So you want to be a published author?

Over the years I have talked to thousands of people who want to become a published author, but stop short of fulfilling their dream because they either don't take the first step or they quickly become overwhelmed.

I found this blog posting on writing a book that I thought was perfect for anyone who wants to see their works published in the coming year.

http://wordshavepower.blogspot.com/2006/12/you-can-be-author.html

Happy New Year.

Kathleen Gage
The Street Smarts Speaker and Author
http://www.kathleengage.com

Current Issue of Street Smarts Marketing and Promotions Ezine
http://www.turningpointpresents.com/newsletters/enewsjanuary2007.htm

Some of the best publicity tips you will find

Joan Stewart, aka The Publicity Hound, is definitely an expert. Her information is solid, works and some of the best that you will find.

Get her "best of the best" eBook officially called ”The Best of The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week of 2006″ ebook.

Put your 2007 publicity campaign on steroids with her special holiday gift to you. You will be glad you did.

http://tinyurl.com/yysrnk

My best to you for an incredible 2007.

Kathleen Gage
The Street Smarts Speaker and Author

The Secret - Mini Version

The next few minutes may actually change the way you view your thoughts.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7171300465002057435&q=the+secret&hl=en

This is a glimpse into The Secret

Kathleen Gage
The Street Smarts Speaker and Author
http://www.kathleengage.com

Quit Singing the “Business is Slow” Blues

For some businesses, December is the busiest month of their year. For others, the slowest. Regardless of when your “slow” period is, utilize the time wisely.

Here are a few tips on building a consistent flow of business throughout the year.
When someone first uses your service, send some type of a follow up to him or her. This can be done via email or USPS. Since email is becoming so commonplace, you may want to consider an actual letter or card in order to stand out from the crowd. Do this when appropriate.

Additionally, if you have a slump in business take that time to call clients/customers in your database. Recently I stopped into a pet store I get my supplies from and have my dogs groomed at. The groomer was frustrated because several people had made appointments for that day and didn’t show up. What her customers may not realize is that if they don’t show, she doesn’t make money. I asked if there was a system in place to assure a higher rate of people showing. As I suspected, there wasn’t.

My suggestions were as follows:
1. Require a 50% deposit when the person makes the appointment. No shows forfeit the deposit. It will only take once before people realize they need to be certain when setting the appointment. A simple explanation to someone who is doesn’t want to put a deposit down should take care of the situation. If someone refuses to put down a deposit you may not want to do business with them. It is about setting appropriate business boundaries.

2. After the appointment, send a thank you card to the pet – of course addressed to the c/o the owner. This is not a common practice so the groomer will suddenly become someone who cares about your pet rather than someone who simply grooms the pet. And by sending the card to the pet you add a pinch of humor and difference in a way that the owner may show his or her friends because it is so unique.

3. When business is slow, pull out the past and current client list. Get on the phone and let people know that the holiday season tends to fill up rapidly. A dialogue such as, “Hi Mary, I notice that Max is due for a grooming. We tend to get very busy this time of year and I want to make sure you are able to get an appointment. Let’s go ahead and book you for one right now? Great, let me go ahead and get your credit card number so we can take care of your deposit on that. Thanks and see you on _____.

4. Each day, spend a few minutes going through the booked appointments for the following few days and make a quick call to remind people of their pet’s appointment. You will be amazed at how this will reduce the no shows.
You say you don’t have a pet store and grooming services. No problem. Think about what you just read and how it might apply to your business.

In these changing times, it is up to you to be as flexible and creative as possible. Instead of singing the “Business is Slow” blues, take advantage of slow times to keep in touch with your customers and clients. You will be amazed at the results.

Kathleen Gage
The Street Smarts Speaker and Author

So you want to be a professional speaker?

Lots of people have the dream of getting paid to do presentations, yet they have no idea where to begin.

My business associate and co-author, Lori Giovannoni has developed an informative, content driven ebook that is a great resource for anyone interested in the speaking profession.

Visit http://www.lorigiovannoni.com/professionalspeaker.htm to download it this easy to read resource by a 20+ year veteran. Lori Giovannoni is an award-winning professional speaker and bestselling author.

http://www.lorigiovannoni.com/professionalspeaker.htm

Creating the Wealth Mindset

FREE Teleconference
Creating the Wealth Mindset
featuring Amy Scott Grant
Hosted by Kathleen Gage
Thursday, January 4, 2007
5-6 P.M. PST

If you are ready to learn principles of success and abundance that really work join Bestselling Author, Kathleen Gage for this one time call as she interviews Success Coach and Author Amy Scott Grant

Discover How to Have the Most Incredibly Successful 2007 ever!


Start the New Year off right!
Discover what’s been holding you back from earning the income level you truly desire

Find out why the majority of people actually repel money away from them with this one word.

Learn proven techniques for raising your “deservability” level

Increase your ability to receive

Gain enhanced peace of mind by ending your struggles with money

This call is FREE but seaint is VERY limited. Register today.
http://www.streetsmartsmarketing.com/Abundancecall.htm

Your success is more than your marketing

My friend and colleague, Kevin Eikenberry, has an excellent article in his current issue of Unleash Your Power. Kevin's insights are outstanding and I would recommend you subscribe to his online newsletter at http://www.kevineikenberry.com/

My best to your for your continued success
Kathleen Gage
The Street Smarts Speaker and Author


Unleash Your Potential
Issue 3.52 - December 26, 2006 - ISSN: 1551-6571

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In Kevin's Own Words

Seven Ways to Improve Your Professional Results
by Kevin Eikenberry

While success certainly does not come from a checklist, we all can use checklists to remind ourselves of ways we can achieve more. And who doesn’t want to ‘resolve’ to achieve more, especially this time of year?

As you are looking forward and thinking about how you can make year-end 2007 even better than year-end 2006, here are seven specific tactics that address seven specific areas of our professional lives. Each of these tactics, when applied, can have a massive, positive impact on your professional happiness, satisfaction and success.

The Seven Ways

1. Create more energy in your life. The starting point for greater results is greater energy. Greater energy will allow you to be more productive and is required to apply any of the other tactics on this list. Coincidentally, energy often is cited as a major reason why people don't make positive change in their professional life as well. Three simple suggestions will get you on the path to greater energy:

eat better – consume healthier, more natural foods in smaller quantities;
exercise more – build your stamina and strength; and
sleep smarter – develop a “sleep routine” to ensure you get enough sleep to be alert and positive each day.

2. Commit to better working relationships. While we are typically hired for, or select our work based on, our technical competence, more often our success is defined by our interpersonal skills. Make the commitment to improving your working relationships. A quick reflection on your strengths and white spots in his area will reveal where you need to start. Improving your working relationships doesn't mean finding a best friend at work (although there's nothing wrong with that), but it does mean building relationships that create greater communication, connection and support.

3. Project a contagious, positive attitude. A positive attitude is contagious! (So is the alternative.) Ask yourself which attitude you want to promote in your workplace. Making the choice to be more positive, supportive and enthusiastic will make a huge difference in your productivity and will positively impact the productivity of those around you too.

4. Talk less, listen more. Nearly everyone will benefit professionally by this advice. Talking less and listening more will improve communication with customers, colleagues and everyone else. The value of this tactic cannot be overestimated.

5. Mentor someone. Make the time to help and support someone else on their professional development path. It might be someone in your department or in your organization, or someone external. In any case, you will be helping another person succeed by benefiting from your experience. At the same time, you will benefit greatly from the experience as well. The process of mentoring someone else will help you reflect on your own advice and help you reinforce those techniques and approaches within your own work as well.

6. Keep a journal. A journal is an amazing learning tool! It can be electronic, in your day planner, on a steno pad, in a dedicated book of your choice, or anywhere else you choose. Where you journal is less important than that you journal. Use your journal to jot down key ideas to refresh your memory, new ideas you want to capture, lists of the books you want to read, a list of the books you have read, a list of your goals – you get the idea. A journal is a tool for reflection and forward thinking that can become one of the most valuable development habits you'll ever create.

7. Set a big goal. Simply setting a goal would be a good tactic, but setting a big goal is a better tactic. Your goal can be related to one of the areas above, it can be about other skill development, or it could be related to a promotion. Your goal could be a financial one, or it could be something totally unrelated. Whatever it is, setting it provides you greater focus and raises your intention for success. But make it big. Stretch yourself beyond where you think you ‘should’ be to believe something big is worthy of your plans and then do it!

Reflecting on the Seven Ways

I brainstormed a list of far more than seven tactics before I pared it back to this final seven. My observation of the longer list, and of this final list, is that two themes prevail: relationships and learning.

Even if you forget my specific tactics, please remember that taking steps to build your working relationships and to be a continual learner will always result in significant and satisfying professional (and personal) development.

Here are two more observations about the seven tactics I’ve suggested – none of them have to cost any money, and all of them can be implemented right now, by making a choice to do so.

This should leave nothing in your way – there is no cost, no equipment or technology to acquire, and no specialized skills to master. The only thing these tactics require is your decision to implement them.

And there will never be a better time than right now.

Do you know what your market wants?

Before investing a lot of time and effort developing products, you absolutely must find out what your market wants. Far too often, people develop a product without finding out if their market is really "hungry" for the information. Then they are surprised when their "Million Dollar Idea" doesn't make any money.

When you can find an unserved or underserved need that your market has you are on track.

If you don't know what your market wants, ask.

Kathleen Gage
The Street Smarts Speaker and Author
http://www.streetsmartsmarketing.com

What are the laws around Can Spam?

Most people have heard there are laws about spam emailing. Yet, many have no clue what the laws are.

To get a very detailed overview go to http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/canspam.htm

Keep it fresh

If you want people to visit your site on a regular basis, you must make it "sticky". One way to do that is have fresh content.

Regularly updating information can be time consuming. Time you may not have. One way to add fresh content is through a free resource called Fresh Content.

With a simple Java Script that you add to you page, you can be off and running with fresh content that is updated on a regular basis.

http://www.freshcontent.net

Take a look to see if this is something that would benefit you.

My best
Kathleen Gage
The Street Smarts Speaker and Author
www.kathleengage.com
Marketing Trainer
Women's achievement speaker

Resources for teleconferences

Teleconferences are fast becoming one of the most valuable market strategies you can use to increase your market position, your opt-in subscriber list and your profit margins. You can quickly become known as an expert in your field and with your market through the power of teleconferences.

With the right marketing strategies you can have hundreds of people register for your calls with very little out of pocket money.

Additionally, hosting a call does not have to be a costly venture. You will need a reliable bridge line.

There are a number of free services for bridge line.

Here are two:

http://www.freeconferencecall.com
http://www.freeaudioconferencing.com/

It is a good idea to record your call. This provides you the opportunity to send the link to the recording to anyone who could not make it on the call. Many of the conference services provide recording opportunities.

To record your own call you can use a recording device from your computer or you can use a service like http://www.audioacrobat.com/

If you have not yet utilized the power of Teleconferences this may be a perfect time to begin.

My best
Kathleen Gage
The Street Smarts Speaker and Author
www.kathleengage.com
Marketing Trainer
Women's achievement speaker

Google alerts can alert you to great information

To find out what is going on in your industry or field you can get daily updates by seeing up a Google Alerts notification.

You can also find out when information about you is being posted on the Internet.

Simply go to http://www.google.com/alerts to set up the notification.

If you want to narrow the search put " " marks around the topic or subject matter.

For example to find out what is being posted on Kathleen Gage I simply set it up to send me the information by keying in "Kathleen Gage"

Under type, I put Comprehensive
Under how often, I put daily. If you put as it happens you may be overwhelmed with the amount of information you receive.

My best
Kathleen Gage
The Street Smarts Speaker and Author
www.kathleengage.com
Marketing Trainer
Women's achievement speaker

Keys To Knowing Your Market

Recently, I facilitated a workshop on how to market a business. I asked participants who their market is. Many responded with, “Everyone!” I’ve got news for you, not everyone is your market. If this is your thinking you are headed for trouble – double time. No business can be all things to all people. You will do better to think in terms of expanding your ability to reach specific customers and satisfy their particular needs.

Although marketing does involve a great deal of creativity, it also requires incredible logic and systems. Unfortunately, many people focus primarily on the creativity with little, if any, logic. Prior to investing too much time or money on your marketing and PR, it is essential to understand who you will be marketing to. You can save countless hours of frustration and vast amounts of money by being clear on who wants to buy your product or service, how they want to buy and where they are.

Regardless of what your product or service is, you must identify your customers and understand as much as possible about what they want and why they would do business with you. Ask yourself the following questions:

Why would they do business with you?

What is the benefit you bring to them?

What makes you unique?

Who are they?

Where do they live?

Where do they hang out?

The process of finding your customers/clients doesn’t have to be difficult, nor does it need to cost a lot of money. However, it does require that you find out as much as you can about who they are. The more you know the more focused your marketing efforts can be. The more focused your efforts, the better your outcome.

Demographics - Who are they? The place to begin is to analyze your current customer base. Describe them. What is their income level? What are their interests? What encouraged them to buy from you? What publications do they read? What associations do they belong to? What charities are they involved with? How old are they? What is their marital status? Are they of an alternative lifestyle? Where do they live and what area of town do they live in? How do they like to spend their spare time? What are their hobbies? What are their spending habits? Where do they go on vacation? How do they like information communicated to them?

Another thing to consider is their generation. In other words, are they the Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Y Generation or the Millennium Generation?

For example, Generation X people were born from 1961 – 1981, their ages range from 20 – 34 or 35. There are approximately 93 million people in this age group. They have the remote in one hand a mouse in the other. They spend $125 billion annually eating out, buying clothes, and taking vacations. They are creative, techno savvy, independent, and energetic when tapped into their passion.

The Silent Generation in America was born between 1925 and 1942. Over half this group is retired at this point. By 2010 there will be few, if any, of this generation in command of an industry. They will mostly have gone well into more silence. Depending on their financial status will determine their spending habits.

What cultural influences do your customers have? Are they extremely wed to the Internet or do they prefer to read newspapers? Do they have an active lifestyle or is their idea of a lot of activity getting up to change the channel on television rather than use the remote? Are they bilingual and bicultural? The answers are key in determining how to market to them.

Customer needs – Consider reasons people buy your product or service. For example, if they are going to purchase a car, what is the motivating factor for them? Are they interested in the features or the benefits? Features would be the tires, gas mileage, size of engine, air bags, etc. Benefits would include things like low risk of harm coming to you or your loved ones due to the type of tires you have. Another benefit could be the money you can spend on other things due the savings you will realize because of great gas mileage. Another benefit could be a feeling of power due to the size of the engine.

Geographic region – Where does you target market live? Based on geographic region, what are their lifestyle habits? For example, if they live in an extremely cold climate, their level and type of outdoor activity will be different than someone who lives in a warmer climate.

These are just some of the areas you will want to consider as you develop a marketing campaign. Again, the more you know about your customer and target market, the more efficient your campaign can be. And the more efficient the campaign, the more cost effective.

Kathleen Gage is a bestselling author, keynote speaker and corporate trainer who works with individuals and organizations who want to increase their market position, sales and level of achievement. Access her free ebook STREET SMARTS EMARKETING Click http://www.streetsmartsmarketing.com/free-ebook.htm

Invest in Your Development

Wherever you look there are free resources on just about any
topic you can obtain. With enough time and effort you can find
just about anything for free. Fact is, although you may think
you are saving money, you may be wasting countless hours
searching for something you would be better off paying for.
It's really a matter of what your time is worth.

As you grow your business, whether it be a brick and mortar or
an Internet based business, evaluate your ROI – return on
investment for time spent trying to save a few dollars. You may
find you are actually losing money for all the time spent to
save a few bucks.

Most successful business professionals invest heavily into
their professional development. They know the importance of
continually staying on the leading edge of their industry. And they are
willing to pay for it.

Getting traffic to your blog

I found an excellent resource on how to get traffic to your blog. As with anything, driving traffic is a proactive process.

Read more at

http://paulstamatiou.com/2005/11/03/how-to-boost-your-blog-traffic/

My best to you for your continued success

Kathleen Gage
The Street Smarts Marketer and Speaker

December Issue of Street Smarts Marketing Ezine Ready

Enjoy lots of free gifts and bonuses in my December issue of Street Smarts Marketing Newsletter.

http://www.turningpointpresents.com/newsletters/enewsdecember2006.htm