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Another Bump In the Road. . . Getting Down & Back Up

Posted on 30. Dec, 2008 by Derrick.

“Our doubts are traitors,
And make us lose the good we oft might win By fearing to attempt.”

William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), “Measure for Measure”, Act 1 scene 4

As much as I hate to admit it, I was having some serious doubts yesterday about this whole project. I mean seriously can I really make this work? Will this actually work for me? I haven’t had much traffic yet (Granted, I haven’t done much to generate that traffic) , but could this actually work out for me?

My doubts worsened, as I received excited and enthusiastic emails about internet marketing, and as I read other people’s blogs who have really taken this all on board. . I reflected and asked myself - Am I as passionate as all these other ‘Successful’ Internet Marketers?

And unfortunately I have to admit, and say No. I am Not. I am not really that excited about internet marketing. I don’t really want to be ‘known’ and ‘promoted’ and ‘marketed’ as an internet marketer. How can I compete with so many others who are passionate about this subject and make it work? Maybe it was a mistake getting involved in all of this. . again? One of the other things I really don’t like, even though I understand the psychology behind it, is all the sales and marketing hype in this area.

Maybe I’m just jaded with all the ‘promises’ of success and wealth that the internet marketing arena espouses. Maybe I’m getting frustrated because I have very little to show for all the energy, time and money I have invested so far. Maybe my ADD is kicking in and I’m getting bored? Maybe I’m sabotaging my own success? or Maybe its all of the above?

PASSION

I Started to think about what I was Passionate about. . Technology, entertaining and educating. . I got excited about developing the tech site I have been working on. and sharing the latest and greatest technology . I began to think maybe I should be doing that. . I’ll be more inspired and passionate. I would love it. . . . .

Then after a few moments on that mindtrip. . I had to rein myself back, reminding myself one of the keys to making anything successful, is to keep a single focus - I really need to make this one site successful before I starting to work on another . .

RANDOM ENCOURAGEMENT

I went back to surfing the web. and came across another internet blogger who’s been making his income just from blogging. Steve Pavlina. I really liked his approach. he has a much more laid back and relaxed style, as opposed to all the pushing and hardsell out there. . I was feeling a bit less doubtful and my faith in blogging and internet marketing was partially restored.

Then somehow in my surfing I landed on Youtube, and saw a great cover of that song “I’m Yours by Jason Mraz” by this young songwriter and producer David Choi. Wow. this guy is good. It was such a good rendition, I got a bit emotional and I got inspired.

Earlier in the day. . I had started going out visiting posts as part of my Gold Digging Expedition. When I came back to check my blog I was very happy to see that Hiliary Dickinson, one of the blogs I visited had posted something on my blog. I got excited again. Funny how a simple post can make a difference!. Thanks Hiliary :).

And after a good chat with a friend on the phone, and another on skype. . I got back on track. I just needed to refocus and remember the reason why I started this and what my long term goals are, get some inspiration and of course some encouragement and signs of progress! And that’s one of the great things when you’re working within a team or group, everyone’s helping each other move forward, and seeing others progress, inspires and motivates.

So for now, I’ve left that doubt behind and I’m back ready to take more concentrated and focused action to drive that traffic

Derrick

ps: Stay tuned for my New Video Introduction coming within the next 24 hours!

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Traffic Secret 1: Part 1 - Be A Gold Digger!

Posted on 28. Dec, 2008 by Derrick.

I’m excited today, as today marks my official start of Driving Traffic to my blog. From today I’ll be taking consistent, deliberate action to drive targeted traffic to my online home : my blog. One of the key ways of getting traffic according to Alex Jeffreys‘, is writing on other people’s blogs and leaving a link back to yours. But its more than just leaving a comment like :

“Hi, like your blog, please visit mine here - <link here> “

If you’re like most people. .you’ll probably thinking what a waste of a comment, as it really adds very little value to the blog, and worse, it is obviously just a blatant promotional tool, to have a link back to your site! So, there is a wrong way of making backlinks to yours site, and thankfully there is also a right way . . and that is what I plan to start to reveal to you today. .

So, I know what you’re thinking - What exactly am I going to do? Well I’m going to be a Gold Digger!

BE A GOLD DIGGER!

No Not Like Kanye West!

So What do I mean? Well. . put simply I’m going out to the web on a Gold Digging Expedition! I’m going out into the world wide web and seeking out blogs, reading posts and comments, and rather than just say Hi, and ask the blog owner to visit my site, I’m going to look at what I like and love about other people’s blogs and give genuine compliments.

Why would I want to do this? Well the key to be successful in ANY Endeavour in this world is BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS. Business is done through people. Great Endeavours are executed and realised through people. Everything man has achieved is through people, and one of the best ways to build relationships is through encouragement and taking a genuine and keen interest in the other person. (I learnt this many years ago reading a classic in the field of personal development: How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie). Great chance for me to revisit the gems in this book, and start reapplying!

Alex Jeffreys‘ emphasis in Module 4 : Social Media Money was all about this - Building Relationships, and more specifically - Relationship Marketing. It was really about how to interact online - what not to do, and what to do to build those relationships that forms the foundation of any great endeavour

OUTCOMES:

Before we get to the specifics of this key traffic tip, lets firstly define what is the outcome one wants as an owner of a blog/website:

We want targeted relevant traffic. (there generally is no point getting people who have no interest whatsoever in the topic of our blog to come and visit - I mean, think of the times, you’re searching for some information on a specific topic, and somehow land on a page that has nothing to do with what you’re looking for - what do we do? - most of us just click and close the window!. . so we want people that are searching for the information we have. people who will be happy to find our blog because it provides the information they are looking for
We want the targeted traffic to come back, again and a again, or in web terms we want our blog to be ‘STICKY‘. Why? Well firstly in the offline business world, it is always much easier to sell to a past customer, as compared to finding new customers to sell to. . so Its the same with getting visitors to your site. its less work keeping your visitors coming back, compared to keep going out and finding more people to come and visit. (As long as you’ve got something of value to offer of course)
We want to get to a point eventually where the blog / website autogenerates visitors. Just like in an offline business, one of the best ways to grow a business is through referrals, through ‘raving fans’ of your product / service. So it is with your blog, by providing consistently good value, eventually the site will attract the visitors you seek, through word of mouth. So this is the end point in terms of generating traffic for your blog. Keep this in mind as you work out what strategies you want to deploy to achieve this outcome!

DO’s AND DON’T’s OF LEAVING COMMENTS

Ok, lets get back to the original intent of this blog post : when visiting other blogs and websites - Be A Gold Digger - find good things and compliment - as this is the beginning of building relationships, which forms the foundation of building a business.

To expand on this basic premise of being a Gold Digger, here is a quick summary of do’s and don’ts Alex Jeffreys‘ shared with us, when you go out and gold dig on other sites:

Do:

Be REAL - don’t be a fake, people can sniff you out, just like dogs!

Post on related blogs to help drive TARGETED TRAFFIC - find blogs that have the same topic and subject matter as you.

Tell your story if appropriate to the blog post

Don’t:

PIMP Yourself- ie don’t leave comments on other people blog sites with the sole purpose of advertising your site. . They don’t like it, and neither do you when others leave such comments for you!

Try and sell or promote your products.

Stick to these guidelines and know that the 3 outcomes outlined before happen, when we have the right long term intent.

This is very important. . because as you surf the web and look for information, you will find advertising for many ‘tactics’ and ‘techniques’ that people are selling that can drive tons of traffic to your site, but it may be non-targeted traffic, utilise a loophole in the search engines, or take advantage of how the search engines work, and from what i have seen, many of these are only transient solutions that will not work long term. My feeling is that it is much better to focus on providing a good value service, develop your reputation, and word of mouth referrals, to be around for the long term, rather than the quick buck. .

So the right intent in my mind is so, so important. I have been defrauded, cheated and taken for a ride too many times to mention in this post - both online and offline (although when i’m looking for some sympathy I may divulge :). and if there is anything I hate, it is seeing people taken advantage of. I diverge. . ..

So back to what I was saying . I believe part of getting on the right path in building a business, heck, just being a good human being is to be A Gold Digger!. . I’ll be going out and visiting a bunch of blogs and posting what I like about their blogs, or messages.

And really this will reinforce that old theme of giving of yourself, and in return, you’ll receive much more in return, of course, while this is true, it is every important that when we give of ourselves, we do not expect anything in return, that we do not entertaining the idea of obligation which is forced and unpleasant. I intend to go out and give without expectation and not at all worry about what I want(Traffic). .

I am feeling a sense of freedom just thinking about giving without expectations! . . .

The Experiment begins!. . .

Derrick

PS: Love to hear your thoughts, comments!

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