How To Be A Full-Time Runner
We all dream about it. Running.
We sit in our cubicles, tap, tap tapping away, entering data, answering phones, dealing with ungrateful bosses and grumpy co-workers.
We pound away at our jobs, or even our own businesses that we have grown to hate, just staring at the clock, waiting for it to tick by so we can get free of the 9 to 5, let loose and rip out a fast 10-miler after work – where we can finally feel alive.
If only we could do this all the time… But the grass is always greener, isn’t it?
If you’ve ever talked to an elite athlete who bows to his (or her) sponsors just to get a measly paycheck and a free pair of shoes then you know exactly what I’m talking about. For the most extraordinary runners, sweet sponsorship deals are few and far between, and it feels like selling your soul…
So, how can the “normal runner” do it full time? Is it a pipe dream, or is it actually possible?
I’ve finally made the transition – and it feels great. Here are a few of the things I have learned.
1. Most runners are beginners. The great thing about running is that almost everyone who is starting out feels too “out of shape” to go running with their friends who run because they are scared that they won’t be able to keep up – or that they will slow their friends down. So they don’t start. If you’ve been running for even a year or two then you have learned volumes of information that people will happily line up to pay you for – in several different forms.
2. Coaching – If you want to work with local folks, doing private or group coaching sessions is a great way to get started making an income from your knowledge of running. There are successful running coaches across the country who do a weekly track or distance workout for the community for free and gain all the clients they need from these simple workouts they would be doing on their own anyway.
3. CD sets – Recording everything you know onto a CD or DVD set (can now be done from a laptop with a decent microphone for under 100 bucks. You can use a service like Corporate Disk or just type in “print on demand CDs” into Google and you’ll have more options than you can shake a stick at. Sell these online on Amazon, Google Checkout, Yahoo Shops or any of the thousands of online malls that have customers ready and waiting to purchase your knowledge to help them get in shape and become better runners.
4. Downloadable MP3 training programs – A far better and more profitable way to distribute your knowledge, selling your audio or video recordings in a downloadable format is the single most efficient business model that has ever existed. Instantly accessible information for the customer, no hunting or wait time – and the biggest profit margin humanly possible for the author. Selling your knowledge in a downloadable format simply can’t be beat.
5. Phone coaching – as we get busier and busier with our lives phone coaching has been getting bigger and bigger. iPhones make phone coaching even better now that we can access our coaches real-time, exactly when we need some support or advice. There are great “per minute” services out there that you can plug into right away like Keene that allow you to coach people all around the world and get paid by the minute to do what you love.
6. Social Networks – If you’re more interested in building a community first and training people second, then the number of free, or virtually free social networks that you can start out there are endless. One of the best (and most user friendly) is Ning – it allows you to start a super-targeted social network quickly and easily for FREE – and if you want to make it more pro, their upgraded packages can’t be beat. It’s a great way to build an online community so you can interact with your prospects or clients real-time and find out exactly what they want and give it to them.
7. Blogs – Blogs are the easiest, free-est and fastest way to get online and start getting traffic. It’s well known that runners generally have a bit of a higher IQ than the average Joe out there – and you’ll find thousands of Bloggers who are Runners out there teaching folks how to run, how to run faster, how to run better and even How To Run Barefoot (Thanks Ken Bob and Barefoot Ted!)
Using WordPress is a quick and easy way to start blogging today and trying your hand and connecting with the running community to see if they vibe on what you have to say. I recommend that you blog at least once a day and focus on helping people – then selling them more training based on what they are looking for.
Or, you could just say that marketing is evil, go back to your crappy job and wish you were spending more time running. But that’s up to you.
For the “crazy” runners out there who have the guts to try Barefoot Running I hope to get some of your questions answered at http://www.HowToRunBarefoot.com
How Video Games Reflect Marketing Ideology
If you’re under 40, you probably played some type of video game growing up. All the way back to the early 80s, videos games were hot — when PacMan, Space Invaders, and Asteroids first hit the market. At first, you could only play by taking yourself to a video arcade or somewhere that the behemoth game console lived. Then came the home game systems where you could play video games, including the ones mentioned above without ever leaving the comfort of your favorite sofa.
Fast forward to the present. People still play video games, but the kids who grew up with them are now online. Many of them are looking for a better way to work. The nine to five that their parents were tied to just doesn’t suit them. They want more excitement, more income and more freedom, and some of them have made it work — big time. There are more Internet millionaires than you can shake a game controller at.
And what happens? Everyone — younger and older — sees how easy it seemed for these young people to make it, and they think it happened overnight. They think that the rapid pace of video games have bled over into the Internet and that everything happens at the speed of sound. They are 100% wrong.
Internet marketing begins with lead generation, and that takes a while. Building a big list means doing all of the things you need to do to make that list grow — advertising a squeeze page, doing ad swaps with like-sized list owners and other joint ventures, creating massive traffic, and on and on. Every single thing that new marketers need to do must focus on generating leads and building that list. And no matter how it seems, it doesn’t happen overnight. It just doesn’t!
Start by choosing a niche that you want to market in. Then, find a domain with a connection to your niche. The next step is finding a good hosting company, and so on. You have to take things one step at a time, and any program that tells you that you don’t have to do any work, that your fortune will be built for you, or that it can happen tomorrow is lying to you. Building a solid online business takes diligent study, time, and implementation.
Just don’t get caught up in the “analysis” mode. Study and learn what you need to do first, and learn as quickly as you can. But, at the same time, be taking action on what you’re learning. Nothing is accomplished by folks that just sit around trying to figure out the mysteries of cyberspace and still not do what it takes to move forward!
The quickest way to learn what you need to know to get lead generation and your online business started is to join the ListBuilding Club. Come to http://www.ListBuilding.com today and hurry. This deal won’t last forever. Be sure to snag yours now!
Lead Generation: All McGyver Ever Needs
You remember McGyver, the TV series, right? If not, McGyver was the super-smart agent who could do anything with his ingenuity. He didn’t believe in guns or violence when it could be avoided. OK, so what in the world does McGyver mean to you, as an Internet marketer?
When it comes to you and your online business, all you need is a bit of ingenuity when it comes to the MOST important activity you can pursue — lead generation. Having a big, responsive list is what will make the biggest difference in your business and your income online.
The first thing you need to do is to sign up for an online autoresponder account. There are stand alone programs you can buy that make it seem far less expensive, but when it comes to deliverability, security, and ease of use, the online autoresponder just makes more sense. They have your back, too, in case any spam complaints arise. Autoresponders also give you the code for an optin box that you’ll use to collect names and addresses for all your lead generation projects.
Anyway, this is a very important tool that you need to have. Why? So you can build lists of names and email addresses. These are the people to whom you will send awesome information so that the folks on your list can come to know, like, and trust you. Then, they’ll accept the product recommendations you make and spend money. It also gives your a captive audience for any product you create in the future.
Here are some interesting ways that you can create buzz and be collecting names and email addresses for your list:
1. Create a squeeze page: Of course, this is the number one tool for lead generation. Offer potential subscribers something really cool for free and they will sign up for your list.
2. Blog: Add an optin box to your blog as soon as you install it. Once this is in place, you’re ready to start blogging every single day. Consistent posting is the secret to building a large audience.
3. Facebook: Set up a fan page at Facebook and add an optin box there. Tell all of your friends about it and ask them to become fans. The more fans your page has, the more folks who will come to look, if only from curiosity, and if you engage them, they’ll sign up for your list.
4. Tweet: Be sure to have a Twitter account. Give people lots of great information and get them re-tweeting your posts. Every now and then, like once a day, remind people of your free offer on the squeeze page, add your URL, and let your followers sign up for your list.
5. Social bookmarking: Bookmark your squeeze page in all the social bookmarking sites that make sense, like Digg, StumbleUpon, Mixx, Reddit, etc. Be sure to write a good comment–like a subtle sales message–for your post so that people will be intrigued.
6. Safelists: Since you don’t yet have a list, think about using a “community” list. Advertise your ethical bribe and get people coming to your squeeze page to sign up.
There are tons of ways that you can pump up your lead generation efforts, if you’re a bit creative, like McGyver. Find more tips and tricks at ListBuilding.com, where lead generation is taught via step-by-step video. Jump into Internet marketing at http://www.ListBuilding.com today!
Lead Generation: The World Will Not End in 2012
It’s been confirmed by NASA that the world won’t end in 2012, regardless of what kind of fear that avid believers are trying to stir up. There is a movie about to be released by Sony Pictures, and they have set up a website to scare up some interest for the movie, but it’s fiction, not fact. And since we’re all going to be around a while, you should definitely be planning your future.
Though the economy offline is a bit rocky, the online business community is booming! Millions of people are online, hoping to make extra money or to replace the money they lost because they no longer have jobs. And it’s a good plan… a very good plan… because by 2012, online business will be much, much bigger.
So, where do you begin?
Start with lead generation. Nothing builds an online business faster than sending all of the traffic you can through a squeeze page. Do you have one yet? Do you even know what a squeeze page is?
A squeeze page is nothing more than a web page with a headline, three to five bullet points touting the benefits of what you have to offer people, and an opt-in box where they can join. It really can be that simple. However, it will probably be more effective, if you add an “ethical bribe,” some free special report, a newsletter, an ebook, an audio, a video, or anything that will entice people to give you their information in exchange for something of value.
You see, if you want an online business, having a giant list of names and email addresses that you get through your lead generation activities will insure your success. Once you bond with the people on your list and give them great information about your niche that they can use, they come to know, like, and trust you. Once this bond is strong, they’re much more likely to respond to any offers you might send their way–they buy things, and you get the commissions.
Creating your own products is something you might want to consider in the future, but selling other people’s products to your list is the best way to start out. That way, you have no delivery, support, or payment issues. You simply refer people to another website where they buy and you get paid. All you have to do is build a list and send email.
Having this type of relationship with a list will assure your survival. In the ListBuilding Club, we show you the lead generation techniques you need to understand in order to make it online. Visit http://www.ListBuilding.com today and become a member! It’ something you’ll thank us for come 2012.
7 Reasons Barefoot Runners Run In Terror
Barefoot Running is difficult. Possibly the most difficult type of running any runner has ever tried. With the exception of Barefoot Ultra-Distance running. That’s just plain stupid.
You probably won’t like it. It is quite doubtful that you have the willpower or determination to be able to appreciate running in this much pain. We suggest that you stick to safer and more familiar territory – maybe something with neon lights, a $2000 treadmill and a juice bar at the far end of the room aimed at making you feel good about yourself for spending so much money on your new pair of bright, shiny shoes. Perhaps you think multi-million dollar ad campaigns make running better for you. Perhaps your mouthing your words as you read this.(Completely inspired by Arrogant Bastard Ale)
Ever thought about running barefoot? Think again. Barefoot runners are crazy – no doubt about it. Don’t be foolish enough to fall into the barefoot running trap – under any circumstances. Here’s why you shouldn’t ever run barefoot:
1) Barefoot Running hurts.
The first 3 months are the worst. With each step you will find yourself screaming and cursing the road-crew that toil, tooth and nail, day in and day out to make our roads safe and strong… and construct roads for CARS NOT BAREFOOT RUNNERS!!!
2) People will honk their horns and scream obscenities at you.
The first thing people think when they see a barefoot runner is that you are either an escaped convict, or that you simply have several screws loose and that you have no right to be on the road. And since the shoulder of the road and sidewalks are scattered with sharp rocks, glass and other nasty items most people wouldn’t step in with shoes on you will probably find yourself running on the white line, or even in the driving lane. That doesn’t make drivers happy.
3) Blood Blisters.
A blister’s bad enough. Fill it with blood and it’s a whole new ball-game. The little red devils last for days and sometimes weeks. Try popping it and you’ll make it a whole lot worse.
4) You’ll run slower.
Chicks dig guys who run fast, not guys who lumber down the road at an 11-minute mile pace. But try running a 7-minute mile with no shoes on, I dare you. You’ll destroy your feet. Your friends won’t want to run with you thanks to your dial-up Internet pace, so you’ll be lonely. You’ll never win any road races until you take the time to suffer through getting bullet-proof strong with barefoot running.
5) You’ll be limping out of bed in the morning.
Especially in the early weeks, you’ll be hobbling around like a Spaniard after the Running of the Bulls. Ben-Gay won’t help. Tylenol. Ha! Laughable. If you can’t take the heat, go back to sneakers.
6) The skin on your feet will be gone. Vamoose. Skedaddle. Epidermis disappearus.
Calluses may form on your fingers when you play guitar, but your guitar isn’t made out of blacktop. So don’t count on protective calluses forming on your feet soles. The best you can hope for is a layer of road grime so thick, broken Heineken bottles can’t break through.
7) You’ll never want to wear shoes again, anywhere.
You’ll get addicted to that feeling of freedom underfoot. Shoes will seem like kryptonite, and you’ll whine about having to put on even flip-flops when you go out to eat. Excuses to go foot-commando will include, but are not limited to: “I have a fungus that thrives in shoes,” “I spent some time in east Africa. This is how I roll now,” and the classic “My toes are afraid of the dark.”
Just stick to sneakers. You probably can’t handle the pride, freedom and awareness that comes with barefoot running anyway. After all that if you still think you have what it takes to become a barefoot runner then http://www.HowToRunBarefoot.com