Barbara's Recommended Resources:

The A List:
I own these items; I think they're great; they represent excellent value for their cost.

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"A" List - 5 Star Programs

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InfoGuru Marketing Manual
A hands-down great marketing course for home business owners and independent professionals. This e-book has more value than just about any other one I've purchased. Be sure to subscribe to Robert Middleton's ezine while you're on his site.

~~ THE "INFOGURU MARKETING MANUAL" -- A REVIEW ~~

I've been a fan of Robert Middleton's since I discovered his excellent ezine "More Clients" in 2001. In 2002, I purchased his e-book for independent professionals, "InfoGuru Marketing Manual," and I wanted to pass along my review in case you want to sharpen up your own marketing with some of the best guidance available.

Within the first four pages of the manual, Robert had me hooked -- and taking notes. He's especially strong on the principles of "giving before receiving" (in the form of information) and selling innovative results-based solutions that clients want and need.

Most of us market our services like commodities; we talk about ourselves and what we offer -- blah, blah, blah, blah. Why would a prospective client care about me and my
skills, unless I could prove that what I do really works, that he'll get more than his money's worth by doing business with me?

As a niche marketing coach, for example, I have been concerned about helping people see their ideal niche -- that aspect of their business about which they are truly passionate and that their soul feels "at home" in.

My heart tells me this is a good thing and all the marketing books tell me this is a good thing.

So you'd think that home-based business owners would be jumping -- leaping -- onto the niche marketing bandwagon, but that's not so. Mostly I see them listing an array of skills,
techniques, certificates and whatnot that I don't even understand. My eyes glaze over and I move on.

That's why I like Robert Middleton's approach. It very much resembles my own. In fact, his very first "Action Plan" is to make you write down the vision and values for your business. Before you go on to create your "core marketing message," determine your target market or develop your marketing materials, you must know the purpose of your business.

Middleton covers the many P's of Marketing: positioning, packaging, promotion, persuasion, performance and pricing. He shows you how to create a marketing "meme,"
a very succinct message that lets people understand exactly how you can help them. He leads you to identify your "ideal client" profile and sheds light on the professional selling process. Like it or not, knowing how to "close the sale" is important if you want to sign up new clients.

This manual will help you understand your business better and will definitely give you good insights into what works in marketing (and why). Here's the link for more info.

3.

Site Build It
For easy website construction and basic design, this is a no-brainer. Ken Evoy's Site Build It is very user friendly and has loads of extras... and the best internet marketing manual on the planet. Since I made a website with Site Build It (when it was new on the market) they have added many bells and whistles that are included in the price.

4.

Register Domains at GoDaddy.com
GoDaddy is my favorite domain registrar because their site is easy to navigate, you can talk to a real person if you can't figure something out, and the price is reasonable for both domain registration and hosting. You also get a mini-stats program free with your hosting accounts. You can easily "point" your GoDaddy-registered domain to any site, blog or page you want. Find out how here.

5.

Super Affiliate Handbook
If you're still getting the hang of affiliate program marketing, this is the book to get. You'll learn how Rosalind Gardner, a civil servant with no previous business experience, earns more than $500,000+ per year... selling other people's products online. She explains her methodology in plain language, step by step.

 

Here are more programs I own, use and recommend:

Desperate Buyers Only
Learn how to WRITE e-books... but not just any old e-book. Make sure you're offering desperately-needed information that people want to buy. And they'll buy your book. I wish I had read this e-book before writing my first two e-publications. Great step by step instructions from a no-nonsense author. (Includes a 30-minute  phone consultation with the author.)
 

Create a Blog with Typepad
Typepad offers a 30-day free trial. One blog is $4.95 a month; 3 for $8.95. This is the blogging platform I use and I like it a lot. Easy to figure out, for the most part, and if you get in a jam, you can check out my blogging basics blog.
 

Radio Publicity
Alex Carroll has been a guest on 1,264+ radio shows and has sold more than $1.5 million worth of his self published book on how to beat unfair speeding tickets. Learn more about how he's done it and get a free list of the Top 20 Nationally Syndicated Radio Shows. If you want to make a name for yourself using free radio publicity, this is the book to get. Chock-full of practical information, based on real testing and results.
 

Create Your Own Squidoo Web Page. It's Free!

I'm a big fan of Squidoo... and have made lenses of my own (www.squidoo.com/keyboardsymbols). The Squidoo name helps your web pages get higher rankings in the search engines. Plus they're easy and fun to make. Always adding new modules... and you get a share of the Google AdSense ads on your lenses. You can also use affiliate links. Click here to get your own Squidoo lens.

Magic Words That Bring You Riches by Ted Nicholas
This is a Ted Nicholas classic... from one of the gurus of direct mail and copyrighting. I have a couple of his other books, too. He's the real deal.
 

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