Benefits and Features of Your Website

Posted by Denise Griffitts on Aug 20, 2012 in Internet Mastery, Web Development | 0 comments

When people land on your website they want to know one thing. What is in it for them? In other words, how can you answer a question for them or solve a problem for them?

As you plan your website message always keep in mind that people buy benefits, be it a product or a service. Each product or service has a benefit and it is essential that you understand the difference.

I have been reading an excellent book by Bill Good called Hot Prospects and while the book is geared towards prospecting for sales leads and offers a wealth of information about sales letters, scripts, templates, and procedures that form the foundation for any good prospecting system, it is also applicable for your website. And what is your website but a good prospecting system? You want people to find all of the information they need to make the decision to work with you or to purchase from you.

I suggest that you buy the book just for these, if nothing else:

• 31 Letters
• 24 Scripts
• 6 Checklists
• 1 White Paper Template
• 3 Letter Templates
• 4 Sample Direct Mail Letters
• 1 Proposal Guide
• 1 Sales Profile
• 2 Bonus Chapters
• 1 Web Resources Page
• 1 List Resources Page

Mr. Good describes Benefits and Features in this manner.

Benefits: A benefit is the perception of what a product or service will do for the buyer. It saves time. It saves money. It improves quality of living. Features: A feature is some characteristic of a product or service that enables that product or service to deliver benefits to the buyer.

Do you see why this is such important information for your website? Take the time to understand the very important differences and then put them to work in your website and other marketing materials.

You can read more about the book here.

Have questions about your current website or need a new one? Call Your Office On The Web at 888-719-6711 for a free website consultation.

3 Steps to Identify What You Really Want To Do

Posted by Denise Griffitts on Aug 3, 2012 in Entrepreneurism, Internet Mastery | 0 comments

I am often asked how people should choose their online and offline marketing niche. It is really pretty easy. First of all, you need to understand that “everyone” is NOT your target market. You do need to refine your services and products down. Stop trying to be all things to all people: find your market and focus yourself to meet its needs.

To be successful with a new business today, the most important thing is to identify your specific target market.

• Exactly who are they and what defines them as a unique and discrete group of customers?
• What is their specific unmet need, also called their “pain,” that makes them an attractive group of potential customers?
• How are you planning to take care of that “pain”?

Once you have decided who your target market is it time to:

Identify what YOU want to do 

• What are your interests?
• What are your passions? What fuels your creativity?
• What are your areas of expertise? Be sure to list your soft skills as well as your hard skills! They are just as critical to your success.

Identify what you DON’T want to do

• What are the repetitive, non-income producing tasks that just eat up your working hours and frustrate you by the end of the day?
• What are things and situations that you avoid?

Identify what you are going to sell

You are going into business to make a profit, so please don’t skip this step!

• Physical products.
• Information (digital) products such as e-books, downloadable teleseminars or audios,  PLR – Private Label Rights, etc.
• Virtual Services (Virtual Assistance, Web Development, coaching, consulting, graphics, copy-writing, etc.)
• Physical Services (Lawn care,  housekeeping services, etc.)
• Affiliate products. For instance I HIGHLY recommend the world’s first ALL-ACCESS network for lifestyle entrepreneurs from Ryan Lee, called Founder Fly.  I just joined as I am a total Ryan Lee devotee…. he is a HUGE marketing genius. I am already a member of his “Inner Circle” and trust me, I paid a whole lot more than this membership is costing. I am also an affiliate.
• Drop ship products.
• Resell rights. Many ebooks and pieces of software, especially in the field of online or Internet marketing, are sold with resell rights included.

Once you have a focused business venture, research what people are looking for in that industry, who those people are, the prices they want to pay, and what the overall current availability is for them. If there is no availability, or merely low-quality availability, you have now found yourself a great target market!

Perform Super Stretches At Your Desk

Posted by Denise Griffitts on Jun 29, 2012 in Internet Mastery, Musings of the Author | 1 comment

Office Chair Stretching Exercises

I talk a lot about desk-bound fitness as this recent post about stretching like a cat on Denise Griffitts.com shows. We all know that being at a desk and in front of a computer monitor for hours on end is just not healthy and can cause some serious back pain that if not alleviated, can become chronic.

Stretching helps promote flexibility, ease tension, and improve circulation. And, the great thing is that you can do all of this in your office chair.

Try to incorporate these moves into your work day and do them every few hours. You will notice immediate improvement!

Seated Knee Hug

1. Sit with knees bent and left heel on the floor.
2. Grasp right leg just below knee and pull it toward your chest. Hold for 10-20 seconds.
3. Repeat on opposite side.

Seated Spinal Twist

1. Cross right leg over left, knees bent and left foot on floor.
2. Grip right side of chair with right hand and grip right knee with left hand; rotate torso to the right. Hold for 10-20 seconds.
3. Repeat on opposite side.

Seated Chair Boat

1. Sit with knees bent and feet hip-width apart on floor.
2. Place hands on side of seat behind you.
3. Life chest as you arch your back. Hold for 5 seconds; return to starting position. Do 5 reps.

Want to work less and earn more?

Posted by Denise Griffitts on Jun 15, 2012 in Entrepreneurism, Internet Mastery | 0 comments

The Best Business Book In 20 Years?

Do you want to work less and earn more? I know, that sounds like a fairly stupid question, but I recently read a book that teaches you exactly how to do that. This book is what I would call ’simple genius’.

Every now and then a book is written which changes the game. And for me, this one does. The author of the book in question, Sam Carpenter, charts the precise journey he took to go from working 80-100 work weeks (for 15 years) down to just 2 hours.

That may be interesting and inspiring but how does it affect YOU?

The breakthrough with this particular book is that it details a step-by-step, universally applicable blueprint which any business owner, running any type of business, can implement.

It sounds like a bold claim and you’d be forgiven for being skeptical. I was!

However, he has amassed literally hundreds of profoundly enticing and eminently credible case studies and testimonials spanning all manner of businesses from real estate management companies to retailers and frommarketing agencies to landscape designers…

In other words, finally, someone appears to have come up with a blueprint which ANY business owner can implement to radically change the way they work (and live).

His solution is elegant and simple, requires a little ‘heavy-lifting’ for a short period of time and is being hailed by business leaders and entrepreneurs from around the world as the ‘holy grail formula for working less and earning more’.

I have teamed up with the author to offer you a complimentary copy of his remarkable book as part of the launch of the 3rd edition. Share it with your friends and you’ll also get the Audiobook gratis.

Get the Work the System book by Sam Carpenter for free today.

The author sent me a hardback copy and when it arrived in the mail, I deliberately took a weekend to read and absorb it. As a self-avowed “high-functioning work-a-holic” this book has become VERY important to me. It is changing how I view my work week, and that of my team and employees.

If you do nothing else this year, read this. It’s a game-changer.

Let me know what you think of it!

Best wishes,

Denise

LinkedIn Password Hacks Cause More Problems Across Other Profiles

Posted by Denise Griffitts on Jun 7, 2012 in Internet Mastery | 0 comments

LinkedIn was hacked, confirmed by LinkedIn on 6/6/2012

LinkedIn has updated their blog indicating that there was a breach, and several LastPass staff members who used unique passwords for LinkedIn only, as well as numerous individuals not associated with LastPass, have confirmed that LinkedIn’s database has indeed been hacked.

Was your LinkedIn password hacked?

As LinkedIn is not telling us whether our passwords are at risk, it is incumbent upon us to be proactive, and quickly! First things first. Go immediately to LinkedIn and change your password. And if you are using the same password across multiple sites, stop what you are doing right now and go change them as well. Let’s face it, when it comes to password management, we tend to do what is easiest, and cyber thieves count on that! Even presidential candidate Mitt Romney has been a recent victim.

The same hackers responsible for the theft of over 6.4 million LinkedIn passwords also acquired passwords from the popular dating site eHarmony.

Check to see if your password was hacked

Here is how to check if your LinkedIn password was among the hacked accounts that are already being used to generate phishing attacks. Go to LastPass.com/linkedin and check your current password. Even if it has not been hacked, as you can see mine has not, change it anyway!

How you can secure your passwords

1. Get a password manager like Power LogOn so you don’t have to remember or type passwords.
2. Use very secure , complex, long passwords that can’t be broken using brute force or social engineering methods.
3. Just because a question is asked doesn’t mean you have to give the correct answer. For example, if they ask for your favorite pet, type in your first car. If they ask for your first car, type in your favorite teacher. Remember, computers are stupid and will give back what you gave it. So lie.