I found this article that I wanted to share with you.

Alexei Oreskovic of Thompson Reuters has written an article about a Joint Venture you should know about.

Microsoft Corp and Google Inc have sealed separate agreements to access real-time content from Web phenomenon Twitter, intensifying their battle for a search market that Google now dominates.

Google and Microsoft’s five-month-old Bing search engine, which hopes to take on the current leader, both won access to Twitter’s store of public data in real time, executives at the two companies said on Wednesday.

The long-expected deals are expected to ramp up the efficacy and lure of search results, by allowing users to scan real-time Tweets: 140-character stream-of-consciousness messages that Twitter hosts on its vastly popular website.

But Microsoft appeared to one-up its rival Google, which controls 65% of the search market, with a deal also to include content from social networking site Facebook, one of the Internet’s most visited addresses.

Terms of the deals – which were non-exclusive – were not disclosed.

“In the past few years, an entirely new type of data has emerged – real-time updates like those on Twitter,” said Marissa Mayer, Google’s vice president of search products.

“We have reached an agreement with Twitter to include their updates in our search results. We believe that our search results and user experience will greatly benefit from the inclusion of this up-to-the-minute data.”

Twitter, the three-year-old Web start-up that has become an Internet sensation popularized by celebrities and government, attracts tens of millions of visitors every month.

Qi Lu, president of online services at Microsoft, said data from Twitter could provide “signals” about which content on the Web is most popular and most relevant to search queries.

“You can use those to augment today’s search experience,” Mr. Lu told a San Francisco Internet conference.

From Wednesday, Twitter search results will be accessible on a special section of Bing as a beta, or test product. Microsoft plans to present the most popular Tweets of the moment, while allowing Web surfers to view Twitter messages that contain links to other Web content. Microsoft will filter out spam and other extraneous data.

Conversely, Bing’s Facebook deal encompasses only messages that its 300 million-plus users have flagged as viewable to the public, a practice that is relatively new and not as widespread on the social network, where users typically send messages to groups of friends.

“This is one of the first times that a search engine will be differentiated through access to content. We think Bing will benefit from the right to index and display the tweets almost as soon as they are posted,” JPMorgan said in a research note before Google announced its own agreement.

“As searchers are looking for more and more real-time Web results, we think this partnership will help Bing to improve its user experience.”

Microsoft also inked a deal this year to entwine its search efforts with Yahoo’s.

Yahoo’s chief technology officer, Ari Balogh, told reporters that, generally speaking, any data Microsoft’s search engine has access to would also be accessible to Yahoo under the terms of their partnership.

Yahoo already has been testing the limited inclusion of Twitter messages within Yahoo search results to certain users, he added.

“All content on the Web is relevant to search,” Mr. Balogh said. He thought people would not want to go to three or four sites to access different types of data, such as Twitter results.

Article found at: The Financial Post

Found this great article online, thought I would share it with you.

3 Secrets to Being Confident

We’ve heard it (and said it) a million times: confidence is sexy. But how do you deal when you’re lacking in that department? We asked members of Marie Claire Ask & Answer — Marie Claire ’s online Q&A community for dating, sex, and relationship advice — for their secrets to appearing confident and sexy. “This is one of those areas where you start out faking it, but as you go along, you feel more capable of handling situations, and hence become more confident,” Answerology member logash365 says.   How to fake it until you make it:

Secret #1: Stand Up Straight. Slouching has never done anyone’s appearance any favors, so before you can speak and flirt with confidence, you need to look the part. Your mother was right. Now, shoulders back and chin up! And, silver75 adds, “Smile and look people in their eyes when you talk to them.”

Secret #2: Speak Softy. “Don’t raise your voice,” says logash365 . “A soft, but firm voice will give the impression that you are in control of yourself and the situation.” You don’t have to be the loudest person in the room to come across as self-assured. Get them to lean in close instead.

Secret #3: Be Positive. If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all — resist the urge to complain in order to fill an awkward silence. “Do not go on and on about how much you have to do, how little time there is, etc.,” says logash365 . That attitude “indicates that you are struggling to maintain control.” Don’t have much to say? Ask questions until the frog in your throat goes on its way.  It’s much more attractive to be a good listener than to be the rain on everyone’s parade.

It’s good advice!

All the best

Stefanie

Wow!  Who says Monday’s are boring?   This is so exciting!

Today is FINALLY the day I can REVEAL the proud winners of the Private JV Club Contest.

Here’s the story:

A few months ago, I asked several of my famous friends to participate in a joint venture contest to help unknowns get a big break.  Many agreed and the JV Club Contest was born.  After 6 weeks of coaching JV Members on how to write a proposal Continue Reading

Gone Are the Days of the Faceless Corporation

According to a Yale psychology department study, there are ten words you should be using in your advertising techniques to get the most powerful responses:

New, Save, Safety, Proven, Love, Discover, Guarantee, Health, Results, and You (which was listed as the most powerful above all!)

As a marketer, knowing these types of things always interests me, but as one who’s interested in the ‘heart’ of business, I’m just fascinated as the feelings behind why these words are so powerful in advertising.

It can be all too easy for any marketer to fall into the trap of making it ‘about me’. I think a lot of that is simply ingrained in us from the older days of advertising – the lack mentality and desperation to say ‘Look at me! Look at me!’ where the one who shows the most glitter gets ahead.

It can be very difficult to trust your marketing on the strength of who you are and the foundation of quality that you provide when you’re living on the fear that someone else may get ahead!

But think about it – if you can provide something unique and novel, your product or service is going to shout ‘NEW’ and ‘DISCOVER’ louder than any of your copy will. If you can offer testimonials and give your honest word to stand behind your product or service, ‘PROVEN’, ‘RESULTS’, ‘SAFETY’ and ‘GUARANTEE’ are spoken out for you.

If your true desire is to make honest money with something you know your audience can afford and pay happily, they’re going to know that they’re SAVING, and while not everything has to do with HEALTH, any product or service you create that contributes to overall balance is going to have an affect there too.

LOVE, of course, can literally show through everything you do – and the more you love what you’re doing and who you’re doing it for, the greater the power of that word will pervade throughout every aspect of your business.

And YOU, of course – your client or customer – they’ll know right away if it’s all about them or not as soon as they stumble across your marketing efforts!

Does this mean you should never use these words in your copy or advertising techniques, simply letting your product or service speak for itself? Continue Reading

This Mother’s Day many people celebrated and honored their Mother’s by treating them to brunch, lunch or a relaxing day off.  A card, along with some flowers can also part of the day.

In fact, consider that across the USA alone,  people will spend over $15 billion dollars on gifts and flowers for Mother’s Day.  That’s big business, especially since in the week leading up to Mother’s Day, $76 million of that was sold on the internet alone.

That’s a huge amount of money for just 7 days!  Imagine what YOU could earn using the same kind of marketing that many of those very online flower sites used to bring in those kinds of sales numbers.

Imagine being teamed up with a business that could help you reach the kinds of sales you’ve always wanted. And now picture that this could all come with virtually zero risk or cost to you!

I’m talking about Joint Venture partnerships.  They can be the source of amazing opportunity as (when well matched) those businesses that have entered into the agreement benefit from shared resources such as advanced technology and new markets for their common goal, increased profit and market strength.

The key is that perfect match and now you have an opportunity to have that perfect match done for you!

You still have time to enter to win the Joint Venture Partnership of your dreams.

Anyone with an idea can WIN!

Yes, it’s true – Mark Victor Hansen, the man who co-created nothing short of a phenomenon, the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” book series,

…IS looking to work with an unknown….could it be you?

You may have seen him on Oprah, Times Magazine, or CNN.

He’s sold more than 120 million books and built into a $1.3 billion dollar empire – does that sound like someone you’d like to partner with?

How life changing would it be to be working with:

• Several NY Times Best-selling Authors & Entrepreneurial Celebrities!
• Highly Successful Publicity Expert!
• The man who has worked with President Jimmy Carter, Howard Stern, John Grisham & Harvey Mackay!
• A self-made Mom Millionaire!
• The Newest Financial Expert for a $350 Million/yr Company!
• Author & Celebrity from ‘The Secret’ Phenomenon!
• Person who has co-branded with American Idol®, Coke®, NASCAR®, Marriott®, Campbell’s®, Arby’s®, Golf Digest® and others!
• Oprah & CNN regular Guests!

They want to PROMOTE you for FREE!

While the actual agreement itself is important, the most essential step in a Joint Venture is in fact the ‘matchmaking’ step.  Pairing the right entrepreneur, business, and/or product with its perfect, complimentary match is absolutely essential.

The Private JV Club takes care of this most critical aspect, but if you’re not a member (you should be!) by entering this contest you have the possibility of winning the ultimate Joint Venture Partner for you.

Register for Free here to find out how you can partner up with these Magnates.

Last week I was thrilled at the number of people who took advantage of joining in on the fre.e teleseminar to hear all about how they could apply the magic of Joint Venture Partnerships to their business
 
Opportunity does indeed knock a second time!
 
Anyone with an idea can WIN!

You still have time to enter to win the Joint Venture Partnership of your dreams.

Yes, it’s true – Mark Victor Hansen, the man who co-created nothing short of a phenomenon, the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” book series,

…IS looking to work with an unknown….could it be you?

You may have seen him on Oprah, Times Magazine, or CNN.

He’s sold more than 120 million books and built into a $1.3 billion dollar empire – does that sound like someone you’d like to partner with?

How life changing would it be to be working with:

• Several NY Times Best-selling Authors & Entrepreneurial Celebrities!
• Highly Successful Publicity Expert!
• The man who has worked with President Jimmy Carter, Howard Stern, John Grisham & Harvey Mackay!
• A self-made Mom Millionaire!
• The Newest Financial Expert for a $350 Million/yr Company!
• Author & Celebrity from ‘The Secret’ Phenomenon!
• Person who has co-branded with American Idol®, Coke®, NASCAR®, Marriott®, Campbell’s®, Arby’s®, Golf Digest® and others!
• Oprah & CNN regular Guests!

They want to PROMOTE you for FREE!

While the actual agreement itself is important, the most essential step in a Joint Venture is in fact the ‘matchmaking’ step.  Pairing the right entrepreneur, business, and/or product with its perfect, complimentary match is absolutely essential.

The Private JV Club takes care of this most critical aspect, but if you’re not a member (you should be!) by entering this contest you have the possibility of winning the ultimate Joint Venture Partner for you.
 
Register for Free here to find out how you can partner up with these Magnates.

Have You Read Anything Good Lately?

What was the last good book you read? Leading up to summer you often hear people talking of the best book picks for summer, for reading by the pool or while on vacation.   There are books on all type of topics from fiction, to memoirs to business text books.

What will you select to read this Spring-Summer 2009?

• Will what you choose to read help you gain massive exposure for your business or product?
• Will it assist you in finding international Marketing Partners?

Over the years, I have noted that the successful and savvy entrepreneurs, CEO’s and Business executives I have encountered all have one thing in common.  They are driven and passionate about what they do.  And as such they are eager to soak up as much information about the world of business as possible.

That said, I urge you to make YOUR Summer/Spring 2009 selection The Hartman Report.  When I wrote it, I knew that The Hartman Report contained information that would be transformative to those who were looking for ways to get their businesses off the ground or expand their growing empire.

The Hartman Report details the ins and outs of Joint Venture Marketing, which has literally built mega-empires.   Joint Venture Marketing is quite simply the surest way to improve the bottom line of your online business.

You can learn how to:

• increase business by 20%
• gain access to new customer markets
• partner with the right Joint Venture Partner

The tips inside also include how you can start to apply this system to your business or venture even if you don’t have a product to sell.  You may have a marketing idea or access to a client base that could be effective for another entrepreneur in a similar niche.

Even if you are already applying this marketing tool to your business, there may be uses or ideas that you have not yet applied or thought of.

Whether you have an internet based business, a book to sell, targeted or niche marketing goals, Joint Venture Marketing can facilitate those goals with virtually no risk.  Given all those advantages, I hate to say it, but you have to be crazy if you don’t take a look!

I hope you will jump at this opportunity to download and read the report.

I invite you to post comments to let me know how it has changed your perceptions of marketing and where you can see it’s already one of the most prevalent business phenomenons going on right now.

At 50 pages and with zero fluff, The Hartman report is 100% concentrated essential marketing and industry information.

Since it is chalk full of info, just sit back, relax and read it a few times while ideas on how you can apply this to your business start to percolate!

Inside the report are details on how you can learn the no-cost, no-risk marketing strategy that you can learn and put into practice simply.

Take advantage now and download, for FR.EE, your copy of The Hartman Report for your early summer reading and watch your business bloom!

I was recently on a Private JV Club student call, and we were brainstorming about the idea:  Who is your Best Client or Customer?

This is an exercise that I give to entrepreneurs to be able to profile their best client/customer and use it as a way to amp up their targeted marketing.

Normally I would have them do this by looking at their past clients and “profiling” just like on CSI Crime Show, profiling who is their best client, the ones who spend the most amount of money and are the least trouble to deal with (plus more detail on how to duplicate them and market to them).  But you get the idea and you don’t guess – you use your sales reports to actually find out.

But on this consulting call, one of the people that was creating this profile of their best client/customer didn’t actually have a mailing list or past customer base yet, so we started coming up with other ideas of how to best figure out how to do targeted marketing for her business. Continue Reading

The other day I went to the vitamin store to get some vitamins, and I was looking at the different cleanses they had and it got me thinking…

In the same way that it’s important to occasionally do a body cleanse, it’s just as necessary to do a detox cleanse for your mind!

Just like little toxins or garbage that can get stored in your body over time and look like extra weight that is burdensome and unattractive, the same thing can happen with your mind – you can end up carrying around extra weight that is ugly and negative – starting in little bits that build up over time.

With your body it can sneak up on you, feeling sluggish, then one day you look in the mirror and realize hey – you are 20 lbs overweight.  Well with your mind that negative energy, thoughts fear and doubts can start slowly and then become 20lbs of gained weight that’s hovering around you like a little black cloud above your head!

Your energy starts to go down, your spirits feel low, you are not sleeping through the nights, you’re becoming more of a pessimist – if this sounds familiar it could be things that you’ve been allowing to build up in your mind that you need to clear out of there in a detox cleanse – just like you might do for your body!

So how do you begin? Continue Reading

My inner circle mastermind group met for its first annual live meeting in beautiful sunny San Diego.  All I can say is …wow!

Intellectually I’ve known how powerful mastermind groups can be, especially if the dynamic is right, the people in the group are amazing, and ours hits all elements, but I never truly understood the power of them until last week.

I knew that Jack Canfield (co-author of Chicken soup for the soul) has been using them for over 25 years as well as John Assaraf (street kid millionaire) for 30 years, but I didn’t “get it” until now.  And now that I’ve had the taste – there is no turning back.  

Let me tell you what happened…

This year, for the first time I offered my database only, a chance to work with me one-on-one for 12 months, beginning in January – I knew I was on to something when it sold out in 2 days.  

Each month we would meet on the phone as a group, talk shop, share success secrets and be each other’s business confidants.  On these calls we would offer each other solutions, feedback and accountability.  I know with most mastermind groups it ends there.  And for most, that’s all they can expect, but I wanted my inner circle group to be MEGA successful so then I offered free monthly private one-on-one mentoring calls with me to plan their direction and marketing strategies.  This alone was worth $5,000 month, but I did not charge a dime for it.

So far, people were progressing and gaining clarity in their business and implementing powerful ideas.

But last week we did our first in-person event and wow – more breakthroughs happened in 2 days than all the previous weeks, and believe me, each person was already making incredible progress.

12 of us gathered in the sunshine, right on the beach, in our own private room with french doors that opened to the beach, and wall to wall windows.  On day one I gave everyone a plan and strategy to “reverse goal set” their yearly goal, and they had to break down and schedule the next 4 months activities that would forward their goal.  This really helped people to break down BIG ideas into small achievable steps.  It also provided commitment to their goals as it was put inside a calendar.  Doing so provides commitment, but also it gave them dates to look at when certain tasks would be achieved, which made them that more real – which is important.

I provided the strategy and rules and exact plan they needed to follow to do this properly and now everyone is guaranteed new income within 8 weeks (if not sooner).  And that was only the first hour of the event.

We had some more group and solo exercises designed specifically  to move people forward, as well as provide never before revealed before success tips.  And throughout the 2 days EACH member of the group received their own  “stage” front and center where the whole group focused on them and their business.

That just blew people away.

In those 2 days people went from not knowing what business they wanted to being totally clear, even with a brand message, joint venture partners, and a powerful marketing strategy!  Others who knew where they were going received huge strategies that will bring them incredible income this year.  Many had their business ideas turned inside out and what came out was EVEN BETTER than they could have imagined.

One person said in 10 minutes he received the idea he’d been working on for 2 years.  He could have happily gone home right then, but of course, he stayed and received even more ‘take-home’ breakthroughs.

It was so powerful to see the energy in the room change when a “great idea” came about versus an average one.  It was so powerful to see EACH person contributing and firing off ideas to the person who could not write fast enough with all that they were receiving.

Because I mentor on the phone most of the time, people said they got a kick out of watching my face, watching the wheels turning just before I would spit out a major plan or idea for the person on the main stage.  They were saying it was wild that I could zero in on a seed of an idea or the missing piece EVERY single time, for every single person.  In fact they started calling me the “marketing medium” which perhaps now will become my new tag line because they said it was so spooky, like my ideas were being channeled.  I laughed at first, then realized what a deep compliment that really is.  And really, all brilliant ideas and inspiration does come from somewhere don’t they?

Personally I learned quite a bit about myself and my journey.  I have a confession to make, I really believed when I created this that this would be the one and only mastermind group I would ever create.  But this was such a powerful way for people to learn, I think it is so important for growth and I hope I can find a way to continue with it every year.

Many people in the room said this was the BEST business seminar they had ever attended and many had paid 10x as much to be in other seminars  and other mastermind groups from well known people who charge $20,000 just to have a conversation with them.  So again I was thrilled.  Everyone said I should have charged double – and perhaps next year I will (and as always perhaps give a discount to returning members).

Now everyone is right on track, in fact they zipped ahead by about 5 miles in 2 days and I can’t wait for the next live event as everyone will be in a new place.  I already offered free training to my members on anything they want for the next event and I am looking forward to it.

Now we are indeed a family.  

How powerful is that?

Now, success is simply step on their journey, a done deal.

Learn more: http://www.stefaniehartman.com/circle/