Make Money Creating the Perfect Information Product

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How to Create the Perfect Information Product and Make Money Doing It (Day 13)

http://www.robertplank.com/information-product/



Concepts:

Robert, money, sales, posts, marketing, Robert Plank, Jeanne, video, niche, ebay, product creation, forum, Terrie Wurzbacher, bought, information product.

Summary:

You have at least one idea for a product in you. Maybe you haven't made a product yet you are poised on bye verge of a product breakthrough.
But I hear you ask, "How do you know that my big idea is something that everyone else will pay money for?"

We're going to figure out right now if your idea will be profitable in two stages â¬" the research stage and the creation stage.
I don't believe in doing more than 30 minutes of research to figure out if your idea will make you money.
I say this because I know of too many marketers who have spent a month or 6 months or a year researching as an excuse not to do anything.

Let's spend 30 minutes and figure out if your idea is worth it.The first thing you should do is check forums.

What's the hot topic inside the #1 forum in your niche?

When I go to my favorite marketing forum, I find that the threads with the most replies are about articles, membership sites, and ClickBank.
When I go to my favorite programming forum, most of the replies are about PHP frameworks, WordPress plugins, and outsourcing.
Don't bother making a report about something unless it's a hot topic that a lot of people in your small niche are talking about. I'm not a believer in going mass market unless you have a lot of money to invest.

If you're just starting out on a niche, start in the niche.

Now that you know what everyone is talking about, figure out what people are paying for.

You have friends in the same niche you're in, right?
What big launches are going on in your niche?
There's no point in getting into a niche unless people are willing to spend a bare minimum of $100 on you.


I have bought products showing me how to make a software outline, how to write faster, how to create video, how to make audio products, and they have all accelerated my path towards getting things done.


The final part of your research now that you know what people are talking about and what people are buying is finding out what your competitors are doing.


Go to Google and search for the niche you're in.


If you are thinking about creating a course on how to sell on eBay, search the forum you're on for the word "ebay."


Go on amazon.com and look for books in that niche and DVDs in that niche as well.


This is good because not only does it show you what areas to target but also what your price point should be.


You should match your price point fairly well to your competitors but price slightly higher, that way you will have a higher perceived value.


Now that you've done your research, you should know how to adjust your idea to deliver the best solution by answering people's questions on forums, figuring out what they're paying for and duplicating or doing the job better than your competitors.


Now, it's time to create the product.


I have never spent more than a few days making a simple lead generation product, and by lead generation, I need a product that's $100 or cheaper.


Your product will be a lot better if you write it without distractions and write it as fast as possible.


You can always go back and make version 2.0 later.


What's more important than spending or wasting a lot of time on creating a product is to add your own "how to" information.


I can go online right now and find lots of tips and advice about placing an eBay ad.


I can find lots of videos on YouTube showing me the mechanics of placing an eBay ad, but I want you to show me what makes an eBay ad profitable.


I want you to tell me exactly what steps I should take from start to finish from having something to sell on eBay to actually placing the ad and making the sale and what to do after that.


Also think about what simple problem can you solve for them.


For some people, an eBay problem might be that they cannot get people to read their ad.


The sooner you make your info-product not just "how to" but also problem and solution-based, the more people are going to benefit from your book, the better reviews it's going to get and you'll have an easier time making a sale.


And finally, what success stories can you gather from the people who use your product?


If someone has not yet bought your eBook or home study course, all they have to go on is your pitch page or sales letter.


That's why you need to make your sales letter as best as it can possibly be and the way I like to make a sales letter better is to gather testimonials or proof and show that on the sales letter â¬" so, people who have not yet bought can see that others have benefited from this training.


And that's how you're going to create the perfect info-product and make money doing it.


First, researching it in forums by what's making money, what your competitors are doing, and then create that product by offering your own unique how to, solving a problem, and gathering success stories from those people whose problems you have solved and place it back on the sales letter.


Did this help you make your next info-product?


In the research stage or in the creation stage?


Leave me a blog comment below right now while it's still fresh on your mind.


I think the research stage is the place where most of us fail.


I agree with your principle that ½ hour should be enough to decide whether the idea is worthwhile.


But certainly your second principle about getting things out of the sandbox is a good idea.


When people know they will get version 2.0 they are more tolerant of a minor flaw in version 1.0, and getting things into the field is indeed the best way to get user feedback to make final adjustments.


So not that flawed products should be released, but you're bound to find a minor bug once something lands on thousands of desktops globally.


But next time I'm doing research, I'll follow the 30 minute rule and move on to either another research, or getting the product ready for launch in as short a time as possible.


Thanks for outlining your product creation strategy.


What I find particularly difficult is coming up with the right plan that will ensure me getting to the 'finish-line' with my product creation.


There are so many details you need to take care of.


Here's how I do it: *Research- write down as many characteristics as I can about a particular topic that's in-demand.


*Product creation - I extend every sub-topic by writing 1-2 pages about each.


This way you can have a ready-made infoproduct in a couple of hours because you are focused and you know what you need to do.


I think research is fun to do and it never bores me.


i love to tackle into topics and sub-topics and find out more about what people's needs are.


I'm catching up on reading blogs this morning.


Yours, as always, is thought-provoking and informative.


It's still taking me too long because I get bogged down with the tactics of how all the pieces fit together.


But, I'm better than I was 3 months ago, so I will continue and be even better yet.


I have been lacking on the research part, but on the pro site, this has meant that I've created a lot of products.


The people who like me had started to podcast, all figured it out themselves, and the non-geeks hadn't started to podcast, so they didn't want the book.


I've written an ebook about how to get fresh and free content on your blog, it has really good reviews, and it's been selling some, but far from the number of copies it would have sold, had the author name been somebody else, like e.g. Robert Plank

Maybe it's that I'm not entering the right key words or key word phrases to get to the right places.
Or maybe there's additional info I should be typing into the search bar along with the key words to direct me to the desired destinations.


Robert, As always your posts are insightful and seem to hit the problem nail right on the head.


Terrie Wurzbacher: Robert about the action comments where can you put that it should redirect you?


Melanie Kissell: Well, here's a big fat chunk of honesty --- I didn't know a blinking thing about split testing till I landed on your blog today.


Roboform: Software Program That Gives You 120 Extra Hours Per Year?


Sending an E-Mail Every Day is Scary, Right?


Who Do You Want To Be Like?


Roboform: Software Program That Gives You 120 Extra Hours Per Year?


I have known about split testing for years b...


You'll be ready for split testing at so...


Jeanne Kolenda: This was new stuff for me, Robert.


Robert Plank: You can edit the individual post to do it....


Terrie Wurzbacher: Robert - about the action comments - where can you put that ...


Guess the Word I Hate the Most?


Why Are You Trapped in the Sandbox?

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iPad - Frequently Asked Questions Answered

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

iPad FAQ: Your top 14 questions answered

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Source: msnbc.msn.com

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Article Summary:

Does my iPad have a hard drive?

Instead, it uses NAND-based memory to duplicate the functions of a spinning hard disk, which would suck up enough power to send battery miser Steve Jobs over the edge.

All your applications, videos, photographs, downloaded music, movies, television programs and other data goes into the flash memory.

Depending on how much money you decided to throw at Apple, your iPad has 16 GB, 32 GB or 64 GB of storage space.

Compared to a new Mac or PC, the iPad's storage is Lilliputian: The low-end MacBook Pro, for example, has a 160 GB hard drive, while the cheapest iMac sports 500 GB.

But it's in line with the capacity of its closest cousin, the dinky iPod Touch.

Can I print from the iPad?

No. Apple didn't stick a USB port in the tablet.

You'll have to shunt what you want to a print to a PC or Mac using e-mail, or sync the iPad using iTunes or MobileMe, then print from there.

I want to read some books. What do I do?

Apple's supposed to add its free iBook app to the App Store on Saturday.

Install it and you'll be able to purchase e-books from the limited stock - limited compared to Amazon.com's e-book inventory, at least - that Apple's put together for the launch.

Last week, Amazon announced it would rewrite its Kindle software - already available for the iPhone, as well as the Mac and PC - for the iPad.

On Friday, the Kindle iPad app became available.

And how does the iPad do as an e-reader?

We haven't put hands to one long enough to find out.

Can I watch movies, TV?

You can rent movies or purchase television episodes from iTunes, or if you're a Netflix member, download the free app to stream movies and TV shows to your iPad.
ABC has also posted viewing software (ABC Player) on the App Store, the only major television network to do so by late Thursday.

Can I do real work on my iPad?

Depends on how you define real (as opposed to fake work, which for us means a nap or ESPN), but you can write and crunch numbers and craft soul-sucking presentations if you buy the three apps that make up the iPad version of Apple's iWork suite.
Apple's used a way-back machine to return to the days of the unbundle, when suites weren't collections with a single price, but an agglomeration of separately-purchased programs that worked together, more or less.
In other words, you buy the three applications - Pages, Numbers and Keynote - separately from the App Store.
Of course, if you're a numbers person and wouldn't know a gerund from a gradated background, you pay for only what you want and the hell with the rest.

There's no camera on the iPad, so how do I get photos onto the thing?

Out of the box, the sync cable is your friend: Use it and iTunes to synchronize collections on your computer with the iPad.
By the way, you'll need to update your Mac or PC to iTunes 9.1 - Apple slipped that out Tuesday - to sync with the iPad and organize the books you buy with the iBook app.
If there's $29 burning a hole in your pocket, you can spring for the iPad Camera Connection Kit.
One of the two adapters accepts a camera's SD memory card; the other links your camera's USB cable with the iPad.
Too bad the kit doesn't ship until later this month.

I tried the on-glass keyboard and hate it.

The iPad also syncs with Bluetooth keyboards, so if you have one of those, you should be able to link and use it without any trouble.
Apple sells a combination keyboard and iPad dock - called, not surprisingly, the iPad Keyboard Dock - that also includes an audio jack for connecting the iPad to speakers or a stereo system.
While some reviewers have received a dock, Apple's not shipping to the rest of us until late this month.
An Apple-branded Bluetooth keyboard - basically, the same keyboard as in the dock - also costs $69 and is available now.

I have a MobileMe account. Can I add the iPad to the list of my devices to sync?

To MobileMe, Apple's sync and storage service, the iPad is just another device.
You can sync the mail, contacts and calendar on the iPad with your iPhone, Mac or PC; use MobileMe's 20GB iDisk to store documents, like those you create with the iWork apps; register with the Find My iPad feature; and remotely wipe a lost or stolen tablet.
If you don't have a MobileMe account, you can try the service for 60 days free of charge.

Review of Remote App

Image by Paul Mayne via Flickr

Remote Review

Free app dramatically improves Apple TV’s music playback and works well for video

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macworld.com

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Compatibility: Compatible with iPhone and iPod touch.

With Remote you can control the music on your computer or Apple TV from your iPod touch or iPhone.

See your songs, playlists, and album art on your iPod touch or iPhone as if you were right in front of your computer.

Remote works with your Wi-Fi network, so you can control playback from anywhere in and around your home.

It's no surprise that Apple's Remote application headed up the App Store's list of Top Free Apps immediately after the iPhone application store launched.

After installing Remote on an iPhone or iPod touch, the portable's touchscreen becomes the best remote control I've yet seen for controlling an Apple TV -- or iTunes running on a computer -- located on the same local network.

(Your iPhone or iPod touch must be connected to that network via WiFi.)

App makes controlling a speaker system with iTunes incredibly easy.

Has an interface just like using iPod app.

I'm going to start off by saying the only thing you need to hear?

It lets you control music, request and rate songs in iTunes DJ, and edit playlists.

This app works very well to control iTunes.

The concept is very cool, I only wish I had the money to connect a Mac to my home stereo.

What's even cooler is if you have friends with an iPhone, then can access your library while you're playing music via iTunes DJ and request songs to be played.

As the owner, once you've paired your phone with your iTunes, you have total control over the play order and other things going on within iTunes.

This app demonstrates again how much attention Apple pays to its products.

This app is so useful in many ways.

Especially using Airport Express with this app make it even more useful.

You can be anywhere in your house and control what music is playing.

Even my wife likes to use this app.

It has a lot of potential and I look forward to apple TV support.

The Apple Remote App allows us a lot of flexibility now.

When watching a movie one can quickly go to any part of the movie without having to fast forward to get to that spot.

Just move the slider to the time point you want.When doing a slide presentation with background music, not only can you see what track that is being played on your iPod Touch or Phone, you can also change the song within the playlist or even another album altogether.

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

All this without interrupting the slide show on your TV.Neat job on the PodCast viewing.

While watching a PodCast, you can view on your Apple Remote App other PodCast episodes in a list view for alternate choices.The response time is quick.

This is a great app but does not completely replace the Apple TV remote.

It works great with iTunes and works as a keyboard for the Apple TV but it is missing some useful features.

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How Can I Import Apple Mail to Thunderbird

Image by davidcrow via Flickr

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Source: twistermc.com

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Import Apple Mail to Thunderbird

Concepts:

thunderbird, folders, apple mail, importing, mac, converting, local folders, mbox, Thomas, windows, George, account, Alan, mailboxes, mbox format.

Importing mail from Apple’s Mail.app isn’t built into to Thunderbird. That’s a major oversight I think, however the work-around isn’t that bad. There are a dozen steps or so, but really, it’s not hard.

This works for folders that are considered ‘On My Mac’ in Apple’s Mail.app aka ‘Local Folders’ or inboxes, outboxes, sent boxes whatever. Remember, that if you have IMAP mail, or your mail is all stored on a server somewhere, this is all not necessary. Set up Thunderbird and it’ll import all that stuff on the server. This tutorial imports email from local folders that are saved on your actual hard drive.

First things first, back up your mail! This is very important because loosing anything sucks. Second, get Thunderbird and get you account all set up.

All set up? Wonderful! Now there are two things to consider. Are you importing the inbox? Or a folder? Each way is similar, just slightly different. If importing the inbox, sent, or other main boxes, you won’t have to create folders. Just basically follow the instructions below. If you need help, let me know.

Lets import a folder. For the example my folder is called George

1. Create new local folder in Thunderbird called George
   
2. Quit Thunderbird
   
3. Go to Home -> Library -> Mail -> Mailboxes -> George
   
4. Right Click on the file named George.mbox and choose ‘Show Package Contents’
   
5. Find the file named just mbox, copy it to the desktop and re-name it George
   
6. Open a new finder window
   
7. Go To Home -> Library -> Thunderbird -> Profiles -> [your profile] -> Mail -> Local Folders
   
8. Find the file called George (no extension) and overwrite it with the George file from step #5
   
9. Start Thunderbrid.
   
10. Done
    

When you click on the George folder all the emails will appear. They’ll all be marked read so you’ll have to sort though that. However, they’ll all have their attachments still there which is nice!

I think that covers it.

Note: This worked fantastic for me on 10.3.9 and Thunderbird 1.0.x. Should work in 10.4.x also.

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10 Must-Have Toolbar Buttons for Thunderbird 3

Image by adria.richards via Flickr

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Source: makeuseof.com

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Concepts:

thunderbird, toolbar, folders, accounts, extension, MakeUseOf, windows, Guide, exit, custom, Editors, Mac, filters, install, Tina.

Article Summary:

Are you wasting too much time going through Thunderbird's menus to accomplish simple tasks?

Can you never remember the keyboard shortcuts?

It may be time to install some visual shortcuts.

Thunderbird toolbar buttons provide one-click access to some of Thunderbird's most useful features.

In addition, there are buttons that add new functionality that you would otherwise miss out on.

Here are 10 toolbar buttons for Thunderbird 3 that you must have!

To add the buttons, you need to> right-click onto your Thunderbird navigation bar or toolbar and select> Customize...

1. Get all mails

Thunderbird 3 does contain a Get Mail button.

However, it takes two clicks to get mail for all your accounts.

If you don't ever check mails for just one account, you should get this button.

It skips the selection and automatically fetches new mail from all your accounts.

2. Remove Duplicate Messages (Alternate)

With this extension, you can search and remove duplicate messages.

By clicking the little arrow in the bottom right, you can set the comparison criteria.

These include author, recipients, CC list, status flags, message ID, numbers of lines in message, send time, size, subject, folder, and body.

In the example below I picked author as the sole criteria.

The extension searches all folders of one eMail account.

3. Mark All Read

Sometimes you have this odd unread message in a random folder or you received a dozen eMails you just want to read later.

Now you can skip searching or clicking each and every message, just hit the Mark All Read button.

4. Restart Thunderbird

Thunderbird 3 provides a restart option only after installing a new addon.

This button lays the decision when to restart Thunderbird into your hands or rather at the tip of your finger.

5. Exit Button

To properly close Thunderbird, you need to go through> File> Exit.

Sure, closing Thunderbird via the Windows' "close window" button is much quicker, but it rarely shuts the application down.

Thunderbird will continue to run in the background.

The Exit button puts the Exit option directly into your toolbar and saves you one click.

6. New Tab Button

Thunderbird 3 supports tabs. I've even listed the 5 Extensions For Tabbed Email Browsing in Thunderbird 3.

If you enjoy using the internal Thunderbird browser, you will find the New Tab Button extension very useful.

Be sure to have a look at the options for this extension.

Here you can define where the button should be added, among other options.

7. Xpunge

The Thunderbird profile folder tends to grow very large.

In part that's because eMail are never really deleted.

If you want to make sure all your deleted eMails are really gone forever, you will have to compact your folders.

Xpunge adds a toolbar button to empty the trash folder and compact folders in one or multiple accounts in one go.

8. Filter Button

Filters are rules, based on which mails are sorted into different folders.

This button lets you run your filters with one click.

Also, check out How to Set Up Message Filters In Thunderbird.

9. Toolbar Buttons

Tired of downloading one extension after another?

Try this one, which comes with 50 buttons for Thunderbird and many more for Firefox and Sunbird.

It contains a ton of super useful buttons.

Moreover, the extension provides options to finetune its buttons.

You can select which language the translate button should use, set a "favorite page", toggle proxy, or set news and mail client paths.

10. Custom Buttons

Custom Buttons allows you to convert bookmarklets into buttons or otherwise use it to build, maintain, import, and export custom toolbar buttons.

In case you can't be bothered or are lacking the skills, you can use this extension to import existing buttons provided on the Custom Buttons² website.

Which Thunderbird toolbar button is your favorite?

For me, using the Windows close button sometimes does close Thunderbird down properly and sometimes it doesn't, so it still runs in the background.

That's why I found the exit button a quick and safe way to shut it down with just one click.

As for the Get Mail button, it's fine if you have just one account set up.

In that case clicking Get Mail will get your mail for that account.

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OS X: A possible fix for Spotlight re-indexing problems

Image via Wikipedia

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macosxhints.com

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This tip might be handy if Spotlight seems to take forever to re-index. I re-indexed Spotlight, and it started showing the spinning wheel. I was unable to pinpoint an obvious reason for this.

Some weeks later I decided to get rid of most of the DYLD errors from the Console log. As a step in doing I booted the machine into safe mode, and cleaned all the system caches. After having done that Spotlight started working as it should again, reading the indices when performing searches.

[crarko adds: I tested this, and it works as described. I posted it as much as anything as a reminder that clearing the system caches should be a part of any regular maintenance plan, and often an early step in a troubleshooting procedure.]

Mac: Enhance your Recorded Interviews

Image by heath_bar via Flickr

3 Audacity Tips To Enhance Your Recorded Interviews

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Source: makeuseof.com

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Concepts:
interview, audio, recording, voice, Audacity, noise, sound, amplify, Windows, sound card, audio file, podcast, Guide, MakeUseOf, background noise

Summary:

As a blogger and a researcher, I have to conduct a lot of interviews.

Some months I've conducted two or three interviews a week, and many of those are recorded interviews, because many people don't have time to answer questions via email.

One of the nice things about recorded interviews is that they work well as an audio podcast either available for download from your own blog, or distributed as a podcast at any podcast directory.

Regardless what you intend to do with the interview, one thing that's for certain is that you want to develop a reputation as a professional interviewer that produces high-quality, interesting conversations with fascinating people.

Only part of the recipe for this is developing interesting and thoughtful questions for your interviewee to answer, but the other significant part of the equation is how well you've edited the audio interview into a high-quality, professional show.

Many avid audio enthusiasts may find some of the edits below somewhat simple, but for the blogger or podcaster with little audio editing experience, these tips are critical to know.

I use the Audacity audio recording software to record and edit all of my interviews.

My recording setup is about as simple as it gets an Olympic earpiece that doubles as both a microphone and an earphone, so that I can hear the person on the phone while the microphone feeds the conversation into the laptop and Audacity.

This works well, and produces high quality conversations, but like anything, there are flaws in the setup that produce less than optimum conditions.

The beauty of Audacity is that you have the capability to "fix" those flaws.

The three most common problems that I'm going to touch on in this post are removing background noise, amplifying voices, and integrating quality introduction with music.

Before we start doctoring the audio file with the Audacity audio recording software, let me first introduce the patient.

Above is a snippet of an hour-long audio interview that I conducted last month.

The two most common flaws are background noise, shown in the center of this clip, and low voice volume (my voice) as shown on the right.

You can see that the amplitude when I was talking is about half of that of the voice on the phone which is to be expected when recording with such an earpiece.

The first tweak for the common interview issue of quiet voices is also the easiest.

The volume of the voice is equivalent to "amplitude," so all you have to do is use Audacity's Amplify tool to increase the quiet voice just a little bit.

To perform this task, just highlight the section of audio track with the quiet voice, and then select "Amplify" from the Effect menu option.

In the amplify tool, you'll need to select an amplification that is just enough to increase the voice volume to a level that's equivalent to the other person speaking.

It may take some trial and error the first time, so just undo the change and try a new value until you get it right.

In my case, I found that an increase of 5 dB did the trick.

Once you know the right value, the only tedious part of this fix is that you'll need to find every place in the track where the quiet voice shows up, and do the highlight/amplify routine to fix it.

The second most common flaw in an interview audio file is background noise.

Maybe you left a fan on in the other room, or there are cars going by just outside the open window, and you realize once you listen to the audio that the sound is terribly annoying and distracting.

The first step in this technique is to identify an area in your file that features nothing but the background noise alone.

When you find such an area, highlight that section of the audio track, and then go into the "Noise Removal" tool in the Effects menu option.

Once you're there, click on "Get Noise Profile".

Doing this captures a snapshot of the background noise itself.

The software uses this to "erase" that sound profile from a section (or all) of the audio file.

The next step is just to highlight the area where you want to remove the noise (most of the time you'll just select the entire track), and then go back into this window and select "Remove Noise".

As you can see, Audacity does an amazing job at cleaning up the noise.

There is one caveat, and it is this carefully gauge the amount of noise that you want to remove.

Removing too little won't do much good, and removing too much will make the audio sound over-digitized or artificially quiet.

One thing I noticed is that the middle to lower middle setting is usually ideal.

Have you ever heard those cool podcasts with a great musical introduction?

Well, believe it or not, you can do the same exact thing in Audacity in just a few simple steps.

The first step, obviously, is importing the music file that you would like to use (make sure you don't infringe on any licensing issues).

The next step is just highlight the block of music you'd like to use as your introduction (select the correct number of seconds) and then do a simple Copy.

Then place the cursor at the start of your audio file, and select Paste.

The copied music clip will get inserted into your track, pushing the entire interview to the right.

While this is cool, it'll sound weird because at the end of the clip, your music will just end abruptly.

Instead, you want to taper off the music as you enter into the interview itself.

You'll see the amplitude of the music clip taper off as it approaches the end of the clip, and in effect producing a very nice fade into the interview itself.

By using these three simple tips, you've just equalized voice volume, removed background noise, and embedded a professional music introduction into your audio interview.

With just these few simple changes, you'll transform amateur sounding interviews into well produced, professional sounding conversations.

Do you have any editing tips or tricks of your own?

Share your own insights in the comments section below.

Ryan, an automation engineer on the East Coast (U.S.) who enjoys discussing the latest trends of online writing and freelancing.

Visit his blog at FreeWritingCenter.com to read up on the latest online writing trends and freelance money-making opportunities.

Subscribe to MakeUseOf to get daily updates on new cool websites and programs in your email for free.

Audacity allows you to have mutliple tracks.

So rather than adding adding music into the beginning of the interview track it is better to add it as an additional track.

You can then then 'move' the interview along (in its own track) to where the music fades out.

This gives you a lot more flexibility and the ability to overlay the beginning of the interview over the top of the fading our music.

Also makes it much simpler to experiment and to undo something that does not work very well.

If you have theme music that you use for lots of podcasts then you can set this up as a template and just add your interview into it and do whatever other editing is required.

You can also use the amplify function to obtain a consistent volume level without resorting to trial and error.

Highlight a section of the interview with the low volume level and write down the number shown in the amplification (db) window (it is the number 5 in the third screenshot above).

Then highlight an interview selection with the higher volume and write down the amplification (db) number again.

My top tip: unless you have a really good sound card, use a USB microphone.

The entire sound mixer is completely gone from Windows 7 for my SB Audigy card, so there are no disabled devices to reveal.

My need for recording system audio is simply for recording video tutorials for people, so I find it unfortunate that my ability to do so has been hampered by this update.

3 Simple Steps to Get Clients to Call You [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

Image by jamiefreaky via Flickr

3 Simple Steps to Get Clients to Call You

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Source: sitepoint.com

Concepts:

clients, market, business, target, Tutorials, Design, SitePoint, features, niche, ideal clients, knowing, Forums, newsletters, money, gain

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Article Summary:

In this article, I'll outline my simple formula for attracting clients.
As a self-employed professional or small business owner, defining your niche makes acquiring clients much easier.
You can position yourself to attract clients, and have a clearer idea of how to target them.
It makes it easier to identify the places where your marketing will have the greatest effect.
Clarifying this also help you to explain to your contacts and associates what kinds of referrals you'd like to receive from them.
It's impossible to please everyone, and trying to is guaranteed to fail.
By having a clearly defined position, you gain a better understanding of what types of benefits you can provide to your clients.
You'll be able to directly target their unique needs, explaining how you can solve their problems and make their lives easier.
By knowing your niche, you can position yourself as your prospective clients' ideal solution.
Once you define your niche, you no longer have to waste your marketing effort on less than ideal clients who are not likely to work with you in the first place.
You'll narrow the field of who you're marketing to, which will translate into much larger returns on the time and money you invest in marketing.
Most importantly, when you know your niche, you can present yourself as the expert in your field.
Clients benefit by working with you, and most are willing to pay more for your services.
Such expertise gives you the opportunity to make more income.
Once your niche is identified it's time to look outwards, towards your potential clients.
The goal is to figure out what results your clients will achieve by working with you.
In other words, you must define for clients the benefits of working with you.
When working with my clients, I find that many of them are unclear on the distinction between benefits and features.
If you want to draw clients, talking about the features of your business may be wasting their valuable time.
In most cases, your features are irrelevant to your client's needs and struggles.
On the other hand, if you can send a clear message about the benefits of your business, potential clients are more likely to say, "Let's work together!"
When I talk about features, I mean attributes of your company.
These include general statements about your product or service, or factors such as how you work, the size of your company, and so forth.
In contrast, benefits are what your clients gain out of working with you, or buying from you.
Anything that answers the all-important question: "What do I get out of it?"
For example, with regard to my own business, here are some features and benefits.
I offer a free discovery session for the client to learn about my business, and how it can help them achieve their goals.
Clients have the opportunity to connect with me before they hire me, so they know in advance that they're making the right choice.
I give my clients recordings of each of our sessions.
My clients are able to go over the information again later as a refresher, or if they're unsure of a certain point; there's no pressure on having to fully grasp everything immediately.
I have a 14-step formula (process) I use with all my clients.
My clients gain access to a proven formula that has contributed to the success of many other businesses, so they can see that I'm in the best position to produce the right results for them.
By defining your niche and the benefits of working with you, identifying your target market becomes simple.
Your target market comprises the people who need, want, and can pay for the products or services you offer.
They're the people who are most likely to do business with you.
Your ideal clients are a segment of your target market.
Some of my newer clients have a misconception about marketing: they mistakenly believe that they should be marketing to the whole world.
In some cases, they need business so badly that they pull out all the stops and forget to target their marketing.
Unfortunately, they end up wasting a lot of time and money marketing to so-called "potential clients" who would never be interested in their products in the first place.
When you identify your target market, it makes it easier to focus your energies on the people who are likely to do business with you.
This way, you spend less time with the "tire-kickers"---that is, people who ultimately have no interest in buying from you.
Any angler will tell you that you have to know what kind of fish you want to catch.
There's no such thing as an all-purpose net.
Know what type of catch you're going for, and use the tactics that are best for that specific type.
If you're unsure who you're targeting, your marketing will be ineffective.
On the other hand, if you know exactly who you want to target, it becomes that much easier to customize your marketing message.
This helps you to create a message that's clear enough to draw your ideal clients toward you.
It addresses their unique concerns, and let them know that you can give them exactly what they want and need.
It will bring in clients with who you'll enjoying doing business.
It makes it much easier to address the specific needs of your market.
It clarifies who your market is, enabling you to move forward with confidence.
Once you know who will be using your product, you can position your offers in all the right ways.
You can customize your message to your market, and to segments of your market.
You'll save important time and money, which can then be put to other uses.
You need to be a member of the SitePoint Forums to comment on this post.

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Jennifer Davey, Founder of JJS Coaching and Author of the Getting Clients Home Study Program, is a Business Coach, Marketing Strategist, and Speaker.
She helps small businesses and self-employed professionals grow their businesses and develop strategies for getting clients, building business, and making more income.
It's so much easier to have a business where clients call you, instead of you chasing after them.
Pulling clients to you is easier than you would think, as long as you know what steps to take.

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Apple iPad Wi-Fi + 3G Review

Apple iPad Wi-Fi + 3G Review | Tablets | Macworld

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Source: macworld.com

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Wi-Fi may be plentiful these days, but it's far from ubiquitous.

A device like the iPad is just begging for always-on Internet access, whether it be for checking mail, surfing the Web, or even keeping up with your latest game of Words with Friends HD.

Image by Jennifer Maddrell via Flickr

Apple's iPad Wi-Fi + 3G delivers

Apple's iPad Wi-Fi + 3G delivers on that promise, though the 3G experience may occasionally have you searching about for a Wi-Fi access point tout de suite.

Outwardly, the 3G-enabled iPad is almost identical to its Wi-Fi-only counterpart.

Everything my colleague Jason Snell said in his original iPad review holds true with this device, as the differences between the two models are few.

Outwardly, the 3G-enabled iPad is almost identical to the Wi-Fi model, and the two share almost all of the same features, with the exception of those related to 3G networking and GPS.

For the privilege of those few features, however, you will be paying a bit extra: the 3G models command a $130 premium over their Wi-Fi-only siblings, making the price tags $629 for the 16GB version, $729 for 32GB, and $829 for 64GB.

And keep in mind that the higher price covers only the 3G hardware inside the iPad.

In order to actually use the 3G service, you'll need to pay for one of the two monthly plans that Apple and AT&T have teamed up to offer: a $15-per-month plan that allows you 250MB of data transfer or a $30-per-month plan that allows you unlimited data.

And unlike the iPhone service agreement, which requires a two-year commitment with AT&T, you can cancel your 3G plan for the iPad at any time.

If you've spent any time with an iPhone 3GS, then you'll be pretty familiar with the iPad's 3G performance, as under-the-hood investigations show that the two use the same hardware.

Performance

Speed Tests for 3G (left) and Wi-Fi (right) show a big advantage for Wi-Fi.
Given that the iPad also boasts the latest 802.11n Wi-Fi specification, there's no contest between the two: Wi-Fi will beat 3G every single time.

I ran a few speed tests using the Speed Test iPhone application and, though unscientific, Wi-Fi's superiority was readily apparentâ¬"in one test at my home, Wi-Fi was an astounding 70 times faster at downloads and 30 times faster at uploads.

Other tests (such as the one pictured here) showed less of a disparity, but still universally deemed Wi-Fi the winner.

Of course, such performance varies widely depending on the quality of the AT&T network in your location.

And given that poor performance on AT&T's 3G network has been one of the major complaints with the iPhone, don't expect magically better performance on the iPad.

The apartment to which I recently moved resides in a spotty coverage zone for AT&T's network, and I've experienced frequent signal drops, poor coverage, and slow service on both my iPhone 3GS and my 3G-enabled iPad.

I also have one of Apple's recent 802.11n AirPort Extreme Base Stations, which helps me get the most out of my Wi-Fi network.

If you live, work, or otherwise spend a lot of time in a place with solid 3G coverage, you should find the iPad's 3G performance to be perfectly serviceable for most common tasks, like reading e-mail, surfing the Web, checking RSS feeds, and keeping up with social-networking sites like Facebook or Twitter.

But when you start to get into more intensive tasks, the cracks in the 3G network begin to show.

While I was able to stream video, audio, view maps, and so on over the 3G connection, the performance was sometimes subpar.

Streaming via Netflix's iPad app, for example, yielded video that was mostly watchable, though it did suffer from frequent pauses in playback as the video re-buffered.

Interestingly, YouTube streamed over a 3G connection (above) is substantially lower quality than the same clip over Wi-Fi (below).youtube-over-3g.png

The quality of the video delivered over the 3G network is also noticeably lower than what you get via Wi-Fi.

Netflix, for example, down-samples the video, though it's passable.

Performance varied hugely depending on location, with streaming basically impossible to use at my home.

However, I did find that other locations yielded better results, and in one particular incident, I actually had to flip the iPad's cellular data connection off and then on again to yield better speeds.

The Plans

As I noted in my first look at the 3G iPad, managing your AT&T account on the iPad is simple: you can sign up, monitor your usage, change your plan, and even cancel it all from the iPad's Settings app.

If you want to keep an eye on how much bandwidth you're chewing up, there are two options: one is to use the meters under Settings -> General -> Usage, which tell you how much data has been sent and received over the cellular data connection.

While relying on the cell phone connection, I saw the battery power dip much lower than it had on any day while using the Wi-Fi model, but not so much so that I was unable to get a full day's use out of it.

3G Connectivity Gives Latest Ipad Needed Flexibility

My colleague Mr. Snell made the case for a 3G version of the iPad well before it shipped, and having one in my hands, I find myself inclined to concur with his conclusions that 3G connectivity gives this version of the iPad a measure of flexibility missing from the Wi-Fi-only version.

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Image by dragon762w via Flickr

10 Ways to Instantly Build Self Confidence

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5% Summary - Source: pickthebrain.com

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Concepts:

self confidence, clothes, appearance, feeling, speak, fear, success, posture, cheap clothes, buying, affecting, perception, recognition, afraid, gossip.

Summary:

Self confidence is the difference between feeling unstoppable and feeling scared out of your wits.

Your perception of yourself has an enormous impact on how others perceive you.

Perception is reality --- the more self confidence you have, the more likely it is you'll succeed.

Although many of the factors affecting self confidence are beyond your control, there are a number of things you can consciously do to build self confidence.

By using these 10 strategies you can get the mental edge you need to reach your potential.

Talk To Somebody Now about building Self Confidence!

Although clothes don't make the man, they certainly affect the way he feels about himself.

Use this to your advantage by taking care of your personal appearance.

In most cases, significant improvements can be made by bathing and shaving frequently, wearing clean clothes, and being cognizant of the latest styles.

Rather than buying a bunch of cheap clothes, buy half as many select, high quality items.

In long run this decreases spending because expensive clothes wear out less easily and stay in style longer than cheap clothes.

Buying less also helps reduce the clutter in your closet.

Even if you aren't in a hurry, you can increase your self confidence by putting some pep in your step.

Walking 25% faster will make to you look and feel more important.

People with slumped shoulders and lethargic movements display a lack of self confidence.

By practicing good posture, you'll automatically feel more confident.

One of the best ways to build confidence is listening to a motivational speech.

Write a 30-60 second speech that highlights your strengths and goals.

Then recite it in front of the mirror aloud (or inside your head if you prefer) whenever you need a confidence boost.

The best way to avoid this is consciously focusing on gratitude.

When we think negatively about ourselves, we often project that feeling on to others in the form of insults and gossip.

To break this cycle of negativity, get in the habit of praising other people.

Refuse to engage in backstabbing gossip and make an effort to compliment those around you.

By deciding to sit in the front row, you can get over this irrational fear and build your self confidence.

During group discussions many people never speak up because they're afraid that people will judge them for saying something stupid.

Having the discipline to work out not only makes you feel better, it creates positive momentum that you can build on the rest of the day.

The more you contribute to the world the more you'll be rewarded with personal success and recognition.

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Image via Wikipedia

How to Build Self-Discipline

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5% Summary - Source: pickthebrain.com

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Concepts:

self-discipline, discipline, goals, courage, commitment, act, awareness, highly recommend, struggle, life, ability, freedom, self-knowledge, wake, gym.

Summary:

For many people discipline is a dirty word that is equated with the absence of freedom.

As Stephen R. Covey once wrote, "the undisciplined are slaves to moods, appetites and passions".

And in the longer term, the undisciplined lack the freedom that comes with possessing particular skills and abilities -e.g. to play a musical instrument or speak a foreign language.

Self-discipline involves acting according to what you think instead of how you feel in the moment.

Often it involves sacrificing the pleasure and thrill of the moment for what matters most in life.

In the past self-discipline has been a weakness of mine, and as a result today I find myself lacking the ability to do a number of things which I would like -- e.g. to play the guitar.

For example, it is only in the past two years that I have trained myself to wake early.

Discipline means behaving according to what you have decided is best, regardless of how you feel in the moment.

Therefore the first trait of discipline is self-knowledge.

I highly recommend taking the time to write out your goals, dreams and ambitions.

Dr. Covey has an excellent Mission Statement Builder on his site.

Self-discipline depends upon conscious awareness as to both what you are doing and what you are not doing.

As you begin to build self-discipline, you may catch yourself being in the act of being undisciplined -e.g. biting your nails, avoiding the gym, eating a piece of cake or checking your email constantly.

You must make an internal commitment to them.

Otherwise when your alarm clock goes off at 5am you will see no harm in hitting the snooze button for "just another 5 minutes...."

Or, when initial rush of enthusiasm has faded away from a project you will struggle to see it through to completion.

Moods, appetites and passions can be powerful forces to go against.

Therefore self-discipline is highly dependent on courage.

After all, it is self-talk that has the ability to remind you of your goals, call up courage, reinforce your commitment and keep you conscious of the task at hand.

When I find my discipline being tested, I always recall the following quote: "The price of discipline is always less than the pain of regret".

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iPad Specs and Speeds

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Source: Macworld.com
Posted on Apr 4, 2010 7:20 am by Jason Snell

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Before diving into the details of the iPad, it’s worth recapping some of the details of the product. There are currently three versions available, all identical save for the amount of onboard storage: a $499 16GB model, $599 32GB model, and $699 64GB model. Three other models with built-in 3G networking in addition to Wi-Fi will be available later in April, at the same storage sizes: 16GB for $629, 32GB for $729, and 64GB for $829. Before you buy a Wi-Fi-only model, it’s worth considering how you might use the 3G models.

Speed test
                   Sunspider 
  iPad             10.4
  iPod touch 64GB  15.6           
    (late 2009)
  iPhone 3GS       15.5 
  iPod touch       33.4 
    2nd-gen. 
  iPhone 3G        40.8 
  iPod touch       44.9 
    1st-gen. 
  iPhone           43.0 
    (original)

Results are in seconds. Best results in bold. Reference systems in italic.
iPad tested with iPhone OS 3.2. All other devices were tested running iPhone OS 3.1.

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With the iPhone and iPod touch, Apple has been reluctant to talk about processors and speeds, preferring to treat those products as magical black boxes. But we must forgive Apple for crowing a little bit about the processor that powers the iPad, because it was custom-designed by Apple itself. The new A4 processor, running at 1GHz, is a “system on a chip”—in other words, it was built to run the iPad, not chosen from a parts list and adapted to work for the iPad.

Geeky chip talk aside, the iPad flies. It was fast at almost everything I threw at it. The only times I found myself waiting were either for content to download over the network or for one of the iWork apps to convert a file into its native file format. Games played smoothly, with gorgeous graphics. There’s no lag when panning and zooming around large images. Any touch-based device stands or falls based on how quickly and smoothly the content on the screen can react to the movement of fingers on that screen. The iPad passes that test masterfully.

As a bare measure of speed, I ran the SunSpider JavaScript performance test from within the iPad’s Safari browser. The iPad passed the tests in 10.4 seconds. Last September I ran that same test on every iPhone OS model ever released, and the fastest device of the lot (the iPhone 3GS) ran the test in 15.5 seconds. (In contrast, the original iPhone took 43 seconds to run that test.) So the iPad has taken the crown as the fastest iPhone OS device on the planet.

Apple hasn’t released details of the battery that’s powering the iPad, but whatever combination of battery and power efficiency is lurking behind that aluminum back, it’s impressive. Apple boasts a 10-hour battery life for the iPad, and most reports from reviewers who have spent a week or more with the device suggest that the real-world life of that battery is even longer. My two days with the iPad bear out those reports. If you charge the iPad overnight, you can pretty much use it the whole day.

We’ll have more extensive speed and battery testing in the next few days at Macworld.com, but the short version is this: it’s fast and the battery lasts.

Next - Typing on the iPad

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