Project Management Advice

5 Reasons You’re in Control of the Lead Magnet Project

June 29, 2017 by Brent Peterson

The Lead Magnet Project is an online interactive project to guide you step-by-step through the successful project execution of your own online lead generation strategy – leading to the attraction of relevant email subscribers to your business email list.

If you think you are the only person who struggles to build an email list, you are not alone. As a Lead Magnet Project participant, you will discover how to:

Determine Your Best Email List Building Strategy
Create a Winning Professional Lead Magnet
Write Effective Copy for Your Opt-in Form, Web Page, or Advertisement
Integrate, Test, and Deliver the Lead Magnet with Your Email Marketing Service
Strategically Connect Your Lead Magnet to Your (Current or Planned) Product / Service Through Your Own Professionally-Crafted Email Marketing
Grow Your Email List and Business with a Relevant Target Audience

Free Lead Magnet Guide

The Lead Magnet Project is now available for your participation (click here for more information) and you are in control for five reasons noted below.

Five Reasons You’re in Control of the Lead Magnet Project

Reason #1 You are in control: You are welcome to say no.

The Lead Magnet Project isn’t for everyone. You may already have the strategic and technical processes in place to build a relevant email list for your current or planned business.

Advanced lead generation processes using tools like ConvertKit, Leadpages, OptinMonster, and Typeform will be taught to participants, but again you have permission to say No.

Reason #2 You are in control: You can request a refund within seven days.

The Lead Magnet Project is new and you will be one of the first project participants. A big advantage for you is that you will receive more personalized attention and feedback than at any point of the project.

A risk for you as an early adopter (or, for that matter, as a participant at any stage) is that you may discover the Lead Magnet Project is not for you. If so, no worries. You have one week to simply request a refund.

Once you start the Lead Magnet Project, you will have an immediate opportunity to complete a strategic lead generation questionnaire. You will receive a copy of your responses for your own strategic planning – even if you request a refund.

Reason #3 You are in control: You can invest in the Lead Magnet Project for just one month or stay connected. It’s up to you.

There is no annual contract to sign or big online course fee to pay upfront with the Lead Magnet Project. Your access is available monthly so you control your duration and budget.

You may receive all the strategic and technical guidance you need after one month – in which case your total business investment may be under $100. If you are receiving additional professional value (and you will), you can stay connected to the project for as many months as you would like.

Reason #4 You are in control: You can engage with the project team and other participants, or stay quiet behind the scenes.

The Lead Magnet Project is organized through Teamworks Project software so that all written or video instructions for each strategic and technical project task are outlined in a logical sequence. You can post your questions or feedback directly within any task and reference other organized discussion threads available to all project participants.

As you do so, you will build professional relationships with other entrepreneurs sharing the same lead generation journey with you. But you are in control so your level of engagement is entirely voluntary.

Reason #5 You are in control: You can lock in a discounted rate for as long as you are in the project.

The project consultative fee for custom client lead generation projects starts at $500/month (and there’s a wait list). You are obviously not going to be charged that amount. The cost for the Lead Magnet Project is instead 75% less per month or $125/month.

Professionals on the free Graceful Resources weekly email list (click here to sign up – and to receive the free Lead Magnet Guide) will also have a brief opportunity to lock in an additional monthly project discount of 25% leading to a very reasonable cost to participate of $93.75/month.

You’re in Control of the Lead Magnet Project

The Lead Magnet Project is an affordable and interactive professional-managed online project – that will guide you step-by-step through the strategic and technical steps you need to execute for your new lead generation strategy.

As a project participant, you will attract relevant email subscribers to your business email list. You will also gain freedom back in your life.

The Lead Magnet Project is available now and you are in control.

Click Here to Register

How You’ll Start the Lead Magnet Project

June 21, 2017 by Brent Peterson

The new Lead Magnet Project is about you.

It is about your professional dreams to serve people around the world through the web.

The Lead Magnet Project ends with the successful execution of your lead generation strategy. How the project starts for you will be a unique and transformative experience (more on that in a moment).

As a Lead Magnet Project participant, you will:

Determine you best email list building strategy
Create a winning professional lead magnet
Write effective copy for your opt-in form, web page, or advertisement
Integrate and test your lead magnet with your email marketing service
Strategically connect your lead magnet to your (current or planned) product or service through your own professionally-crafted email marketing
Grow your email list and business with a relevant target audience

Free Lead Magnet Guide

Note about the Lead Magnet Project

The Lead Magnet Project is not another expensive and isolated online course full of modules and lessons – that may teach you what to do, but not how to do it.

Instead, the Lead Magnet Project is an inexpensive and interactive professional-managed online project – that will guide you through what to do and how to do it.

Specifically, you will be guided step-by-step through the strategic and technical steps for your new lead generation strategy.

And you control the project duration – leave after one month or stay connected. It’s up to you!

Project registration opened on Thursday 6/29 – click here to stay connected. You will also receive a 25% off discount opportunity that stays active for as long as you decide to stay connected to the Lead Magnet Project.

How You’ll Start the Lead Magnet Project

Once you join the Lead Magnet Project, you will immediately have an opportunity to complete a personalized and strategic Typeform questionnaire.

(If you have never used Typeform, you are in for a real treat – click here for some Typeform examples.)

The questionnaire will help you get clear on your business goals and offerings.

Once you complete the questionnaire, you will automatically receive a copy of your responses for your own strategic planning.

While you are focused on your strategy, your Teamwork Projects account will be set up to welcome you into the Lead Magnet Project with a round of applause!

The Lead Magnet Project Starts Thursday, June 29th

Email subscribers will receive a project announcement and a special 25% off discount opportunity.

You don’t want to miss out!

Start with Your FREE Lead Magnet Guide

What is an Ethical Bribe? Here’s Another Perspective

April 16, 2017 by Brent Peterson Leave a Comment

An ethical bribe is a fancy term for an opt-in incentive to join an email mailing list.

In other words, it is a lead magnet (here are some lead magnet examples for your reference).

A Form of Business Exchange

A lead magnet or ethical bribe is a form of exchange.

You gain someone’s contact information (e.g. email address) and the other person receives your ethical bribe.

For example, the person who signs up for your mailing list receives the benefits of the ethical bribe (such as a free resource guide) and the additional benefits of the email subscription. Your business, in exchange, receives the person’s contact information (typically an email address) to stay in contact and build a relationship with the person.

A good ethical bribe will:

Attract the right leads to your mailing list and business.
Grow your online business automatically.
Give you time back for your family and friends.

Another Way to Look at an Ethical Bribe

Long before the information age, an ethical bribe had a very common name and that is…

Free samples.

Chances are, if you walk into a local bakery or café, you will still be treated with a delicious sample from the chef.

Why do these small businesses give away food for free?

The reason is obvious.

The free sample demonstrates their expertise in food preparation. If the sample is delectable, you will likely pay for more of it.

You will also feel the need to reciprocate the free offer.

In the digital world, your online ethical bribe is your free sample.

Keep it simple and related to your area of expertise.

Just like a bakery chef shouldn’t offer free wine tastings of someone else’s wine, you shouldn’t design a lead magnet that is unrelated to your line of work.

The gesture may be appreciated by someone, but the connection is lost.

Give your leads a free sample that builds trust in you and has them asking for more from the ethical bribe chef!

Ethical Bribe Example

For your additional reference, click here for an ethical bribe (lead magnet) example that outlines the other four characteristics of an essential lead magnet.

Receive the Free Guide

Cheering for your online success – one project step at a time!
Brent

How to Take Advantage of Opportunities (or Positive Project Risks)

April 5, 2017 by Brent Peterson

Risk isn’t always a bad thing.

Granted, the risks in the earlier post 4 Ways to Manage Risk on Web Projects did cast risks in their typical negative shadow.

Negative risks should be handled carefully on any project related to your online entrepreneurial ventures – whether you are starting out full-time or as a part-time side gig.

But not all risk is negative.

Risk can actually be positive (and another name for a positive risk is simply an opportunity).

According to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) – the international standard for projects from the Project Management Institute – there are four suggested responses to project opportunities.

Managing Risk is Critical

Any new resource or process you offer online in service to others is created in a project. And your success depends significantly on your ability to then manage risks on your projects.

Project management helps you.

So if you are in search of how to take advantage of opportunities that surface on your online entrepreneurial projects, read on…

… and if you are interested in other weekly professional tips about the critical project side of online entrepreneurship, simply click here to join the free mailing list.

How to Take Advantage of Opportunities

There are four commonly accepted ways to take advantage of opportunities (or positive risks) on projects. Like the ways to manage negative risks, once you are familiar with the ways to manage positive risks, you will also be better positioned to plan ahead for the inevitable positive risks of doing business online.

1. Exploit the Opportunity

When you exploit an opportunity, you take deliberate action in your project plan to eliminate the uncertainty of the upside risk. In other words, you make sure the opportunity is seized.

In technology-related projects, a common way to take advantage of opportunities like this is to assign an experienced project manager or to use proven software solutions.

2. Enhance the Opportunity

When you enhance an opportunity, you take steps to increase the probability or the impact of a positive risk occurring. For example, if you discover there is a strategic advantage to finish a project activity earlier than you planned, you can add more resources to the activity to enhance the opportunity for your business.

3. Share the Opportunity

When you share an opportunity related to a project (like a product launch), you share part of the reward of the opportunity with a third party. In the online entrepreneurial world, these types of opportunities are often called joint ventures.

In a joint venture, you may pay another party 50% of your product sale if the other party is responsible for the customer of that particular sale.

4. Accept the Opportunity

Lastly, when you accept a positive risk, you do not exploit, enhance, or share the opportunity. You simply hope for the best and if the opportunity surfaces, you happily take advantage of the size of the opportunity.

For example, you realize there is a chance your online membership product will appeal to a different demographic that you are targeting. Rather than marketing directly to them through Facebook ads, you accept the opportunity as is.

Project Management Works for You

The secret to successful online entrepreneurship is simply this…

Plan your work and then work your plan.

The four ways to manage negative risks are critical elements of any project. But the four ways on how to take advantage of opportunities are also critical for your success.

Plan ahead but don’t accept all risks – both positive and negative.

Your success depends on it.

If you are seeking further professional project guidance for online entrepreneurship in a supportive and interactive environment, you may be interested in the upcoming Graceful Resources project on How to Build a Relevant Email List.

Note: The kickoff date for this Graceful Project has shifted to June so that all project components are in place for your benefit. Please accept my apology for the delay.

Stay Connected to Project Announcements

Even if you already have a mailing list, the scope of the project is worth a close look. It is designed for professionals like you who have other full-time responsibilities.

Positive and negative risk strategies will be clearly outlined for participants.

Cheering for your online success – one project step at a time!
Brent

4 Ways to Manage Risk on Web Projects

March 23, 2017 by Brent Peterson

Risk is Everywhere.

The entrepreneurial world of web pages and email marketing is no exception. Thankfully, there are four proven ways to manage risks on your projects.

In project speak, risk is defined by the Project Management Institute (PMI) as:

An uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, has a positive or negative effect on a project’s objectives.

The Good News

Risk can be positive.

For example, you get more subscribers to opt-in to your new email mailing list than you anticipated. Or you realize more online sales of your product or service than you were assuming.

(You’ll discover four valuable project responses to positive risks (aka opportunities) in a subsequent blog post. Click here to join the free mailing list and never miss an article about the project side of online entrepreneurship.)

The Bad News

Risk is more often negative.

For example, your new opt-in form to build your mailing list isn’t working correctly. People are interested in what you have to say or offer, but they are unable to join your list. If that happens, it is likely they will never return to your web page.

The same case applies if your online checkout process does not work. People lose confidence in a business online in a moment’s notice.

Managing Risk is Critical

Any new resource or process you offer online in service to others is created in a project.

And your success depends significantly on your ability to then manage risks on your projects.

Project management helps you.

4 Ways to Manage Risk on Web Projects

There are four commonly accepted ways to manage negative risks on projects. Once you are familiar with them, you will be better positioned to plan ahead for the inevitable risks of doing business online.

1. Accept the Risk

When you accept a project risk, you take no action unless the risk occurs. This is an appropriate response to risks that are low in probability or when it is not reasonable to avoid, mitigate, or transfer the risk. A common acceptance strategy is to have contingency reserve in place (often in the form of time or money) if the risk occurs.

2. Avoid the Risk

When you avoid a project risk, you are eliminating the source of the risk from your project plan. For example, one way to avoid the risk of spam in your blog comments is to disable the comments feature on your website. The most extreme way to avoid a project risk is to shut down the project.

3. Mitigate the Risk

When you mitigate a project risk, you are taking action to reduce the probability or impact of a risk. A common (and smart) way to mitigate the risk of technology not working on your web pages is to execute a test plan. A test plan directs you to put your own processes like an autoresponder sequence to the test. You don’t want to learn your opt-in form or online shopping cart is not working days or even weeks after “going live”.

4. Transfer the Risk

Lastly, when you transfer a negative project risk, you are shifting the responsibility for the risk to a third party. Any insurance company is in the business of risk transference. You pay a premium for someone else to manage the risk if it occurs. In the digital commerce industry, a company like Rainmaker Digital manages WordPress plugin security risks for its customers through the Rainmaker Platform. That’s one reason the platform is a more expensive investment than a standalone WordPress site.

Project Management Works

The secret to successful entrepreneurship is simply this…

Plan the work and then work the plan.

The four ways to manage risk are critical elements of any project. Plan ahead and don’t accept all risks. Instead, plan to avoid, mitigate, or transfer most of your risks.

Your success depends on it.

Seeking professional project guidance for online entrepreneurship in a supportive and interactive environment?

You may be interested in the upcoming Graceful Resources project on How to Build an Email List.

Stay Connected to Project Announcements

Even if you already have a mailing list, the scope of the project is worth a close look. It is designed for professionals like you who have other full-time responsibilities.

Risk strategies will be clearly outlined for participants.

Cheering for your online success – one project step at a time!
Brent

Talent is Overrated: How to Become an Entrepreneur

March 16, 2017 by Brent Peterson

You have a passion burning inside you. Something you want to share with the world.

To keep the inspiration you share going, you need to stay clear of copywriting selfies And you need to be profitable.

Otherwise, you will not have the resources to expand your reach. It’s a simple matter of cash flow in the world of entrepreneurship.

Are Entrepreneurs Born or Made?

It’s an age-old question that may have prevented you from getting started because you assumed entrepreneurship is an innate talent (it’s not).

Entrepreneurship is a learned talent – even if society continues to judge (wrongfully) that entrepreneurs are born that way.

How to become an entrepreneur is rooted not in natural talent, but in grit.

Talent is Overrated

Angela Duckworth, Ph.D. is a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of the best-selling book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance.

In the book, she outlines a four-step process to prove that true grit (not innate talent) leads to success. The four steps for your entrepreneurial success are outlined in this short post, but the following example from the book is noteworthy to debunk the success myth.

Is Practice and Hard Work the Key to Success?

In 2011, psychologist Chia-Jung Tsay posed this question to musical experts.

An overwhelming majority said practice and hard work are indeed the keys to success.

Great news, right?

In the same study, the musical experts then listened to two recordings and were told:

One recording was a naturally talented musician.
The other recording represented years of hard work.

While the experts said they favored hard work, they then overwhelmingly chose the naturally talented musician as being superior.

Here’s the catch from the study:

The experts heard identical piano pieces by the same musician!

So what they believed (inaccurately) is different from what they actually knew to be true.

The myth of talent is widespread.

How to Become an Entrepreneur

According to Angela Duckworth in the book Grit, the process to become an entrepreneur (or an expert at any craft in life) involves four steps:

Identify a Burning Passion in Your Life
Practice that Passion with Commitment
Connect Your Work to a Higher Purpose
Persevere When the Going Gets Tough

These four steps don’t happen overnight or for that matter, even in a month.

But they offer hope to you in a world flooded with false headlines and advertisements about instant success.

Plan the Work and Then Work the Plan

If you are seeking professional guidance for online entrepreneurship in a project-based learning environment, you may be interested in the deadline for the upcoming Graceful Resources project How to Build an Email List – Even Without a Website.

Stay Connected to Project Announcements

No innate technical talent required. Just bring your passion and perseverance.

Your entrepreneurial grit will be developed.

One step at a time.

Cheering for your project success!
Brent