Business Brain Food

How To Get Leads Using Video On Facebook And Youtube With Gideon Shalwick

Having online video as part of your marketing mix can really engage people. As obvious as this sounds, the market for online video marketing is still relatively immature, so there is great opportunity for you to stand out from the crowd with the right campaign. Gideon Shadwick makes his living from empowering companies to do just that. Like most of the rest of us, he started as an online-marketing novice, but through the promotion of a book he wrote, he soon became fascinated.

When his first round of online advertising delivered great sales for his book, he was a complete convert, but when he ran out of traffic, he didn’t have a clue what to do next. So he absolutely immersed himself in the art of online advertising and became an expert, soon realising that video was a comparatively untapped gold mine for building an audience and driving traffic. Gideon has helped over 200,000 people across 195 countries with their video marketing, and now through this podcast he will help a whole lot more. He discussed the many tricks of the trade he has picked up down the years, but here is a sneak preview:

** Combine both paid video advertising with your existing ‘free’ video sources, i.e. your youtube channel. See your own youtube channel as a slow burner that builds your audience and increases your ranking on youtube and google, but paid advertising can help speed this process up once you have laid the foundations.

** Don’t go overboard with fancy videos. When people go on youtube they have different expectations to when they watch the TV.  In fact, there is evidence that shows that conversion rates actually drop when an online video is too slick.

** Understand what the criteria is for ranking videos on places like facebook and youtube. It is about a lot more than just views and likes (listen to the podcast for a breakdown of the ranking algorithms).

** Any keyword phrase you want to use, try and use it right at the beginning of the title of any video.

** Don’t be put off by the concept of making an advert for a paid advertising campaign. There are facilities out there like veeroll.com that can make it very easy.

** Make your adverts short and sweet. 30 seconds is often enough.

** Remember youtube is not the only video host in town. Facebook is really majoring on their video content at the moment, and their interface to set up a video ad is arguably better than youtube’s.

The conversion rates that Gideon has achieved by using the above methods are very impressive indeed.  It is surprising what can be accomplished by using video as a focal point to drive traffic to your own website, or when used as a simple call to action for an individual campaign. In this episode of Business Brain Food you will learn:

** Why video is such important content in the grand scheme of online advertising

** How youtube and facebook rank videos

** The key rules that an online advert should abide by

** How to join up the long-term strategy of building an audience with a short-term campaign

** The increasing reach of facebook in the online video arena

** The inner workings of veeroll.com

Resources mentioned in this episode:

** Vee Roll (http://www.veeroll.com)

** Gideon Shalwick’s Youtube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/GideonShalwick)

** Facebook (facebook.com/businessbrainfood)

** Business Brain Food Facebook Group (facebook.com/groups/businessbrainfood)

** Twitter (https://twitter.com/bfewtrell)

** ActionCOACH (http://actioncoachanz.com/itunes)

** ActionCOACH (http://actioncoachanz.com/stitcher)

  Subscribe on iTunes It is so so simple to make engaging videos to boost interest in your company, and yet relatively few companies actually bother to do it.  If you follow Gideon’s advice, you can steal a march on all those other luddite companies out there! Also, if you are enjoying these Business Brain Food podcasts, then make sure to share them via social media sites or email the links to family and friends. A lot of time and effort goes into producing each of these podcasts with the goal in mind of the more people we can inspire about business the better. You can help us do just that!

Until next time, have a profitable day.

Cheers, Ben Fewtrell (02) 9111 5000


Making Your Dreams Come True With Steve Sims

When Steve Sims was sacked as a stockbroker after only three days in the job, it certainly didn’t look like it was the beginning of an extravagant adventure that has seen him arrange a wedding in The Vatican and have dinner at the feet of the statue of Michael Angelo. Steve’s company Bluefish specialises in creating unique experiences for high net-worth clients who want to live life to the full. He literally makes people’s dreams come true… for the right price of course! But Steve’s journey is an important example of how successful someone can be if they are passionate and they understand how to make people happy.

The small touches can sometimes make all the difference, and likewise, the ability to think big and tell people something is possible can be very lucrative indeed.

Beyond that, there are a multitude of insightful and inspirational points that came up when Steve discussed what made him and his company successful:

** If you fail at something, don’t be ashamed, just have a strong Plan A to dig yourself out of it, but then be open to a Plan B/C/D/E, because sometimes they can be far more fruitful than Plan A.  In Steve’s case, his plan to court high net-worth individuals to encourage a bank to give him a job ended up creating an international concierge business by accident!

** Only work with people you like.

** Successful people don’t grow up and don’t conform.  Think of what a 2-year-old does, i.e. what they want.  They’ll scribble all over the colouring-in book because they know no better, but when they get older they are told to colour within the lines.  Most successful people ignore this kind of conformity, and never really grow up.

** Set up your company and product in such a way that clients do the selling for you.  If you give them more than they pay for, they’ll sell you to others.

** Don’t forget the power of “critical non-essentials” i.e. the things you don’t have to do for clients, but that might just make a difference in the long term if you do them.

** Thought and empathy cannot be automated, so often they have more of an impact than the many other things in business that can be automated.

** Use old-fashioned methods of communication like letters… the open rate is generally better for snail mail than email.

** Or if you’re going to send an email, consider sending an audio voice message as an attachment.  That way, more can be said in less time, and it has a more genuine meaning.

** Keep your word, even if it costs you money in the short term.

By Steve’s own admission, he is not an intellectual, but if you are good with human touches and you display the passion and energy to make things happen, you can be clever in business. In this episode of Business Brain Food you will learn:

** The crazy adventures of Steve Sims and Bluefish

** The value of old-fashioned methods of communication

** What can be possible if you subvert the system

** The benefits of sharing your rewards with others

Resources mentioned in this episode:

** 20-minute business coaching (http://actioncoachanz.com/meetwithben)

** Blue Fish (http://www.thebluefish.com)

** Ugly Sims (http://www.uglysims.com)

** Facebook (www.facebook.com/businessbrainfood)

** Business Brain Food Facebook Group (www.facebook.com/groups/businessbrainfood)

** Twitter (https://twitter.com/bfewtrell)

** ActionCOACH (http://actioncoachanz.com/itunes)

** ActionCOACH (http://actioncoachanz.com/stitcher)

  Subscribe on iTunes

Steve’s made a business out of following dreams, and that came after his biggest knockback in life. Don’t ever give up on yours! Also, if you are enjoying these Business Brain Food podcasts, then make sure to share them via social media sites or email the links to family and friends. A lot of time and effort goes into producing each of these podcasts with the goal in mind of the more people we can inspire about business the better. You can help us do just that!

Until next time, have a profitable day.

Cheers, Ben Fewtrell (02) 9111 5000

Direct download: BBF066_Making_your_Dreams_come_true_with_Steve_Sims.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm AEDT

How to Create 2 Million Dollars a Year in Passive Income with Nathan Birch

It seems like a crazy dream to be able to retire from full-time work at the age of 24 and still have $2 million land in your account every year when you hit 30, but Nathan Birch is living proof that it is possible. For him it was all about setting the right goals, week by week, year by year, and more generally, working hard now to earn the right to not have to work as hard later. This seems like such an obvious mantra, but that’s why listening to Nathan is so inspiring, because every single one of us is actually capable of doing the things he does. His methods have empowered him to build an empire of 170 properties, but even for people who are just starting out who only want to buy one or two properties, his advice is indispensable.

Below is a summary of what made Nathan successful in property, which makes for a mighty fine template of how to succeed in business and in life in general:

** Have a plan with clearly defined goals, and then map out every step you think is required to achieve them (this seems so obvious, but a dream can only become an achievable goal once every step is broken down into small, achievable chunks)

** Document the goals and keep reviewing them

** Don’t be put off by naysayers (but rather than ignore them, rationalise their point and disprove it with your own logic)

** Be persistent – if you have an idea, don’t just leave it as an idea… take action!

** Don’t make business decisions based on emotion, i.e. “this property looks really nice, I could totally live here”… you need to make sure the numbers add up

** Don’t underestimate the value of properties in areas that are thought to be undesirable

** Try and take your time to find a property under the market value, which gives you a profit margin from the beginning

** It’s never too late! (Colonel Sanders was in his 60s when he opened his first KFC)

More generally, the most important thing is to really understand exactly what you want a property to do for your life.  When Nathan picked up a magazine at the age of 13, he was certain that property could make him wealthy and give him security, so he did his damnedest to make that happen by getting two full-time jobs and saving enough money to buy his first unit when he was 18.

Everyone’s story and aspirations will be different, but Nathan has proven that property as a means to security is a good path to go down, especially considering the increasing volatility of the superannuation/pensions market.

In this episode of Business Brain Food you will learn:

** One man’s story of how to build a property empire

** How to set, review, and achieve goals

** The money that can be saved by having two jobs

** What makes a good property investment

Resources mentioned in this episode:

** Ask Pat with Pat Flynn (http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/ask-pat/)

** Online Marketing Made Easy with Amy Porterfield (http://www.amyporterfield.com/category/podcast/)

** Small Business Marketing with Timbo Reid (http://smallbusinessbigmarketing.com/podcast-2/)

** Beers, Blokes & Business (http://beersblokesbusiness.com/category/podcast/)

** Sales, Marketing Profit with James Schramko (http://www.salesmarketingprofit.com/category/podcast)

** Podcast Answer Man (http://podcastanswerman.com/)

** School Of Podcasting (http://schoolofpodcasting.com/)

** Internet Business Mastery (http://www.internetbusinessmastery.com/podcast/)

** Beinvested (https://binvested.com.au/nathan-birch/)

** Beinvested on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/user/binvested)

** Facebook (www.facebook.com/businessbrainfood)

** Business Brain Food Facebook Group (www.facebook.com/groups/businessbrainfood)

** Twitter (https://twitter.com/bfewtrell)

** ActionCOACH (http://actioncoachanz.com/itunes)

** ActionCOACH (http://actioncoachanz.com/stitcher)

  Subscribe on iTunes

If you’re thinking of dipping your toe in to the world of property investment, or if you want to build your existing portfolio into something mega, then go ahead and do it! Nathan did. So can you!

Also, if you are enjoying these Business Brain Food podcasts, then make sure to share them via social media sites or email the links to family and friends. A lot of time and effort goes into producing each of these podcasts with the goal in mind of the more people we can inspire about business the better. You can help us do just that!

Until next time, have a profitable day.

Cheers, Ben Fewtrell (02) 9111 5000


How To Promote Your Business In The Media, With Bec Derrington

Every business needs good PR, but in order to get it, you have to understand how to build bridges with your preferred media. One great way of attracting the media is to be quoted as an expert, so we spoke to Bec Derrington, founder of http://www.sourcebottle.com - a service that connects experts with the media. Source Bottle is a free global service used by bloggers, journalists and reporters that gives them easy access to experts in any given field so they can be quoted as part of their story. This could of course be your business… you are an expert after all, aren’t you?!? Bec’s personal story is a great example of how challenging it can be to get the media onside if you don’t have many personal media contacts. How do you prevent the story of your business being lost in the mire of press releases and mailshots? And how do you come across as an expert that is simply indispensible to the media?

Having worked in PR, Bec was inspired to invent Source Bottle because she knew first-hand how difficult it was to connect with the media without a large base of personal-media contacts. The same is true for many businesses and many inspirational leaders of these businesses: they might have a great story to tell, but they don’t know who they should tell, and they don’t know who might want to know and when they might want to know it. Source Bottle is one way of making the process easier, but there are some other very important tips about how to make the ‘story’ of your business/expertise stand out enough to gain maximum publicity:

** First understand what it is you want to be known for, i.e. a particular product/industry/stance on a particular matter

** Identify the issue that your ‘solution’ solves

** Seek out the publications/media outlets that most effectively connect with your target audience

** Try and specifically target a journalist rather than doing some kind of mass mailout

** Understand the journalist’s tone of voice and tailor the content you send them (remember, it’s all about them thinking that your ‘story’ is unique to them)

** Make sure you have plenty of ‘assets’ to go with the story, i.e. photos and video

Following the above is a great way for your business to be promoted in the media without the need for an expensive PR campaign.  And remember, being recommended as an expert by a third party (in this case a journalist) can be a lot more powerful to your audience than simply advertising yourself.  If your expertise is qualified by somebody else, people are more likely to think “well it must be true”. In this episode of Business Brain Food you will learn:

** The inner workings of http://www.sourcebottle.com

** How to easily build a long-lasting relationship with a journalist from the comfort of your own home

** Why media relations is so powerful

** How to pitch to journalists correctly

** How to find contact details of journalists

** The difference between advertising and PR

** How to state your position as an expert

** Are press releases important in this day and age?

** How businesses/experts can control the message

Resources mentioned in this episode:

** Source Bottle: (http://www.sourcebottle.com.au)

** Free Sydney Two-hour workshop: (http://www.businessfasttrack.com.au)

** Facebook (www.facebook.com/businessbrainfood)

** Business Brain Food Facebook Group (www.facebook.com/groups/businessbrainfood)

** Twitter (https://twitter.com/bfewtrell)

** ActionCOACH (http://actioncoachanz.com/itunes)

** ActionCOACH (http://actioncoachanz.com/stitcher)

Subscribe on iTunes

Are you ready take your business to the next level and let the public know that you’re an expert?

Then use the information provided in this episode to make it happen! Also, if you are enjoying these Business Brain Food podcasts, then make sure to share them via social media sites or email the links to family and friends. A lot of time and effort goes into producing each of these podcasts with the goal in mind of the more people we can inspire about business the better. You can help us do just that! Until next time, have a profitable day. Cheers, Ben Fewtrell (02) 9111 5000

Direct download: BBF064_How_to_Get_Free_Media_for_your_Business_with_Bec_Derrington.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm AEDT

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