Macros: What They Are and How They Could Imperil You

Legitimate mini-programs called macros, which run inside other software, are proving to be an increasingly popular route for criminals to hack into victims’ computers.

Simply put, a macro is a series of commands you can use to speed up or automate tasks in certain popular productivity software like Microsoft Office and Excel.

People who know how to use these commands to build a sequence of program actions can save themselves a lot of time and hassle.

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©Copyright Audri and Jim Lanford. All rights reserved.

Reprinted with permission.

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SHOULD YOU STAND OUT OR FIT IN?

When you were growing up, it's a good bet that one or more of the adults in your life advised you not to stand out. Standing out, like showing off, causing trouble, or breaking the rules, was something that good boys and girls didn't do. Now that you're a business owner, you're often told the opposite. You must stand out from the crowd, experts say, to have a successful business.
 
To many self-employed professionals, this advice may sound right but feel wrong. Most of us have spent years of our lives doing our best to fit in. Trying to stand out may feel unnatural, scary, or even vulgar. When other business owners try it, we sometimes don't like what we see. And so we wonder — is standing out truly a necessity for getting clients? Here's the argument:

The case for standing out

• Make an impression — When you stand out, you become more noticeable and more memorable.
• Gain competitive edge — The marketplace is crowded; you must stand out from the competition in order to be chosen.
• Be special — If prospective clients don't perceive you as special, you become a commodity, and must compete by lowering your prices or working harder to close sales.
• Demonstrate uniqueness — Every business owner needs a Unique Selling Proposition. Your USP is what makes clients decide to do business with you instead of someone else.
• Brand your value — Slogans like "best in the west," "queen of [whatever]", "the leader in [something]" or "the [blank] wizard" attract attention and enhance your image.

The case for fitting in

• Build trust — People like to do business with those they trust. Trust is inspired by the familiar. If you look too different from your peers, others can perceive you as untrustworthy.
• Show humility — Nobody wants to hear people brag about themselves.
• Get found — Prospects can't find you in a Google search or membership directory if you don't label what you do with common search terms.
• Be clear — Clever tag lines and benefit points can be positive; obscure descriptions are not. Unique ways to express your value must still communicate what you actually do.
• Gain recognition — Without an identifiable label or job title, clients can't categorize you. What the heck does a "maker of awesomeness" do? Distinctive is fine; eccentric can be off-putting.

So what do I think? I'm a fan of the "just enough" principle, in business as well as in life. You should stand out just enough that potential clients can recognize the unique value you bring, but not so much that you seem weird. And you should fit in just enough that clients can find you, categorize you, and trust you, but not so much that they can't remember you.

The key is to maintain a healthy balance between proudly declaring your value and being perceived as likable and approachable. Prospective clients should be attracted to you, but not be in so much awe that they won't dial your number. People in your target market should know your name, but as a helpful resource, not a noisy showoff.

Above all, the image, brand, and reputation you carry must be authentic. Trying to behave in ways that are against your nature can make you appear dishonest, awkward, or fake. Know your value and don't be afraid to share it. But make sure what and how you share reveals the real you.

Copyright © 2015, C.J. Hayden

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Foreign Currency Rip-off at Airport ATMs

For some reason, changing your money into foreign currency when you’re about to travel always seems to be a bit of a hassle.

You forget to ask your bank or leave it until the last minute; or you plan to change it when you arrive at your destination; or maybe you think you’ll get by with just US dollars or a credit card, but then find that you can’t.

Of course, you can easily change your money online these days but, one way or another, some of us end up getting our foreign currency at the airport.

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©Copyright Audri and Jim Lanford. All rights reserved.

Reprinted with permission.

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Urban Legends from Nebraska, Nevada and New Hampshire

From the Mid-West, then out West and finally back East, we’re rolling through Nebraska, Nevada and New Hampshire in the latest installment of our state-by-state tour of urban legends.

On the way, we’ve encountered the usual crop of monsters, weird laws and tales that are enough to test the imagination.

So let’s get started.

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©Copyright Audri and Jim Lanford. All rights reserved.

Reprinted with permission.

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5 Reasons You Are Failing With Traffic Exchanges

Posted on April 1, 2015 by Jon Olson

 

Traffic exchanges have been around for almost two decades now. They were ‘social’ before social was the in thing. They were community based, user driven content way before any of the massive social media companies existed. They do an amazing job of catering to the free and low cost advertiser and it’s clear, growth is still there after all these years.

The problem though is…Attrition.
People come and go all the time. They get lost in all the information and feel like they are failing before they even get started. So I put together 5 reasons why this is and hopefully, you can learn how to leverage and use these to your advantage and absolutely crush it in this awesome business.

1. We Give Up Way Too Soon – As I mentioned above, this is one of the biggest reasons people fail in this business. I cannot tell you how many times over the years, a new traffic exchange user jumps online and is all fired up. They are excited to get going and seem to go full throttle into this business. This lasts about a month, maybe two and then you don’t hear from them again. This business is about relationships and people, and it takes time to build that. You can be right on the cusp of something great if you stick to it, don’t give up!

2. We Use Standard Affiliate Pages Or Worse – D.U.S.A.P. is a fun little acronym we came up with years ago which stands for Don’t Use Standard Affiliate Pages. These are the pages most online opportunities and other traffic exchanges give their members to promote. They are generic, not very exciting and give no personal branding value to the promoter. Stop it! Use tools like AdKreator and make your pages POP! Stick out from the crowd and stop being like every other affiliate out there!

3. They Aren’t Being Remarkable – Similar to the previous point, boring pages suck in this business. Something I always do when I’m designing a splash or squeeze page is I ask myself…Will this make me stop surfing and take action if I saw it? 9 times out of 10, your ‘cute little floating unicorn’ splash pages aren’t going to cut it. Think like an advertiser. Think shock and awe. Don’t just use the same old ‘Make Money Here’ headlines, engage your audience and make your pages REMARKABLE!

4. We Do Not Follow The Two B’s – The two B’s of the T.E.’s – Brand & Build! Brand your name, build your list. Let’s put it this way, if you aren’t using Rocket Responder or a similar service, you are wasting your time in the traffic exchanges. If you aren’t making sure YOUR name and brand is out there in front of people 24/7, you are wasting your time. Build your mailing list everyday. Brand your name everyday. It’s really that simple.

5. We Don’t Use The Tools Available – Twitter, Facebook, social chat, blogs, Spreecast…All these free tools at your finger tips that for some reason traffic exchange users never want to adopt into their business. Traffic exchanges users are notorious for not using the same stuff the rest of the world does. When we brought social chat to the traffic exchanges years ago, it was met with lots of resistance. When I talk about Twitter in Traffic Exchange Live, I am usually told that ‘It’s too complicated and I don’t use it…’ Stop it! Get out there, roll up your sleeves and learn this stuff. It works, it’s powerful, it’s 2015!

Bonus Reason Number 6 – We expect ‘results’ over night. I have said this for years in Traffic Exchange Live, the only difference between me and someone else that is just getting started is I’ve been doing it longer. That’s it. No special handshakes required, no ‘good ol’ boy’ networks to kiss butt with. This industry rewards consistency. Show up everyday, be remarkable and focus on building your list and brand…The ‘results’ will be there.

After 18 years in these programs I get excited when I see the thousands of new surfers joining every day. It tells me, the future is very bright. What we need to do as an industry is train and teach people to not give up after a week or two. We need to focus on long term business models rather than flash in the pans and we will see some awesome things going forward in 2015.

I’d love to hear your feedback and your thoughts on why people fail in this business! Post your comments and let’s get the discussion going…

WHY AREN'T YOUR SALES CLOSING?

At some point in your career as a self-employed professional, you will find yourself looking at a stack of pending sales. If this has already happened to you, you know how frustrating it can be. There must be something you could do to make those sales close, isn't there? Maybe, or maybe not.
 
There's a long list of reasons why a sale may not close when you want it to, and many of those reasons aren't areas you can control. You can't force a prospective client to return your calls, come back from vacation, turn up an absent budget, or decide their need is urgent after all. But there are factors you can influence. Here's what you need to consider.

1. Problems in selling.
   
   Have you been following up consistently and persistently with each of your pending prospects? Lack of sufficient follow-up may be the most common reason for sales not to move forward, and it's one of the easiest to remedy. Landing a sale may require five to eight contacts with each prospect, so don't give up at two or three.
   
   Have you provided your prospect with sufficient information and evidence about why hiring you is a good choice? What else could you tell her now that might help to tip the balance? Remember, too, that your prospect may have to convince someone else you should be hired - a boss, a spouse, or a business partner. Give her the details she needs for that conversation to go well.
   
   Did you hit the mark in the original sales conversation? It's not too late to correct any deficiencies you sense were present. What exactly did the prospect tell you were the issues that needed attention? Use the prospect's own words to echo back to him more about how you can address their specific needs.
   
2. Problems in marketing.
   
   Did you pre-qualify the prospect before the sales conversation began? If your prospect truly doesn't have the need, the budget, or the desire to act, you're wasting your time and hers trying to close a deal. Draft your qualifying questions now for your next opportunity, and let this one go. And change up your marketing to get in front of higher-quality prospects in the first place.
   
   Did you spend time deepening the relationship with your prospect before making a sales pitch? It's not too late. Ask her to lunch or coffee, offer some free consultation time, or get to know someone else in her circle who could speak well of you. Next time, consider whether your prospect knows and trusts you enough to start proposing business.
   
   Is your position in the marketplace what your prospect would expect? It's tough to close a sale for graphic design services when the prospect thinks of you as a copywriter. Maybe you really are an expert in both those areas, but most clients prefer to hire a specialist. Narrow your marketing focus, and you'll get hired more often.
   
3. Just plain problems.
   
   Is the prospect truly a good fit for what you do? If not, walk away from the sale. It's tempting to try to make every deal go through, but jumping through hoops to get business that's outside your wheelhouse is rarely a good idea. Stick to the type of work you know and love the best, and sales will come more easily.
   
   Is the prospect making you work too hard to get his business? Prospects who ask for multiple meetings, proposals, or references before they'll agree to move forward may be as hard to work for as they are to sell to. Maybe there's an easier sale out there for you that would also become a more enjoyable project.
   
   Are you sure you want this sale? If you find yourself sabotaging a sale with avoidance, delays, or excuses, you may be trying to tell yourself something. Perhaps your intuition says this project won't turn out well. Or it could be you're experiencing some fear of success. Talk it through with someone you trust, and figure out what's troubling you. It's hard enough to close a sale without also struggling with yourself.
   

Not every sale is going to close. In fact, many professionals find that only one out of three sales conversations results in a closed sale. You may do everything perfectly and still something goes awry. When this happens, you know what to do, right?

Go have more sales conversations. If one out of three conversations is likely to turn into a client, then two more conversations may just produce the closed sale you need.
Copyright © 2015, C.J. Hayden

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