In the 10 Resolutions for Better Online Business in 2011 article, the very first tip was to “ask for help”.

In this article, you will learn how to get the help you need – when you need it – by asking better questions.

Here are 2 examples of how NOT to write questions.

how do i get started with cpa? is affiliate marketing hard? when can i start earning some income? can 250k my first year? can i earn millions? do you work alot?

Could you point me to an article that explains step by step how to get started with blogging from beginning to end? I need every detail of the process. Thanks for sharing your experiences and advice for success.

Yes, those were real questions that were posted to the NPT blog and guess what? You won’t see those questions posted anywhere, because my eyes were rolled too far back into my head that I couldn’t see to answer them.

To avoid frustrating your expert to the point of blindness, here are 8 tips for asking better questions.

1. Do your homework. Between topic and product research, writing blog posts, tending to social media marketing and responding to comments on their blogs; most professional bloggers are very busy people.

   Respect their time.

   Before asking “what is affiliate marketing?” or “what is a blog?“, try Googling your query or look for a Glossary or a FAQ on your expert’s blog.

2. Ask the right expert. As much as I’d like to help everyone all the time, there’s not much point in asking me how to improve your golf swing or get rid of belly fat.

   Those clearly aren’t my areas of expertise.

3. Be concise. Although I really enjoy learning about my readers’ lives and interests, I don’t have time to read through a book’s worth of anecdotes while trying to field and answer 10 questions.

   Share personal stories in private member forums where such information is encouraged, welcomed and enjoyed.

4. Ask precise questions. “I don’t know how” and “I can’t” are the basis for statements, not questions.

   Well-formed questions make the “I don’t know’s” obvious.

   Preface questions with “what, who, when, where, how or why”, eg. “How do I change my H1 font colors?”

5. Ask just one question. Peppering a comment form with several unrelated questions is just poor form.

   Look for posts relavent to each question and post them separately.

   This approach is much more helpful to other readers of the blog and will serve you better in SEO terms as well — providing more backlinks to your site.

6. Be literate. Native English speakers could (and should) use what they learned about punctuation and grammar in Grade 2 if they want their questions taken seriously — especially those posed by aspiring bloggers!

   Using ALL CAPS is only slightly more annoying than using none.

   Missing commas can completely change the meaning of a sentence, causing confusion and wasted time during clarification. Eats, Shoots & Leaves is an excellent resource for the comma-challenged.

7. Be patient. Unlike my tech guy who apparently gets a wakeup call everytime a tech support request arrives by email, I cherish my sleep. I also value my time off and the ability to go to lunch with a friend at the drop of a hat without communication devices at hand. Those are some of the biggest benefits to having an online business.

   So, if you don’t get a reply to your question within 2 minutes of posting it, consider the many reasons your expert may not immediately respond. They may live halfway around the world, be offline (on an airplane or hiking in Alaska) or attending their godson’s birthday party.

   Be patient. Allow 24 – 72 hours for a response. If after 72 hours you still haven’t heard anything, revisit the question to determine whether it follows the recommondations above.

   Most of all, don’t badger for a response. Sending 5 followup emails is a sure way to get ignored and your address blocked.

8. Be courteous. Courtesy might not help get your question answered, but it certainly won’t hurt. “Please”, “Thank you” and acknowledging effort go a long way to cultivating goodwill.

In a nutshell, all of the recommendations above boil down to a single element – Respect others’ time to gain respect (and help) in return.

Any questions?

Comments, questions or suggestions? Please leave a comment below!

Cheers,

Yanik Silver shares how – in only a few short months – he achieved the ultimate Internet “fantasy” of making a lot of money from a simple (almost primitive) web site that runs itself virtually on complete autopilot.

“…banked over $51,351.94 my first 6 1/2 months online…”

In only a few short months I achieved the ultimate Internet “fantasy” of making a lot of money from a simple (almost primitive) web site that runs itself virtually on complete autopilot. Starting from scratch I banked over $51,351.94 my first 6 1/2 months online, just working part- time out of the corner of my living room.

Now today at age 31, I’ve gone on to earn over 7-figures.

How did I go from a standing start to banking mega profits?

To do that, what I think you really need are these inner secrets to mega internet success. This has nothing to do with search engines, pay-per-clicks. It doesn’t have anything to do with any of the tactical stuff. It’s all a lot of stuff that goes on in your head.

• Secret #1: Cheerful Expectancy

  One of my biggest mentors is Earl Nightingale. He passed away several years ago but you need to get everything he recorded at Nightingale.com. He has a program called “Lead The Field” and “The Strangest Secret.” Just listen to that thing over and over again. He talks about cheerful expectancy.

  There’s a big difference between having expectancy versus hoping or wishing something is going to occur. When you have that cheerful expectancy, you know it’s going to occur. And that doesn’t just come from being “Pollyannaish” or having rose-colored glasses.

  It comes from having knowledge. And you get that knowledge from studying in your field whatever it is. It could be Internet marketing or it could be neurology. That means reading, studying and buying everything and absolutely immersing yourself in it.

  I learned from Earl Nightingale that if you want to be an expert, you spend an hour a day reading on whatever subject that you’re interested in, that you want to be an expert on. So I said, “Well, what would happen if I read for three hours a day?”

  I just started learning as much as I possibly could, and that knowledge gives you the confidence to know that you have that positive expectancy. Your expectations determine your results.

• Secret #2: Do one proactive thing a day

  You don’t need to do 100 things a day. Just get that one proactive thing a day. So each little brick builds a big wall for you. Trust me it’s easy to be overwhelmed with hundreds of tasks. You’re like, “Oh, we need to do e-zine ads and free-for-alls and pay-per-click search engines, and I need to do all this other stuff.” Ahhhhhhhhhhh!

  But just relax and do one task a day.

  Your action will create more and more and more action for you. You simply need to make a commitment to do one proactive thing a day no matter what. Even if you’re dead tired and worked a 14-hour day – come home and mail one letter or send out one joint venture proposal. I’m telling you – just these little tiny proactive things will have an immense impact.

  Most everyone has heard of the ’80/20 rule’ or the Pareto Principle. It says that 20% of your actions produce 80% of your results, and the other way around. 80% of your work only creates 20% of your results.

  So go back and look where your successes came from, and I know that they’re from a tiny little group of actions. So if you just get that one proactive thing a day (from the 20% group) that is going to propel you further, that’s going to bring you to where you want to be.

  Make it a point to focus on those “20% activities”. In Stephen Covey’s famous work “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” he calls these activities “important but not urgent”.

  One of my Apprentices, Peter Woodhead, from the UK is a perfect example of simply doing one proactive thing a day. A lot of Apprentices bolted out of the gate during our one year program but Peter was an Internet newbie and he also had a full time job so he was a bit slower getting started. However, he took my advice and simply managed to do one proactive thing every single day. No matter how big or how small. It could be writing one autoresponder message or it might have been writing 50 headlines. No matter the day – Peter was moving ahead. And not surprisingly his project was completed before many of the other Apprentices were finished.

• Secret #3: Decision

  This is such a big point. A lot of people have so many problems with decision. That’s because they don’t like it because it cuts off other options. But frankly that’s exactly what you want. You want to cut off other options.

  One of our top apprentices, Cindy Kappler, WebAdMagic.com, had no other option but to succeed because she quit her job. Now I’m not encouraging you to do that if you still have a real job but it does prove if you cut off your options, you’re much more motivated. Successful people make decisions quickly.

  There’s a magic of attraction when you make your decision. However, when you’re hemming and hawing, you don’t experience this magic. I don’t want to get into too much woo-woo or metaphysical or spiritual stuff.

  But there’s this magic of attraction. I can’t even explain it. When you set your mind up that you’re going to do this, all of a sudden, at the next dinner party you’re attending you meet somebody that can help you get to where you want to go. Is that luck or is that something else?

  I don’t think it’s luck.

  It’s like once the decision is made your mind is tuned into the solution and all kinds of ‘freaky’ coincidences and occurrences happen.

  And that brings me to another important point about decisions – fail quickly. Don’t be afraid of failure. A lot of people are so afraid of screwing up, or making a mistake that they are forever frozen. Who the hell cares? Screw up quickly! I screw up all the time. And you want to fail quickly.

That’s the great part about the Internet. You want to go out there and find out if your dumb idea is going to work right away. You can do it in days instead of months. Sometimes hours and if it doesn’t work, you move on. You say, “Next!”

Look, I know a lot of people who are working on their products for the last two, three, four years. Get the damned thing out! You just make it better as you go along.

InstantSalesLetters.com, our first product was not where it is now. We’ve added a ton of stuff to it and made it better. But I just wanted to see if the thing was going to sell.

It wasn’t complete and utter rubbish, as my British friends say, but it was enough that it made the point. It found out if there was a marketplace for it. So find out.

Some people like to go around at dinner parties and so on and say, “I’m writing a book. I’ve been writing a book for five years. I’m an author.”

Uh huh…

I can show you 6 different ways to have your book done in days. It’s a cop-out and complete B.S. Bottom line – make the decision to get the product out there. See what happens and fail quickly.

Now get out there and do it!

He is the author, co-author or creator of several best-selling online marketing books and tools, including his quickest and easiest way to create a product to sell – Public Domain Riches

Yanik’s latest ‘baby’ is Maverick Business Adventures and the Maverick Business Insider. Visit the site to see which ‘rules’ he used to achieve financial independence and become a millionaire before turning 31.

In their rush to make ‘millions’ online, WAY too many folks fall into a completely avoidable trap — and end up making no money at all.

What do they do wrong?

They try to do everything all at once, and start multiple sites in different channels — an affiliate marketing blog, selling their own product, auction selling, etc.

By result, they don’t learn how to do anything well and don’t manage to make even one site profitable.

You can imagine where that willy-nilly path leads — to feelings of frustration and eventually, defeat.

If you’re on that path or feel confused by all the different ways you can earn online… SLOW DOWN!

I’ve had an online presence since 1996, and nothing happened over night.

• In 1996 I built a 3-page flower seed exchange website from which I traded seeds with gardeners from around the world Experience with that site made me realize the web’s potential as a marketplace – so I started looking for online bizops at that point.
• In late 1997, I discovered affiliate marketing and started a site to review online dating services – a topic to which I could relate and had the strong desire to share with others. By the end of 1999, the site was generating $10,000 per month in pure profit – and I kept putting in the hours to make it even more profitable!
• While working on my affiliate site, I also dabbled in online auction selling and soon discovered that online auctions were not my ‘thing’. I was too lazy for the hassle of packing and shipping. Furthermore, high postal rates from Canada made the opportunity less than lucrative.
• During that time, I also picked up a drop-shipping arrangement with watchmaker, Eduardo Milieris, a scenario which suited me much better than auction selling as all I had to do was sell the watches and his company shipped them out. I’ve sold his beautiful watches at WindingWay.com for years now.
• By 2002, my affiliate dating site had become so successful (generating $650K Canadian/437K U.S.) that I wrote the “Super Affiliate Handbook to share what I had learned about the business with aspiring affiliate marketers. That then qualifed me as an infoproduct merchant.
• The Super Affiliate Handbook’s popularity amongst readers and industry leaders led to speaking engagements around the world (something I NEVER thought I could do), my own ‘Affiliate’s Corner’ column in Revenue Magazine and a book contract with McGraw Hill to write Make a Fortune Promoting Other People’s Stuff Online: How Affiliate Marketing Can Make You Rich.
• Each of those opportunities opened doors to joint venture with other experts and participate in the creation of more infoproducts and teleseminars.
• In 2010, I opened Affiliate Blogger PRO (now known as Rosalind Gardner’s Academy) – a membership site built on a WordPress blog platform with Wishlist member software.

My story is similar to so many others who have become successful online entrepreneurs.

Basically, you pick a channel and work at it until it becomes profitable OR you decide that you don’t enjoy what you are doing and then choose a new channel.

Furthermore, as each venture becomes profitable, new opportunities present themselves. (Amazing how that works…).

You too can build a diversified and successful online business — but you have to CHOOSE just ONE channel and concentrate on that one first.

So, CHOOSE whether you want to start with affiliate marketing or creating your own infoproduct, learn what you need to do and then WORK your venture to success.

Once your first site is successful, then go find a new project.

With one successful site under your belt, you’ll have the knowledge and experience to get your second and subsequent sites launched and profitable much faster than you did the first.

Cheers,

Bet you’d never have guessed that I am a master at the art of procrastination.

I’ve spent many years honing the ability to get things done with the least amount of effort possible and in the process, learned to put things aside until the last minute possible… especially those items that qualify as ‘hard (or harder) to do’.

Despite defined goals and deadlines, I can spend hours, days and weeks pursuing rather mindless tasks (email reading, site tweaking etc.), and then suddenly find myself ‘under the gun’ to complete a project that I’ve not yet started.

Does that sound like you?

Are you ever-prepared with the ready explanation that you “work better under pressure”?

I used to believe that too, until my girlfriend Jennifer alerted me to the ‘eat that frog!’ concept.

There’s an old saying that if the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that it’s probably the worst thing you’ll do all day.

Using “eat that frog” as a metaphor for tackling the most challenging task of your day – the one you are most likely to procrastinate on, but also probably the one that can have the greatest positive impact on your life.

I’ve been discovering that it works like a charm. Especially now that it’s summer, getting the ‘hard part’ done and out of the way so the best part of the day is reserved for fun is super incentive.

And so you too can enjoy more fun this summer, I’ve reprinted an excerpt from Brian Tracy’s ‘Eat that Frog’ below which includes a powerful 7-step formula for setting and achieving goals that you can use not only this summer, but for the rest of your life.

You’ll not only get more done faster, but you’ll get the right things done.

Here is a great rule for success:
Think on paper.

Only about 3 percent of adults have clear, written goals. These people accomplish five or ten times as much as people of equal or better education and ability but who, for whatever reason, have never taken the time to write out exactly what they want.

There is a powerful formula for setting and achieving goals that you can use for the rest of your life. It consists of seven simple steps. Any one of these steps can double and triple your productivity if you are not currently using it.

1. Decide exactly what you want. Either decide for yourself or sit down with your boss and discuss your goals and objectives until you are crystal clear about what is expected of you and in what order of priority.
2. Write it down. Think on paper. When you write down a goal, you crystallize it and give it tangible form. You create something that you can touch and see. On the other hand, a goal or objective that is not in writing is merely a wish or a fantasy. It has no energy behind it.
3. Set a deadline on your goal; set sub deadlines if necessary. A goal or decision without a deadline has no urgency. It has no real beginning or end. Without a definite deadline, you will naturally procrastinate and get very little done.
4. Make a list of everything that you can think of that you are going to have to do to achieve your goal. As you think of new activities, add them to your list. Keep building your list until it is complete. A list gives you a visual picture of the larger task or objective. It gives you a track to run on.
5. Organize the list into a plan. Organize your list by priority and sequence. Take a few minutes to decide what you need to do first and what you can do later. With a written goal and an organized plan of action, you will be far more productive and efficient than people who are carrying their goals around in their minds.
6. Take action on your plan immediately. Do something. Do anything. An average plan vigorously executed is far better than a brilliant plan on which nothing is done.
7. Resolve to do something every single day that moves you toward your major goal. Build this activity into your daily schedule. You may decide to read a specific number of pages on a key subject. You may call on a specific number of prospects or customers. You may engage in a specific period of physical exercise. Whatever it is, you must never miss a day.

Keep pushing forward. Once you start moving, keep moving. Don’t stop. This decision, this discipline alone, can dramatically increase your speed of goal accomplishment and boost your personal productivity.

Eat That Frog! is a fast read that is rich in practical advice that will help you stop procrastinating and get more done in less time.

Eat That Frog shows you how to zero in on these critical tasks and organize your day.

You’ll not only get more done faster, but get the right things done. In his trademark high-energy style, acclaimed speaker and best-selling author Brian Tracy cut to the core of what is vital to effective personal time management: decision, discipline, and determination. He details twenty-one practical and doable steps that will help you stop procrastinating and get more of the important tasks done- today!

December’s issue of “Secrets To Their Success” features…

• David B., who sold one online business for $120,000, then went on to build his latest, which has earned almost that much in just 5 months!
• Diana N., whohas become such a player in the insanely competitive online toy market that manufacturers approach her… but not many of their products are good enough to make it onto her shelves.
• In the site review, Diana A’s hand-made seamstress’ site which looks great to the search engines gets a few alterations to turn it into a designer creation.

Each and every month “Secrets To Their Success” features 2 inspirational web business success stories and one website makeover from which you can learn EXACTLY how these unlikely Internet entrepreneurs do it as well as “steal” their strategies and duplicate their success!”

Subscribing to STTS gives you the change to enter your name and e-mail address for a chance to win $5,000+ in FREE consulting! Once each month, they draw the name of one lucky member who gets their web site or business plan critiqued by the Internet Marketing Center team.

[tags]Secrets to Their Success, online business, work at home, Internet marketing[/tags]

This month’s issue of “Secrets To Their Success” features…

Allen W, who combined his love of “old school” ranching with high-tech food science to create top-quality beef products loved by gourmet diners and doctors alike! After a major re-design of his company’s site, his search engine ranking shot up 1,000% — and he’s looking at more than $2 million in online sales this year alone!

David K, who sells hotel bedding and accessories for customers who want to bring the luxury and indulgence of travel into their own homes. With a series of profitable joint ventures on the go and a booming online presence that sees 40,000 visitors a month, 2007 is shaping up to be a million dollar year!

Charles B. is the winner of this month’s Site Review Contest. Charles has a product his customers can’t live without: military and law enforcement body armor. Unfortunately, his site traffic is hanging on for dear life, and he could use some fresh strategies to take his business to the next level. STTS shows him how to capture visitors from the search engines and transform his site into a lean, mean sales machine.

Each and every month “Secrets To Their Success” features 2 inspirational web business success stories and one website makeover from which you can learn EXACTLY how these unlikely Internet entrepreneurs do it as well as “steal” their strategies and duplicate their success!”

[tags]Secrets to Their Success, online business, work at home, Internet marketing[/tags]

This month’s issue of “Secrets To Their Success” features…

• Justin Esch and Dave Lefkow started their business over dinner — and now thousands of people now enjoy Bacon Salt with dinner every day! Their unique and tasty product has been sizzling through social networking sites all over the world since they launched just a few months ago. And now they’re on track to make $300,000 this year!
• Chris Bryant won the Secrets to Their Success Site Review contest in October 2006. He was already making decent money with his website, but wasn’t satisfied. Then the IMC team stepped in to help him discover the best strategies for his site — and in just 12 months, he’s seen an incredible 35% rise in profits! Learn how Chris’s “makeover” took his site to the next level…
• Tammy Johnston has a great product that EVERYONE will need at some point in their lives — first-aid kits. Unfortunately, she’s also fighting to survive in a highly competitive market with some big-money players. She needs more than a Band-Aid solution! IMC goes to the rescue and shows Tammy how to turn her website into a top-to-bottom selling machine that will generate a healthy income.

Each and every month “Secrets To Their Success” features 2 inspirational web business success stories and one website makeover from which you can learn EXACTLY how these unlikely Internet entrepreneurs do it as well as “steal” their strategies and duplicate their success!”

This month’s issue of “Secrets To Their Success” profiles . . .

1. With the help of IMC’s Internet Entrepreneur Club, 22 year old Aaron B. sells his R&B and hip-hop beats to aspiring artists all over the Web to the tune of $11,000 a month! … and he’s just getting started!
2. Karan K. put $500,000 in the bank this year offering handcrafted garden furniture on the web that sells out of stock before summertime even hits! Part of her secret is product quality and an unbeatable guarantee. Learn more about how she outdoes her competition…
3. Bird lover, Michael C. sells everything a bird owner could possibly need to care for their feathered friends and uses all the profits to support his own bird rescue project! IMC helps Michael get his business airborne this month – to improve his traffic and conversions.

Each and every month “Secrets To Their Success” features 2 inspirational web business success stories and one website makeover from which you can learn EXACTLY how these unlikely Internet entrepreneurs do it as well as “steal” their strategies and duplicate their success!”

[tags]Secrets to Their Success, online business, work at home, Internet marketing[/tags]

This month’s issue of “Secrets To Their Success” profiles . . .

• Robert Wolfe, with six brick-and-mortar outdoor gear stores and a popular retail website that sees more than 500,000 visitors a month, his success shows that fun and profit can definitely go hand in hand. With more than 70% of their revenue coming in from the Web, they use every possible method of online communication to keep their college-age customers coming back for more.
• Jennifer Thoden who turned her frustrations with a home decorating project into a $15,000 a month success story. After putting her website into the hands of IMC’s Advanced Mentoring program that she saw a 500% increase in revenue and quit her job, cut her workday in half, and work from home. Now she’s got lots of time to spend with her kids… and a bright future on the Web!
• Michael Hynd spent a ton of time and money getting exclusive autographed items from the top teams and athletes in the world to sell on his sports memorabilia website. Unfortunately, his hard work remained a well-kept secret until the good folks at STTS showed him how to turn his sales website into a high-traffic, high-profit machine — AND harness the power of auction giant eBay.com to keep customers sprinting to his door!

Each and every month “Secrets To Their Success” features 2 inspirational web business success stories and one website makeover from which you can learn EXACTLY how these unlikely Internet entrepreneurs do it as well as “steal” their strategies and duplicate their success!”

[tags]Secrets to Their Success, online business, work at home, Internet marketing[/tags]

The July issue of the “Secrets To Their Success” is ready and this month’s issue features…

Can you imagine a links site earning $65,000 a month? Well, imagine it! Luis Cabrera, who got interested in the Internet in 1989, when he was a student architect, wanted to share his great collection of architecture links.

Starting with a one-page directory web site, he’s been adding on ever since, Luis’ site has become the premier Spanish-language architecture “vortal.” With almost HALF A MILLION subscribers, and revenues of $65,000 a month, his site is a towering success.

George Grant’s healthy-living seminars were a hit with corporations and nonprofits in his native Toronto, so he decided to leverage the global reach of the Internet to market himself globally.

Now, thanks to word of mouth and a solid affiliate program, he’s packing his bags regularly for far-flung speaking engagements and pulling in $110,000 a year.

The winner of this month’s site review is Les Doll, a certified RV mechanic whose popular vortal focuses on RV repairs and maintenance.

Les was shown how to get more mileage out of his 60,000 visitors a month with a bigger opt-in list, better email marketing, and a lot of very valuable keywords.

Get motivated and inspired! Get “Secrets To Their Success“!

Cheers,

Ros