What a great month July has been. In the region I live we are able to enjoy numerous outdoor activities like open markets, hiking, swimming, boating and gathering together with friends and family. Although we are in the middle of summer in Oregon, some of my readers in other areas of the world are in the middle of your cold season. Just think, when you are soon enjoying your warm weather, there will be those of us bundling up to stay warm.

In that this is my first full summer in Oregon, I have done all I can to enjoy the weather, the people and numerous short outings.

A few weeks ago I had my first experience with what is called the Oregon Country Fair. This is not a standard county or state fair. The Country Fair is a three-day gathering that is held every year on nearly 300 wooded acres just outside of Eugene, Oregon. One can enjoy handmade crafts, music, foods, and community based culture. If I didn’t know better I would think I was taking a walk back into the sixties and seventies.

This first Fair was held in 1969 on a small farm on Hawkins Lane in West Eugene. At the time it was known as the Oregon Renaissance Fair. The original purpose of the fair was as a benefit for the Children's Free School. Apparently funding was needed for the school and a group of very creative folks came up with the idea of the Fair to raise much needed money. 

It has been said that as many as 2,000 people came to sell their wares, stroll among the handmade booths, or to see if they could find out what was going on in the early years. At the first Fair there were 24 crafts booths. Today there are over 250 with tens of thousands of visitors over the three-day period.

One day of walking, eating, picture taking, eating, walking, sitting, eating and walking (for over 7 hours) was enough to get my fill until the urge strikes again next year.

We went to the fair on Sunday. Saturday of that particular weekend, I enjoyed a day of river rafting with three adventurous women and Mark, our river guide. The highlight of the day was my dive off of "Jump Off Point”.  Early on in the day I had no idea I was going to be making the jump.

As a child I was an avid swimmer with summer being my favorite time of year. Most often, I could be found down at the local pool. From the minute the pool opened until it was time for the lifeguards to kick the stragglers out, I swam to my heart’s delight.

Over the years this changed. My interests shifted, my time was occupied with other things (like business) and somehow, the joy of swimming I felt as a child became a distant memory.  That is, until Jump Off Point.

When Mark told us about Jump Off Point, I was sure my fellow river travelers would be as excited as me to climb up the huge rock that represented the point of no return. Apparently, the three other women felt it their duty to act as my cheering section rather than take the dive themselves. I was the only one who was going to enjoy this adventure. By the time Mark led me up the steep rock, other rafts had beached in the area we were in.

With a small cheering section gathering on the shore, I found the experience to be very symbolic of dreams, goals and fears. My goal to jump off the rock into the chilly waters below symbolized the dreams and goals I have that take me into unknown areas.

My knees shaking in anticipation of the unknown, potential danger symbolized the fear I have felt before I find the courage to simply go for what I want.

The guide standing next to me assuring me he had traveled this journey before and he would do all he could to optimize my experience reminded me of mentors I have had. Although he did what he could to assure me the danger would be minimized through his experience, I knew there was only so much he was capable of. A mentor can guide us to a point, and yet, they cannot guarantee 100% that we will succeed or not experience danger. Even though Mark had jumped into the very same pool of water numerous times, there was always the chance of something, anything, going wrong. And yet, his knowledge, empathy and guidance optimized my chances for success.

This is true in life, and yet, as I stood on the rock, looking down below, my breathing very deep and my knees knocking, I knew I could turn around and not take the plunge. But I also knew if I didn’t I would forever wonder what the experience would be like.

Now it was up to me to take the next step.

Finally, after some internal dialogue I told myself, “If you don’t do this, you are short changing yourself.”

With one deep breath and a quick prayer, I jumped into the chilly waters below. The feeling of plunging into the water, floating to the surface and immediately swimming to the shore was incredibly exhilarating. The sounds of everyone on the shore cheering me on were beyond compare. The feeling of joy and pride I felt knowing I had moved through my fear was unbelievable.

When I got to shore I picked up a small stone that I held in my hand for a moment, then placed in my pocket. A stone that sits on my desk to symbolize often our fears are bigger than the challenge in front of us.  A stone that symbolizes life is about the experiences we are willing to create moment by moment. A stone that symbolizes that life is about taking the plunge and feeling the joy that comes from a sense of accomplishment.

As you journey through your month, what is the plunge you need to take?

Have a blessed month and live with all the passion and joy you can.

It’s Not that Internet Marketing Doesn’t Work; It’s that Your Systems Suck!

By Kathleen Gage

Using the Internet as part of your marketing mix can bring with it interesting challenges; a primary one being the amount of competition for the reader’s attention. For the sake of this article I want to talk about two primary types of Internet buyers.

There is the impulse buyer looking for the next get-rich-quick program or the product that makes outlandish promises; a product that miraculously solves some type of physical ailment whether it be weight, romantic challenges, or money problems. Face it, most of these promises are empty and yet, people do buy this garbage and the empty promises. There is a huge market for it.

The other type of buyer is someone seeking professional services from a reputable business or person.

Interestingly, credible Internet marketers often offer solutions for the very same problems as the quick fix sellers and yet, how they do it is very, very different.

The reality is if you are going to use the Internet to establish market share it can take months, even years, to gain your customer’s complete trust.

Recently, I received an email from a customer that supported this fact. Her message was not unlike others I have received. At some point she signed up for one of my complimentary resources such as an Ezine, tips list, or report.  After a period of time (in this case three years) she felt I had given enough value and established enough credibility to make an initial purchase from me.

What she purchased was not a small ticket item so the “sales cycle” was longer than if it had been a $20 or $30 purchase. In most cases, the lower the price the faster the decision to buy.

This got me to thinking of my own buying habits. Recently, I bought a high-ticket information product (over $1,000) from another Internet marketing expert. Some of the very same decision making processes my buyers go through were what I went through when I made the investment.

1. I have been on her list for several years.
2. I got on her list by way of a free offer – a report. The report was so valuable I stayed on her list.
3. I consistently receive high-value correspondence since first getting on her distribution list
4. She has been very conscientious about offering quality information regardless of whether it is free or costs. This has established her credibility. . (The mistake many wanna be Internet marketers make is they lack high value in their free offers. For some reason they think if it’s free they can cut corners. Big mistake)
5. I purchased a lower ticket item at some point and my experience was stellar which positioned me as a likely buyer of other products from this expert.

Because she has been consistent in how she markets, her systems are solidly in place, and she established a level of trust with me (the buyer), when it came time to buy a high priced item that I not only needed, but also wanted, I was very comfortable making the purchase.

Over the years, I have had conversations with lots of people about their frustration about how hard it is for them to sell via the Internet. Their frustration stems from the fact they sent out one message, put a product up on their site to sell, or made a blog posting and the flood gates of sales didn't miraculously open up.

Rather than looking at their part in why they are not selling they blame the market, the economy or the fact that you just can’t make money selling on the Internet.

I've got news for anyone who thinks sales are going to happen with one contact with their market...IT AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN.

The fact is the process of selling a product or service online is just that, a process. Part of the process is keeping in touch.

Before you can keep in touch, you need to build a database. Before you build a database you have to give people a reason to leave you their contact information whether it be with an Ezine, weekly tips, articles of interest, a report, a white paper or a teleseminar.

Once you have someone in your database you must continually create value and trust. This doesn’t happen with one article, one tip, or one short message. It will happen when it becomes your way of doing business. Simple as that.

Kathleen Gage is a bestselling author, inspirational and business keynote speaker and mentor to speakers, trainers, authors and consultants. Visit www.kathleengage.com to learn more.

Blogging for the Non Blogger

By Kathleen Gage

If you are new to blogging chances are you may be unsure of what the best and most effective approach to gaining maximum benefit from time and effort invested. A primary goal for blogging should be to gain visibility, credibility and market reach for your efforts.

The following are some easy to apply strategies that will get you well on your way to becoming a competent blogger.

Determine Your Purpose
The first thing you need to do is determine what is the purpose of your blog. Are you blogging for fun or is this a viable part of your overall branding and marketing strategy?

Here are some common reasons for having a blog:

• Establish expert status

• Keep in touch with clients

• Reach a global market

• Blow off some steam

• Create your online personality

Blog Consistently
To be effective you need to blog on a fairly regular basis. Your postings can be short, but need to be relative to your purpose. Many bloggers post information from other sites as a way to keep their readers informed  on a particular topic. Doing this makes your job pretty easy. Other than doing a few google searches for information and posting the information, there is not a lot for you to do.

The advantage to this is it’s fast and relatively easy. The disadvantage is you are not establishing your own expertise if this is the only type of posting you do.

Why not offer a bit of both?

Driving Visitors
There are a number of effective ways to get people to view your blog. One is to use key words relative to your market and industry. Whenever you post something you want to include those key words.

Next you can announce to your opt-in subscribers you have a blog and give them the blog address 

You can add your blog address to your sig (signature) file that you use at the end of your email messages.

Write articles specific to your market and industry. Add a resource box at the end of your article with a link back to your blog. If you areticle is of value there is a very good chance readers will visit your blog.

Post your articles in various online article directories to optimize exposure and reach.  A quick google search with the words “article directory + your topic” will bring up various locations to submit your articles to. 

One of the most popular is EzineArticles.com. To access go to www.ezinearticles.com

Subscribers to Your Blog

Make it easy for people to sign up for your blog. You can add in a simple form by visiting www.feedblitz.com and/or www.feedburner.com.

Utilize the power of RSS feeds. People can subscribe to the feed and receive updates as you add new content to your blog.

Keywords
Keywords are a way to improve your search engine ranking. Choosing the right words is extremely important. Keywords are what lead search engines to your blog.

Before you begin blogging think of the keywords you need to include specific to your market and industry. The more targeted your list the more effective your postings.

Analyze your business and your market. Think of any words that your readers might be search on to find you that relate to your company, industry, product or service.

For example my market uses words like:

• Making money on the Internet

• Internet marketing for authors

• Internet marketing for speakers

• Internet marketing for consultants

• Self Publishing

• Writing

• Authorship

This is only a partial list. However, it is a very broad and general list. The more targeted I can be the more my ideal client will find me in a search.

The way to narrow your target words down is to use a keyword selector tool. A reliable selector tool will help you to narrow the search by indicating how often people search on specific word combinations.

Two resources you can check are WordTracker and Overture. To learn more go to:
http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/ and http://www.wordtracker.com

WordTracker offers a free trial product. This is a great first step. Become familiar with the product before you decide to purchase it.

In Conclusion
Blogging can be a fun experience and it can create great opportunities when done correctly, consistently and conscientiously.

Kathleen Gage is an Internet Marketing Advisor for Speakers, Trainers, Authors, Consultants and Entrepreneurs. Access her eBook The Truth about Making Money on the Internet at http://www.streetsmartsmarketing.com/free-ebook.htm

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