Recently one of my readers sent me a message through my contact page. Unfortunately there was an issue with my contact form plugin for wordpress and the contact details didn’t get saved.

But I would like to share with you his email. (I hope you don’t mind Chris!)

Hi

I was inspired mostly my your youtube video today … to do something like you – which i think we can all do and all make a passive income if we focus on something we really like.

I have a q-link and i also live it but what i don’t have right now is a website to get started – so i guess I’m approaching you for advice on how to make an attractive webpage just like yours

i really think you have done a great job and that it’s about time to step back into your focus and put that sunrise video up.

thanks for any info you send my way – please remember my email so we can link to each other via blog linking – v important part of online marketing

Thanks

Chris

Which inspired me to create the following video. Although some months back I  uploaded my two part morning person challenge to YouTube, I never got around to editing the time lapse footage into a shorter video (seeing that I’ve been learning that shorter videos are usually are more successful).

I have to call this a tribute to the city of Brisbane, a place I called home for over 6 years (yes perhaps I’m a little homesick!). After looking over this footage again, I must say it has inspired me to continue with my love of setting challenges and early morning starts. So, stay tuned in the next couple of weeks. I think some early morning footage from Canberra is on its way!

Oh, and P.S. Chris – if you are reading this, thanks for contacting me. I have fixed my contact form and you should now be able to resend your details.

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January was both an equally stressful and emotional month that has changed the direction of my life forever.

Lets roll back a few months…

My partner made a decision to leave the current industry he works in and move into another. A wonderful opportunity for an exciting new career and a move over 1300 kms from our home in Brisbane, Queensland to Canberra, Australian Capital Territory.

ALL OF A SUDDEN EVERYTHING WAS CHANGING.

That being… leaving many friends behind and resigning after 2 and a half years in my current employment to face utter uncertainty. My head was spinning. How do I react? At first I was horrified. I felt, what if my life changes for the worse? What if I’m not happy? What if I feel stuck? What if.. what if!!!! I loved everything about living in Brisbane…

The friends, the weather, the food, the lifestyle and the memories… the list goes on! I always liked the idea of living in different places of the world but never expected such a rapid change to happen ever so quickly.  They say change is as good as a holiday… right?

We weren’t going to make the decision until I was happy to accept the change. Let me just say… My thoughts were very active! My approach to life is to see the positive in each area of my life, and this would be no exception.

For me, the following were the deciding factors:

• Change is all about growth and making the most of my life experience.
• My hobbies and interests can be pursued from anywhere in the world.
• I am open to the opportunity to travel more, including to visit family and friends on a more regular basis.
• Happiness comes from within.
• I won’t know until I try.
• I enjoy new challenges and opportunities.

So I finally agreed to make the move. Although I’ve had periods of feeling doubtful about the decision, I’m proud that I’d adapting to a major change in my life and YES I’m really excited to see what the next chapter will look like.

While I continue my quest to find out what makes video marketing so very successful, and what steps in particular need to be followed, I’m also looking for a new and exciting opportunity for employment.

So as I wrap up this post, my mood is varied. Yes I do feel home sick – I’m even going to admit I tuned into local radio stations online to get my Brisbane fix! Meanwhile, my passion for life and keenness to take on new challenges and opportunities are as strong as ever!

Until next time

P.S. Sorry for the lack of a blog post for a while. I’ve been without decent access to the Internet for a while now, it’s like having to give up coffee!! (Don’t ever try).

How have you coped with huge changes in your life? How are things now? Comments are always welcome.

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The headline might be a little extreme, but I want to make a point. The problem is I believe that New Year’s Resolutions can become an excuse to only set goals on a yearly basis (and forget the goal by the time you reach February). If we want to set true goals, we need to create monthly goals and review them regularly. It’s the ongoing small goals that provide the long them lasting results. Make your goal this year to create lots of small attainable goals throughout the year!

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Today’s post will be brief, but I just wanted to take a moment to summarise and highlight the message from one of the most respected internet marketing pioneers – Frank Kern.

Frank gets internet marketing. He knows how to build a rapport with his audience and speak with them on a personal level (as he teaches – it’s all about core influence).  He’s conquered many product launches and had plenty of million dollar paydays.

In his latest video (titled “State Of The Internet Address”), he compares the last 10 years of Internet marketing, and contrasts this to the next 10 years to come.  There are many obvious changes…..

(My opinion) I believe there has been a negative connotation to the word “Internet marketer”. Perhaps identified as a bit ruthless, greedy, money hungry (just out for a quick buck), promoting their poor quality products with over-hyped sales letters. Sure, there is obviously people out there who do exactly that, but overall the Internet marketing industry is starting to grow up. Marketers are having to be more accountable. There is a requirement to produce higher quality content and ensure their customers are happy – because if they aren’t, word can travel fast.

With the introduction of the new legislation from the FTC, marketers must now disclose the average results from their products. I believe it’s going to overall bring about an increased level of honesty in the market.

Frank points out that online marketing is changing, and I believe – thankfully it’s changing for the better. The following two points really hit home for me.

Competitors have to cease becoming competitors.

It’s becoming a numbers game, flying solo doesn’t work. Convert your competitors into allies and form a mastermind group.  Give your competitors value, work on projects together and create win:win opportunities for one another. Isn’t it exciting to think what people can achieve when they work together?

Give away things that make your audience happy.

Sell them things that make them happier.

It totally makes sense! Just think about the last time you bought an information product online… For me it was through Twitter (they found me!). I followed this person, checked out their website, downloaded their free podcasts and when they finally announced they had a product to sell, (and it suited my price range) – I made a purchase. More importantly, I didn’t feel like I was bombarded with one sales pitch after another and I felt like I had built a rapport with this person.  I think this is the key to marketing online.

So hopefully an increased level of social interaction between customers and marketers will weed out the bad eggs and help the golden one’s shine even further.

What do you think?

Questions and comments are always welcome.

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By now you have probably heard -- I’m going full steam ahead with my chosen topic, video marketing. For the following reasons:

• I love the video medium. I think it has a lot of potential, and its why I chose to study the topic at university.
• I want to know more about video marketing (I skipped the marketing courses at uni -- now I’m regretting it!).
• When you talk about information video marketing; it is so very different in the way it is written, structured, created (especially the budget!) to traditional types of broadcast media.
• I love making videos. It’s more than just a hobby of mine that I would like to continue to pursue.
• It’s a proven niche that other people are interested in learning more about.

So today I finished off my video, and uploaded it to YouTube.

I was however a little concerned by its length -- (seeing that most videos should only be 2-3 mins length… so if tested your attention span… I’m sorry!) But I think more importanly, I’m not trying to be Mr. Know-It-All, the instant guru. I’m allowed to make mistakes along the way!

I’ve created a launch page at http://www.masteringvideomarketing.com -- If you would like to know when the blog goes live, feel free to subscribe. Meanwhile I’m busily studying and preparing content to share.

Although I’m keen to share the answers to the questions that I currently have, I’d love to know what questions you have that go unanswered. What is it about video marketing that you don’t get? What are the reasons why you wouldn’t use video marketing in your business? What’s stopping you from using information video marketing?

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It’s time to reveal what I’ve been secretly (well not that secretly) been working on – a new niche blog site called MasteringVideoMarketing.com.  If you want to be kept in the loop as to when the blog site goes live, I’ve setup a mailing list that you can subscribe to.

Without going into too much detail, it all about how we can harness the power of online video. Don’t worry, you’ll hear MUCH more about it all later.

But for now, I want to talk about designing a logo. Ok, so yes I have the skills to design basic logos. But I decided it was time to outsource this task to somebody else. The problem I’ve found with blogging and developing an online business is having to commit most of your free time to EVERYTHING – planning, writing, creating videos, social media interaction/s.

So this time I thought – why not give the task to someone else to develop my logo for me, while my time can be put to better use?

I found logonerds.com. I think it must have been a Google search. By far, their logo creation quotes appear to be really good value for money. Using a coupon code, I have only paid in total around $40 to get a logo developed (and that includes alterations).

Here’s the results so far:

What I’d like to know…  what design do you like best? What changes would you make?

Please leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts & crazy ideas!

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Yet another warm day in Brisbane! However, the air-conditioning at work seems to be generating more sub zero temperatures once again!

Today’s post is a little be technical, so I first apologise to those who won’t make any sense of it. Yesterday I visited Photo Continental, where I’ve bought a brand new tripod for myself (Velbon CX686). This one thankfully is much more sturdy, with more height and a far more fluid motion.  For what I’m after, its more than enough. I’d say a $150 well spent.

I was meaning to get a good chunk of editing done for an upcoming project, but my computer and Premiere CS4 were not in agreement (very, very slow).  It comes down to the fact that the file format that my SONY camera saves in (AVCHD) does not work well with Premiere. After a few Google searches, I discovered the best option is to convert the files to MPEG2 first, and then import them into Premiere. So I downloaded a free program called Free HD Converter (making sure I didn’t install the toolbar that came with it). If you have encountered a similar problem, you can check out the post here.

So far the results are MASSIVE. I can actually view the files in real-time, and any loss in quality is not noticeable. If you have suffered similar issues – this appears to be the fix. Just be aware that the conversion process will take numerous hours depending on how much footage you need to convert.

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Are you puzzled as to where to start when picking a niche topic?

So it’s time for me to pick a niche topic and run with it. The problem is – what happens if I pick the wrong one?

You hear the horror stories where people put their heart and soul into a product/blog site only to find out there’s nobody listing, watching, consuming or spending.  The problem is, people start with the product in mind, not the market in mind. So how can we avoid falling into the above pitfall?

Market research, market research and more market research!! AHHH I hate that word! I hated the idea of researching my market and didn’t know where to start. So in the past I’ve just totally skipped the process. If you’ve done this too, then its time to go back to square one.

Lets look at seven key considerations before you dive into a niche – head first!

1. Are you truly passionate about the topic?

And I mean really, really passionate? When was the last time you read a book or visited a website relating to that topic? How much knowledge do you have in the area? How much knowledge do you want to have in the area?

The problem that I had was I was going to select a niche that was convenient because I already owned a domain name relating to that topic.  I felt that I should be selecting something that is popular or profitable rather than something that I actually enjoy and want to learn more about (in reality, you should be able to do both!).  I’ve scrapped that idea and now I’m starting to follow these next few points (thanks to @luvyaa for the advice!).

To identify what I was truly passionate about, I created a new mind map (this is becoming a favourite pastime of mine!) Start with your skills and your interests, and branch it out until you can’t get any more specific. You’ll get a clearer understanding of what makes you tick and what areas interest you the most. Once you’ve picked a few topics, now you can see if anyone else likes what you do.  The fun begins.

2. Are other people interested in your topic?

If your niche keywords aren't getting enough traffic, move on!

So you’ve found your passion – excellent. Do others share the same passion?  I found the video by Frank Kern “How to find something to sell” to be very beneficial if you have no idea where you should start.

But basically you’ll need to identify some popular keywords. Although there are quite a few keyword research tools out there (no doubt I’ll be testing a few out down the track), to begin with I’m using the simple Google Adwords Keyword Research Tool.

By using this tool, I can get an indication of how specific I need to be to enter this niche.  By looking at the Global Monthly Search Volume, I can get an indication whether or not a keyword is viable. It is an excellent way of discovering longer tail keywords and finding potential ideas for content creation.  If a topic simply doesn’t get enough search volume, then it’s good to know that you might be saving yourself a lot of time.

3. Are people spending money in your niche?

The next step for testing the waters for your niche is to identify if people are spending money.  So I’ve been doing exactly what Frank Kern suggests. I’ve been conducting some Google searches to see if people are promoting affiliate programs & and products within the niche.

Checkout sites like Amazon, eBay and other popular shopping sites where you can get an indication on what products are selling & and what’s hot. It’s also important to discover all the forums and the ‘how to’ sites in the niche. Once you do, you can find out what questions are being asked and you can answer them.

4. Can you stay ahead of your market?

The ability to create and develop interesting content for your readers will be key. You’re going to have to love the niche enough to follow what others are staying or doing. Create content based on popular topics and ensure that you put your own spin on it. Remember, regardless of how specific or generic your niche – if you use your own unique voice, you will be heard!

5. Long term sustainability of the niche?

Simple – don’t pick niches relating to special events or ideas with limited lifespans. This is a critical one. If your niche was a certain type of technology, how long would it take before it became superseded? It’s no good building up a list of followers only to realise that soon they’ll move onto something bigger and better. You’ll be left dead in the water. Not fun!

6. Can your competitors also be your friends?

In the offline business world you usually aren’t close friends with your competitors. The thing that fascinates me with online marketing is the ability to create a WIN : WIN situation for both yourself and your competitors. To be honest – it appears that competitors have become more like companions with the introduction of social media. I love the concept of a community that embraces the idea of creating colleagues rather than competitors.   But obviously this isn’t the case for all online businesses. It depends on the business model you pick. Will your business adapt? Can you easily form joint ventures?

7. Should you be a niche blog flipper?

I’m getting very addicted to browsing through flippa.com, even though I’m yet to make a purchase or sell my own niche blog. But honestly, before you starting thinking about buying or selling blog sites, you first need to consider your end goal. From the beginning you need to identify what your end goal is for your niche site. Do you plan to hold onto it for a very short time? Do you want to brand your name and your face all over the niche and make it a long term business? It’s your decision – I’m not going to say there is a right way to do it. I will however state that I believe if you stick with your niche long enough, the power and leverage you’ll get in your market will far outweigh the income you’ll make from creating hundreds of niches and flipping them.

So what’s my niche?

Honestly – I’m writing as I’m learning. So at this point, I have an idea of my niche but I have not 100% made up my mind. Perhaps this is a good thing really. I don’t want to rush in and get burnt. I don’t think you should do the same either. Spend the required time researching your market, and then make an informed decision. You may end up saving yourself many many hours & dollars.  Keep your eyes peeled as to what decisions I make in the next few months to come. Hopefully I can practice what I preach!

Your comments are always welcome!

If you’ve picked a niche and had success, what steps did you follow? Please leave a comment – share your thoughts and findings.

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Monday Morning Walk By The River

As I write this, today marked the first day of my Monday freedom. It was the first full day that I could truly devote to myself and my goals.  Although I have found the process of mind mapping to be effective for prioritising my tasks, the past few weeks felt unnecessary busy, and I felt myself stressing for no apparent reason.  Starting the week completely different was exactly what I needed. A new routine, new thought processes and an exciting chance to plan ahead.

It Almost Felt Wrong

You know the feeling when you sense that you should be somewhere else right now? It was a strange sense of freedom. One I’m not used to!  But then I soon settled into a new routine. It all started with a walk by the river, allowing myself to think and plan the day ahead.  I got a chance to do the often neglected step of confirming my goals, soaking up the sun and appreciating the day ahead.

My Mindset Check-up

I came to the realisation that I’ve been too hard on myself. I’ve let the stress and pressure to get things accomplished interfere with my progress.  I’ve led myself into a position where I’ll put tasks on hold or procrastinated over them, after turning an activity that should be enjoyable into a stressful chore.  It became obviously clear that my mindset needed a little realigning. It’s said that what we think about directly relates to the decisions that we make and the results that follow.

So after ‘stopping to smell the roses’ so to speak, I’m now excited about what I’ll get to achieve each Monday. Having days like this to get my mind focused back on track can only help reduce stress levels and change my outcomes for the better.

How do you keep focused and motivated? What works for you? Do you create time for yourself? As always your comments are welcome.

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This week is my very last week of working under a full time contract. The idea of reducing my work hours from full time to part time has been in the back of my mind for some time. As you may already know – I’ve felt that I’ve not had enough time to work towards my true goals in the past. So I’ve finally decided to take a step forward and take action. Along the way I’ve encountered a few inner fears and concerns, but ultimately I can only see this step as a beneficial one.

When you feel like time is passing by very quickly, yet you don’t have the time to act upon any of your goals, the result is a frustration. You feel ‘stuck’. I started off this blog by making a commitment to myself – I’m going to act more, be more creative and work towards the things that are more important to me. Even having the time to THINK about what things are important to me, and to continually be able to reassess my goals – can only be beneficial.

So I’ve renegotiated my employment contract to cut back to part time hours.  Although I’m only reducing 4.5 hours per week, the most important step for me is to be able to claim one day per week to myself.

Monday is My Day

When you have an entire day set aside, it’s far easier to get things done.  I’m usually far more productive in the morning, so I’m looking forward to fast tracking my goals!  Having Monday free will give me the opportunity to not only work towards my goal outlined on this blog, but I’ll also get to rediscover some creative pursuits. It is great feeling to be creative for the pure satisfaction of expressing creativity!

My Concerns:

Okay, so yes I have to admit I have been a bit fearful of the consequences of this decision. There are a few factors that have to be considered.

Career – If I work part time, how does this reflect on my commitment to my overall career? Does it mean that I appear as less committed? Although I do enjoy my job, I can’t imagine it being a long term career choice. I’ve come to the realisation that I need extra time to learn more skills as I’ve felt my ability to learn more in my current position is limited. The ability to further my skills is more important to me.

Money – Cutting back my wage means I have to be more budget conscious. I might need to hide my credit card and pay more emphasis on tracking my spending. Anyone got some tips on budgeting?

I’ve been waiting (and waiting) for an Australian equivalent of mint.com to be developed. Mint.com automatically links all your accounts together and makes budgeting a breeze.  I didn’t think there was an alternative until I recently did a Google search and found ANZ MoneyManager. I have just signed up and although I’ve been able to add all my credit cards and my stock trading account, my main banking account doesn’t appear to be supported – doh! Otherwise I would be able to check out my net worth – live – at any point in time, scary!

Although in the short term I will have to be a little budget conscious, I believe the sacrifice will be worth it. That’s an extra 52 days per year that I get to devote to bettering my knowledge and working towards my goals.

Your comments are welcome

Resources

• Mint.com (Automatic Budgeting Analysis in USA)
• ANZ MoneyManager (Automatic Budgeting Analysis in Australia)

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