In 2011:

Those of us over age 50 will respresent 25% of the population.
In that same year it is estimated that the US population will be
12.5% Non-Hispanic Black and
14.8% Hispanic origin

Marketing Implications:

If you’re starting a business, you should consider products and services that appeal to the over 50 population.
And if you’re already in business, we’re still a worthwhile target market.

Check out

A Profile Of The Baby Boomers Market And Their Potential As Buyers

Sandra Noble
NOBLE FINANCES
NOBLE & ASSOCIATES CONSULTING, INC

“The popularity of some social networks will decline as business owners insist on owning their community’s content. Tools such as Facebook, Ning and KickApps are great because you can form your own niche community. However, with Facebook banning people for unknown reasons and with intrusive ads on Ning and KickApps, more and more business owners will turn to social networking tools that they can host on their own server so they can avoid these problems. I see Buddypress rising in popularity and alternatively, I see Facebook, Ning and KickApps declining in terms of page views. Look for Buddypress to become the small business owner’s social networking tool of choice in 2009.”

I’m still working on getting up to speed with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and the like.  And how to best use them for marketing and making money. And, I was totally unaware of the problems with Facebook.

Now there is a new frontier / social network I have to explore.

Sandra Noble
NOBLE FINANCES
NOBLE & ASSOCIATES CONSULTING, INC

Leesa Barnes is an award winning blogger and critically acclaimed author who helps businesses get active using social media in 3 simple steps. To learn how you can become Marketing Fit, visit http://www.marketingfit.com to get your complimentary eCourse called the Marketing Fit Detox: 3 Ways to Get Rid of Fattening Marketing Tactics for Good Using Social Media.

So, now I’m confessing. My blog post titled “Business People Over 50 – Who are we?” ended with the statement “no twittering for me”. Well, I’ve learned to never say never. I admit that I am now twittering or more correctly tweeting.

The younger set primarily uses text messaging to do their tweets. I turned that feature off on my phone. Since I have no texting capability, I assumed I would never do tweets. However, I discovered ping.fm. It allows me to use the internet to enter my tweets. And the beauty of ping.fm is that it sends my postings to multiple social networks.  So, my entries are simultateously sent Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIn, Plaxo Pulse and now Delicious. Ping.fm makes it easy to actively participate in the Web 2.0 social networks.

There are those who allegedly use Twitter for business. I’ve attended teleseminars on the business use of Twitter as well as on the business use of Facebook. Business people under age 50 are using Twitter and other social networks. I have my doubts about the participation of the over 50, senior citizen group. I’m on Twitter and I’m over 50. I’m making a concerted effort to keep up with web 2.0, internet marketing and other new technologues and techniques. The purpose for this blog is to share my journey with other AARP qualifiers. Hopefully, I can help ease the process for my contemporaries.

Not convinced about the benefits. But for now, I’m trying Twitter.

Sandra Noble
NOBLE FINANCES
NOBLE & ASSOCIATES CONSULTING, INC

SEO is more than optimizing your website for your keywords in isolation. There are other tools and techniques to boost your ranking. It’s about volume – how many times you appear and are linked to on the web. And in the World Wide Web / Web 2.0 circles you hear the motto “Content is King”. The more content there is on the web associated with your name and your site, the better your SEO and organic ranking.

So what do I mean by: less is better? Winning sports teams say they are #1. In Alexa, the lower number / rank the better. A rank of 1 means that this is the most frequently searched for and accessed website out of all the websites in the world. Being in the top million is an impressive list. See the even more impressive Alexa top 100 list.

Get the *FREE* report,
“5 Internet Marketing Success Tips”
by visiting http://www.Internet-Marketing-SEO-Success.com

Sandra Noble
NOBLE FINANCES
NOBLE & ASSOCIATES CONSULTING, INC

Two or three years ago, I heard John Di Lemme speak. He’s a powerful speaker, motivator and success coach. He made his millions in multi-level marketing. At that point I was neutral about MLMs and even respected some of the people I knew in them. Then there was the onslaught of the YTBs – a travel MLM. But since I rarely take luxury vacations anymore, that had no appeal. But recently an old friend has a very upscale professional approach to YTB. Much more palatable, but still didn’t move me.

I think I’ve found an MLM that is different. No ordering, no inventory, no deliveries, no collections, no customer contracts, no customer risk. Sounds good to me. So, I’ve decided to let down my defenses and my disdain about network marketing income opportunities.

Sandra Noble
NOBLE FINANCES
NOBLE & ASSOCIATES CONSULTING, INC

Friday, April 18, 2008

3:30 PM – 7:30 PM

At

The Knowledge Shop

Only $79.00, by April 16

$85.00 After April 16

Get More Info Now!

Directions:

Go to http://www.ksatlanta.com/

Knowledge Shop
(at the far corner of the Wal-Mart parking lot)
Marietta Trade Center
180 Cobb Pkwy SE #C-24
Marietta, GA 30060

In this seminar you will
· Learn internet marketing tools, tips, strategies and concepts
· Receive step by step instructions
· Get a hands-on opportunity to apply what you’ve learn.
· Leave with a web presence and a business email account.

Prerequisites:
· Knowledge of Windows, Microsoft Office products: Word, Excel, Outlook
· Beginning level experience with the Internet

Specific topics include:
· Marketing Concepts
· Creating a web presence (bring your credit cards)
· Opt-in pages
· Contact databases and Autoresponders
· Online Marketing Techniques (emails, article, etc)
· Traffic generation and getting leads
· Available resources

For More Information,

Contact Sandra at:
404-374-3384 or info@NobleAdvantage.com
www.GetPeopleToComeToWebPage.com

Give Me More Info Now!

As I mentioned in a prior article, all are impacted by this new internet / technology revolution. It may be directly by you accessing blogs, joining online social networks or accepting networking connection invitations. It may be indirect by your children or grandchildren helping you to do google and yahoo searches and researches. Or it could just be a societal impact. Whether you like it or not, those who embrace Web 2.0 and other internet features are affecting the way we run our businesses, purchase goods and services, donate money and run political campaigns.

This phenomenon is even being reported in government newsletters and government related article. It was reported that the U.S. Joint Forces Command’s (JFCOM) has set up a website to facilitate Web 2.0 activity. The membership of AFCEA (Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association) provides communications, IT, intelligence, and global security solutions to the military. The article “AFCEA Solutions Series Blazes New E-Trails” is all about Web 2.0.

A recent title in the Government Technology hnewletter was “E-Vote: Tapscott Says Web 2.0 Will Determine Presidential Campaign Advantage”. And who is Tapscott? Don Tapscott is author of Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything (Portfolio 2006). In my “What’s a Wiki” article on February 10th, I tried to put mind energy around the concept of a Wiki. Suffice it to say, a Wiki is one of those Web 2.0 things. Tapscott’s “Wikinomics” terms suggests that there is an economic impact to the use of Wiki’s.

Watch out for Wiki’s and Web 2.0.
WWW – It’s what’s happening now!

Sandra Noble
NOBLE FINANCES
NOBLE & ASSOCIATES CONSULTING, INC

Linkedin is a social networking and connection forum for business people. If you’re in business, check it out. You might be surprised who’s already signed up.

Invite me to join your LinkedIn network. Every opportunity you have to network and build your sphere of influence is important to your success. When you add me as a connection use president@NobleAdvantage.com for the email.

Click the above icon or go to http://www.linkedin.com/in/SandraNoble.

If not already member, then click “Join Now” on the right.

If you’re already linkedin, then click “Contact Directly” on the right.

Let’s look for ways we can help each other have more successful
businesses and make more money!

Sandra Noble
President / CEO
Noble & Associates Consulting, Inc.
Noble Finances

The headline for one product talked about boosting your prestige and your hearing at the same time. This product was basically a hearing aid which looked like a Bluetooth mobile phone headset. So the implication was that it is cool and prestigious to walk around with a phone headset in and on your ear. Once again I was reminded that I am probably out of step with mainstream thinking.

Am I the only one who thinks it is sometimes in poor taste to be wearing those “things”. I’ve seen people posing for pictures and even speaking in front of an audience with the above mentioned head gear. Now I know I’m over 50. And I go back to rotary dial phones where you had to stick your finger in a circle slot and rotate for each number. In those days wireless and cordless was unheard of. But, most people who need hearing assistance are over 50 like me. (Although that may change, since the younger generation is ruining their ears with loud music.) I’d be interested to know if the effectiveness of that particular advertisement for hearing aids. Someone thought that was a good idea.

Do babyboomers think Bluetooth is a status symbol? And, do we need to be that connected, where we don’t miss a call? With all these communications & telecommunications, are we really communicating better? Or, just faster and more frequently?

Sandra Noble
NOBLE FINANCES
NOBLE & ASSOCIATES CONSULTING, INC

But, my first interpretation of her remark was “no more weight in 2008”. I like many other people need to shed some excess pounds. For many, the race is on to fix the body. Every January, there’s a big surge in the number of people at the gyms. Some turn to over-the-counter weight loss remedies and others head to the commercial weight center such as Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem and the like. The more enlightened might turn to Overeaters Anonymous (OA). It’s based on the same principles as Alcoholic Anonymous. So, OA has a 3 pronged approach, which treats overeating as a threefold disease – physical, mental/emotional, and spiritual.

Most would agree that lasting success with the battle against the bulge requires at least a mind and body cure. There are bi-modal techniques which focus on the healing mental / emotional triggers as a means to healing or slimming the body. Examples are psychoanalysis, acupressure, acupuncture, hypnosis, Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT).

I actually attended a NLP workshop a number of years ago. NLP encompasses multiple techniques which are used to accomplish quick changes in behavior. There was a lady in the NLP class who was claustrophobic. In 5 minutes the lady was able to go into a closet and close the door and be happy about it. I saw that with my own eyes.

With NLP, the mind/body connection is studied, documented and utilized to make changes. One example is eye movements. Eyes moving up tends to means you are visualizing or accessing an image. Moving eyes to either side indicates you accessing sound data. Down to the right can mean you’re accessing a feeling. NLP uses eye movements and other physical cues as an indication of how people learn best – hearing, seeing or doing. And our language often reveals our preferences. For instance I worked for a boss who often used the phrase “I hear you”. What do think his preferred learning style was?

Knowing the NLP principles, allows me to notice when these techniques are used in other arenas. NLP is now being incorporated into sales training workshops. Kendall SummerHawk, a marketing and branding guru / coach, indicated that she is certified in NLP. Kendall uses NLP in her workshop to quickly help participants get over writers block.

I’m always working on generating more profitable business. People buy from those they know, like and trust. To the extent that I can get in sync with their body language the more comfortable they feel with me. It’s not manipulation, it’s about caring enough to pay attention, to observe and to adjust. This improves the experience of the prospect, friends or family member.

I have many years of experience as a business analyst. My company, Noble & Associates Consulting, Inc, specializes in business analysis. And what does a business analyst do:

1. We listen,
2. We interpret or analyst the situation, data or system,
3. We compile and document.

Good business analysts, and for that matter good managers, sales people, business people, people in general already listen. If we want to add value to our relationships and effectiveness, we need to add the NLP techniques of conscious seeing and feeling to our repertoire.

Sandra Noble
NOBLE FINANCES
NOBLE & ASSOCIATES CONSULTING, INC