Guest Column by Ali Brown "The E-Zine Queen"

"5 Ways to Keep Learning and Growing - Even on a Tight Budget"
by Ali Brown

I recently received a long letter from one of my readers - whom I'll call "Amy" -- that went something like this, "Ali, I see you're now charging beaucoup bucks for your coaching programs and to mentor with you. No question you are worth thousands of dollars to work with! But I feel really stuck. You see, I am down to my last dime. You emphasize how important it is to keep learning and growing... and to have a mentor, but how can someone like me do this when there's no money to invest?"

Ah yes, Amy, believe me, I remember what that was like. In fact, things got so bad when I first started my business back in New York 10 years ago that there was one evening I couldn't even take out $20 from the ATM. (And even if I did have cash to spend, I didn't know where to find a mentor anyway.)

So what's a girl to do when she's on a budget?

Answer: Learn all she can within her means.

While in-depth courses and high-level mentorship programs deliver a complete plan for those who are ready to invest and move forward quickly, don't forget about tried and true low-budget learning options. The five I list below are surely nothing new, but often times we forget they are here for the taking! The only trick is you have to motivate yourself.

1. Books.

Yes, books. Remember books? There are millions of helpful and educational books out there. Both new ones in bookstores and used ones at the library. Ones to inspire you, to motivate you, to help you think differently, and delivering specific steps to grow yourself and your business. Spend a rainy afternoon in a Borders or Barnes & Noble with a coffee and see what strikes your fancy. Or finally get that local library card and see what they have to offer in their business and self help sections. Bonus: Most libraries also carry CDs and DVDs that they rent for free or a low fee, and usually you'll be able to find several educational titles.

2. Free ezines and reports.

Search your topic of business online and you're bound to find tons of free online information and many in the form of ezine subscriptions and reports. From marketing to moneymaking, from advertising to finding clients, if you search for it you will find it.

Just know these media - being free - are typically more introductory information and used as lead generators. But good content can surely be found!

3. Free teleseminars and webinars.

Along the same lines, many experts are also hosting free teleseminars and webinars day and night around the globe. All you need to participate is a phone or an Internet connection. From business training to personal development - search and you will find as well! As with free ezines and reports, you can learn a lot from these events, but just expect a sales offer during the session.

4. Free and low-cost live seminars.

Even adult education classes via organizations such as the Learning Annex are great to get started. Even though they usually feature very basic info, I've found these classes are still good to help reboot your brain and give you some new ideas to walk away with.

If you live in a major city you can also almost always find free or low-cost seminars to attend as well, if you keep your eyes and ears open. But remember, the hosts of these events aren't non-profits! Expect a sales invitation to buy their products or enroll in a program. Just realize this upfront as you go in and graciously decline should you choose not to take advantage. [Julia Stege the Magical Marketer offers a free teleclass series on how to attract customers on social networks.]

5. Lower-priced information products and programs.

If you can't afford a live mentor, how about one in a box? That's how I started! And I admit it was even from a TV infomercial.

Back when I had finally quit my last job 10 years ago, I was lost and frustrated. I had started my business but was down to just a few hundred dollars in my bank account. One late night I was up and turned on the TV and saw an infomercial for Tony Robbins' "Personal Power II". (Funny enough, I could barely see it on the screen since I couldn't afford cable TV and was watching it via old-fashioned rabbit ears.)

If I remember correctly, the product was $179 at the time. That was a huge stretch for me, and I opted for the payment plan. And when those cassettes arrived (yes, I got the cassettes because they were cheaper than the CDs), I dove into them like a box of chocolates! Tony became my virtual mentor as his voice of encouragement, showing me how to think big, was played in my ears every day while I rode the subway.

If you're not growing, you're dying

Remember that not having cash to invest in your business is no excuse to sit on your bum. There's a great saying, "God helps those who help themselves." Having money isn't a prerequisite to step forward to grow and become your best. The only requirement to your stepping into your greatness is your true desire to do so.

© 2009 Alexandria Brown International Inc.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Online entrepreneur Ali Brown publishes the award-winning 'Highlights on Marketing & Success' weekly ezine with 36,000+ subscribers. If you're ready to jump-start your marketing, make more money, and have more fun in your small business, get your FREE tips now at www.AliBrown.com

WANT TO SEE MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE? See Ali's Small Business Marketing Blog.


GET YOUR FREE MAGICAL MARKETING TOOLKIT: Start attracting your perfect customers now with this report and podcast kit.

Five First Steps to Facebook Fame

by Julia D. Stege, MFA
@magicalmarketer

Attracting perfect customers and building buzz about your biz are fun and fulfilling activities you can do for free on Facebook, the most popular social network in the world. Boasting over 300 million users who linger a whopping 20 minutes per day, Facebook is an important business asset to any smart entrepreneur. Consider Facebook like your online Chamber of Commerce... you can meet people, socialize, organize, contribute, communicate, congregate, and promote yourself and your favorite causes to potentially millions of people across the world. Here are some steps you will want to take now to get started using Facebook.

STEP 1: Set up a good profile. Make sure to upload a recent photo of you, and include some details on what your personal interests are. On Facebook people want to get to know you as a person so give them what they're looking for. Also make sure to include all of your educational information and past employers so that folks you knew at those places can find you. Connecting with old school chums and work buddies is extremely enriching and can often lead to good referrals too!

STEP 2: Find Friends. There are a variety of ways you can find friends who are already on Facebook. First, have Facebook search your email for your peeps and request to connect with all who come up. You can do searches in Facebook by school and graduating year, and by employer to connect with folks you've met along the way. You can also connect with folks you don't yet know, but who share common interests with you, or who live in your region. Make sure to friend at least a few people every day and soon you will have hundreds of qualified connections who are interested to learn more about you!

STEP 3: Join Groups. Groups are where people congregate around an idea, an interest, a hobby, or a concern. Groups attract people of like mind and heart and offer ways for them to interact and communicate with each other. You can join groups and then look for ways to contribute to the members. See if you can answer questions or provide useful resources to the group members. Become known in your group and invite other group members to friend you. You can expand your network and your reputation this way.

STEP 4: Share Your Photos. Photos are the #1 activity on Facebook and folks spend a lot of time doing that. Make sure you have something to look at from various phases of your life, from childhood through school years and key events in your life. Make sure to have some recent photos so folks can see what you're up to now. If you are an artist, share pictures of your artwork too. Pictures are a great way to share what is important to you and help people to get to know you better.

STEP 5: Contribute Compelling Content on Your Wall. Whether you are sharing inspiring quotes, a song that moved you, educational videos, or your latest blog post, make sure whatever you put on your "Wall" is a reflection of what is truly important to you. Your postings will naturally be compelling to your friends when you are authentic. Interesting content will uplift and entertain your followers, and if they like it, they'll share it with others. Post your offerings occasionally but not all the time. Make sure to mix marketing with personal and inspirational contributions.

These are just some simple first steps to creating a following and building buzz about you and your offerings on Facebook. Read more tips on using Law of Attraction with Social Networks and Marketing on this Magical Marketing Blog.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Magical Marketer Julia D. Stege, MFA helps people attract their perfect customers with a unique combination of Law of Attraction, wildly attractive logos and websites, and smart Internet marketing techniques. If you're ready to start attracting your perfect customers now, get Julia's free Magical Marketing Toolkit at http://www.magicalmarketingtoolkit.com

Vibrational Marketing

A Whole New Paradigm for Attracting Customers
by Julia D. Stege, MFA
@magicalmarketer

"The marketing campaign that you are launching is not to attract the millions to your product, because they have already been attracted by your asking. The marketing is to attract YOU there." Abraham-Hicks

How do you feel right now?

Not many marketers will ask you this question because they don't think how you feel is at all important. Most people approach marketing from a stance of "what's wrong." They look at what is missing (not enough clients or sales for instance) and market from that perspective.

Law of Attracting is like gravity in the sense that it's always responding to vibration, and how you feel will indicate whether you are moving toward or away from what you desire, including your perfect customers.

So if you start your marketing campaign from "what's missing" and you feel pretty bad as you do it, your marketing campaign will not be successful. It is not successful because you are standing apart from the vibration of success which is where your perfect customers are waiting for you.

On the other hand, if you approach your marketing from the perspective of how much you love your product or service and how it will enhance the lives of people, and you feel good as you create blog posts, advertisements, tweets, and web copy, your campaign will successfully bring you into alignment with the perfect customers who are seeking you. Then like magic you will start receiving calls, emails, inquiries and comments from your peeps.

Your perfect customers can't notice you when you are not in alignment with your success. Not until you feel great and exude the love you feel for your offerings will they be drawn to you and notice you. When you are in that perfect vibration, they are attracted to you like a magnet!

You have been asking for a while to attract people to your offerings. The question is are you cooperating with what is already lined up for you, or not? As you take the time to uplift your mood and live within the happy dream of your ultimate success, and share your passion from there, you become a perfect match for your perfect peeps.

If you need some help raising your vibration, check out this post.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Magical Marketer Julia D. Stege, MFA helps people attract their perfect customers with a unique combination of Law of Attraction, wildly attractive logos and websites, and smart Internet marketing techniques. If you're ready to start attracting your perfect customers now, get Julia's free Magical Marketing Toolkit at http://www.magicalmarketingtoolkit.com

Confidence: Why it's Your Greatest Business Asset

by Julia D. Stege, MFA

Have you noticed a lot of people are in fear these days? They are falling prey to the negativity in the media and worrying about the state of the economy. They have heard about folks losing their jobs or have friends in some tight spaces. Even if they are still doing fine and earning what they always have, the current climate makes them feel insecure about the future.

Have you fallen prey to the fear factor? I'm asking because if you have, you are doing a disservice to your customers (and yourself). What they really need right now (and what you need too) is your confidence!

What is confidence? According to the web dictionary, confidence is "assurance: freedom from doubt, belief in yourself and your abilities, a feeling of trust, a state of confident hopefulness that events will be favorable." Can you begin to see how this is the quality your perfect customers are seeking in you?

No matter what your service or product, your customers want to know that you are confident it will help them with their problem or need. Imagine if you are exuding some element of fear yourself, will the customer buy? Probably not.

I remember one time when it dawned on me that my confidence would make the difference between signing a new client or not. I was in a meeting with a potential client at a time when I really needed the money. I had a choice of being needy or confident. I chose confident and so I cleared my mind of all fear and doubt and acted like I was the best person for the job in how I presented myself, how I spoke, and what I said. They hired me on the spot for a project that earned me upwards of $50,000.

Your confidence is a magnet that draws others to you. Your influence actually spreads hope and uplifts others. So build your confidence muscle and watch your business grow.

If you are having challenges being confident, WikiHow has some great tips at http://www.wikihow.com/Build-Self-Confidence. Use these tips frequently to build your confidence muscle.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Magical Marketer Julia D. Stege, MFA helps people attract their perfect customers with a unique combination of Law of Attraction, Wildly Attractive WebsitesTM, Branding from the HeartTM, and smart Social Networking strategies. If you're ready to start attracting your perfect customers now, get Julia's free Magical Marketing Toolkit at http://www.magicalmarketingtoolkit.com