Disqus - Latest Comments for Paul Simister

Re: 5 Biz Lessons from Jackson’s “Thriller” Video

Paul Simister — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 12:14:19 -0000

I like your thinking.

I once did a blog about the business lessons you could learn from Led Zeppelin.

I also wondered if I could write a sales letter or promotional piece for my coaching business based on Led Zep's song titles.

Can't remember it all but it went something like

"If you are left dazed and confused by a communication breakdown...

Re: Yanik Silver from Surefire Marketing

Paul Simister — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 13:10:05 -0000

Great interview and you have reminded me that I must check out Yanik's Instant sales letters. Other people have told me how good it is.

Re: Do You Trust My Advice?

Paul Simister — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 12:58:12 -0000

Hi Andy
My copy of Rich's report is printing off now so it will be interesting to see what he has finally got to say.

I know what you mean about the frustrations of people not taking up great offers and locking away content.

Re: Do You Trust My Advice?

Paul Simister — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 12:58:12 -0000

Re: Business Growth Systems Review | Stop Working on Sundays

Paul Simister — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 04:35:00 -0000

Hi Andy

I signed up bnack in March and it is very good although there is a mass of material that I haven't had time to go through yet in terms of the weekly Q&A calls.

But I have not yet put together a full review of it on The Business Coaching Blog but it is coming, probably on a month by month basis since the course is spread over 11 months of material.

Paul

Re: Business Growth Systems Review | Stop Working on Sundays

Paul Simister — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 04:35:00 -0000

Re: Stompernet Site Seer – Ripped Apart

Paul Simister — Mon, 26 May 2008 09:08:46 -0000

An excellent review which matched my thoughts when I tried it when I came back off holiday. Freat to see Andy Jenkins and Jerry West add their comments.

I have huge faith in StomperNet but I must admit that I expected a more comprehensive analysis from the build up.

Re: Stompernet Site Seer – Ripped Apart

Paul Simister — Mon, 26 May 2008 09:08:46 -0000

Re: Ultimate List of DoFollow & Nofollow Plugins – Banish Nofollow From Comments and Trackbacks

Paul Simister — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 04:03:54 -0000

This is such an important point as it really discourages people taking the time and trouble to make comments.

While spam drives me crazy, if we want comments (and I do) we have to be able to answer the "what's in it for me" question that people ask.

Re: Ultimate List of DoFollow & Nofollow Plugins – Banish Nofollow From Comments and Trackbacks

Paul Simister — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 04:03:54 -0000

Re: Digg and Reddit: It’s Not Wrong to Create and Submit Your Own Content. In Fact, it’s Necessary.

Paul Simister — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 22:29:23 -0000

the natural temptation is to be very reluctant to submit your own stuff because of the social media thought police who immediately jump on you.

I found your article reassuring.

Re: One Minute Entrepreneur Fails to Impress

Paul Simister — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 03:45:49 -0000

Type your comment here.I was disappointed in the One mInute Enptrepreneur as well after loving some of his earlier books. I expected much more. In particular the One Minute Manager is one of my favourite business books - simple but powerful ideas, easy to understand and do but very effective.

Re: What’s Your “Only” Statement?

Paul Simister — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 12:28:54 -0000

Cristina I really like this "only" idea and I have to admit that it is one I hadn't heard before.

The one problem I see is that it could beg the question "How do you know?"

At the centre we are all unique and have been shaped by our experiences, education, reading, attitude and personality which no one else shares but it can be a little difficult putting that into a short USP style sentence.

Re: Add One New Pillar to Your Marketing Parthenon

Paul Simister — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:27:01 -0000

Judy

I see you borrowed by power parthenon diagram but no problem as you put a link through to my Business Coaching blog.

Looking at your blogroll it looks as if we have very similar influences with Jay Abraham, Jay Conrad Levinson, Chet Holmes and Michael Gerber all featured.

Good luck with the blog - it is coming along nicely.

Re: 50+ Resources to Recession-Proof Your Business

Paul Simister — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 09:52:54 -0000

Thanks for including my Finance Tips blog in your list of recession proofing articles. It is appreciated.

Re: Weekly Biz Buzz #2 Word of Mouth Marketing, Social Media Space Monitoring, Niche Domination

Paul Simister — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 05:54:13 -0000

Wayne

Thank you for the thank you.

Glad to hear that your blog is increasing traffic steadily.

I have a similar problem with comments.

I'd like more that add value or engage in the discussion and a lot less of the spam nonsense. I just don't get what people are trying to achieve, especially when they see that comments are moderated.

As I become more experienced as a blogger, I am taking an ever harder line.

I guess some people just want to be involved passively by reading and only a minority care enough about a topic to leave a comment.

Re: 100 Sites Entrepreneurs Should Visit

Paul Simister — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 04:19:59 -0000

So my blog missed out.

Still if a try harder maybe next year the Business Coaching blog will be featured.

Re: Bloglines Top 1000 blogs

Paul Simister — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 03:09:17 -0000

Congratulations on your very high placing and it's a true reflection that your blog brings to its readers.

The polls do show just how much work I have to do to get The Business Coaching Blog even on to the bottom of the list.

Re: How To Get Started Blogging

Paul Simister — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 03:13:26 -0000

John you got into blogging very earlier but I have to admit that I was very sceptical.

I hadn't found the Duct Tape blog but teh blogs that I did see seems very self indulgent and I couldn't fathom out why a) people wrote them or b) why people read them.

Now I am a convert and wish that I had started my blog my earlier.

One word of warning to anyone who is thinking about starting a blog.

It is strangely addictive.

I now feel compelled to add something else to my blog everyday.

Re: Every small business needs a little presentation zen

Paul Simister — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 16:27:35 -0000

Does this save us from death by PowerPoint or make it even more of a killer.

I can tell you how much I hate it when presenters think that ll they have to do is read out their slides, word by word.

Just the thought of it makes me shudder.

Re: Adding search to your site

Paul Simister — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 16:31:53 -0000

Hi John.

I agree that the Google search is a great feature but when I implemented it on my website I couldn't avoid the AdSense issue which is something I don't like.

But I know that I have to do something with The Business Coaching Blog. There is now so much information on it and while I have tried to make navigation as easy as possible I have to have a search facility to give readers the best chance of finding what they are looking for.

I guess that I must look at the Google search add-in again so thanks for reminding me.

Re: What is an Ultimate Sales Machine?

Paul Simister — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 14:08:06 -0000

The Chet Holmes book is excellent as an overall business development and growth program which takes a true systematic approach to the issue.

But I hate the title - The Ultimate Sales Machine - as it strikes me that it clashes with everything Chet Holmes teaches in the book about the ongoing drive for continuous improvement AND it misrepresents the contents.

If this was the publisher's decision then he is badly under-selling this book and not not done Chet Holmes any favours at all.

Re: The Hierarchy of Social Marketing

Paul Simister — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 13:35:33 -0000

Interesting analogy at the bottom - blogging is like sex - but at least I understand now why I am addicted.
It is an excellent summary of the different social marketing avenues and a useful prioritisation.

My concern with social media is the time that it takes so much time and returns are delayed and not immediately measurable.

Re: Cheap Gas Makes You Lazy

Paul Simister — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 02:35:40 -0000

When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

Yes things will be difficult but that makes it even more reason to focus, engage our brains and take highly targeted actions.

Customers are still buying.

Not as much maybe. A little more price conscious maybe. Less inclined to make impulse purchases maybe.

Customers become more quality conscious and more afraid of making a mistake. So the move is away from hype and towards education marketing, which calmly explains what the benefits you will get and what you have to do to get them.

I am talking more and more about how to survive and thrive these tough times on my business coaching blog.

I'm not saying it will be easy but effective marketing is more important than ever.

Re: Add Interactive Features to Your Site

Paul Simister — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 11:33:03 -0000

John.
You've done it again. I come to browse your blog for a few minute and now you've got me chasing another idea.

Ever since I started playing around with Squidoo I have loved the interaction element of polls and wanted to add some to my business coaching blog.

So now I've got to try to work out how to set up the "biggest marketing frustration" poll.

Thanks

Paul

Re: Add Interactive Features to Your Site

Paul Simister — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 12:05:16 -0000

Sorry John this is me again.

I have now set up my marketing frustrations poll and the entire process is so neat, easy and quick. I am very impressed so thanks again and if anybody would like to pop over to see the poll, please also vote.

It is at http://businesscoaching.typepad.com/the_busines...

Re: Perspective Gives Meaning

Paul Simister — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 08:46:47 -0000

I like this idea John of borrowing and adapting and I know that it is something that Jay Abraham endorses strongly. At conferences he would force people to read magazines outside of their interest areas so that they opened their minds to other sources and concepts.

This is similar although instead of being open-minded about everything you are looking for new perspectives to your current issues.

Re: What a Business Makes

Paul Simister — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 11:53:18 -0000

Hi John

This blog reminds me of echoes of your E Myth days in terms of setting both your Primary Aim and Strategic Objective so that your business supports your life plan.

When the two are aligned, you don't have the conflicts that create the love/hate relationship which causes the confusion are causes procrastination on some issues but red hot devotion and commitment on others.

Re: Are You Easy?

Paul Simister — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 02:43:20 -0000

Great tips John and so true.

Isn't it amazing how we can make it difficult for people to do exactly what we want them to do - contact us, buy from us, refer us - because we are too busy trying to keep life easy and simple for ourselves.

A timely reminder to look at everything from the other person's perspective both in terms of "why should they do what I want" and "why won't they".

In my consultancy and coaching I sometimes take people through a reverse brainstorming exercises to look at what we could do to stop something we wanted to happen as a reminder that it is often easier to "not do" than it is "to do".

Re: RSS, It’s Not Just for Blogs Anymore

Paul Simister — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 02:51:33 -0000

I agree. I am a fan of RSS feeds because it does make it much easier to keep track of what is happening.

As usual there is still a massive education issue because I still believe RSS has not moved into the mainstream.

Re: I Hate Business Plans

Paul Simister — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 03:48:52 -0000

Just to be contrary but also to continue the debate

I love business plans because they provide a record of intention at the time.

So often there is this huge gap between what we say we will do, what we do and what results we get.

A business plan gives you the chance to look back and reflect on why things didn't go as you expected.

A business plan gives you a chance to learn and adapt your future behaviour.

A business plan stops your mind playing tricks on you as each day your plan evolves and you forget what you thought.

A business plan captures some of those brilliant ideas that you still haven't put into action so that you can bring them back to the table.

I love business plans, I love business planning...I hate people failing to take purposeful action.

I hate it when people won't decide on where they want to go and drift aimlessly.

I hate it when people don't measure and monitor the business.

Re: Win Local Search With Local Content

Paul Simister — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 08:35:16 -0000

John this is one of my complaints about many website designers who create the website for small businesses but don't even know the rudiments of SEO.

In many cases it is not difficult to get to the top or near the top of local searches both organically and with Google's own local search facility. The more appearances on page one the better from my point of view.

To pick up Randy's question, keyword research shows that there is a long tail and you can pick up extra hits but you'd only chase those when you've got the main keywords covered.

Someone searching for "marketing consultant Forth Worth" is either looking for a marketing consultant in the area or is a marketing consultant checking their own Google ranking and wanting to take a look at the competition.

I can't see that more generic searches would be localised so someone may ask the question "how can I get better traffic to my website" but they are unlikely to add in Forth Worth as it unnecessarily restricts them from getting the best free advice on the web.

What may happen is that instead of searching for an SEO expert or internet marketing consultant, someone may type in "who can help me get more website traffic in Fort Worth" but Google's likely to find good combinations for that search based on website content about generating traffic and mentions of Fort Worth.

The great thing is that for the last two weeks much of the uncertainty has gone. Google are now revealing search data in the Adword Keyword tool rather than those silly green bars that used to appear.

https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolEx...

Now we can see that "marketing consultant fort worth" doesn't generate many hits at all, "marketing fort worth" only generates a few.

Re: Google Keyword Tool Now Offers Search Volume

Paul Simister — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 01:50:30 -0000

Good to see that you picked up up on this from my comment on local searches John.

It seems that Google very much sneaked this in without any announcement although the SEO newsboards and blogs were buzzing about it quickly.

I find keyword research invaluable since it allows you to identify and use the words your potential clients use. Far too often I see businesses trying to make their services sound all posh and not communicating with their market.

Re: Google Knol Provides New Content Platform

Paul Simister — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 03:57:31 -0000

I have heard very good things about Google Knol although as I'm in the UK I am very aware that only US citizens can confirm their identity on it at the moment which doesn't seem appropriate for such a global company.

The person who was telling me had the result of being page one of Google search within hours but they do have to be careful since Knol threatens to undermine the credibility of the independence of Google search outside of the sponsored links.

Re: Upgrading WordPress the Easy Way

Paul Simister — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 04:00:08 -0000

Interesting. My my main blogs are on Typepad but I do have a couple of wordpress blogs but the upgrade fears have certainly constrained me because I'm just not technical.

Re: A Rank Checking Tool

Paul Simister — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 04:11:58 -0000

A great little tool. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

Re: Talking Referrals with Bob Burg

Paul Simister — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:57:04 -0000

This is such an important point because so many people don't get it at all.

Just look at the proliferation of "me me me" marketing trying to take instead of give.

I will enjoy listening to this John and you have a great collection of resources in your podcasting series.

Re: Google Alerts Hack

Paul Simister — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 03:34:25 -0000

I have used Google Alerts for years and find it a great way to track my name and key phrases I associate with my name. It doesn't pock up every though. To do that you have to go for a more comprehensive system.

Still Google Alerts is quick and easy and lets me keep an eye on what is being said about people I'm interested in and competitors.

One tip. Make your search as specific as possible. It takes out the irrelevant nonsense so if you are interested in "Duct Tape Marketing" put it in inverted commas, otherwise you may learn more about teh uses of duct tape than you want.

Re: Increase List Sign-ups 327% with Testing

Paul Simister — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 12:03:28 -0000

Thanks John. I have played around with different locations for my email sign-up and different headlines to see whether there was a change in results.

I have shied away from pop-ups because they can irritate me but yours on your main site is quite tasteful.

Looks like you have persuaded me that it is at least worth spending some time on looking at what you can do.

Re: New Marketing Action Planning Tool

Paul Simister — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 00:48:18 -0000

Great marketing coup John which will certainly bring the Duct Tape Marketing brand to the attention of many more small businesses.

Re: Using Viral Video in Small Business Marketing

Paul Simister — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:14:55 -0000

Thanks for this job. Viral Marketing is a fascinating development that can generate enormous increases in traffic.

The trick is to find the way to be creative.

Re: I Don’t Have Time for Marketing

Paul Simister — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 13:30:47 -0000

I find that there can be some resistance to creating a marketing calendar from small businesses.

It forces people to think ahead and hold themselves accountable for inputs into the marketing process and the results that come out the other end.

I must blog about this myself John although I do wonder whether eventually, even the worst victim of Parkinson's Law won't have "all the time in the world".

Re: Get Closer to Your Customers Now

Paul Simister — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:17:10 -0000

Very refreshing John to see you say "Admit you’re slower"

There is too much bluster which gets in the way and creates distrust and wrecks any attempt to strengthen the relationship.

After all what is a customer to think when you are in denial.

It is the first time for a while that I have commented but I like the Twitter feature as well.

Re: Who Holds You Accountable?

Paul Simister — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 09:17:31 -0000

There is always the wife John.

This is a huge issue but it is the big reason for having a coach as the accountability can be given one-to-one.

Tracking time can be a great habit, if only to show you where it all goes. Especially true if you get involved in the social media sites which can eat up time very quickly.

Re: Making Sense of Social Media for Your Business

Paul Simister — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 08:32:59 -0000

I guess that's daughters for you John.
Thanks for making me laugh and I hope it is a huge success for Jenna.

Re: Simplify

Paul Simister — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 10:35:54 -0000

John
Thanks for publishing your Duct Tape diagram which has given me food for thought for both my Eight Pillars of Business Prosperity and Hidden Profit approaches.

Re: Two Fine Referral Examples

Paul Simister — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 12:47:06 -0000

Thanks John

I agree with you that it is good to build up a series of real life examples of these structured referral programs.

I intend to review your "Referral Flood" system for my Business Coaching blog sometime as I know businesses leave a huge amount of hidden profit in this area.

Customers are happy but need to be given that extra push to make positive referrals.

Re: New Local Search Listing Resource

Paul Simister — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 12:08:16 -0000

Great idea but it only works for the USA at the moment.

Re: The Highly Engaged Referral

Paul Simister — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 09:14:10 -0000

I agree with you.

Wherever possible I like the person who is referring me to contact the person and at least explain why they have passed their name on. Even better if they can convince the person to call me.

I have just blogged and Twittered about your referral survey John as I am also very interested in referral techniques.

It was possibly my favourite chapter of your book.

Re: Upping the Price of Free

Paul Simister — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 08:26:34 -0000

I have mused about the proliferation of free as well John.

It's definitely a double edged sword as people find it so easy to collect stuff that they get no value from. My hard disk is full of reports and audios downloaded but never listened to.

Grabbed because it sounds good at the time but it never works up the priority list.

But I also see the reciprocation desired is diminishing. The zero marginal cost of digital products means the receiver realises that the giver hasn't given anything with a cost.

Not sure where it is all leading.

Re: My Most Excellently Flawed Referral Survey

Paul Simister — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 08:38:02 -0000

John what I find interesting is that so many of your survey respondents are already getting such a high number of referrals despite not having a system.

So it is almost as if they are thinking "I don't need a system because I already get a lot of referrals".

Perhaps the benefits of having a structured referral system are not clear but the costs are - time to create, time to operate, cost of any incentives to the referrer and referree.

I also think that there are so few common, established examples that people can see and be inspired by.

Re: Making it easy for customers to say "yes". How to make cross-selling work.

Paul Simister — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:17:17 -0000

Some nice points Ian about the practicalities of upselling and cross-selling.

The more genuine you can be in showing an interest in the client's needs and the matching your offer to what they really want the better.

Of course it does become more of an ethical decision if they think they want to spend a £1,000 on a new camcorder and based on what they say, they only need to spend £400.

We have to find our own positions on this issue but my view would be to search for unspoken benefits offered by the more expensive camera.

Shifting categories to something I understand a bit more, the Ford Mondeo may cost £20k while the Bentley costs £100k and while each can transport four passengers in comfort, the Bentley offers the prestige, exclusivity and refinement that some people believe is worth paying much, much more.

Re: Digg and Reddit: It’s Not Wrong to Create and Submit Your Own Content. In Fact, it’s Necessary.

Paul Simister — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 22:29:23 -0000

the natural temptation is to be very reluctant to submit your own stuff because of the social media thought police who immediately jump on you.

I found your article reassuring.

Re: Getting Everything You Can Out Of All You’ve Got – By Jay Abraham (Book Review)

Paul Simister — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 01:54:57 -0000

I am a massive fan of Jay Abraham and I rate this book "Getting Everything You Can....." very highly.

It is one of the books that I recommend that my clients buy without hesitation.

Jay has a fantastic mind for finding profitable opportunities and he features heavily on The Business Coaching Blog.

Re: Tracking The Stompernet Launch On The New Media Matters Show

Paul Simister — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 05:57:52 -0000

Interesting approach Paul and STSE2 is certainly an excellent product.

I also liked the Net Effect and I was very complimentary about your article on using Twitter.

Re: Free Lunchtime Summer Webinar Series – 6 Of ‘Em (Archive Access Too!)

Paul Simister — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 07:06:59 -0000

Thanks for this and great use of Twitter to lure me here.

Re: Best Internet Marketing Blog Posts of 2007

Paul Simister — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 12:05:26 -0000

What a fantastic list of blog articles.

I picked this up from Serth Godin's blo and I'me going to have to pass it along from mine.

Thanks again
Paul Simister
http://www.yourprofitcoachblog.com

Re: Analysis of a Jay Abraham Letter

Paul Simister — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 06:06:51 -0000

I didn't get the letter but I did get the email which seems to have the same copy.

The letter says that he is looking to sell 1,000 places at the reunion reunion event. the second letter says that he has already had 1,400 expressions of interest and he's clearly looking for more.

I read on the copywriter board that perhaps Jay is losing his allure. I agree that there has been little new in recent years - just twists on the familiar themes but Jay Abraham related searches are still driving lots of traffic to my Business Coaching Blog so interest out there is still high.

Re: BIGLIST Search Marketing Blogs Update 120807

Paul Simister — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 08:26:08 -0000

What a great idea and what a shame that my Business Coaching blog falls outside your scope.

But as I do comment on internet marketing I will put a little posting about this great collection of resources for my readers to pop along and take a look.

Re: Chet Holmes With An Interesting Marketing Twist

Paul Simister — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 04:49:22 -0000

I think this is an interesting idea and bound to generate a lot of interest. If anyone hasn't read it, the book is great.

But i do wonder whether Amanda would prefer her success to be based on the fact that people love her music rather than tempted in by her father's mega freebies offer.

Re: Life Coach Training: The 2nd Weekend

Paul Simister — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 23:39:01 -0000

I think the Gliecher change model is a really powerful way for looking at change and analysing what needs to be done to facilitate it.

It's one that I have used for years.

Re: The Map is not the Territory

Paul Simister — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 03:25:34 -0000

Your article makes several very good points.

The first is how we label ourselves in a way that people can understand. I don't dispute the fact that it is convenient for other people to be able to slap a very brief label on each of us - life coach, accountant, lawyer. What really matters is what we do.

The second is that while you can search for our own unique niche, it often creeps up and finds you.