Internet Marketing Newbie Even More Determined

Hi All,

That is an especially BIG Hi to all Alex Jeffreys’ Fortunate 500 members and a welcoming Hi to anyone else who strays over and for whatever reason and by whatever means lands here in Planet Valz.

This is the first post that heralds the start of serious, focused action (Round 2) to get me to where I want to be, ie a successful internet marketer.  I am starting to implement traffic generation tactics to the outside community as previously all attention was directed to the internal community of the F500.   If you manage to arrive here, please do not resist the temptation to leave  comments as it’s good for both of us.

I’ve taken “No Follow” off as in my Round 2 research so far it seems that no-one wants to even read a blog with no follow switched on.  Waste of time, mate, seems to be the consensus, as the purpose of leaving a comment is to have your say, and perhaps more importantly to create a backlink to your blog.  What I read earlier about “Follow” or “No Follow” seemed to be compelling at the time, but, hey, what do I know?  If you’ve got anything concise and specific to add about this, please share.  I even found a piece of software that can tell you whether a blog is No Follow or not so you know not to leave comments as we alll need as much help as we can get to climb up the slippery internet marketing ladder of building our online presence.

My post about Round 2 was far too long ago.   So this is in celebration of getting back onto the horse again, so to speak.   My first blog post of 10 December 2008 catapulted me into the first round of action.  Alex Jeffreys taught me so much and the pace was so fast that my head was spinning permanently.  I’m just about back on Planet Valz and ready to go into orbit again.  I haven’t been idle in the interim, but got bogged down with the research, learn, check out phase rather than get on with it and go for the action, action, action.

Before I get into the nuts and bolts of finding my own way through the internet marketing maze I took a little lookie round some of my F500 mates’ blogs before I posted this as I wondered how people were getting on.  Stopped by at a blog I had seen on my whistestop tour in January but had not really looked at.  Matt Cross is worth a visit, and his post on what has happened to our motivation is well worth a read and some time spent pondering on our responses.

It is a sad fact that quite a few of the original “We’re going to be shining stars in 2009″ blogs from the Fortunate 500 members appear to be sadly neglected.  I know, people in glasshouses, and I am guilty as charged.  But here I am, on my May bounce back.

What I find equally baffling is that so many blogs have so few comments posted on them and I wonder what the real story is.   My musings send me to where I cannot come up with any satisfactory explanations apart from no comments, very little traffic, very few people on any list, very few or no sales.  Do share if I’m missing something fundamental here.

My only other possible explanation is that the “Alex Jeffreys” blog was to cut their teeth on and they have neglected it to go on to greener pastures to make a mint in a niche of their choice.

We all know how competitive internet marketing is, and many gurus advise newbies to steer well clear of it - for this very reason (or is it to discourage further competition?).  If I were an expert in Keeping Koi I might be tempted to go fishing elsewhere (pardon the pun).  But then that still leaves the problem of learning all the nuts and bolts of building a successful internet business, irrespective of the niche we are active in.

Now, back to the blog hopping.

Dave Orchard’s blog seems to reflect how my brain feels most of the time.  No disrespect, Dave.  My brain is brilliant, but it’s all over the place far too often.  I know we’ve learnt about planning, focus, KOTOBOT, etc, but I, for one, have to confess that I am still a busy fool really.  As we say, it takes one to know one.  As we also know, it is only by keeping on going that we’ve got a chance at all.  So, there you go.  I’m still in the frame, and I’m not giving up.  It may well take me far longer than others, but I don’t measure myself against others.  As long as I feel I have made progress every day, that’s good.  (That’s why I called it “daybydaymarketing.com” — an ever present reminder that progress will come, slowly but surely, as I work at this day-by-day.)

However, I remember David Cavanagh saying that the only result that matters is success (or something along those lines) so I’d better notch myself up somewhat.  Otherwise, I will still be living in Fool’s Paradise for ever.  No list.  No sales.  That’s how it still is today, but won’t be for ever.

Get a grip, Captain Valz.  Be an example, a good one at that, for yourself first and foremost.  Otherwise, who on earth will ever want to read your blog?  And without readers, how on earth will you ever build a list?  And make sales?  A busy fool is one thing.  A busy deluded fool is a laughing stock and I suspect far too many of the wannabe internet marketers, including myself as of today, fit this category.

A ray of light though, as I’ve also been over to Mark Austin’s blog and it’s good to see him taking off on the old internet marketing income front, and writing about it, to encourage us and to tell it as he has found it to be.

I know I could have visited the ones who I know are steaming ahead, and well done you lot.  Of course, mention and congratulations are in order for Dean Holland and Garry Parkes, together with the one and only Gazz-Man as three stars shining from the word go.  Then there is Stephen Bray, Thomas Northrop, Jim Gallagher, Vince Craine, and many other bright stars lighting the way for themselves and countless others.  Apologies to the others who I would also have liked to have listed here, but I’ve already spent more than my scheduled time in writing this so far.  (So this is where the time goes?  How long do you spend posting on your blog?)

I must forego my afternoon nap today as this is flowing from my fingertips and I made a visit to Joan Hughes’s blog where she is making valliant attempts, but I guess she could do with some help.   She has a range of interesting posts, but it seems to my eyes that the internet marketing stuff has gone off target, if it ever were on target that is.   However, we all bought in to Alex Jeffreys to make money online, didn’t we?  It wasn’t just some kind of party where we would come to have a great time, was it?  If we’re having a great time too, that’s a bonus.

Then I couldn’t resist a visit to Hilary Dickinson as we both share the same good taste, independently choosing and using the same WP Theme.  Her post on following your passion ties in neatly with one of the posts I saw on Joan Hughes’s blog.  Just in case you don’t get over to either of them, I’m going to give myself a pat on the back as I manage a first for me.  No great shakes for many of you, I know, but I measure myself against myself.  Thank you Garry Parkes for instructions on how to embed a video from YouTube.  Clear, simple, done.

If this video isn’t a little girl who just doesn’t know anything other than following her passion - plus giving us a great big dollop of inspiration and motivation - I don’t know what else will get us going.  Emily Bear is only seven years old, and look at what she has accomplished already.  On a bad day, it’s enough to keep me in bed the whole day.  On a good day, it fires me up to make the most of what I have: talents and time (running out, wrong side of 30) for starters.

What are your strengths, gifts and passions?  When you overcome your struggle to make an adequate income, and then go on to make an excellent income, how are you going to help make the world a better place?  Perhaps you are doing so already.

One of the reasons I identify as preventing me from getting off the starting block properly is that I read something and a question arises that I have no answer for.  In truth, I do not need the answer, but I am aware that it is yet another niggle at the back of my head (where do you keep your niggles?).  When it is sorted, I feel better.  So, thank you again Joan, for your post on “How to spot a fake check in a testimonial on a web page” as this is a question that arises repeatedly when I read all this gushing baloney and have no way of knowing if it is for real, or really the product of a great imagination.  I guess many of you have been quietly wondering as well, but perhaps didn’t even realise you had such unresolved questions.

Back to Joan’s blog.  I didn’t know how to change the default theme way back in December, and so my daughter did it for me.  Trouble is, she’s now too involved in her own life to give me that invaluable, brilliant help, support and know how.  (When she doesn’t know how, she finds out in about 15 minutes what takes me about 15 hours.  And then she does whatever needs doing in 5 minutes which would, and does, take me another 15 hours.  No joke.  Re-read what Alex Jeffreys says on page 9 of The Guru’s Dream.)

This is just a little insight into what Round 2 actually is for me.  Yes.  Actually starting at the beginning and making sure I’ve really got it.  OK.  Taking me forever, but when you have learnt something, it truly is yours.  My checklist, and what I have been researching recently,  is: 1)  Wordpress, including Themes and Plugins, together with other things to be aware of to create a better, more user friendly,  more efficient  and money generating blog;  2)  List Building and 3)  Traffic Generation.

Trouble for me with this internet stuff is that I might have got it, and been able to “do it” (whatever “it” is), but I need to repeat, repeat, repeat until it’s firmly imprinted in my network of neurones.  Otherwise, I am like Drew Barrymore  in 50 First Dates, the 2004 film with Adam Sandler and Drew.

By the way, although this is cruel comedy and seems to be far fetched,  I am serious that there are many areas of overlap between her and myself.  I’ve learned to live with myself as I am, but sometimes it is not easy - especially the challenges I have with this internet stuff.  I joke that I used to think I was an intelligent woman until I started on this internet journey.  It certainly does stretch me to the limit.  Now that so many people are putting up videos for instructions I am letting out a hugh sigh of relief.  I can watch it.  Pause it.  Repeat it.  And keep on doing that.  Brilliant.

And then I’m not even sure how come I visited Jo O’Connor, but I did.  She seems to think Mark Joyner is hilarious, so get on over to see what she says about him.  To those who don’t know Mark Joyner, he is one of THE original internet marketers.  In fact, known as The Godfather of Internet Marketing.  However, of his own volition he says that it took him “six years to figure out that blogging was significant” so there’s hope for all of us yet.

Jo posted about Mark’s blogging course, but instead of sending you over to read it it’s here for you:

I’m evaluating a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they’re letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.

3 Comments

• 

  By Ruth Stewart, May 21, 2009 @ 5:01 pm

  Hiya!

  How are you? Glad to know you are getting back on the horse and working once more towards a career doing internet marketing.

  I was taking my driving test the other day and I was pleased to say I was an internet marketer.

  The examiner asked me what I did, you see. Fortunately he didnt talk to me much - I can’t concentrate on the road when they yap on.

  Anyway, I didn’t pass my test (apparently straight over the roundabout doesn’t actually mean you can go over it, who knew?!?) but I still love internet marketing.

  Anyway Val, keep on keeping on.

  Live Long And Prosper!

  Ruth

• 

  By Valerie, May 26, 2009 @ 11:41 pm

  Hi Ruth,

  Thanks for stopping by with your encouragement.

  Better luck with your next driving test. It seems that so many people don’t pass first time these days. My daughter and I believe it’s a plan to get more money from people. One of her failed tests was when she had to do her 3-point turn (I don’t think it’s called that these days) on a major road. Talk about dangerous and crazy. She said she was so nervous with all the volume of traffic it became a 10-point turn, and she failed because, apparently, you are only allowed 9 in total. She’s saving up to have more lessons, and take another test.

  So, internet marketing is a bit like driving tests. Keep on keeping on.

  We’ll all get there in the end, but only if we’re still in the game. Otherwise, it really is Mission Impossible.

  Good luck and wishing every success to you, in all your internet marketing endeavours, and for your next driving test in particular.

  Valerie

• 

  By JamesD, June 11, 2009 @ 11:55 am

  Thanks for the useful info. It’s so interesting

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