Khoa Bui - The Online Entrepreneur

Today I’m proud to announce that I’ve been featured in LifeHacker Australia. Since I launched my video “The 3×5 Box Organiser Method” it has gained alot of responses and attention from the media.



I’ve been a reader of Lifehacker for a few years now and just in case you don’t know what LifeHacker is, it’s a huge website that provides quality information, tips, advice and strategies in improving your life. The website alone inspires hundreds of thousands of visitors each day.



I never thought the day would come when my face would appear in this great community website.



What I also find most interesting was this.



It was an idea conjured in my head. Implented in 1 day. I was not motivated. I only had a few hours sleep before hand. No planning. No preparation. A non perfect video.



On the flip side of this.



In the video, I pulled out the card that said “Just produce the non-perfect product and tweak later”



I had no idea it would be featured in a popular website!



Here’s the link:



http://www.lifehacker.com.au/tips/2009/01/19/organise_your_life_with_a_3_by_5_file_box.html



Thanks LifeHacker!

Let me ask you a few questions:

• Do you have too many things to do but so little time?
• Do you find it hard to focus on your projects?
• Do you feel sometimes that you seem to have too many ideas but just never end up getting them done?
• Are you a great starter but a terrible finisher?

If you answered yes to the above questions, then you are not alone.



Introducing The 3×5 Box Organiser Method. This concept has been around for quite sometime and many successful people such as Dan Kennedy uses this method too!



I’ve been applying the 3×5 Box Organiser Method in my life and so far, I’ve received excellent results from it.



I found with personal experience that if I write down the things I want to complete on a digital file on my computer, I only complete maybe 20% of the tasks on the list, or sometimes I even completely ignore the document.



I was so inspired yesterday with an instant idea I congured up only 24 hours ago, to record a video that gives you “how to” information in organising your life - using the 3×5 Box Organiser Method. This method has helped me taken massive action in getting my projects done and also most importantly helped me focus on the most valued tasks.



I found that the 3×5 Box Organiser Method also helps you store various ideas on a physical database so it actually frees up your brain space so you can absorb more information.



Call me crazy if you want but I must admit, there’s something powerful behind this method and the act of physically seeing your idea on a single 3×5 index card activates some unknown force.



Anyway, I’ve recorded a 5-6 minute video on how to set up the 3×5 Box Organiser Method, how to use it and also a few examples.



Enjoy!

Yesterday I met with a client who owns a successful website that promotes books online. He regularly recieves emails from famous book authors over the world in appreciation of reviewing their books. His website is www.readingbooks-4fun.com.



I met with Pete Ryan to help him setup and market his website more effectively using various search engine optimisation techniques and marketing strategies.


As a result, Pete kindly recorded this video testimonial for me.







Thanks Pete!

The Million Dollar Divas Seminar was held last week which consisted of many inspirational and successful divas and divos. One divo I had the chance of meeting with was Dale Beaumont.



Dale Beaumont is a successful best selling book author of the Secrets Exposed series. I’m sure that if you’ve walked into the book store (not literally), in the business section, you will find one of Dale’s Beaumonts books.



Dale has appeared in countless newspapers, magazines, tv programmes and radio. He’s also sold over 100,000 copies of all of his books and is publishing more next year.



One of my favourite books from Dale Beaumont is “Secrets of Internet Marketers Exposed“. This book contains a wealth of information regarding marketing on the internet and also inspirational stories of people who started with nothing and turned it into something.



I got a chance to speak with Dale Beaumont in person and have a brief conversation with him. After quickly explaining what I do, my projects, goals etc, he left me with some profound advice which was:



“If your working 2am in the morning on some project and sometimes you don’t get results, I assure you, you’re on the right path. Just Keep Going”

Last week I attended the Million Dollar Divas Seminar and met with Millionaire Maker Mal Emery. Mal Emery has been a strong inspiration of mine who I believe is a genius when it comes down to marketing, business and profitablity in business. If there is a man who has a good track record of success, it’s Mal Emery.



Mal Emery began building his wealth by starting a hardware store here in Perth over 20 years ago. Along the way, he’s bought, built and sold businesses which has enabled him to gain the experience, knowledge and emotional strength in his success. Today, he is a proffesional speaker, best selling book author, mentor and entreprenuer, training thousands of people in his marketing methodologies.



I managed to pull Mal Emery aside at the event and benefit 10 minutes in conversation with him. I must say that the wisdom and advice that he has given me regarding my businesses is worth a fortune. I’m already starting to implement his advice since last week and I’ve already started to see results.



The man’s a down to earth genius. My tip to those who are reading this, if you ever have a chance to meet with your inspiration or mentor, listen to what they have to say and take good notes! It’ll save you years of trial and error!


Thanks Mal!

One of my favorite Internet Marketing Experts I know today is Andrew and Darryl Grant AKA “The Grants”. In case you have never heard of them, they started their Internet Business (selling eBooks) a few years ago which as a result of this, they earned over $250,000 on their first year online. The funny thing behind this story is that they were complete newbies to the computer world, they didn’t understand much about the Internet and they were definitely computer illiterates.


I had the privilege of meeting with Andrew and Darryl Grant in a Millionaire Phenomena Seminar a few months ago and chat to them in person. They are a very down to earth couple and I can tell that they must of went through hundreds of failures to get where they are. Their success is definitely NOT an overnight success but was comprised of many tests, measuring and failing themselves forward.


If there is one thing you can learn about Andrew and Darryl Grant, is that they learned a business model that made them money. They went out there and tried it… many times until they succeeded. Many people would say that both of them must of had a computer degree to earn a decent income online… which is completely false. They simply applied their knowledge.


Imagine if you were presented with some information about how to make money online however, each time you tried it, it didn’t work and it costs you a few hundred dollars in the process? Would you try it again? Imagine if you KNEW your future and that in order to make $250,000 online, you would need to fail 100 times and loose $10,000 in the process, would you do it?


One thing that inspires me about Andrew and Darryl Grant is that they are great implementers and that they failed forward. It’s incredibly easy to just say “Fail Yourself Forward” but when you’re actually loosing money in your pocket in the process, maintaining a positive attitude and getting back up and attempting it again and making slight tweaks and failing again, it can start to hinder your spirits.


If there is one thing you can learn from their story is that they simply decided to never give up.

Whenever you are building a website, there are certain parts of a webpage that will give you the most effective result.


A recent study was conducted that analysed over 500 people’s eye movements whenever the person would view a web site. What they did was they presented a typical two column website that contained content and a few pictures. As a result of 500 tests and infrared anaylsis, they found that people’s eye movements usually go from left to right and then scan downwards.


People usually scan a web page … not read the entire web page in one go.


So what can do you to take advantage of this? It’s important to place all of your most important assets near the top of the web page and a few going down. So take for example, the goal of your website is for them to contact you. You can place a small contact banner or form near the top of every web page, by doing this, people are highly guaranteed to click on your contact form.


Think about your most favourite website? How do they place their content? Is it full of content with no pictures? or do they sprinkle the content and make it easy for you to read? You will find that most News websites, they have good positioning of their news, pictures and content.


People these days are very busy and don’t have time to digest alot of information. Always keep this in mind when presenting your site to the audience.

Now this one is a biggie. Before I explain to you what constitutes effective website branding, let me ask you a question:


What colours do you see when you think of:

• Google
• Coke
• McDonalds

Now close your eyes for a moment and see those colours that belong to those brands.


What you just saw in your mind is worth hundreds of millions of dollars in a split second. Those companies spend millions of dollars to get you to remember those colours and their brand.


The reason why branding is so important is because it sets you apart from everyone else. It defines YOU, it makes YOU rememberable and it sells YOU. That’s it!


Lets say you build a website and your main choice in colours is green. Now lets say you build a product and make it red. If people see your product and go to your website, they become slightly confused about you. This also applies to your style and design of your products.


For example, Apple. Think of all of their products and how their design and colours are very similar to each other. Yes, they change colours on their iPods but their design is the same, with slight variations to their iPod collection.


When you spend years building your brand, people come to remember you and respect you in your industry. Eventually, your brand becomes a quality standard and people will pay alot for it and your competitors can’t steal it from you (well, not that I am aware of these days)


Think of Bill Gates, how he dresses, notice how strikingly consistent he wears his clothes. This is no accident, your style, your website brand, your choice in colours is what defines you. People want you. What about the Harry Potter books, a book series that maintain the same brand, how else can you identify it with? What if there was one Harry Potter book that had the correct title but different font, different positioning, different wording and style, this would confuse you. You may begin to think “what’s going on here?” and JK Rowling may begin to loose a fan…. millions more were that came from tho!


If you’re just starting out in the buiness world, it’s worth the effort to focus some attention on what choice of colours you are comfortable with to brand your products and services.


If you brand your website effectively enough, your brand will have it’s place amoungst the many other companies who spend millions to sit in the mind of others.

One of the most powerful ways in which you can generate a good revenue stream online is through Blog Advertising. If your blog becomes very successful by having thousands of new website visitors going to your blog every single day, then you’re in a great position to monetize that traffic. One way is through Blog Advertising.


So what are the different Blog Advertising methods? There is many, however the most popular blog advertising revenue streams today is using Google Adsense, Affiliate Products and Banners. When you recieve a large amount of traffic, a certain percentage of those people will click on your advertising areas on your website. Everytime when someone new clicks on your ads, you get paid a certain commission, it could be between 10c per click or 30c per click.


I know that may not conjure up images of you retiring in a far away island off the coast of Porto Fino but if you were to work out the maths, advertising using your blog is a very powerful path to financial freedom. Let’s say your website gets 5000 visitors per day. Out of those 5000 visitors, 5% of those people click on your ads. Therefore, you get paid (5% of 5000 = 250 x 30c) = $75 per day.


If you’re in business, you know that cashflow is king. $75 per day is complete passive income, meaning you don’t work for it, it doesn’t matter whether your in the mood to work or not, it doesn’t matter if you’re sleeping, you’re partying, you’re travelling, you’re sick or you’re at home watching tv, you’re going to get paid regardless! By having that incredible freedom to do whatever you want and still get paid covering all you’re expenses including the mortgage, bills etc, you are in fact Financially Free.


Blog Advertising helps you put your financial freedom goals into full swing.


If you would like to know more about getting free website traffic to your blog and also how to generate more traffic to your site, download my free eBook and Audio CD here on my blog (www.khoabui.com.au).

Welcome to the new world of Podcasting, where people can record their voices and speak their mind. So what is Podcasting and how can you use it to increase your website effectiveness? First of all, a podcast is simply a recording of a speech made beforehand, a user would create a podcast and convert it to an audio format such as mp3.


Mp3s (Mpeg Layer 3) which is simply an audio file type, there are many different audio file types out there but Mp3s is currently the most widely used online and offline. When a person records an audio, they simply convert it to Mp3 format and upload it to their website. Visitors to that website can download the audio file (podcast) and begin listening to it using their own software such as Winamp or Windows Media Player. Some websites have a built in function where it displays the player controls so that you don’t need to download the podcast, you can simply listen to it straight off the website.


If you’re thinking of creating a Podcast for your website, a great tool I use on the PC is “Audacity” This free tool enables you to hook up your headphones with a mic and begin recording your audio. It’s very simple to use and easy to apply. Once you finish recording, you can listen to the new recording and trim certain sections if you wish. Once you’re happy with the final recording, you can then save out the file to Mp3 format. Done!


When you have finished creating your podcast and converting it to mp3, you can upload it to your website for the world to enjoy. There are many great podcasts out there, some of my favorites are Steve Pavlina and Yaro Starak.


So how can you use Podcasting as a means to effectively market your website? The power behind podcasting is that it can help you become an authority in your field of work. You position yourself in your industry and many people can connect with you online. Since you can not see your visitor and talk to them, you will need to do everything you can to bridge the gap between you and the visitor.


In my previous post, I talked about Viral Marketing. Podcasting (if created interestingly enough) can be a great form of viral marketing. If you record a super podcast that people MUST share with others and you mention your website link in the podcast, then your podcast will be spread fast… like a virus! Pretty soon, you will get more traffic to your site through the power of podcasting and viral marketing combined!