Ray Edwards Show

Copywriter & Marketing Consultant Ray Edwards hosts this weekly show about Internet Business and Supernatural Success. Ray is a world-renowned copywriter and communications strategist, writing for some of the most powerful voices in leadership and business. His clients include New York Times bestselling authors Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen (Chicken Soup for the Soul), Robert Allen, and Tony Robbins. The podcast features insights on the art of persuasive writing, direct sales, product launches, internet marketing strategies, and the spiritual foundations of business success.

Copywriter & Marketing Consultant Ray Edwards hosts this weekly show about Internet Business and Supernatural Success. Ray is a world-renowned copywriter and communications strategist, writing for some of the most powerful voices in leadership and business. His clients include New York Times bestselling authors Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen (Chicken Soup for the Soul), Robert Allen, and Tony Robbins. The podcast features insights on the art of persuasive writing, direct sales, product launches, internet marketing strategies, and the spiritual foundations of business success.

Ever feel like you just need to get more stuff done? I think we all feel that way at some point. In this episode, I interview Robert Plank on getting things done. Also coming up… The app that prevents long-windedness. Stu McLaren with the Lifestyle Business Report. The one-word Copywriting shift you can make today Now let's get on with it… Announcements: Thanks to all who have left a review of the Ray Edwards Show in iTunes. Including Ray Massie, Joshua Rivers, Lisa R, Stever, Robert Pieto! For more info about the one-day mastermind with me and 11 other people, where we make radical progress in your business… is on. Click this link to make your deposit and application. Conferences where I will be attending and/or speaking: Social Media Marketing World, March 26-28, 2014, San Diego, CA The Launch Conference, April 7-10, 2014, Orlando, FL SCORRE Conference May 5-8, Orlando, FL Tip Of The Week  The pClock app that keeps you from blowing past your time limits when speaking. Lifestyle Business Segment  With Stu McLaren Copywriting Corner The one word shift that you can make that amps up your persuasion power. Spiritual Foundations When you see yourself the way God sees you, you won't be “full of yourself”… you will be your full self. Feature Segment:  Interview With Robert Plank In the episode I we hear from Robert Plank on: How to stay out of overwhelm. How to avoid having a lot if half-finished products and projects. The secrets of single-minded focus. A simple philosophy of copywriting… or any process! The magic of the “3 Day Rule” and the power of having just “4 Daily Tasks”. What To Do Now If you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the show. You can also find the podcast on Stitcher. Question:    What will you get done this week as a result of this podcast? Click here to leave your comments.

Copywriter & Marketing Consultant Ray Edwards hosts this weekly show about Internet Business and Supernatural Success. Ray is a world-renowned copywriter and communications strategist, writing for some of the most powerful voices in leadership and business. His clients include New York Times bestselling authors Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen (Chicken Soup for the Soul), Robert Allen, and Tony Robbins. The podcast features insights on the art of persuasive writing, direct sales, product launches, internet marketing strategies, and the spiritual foundations of business success.

My “one word” for this year is: simplify. Why did I choose that word, and what does it mean to you? In this episode, I will share five good reasons why you should consider simplifying, too. Also coming up… How to write like Hemingway. Stu McLaren with the Lifestyle Business Report. The One Copywriting Rule That You Must Follow. Now let's get on with it… Announcements: Thanks to all who have left a review of the Ray Edwards Show in iTunes. For more info about the one-day mastermind with me and 11 other people, where we make radical progress in your business… is on. Click this link to make your deposit and application. Conferences where I will be attending and/or speaking: Social Media Marketing World, March 26-28, 2014, San Diego, CA The Launch Conference, April 7-10, 2014, Orlando, FL SCORRE Conference May 5-8, Orlando, FL Tip Of The Week  The app that helps you write like Hemingway. Lifestyle Business Segment  With Stu McLaren Copywriting Corner This week I share  “The One Copywriting Rule You Must Follow”. I explain how to use the Rule on today's show. Spiritual Foundations It's not necessary to debate people into the Kingdom. “Christ is all in all.”— Colossians 3:11 In the end, a debate about salvation, the existence of God, or who Jesus is, will be fruitless. Only a direct revelation, illuminated by the Holy Spirit, brings people into the Kingdom. And inside the church, all our focus on leadership programs, small groups, building programs, social justice, church growth initiatives, etc. miss the mark. We have,  when we focus on these things, abandon our first love. A good test: simply count the number of times a pastor (or a book, or teaching series) references the name Jesus. “Christ is all I need. You can strip away everything else from me, and I would still be left with Christ. Take away my gifts and my ministry; take away signs and wonders; take away the sense of His presence; take away my ability to read; take away every spiritual and religious pursuit I have, and I will still have Christ. And having Him, I have everything.” ~  Jesus Manifesto by Frank Viola and Leonard Sweet Feature Segment:  5 Good Reasons To Simplify The word I chose to guide 2014 was simplify. In this episode, I explain why I chose it, and five reasons why you should consider simplifying too. Simplifying your possessions and give you clarity, energy, and peace. Complexity in any area of your life weighs you down. Simplicity is the best preparation for the future. Simplicity gives you the broadest range of choices in any decision. Simplicity creates margin. In the episode I talk about my  journey toward simplification, where it will lead, and how you can benefit. What To Do Now If you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the show. You can also find the podcast on Stitcher. Question:    Do you feel you would benefit from simplifying? How will you start? Click here to leave your comments.

Copywriter & Marketing Consultant Ray Edwards hosts this weekly show about Internet Business and Supernatural Success. Ray is a world-renowned copywriter and communications strategist, writing for some of the most powerful voices in leadership and business. His clients include New York Times bestselling authors Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen (Chicken Soup for the Soul), Robert Allen, and Tony Robbins. The podcast features insights on the art of persuasive writing, direct sales, product launches, internet marketing strategies, and the spiritual foundations of business success.

I believe the way you start your day determines how it will end; productive and happy, or frustrated and fruitless.  That's why I put so much focus on my morning routine,  which is the foundation of my personal “Productivity Protocol”.  My morning routine is an intentional set of activities designed to set me up for the best possible day. With the right routine in place, I believe we can make our best days better, and perhaps even salvage what might have been a “bad day.” If you are familiar with my work, I have written about this before. But my routine has changed , and I have refined my process. On today's show, I will pull back the curtain on my newly re-engineered morning routine. Also coming up… The Post-It Note ToDo System. Stu McLaren returns. A super-simple copy outline. Now let's get on with it… Announcements: Thanks to all who have left a review of the Ray Edwards Show in iTunes. For more info about the one-day mastermind with me and 11 other people, where we make radical progress in your business… is on. Click this link to make your deposit and application. Conferences where I will be attending and/or speaking: Social Media Marketing World, March 26-28, 2014, San Diego, CA The Launch Conference, April 7-10, 2014, Orlando, FL SCORRE Conference May 5-8, Orlando, FL Tip Of The Week  The Post-It Note Planning System. Lifestyle Business Segment  With Stu McLaren Copywriting Corner This week I share a “super simple copywriting outline”. It goes like this: Headline: How to Get the Thing You Want, In Three Easy Steps Here's the problem, and what happens if you don't solve it… I solved the problem, and here's how… Who the heck am I, and why should you believe me? Introducing my Fancy New Problem-Solving System It's worked for me, for my other customers, and it will work for you… Here's exactly what you get How much it costs, and why it's worth 10 times more I will take all the risk Here's exactly what to do now Sure, there are lots of nuances to writing great copy. But this basic outline will help you quickly write a sales message. I flesh out the process and explain how to use the outline on today's show. Spiritual Foundations I have been accused of being a “hyper grace teacher”. According to this accusation, I have overemphasized the importance of the grace of Jesus Christ at the expense of his Lordship. Of course, I vehemently disagree with this criticism. I recently had a discussion about this for a topic with my friend Frank Viola, and I asked him if he would be willing to join us on the show so we could talk about the controversy over so-called “greasy grace”. To hear this fascinating interview, you'll need to listen to the audio of this week's show. You can find the course Frank mentioned by clicking here. Feature Segment: Create A Morning Routine That Sets You Up For Success The purpose of creating an intentional morning routine is to develop an habitual set of activities to start each day. The way you start the day sets the tone for the way you will finish out the rest of the day. A good routine in the morning will give you momentum for the rest the day, that increases the likelihood for productivity and success. My own routine has gone through considerable evolution over the last few years. Recently, I found my previous routine had become stale and somewhat out of alignment with my current priorities. So I've decided to reengineer it. This new routine will also undoubtedly evolve over time, but this is what I'm doing now, and what seems to be working for me. Get up early. I don't use an alarm clock, but I tend to naturally awaken between 4 and 5 AM. Most days, my day starts at 5 AM. Drink 24 ounces of water. Most of us live in a constant state of mild dehydration. This is bad for your body, and bad for your brain. I intentionally hydrate first thing in the morning. Especially considering the next part of my routine… Drink a cup of Bulletproof Coffee.  This is a blend of organic coffee, high quality MCT oil, and butter, blended into a delightful, flavorful, and creamy beverage. It tastes better than a latte, and  supports the healthy functioning of your brain.  there is a great deal of research about the benefits of Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCT), especially for preventing or alleviating the symptoms of conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. The best part, though, is that drinking Bulletproof Coffee gives me a great jolt of energy and mental clarity and focus. Prayer and mindfulness. This is where, in the words of Brother Lawrence, I “practice the presence” of Jesus. I'm listening for what he has to say to me today. Execute the Morning Reading Process. I'm currently reading nine books simultaneously, and I have written about this process recently. If you'd like to know more about how I managed to read as many as 40 books in a week, refer to this post. Quickly, though, I start by reading the Bible, then a devotional, and follow that up with some kind of theological work. Then I read a chapter in each of the other books I'm currently working through.  Write in my journal. I use the journaling app Day One, a template for each station journal entry that I adapted from one Michael Hyatt wrote about his blog, and usually spend only about 15 minutes journaling. The template is key. Before, whenever I attempted to Journal, I felt as though it was some sort of “artsy crafty” thing and really couldn't get into it. Having a template gives me an intentional set of data and/or thoughts that I want to record each day, and makes the journaling process as easy as filling in the blanks. It also means that later in life, when I refer back to this journal, it will have context and meaning. Plan my day. I still plan my day the night before. Planning tomorrow is the last activity I will do today. However, I have found it is extremely useful to review that plan at this step in my morning routine. I often end up changing the plan, because I have a fresh perspective on the day. While I am a big proponent of David Allen's GTD methodology, I'm afraid I still use a daily task list. I know GTD devotees will be disappointed to hear this, but this is what works for me. Years ago, I learned the “6 Most Important Things” to-do list method from Earl Nightingale (if memory serves correctly.) Robert Plank and Lance Tamashiro teach a system they call “4 Daily Tasks”, which I think is a better refinement of Nightingale's original idea. I simply make a list of “5 Things”. Each day, I have 5 things I want to accomplish, no matter what else happens. I start with number 1 and don't work on anything else until that is done. Then I move to number 2, and so on until I get to number 5. Once I've completed number 5, I am free to do whatever I want for the rest of the day. The key to making the system work is to make sure that they really are 5 “things”, and not 5 “projects”. Exercise.  By this time it is around 8 AM. At least four days out of the week, but ideally seven, I either go to the gym or hit the road for 40 minutes of physical exercise. It's good for your body,  it's good for your brain, and it's good for your emotional well-being. If I don't do it at this point in my day, it becomes much less likely that I will do it at all. Start working on my “5 Things.” Once upon a time, I wrote my 5 Things on a whiteboard, and at the end of the day would take a photo with my iPhone of the 5 Things crossed out. These days I use the Post-it note system I described in the Tip of the Week. I admit that I still cross off the items… but I don't take a picture. I just throw the Post-Its away.  Stop working at 3 PM. This is more of a goal than it is a reality as of this writing. This represents a big change in my modus operandi. But having a hard stop at the end of the day, and making it this early, give me the freedom to engage in other activities that are important to me that otherwise get shortchanged by work. That's my morning routine, and how transitions into the rest of my productivity protocol for the day. It's a new revision, I just started working this routine, and I will update you let you know how it's going somewhere down the line (if you're interested.) What To Do Now If you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the show. You can also find the podcast on Stitcher. Question:   What is your morning routine, and is it time to reengineer it? Click here to leave your comments.

This is episode 100… 100 weeks in a row, we've cranked out a new show. While Episode 104 will mark the 2-year anniversary of the show, I felt we had to do something special for #100… so that's what we're doing. And on today's episode I'm going to do  our usual segments, but the feature presentation segment will be exclusively your questions. Also coming up… How to know what your market wants. How to not waste your life. One of the most powerful copy secrets I know. Now let's get on with it… Announcements: Thanks to all who have left a review of the Ray Edwards Show in iTunes. For more info about the one-day mastermind with me and 11 other people, where we make radical progress in your business… is on. You can get the full story here. Conferences where I will be attending and/or speaking: Social Media Marketing World, March 26-28, 2014, San Diego, CA The Launch Conference, April 7-10, 2014, Orlando, FL JV Alert: The Perfect Game April 24-27, Denver, CO SCORRE Conference May 5-8, Orlando, FL Tip Of The Week  Survey your customers! Copywriting Corner The power of “reason why”. Spiritual Foundations Don't waste your life. “Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.” The good news is that includes being an entrepreneur! Feature Segment: Nothin' But “Q&A With Ray” With questions from: Michael Hyatt Cliff Ravenscraft Dr. Kenny Handelman Kirk Bowman Dan Miller Alejandro Reyes Frank Viola Annett Bone Martin Howey Jeff Sanders Ian Bone Jason Nicholas Joel Comm Ken McArthur Tracy Childers Ryan Eidson Mike McMahon Marshall Bone Phil Drysdale Tor Constantino Stu McLaren What To Do Now If you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the show. You can also find the podcast on Stitcher. Question:  What are your big questions about how to monetize your message? Click here to leave your comments.

Copywriter & Marketing Consultant Ray Edwards hosts this weekly show about Internet Business and Supernatural Success. Ray is a world-renowned copywriter and communications strategist, writing for some of the most powerful voices in leadership and business. His clients include New York Times bestselling authors Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen (Chicken Soup for the Soul), Robert Allen, and Tony Robbins. The podcast features insights on the art of persuasive writing, direct sales, product launches, internet marketing strategies, and the spiritual foundations of business success.

I'm pleased to have Michael Stelzner as my guest on today's show. If you don't know who Michael is… well in the words of Ron Burgundy, he's “kind of a big deal.” Don't act like you're not impressed. The Networking Party that kicks off this year's Social Media Marketing World in San Diego will happen on the deck of the USS Midway! We'll get to Michael's interview in a few minutes, but first I want to tell you about the upcoming celebration, and a few other reasons to keep listening, such as… The most compressive goal-setting and tracking software I have found. The number 166. One of my NEW top Copywriting book recommedations. Now let's get on with it… Announcements: Thanks to all who have left a review of the podcast in iTunes. This week I would like to thank:  Kirk Bowman, Eric Dingler, “Lady J” Jevonnah Ellison. It looks like the one-day mastermind with me and 11 other people, where we make radical progress in your business… is on. You can get the full story here. Next week's show is number 100, and we will be devoting it exclusively to listener questions. I'm turning the microphone over to you. Conferences where I will be attending and/or speaking: NAMS 11 February 7-9, 2014, Atlanta, GA Social Media Marketing World, March 26-28, 2014, San Diego, CA The Launch Conference, April 7-10, 2014, Orlando, FL JV Alert: The Perfect Game April 24-27, Denver, CO SCORRE Conference May 5-8, Orlando, FL Tip Of The Week  I have been experimenting with a number of different goal-setting apps, and so far the most full-featured of the bunch is GoalsOnTrack.   Things I like about GoalsOnTrack: It has a great little iPhone app. It syncs my due dates with Google Calendar. It's hierarchical, so it works like an outline. I can track my goal, the purpose that drives the goal, the start and end dates… and most importantly, the habits and action plans needed to support the goal. I do wish they offered a native iPad app, but other than those two points I love GoalsOnTrack. Copywriting Corner Accidental Genius: Using Writing to Generate Your Best Ideas, Insight, and Content One of the problems I see in the world of copywriting and marketing today is a lack of original ideas. Look, folks, John Caples and David Ogilvy did not achieve their greatness by using somebody else's “swipe file”. They got their breakthrough ideas by dipping into a deeper well, where they probably found ideas swimming around that grew out of reading books (you remember those, stories like Moby Dick, Huckleberry Finn, The Stand, Fahrenheit 451, Etc.?) I suggest you dip into those wells for yourself. The best copy, in my humble but accurate opinion, is between the covers of the best novels. But, I digress. Would you like a shortcut to writing better copy? This great book was recommended to me by my friend Andy Traub. In the book, Levy teaches a concept and technique he calls freewriting. His claim is that it helps you produce breakthrough ideas and solve problems in minutes. This book has literally changed my writing process. I'm using the freewriting technique to generate material for my blog posts, podcasts, books, seminars, and products. What I was shocked to discover is that even if we consider ourselves creative, we tend to hold ourselves back. Inside each of us lives The Editor. Her job (yes, I'm afraid it's always a her) is to tell us that our writing is not perfect, that we need to go back and revise it, that we need to make sure we never sound stupid. Heaven forbid if anybody thought we were crazy. What results from that kind of limiting belief is limited thinking. Careful thinking. Thinking that wants to make sure we fit in. Thinking that keeps us stuck. Free writing, on the other hand, starts with you writing as fast as you can, for as long as you can, about something that's important to you and ignoring the standard rules of grammar and spelling and what you learned in English class and what your mother might think and what the Ladies' Society For Literary Decency might think. I freewrote that last sentence. Notice that it was longer than most of my more controlled writing. It also, I think, had a little sparkle. I'm not going to polish it fix it, I'm going to leave it here as an example that perhaps will tease you into buying this book. I've only scratched the surface of Levy's work. He has six big “secrets” that help render your Editor unconscious and let your genius run around for a while, naked and free. There are also a score of other exercises and techniques. And yes, he does teach you how to refine your free writing into something that you would share with somebody without fear or embarrassment. Spiritual Foundations 2 hours. That's the amount of time each week the average businessperson, manager, or entrepreneur spends  inside of church. If you've done the math already you realize that there are only 168 hours in a week. That means that 166 hours are spent outside the church for most modern Christians. There's nothing wrong with that. In fact, that's my point in this week's Spiritual Foundations. Jesus never told us, “go to church.” In fact, he said something quite opposite: And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” Mark 16:15 Most modern Christians act as if “ministry” is a job title that preachers have. But according to the Bible, the job of the preacher is to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. The saints (that's you and me) are the ones doing the ministry. As a minister in the marketplace, you are quite literally going “into all the world.” In future episodes, we're going to focus a lot more intently on what it means to do marketplace ministry without being preachy or repulsive to other people. We're going to focus on how you show the love of Christ to others in such a way they are changed by it… they are changed by him. For now, I leave you with something to think about. Just like Jesus,  your meant to be out there, doing your father's business. So how's business? Feature Segment: Social Media Marketing With Michael Stelzner Michael Stelzner is the founder of Social Media Examiner, the world’s largest online social media magazine. Michael is also the author of the books Launch and Writing White Papers… and the man behind some large events, such as Social Media Marketing World (the most influential physical event in the industry, and I am thrilled to be speaking there next month), and Social Media Success Summit, the largest online conference. He is also host of the Social Media Marketing podcast show. Get your tickets by clicking here.  What To Do Now If you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the show. You can also find the podcast on Stitcher. Question:  What are your big questions about how to monetize your message? Click here to leave your comments.

Copywriter & Marketing Consultant Ray Edwards hosts this weekly show about Internet Business and Supernatural Success. Ray is a world-renowned copywriter and communications strategist, writing for some of the most powerful voices in leadership and business. His clients include New York Times bestselling authors Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen (Chicken Soup for the Soul), Robert Allen, and Tony Robbins. The podcast features insights on the art of persuasive writing, direct sales, product launches, internet marketing strategies, and the spiritual foundations of business success.

Copywriter & Marketing Consultant Ray Edwards hosts this weekly show about Internet Business and Supernatural Success. Ray is a world-renowned copywriter and communications strategist, writing for some of the most powerful voices in leadership and business. His clients include New York Times bestselling authors Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen (Chicken Soup for the Soul), Robert Allen, and Tony Robbins. The podcast features insights on the art of persuasive writing, direct sales, product launches, internet marketing strategies, and the spiritual foundations of business success.

Do you have a message you'd like to get out the world, and you wonder if it's possible to get paid for it? It is possible, and it does take work, but not as much as you might think. And on today's episode I'm going to show you  seven simple steps to monetizing your message. Also coming up… A travel app that I consider must-have. How to know who is a real follower of Jesus, and who is not. How to write blockbuster copy in 45 minutes. Now let's get on with it… Announcements: Thanks to all who have left a review of the podcast in iTunes.  I'm going to start publicly acknowledging those who have done so, if I can identify you (sometimes the usernames in iTunes make that difficult.) This week I would like to thank:  Doug 9999, Tom Page, Joe Taylor, Walter G, Wesley Wiley, ChurchBoy 77, “frequent listener”. Every person who submits an audio question for the podcast will receive a free gift (if, and only if, we use your question on the podcast). Click here to submit your audio question. Meanwhile, if you would be interested in the possible one-day mastermind with me and 11 other people, where we make radical progress in your business… And if you're not just “interested” but you already know you want to do it,  fill in this form. If it looks like you would be a good fit, I will call you myself.  (If you just want the “details”, listen to the podcast. I explain all the “details”.) Conferences where I will be attending and/or speaking: NAMS 11 February 7-9, 2014, Atlanta, GA Social Media Marketing World, March 26-28, 2014, San Diego, CA The Launch Conference, April 7-10, 2014, Orlando, FL JV Alert: The Perfect Game April 24-27, Denver, CO SCORRE Conference May 5-8, Orlando, FL Tip Of The Week  My top must-have travel app, Tripit.  There are lots of travel apps available, and I have tried most of them. But this one is the hands-down winner that I was willing to pay money for. Here are three reasons why I really love this app: No more cutting and pasting. Automatically create itineraries by forwarding confirmation emails to a special email address. Custom itineraries. Add maps and directions, travel notes, photos, recommendations and more. Easy access, 24/7. Access your itinerary any time online, via mobile device, calendar feeds or social sites. Sharing. Share itineraries with family, friends, and co-workers to keep them in the know and connect with them on the road. Mobile alerts. Get mobile alerts or emails about flight delays, cancellations, and gate changes. Copywriting Corner Do you want to know the magic formula for writing copy that sells? Me too. The fact is, there is no such formula. There are frameworks, and I teach those. What's more, I use them. But the truth is the best copy comes from inspiration and creativity. Where do those things come from? That is the subject of this week's Copywriting Corner. John Cleese has famously said he doesn't know where great ideas come from, but he's certain they don't come from our laptops. I believe it's important to be open to, and fill up on, stimulating, exciting, interesting, moving, and varied experiences. To live life. To give your brain a chance to get away from your projects, so it can do your work. My best copy has never come from following a template or formula. It is come from a flurry of white hot inspired ideation. Yours can too. In the audio version of this show, I expand a bit on these concepts, but for the benefit of you text a files, here are some tips Give yourself plenty of creative input for your brain to work with (TV, movies, real world experiences, books, and especially things that are outside your normal range of experience.) Carry a notebook and a pen! When one of those lightning strike idea moments happens, stop everything else and capture the inspiration in what I call “the vomit draft”. Spiritual Foundations How do we know who's a true follower of Jesus? Well, first of all, there is no “litmus test” they can tell us for sure if another person is “saved” or not. Only the Holy Spirit himself knows that for sure. So how do we know, with all the various opinions and doctrines and expressions of Christianity, who the true followers of Christ really are? I think Jesus himself gave us the answer. He said: By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 15:35 Feature Segment: How To Monetize Your Message By far, the most frequent question I am asked is some variation of, “Ray, how do I start a business of my own on the Internet? Can I really make enough money to get by? Or is it just a scam?” It definitely is not a scam. I know plenty of people who have made this transition. Of course some of them are quite well known, and have been clients of mine. Some are my friends, and I've been privileged to know a few who are household names. But more impressive, I think, are the people you may have never heard of who have done exactly this. People who do things as varied as teaching massage therapists how to run a business, or teaching how to grow your own medicinal herbs, or unique brand of artful photography, or even dog training… It is definitely possible to take your knowledge and experience, what you already know, in turn that into money. In fact, I'm teaching a brand-new webinar on this very subject tomorrow night (Thursday, January 30, 2014.) You can register for that webinar by clicking here. It's free. Meanwhile, here are seven simple steps that will help you move closer to learning how to monetize your message. First, you must decide that it's okay to actually do this. Identify your “tribe”. Hone your message. Package your message properly. Promote your message. Profit from your message. Ask, “what's next?” We are at a significant point in history, unique and exciting. Every person is a media company if they want to be. For less than $100, you can have your own mini media empire. So the question is no longer access to distribution. The question is what will you do with it? Listener Questions Barak: How do you grow your audience? Corbin Links:  How do you overcome a bad book review on an influential site? Dan Tredo:  How do you overcome technical problems when building information business? Todd Liles: Where do you find good Infusionsoft campaign templates?   What To Do Now If you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the show. You can also find the podcast on Stitcher. Question:  What are your big questions about how to monetize your message? Click here to leave your comments.

Have you broken your New Year's resolutions yet? Most people have-my estimate is that over 90% have. So what do you do now? I'd say it's time to get serious about planning your year. And on today's episode I'm going to show you how to do it in less than one hour. Also coming up… My top three productivity apps for 2014. Why what you say has spiritual power. Your invitation to a one-day mastermind with me. Now let's get on with it… Announcements: Thanks to all who have left a review of the podcast in iTunes.  I'm going to start publicly acknowledging those who have done so, if I can identify you (sometimes the usernames in iTunes make that difficult.) This week I would like to thank:  Kingsley, Hope Dispenser… Cindy Bidar… Missouri Broker… Corbin 111… Jim Munchbach… Phil Drysdale… Robert Plank… Ernie Lansford… Carmen Manrique… Nick Douglas… Jeff Brown… Jeff Sanders… Rick Butts… Ryan Eidson… John Tiller… Liz Dugger… Todd Brown… Chad Meisinger… Bob Shoe… Rob Metras…  and Eric Graham. Every person who submits an audio question for the podcast will receive a free gift (if, and only if, we use your question on the podcast). Click here to submit your audio question. Meanwhile, if you would be interested in the possible one-day mastermind with me and 11 other people, where we make radical progress in your business… And if you're not just “interested” but you already know you want to do it,  fill in this form. If it looks like you would be a good fit, I will call you myself.  (If you just want the “details”, listen to the podcast. I explain all the “details”.) Conferences where I will be attending and/or speaking: NAMS 11 February 7-9, 2014, Atlanta, GA Social Media Marketing World, March 26-28, 2014, San Diego, CA JV Alert: The Perfect Game April 24-27, Denver, CO SCORRE Conference May 5-8, Orlando, FL Tip Of The Week  My top three productivity apps probably will not come as much of a surprise. But I have made a shift, so here they are: Evernote. I think of Evernote as my “magical filing cabinet/notebook/backup brain”. I really couldn't function the way I do without it. Nozbe. It took a strong recommendation from Michael Hyatt to finally get me to try a different task management system. I had been using OmniFocus for years.  Now, after just a couple of weeks, I can't imagine going back. Dragon Dictate.  I have finally taken the time to learn the nuances (pun intended) of using the software. I don't know of anyone who can type faster than they can talk. Other than dictating and having your words recorded by transcriptionist, this is the fastest way I know to write. Copywriting Corner If you ever get stuck writing copy, and find yourself staring at a blank page, here's a quick tip that will get the copy flowing again. Just start writing up the offer. Describe the “stuff” you'll be selling. If even that requires too much creativity, try just writing up the guarantee. In other words, write what I call “the stupid parts”. I don't mean that these parts the copy are unimportant, or that you should be careless about the final draft of these sections. What I do mean is that you can write this kind of copy even if you are in a “stupid state”. I usually find that fairly soon the creativity starts to flow again, and I can start writing “the smart parts”. And yes, I also go back and rewrite the parts I started with, because all of your copy needs to be “smart parts”. Spiritual Foundations I believe that as followers of Christ, we have the very Spirit of God living inside of us. I believe because of this, the words we speak have power. Thus, saying negative things (“I can't do this”… “Why does this always happen to me”… “It always turns out like this”… and so on) can have a powerful adverse impact on our lives. By the same token, saying positive things brings about good things in our life. This is not “positive thinking”. It is absolutely not “The Secret”, which is a new age religion not compatible with following Christ. Some people wonder if my belief in “positive declarations” is Biblical. It certainly is. And here are 3 biblical reasons why you should only declare good things about yourself, your loved ones, and your life. When we speak or hear life-giving declarations, grace is imparted. “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers” (Ephesians 4:29) The words we speak can either bless or curse our lives. “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:37) Perhaps the most powerful Scripture on this topic is also the simplest: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (Proverbs 18:21). Feature Segment: How To Plan Your Year In Just 1 Hour By now it's likely your  New Year's resolutions are broken. Most people's are. I believe the reason behind this is the same force that was behind my experience while hiking recently.  I got so focused on the length and height of the mountain we were trying to climb, I wanted to give up.  It was only when I learned to focus on short-term and intermediate points on the path that I found the strength to continue the hike. (For the full hiking story,  you need to listen to the show!) This is the problem with New Year's resolutions. I have a different plan in mind for you. Here's how to plan your entire year in an hour or less, and it matches up a lot more closely with what you already do naturally anyway. First, plan your days off. 52 weeks means 52 Saturdays and Sundays… Which really should be 104 days free from work. Add in 10 days for actual vacation, and 10 more days for holidays, and you have a minimum of 124 free days. Put those in your calendar, and protect them like the treasure they are. Next, plan the important personal events that you simply must attend. Weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, and family reunions come to mind. I would also include here any important church or mission functions. Now, plan any seminars, conferences, or other learning events you are going to attend. Don't fool yourself; you have a limited number of these events you can attend. You probably know the most important ones already so plug them into the calendar. Any weekends or other free days that get eaten up by these events must be replaced somewhere else in your calendar. At this point, in my own planning I realized I had only about 165 days left before I even started the year. That means out of the entire year, I only had 23 weeks to “work”… less than half the weeks in the year. This is a powerful realization, because the things that I have listed above are going to happen to you… whether you put them on the calendar or not. The only exception might be that, because of a lack of planning, you sacrifice your “free days”… meaning you are sacrificing time with family, time recharging and resting, time to re-create. Big mistake. So what do you do when youre remaining 23 weeks (or whatever number you came up with)? First of all, I don't recommend working 12-15 hours a day to try and make up the difference. In fact, I recommend you limit your work day to about six hours. That's all the productive time you're going to get out of the day anyhow, whether you admit it or not. This leads us to a very important realization… we can now calculate the value of an hour of our work. Here's how to do that… Decide how much money you want to make this year. Let's say, just for the sake of example, your target income is $200,000. You have 165 days to work,  And I think it's pretty fair to say that a third of those days will be spent doing administrative and preparatory work (in other words, not the actual stuff your paid for). This leaves you with about 110 full “workdays”-days when you perform the actual work that gets you paid. Let's suppose you're going to work seven hours per day (and if you can actually squeeze seven productive hours out of a day, you are performing at a higher level than 95% of everyone else on earth… congratulations.) Seven hours per day times 110 days yields 770 hours. Which means you're being paid $259.74 per hour in order to make your $200,000 this year. So what's the point? I haven't describe anything unrealistic. In fact, I may have just given you the first realistic picture of what your year actually looks like you've ever seen. Perhaps right now you're having a revelation of why you never made the money you want to make, or achieved the things you want to achieve. It's because you have less time available to work than you think you do. This is not bad news. It simply means your primary question should be: “Is what I'm doing right now worth $259.74 per hour?” If the answer is no… stop it. You're probably already ahead of me. You're probably thinking about all the other things I haven't plugged into your schedule… doctor appointments, unexpected illnesses, pleasant surprises… even the possibility that you want to make more money than what I mentioned. My point isn't even that you need to have a perfect plan. It's that you need to put the big pieces of the puzzle in your calendar first, the ones you know that are beyond choosing, the ones you know that are important (like those free days), and the ones you know you have little control over. It means you need to get a realistic view of how many hours you actually have available to you this year to accomplish your goals, to be intentional about how you use them, and most importantly… to not be surprised at the end of the year, when you could've planned a different outcome. I suppose if I had a summary message it would be this: I believe you can do almost anything you want this year, but you almost certainly cannot do everything you want. What To Do Now If you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the show. You can also find the podcast on Stitcher. Question: how do you plan your year? Click here to leave your comments.

Copywriter & Marketing Consultant Ray Edwards hosts this weekly show about Internet Business and Supernatural Success. Ray is a world-renowned copywriter and communications strategist, writing for some of the most powerful voices in leadership and business. His clients include New York Times bestselling authors Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen (Chicken Soup for the Soul), Robert Allen, and Tony Robbins. The podcast features insights on the art of persuasive writing, direct sales, product launches, internet marketing strategies, and the spiritual foundations of business success.