What women (really) want

Mel Gibson

I don’t know if any of you reading this will remember this film..

It’s the one with Mel Gibson & Helen Hunt (if you’re old enough to remember the film, you’ll remember Mel was gorgeous in it!) 

Anyway, Mel’s character gets an electric shock and he can suddenly hear everything that the women in his life and all around him are thinking..

I mean he can literally HEAR EVERY THOUGHT in their heads!

I know right. crazy plot…

There are some funny story lines and for Mel’s character, some very revealing, surprising and at times painful revelations.

But it got me thinking…

As an online marketer, wouldn’t it be amazing if you could hear what your customers were thinking.

I mean, I’m sure it would get super annoying after a while, but it would save you months, years even trying to figure out your marketing message.

Imagine how easy it would be to create content that literally spoke to the hearts of your ideal clients!

Jim Edwards (a legendary marketer) says, if you can describe your clients’ problems better than they can, they’re sure to buy from you….

Why?

Because people buy based on emotion and then justify with logic.

Meaning that if you want to sell something, you need to get your potential buyer to FEEL something.

I’m working with a client at the moment who’s a high ticket affiliate marketer.

We’ve been doing some deep work on who here ICA (Ideal Client Avatar) is and what they’re really searching for help with online.

Your content is the engine that powers your online marketing strategy and the ability to create content that deeply connects with your ICA is a skill that takes years to refine, but when you can nail it, is very powerful.

My client and I have been brainstorming ideas for content and I was asking..

What do high ticket clients want? By high ticket I mean 3k and upwards.

In the end we found it was easier to come up with a list of things THEY DON’T WANT.

Here’s what we came up with:

  • They don’t have a DIY mentality. They’ve already spent months, maybe even years trying to DIY results for themselves, and now they’re like “oh for christ sakes, just take my money and do the damn thing already”

Trying to sell them another DIY solution that’s gonna take them 6 months to implement is not gonna cut it.

  • They don’t make buying decisions based on price and don’t have a problem paying, i.e. they have the funds and can afford to pay and are comfortable paying for “high ticket”. In fact if your proposal is too cheap, they may think it’s sub standard. (the price you are comfortable charging is connected to your own individual money blueprint, not theirs)
  • They want to feel special. They want the power of exclusivity. They want your best service. Your best attention. Your best offer. Basically, they don’t want what everyone else is getting. They just want the best service and they can afford it. That’s why they drive a Mercades and not a Ford right!
  • They’re willing to pay “high ticket ” because in their mind, it buys them certainty. They can deal with the problem once and for all.

What’s the most you’ve ever paid for coaching or another high ticket offer?

Once you’ve paid “high ticket” yourself, you’ll find it easier to charge the same yourself.

If you need help selling your “high ticket coaching” offer, then I’d love you to come and join our community on Facebook. The 10k Month Club for Heart Centred Coaches & Consultants.

I go live every week and share tips and tricks to help you to create your freedom business.

Until next time.

Sharon Marie ?

What’s the difference between an online training course and an online coaching programme?

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” ~ Benjamin Franklin

As an online business coach, I get asked this question a lot, so I decided to write a detailed account of what I see as the main differences

I’ll use comparisons throughout to try to illustrate my points.

Before we get into this, I want you to know that, in the past 5 years, I myself have paid tens of thousands of dollars for and completed (and some not completed!) many “Online Training Courses”.

I first started searching for ways to make money online in 2016. 

I have done all sorts of things, including Amazon FBA (which I still do), starting a digital marketing agency, specialising in lead generation for local business, Bristol Digital (which I still do).

I now focus my energy on my coaching business as I’ve discovered that helping others to make money online is what brings me the most joy.

This year I decided it was time to invest in myself further, so I joined an “Online Coaching Programme”. I now have several mentors and business coaches.

I tell you this, because I want you to know that I speak from many years of personal experience. 

I know that with the current global health and impending economic crisis we’re facing that lots of people are now looking for ways to either replace a lost income or supplement an existing one.

Many people are now searching online for training. You may well be one of them and that’s why you’re reading this.

Whatever you decide to start, make sure that the work brings you joy, because if it doesn’t it really isn’t worth it.

We’re all different and have very unique learning styles, so in writing this article my hope is to give you the information, so that you will be able to ask the right questions before you invest your hard earned cash in any type of online training.

“Education doesn’t just take place in stuffy classrooms and university buildings, it can happen everywhere, every day to every person.” – Richard Branson

When I’m considering purchasing any type of online training/coaching, there are several factors that I will want to consider.

In no particular order, they are:

  • Method of delivery
  • Accountability
  • Timescales
  • Available Content
  • Results
  • Price

We’ll compare both, “training courses” with “training programmes”, based on the above.

I’ve also commented on the potential Pros and Cons for each.

1.Method of Delivery

Online Training Course

An online course will typically be delivered entirely via a platform/membership site. Once you purchase the course, you’ll get an email inviting you to create an account and then you’ll be able to login and access all the recorded material.

The training material is pre-recorded by the trainer and uploaded to the membership area.

Pros

  • You can access the material whenever you like.
  • You can complete the training at your own pace.

Cons

  • Training is pre recorded, so if it’s not updated regularly, it will soon become out of date
  • Because you can access the information whenever you like, you may not feel compelled to complete it and may not complete it at all (I have numerous unfinished courses!).
  • If you get stuck or don’t understand something, there is nobody to ask for help.
  • You are very much left to complete the course alone and if you get stuck, you’ll need to search online for the answers.

Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.” – Albert Einstein

Online Coaching Programme

  • An online coaching programme will be delivered across multiple platforms. 
  • There is usually an online members area as with the online course model, but there will be other delivery methods.

In my own group  coaching programme (Explode Your Impact) this includes:

  • A private Facebook group
  • Live training delivered 2-3 times a week
  • Weekly live Q&A sessions
  • Private weekly, monthly & quarterly one to one reviews in Zoom
  • Group training sessions with hot seats

Pros

  • You get to share your work & achievements with your coach & the group and get feedback & suggestions on how you can improve
  • You can share ideas & collaborate with other group members
  • You can meet people who are going through the same challenges as you
  • If you get stuck there is someone to get you unstuck
  • You can interact and ask as many questions as you need to
  • The content creator, your coach and their team are available to you

Cons

  • Depending on your learning style you may feel “too visible”
  • You will be held accountable (could be considered a Pro as well)

 “Learn as though you would never be able to master it; hold it as though you would be in fear of losing it.” – Confucius

2. Accountability

Online Training Course

As the content is delivered online with pre recorded material, unless there is an engaged private Facebook group, there doesn’t tend to be any accountability check in.

Pros

  • It’s entirely up to you whether you do the work or not (This could be considered a con, depending on your mindset! and attitude to implementation)

Cons

  • Left to your own devices and with nobody to keep you accountable, you may not complete the work.
  • Easy to get lost and give up when you get overwhelmed and confused by the content.

Online Coaching Programme

You’re part of something bigger now. Accountability is a huge part of being in a coaching programme.

Pros

  • You’ll be held accountable and will get the work done.
  • By completing all the training and being held accountable for taking action, you will see results.
  • You will feel compelled to complete the work because you are being asked about your progress.
  • You’re part of a team, who is cheering you on.

Cons

  • There is nowhere to hide.
  • You won’t be able to lie to yourself or put the work off for another day. If you do, you’ll only be cheating yourself.

Comfort zones are where dreams go to die ~ Russell Brunson,

3. Timescales

Online Training Course

Typically with an online course, you’ll be given lifetime access to the membership portal

Pros

  • You can complete the training & implement in your own time and at your own pace.

Cons

  • If you have a tendency to slack off, you may not complete the course or implement what you’ve learnt, so you could have wasted your money.

Online Coaching Programme

Most coaching programmes are for a set timescale, which will be determined by the amount of work that you will need to complete.

The time limit is usually on the coaching element and you will still have lifetime access to the coaching programme content.

My coaching programme “Explode Your Impact” is a 6 month programme, as I believe that you will need at least that much time to really master and implement all the concepts that I will teach you.

Pros

  • You are encouraged to take imperfect action to get the work done.

Cons

  • If you don’t do the work in the timescales, then you will lose access to the coach.

“When it comes down to it, nothing trumps execution.” ~ Gary Vaynerchuk

4. Available Content

Online Training Course

The content is prerecorded and predefined.

Pros

  • You can access the course content whenever you want to.

Cons

  • Depending on the quality of the course material, you may have further questions and will often need to look for answers online.
  • As the content is pre recorded, unless it is kept up to date, it may be out of date by the time you are watching it.
  • You have no way of knowing before you buy the course if it’s at the right experience level for you.
  • You may get overwhelmed with the content and give up.

Online Coaching Programme

As the content is both pre recorded and delivered live it can constantly be updated and adapted inline with current methods and trends.

The coaches can decide to include training on any topic that the students feel they need extra support with.

Pros

  • As the content is both pre recorded and delivered live you are getting up to date content.
  • The content can be adapted to meet students where they are in terms of skill and experience levels.

Cons

  • There are no cons as if the content isn’t available, then as a student you can request further training on a specific topic.

5. Results

Online Training Course

With an online course it’s more about information. You get access to the “how to”.

Pros

  • If you complete the work, you will gain the knowledge presented in the training modules.

Cons

  • Unless you implement what you learn in the course, you won’t get a result.

Online Coaching Programme

With a coaching programme, it’s all about getting you your desired result and outcome. You will typically get an on boarding call, where you have an opportunity to talk through your goals and ambitions and what you want to achieve.

Pros

  • Because you are getting all of your questions answered and being held accountable you can fully understand each concept and idea before moving on.
  • You are encouraged and supported at each step to complete the work and to take  massive imperfect action towards the desired result.

Cons

  • As with any programme, it will only work if you do.

Your results are your certification ~ Russell Brunson

6. Price

Online Training Course

An online course can cost anything from $197 – $1800 depending on the niche and topic. You are paying for course content and skills training.

Pros

  • Much lower point of entry, which could offer you a starting point.

Cons

  • Price isn’t necessarily a good indicator of how good the course content will be.

Online Coaching Programme

An online coaching programme can cost anything from $497 – $25000. 

The price will depend on the programme length, which can be anything from a 30 day bootcamp to a full 12 months of group coaching.

With an online coaching programme you’re paying for access to the coach and their knowledge and expertise as well as the content.

Pros

  • You can decide what’s right for you depending on your requirements and your level of experience.

Cons

  • Online Coaching tends to be more expensive because you will get high touch support and accountability coaching.
  • Price isn’t necessarily a good indicator of how good the course content will be.

“A real decision is measured by the fact that you’ve taken a new action. If there’s no action, you haven’t truly decided.” – Tony Robbins

So In conclusion, I would say that only you know yourself and how you will learn best.

It’s important to really think about what results you would like to get.

Also be truthful with yourself about what you will need in terms of support, not just with the implementation of the content, but also in terms of motivation and staying on track.

If you need any help, then feel free to DM me via the messenger icon on this page. I respond personally to all messages.

Good luck with choosing the right online training package.

Need help with scaling your online coaching business?

Come & join our growing community The 10k Month Club ~ For Heart Centred Coaches & Consultants

Why I’m On A MISSION To Teach Business Owners How To Make Money Online.

Hi I’m Sharon Marie and in 2016 I quit my 9-5, corporate career in search of a better way of living.

At the time I had worked in the recruitment industry for over 20 years and had worked my way up the corporate ladder. I’d even had my own IT recruitment business and was an established recruitment sales coach.

Despite having achieved success in “corporate land” as I now refer to it, I just felt that something was missing in my life. I wasn’t in control of my days and I was working towards someone else’s dream, not my own. I needed to reclaim my days and get my life back.

I’ve always been a driven person from a very young age. I grew up, the youngest of 7 kids in a catholic, Indian immigrant family. My parents had come to England in search of a better life. I’m not sure they ever really found it as I just remember them always working really long hours, often leaving us kids to fend for ourselves. Money was always tight and I learnt quite quickly that if I wanted more from life, I’d need to earn it myself.

So I did the only thing I knew how to do back then. I did what my parents had taught me was the right way. I went and got my first job. I worked in various retail and sales jobs until I found my career in recruitment in my 20’s.

Recruitment is a tough industry, where you’re expected to “sell your soul” to the business in order to “make it”. Yes it’s lucrative and you can earn big money, but you earn every penny of it and pay for it with your time. That was fine as a single young woman, but later as a single mother, I just wasn’t prepared to continue to exchange my valuable time for money any more. I knew there had to be a better (and more family friendly) way.

I tried Amazon FBA (which I actually still do), but the problem with Amazon FBA is that you never own your customers and Amazon can shut you down in an instant. Also you only need one bad review and your sales plummet. The market I’m in is just so saturated with new “copy cat” private label products. It was just too much work for too little return. Also I found that I just wasn’t passionate it.

Next I tried lead generation for small service based businesses. I loved this model and I actually did really well with this business model as with my sales background I was able to pick up new clients pretty easily. I would recommend this model if you like a service based business where you need to deliver projects to clients. I still have some clients that I work with and I enjoy the work as it keeps my digital skills and knowledge fresh, Facebook Ads, Sales Funnels etc.

The problem with this business though was that pretty soon, I had more clients to manage and deliver to and my time just wasn’t my own yet again. I was still exchanging time for money.

There are many different ways to make money from the comfort of your own home. Now more than ever I believe that people will be looking for new ways to live and work as I was in 2016.

Since discovering my love for Digital Marketing, I’ve tried many different models, but the one I have come back to is Coaching.

In my recruitment career I eventually ended up coaching and training new consultants and also people looking for help with starting up their own recruitment businesses.

These days I get to combine my love of Digital Marketing with my Coaching and work with business owners who want help creating a freedom business.

If you need help in your own business then you can join our Facebook community of business owners HERE

I go live every week in the group The 10k Month Club ~ For Heart Centred Coaches & Consultants, and share tips and tricks for making money online and creating your freedom business.

Amazon FBA Ninja Course From Kevin David ~ A Totally Biased Review

Yeah I know, reviews are meant to be unbiased right, but in the case of Kevin David then I find it hard to remain neutral, why? Because he is a genuine guy and a true inspiration to the “make money online” community.

OK, so if you don’t know who Kevin David is, then let me tell you a bit about him.

In 2017, Kevin was on a mission to create another path that would allow people to free themselves from 9-5 corporate slavery. Determined and driven by passion THATLifestyleNinja was born…

Less than 2 years later THATLifestyleNinja, has the largest Facebook community in the entire WORLD, with over 100k subscribers on Youtube! THATLifestyleNinja had received countless awards; including being honoured as a ClickFunnel Two Comma Club Member, for making more than 1 Million Dollars with just one funnel!

Kevin has been featured on Forbes, Entrepreneur and Inc for his achievements. With thousands of student’s, his training courses continue to create new success stories every single day!

So why am I telling you all of this? Well because for the past 2 months, I have been part of the Kevin David mastermind group. I’ve had the pleasure of being one of his students, with direct contact with him.

Now if you have followed me in any capacity you’ll know that I have invested in many courses over the last few years and I whole heartedly encourage people to do the same. Paying for continual training and knowledge is, in my opinion, one of the best ways to invest in your own personal development and growth and fast track your learning to another level.

I love learning about entrepreneurship and making money online and I’m always looking for new and exciting opportunities and ways to challenge myself.

I can honestly say that the Kevin David Amazon FBA Ninja Course Training is the best I’ve ever invested in. The community spirit in the Facebook private community is incredible and way more supportive than other groups I’ve been in.

I’d say that being able to join one of Kevin’s private Facebook groups is on it’s own value enough to want to buy one of his courses, why? because where else do you get to ask questions and get answers from someone who has already been so hugely successful in the “make money online” space.

In his groups, all his students come together to support each other and share ideas and wins, but Kevin himself is often the first person to respond, which is pretty incredible when you think about how busy he must be. Yeah he still takes the time to engage with his students, not just take their money and run.

If you’ve ever tried to start any business, then you’ll appreciate just how valuable being part of a group of people for motivation and camaraderie is to keep you on track and pushing forward towards your goals

That’s the name of the game when it comes to reaching your goals and becoming successful with any online business; just to keep striving and keep going.

There are still so many opportunities to start an online business and the Amazon FBA model is a great one to start with, it’s where I started & Kevin’s course is by far the best one out there, but then I may be a little biased!

If you want to find out more about Kevin’s Amazon FBA Ninja course, then I’d recommend you sign up for his free webinar. He shares loads of juicy tips for free and you’ll get a good idea of what the course is about and what to expect if you were to go ahead and purchase.

You can register for the webinar here

Kevin David collecting his 2 comma club award from Clickfunnels

Find out more about Kevin David Amazon FBA Ninja Course

In the interest of transparency, I want to let you know that I occasionally include affiliate links in my posts. I will only include links to products that I have found interesting and useful in my journey and which I believe will be of interest to you on your journey towards a “passive income” lifestyle. If you purchase an item using my affiliate link, I will receive a commission.


How to be well read without actually picking up a book

Reading Hack

“Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary.” ~Jim Rohn

I am an avid reader. I love books.

Looking back on my childhood though, it’s hard to understand where my love of books and of reading came from.

I was the youngest of 7 kids in a pretty hectic Indian immigrant family. My grandparents also lived with us, so with 11 of us in the house, let’s just say it was a busy household. I imagine like many of us, my parents probably didn’t have time to read and they didn’t really encourage us to read. In fact there were no books in our home. Not a single one (unless you count my mum’s old recipe books).

“So please, oh please, we beg, we pray, go throw your TV set away, and in its place you can install a lovely bookshelf on the wall.” – Roald Dahl

The fact that there were no books, now seems really odd to me, but I guess, like a lot of people, my parents were just too busy working.

I’d say I first really discovered books at infant school. I can remember that once a week, our whole class would visit the local library. We got to take out books on our book tickets. I loved those visits to the library with school. They were the highlight of my school week.

Writing that makes me think about the scene in Matilda when she first realises that she’s actually allowed to take books out of the library and even to take them home. Wow the wonder and excitement of it all.

I still love buying books and reading book reviews and I’m constantly ordering books from Amazon. I have many books that I’ve bought over the years that I’ve never read, but I just love having them. Amazon prime has been a godsend!

As a parent myself now, I always felt that it was really important to read with my kids. We still have a lot of the books that we used to read together at bedtime. There is so much evidence available now about how good reading is and why it’s important for kids and adults to read, but that’s not what this post is about.

This post is about how I still manage to consume the wonderful knowledge that is contained in books, without actually sitting down and reading.

I actually posted a tweet recently asking if listening to the classics on Audible was cheating? I do feel like it’s cheating a bit, but it’s better than not reading or rather consuming content, at all.

Elon Musk (when asked how he learned to build rockets):

“I read books”

Why It’s Important To Keep Learning As We Get Older And Why Reading (Or Listening) Is Such An Important Part Of That.

Regardless of how many degrees and qualifications you have, you can always learn more.

“understanding and mastery is a fluid, continual process.” Moreover, even if you are a master at your craft, there are countless other things from which you can learn and glean insight. And the best way to do that is through reading” ~ Ryan Holiday (American author ~ the obstacle is the way)

Despite the fact that I own lots of books and I love curling up on the sofa with a good read, these days, with so many projects on the go, I simply don’t have enough hours in the day to sit down and enjoy a good book.

However I have discovered an amazing life hack, which is so simple, but it has literally changed my life (ok, maybe that’s a bit dramatic!, but it’s been a game changer and made a massive difference)

So what is this amazing, life changing, game changer I hear you ask.

Audible!

That’s it, quite simply listening instead of reading.

The thing is, I’m in the car a lot and I walk a lot. I used to listen to music on the radio, but now I listen to books instead. This way I get all the benefits and knowledge from a great book, whilst I’m on the move.
If I’m on foot I can simply use my headphones to listen and when I’m in the car, I use a phone speaker. I use this one Avantree Bluetooth Handsfree Care Kit, but there are a ton on Amazon to choose from.

“If you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right book.” – J.K. Rowling

What Is Audible?

Amazon Audible is a monthly subscription service that provides users with access to a massive database of audiobooks. You access and play these audiobooks through the Audible app, which can be downloaded for iPhone and android.

“‘Classic’ – a book which people praise and don’t read.” – Mark Twain

How Does Audible Work?

Members pay a monthly subscription and get to listen to one new book each month. If you don’t use the book credit it is simply carried over to the next month, so you don’t lose it.

Every month you get a ton of new titles and Audible will even send you recommended listens based on your recent downloads, so it’s also an amazing way to discover new authors and get new ideas.

Over time, members are able to accumulate large libraries of audiobooks and unlike similar audiobook subscriptions, all audiobooks purchased through the Audible app are yours to keep forever.

These days I am a busy working parent. There is always so much to get done. I am very active in the make money online community, and run my on digital marketing agency, so life is incredibly busy.

If like mine, your life is busy, then whilst the idea of reading is really appealing, you may simply not have the time and if you’re not reading , you’re missing out on so much good information and knowledge.

We all know that reading is good for us and listening on Audible is such a great way to listen to your favourite books and to discover new one’s.

“Books are a uniquely portable magic.” – Stephen King

These days I am a busy working parent. There is always so much to get done. I am very active in the make money online community, and run my on digital marketing agency, so life is incredibly busy.

Mark Zuckerberg:

“Books allow you to fully explore a topic and immerse yourself in a deeper way than most media today.”
Learn something new.

In the interest of transparency, I want to let you know that I occasionally include affiliate links in my posts. I will only include links to products that I have found interesting and useful in my journey and which I believe will be of interest to you on your journey towards a “passive income” lifestyle. If you purchase an item using my affiliate link, I will receive a commission.

Why you need to offend people more often

Ok, so I don’t mean “christ your bum looks massive in that dress” or “god you’re ugly” type of offensive. That would just be plain rude.

Someone in one of the Facebook groups I’m in, posted an apology for a comment they’d made. I didn’t actually see the comment, nor did I mind or indeed care if she’d actually offended anyone, but it did get me thinking.

I love this quote from Dan Kennedy; another digital marketing, all time legend (note: don’t try to shorten the word legend unless you insert a d and e on the end or it just becomes leg!)

“If you haven’t offended someone by noon each day, then you aren’t marketing hard enough” ~ Dan Kennedy.

I see so many people online apologising for something offensive they’ve supposedly said and in the next breath, trying to promote something or other and moaning that nobody is following them (maybe what they’re saying, just ain’t that interesting).

Surely though that is the point here.

Dan Kennedy is so right. People don’t want to read, boring, vanilla, tripe about nothing in particular (I realise, I’m now opening the floodgates. I should be so lucky to have enough readers)

There’s a reason people either love or Hate Donald Trump (Love the hair, hate the message), or love or hate big bottoms (Clearly today is a bottom day!). It’s called “The power of polarity”, which I first read about in Russell Brunson’s book, Dotcom Secrets (I know, I know, I just luuuuuv him). Actually coincidentally, Dan Kennedy wrote the foreword for it!

In the book Russell (of course, we’re on first name terms) introduces the concept of “The Attractive Character”, which is something you need to become if you want to grow your movement online and have people following you.

He goes on to say, that, something people, very often struggle with when communicating with an audience, is trying not to offend anyone.

The trouble with this approach though, is that you then become bland. Instead of voicing your real opinion and risk offending someone, you start to become a watered down version of yourself by only sharing safe stuff that everyone will enjoy.

The big problem with this approach is that being neutral IS BORING (hello is anyone there!?)

The lesson here is, when you try to reach everyone, you will end up reaching no one.

Instead, to become an “Attractive Character” you need to share who you really are with your audience. This is something that will become easier as you start to publish more often. null

When I first started out I would spend way too much time thinking things through, worrying about what people would think. I remember the first blog post I wrote, which was very short and well, nice. I worried so much about publishing it, putting myself out there, would people like it?

Now I don’t think about writing for other people. Sure I want people to read it, but I write for myself first and then if people find it and enjoy it, then that’s a great bonus.

If you are neural, no one will hate you, but no one will know who you are either.

You will never be able to please everyone, but you’ll be able to delight some people and it’s far more interesting and appealing to read an actual opinion on something, even if I don’t agree with it.

Being polarizing can be a scary prospect. Nobody really wants to be unpopular, but simply being yourself will inevitably mean that some people will not like you, and will disagree with your views. Once you put yourself and your views out there, people will start to comment and disagree with you. There is a great book called “The courage to be disliked“. The Japanese phenomenon that shows you how to free yourself, change your life and achieve real happiness.

If you’re trying to please everyone, it’s time to step outside what’s comfortable and start sharing what you really think. It’s time to start offending people a bit more.

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect”. – Mark Twain

Looking for ways to grow your online coaching business? Then I’d love you to come and join our community on Facebook:
The 10k Month Club ~ For Heart Centred Coaches & Consultants

In the interest of transparency, I want to let you know that I occasionally include affiliate links in my posts. I will only include links to products that I have found interesting and useful in my journey and which I believe will be of interest to you on your journey towards a “passive income” lifestyle. If you purchase an item using my affiliate link, I will receive a commission.

My Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Start Affiliate Marketing in 2019

Affiliate Marketing

#1 No need to invest time or money in creating physical product

Having started my online journey selling on Amazon FBA, I know how much work is involved in creating and selling physical products.

With Affiliate Marketing  you simply promote other people’s products and services.

You’re the marketer, not the  creator. Someone else has already done the hard work in creating the product, so you don’t have to invest the time and effort to create something to sell. You can begin making money as an affiliate as soon as you have a platform to sell products.

#2 All you need is a laptop and an internet connection

The great thing about Affiliate Marketing is that all you need to work is a laptop and an   Internet connection. There’s no need for an office, factory, shop or market stall or even an online shop. You don’t even need to make phone calls, so don’t need a phone.

Yes Affiliate Marketing is one of the few business models that can offer you the “Laptop Lifestyle” that everyone these days is searching for.

You can work at home at your kitchen table, at a cafe on the beach or in your garden, it really is up to you. As long as you have an internet connect and a device (you can use a mobile phone, but it will be more challenging), then you can work pretty much anywhere.

#3 You get to be your own boss & be totally in control of your own business & income

You’re in charge of your own destiny now. You answer only to yourself. You get to create and shape your career on your own terms!

Now that is a great feeling isn’t it?

I will never forget the first time I realised I had nobody to answer to. Yes it can be scary, but it’s incredibly empowering at the same time.

You’re also in control of how you promote products and also choose which products to promote. If you want long term success, you should choose only products that you believe in. Work only with brands you respect, promoting products that you personally value. Not only is this the ethical thing to do, but it makes it much more efficient.

#4 You don’t need an expensive website

It is possible to create a simple 2 page landing page, using landing page software (I use and recommend Clickfunnels), but there are other landing page softwares available. Alternatively you can start with a simple WordPress site.

#5 There are virtually no start up costs

You can start Affiliate Marketing on a shoe string, with as little as $100. That will cover the cost of a website and web hosting. You can do it for less, but I don’t recommend it.

There are lots of options for free applications and helpful tools that are free and you can also drive traffic using the free traffic sources available, like Instagram and Facebook, but whatever you do, don’t spam people with your affiliate links or you’ll get banned and you’ll have no friends.

#4 The freedom to work where and when you want

Because Affiliate Marketing is an online business model and it’s truly global, there are no set office hours or shop opening times. You can work anywhere at any time. Affiliate Marketing is one of the few business models that can give you complete time and location freedom.

Say goodbye to your long commute to work and being stuck in traffic or on public transport. Now you get to work from home or from anywhere in the world for that matter! It’s now entirely your choice.

#5 It is a completely scalable business with no limit to how much you can earn

The more effort you put in (and the smarter you work), the more you can earn. It’s as simple as that.

Also whilst it might take a bit of time to get going, growth with an Affiliate Marketing business will not be linear. With consistent daily actions, your business will gather momentum and snowball and your sales will grow and grow and GROW.

#6 Your business doesn’t rely on selling to your friends and family.

The world is now your market place. You don’t have to rely on selling to your friends and family or have to recruit people, so that you can make money. Affiliate Marketing is not to be confused with MLM or Network Marketing.

#7 No employees (or annoying work colleagues)

It is possible to create a million dollar Affiliate Marketing business on your own without any staff. You won’t have the hassle of employing and managing people (although I would suggest you use freelancers, so that you can outsource some of the tasks as you grow your affiliate business).

You also won’t have to put up with working with people you don’t get on with (or find annoying). No more pointless meetings or petty office rules about milk blah. No more silly office politics .

#8 You can start your Affiliate Marketing business as your side hustle in your spare time.

Because there are no set times when you have to work, you can work on your affiliate business at any time of the day or night to suit you and your commitments. If you need to keep your full time job to begin with and have Affiliate Marketing as your side hustle, that ‘s ok. It won’t be long before you can quit your 9-5 and work on your business whenever you like.

#9 There is no Sales involved

As an Affiliate Marketer, you’re not actually doing any of the selling yourself. You are a marketer and your job is to put  the creator of the product or service in touch with the buyers. You are effectively the “middle man”.

The creator will do the selling for you; you simply introduce potential buyers.

A word of caution here though, Choose your products carefully as you’ll want to know that the companies you’re promoting offer good products and as importantly, a good after sales service.

#10 You get to help people to solve problems

Being an Affiliate Marketer is an incredibly rewarding job.

When you get to know your market and you can recommend products and services that will truly help your audience, it’s a great feeling.

There is no better job in the world in my opinion, which is why I’m sharing this with you.

The Accident That Led Me To My Laptop Lifestyle

I’ve always loved being my own boss, ever since I started my first bricks and mortar recruitment business back in 2003. A friend had recently set up his recruitment business and persuaded me that it would be a great idea for me as well. It was scary at first, but looking back, was one of the best decisions I ever made.

That’s not to say that I haven’t been “employed” by other people since then, I’ve had to be through necessity at times, but the desire to be my own boss, working for myself, on my own terms, when and where I want, has never left me.

Running a bricks and mortar recruitment business is very different to the way I work today and it was a fall while I was bouldering (one of my great loves!) that changed my direction and got me back on the right path.

It was the week before Christmas, actually it was the 21st December 2016 and I was bouldering. For anyone who’s never been bouldering, it’s basically climbing without ropes. Anyway I fell from the top, landed awkwardly and ended up in A&E with a ruptured achilles tendon.

Immediately after the accident I was in plaster up to my knee and on cruches for the first 6 weeks and out of action for 6 months. At the time, I was employed full time and forced to work at home every afternoon with my leg raised in the air to avoid a blood clot (which explained a lot as I’d seen people in that position on tv or films before, but never understood why ~ every day’s a school day!)

Now up until this point I had been doing what many full time working mums do, and rushing at both ends of the day to get the kids to breakfast club and then collect them on time (I was often late!) from after school club at the end of the day.

Having the accident literally forced me to slow down as I couldn’t drive and I certainly couldn’t rush, anywhere (you try being in plaster up to your knee and not being able to put any weight on that leg!)

I was very fortunate as so many parents at school helped me with picking up and dropping off the kids. As a single parent with few family members close by, I don’t know how I’d have managed otherwise, people really rallied round to help me, which I’m eternally grateful for.

Whilst I was working at home I kept thinking, this is really nice. I loved not having to be in the office and I loved being at home to greet my kids when they got dropped back after school. It was then that I realised just how miserable my life had been prior to the accident. I knew I needed to make some changes.

I began to search for a way out. Having worked for myself in the past I’d always wanted to do so again, but things were very different this time, I was now a single parent and the main provider, I had a mortgage and bills to pay, not to mention, 3 people to feed.

I started googling “work from home”, “flexible working”, “make money online”. I kept seeing the phrase “passive income”. It’s crazy to think now, that at the time I’d never even heard that term. How much my life has changed.

My online journey started with Amazon FBA. I then set up a digital marketing agency to generate leads for businesses using FacebookAds and Sales Funnels. I’ve since learnt all about chatbots and messenger marketing. It’s been a steep learning curve, and at times I’ve doubted myself.

So fast forward 3 years, to today. I now work from home most days. I still do some contract work as a sales coach and a talent acquisition consultant, because I will always love the recruitment industry and want to stay connected with it.

The rest of my time is spent working on digital marketing project for clients and most recently doing affiliate marketing.

I now have the lifestyle I want and I can enjoy being here every day for my kids, which is my why.

If you’re still considering starting an online business, my advise would be to pay for some training, if you can afford it. If not then do your research online. There’s lots of free information available.

Just remember that starting anything new will take time and will require some effort up front, but if you stick with it, you will get there.

It is possible to create change in your life and if I can do it, then anyone can.

Good luck!

Sharon Marie xx

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How To Get Good At Anything ~ Even If It’s Affiliate Marketing (You’ll Be Surprised How Simple This Is)

Illustration depicting a green roadsign with a success concept. Blue sky background.

Ok, so I get it. You’ve tried affiliate marketing and you didn’t have any success with it. Or is it just that you gave up too soon?

Affiliate marketing as a business model gets a bad reputation. If you say to someone that you do affiliate marketing, they’ll either look at you blankly or say something like “oh so you just sell to your friends and family”.

The fact is that affiliate marketing is a great way to start and grow an online business, but so few people that get into affiliate marketing actually make any money. Why is that?

The number of people who have said to me since I started, “Oh I tried affiliate marketing, but it didn’t work”. They say it in a way that implies “yeah don’t waste your time”

When I hear that about about anything, “it didn’t work”, I usually think, you mean it didn’t work for you, probably because you went about it the wrong way or you didn’t have the patience to stick with it.

Before I got into the world of digital marketing I worked in the recruitment industry for many, many years, eventually becoming a sales coach.

Recruitment consultants can earn good money and for many years (when I was exchanging my time for money) I did as well. I had a great recruitment career that paid for my house and funded lots of snowboarding trips!

Lots of people were attracted into the job by the lure of the earning potential, but in my experience, very few people actually made the big money. There was a high churn rate and over the years I saw a lot of people come and go.

There was a common theme amongst the people who were successful and still are; they stayed in the job for more than a few years and they worked at it.

That’s it. No special set of skills, no particularly complicated process, they just stayed and worked.

We’ve all heard the saying “practice makes perfect”, but people seem to forget that. That in order to get good at something you actually need to practice. It’s no different with affiliate marketing or recruitment or anything else for that matter.

You hear it all the time “Oh I’ve tried that, but it didn’t work”.

Is it a generational thing, can we blame it on society? Is it the millennials, the Y generation? Do people expect things to come too easily these days. Yes I think they probably do.

Shows like the XFactor always made me laugh when they’d show the backstory of some 16 year old kid talking about how hard they’d worked and how this was their big chance and it means so much to them because they’ve given it everything. Sorry but, but get over yourself and keep trying. I’m sorry, I just don’t buy it!

There’s a great book, by Matthew Syed called “bounce, the myth of talent and the power of practice”

In book he talks about how he and his brother were lucky enough to have a table tennis table in their garage when he was 8 years old and his brother was a few years older. Because of this they got really good as they literally played for hours every day after school.

Matthew went on to become British number one at table tennis in 1995 and he attributes his success, not to talent, but to consistent practice.

In the book he also gives numerous similar examples of people who have become great at one thing and become hugely successful, purely through their ability to focus, practice, learn and essentially “stick with it”

I do think that that is one of the main reasons that most people don’t succeed whether it’s with affiliate marketing or anything else for that matter. They just don’t stick with it. They give up when it gets a bit difficult, a bit challenging, a bit like hard work.

They tell themselves it’s the “thing” they’re doing that doesn’t work, the business model itself, when actually it’s them.

They weren’t willing to learn from their mistakes.

They weren’t willing to make changes to improve what they were doing, make it better.

They weren’t willing to look inside themselves to see what they were doing wrong.

They weren’t willing to find a better way, find a more efficient way, so that they could become successful.

So coming back to affiliate marketing, there is no reason why anyone needs to fail. You just need to stick with it, keep learning, keep improving, keep trying and eventually you will succeed.

There is so much free training out there, so much good advice and information to help you to get started and you can always pay for training. I myself have spent thousands of dollars over the last 5 years on training and every penny has been money well spent.

Put the blinders on

Keep laser focused

Keep away from the “shiny objects”

STICK WITH IT!

Now go and make some money.

In the interest of transparency, I want to let you know that I occasionally include affiliate links in my posts. I will only include links to products that I have found interesting and useful in my journey and which I believe will be of interest to you on your journey towards a “passive income” lifestyle. If you purchase an item using my affiliate link, I will receive a commission.


Your Mess Is Your Message ~ Tell Your Story Often

What’s your message?

So I want to give some credit for this headline , but for the life of me I can’t think where I read it. I listen to so many books on audible and a lot are about being the best version of yourself, being successful that kind of thing.

I don’t want to refer to them as “self help” books, I hate that expression for some reason, don’t know why. It makes it sound all “wishy washy” and pathetic.

I guess I enjoy reading (or rather listening these days) to books about every day “normal” whatever that is, people, who have basically got their shit together, worked hard (and consistently) at something and made something of themselves. Changed their trajectory in life, found a new path, a better path.

As I’m writing this I want to say, Dan Meredith, “how to be F**king Awesome“. Maybe that’s where I saw it and I think he said he got it from someone else (there’s nothing new on the planet!)

Anyway the type of books I enjoy the most are written by people who are like me. They get to a point in life where they think “F*** this shit”, I want more from life” and then they start their journey towards that and on the way they learn stuff, about themselves and all sorts of stuff and then they write a book and tell us all about it and share what they’ve learnt along the way, and that helps other people who are a bit behind them (on their journey to discover a better life, not literally standing behind them)

Anyway the point is (and I realise that this is all sounding a bit like Frodo’s epic journey in Lord of The Rings), the point is that, we love to read about people who have done what we want to do because that gives us the courage and belief that we can do it and it keeps us going ourselves.

The reason that native ads work so well is because the images are of “real” people, not some airbrushed gorgeous, “perfect” person. Because in reality we are all flawed in some way. We all have weird quirks and we all have things about ourselves that we don’t particularly like, but that’s what makes us unique. It’s also what makes us interesting to other people.

When I read about someone, I want to relate to them on some level. I want to think “yeah I get that and that’s what I’m going through”. If that person can get through that and still be ok, then I can as well.

So “your mess is your message” . You are who you are because of, and in spite of, the things that have been messy in your life. You are the person you are today, because you’ve had to deal with some shit and you’re now still here to tell the tale and we all want to hear it because we can all relate.

So go tell your story, tell it often. Tell it to anyone who’ll listen. Spread the word , spread your message.

And if you’d like more content like this or help with creating your freedom business, then I’d love you to come and join our community on Facebook Make Daily Profits Online ~ Create Your Freedom Business

Sharon Marie x

In the interest of transparency, I want to let you know that I occasionally include affiliate links in my posts. I will only include links to products that I have found interesting and useful in my journey and which I believe will be of interest to you on your journey towards a “passive income” lifestyle. If you purchase an item using my affiliate link, I will receive a commission.