Dr. Diane Hamilton's Blog

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Authority Pro: Promises More Than the Typical WordPress Theme Engine

 

image via netmarketingcourse.net

 

Authority Pro has positioned itself as a theme engine unlike any other currently available for WordPress.  The intent of the engine is to maximize the ability to have content delivered as needed and to drive conversations.  They offer 24 customizable widgets to increase functionality.

I’ve been reading some reviews of Authority Pro since it debuts today.  

Promotedprofits.com stated, “The promise of Authority Pro is this: you get targeted traffic, and it’ll work to get you the very best conversions possible, on as many of your pages and posts as possible.  It can continuously split-test for you, so that you’re always finding better and more profitable ways of configuring your site. If you have low levels of traffic, Authority Pro might be critical for you, as you need to really maximize the ROI of each visitor that comes to your site.  If you get moderate to high levels of traffic, then it’s obvious that you have a lot to gain from Authority Pro.”  

Netmarketingcourse.net lists the following capabilities as part of Authority Pro:

  • Video Fake Out
  • Google Analytics
  • Google Website Optimizer (split testing)
  • Built In Squeeze Page Graphics
  • Multiple Squeeze Page Templates
  • Aweber & Get Response Intagration
  • Custom Exit Page Redirect
  • Custom CSS Coding

James Morgan at Articlebase.com claims he was skeptical about this product due to all of the hype, but found the product to be much more than a theme.  He stated, “It comes pre-installed with a bunch of different squeeze page templates that make your sites indistinguishable from the ones the pros spend thousands and thousands of dollars testing.”

They are offering this product for $97 and you can get it by clicking here.

If anyone has used this and wants to fill me in on their experience, I’d love to hear about it.

Top 10 Ways to Find a Job or Have a Job Find You

With the current job market, people are looking for unusual ways to stand out in the crowd.  I recently gave a presentation at a local university where I explained the job searching tips I discuss in this article.  To see that actual live presentation, click here.

If you are not utilizing some of the following ways to showcase your talents to prospective employers, you may be missing the boat.  Here is my top 10 list of things you need to be doing if you are looking for a job.

1.  Research Top Career Sites like Monster, CareerBuilder, etc. Look for sites specific to the industry in which you want to work.  For example, there are pharmaceutical-specific sites like Medzilla or higher educational-specific sites like HigheredJobs.  Update your information with each of these sites and set up searches so that jobs are sent to you as they become available.  

2.  Utilize Camtasia and PowerPoint to showcase your abilities.  If you know how to create a PowerPoint presentation, then it can be quite simple to use a software package like Camtasia to have voice-over capabilities to make your presentation have more depth.  These presentations can be showcased on many different sites including your blog or website if you have one.  One of the best places to showcase your talents with the final presentation product is through Youtube. For an example of one I’ve made, click here.

3.  Utilize Youtube to present “you” as a viable product.  If you have created a video or a Camtasia/PowerPoint presentation mentioned previously, Youtube is the place to upload it for maximum exposure.  If you have a skill that is visual such as ability to work in Photoshop, you can create print screens of your work and incorporate them into your presentations. 

4.  Google Docs is very much like PowerPoint but it can be seen by people on the Internet as well as be imported into your Linkedin Profile. To see an example of one I have created, click here.

5.  Prezi is also similar to PowerPoint in that it is presentation software.  The big difference is how it displays your information. This web-based program can show things in a non-linear fashion.  If you haven’t had a chance to view a Prezi presentation, check one out by clicking here.

6.  Blogging is a great way to get your presence known on the Internet.  Sites like WordPress are free and easy to set up.  You can link your blog to several other networking sites to capture the attention of those on Facebook, Twitter and many more sites.

7.  LinkedIn is probably one of the best sites you can use to get exposure to people and showcase your talents.  Utilize their Q&A area to become an expert.  Sign up for groups to meet others that could hook you up with opportunities.  Import your Google Docs, WordPress blogs and other information to showcase your abilities.  Tie your status line into Twitter to get more exposure.

8.  Facebook is also an important place to network. You can create a professional page for your work or display your products that you are promoting. 

9.  Twitter can also be a useful way to have others learn about what you are doing professionally.  Be sure you tie in your other sites links to Twitter.  Use programs like bit.ly to shorter any web addresses to fit your message on Twitter.

10. Old Fashioned Networking is still important.  Always have your business card with you.  Talk to everyone you know and talk to people you don’t know.  If you are sitting by someone on an airplane or standing in line to buy something, you just might find that the person you meet has connections.  Have your business card ready!

For more articles to help you, see:

How to Get a Job Marketing You as the Product

Click on the picture below to watch the video of Dr. Diane Hamilton’s presentation:  “How to Get a Job Marketing You as the Product”:

Book Review: Get it Done Time Management Tips

I sometimes like to review books that I feel are helpful and fit into my goal of helping people reach their lifetime potential.  A book that I feel fits into that category is by Stever Robbins and is titled Get-It-Done Guy’s 9 Steps to Work Less and Do More.  I am a fan of the quickanddirtytips.com site where Stever’s work can be found.  Also on that site is the Grammar Girl, Girlfriend MD and House Call Doctor.  I often send my students to the Grammar Girl site as I think it has a ton of helpful grammar tips, written in a fun and more entertaining style.

Robbins book, 9 Steps to Work Less and do More, is also written in a very informative style.  He writes about many of the things that I also write about in my books (The Online Student User’s Manual and How to Reinvent Your Career) including time management, goal setting and more.

How to Reinvent Your Career by Dr. Diane Hamilton

 

I thought I’d point out some important things that he writes about in his 9 steps.

Step 1:  Live on Purpose

In his book, Stever stated, “If you’re anything like me, a lot of what you call work has very little to do with getting anything important done in life.”  I think this is a very important statement because I see a lot of my students and people I work with who seem busy but don’t really accomplish anything.  One thing that Stever writes about in this section that I feel is extremely important is that your actions should match your goals.  We all see the busy person who works the 80 hour week and yet are they really working smart or are they just working hard?  It is very important to have goals and to be sure that you are doing the appropriate actions to meet those goals. What is nice about Stever’s book is that he gives nice examples and step by step explanations of “how” to get to where you are going.

Step 2:  Stop Procrastinating

Procrastination can be a big problem for a lot of people.  In the book, It’s Not You It’s Your Personality, that I co-wrote with Toni Rothpletz,  I mentioned that I am a qualified Myers-Briggs instructor.  One of the most interesting things I found out about personalities is that about the people who like to wait until the last minute.  Some people actually naturally do better work at the last minute if they have a “P” personality as assigned by the MBTI personality assessment instrument.  While I agree with Stever that it is important to turn tasks into habits to stop procrastinating, there are some people who have a high “P” personality who actually work better when they are under pressure and have deadlines.  The only thing I would add to what Stever writes about here, is for those of you who have taken a personality assessment similar to the MBTI and found that you are a “P”.  If you are a high “P”, you should set time managed goals for when your project or activity should be completed.  “P” personalities seem like they are procrastinators because they wait to do things, but if they have a goal to do things that they know they must meet, they are more apt to do that thing by that timeframe.

Another thing I like about Stever’s book is he writes about breaking things into baby chunks to make goals seem more manageable.  I often write about this in my blogs and my books.  It is like the movie with Bill Murray “What About Bob” where they talk about doing baby steps.  In my book The Online Student’s User Manual, I wrote, “How do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time.”  It is a goofy saying but it is also very true.  If you are a procrastinator, it may help you to think of a big project as smaller more manageable pieces.  I find this helps my doctoral students quite a bit as writing a dissertation can be overwhelming.  By thinking of it chapter by chapter, instead of an entire project, it can be less intimidating.

Step 3:  Conquer Technology

In Stever’s book he mentions he used a PDA for a year and then reviewed whether the promised benefits were actually beneficial.  I personally like to use iGoogle to keep track of a lot of my information.  I often recommend this to my students and have written about it here on my blog.  I think technology can be frightening for many but sites like iGoogle are very user friendly and can be accessed from many locations.  You can keep your Calendar, Address Book, etc. there as well as your RSS feeds and many other things to keep you organized.

Step 4:  Beat Distractions to Cultivate Focus

I liked Stever’s suggestion of keeping an interruptions list.  I tend to do that a lot as well.  I am the type of person that has things pop into my head often.  This is not so great when it happens at 2 am!  However, I like to write down any ideas I have on a piece of paper and get back to them later.  The trick is to write them down and then get right back to what you were doing so that you don’t jump around and be all over the place.  Instead you keep your focus.

Step 5:  Stay Organized

In this chapter, Stever covers the all important area of having organization skills.  I happen to be pretty good in this area naturally but I see a lot of people really need help with this.  I have taught time management skills to organizations where we discuss keeping track of emails, only looking at mail once and prioritizing.  This is the type of thing he gets into in this chapter.  He does a nice job including examples of checklists, etc. to get his point across.

Step 6:  Stop Wasting Time

This chapter is a very important one as far as I am concerned.  I have seen so many people who plan the plan to plan the plan and never get anything done.  People are not aware of how much time they waste.  I often have my first year college students map out a 24 hour period of time to write down exactly what they do every hour.  It can be enlightening for them to see how much time they really waste.  Stevers mentioned to be sure that what you are doing is actually work.  I was surprised by how many people I have worked with that thought they were doing work but were actually doing things that were wasting their time.  I am a huge fan of multi-tasking.  Many people over-look the importance of this skill.  When I was cold-calling in a sales job, I could type my notes while I talked to the people on the phone.  Other sales people would talk on the phone and then type their notes.  I could make twice as many calls because I could multi-task.  Are you multi-tasking whenever possible?  You could free up a lot of time by doing so.

Step 7:  Optimize

Are you doing things more than once?  Are you efficient or just effective?  I see a lot of perfectionists who are very effective but lack in efficiency.  There needs to be a balance.  Stever mentions the importance of knowing when to get expert help.  Sometimes you can do it all and you have to learn when to delegate or ask others for help.  He recommends creating resource books as your learn new tasks to refer to later for help on things you have learned.

Step 8:  Build Stronger Relationships

I like how Stever mentions you can’t there alone.  I completely agree.  There are so many people and resources out there to help you.  I know I personally have found Linkedin helpful to meet people who have given me some excellent advice and direction.  I highly recommend checking out their Q&A area as well as joining some of their groups.  Don’t just join though; you must participate in order to the most out of it.

Step 9:  Leverage

In Stever’s final chapter he writes about making sure to leverage in order to get results.  He explains using automation to get leverage.  There has never been a better time to use technology and automation to your advantage.  He mentions combining rather than multitasking to get things done.  I think there is a time for both.  Many people get confused as when to combine and when to multitask.  In this final chapter, Stever gives some excellent suggestions for ways to obtain the results you desire.

I highly recommend that you check out Stever’s book.  In it, he covers each of these topics in much more detail and gives great examples and specifics about how master these steps.

Advice: How Do I Get People To Read My Blog?

Today’s Question for “Ask Dr. Diane”: Hi Dr. Hamilton right now I am up and promoting my artist Bianka and would like to ask you, how do I get people to read my blogs and visit my artist website. I am new to blogging and would like to know how to start people talking about them. If you can give me some insight on this it will be gratefully appreciated.

There are a lot of good books that give helpful advice about blogging.  I liked the last two books I read:  Career Renegade by Jonathan Fields and Dirty Little Secrets of Buzz by David Seaman.  I also think there are a lot of bloggers like Seth Godin and others that list helpful advice on a regular basis.  Some sites like Mashable and Problogger can be helpful as well.  If you type in the question ‘How do I Get People to Read My Blog”, into Google, I think you can find more advice than you probably can handle. I think some blogs are really good to follow for advice as well.  It can take some time to get blog followers.  You need to post regularly and post information that is targeted toward the people you want to have follow you.  Remember to include your blog address on everything . . .your signature line on your email, your twitter, facebook, linkedin, etc. pages . . . You’ve done one important thing already by responding to a blog (in this case mine). By posting helpful information on other people’s blogs, people can find you as well.  You can go to forums like these to chat with others about it:  http://bit.ly/aDqmQq  . . . http://bit.ly/bbCG5H.   You can start with Twitter as well by following people and posting things from your blog there . . . check out these articles:  http://bit.ly/18qgK3  and http://bit.ly/Zq4Qt.  I’m not sure if the price is still as reasonable as it was (I assume it is), but programs like letsgetsocial.com byKate Beck can be very helpful.   She gives some good advice about how to set up social networking sites.  Her aim is more about starting a social networking business, but I feel her videos are just as helpful to someone like you that is new to the social networking scene.  One big piece of advice is to be sure you are spell checking what you type.  You want to come across as professional as possible.