinkandgrowrichoffer.co.uk to enter your chance of grabbing your FREE copy.

My New Business Book!

I justed wanted to share with you this video blog which is a quick plug for my new book - 31 Mistakes Every Online Business Makes.


You can register your interest today by going to www.31mistakes.co.uk

Twitter Spam & How to Avoid It

There has been a recent wave of Spam on Twitter.

The main way the spammers use Twitter is by hacking into accounts and sending Direct Messages (DMs) to people with links to dodgy websites. The website will ask you to enter your Twitter username and password.

PLEASE NOTE: Twitter will NEVER ask you to download something or sign-in to a non-Twitter website.

You receive the DM and because it's from someone you know you can be tricked into clicking the link and because the website seems like a Twitter log in page you think nothing of it and enter your details.
The recent one doing the rounds was like the one in the example below.

I've hidden the id of the sender to protect them. The tweet reads: "I saw a bad blog about you. Have you seen this?" Followed by the link.

I use Hootsuite to manage many of my social media accounts such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, which is what I recommend to every one. You don't need to download any software - you just go to www.hootsuite.com.

In the image above you'll see there is a + symbol to the right of the URL in the tweet. If you click on this it expands into a box like the one in the image so you can check the URL and see where it's actually going. In this example you can see the WARNING sign and so you would never click the link.

So DO NOT click any links in DMs unless you were expecting a message with a link from the person and if you use Hootsuite you can check the URL first by clicking the + symbol first.

What to do if you are hacked
On speaking to some of the people I know locally who have had their Twitter accounts hacked I realised that many of them didn't know what to do about the hacking and how to secure their Twitter account.

I also realised that many didn't fully understand why these spammers or hackers do this. So I'm just going to explain and hopefully this will help a lot of people.

If your Twitter account is compromised go to the Twitter support site here: https://support.twitter.com/articles/31796

The hackers and spammers do this to get your password. Once they get your password they can then log in and send more DM spam to other unsuspecting people on Twitter and capture more passwords.

They want your password because way too many people use the same password for other website such as PayPal. If the hackers can get into your PayPal account they can spend your money!

So be warned. If your Twitter account has been compromised make sure you change your password on all the websites where you use the same password. And STOP using the same password for everything.

If you want a brilliant new system for creating and remembering passwords go to the Oxford Internet Institute website here: https://passwordcard.oii.ox.ac.uk/ This is a fantastic system!

The Circle of Life - How Family Support Helps Breed Success

I was watching the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend and saw a few shots on television which got me thinking.

Jenson Button's dad was there. Sebastian Vettel's dad was there. Mark Webber's dad was there. Felippe Massa's dad was there.

They were all there supporting their son's in the race. There was something special about it, it felt good to see the dad's all intently focused on the TV screens in the pit garages as they cheered their sons on. I'll never forget the passion John Button showed at Brazil when his son Jenson won the World Champioship.

This photo was taken in Japan as Jenson's dad and Sebastian Vettel's dad watched their sons on the podium.

My Dad's Support
It reminded me of my school days when I played football for my school and a local league club team. My dad came to every home game we played. It was magic to have him stood there on the sidelines cheering me on. I was a goalkeeper and his cheers when I made a great save filled me full of pride and  his encouraging words as I picked the ball out of the back of my net after the opposition had scored were a huge help to me.

There is no doubt when dad was at a game I stepped up my efforts and played much better in those matches. He was great with the other players too and I often got comments from some of the others such as "I wish I had a dad who was cool like your's." And "My dad never comes to our games, you're so lucky."

Affect our Parents Have
And it got me thinking about our businesses and the affect our parents have had on our success. Now don't get me wrong - I'm not giving you an excuse to blame your parents on any lack of current success!

My dad was always there for me and never stole any of my dreams; quite the opposite; he encouraged me to reach for the moon. In fact, when I went to him back in 1988 with the idea to join me in an MLM business, NSA, selling water filters, he came to a meeting and joined there and then. We built a great little business when his doctor and accountant joined the network. It was so cool to be working with my dad on a part time business.

I lost my dad to cancer in 2000 and I really miss his support, advice and guidance. But I'm lucky; I've got a great step-father who is also always there for me and his constant support and advice has been priceless. Thanks Al!!

Amazing Support of my Step-Father
My day to day business activities are varied and now I'm a non-executive director of Nominet my work load has increased dramatically and it's been invaluable to have my step-father to talk to and get advice and opinions.

To have had great advice and support during those moments when a key decision in my life has been needed, have made a huge difference in my life. We've all been there when we reach those crossroads and we have to decide what the right next step is. When we get head hunted or when we've been made redundant - what next? What do we do? These are my options but which one is the right one? To have our parents there for those key moments is priceless.

My Wonderful Mum
My Mum is always there for me. We speak every other day on the phone and she is the best listener in the world. I ring her and tell her everything and she just listens and then offers her support and opinion. She's amazing. I love you Mum! xx

Cancer Research UK
When dad died I decided to raise money for Imperial Cancer Research, now Cancer Research UK, in his memory. To date I've raised just over £20,000 for CRUK and I'm so, so proud. I took up triathlon in 2001 and have done 8 triathlons all for charity to raise money in dad's memory. My website www.formydad.co.uk has more information if you're interested.

I'll never forget doing the Crystal Palace triathlon and my mum and step-father came along to cheer me on. Having swum and biked I then had to run 6.5 miles and the final part was a couple of laps inside the awesome Crystal Palace athletic track. As I entered the stadium I was struggling; my legs hurt and my breathing was really laboured. Then I saw my step-father going nuts, shouting and cheering me on and I nearly broke down in tears there and then. It was amazing and although I was on my last legs his encouragement got me round those last laps of the track. A really special day.

My father-in-law has made a huge difference to my life too. As a successful businessman his advice has been so valuable and he too supports and encourages me. He came along to my very first triathlon in Stratford-upon-Avon and he printed two huge banners with my name on with an image of a runner!

This photo of it is in a bar when my wife, father-in-law and friends enjoyed lunch whilst I was racing round the countryside on my bike!

So our parents are so important in our early lives and I am blessed to have a gorgeous mum and wonderful step-father and to have had the best dad in the world. They made me the guy I am today, their encouragement and support was life changing and I thank you Mum and Al and Dad from the bottom of my heart. Our parent-in-laws can also make a huge difference too. I love you all so much xxx

However, other guys I know weren't so lucky and aren't so lucky even now. Many of the guys I've met didn't have a decent relationship with their dads and it's proved critical. I know two such men from my city days who's dad's were never there for them. Too busy working or away on business and one dad who was just so old fashioned that they had never hugged or embraced. How sad is that?

Now I know I'm more tactile than most but the bond with a father and son is special and those hugs are so important. And their help and support is vital in our up bringing.

The circle of life

Its made me realise that we need to be there for our children and we need our parents to be there for us too. It's like the circle of life. I need the support, encouragement and advice of my parents and my daughter needs the same.

I'll never miss another of my daughter's swimming galas or any future sporting occasion. Recently I've taken her karting in Bristol and she really enjoys it. Who knows - one day maybe I'll be flying round the world to support her as she races in F1!! Now wouldn't that be cool?!

I work from home a lot of the time and I am so thankful for that. This gives me the flexibility to be able to go along to her school to support her, like my dad used to support me. Recently she was playing her guitar in a school concert. I moved heaven and earth to be there and her face lit up when she saw me and my wife walk in. That meant everything to me and more importantly, it meant everything to our daughter.

Be there for your children
So think about your business and your life and if you have children then think about the positive affect you can have on their lives. Life is so fragile - here today, gone tomorrow. Don't let work rule your life. If your son or daughter has sports day or a football match or hockey game, then drop everything and make sure you're there on the sidelines cheering them on.

When you come home from a busy day at the office and your son or daughter comes running up to tell you all about their day at school, make sure you take the time to listen to them. And I mean really listen to them. Give them your undivided attention and show them how much you truly care.

And as they go out into the world to make their fortune remember how important your love, encouragement, support and advice is in helping their success.

Start making a difference today. When your children come home tonight, tell them how proud you and how much you love them. Hug them. And make sure you're at their next big school occasion.

Call them today

If your children are older and working, stop what you're doing and call them and tell them how proud you are. It will make their day. Make the time to meet up with them and spend time with them. It's so easy in today's busy world not to make time for family, but it's the bed rock of the circle of life.

And don't forget your parents - even if they haven't always been there for you - just pick up the phone and call them too. Call them and tell them you love them and thank them for all their support and tell them how proud you are to have them as your mum and dad. And then book a date to go and see them and make it one to remember.

If you haven't got children and you've lost your parents - then call me and I'll tell you how proud I am of you!  My mobile is 07976 614043 of you can email at dickie at dickiearmour.me.uk

Don't let life take over and smother you - take time out to tell your loved ones you truly care and that you are so proud of them. Take time to be there at those major events in their life to support them. Support your children emotionally and thank your parents for everything they've done for you.

You can't imagine the difference it will make to them.