Use Technology Robots to Automate as much as Possible - Except for One Key Area

Today's 5-Minute Tip of the Week ...

When creating and running your own web business or writing a book or performing any of the many tasks required of you, your number one limited resource is time. That's why we can thrive when we use it well.

Most people use their work as a means to an end. The key goal: to fund the lifestyle we have or choose, support our loved ones and to pay bills. So the goal here is to free up as much time as possible for other pursuits that you may or may not have in mind.

Follow the tip outlined in this article and you'll have choice. For example, now that we have InternetTIPS.com v3.0 up and running, if we really, really chose, we could run this business working only 1 day per week (6 hours or less).

How do we do that? Answer, through:

• Detailed pre-planning.
• Testing.
• Using a Plan A, Plan B, Plan C sequence for most key activities (if Plan A fails or isn't possible, Plan B is available, and so on).
• Making smart choices based on Steps 1 - 3 above.
• Making a commitment to continuous self-training in ways that are fun and fulfilling.
• The use of robotic software technology whenever possible.

How Can We Best use Technology to Automate?

Consider the following practical and proven guidelines and ideas:

• Focus on products, not time. Time limits constrain what options you have. If you already price what you do in terms of time, look for ways to price your output as individual products. Why: your potential buyers then know what the cost is from the outset, that means you can instantly do much to overcome buyer resistance. Furthermore, all you're then left with is a marketing challenge, not a price problem.
  
  How to do: commit to creating or acquiring a product-driven, information-based web business. Here at InternetTIPS.com, we sell mainly information solutions rather than physical products or time-based services. Why: information does not necessarily require physical packaging, conventional transport, unique geographic location, special preservation environments, warehousing, a minimum number of employees, etc., yet we've discovered that the right solution has immense perceived value.
• Whenever possible, use the "One to many" plan. That means, create something once which can then be sold and resold an unlimited number of times. For example: a subscription website contains content that is created once but which is served to many different people at different times to customers all around the world. The same happens when you write a self-published book, create a white paper or sell articles.
• Use smart IT tools to automate all non-creative tasks that are not directly customer-related. For example, (1) a web Content Management Systems (CMS) such as the one we use here at InternetTIPS.com is an ideal robotic toolbox. (2) Another excellent application is to use autoresponders to deliver information on demand without any additional intervention from you. (30 Finally, you can use automatic Web newsletter software that has a built in time-delay timer to ensure your newsletters are sent automatically whenever you choose, overnight or while you're relaxing (that's how you're receiving this newsletter right now. Your editor is most likely celebrating the joys of summer with a glass or two of fine red wine with family or friends).

What Should We Not Automate?

The one area that I recommend you do not automate in any way shape or form is anything related to direct customer interaction. The minute a customer or client chooses to invest or buy a product or service from your website, she instantly becomes more special - and rightly so.

Each buyer deserves our full attention. So apart form automatic emails that your shopping cart should send when someone orders, I recommend that if possible, you also send a follow-up personal thank you message that also contains an assurance you're available to help with any additional questions or queries.

The One Exception ...

If you have a web commodity store that sells thousands of items per week, then sending personal thank you emails individually is certainly not possible, nor is that an activity which makes good use of your time.

However, you can set up the next best thing: send a follow-up email system that automatically personalizes your thank you emails. Here, the same genuine appreciation is made evident through careful forethought and crafting of your thank you message. What's more, you're using robotic technology effectively.