• 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

    Mastermind Groups and Online Business Productivity

    September 16, 2008 // 2 Comments »

    An excellent way to stay focused and productive in your online business(es) is creating or finding a Mastermind Group to participate in.

    The first time I created a mastermind group was right after having attended a Live Event for one of my business ventures.  While I don’t recall which speaker on stage referenced the "mastermind group," what one speaker said caused me to remember reading about the power of the mastermind group in the book "Think and Grow Rich" By Napoleon Hill.  After that I took immediate action and created my first successful mastermind group.

    My definition of a mastermind group is a group of like-minded leaders who meet on a regular basis to share common goals, brainstorm, encourage and leverage each others’ talents and skills to co-create massive success.

    How’s that for a definition! ;-)

    Whether you’re an affiliate, network, or Internet Marketer, being a part of a mastermind group will shorten your learning curve and keep you on track to reaching your online goals.

    We all need the assistance of others to succeed - no matter what goals we might have or where we’d like to be.

    The mastermind group serves as your personal "board of directors." Think of it as a group of supportive individuals there to give you sound advice on business decisions.

    You can design your mastermind group to focus on marketing or Internet Marketing.  While there may be someone savvy in SEO you might be savvy in building online relationships.  You get to exchange ideas such as- what works for you - and learn what’s working for others.

    You leverage each other’s talents, knowledge and skills while working towards a common goal - i.e. online success.

    Leveraging others’ talents is huge because in order to remain productive online you must know what you are best at, stick to that, and seek the help of others who are good at the things you aren’t good at.

    Another perk about Mastermind groups is that they open the doors toward business partnerships / Joint Ventures with other online marketers as well as life-long friendships.

    It’s a win-win situation for all involved.  You all learn faster and keep each other productive.

    Wondering how you find leaders to mastermind with?

    Start thinking about your own niche or industry.   Other opportunities to mastermind exist on online forums and social networking sites.  You’ll know once you’ve met someone special to mastermind with!

    Happy Masterminding!

    If I can be of any further assistance connect with me on Twitter .

    Your Partner In Online Success,

    Dali Burgado

    Posted in Habits of Entrepreneurs, Internet Marketing Productivity

    Accountability Partnerships: A Solution to Online Business Productivity and Success

    September 8, 2008 // No Comments »

    Most Internet Marketers, Affiliate Marketers, or Internet Network Marketers, suffer at some point in time from information overload . It seems as though there is always too much to do and so little time to do it.

    There are so many:

    • Social media networking sites to participate
    • New affiliate products to promote
    • Internet marketing products
    • Online marketing strategies to implement

    Oftentimes we feel overwhelmed because we lack focus and clarity.

    We don’t know where to begin.

    Sometimes we just like to be involved in every online conversation and get sidetracked from our primary goals.

    It can be quite challenging to weed through all the Internet information overload and commotion and put the blinders on to focus on your primary projects.

    A while ago I felt that very same way.

    Fast forward 6 months…

    Today I feel very accomplished and productive in my online endeavors thanks to my finding and accountability partner.

    An accountability partner is someone who plain and simply holds you accountable to what you say you will do during any given day. He or she will listen to your goals and your “to dos” and help you prioritize and strategize ways to plan your day effectively.

    Ideally, accountability partners speak every work morning and discuss their plans for the day. That evening, or following morning, the accountability buddies check in and report what they completed or did not complete.

    Here’s what having Accountability Partner does for you:

    1) Motivates you when you feel you are going through a challenging time.

    2) Encourages you to continue when you feel like throwing in the towel.

    3) Inspires you to be more focused, especially when you see your accountability partner achieve something they set out to do – It inspires you to keep up your momentum to do the same.

    4) Provides that accountability you rarely keep to yourself.

    5) It is like your business insurance ; if you don’t get something done and forget about it, you have someone to remind you of what’s most important.

    The first time I experienced the joy of working with an accountability buddy was with a program called “Call to Action ” at the Human Communications Institute , founded by transformational and motivational speaker, Michael Bernhoff. I had the pleasure of working with one of Michael’s assistants – Gilena – who was my accountability buddy for a full week. I was incredibly productive - so productive that in one week, I completed what I would have done in what seemed like three months worth of work.  (By the way, if you call Gileana and tell her Dali Burgado referred you - she’ll have a cool surprise for you).

    I now have an accountability buddy I have the privilege to call a good friend - Andrea Goodsaid .

    I have noticed the changes we both have made in our online business productivity.

    When we began our partnership, I helped her decide on her most pressing project; we began to brainstorm ways to help her get going and what to complete before moving on to the next project.

    Once she became focused things took off and she got the ball rolling on something she had been meaning to do but didn’t quite get around to doing it.

    I’ve also noticed great changes in my activity.

    Now I don’t focus on filling my days up with any type of work or activity, I’ve become somewhat of an Online Productivity Geek :-)

    Today I tend to avoid getting side-tracked by time-fillers.

    I also find myself completing tasks a lot faster.  The neat thing is that our accountability partnership turned into a Joint Venture Partnership.

    Now this is all fine and Dandy, Dali, But How do I find find an accountability partner?

    I’m glad you asked!

    Here are some tips on Finding and Choosing the Right Accountability Partner for You

    1) Think of people who are motivated and success-driven . You’ll want someone who is reliable and who will really hold you accountable. A great place to find accountability partners are on online forums or social networking sites.

    2) Think of someone who might compliment your skills set . i.e. a savvy Internet marketer who has some experience in marketing that you don’t yet have. It is nice when you can exchange marketing tips and mutually benefit from each others’ experiences.

    3) Find someone in your niche. Your accountability buddy doesn’t have to be in your particular online business or network marketing company. I met my partner on an online forum. We shared the same philosophies and had several things in common. We also connected on a personal level before we decided to be buddies.

    4) Make sure you are both participating equally. Effort must be shown on both sides to make the partnership work.

    5) Meet often. Ideally every work day will assist you to be more consistent and productive in your business.

    6) Talk about personal goals too. You will both want to make sure you create balance in your personal lives in order to be successful in your business because what affects you personally will affect you in your business.

    7) Your partner should be someone you can trust . In the event you have things going on personally, you should feel comfortable speaking to your buddy about it – not necessarily at length, but on a level where they know you are not at 100% that day.

    8) Don’t forget to Have fun – Having an accountability buddy also makes your journey to online success a lot more fun. You will begin to see how two people can co-create awesome experiences by brainstorming and keeping each other on task.

    Having someone to connect with on a daily basis who shares your concerns and experience really gives you the added fuel to remain productive and consistent in your business. It’s like having your very own accelerated program for online success.

    Do you have an accountability partner already?

    Do you have tips on how to make accountability partnerships more productive? Share them with us!

    I appreciate you!

    Your Partner in Online Success and Prosperity,

    Dali Burgado

    Posted in Habits of Entrepreneurs

    Ping.fm - The Ultimate Online Productivity Tool

    August 21, 2008 // No Comments »

    I recently became of aware of the latest ultimate online productivity tool.  It’s ping.fm

    In fact its so new that Internet Marketing Guru, Ed Dale, just now asked for a beta code to get access to it, and I immediately sent one over to him via Twitter!

    How cool is that!?

    Ping.fm allows you to post “Twitter-like” posts or “Tweets” across a multitude of social networking sites including, Facebook, Twitter, Friendfeed, Linked In, Myspace, Plurk, Plaxo and even across Instant Messaging services and your ipod.

    Complete leverage and online productivity with one simple tool.

    Ping.fm says on it’s site that it’s a “simple service that makes updating your social networks a snap.”

    AND that IT IS!

    Not only is it making it easier for you to reach out to all your various networks, but it also makes your Internet Marketing more effortless and leverages your time on social networking sites so you can work on other marketing projects.

    You can register at Ping.fm on the top right.  Once you register, you will receive your beta code to fully subscribe to the service and you can post updates on many social networks.

    It’s your complete online productivity solution!

    Happy Pinging!

    Your Partner in Online Prosperity,

    Dali Burgado

    Posted in Internet Marketing Productivity, Internet Marketing Trends, Internet Viral Marketing