Online Business Networks - Do they work for you?

Over the last few years we have seen a number of online business networks appear. These include new concepts associated with FaceBook, Twitter and other social media websites. As well as these we have sites such as Xing, LinkedIn, Ecademy, Fast Pitch, A Busy World, Group Site, Plaxo, Ryze and Viadeo. We can also add the dozens of different sites that support offline networking such as 4Networking, Ambassadors, Business Scene, NRG, Peer Group Learning and Business Link. I’m sure you can think of many others as well.

These all play an important part in our business lives otherwise we would not become members and participate in their activities would we? After all, some people spend hours each day online using one or more of these websites to promote their business products and services. That time must be financially justified!

Well actually how true is that - and how effective are these types of online activities?

I know that there are some who swear by these networking sites and claim that they bring loads of work to them. I’m sure that in some cases this is very true, but I also know in many cases it is just not so. I know lots of people who no longer participate having realized that they are both time consuming and produce little or no results.

Personally I believe that being a member of these types of sites can benefit you if you actively participate in the site, blogging, messaging, creating contents etc. Your reputation can grow, or even shrink as some have found out.

My question is simply this.

Do these sites provide real value to you and in an ideal world what would you like to see happen that would improve their value even more?

As you use these sites, do you wish that you could do something that you believe would benefit you, and if so what would they be. My experience show me that many of these sites having little or nothing to offer that is of real value to me.

If you believe that they have been very beneficial to you then please comment below so that others can benefit from your experience.

Regards
Jim Tuffin

Facebook – An incredible traffic generating tool!

It’s amazing that Facebook in just seven years has gone from a handful of members to over 550 million worldwide.  And there are those who predict that they will hit the one billion members in 2012. Whether that is possible is a matter of speculation but evidence indicates they are on target to achieve that number.

What is really interesting is what it means to the marketing world. Most of us see Facebook as a place to connect with our friends and to send quirky messages to each other. The truth is that those social marketers in the know see the huge potential of Facebook as a marketing tool. In fact it has been said that it is the latest marketing phenomenon and all the biggest companies across the world see Facebook as a major part of their future marketing campaigns.

How does that affect the smaller business? 

 

Well the experts who have been using Facebook as a marketing tool to create traffic to their business websites are reporting that they are stunned by the amount of targeted traffic they are receiving. That traffic turns into paying customers, and in turn those paying customers talk to their friends (on Facebook) and those friends also join that targeted traffic.

No one is saying this is easy to achieve because the process used is relatively new but once you understand what is needed then it falls into place quickly. I’ve been trying to get my head around the whole thing for quite a while now and am still struggling.


Fortunately I discovered an expert on Facebook who is able to help.

Known to many as the Facebook Queen, Jo Barnes is a Brit from Australia who dropped everything she was doing to focus on trying to understand exactly how Facebook could be used as a traffic generating tool. For months she spent all her time learning, trying and testing until she became the expert in this area. Her knowledge is second to none and just a few hours of her time will get you on the right path.

Fortunately for us here in the UK, Jo has agreed to come to London in March (12th/13th) to do a two day event called ‘The Greatest Facebook Show on Earth’ which will teach us all about this process. What is even better is that Jo has said there will be NO SELLING - just good old fashion learning and achieving. 

To make the event even more valuable the fabulous Chris Farrell (another Brit) is flying in from Hollywood to join Jo Barnes in making this an extraordinary event which will be packed with information and advice that cannot be missed. When Chris told me of the event I expected it to have one of those very high price tags … but he said that their objective was to keep the price low and not have any up selling as they wanted to build a real relationship with everyone that attends.

I know that the amount of space is limited, but they tell me that it is hoped to stage this event in other major cities around the world depending upon demand. I guess they are looking to become the recognised experts on Facebook marketing and get a large following of supporters. 

I’m already there and not only attending the event but working with Jo and Chris as part of their team to ensure that everyone gets the best results that they can here in the UK.

Places are limited but they are still available. If you would like to attend then please click the following link which will take you to a page which tells you all about the event.

The Greatest Facebook Show on Earth

I would like to encourage you to attend as I believe that the benefits are really important. I am not an affiliate and do not receive any payment as a result of anyone signing up. If you have any friends who might benefit from this event please feel free to tell them about it. If you (or your friends) sign up then please email me at jim.tuffin@jtuffin.com afterwards and I will ask Jo to send you her Facebook Video set called ‘2000 Fans in 27 Days’ for free.

Look forward to meeting you in March,

Best wishes

Jim Tuffin

Is Lady Luck Your Mentor for 2011?

Well at last 2011 has arrived and for many people this is ‘The Year’ that they will be hoping that they will - ‘make it good’.  This is the year when all those wonderful dreams and desires will become true. It is the year in which all those new resolutions will be achieved 100%. This is the year that was supposed to happen last year - but didn’t quite!

To most people these words will have a ring of truth, they know that the year will probably be no better or worse than last year, but they are ever optimistic that things will get much better and that their ‘luck’ will be forthcoming with some wonderful events or happenings that will change their lives for ever.

But sadly the truth is that 2011 will be much the same as 2010 unless they actually do something to make it change. Luck is a myth! It is the word we use when something happens that we cannot explain. Maybe it is good luck, which caused us to win the lottery. Perhaps it is bad luck that gave us some serious illness!

The fact is … we have no control over Lady Luck.

If you depend upon ‘luck’ you will be waiting a long time. So the solution is simply this … if you want to change something then you have to do the changing yourself!

I know most people will say that it is all very well talking about changing their lives but most of their waking hours are already taken up just providing for those essentials that they need.  They work long hours to pay all the bills and feed their families, ensuring each day is acceptable to them and their children. They climb into bed each night exhausted, just to get enough sleep to get up the following day to repeat the exercise once again.

As they get older they look forward to retiring when they won’t have to go to work any longer. Sadly when they get there, they find that their pensions give them less money that they are used to, and now they have many more hours each day to fill. Not to worry, if lady luck looks in favour at then, something will happen that will make it all better.

Well the truth is … if you want change, you need to change it yourself.

"But how?" you might ask

This is the question I hear all the time and when I redirect the question back to them they respond with answers like … “perhaps I’ll win the lottery” … or “my parents will leave me everything when they die” … or “I hopefully will get promoted soon” … or “I plan to start a business one day” … or even “I really do not have a clue!”

Well they probably won’t win the lottery, there parents will die leaving everything to the local cats and dogs home, promotion is thwarted when they get made redundant, they have been planning to start their own business for the last 25 years … and honestly, they probably do not have a clue!

The fact is simply this … if you want to change your life, then you have to do the changing!

"Got the message?"

So pray tell me, why do the majority of people just ignore the solution and blunder on through life, never to achieve their dreams and goals?

Well I think the answer is that most people do have amazing dreams but just do not have any idea as to how they can achieve them.  Their lives are so busy that they don’t really have the time to take the idea they have and do something about it. At the end of a long day it is easy to collapse in that arm chair in front of the TV and be absorbed by the latest soap.

Personally I have experienced just these problems. I have started four of my own business, twice very successfully … once so so and once a complete disaster. I have dozens of great ideas just based around the internet alone. Some are not financially practical for me. Others are not quite at the right time at the moment. One idea is a concept under development which will help others develop themselves a Niche Membership Site. A simple way to create an excellent income stream that will help them achieve some of their goals by actually doing something themselves and not leaving it to lady luck.

Finally, I have learnt a huge lesson. I thought I knew, how to do, what I do! How wrong could I be? I have now learnt the power of having others help me. The Power of Mentorship has enabled me to take a simple idea, and push it through to a working project. I’m being mentored and I am helping other by mentoring them so that we can all drive our ideas forward.

No longer do we wallow in the quicksand of inaction - instead we are driving each other to achieve our individual goals and objectives. Lady Luck is now homeless! We are going to make 2011 a different year, a better one, one that our goals are achieved.

So if you want to change then you know the answer is simply … take action now!

Good Luck to you!

Jim Tuffin is a mentor for a number of people and receives mentoring from others. He is a certified member of The Six Figure Mentors program and would like to encourage anyone who has a desire to create their own internet based business to join the program by way of receiving the Free Seven Day Boot Camp videos.

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