• Avoiding Email Overload

    October 3, 2008 // 1 Comment »

    Avoiding email overload is a challenge.

    I can admit I am an opt-in page-aholic!  I love to study the gurus and stay on top of all the latest Internet Marketing strategies.  However, my sponge brain began to suffer from a severe case of information overload.  Not a good thing for an online productivity diva.

    My opt-in-happy fingers were getting me to an all too common scenario we online entrepreneurs face: Email Overload.

    I strongly believe email overload is the one of the - if not- the biggest challenge to online business productivity.

    I have found 5 super-helpful tips to minimize email overload.

    Here they go:

    1) Create a separate email for marketing opt-ins. Instead of using my primary email address I am devoting a separate email account strictly for opt-in purposes.  All of my opt-ins are Internet Marketing related.  Whenever I am working on sharpening a particular skill set i.e. SEO I can simply type “SEO” in the gmail search feature and find what I’m looking for at the particular moment I need it instead of reading insignificant material that I would have read had it been in my primary email.

    2) Unsubscribe from email lists that are not providing the value you deserve. Take 30 minutes at a time and clean up your email by either unsubscribing to the lists you are subscribed to that are not providing the value you deserve.  Sometimes you get the list owner who always promotes something without providing intrinsic value to you as the list reader.  If this is the case - cut them loose.  For those people you love you can usually change the subscription email to that list by clicking on a link stating “update or modify email info”.

    3) Only check email 2x a day - In my previous post I admitted email was still a challenge for me and my online productivity.   A great tip I learned from Timothy Ferriss’ “The 4 Hour Workweek”  was his email auto-response message stating:

    “Dear _______,

    Due to high workload, I am currently checking and responding to email twice daily at 12:00 pm ET [or your time zone] and 4:00 pm ET.

    If you require urgent assistance (please ensure it is urgent) that cannot wait until either 12:00 pm or 4:00 pm, please contact me via phone at 555-555-5555.

    Thank you for understanding this move to more efficiency and effectiveness.  It helps me accomplish more to serve you better.

    Sincerely,

    Your Name

    4) Shut down your web browser and any “noises” (or pop ups) to your email - indicating you’ve receive email - If you decide to work on a particular task for 30 minutes to an hour i.e. writing a blog post - type it in Microsoft Word first - unless you need to find a link.  I’ve found myself many a times checking email because I noticed I received a new email that might have been cool.

    5) Delete emails you no longer need and Archive Important Ones - Delete emails if they require no more action from you.  Archive the important emails.  I love gmail because you don’t have to set all the folders and rules for archiving email.  Gmail has a search feature so you can search for something you’ve archived by keyword.

    You can find a great post on taming your inbox at Chris Brogdan’s Blog.

    Have any other tips on taming your inbox or email overload?  Post it here!

    I appreciate you.

    Your Partner in Online Productivity,

    Dali Burgado

    Posted in Internet Marketing Productivity, Productivity Tips

    Success Factors Online

    September 19, 2008 // No Comments »

    What factors determine online success?

    This topic could be an e-book or course.  Today I’m only going to focus on two online success factors.

    1) Invest in Yourself (Whether that require money or time)

    Last weekend I had the privilege of attending a 6 Figure Business School with millionaire business coach, Myron Golden.  After having attended this event, reading, Internet marketing Guru of the Gurus’ Rich Schefren’s, “The Uncertainty Syndrome” e-book, and reading blogging pro Yaro Starak’s latest blog post on business constraints, I realized I had a “constraint” that was affecting where I wanted to be.

    Until recently I had been feeling like I should be more successful.

    Perhaps it’s the “perfectionist” in me.  Or Maybe I get impatient, at times, with the progress I’ve made.

    Whatever it was, that form of thinking was causing me to focus on my obstacles instead of refocusing, looking past the obstacles, and envisioning the end result (my goal).

    This “ah ha” moment really sank in when Dr. Stan Harris, motivational hall of fame and transformational speaker, asked me to come up and break a wooden martial arts board with my bare hand.

    I was the first volunteer and broke that board in half on the first attempt! Oh yeah!  lol  I wish someone had taken a picture.  ;-)

    I noticed the reason I broke it was that I had looked past the block.  It was as if the block had become invisible while I prepared to break through my obstacle (the block).

    So I told myself - that’s the focus I must ALWAYS have in my business (and in life).

    See, we must empower ourselves to look beyond the obstacles that appear along the way.

    If you really stretch your mind and realize - obstacles are a blessing in disguise.  Obstacles are only placed in our path to help us stretch to the level where we can handle greater success.

    If I had not invested money and time in myself this past weekend I might have not stopped to realize how grateful I am, and should always be, about my present place in this journey to “success” online.

    It’s more important to enjoy the journey than to rush our way to the end result - how boring and anticlimactic would it be if we set a huge goal and achieved it right away?

    Most online marketers want instant success.

    Instant traffic.

    Instant results.

    Aside from the computer turning into an ATM machine (and what a nice visual), how enjoyable would it really be if any goal we ever set were achieved instantaneously?  What If everything were just spoon fed to us?  It wouldn’t be worth setting that goal.  We wouldn’t have the milestones to celebrate.

    We all have have to APPRECIATE where we are at the VERY PRESENT and realize how far we’ve all come since we’ve begun our own journey to online success!  Whatever “success” means to us.

    Although, I am no guru YET, I have developed many skill sets and honed others this year.  I’ve grown so much in my business that I decided to become a passionate Internet Marketing Coach, and I am really enjoying my clients’ and my online progress.

    I’ve also developed a nice following online via Twitter, Facebook, Digg and a host of other social networking sites, in a very relatively short amount of time, as well as have Joint Ventured with some cool like-minded folks in other online projects.  It’s been FUN!

    So enjoy the milestones guys.

    2) Realize that Online Success Doesn’t Happen by Yourself - It happens Alongside Others

    We’ve all heard of leveraging our money, our time, but what about leveraging our SKILL SETS?

    We all need the help of others to succeed online.  That’s the beauty of finding an accountability partner, participating in a mastermind group, or finding new people to connect with on the Internet.

    Think of it this way:  Online and Offline business owners get paid because they know WHO to ask for help.

    Don’t be ashamed to ask others for help.

    Recently, I’ve had very new friends offer to help me with a task I was stumped on (streaming video to a membership site) via Twitter and Facebook.  If you are not good at streaming video find someone who knows how.   Develop relationships with others who compliment your skills sets!

    Leverage is earning off the efforts of other people.

    Your Goal, my friend, is to become a CLO (Chief Leveraging Officer).

    Okay…that’s it for today.

    I welcome any comment about your journey online.

    Your partner in online productivity and success,

    Dali Burgado

    P.S. I still have 6 Tickets to Myron’s 6 Figure Business School at an unbeatable price (next one is in Orlando, Florida next month).  Catch me on Twitter to inquire.

    Posted in Internet Marketing Productivity, Personal Development & Home Business

    3 Ways Online Entrepreneurs Can Use FriendFeed Effectively

    August 29, 2008 // No Comments »

    FriendFeed is a social media and RSS feed aggregator that tracks your every move and activity across 43 social networking sites and makes your activity visible to your followers.

    In a nutshell, it allows you to share blogging activity, books, news, photos, music, video, and other random social networking activity to family or business contacts.  Some of the social media services include, Linked-In, Digg, delicious, Google Reader, and Twitter.  You can use it for personal/family or business purposes.

    It definitely is made for the advanced/serious social networker and online entrepreneur and can most effectively be used to:

    1. Be a part of an “inner circle”
    2. Mastermind with your business partners/peers
    3. Build communities

    I am presently using FriendFeed to follow friends with similar interests (some of whom are in my Internet Marketing Mastermind group) as well as some Internet Marketing and Blogging Gurus.   Every time I log in to FriendFeed I can see what my contacts are bookmarking, sharing and talking about.   I am also using it for my consulting clients as well.

    Please add to this list and let us know how YOU are using FriendFeed and cutting out the “noise” so you stay productive.

    1) The Inner Circle - Using FriendFeed to Stay Ahead of The Learning Curve In Your Niche:

    You can follow the gurus/experts in your niche.  If you’re connected on FriendFeed you’re the first to know what they are working on before the masses.  Additionally, there may be some cool resources you gain access to before they put it out on their email list (or maybe they don’t and you get that “insider” access).

    FriendFeed also allows you to engage in online conversation and interact with your contacts by replying to their posts.  You also don’t have to be approved as a “friend” to follow someone - like Twitter.

    A really nice feature is that there are “rooms” that you can subscribe to where members can post tools and tips to add value in that particular category.   It’s like an online classroom!

    2) Mastermind with Your Peers: You can utilize FriendFeed to share information with a tight-knit group or mastermind.  The sharing will allow you to stay connected more closely and have an opportunity for your group to share Internet marketing breakthroughs and resources to further your collective Internet marketing goals.

    3) Serve as a Place to Add Value to Your Client Base: If you offer consulting services you can use FriendFeed “rooms” to provide valuable information to your clients.  Offering value is what strengthens relationships.  Instead of having satisfied clients you will develop raging fans who will share your business, products and services with others.  That’s free marketing for you too.

    The downside of FriendFeed is that it can become quite “noisy” if you subscribe to too many people.

    Remember, FriendFeed gathers every single move the person you are following has taken on the social media sites they have specified FriendFeed to track.  Therefore, I highly recommend you utilize FriendFeed to stay in touch with a more intimate group than you would on Facebook.  If not you’ll get information overload!

    In addition, you want to make sure you are posting quality information and always delivering value.

    If you are not yet on FriendFeed and would like to learn how to get connected Maria Reyes McDavis (the Web Success Diva) has a great video that shows you how to register for a FriendFeed account and cool tips on how to maximize its use.  Check it out at:

    http://ca.video.yahoo.com/watch/2876144/8259875

    If you are a blogger using FriendFeed I also recommend reading:

    How Bloggers can Use FriendFeed Effectively by Joel Falconer of Lifehack.

    Again, please share how you are using FriendFeed here too.

    I appreciate you!

    Your Partner in Online Productivity,

    Dali Burgado (Follow me on FriendFeed)

    Posted in Internet Marketing Productivity, Internet Marketing Trends