Yesterday I sent out an email about planning for next year and although most people seemed to understand where I was coming from I did receive some interesting comments back.

One that made me smile was…

“Neil, how can I plan for next year when I haven’t got my business running yet?”

Hmm, me thinks this gentleman should stick to a job and abandon all dreams of his own business.

I’m sorry if this sounds harsh, BUT, you don’t start planning when you have your business up and running, it is a constant process whether starting off or have many years in business under your belt.

Neil and I talk about the work we do in our business and ALWAYS talk about the work you need to put in to be successful.

If you believe that you can have your own online business without work then you really are wasting your time being on blog.

Still here?

Great….and I mean that.

If you’re not offended by the word work then you’re the type of person Neil and I enjoy interacting with.

No matter what others tell you or what you read in the ‘hypey’ sales letters you do have to put the effort in to reap the rewards.

And yes, with your own information Marketing Business you can choose to work when you want, where you want BUT like all businesses to have success that work has to be put in first.

Our success speaks for itself, we demonstrate it by showing you our niche markets…the people we help via the Internet Marketing Review show it by being featured in the Newsletter or speaking at out UK Gold Event.

We’ve been in business for nearly ten years now and will be here in another ten years.

if you’ve not had the success you wanted this year then STOP, and take a look at what you have done this year to work towards it.

Was it consistent, focused or did you jump from idea to idea?

Think about it.

One thing you don’t see Neil and I doing is promoting every new product that comes along claiming it to be the next best thing.

Yes, we do endorse products, and these are ones we have and own ourselves. Ask us a question about it and you’ll receive honest feedback.

In 2009 you’ll see us introduce new products that can help you grow your business, it’s up to you to decide if they’re right for you at that time.

Make an informed decision, and take responsibility for your actions.

When a new product comes out Neil and I ask ourselves two questions:

1) Where in our business can we use this now?

2) Can we see a return within 30 days?

If we can’t answer yes then it doesn’t get bought…and you know what….

We haven’t bought everything that comes out yet our business didn’t fold, the sky didn’t  fall in and the world kept turning.

Going forward, if you want frank and straight forward help, support and advice on how to grow a LONG TERM and very profitable Information Marketing Business online then this is the place to be. If you have a short term view and are out looking for the next best thing then maybe we’re not for you.

What to do next.

If you haven’t done so already then I suggest you get a good old pen and writing pad, take some time out, find some where quiet away from the computer and write down what you want your business and life to look like on 2009.

It may be a on old cliche BUT the saying - “fail to plan, then plan to fail” has a lot of truth in it.

I hope this email update has made you think, maybe provoked a reaction, maybe even driven you to unsubscribe?

Whatever it’s done I hope it’s moved you to action in the right direction.

Don’t forget to join me and IMR Gold Member AnnA Rushton for a fr-ee teleconference call on the BIG advantages of publishing a book in your own market EVEN if the thought terrifies you!

Visit this link for more information

http://www.catalystonline.co.uk/AnnARushtonTeleclass.html
 I’m off to watch Tony Hadley in concert in Birmingham tonight…yes I was a Spandau Ballet fan in the 1980’s…I don’t mind admitting it

And after last night’s footie result I’m only just talking to Karen again!

‘Winging it’ may be the preferred method for some (heck I’ve done it in the past) but good planning and preparation prevents poor performance as the saying goes.

(I know there’s another ‘P’ in there usually but I’ll leave it out for this email!)

At the UK Gold Event last week many people commented on how well run it was and how professional the whole weekend was…well things like that don’t happen by accident or by ‘winging it’.

A lot of planning goes into the events whether they are a full weekend seminar or an online offing.

We recently started hosting webinars in our soccer market and again when through a planning and testing phase to make sure we understood how the new software we were using worked and to make sure everything will run smoothly.

If you’re a member of the Internet Marketing Review you can watch a short video of EXACTLY how we tested the system with MISTAKES and all.

You’ll hear Neil T hosting the short webinar with our guest plus Karen, Pete and I as attendees.

Now, don’t laugh at the hic ups (we had to bleep out a couple of words and use this video as a template to test your own new processes.

http://www.internetmarketingreview.com/members/435.cfm

The thing with a test run is to make sure you understand what happens, and when…plus, make sure you enjoy the process of learning. It’s all to easy to get frustrated with new technology, relax, enjoy the process and realise that by making the mistakes on the test run you’ll have a smoother run when you go live.

Here’s a link to the video

http://www.internetmarketingreview.com/members/435.cfm

** If you’re not yet a member of the Internet Marketing Review then I invite you to try us out for 2 months for fr-ee. PLUS, receive all the bonuses mentioned on the page below.

If you decide that the Internet Marketing Review isn’t for you then you can cancel your membership and keep the bonuses with my best wishes.

Use this link to activate your 2 month fr-ee trial today

http://www.InternetMarketingReview.com/2months

** Publishing Your Own Book **

Next week I am hosting a teleseminar with Gold Member AnnA Rushton on the power of having your own book published within your market.

As author of several published books of her own…and as a ‘Top Gun’ ghostwriter of many published business books for other people AnnA has a unique insight in what it takes to successfully publish your own book.

Join us on this fr-ee teleseminar and you’ll have the opportunity to ask AnnA a direct question about book publishing.

Visit this page for more information.

http://www.catalystonline.co.uk/AnnARushtonTeleclass.html

http://www.ktssecuresite.com/spooky

What theme’s are you using in your business?

Gold and Gold+ Members take a look at Neil T when he gets angry…you won’t like him when he’s angry!

http://www.internetmarketingreview.com/members/423.cfm

Have fun!

How to become a celebrity in your market

You may know that Neil and I go to the USA several times a year to visit our Mastermind Group. One member of that group is a gentleman called Nick Nanton who helped us launch one of our new businesses this year.

Now, Nick is a lawyer, but we don’t hold that against him(!) however he and his partner are positioned as the Celebrity Lawyers who specialise in helping YOU become a celebrity in your market.

Watch out for Neil T on the TV in the US and UK talking about our Soccer Coaching site and it’s all down to Nick’s help.

Nick and his partner Jack have launched their new book on Amazon today and it’s a book that both Neil and I have a copy of (Nick kindly sent us a preview copy).

As with all book launches they want to have a big impact on Amazon today and if you order a copy today from Amazon using the link below they will send you the following bonuses:

If you click on the link below to order right now, you will get all of the below, for F-R-E-E!

1. A Hard Copy of Celebrity Branding You™ shipped directly to your door

2. Access to Jack and Nick’s “Cracking the Celebrity Code” video featuring Inc 500 CEO, Chris Hurn that was only revealed to a handful of people who paid $10,000 to attend a 2 day seminar with Jack, Nick and Chris and it has NEVER been let out of the vault until now! This is PRICELESS!

3. A complimentary subscription to Jack and Nick’s Celebrity Branding Report™ hard copy newsletter, sent to your door every month! (a $395 value!)

4. America’s Trusted Weight Loss Expert, Jayson Hunter’s famous “100 Calorie Snack Report; All the time & occasional snacks for rapid weight loss”

5. A Free One-Hour Consultation with Dawn McIntyre, CEO of BoldlyBeautiful.com to determine your soul’s purpose and clear any obstacles to manifesting your heart’s desires. As a clear channel Dawn can address any issues you are facing in your life and business and put you back on track. Dawn is amazing! (A $575.00 Value!)

6. A Special Report from Real Estate Guru Andy Tolbert on Selling Houses When Nothing’s Selling! No one else will spill their secrets like Andy does!

7. “Fit and Fabulous After Fifty!” Dr. Gayle Carson, the self-proclaimed Spunky Old Broad’s 7 tips on how to stay fit and healthy if you even start to think you are over the hill!

All of this, just for ordering a book that I recommend as an essential part of your library anyway!

So don’t delay, click on the link below, and order you copy today!

All you have to do to claim your bonuses is forward your Amazon.com invoice showing that you’ve bought the book to info@CelebrityBrandingYou.com and they will send you a link to get all of the bonuses.

Once again, you MUST order the book TODAY! Right now, on Halloween day! Just click the link below and you’ll be on your way to Celebrity Status and much more!

http://www.amazon.com/Celebrity-Branding-Revolutionary-Entrepreneurs-Expert/dp/1599320827/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1225261300&sr=8-1

Once you’ve had a chance to read the book, I look forward to your feedback about the book as Neil and I found it a great read!

Neil and I went over a brand new session designed just for the Gold+ Members and a topic we consider vital for all successful entrepreneurs…selling to people who have the money to spend.

We also covered some of the projects Neil and I are currently working on including how we launched, and priced, the services of brand new business aimed at a particular segment of a market.

The feedback on the session, AND on the day itself, was very positive with all members going away with reams of notes and ideas for their businesses.

To read more about Gold+ visit this page:

Internet Marketing Review - Gold Plus

Are You Putting Yourself In Front Of The money?

I enjoy having conversations about money, including why some people have it and others don’t.

One thing I often hear is that money should go to those who need it most or who deserve it the most; unfortunately it doesn’t work like that.

Money has no conscious, it has no feelings and doesn’t think for itself…it has the ability to move, which it constantly does, no matter what is going on in the world and it goes to those people who get up and put themselves in front of it.

It doesn’t care how hard you’ve worked if you’re working on something that doesn’t put you in front of it…it doesn’t care how much volunteer work you’ve done or if someone NEEDS it for a life saving operation (remember it has no feelings).

It is your role as a business owner (and that’s what you are whether you sell on or offline) to put yourself in front of where the money is flowing and position your product or services as the only option to buy.

Business changes and the business owners who recognise this and constantly look where to the money is flowing are the ones who prosper…those who moan about the lack of customers or declining sales without looking to see how they can change their current situation will be the ones who don’t survive.

Information Marketing and the Internet allow us to change direction very quickly and efficiently…use it your advantage.

Don’t be left wondering ‘what the heck happened’ be someone who makes things happen and put yourself in front of where the money is flowing now.

Have a great week.

You can put yourself in front of 5 UK Online Entrepreneurs as well as Neil and I in November at our UK Gold Event.

This is your chance to come and learn from, listen to and speak with people JUST LIKE YOU who are successfully selling online today and thriving in this so called slow economy.

UK Gold Event

We also have a special Keynote Speaker - Benjamin Cohen. Benjamin has started and sold numerous online ventures and is now the main Tech Reporter for Channel Four News and Channel Four itself.

Benjamin will be telling of his online ventures, how he started his companies including how he sees the Internet developing in the coming years.

He’s also agreed to stay behind for a question and answer session at the end of his talk.

Don’t miss out on what is the premier UK Internet Event of 2008…visit the UK Gold Event site today and register your place before the price increases.

Neil and I get to talk and work with a LOT of people and in many cases I can tell almost immediately whether the person I’m talking to is, or will be, successful.

No matter what your profession, skills or knowledge the MAJOR factor in your success in whatever you do is down to your attitude.

Below is a great story that I keep on my desk to remind me that no matter what I’m doing, who I’m dealing with or work I’m under taking it is how I approach that activity that determines its outcome.

I urge you to read it and then go back and re-read it…discover if you quack or soar!

Then, see where you can adapt its message to fit your current business or situation.

Enjoy.

Best wishes

Neil

Do You Quack?

Harvey Mackay tells a wonderful story about a cab driver that through his attitude built a successful business, no matter what his circumstances. He was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing Harvey noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back passenger door for Harvey.

He handed my friend a laminated card and said: “I’m Wally, your driver. While I’m loading your bags in the trunk I’d like you to read my mission statement.”

Taken aback, Harvey read the card. It said:

“Wally’s Mission Statement: To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment.”

This blew Harvey away. Especially when he noticed that the inside of the cab matched the outside. Spotlessly clean! As he slid behind the wheel, Wally said, “Would you like a cup of coffee? I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf.”

My friend said jokingly, “No, I’d prefer a soft drink.”

Wally smiled and said, “No problem. I have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, water and orange juice.”

Almost stuttering, Harvey said, “I’ll take a Diet Coke.”

Handing him his drink, Wally said, “If you’d like something to read, I have The Wall Street Journal, Time, Sports Illustrated and USA Today.”

As they were pulling away, Wally handed my friend another laminated card. “‘These are the stations I get and the music they play, if you’d like to listen to the radio.”

And as if that weren’t enough, Wally told Harvey that he had the air conditioning on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for him. Then he advised Harvey of the best route to his destination for that time of day. He also let him know that he’d be happy to chat and tell him about some of the sights or, if Harvey preferred, to leave him with his own thoughts.

“Tell me, Wally,” my amazed friend asked the driver, “have you always served customers like this?”

Wally smiled into the rear view mirror. “No, not always. In fact, it’s only been in the last two years.

My first five years driving, I spent most of my time complaining like all the rest of the cabbies do. Then I heard the personal growth guru, Wayne Dyer, on the radio one day.

He had just written a book called ‘You’ll See It When You Believe It’. Dyer said that if you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you’ll rarely disappoint yourself. He said, ‘Stop complaining! Differentiate yourself from your competition. Don’t be a duck. Be an eagle. Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd.’ “That hit me right between the eyes,” said Wally.

“Dyer was really talking about me. I was always quacking and complaining, so I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked around at the other cabs and their drivers.

The cabs were dirty, the drivers were unfriendly, and the customers were unhappy. So I decided to make some changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I did more.”

“I take it that has paid off for you,” Harvey said.

“It sure has,” Wally replied. “My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous year.

This year I’ll probably quadruple it. You were lucky to get me today. I don’t sit at cabstands anymore. My customers call me for appointments on my cell phone or leave a message on my answering machine. If I can’t pick them up myself, I get a reliable cabbie friend to do it and I take a piece of the action.”

Wally was phenomenal. He was running a limo service out of a Yellow Cab.

I’ve probably told that story to more than fifty cab drivers over the years, and only two took the idea and ran with it. Whenever I go to their cities, I give them a call.

The rest of the drivers quacked like ducks and told me all the reasons they couldn’t do any of what I was suggesting.

Wally the Cab Driver made a different choice. He decided to stop quacking like ducks and start soaring like eagles.

How about us?

Smile, and the whole world smiles with you…. The ball is in our hands!

It’s an audio update that you can listen online or download to your desktop or MP3 player.

Here’s the link to the first session:

http://www.internetmarketingreview.com/public/417.cfm

Enjoy and have a great weekend.

When placing the order the responses from the various online sellers has been very different. Their replies (all automated of course) have ranged from the:

“We have received your order and it will ship soon”

To…

A personal reply thanking for my business and making reference to a current news item.

Now, by far the best reply I received came from a company who understand that customers want to have an experience when buying (and that’s not just online), they want to see something out of the ordinary and something they can tell their friends about.

Here’s the reply I got from one book shop after placing my order:

**********************************************************

From: FROM THE MAIN HEADQUARTERS OF THE CEREBRAL DELI
To: Neil Stafford
Subject: YOUR BOOK ORDER

Just a short note to inform you that the book you ordered from The Cerebral Deli has been gently taken from the book shelf in the secret vault with sterilized contamination-free gloves and placed onto a satin pillow. A team of 50 employees inspected your book to make sure they were in the best possible condition (for a used book) before mailing.

Our packing specialist from The Turtle Mountains lit a candle and a hush fell over the crowd as he put your book into the finest water proof envelope that money can buy. We all had a wonderful celebration afterwards and the whole party marched down the street to the post office where the entire town of Dunseith ND waved ‘Bon Voyage!’ to your package, on its way to you, in our private jet on this day.

I hope you had a wonderful time shopping at The Cerebral Deli. We sure did. Your picture is on our wall as “Customer of the Year”. We’re all exhausted but can’t wait for you to come back to the cerebraldeli.com for all your reading needs!!

Oh and did I forget to tell you that from time to time, our jet is stuck on the run-way? Well because it is a book, which is media mail, it can travel “extremely” slowly. And even though I am royalty. I can’t control everything. So please take that into consideration.

Thank you once again, Patrice Gunville, Empress of the Cerebral Deli

**********************************************************

Did it work?

Well, this is the only reply I kept and I told Karen about it, my friends who have a mail order side to their business and now you!

You maybe reading this thinking I could never do that in my business, or my customers wouldn’t like that…

Wrong!

People, are people, are people no matter what market you are in and two things ALWAYS stand true:

1. People are silent waiting to be led and told what to do
2. People want to be informed and entertained

Vanilla might be a good flavour for ice cream but in your marketing vanilla is bland…do something that makes you stand out and elevate your marketing from me too boring to being talked about and an experience for you customers and clients.

Have a great weekend.

Best wishes

Neil

PS The UK Gold Event is filling up…

http://www.UKGoldEvent.com

…and you can register your seat on the website today.

Why attend?

Simple even in this so called bad economy all of our speakers are growing their businesses in various niche markets from sports to asset building and crafts to the unusual!

Why not discover how to ‘Recession Proof Your Life’ today…visit:

http://www.UKGoldEvent.com

In Life, Aim High, Inspire and Smile

Last week I sent an email about who you listen to in this economic climate…this weekend Neil and I have spent time with Membership Site owners and last went out for a meal with Tim Kerber (CO of Membergate) and a few of the speakers.

Now, I know our sites are all doing well…and this weekend has confirmed that MANY others are doing very well too.

There are people here with sites making a few thousand Dollars a month to some that are doing $300k+ per month, yes three hundred thousand a month!

In this so called bad economy.

Yes, there are troubles in certain markets BUT YOU can choose how you deal with it and who you listen to.

I know who I’m listening to.

We’re back on Tuesday and I’ll tell you more about the trip then (and show the pictures).

Best wishes

Neil

PS At the UK Gold Event in November we’ll be revealing more about our own businesses than ever before….PLUS our new ATAC & FTAC Marketing system ™

Don’t miss your chance to join us, visit:

http://www.UKGoldEvent.com

New Video Online Here - The office Tour (at last!)

The KTS Publishing Direct New Offices

**************************************************************************************

Neil and I are off to Boston USA in the morning for a meeting with the Membergate team.

You may know that we run 3 membership sites and all 3 use Membergate as the software platform. This meeting is an ideal opportunity to catch up with Tim Kerber the CEO of Membergate and meet up with other MG users to swap ideas, tips and strategies.

Plus it doesn’t take much for Neil and I to agree to a trip to the States! I keep telling Karen it’s all work and no play!

** A Tale Of Two Emails **

The last time we were in the USA (mid September) we ran a marketing promotion and sold some of our products at a discount (The first time ever!)

Now, this sale was run by Karen, set up by her and the emails came from her as well.

99.99% of the reaction to the emails and the sale was very positive, however we did receive two emails in that actually upset Karen a little bit.

The first was from a gentleman….if I can call him that…who simply emailed Karen and said F*** Off!

Now, if it had been me I would have shrugged it off and deleted him from our database because over the years I have received a few a these types of emails from people who have nothing better to do with their lives than try and upset others.

With Karen it ‘got’ to her a bit at the time.

My own thoughts were that he could email a lady and type that, then I guarantee that he has absolutely no chance of ever having a successful business….his outlook on life will always hold him back.

The learning point here is that you will NEVER please everybody and shouldn’t try to.

The second email came from someone didn’t agree with the promotion itself.

He said (along the lines of)…."how dare we run this type of promotion, it’s a sham, Karen wouldn’t do anything without Neil and I knowing about it…."

he then went onto say that he knows our products are excellent (which they are of course) but how could we stoop so low with this promotion?

Hmmm?

If you don’t remember the promotion it was the one where Karen ran the sale to sell some of our overstock products to make room in the new office while Neil and I were away in the USA.

You can see the website here (but you can’t buy any of the products now I’m afraid).

http://www.ktssecuresite.com/karen

Ok, let’s address his points.

1) It’s a sham - well no it wasn’t. Neil and I were in the US. We did have overstock and no we didn’t write the emails or set up the site.

Karen got a friend to take the photographs and to help her with the site.

Yes, I did know she was going to do something. Over the last few weeks she had been saying the boxes were in the way so I challenged her to see if she could sell them…thinking she would use eBay.

She got the idea of the sale from Yanik when he did his ’save his marriage sale’ a few years back and used a version of the copy for her sales page.

2) How could we stoop so low with this promotion - Ok, with this comment I think he misses the point…ALL great marketing uses a story.

Do you think any of these marketing promotions are true:

1) Ronald MacDonald - do you think he’s a real person?

2) The glade air freshener animals - are they real?  

3) The Persil washing powder advert using spook criminals for whiter whites…do you think that actually happens?

4) Do you remember the Gold Blend Coffee adverts? If so, do you think the couple were a real couple? (Anthony head went on to appear in Buffy the Vampire Slayer!)

My point here is that ALL, and I mean ALL of the best marketing campaigns involve a story….a story that will engage the reader, listener or viewer.

Now, there is a difference between poetic license and lies. None of Karen’s campaign was untrue and the sale ended when we came back from the US…as she said it would.

Whenever you see a marketing campaign, look at from the view point of "how can I use that in my business, what would I have to adapt".

We’ll be using the sale angle in one of our other markets while away in the US this time.

How can you use it?

I’ll send you updates from the US while we’re away as I have another couple of good examples of marketing you can swipe and use in your own business.

Best wishes

Neil

PS Don’t forget to watch the video tour of the office here:

http://www.internetmarketingreview.com/public/416.cfm

Have you registered for the UK Gold Event Yet? If not you can read more here:

http://www.UKGoldEvent.com

In Life Aim High, Inspire and Smile