Call Us Braggers! Site Build It Gives Our Business a Stellar Alexa Ranking

We are bragging about our Site Build It website, EmpoweredBusinessEntrepreneurs.com, and the stellar Alexa Ranking we have achieved in a very short period of time.

Let us explain… and tell you why this is important to YOU.

A little over two years ago, neither of us (Alicia Bausley and Lisa Hanfileti) could have told you what an Alexa ranking was, let alone brag about it.  We didn’t even know each other way back then and could not have predicted that we would become sought after trainers for online marketing.

“What’s an Alexa Ranking?”

Here’s what we have learned through Site Build It about the relevance of a website’s Alexa ranking.  An Alexa ranking is simply a way to see how your website or blog compares to the 100 million or so other active sites on the Internet.

In Alexa’s words,

“It’s a measure of a website’s popularity.  The rank is calculated using a combination of average daily visitors and pageviews over the past three months.  The site with the highest combination of visitors and pageviews is ranked #1.”

Take a look at SiteBuildIt’s explanation here and see how you can take the Alexa ranking test to uncover how your website or blog ranks.

Take the Alexa Ranking Test – http://traffic-test.sitesell.com/

Fast forward two years to when we started our Empowered Business Entrepreneurs Site Build It website.  We each had previous experience with Site Build It and hoped we could combine our talents to create something really special.

We had no idea what we were in for!  To give you an idea, let us just tell you that we closely track a number of parameters to determine where we are making progress with our EmpoweredBusinessEntrepreneurs.com website and our EBE blog.  We know the power of SBI and have  jumped in and are making the proper moves to create full time incomes.

Our Site Build It site is our central hub or online marketing platform that we use to attract people from all over the world.  And to make sure that we continue to attract visitors, we remain extremely focused on providing quality content that is so valuable that they keep coming back for more.

We took the Alexa test ourselves and quite honestly do so almost every day (out of pure excitement and thrill about how well we continue to improve!).

Today (June 22, 2009) this is where we (our EmpoweredBusinessEntrepreneurs.com website AND our blog) are ranked out of 100 million active websites in the world:

That places us in the top 2% of all active websites on the web in the whole world.  In less than 4 months!!

We believe we are only weeks away from being in the top 1%.

Go ahead and put some big names of other online marketing trainers in this test and see if they are making the right moves to explode their site in the Alexa rankings!  Come on… brag with us because we wouldn’t be here without YOU!

We wish we could take more credit but quite honestly all we did was implement the strategies taught by  Site Build It.  (Oh, we added in a few little tricks of our own, but that’s another story… and training program!)

This was our Alexa ranking on May 4, 2009 (just 7 weeks ago):

Building a website that attracts leads is the one challenge that almost all new online marketers face.  And getting it to rank within the top 1% of all websites in the world?  Well, now that’s a downright challenge (and quite intimidating to say the least).

What’s our point here?

We are here to help you do the things that will get YOU noticed!  We’re a team that works to help you

• Focus on your own skills and use them to build your credibility
• Take effective action steps in the right sequence to set up your marketing system
• Resist the temptation to jump from one marketing method to another
• Implement the proven strategies taught by Site Build It and our EBE Mentorship Program

To learn more about our Site Build It journey and how YOU can benefit from what we are doing at Empowered Business Entrepreneurs, join us on a special training Webinar that we are opening up to everyone.  We will answer the two biggest questions we hear from attraction marketers and our very own team members:

1. What’s the Big Deal With  Site Build It?
2. Should I Build a Website or Should I Build a Blog?

One of the most important things you can do for your business is to get your central platform.  Nothing else matters at this point.  You need content up on the Internet and a central place to post it.  More importantly, you need a hub to lead all your friends, followers, and admirers from such social media sites, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, among many others.

You are invited to attend our live Site Build It training Webinar on Tuesday, June 30, 2009 at 6:00 PM PST.

HERE’S THE SITE BUILD IT WEBINAR REGISTRATION LINK:
http://www.empoweredbusinessentrepreneurs.com/sitebuildit-free-webinar

We’re going to spell it out in black and white and give you the information you need to know about how to decide if you should create a website or a blog.  Then we’ll show you the REAL support that we provide to further train, teach, support and help you.

You won’t want to miss our live Webinar.  We attract hundreds of people to our training calls and for good reason.  We give away insane value!

See you there!  Remember, REGISTER FOR THE FREE LIVE WEBINAR NOW:
http://www.empoweredbusinessentrepreneurs.com/sitebuildit-free-webinar

We’ll also be making some incredible announcements.  If you know us, Alicia Bausley and Lisa Hanfileti of Empowered Business Entrepreneurs, then you know we don’t just deliver.  We over-deliver.

Who do you think taught us to do that?

Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight . . . Online Network Marketers Are you Singing A Goodnight Lullaby?

As online network marketers who may be struggling to get your business going I wanted to share an important marketing tip and at the same time, make you smile.  So here it goes… I watched this video of these adorable boxer puppies being sung to sleep (and unless you are just completely heartless, this just HAS to move you).

As I watched this video I couldn’t help but think that so many network marketers are doing the exact same thing with their MLM. That is, singing their audience to sleep.

Now you may think your own private song and dance show about your MLM products or company is taking your business and you to celebrity-ville, but in reality are you a bit ‘off tune’?  What I mean is, “are you singing for the right audience?”

Here’s a group that DID sing for the right audience (us baby boomers, in particular!):

I’m talking about the right target audience here!  The Spaniels didn’t put their audience to sleep! No way, in fact their song reached the U.S. top Pop 30 chart because their audience couldn’t get enough of their singing..

“What’s A Target Audience?“

Target Audience.  It’s one of the most misunderstand phrases for new online network marketers.  And it’s a shame, because it takes them all the way back to old school methods of network marketing – where we were taught to approach anyone and everyone about our product and our opportunity (at the same time!).

Ouch!

When you ‘sing’ your song to your target audience, you want them to sit up and take notice.  You do NOT want to sing them to sleep, where they click off your website or blog, because the ‘song’ isn’t right for them.

Here’s an example:

I could have titled this page, “How to Fix the Fuel Pump on your Car”

What would that one headline have done for you?

Well, quite frankly, my target market is network marketers who need expert help and guidance to build a successful online business.  So, that headline certainly would NOT get people to my blog or website.  And even if they did stumble upon this site, they wouldn’t stay here, because the message does not interest them (well, a couple of you guys MIGHT like this topic – but don’t count on me to fix your fuel pump!).

You see, you have to determine WHO you want to ‘sing’ to so that you attract the right audience and keep them mesmerized with your ‘voice’.

What tiny little target market might be interested in what you have to teach with your network marketing product?

Yes, I said teach, because successful online marketing is about educating others about a solution for their problems, challenges, or needs.

If your network marketing company sells greeting cards, then you are going to promote a greeting card product.  Ask yourself who specifically could be your audience?  Well, honestly, I can think of several ‘audiences’ immediately.   How do I do that?  I think about WHAT that product could do for someone with a particular problem.

Notice, I said product and not opportunity, because that would be an entirely different audience (more on that in another blog post).

Here’s another example.

I need to consider the problem of my target audience.  I ask myself, “How could a greeting card help someone?”

Then I write down my ideas:

• It could be a relationship builder – allowing a friendly and warm exchange of communication
• It could be a show of gratitude by thanking a customer for their business and making them feel special
• It could be a referral generating tool, sending a $5 gift card each time a referral comes in prompting them for more referrals
• It could be a customer retention strategy, providing valuable information in a more personal way,  to keep a customer base attrition to a minimum
• It could further pre-qualify a lead flow
• It could be a way to communicate with family and friends
• It could be a way to set someone apart from typical direct mail

Now, I have started to generate a list of HOW my product could help, but I want to fine tune it to WHO it can help.  I have many choices.  So, I start my list again:

• Realtors (a specific target audience)
• Veterinarians
• Tax Accountants
• Dentists
• Small Business Owners (a more general audience)
• Network marketers
• People who love to write (a more general audience)
• Journalists  (a more specific audience)
• Mothers
• School teachers
• Dads

Now, I have something to work with here.  So let’s say I want to start writing content to my target audience to promote my network marketing product.  I’m going to review my list and choose, specifically, veterinarians.  Now, all the content that I write about is going to talk just to THEM and teach them how my product can solve their problem!

All the keywords I use in writing my blog or website, would be giving them good quality information that educates them on the use of a greeting card to further their business and increase their bottom line profitability.

I am ‘singing’ to the right audience.  But I won’t be putting them to sleep, because they will be interested in I what I have to say, as long as I make sure to keep the information valuable to them and to address their specific wants, needs, desires and challenges.

Remember, your writing must be all about YOUR audience.  It must be about them.  Or you will put them to sleep, or they will click off your website, blog or article.

So, one more time, let’s sing in unison, Goodnight Sweetheart Goodnight!

Warm regards,

Alicia Bausley

The Renegade Professional Forum

Our Empowered Business Entrepreneurs (EBE) Renegade Professional Forum is a friendly place where real network marketing renegades can team up, share tips and marketing ideas, showcase (and get instructive feedback on) their online marketing materials, provide valuable resources, give support, receive inspiration, share with their team members, and pay it all forward so the cycle continues.

We created the EBE Renegade Professional Forum to give network marketers (many of whom have already failed at the old school method of network marketing) a safe place to ask questions, learn, and develop as successful online business entrepreneurs.  However, our Renegade Professional Forum would not exist if were not for a little thing that we like to call, Renegade Rage!

““Renegade Rage”“

Ann Sieg started the Renegade Rage by releasing her ebook, The Renegade Network Marketer in June 2007.  She totally set our network marketing industry on its ear, and it’s been a blast ever since!  Really… she made a lot of people mad – but the majority of people saw the light.  Renegades now number in the hundreds of thousands and the number is growing everyday.

If you are confused by the growing number of “Renegades” out there, you are not the only one.  It seems there is Renegade-itis all over the Internet!  Let’s see if we can clear up the confusion.

• The Renegade Network Marketer – Ann Sieg’s EBOOK that teaches the philosophy of attraction marketing and earning multiple streams of income and quite honestly, dumping the old network marketing ways.  It’s 144 pages that can change your life (that is, IF you read through to the last chapter… see below!)

• The Renegade System – A FREE MEMBERSHIP WEBSITE included with your purchase of The Renegade Network Marketer ebook. Get this… 80% of the people who buy Ann’s ebook never even log into the free Renegade System that is included with her ebook!  That’s because it is explained in the last chapter and it’s only for people who are ready, willing, and able to take the necessary steps to succeed on the Internet.  The Renegade System is a very special website that has training and marketing tools, but it is also shows you how to sign up with approximately 40 other affiliate companies, embed them in your own version of the ebook and start making multiple streams of income and generating your own qualified leads.  It’s brilliant!  Too bad so few network marketers know about it.  Or maybe it’s a good thing!

• Ann Sieg’s Renegade Marketing Team – A PRIVATE TEAM SITE created by Ann Sieg just for her Associates to teach and train them the most useful techniques in online network marketing.

• Renegade University – FREE ONLINE TRAINING founded by Mike Klingler and developed by Ann Sieg herself.  Ren U (as we affectionately refer to our alma mater) is a place to receive free online training that teaches network marketers (in particular us baby boomers!) how to become visible on the Internet and attract prospects.  All of the tutorials are in written, video, or live webinar format and are designed for the Internet beginner.  More advanced training is available when you are ready to graduate from Ren U and enter Renegade Professional.

• Renegade Professional – PAID MEMBERSHIP ONLINE TRAINING also offered by Mike Klingler and Ann Sieg.  It is a website that offers a huge array of video tutorials teaching everything from blogging, writing for the web, YouTube video marketing, creating lead capture pages, Site Build It website development, the consultative approach to sales, and lots more.

• Renegade Breakthrough Mentoring Program (RBMP) – the OFFICIAL MENTORING PROGRAM OFFERED BY ANN SIEG.  This progam is for those individuals who really want professional marketing instruction and guidance.  Ann offers a series of twelve live 90-minute webinars in addition to other training.  There is a 30-Day money back guarantee, so be sure to check it out if you want personal instruction from Ann Sieg!  Click on the link to read all thedetails and to see the course curriculum.

Go ahead and print this page out so you can keep the different ‘Renegades’ straight.

Becoming a Renegade has been a life changing experience for us.  We know it will be for you too.

Why You’ll Likely Fall Flat on Your Face in Your MLM

I despise hype in the network marketing industry.

Unfortunately, MLM hype is what made me jump into my first network marketing opportunity more than 30 years ago.  Within six weeks I quit.

Why?  Well, thirty years ago, I was forced to use the old school methods of network marketing (and we all know that is set up for quick failure).

If I were a savvy business entrepreneur, I would have used ‘big boy’ marketing methods.  But it was, quite frankly, way out of reach of my monthly household budget.  TV, radio, billboard, and even local newspaper was ridiculously expensive.  Internet was not even an option then.

So I guess I had an excuse for failure.

Let’s face it, most of us have experience with trying to succeed with network marketing by just “sharing” our product and having an obscene passion for the products or the company.  And with that excuse, I didn’t feel so bad about quitting.

We’re not so lucky today, to have an excuse to quit our MLM.   Because today, real-life, honest to goodness marketing skills are affordable and within any monthly budget.

You know what though? Most people will fall flat on their faces with their MLM because they won’t take the steps to get skilled in using this one, extremely affordable marketing source, called the Internet. They’ll say that they are technologically challenged, or don’t have the time, or need to make money fast. And that my friend, sets them up for immediate failure in their MLM business.

Excuses.

And they have lots of them.

Are you financially strapped?  Can’t spend another dime?  Wish you had some hands-on help?  Feel extremely challenged even turning on the satellite dish?  Have a feeling of information overload and overwhelm?

Then take advantage of a very generous and rewarding offer. Renegade University, the step before Renegade Professional starts you on your way to online marketing at absolutely NO cost, not a single penny.

Today, within five minutes, you can begin to learn what thousands are already successfully doing (including me and my business partner of Empowered Business Entrepreneurs, Lisa Hanfileti). Renegade University is LOADED with online marketing step-by-step training tutorials that they are GIVING away.  You could be taking these courses for weeks before you get through them all. It’s a feast for network marketers who are challenged with finding prospects and overwhelmed with how to promote their MLM online.

I call it a Basic Marketing 101 course. You need to take these steps first before you can even consider taking the advanced 300 or 400 level classes. (Why would you jump into your junior or senior year of college when you haven’t taken the steps in your introductory courses?)

Of course, you could also be of the MLM mindset that nothing is going to work for you, too.  That’s okay – we’ll put you in the MLM failure category and wish you success in working for someone else in a 8 to 5 day job for the rest of your life.

But if you are really an interested business entrepreneur, who wants to make your MLM work (and do so profitably) then you’ve come to the right place.
I challenge you to take a look at this amazing site to introduce yourself to learning how to attract prospects to you.

We just posted a whole new page on our website, and created a 14 minute video tutorial of the Renegade University (including how to log in and how to use it!).  Take a look at it here:  http://www.empoweredbusinessentrepreneurs.com/build-an-online-business.html

Don’t hesitate for another moment to take the very first steps to truly get into attraction marketing.  I’ll be looking for your feedback too!

Warm Regards,

Alicia Bausley

P.S.   Just FYI – Renegade Professional officially opens their doors on June 22 – and they will remain open!  You’ll be notified of more details once you log into Renegade University.  We’ll see you there!  Our picture will be on your welcome page!

Writing For the Web: Courses and Training That Show You How to Easily Write Valuable Content

Up until recently, writing for the web courses used to be costly, time consuming, and confusing.  But if you are a home based entrepreneur interested in developing an online business, there’s good news!

A brand new training that includes “Writing for the Web” courses as well as classes on “How to be a Content Factory” has just been released by Internet marketer and teacher, Mike Klingler.  Mike is a dedicated trainer of baby boomers and Internet newbies and has released these valuable classes to help anyone trying to find FREE step-by-step writing for the web classes.

In this series of detailed video tutorials, Mike teaches you:

• A “Formula” to easily write quality material for the web
• How to attract targeted visitors to your web content
• Why communication on the web is different than anywhere else
• Where to post your content to get the maximum response
• And much more…

This is such a powerful course that we recommend it to all of the members of our Empowered Business Entrepreneurs Mentorship Program.  Learning how to effectively attract targeted visitors and communicate with them so that they take the next step (e.g. opt-in to your newsletter, download your free report, or buy your product) is essential if you want to build a successful online business.

Of all the “Writing For the Web” courses out there, Mike Klingler’s “Writing With Pull” and “How to Become a Content Factory” are the best.  Now that they are available for free, you can learn the steps you can start taking today to write quality content for your web visitors.

You can access his course right here:
http://www.empoweredbusinessentrepreneurs.com/how-to-create-content

We look forward to seeing your quality content on the web!

Get Your Head Out of Your A.R.S.

Too many online marketers waste precious time thinking, pondering, and ruminating about their A.R.S. Of course, by A.R.S. I am referring to your Auto-Responder System and it is one of the most important (and confusing) components for baby boomer online marketers.

At EmpoweredBusinessEntrepreneurs.com we receive a ton of daily emails asking us which is the best Auto-Responder System and why. To help you get over the hump of trying to figure this out on your own, here are a few tips to help you make a decision and get into action.

Your A.R.S. is one of the most important parts of your marketing system and without one you are severely handicapping your business. It allows you to:

• Communicate with the people who visit your website
• Send emails to your subscribers
• Automate the emails so they go out in a specific sequence
• Leverage your time
• Deepen your relationship with your web visitors
• Build your list of targeted traffic
• Presell your product, service, or opportunity
• Develop your marketing pipeline

Simply stated, your A.R.S. gives your web traffic the ability to stay connected to you by subscribing to your periodic emails or newsletters.

Your A.R.S. subscribers are self-selected raving fans of your materials,
and they are therefore very qualified to consume even more
of your information, offers, products, and opportunities.

As an “attraction marketer”, you are in the business of building relationships and educating visitors through quality content. Without an Auto-Responder System you do not have a mechanism in place to further pre-sell your raving fans. In effect, your attraction marketing goes to waste if you do not have a method to “capture’ the people who are most interested in you and the content that you are posting on the web.

An auto-responder gives you the ability to:

1. Collect the names and email addresses of your web visitors
2. Legally communicate with them via an automated system

Please notice we said “legally communicate”. This is very important because a good A.R.S. has a “double opt-in” feature that meets the requirements of the FTC’s CAN-SPAM Act of 2008 which prohibits marketers from soliciting people who have not specifically requested information. So if you are emailing people to tell them about your product, business, opportunity, or service and they have not subscribed or opted-in to receive this information, stop doing it right now!

Instead set up your Auto-Responder System by choosing the one that best meets your needs. We have used the following auto-responders and can personally ‘vouch’ for each one of them.  There are others that we have used and intentionally left off of this list.  And there are many other auto-responders and contact management systems that we have never used.  So feel free to do your own research, and let us know what you discover.

Also please understand that as your marketing needs change, you may need to invest in a more sophisticated Auto-Responder System.  It is never fun to have to change your auto-responder but it happens as your business (and list) grows — and that’s a good thing!  If you already know that you are going to be doing some significant relationship building and online marketing in the future, then choose an auto-responder now that you can ‘grow into’.  We can personally recommend Aweber as a good choice for beginners who need an A.R.S. that can also fulfill the needs of a professional online marketer.

Our favorite Auto-Responder Systems:

Aweber – http://www.empoweredbusinessentrepreneurs.com/aweber
Excellent. Our favorite. Gives emails a “SPAM” rating, tells you if you have broken links, allows you to parse email lists, sophisticated tracking data, integration with 3rd party systems (1Shoppingcart, Facebook, Twitter, etc.), and it is used by some of the biggest, baddest, most successful online marketers in the industry.

1ShoppingCart – http://www.empoweredbusinessentrepreneurs.com/1shoppingcart
Excellent but only for those doing or planning on doing significant sales and marketing. Excellent live phone support. Reliable and very powerful.

Oprius – http://www.empoweredbusinessentrepreneurs.com/oprius
Good for a beginner using a contact management system for the first time. 30-day trial, lots of support, integrated scheduler and calendar. Opt-in boxes are not customizable (at the time of this writing.)

Site Build It! – http://spamcheck.sitesell.com/ebe.html
Look if you have Site Build It and you are on a budget, start with their auto-responder program. It’s completely integrated with newsletters and it’s included in the total cost of SBI so you do not have to add an extra expense.

Now that you have this information, get you’re A.R.S. in gear and set up your email marketing system today! Sign up for one of the free trial periods and learn how to use an auto-responder effectively. Write a minimum of 7 short emails that go out automatically every 3 to 4 days and over deliver quality content to your subscribers.

If you want to see an excellent A.R.S. in action, go ahead and opt-in to our Empowered Business Entrepreneurs A.R.S. (below) and you will see firsthand how an effective Auto-Responder System works.  Just fill in your name and email address in the form below:

Check Out Our A.R.S.!

And guess what else?  Not only do we go to great lengths to protect your email privacy, but we also provide you with an opt-out link with every email.  So that if you get tired or bored with us — which is highly unlikely  — you can unsubscribe to our series of life-changing emails at any time.

So go ahead … check out our A.R.S! We don’t mind a bit!

Warm Regards,

Lisa and Alicia