By: Heidi Whitaker

After reading the book Happy for No Reason: 7 Steps to Being Happy from the Inside Out, by “The Secret’s” and “Chicken Soup for the Woman’s Soul’s” Marci Shimoff. , I knew that I wanted to start a forum for it. The book covers so many aspects that are relevant to members of the Connecting With Women / Real Guy Talk communities as well as my healthydivas.com community.

This forum is especially geared toward individuals building a network marketing business as well as individuals with autoimmune diseases such as Fibromyalgia, CFS, MS, RA, and others.

This positive group’s purpose is to help one another implement the principles that lead to building happiness from the inside.

What does that have to do with network marketing?

Think about it for a minute.

It is MUCH easier to recruit the perfect people into your organization when YOU are the kind of person that others want to be around. The fact is that people prefer to be around happy and optimistic individuals.

Happy for No Reason: 7 Steps to Being Happy from the Inside Out teaches you HOW to be the kind of person that prospects want to go into a network marketing business with.

Being happy for no reason literally can make you an MLM magnet.

Being happy doesn’t cost you a thing. Learning how to be happy no matter what your circumstances doesn’t cost much either. You can get Happy for No Reason: 7 Steps to Being Happy from the Inside Out from your local library. It is also available at Amazon.com.

I invite you to join the forum (even if you don’t read the book).

alt="Click here to join happy_for_no_reason">
Click to join happy_for_no_reason

Scott’s December 5th training was based upon his article How I Made the Blog A-List (And You Can Too).  (Scott’s article is a MUST READ for community members who are serious about promoting their blogs.)

For those of you who were unable to attend Scott Allen’s training, please refer to the above article and notes below provided by Sandra Boyer.

Traditionally, making the A-list was measured through citations; in other words, who got cited the most.  Technorati uses this idea to measure blog authority in a time box for a period looking at the past 6 months.  They look for links to other blogs and keep track of all of them to know how many links are made to various blog posts for those past months. 
Google is slow on updating their database of links.  Technorati updates instantly the rankings of the top 100 and posts the updated list either daily or every couple of days. 
Authority is a count of number of inbound links as measured by Technorati.  Based upon this ranking, they can break blogs down into several groups.  A cut off point of 500 links in the last 6 months equals a very high authority.  The next cut off is between 150-500, which equals a high authority.  A medium authority is measured from 10-150, and a low authority is less than 10.  These authorities can be considered the A-list, B-list, etc.
Kinedia uses tools for URLs that lets you know your ranking.  Source URL is on that site where you can see your ranking. A link in a bloggers group can help find people who share your common interests. 

A great strategy is to build links—you build links, you build readers!!  Beside the search engine benefits, it also drives direct traffic from people who follow the link.
What builds links?

1. Basics.  Write well and write often.  Link to other bloggers!  Spend 50% of your time off your blog.  Read others blogs, get ideas, write posts in their discussion forums, and then turn it into a blog post for yourself.  Comment on others’ blogs.

2. Frequency of post is important.   It’s good if you do it, but it won’t break you if you don’t.  Don’t pan your blog if you go a couple of weeks without a post.  It’s better to keep up a fairly sustained effort for 6 months.  Every post is an opportunity for someone to link to.  A blog network (like Connecting with Women) helps.  It is tremendously powerful.  Your Sidebar links get counted.  An active community writing posts is great.  Write large comments on your blog and link back to the network blog.

3. Link list posts are link bait.  People love lists!!!  Lists are resources to people for people that are not easily searchable on search engines.  Some like big long lists such as Bootstraps and Mashables (high authority blog) have 100 elements broken down in categories, but ultimately it is a mini directory.  Go for shorter list, 10-20 that are carefully selected with commentary added to it to help people know about whether to click to it or not. Make sure you search around to see if it’s already out there.  You want to be original. 

4. Unique content.  There are original ideas.  Use your own unique perspective.  Tell your own story of how you accomplished something!  This is guaranteed to be unique content.

5. Blog carnivals–#1 strategy to get inbound links to your site.  (Originally they were considered  a traveling road show.)  Don’t participate in ones that have single host, use those that move hosts from week to week. At blogcarnival.com you can find them by category and find which ones that are active. You can find 5-10 carnivals to submit to.  If you can find 5/week, that’s 125 inbound links.  Consider hosting a carnival because those who submit will link to your blog, other regular readers will link to it.  You can get 20-50 inbound links for hosting and can get 200-250 links from hosting alone.  Highly proactive carnival strategy can get you to the A-list.

6. Make your blog page your home page.  When anyone links to anything on your site, it counts as a link.  Your blog page is pretty much your whole website anyway! One trick is Technorati doesn’t care.  They look at everything under the blog domain.  Any links to your blog get counted.  They just look to see if there’s a link to that page.  Let your homepage be your blog.

Tell the story of how you established a successful blog is link bait.

Blogs are a distributed conversation.  It’s all over the place.  It can be a conversation, not just a publishing mechanism.

SEE what’s out there and engage in what’s there!  Interaction is what makes it effective. 

Leave comments on other blogs.  Whenever you do it, you put in your name and link to your blog.

P.S. Mark your calendar: Scott’s teleconference trainings are every other Wednesday evening. Scott provides the kind of help and training that most people trying to market online only dream of having access to on a bi-weekly basis.

If you did not receive an email with the information for Scott’s trainings, please contact your Connecting With Women mentor.

The following article weighs affilate marketing against working an MLM online. Connecting with women provides commentary at the end of the article.

Affiliate Marketing vs. Internet Based MLM
By Michael Noto

Affiliate marketing or internet based MLM? This is like asking Durant or Oden prior to last years NBA draft. Is there a right answer? No, obviously not. Does everyone have an opinion on the matter? Yes, and because of that it is hard to decide which is better for you. I have decided to ditch all of my affiliate marketing ventures for internet based MLM opportunities. I just wanted to be straight with you before you read this article. Hopefully by the end of this article you will see why I am so excited about online based MLM.

Ever since I was a little boy I knew that I wanted to own my own business when I grew older. When getting involved in affiliate marketing at a relatively young age I thought I was accomplishing that goal. I figured since I was my own boss and working when I wanted and where I wanted that I was somehow entitled to some type of real ownership. However, as my business acumen began to grow and I grew a little older I began to realize, I in fact did not own anything as an affiliate marketer. After the one time commission I made from a sale or referral I did not see anymore money from that particular transaction.

For some people that is all they want and all they strive for is to make some cash on the side. I on the other hand wanted to own a business system that would provide me with the lifestyle I wanted to live. When I was introduced to online MLM I knew I had found the opportunity I was looking for.

The main aspect of MLM that was appealing to me was the fact that I owned the business and I would be eligible to receive residual income that was not available to me as an affiliate marketer. Plainly put, I could do work once and be paid for it over and over again. Honestly what beats that? At the end of a day with an internet based MLM business I have a fully automated marketing system that will provide me with income for years and years to come. As an affiliate marketer what did I have left at the end of the day? Not much but a one time commission.

Well this is why I decided to switch the primary focus of my business ventures to online based MLM opportunities. Hopefully this article provided you with some help as to which business opportunity might be right for you. Remember, neither of these business models will prove to be successful if the MLM business owner or affiliate marketing rep does not have a strong work ethic, which is the foundation needed for success in any business model or program.

Discover how a normal, everyday surf bum cracked the $200K a month code with The Reverse Funnel System at http://www.ReverseFunnelExpress.com today. Also, visit The Reverse Funnel System Blog.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Noto
http://EzineArticles.com/?Affiliate-Marketing-vs.-Internet-Based-MLM&id=835406

The author is obviously promoting a specific MLM, but many of his points are valid. The article ends with describing a need for strong work ethic. Unfortunately, work ethic is only the beginning. We hurt people by not explaining that proper tools and training are also vital. I promise there are plenty of people wanting to work from home that try hard, but never make it because they don’t have the necessary tools and mentoring. This is one reason that I highly recommend everyone read The 7 Great Lies of Network Marketing. (It’s available in a free eBook form.)

Note: This article on working at home is followed by commentary from the Connecting with Women staff and a request for your opinion. 

Starting Your Work at Home Business The Right Way
By Samantha J Jane

There are disadvantages that must be recognized and dealt with, by acknowledging the disadvantages of an online home business, an entrepreneur can put together a much better business plan. With a better business plan, the home business is off to a good start. The right way to start a home business is to fully understand the difficulties that will be encountered along the way and make plans to overcome these difficulties.

Working while in your most comfy wear is attractive because a person need not spend time thinking about what to wear and some savings on the laundry. A work at home business demands no formal uniform which means that any online entrepreneur can wear anything he or she wants.

Unfortunately, what people wear affect their moods and their productivity levels. The comfy pajamas induce a person to laze around and sleep. To avoid this tendency to lower work productivity, the entrepreneur must plan on having a routine before starting to work on his home business. The routine may involve some exercise, a shower, and putting on comfortable and clean clothes.

Having no boss is another great attraction for those considering a work at home online business. No more senseless ideas, no unfounded and biased criticism and the best part, there is no one who will dictate orders on what to do. But this does not mean the entrepreneur answers to no one. As an employee, he or she answers only to the boss. With the work at home business, the entrepreneur becomes the boss and answers to a lot of people such as clients, business associates, and even the family.

In other words, the entrepreneur must still ensure that the set-up and systems of the home business must be working properly and efficiently. The clients must remain satisfied. The business associates must be given more income opportunities. And the needs of the family must be met. And finally, the flexibility of having an online home business makes the entrepreneur own his or her time. The home business owner can easily rearrange the work schedule so that other activities, such as doctor appointment and sporting activities can be done.

But the work needed for the home business does not disappear. If the home business owner spend hours watching television during the day instead of putting together an advertising strategy, he or she may need to stay up late at night to make up for the lost time. To prevent this from happening too often, the business plan should include work hours.

Samantha Jane writes articles on several subjects including internet marketing and building your own work at home business. You can see more of Samantha Jane’s work at home articles on her website and sign up for a free newsletter : Work at Home

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Samantha_J_Jane
http://EzineArticles.com/?Starting-Your-Work-at-Home-Business-The-Right-Way&id=827158

I disagree with the author’s opinion that working in your pajamas promotes laziness. If I am still in my P.J.’s at noon it is because I sat down at my computer and got so engrossed in my work that I didn’t bother to do anything else.  Although, I think working in the same clothes that you sleep in promotes imbalance. In other words, if you don’t have a daily routine that involves taking care of yourself, you may not ever get around to it.  Although you may be highly productive during the day, putting yourself last may backfire.

What do you think?

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Get free publicity by guest writing for Connecting With Women. If you have an unpublished article that you would like us to feature, please contact us using this form.

By: Heidi Whitaker

“We cannot lower the mountain, therefore We must elevate ourselves.” -Todd Skinner

Sir Edmund Hillary was the first man to climb Mount Everest. However, in 1952 he made a valiant, but failed attempt to climb Mount Everest. A few weeks later, while addressing an excited English crowd, Hillary made a fist and pointed at a picture of the mountain. In a loud voice he shouted, “Mount Everest, you beat me the first time, but I’ll beat you the next time because you’ve grown all you are going to grow… but I’m still growing!”

What is Your Personal Mount Everest?

Climbing your own Mount Everest means reaching the best that is within you. As you put one foot in front of the other, success – in business, relationships, health and all aspects of life - will follow you up that mountain.

Are you Thinking Big Enough?

Mountaineer and public speaker, Todd Skinner, encourages us to “Think, Believe, and Act on a Himalayan Scale.”

Fourteen and half-year-old Christopher Harris has already scaled Mount Everest, making it just 1500 metres from the summit before being forced to turn back. Where has this young man set his sights? Christopher dreams of Mars, where the tallest mountain reaches 21 kilometres into the Martian sky.

Indeed, before you can act on a Himalayan scale, you must think on one. It is your thinking that will determine how high you scale in this life.

“When I Have a Choice, I Choose to Believe” –Leslie Householder

On any given day, more than half of the thoughts of the average person are negative. What’s worse, 80% of those negative thoughts are recycled negative thoughts from the day before. We’re just thinking the same negative thoughts day after day. No wonder so many people are afraid of anything that may help them to progress.

Spend as much time as you can reading and listening to motivational materials. Read or listen to biographies about successful people. If you are sick, feed you mind stories of people who have overcome illness. If you are poor, feed your mind stories of people who have overcome poverty.

Constantly feed your mind until you come to understand and accept that although there will be failures along the way, success is a NORMAL consequence to risk-taking. This is what will give you the courage to climb your personal Mount Everest.

The skeptic says, “Let’s see if this will work.” The intelligent person says, “Let’s see this work.” - Steve Pavlina

Erik Weihenmayer, is a blind man who dreamed of climbing Mount Everest, a feat that defied nearly 90 percent of those who have attempted the climb to the summit. Determined not to waste his life feeling depressed and useless, Eric began to stretch his limits and became one of the elite few to make it to the top of the mountain.

Erik conquered Everest by simply putting one foot in front of the other. When asked how he accomplished this feat, Erik said, “I just kept thinking … keep your mind focused. Don’t let all that doubt and fear and frustration sort of get in the way.” Then, most importantly, he said, “Just take each day step by step.”

Eric didn’t wait for another blind man to pave the way for him up the mountainside. He took action. All the positive thinking in the world would not have gotten him anywhere had he not moved his feet.

By: Heidi Whitaker

“To dare is to lose one’s footing temporarily. To not dare is to lose oneself.” - Soren Kierkegaard

I would submit that it is more foolish to avoid the razor’s edge because of a fear of failing. You cannot avoid failure without avoiding success. Virtually all of the great achievements in human history are the result of walking the razor’s edge. Every technological or social advance was achieved because someone took a personal or professional risk.

“The skeptic sees risky endeavors as resulting in either success or failure, as if the two were polar opposites. The intelligent person knows that failure is part of the process of success, and that both lie in the same direction, opposite cowardice.” - Steve Pavlina

Norman Croucher is an accomplished mountain climber despite having lost both his legs in a railway accident. In 1981, his left artificial leg broke while climbing in Argentina. The mishap proved useful because it prompted Mr. Croucher to get a designer to make a better kind of artificial leg.

“If you accept a limiting belief, then it will become a truth for you.” ~ Louise Hay

For four thousand years in China, “everyone” accepted that peasants were incapable of learning- until one day a man named Jimmy Yen challenged this belief and started teaching commoners to read and write.

Everyday someone accomplishes something that was once deemed the impossible. If you are not afraid to fail while trying, you can accomplish whatever you have accepted to be within your personal limitations.

“…if the fear and uncertainty of risk are perceived as “the enemy,” then entrepreneurs - if they are to build businesses — must counter the enemy with a set of weapons called optimism and rationalization.”- by Rebecca Smith, A.D. Morgan Corporation

On any given day, more than half of the thoughts of the average person are negative. What’s worse, 80% of those negative thoughts are recycled negative thoughts from the day before. We’re just thinking the same negative thoughts day after day. No wonder so many people are afraid of anything that may help them to progress.

How is it that you can finally find the courage to walk the razor’s edge? The answer is in what you feed your mind. It is just as important to feed your mind with positive words as it is to feed your belly healthy food. I’m not talking about just snacking on books about courage every once in a while. I mean for you to devour positive reinforcement on a daily basis.

Spend as much time as you can reading and listening to motivational materials. Read or listen to biographies about successful people. If you are sick, feed you mind stories of people who have overcome illness. If you are poor, feed your mind stories of people who have overcome poverty. Constantly feed your mind until you come to understand and accept that although there will be failures along the way, success is a NORMAL consequence to risk-taking. This is what will give you the courage to walk the razor’s edge.

Start a successful home-based business today.   Let www.connectingwithwomen.com teach you how to build your online success story.  Learn more

Heidi Whitaker is a successful business woman and popular speaker. Her passion in life has been to help others improve their health and finances. She co-founded www.healthydivas.com to empower autoimmune sufferers to overcome their health challenges as she did.

Starting a home based business may be a tricky thing to do on your own, but with a little help you can be very successful and make great money. So home based businesses many promise you great success, but give you no marketing system to help you succeed. Therefore most people will end of failing before they really have a chance to get started. Connectingwithwomen.com is a great marketing tool for any home based business, network marketer, product you wish to sell online, etc. If you don’t have a business already, we also have a an excellent home internet business that you may promote and sell products and services with.

We teach you step by step how to market your business successfully online and provide you with personal mentoring to get you started the right way. Most women are afraid or unsure how to start marketing online, so they never do. We’ll provide you with all the steps to starting a business online and a system that will do most of the promotion work for you. learn more by clicking here.

Network Marketing’s 7 Great Lies - The title of this book really grabbed my attention when I stumbled upon it. I have been in Network Marketing industry for 7 years now, and it seemed that I was no more successful than my first day. I read all the material, listened to all the tapes, tried every recruiting approach, but no matter how much I worked, or how many people that I recruited, I couldn’t find consistent success.

Unlike many people, I am actually a great sales person and I enjoy doing it. I recruited many people into my business and was earning a few thousand dollars a month right away. Unfortunately, that was always where things would end. My recruits were unable to duplicate what I would do. I finally reached the point that I actually felt guilty telling anyone that they could make great money, because I was the only one who ever did. Selling was never fun at this point, and I could have made just as much per month working full time at Wal-Mart.

I had nearly given up on the concept of consistently making money with Network Marketing until I read this book. I related instantly with all the lies. I had been brainwashed by them for years and have retold them myself. They seemed so silly even then, but they were all that I knew. So many people sharing these stories that I figured they must be true. Some of the people that were telling the stories even seemed to be successful, so I blindly continued to follow.

This book clearly explains why the traditional ways people do Network Marketing simply does not work. After reading The 7 Greatest Lies of Network Marketing, I have completely changed the way that I do network marketing. I am already having more success than ever before and I finally feel like I am telling everyone the truth. I once believed that only a small percentage of Network Marketers would or could ever be successful – and with the outdated, ridiculous, marketing material available to Network Marketers that is absolutely the case. Anne Seig showed me not only why they do not work, but as I continued reading, I found out what does work and what makes prospects contact you to join your business. This is a MUST READ for anyone who wants real success in Network Marketing! If you don’t want to screw up with another prospect, download and read this free ebook. You can get it at http://rtd.the7greatliesofnetworkmarketing.com/.