Are You Confident or Arrogant?
There is a huge difference between being confident or arrogant. This is a fine line that we often walk as we manage in our personal and business relationships. For the purposes of this post, I will focus on professional relationships but the information does apply personally too.
It is completely true that we must have confidence in our abilities in order to gain and keep the trust and respect of our prospects and customers. If we become too forceful about the value that we feel we are delivering, that can be perceived as arrogance which will be off-putting to people.
your ability to be transparent shows if you are confident or arrogant
In this era of full-disclosure and social networking, whether that is through Instant Messaging or other well-known social networks, it is critical that we are above-board with regard to our accomplishments and skills. One of the easiest ways to demonstrate your expertise is to reveal the value of the knowledge you’ve gained by sharing it openly with colleagues, where this is practical and do-able.
It isn’t enough to say to others that you are the best at what you do. The ONLY way that your colleagues, prospects and customers will come to believe that you are an expert in your field, as you claim, is through their perception of who you are and by the information you share openly to back up your claims. If someone asks you why you are saying what you are saying, this does not mean that they don’t believe you or are challenging what you are sharing. The way you handle yourself will show people if you are confident or arrogant.
I’m not suggesting that you should give away all that you know without compensation. What will gain more respect and higher quality referrals will be to display a spirit of collaboration when you are in group settings or in pre-sales discussions.
whether confident or arrogant, remember that you are not always right
Even though you have spent years doing what you’re doing, you will be viewed as either confident or arrogant based on your willingness to accept the possibility that you still have something to learn and letting people see that this is the case. Face it, people are inherently innovative and it is possible that someone has discovered something that can enhance your previously earned wisdom.
The ability to hear a message without the background noise of your own filters is not easy for some folks. When you KNOW you are the best at something and a new person inquires about the wisdom you are sharing, check your ego before responding. The way that you respond will inform those directly involved in the conversation, as well as those looking on, as to whether you are confident or arrogant.
You can easily avoid confrontations by keeping an open mind. If you feel that the person asking the question has less knowledge than you, do not react to their inexperience with a phrase like:
I’ve been doing this for years so I know what I’m talking about.
Kick your ego to the curb by admitting, to yourself, that nothing is static in our world. Try to actively listen so you can learn more about their position. You can experiment with statements such as:
I hadn’t thought of that. Can you tell me more about it, please?
The first part of this phrasing validates the speaker by giving them credit for their idea. The second part lets them know you are interested in what they have to say and leaves the door open for them to discuss it with you.
People will notice whether you are confident or arrogant, especially if you have a genuine interest in learning more about them and what they have to say. A good rule of thumb which I’ve discovered is that it is much better to be interested than it is to be interesting. Besides, you actually might learn something new!
mean what you say!
Overly confident people rarely have the ability to truly appreciate someone else’s expertise, especially if it approaches their own. If you are in this position and find yourself congratulating someone, make sure that your praise is sincerely offered because insincerity has potential to undermine the less experienced person with whom you are in conversation.
Always focus on building or improving your relationships by being honest. Sarcasm or self-deprecating humor is a tactic that is sometimes used by arrogant people to draw attention away from others and to themselves, so be careful about how and when this is used. If you can’t offer praise authentically, wait until you actually feel that emotion before dishing out your Kudos so the recipient knows whether you are being confident or arrogant when it is offered.
make yourself easy to approach
Your relationships will be enhanced and define you as being either confident or arrogant based on your ability to set aside your judgments that someone younger or having less experience automatically knows less about your subject than you do. This will also make you seem more approachable.
When you position yourself as an authority in your field, people will gladly follow you and have more respect for you because they want what you have. They may not have decided yet whether you are confident or arrogant, and their decision is based on their perceptions of you.
As I used to quip:
She puts on her pantyhose one leg at a time too…
When given the opportunity, provide your fans and followers with some personal information about how you arrived at your position of authority in your area of expertise. I do not recommend being overly dramatic, as this will turn some people off. What I’m suggesting is that it is totally OK let people know about things that bug you or mistakes you’ve made along your way.
In the spirit of authenticity, always ensure that you are differentiating between what is your opinion and what is a fact, based on your knowledge.
It is too much work to be perfect and it is probably an unobtainable goal anyway. Your admirers need to know you are human in order to truly value the expertise that you have to share.
confident or arrogant?
Leaders and mentors understand the responsibility of the characteristics that have attracted people to them. Marketers sometimes appear to have problems weighing the balance between being confident or arrogant and, sadly, some do not even recognize that this is an opportunity for them to change and gain higher respect.
It is my opinion that confidence and ego have the power to make or break your patterns of success. As useful as it is to have an ego to propel you, that same ego will cause people to stop listening to you if you stomp on them in public or stifle their ideas by telling them they are wrong.
People will quickly spot whether you are being confident or arrogant. Truly confident people don’t have to prove that they are good at what they do for it is obvious without declarations. Such people have a very firm BELIEF in their own capabilities, as well as a CLEAR UNDERSTANDING about their own strengths and weaknesses.
An individual with a properly balanced ego will embrace what others feel is risky because that person believes in themself and knows that they have the ability to manage the risks and make it work. Thus, these sorts of people will often take leaps of faith that would totally freak out a less confident professional. But this can be inspiring to onlookers.
Having talent and being good at something is a gift. Don’t abuse your power by diminishing those around you, no matter how much you know.
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How to Create Blog Content that Attracts Subscribers
The goal for any blog is to build a following. There are many different ways to attract new visitors to your blog, but convincing them to become repeat readers and subscribers requires one thing – great content.
Some of the results of more subscribers are:
· More profitability. Whether you are selling your own products and services, promoting affiliate products, or selling advertising, regular readers are more likely to buy from you.
· More social sharing. Your subscribers will be the first to Tweet, Like, and +1 your posts.
· More social proof. It’s natural for people to follow the crowd and the more followers you have the more follow worthy you become.
· A built-in audience. There’s something particularly satisfying about knowing that when you’ve taken the time and effort to produce a quality post, there are subscribers waiting to read it.
Here are some tips on creating subscribe-worthy content.
Find Your Voice and Communicate it Consistently
Articles that reflect your personality will connect with your audience. They’ll enjoy reading your content because it reflects who you are and what you’re about. People who feel a more personal connection and who can relate to you and your writing will be more likely to subscribe.
If you outsource any of your content, be careful not to give up your voice. Carefully select a ghostwriter who can write in your voice. Alternatively you can have your writer do the research and provide just an outline so you can finish the post yourself, in your own voice. And of course, when using PLR modify the articles to fit your personality and writing style.
Pay Attention to the Numbers
As you’re writing content for your blog pay attention to the blog posts that get the most traffic. Look at which blog posts are linked to most often and also how many comments they receive. Finally, use analytics to determine which keywords are bringing visitors to your site. The numbers indicated which content fits your audience and will help you gain subscribers.
Provide Value
Try to create content that provides consistent value. Value can be in the form of entertainment, information and education, or resources. For example, if your website is about organization and time management, checklists and how-to videos might provide excellent value to your readers. The more you can become a constant source of value, the more people will subscribe to your blog. They want to have immediate and easy access to all the information you create and share.
Present Yourself as a Credible Authority
Think about the blogs that you subscribe to. Chances are you subscribe to them at least in part because you trust the information they’re providing you. You consider the authors to be experts in their topic. As a blogger you can gain the same credibility and following by establishing yourself as an expert in your chosen field. Build authority by:
· Speaking confidently about your topic.
· Connecting with experts in your industry.
· Quoting relevant data and resources when appropriate.
· Recommending quality products and services.
· Creating an easy to use and read blog.
· Providing thoughtful responses to your commenters.
· Showing how much you enjoy your blog, topic, readers and audience.
Creating content that readers will subscribe to is part science, part passion, and part attention to detail. Create a content plan that reflects your audience’s needs and interests, pay attention to their feedback and the data, and most of all put your whole self into your blog. The subscribers will follow.
Guest Author
Linda Stacy offers blogging and PLR tips and resources at LindaStacy.com.
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How to SEO Optimize WordPress Images
Have you ever wondered how to SEO Optimize your WordPress images? It is commonly understood that on-page SEO can be optimized through the proper use of image attributes for placing keywords, appropriate keyword density, the use of H1 and H2 tags, and decoration of keywords within your post content.
Tip: SEO Optimize Images But Don’t Keyword Stuff!
The alt attribute is meant to be used as an alternative text if the image is not available and it is another location search engines to read your keywords. It is bad practice to stuff keywords, however, so use this content area wisely.
Important Image Attributes to SEO Optimize
- Image Name
- Image Title
- Image Alt Text
- Image Link Text
Uploading and inserting images into your WordPress post is very easy to do. When images are added to a post, the software creates different sized images for use on your pages automatically. The default image link is the link to the image attachment page. From an SEO perspective, this is far less desirable than having that image link to your actual post.
WordPress Image Upload Features Can Help You SEO Optimize Content
Most blog owners upload an image and insert it into their post without giving it a second thought. Unless you have investigated the advanced options available in the popup for adding images to your WordPress posts and understand how these options help you SEO Optimize your WordPress images, you are missing opportunities for keyword placement on your posts and pages.
With search engines demanding relevant content, it has become increasingly important to SEO Optimize all the elements possible in your posts and pages. As the saying goes, a picture speaks a thousand words. Don’t overlook these words by failing to utilize the full power of WordPress and image tags.
This short video tutorial will walk you through the process of assigning a name to your image that is related to the topic of your post as well as how to use the advanced features of WordPress to SEO Optimize your newly uploaded image for better on-page SEO.
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Heroes and Villains
As our nation pauses to reflect on the events that occurred a decade ago, we are reminded of the qualities that define us as humans and leaders. Standing up in bravery during a time of utter chaos is not an uncommon. The heart of humanity does tend to pull together time and again, so history has proven.
The tragedy of that event will never be forgotten by anyone who was alive that day. For some, the tragedy was much more personal due to the loss of loved ones and family. For others across the globe, the act of terrorism was celebrated, to our horror.
On Facebook, my nephew wrote this comment:
“The sadness and outrage inside me is just as much then as now. The question in my mind goes unanswered, why? I’ll never know the answer. If there’s a lesson to be learned from this it might be…don’t take life for granted, don’t just live the day like it’s any other day.”
There are no answers for acts of violence and terrorism. In and of itself, terrorism is a cowardly act because the perpetrators hide in the shadows and congratulate themselves on a job well done while the innocent suffer the consequences and grief. When they later take “responsibility” for their actions, it is nothing other than crowing inane justifications for their insanity. This has been my opinion since long before the historic events of 9-11 and my feelings were galvanized on that day.
Disregarding politics, Mayor Rudy Guilani rose to the top of the list of leaders whom I observed that day. His intentions were pure as he motivated his constituents to help each other recover during the crisis. Apparently, he was among those who impressed talk show host, David Letterman, during that time.
The civilians on United Flight 93, who took fate into their own hands and diverted the plane away from its intended target, acted without regard for their own lives as they protected our nation from further devastation. We can only imagine how it felt to be forced to make that life or death decision and, God willing, none of us will ever have to confront such a choice.
On this day, and everyday, remember the lessons of 9-11, a nation unites to keep the memories of those who served and protected us by taking a stand for the greater good during a devastating tragedy.
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Are You Using Social Media Effectively?
I know I’ve been struggling with the best way to apply social media strategies to my business. How about you? Not only did Don Crowther deliver 5 content-packed videos with solid strategies for leveraging social media in any niche during his pre-launch, today (July 11, 2011) and Wednesday (July 13, 2011), he is over-delivering again by hosting 2 FULL DAYS (Over 12+ HOURS) of free content using LIVE streaming video.
I’m sure that thousands of people will be watching and interacting during this broadcast. In fact, **Depending on when you are reading this, the show may already be LIVE right Now** at this link.
Here is the line-up for Monday, June 11th, beginning at 5pm Eastern and running until 11:30pm:
Andy Jenkins
Mike Koenigs
Jeff Walker
Perry Marshall
Dan Hollings
Dan Thies
Leslie Rohde
The SPF Livecast is also going to Showcase TONS of Real-Life case-studies from people just like you and me who are quietly (some not so quietly) leveraging Social Media in their niches to achieve their goals and profiting further by going on to become Social Media Consultants.
Here is a link to the LIVE broadcast again:
LIVE streaming Social Media Webinar Link
Since this free broadcast is LIVE Streaming video, the presenters will be taking YOUR questions, and responding to YOUR feedback LIVE as they go. Just put it on in the background if you can’t pay attention for SIX HOURS STRAIGHT. (But we’re all masters of multi-tasking, aren’t we? )
I honestly got so many great strategies for using social media more effectively from the pre-launch videos, I wouldn’t think of missing this event. Even if those got past you, you’re bound to learn SOMETHING from the 2 days of live streaming video that you can put to work for you immediately in your business.
I’m going to be there, for sure, and I hope you will join me. See you at the the LiveCast!
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I’m Not Really a Waitress …
When I launched my wordpress website design business a few years ago, my enthusiasm for helping people make money online caused me to develop a business model for myself that involved a lot of personal time with my clients. They seemed to appreciate the level of service that I offered for reasonable rates and it was fun for me to learn about the various businesses people were trying to bring online. I’ve never had to advertise. My business has grown solely by word-of-mouth and referrals, which is no accident.
Lately, it seems like new clients have expectations that exceed their budgets. It remains true that my all inclusive wordpress website design and consulting services are rare and I totally understand what it feels like to not know how to do what needs to be done where skills are lacking. Wherever possible, I extend myself to help out. I”m recently reminded that the speed with which I isolate and resolve problems seems to be projecting the idea that , because I make it look easy, it is.
I can’t count the number of times that I’ve heard a new client tell me that they don’t want to know how something works and that is why they’ve hired me. I also can’t count the number of times that clients have protested my resistance to continuing without additional compensation. A handful have been presumptuous enough to question why it would take so long to do. Excuse me?
With all due respect, if you don’t know what it takes to get something done and you don’t want to take the time to learn how to do it yourself, don’t challenge the person who does know how to do it when they tell you how long it will take to do what you need to have done!
I like living with the belief that all people are reasonable and that they are also willing to parlay a little give and take in our business agreement. Recently, a handful of new clients and prospects have come my way who are much happier with the “take” part of the equation, however. These same people have had no qualms expressing their opinions about wordpress website design services that I should deliver for free or at an unreasonably low price when the simple truth is that they don’t want to pay fairly for the services they are requesting and they are upset about the fact that they are unable to convince me that I should perform those services within their limited budget because they are low on cash.
For those of you who are reading this and are feeling a twinge of guilt about making similar demands of your website services professionals, please ask yourself these questions:
- If you wanted to buy a luxury car and couldn’t afford it, would ranting at the salesperson change the facts?
- If that sales person felt sorry for you and went the extra mile to find a financial program that lowered your monthly expense, would you blame them for the fact that the payment was still out of your reach?
When I chose an entrepreneurial career, I was happy to leave my IT Executive role behind in Corporate America because I was weary of leading teams whose contributions to the company’s success were repeatedly diminished by some top-level executive who viewed IT as a necessary evil. It would seem that I’m growing weary of explaining to new clients and prospects that the skills and knowledge that I’ve gathered throughout my professional life are worth much more than a waitress’ wage.
Yet, referrals keep coming in from my large base of previously satisfied clients. Several times a week, new business comes in through my website at http://virtuallymarj.com. Generally speaking, life is good and I enjoy working with the many nice people on my client roster. I also enjoy taking on a good challenge now and then so I guess I’ll continue growing my wordpress website design business and keeping it fun by choosing to work with clients who are willing to take advice, understand the value that I bring to their efforts and are willing to pay fairly.
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Is Providing Relevant Content Important in Your SEO Strategy?
Is providing relevant content important to your SEO Strategy and business success? With Google enforcing relevance and becoming more strict about content sources, the answer is an emphatic Yes. Your readers are seeking solutions when they set out on the search engines. If your content comes up in search results and clicking through to your page results in not finding any pertinent information related to their search, your readers will move on to the next link in their search results. It is very important to provide your readers with relevant content for anything that you publish online.
Relevant content gains high ranking regardless of its vintage. Over time, the probability that older content will be rendered obsolete exists but reviewing and revisiting your pages and updating content is a task that a website owner has to assume periodically. Note the word “review” – old content is not bad for search engine rankings unless it has totally lost its relevancy. Making old content more relevant can contribute to higher ranking while simply removing or altering content can result in a drop in ranking.
When you have relevant content on your site, can leverage your organic traffic to cross sell affiliate products that you are using and get income from those referral sales. Satisfied visitors will rarely refuse to do buy a product you are recommending if your post is relevant to their search query. The mantra is give your customers what they want and, in return, your online credibility is enhanced and your business will steadily grow. If you’ve defined too broad an audience for your content, you cannot hope to consistently deliver relevant content that will improve your site rankings for your chosen keywords. Higher rankings translates to greater income potential from your website.
There is no secret about the fact that keywords play a vital role in effective SEO content writing. The content has to be crafted in such a way that it is both keyword oriented for successful SEO and content relevance. When designing a post, begin with an understanding of the keywords you wish to rank for. Your posts must be optimized for both humans and spiders, which is a page-to-page consideration. When keywords are applied correctly throughout your site, whether on existing pages or new pages, content can be written naturally and the keyword you are trying to rank for will not be noticed by your visitor. The end result will be a robust site that targets dozens, if not hundreds, of keywords that are effectively optimized to bring in targeted traffic while still increasing sales.
Marketing your content can seem like a time-consuming and arduous task for small business owners who are beginning to build their online presence. It is a necessary evil that cannot be avoided, however. To reach your target market both locally and worldwide through search engines, you must employ small business SEO techniques. Creating fresh relevant content and building backlinks to your pages is part of this process and this can eat up hours each day if you do not have the proper tools in your tool chest.
This is where Digi Traffic Multiplier can help you. This plugin takes the principles of creating relevant content and automates the process so you are free to build your business with minimal intervention, once the plugin is setup. It’s called Traffic Multiplication. This means more business and increased sales for you!
Here are some of the features that you can use to your advantage:
- Content generated by the software is targeted specifically for your visitors because it uses the keywords that your visitors are actually using to find relevant content in the first place, so it’s a guaranteed hit. I’ve tried several plugins that promise similar things but, for the price and in consideration of the features, none compare to Digi Traffic Multiplier!
- This WordPress plugin is fully compliant with Google’s latest algorithms. The on-page SEO will attract Google’s attention and the targeted content with built-in avatars ensure that your post passes even a manual check.
- On-page SEO is done automatically to every post so you won’t have to worry that you haven’t got it right and you can focus on building your business instead.
Many of the plugins that I use sell for over 4x the price of this elegant plugin. I use it personally on several of my niche sites and I highly recommend that you take the time to investigate Digi Traffic Multiplier.
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Mixing Friendship and Business is a Bad for Business
For the past two years, I’ve been in a business relationship with a client whom I felt had also become my friend. After extracting more than twice the amount of labor than was allocated under the terms of our monthly retainer agreement for WordPress Website Development services over several months, these local clients have reminded me that mixing friendship with business is a bad idea.
In an effort to overcome my disappointment about their denial about what is owed for my services … or even discuss a compromise, I decided to write a post to advise and educate small business owners on better ways to structure contracts with clients who expect to receive benefits prior to payment.
Qualifying Business Prospects
As a former Realtor, one of the refrains that they drilled into my head during training was that Buyers were Liars. We were taught to qualify people for mortgages prior to investing time and energy in setting up showings or writing contracts. This is easy to do when you can “spin” your request for qualification as a service that will benefit the Buyer but it is not so easy to do in other service businesses.
The difficulty may lie in the fact that most small business owners cannot afford to use expensive credit checking services. Thus, the qualification process involves interpersonal communication that almost seems intrusive while qualifying a prospect for their ability to pay.
In a perfect world, you would take 100% of the payment up-front but that is a hard sell. In lieu of that, insist on a retainer of no less than 50% of the total contract price and establish milestones that pay the remaining 50% for each deliverable at the time of acceptance. You may want to consider using an escrow service to ensure that you will be paid as tasks are completed. If you are in the middle of their project and they begin to tell you they are having trouble paying their bills, stop working on their project. Retainers are non-refundable. You cannot recover the time you’ve spent once it is gone.
Get it in Writing!
If there is no written contract to enforce a business agreement, things can easily go wrong. At the very least, put the request into an email message after you’ve agreed to deliverables and pricing. Don’t begin work on the project until you have an email reply that acknowledges the agreement.
Stick to Business
Since time is the commodity that service providers trade, don’t allow yourself to get engaged in personal discussions with your clients during the project. Clients will act friendly and they will say anything to get what they want. Inevitably, they will try to gain your sympathy and convince you that they will pay you later when they want more than they can afford. In my experience, this never happens when the bill comes due and the friendship that you felt was merely the tool they used to get what they wanted.
Negotiate Before You Do the Work
If a services client requests work that you know will take more time than the payment arrangement allows for, take notes about their request and tell them that you’ll have to get back to them with a price. Regardless of their insistence, don’t lift a finger to get the work done until you have reached an agreement about compensation and received an additional retainer payment. This is business and you are delivering value.
I repeat: Don’t budge if they say they will pay you later. They won’t.
Don’t be Afraid to Walk Away
As the saying goes, when one door closes another is opened. If you feel that your client is difficult to work with and they are exhibiting signs of ambivalence about your requests for payment, this is a sign that you need to move on to another client who understands that this is your business. You are not their employee and you owe them nothing. You are an independent business owner and it isn’t your job to save them at your expense, no matter how nice they seem.
Don’t Get Distracted by the Noise
When a client knows they are wrong, they will endeavor to assign blame to you for their irresponsibility. If you get caught up in their accusations, you’ll get distracted from the goal of being compensated for the work that you’ve done. Acknowledge that you have heard what they are saying but do not engage in a debate about why you are demanding to be paid and do not involve yourself with explanations about your actions as you pursue payment. You did the work. In a business relationship, you deserve to be paid.
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