You’ve heard of sign spinning, right?

Maybe you’ve heard it called sign walking, or sign twirling, or sign waving…

This is when a local business hires someone to stand on a corner, hold a sign, and spaz out in an attempt to get people to stop in.

Small Business Owners: If you’re doing this, I have no fucking idea what your thinking.

Maybe it’s because you see other businesses doing it?

If so you have Yellow Pages Syndrome and you need to stop.

The Yellow Pages don’t work, yet tons of businesses continue to sink thousands of bucks into advertising with them.

Yellow Pages Syndrome.

So is that what you’re thinking?

Unless you’re a company like Little Caesars with a quick, easy to access offer (Stop in for a $5 pizza, hot and ready to take home) avoid this sort of advertising like the plague.

Think about it.

Do you really want a burned out carny or ex-con repping your business?

Or a pierced up goth kid, looking for weed money?

Wouldn’t you be better off setting up a free Facebook page, and getting people talking about your business?

Or a free Google places page, so your listing comes up on a google map on every smartphone in the world?

Yes.

And consultants, or anyone with half a brain for Internet stuff:

If you see a douchebag standing on the street, holding a sign…

Stop in immediately and talk to the owner. Offer to help them for a couple hundred bucks a month.

They need you.

January 15th, 2012

Erik Stafford
www.staffordmarketing.com

Lately I’ve been getting more and more emails that look personal, until I open them and realize they are just mass-copied “promote my shit” bulk emails sent to every good affiliate on the planet, all at once.

Promotional emails, disguised as personal emails, with no way to unsubscribe.

And it pisses me right off.

Look, I get it… It’s easier for you to send one fucking email to every affiliate you know. And it’s better for you if I can’t unsubscribe from these emails, or complain without feeling stupid…

And yes, I have websites and email subscribers and social media subscribers…

And yes, I have been known in the past to promote things, and end up on affiliate leader boards.

But one thing you’re forgetting: I’m an asshole.

And I don’t give one single fuck about offending you.

In fact, I drafted an email template (below) that will be going out to people who copy me on shit like this.

Feel free to swipe and share.

———————–

Hey Jackhole:

Erik

Ahhh the joys of outsourcing.

Keep reading for an actual email exchange I had today with a programmer in India… Posted word for word, for your enjoyment.

Erik

————

From: Karthik
To: Erik Stafford
Time: 8:23am

Kumar.V

There’s a reason I’ve been posting this link:

http://www.erik-recommends.com/outsourcing

That page hit me like a ton of bricks.

Have you ever read something and felt like it was written SPECIFICALLY to you?

That’s how I felt when I read it.

Outsourcing has changed my business…

But maybe you’re feeling like you aren’t quite ready for that sort of a commitment.

The extra expense.

The extra time spent hiring, managing, providing instructions….

Maybe you can’t even think of anything you would give to an outsourcer and have them work on for you.

Well, I was in the same spot…

So I started small. Remember that whole “micro-outsourcing” thing I told you about yesterday?

Here’s how it works:

1. Start by picking a basic task. Something simple, like getting more visitors to your website. Or maybe you want to add a couple thousand people to your Facebook page. Or get a simple business card designed.

It doesn’t matter what the task is – As long as it’s simple.

No software, no website services… nothing big or time consuming.

Check Fiverr and pick something simple.

2. Follow the instructions, pay the five bucks, and then get your employee over some basic instructions, passwords, or whatever else they may need.

3. Here’s the important step: If they do a good job, ask them if they are willing to communicate via email. Exchange information, save them as a contact… And BAM! You now have someone you can call on for that task, whenever you need to do it!

This mini-method to getting things done has worked like a charm for me, and when combined with David Walsh’s “Source Control” it’s absolutely life changing.

http://www.erik-recommends.com/outsourcing

This product covers outsourcing from A to Z, and comes complete with forms, process maps, instructional breakdowns… the whole nine yards.

When you grab your copy, simply email me your receipt (erik [AT] staffordmarketing.com) and I’ll send you the following bonus:

“Micro-Outsourcing” your way to $500 bucks a month!”

In this short, detailed report I will show you how to scale up several individual “micro-outsourcing” tasks and fuse them together into a proper, sustainable business.

Sound good?

Together, it’s everything you need to get started.

Erik

P.S. – The kicker for me? The author, David Walsh, has publicly posted his email address at the bottom of his pages. He isn’t hiding behind walls.

He believes in this product… And I do too.

Check it out:

http://www.erik-recommends.com/outsourcing

P.P.S. – This product even explains how to outsource your 9-to-5 job! Outsourcing from within your job can actually be the best way to start and experiment…

So get started today!

http://www.erik-recommends.com/outsourcing

Grab your copy, email me the receipt, and claim your bonus…

All for under $50 bucks!

Erik

We’re talking about outsourcing.

And man, do I have some crazy stories to tell:

March 2009 – I spend about 2,000 hours training a new assistant, and he repays me by immediately vanishing like a fart in the wind.

———————-

June 2009 – I fire 5 full-time outsourcers in a fit of rage, and close down a successful website that has 50 people paying $297 per month for traffic services.

———————-

$10,500 a month (after expenses) down the tubes…

I ended up doing the final month’s work myself, and then canceling all the customers because I simply couldn’t manage the staggered deadlines.

I suck at project management.

———————-

August 2010 – Another one bites the dust. I found out that the India-based company I was using was routinely over-billing me. I’m terrible at math, even worse at accounting… And only caught it because one of my friends mentioned that he had been suckered by the same company.

———————-

January 2011 – A programmer flat out disappears with $1500 bucks and the source code for one of my scripts. I still haven’t heard a word from him, which is good… Because if I find him I’m going to beat him to death with a computer keyboard.

The list goes on and on…

The endless stream of programmers, assistants, and designers that I’ve fired, hired, pulled the plug on…

The bottom line is that outsourcing can be a GIANT pain in the ass.

It doesn’t HAVE to be though.

No matter what business you’re in, or what your goals are, outsourcing can work for you.

But first, you have to clearly understand what sort of person you are.

You need to outsource to your STRENGTHS.

This simple-sounding little bit of wisdom helped me finally crack the code and turn outsourcing into something easy and profitable.

Once I embraced the fact that I HATE managing people, and SUCK at accounting, and DESPISE project management…

It became apparent that for me to be successful with outsourcing, I was going to have to do it my way.

In small, bite-sized chunks.

I call it “micro-outsourcing” and it works like crazy.

I’ll be giving you some examples that you can use in your own business tomorrow…

But first, read this:

http://www.erik-recommends.com/outsourcing

Source Control by David Walsh is hands down the best outsourcing course I’ve ever read. The book is over 150 pages long and I read it from front to back in one sitting.

Then I read it again.

I give it my highest endorsement and have prepared an extremely valuable bonus for those of you who take action and invest in a copy…

More on that in my next post.

Erik

I know it’s the weekend, but since it’s LABOR day weekend here…

I thought I would reach out with some thoughts on how you can do LESS labor and make MORE money at the same time.

I’ve been talking a lot in the past couple of months about the new directions my business has taken.

==> I’m building software.

==> Working with local clients and providing services to them… like SEO, web design, and basic social media stuff…

==> I’m developing mobile applications…

==> Porting my existing eBooks to the Kindle and iTunes platforms.

All of these projects revolve around on one basic concept:

OUTSOURCING.

I’ve probably told you how easy it is to outsource almost everything…

But that’s not quite true, now that I look back on the past year.

Sure, it’s easy for me NOW…

But in the beginning, it was a whole different story.

I’m going to be talking about this more in the next couple days: Sharing my experiences, and revealing some outsourcing tips…

Along with a couple links and recommendations to stuff that’s saved me tons of time and headaches.

But for now, read this:

http://www.erik-recommends.com/outsourcing

I don’t care how experienced you are, or what you’re working on… You need to be outsourcing.

I’ll be back tomorrow to explain.

Erik

Years ago, when we lived in the Caribbean, we had a blog.

Several times a week, I would post an update about our life in the islands for our friends and family back home.

When hurricane Ivan hit in 2004 and mashed everything, we ended up in Florida… And I went through the blog and pulled out all of the entries and pasted them into a Word Document.

It was almost 500 pages long!

There were several posts about the Redwings (my favorite hockey team) and about poker (a hobby) and other random stuff that didn’t have anything to do with living in the Caribbean…

So I deleted that stuff, and still ended up with 300 pages of great content.

I proofread that, and edited it down again…

And the end result was a great little 200 page book about living in the Caribbean with kids.

I just submitted it to the Amazon Kindle and Apple iBook stores.

The point of this story?

———————

It turns out that it’s really easy to write a book.

All you need to do is build a blog, and then write blog posts several times a week!

Think about it – Deciding to sit down and write a book is a huge, daunting task… But writing a blog post takes what, 10 minutes?

Do it 5 times a week, and at the end of the year chances are good that you’ll have a 200 page book sitting there, ready to edit and publish.

Erik

P.S. – If you want to read a funny, engaging tale about living in the Caribbean, check out The Iguana Diaries. I appreciate your comments, as well!

Click here to download The Iguana Diaries.

I was peeking around YouTube today. Specifically, I was checking out the most subscribed channels of all time:

http://www.youtube.com/channels?g=0&s=ms&t=a

You may or may not know this, but when you start to get a ton of subscribers, and tons of “views” on your videos…

YouTube will happily make you a paid content provider. They will pay you to simply continue to create videos.

Check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/partners

I have it on good authority that some partners are making upwards of $10K a month.

Anyways…

Back to the point.

What do these YouTube Channels all have in common?

Well, by looking at just a sampling of the them it’s quickly apparent:

1. They are consistent. They all upload videos on a regular schedule. Some on a SET regular schedule (every Monday and Friday, for example).

2. They speak to a specific audience. Watch just a couple videos from each channel and you will notice that based on how the person is dressed, how they talk, how the camera cuts and pans… They are all speaking to a very specific audience.

3. They are unique, interesting, and memorable. None of these channels are boring. Chances are you are either going to love or hate each one, without a lot of middle room.

These three things are critical to building a culture around your business or idea.

Take what these YouTube “stars” are doing and scale it up just a little…

You will see major similarities between what they are doing and what companies like Apple are doing.

———————

My new course Culture Crafting is designed to help you find, and DEEPLY CONNECT with an audience.

When done correctly, by following my steps, you will create a loyal
base of repeat buyers.

Like Apple has, for example. Or Harley Davidson. Or the major players on YouTube

The thing I’m most excited about?

Culture can be crafted around any system or business.

- It works for small business owners.
- It works for internet marketers.
- It works for network marketers.
- It even works for total beginners.

Culture is the missing ingredient in most businesses. To learn more, click here:

http://www.culture-crafting.com

I’ve been back from the Caribbean for about a week now, and settling into my routine. It feels good.

Hopefully things are good in your neck of the woods, too

Lots of interesting projects on the deck over here that I will be sharing with you over the coming weeks. Hopefully this “glimpse” into my process for making money will help you craft yours

And for me, it always starts with whats around me.

———————

What you notice (that’s around you ALL the time) changes depending on
where you are MENTALLY.

It’s crazy…

But whatever your focus is – That’s what you notice.

When we had our first child all those years ago, I remember suddenly I heard babies crying everywhere.

Like they sprung out of the woodwork or something.

They were always there, I just never noticed

This ever happen to you?

———————

There was a time when I couldn’t watch a movie without commenting on the beginning title sequence.

What font was being used, and how.

Coincidentally, during that time I was studying typography (fonts) really heavily. I was also playing with an animation software called Flash all the time.

(The movie thing drove Wendy crazy

Today, whenever I drive anywhere… I always notice the roads, berms, and sidewalks. Not surprisingly, I’m really into cycling at the moment.

So I notice roads.

Crazy, eh?

———————

I want to encourage you to look at the world through IDEA EYES.

When you do, ways to make money will materialize faster than you can deal with them

Now… I don’t mean surfing the web and buying “solutions” or systems.

No.

What I mean is to always be thinking of creative ways to help others.

To always be open to building around your interests.

Stuff like that.

I want you to be open to partnerships, outside-the-box barters, joint-ventures, and new directions.

In the next month, for example, I am launching websites and systems to help a friend of mine sell boats.

He needs more leads, and I understand the web.

BINGO! A perfect opportunity.

He’s paying me a percentage of his commissions, and I never have to sell anything.

I just need to get his phone to ring

Between now and the end of the summer, I am also working on a boat site, a video game site, and a site aimed at law firms and accountants.

All of these projects sprang to life because of my idea eyes.

Make sense?