Self esteem without competence is a recipe for failure

For the longest time, in the United States and elsewhere, educational policy makers bought into the idea of self esteem. Please understand that self esteem is a good thing. Nobody's disputing that. However, according to this educational policy philosophy, for students to perform well in life, they need to have their self esteem built up and encouraged early on.

Again, just like the observation that self esteem is a good thing, this seems pretty good on the surface. What's there to argue about. The problem is if you are going to be building your self esteem based on affirmations and being made to feel good about who you are without any accomplishments or physical results produced by your efforts to back it up.

You are building your house on sand. This is precisely what happened with generations of youth fed on the steady diet of self esteem stimulation. That's really what it is. You just stimulated the formation of self esteem not through actual achievements, accomplishments, sacrifice, hard work and other traditional indicators of success.

Instead, people got self esteem by being respected for showing up. That's it. That's all you need to do. You just need to show up and you get a prize for participation. According to this school of thought, your feelings are paramount.

If only things worked that way. Sadly, a lot of people who base their self-esteem on the fact that they happened to show up know deep down inside that their confidence is hollow. They know that this is not the way real life works. They know that the world may have some rude surprises waiting for them. No wonder, many people with supreme self-esteem are very frustrated and confused.

As long as you're feeling okay about yourself, then there's really not much difference between what you think and what everybody else thinks. You are entitled to your estimation of yourself, the rightness of your action, so on and so fort.

What this created is self esteem that produced a very hollow self confidence. People definitely can feel that they can do stuff, but they can only do it in theory. When they're actually given challenges to produce and deliver results, most people, who focus primarily on self esteem without the matching competence, fall apart like a house of cards.

Self esteem without competence is a recipe for failure. If you're having a tough time in any area of your life or you feel you're frustrated or stuck in any area of your life, maybe it's because of this. Sure, you feel good about yourself and it seems like you have a high estimate of your ability to get things done.

Unfortunately, unless and until that high estimation is based on actual experience and results, you're just wasting your time. It's probably going to be very hard for you to overcome challenges. It's probably very tempting for you to just quit the moment you're confronted with actual difficulty.

If you're suffering from any of these, thankfully there is a fairly straightforward and simple solution. Click here for the solution.

Creating an Opt In Offer They Can’t Refuse

Gone are the days when you could merely offer notifications and updates to future subscribers. Consumers have learned their lesson after receiving a flood of spam over the years with no real value.

Now, they expect something more in exchange for their name and email address - and rightly so. When you have a landing page or opt in box, you need to have something more than the promise to notify them of future blog posts.

You want to give them something free in exchange for their contact information. The first thing you might consider is a free report or eBook that teaches them something they wish to know.

This can be anything from a simple five page report to a full guide sent in PDF format. Page count isn’t as important as the information contained inside. You can also promise a multimedia course that includes both the text version and video files.

Some people offer some sort of tool or software in exchange for the right to communicate with a visitor at a later date. It could be something as simple as a checklist or template that they download if you don’t have the skill to create your own software. 

You can give your potential subscribers access to one of your previous paid courses if you like. Just make sure that it’s up-to-date and that your offer doesn’t promise something they won’t be receiving.

Depending on your niche market, you may want to offer some sort of plan that they can download or access. For example, if you’re in the fitness niche, then you might offer a 30 day diet or exercise plan.

Some people will even subscribe for a perk - such as a discount or coupon that they can use with your products. For example, if you run a PLR site, then you might offer an introductory discount coupon of 50% off for those who subscribe to your list.

Don’t forget to use a multimedia approach with your free offers whenever possible. Not everyone will enjoy digesting text or audio or video the same way. The more options you have to offer them, the better.

One thing you may also want to consider is including an unexpected subscriber gift in the very first email. In addition to the offer that they specifically signed up for, you can go above and beyond and wow your customer with an extra freebie they weren’t expecting.

Recruiting New Subscribers Based on Your Reputation to Serve

Once you start a list, it will be your job to grow the number of subscribers that you have over time. While it may seem meager at first, with subscribers only trickling in, it will pick up steam when you put more effort into it.

Word-of-mouth is a powerful indicator of who to follow and who is trustworthy in any niche online. When you can generate positive word-of-mouth and recommendations as a niche leader, you will see your subscriber numbers soar.

You do this by maintaining your ethics and showcasing a true desire to step up and help people. There are many of your competitors who are only in it for the money, and when you can set yourself apart from them as someone who truly cares, you will find that people naturally flock to you.

You want to be open and honest about your own journey in the niche. Whether it’s online success or weight loss, telling the story of how you overcame obstacles and succeeded will resonate with your readers. They will want to share your stories with the people they care about - such as friends and family members.

Some people try to position themselves as guru marketers who have never made a mistake. And while these individuals do develop a following of like-minded people, it’s more ethical and honest to be transparent about your journey.

If you want to develop a reputation as someone who consistently shows up to serve your audience, then you’ll want to invite people to contact you. You can have a contact form or give out your direct email address.

Make sure you respond to emails and contact in a timely fashion. If your audience grows to a level where you can’t handle all of the communication on your own, then you might want to host a webinar where your people can frequently interact with you or hire a virtual assistant to help you maintain communication flawlessly.

While many marketers focus on their responsibility to provide good information to their audience, keep in mind that it’s also your responsibility to protect your followers from bad information.

When you turn down opportunities to make fast cash by only recommending quality products as opposed to anything and everything, word will spread of your morals and subscriber numbers will increase.

Make sure you’re strategic about growing your subscriber base. Whether you participate in giveaway events, create valuable content to be shared by others, or simply develop friendships with competitors who will sing your praises, you can’t rest on your laurels and expect people to flock to you for no reason.

What to Look for in an Email Autoresponder System

An email autoresponder is one of the first tools that you’ll need to buy as an online marketer. Most newcomers mistakenly wait until they have a large following, but building a list is something that you should do from day one.

So which email autoresponder tool should you invest in? Many people start with free. There are free tools that allow you to build a list, but they aren’t always what’s in your best interest.

In exchange for allowing you to build a list, they often insert advertisements into your emails. Not only that, but you are limited in the number of subscribers that you can have.

Whenever possible, it’s always best to start off with a paid email autoresponder that you can afford. The first thing you want to look for is reliability. You want to make sure that all of your emails go out in a timely fashion.

Whether you’re emailing about your own offer or as an affiliate for someone else, it’s important that you be able to compete on schedule whenever you need to. You don’t want to set an email to go out at 11 AM EST only to see it delayed for several hours.

You also want an email autoresponder that doesn’t have a reputation of having their emails go straight to spam folders. You want your messages to get through to the recipient who has signed up for your list.

Some of the best companies that will help your messages get delivered are Aweber and Get Response. Whichever company you choose for your email autoresponder, they should have a good support system in place for your needs as a customer.

That means they have help available at all hours, along with in-depth tutorials that teach you how to use the system. While free email autoresponders may not be the best option, you don’t have to pay more than necessary for good service.

You want pricing that’s just right for your budget. You can find tools that charge a fee based on the number of subscribers you have. That means someone who only has a list of 5,000 subscribers would pay less than someone with a list of 25,000 subscribers.

That way, you will hopefully be recouping some of your investment through your subscribers and offers as you level up to a higher price point. Many of the autoresponders have a free trial so that you can see whether or not the system is easy for you to use, so make sure you take advantage of that. 

Being Strategic with Your Opt in Box Placement

Just because you have an email autoresponder in place doesn’t mean you will acquire subscribers. You have to make sure that your opt in box is strategically placed where visitors to your site can see it and clearly see how to sign up.

Many marketers start out with a single landing page. This is a page that is light on content and merely conveys the free offer that usually accompanies a sign-up situation. But if this is all you’re using, then you’re missing out on some important list building opportunities. 

For example, if you run a blog, then you want to have the opt in box in the sidebar of your blog. That way, regardless of which post the person came to read on your site, they will see the opt in opportunity on every page.

You can format the opt in box to fit any size sidebar. Another place you can strategically place an opt in box for your email autoresponder is below each post that you create. All you have to do is insert the raw HTML code that you generate within your email autoresponder system and it can capture the names and email addresses of visitors after they have consumed your valuable information.

This is a good place to position an opt in box because if your post is long, the visitor may have scrolled down past the sidebar opt in box. Make sure you encourage people at the end of each blog post to get on your list.

You always want to encourage sign-ups to your list everywhere you go. That includes social media posts, Within PDFs that you release online, in videos that you create, on podcast audio files, and within products and bonuses.

Your opt in box should have a clean aesthetic appeal and blend in to your site nicely. However, you also want it to stand out to some degree. You can do that with an image or icon that draws their eye to the offer. Make sure your offer includes a call to action that tells them exactly what you want them to do.

You may want to split test a variety of opt in boxes and offers to see which method or style your niche responds to best. It may be something as simple as a color combination or headline that tips the scales in your favor for more subscribers.

Choosing a Voice that Resonates with Your Subscribers

When you start a list and people join it, it’s the beginning of a bond that can last for years. This connection between yourself and a subscriber will be a two-way street. You will provide value for them and they, in turn, will purchase products from you or through your link.

But many marketers feel intimidated about the concept of communicating with their list. They’re not sure what to say or how to say it. You want to choose a voice that represents you well and that is well received by your readers.

However, keep in mind that you won’t be able to make everyone happy all of the time. There will always be someone who doesn’t like the way you communicate. And that’s okay.

You yourself probably don’t like everyone’s personality online. That’s why we get to pick and choose who we learn from. One voice that you may choose to use with your subscribers is educational and informative.

This is akin to a news broadcaster or teacher who educates their audience with facts and data. It’s a little sterile, but in some niches, it’s perfectly acceptable and almost preferred.

Some marketers choose a tone that is motivational or inspirational in nature. Think of a personality such as Tony Robbins. You will provide them with life lessons and the nurturing tone that leads them to make positive changes in their life.

Another tone that you may choose to use in your communication is that of a butt kicker. This is someone who helps eliminate excuses that often overwhelm and prevent a subscriber from achieving their goals.

Not everyone will enjoy this type of tone, but there are many who do. Humor is another way that you can connect with your audience. You’re still providing value and insight, but it’s done with a lighter touch that is relatable and enjoyable by many.

Don’t worry if you’re not a stand up comedian. Humor can be expressed in a variety of ways. You can choose one or a many of these voices for your audience. Just as you don’t have the exact same personality at all times, every day, you can choose to mix it up with your subscribers, too.

The most important thing is that you weave a little of yourself and your personality into the mix. For your own personal satisfaction, you want to be able to express yourself in a way that is natural to you. Plus, it comes off more genuine when you do it this way.

Putting Effort Into Pinterest for Free Traffic

Pinterest is a different kind of social networking site that can deliver free, targeted, organic traffic to many niche marketers. It doesn’t have the same engagement that other social networking sites do in terms of comments and private messages.

Instead, this site is all about making good ideas go viral. That viral concept can funnel traffic to your blog or products as well as landing pages where you can build a targeted list.

Consider Pinterest a content curation site for consumers. It’s almost like a digital vision board that contains a myriad of images and hyperlinks to products and leaders that consumers want to learn more about.

This site works better for visual niches, but it isn’t exclusive to those. For example, food, fashion, travel, and parenting are all popular niches that you will find on Pinterest. However, you can also turn a niche such as success or finances into a Pinterest-worthy niche as long as you pair good ideas and quotes with images that can be shared.

Before you open a Pinterest account, you want to manage the blog side of things first. When you go on to Pinterest, your goal will be to send people to your blog so that they can get on your list and learn more about your products and services.

Your blog posts should be highly valuable in nature so that consumers want to share it with others and bookmark it for themselves. Aside from text, you’ll want your blog post to include a good image for Pinterest.

Usually, the best images are vertical and eye-popping. The image should be embedded in your blog post so that when you pin it on the site, it shows up as the image that will represent your blog post.

You also want to include your URL in the image itself so that you get added branding capability with your social marketing efforts. Then it will be time to begin socializing on this site itself.

You’ll want to create a mix of pins on your boards that include your own blog posts as well as pins from other people. This is more ethical and organic in nature. You can pin several items per day on your account, and you want your boards nicely organized according to topic so that people can subscribe to them.

You may also want to participate in group boards. This is where you will share your own pins as well as other people’s in an effort to help all of your fellow marketers generate free traffic from the site. You can even launch your own group board for people to participate in.

Finding a Following on Facebook

When it comes to getting free traffic, social networking sites are a great place to begin. While Facebook may not appeal to millennials and the younger generation as much, it still has a healthy base for you to tap into as a niche marketer.

The first thing you may want to do after setting up your personal profile is to set up a Facebook page. This is a place where you can brand your business and share value with your audience.

After you have a page devoted to your business that details all that you have to offer, you may want to launch a group on Facebook to engage with your audience. With a group, you can make other people admins who can help you manage the group.

In a group setting, everyone can share ideas and open discussions with one another if you allow them to. This gives you great insight into the needs and personalities of your fans and followers.

You may also want to join other groups that have been started by someone else. Your goal here is not to go in and spam the group with links to your site. Instead, you should show up and contribute value to those participating in the group so that they organically seek you out online with the goal of learning more from you.

On Facebook, you want to show up to serve the people who are interested in your niche topic with helpful responses and insight. Doing this will allow you to see more organic traffic as people begin to Google your name and look for other advice from you on the Internet.

You want to utilize the various media options that Facebook allows so that you can acquire a bigger following. You are no longer restricted to text only on this social media site. You can use a variety of text, images, and video to convey your message.

In fact, it’s been proven that Facebook posts with images get more engagement and are shared more than those with text only. You can also share links to audio files or to your blog posts or landing pages on the site.

When you’re using Facebook to generate free, organic traffic, you want to build genuine friendships with others online. Don’t make it all about you. Your prospective buyers need to know that you care about them, too.

If you befriend people on your personal profile, make a concerted effort to visit other people’s profiles and engage on their posts to show that you are genuinely interested in how their own life is going.

Using Instagram to Attract an Audience

Instagram is a highly visual site where you can brand yourself as a leader in your niche. It implements a variety of images, video, and text. You can use a mixture of these, but every post will need either an image or a video to accompany the text.

This social networking site is a great way to get free traffic to your blog and offers. The best niches for Instagram are those that are visual in nature, such as food and diet, travel, and inspiration.

An image that you post doesn’t always have to be of some thing or someone. It can be of an inspirational or motivational quote or a cartoon or meme that people can relate to. While posts can’t be shared as easily as they can on Facebook, there are tools that can allow people to re-post your Instagram shares.

Therefore, you may want to brand your URL on the images themselves. Make sure when you post to Instagram, you are using hashtags to help your posts get found and shared among the population.

Hashtags are strategic keywords that people use to identify a topic, person, or place. When a consumer wants to find posts on the topic, they type in a pound sign and the keyword like this: #keyword. You’ll want to use a variety of them related to your topic in each post.

For traffic purposes, you’ll want to have a link in your bio. This is shown directly below your image on your profile page within the site. Instagram does not allow you to post links with every single post that you share. Therefore, you can change the link in your bio periodically if you wish.

One thing you may want to do is have a link in your bio to an opt in or landing page. This way, you capture the consumers’ name and email address and can contact them in the future and send them to your blog and offers.

Instagram also has another feature known as stories. Here, you can engage with others on a different level. Using the story, you can share images or videos as well as stream live from within the site.

Regular images and videos will be shared for 24 hours with your audience. But when you go live, you get to choose whether or not you want the video to stay up for 24 hours. Make sure you are branding your domains at this time so that you can reap the rewards of the free traffic potential of the site.

Tapping Into YouTube Search Traffic

If you’re looking for free, organic traffic, you’ll want to rank high in the search engines. But one thing many marketers overlook is the fact that YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world.

Next to Google, it’s one of the best ways to generate traffic that won’t cost you a penny. People love watching videos - sometimes more than they love getting information from text.

You can find videos on YouTube in just about every niche online. This is a great place for you to generate a following and send traffic to your blog and product offers. When it comes to video creation, many people are intimidated at the thought of putting themselves out there.

But you don’t have to record yourself on screen unless you want to. You can use a simple screen capture tool such as Camtasia or Camstudio to capture the screen and record a PowerPoint presentation or other items as you talk in the background.

When you make your videos, they don’t have to be long, drawn out presentations. Most consumers prefer bite sized information instead. That means keeping your videos between 3 to 5 minutes in length.

You may have too much to say in that short of a time span. If this is the case, then you can create a series of bite-size videos that cover the span of one larger topic. Make sure you brand your videos with a URL that links back to your site.

In addition to the wording on the screen, you also want to verbally invite your viewers back to your website by mentioning the domain name. Instead of just telling someone to visit your website, you can encourage them to go to the site for a free download offer.

Send them to your landing page and get them on your list so that later, you can funnel them to your products, affiliate offers, and blog posts. YouTube videos come in handy because they don’t simply stay on that site.

You can embed them into your blog post and allow others to do the same. Many of your competitors will grab your video to embed into their own blog posts, giving you free traffic.

You can also share the links on social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook. When people watch and enjoy your content, and their friends and family members see it on their accounts, they can then share it with others and the video you produced will go viral.