John Dilbeck Musings

Until now, Site Build It! was for the “Do it yourself” crowd.

I’m part of that demographic and I love building websites of all sorts, but that’s what I do.

There are many thousands of us who want to learn all the skills that are necessary to build a successful, profit-making website around which we can build our business.

But, there are many millions who are part of the “Do it for me” crowd.

Maybe you are one of them.

You already have a business and you want a website that actually brings new customers and clients. You want your site to add to your bottom line, not subtract from it.

You know how to run your business and now you want to find someone who can build a website that gets results.

You already hire specialists in other areas, including your lawyer and accountant. Maybe it’s time for you to hire a specialist who will work closely with you to build a website that promotes your business and attracts new prospects to your business.

Where will you find a specialist who knows how to do this and won’t charge you more than its worth?

SiteSell Services now offers very attractive packages that include hosting using the un-matched Site Build It! system and a specialist who will work closely with you to target your niche market and build a website that will work for you night and day.

SiteSell Services is brand new, but it is based on a decade of proven techniques and technology combined to build websites that produce results.

From the SiteSell Services page:

Build a professional Web site with SiteSell Services, using a process and tools proven by tens of thousands of people. Each page is aimed at pulling in Web site visitors. More Web site visitors means more new business.

Your SBI!-built site will work. Built from the ground up, you reap the benefits of 10 years of SiteSell experience, all packed into a truly professional site.

Don’t waste your time and money. You deserve a website that will work for you.

Why don’t you spend a few minutes and see if SiteSell Services is what you’ve been looking for?

Act on your dream!

JD

There are several ways you can promote your business on Merchant Circle: the contents of your basic listing, any items you post to your blog, coupons you create, photos you upload, and the bulletins posted on your directory listing page.

I just learned about Merchant Circle a few days ago and I’ve jumped all over using their system. You can see the profile I’ve created for Dilbeck Marketing on Merchant Circle. I’ve taken the time to use most of the tools and love their system.

(Your business is listed at Merchant Circle, right? If not, you can create a professional looking online listing for your business with our easy to use tools. Free! - MerchantCircle.com.)

There are probably other things you can do at Merchant Circle that I haven’t discovered in the less-than-a-week that I’ve been a member of the site.

What you may, or may not, already know is that every time you blog, create a coupon, upload a photo, or post a newsletter, these things are added to a newsfeed for you, automatically.

At the top-right of your listing, you’ll see “Subscribe to blog and coupon feed” followed by an orange chicklet that says “RSS/XML.” This is a standard news feed that can be syndicated on many services and can be read by anyone using a news feed aggregator or a news reader. Even without sending emails you are broadcasting to the world - potentially.

I’ll write a post later to explain more about making use of this. For now, suffice it to say that you can blog in one place and have it automatically republished in multiple places. This makes it very powerful for getting your news out.

If you don’t know anything about RSS, let me suggest that you read What is RSS?.

One place you may want to syndicate your feed is at Squidoo.com.

To do this, you’ll need to be a member.

Are you an expert on something? Build your own Squidoo lens and tell the world. It’s free, and you may even earn some money from it.

Of course, you’re an expert on your business, so join Squidoo and create a lens about it. It’s worth the effort to learn how to build free lenses on Squidoo, and it’s a perfect place to syndicate your Merchant Circle news feed.

For example, I’ve created a Squidoo lens about Merchant Circle and I’ve syndicated (re-published) my news feed and Merchant Circle’s news feed on that lens.

Also, as part of that lens, I’ve created a list where you can add a link to the Merchant Center listing for your business. I will be syndicating that list on some of my other websites, so you’ll get free advertising just by adding your link to the list. If you don’t understand, just comment on this topic and I’ll see what I can do to help you.

Act on your dream!

JD

After a very long hiatus, while I was trying to decide on a new approach, I have published the latest issue of the Act On Your Dream! newsletter.

It is archived at Act On Your Dream! — Issue #6 — Getting back on track

If you would like, you can subscribe to Act On Your Dream to get the next issues when they are published.

I intend to publish the newsletter on a regular basis, probably twice a month, and I want to feature you and what you are doing to act on your dream.

What can we do to help each other find the success and freedom we all want?

Act on your dream!

JD

I recently realized that I’ve neglected an important part of my marketing efforts and I know I’m losing business as a result.

I bet you are, too.

Are you trying to sell your products and services to visitors who may visit your site just one time? If so, how much business are you losing when your visitor doesn’t buy right then?

You can do one simple thing to increase your conversion ratio: entice your visitor to subscribe to your newsletter and/or an email series that describes the benefits of the product or service you are trying to sell.

If the visitor subscribes to either of these email follow-up series, then she has shown at least some interest in what you have to offer.

Now, instead of one chance to make the sale, you have multiple opportunities to educate your prospect about the subject, to elaborate on the benefits provided by the product, and to build more of a relationship with your subscribers.

Even if you don’t make the sale eventually, you will have built some measure of goodwill if you provide quality information in your follow-up messages.

I’ve just started an Autoresponder marketing and building your lists series on JohnDilbeckAndFriends.com. I would welcome your thoughts and comments there.

Act on your dream!

JD

Nancy Williams, a resident of Graham County, North Carolina, announces the publication of her new book, A Matter of Destiny. If you are interested in a fast-paced story that combines UFOs, aliens, government conspiracies, and political intrigue, this book may be right for you.

Her background in the US Air Force and knowledge of ham radios, combined with an actual incident that occurred in Brookhaven, NY in 1992, make the fictional story more realistic and exciting.

The sequel, Agenda 21 Conspiracy, will feature a plot set in Andrews, Murphy, and the Nantahala Gorge in western North Carolina.

A Matter of Destiny is available in Murphy, NC, at the Curiosity Bookstore in Shoppes of Murphy on Valley River Avenue; in Fontana Village at Ditmore Drugs; in Robbinsville at The Graham Star; in Hayesville at Lloyd Bookstore; and in Waynesville at Osundu’s.

You can order the book from her website at www.NLWilliamsWriter.com.

To order offline, mail a check for $15.95 ($12.95 and $3.00 shipping) to: N. L. Williams, P. O. Box 1477, Robbinsville, NC 28771.

Nancy Williams will be making a number of personal appearances over the coming months. Don’t miss the chance to get an autographed copy.

I want to thank my friend, Jerry Chautin, for alerting me to an article in the New York Times, A Basket Case in North Carolina, written by David Rakoff, and published on May 20, 2007.

In this article, the author talks about taking a week-long class at the John C Campbell Folk School, in Brasstown, NC.

Originally, like most men, he wanted to experience the thrill of blacksmithing, of smiting hot steel and shaping it into new forms with fire, hammer, and anvil, but (for reasons he details in the article) he changed to taking a basket weaving class.

As a true lover of the Folk School and all that goes on there, I felt the resonance of reading what I know to be true about the Folk School experience, not just what happens when taking a class and learning a new skill, or improving your ability to create pieces of art in your chosen craft.

Mr. Rakoff talks about the unexpected moments of silence and “getting into the zone” that artists strive for while transforming the vision in our minds into the item in our hands.

This is one of the best articles I’ve read about the Folk School, and I recommend it to you. I don’t know how long the New York Times keeps these articles archived, so maybe you should read A Basket Case in North Carolina, now.

(For more information about the John C. Campbell Folk School, its classes, crafts, and events, call 828-837-2775 or 1-800-FOLK-SCH (800-365-5724) or visit www.folkschool.org.)

It has been an interesting week.

I’ve been working as hard as I can to simplify my life and refocus on doing what I really want to do: to help you succeed in what you want to do.

Yes, it’s a bit abstract and a little hard for me to wrap my brain around, but some interesting people have contacted me this week.

One contacted me on Ryze and I noticed that she was a member of the Feel Free to Prosper network, which was started and is managed by Marilyn Jenett.

In the introduction to the Feel Free to Prosper network, she says:

Marilyn Jenett spent 30 years learning and applying these principles to accomplish in the business arena. She recently released her corporate business, and is now teaching others, through her live and audio lesson and mentoring programs, to use simplified mental and spiritual based techniques to make more money, attract unexpected income, advance their careers or businesses or find that right job or more clients. In fact, these laws can be used to change any area of life. One can “prosper” in finances, health, love and relationships, creativity, or spiritually.

Students can use this network to share their results and successes, to inspire other members and to communicate with Marilyn and each other for the benefit of all. Its purpose is to provide an oasis of knowledge, exchange and inspiration. All network members can post and gain inspiration and knowledge here, so all are welcome to “hang around”. You’ll find excerpts from the lessons, valuable information and Marilyn’s views based on the laws included among the postings and testimonials.

I think you will find her network on Ryze to be interesting and I invite you to read what Marilyn has been posting for the last few weeks.

I joined her network and look forward to participating there as I find useful thoughts to contribute.

I recommend her newsletter, too. Here’s a link to volume 1, issue 3 of Wings, her Feel Free to Prosper newsletter.

I especially enjoyed her “Metaphysical Marketing” article.

Any comments?

Act on your dream!

JD

PS. For those of you who know me, I was not surprised to see a picture of a castle on her network page. “Build a castle…”

I should have gotten to this much sooner, but I finally made the time to update the 21st Century Marketing Tools site.

Almost two years ago, I set out to develop a site that would keep track of the marketing tools and resources I wanted to recommend. Since then, while I never forgot about it, I never took the time to maintain and update it.

I decided on December 12, 2006 that it was time to make this a priority.

You will find new items added into the directory and I’ll be posting to the news more often, too.

I hope you will visit and see the tools I recommend for marketing your business or personal sites and blogs.

Dan Nickerson has done it again.

Every time I turn around, Dan has come up with a brilliant idea and implements that idea before you can turn around.

This time, he has created the Newbie Report to help new Internet marketers learn more about the tools, processes and sites you need to master to profit from your marketing efforts.

It’s free to sign up for the newsletter.

The site already has links to some of the best marketing sites a new online marketer needs to find. Not all of the sites I’d recommend are listed, but it’s an outstanding start. I’m sure he’ll be expanding the listing as time goes by.

It even comes with a free affiliate program.

Go to the Newbie Report, sign up for the newsletter (the sooner the better, you’ll see why when you do it), and learn how to be more successful in your marketing efforts.

I’m not a newbie, but I’m looking forward to learning more from Dan.

Check it out right now!

Massive Broadband over Powerline Rollout in Texas [Wi-Fi Networking News]

For those of us in remote areas where DSL, Cable, and other broadband access services are not availble, BPL (broadband over powerlines) offers hope that we will one day be able to get fast access at a reasonable price. While there are technical issues to overcome, it’s heartening to see large rollouts of BPL.

Maybe it will come to your location, and mine, one day.

(Update: September, 2006 - These articles offer more information about Broadband over Powerline Internet access at Wi-Fi Networking News.)