• DaliBurgado.com Gets a Facelift and New Direction

    August 29, 2009 // 2 Comments »

    New WordPress Theme Tweaks, New Direction, New Life at DaliBurgado.com

    I’m back here to break the silence after a few months…yikes. So I’m blowing some new life into DaliBurgado.com.

    I’m going by my new alias here, "The Dali Blogger" (Dali Blogga if you want to put in the New York accent up in there).

    After the not so cool experience of moving this blog from an awful hosting company to my favorite folks (IX Web Hosting ) and working on my other blog at  Secrets to Web Success , I’m back!

    I’m going to give myself the goal of blogging here once a week while I work on:

    1. 5 other niche blogs
    2. Launching a blogging information product with my girls Cenay and Carol at Secrets to Web Success
    3. Recording some songs and commercials
    4. Working on a big SEO project
    5. Working on some web development projects

    Did I mention I had my plate full?  ha ha

    So please share your thoughts on the new theme tweaks I’ve made and let me know what you’re up to!

    I appreciate you.

    Dali

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    Posted in Uncategorized

    3 Characteristics of a Successful Entrepreneur

    January 30, 2009 // No Comments »

    There are many characteristics an entrepreneur must possess in order to thrive.

    Today we’ll focus on three major ones.

    I. The Successful Entrepreneur Makes Quick Decisions:

    In order to excel as an online entrepreneur, you must make quick decisions and move forward.  You must decide that you will be the best at what you do.

    Every day you make countless decisions that affect your productivity.  You must decide what you will work on and if your tasks will be a productive or counterproductive use of your time.

    Sometimes, personal challenges affect our focus and drive.

    Just a few days ago I was in a personal challenge slump and did not find I could focus or stay productive as a result.  Thankfully, I told myself, "Dali, you cannot let your personal challenges take you off course.  You’ve got to get back to it and complete all the things you know you must do in order to excel."

    If you’ve followed - or just know me- you’ll probably notice that I’m very proactive and productive.  Yet, it wasn’t until I made the decision to move on in spite of my challenges that I began to regain focus and get my productivity groove back.  The last two weeks have been incredibly productive for me because I made the decision not to let my personal circumstances tear me down.

    II. The Successful Entrepreneur Takes Extreme Measures

    You must take extreme measures and do what no one else won’t in order to have the success that most don’t.  Sounds like the mindset of an ambitious online entrepreneur?!

    Today I sat and did some major keyword research for a new niche blog I’m creating. I realize that in total, I  invested (not spent) about 3 hours of my time doing the tedious, yet critical steps any successful online entrepreneur must take in order to thrive and dominate any niche.   Yes, my friends, it’s a long time…and yes I could outsource, but sometimes you just love to be a control freak (lol).

    When you take the extra steps to outshine "competition" you ensure that you are more visible to your target market, and that pays dividends!

    III. Takes Full Responsibility for Failures & Successes

    Too often many of us feel the need to blame others for our failures and don’t look in the mirror and see that we are the causes of all our failures and successes.  We can blame others as much as we want, but remember that we can’t control circumstances outside ourselves, but we can control how we react to external circumstances.

    What other attributes do you feel are critical to the success of an entrepreneur?

    For some really cool inspiration check out an interview with Party Plan Pat courtesy of the Traveling Saleswoman.  While most of you may not be in the Home party plan business, this interview will definitely serve as some major inspiration as to what is possible when you have the mindset of an entrepreneur.

    In fact, I’ve decided to begin an interview series with successful online entrepreneurs soon, and will be having Party Plan Pat as a guest really soon.  Stay tuned…

    As always, I appreciate you!

    Dali Burgado

    Posted in Habits of Entrepreneurs

    Dali Burgado Back from Hiatus

    January 17, 2009 // No Comments »

    Happy belated New Years to you!

    I’ve been taken off course by some personal challenges, which I won’t bore you with… Just know that I am all good and well.  I am so ready for all the great things in store for 2009!

    The last month or so I’ve been doing some refocusing on my priorities both personal and business.

    Since last month I’ve:

    • Launched my ebook, "Mindset Marketing "
    • Celebrated my Birthday
    • Enjoyed the Holidays with Family in NYC

    Dali Burgado with Family in NYC

      Here I am in the middle with my niece and sister.

    • Done quite a bit of local marketing and internet consulting (I actually helped a local fitness coach with a mini site and an information product that really turned out excellent for her, and made me feel good too)
    • Took an unintentional hiatus from blogging :-(
    • Went through withdrawal from not being online…

    Wow was it a challenging month.

    This month I am working on organizing and presenting a small business marketing seminar and adding content to my small business internet marketing consulting blog as well as creating a new information product.  More soon!

    This Spring, I’ll be making Mindset Marketing a course.

    Overall, this year I intend to have 4 niche blogs (one of which will be a more spiritual take on success to give you an idea of where I’m going ) and there is a possibility I’ll be moving from Virginia.

    Tons of things in the works.  Simply reconnecting with you really quickly.

    Hope 2009 is looking great for you!  Look forward to hearing how the year is progressing for you!

    More soon.

    I appreciate you.

    Dali Burgado

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    Posted in Ramblings

    Creating Clarity in Blogging

    November 12, 2008 // No Comments »

    Hey All,

    In order to create clarity sometimes it’s necessary to connect with leaders who are where you’d like to be.

    Last Friday I connected with Michael Martine of Remarkablogger for a blogging strategy session.  Michael is a seasoned blogger and blogging consultant.   The blog strategy session was phenomenal to say the least :-)  Michael spent over an hour with me on Skype providing honest critical feedback about this blog you are reading.

    He was super helpful in teaching me some cool SEO techniques as well as in helping me develop a clearer vision for this blog.

    To be honest, when I started this blog, I didn’t do enough keyword research to ensure I had nabbed the best niche and profitable main keywords. I just went with my gut feeling and began to blog about the things I was passionate about.

    Even though I am sometimes on page 2 of Google for one of my main keywords, “online productivity, ” I find that no one is looking for the personal productivity material I have here.  Rather they are looking for internet applications to help save time.  It wouldn’t matter if I were on page 1 of Google because I wouldn’t provide the solution THEY would be looking for.  So, I the lesson here is that I have to define my niche more clearly.

    Michael helped me realize I should narrow my niche even further.

    I could become angry and mope, but I choose to look at it as a moment of clarity.  At least I took action.  I now realize I can give up on that keyword phrase and move on.

    What’s more, you seem to have found me somehow anyway! :-)

    Many of you follow me on Twitter, Facebook, My Blog Log or Blog Catalog.  I have already begun to develop a loyal following in you.  Had I hemmed and hawed about keyword research before beginning this blog I probably wouldn’t even have this blog or connected with you.

    I say that to tell you this…taking any kind of action in your online endeavors will always create clarity.  Imperfect action is better than no action at all.

    It is the way you perceive the outcome of your actions that will determine whether or not you can move on with excitement or disappointment.

    As an online entrepreneur, you must look at every outcome as a learning lesson and move on.

    So, within the next few weeks I’ll be making some good changes to the blog.  My focus will be more on successful mindset development and creative marketing.

    My social media marketing and blogging content will go on another blog.  I am working on with some really neat leaders in social networking and Internet marketing at Secrets to Web Success.  It is also where you will be able to find a range of blogging and social networking consulting services too.

    In addition, I’ll be unveiling a pretty powerful e-book on developing the mindset of a master marketer within the next few days that will be a cornerstone product here at daliburgado.com.  Make sure to check your tweets or your RSS reader for that announcement!

    In the meantime, let me know what else you would like to hear about on this blog. This blog means nothing without your input!

    I appreciate you!

    Dali Burgado

    Posted in Habits of Entrepreneurs, Internet Marketing Productivity

    Social Networking Etiquette for Online Entrepreneurs

    November 6, 2008 // No Comments »

    Knowing the rules of social networking etiquette is a must if your objective as an online entrepreneur is to attract business contacts, make connections, use your social networking time productively, and eventually make sales.

    The key word is eventually.

    The majority of online entrepreneurs and social networkers go for the pitch before they build a relationship.  A big no, no!  “Relationships before sales” is the motto.

    Below are 10 Social Networking Etiquette tips that will allow you to build quality online relationships with ease.

    1) Never start with a sales pitch - Social networking is all about building quality relationships with others in your niche and getting to know the person you befriend on a more professional and personal level. Nine times out of ten people will do business with those whom they know, like and trust. Build that trust before making any kind of pitch.

    2) Let go of your ego - No matter how much you know, or who you know, never come across as being omniscient (all knowing).  Never ego trip.  No matter where you are on the “success ladder,” , each and every one of us can learn from each other regardless of our experience level or knowledge.  Keep a level head, open mind and open ears. Be humble, and think about how you can be of service to others. You’d be pleasantly surprised to see just how humble and approachable leaders at the top of your game/industry are.  Strive to serve and let the ego go.

    3) Learn about the person you want to befriend - Check out the person’s blog or website.  Don’t go on a frantic friend adding frenzy.  Take the time to see who they are.  Read their “About” tab on their blog and see if they are the type of person you would like to connect with in the first place. Be genuine.  It’s not all about the quantity of friends you add but the quality of the connections you do make.

    4) Find Commonalities and Express them - While taking a look at the person’s social networking profile find commonalities and express you also are interested in (i.e. writing web copy, Squidoo lenses, or search engine optimization).  This opens up the possibility for future collaboration (joint venture partnerships) or masterminding. You’d be surprised how easy it is to collaborate with other skilled online entrepreneurs if you come from the right frame of mind (coming from a place of service and humility).

    5) Customize your friend invite and compliment - Write a friend invitation that demonstrates you’ve checked the person out and compliments them.  For instance:

    • “Hey, Bob - Great blog.  I love your header and layout.”
    • “Hey Mary, Great landing (opt-in) page.  Did you do that yourself?”
    • “John, You’re a super skilled webmaster. I wish I had ½ the skills you have here.”

    Anything you can say to boost someone’s confidence will give you social networking etiquette brownie points!  They will appreciate the compliment and will befriend you if only for that reason. In addition, when you go out of your way to learn about someone and dig a little deeper to let them know you’ve really checked them out, they will check you out! But, please be GENUINE. Most people can tell when you are being phony.

    6) Congratulate - If you notice the person you’ve befriended has reached a recent achievement or goal congratulate them on their success.  Every one of us loves recognition for a job well done.  This is another great way to show them you care about their success.

    7) Recommend Friends - Once you’re friends with someone recommend that they follow (in the case of Twitter) or befriend others.  I like that Facebook has a feature where you can recommend friends to others pretty easily.  Connect others together.  That’s what social networking is all about.

    8) Edify Others Not Just Yourself - Promote others’ blog posts, events, and offers.  This a simple “do unto others” principle.  The more you promote others the more you are in the position of serving others, and serving others is what sales is really about.  Others will take notice, thank you and want to promote what you are offering in return.  This is the Law of Reciprocity.

    9) Follow them across several social networking platforms – Become fans of people. When you befriend others across social networks it shows them that you are interested in their work. Make sure you’ve personalized your invites before following them across several online social networks. If you find they have published quality blog posts, Digg, Stumble, or bookmark them. Share the information with your expanded network (i.e. shout it on Digg, send an update on ping.fm). They will take notice you are promoting them, and they will likely do the same for you (especially if your content is awesome).

    10) Never see anyone in the same niche you are in as competition – We all attract and cater to different client bases. This goes for blog and social media consultants and/or online network marketers. By befriending your “competition” you can learn from each other and refer clients that are more aligned with the other person’s services or products. You are your only competition. Strive to become better than yourself every day, and you will attract so many new clients and business partners you won’t know what to do!

    Happy Social Networking!

    Partners in online productivity and success,

    Dali Burgado

    On a similar note, I came across an excellent post by Jacob Morgan on Chris Brogan’s blog catch that on How to keep your conversations from turning into broadcasts.  Enjoy!

    Posted in Habits of Entrepreneurs

    Joint Venturing to Online Greatness

    October 15, 2008 // No Comments »

    It’s 10:49 pm EST

    My head is spinning!  Joint venture ideas are in overdrive…and I can’t shut off my thoughts.

    I’m on a super cool and productive information overload high tonight :-)

    While half-watching the 2008 U.S. Presidential debate, I realize more and more that politics and “the economy” are of no consequence or importance to me.  (Even after having been employed on Capitol Hill years ago).

    I am creating my own economy through:

    • online entrepreneurship
    • infopreneurship
    • consulting
    • making significant connections
    • joint venture partnerships
    • investing in myself
    • and constantly learning ways I can improve upon my myself and my marketing

    As I sit in my warm comfortable king-sized hotel bed in Harrisburg, PA at an information product marketing conference, I am digesting three days worth of information marketing system brilliance.  And I am realizing just how EASY it will be for me to implement what I am learning offline AND online while putting my marketing systems on steroids.

    This marketing zen mind state wouldn’t be possible if I were working alone without the help of my Joint venture partners.

    Breakthrough after breakthrough,  I am realizing just how quickly I can accomplish some of the dreams I put on the backburner not too long ago.

    Have you ever noticed that when you surround yourself amongst big thinkers and doers success becomes contagious?

    Make you go, “hmmmmm” ? :-)

    The income we all make is reflective of the top 5 people we associate with.   And I have been super fortunate through my social network to have connected with brilliant people who are assisting me (either by masterminding with me or forming joint venture partnerships) to fill in the gaps I need filled to take me to the next level.

    One of those brilliant individuals is conducting this 4 day workshop on information product marketing now.  I am in marketing heaven right now!

    AND had I not taken the initiative to engage others online in conversation, I would not be here now in the state of marketing zen I am in now making my plan to create a ridiculous economic SELF stimulus plan ! :-)

    Would you allow me to recommend some tips for connecting with others online and forming strategic joint venture partnerships?

    I knew you wouldn’t!  :-)

    Joint Venturing Tips to Online Greatness

    1) Let go of your ego - You can NEVER learn everything there is to know in your niche.  Never allow yourself to believe for a second that you know everything.  Successful entrepreneurs realize the importance of being a perpetual student!  Even the top producers online have mentors they continue to learn from.

    2) There is no competition online

    Have you ever realized great Internet marketers and Personal Development speakers actually SHARE a stage.  Rarely will you have a great event with just one speaker representing his/her niche.  Successful online entrepreneurs realize they are their OWN competition.  Every speaker brings his/her own uniqueness to the marketplace.  Think cooperation instead of competition.

    3) Align yourself with people who know the answers - Masterminding & Live Events

    Create or participate in a mastermind group and attend live events.  When I began my journey to entrepreneurship I thought I could succeed on my own effort.  There were times I couldn’t take it.  Times I lost confidence.  The more you seek help and align yourself with like-minded leaders in your niche, the more you REALLY start to realize your greatness and start to synergistically create success.

    4) Be Genuine

    Making connections online means being genuine and sincere.  Always be genuinely interested in others and their work.  You must build relationships first before approaching anyone for a joint venture partnership proposition.  In brief, keep it real.  Genuinely care and you will outshine the online spammers.

    5) Nurture Your Relationships

    Once you befriend someone online or offline, keep in touch and ask them how they are doing in their projects.  Engage others in conversation.  Don’t wait for people to find you online.  Take the initiative to nurture the new relationships you make and you will develop a solid fanbase and open the door to Joint venture partnerships.

    Time to give the mind a rest and get ready for my last day at my information product marketing training.

    I welcome your comments, and I appreciate you!

    Your Partner in Online Success and Productivity,

    Dali Burgado

    Posted in Habits of Entrepreneurs

    How to Choose a Mentor

    October 14, 2008 // No Comments »

    Choosing a mentor is a great move to accelerate your success online, as well as in any endeavor.  But how do you choose a mentor?

    This week I was approached by 4 companies/individuals proposing some sort of mentorship.

    The only downside is that when given so many choices it gets challenging to choose.   So I thought: “why not blog about how to choose a mentor?”

    The neat thing about having a mentor - besides helping you shorten the learning curve to your desired success - is that a mentor can help keep you super productive too.

    You know you’ve found the right mentor when:

    1)  You see their present as YOUR future:

    When you connect with someone on a deep level, you do so because you share something in common.   It may be the person’s drive, enthusiasm or passion that you have in common.   Whatever it might be, you know you’ve spotted a good mentor when you see qualities in them that you desire and want to emulate.   Because I am passionate about helping others find ways to find success online through social networking, I have a mentor who is great at networking.  I also share a passion for creating information products so I have another mentor who is a successful and proven information marketer.

    When making the choice to be mentored you must ensure you see their present as YOUR future.

    2) They are teaching something you want to do NOW

    In order to ensure you are on track to reaching your goals and stay productive, you must ensure that what your potential mentor is proposing to teach you is something you want to do now (or in the very near future).  I am presently in the midst of finishing my online productivity and goal-setting ebook, so I found a mentor who has produced their own information products and has a proven system to market them.

    In addition, it would be best to find someone in the same niche as you.

    3) Big Relationship Builders

    Great mentors have the ability to encourage and inspire others.  They believe in their students and motivate them to stay the course in spite of a student’s lack of confidence.  A great mentor will have passionate belief in you.  When a mentor projects that belief onto you, it will help you believe more in yourself.  You will know when you spot a great mentor because you will see they genuinely care.

    A great mentor creates a relationship that nurtures the mentee with education and action plans to take it to the next level.  In essence, they are great relationships builders.

    4) A great mentor has marketing systems in place

    Top marketers in any field have systems in place that duplicate their success time and time again.  One of my mentors has had multiple six figure months selling information products because they have marketing systems in place.  I am not saying this to brag or to boast, but to say that incredibly successful mentors are successful because of the systems they have to help them market their products and services.  AND they must be willing to teach you their system so that you can copy them. This is not to say you must choose a mentor who is so above you that you feel intimidated.  As long as you believe you can do what they are doing now, and you are willing to be led, you will succeed.

    Having a mentor can be critical to your success.  Without a mentor you flounder around trying to learn everything on your own.  It took me several years to realize I should seek the help of others.   We don’t succeed on our own.  We do so by emulating successful leaders and following those leaders in our niche.

    Happy mentor finding!

    Your Partner in Online Productivity and Success,

    Dali Burgado

    Posted in Habits of Entrepreneurs

    Using Twitter Effectively for Online Business Networking

    August 18, 2008 // 1 Comment »

    Twitter can become very addicting, but there are TONS of cool Twitter tools to help you tweet more effectively as well as leverage your time online.

    The following are my favorite tools that are helping me leverage my time, brand myself, and develop a following on Twitter:

    1) Tweetdeck:  Tweetdeck helps you organize your tweets by subject and direct messages. You can also group people you are following together to follow similar tweets! You can post to Twitter from there too (avoiding logging on to Twitter altogether).

    Tweet Deck also has a “trending topics” feature, which tells you what the latest buzz keywords on Twitter are.

    Some additional websites that allow you to find out what the latest Twitter buzz words are:

    2) Twitter’s NEW search tool: http://search.twitter.com/ formerly http://www.summize.com

    3) Twitscoop:  On Twitscoop , You can type a Twitter username, name, keywords, or url in the search box to track any conversation (tweet) surrounding that specific keyword. This is also a great way to add friends in your niche. Since I am an Internet Marketer, I typed in the name of a top Internet Marketer, “Frank Kern,” to see who was following Frank. I typed that specific name because he recently released some free videos and there was lots of buzz about it. I added some friends from that search.

    4) Tweet Beep: Tweet Beep alerts you when others are tweeting about YOU, your blog, your products, your service or anything you want to know people are talking about. If you don’t have a big following yet, don’t worry! You will soon become a Twitter superstar and will be the first to know when someone mentions you!

    5) Tweet Burner: Tweetburner lets you track what happens with the links you share on Twitter. You add urls and tweetburner will shorten them for you as well as track your hits.

    For a comprehensive list check out this cool blog post: http://www.wdfm.com/publish/twitter/

    Happy Twittering!

    Your Partner in Online Productivity & Success,

    Dali Burgado

    Follow me on Twitter

    Posted in Internet Marketing Trends, Internet Viral Marketing