Motivational Monday - The secret of success - Equestrianism: Six Rules to Success video

Action must come first, and the motivation comes later on

I missed Motivational Monday this week so to make up for it a few words on motivation taken from Dr. David Burns book, Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy:

“Your error is your belief that motivation comes first, and then leads to activation and success. But it usually is the other way around; action must come first, and the motivation comes later on.” 

Motivational Monday - The 3 C's: Choice, Chance, Change

The 3 C's in life:

Choice,

Chance,

Change.

You must make the Choice,

To rake the Chance

If you want anything to change.

Are you a clickaholique?

Index finger on mouse, click, clicking and searching all those favourite sites, everyday sometimes more than once a day. In fact everytime you sit in front of the computer screen are you telling yourself you'll just check ------- site / blog before you start on your budding internet business.

Are you telling yourself it's research, just checking what the competition is up to?

Whilst it's perfectly okay to take time out from your business and check into your favourite sites there is a time and a place for everything and if you're "clicking" instead of getting on with your work you are procrastinating, sabotaging your own business success.

Yes it's a good idea to check out the competition but obsessively? Everyday? Procrastination again.

 Do you find yourself sitting down to work for say an hour and instead end up wasting that time clicking through Pinterest/ blogs/ Facebook etc?

Maybe you're a clickaholique. 

How to overcome this (sometimes) destructive behaviour

Well first of all you need to recognize what you are doing and how it's effecting your productivity.

Ask yourself it there are any particular times that you are prone to the mindless clicking, is this work avoidance? (Ans: Yes!)

Recognizing what's going on is half the battle, now you know you have something to combat and the way to do that is to schedule time to work on your business. Time when you simply won't allow yourself to work on anything else but keep it short so you don't overwhelm yourself. Maybe 30 minutes at a time with 10 minute breaks in between. Consider setting a timer to make sure you do it. You'll be amazed at how your productivity increases.

How to create a Facebook fan page for your equestrian / equine business

So you personally are on Facebook but is your equestrian / equine business?

Here’s how to create a Facebook fan page for your equestrian / equine business:

• From your Facebook “Home” tab (the newsfeed page), click “Pages” in the left-hand column.

• At the top right-hand corner of the tab find “+ Create a Page” and click on that button.

• Choose which type of business you have, fill out the information, and there you go you have a Facebook fan page for your equestrian / equine business.

Motivational Monday ~ There is no failure except in no longer trying

   "There is no failure except in no longer trying" Elbert Hubbard

via  My Equestrian World

Google's Keyword Tool to help you find keywords to attract visitors to your equestrian / equine business website

Keywords help to pull traffic from search engines to your website, use them wisely. Currently there's a great Google tool which will help with your choice of keywords Google’s Keyword Tool.
All you have to do is type in a word or phrase and you'll get a page of suggested similar terms or phrases with the number of global monthly searches received for it. The higher the monthly searches, the more popular the word / phrase.

Get support from other equestrian entrepreneurs to help grow your equestrian business

A friend of mine recently allowed her field to be used for a charity horse show. Now this field is in a prominent position at the top of a country lane near a busy road ideal for attracting passing visitors, at the other end of the lane, in the middle of nowhere is a recently opened equestrian centre with a tack shop etc. Its' geographical position means it doesn't stand a hope in hells chance of attracting passing trade, you have to know it's there to find it.

Signs for the charity horse show went up (incidentally they were removed /stolen by persons unknown) and the equestrian centre owner approached the organizer of the show asking her to consider cancelling it as it was a "conflict of interest". She also visited the owner of the field complaining about "conflict of interest" and demanded that she withdraw the use of her field for the event.

Needless to say the horse show went ahead and local equestrians turned up, competed and had a great time.

The equestrian centre owner missed out on a wonderful opportunity to promote her own business:

She could have had a trade stand for the princely sum of £10 (proceeds to charity) to tell a target audience about her facilities.

She could have promoted the horse show to her liveries with their own horses who could easily have hacked down to the show and had a fun day out.

She could have given her pupils the opportunity to compete at the show on her riding school ponies.

She could have competed herself.

She could have worked  with the organizer offering a prize / money off lesson coupons to competitors etc

In fact she could have had loads of people at that show promoting her equestrian centre and tack shop for virtually no financial outlay and if she charged for the use of her ponies in classes she would have made a profit on the event herself.

But no, she had the "If they have, I'll have not" mental attitude and that's just what she ended up with, The moral to this tale

“Most importantly, you need support from other entrepreneurs who are at similar stages as you are, and from others with more experience. The more connected you become with other entrepreneurs, the more normal your quest becomes. You’ll no longer feel crazy or alone, and you’ll realize that we all face obstacles just like you’re facing.” Think Traffic

Image: Copyright My Equestrian World

Advice on advertising your equestrian business from 1885 and it's still true today

The following guide to advertising was written by Thomas Smith in 1885:

• The first time people look at any given ad, they don’t even see it.
• The second time, they don’t notice it.
• The third time, they are aware that it is there.
• The fourth time, they have a fleeting sense that they’ve seen it somewhere before.
• The fifth time, they actually read the ad.
• The sixth time, they thumb their nose at it.
• The seventh time, they start to get a little irritated with it.
• The eight time, they start to think ‘Here’s that confounded ad again.’
• The ninth time, they start to wonder if they’re missing out on something.
• The tenth time, they ask their friends and neighbors if they’ve tried it.
• The eleventh time, they wonder how the company is paying for all these ads.
• The twelfth time, they start to think that it must be a good product.
• The thirteenth time, they start to feel the product has value.
• The fourteenth time, they start to remember wanting a product exactly like this for a long time.
• The fifteenth time, they start to yearn for it because they can’t afford to buy it.
• The sixteenth time, they accept the fact that they will buy it sometime in the future.
• The seventeenth time, they make a note to buy the product.
• The eighteenth time, they curse their poverty for not allowing them to buy this terrific product.
• The nineteenth time, they count their money very carefully.
• The twentieth time prospects see the ad, they buy what is offering.

Blogging for your equestrian business

If you're really serious about starting a blog to help promote your equestrian business take a look at:

ProBlogger who have a whole section on blogging tips for beginners 

You might also want to check out Viper Chill   and Dear Blogger 

Motivational Monday - The secret - Eileen Caddy

The secret of making something work in your lives is first of all, the deep desire to make it work, then the faith and belief that it can work, then to hold that clear definite vision in your consciousness and see it working out step by step, without one thought of doubt or disbelief. ~ Eileen Caddy

Your website and marketing

Here I'm re-blogging (with permission) an article written by Sean D'Souza, it's good, read it.

Is your website Asleep? Need To Create A Website That's Dynamite? Websites are a waste of money and time. Well most of them are. Most people go online for just one reason-- Get Information. Yet, what do you see at most websites? Portfolio! See the problem? If you stop and think, this is not a website problem. It’s a communication problem, which is why most advertising fails. The customer wants information and help and most communication fails to do that. They load you with portfolio and with information about the company. It’s all about me, me, me. This primary reason causes more than 90% of all websites to be inefficient, useless and a waste of time. It is also the prime reason why not many people make money off their website. If you start talking about YOU, no one is interested. To give out credible, useful information is the prime function of every communication piece. If almost everything on your website doesn’t answer the question What’s in it for me?, it's definitely not worth the time of the customer. What A Good Websites Does 1)It gives information, and builds credibility. 2)It builds the brand and allows you to earn off the brand. 3)It builds customer loyalty. 4)It allows customers to use it as a suggestion box. It’s not a perfect world and customers should be encouraged to let you know what can be fixed. 5)It should achieve basic marketing principles. It should be solving a problem and aimed at a specific target audience. 6)It should generate its own income like any profit centre. It should justify its reason for existing. How To Create A Near Perfect Website Consider these factors as important benchmarks for creating a website. If your website doesn't do these things, you have to question, why not? 1)Revenue Generation 2)Data Collection 3)Information Source 4)Feedback and Complaints 5)Distribution 6)Reconstruction 7)Fan Club 8)Associated Tools 9)Meet the Basics of Communication Show Me The Buckeroos! While it's all very fine to be a charitable institution, a website costs money. Which person or organization in their right sense would spend US$50 for no return? There would be questions to answer and heads would roll. Yet, most organizations do just that. They spend anywhere from US$2,000 to US$50,000 on a website that will not generate any return. We are not talking about straightforward e-commerce here. We are talking about a bigger brand issue and how you can use the brand to achieve the financial goals of the organization. The watchword should always be--Show me the money! Yes, even schools, hospitals and other organizations can use their websites to make money, and then use the money for a good cause. Charity and good causes are all very fine, but everything costs money. If you can generate revenue, there is no reason on earth why you shouldn’t be doing so. When You're A Guru, Everyone Listens It's not what you say, it’s how you say it. Website design is not about design, it’s about thought process. Websites are but a tool to get information that builds the brand further. Articles and material that help the person browsing the site can achieve this. Information isn’t about getting across what you want them to hear. It’s about asking them what they would like to have. This is endless. The customers' needs keep changing and you must be able to have information that can excite and educate them. This also keeps the other audiences active. Who Are Your Audiences? A website imparting information appeals to two simultaneous audiences. It speaks to your current audience like a newsletter or brochure would and it also speaks to a potential audience. While you are specifically targeting current clients, there is no reason why the information doesn’t impart knowledge to future clients, even potential employees. There are a zillion bozos out there who are simply selling goods and services and not helping the customer in any way. If you help them and keep in touch with them, when the need arises, you will be first in line. Clawing Your Way To The Top This is also a good system to use when you want to capture business from competition. You don’t always have to be #1 with your client. If you don’t have the business, keep plugging at your #2 position and someday #1 will stumble. When that happens, you get an opportunity to move in. Don’t always look at everything as a sale situation. People have innate fears about change. Imparting good information marks you out as a credible, trustworthy source and their desire to work with you will go up as you keep giving them nuggets of useful information. If You Don’t Do This, Drown Yourself This is one of the most important and inexpensive tools to corner your target audience. If a person feels the connection and you lead them through the right steps, they will invariably feel the need to get more information. If you aren’t collecting e-mail addresses off your website, then you’re missing out on the few people (or many as the case may be) that are really interested in your product or service. How To Get The Data Off Your Customers The only way to get them to part with their e-mail address is to first establish your credibility and then offer something in return. However, once you have their e-mail address and their permission, you can turn your website into a wonderful marketing machine as long as you don’t overdo it. People get tons of e-mail everyday and the junk goes out very quickly. The more useful your information is, the more chances you have of getting visitors to sign up. You can then use that information to market to that audience selectively. So make sure you're collecting data or your website's true potential becomes pretty dodgy. Is Your Website Built For Complaints? You build a car with all the features. You paint it black. The customer wants it red. You try to sell the black car and face resistance. You call the customer stupid and go on trying to promote your black car. We all do this. We decide that’s what we need to promote. The customer on the other hand would like something else that fulfils their needs. We never stop to ask. Ever! Every section of your website should have the ability to handle feedback that can then be incorporated within your website and other communication to give the customers what they need. Feedback also allows you to stay ahead of your competition big time! Once the customers trust you and see changes in the website, they will be encouraged to give more important feedback that could change not just the website but even the working of the organization. Perception is everything, and you need to know at all times what the outside world perceives your organization to be. Once you have that data, it allows you to go ahead and make the changes you need. Is Your Website Sitting In A Box? How are you going to promote your website? While most websites rely on getting to the top of the search engines, you may not have that need. You may have a very specific targeted audience you want to reach. That audience would never search for your website online. They would have to know it, or never find it at all. Companies print brochures and then make sure they go out. They build websites and it sits in the box undistributed. They hope, and this is a big hope, that someone will visit. It doesn’t happen. You have to figure out the distribution process as well, so that your website goes out to your target audience. If It's Worth Building, It's Worth Renovating Most organizations make changes to their business to keep competitive. Yet, they think nothing of keeping the website stagnant for 50+ years. (Ok, I’m exaggerating, but on the web 1 year= 10 normal years) Expect change to be inevitable. The website should be constructed so that it's easily changeable and updateable. It should also not require a degree in rocket science. You should be able to update it while you’re sitting at a cyber cafe in the Bahamas while sipping your Caribbean Punch! Understand that it’s inevitable and, like all marketing tools, this tool should be reviewed at least every 6-12 months and changed or reconstructed to meet current customer demands. Are You Signing Autographs Yet? Most organizations survive on their fan club. People who love you so much, that they’re willing to talk about you to everyone in sight. Many organizations have clients that are well spread out. The website can be used to keep that Fan Club together. It should be used as a networking tool as well. Most organizations ignore this fact. If I love eating Indian curries, everyone else in that Indian curry section can be linked up to do business with each other. If they love your company or organization, they will reinforce each other about how great it is, plus they will do business with each other. The more successful they get, the more it rubs off the organization and eventually, the more business you get to do with them because of their success. Looking Beyond A Website Too many people are taken up with the glamour of websites. Websites are just a façade. You must understand the technology that drives business. Do you have autoresponders? How do you use email? How do you track customers? How can you communicate with customers? How can you make sure your best customers keep coming back? All of these tools have nothing to do with the website itself. However, they need to be thought through every step of the way. It's The Psychology, Stupid! If you want to build a website, or do a brochure or have any form of communication, understand the basics of psychology. We are all driven by similar needs and wants. A Website Shouldn’t Be Deadline Driven. It Should Be Need Driven What’s the point of having an absolutely stunning website before deadline if it doesn’t do anything for the person viewing it. Too many people in organizations are caught up in their own ego of having a website up. It’s often not worth it. Websites Aren’t For The Organization. They Are For The Customer Websites are a marketing tool. Use the principles of marketing to build and promote them. That of course, means having a target audience. Having a problem you can solve. Flag off that problem and then provide a solution. Yahoo might be the wonder of yesterday but Google.com is the one that gets the most converts. Yahoo is trying to be everything to everyone, Google isn’t. Don’t get lost in the hype of technology because everything on this planet is based on psychology and emotion. Most websites have no objectives at all. They have no target audience. They are created because it’s fashionable to do so. Dump the fashion. Understand the basics of internet marketing and communication. And if you don’t understand the basics, get someone who can! Otherwise you’re doing what a zillion websites across the world do- Nothing!

Why Do Most Headlines Fail? Sign Up for the PsychoTactics Newsletter and get access to a detailed report on "Why Headlines Fail (And how to create headlines that work)" Why People Subscribe " Thank you for your personal note, even though I'm sure you are probably not surprised any more when readers write back to you! You should know you just made a nice impression on me. It is always nice when you meet a different web service level." Gideon Silberman Bartek Aviation Tel Aviv, Israel

If you haven't done so already: (That's a clue!)

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©2001-2011 Psychotactics Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Article written by Sean D'Souza.

Motivational Monday - learn a lesson from your dog

Your horse business needs a platform

What's a "platform"?

Very simply, a platform is the thing you have to stand on to get heard. It’s your stage. But unlike a stage in the theater, today’s platform is built of people. Contacts. Connections. Followers. - Michael Hyatt  Platform - How to get noticed in a noisy world

So if "today's platform is built of people. Contacts. Connections. Followers." how are you going to establish a platform for your equine / equestrian business? 

Answer : Through the internet.
Through Blogging, social media and an email list.

Lets take a quick look at these three key ways to establish a platform for your horse business.

Blogging
Blogging is a great way to establish an online presence, grow an audience and establish yourself as an authority in the horse world. They can be linked to websites or be your own websites. You can start a blog for free with Blogger or Wordpress or you can pay for a blogging platform with eg. Typepad. It's a good idea to buy a domain name so that your blog’s address can be yourname.com rather than yourname.blogger.com.

Social Media
There are loads of different social media sites, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Tumblr, Pinterest, Google+ to name some of the most popular, you can't possibly be on all of them and run a horse business so chose one or two social networks that you think will work for you and put some work into them, don't try and stretch yourself too thin.

Email list
An email list will enable you to contact your customers directly with special offers etc but if you take the time to email a monthly newsletter you'll be able to offer so much more to your clients, eg. tips and advice you could also include links to some of your blog posts.

Effective Marketing on Facebook - 7 Tips

Are you using Facebook to market your equine or equestrian business?
If so, or if you're thinking about it, take a look at his article : Effective B2B Marketing on Facebook by Naomi Ruth Ganhinhin. Don't worry about the B2B (business to business) bit in the title it has lots of tips to offer anyone hoping to get business via their FB such as:

Completing all available fields
Uploading a cover photo
Highlight important posts
Feature company milestone
Keep it short and sweet
Balance your content
Consult Insights

Pop over and take a look for yourself you'll find some interesting tips and all for free.

Motivational Monday - Character

Character is doing the right thing when nobody is looking - J.C.Watts

Pinterest for your equestrian business

The top social networking sites are as follows:
Facebook (7 billion), Twitter (182 million), Pinterest (104 million), and LinkedIn (86 million).

Here are a few facts about Pinterest:
 50% of Pinterest users have children
 Almost 70% of Pinterest users are female
 Pinterest receives almost 1.5 million visitors each day
 Pinterest provides more referral traffic to other sites than Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn combined

Looks like Pinterest might be the new place to be to promote your equine / equestrian business, what do you think could it work for yours?

Motivational Monday - Set your goals high

"Set your goals high and don't stop till you get there." - Bo Jackson

Motivational Monday - Nothing is Impossible

Nothing is Impossible

The Word Itself Says

I'M POSSIBLE

BHS Riding Instructors Survey - How Riding Instructors Market Themselves

The British Horse Society is carrying out market research to understand more about how Riding Instructors currently market themselves.
To participate in the survey please go to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Riding_Instructors
The findings from this survey will be announced at a conference on 3 October 2012 entitled 'Marketing yourself and your business'. The conference, organised by The Association of Fellows and Instructors, is supported by The British Horse Society and will be held at the BHS headquarters in Warwickshire. At the conference a range of marketing and social media experts will speak to delegates to help them get the most from their business.

For full details and how to apply please click here.