• How to Start a Mastermind Group

    November 29, 2008 // No Comments »

    If you are new to masterminding you might be wondering how to start a mastermind group .

    I call myself a "mastermindress" on Twitter .  I love sharing and exchanging ideas with other strategic Internet marketers and social media consultants.  I’m a big collaborator and team player.  When you collaborate or partner with other online marketers, you really get your creative juices flowing and can achieve more with less effort.

    Starting a mastermind group is easy and quite FUN!  Before I show you how to start your own mastermind group, let’s recap and define the term:

    A mastermind group is a group of like-minded people who are helping each other achieve their goals and dreams. The term “mastermind” comes from Napoleon Hill , who authored the classic self-help book “Think and Grow Rich .”

    How to Start Your Mastermind Group

    It all starts with some social media networking on your favorite social networking sites.  I have found tight communities such as those created on Ning to be great for meeting mastermind-quality folks.  However, it all depends on how you like to network and where you are most comfortable.  I love meeting new people on Twitter and have found several mastermind friends and Joint Venture partners on Twitter and via blogging as well!

    My mastermind is a free mastermind group.  There are paid mastermind groups out there, and there are many that are very much worthwhile.  One example is Yaro Starak’s Blog Mastermind .

    I will focus on creating free online mastermind groups - A small group that will serve like your "intimate board of directors."

    Prequalifying Mastermind Group Members

    Connect with others by engaging them in conversation.  Learn about them before you talk about yourself.  You don’t want to come across as very self-centered.

    I recommend the following online mastermind-attracting recipe:

    • Check out the person’s social networking profile, blog or website
    • Leave an encouraging comment on their blog or via direct message/email on the social networking platform
    • Invite to connect (as long as you have very similar interests)
    • Engage them in conversation - ask questions about THEM - don’t go on talking about yourself until they ask you to (people love to talk about themselves - just LISTEN)
    • If you REALLY find common ground and have connected with them, invite them to connect on a more frequent level via mastermind group

    It really is that simple.

    Setting a Mastermind Groups Meeting Schedule

    My mastermind group meets every other week and we usually have a topic to focus conversation around.  We also take turns talking about a particular subject, while the others members chime in and ask questions.

    You can set the rules.

    However, in order to have an effective mastermind group, all members must

    • understand the purpose of the mastermind group
    • understand the VALUE in meeting (every week, every other week)
    • all contribute equally to the group discussion
    • feel like they are free tol communicate about topics of discussion.

    Topics to Discuss with Your Online Mastermind Group

    • Social Media Marketing
    • Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
    • Google Pay Per Click
    • Web Design
    • Information Product Marketing
    • Email Marketing
    • Traffic Conversion
    • Web Copy Tips
    • Whatever you all agree upon!

    Happy Online Masterminding!

    P.S. If you are at the intermediate/advanced level in the above areas, contact me on Twitter!  I am always open to meeting, connecting and collaborating with other passionate, strategic Internet marketers!

    Your Partner in Online Marketing Success,

    Dali Burgado

    Posted in Internet Marketing Productivity

    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

    5 Steps to Avoid Internet Marketing Information Overload

    August 12, 2008 // No Comments »

    If you are an Internet Marketer, or an aspiring Internet Marketer, chances are you’ve been sucked into the vortex of information on the best way to make money online and continue to learn about the latest and greatest best ways make money online programs.  And even likelier it has led to some serious Internet marketing information overload !

    It is super easy to get caught up in learning what others are doing to make money online and find yourself not doing the important things you need to do in order to build your email list or blog following.

    I recently came across two successful bloggers who blog about Internet Marketing (Courtney Tuttle and Yaro Starak ) and Personal Development who helped shed some light on this topic.

    In a recent blog post, Courtney Tuttle speaks of an experience with a client that spent a good deal following "make money online" blogs and always looking for the hottest way to make money online. According to Tuttle, the main thing a new blogger should be focusing on is content creation and link building instead of staying on top of what others are doing to make money online. For a full view of this blog post visit:

    Are You Suffering from Internet Marketing Information Overload

    I also subscribed to Yaro Starak’s blog recently and read his "Blog Profits Blueprint" which not only speaks of information overload being a reason most bloggers fail but also adds "lack of direction" to the recipe.

    When one does not have clear goals, a vision, or a plan it is easier to get sucked into the vortex of ever-changing Internet Marketing techniques and the best way to make money online strategies.

    Below you’ll find 5 Steps to avoid Internet Marketing information overload that have greatly helped me achieve laser focus and productivity in my Internet Marketing efforts.

    I look forward to your comments!

    5 Steps to avoid Internet Marketing Information overload:

    1) Set ONE Goal for the next 30 days. Don’t get goal crazy, but focus on one aspect of your Internet Marketing business you would like to grow. My goal the next 30 days is to create 1 Squidoo lens per week and an E-Zine article pointing to each Squidoo lens, which will point to my blog to gain readership and get more of myself out there.

    2) Plan your week every Sunday or Monday. What action steps will move you forward in reaching your Internet Marketing goals? If you need more training to fine-tune some skills only focus on the training related to your goal for that month (i.e. if your goal is to build relationships with people on Facebook or Twitter stick to trainings that deal with online relationship building preferably on exactly Facebook or Twitter – not on creating squeeze pages).

    3) Select 3 or 4 Tasks to Focus on Per Day. Don’t go crazy with a "to do" list. Really prioritize and select a few actions that will help you move forward in your Internet Marketing goals. Today for instance my goals were to: 1) Begin working on a new Squidoo lens (keyword research), 2) Submit my latest article to several article directories with my automatic article submitter 3) work on this blog post.

    4) Find an Accountability Partner. An accountability partner is someone who shares similar goals and will agree to hold you accountable to what you say you will do – ideally on a daily basis. Accountability partners motivate each other and help each other prioritize. You should articulate your goals to each other and check in daily (via phone or Instant Message) to get pumped up for a productive day.

    5) Don’t check email more than 3 times a day – Let’s face it, Internet Marketers like to opt-in to the guru’s email lists and learn from the best. While it’s important to stay on the cutting edge and learn from the top dogs, you have to be careful not to spend a good portion of your day in learning what’s the hottest Internet Marketing Strategy and what’s the latest make money online formula. Focus on your goals. If you notice yourself spending more than a half hour at a time in "learn mode" get back on track to content creation and link building, as Courtey Tuttle recommends!

    I hope this helps you in your efforts to avoid Internet Marketing information overload.

    Your Partner in Online Prosperity,

    Dali Burgado

    Posted in Internet Marketing Productivity