Well the new TV anyway, YouTube. I’ve just finished working on a new video and I think I’m improving…

It’s to replace my old dodgy one on the frontpage of my website. My favourite description of it was “annoyed and constipated.” So now, check out the new version right here and see what other strange emotions I can convey through the magic of video.

It answers the curious question of: “How can I improve my website?”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqaT74TSxS0[/youtube]

And while you’re surfing the website, you may notice some clues about my upcoming plans using the words “membership” and “free.” This post was also brought to you by the number 13.

We’ve talked about becoming the expert in your field. Growing your website as a helpful resource that befriends your visitors rather than pushing sales copy in their faces. I’ve gone on and on about building a relationship with your visitors.

So when Rich Schefren and Jay Abraham released their new report, the Maven Matrix Manifesto, I know it’s something that you’ll want to read.

What is a maven? It’s their name for becoming the expert in your field. For becoming the trusted advisor. Rich and Jay have been responsible for creating hundreds of these types of personalities, not least for themselves.

For example, have you heard about a guy called Tony Robbins? I thought so. Now while you don’t have to become quite as famous there are tonnes of people and businesses that are seen as the expert in their niche.

Now it’s time to add your name to the list. Check out the free report and take notes, it’ll be well worth your time.

The Maven Matrix Manifesto.

I want more Website Traffic NOW!

This is the most common statement I hear from website owners. It seems everyone is concerned about getting more website traffic. No one seems to focus on what happens when they get that traffic, but that’s their choice.

Today I want to answer your questions on how to get more website traffic. But instead of just listing the tools you can use, I want to change the way you think about the traffic you so desperately want.

This was a long article, so I’ve posted it to HubPages so you can have a read. So go there now to read the full article called, surprisingly, “Increase website traffic by being different.” You’ll learn about the mindset that you’ll need to grow your traffic, along with 3 strategies to make your website popular.

As you should know, I look at these things a little differently than most people, so I highly suggest you check it out.

If you’re looking to market your website, you’ve probably heard a lot about Social Media and Social Marketing lately. For those that haven’t, we’re talking about using popular social media websites to promote your business.

For example, Facebook and MySpace are social networking websites. People come together to keep in touch with friends and people that share similar interests to them.

HubPages and Squidoo are two content sharing websites. Here, you can post articles and and users can comment and rate your articles.

Digg and Del.icio.us are social bookmarking websites. People put links to websites they think are worthy and their popularity increases as other people vote on them.

If you haven’t heard of some of these websites before, I’d recommend checking them out. BUT NOT AS A MARKETER. I can not stress how important it is not to become a marketer on these websites. If you’ve been following anything I wrote on marketing over the past 6 months, you’ll know that conventional marketing is dead.

Building relationships is where the future lies and the websites above let you do that. For now, it’s best to just get a feel for it and explore. It’ll be worth your time soon, I promise.

To see some examples of my pages, check out:

What makes a great business website?

The best way to become a millionaire in five years or less

Website optimization is more than just search engines

The 5 biggest secrets your web designer doesn’t know about the Internet

Also, make some time to watch this video created by StomperNet about what Social Marketing can do for your business. It includes lots of free hints and tips so have a pen ready.

Going Natural 2.0: Social Marketing

Being different gets attention. Being different makes you stand out from the crowd. Being different results in you being more successful and growing your business.

If you look at all the websites in your industry, you’ll notice something. They’re all the same. They have no personality. They have nothing that makes them stand out.

If a customer visits 5 websites that all have the same information, how do they make a choice? More importantly, how do you make them choose your business?

The answer…you don’t. You had your opportunity and you blew it. Go and stand in line over there behind the other 5,999,900 people that find it difficult to compete on the Internet.

Now. What if your website was different? What if it looked different? What if it had different content? What if the visitor’s experience was completely different?

They’ll remember you. And that means they might come back…or even buy from you. What a shock that would be!

So, go and be defferint. Do something that captures your visitors’ imaginations and you’re one step closer to dominating the web.

[youtube]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=60og9gwKh1o[/youtube]

What do you do when you fail? Let’s face it, it happens. We may not think about it as a ‘failure’ and instead turn it into a learning opportunity…but the bottom line is, occasionally…we screw up!

We all run into problems, we all have technical difficulties, and we all face frustrating times running a business. So what is your attitude when things go wrong?

I bring this up because over the last week, one of the top Internet Marketing names, Rich Schefren, has screwed up. Not once, but three times. You know what’s more painful than screwing stuff up? Doing it with a thousand customers and many more potential customers watching.

The fact is, it happens, you will disappoint people, you will have problems. The difference is how you face those problems. Do you put it behind you and move on to the solution, or do you dwell. I don’t need to point out what’s the best choice, do I?

If you’re interested in the screw ups, you can see his blog posts here and here that pretty much cover it.

So as you can see, even the big players have setbacks. The difference is how they deal with it. From now on, try not to be so hard on yourself when you have a problem and instead focus on the solution. Your business and customers will thank you for it.

It’s here! Are you excited? I am…well a little.

Yes, I’ve finally finished my first little website help video. It’s nothing impressive like the StomperNet guys produce or anything. In fact, it’s dramatically unfancy but I hope the content helps you.

It talks about the biggest problems small business owners face with their websites and then presents my blueprint for a successful website.

There’s another one on the drawing board that will go a lot more in-depth but I just wanted to test the waters with this one and see what feedback I got. So please let me know what you think in the comments below.

The short version with lovely background music (~4mins):

[youtube]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=yWuMQUH6FpM[/youtube]

The long version with my voice over explaining it (~10mins):

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnYO2YaFRAM[/youtube]

You can sign up for the next video here:
The Web Business Blunder

A little divergence today to talk about the future…

We now have this thing called Web 2.0 where everyone is putting masses of personal information on the web through social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, and Flickr.

Currently in the US, every tiny bit of personal information is dug up about a political candidate and put under the media spotlight.

So what happens when we have so much more available now.

It’ll no longer be reported that Bill Clinton smoked pot. There’ll now a video on YouTube of him doing it. How do you say you never inhaled to that?

There’ll be photos and comments and every communication over Facebook that could be dug up and put in the public arena. Well, really, it’ll already be in the public arena.

So how do future political candidates cope? Do there parents decide they want them to run for president and then lock them away in their room at the age of 5?

For my business, I wanted to let people join my Facebook page. This brought me to a dilemma as my friends have posted pictures from parties and general mucking around that isn’t exactly business-like. So do I create a new business account and try to act all professional?

In the end, I decided I’d rather let people get to know the real me. Sometimes I get drunk. Sometimes I grow my hair very long and fluffy just for the hell of it. But I’m a real person, not some faceless company. I hope to show that in some upcoming videos and I hope everyone likes them.

Anyway, just wanted to share something I’d been thinking about. You can join my facebook if you want to see the drunken bad hair pictures…or just stay in touch.

For my business, the end of 2007 was a time of change. I refocused what my business was actually doing based on my strengths and how I could help the biggest number of small businesses. So far, those changes have made a big difference and I’m looking forward to getting fully up to speed soon.

So what has the new year bought for your business? Personally, I prefer other goal setting techniques over new years resolutions. However, the new year is a natural point to think again about where we’ve been and where we want to go in the coming year.

Obviously, this should be used for your website as well. Take this time to work out where your website is, how it performed in 2007, and how you’d like to see it perform in 2008. Back this up with measurable statistics and you’re in front of most business website owners.

So take this time to look at last years website statistics…or talk to your web designers to find out where the program is. See how much you’ve improved. Analyse how many sales you’ve made. Is it enough? How many more do you want?

Set goals and put some effort into achieving them. I promise you that you’ll see results.

I’ve always believed a lot in personal improvement. I’ve never had a coach personally but I guess that’s more because of lack of funds than lack of belief in the process.

To get my inspiration and mentoring, I’ve always turned to books, audio sets, and  now video as well. I thank people like Robert Kiyosaki, Tony Robbins, and Michael Gerber for getting me to where I am today in life and business. I consider these people my coaches.

Well I’ve recently made a big investment in my business’ future by adding another coach to my list. You’ve heard me talk about Rich Schefren in the early days of this blog and the fantastic free materials he’d released. So, I decided to scrape some cash together and make the investment in myself.

The product I bought is his Business Acceleration Program and it’s a collection of personal and business improvement DVDs, CDs, a workbook, and other materials. I’ve started using it and the insights have been phenomenal so far…and I’ve barely touched it. Rather than rave about it more, I want to get to the purpose of this post…why did I do it?

Working in coaching myself, I thought I might talk about the reason I’d spend thousands of dollars on this kind of thing!

Point 1: The coach has been and done what I want to achieve

They know what I’ve been through, they know what’s coming up, and they know the best way to approach the future.

Point 2: With their experience comes knowledge

I know by taking their knowledge I’m going to reach my goal a lot faster and a lot cheaper in the long run. The investment now is to save time and money later.

Point 3: They have a system I can follow. It’s like asking a millionaire how they got there and them giving you a step-by-step plan of how to do it…doesn’t that sound useful?

Point 4: They’re good teachers

If your coach doesn’t have a passion for teaching, then you probably won’t learn much. I know my coaches have a good way of explaining and teaching information that I can use.

Point 5: I need to be action-orientated

Getting a coach will achieve nothing if you don’t follow-through. Putting advice and tips into practice is probably the hardest skill to master for some people, but it’s the most important. Without action, it’s just an idea. And it’s very hard to improve or make money with just an idea.

As I’m more successful, I’ll move to personal coaches and advisors to help my journey. At the moment, I’m don’t exactly have money coming out my ears…a common experience for most small business owners. But using the right tools, I’ll change that soon.

My point is, the next time you think about investing in more advertising, consider investing in some new information and techniques. Not only because I’m a Web Coach! But because I think the knowledge will benefit you a lot more than doing the same things you’ve always done and hoping for better results.

Think about coaching or mentoring as a way forward for your business.