The Success Center

When I started this poll I was really in a transition period in my thinking on social media marketing.

How so?

For one, I don’t feel like I need to be present on every platform, social network, or social site. Why spread myself, my message, and my brand so thin? That only dilutes it all and doesn’t leave any real value for the people I want to attract.

So, for me, I’m focusing on Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin. I know that I can actively engage there and make genuine connections. I was really kind of shocked by the results of this poll. Not because Twitter came in as number one, but because Linkedin didn’t get any votes.

Maybe there’s an opportunity to explore why no one [at least, no one who voted] makes it an important marketing platform when it’s clearly built that way. I’ll have to think of something . . . What do you think? If you didn’t vote in the poll, what’s your social media marketing platform of choice? If you did vote, why did you choose your answer?

About the Author Rod is the editor-in-chief of The Success Center, Producer of "Inside the Success," and a Success Coach. For more information, tips, and advice on being a successful Christian-preneur subscribe to Rod's "Success Tips!" weekly newsletter.

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There’s an organization out to stop your progress. It performs acts of sabotage covertly on your path to success to stop you from ever making it to your promised land. This group is called, FEAR.They are the reason you find it so hard to start a business, plan an event, write a book, or start the thing God has put in your heart to create. My friend and author, Paul Wilson, Jr., defines fear as thoughts or feelings that create a mental prison of anxiety & apprehension, preventing positive forward progress.

In order to combat this worthy opponent you first have to understand how FEAR operates. The group infiltrates your thoughts and tells you you’re too busy, you don’t have the right equipment, or it’s too hard to accomplish. Then they take over your eyes and when you look into the vision God wants to give you all you see are giants in the land. Lastly they monitor your hands and they make sure that you never reach or grasp the tools God already has for you to keep you idle.

But, there is a secret to defeating this black ops organization. It’s rooted in American’s favorite past-time, the game of baseball. What FEAR would have you to do is not even step up to the plate and take a swing at bat. FEAR wants to make sure that you forfeit the game even before the game starts. FEAR will put so much pressure on you to make a home-run that you’ll stare at the bat long before you even pick it up. What you have to realize is that the game is not won with one swing and one swing only . . . it’s won in innings!

Here are 5 sure fire ways to defeat FEAR, inning by inning, score home-runs, and win the big game;

1. Get to know your Umpire – God is the umpire of every game. He officiates the game, He calls the fouls, He’ll make sure you’ll have everything you need to win the game. I say it all the time, but it’s true, if God gave you the vision then He’ll provide you with everything you need to build it. Get to know Him and He’ll make sure you understand how to use the tools He provides.

2. Break the Game Down – Of course you want to win the game, but what’s your strategy for the 3rd, 4th, and 5th innings? If you’re going to start consulting, what’s your strategy for marketing, what’s your process for turning prospects into clients, and how are you going to generate leads? Don’t get so overwhelmed with the idea that you never start to work it. Take it a step at a time and break it down into “bite-sized” pieces instead of trying to swallow chunks at a time.

3. Create a Game Plan – no one ever went to war without a plan. Period. You don’t have to create the world’s most thorough and in-depth business plan; but you need to have an idea of where you want to go and how to get there.

4. Ask your teammates for help – Baseball isn’t won by the hands of one person, it’s a team sport so get together a team of advisers and ask for feedback on your business plan. When I started my first business which was a video game tournament company, I had just graduated high school. So, I went back to my favorite teachers and asked them to be on my advisers board and they gave me a wealth of advice and support for my business.

5. Hit the Ball! – You have to start somewhere, just hit the ball already. Don’t worry about making a home-run on your first hit. Let’s get to first base, make adjustments once we’re there, and figure out how to make it to second after that. It doesn’t matter if you go to the library to research whatever it is that you want to start, read up on blogs that pertain to your industry, or go to seminars and learn something new. Do something! Remember, fouling out is better than striking out!

Bonus: Write down 2 Timothy 1:7 – “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

So, the next time you start thinking that your dream is to big to accomplish, remember the game of baseball. Don’t just stare at the bat . . . pick it up and do something with it! So, what are you afraid of? What part of your business appears to big to make it a reality? I’ll tell you mine: I want to make big budget Christian movies (rivaling Hollywood!). For the longest time I thought it was impossible, but now I find myself networking with producers, starting scripts, and other things to make this dream a reality. I’m not there yet, but at least I’ve stepped up to the plate.

About the Author Rod is the editor-in-chief of The Success Center, Producer of "Inside the Success," and a Success Coach. For more information, tips, and advice on being a successful Christian-preneur subscribe to Rod's "Success Tips!" weekly newsletter.

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With no venture capital, no cost projections, no business plan, no spreadsheets, no ads, and no sophisticated office space the early church turned the world upside down!

And yet when we look for lessons on what makes a start up successful we look to a Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Zappos, and Amazon–not realizing that the greatest start up and some of the greatest lessons for start-ups are found right in the Book of Acts!

And without further ado…here they are…some of the lessons we can learn from the early church:

• They had purpose–They had one purpose and one aim: tell people about Jesus and make disciples. That simple laser focus marshalled their energies, occupied their thoughts, and allowed them to complete lofty goals.  Purpose is a trademark of great organizations. Those companies with a purpose that exceeds any one person seem to trounce all purposeless counterparts. Do you have a purpose that is greater than you?

• They were committed–“They agreed they were in this for good.” (Acts 1:14 The Message) This wasn’t a “fly by night” operation–they found their life’s work. They faced jail, persecution, death and still were committed to the cause. Paul summed up his commitment: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20 New King James Version) In other words, “He gave His all for me so I’m willing to give my all for Him.” Are you willing to give your all for what you’re trying to do? Not some of you, but all of you.

• They were apprentices first–Many of them were disciples (followers) before they were apostles (leaders). Although there are exceptions, most entrepreneurs had experience in their respective field first. Warren Buffet worked in his father’s brokerage house and under Benjamin Graham before he built Berkshire, Donald Trump apprenticed under his father before he built Trump Organizations, Mark Kay Ash worked in direct sales before she founded Mary Kay, and etc. The best way to train for leadership is through servitude. Do you REALLY understand what you’re getting yourself into?

• They had one message communicated through different mediums-On the day of Pentecost, they were filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak in other tongues (or languages). They spoke in over a dozen dialects all telling the wonderful works of God. The nations present “were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘Whatever could this mean?’” (Acts 2:12 New King James Version) Your message needs to reach your marketing target through any and all means…but it must be ONE MESSAGE. Not different messages, through different mediums, at different times–that’s just confusing. But one message, through many means, to one group (your target audience). Do you know your core message?

• Peter knew how to sell (or persuade)– In the middle of the amazement, confusion, and ridicule Peter used the opportunity to give one of the best sales presentations the world had ever seen. He spoke with authority, urgency, and conviction.  He used supporting Scriptures (or references)…and…he closed the deal!! 3,000 people signed the order and were baptized into the family of God! One of the greatest abilities you as a business owner must have, besides leadership, is sales ability. It’s vital! Why? Because nothing happens without a sale. Absolutely nothing! When Peter preached he preached with the intent of closing: “Turn back to God! Be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven! Then you will be given the Holy Spirit. This promise is for you and your children. It is for everyone our Lord God will choose, no matter where they live.” (Acts 2:38-39 Contemporary English Version) Do you know how to sell?

• They created a leadership culture–After a while the church had grown exponentially; and with growth came problems. The Greek speaking believers were complaining about the Aramaic speaking believers. So they had a meeting and the Twelve told the multitude: “It is not desirable that we should leave the Word of God and serve tables.” (Acts 6:2 New King James Version) In other words, “We can’t leave what we’re doing to handle that.” So they appointed seven leaders to handle that situation while they continued doing what they were doing. Most leaders would do the opposite and take on the extra responsibility needlessly–but in order for your company to grow there has to be a culture of leadership. John Maxwell calls this the Law of Explosive Growth:”To Add Growth, Lead Followers–To Multiply Lead Leaders.” (The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, p.205) You can’t just be preoccupied with developing you, you have to develop those around you. There’s a saying: “Good leadership works itself out of a job.” In other words, a good leader develops other leaders around him or her so well that he or she almost doesn’t have to be there. When you develop other leaders you can work less and still get more done! Do you create leaders or followers?

These lessons simply validate the point that business is God’s idea. But what do you think: do you agree? Disagree? Do you see any more lessons? What are your thoughts?

Mike Holmes is the author of I Shall Raise Thee Up: Ancient Principles for Lasting Greatness. He’s also a blogger that writes on business and leadership development from a Biblical perspective. When he’s not writing blogs or speaking he can be found writing bios in the third person. Check out his website/blog here.

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Last week I launched my highly anticipated e-book, The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Twitter Success. Not to brag or anything, but I knew that it would be an extremely successful launch. Was it because I had some secret weapon in getting people to download it? No, not really. I believe my confidence rested in my preparation for launch day.

How can you garner the same kind of confidence in launching an e-book, product, or service online? Let me share with you a few things I did  to make it a successful launch.

Plan for Success

It’s so critical that you have a plan before you start working on anything. A plan gives you a general direction in which to walk. Without it you’ll be lost before you ever find the success you’re looking for. Here are a few tips to help you plan out your next e-book:

• Create an Outline – I noticed that my process for putting together the book was the same I use for my blogging; I outline my main points and flesh them out from there. This was extremely helpful in organizing my thoughts and making the book flow the way I wanted it to.
• Plan an Adventure Not Just a “How to” – As I organized my thoughts I wanted the reader to start from a certain point and end up at another. I didn’t want to just explain what Twitter was and how to maximize it for business. I envisioned them reading it as a beginner and ending up as an expert in Twitter engagement. To help them along the journey, I answered questions that someone in their position would ask.

Make Time to Make it Happen

This goes without saying, but I think it’s important to note that if you want your e-book to be successful you have to make time to make it happen. That means, despite the distractions, your busy work schedule, or whatever else you’ve got going on in your life, you have to knuckle down and work it out. Here are a few things I did:

• Make a Public Deadline – Nothing will motivate you more than putting pressure on yourself to perform. I announced the e-book on Twitter and Facebook almost a week before I had a single page written. With the amount of replies I got from interested souls, I knew I had to knock this out or be proven a liar.
• Find Your Happy Place – For me, this is where the least amount of distractions exist, where it’s quiet, and where I can do my best work. When I’m at the airport, my happy place is away from the flight crew lounge and as far away as possible from passengers. For you, it may be your basement, the library, or even the bathroom (fellas, you know what I’m talking about).
• Don’t Write it All at Once – It’s very important not put too much pressure on yourself to have it all done in one night. Trust me, it leaves you frustrated, tired, and ready to move on to other things. Give yourself time to express your thoughts fully, make your main ideas clear, and create your best work. I wrote my e-book over the course of 3 days and edited it for 2.

Re-Purpose Your Best Content

The entire idea of the e-book came from the wild success I experienced from the original article, The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Twitter Success. That served as the middle of the book and I took elements from, Are you a Twitter Newbie or Power User? to serve as the beginning. I knew I had something special from the original article and I needed to follow it up in a special way. A follow-up blog post would not have done it or those that took the time to comment justice. Here are some ways you can get the most out of your best content:

• Dig Through Your Archives – You’re probably richer than you know it, if you would only dig through your archives. Take a look at your most popular articles and see which ones can be expanded on in a book format.
• Don’t Forget Offline Content – Did you speak at an event or make a presentation that got you a lot of praise? Your speech or PowerPoint files could be the basis for an e-book that’s worth paying for.
• Ask Your Readers – Remember the people who are going to download your e-book in the first place and see what topics they want you to go more in-depth on. You can easily do this through polls or surveys. I use Constant Contact as my go to service for email and survey marketing (affiliate link).

Resource: Chris Brogan touches on the concept of re-purposing your content in his article, Build Ecosystems for Your Content

Have a Marketing Plan Before, the Day of, and After Launch

When a major corporation plans on launching a product or service they have a plan in place to make sure that the world knows about it. Adopt the same mentality when launching your e-book and you’ll get the results you want. Here are a few ideas on how I did it:

Generating Buzz Before Its Release

• Send Twitter Reminders – I use Hootsuite to schedule certain tweets at high usage times during the day on Twitter. The key is to engage in-between those tweets to stay consistent with your Twitter community. Also, I sent tweets announcing what part of the book I was working on. This kept people up-to-date with the progress of the book and built anticipation for its eventual completion.
• Chat on Facebook – By chatting with fellow bloggers on Facebook I planted seeds of anticipation and got a lot of solid feedback that helped me to complete the book.
• Guest Blogging – Maximize your network and write a couple of articles that relate to your e-book. In your “about the author” section include a link to your email newsletter sign-up so people will be the first to know about the book launch. Last month I completed 3 out of 4 guest blogging assignments which generated new traffic, followers, and readers to this blog. This boost in traffic contributed to the success of the e-book.
• Write a Preview Blog Post – I don’t typically blog on Sunday but I knew I needed to keep traffic up through the weekend for launch day. I took a section of the e-book and turned it into a blog post which generated some traffic and continued to build anticipation for the book’s release.

Getting People to Download on Launch Day

• Make Your E-Book Re-Tweetable – Big shout out to Naomi Trower for sharing this article from the Social Media Examiner blog on How to Add Retweet Buttons in Your PDF Documents. By adding the hashtag, #successguide, I was able to keep track of downloads of the book on Twitter.
• Get Your E-Book Reviewed – My good friend, Brooks Young, wrote a full review of the e-book on her blog which was great PR and allowed me to share it with my network. Which I link to from the e-book’s download page to give her a little bit of traffic as well.
• Capture Comments – On the download page for the e-book I added a few comments that were made only hours after the launch of the book. This added to the “social proof” of the book’s success. Social proof is showing how others enjoy the product you launch which makes it easier for others to download it.
• Send Out an Announcement Email – If you have an email list then be sure to make a formal announcement to your subscribers. Make sure you send the email to subscribers only and don’t make the same mistake I made by sending spam. If you really want to get people to download your e-book from your email then make it worth reading instead of the typical announcement message. I wrote, 10 Steps to Success with E-Book Publishing which had the highest “open rate” of any email I’ve ever sent.
• Engage, Engage, and Engage Some More! – On launch day you couldn’t keep me off Twitter and Facebook! I didn’t overly announce the launch of the book but I did overly share and ease people into announcement messages. I also tracked, replied, and re-tweeted comments to keep my “social proof” of the success of the e-book high.

Marketing After Launch

• Write a Follow-Up Blog Post – This is essentially what I’m doing in this blog post. The idea is to make sure that you keep the success of the e-book at the forefront of everyone’s mind. And those that did not get a chance to download it can do so from the follow-up post.
• Announce the Results after Launch – Ever see a commercial for a movie with reviews attached to it after the movie is released? You can exercise the same strategy in an email, press release, or thank those that downloaded in a short video. This only keeps the buzz of your book in the atmosphere long after it’s launch.
• Create Advertising Space on Your Blog - Maximize your most strategic spaces on your blog to advertise the release of the e-book. This means, creating a unique download page and sidebar widget. WordPress let’s you use standard HTML in it’s sidebar by using the “Text” widget. This is how I created a quick download space for the book in the siderbar to the right. Here’s a pretty good explanation on maximizing this widget for your blog.

Bonus Tips

• Have a Draft Version Reviewed – I chose 3 people from my Twitter network to review a draft of my e-book and their feedback was invaluable. They helped me decide what was missing, whether or not to sell the book, and pointed out grammatical errors.
• Track the Downloads - I unfortunately, didn’t capitalize on this, but it’s definitely worth mentioning. There’s a plug-in called, Download Manager, for WordPress that let’s you track how many downloads you accumulate from a dedicated download page. It’s great for keeping tabs on how well your e-book or any kind of download-able content is doing.
• Explore Distribution Options – Don’t just settle for one version of your e-book, get it into the hands of your readers by any means possible. I’m working on a Kindle version and figuring out options for enhanced mobile versions as well. Here’s the site you need to submit a Kindle version of your book.

Like I said at the beginning, I knew it was going to be a successful launch, but only because I planned on it that way. What lessons have you learned from launching an e-book, product, or service? Was it successful like you envisioned it to be? If you have any questions or comments on how I launched my e-book feel free to share them in the comments section below.

Note: I’m keeping my actual download and site stats mum for the moment because I don’t want anyone to compare the success I’ve found to anyone else. I don’t want anyone to be discouraged because they haven’t achieved it and I certainly don’t want anyone with a big head to step on my toes either. Just know that the launch of my e-book resulted in the biggest single day of traffic for this site and has been downloaded a “bunch” of times.

About the Author Rod is the editor-in-chief of The Success Center, Producer of "Inside the Success," and a Success Coach. For more information, tips, and advice on being a successful Christian-preneur subscribe to Rod's "Success Tips!" weekly newsletter.

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photo credit: Ratatosk at Flickr

I grew up as the son of parents who were missionaries, dedicated to living at low wages and giving much of themselves in return. My father and mother were born during the Great Depression, and they never forgot the lessons that their parents impressed upon them regarding saving money, and the dangers of going broke. I was never taught much about money, except for the fact that we needed to scrimp and save as much as possible, and that wanting money was wrong. Furthermore, there were some unwritten expectations (my own) that true service really was best rendered in full-time Christian ministry.

As a result, as a young adult I was somewhat confused about my desires to be involved in business, building wealth, and being prosperous. I had learned, somehow, to be suspicious of preachers and teachers who stated that Christianity=making lots of money and being happy. On the other hand, I did not entirely agree that a vow of poverty was the only way to make an impact in life.

So, how can a Christian who is committed to following Jesus, the Word, keep her/his integrity while engaging in successful business practices?

The answer is found in Scripture and in the lives of those whose legacies are recorded therein, particularly a young Jewish man who was, in effect, the Vice President of all of Babylon. He had been promoted over all of the rulers of the empire. Therefore, we can assume he was a very successful executive.

Daniel’s underlings were jealous of his success and prosperity, so they first looked for any areas of his conduct of business that could disqualify him before the king. They were unable to do so. Then, they figured it out: he prayed three times a day facing Jerusalem. They would use his devotion to God to get him disqualified from his job. It came down to an edict from the king that anyone who prayed to a God other than the King himself would be put to death. Check out Daniel’s courage and tenacity in the face of death: he continued to pray openly three times a day. In the end, we know he was thrown to the lions, but God shut their mouths, turned the situation around, and promoted Daniel to an even higher position than before. You can read the whole Biblical story here.

Daniel’s life was an example of keeping the main thing the main thing through his motives and his mindset. And it is out of those that his legacy setting actions flowed.

Motive:

Jesus teaches us that we are to put Him and His purposes first and foremost. In Matthew 6.33, he tells us to seek first His priorities in our lives. In other words, “It’s not about me.” This is, perhaps, one of the most subtle temptations when we engage in business. An immature perspective is one that is all about my agenda, versus all about His agenda.

How can we make sure that our motives are pure? By spending time in His Word, in prayer, and in fellowship with other believers. And by deciding that we will conduct our business by the Book.

Mindset:

As Christian entrepreneurs we can be focused on many things in our minds. We can be focused on our circumstances, on our customers’ and employees’ demands, on our families, on ourselves. We can be focused on building wealth, being able to tell others about our achievements, and on our egos. But Scripture commands against letting our hearts get focused on these mindsets.

So what is the solution for attaining the correct mindset? The answer is found in Romans 12:1-2.

“1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual[a] act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

We are to totally surrender, on a daily, moment-by-moment basis, our agendas and our businesses to God. We ought to be praying over every business relationship and business decision. And, we need to make sure that our business decisions are aligned with the Word of God.

Do a gut check: Is Your Motive and Mindset conducive to Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing?

About the Author

Stephen Borgman’s mission is to help others reach their full potential through weekly success tips and strategies. He grew up in Brazil, South America, to parents whose legacy of serving and helping others he hopes to carry on. You can find out more about him at his Success Factors blog or his Personal Growth Development website.

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I’ve always enjoyed reading about great leaders (especially business leaders). I love reading about their triumphs, failures, strengths, weaknesses, wisdom, folly, and their overall contradictions. That’s why I loved reading Carnegie by Peter Krass. It’s an excellent biography of Andrew Carnegie, the man who created his fortune in the steel industry and gave it all away at the end of his life.

Admittedly, though he had good business practices he had questionable ones too:

1. He made his first fortune through insider trading
2. He saw his workers as costs to be managed
3. He was known to “influence” a politician or two

And etc…

“So what exactly could he teach Christian entrepreneurs?!”

Well remember: he also “had good business practices.”  His garden had both wheat and tare. We can learn from the wheat.

• He always practiced his ABC’s–ABC is an old sales acronym: Always Be Closing. Carnegie was a consummate salesman. He was always out looking for business, he never waited for it to come it him. He knew this: if something was to happen it was up to him to make it happen! Know this: “A dream comes with much business.” (Ecclesiastes 5:3 English Standard Version) Nothing happens unless you make it happen; and nothing happens without a sale. If your dream is to become reality it’s going to take a lot of business to make it reality.

• He surrounded himself with the best– Carnegie had a knack for attracting and retaining the most talented and competent people. Many historians believe Carnegie was a management guru–but many of the management innovations he’s famous for were thought of by his lieutenants. He always tried to find the best partners, best managers, best workers…he always looked for the best! Saul and David had that same characteristic: to find and recruit the best people. Saul’s problem was that while he wanted the best he was intimidated by the best. David, on the other hand, was comfortable with having Mighty Men around him. To become the best, you have to find the best, and get the best out of them.

• He found his greatest success through focus not diversity–Early on he had holdings in oil, sleeping cars, railroad, iron bridges, bonds, and telegraphy. But he was wearing himself thin (and he knew it) so he focused all his efforts on one industry: steel. Diversity has its merits– “Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight; you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.” (Ecclesiates 11:2 Today’s New International Version)–but true success will be found in focusing your efforts on one thing that has the greatest rate of return. Warren Buffet once said, “Diversity is protection against ignorance. It makes very little sense for those who know what they’re doing.” In other words, “If you don’t know what you’re doing: diversify; if you do: don’t.”

• He was rabid about costs–He instituted revolutionary accounting methods that detailed the cost of every item–even small nails. He accounted for every single expense and then found ways to reduce them. One exasperated partner said, “Carnegie never wanted to know about profits. He always wanted to know the costs!” This cost cutting practice gave him immense power to set prices and gain new market share. He knew that if he took care of the costs the profits would take care of themselves.

• He was willing to sacrifice short term profit for long term gain– He constantly reinvested: in new machinery, the latest technology, in improved practices, and etc. In fact, sometimes he would find it “exceedingly difficult” to convince his partners to fore go the short term gain. They wanted their money now, he wanted more money later. Unlike a wise man that reinvests“…a foolish man devours all he has.” (Proverbs 21:20 New International Version) When it came to money Carnegie was no fool!

• He saw the end first–Carnegie started out with this end in mind: be the best steel company in the world. All resources, capital, labor, intellect, time, and etc were geared toward that goal (and the smaller goals leading up to it). Vision is a necessity for business leaders. The Bible says, “A wise man thinks ahead; a fool doesn’t and even brags about it.”(Proverbs 13:16 The Living Bible)  In other words, a fool brags about not having goals!! Carnegie saw greater and therefore pushed his company to greater heights.

While Andrew Carnegie  was not a “saint” in his initial business practices there still is a lot we can learn from him. List a few business moguls that you’ve learned from in the past. Who are your favorites? What do you think about Andrew Carnegie? I’d love to know your thoughts in the comments below.

About the Author

Mike Holmes is the author of I Shall Raise Thee Up: Ancient Principles for Lasting Greatness. He’s also a blogger that writes on business and leadership development from a Biblical perspective. When he’s not writing blogs or speaking he can be found writing bios in the third person. Check out his website/blog here.

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Yesterday, February 15th was a historic day for The Success Center with the launch of the Entrepreneur’s Guide to Twitter Success e-book. Hundreds of visits to the site, tons of downloads of the book, and plenty of good reviews buzzing around the net about it. What could possibly go wrong?

I made a mistake, a really, really, really, big mistake. I, Rod Kirby, sent out an unsolicited email announcing the launch of the book to over 300 people in my Gmail account. Yes, you heard me correctly, I sent out a spam mail.

Why?

I had been working into the “wee” hours of the morning trying to make sure I had everything ready for the e-book launch, only had around 6  hours of sleep from the night before, and I was having troubles with my Constant Contact account. I needed to send out a quick announcement email and my Gmail account was the only thing I had available – so I sent it.

This mail went out to my 300 contacts, most of which were not on my Success Tips email newsletter list. There were some concerns over privacy, spam, and some people flat-out asked me to remove them from my contacts.

As a result of this mass mail-out, my web host, Fused Network, suspended my account which took The Success Center offline for over 8 hours. This action hurt my traffic, spread of the e-book, and in the end punished those that enjoy this site on a regular basis. I have been in negotiations with them for the past couple of hours and needless to say, they will continue to host The Success Center and I have promised never to do that ever again.

What do I have to say for myself?

I definitely was tired, excited, and very anxious to spread the good news of the e-book, but there is no excuse to sacrificing people’s privacy for self promotion. I am very sorry to the deepest corners of my soul to those I emailed, people who weren’t able to download the e-book, and regular visitors to this site. It was never my intention to send anyone spam all I can say is that I got caught up in my own excitement and didn’t exercise good judgment.

I wanted to address this situation because everything I do here is not about me. I really have everyone’s best interest at heart. To my web host, Fused Network, thank you for giving me a second chance. You guys really are the best host in the world and it would have definitely hurt me to have to move elsewhere. To everyone reading this, you have my word that this incident will never occur again. I have definitely learned a lesson and will move forward with the wisdom close to the future work I do here.

If you have a question, comment, concern, or even a criticism, feel free to leave it in the comments below. I’m a big boy and I can handle it.

Thank you for your continued support.

Rod

About the Author Rod is the editor-in-chief of The Success Center, Producer of "Inside the Success," and a Success Coach. For more information, tips, and advice on being a successful Christian-preneur subscribe to Rod's "Success Tips!" weekly newsletter.

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Last week you all gave me such an overwhelming response to my article, The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Twitter Success, I decided to put together an e-book based on it. This is definitely a labor of love for me, thanks to those who previewed it and gave me great feedback. I know it’ll bless you just as much as it blessed me writing it. Enjoy!

The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Twitter Success: How to Grow Your Business, Blog, or Brand with Twitter

What Will I Learn?

• Learn what Twitter is
• Why it’s Popular
• How to Find Followers
• How it Works
• Tools to Help You Do Your Best Tweeting
• My Secret Weapon to Marketing on Twitter
• Tips on Growing Your Network
• The Secret to Sales Success on Twitter
• How I got over 700 visits to this blog from Twitter Alone
• And More!

Who is it For?

This book is best for beginners who want to join Twitter, advanced users who have been on Twitter but want to learn how to really maximize it, and experts who want to see first-hand how I became a “Twitter Success” story.

What’s in it?

The guide is packed full of 20 pages that will show you how I use Twitter on a daily basis to grow my blog’s community, brand presence, and get business.

You won’t find any get-rich-quick schemes, a “system” of success, or any ridiculous claims like that here. I’ll show you step-by-step what I do and how I do it. Best part of all, it’s yours today absolutely free! No tricks, no gimmicks, nothing to sign-up for . . . free.

Why is it Free?

• I’m sick of people spamming me on Twitter, maybe if they really knew how to maximize it for business they wouldn’t.
• I believe it’ll genuinely help newcomers and advanced users alike.
• I want you to share it with your friends, followers, colleagues, and entire network.

Reviews

“I read fellow authors and nonprofits confusion about Twitter or they believe they do not have time to be “social.” I receive the questions on “how-to’s” and I believe The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Twitter Success EBook is the answer to their questiosn. It’s one of the best and easiest guides to understand for beginners and those who are advanced also.” – Brooks Young, Sole of a Woman Blog

Read the full review here . . .

Product Details

Format – Adobe PDF (Adobe Reader required to view. Get it here.)

Length – 21 pages

Size – 1.49 MB

Features – Navigate through the table of contents, easily through each section, and even Re-tweet it on Twitter.

Cost - FREE!

So, download it, read it, share with a friend or two, and let me know what you think in the comments below.

To your success,

Rod

About the Author Rod is the editor-in-chief of The Success Center, Producer of "Inside the Success," and a Success Coach. For more information, tips, and advice on being a successful Christian-preneur subscribe to Rod's "Success Tips!" weekly newsletter.

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Welcome to a special preview of my new E-book, The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Twitter Success. Due to the overwhelming response I received from my article, of the same name, it prompted me to put this together. It’s a labor of love and I poured a lot of information that will benefit beginners and advanced users alike. You’ll  be able to download it free of charge tomorrow morning.

This portion comes from the third chapter entitled, “My Twitter Success Story.”

3 Steps to Cultivating a Quality Twitter Community

My blog, The Success Center has grown tremendously since I re-launched it on June 15, 2009 (it was originally a WordPress.com blog). Take a look at its stats according to Alexa (the web information company) below.

Other than my hard work, blood, sweat, and tears I owe a part of the site’s success to my Twitter community. I actually joined Twitter in January 2009 and didn’t use it much until I started my blog. Since then the traffic, readership, community, and relationships built have been incredible.

According to my Google Analytics account, Twitter is my #2 referrer of traffic second to Stumbleupon. However, I know for a fact that Twitter is my #1 referrer of quality traffic. Look at the screen-shot below and let’s break it down.

First, you’ll notice Stumbleupon as sending me the most visits with 1,599. However, look at the average time those visitors spent on my site, only 8 seconds! With a bounce rate of almost 87% (a bounce rate is how frequently people leave your site or when they “bounce” on to their next web destination).

Now, look at the average time people from Twitter stayed on my site and how low the bounce rate is in the screenshot above. See the difference?

“A quality Twitter community will generate quality traffic to your blog or website.”

What’s a quality Twitter community?

These are the people that consistently retweet you, answer your questions, share your posts, participate in your Twitter activities, and present the most value to your Twitter stream.

Out of the 200 or so people that I follow, I know that all of them are a part of my quality Twitter community. I don’t follow them just for the heck of it and they don’t follow me just because I followed them back.

How Do You Cultivate a Quality Community?

• First, you have to understand why your followers follow you. Do you present something valuable to them in their stream? Are they actively following or just following in the hopes of getting you to follow back?
• Second, you have to create a valuable Twitter presence. Do so by engaging with others, sharing good content, and by being personable (that means you are approachable and down-to-earth).
• Third, you have to be consistent in the presence you portray. Don’t share for a straight week and then fall off for a month. Don’t hold Twitter church only to let curse words fly out of your stream on your off days.

Create your own Twitter success story by sharing the stories of your followers. Every tweet in your stream is only a part a story your followers are trying to tell. By engaging with them you can better assist them in telling that story. This is the ultimate key in cultivating a quality community on Twitter. What ways are you cultivating a quality community following on Twitter? Share your thoughts below.

About the Author Rod is the editor-in-chief of The Success Center, Producer of "Inside the Success," and a Success Coach. For more information, tips, and advice on being a successful Christian-preneur subscribe to Rod's "Success Tips!" weekly newsletter.

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Tomorrow is Valentines Day for all you lovers out there. For others, it’s just another day. No matter which category you fit in, at some point you’re bound to get online and look for interesting stuff. Well, here are a few things I found that I think you’ll enjoy. Have a great weekend and a fun Valentines Day!

Most Popular Article at The Success Center

• The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Twitter Success 25 Tweets and 36 Comments

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Enjoy the articles. Don’t forget that another edition of my Success Tips! Newsletter drops on Monday morning. Check out older editions in the newsletter archive.

About the Author Rod is the editor-in-chief of The Success Center, Producer of "Inside the Success," and a Success Coach. For more information, tips, and advice on being a successful Christian-preneur subscribe to Rod's "Success Tips!" weekly newsletter.

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