Well, I was almost caught napping, but I’m just hanging on by the coat tails while I get on the merry-go-round with the others, creating a buzz, and promoting Alex Jeffreys Coaching Program 2.0.

He finished coaching and mentoring us, the Fortunate 500, and then went underground.  Well, actually on holiday and on mega working holidays in the USA.  Learning, listening, asking his usual rounds of questions, picking brains where he could, and preparing for the second launch of his phenomenal coaching and mentoring program.

It’s just gone live and he does it far greater justice than I ever can, so I hand you over:

Alex Jeffreys introduces his new coaching and mentoring program

Whew.  Straight talking.  Energy ball on legs.  Knows his stuff.  What else would you say?

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If you’re pumped by that, great.  If you’re pumped enough to sign up, even greater.   The choice is yours, but if you do, I will work with you (if you would like me to), using my Life Coaching skills to complement the Internet Marketing skills, coaching and mentoring that you will get from Alex.  You will be, as it were, a success sandwich.  In between Alex and myself there’ll only be one path to go down, and you know which one that is.

To your success,

Valerie

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.

Well, I only managed round one in part, and there were lots of gaps, for example I never managed to embed a video onto my blog, and I certainly never managed to create a video.  However, I did learn a lot, but am no further forward in earning my living online at the moment.  (The winds of change are gently blowing on my neck.)

I’ve grossly neglected this poor old blog and I need to turbo charge it, so this is the first nod in that direction.

You see, when we started being coached and mentored by Alex Jeffreys at the end of October I really just didn’t get it.  I understood the fundamental principles of the need to build a list, and to build a good relationship with that list, and to market to the list, balancing as cleverly as the tightrope artist in the Big Top in terms of giving lots of excellent and free content but also in making sales, as and when considered appropriate.

Look at my first blogs.  You can see I just didn’t get it.  Alex said to write about our experiences with his coaching and mentoring course.  I wrote what came tumbling off my fingertips, surprising myself that anything more than 5 words were there for all to see.  And then I looked at other people’s blogs.  I realised I had not got started when I should have done, and I was forever playing catch up, what with the relentless pace that Alex set.  My brain was in a whirr.

Who can argue with the sound principles that Alex drummed into us?  It’s simply one example of good customer service whilst building your online business.  So, yes, I got it, but I didn’t do it.  I wonder how many others of the Alex Jeffreys Fortunate 500 are in the same boat as myself in this regard?

As for building a list.  Not even got off the starting block.  My coding is not right, and I could not face going back to more frustration.  I spent my time acquainting myself with my fellow F500ers and encouraging them to come over to my blog at the expense of reaching out to the outsiders, and to bring in the traffic that I need if I am to become successful, and to be an internet marketer who rises to, or at least towards, the top rather than lurking about in the muddy depths of whatever it might be.

In addition to neglecting this beautiful blog I have not made the time to go turbo hopping to fellow colleagues’ blogs either for some considerable time.  Shame on me.  When I completed my turbo hopping world tour of the Fortunate 500 members that I knew about on 1-3 Jan 2009 I was staggered then by the wealth of talent and knowledge within the group.  I visited 167 blogs. I’m sure I would have mixed responses if I were to repeat the exercise.

I expect I would see some who are shining very brightly.

Well, I know about two of them off the top of my head because I have checked them out recently.  Good ol’ Garry Parkes and Dean Holland have both improved the presentation of their blogs way beyond recopgnition from their early blogs.  I’m sure their results are speaking for themselves, on the back of this improvement, and their unceasing, effective and efficient methods.   I take my hat off to both of you.  Very well done.

If you’ve been out of the loop, as I have been, do go and have a look and get inspired and motivated if you need to.

I’m equally sure I would find far too many who seem to have fallen by the wayside.  It’s far too easy to leave one project and hop on to the next one.  I’m sticking with this because I promised myself that’s what I would do, this time.

I’m sure there are others who are making equally big strides.  Leave me a comment to invite me to check how you are doing if you like.  It will not be seen as self interest, but rather as friends saying Hi.  If you don’t come to me, I will be along to you, but I just can’t say when.

So, back to the end of my turbo hopping tour, and sadly, the holidays finished, and regular life kicked in again.  The demise of my postings is evident for all to see.  I’m giving my blog the first kiss of life with this post and I know it’s just a bit of a ramble, but, hey, humour me.

(And yes, I know, I’ve not delivered on my promise of the New Year gift.  Thanks for your patience.  I’m not going to do the cliched, “It’ll be well worth the wait.”  It probably won’t.  What with me being a newbie and all that, I realised it is more a case of what can I tell you that you don’t know already?  That is, thinking of producing something on the theme of Traffic, Traffic, Traffic, as that is what we are all agreed on as being fundamental to success in our online lives.  However, I’m hot on delivering on promises, so there will be something.  Don’t know what.  Don’t know when.)

So, when we “finished” the course, Alex suggested we revisited the material, and set out on Round 2.  Friends, this is the first little blog post to say that Captain Valz is getting back on track, and this is the first little green shoot that is popping up to say Hello, I’ve heard it’s spring and the weather is getting warmer.  Aaaahh.  Lovely.

I’ve had too many days when that voice of Alex Jeffreys has been in my head saying, “Build your list”, “Don’t be a busy fool”, “KOTOBOT”, and all those other phrases that when I hear them there is only one voice, one association, attached to them.

I said I was ready to shine in 2009, and there’s plenty of the year left to do so.

Initially I chose the phrase daybydaymarketing as my blog name instead of using my name for two reasons:  firstly I was so uncomfortable with the idea of raising me, little ol’ me, above the parapet and secondly, I needed to remind myself that I was going to build my online business by attending to it on a day by day basis, for consistently working at it will give the results I seek.  (Neglecting it, and not attending to it is the equivalent of not watering the flowers and leaving them to die.  Sorry blog.  I’m back now.)

I have since grown accustomed to seeing my little photo on the avatar, and leaving little hints of me in various places.  I now have to feed this blog with the day by day attention it needs to send me out to be a shining example and worthy to admit to being one of Alex Jeffreys’ Fortunate 500.  We use the phrase “Fortunate 500″ but we should hold on to that and act accordingly, creating our own fortunes as we go.

Round Two - here I come - watch out.

I’ll be back soon.

If there’s anyone out there, Fortunate 500, or other, who can empathise with where I am coming from drop me a bit of blog love if you will, and share and care what you will.

To our collective shining,

Valerie

Hey, ho.  Adding to the discussions of what are we going to do when we have “officially” finished Alex Jeffreys’ course?  Well, as I haven’t really got started with so many of the things we were supposed to do (traffic, video - just to mention two!) it will probably take me another year or so to work through everything!  Everything!  Well, most of it if not everything.

When I say Urgent I mean it: available until midnight Monday 16 Feb.

And when I say this will help you, I mean it.

And I certainly will not be taking my blog down. (I didn’t imagine these discussions, did I?  And come to think of it, there were some rumblings about selling to each other, or not.  That’s for another time, but pretty clear cut as far as I’m concerned.)

I am still very much “in” our group, rather than having reached outside it, but I realise I need to get outside because, as great as The Fortunate 500 is, the outside world is where our bread and butter is or will be coming from.  Some people were already successful internet marketers, and some have really understood what to do from what Alex told us, and they are flying already too.

For me it’s just beginning …

Most of us are still making the slow, long, sometimes painful transition from wannabee or just started, to successful internet marketer.  I know that I seem to take for ever just to understand the most fundamental point, or to achieve the most basic thing, but I am determined to reach the winning post.

Alex says we need our own product.  My diary from the first webinar in November through to today would not have enough content in it for me to want to offer it as a freebie, let alone anyone wanting to read it.

I have not forgotten my promise of a New Year’s gift.  It has been more delayed than ever I would have imagined, but it will be done.  (Perhaps a shift of season to a spring solstice gift now?)

In the process of determining direction, strategy, etc I was reminded on Saturday that I belong to SureFireWealth, a membership site that is a veritable source of a range of free ebooks, software and the like to download.  Many of these are available with Master Resell Rights, and/or with Private Label Rights.  OK I said to myself, Valerie, get to work here.  (Probably be the main source for the gift I promised.)  Isn’t it stupid what we do have available, but we forget, or do not realise?

I might have kept this under wraps, but I took some time to have a better look round the site and I noticed on the top of the left menu bar “ValentineWeekendGifts” and I saw 8 gifts available until midnight EST Monday, 16 February.

Oh, I did some quick maths and the total value of the gifts is $546.  We all know that a gift is only of value and appreciated if it is something you need or want and will use.    So, the only way to make your mind up is to go and have a look for yourself.

The one that stood out for me to you is Gift 4 because, if you are not yet a member of SureFireWealth, Gift #4 is 1 Year Silver Member Access to SureFireWealth.com!  $147 Value - Free!

The one that stood out for me is

Gift # 3 Silver Member Lifetime Access MembershipMillionaire.com!  $47 Value - Free!

So this is the one I’ve taken up on.  It includes 3 training packs, a private forum, site critiques and also JV networking.  I know I’m not ready for JVs yet, but I will be in due course, and then I will have access to thousandsof people I would not have access to otherwise.

I could carry on about Jeremy Gislason and Simon Hodgkinson, their track record of years on the net, their various sites and products, etc., but I’ll let SureFireWealth speak for itself.  The free membership for SureFireWealth has many products, and, as usual, if you upgrade you get more.

If you don’t want to sign up for SureFireWealth, no problem.  The ValentineWeekendGifts are available for members and visitors alike.

To our success,

Valerie

Here’s hoping this finds you with a smile on your face already.  If not, I hope there is one by the end of this.

Read on to find out how you could have 19,530 new Twitter followers in 30 days - for fr.ee.

I joined Twitter (www.twitter.com) relatively early, but when I was reviewing my progress earlier this week I realised I had not Twittered for some time because I felt uncomfortable and acknowledged to myself that I really did not know how to use it.

So, folks, I really was a Twit, and not a Twitterer.

Which are you?

To me, the first type of Twit is someone who has yet to sign up to Twitter. What are you hanging about for?  If you are only going to do ONE Web 2.0 thing, make it this one.

Or maybe it is the second thing?  I believe blogging is a Web 2.0 activity, so, duh!  I really do need to sharpen myself up because I suffer from those inner dialogues that stop me in my tracks.  Since I’ve started this whole Alex Jeffreys thing [course, mania - whichever word works for you] that is one of my Aha moments I’ve really looked fairly and squarely in the face [mind, ether - again whatever word works for you] at.  Enough of this.

Getting back to my point: To Twitter, or not to Twitter: that is the question?

The second type of Twit is typified by me, at the moment.  That is, a signed-up Twitter, but not really understanding how to use it properly, and certainly not knowing how to use it to maximise its effectiveness if we are all agreed that as Internet Marketers our end goal is sales.

So what am I doing?

Long story short.  The news here is that I’ve joined tweetergetter.com because its developer, Gary McCaffrey, promises viral tweets for free.

A big thank you to Jo O’Connor for bringing it to my attention first. For those of you who don’t know Josie, a fellow A.J. student, do go to her blog and give her some blog love. (I said I had lots to say about my Turbo Hopping trip 1-3 January. This epitomizes one of my major thoughts: there’s loads of Alex Jeffreys’ students who are hardly, if at all, on the radar, i.e. known to the “core” members of the Fortunate 500. More another time?)

So it’s at least worth giving tweetergetter.com a go, isn’t it?

Put it another way: how would 19,530 new Twitter followers in 30 days be? That’s what tweetergetter.com says on the tin.

This is my first step to becoming an Ace Twitterer.  Come along with me, let’s share our journey together, and I intend to have more news on Twittering soon.

Am I attempting to re-invent the wheel? Are you all light years ahead of me on this part of the Internet Marketing maze? Share your thoughts and experiences of Twitter, please. Would you like me to share as I become an Ace Twitterer?

Please do get yourself along to  http://tweetergetter.com/ValerieDavies

Happy Twittering.

Valerie

When I’d posted I realised what day it is!  Love to all who deserve (would like? will find themselves in a brighter place with ?) my love, for love is what makes the world go round.

Oh, and thanks to Gazz-Man for not removing me from your “A” list.  I deserve it due to my lack of activity, but you’ve doubtless seen you were one of my first ports of call when I returned from my other explorations.  I hope you’ve had a brilliant weekend away, and I will earn my continued place on your “A” list.   I did help Mark A and Mark C with their questionnaire for studentsofalex.com, so I think that’s worth a few Brownie points, don’t you?

Anyway, down to the procrastination, excuses, S.A.D. and apologies.

Perhaps my primary motto is from the first page of the Procrastinator’s Bible:

Don’t do today what you can put off until tomorrow.

Or perhaps I’ll give you a thousand and one excuses (dressed up in the most legitimate ways as reasons and justifications).

There again, it is winter in the UK and I’m a fully paid up member of the hibernation squad.  Perhaps even extending to S.A.D. (seasonal affective disorder).

And the apologies are here in bucketsful.  Thanks to all who are still patiently waiting for your promised New Year present.  At this rate it will be a mid-summer present, but just think of it as lost in cyberspace, and when it is delivered it will be all the more appreciated, I hope.  Could ramble on more about this, but I won’t.  Energy to be channelled into creating promised product.

Apology number 2 to all who requested to be on my blogroll.  I got caught up in the “Will Google get you, or not?” debate and got cautious.  I have the “No Follow” plugin installed (thank you Jey Kumara), but a load of names to add to the list.  You are not ignored, nor forgotten, just another thing on the To Do list.

Apology number 3 to all who have left comments that I have not acknowledged, or responded to.  Remiss of me.  Knuckles wrapped.

And another thousand and one apologies in advance, just in case, and for whatever I need to cover myself for.  Funny, isn’t it.  I’ve met so many people throughout my life who couldn’t manage to squeeze the word “Sorry” out of their poor sorry mouths.  Fortunately I’m not one of them.  And the whole “sorry” story is a sorry saga in itself, isn’t it?

Anyway, beyond the procrastination, excuses, S.A.D. and apologies, maybe a sprinkling of truth as to part of what else happened in January.  It’s another whole sorry saga, but of a different kind.  It’s to do with my son, his education and our local education authority.  It’s not resolved yet, so if I go walkabouts again, please bear with me.  It’s too painful, and time consuming, and frustrating, to say anything further, certainly at the moment.  (I can feel a 1,000 page ebook coming on!!)

Well, Captain Valster, old girl, there’s a whole planet that needs attention and by goodness, doesn’t Planet Valz look a bit of a sorry state (Google analytics told me so).

I called this blog daybydaymarketing because I promised myself that I would succeed in my quest for internet income success, and that meant that I had to attend to the business every day, not now and again.  Also that I would achieve success by doing more and more day by day.  My poor old blog had become skip far too many.  Days, that is.

Captain Valster is back, and reporting to the Fortunate 500, to go forward, to fail forward fast, and to put the rocket boosters on.  See you all soon.  February is beckoning me.

I’m helping them with the questionnaire we will all complete before they
call us for our interviews.  Once they see where our passions, strengths,
weaknesses, challenges and experiences are, the content of the
interviews will naturally follow.

So, it’s another time for going up yet another (steep) learning curve.
Online surveys.  We’re using surveymonkey.com so if anyone has any handy tips, they will be most welcome.  (For example, I haven’t worked out how to put the introductory blurb in without it coming up as Q1.)

If you’re yet to sign up to be involved, get yourself over to http://missioninternetmarketing.com/blog/have-you-signed-up-to-be-interviewed-for-studentsofalexcom/
now.

It’s going to be a great opportunity to promote yourself, your blog and both current and future products.

Valerie

Today,  it’s 3am now and writing this as I listen to the interactive questions at the end of the Traffic Tornados module.  (Yes, I started writing at 2am, and Alex is still going strong.)  So fired up again as I take this away with me, while I sleep, and while I am awake.  What?  We heard the results of the first, traffic generation over Christmas, competition.  I knew I would not be THE winner, but no problem because this is what I am taking away with me:

We are ALL winners.  We are all winners because we are part of the Fortunate 500, the 2008 Class of Alex Jeffreys.  And we are all winners because we have our blogs up, we are driving traffic to our blogs and we are learning the winning ways of the new breed of internet marketers as directed by our coach and mentor Alex Jeffreys.

And just in case you missed the call, congratulations and very well done to Jim Gallagher.   Wow.   41,318 visits and 800 new people on his list.  Best get over to read the blog as soon as I’ve finished writing this as mine was more like 413 visits, so I’ve got a factor of 100 times to improve on just for starters.

To today’s competition. $1,000 for the FIRST person to get their blog to No 1 position in Google for the key words “Alex Jeffreys” (check the spelling is correct).

Alex Jeffreys has given us some very helpful hints and tips in our quest for organic search engine domination for the keywords Alex Jeffreys.  If we use the strategies covered in Traffic Tornados and learn from what those already in the Top 10 are doing, particularly their links to Alex and who is linking to them  — we will take on a massive learning again.

Again, we will all be winners.  There will only be one $1,000 winner, but all of us who go for it will be winners because we will have taken action, and may not get to No 1 but we will certainly know how to get positioned in the Google search engine as we will have seen our progress, daybyday.

May the savviest, quickest and most active Alex Jeffreys blogger win.

Go, go, go.  To the Google search engine mastery exercise:

Valerie

Maria Andros, the video marketing queen, spilled her guts to us with
lots of tip top info about, surprise, surprise, video marketing.
Our man, Alex, is certainly leading the pack and aligning himself with
Maria is a smart move. Luckily for us, we benefit too.

They are a testament to the power of Twitter.com as that is where
they met. Three weeks ago, and they sound as though they have
known each other at least three years. I know I haven’t “got” Twitter
yet, but I will do, in time. At least I’m on Twitter. Follow me
on twitter.com/valeriedavies.

The energy outflowing from Maria was almost breathtaking, oozing
passion and success. She’s off to Necker Island soon. And she
moved to the sunny beach of California from Canada two days ago. We
too can build the amazing lifestyles Alex and Maria have for
themselves if we kick off those restraining fetters, get out of our
comfort zones and fail forward fast, and faster.

We have to take Action. And appropriate Action at that. Thank
goodness we have joined Alex’s course. Alex has thrown down the
gauntlet for the next action steps by declaring his latest
competitions. Open to all Alex Jeffreys’ students.

For anyone who wasn’t on the call, let me give you the heads up on
it. Surprise, surprise. We have to make a video and put it on
YouTube.

There are 5 qualifying criteria for entry:

1. Video needs to be on YouTube.
2. We have to mention our blog or website in the video.
3. We have to introduce our name in the video.
4. We have to mention Alex Jeffreys.
5. We have to mention marketingwithyou.com in the video.

The closing date is 5th February.

We can enter more than one video.

Two competitions:

1.  $1,500 for the most creative and content packed video.

2.  $1,500 for the person who drives the most traffic to their video
before 5th February.

So, get to it, and may the best videos win.

Valerie
http://daybydaymarketing.com

They have both told me that when they drop the www part, it does work.

Now, I did say that I have much to report from my world turbo hopping travels.  This issue of www is one of them.

I always signed off with what I call the full url, ie including the www.

When I clicked to submit my comment, I noticed that on some blogs when I saw what was waiting for moderation, or approval, the www bit had gone. There was something programmed in to keep it, or ditch it.

So, do we use the www, or not?

I use Firefox and I’ve just checked using with and without the www.  Both showed up, no problem.

And I thought the challenge was to get the files FTPed, the blog with its various plug-ins, etc.  It comes to something when it’s as simple as whether we put the www in our address or not.  It also means that this whole www (world wide web - literally) thing is built up of a myriad of pieces that together comprise the puzzle that is the web.

Shining stars, or would be shining stars, some light over here on this would be most welcome.  Thank you in anticipation of our illumination on this matter.

Or do we expect that we are sufficiently aware that if it doesn’t work one way, then to input it the other way should ensure the magical appearance of the site in question?

If anybody has any rule of thumb, or insider knowledge, or any way for us to know these things, do share it with us.

Whilst writing this, I’ve just noticed my permalink is without the www.  Could this be the clue?  Methinks it could be.  As I’ve signed myself off with www everywhere I have turbo hopped spreading my greetings and offers of a gift, I’ll amend the permalink and hope that does the trick.  Oh no, I can’t even do that.  I can only edit the individual post extension.  Another techie challenge that I should be beyond, but I am only even aware of it through this ramble.

Have you all checked your permalinks? And do you know whether your blog shows with or without a www, or both?

No point working hard to get traffic to your blog if they can’t open it up and have a look around.

But there cannot be one hard and fast rule, otherwise nobody would have managed to come into Planet Valz and say hi.  Or is it that everyone who has come in is savvy enough to try it with the www, fail, and then try again without the www?     Aaaarrrrhh!    Enough!

Until next time …

Valerie