The Simple Power Of This Tool
The easiest way to explain how to use it is to share my story of how and why it was created.
This tool was created because in trying to stay organized, focused, and working on the most important things for my business, I used to carry around sheets of paper littered with scribbled tasks and ideas. I would start by writing down everything I needed to do, then I would star the items that had to get done ASAP. But in my Internet travels, I’d stumble upon things that interested me that I wanted to look into in more detail. So I’d scratch down some more notes on my list paper in the corner. Then I would think of something I might want to try as an idea or a tool to use in the future. Because it wasn’t anything I needed to use today, I didn’t want it on my “to do” list but I also didn’t want to forget about it so I’d write that down somewhere on my paper.
As I bought new things, some were monthly payments and I wanted to keep track of my monthly financial commitment so I wrote down notes about everything I was subscribed to with a monthly fee. I hope you’re starting to get the idea—my list had gone from one page with a few bullets to check off when I was done with them to so much info and notes scribbled everywhere I needed more sheets and I could barely read most of what was on my list.
Everything I was tracking was important, but my method was awful. Totally haphazard. But, at the same time, I didn’t want to get involved in some complex organizing system—for me I don’t like spending much time doing that to begin with, but also I’ve seen those fancy organizers that take so much time to setup and maintain that you waste all of the time you could have been productive on organizing your organizer!
So iy made sense to make a simple tool that would allow me to keep all vital info at my fingertips, you can update it by hand in seconds, you can take it with you anywhere, and it can hold all your important info in a way that actually empowers you to get more done and be productive—it clears out mental clutter and keeps you focused on your most important tasks all the time. It’s completely intuitive—it won’t take more than 10 minutes to learn and use and it helps clear your mind, especially when you’re overloaded with info. And even better, it gives you a complete snapshot of your business on one normal sheet of paper.
So, let me introduce you to the Internet Marketer’s Compass!
Download your Compass here: Get My Internet Marketing Compass!
Now let’s walk through step by step how to use it. It’s setup to print out on one 8.5” x 11” normal sheet of paper. You print it out and then write on it to complete it, but you can fill out the form in your web page editor or browser and then print it if you choose. You don’t print a new one each day—You keep using the same one until it gets messy, then You print a new one and transfer anything incomplete over to it. Note: you may want to type in those items that don’t change (like weekly tasks when we get to it) so you don’t have to keep rewriting the same things.
Keep your old Compass print outs. They serve as a record of your progress. You can look back in a month (or year) and see how far you’ve come!
List each of your tasks in the left column, one per line. By tasks, I only mean actual actions you need to take. Not ideas, not concepts, not tools. For example, “Write 3 autoresponder messages” is a task. “Possibly launch a site about ____” is not. The purpose of this section is to get you focused on things you need to do so you don’t get distracted from making progress. Momentum is HUGE in the business—once you get it rolling it’s easier to keep it rolling. When you stall, it’s tough to get going again.
Once you have your tasks listed, each day you want to number the top 3 in order with a 1, 2, and 3 respectively. Determining your top 3 is simple: ask yourself, “What is the most important thing I can do today to build my business?” or you can ask, “What 3 tasks can I complete today that will have the biggest impact on my success (or sales, etc.)?
Then you just check off or line out items as you complete them—and you only work on your top 3 each day until they are done. Then you move on to others. You will be amazed how much you accomplish in a week by doing this.
List your repeating tasks—things you do every week, every 3 days, etc—in the right hand column, and in parentheses “( )” list the next day you need to do it if applicable. For example, maybe you use safelists and some allow weekly mailings and some are every 2 days. If you list the day of the week or date in ( ) after the task, it will be a quick reminder when to do it next.
Then line out the date when completed, and write in the next date in ( ). You will always have an updated timeframe of when to do your important tasks and never miss out on them.
List anything you are considering doing/buying/trying/making under the “Possibilities” section in the lower right. These are ideas and brainstorms you may or may not follow through on, but you don’t want to forget about them and are not ready to do them now. Add and delete these as necessary.
Monthly budget – list all expenses that repeat every month in this section. This includes subscription payments, memberships, etc. For example, you might have a monthly charge for your autoresponder, webhosting, etc. Then list the amount you pay per month in the box next to it. Note: if you pay something 2 times per month, be sure to double it to reflect how much you are spending each month.
Total the amounts and write that next to “Total.” Now you know how much you’re spending each month and based on what you can afford you can make decisions about new purchases much easier. Also, you can be aware of these expenses and if it turns out you don’t really use one of them, this will remind you of it so you can cancel it.
Money management – to the right of “Monthly Budget” list all of the things you will spend your Internet marketing income on, and what percentage of it on each. For example, you will need to reinvest some money to build your business, so list “Reinvest” and say “30%” Maybe you want to save for retirement, or buy a new house, or whatever. List the items and % of money, then total the numbers to get 100%. Be sure to allow for taxes also!
This is important so you don’t misuse your income. The last thing you want to do is get your business running well and actually run out of cash to fund its growth because the money was spent on something else.
Resources/Tools – in the middle section at the bottom, list each tool and resource you use on your business. This will help you identify which new tools you should really spend money on, which tools you are happy with, and which tools you could use an upgrade for. For example, you’ll need an e-cover creator to make professional images of software boxes and ebooks. You’ll need an autoresponder to manage your mailing list, and so on.
I had a cover creator but was unhappy with it—it wasn’t as professional as some of the images I had seen. On my list, I saw I needed SEO software also, though, and because I didn’t have any SEO tools yet that was my priority. I picked up a new cover creator later. It helps you prioritize your needs and know where the holes are in the tools for your business.
Finally, it’s useful to point out the yellow graphic in the middle. The three interlocking circles represent traffic, list signups, and sales, and this is to serve as a reminder that those three things are the nuts and bolts of your business. You need to always be dividing your time between generating them all in a balance.
If you find that you are getting lots of traffic, but your signup rate is low, focus on improving the signup rate. If traffic and signups are coming in at a good rate but sales are low, spend time working on converting more sales. It sounds like common sense, but it’s all too common to focus so much on one area and neglect the other two, and your business will not be profitable that way. Picture a 3-way scale in your mind with traffic, signups, and sales each on one plate of the scale. Keep it in balance and you’ll have a much better chance of reaching your goals.
© 2010, Work At Home Covert Opps!. All rights reserved.
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