S.U.R.F. model for using Linkedin properly

I had an insight yesterday about how to use Linkedin optimally and strategically. I call it the S.U.R.F. framework:

Share
Useful (as in "be useful to others")
Relationship
Fun, freedom, fortune

Linkedin is primarily for networking and building relationships, right?

But how do you do that? Especially if you haven't met a lot of your connections in real life?

That's where my little SURF framework comes into play.

SHARING

You first have to SHARE something that might interest them.

If you don't know what might interest them, go join a Linkedin Group where it's obvious what they're interested in, like the Job Seekers group or the Marketing Professionals group, etc.

In my case, I share past workshops I've given on career management or marketing or entrepreneurship (I share the PowerPoint slides, for example, or videos I created using FastStone Capture -- cool little app that costs only $20!).

USEFULNESS

Next, if they liked what you share (you'll get a Thank You note or something like that), you can move to the next logical step, which is trying to be USEFUL to them.

Offer a service, a product, etc. You might decide to charge or not, it's up to you.

But at some point, you'll want to offer them a product or service for which you'll charge a reasonable amount.

RELATIONSHIP BUILDING

Next comes the the relationship building.

As we all know, it takes some time and effort to build relationships.

Luckily, we're talking about career and business relationshiops here, not romantic relationships! LOL

So just keep sharing and keep proposing useful services and products to your connections.

You can even propose or suggest or recommend products and services from your connections (whether you get paid or compensated for this promotional activity, is entirely between you and the friend/connection you're promoting).

FUN, FLOW, FREEDOM, FORTUNE

Last but not least, and certainly this is what we should all aim at, is the fun you get from participating like this on Linkedin.

If you're in business, you might even build a nice income that way from selling to Linkedin users.

And if you like to communicate with people online like I do, playing the Linkedin game the way I suggest in this post might even produce "flow" for you -- "flow" is defined as a state of creative activity you enjoy and are so lost into it that you lose the sense of time (which is my convenient excuse for often being late for my appointments!).

So friends, remember S.U.R.F. as you learn to navigate Linkedin and build your career or business on it.

If you have questions or comments or money you don't know what to do with, communicate with me at omnidigitalbrain@yahoo.com. :)

McGill University Linkedin workshop FREE

Hello everyone, sorry I haven't written in a while, but here's good news:

I recently gave a special and STRATEGIC workshop at McGill University (School of Continuing Studies) on Linkedin.

This workshop is unlike any other workshop given by other folks since I use my Marketing Communications training and experience to teach people how to STRATEGICALLY use Linkedin to get job offers or new contracts (if you're a freelancer or entrepreneur).

In particular, I created the UPIE (a worldwide first!) which focuses on your Unique Value Proposition, your Profile, your Invitations strategy and processes (to multiply your connections easily), and your Engagement strategy (using blogs and my most recent discovery, www.ifthisthenthat.com, an extremely powerful way to PROGRAM the social Web to work for you!).

This video will teach you EVERYTHING you need to know to make Linkedin work (hard!) for you.

To get the workshop video for free, please contact me at omnidigitalbrain@yahoo.com before December 5, 2012. This video will retail for $97 after that deadline.

Cheers!

Free 60-minute training video on Linkedin

I'll be teaching a special seminar on Linkedin at McGill University. Please let me know if you'd like to receive the free video!

http://www.mcgill.ca/conted/studying/workshops/linkedin-%E2%80%93-professional-networking-tool

Teach and make money

Dear Linkedin users,

If you speak well and are interested in teaching (in person or via a phone as with FreeConferenceCall.com), or if you are the creator of a career/business seminar, the post below will interest you. Either way, you will make money.

===========================

Teach and Grow Rich!

Harv Eker became quite rich by simply teaching others how to achieve financial freedom.

He went even further by creating a Train the Trainer workshop, training others to deliver EXACTLY the same material.

For instance, about 4 years ago, I had the great opportunity to attend a Millionaire Mind seminar delivered by his lead trainer, Robert Riopel. Very energetic and funny guy.

I noticed that Robert was going through a transcript so he wouldn't forget any major point.

Then, a few years later, I saw the SAME presentation by Harv Eker on Youtube!

So it seems that Harv is the author of the verbatim speech that Robert is using to deliver dynamic seminars.

Bottom line: you can get rich by teaching a seminar on HOW TO MAKE MORE MONEY, but you can become RICHER by teaching others how to teach THE SAME THING!

For me, it's not about money but about helping people become AWARE of their treasure within: their passion, talent, unique personality, strengths, etc.

Then, they only have to "translate" that inner treasure into outer outcomes (value, deliverables, workshops, services, products, apps, seminars, keynotes, books, reports, manuals, blueprints, maps, etc.).

Every person is already an "inner" millionaire, but perhaps does not know HOW to translate inner wealth into outer wealth.

One way YOU can create wealth is to do what I did today: write a word-for-word transcript of what you want your future trainers to SAY in a seminar (or teleseminar).

This is exactly what Harv Eker did and it worked beautifully well for him.

So today, I spent the entire day writing a 40-slide PowerPoint presentation containing precisely the sentences I want future BMW trainers to say in a seminar.

I'm almost like a playwright, putting down the exact words that an actress or actor would utter (with energy, sincerity and perhaps a dramatic tone).

Once my BMW seminar script is finalized, it will be a piece of cake to hire articulate men and women to teach the BMW seminar via FreeConferenceCall.com.

Since it's a teleseminar, nobody can see the seminar leader; therefore, he can glance at his BMW script. So memorization is not even necessary.

*** In other words, THE MONEY IS IN THE SEMINAR SCRIPT! ***

Whatever seminar or workshop you are currently giving, I encourage you to WRITE OUT the precise sentences YOU are using, so ANOTHER trainer can deliver the training for you (and you can make passive income while you're sleeping!).

In my case, I don't even need to hire professional trainers. Any articulate college or university student will do.

That's because the VALUE is contained in the script!

Of course, it is understood by seminar participants that the BMW presenter or seminar leader is ONLY presenting the material. I would come in, at the end of the seminar, to answer specific and technical questions.

The seminar leader would be a "contract trainer" for me, and I would pay him/her an hourly fee (anywhere from $30 to $50 or more per hour, depending on how we negotiate).

The seminar leader can also get a big commission on the sales of products that seminar participants buy, at the end of the seminar.

The important thing to understand here is that you can gain tremendously by creating ORIGINAL seminar material, and then write a precise script so that OTHERS (potentially hundreds of people worldwide) can teach your material and make some money.

Indeed, I had this thought in 2010: Why am I delivering the seminars/workshops that I created???

First, I wanted to teach "Hugh Toob" (Youtube) so Hugh would teach thousands of people.

Second, I wanted to teach people so they would become my trainers and share the BMW with THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE worldwide.

When you think about it, this is a great way to create jobs for people!

A contract trainer only has to be able to... speak!

Anyone can speak, right?

And the right person (ambitious, determined, focused) can always improve the way she delivers a seminar or teleseminar.

Conclusion: there is money to be made if you're interested in teaching, or if you've created seminar material and wish to hire others to teach it for you.

Linkedin builds credit, Facebook shares love

According to Forbes magazine, Facebook users on average spend a little over 6 hours per month on the site while Linkedin users spend 20 minutes on the site every month.

Obviously, Facebook would win in a popularity contest.

Yet, Linkedin is where one builds one's professional / career / business CREDIT.

I've answered over 800 questions on Linkedin, becoming the #1 career advisor (I mostly answer questions on Career). This has led to a $10,000 seminar leadership contract at a Montreal university.

So certainly, participating on Linkedin Answers has paid off for me.

It can pay off for you, too.

Tip: Use the Dragon NaturallySpeaking software (only $150) which will transcribe everything you say into words on the screen. The accuracy is amazing: 99%.

This way, you can just speak and answer questions on Linkedin Answers, and build your credibility that way.

The bonus is that if your answers are good, people will start inviting you to join their network. I've some 3,000 connections, 99% of which came from people inviting me. I rarely invite anybody (although I should!).

So for career or business matters, Linkedin is the place to be.

Facebook is where people share, well, lots of love and good feelings and inspiration and all of that stuff is good. In fact, it's great.

But to advance in one's career (or build one's business -- especially if you serve B2B clients), Linkedin is a must.

GOOD NEWS! I recently decided to create a directory of Linkedin letters that you can just copy and paste, so you will save LOTS of time. All subscribers of this blog will receive that directory of 500 letters for free (regular value: $97).

Stay tuned for more details!

What if you're downsized?

In your opinion, out of 10 people who are fired, let go or downsized, how many of them were SURPRISED?

Most people would agree that all 10 people would be surprised.

Why is that?

Well, it is our human nature to overestimate our value and, in this case, to overestimate the strategic or financial contribution we make to the employer organization.

Linkedin then serves as a kind of insurance, enabling us to find a new job relatively quickly -- if we are downsized or let go.

However, Linkedin itself is just a tool.

The two KEY ingredients of effective and proactive career management are:

-  How big is the contribution you are able to make to an employer organization?
-  How big is your network? (Yes, size matters)

If you read the fabulous little book by Ram Charan, What the CEO wants you to know, you will understand why and how companies hire.

By understanding the basics of business, as explained by Charan, you can position yourself in a way that makes you indispensable or even critical to a business organization.

So that takes care of question #1, in that you must translate your human capital (education, experience, skills, talent, etc.) into terms that a BUSINESS organization can understand and appreciate.

In other words, the first question is all about your Unique Value Proposition (UVP).

Here's a "magic" sentence that will help you get started as you think about and draft your UVP.

Fill in the blanks: "I help .......... to do .................. so that ..............."

Example: "I help consumer goods companies to create effective and robust marketing plans so that they can maximize revenues and profitability."

A VP marketing or director of marketing, might have written the above Unique Value Proposition and included it in his Linkedin profile.

That way, all potential employers, headhunters and his own Linkedin connections, will have a clear idea about what he is all about, career-wise.

As for the second question (How big is your network?), it is fairly technical and relatively easy since you can build more and more connections by participating on Linkedin Answers or joining Linkedin Groups.

Unfortunately, I've observed that most people on Linkedin do not have a clear UVP.

I read their profiles and I don't have a good sense of what they are doing for employers or clients.

Remember that employers will "show you the money" (i.e. make a job offer) only if they first see your Unique Value Proposition.

Everybody can write a good resume or a good cover letter.

The winners in the job market, as well as those who get promoted up the corporate ladder, are the rare folks who know their Unique Value Proposition and communicate it clearly and consistently to all their career allies (on or off Linkedin).

Your Linkedin profile is KEY to your success!

The current issue of Forbes magazine has a feature story on Linkedin, and reveals the strategic thinking that led Linkedin CEO Jeff Weiner to successfully develop the company in the last four years.

Surprisingly, the article seems to bash Facebook while glorifying Linkedin, and I was a bit surprised by the blatant lack of objectivity in comparing the two companies.

However, facts are facts, and the author did back up his argument by mentioning, for instance, that Linkedin's share value has risen by 61% this past year, and its gross profits have increased by 70 % (its net profits by 100%).

The article also points out that Facebook cannot make money if its users are not online and reading stuff, while Linkedin DOES make money even if Linkedin users are NOT on the Linkedin site.

This is because Linkedin has developed sophisticated algorithms to mine the data and information about users, so that corporate talent scouts can efficiently find the candidate they are looking for.

Apparently, corporate employers are willing to pay up to $8,000 a year to have access to the search capabilities of Linkedin.

All of this bodes well for corporate talent scouts and headhunters, especially since one can expect the Linkedin population to keep growing far into the future.

But what about you, the Linkedin user?

When I first started blogging about Linkedin in June 2005, my focus was -- and still is! -- about empowering Linkedin users.

That is, the hard-working professionals and managers who constitute the majority of the Linkedin population.

I certainly don't mind that headhunters and corporations are benefitting from Linkedin, and I don't mind that Linkedin shareholders are poised to benefit financially from the information provided by Linkedin users.

My focus is really to help Linkedin users like YOU to benefit professionally and financially from Linkedin.

You benefit professionally by learning about how to market yourself on Linkedin

You benefit financially by learning how to market your freelance services or your products/services (if you're an entrepreneur) on Linkedin.

I've given workshops to career advisors in universities and continuing education centres, and I must say that Linkedin has not yet caught on in academic circles or in colleges and universities.

Yet, Linkedin is a very, very, very powerful tool for managing one's career.

Here are, in my opinion, the 8 steps you need to learn before you can master the Linkedin game:

Unique Value Proposition (UVP) *****
Profile **
Invitations
Engagement *
Communication ***
Collaboration
Cocreation **
Contracting ****

The number of stars (or asterisks) gives you an indication of how difficult the task is:

No * : Easy
* : Difficult
** : Fairly difficult
*** : Very difficult
**** : Really difficult!
***** : So difficult that you could use professional help!

You see, what most people don't realize is that what you do on Linkedin, REVEALS to potential clients and employers WHAT IS IN YOUR MIND.

And since Linkedin caters mostly to professionals (not workers in the retail sector or blue-collar jobs), then you might or might not get a job BECAUSE of what you write (or don't write) on Linkedin.

Linkedin, then, is a marketing tool.

And like most marketing tool (brochure, website, blog, TV spots, radio commercials, etc.), you need a good copywriter.

The copywriter is the skilled professional who captures your human capital and "translates" it into words that will grab the attention of potential clients, employers, collaborators, etc.

These words will also establish your credibility in the Linkedin world.

Take your Linkedin profile, for instance.

If it's well written, it will project the very best image of you (even while you're sleeping!).

If it's not written well, it will ruin your reputation online and severely jeopardize your chances for career advancement.

Friends, I'm not trying to alarm you, I'm simply saying that your profile must be PROFESSIONAL.

Indeed, if you can't even manage a few paragraphs to protect YOUR career interests, how can you possibly manage a real corporate job to protect the interests of the employer?

That's what employers are thinking when they read your profile.

Your profile gives people an indication of how serious you are about your career.

In the next few posts, I'll discuss the other 7 steps.

But for now, please feel free to email me your current Linkedin profile and I'll do a free makeover for you.

Free workshop slides on Linkedin

I'm developing a strategic workshop on Linkedin for a Montreal university, please drop me a line at omnidigitalbrain@yahoo.com with "Linkedin workshop slides" if you'd like to receive the slides.

In a few years, Linkedin will become a cyber economy where users can trade, buy, and sell anything that is digital (and even small physical goods that can be shipped by FedEx or regular mail).

In other words, what is missing is a sort of Craigslist INTEGRATED into the Linkedin system. This is why you should start, right now, to plan and develop digital products that you can sell or trade on Linkedin.

You can also start offering services online, like I do here: http://linkedinservices.blogspot.ca/

People pay you online, and then you deliver the services by email, phone, Skype, etc. To stimulate your imagination about what the future of Linkedin will be like, I recommend James Canton's book, The Extreme Future. Right now, most people use Linkedin for networking and building connections.

That is the basic idea or functionality, but that is NOT where the real money is. The real money or the true wealth, comes from understanding that...

Wealth = Value X Leverage (I learned this originally from wealth consultant/author Roger Hamilton, who created the Wealth Dynamics framework -- find him on Youtube).

In short, if you know what your Unique Value Proposition, then you can LEVERAGE Linkedin to make money. Lots of money.

An ebook can help you profit from Linkedin

If you're like most users on Linkedin, you use it for networking to advance your career or seek new job opportunities.

But here's an idea that some of you might benefit from, if you think about it seriously.

It's about selling an ebook to your Linkedin connections.

This ebook can be written by you or by another person who's an author.

You just have to buy the resale rights from the author, and then you offer that ebook to your 500+ connections. Because you have the resale rights, you pocket 100% of the profits.

This is the idea behind http://systematicwealth.wordpress.com/, a 540-page ebook I wrote in January 2011 and recently decided to give away the resale rights with every purchase.

Unlike the traditional publishing model where the wholesaler and publisher get most of the markups, leaving the author with only 5% in royalties, this "resale rights" publishing model rewards buyers who resell the ebook.

This might sound strange at first, because it's like as if you went to Chapters bookstore, bought a $30 business book (say, from strategy guru Gary Hamel or Tom Peters), and then you go to a service bureau to make 100 copies of the book which you sell online and pocket all the profits!

This is forbidden by law, of course, because only the author has the right to commercialize his work.

But in the case of my ebook Systematic Wealth Creation, I actually authorize buyers to resell the ebook and pocket all the profits!

Now, why would I do that? Have I gone insane?

Perhaps.

But I don't think so. The more people who buy the ebook and resell it, the more my reputation will spread, thus bringing me new clients (I work as a business consultant to small business owners and launching entrepreneurs).

More importantly, I will have the satisfaction of knowing that my business knowledge is being shared with hundreds of thousands of people.

What will make this resale rights publishing model work, is the nature of Linkedin.

It's a place where people connect to hundreds, if not thousands of other people.

So if you have 1,000 connections, you could resell my ebook to them for $30 (the suggested price is $97).

If 400 of them buy, you'd have generated $12,000 in revenues.

Keep in mind that when they buy this ebook from you, they also get the Resale Rights, meaning that they too can turn around and resell the ebook to people and pocket 100% of the profits.

In short, they're not just buying an EBOOK, they're buying a BUSINESS ASSET from which they generate revenues.

Since they get the Resale Rights for life, they could be making hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of a few years.

Because of those reasons, you will find it rather easy to sell them the ebook.

Check out the ebook for yourself at http://systematicwealth.wordpress.com/ and let me know what you think.

Thanks.

Free 300-page ebook on Systematic Wealth for you

http://systematicwealthcreation.wordpress.com/free-300-page-ebook-systematic-wealth-creation/

Enjoy!

===

I will explain later on the site above that there is a CRITICAL reason why I used diagrams extensively in this book.

But basically, it's to impress on your neural network (in your brain) certain KEY distinctions that will enable you to think BETTER than most people, who are trapped in the employee mentality.

You see, most books are written in prose (that is, only text) and thus, readers don't retain what they've learned.

As a result, they don't change anything in their lives.

Most people read tons of non-fiction books, yet can't change anything in their lives.

The Systematic Wealth Creation product line I'm creating, is more training-oriented and will enable you to acquire REAL skills for systematically building your wealth in this life.

Also, I'm currently creating a version of this 500-page ebook specifically for the 120 million users of Linkedin.

The central idea is that wealth = value X connectivity.

Since more and more people are connected on Linkedin, creating VALUE will be the central challenge. This challenge, as you might expect, is covered in another 200-page ebook I'm releasing in a month, called Information Millionaire Procedure (IMP).

IMP teaches people how to use the Flip cam (only $100!), Audacity, Camtasia (or Windows Movie Maker), xmind.net and a few other free software application to create NEW PRODUCTS which can be marketed worldwide online.

More to come!

Free Linkedin success secrets ebook for you!

Friends, thank you for being a loyal susbcriber all these years! (Since 2004)

You're motivated me to share my best thinking on how to use Linkedin strategically, and I thank you, all 500+ of you subscribers!

This blog (which has nearly 500 posts!) is now ready to become an ebook as well as a home study program and an ebook sold to companies worldwide.

To thank you, I thought I'd give you the ebook ($97) for free once it's finalized.

Just drop me a line at omnidigltabrain@yahoo.com and mention "Free Linkedin success secrets ebook please" and I'll send you the ebook once finalized.

You can also connect to my business account at Facebook at www.facebook.com/peter.consoultant (I'm a consultant helping people to connect to their true self, or "soul", where their true treasure (and financial wealth!) lies).

If I've met you personally as a client, a collaborator or during an ecstatic and mutually consented one-night stand (just kidding), feel free to connect to my personal Facebook account at www.facebook.com/superpeter.

In the next post, I'll write about how you can create an on-demand blog, which is pretty cool for generating leads, multiplying strategic connections, building a network of trusted collaborators, etc. while involving your readers in cocreating valuable new knowledge.

Create a "money seed"

In the last post, I wrote about how you can package your career experience and professional knowhow into digital products (audio, video, PDF files, etc.) and sell them online.

Here, I offer more details as to how you can do this.

There's actually a strategic sequence that I use (it might be different for you) so that I can easily and naturally "extract" the knowledge in my head and capture it as a digital document.

I'll share that sequence with you below, but first, what exactly is a strategic sequence? It's like a nuclear chain reaction: once you start the process, it happens naturally with high impact.

It's very important to understand this because if you don't use a strategic sequence that fits YOUR personality, then you're not engaging in the path of least resistance (or maximum joy). So it will be hard, if not impossible, for you to extract knowledge from your head and create information products that you can sell online.

(Please note that you do NOT have to quit your daytime job to make money online! That's the beauty of it).

So my strategic sequence is:

1. Grab a cup of coffee

2. Record myself in Audacity, using its voice-activation function (i.e. it turns itself on automatically as soon as I start speaking; when I stop speaking, it shuts itself off). Note: you can download Audacity for free at http://audacity.sourceforge.net

3. Stop after about 10 minutes

This is precisely what I did this morning, creating 3 audio files of 10 minutes each for my BMW workshop (http://businessmodelworkout.blogspot.com).

These 3 files will go into the BMW audio program which I sell online.

I also create videos from those audios files, using Windows Movie Maker (will tell you more in a future post).

Now, if you're like most professionals on Linkedin, you're probably wondering whether it's possible for you to create information products from your knowledge.

Friends, my answer is a resounding YES!

I've done it, and I'm not anymore special or talented than you are.

I just decided in 2006, what the heck, let's do it! I had nothing to lose, so I thought, WHY NOT?

That's how the BMW workshop was created in May 2006.

The best part is, that workshop keeps growing and growing and growing. Indeed, your first audio recording or workshop or ebook (even if it's only 20 pages) is just a SEED. It WILL grow, trust me.

As it grows, it will attract the attention (and respect) of more and more people, and they will pay you good money to receive your knowledge.

Another workshop I created in August 2005, was eventually bought by McGill University for nearly $10,000. Now, I only have to sell that workshop to all the hundreds of universities in the world! :)

Anyways, let's get back to the strategic sequence above.

The first step (coffee) is very important. For you, it could be another beverage that makes you feel good.

The second step is interesting because it does NOT allow you to stop talking! If you stop, Audacity turns itself off. This "forces" you to speak continuously, so the knowledge comes out of your mouth naturally.

You'd be surprised how much knowledge comes out of you when you don't think so much, and just speak up! The rational intellect often judges a thought and stops you from voicing that thought. That's not good.

So this second step of mine is quite strategic because I don't allow my intellect to judge my thoughts; I just say, as fast as I can, what I'm thinking.

Later on, I can listen again to my audio recording and finetune what I said. But this second step is just about speaking up and recording myself.

The third step is to stop after 10 minutes, which is okay -- not too demanding.

In your case, it could be 5 minutes or 7 minutes, or even 15 minutes, it's all up to you.

So this strategic sequence is just about CREATING new knowledge.

There are other strategic sequences for REFINING your new knowledge, turning it into VIDEO, uploading it online, etc.

Those sequences tend to be easier than the one I'm talking about here, where you CREATE knowledge by just SPEAKING UP!

In other words, recording yourself using Audacity is like creating a MONEY SEED!

I will show you in future posts how you can grow that money seed into a MONEY TREE.

Make money from your career assets and experience

If you're like most professionals on Linkedin, then your average age is 40 and your household income on average is $107,000.

You have about 15 years of professional experience.

All of this is great news because you are now in a position to leverage your career assets and professional experience.

How? By creating intellectual capital that you can use to promote yourself (to get better jobs) or that you can even sell as a downloadable ebook.

Here's how I did it.

In 2006, I created in two weeks the famous BMW workshop (Business Model Workout). Details at http://businessmodelworkout.blogspot.com

The shocking thing is that I was a junior business consultant at the time, with less than a year of experience. I had about 10 clients, charging humbly $50/hour for consulting.

Yet, I was "crazy" enough (audacious, one might say) to dare to create a workshop!

Over time, that workshop -- like a seed planted into the ground - became a money tree. That is, a source of profits that are growing and growing and growing.

So I'm here to tell you that YOUR knowledge is also valuable, and CAN become a workshop and/or an information product.

In future posts, I'll share all my secrets about how you can create your own information products and sell them over the Web.

Please keep in mind you do NOT have to quit your daytime job. A regular job can be quite useful for mortgage purposes!

(Besides, your wife might not want to see you at home every day. Just kidding.)

This whole approach of creating information products from one's career and professional experience, is part of the discussion about Labor vs Leverage.

Again, there's nothing wrong with a job (where you offer your labor in exchange for a paycheck).

But that doesn't mean you can't create MORE money for yourself and your family, right?

So in addition to Labor, you can have Leverage. Leverage comes from creating and owning a product which you can sell online.

There are so many ways to monetize your information products (which, by the way, can be an audio recording a video file, a PDF document, etc.).

Apple even launched a self-publishing system on the iPad where you can sell your ebook (perhaps it will be like iTune?).

Friends, now that Linkedin allows you to connect to thousands of people, the sky's the limit when it comes to generating revenues from your knowledge!

The trick is simply to proceed step by step, and grow your information products progressively.

I've done it successfully, and I'll be happy to be your guide in your journey.

More to come.

Good news! Free ebook teaching how to create capital

Good news!

I'm releasing most of my latest ebook, Capitalorama, for free at http://capitalorama.wordpress.com.

The main premise of this ebook, which is a practical sequel to my 500-page ebook Systematic Wealth Creation where I explain capitalism and business, is that ordinary people CAN create capital, and even create limitless capital thanks to digital technologies and emerging trends like social media usage.

If you want to use Linkedin to generate positive career results or to develop your business, check out Capitalorama.

Linkedin has one advantage over Facebook: its users are usually more professional and more business-oriented.

Linkedin Answers also allows you to see who's smart and who's, well, let's not be impolite and rude, but you know what I mean. :)

But seriously, Linkedin Answers allows you to "show off" (but with subtlety and taste) how much you know and what expertise you truly possess.

Some Linkedin users even use LI Answers to write their own ebooks, by simply compiling the best answers. This is one method I discuss in Capitalorama: how to turn information into intellectual capital from which you generate passive income.

The bottom line is that Linkedin users are very knowledgeable and very smart, but most haven't yet figured out HOW to turn their tacit knowledge (i.e. in their head) into explicit knowledge (i.e. in the world, like a book, an article, a report, a blog, etc.).

The minute you know how to convert your knowledge into intellectual capital, your second career is launched; a career where you generate passive income from the sale of your intellectual products.

Of course, this usually doesn't mean you can afford to quit your daytime job. But it does mean that you have an extra source of income.

This second income comes from selling your intellectual capital in the form of ebooks, special reports, briefings, audio recordings, videos, etc.

A third source of income can come from selling the resale rights to your intellectual products. For example, I sell the resale rights to my ebooks, thus enabling buyers to resell my ebooks and pocket 100% of the profits.

(The buyer simply uploads my ebook to his Payloadz account, which is linked to his Paypal account, so he is paid directly whenever his customers purchase my ebook).

(to be continued)

Making money from Resale Rights

If you're well connected on Linkedin (say, 500+ connections), you can make some money by purchasing the Resale Rights to an ebook written by someone else.

For instance, I wrote an ebook titled "Systematic Wealth Creation" which explains the little-known mechanisms and processes behind business and capitalism, and I'm selling the Resale Rights to Linkedin users.

What does "Resale Rights" mean?

It means the buyer of such rights can RESELL the ebook, in its entirety and without modification, to anyone else at ANY price, and pocket 100% of the profits.

For example, suppose you have 500 connections and you sell them an ebook written by someone else, but you have the Resale Rights. So you sell the ebook at $20 to 200 of them, and make $4,000.

You pocket all of this $4,000 and do not owe the author of the ebook any royalties. (He/she was paid already when you purchased the Resale Rights).

This sounds like a sweet deal where you get the legal right to resell someone else's intellectual property (the ebook).

Yet, the question is, how much would you have to pay to get the Resale Right? This totally depends on the price set by the author of the ebook.

So let's get into the psychology of this author.

But I must warn you that the "economics" here are not what you're used to. In other words, the ebook is NOT like a house which is physical and which, once you sell it, you no longer own the house.

Indeed, the author is NOT selling you something physical, but something intangible: the legal right to resell his ebook and pocket 100% of the profits.

This means that after the author sells you such Resale Rights, he can sell the same Resale Rights to hundreds of other people.

Theoretically speaking, there is no limit to the amount of people he (the author) can sell the Resale Rights to.

Here, you might think that the Resale Rights buyer has little power. Yet, this is not necessarily so.

Let's look at a realistic scenario.

The author wants to charge you $3,000 to get the perpetual Resale Rights (that is, you get such Resale Rights for life!).

You might tell him, "Whoa, $3,000 is a lot of money!"

The author might argue, "Yes, but you can make thousands of dollars per year from reselling my ebook. And you can sell it forever, and in any territory on this planet."

You might say, "True, but there are risks associated with marketing your ebook, and costs related to email marketing services I have to buy, like ConstantContact, etc."

So after such back-and-forth, you agree with the author that a fair price would be $1,000.

And so, for $1,000, you've bought a business asset (the Resale Rights to the ebook) which allows you to make money from it by offering it to Linkedin users.

This is just one way for you to make money on Linkedin.

I will talk about other ways shortly.

I launched a pretty interesting debate about job searches and finder's fee here:
http://www.linkedin.com/answers/career-education/job-search/CAR_JOB/815416-2896748

The question basically is, "Would you pay 10% of your first-year salary to get a job?"

Below, I comment on some of the answers thoughtfully provided.

===

One person mentions that agents work in all kinds of areas (sports, show business, etc.) and that this is the real world.

I agree. With online social connectivity rising (600 million Facebook users and 100 million Linkedin users), more and more ordinary people WILL become agents (the money is just too good!).

I know this from personal experience, having made nearly $10,000 by simply connecting buyers to sellers for sales of nearly $200,000.

And I am NOT even an agent! I'm just a poor businessman! :)

Another person says that he's been using the finder's fee strategy successfully, and I checked his blog and he seems to know what he's doing.

He totally gets it that we do better when we help one another, and reward one another for facilitating business development.

A third person likens the finder's fee system to real estate, but adds that the agent does more work than just giving a seller a name.

Yes, I agree that the real estate agent does a lot of work and he certainly makes a lot more money that the average finders.

However, I want to clarify that GOOD finders don't just "pass along a name." They often recommend a person, and THAT goes a long way to securing the deal.

Furthermore, the finder's recommendation is only as good as the TRUST he had built with the prospects or buyers. Building that relationship could have taken months or years! That relationship building IS the real work.

This is why, when a friend recommends a restaurant, it works -- there is trust already between the two friends.

So the finder's program is about lending one's trust in order to facilitate a business transaction.

Think, for example, of Sean Parker (founder of Napster) and how he introduced Mark Zuckerberg to venture capitalists. Parker had the contacts and some trust. He was rewarded quite well by becoming a partner in Facebook. See the movie The Social Network for more details.

Another answer was that the suitability of a finder's fee system depends on "whether you can get the information yourself."

True, but I would add that there IS a cost (in time and money) to finding good information you can act on.

I will write more later on about how the CIA conducts intelligence gathering. You will be fascinated by their process.

The idea behind the finder's fee system is that you get the information SOONER, because your finders are your eyes and ears in the market.

All of a person's Linkedin connections CAN become his eyes and ears, BUT that requires that he first states WHAT information he is looking for, and HOW MUCH he is willing to pay for such information.

Indeed, it is naive to think that your Linkedin connections will work for you for free. After all, they are connection, not friends.

This doesn't mean that one's connections are bad or overly focused on money. They are simply people, and people are most motivated to do what will give them a reward.

The bottom line is that you can get a LOT of actionable information to advance your career or business, by tapping into your Linkedin network (which, hopefully, is more than 200 people). But you have to be ready to reward them in some way.

Give and Grow Rich

Okay, it's time for me to practice what I'm preaching! (In the previous post, I encouraged you to share your gifts or resources or knowledge).

So here's me, sharing some of my knowledge: In this video (click HERE), I'm sharing some of my knowledge of Marketing Arithmetics, and will upload more videos shortly.

What I did was basically create a video using Camtasia (which captures anything happening on my computer screen, while capturing my voice via a microphone as well). I then uploaded it on Youtube, and embedded the URL in the Wordpress blog.

How is this relevant to users of Linkedin?

It's relevant because at some point, you have to start GIVING something of value to your Linkedin connections. You can have 300 or 500 or even 2,000 connections. . Yet, having connections is not going to do anything for you if you're not giving them something of value.

You can easily record your voice and create a video which shares some of your knowledge and expertise. Then, you can share the resulting video with them, like I did in the above link.

Actually, you don't even have to create the videos yourself. You can copy the URL of good videos that you come across on Youtube (although you need to create your own Wordpress blog account, which takes only 2 minutes max to set up).

Will giving value to your Linkedin connections bring you any money?

Yes. But it's a long-term investment.

In my case, it generated nearly $10,000 in revenues from a corporate contract (email me at peter.idealcareer@gmail.com with "$10,000 from Linkedin" in order to receive, for free, the video where I explain how I did this).

The fundamental idea here is, Give and Grow Rich. (It sounds a bit like Napoleon Hill's best-seller, Think and Grow Rich).

GIVING is simpler and clearer than THINKING (although I do recommend Hill's book).

Here's a secret that rich people know, which most people do not know: create systems through which you can easily GIVE value to people, and these people WILL enrich you.

Take Oprah, for instance.

The ONE lesson that she's teaching women (and men, too) about wealth creation, is not clearly understood by her viewers.

Indeed, HOW EXACTLY did Oprah become rich? By creating Harpo Productions Inc., her media company which oversees her TV show.

Her TV show enables her to GIVE VALUE to millions of women in North America.

THAT is how she became rich: through GIVING.

Now, before the advent of Youtube, you wouldn't be able to do what she's done.

But now, you CAN!

Just create a video and share on Youtube. As you create and share more and more videos, it will become addictive, and at some point, people will start paying attention to you.

They will trust you. They will buy from you.

So whether you're looking for a job, or for contracts (if you're a freelancer), or for customers (if you're a business owner), people will FLOCK TO YOU!

You will attract people and money and opportunities, simply because you understood the secret of wealth, which is (once again):

GIVE AND GROW RICH!

Notice that people who give little, receive little (in terms of a salary etc.).

People who give a lot, receive a lot.

And because they receive a lot, they are motivated, encouraged, driven to GIVE EVEN MORE!

That is the reason why the rich get richer. Most of the time, it's not because they are GETTING more from people, it's because they keep GIVING MORE AND MORE!

Think of Ted Turner, for example. He conceived of the idea of a news channel 24 hours a day!

At the time, it must have sounded ludicrous. I mean, WHO would want to receive news 24 hours per day?!

Yet, that was Turner's way of GIVING MORE VALUE TO MORE PEOPLE.

Okay, let's get back to Linked for a minute.

Let's be practical.

How can YOU make money from Linkedin (either in terms of a better job, more contracts, or more customers).

Two things to consider:

1. Number of connections
2. Amount of value given to each connection

Just multiply the two above, and you'll have a good idea of how much money you can make from Linkedin.

Obviously, then, you must first increase the number of connections. If you have 200, that's okay, but you can easily increase to 500 or 800 or 1,200 (which is my case).

Then, after that, you have to create value which you can deliver to each connection.

This "value" can be an audio, video or PDF file (or even an executable file, which I'll teach you later on how to create; it's like a mini-software application that runs itself after you press a button).

As you give away these files to your connections, they will TRUST you more.

And so, when the time comes for you to sell something (e.g. if you're looking for a job, then you are selling your package of experience, education and skills to potential employers), you are more likely to obtain their help since they view you as a trusted connection or even friend.

So that's how the Give and Grow Rich principle works. You have to give FIRST.

Indeed, it's not "Grow Rich and Give"!

Giving must precede receiving, in the same way that you must sow before you can harvest.

Or in banking parlance, you must make regular deposits to a bank account before you can withdraw money!

(to be continued)

Super Rich, by Russell Simmons

Yesterday, I stumbled across the book Super Rich, by Russell Simmons, and I just couldn`t put it down!

It's full of good stories and inspirational advice on how to become rich by... evolving spiritually.

Yup, that's right. Simmons offers little or no "practical" advice on business or marketing or wealth or finance.

Yet, his wisdom really resonated with me (maybe it's because I've embarked on a spiritual journey myself).

He wrote, "Give it until they can't live without it," explaining that one should give away one's gifts freely, and the money will come.

This is not a fancy, impractical or farfetched idea, by the way, Many recording artists have become quite rich and famous doing precisely that: they're giving away their free music online, via Facebook etc.

That's how they build a following. Come to think of it, that's how I built the subscriber list for this blog! :)

Another pearl of wisdom from Simmons: "If you ain't giving away your gifts, you ain't playing the game. And if you ain't playing the game, you're not going to win."

The above piece of advice was offered after he tells the story of how some people will wait till they have a job before they start working. He drives the point home by stating: "If you're a comedian, you're funny ALL THE TIME. Not just when you have a gig!"

I totally resonate with him because since August 2005, I've been giving workshops and consulting to help people find their "ideal" career. The two-hour workshop can actually be summarized like this: "Find out what you love to do. Then, do THAT till you're rich!"

At this point, you're wondering, "What does Simmons' book have to do with Linkedin or how to use Linkedin?"

Well, the BEST way to use Linkedin is to USE UP your talents and gifts by SHARING them with all your Linkedin connections.

It's funny that so many people connect to so many other people on Linkedin (now, there's 90 million users!), yet few people make the first step of STATING what their talent or gift is.

They won't state it in their Linkedin profile, and they certainly won't share that information with their Linkedin connections.

Why not? Why don't Linkedin users clearly state what their talent or gift is?

I have over 1,200 connections on Linkedin, and I know the talent of only ONE of them. Oh, and he happens to be very good at what he does -- he's also a millionaire.

Do you see my point?

People who are not afraid to do what they love to do and excel at, usually become very rich.

So what can YOU do to use Linkedin better?

One simple thing you can do, is write a personal email (not a mass email) to 5 or 10 Linkedin connections, and explain to them what your passion or talent or gift is, then invite them to contact you if they need help in those areas.

It doesn't matter how they respond, or if they respond at all.

What's important is that you clearly and confidently state what your passion or talent is. In so doing, you will have changed EVERYTHING in your life.

In other words, you will have become the kind of person who is confident enough about his/her talent, and can offer this talent to the world freely.

Remember, your email is NOT a pitch to hire you. It is simply an email expressing your desire to help your Linkedin connections in any way you can, by stating your talent and seeking to be of service.

This simple email (which should take you no more than 15 minutes to write -- keep it simple), will impress them. They WILL remember you because they have, most likely, never received this kind of email from their Linkedin connections.

In so doing, you will have begun the process of turning a "connection" into a potential "relationship" since you took the first step of "opening up."

Social media vs social SEDUCTION

Social media, including Linkedin, is exciting because you can SEDUCE people and you don't even have to put on make-up or a fancy dress.

Anyways, that was my insight as I woke up today: social seduction is MORE powerful than social media.

Everybody is talking about social media today, and there are many people suddenly becoming social media "experts."

They even teach others about how to use social media like Facebook. Now, nothing wrong about that. The advanced users of any new technology, have always taught the less advanced people. It's people helping people, and that's great.

But here's the killer insight if you want to REALLY benefit professionally, economically and/or financial from social media: FOCUS ON SEDUCTION, NOT ON MEDIA.

Media is just the means, seduction is the end. Let's not confuse the two.

Linkedin -- especially Linkedin Answers -- is a social media that I use as the MEANS to achieve the END, which is SEDUCTION.

Social media, then, is like a giant party, everybody is invited. But it's not because you find yourself physically at a party that you suddenly become popular and people become attracted to you.

You've got to be "sexy" AND "seductive."

"Sexy" means you "obviously have what they desperately want." Let me explain this so you don't get the wrong picture!

On Linkedin, for example, you've got to look successful and distinguished and experienced and KNOWLEDGEABLE. In short, show your best assets. If you've got it, flaunt it. Your career assets, I mean.

"Seductive" means your every word will serve to draw people to you. This means you master language enough to influence the mind of your interlocutors so they feel good every time you speak or write.

That's what I mean when I say that one should focus on SEDUCTION, not on the SOCIAL MEDIA.

In other words, what is your MESSAGE?

On Linkedin, your message is only about one thing: What you are the best at.

Your Linkedin profile must be screaming, "I'm the very best at ____________ so please get in touch with me and let's work together."

Better yet, include PowerPoint presentations in your Linkedin profile to PROVE your claim that you are, indeed, the best at what you claim to be the best at.

Bottom line is that if your message is not clear, then being connected to 1,000 or even 10,000 is not going to be useful or beneficial to you. None or few of those people will remember who you are, anyways.

So the key is really to explore who you are and determine what you are the best at (or what you commit to being the best at).

In 2009, I developed a workshop for McGill University to teach people how to discover what they are the best at. Send me an email at peter.idealcareer@gmail.com and I'll be happy to send you the workshop slides (at no charge) so you can discover the area you naturally excel at.

Make money with a FREE business ebook

As I explained in a previous post, 2011 is the year I'm giving my wealth away to people. I have been so blessed in life, so this "giving back" is quite normal.

Here's what it means:

I'm giving you a $97 ebook that you can resell to others (at any price you want) and you can pocket 100% of the profits.

You can view this ebook here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyZNoczsv4A

To receive this resellable $97 ebook in PDF format, please send me an email at peter.talentelle@gmail.com with "Free ebook please" in the subject heading.

This offer expires in 72 hours, so please hurry!

To your financial success!

Peter Nguyen

Strategic consultant & business trainer
http://entrepreneuracademy.wordpress.com

Information Product Creation + Cyberspace

There are many, many signs that the economy is moving to Cyberspace.

In other words, that's where the "action" will be. That's where fortunes will be made. That's where you can make a lot of money (without having to quit your daytime job which, after all, might be needed to service the mortgage debt).

The first time I read about the Cyber-Economy was through the 1997 book The Sovereign Individual by James Davidson. This very, very smart book chronicles the rise of the Cyber-Economy and explains the major trends which, in the author's opinion, make it inevitable that we will all work and create in the Cyber-Economy.

When I say "we", I mean the elite and the ambitious among us. There will always be people who, for various reasons, will be "stuck" in the old, physical economy.

If you're an active Linkedin user and have, say, over 500 connections, you are probably ready to capitalize on the opportunities unleashed by the Cyber-Economy.

So what is this Cyber-Economy?

It's a timeless, spaceless territory where people do all kinds of business, both legitimately and illegitimately.

In this post, of course, I won't talk about the criminal methods of making money. For that, you have to subscribe to my other blog called "Tricks for the Criminal Mastermind." Just kidding.

In short, the Cyber-Economy is where you can create and sell all kinds of creations, products, services, inventions, applications, etc.

It's like a giant party, taking place on a global scale.

Of course, through Linkedin, you've already begun to get to know the other people, some of whom are astute Internet players.

I guess the best way to get started in this Cyber-Economy, is to create a product. A digital product, if possible.

It could be an audio recording (MP3 format, etc.), a video file or a computer file (Word, Excel, etc.).

If you're a "normal" person, you probably have never created a product in your life. Chances are, you have spent your entire career offering a "service" to an employer. Not a product.

Yet, and this is the main argument I make in all my business and wealth workshops, you cannot become significantly rich without a product.

That's because only a product can be offered worldwide, thereby generating quasi-infinite revenues.

A service cannot be offered worldwide; it can only be offered in person (at the office, the manufacturing plant, etc.).

So the main challenge for Linkedin users who wish to become wealthy, is to move to a product orientation.

I will upload on Youtube a recent workshop on Product Creation that will teach you how to create information products. Stay tuned!

To use Linkedin properly, forget about Linkedin

Before I explain the rather strange, perhaps even self-contradictory title for this post, allow me to share a few free ebooks which I'm releasing at http://entrepreneuracademy.wordpress.com.

The last one is The Art of Excellence.

Now, before you view those ebooks, please be advised that they are NOT what people refer to as a normal non-fiction book, that is, a substantial and research-driven book containing lots of facts, theories, frameworks, concepts, etc.

A normal book takes at least a year to write, and perhaps 6 months or so to find a publisher (if you're an established writer).

So my idea for an ebook is quite different and, I dare say, fit for these times when everything is happening so fast and people have no time to read a lengthy book.

Indeed, my ebooks are written in less than 90 minutes. I rarely edit myself. I simply write out what I think, as clearly and bluntly as possible.

This was the trick used by Isaac Asimov who, in his lifetime, wrote 300 books (yup, 300!). His trick was to use a typewriter, not a word processor. He wrote in a straightforward manner, both fiction and non-fiction books. I consider him to be a "master writer."

So what does this have to do with the title of this post, "To use Linkedin properly, forget about Linkedin"?

It means that a professional will benefit the most if he/she strives to become EXCELLENT at ONE THING, and promote his excellence on Linkedin.

More importantly, he/she should practice this ONE ACTIVITY every day.

This, as you know, is how Tiger Woods became THE Tiger Woods, or how Michael Jordan became THE Michael Jordan, or how Anthony Robbins became THE Anthony Robbins (Robbins used to practice, every day in his tiny appartment, a motivational speech in front of an imaginary audience).

Rare are the Linkedin users who clearly write, in their profile, what exactly they EXCEL at.

So that's why I submit that using Linkedin profitably requires that a person "forget" about Linkedin (that is, multiplying connections, or doing what one is expected to do on Linkedin).

The person must focus on identifying ONE thing that he/she does best, and then focus on practicing it, and sharing the results of the practice (if appropriate) with his/her Linkedin connections.

This idea of preparing and training to become really EXCELLENT at something, is not new.

The great and wise Abraham Lincoln once wrote, "If I had 8 hours to chop down a tree, I would spend 7 hours sharpening the ax."

This ax, in today's knowledge-based economy, is your mind.

What is your mind sharpest at? Where do you TRULY excel? What are you practicing every day?

Becoming excellent at one thing, might require sustained efforts and focus and much self-discipline.

But once you've achieved mastery, most people will seek you out. They will pay you a premium salary. You will earn money rather easily, since you will have little competition in your field.

On Linkedin or anywhere else, people always love to connect to the very best. They love to connect to the elite.

There's an old saying, "Everybody wants to win, but few want to PREPARE in order to win."

It's the same on Linkedin. Everybody wants to get connections, but few are ready to prepare and practice in order to become the BEST at what they do.

Incidentally, when you become the best at what you do, not only will you be popular on Linkedin, but you will never have trouble finding a job or finding clients.

The trick is simply to identify ONE THING that you love to do and then commit to practicing it every day until you become the best at it. It's actually quite fun, too!

Crazy! Licensed content publishing!

Friends, you won't believe this! I discovered this POWERFUL method of publishing my content "virally" using a free blogging service like Wordpress.

This will be useful to you if you want MORE connections on Linkedin, or if you wish to promote yourself, your products and/or your services to your existing Linkedin connections and THEIR connections.

Basically, the idea is to create a master blog (ex. http://entrepreneuracademy.wordpress.com) and then to REPLICATE that blog by exporting and then importing it into a second blog.

For example, the SECOND blog of the above master blog, is at http://entrepreneuracademy2.wordpress.com. This blog is IDENTICAL to the master blog!

It only take 3-5 minutes to EXPORT the content of the master blog, and 3-5 minutes to IMPORT that content into your NEW blog.

So if you're an expert (ex. coach, consultant, trainer, specialist, entrepreneur, investor, etc.) and you have a blog, you can license it to others so they get the content and share it with THEIR connections. You win because all readers will want to connect to YOU, the expert.

The licensed publisher (who has a blog containing YOUR content) wins by offering valuable blog content to his/her Linkedin connections. He also wins by putting his profile or website in the sidebar on the right (to promote himself to the incoming readers).

Everybody wins!

Why is this Licensed Content Publishing (LCP) better than traditional blogging?

Because with traditional blogging, a person writes articles (and these might be good or not so good), but the problem is, there are few readers!

In short, the content is there, but circulation is not!

Note: Circulation refers to the number of readers. Newspapers, for example, typically have circulation of more than 20,000 copies.

Interestingly enough, connectivity is the greatest asset on Linkedin (connectivity could be considered as "potential circulation"), so you can leverage that asset to promote YOUR content.

If you're not yet an expert, you could promote someone else's content, so you continually offer something of value to your connections.

Now, will the creator of the master blog charge you something for using HIS content? Not necessarily.

Remember, he gains enormously by having YOUR connections read his blog articles. He might get contracts from YOUR connections, so he might be most willing to give you his blog content for free.

Anyways, I'm planning to launch a Career Blog which I will give to my Linkedin connections (more than 1,100 so far) so they can share the valuable information with THEIR connections.

This LCP model is exciting because it allows Linkedin users to share valuable information from people who are experts in their field. It makes Linkedin a richer environment.

How to make money on Linkedin?

If you're on Linkedin, I assume it's because you believe it will bring you some money eventually -- directly or indirectly.

Indeed, I don't think you're there to flirt with members of the opposite sex or to socialize.

It's rather difficult to socialize on Linkedin since there is no bartender, and it's tough (at least for me) to happily socialize without the ingestion of some alcohol! LOL!

So let's talk about making money.

To make money, you need a "job." However, I define a "job" in a very specific, practical way.

A job requires:

1. A solution
2. A target market
3. A procedure for producing or delivering the solution

Now, you probably already have a job. A "real-life" job, with an office, a desk, a laptop, etc.

Here, on Linkedin, I'm talking about a "cyberjob."

A cyberjob is like a normal, real-world job, EXCEPT for item #2 above -- you need a TARGET MARKET, not a boss.

You ARE the boss!

The good news is that Linkedin users ARE the target market!

As for item #3, the procedure is fairly simple: you use good old email to deliver value (that is, a solution) to Linkedin users.

So, let's recap:

1. A solution -- ???
2. A target market -- CHECK! (65 million Linkedin users)
3. A procedure for producing or delivering the solution - CHECK! (good old email)

You can see from the above that your ONLY problem is that you don't have a SOLUTION to deliver to 65 million Linkedin users.

If you did, you'd be rich. Very, very rich.

You're probably going, "Okay, Peter, cut to the chase. What can you do for me?"

Well, since 2004, when Linkedin had "only" 4 million users, I began to do extensive research on online networking. I even created this blog which you are reading, and to which over 500 people have subscribed (I didn't even do any marketing!).

My point: I got a whole library of powerful and practical tools, templates, resources and training videos (produced with Camtasia) that Linkedin users would LOVE to get their hands on, so they can learn to create or cocreate value, and make money from Linkedin.

My problem: I got only 1,100 connections. That's nothing given the fact that Linkedin has 65 million users (hey, that's more than the population of my country, Canada, at 30 million!).

Your opportunity: Your mission impossible, should you choose to accept it, is simply to help me share this vast library with your Linkedin connections.

No, you should not sell this library. Only share with your connections, as a goodwill gesture and to build trust.

The rule is that you should give away, for FREE, 50 items before you try to sell one item.

So this is really about sharing valuable and practical knowledge with your Linkedin connections. After a while, they will begin to trust you. You will have EARNED their trust. Thus, they will listen to what you have to sell.

That will be the point where you will create a cyberjob, and start making money on Linkedin.

Remember, you can have a cyberjob and STILL keep your regular daytime job.

A cyberjob on Linkedin is great because it offers unlimited revenue potential, as well as flexibility: you can work anytime, anywhere.

However, before you can create this amazing cyberjob on Linkedin, you must understand how social media (including Linkedin) works: you have to offer value FOR FREE in order to build trust.

Your connections must TRUST you first, before they even listen to what you have to sell.

In the next post, I will talk about the hundreds of valuable documents I have in my Linkedin library, built over the last 6 years. I will show how Linkedin users can use these items to build trust with their connections, in order to prepare the ground for effective selling of high-quality items.

Get B.O.S.S. for FREE!

Friends,

Just a quick note to invite you to save $1,200 by being among the 50 lucky ones to subscribe to my latest venture online: the Business Operating System for Success (B.O.S.S.).

About 20 people have joined already, and hundreds are about to read their emails, so be quick! :)

Whether you're an employee, a free agent (self-employed), an entrepreneur or a professional investor, you need B.O.S.S. in order to get rich.

Newsweek magazine did a study a while back and found that if you own a small business, you have a 1 in 1,000 chance of becoming a millionaire (having a net worth of $1,000,000).

BOSS will help you to dramatically REDUCE these odds to perhaps 1 in 100, or 1 in 20.

How? BOSS acts like a chess computer to guide your moves, so you don't have to think so much. The BOSS system thinks for you! It makes it easy for you to do the right thing(s), and difficult for you to do the wrong thing(s).

Anyways, check it out at http://tinyurl.com/makethebossworkforyou.

I'm also working on creating a Linkedin version of BOSS, for users of Linkedin. More on that later.

Use Linkedin Answers strategically

http://www.linkedin.com/answers/startups-small-businesses/small-business/STR_SMB/723822-2896748

In the link above, you'll see an example of how I use Linkedin Answers strategically to gather market research information.

The people who answered provided the names of my competitors. One even talked about a project for a company that gave me a great idea to further improve the B.O.S.S.

I might have mentioned this before, but being the #1 Career Advisor on Linkedin Answers led to a meeting with a university, which led to a $10,000 contract.

So my own experience convinces me that participating on Linkedin Answers is a good way to make money from Linkedin.

Here, perhaps some of you will say, "Well, I'm not an expert in anything, really. What can I contribute on Linkedin Answers?"

You can start small. You can provide short answers to questions that appeal to you.

The idea is to write answers so you KNOW what it is that you know.

Frank Feather, a futurist and author/speaker, writes quite a bit on Linkedin Answers. In doing so, he is developing his knowledge and might even publish his answers one day, in the form of a book.

To help Linkedin users to get started and receive advice and tips on how to use Linkedin Answers effectively, I'm thinking of starting a new blog titled "How to use Linkedin Answers."

My point is simply that if you're not asking questions or writing answers on Linkedin Answers, then you are invisible in the Linkedin community. A great many opportunities (career or business) might then escape you.

Anyways, don't worry, my new blog "How to use Linkedin Answers" will share best practices with you so you will learn really fast how to use that Q&A platform profitably.

For example, I will regularly scan the questions and answers of Linkedin users and comment on the do's and dont's.

How to keep in touch with your connections

Okay, you've got 500 connections, now what?

(I checked quickly and about 80% of my 1,154 Linkedin connections have over 500 connections).

Well, now is the time to communicate with them.

A good way is to use an email service like ConstantContact.com, it's affordable at $30 per month for 2,500 emails. I've been using it for more than a year.

A FREE tool is www.ymlp.com, good too but fewer functionalities.

So anyways, WHAT information should you share with your 500+ connections?

Here's a hierarchy that you can use as a rule of thumb:

1. Actionable information
2. Useful information
3. Interesting (facts, stories, etc.)
4. Inspiring information (young Charlie Simpson)
5. Entertaining information
6. Titillating information

For example, in this post, I shared with you the www.ymlp.com link, so that's actionable info: you can go to the site, register in 2 minutes, and start inviting your connections to opt in (if they are interested in receiving news for you).

An example of useful information (not immediately actionable) is if I were to recommend to you the book The Mystery of Capital, by Hernando de Soto, which explains VERY SIMPLY how capitalism works.

That info is useful (in the long term) because after reading The Mystery of Capital, you will have insights about how to use Linkedin strategically, and in fact will view Linkedin as a powerful tool for playing better at the game called Capitalism.

An example of INTERESTING INFORMATION, is that I recently created an enterprise specializing in strategic AI (artificial intelligence) services to maximize the strategic advantage of select individuals and corporations. A quick way to explain this new company, is that I design and build a sort of "Deep Blue" -- the supercomputer that defeated world chess champion Kasparov -- for citizens, companies and countries. I will keep you posted on developments.

Actually, I don't know if that info is interesting to you, but it might be given the fact that the global economy is moving more and more toward knowledge, symbolism and cerebral processing. If you are currently an employee working for a corporation, you are not yet fully leveraging the computing power of your PC; you cannot yet program your PC to work for you.

Indeed, the mantra for creating wealth in the global, Internet company is: "Code your work, and work your code."

It is not surprising that Bill Gates became the richest man in the world: he worked and lived by that mantra.

Anyways, back to our hierarchy.

INSPIRING INFORMATION, could be the story of 7-year-old Charlie Simpson, who raised over $100,000 to help Haiti by having and implementing the idea of biking to raise funds.

My point, throughout this post, is that it's important to keep in touch with your connections, but not by sending them irrelevant information.

Use the hierarchy above, and you'll be able to know WHAT information to send to them, and ensure that your connections view you as an active, valuable and trustworthy resource.

Keep your connections informed with this FREE mailing list service

I use ConstantContact, which costs about $30 per month, to communicate with thousands of people, but I just discovered this FREE service you can use to keep in touch with your Linkedin connections:

www.ymlp.com

The following restrictions apply if you choose the FREE option (as opposed to the paid option):

Free accounts can only collect contacts by adding a signup form to their website. The "Add/Import Contacts" page to add contacts manually is not available.

• Free accounts can send up to 1,000 emails per month.
• Maximum number of contacts: 1,000
  Free accounts with more than 1,000 contacts will not be able to send newsletters until they are upgraded to a paid plan.
  However, further subscriptions will continue to be processed as long as the account remains open.

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Now, you might be wondering, what exactly are the benefits of using a mailing list service, even if it's free?

Well, the problem is that on Linkedin, you might have lots of connections (say, 500+) but you're too "shy" to send them emails. After all, you don't want to spam anybody, right?

And yet, if you don't write to them, then you are merely a faceless, unknown connection (among their hundreds or perhaps thousands of connections).

The solution is to ask all your connections to simply fill out a form (which can be created in seconds at the above site), IF they want to receive news from you.

That way, everybody wins: your connections win because they CHOSE to receive news from you; you win because you get to share your news with those who want it. You won't be spamming anyone.

So let's say you have 500 connections, and 200 opted in (that is, they entered their name and email addresses, in order to receive your news).

Then, you know you have 200 people who are interested in going further with you, and have accepted to receive your news. These are the people that you can, over time, build a win-win relationship with.

In the next post, I will write about the type of news that you can send out to those 200 people.

Using Linkedin Groups to grow one's direct connections

I was researching the Groups on Linkedin when I saw this:

SAP Freelancers(membership only for direct contact to sapguroo@gmail.com)

you need to be a first degree contact to be able to join this group send invite to sapguroo@gmail.com For SAP Freelancers to exchange knowledge and opportunity, freelancing,ERP freelancers,Freelancers.(membership only for direct contact to sapguroo@gmail.com)

Yesterday’s Activity: Jobs (1)

Owner: Krishna Badarla | 6,767 members | Share

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Now, THAT is interesting. The creator/owner of this group requires that you be DIRECTLY connected to him, in order to access this group.

I don't know what ERP or SAP are about, but I know it's a fairly important function in business, so I'm assuming that Krishna (the Group Owner) is cleverly leveraging the promise of that Group in order to get more direct connections.

Having more direct connections, is always a great thing.

Linkedin is a bit like the medieval days, when there was a King and then feudal lords who, in exchange for land, promise to be loyal to the King.

Linkedin Group owners are like feudal lords. By creating a Group and growing it, they are indeed growing their influence, often in multiple countries.

Now, why is it important to grow one's list of Linkedin connections?

After all, if you are like most Linkedin users, you are then an employee -- not an entrepreneurs selling and trading in the open marketplace.

However, something is happening that is NOT being reported by the mass media. It's what I call the rise of intellectual capitalism.

More and more people around me are turning their knowledge, experience and expertise into "intellectual capital," like an ebook, and they are selling it worldwide.

Even those who have not written an ebook of their own, are thinking of getting a copyright license (or a business license) in order to sell the creative work of others.

In both cases, a person needs to have a BIG list of Linkedin connections, and I mean more than 1,000 connections.

Making money by selling intellectual goods via Linkedin, won't interfere with your regular daytime job. But it will impact your bank account positively because we are talking about passive income here.

The secret to make extra mone on Linkedin, is to focus on the List, the Liquidity and the Letter.

The Liquidity, is simply something you can sell to a great number of Linkedin users.

I will talk more about the List and the Letter.