The World According to Juho

This is just a quick heads-up about my Effortless Entrepreneurs program.

If you’re an entrepreneur or business owner yourself?

How would like to experience how to transform your business so that it becomes stress-free, at least 25% more profitable and ultimately automatic to run? Then this could well be what you’re looking for.

I’m planning to host a new batch of Effortless Entrepreneurs in about four weeks: the new dates are August 8th through 11th.

A view from the illustrious Hotel Kämp, our likely playground

It’ll be four days (instead of three, as previously announced) in Helsinki, with luxury accommodation and top-notch program and global superstar guests (not forgetting some unique local R&R opportunities!).

I hope to see you here in August!

Juho

Filed under: Success on July 14th, 2008 | No Comments »

Have you ever thought of what makes you buy something?

If you’re a marketer, you probably know that perceived value plays a very big part in that.

And a big part of that perceived value lies in getting something tangible.

Yes, even in this age of digital products, information products and zero delivery cost, hardware matters.

Let me give you a little hint: it wasn’t Napster that finally revolutionized the music industry - it was the iPod.

The iPod/iTunes combo finally revolutionized
the music business… which industry will be next?

photo credit: andrew_stawarz

Give people something they can love, find use for and most importantly, find convenient…and you could have a customer for life!

I’ve talked about the revolution in delivery before, and here’s a few more product ideas for you to ponder:

• An Amazon Kindle pre-loaded with extensive written material (you not only control what they consume, you also control how they consume it)
• An iPod Touch pre-loaded with a video course (option for monthly updates)
• A prepaid mobile phone to call you for coaching, advice (a personal hotline for high-value customers)
• A specialized stopwatch that helps achieve a specific task (e.g. for fitness training)
• A mini DVD-player with bundled content (branded appropriately, of course)
• A fully loaded laptop geared towards a specific goal such as setting up an online business (including software, how-to’s, videos, spreadsheets, interface to support, everything imaginable)
• And so on, you get the idea…

The all-new Amazon Kindle ebook reader,
ripe for hardware marketing?

photo credit: robertnelson

Three special benefits when people buy an appealing hardware+software combo product from you:

1. The hardware will act as a stick strategy long after the content has lost its interest (translates to less refunds)
2. In a lot of cases there’s a possibility for continuous updates (a.k.a. recurring revenue).
3. PLUS there’s the prestige of having YOUR device with your branding on it, on your customer’s table, reminding them that they’re a customer of yours (hence, they’re more likely to pay attention to incoming messages from you).

What’s not to like, eh? All it takes is a transformation in approach, and you could create customers for life.

Get started today - within the next 12-14 months you’ll see many more jump on this bandwagon!

Filed under: Internet Marketing, Trends on July 14th, 2008 | No Comments »

I really like it when people go out of their way to do something great for others, at no cost to the beneficiaries.

It goes to show they know giving something of value is not something that makes them have less, but just the opposite.

Sometimes you need to exhale before you inhale. In other words, give something so you can honestly ask for something in return.

And that’s so true in business, personal achievement, everything in life.

Pretty soon now, there will be two such events going on online that fit the description. I really like the idea behind both of them, although they’re quite different in approach.

THE THIRTY DAY CHALLENGE

The annual Thirty Day Challenge run by Ed Dale and Dan Raine is for people who want to make their first dollar in internet marketing. I think this is the fourth year running, and each year more and more people flock to it, for good reason.

Every year, thousands take the challenge and a good percentage of those who actually do what’s recommended, end up making their $100 or more during the thirty days. Which is nothing to sneeze at, considering it usually takes no money to do it, just tough enough buttocks to sit it out and do what’s required.

Many experienced marketers also take part just because it’s great to get back to basics once in a while, tackle a new market and also see what’s in Ed’s bag of tricks this year.

So see ya there - I’ll be there for sure.

THE BOUNDLESS LIVING CHALLENGE

Then there’s Bob Doyle’s 45 day Boundless Living Challenge, which is also in pre-launch phase as I write this.

Now this one’s a little different, it’s for people who’d like to use the Law of Attraction and other powerful transformation principles Bob is a champion of.

He’s putting up a great community where he not only facilitates the whole challenge, but also enables participants and spectators alike to mingle and share experiences.

As a side note, the Boundless Living Challenge is also a great example a few other things:

• How to do a big PR push (both online and offline)
• How to get people to participate big time (through a truly valuable experience)
• How to use the Ning social networking platform effectively

So go already, check out both challenges today: here and here. See you there!

Filed under: Internet Marketing, Success on July 9th, 2008 | No Comments »

Hey there, I wanted to tell you about an experiment I’ve been doing in the past week or so.

I got inspired to start to start journaling again, but this time in a very specific fashion.

I’m not talking about something like writing diary entries or such, this is something more directly related to productivity.

The kind of journaling I propose goes something like this.

Keep a very small, moleskine-like notepad with me at all times, in the car, in my jacket pocket, everywhere. It needs to be small because you really want to keep it with you at all times. Maybe several copies in case you’re the forgetting type.

Then, whenever you notice your mind cluttering up, you take it out and just start scribbling.

Short bullet points of no more than 2-3 lines each, just jotting out those thoughts that are starting to gum up the works. Now, you might not even notice it at first, but soon you will.

These thoughts may be generally of three categories:

• Inspired ideas you want to instantly do something about - at the very least jot it down so you can take action when it’s more appropriate for you (but still during the same day)
• Negative or intrusive thoughts - you really need to get these out of your system before they start to affect your outlook, attitude or emotional state (which in turn immediately affect your results). Write these down on dedicated pages - and throw them out or at least cross them out when you’re done!
• Fleeting but important thoughts - this category may be harder to recognize at first, but they’re equally important. These are different from the inspired ideas in that they are just something that happens to you during the day; some observations about yourself, your work or other people. You need to get these down too, so that you’ll stay in the moment.

Later in the day, take time to review what you jotted down, and make action plans or just gloss it over. Two things are important in this stage:

1. Don’t get hung up on any of this. Just let your eyes go over what you wrote, and if something grabs you, get into it. If not, just observe how your thoughts have been today.
2. VERY IMPORTANT: Do NOT review any of the negative thoughts you may have put down today. You don’t want to re-ignite any of the bad emotions you got rid of by writing them out.

If you do the journaling and the daily review, it’ll take max. 10 minutes of your day. In return, you’ll get clarity and presence of mind, unsuspecting idea gems, and a very satisfying view into your thoughts and days!

It’s well worth it, I guarantee it. Go on, try it!

Filed under: Success on July 4th, 2008 | No Comments »

I just picked up this great book the other day, Inspired Marketing by Joe Vitale and Craig Perrine.

I’ve been just glossing it over so far, but already gleaned a great many tips from it to do with productivity, success and whatnot.But one thought from Armand Morin (one of the 10+ people interviewed in the book) has especially stuck with me.And that is ‘tricking yourself into being successful‘.

You know when you’re really spinning wheels and trying to make things happen, you revert to doing all sorts of things to motivate yourself?

Perhaps you go to Starbucks for a cup to get motivated and fired up. Maybe you’ll watch an inspiring movie to get upliftment. Or maybe you eat something to get your mind off the thing you’re trying to do.

And there’s nothing really wrong with any of that, and at times it may even work to get you back on track.

But here’s the interesting part: doing that you will actually reward yourself for NOT doing what you’re supposed to be doing! And it leads to you doing more of what’s not getting you any results.

You’d never admit it, and indeed you don’t mean it. But it IS the net effect.

So to put this in positive terms, here’s the better alternative:

“Reward yourself for the things that you should be doing and it will bring out the qualities that we want to see more of. It’s a way to trick yourself into becoming more successful.”

I challenge you to experiment with rewarding yourself ONLY when you do the best things you know you should be doing. I guarantee you’ll see more and better quality output and overall more satisfaction.

As they say, the best things in life are free!

Filed under: Philosophy, Success on June 27th, 2008 | 4 Comments »

That’s a big statement, I know.

But think of this: what could be bigger than say… new advertising technology on the level of AdSense?

Or how about… a completely new business model that would instantly double your revenue?

No. I mean something much, MUCH bigger than that.

This is what I’m talking about:

Pure, omnipresent, Internet Globalization. 

Just think about it:

What if you took your current business; products, ads and everything - and localized it all for say, just four new locales? Just for the sake of argument (and crude math), that would increase your revenue by 400%. Permanently.

And not just that, it would pave the way for whatever else you’ll put out next - you’ll have four times the leverage the next time out!

There’s no way to explain the magnitude of this in a blog post, but let’s just say the time is FINALLY ripe.

It’s already happening: Clickbank has introduced limited localization support, the likes of Facebook and Google are increasing it, the signs are everywhere.

It’s been a long time coming.

I started writing a book about this whole phenomenon in 2003, and I think it’s finally time to polish it up and put it out there. (Or maybe I’ll just give it out to my best customers, I haven’t decided.)

Just to give you some further thought:

• What if you could find another economic area as ripe as the state of California?
• What if you could buy pay-per-click at 3 cents a click?
• What if you could introduce your old products to a completely fresh, rabid audience?

While you think about it, there are others already taking advantage of these trends. In recent weeks I’ve been following a fantastic product launch directed at the hispanic market (and advised in a small capacity).

Go here to see the future of Internet Marketing.

Filed under: Internet Marketing, Trends on June 19th, 2008 | No Comments »

As I’ve said before, I consider myself a writer first and a marketer second (I promise it’ll start showing soon! ).

And a web designer… probably third, fourth, fifth… oh who am I kidding it doesn’t even register!

When I was starting out business online, it used to be SUCH an annoyance:

Every time I had a great idea, and started writing copy for it, as soon as I started putting it on page, I started stumbling on design issues of all kinds.

Even with templates, it was such a pain and probably quite many profitable projects were sidelined just because I got stuck in the damn HTML design phase.

The next thing would crop up, a delay here another there… and pretty soon the original impulse and enthusiasm wasn’t there anymore.

And that’s the worst thing that can happen to a creative person.

I mean, it’s almost TOO easy to just go and download some open source HTML editor and get to work…. and waste days upon days of valuable time, energy, enthusiasm.. and eventually money.

Don’t let it happen to you!

Ok I’m rambling already, but here’s my point.

If you want to build web pages FAST, pages that grab attention and actually do their job (sell, get opt-ins, whatever it is) - AND you don’t want to waste time and sanity learning how to do everything manually…

You need an expert tool for an expert job. Speaking of which…

XSite Pro just came out with a 2.0 version of their already famously great HTML editor.

Why not hit the ground running and crank out great sites from the beginning?

Check out the testimonials from people already using XSite Pro 2.0.

Oh and the features too, the list is longer than my arm.

Check it out, you can thank me later.

Filed under: Internet Marketing, Success on June 18th, 2008 | No Comments »

I know, I know…

You’re probably just as tired as I am, of all the selling going on
in our inboxes.

And it’s not that selling is wrong in itself.. it’s the way it’s being done.

Nobody wants to feel ‘ambushed’ by sales copy that sounds like it was written by a used car salesman (let’s not point any fingers but you know it when you see it…)

Besides, what if that kind of style just doesn’t fit with your product or the way your customers like to be talked to?

Actually, almost ALL of my marketing students have said they feel awkward selling their ‘labor of love’ product online.

Having to ‘convince’ people just doesn’t do it these days.

I’ve been dissecting this issue for the better part of 2.5 years now, and recently came up with some pretty startling information. And in short order, created a solution around it.

I call it: SOFT INFUSION COPYWRITING!

Read all about it here (I may yank it as soon as I have the three early birds signed up)

BOTTOM LINE: I’m putting the ’selling without selling’ formula to work for three lucky early birds.Are you one of the first in the *world* to exhibit Fully Conscious Marketing (and reap the 10-fold returns from it)?

Why not! See what all the hubbub is about…

PS. Copy is called ‘copy’ for a reason. Most sales copy you see is just another variation of old copy that worked one time. No wonder it seems tired! This is something quite different, do check it out…

PPS. Ok here’s the quick version - Soft Infusion Copywriting has three main elemens:

1. Principles of soft copy for ’softer selling’
2. Embedded emotions (the soft infusion technique)
3. Special visual techniques for bringing home the message in a
non-conventional way.

The result is, your product gets communicated in a non-intrusive, but ultimately extremely effective ways!

Filed under: Internet Marketing, Success, Trends on June 12th, 2008 | No Comments »

One of the biggest lessons I’ve ever learned is the importance of being specific.

Specifically, when communicating something. Anything.

Whether you’re trying to ’sell’ an idea, sell a product, or convince anyone of anything…

Or, especially when going after your goals. Especially if you’re looking to ‘manifest’ something.

Since, by doing that you’re leaving most of the heavy lifting to Nature, you’d best communicate your target to It very, very, clearly!

There’s an interesting blog post from Amanda Goldston, where she describes setting a goal of some 25,000£ and getting £20,000 in her bank account due to a computer error (of course, she couldn’t keep it).

I’ve had similar experiences myself, where I’d set a monetary goal of, say, 10,000€ and next thing I knew, I was making that amount… for my then employer!

These kinds of experiences really drive home the importance of being clear AND specific with your intentions.

Whether you’re dealing with angels and spirits, or just your pen and notepad, it doesn’t matter. You have to be specific. If there’s something missing in your definition of your goal, it probably won’t be there when you get to it.

Assume nothing, define everything.
(Within reason, of course. your mind will give you a signal if you’re going overboard)

When you define it clearly enough, using all the facets needed to cover all the bases, you’ll know. You can feel yourself moving towards the desired outcome.

For me, in most cases it can happen within 24 hours. Just yesterday I set a goal at noon to come up with a way to make some extra dough to cover an unexpected expense.

I wrote a target description with about half a dozen facets to it, which seemed to be enough (often takes about eight), and gave myself until 10 p.m. to come up with it. Seemed to sit well with my insides.

So at about 9:40, the idea started popping up into my conscious mind, and I spent about 30 minutes writing it all down (pouring it down to paper, more like it!). Then, it’s time to write up another specific goal to execute on that plan…

I like it when it goes smoothly like that.

PS. If you ask me, the best place to learn how to do all this goal-setting and achieving stuff is still Stuart Lichtman’s material. Here’s his best-selling ebook and his famous coaching program.

Filed under: Philosophy, Success on June 10th, 2008 | 2 Comments »

Here’s something really cool I didn’t expect… but I should have!

I got inspired to do a basic 80/20 analysis on my marketing business… and the results were much quicker and more profound than I expected!

If you’re not familiar with 80/20 analysis, it’s based on the old Pareto’s Law which basically states that 20% of your input determines 80% of your results.

So I decided to take a candid look at my online business and see what I’d find.

Here’s what happened:

1. I hunted down the few things that actually bring about results, on a consistent basis. By results, I mean either revenue or increased intimacy and interaction my clients and the people on my lists (which is almost the same thing!).

(Turns out there were only about three such things: strategic partnerships, relevant affiliate promos, and HTML newsletters (plus working with tier-1 one-on-one clients. plus one more thing that’s a special weapon ). The connecting thread turned out to be the overarching themes I deal with in my marketing, and what people identify me with.)

2. I looked for things that I could trim off my todo list, and free up some time for more valuable things (this was easy now that I knew the things that actually produce for me).

(Less podcasting, less market research without immediate goals, no more technology projects without planned profitability. No more endless free customer support. No more JVs-by-obligation. Etc.)

3. The third thing that happened was a surprise. Not a complete surprise, but very revelatory anyway. In the course of doing this analysis, I realized I’m really a writer first, and marketer second. Always have been, through multiple career twists and turns…

Which doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy marketing or don’t have good results with it (I do) - it just seems obvious to me I should use the bulk of my now freed-up time writing stuff (books, screenplays, etc.), and be a marketer the rest of the time.

That way I get more done of what is my best output, and I still make at least the same money I did before. AND it puts me on a growth path without changing anything that radically.

So in short…

Doing the quick 80/20 analysis not only freed up extra time, it freed me to see what I’m not doing enough… things that I would enjoy AND get paid more for.

I really recommend it, your business may not be the same afterwards…

PS. To be completely honest with you, the actual analysis took place in the space of max. 30 seconds in my mind… like flashes of insight… then a few minutes to organize the findings… So just begin it, and the process will guide you…

Filed under: Internet Marketing, Success on June 9th, 2008 | 2 Comments »