Guest Post: How to Outsource Parts of Your Business

By Nicole Dean

One of my favorite topics to discuss is outsourcing.

You’d be amazed how thinking about outsourcing and where to begin outsourcing flummoxes everyone from the newest newbies to the seasoned gurus and everyone in between.

Buy why? Why is it so very confusing? Most of us manage to outsource quite nicely in our day to day lives.

I oftentimes pose these questions to my coaching clients: When you go to a restaurant, do you head back into the kitchen and cook your own food? (That’s just silly.)

And, if your appendix burst right now, would you go online to find out how to remove it yourself? (Please say “no.”)

Of course not!

So why do we think it’s ok to do everything ourselves in our businesses?

I can’t figure out what it is, but I think I’m starting to narrow it down.

* Fear of losing control.
* Not knowing who to outsource work to. (Needing a recommendation.)
* Not wanting to take the time to outsource. (You think: “It’s quicker to do it myself.”)
* Costs. (Oftentimes, though, you can get help for a lot less than you think it’ll cost.)
* Lack of confidence in ourselves.
* Lack of confidence in the potential of our business.

No matter which of those it is, there comes a point with all of us, where you HAVE to outsource — at least if you ever want to be able to go on a real vacation where you leave the Internet behind and relax with your loved ones.

I know. I know. You’ve heard this song and dance before. BUT! While outsourcing isn’t perfect, it’s a heck of a lot better than putting the chains on your wrists from a job that you’ve created for yourself – one where you can’t escape.

So, my #1 tip for outsourcing is to try it.

Choose something small and work from there.
Submitting some articles that you’ve written to the article directories.
Finding blogs to guest post on and contacting the owners.
Answering some e-mails regarding customer issues.
Creating graphics to promote your products.

It really doesn’t matter where you start. The big thing is taking that first step so that you can enjoy the FREEDOM that comes with the online lifestyle.

Start small. Don’t go crazy. But, when you find someone who you work well with – build on that relationship so you have access to great people who know your style and who you’re comfortable working with. When I need a project done, I have my own personal rolodex of fabulously skilled people who I turn to on a regular basis. Not only does it save me time – but it also helps me to get great prices because they already know what I like, they know that I’m easy to work with and that I pay on time.

I hope this inspires you to start outsourcing in your business.

-- Nicole Dean can help you to get more done in your business without going crazy in the process. Yes, you can have a business AND a Life! Check out OutsourceWeekly.com and sign up for her free “Outsourcing Mistakes” lessons on the top of the page to get started.

How to Get People To Trust You Online

Yesterday's blog post talked about how to get more traffic to your website. But how do you get them to become clients once they're at your site? One big factor is whether or not they trust you.

I'm a member of Mark Hendricks' Internet Success System. Each month, Mark offers a Q&A call, and last night's was on the topic of building trust with prospects -- but hurry, the recording will only be available until May 25.

Here were some of the areas he discussed:

• How to build trust and how not to build trust
• How to make offers without the "snake-oil sales techniques"
• Do "trust logo graphics" on websites really get people to trust you
• Slick sales process tactics exposed
• The power of personal referrals and why you should be careful who you recommend to others
• Using honest business and trust building strategies for short and long-term success
• An easy way to build trust and goodwill to your customer
• Why people keep falling for the next "magic button, silver bullet or shiny object"
• What kind of offers can you make to build trust and credibility
• What is risk reversal and how can you use it in your offers
• The hidden reason why people should pay you for your products and services
• Why you should narrow your offering down to a few simple choices
• How to get great profit ideas from outside your niche marketplace
• A quick example of how just a few additional words can position you as a trusted person to do business with
• The secret of changing your results by changing the most overlooked thing you can do
• Should you use free offers or low price offers to attract new prospects and customers
• The one marketing tactic you must learn to love that gets you more of the results you really want

Click here to listen to the audio. It's free, and you don't need to register for anything, or buy anything.

Five Quick Tips To Get Traffic to Your Resume Website

Online, one of the most significant keys to success is getting website traffic. The more visitors you have, the better your sales and profits. Presumably you have a niche for your resume writing service (executive, financial, IT)  and you know your keywords, and regularly conduct keyword research to stay on top of what's popular. Based on those assumptions here are five quick and easy tips to get website traffic fast!

Tip #1: Make sure you're actually tagging your keywords. Do you spend a lot of time optimizing your content and then neglect to tag them on your webpage? Tags are where search engines look and if there are no tags, they'll pass right by your web pages. Here's a quick brief on tags.

There are a number of tag types, including:
* Title tags. Title tags are quite possibly the most important place to situate your keywords.

Your title tag is where you place your primary keyword or keyword phrase. The sentence will describe your business in less than 90 characters.

* Header Tags. Header tags are next in order of importance to search engines. They're ranked in order of importance.

* Meta Tags. Meta tags provide the small descriptive text found underneath the title tag on the search engine results page. Like title tags these should be kept brief, informative and up to date.

* Alt Tags. Alt tags are used to provide a text description of a graphic. Each graphic on your site should have a description and an alt tag.

Tip #2: Add content to your site daily.Content is essential for traffic and a top search engine ranking. Content is what search engine spiders look for and index -- without it, there's nothing to index or rank. Give visitors and search engines a reason to visit and index your site. Make a commitment to provide daily, optimized content and your traffic will soar.

Tip #3: Procure valuable and relevant incoming links.
The more websites which link to your webpages, the more valuable search engines perceive you to be -- though not all links are created equal. Search engines give more leverage to links from sites which are popular and credible and from sites which are relevant to your website topic.

There are different types of links.
- A direct link looks like a basic website address, for example, www.yourwebsite.com

- A text link occurs when the webpage address is embedded in the text. Readers simply click on the link and are redirected to a new website page.

- If the link is to an internal web page, for example an article published on a website, rather than the home page, it is called a "deep link."

You can encourage linking to your website by:
* Adding content to your site.
* Submitting to article directories.
* Publishing press releases.
* Blogging and participating in social networking forums, chat rooms, and social networking sites.

Tip #4: Be Social!
Now more than ever before, Internet marketing is about building a community. Whether you offer a forum on your website or you participate in social networking sites, social networking is a valuable traffic generating tactic. Sites like Facebook and Twitter can be powerful tools for generating links and traffic to your site -- create a profile and then post comments, links to your site, and ideas which generate conversation.

Get involved -- many chat rooms and forums are industry specific (including those for job seekers), find those which cater to your industry, and begin participating. Speak to and connect with a highly targeted audience.

This is where most resume writers and career coaches stop. 

Tip #5: Advertise for more exposure and traffic.Advertising, when handled strategically, can be used to promote your content and products or services. PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising is often the tool of choice because you control the advertising budget on a daily basis and have the tools to test and track your advertising efforts. Once you've honed your PPC ads, the return on investment can be phenomenal in terms of traffic and purchases.

For maximum results, create a traffic and SEO strategy. Outline your plan and your goals and then take the necessary action. Take advantage of these five traffic and search engine tips to boost your business.

"Recalculating" -- Mapping Your Course to Success

I have that Allstate car insurance commercial in my head. You know the one (it's called "Mayhem is Everywhere") -- the guy is driving in his car and his GPS voice gives him wrong directions (including a quick "Turn right,") and he crashes into another car. At the end of the commercial, the guy playing the GPS says, "Recalculating." 

Isn't that what life is all about? Recalculating your path after you make a wrong turn -- or worse, crash? If I steer my vessel in the wrong direction, I can find a map and chart out a new course. Stopping is not an option. I will find my way as long as I keep my eyes on the prize.

Success is a journey, not a destination. Strive to make each step count. A positive attitude helps you move forward and, even when you are unsure of where you are, you are not lost. Instead, choose to become a trailblazer. The generation coming behind us will have access to another route thanks to our resolve to stay the course and forge a new path.

When you come to a fork in the road, trust your intuition to guide you. Being spontaneous in this way helps release your inner self and experience success in a new way. Spontaneity gives you freedom.

Missing a turn causes me no panic because I know that I have countless options; I am not limited to only one way. A wrong turn may lead me to find a new way. The opportunity to explore the unknown excites me.

Although it feels daring to get off the fast-paced highway of life and take the scenic route, detours can be worthwhile because they lead us to discover the beautiful things in life that we otherwise may have missed. The road less traveled is filled with the most stunning sights.

Flexibility allows us to prosper despite failure. Being flexible gives us the strength to keep going when we would rather stop.

Self-Reflection Questions: 
1. What do I do when I reach a dead end?

2. How might I become less rigid and more flexible?

3. What changes can I make to ensure that I enjoy the journey just as much as the end reward?