Yet, there are a few things you need to know about The Secret , especially what’s right about it.

First, what is The Secret? The Secret is the “Law of Attraction”. Basically, according to the book, the Law of Attraction governs the universe and since like attracts like, you bring upon yourself whatever kinds of thoughts you are having. If you think positive thoughts, then positive things will happen to you. If you worry about negatives, then you are actually bringing those same negative things upon yourself. It’s an extreme form of the power of positive thinking mixed with a bit of telekinesis. It’s also the same ask-believe-receive teachings on TBN except some of the words have been changed to reach a broader audience: God is now “the Universe”, faith has been replaced with “positive thinking”, and the devil has been morphed into “negative thoughts”. Not surprisingly, The Secret is all about materialism and getting rich quickly. Not only are the claims The Secret makes pure fantasy, the science and psychology in The Secret has major flaws.

The Law of Attraction in The Secret states that EVERYTHING in your life YOU have attracted. So if you constantly worry about cancer, you will bring it upon yourself with all those negative thoughts. It also clearly states that victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks brought it upon themselves because everything that happens to someone – both good and bad – are the direct result of their own thoughts. This claim is quite preposterous, and yet scary, too, because people believe this and will react foolishly. Some who have fallen for this falsehood have gone out and made big purchases because they have visualized mysterious magical money bestowed upon them from the Universe. Some of the people I know who have gone out and bought this book and even passed it around are normal, seemingly intelligent people. It just goes to show you that 1) People are easily fooled and will believe almost anything and 2) a clever marketing campaign will go a long way, especially if you have the right celebrity endorsements.

The Secret has managed to be right about one thing, though: It is an example of smart marketing. First, the title makes people curious – who wouldn’t want to be privy to an age-old secret that some of the world’s smartest and most influential people, like Plato and Einstein, knew about? The cover, a red wax seal on parchment paper, conjures up mystery and authenticity – a la “Da Vinci Code.” The DVD starts off with a dramatization depicting The Secret being hidden and lost for years before being rediscovered. Then the DVD goes to documentary mode with testimonials, some by semi-famous people. The Secret is presented as if it’s a guaranteed scientific fact and some of the people on the DVD have fancy sounding titles- yet another clever selling technique. And maybe one of the smartest marketing moves is the author’s claim to how she discovered The Secret (in a time of great suffering she stumbled upon it and discovered how many of the world’s most influential used it) and now she just “wants to share The Secret with the world” (at $16.76 for the book and $34.99 for the DVD). And then there’s the ever popular topic that’s an easy seller: getting rich quickly without working. However questionable the claims of The Secret are, it has managed to be a big money-maker thanks to some clever marketing moves.

GEICO, or Government Employees Insurance Company, a subsidy of Berkshire Hathaway, has taken a unique approach to marketing itself.

First and foremost is the sheer volume of advertising. GEICO’s strategy is to saturate the market with print advertising (circulars), radio ads, and the various television advertisements. It seems that you won’t get through a day without being bombarded with GEICO ads everywhere you turn, and that’s because there’s big money in car insurance and the competition is fierce. Unlike other industries, auto insurance had no niche – every driver is a potential customer. GEICO knows this and does a good job of getting it’s name out there to the masses.

Second, GEICO’s ad campaigns offer a broader range of appeal to target as many drivers as possible. There are the more serious ads aimed for older drivers, and then there are the more humorous and/or unexpected ad campaigns that are designed for younger drivers. If you don’t find the talking gecko humorous and informative, then maybe you prefer the celebrity spoof commercials like the ones featuring Little Richard or Charo. Or how about the “good news” commercials – you know, the ones where a person goes though something very bad but they still say they have good news because they just saved a lot of money on their car insurance. Then again, you might just be a caveman fan. Whatever your preference, it seems GEICO has a commercial for you.

Lastly, and I think most important, is that GEICO succeeds in setting itself apart from other insurance companies. Unlike other insurance carriers, with serious and boring television ads, GEICO’s ads are certainly more entertaining and humorous. Sure, some ads come across as annoying (for me it’s those celebrity ads, for others it’s the gecko with the British accent), but some are really funny. Like the Caveman commercials. Not only do they make for good commercials, but there is a sitcom spin off in the works for ABC. Setting yourself apart from your competition and creating a fad in American pop culture- now that’s advertising success.

GEICO’s 3-point marketing strategy – Volume, Variety, and Vagary – has helped make an underdog like GEICO the fastest-growing major car-insurance company in the nation, with sales jumping to $11 billion from $2.8 billion in 1998. It is certainly a strategy worth learning from, especially the third tier (setting yourself apart from your competition with a unique approach). A final thanks to GEICO; as a result of it’s unique and effective marketing campaign America now has a new and (hopefully) funny sitcom to look forward to.

While it’s relatively easy to start your own auction site, it’s not automatic money. Let me explain the simple steps involved in starting an auction site, first of all.

1. Buy auction software. This typically will come as a script, written in PHP, that must be hosted. The script can cost anywhere from $0-$1000 depending on what you choose.

2. Buy a domain. You’ll want a really cool name for your auction site. Get the .com, and you should probably get the .net and .org because when you’re a huge success you don’t want people registering those names. (Oh yeah, be sure to register all the other domains that GoDaddy recommends – like the .biz, .us, .tv, .yo, .sisenor, .uh, and whatever else.)

2. Buy hosting. You can get hosting cheap if you know where to look. Make sure you use a reliable host however – read the reviews!!

3. Buy or make a custom skin. You don’t want to have the same exact look as all the other auction sites out there, so make sure to pimp your site. If you pay someone to do it, it might run about $300 if you look on elance.com.

4. Set up your new site. You need to set up all the emails, templates, payment options, etc. You’ll probably invest half a day doing this stuff.

So that’s it. You do those things, and you’ll have a brand-spankin’-new website. And no bidders. Like I said, there’s more to it. The complicated parts are:

• Telling people about your site.
• Convincing them to use your site.

If you can do those two things, you’ll be a success – but very few people are a success at running auction sites. The companies that make auction site scripts do quite well (I’m sure) but very few people ever make back their investment of time and money after they set up their site.

eBay is on top, remember. If you get someone to use your site to buy or sell, you most likely need to take that customer from them. Can you do it? It takes more time, effort, money, advertising, and satanic ritual sacrifices than I care to discuss. So remember, kids: You will not get any users just by putting up a new auction site.

In case you want to forge ahead with this endeavor, here are some of the more popular/better scripts.

PHPProBid – Written in PHP so you can fully hack it. Which a lot of people do. I have seen some decent looking sites using this platform.

AJ Auction – Another PHP script. I don’t know too much about the software.

phpauction XL – This is also widely used, but I’ve read some negative things about the guy who wrote/supports this.

rwAuction Pro – This is an ASP .NET script. It looks like it has all the necessary features, but then again it’s ASP and not PHP.

The auction business is flooded with sites – homegrown auction sites come and go. While I would love to see someone beat eBay at their game and equalize the playing field, it’s not likely in the foreseeable future. Is it impossible, though?? No way. Anything’s possible.

Perhaps someone can be successful with a niche auction site; if so, I hope these resources help you if you’re investigating getting into the auction business.

So instead of me doing that, I am going to tell you about a site full of great articles that I recommend you read. If you haven’t checked out the link to JohnChow.com already, and you want to know how to make money online, it is a great resource.

Is he knowledgeable? Yes. Does he have interesting insights? Yes. Is he cocky? Sure. Regardless of that…is his blog worth reading? Absolutely.

Why do I say that? Because he’s a creative marketer, he’s a decent writer, and he is good at conveying relevant knowledge when the subject is making money online. One example of his creativity with online marketing is his current “Make Money Online Review” promotion: if you have a blog, and post a review of his blog, he will link to your site. Tell me a better way to get a link from a PR6 site. (Really, if you know…tell me!)

For some it’s a dreaded word, a feared part of doing business. But, it’s absolutely vital to success, especially if you are on your own in the business world. For the typical entrepreneur, 2/3 of business comes from direct personal contact (networking and referrals). Then all entrepreneurs must be great networkers, right? Unfortunately, that’s not the case. So, if you’re one of the many who find it’s not one of your strong points, then you must learn to be a better networker.

The term “networking” has become a major buzzword in the business world. There are stacks of books on the subject, networking groups, and even networking seminars. But simply put, networking can be broken down to one thought: To connect on a personal level with others. It’s not just about handing out numerous business cards. It’s not just about being in the right meetings or groups. It’s about connecting; it’s about relationships. When you begin connecting with others in this way, then you begin creating mutually beneficial relationships.

Good networkers are those who have a genuine interest in the person they are speaking with. They are on the lookout to be of assistance. They share resources, ideas, and contacts. They are trustworthy and trusting. They sincerely want to help others in the business world and/or their potential clients. They are good listeners. Good networking takes time and a personal investment in a relationship.

Some are natural people-persons; they are inclined to be outgoing and meet people. They might even have an easier time remembering names! But for the rest of you, here are some practical, easy tips that you can start implementing right now.

1. Be genuine. Become sincerely interested in the person you are with. People can spot a fake and will not appreciate it if they think you are sponging off them or their circle.

2. Introduce yourself. Say your name clearly. Offer a pleasantry, such as “It’s nice to meet you.” Describe who you are and what you do in 10 seconds or less. Maintain eye contact.

3. Develop a good handshake. Avoid the “limp fish” handshake and the WWWF handshake.

4. Carry business cards. When the time is appropriate, usually at the end of meeting a new contact, leave them with a business card and ask if they have one for you.

5. Remember names. This may not be the easiest part, but do your best. When you meet someone initially, repeat their name and use it a few times in the conversation. This not only will help you remember it, but it will likely ingratiate yourself with them. If you are absolutely forgetful when it comes to names, then don’t be afraid to write it down in an accessible, organized place.

6. Ask open-ended questions. This will help you converse with a new contact easily and learn more about them. If you aren’t the best conversationalist, then learn a handful of these types of questions to use. Here are a few examples to try: “What do you do?” “How did you get into that?” “Do you like it?” “Have you ever thought about doing something else?”

7. Be a giver. Be a helpful resource by sharing your ideas, talents, contacts, and giving referrals. The rule in life about having to give before you get is equally true in the business world. People will remember and appreciate your help and respond in kind.

8. Follow through on referrals. And do it in a timely manner. Respect when someone gives you a referral and act accordingly. This shows your regard for the person who gave you the referral and keeps that relationship flowing.

When it comes to an entrepreneur and networking, it’s a sink or swim situation. There’s no way around it. The good news is that even those who may not naturally be disposed to be great at networking CAN learn the basics and improve their networking skills. And the importance and benefits of networking are not limited to business, but also apply to every other area of life.

[tags]networking, business, entrepreneur, work-at-home, self-employed, sales, sell[/tags]