This challenge excited me–particularly her idea for the educational system. Talk about leadership, leverage, and legacy!

Hi Cynthia,

I do have more insight on marketing the second idea since there is more specificity in your description there (and education is a dear-to-my-heart topic!). But I’ll share my quick insights on the t-shirt idea first: Contests are often a hit “Please help me choose a logo” or “Which slogan do you like best”–winner gets a t-shirt.

When creating an educational system for teenagers a really good idea would be to get permission from the school(s) to do a survey to gauge the dominant learning style (auditory, visual, or kinesthetic), what their biggest challenges are, etc. I did this in the 90s with a middle school before the web was on my radar, let alone tools like surveymonkey.com and the like! This way they know that’s something coming, and offering to speak at the schools for free can get your foot in the door.

Some teenagers may be willing to be interviewed with parent’s permission (I got an enthusiastic response from students at a local college!).

If you want all to be digital, and on the cheap, use the free program Audacity for audio (see video tutorials on how to get and use Audacity by looking at the productivity & tech resources on this blog, which also shares tutorials on how to create a squeeze page) and PrimoPDF http://www.primopdf.com/ to create PDF documents. A highly recommended one stop shop for hard copy CDs, DVDs, and printing is http://www.disk.com/ and they’ll even do the order fulfillment for you. They’ll work with the digital media you provide for them.

The free media to get the word out could include Facebook, Twitter, and blogging while keeping the schools in the loop about it all. Keep in mind that building relationships with your followers even on topics not related to business is key. Just pick one to start with at first so you don’t get (as) overwhelmed. Flyers in mom/pop coffee shops and bookstores seem to be well-received for t-shirts.

Having someone hold you accountable and supporting during this journey is pivotal though. Don’t let the crazy-makers and naysayers steal your joy because this educational system is a fabulous idea in my not so humble opinion!

Good luck!

She’d written me several paragraphs about what was going on with her (internet marketing challenges, scams from a number of products she’s purchased, no sales from online ads, learning all the technology, trying to figure out what she can do generally to make money with several ideas), but I believe the meat of what was going on with her was her last couple of paragraphs:

“Maybe the summary ‘biggest challenge’ is deciding which of the ‘make-money-fast”‘programs I’ve bought is THE one (or two) to concentrate on, and ignore the others for a while.  Of course, with my luck, I’d end up picking the one that needs PhD Computer Science skills to implement!

If you’ve read this far, thanks.  Do YOU have the magic, “snap-your-fingers-and-you’ll-be-a-millionaire” magic formula/program/opportunity?  If so, I’m buyin’!”

Hi Susi,

First of all, I acknowledge your frustration. You have a number of issues going on at once, and when that happens, it’s so very hard to get focused, and so very easy to become scattered and creatively blocked.

You probably know deep down that there is no such thing as “make money fast programs.” Anyone who tells you that such a program exists, I’d be quite skeptical of. The money often comes with persistence, consistency, and relationship building with your target market.

Then there’s this threshold where people might think you’ve become an overnight success, when in reality, you planted seeds and watered/fertilized them regularly until they grew and blossomed. That has been my experience, along with other very successful entrepreneurs.

I invite you to make a list of what you’re most passionate about and combine it with what your preferred learning style is, and take inventory of the products you have that you’ve had the biggest intuitive hit with and stick with one, possibly two (if they complement each other) consistently.

Fight the urge to switch your strategy too soon–gain that momentum first, then add to it. One thing to note is that I’ve had much less success with ads and much better luck with relationship building first–particularly using the social networks.

And last, as I mentioned last week to Sheryl, be sure to take some “You” time. Clarity often comes when you can get still and listen for that guidance.

Good luck!

“With greater confidence in yourself and your abilities, you will set bigger goals, make bigger plans, and commit yourself to achieving objectives that today you only dream about.”— Brian Tracy

And for some, their eyes start to glaze over and they say they feel safer with the “devil they know” when it comes to getting the word out about their brick & mortar business (yellow pages, inserts, postcards, etc.). I still take that response as a “Not yet!”

At the same time, I’m watching in various forums different debates about which marketing strategies are the best on the internet alone. What do you think? Is it…

Traditional methods like SEO, SEM, Article Marketing, AdSense, PPC, etc.

or New Media such as blogging, podcasting, video, internet radio, etc.

Or…

some combination of the strategies?

Please share your thoughts. My inquiring mind would LOVE to know!

This is important.

–Carol Dickson-Carr