|
Welcome To Issue #2:
Straight Talk with PotPieGirl
Internet Marketing.... it's a crazy little world in here, isn't it? All this mumbo-jumbo - like some secret code that makes NO SENSE, right? Gee, I sure hope someone else feels that way because that is exactly how I felt when I first started online marketing.
I was confused, I was extremely over-whelmed...and it seemed no one just spit it out and said it straight. I was always trying to translate what I was reading into plain English that made sense to me.
I promised myself that if I EVER got in a position to help others learn all this stuff, that I would never talk in that crazy code.
I'm a straight-talker... and I tell it like it is.
I hope Straight Talk with PotPieGirl will become an email you can't wait to get and a valuable asset to your online learning experience!
Article Writing Roadblocks - How To Bust Thru and Be a Writing Super Star
One of the most common questions I get is - "What the heck do I write about?". Let's face it, if you're working online (especially in the free marketing arena), you're gonna have to learn to write...and write a lot.
This is a major roadblock for many folks. There is something intimidating about a blank page and a brain that just won't kick in and help you out, isn't there? Everyone who writes online content has these same issues, so please don't feel alone. I have days when I could write for hours and the ideas folow effortlessly. Then, other days, I am one big BLANK.
Been there? It's frustrating, isn't it?
Worse part was when I was new to all this and I'd read so-and-so say, "Write an article on your topic"...and then glide on past that step like it was no big deal.
Thing is, it IS a big deal when you're clueless. And trust me, at one time, I was CLUELESS. How the heck do I write an article? How the heck do I know what to write about? What if I don't know anything about the topic I am writing about?
I decided to take a step back in time and think of all the things that helped me conquer this writing-phobia. Hopefully, some of these little tips will help YOU conquer this roadblock and become a writing super star!
1. No one is grading your article
Funny, but when it came to writing, I kept this mindset that I would be graded on my writing ability and technique. Guess what? No one grades you online. There is no great big virtual red pen that comes along and circles your errors or grades your ability.
Whew! Thank goodness! We are writing for people - not teachers or professors. Let go of your need for "perfect" or "the right way" and just get to writing. You can NOT fail unless you write nothing.
2. Remove the Blank
I'd love (not) the days when I'd sit down for a few hours of productive writing, open a blank screen to begin....and the brain would freeze. I'd stare at that blank screen and grow more and more aggravated by the minute.
Get rid of the blank. Just type something... ANYTHING. I don't care if you open up Word, or whatever you use to write, and type "My name is Jennifer and I am so glad I am not writing a term paper". Heck, I've been known to type, "If that cat tips over her water bowl one more time I am going to give her a nice bath in a BIG tub of water!"
Totally silly, right? But here's the thing.... your fingers start typing... the page becomes UNblank... you change your momentum to a typing mood.
Oh, and don't forget to delete the silly stuff when you're finished your article!
3. Write a Letter
I think this tip helped me the most. Instead of writing an article, I made the task less intimidating by pretending I was writing a letter to someone. I imagined that someone asked me a question, and all I was doing was writing back the answer. Not only did this really help me get the words out, it also helped me keep my writing style more conversational.
No need to get all focused on keywords or style... just type.
4. I Know NOTHING!
Ahhh, this situation is tough. You find great keywords in a market you know NOTHING about. Now what? How the heck can you write about something you don't know anything about?
Let me share a secret with you..... and I'm about to say the "f" word...
Forums.
Forums are the best place online EVER to get info on your topic AND to get article ideas. If someone is asking in a forum, trust me, other folks want to know, too. Not only do you get article ideas... you also can get the answers to the questions, too. (but do NOT copy their words. Never ever do that)
So, let's take an example.
World of Warcraft is a popular game...but I know NOTHING about it. So, I wander over to Google and type in -world of warcraft forum.
I come across this one part of a HUGE WoW forum:
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/board.html?forumId=10001&sid=1
(And honestly, I am amazed at how active it is... Holy Smokes!)
So I scan thru all the posts....but you know what all those posts are? Article ideas! These are things that people in the WoW market want to know and like to talk about. How cool is that!??! You can also gauge interest level in a topic by how many replies and views a thread has had.
Folks, this is a GOLDMINE of information if you are in the World of Warcraft market. Oh, and here's another tip about forum posts....
If someone starts their thread title out with "Help!", you found a hot topic. When you find a common problem in a market, you have found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!
Bonus Tip for One Week Marketing Affiliates:
Many, MANY folks ask me how to use article marketing or create OWM campaigns to promote the One Week Marketing Action Plan. Forums are a BIG BIG B-I-G help here.
Go to ANY internet marketing forum....read the threads and see the questions that are being asked. These are great ideas for you to capture traffic that would be interested in OWM. It is literally impossible to run out of article and lens ideas for promoting One Week Marketing.
While these are just a few tips I use that really help me overcome my writing roadblocks, the most importaant thing is to keep writing. Each article under your belt makes it easier and easier in the times that follow.
Keyword Research Video Series on PotPieGirl.com
(Note: This video series was mentioned in Issue #1 of Straight Talk With PotPieGirl. Because we are welcoming so many new folks to our little community, I thought it was important enough to share these videos one more time)
For those of you that have already seen these videos, wow at my video skills, huh? Hahahahahhahaha!
I am totally NOT serious. If I've said it once, I've said it a million times - Thank GOODNESS you don't need high-tech skills to make it online!
Ok - these are great videos that I think you will really like. We talk about the basic outline of making m0ney online using free methods, the current effectiveness of Squidoo lenses, finding keywords - GOOD keywords - for your Squidoo lenses, and my super-ninja, totally top-secret way I breeze thru keyword research to find my hole in the market.
You can find these videos here (watch in this order so you know what the heck I'm rambling about)
(and hey all you 6StepNicheSite.com readers - don't think this doesn't apply to you, too! This is a GREAT way to get super ideas for your niche blog posts! )
Making Money Online - The Key To Your Future With Internet Marketing
You can go to Google and type in - make money online secrets - and you will get thousands of folks trying to tell you what the bestest, greatest, most important secret is to successfully making money online. Gotta love the shiny things, huh?
I am about to spill the beans here... Yup, totally let the cat out of the bag... and destroy most of those supposed "secrets" to all this.
The key to making money online, and continuing to make MORE money online, is....
Proven Processes.
Boring, huh? Totally not exciting. Totally not flashy. But ya know what? It is the absolute truth.
To START making money online, you need a daily plan of action. This is probably why folks love One Week Marketing so much - because it gives you actionable steps to take each and every day to get started making money on the internet. I created that action plan for myself, because I couldn't figure out what to DO. Sure, I read all kinds of great info and learned a lot, but no one told me what to DO each day. I do believe that the inner frustration lack of direction causes is a big reason why so many give up on internet marketing.
So, you get your first plan... your first process. It works so you rinse and repeat it each and every week. Finally, money starts to come in, so you plan to amp up your earnings. Guess what? You can now OUTSOURCE your original process and begin to work on your next process. Perhaps this is building small niche websites like I teach for free at 6StepNicheSites.com.
Regardless of what your next plan of action is to scale up your internet earnings, it can't be done blindly.
Processes that work are worth repeating over and over.
Processes that work are worth outsourcing and getting others to do them FOR you.
When you are brand new, you just might need to start with a process that someone else developed...and that's ok! To me, learning by DOING is the most powerful and useful learning there is. The more you DO, the more you learn. The more you learn, the more ready you are to tweak that process and make it uniquely YOURS.
Just last night, my hubby and I were assembling some furniture we got my daughter for her room. It was a big ol' dresser with lots of drawers. (If anyone is familiar with Ikea, that's where I got it). As much as I wanted to toss the directions to the side and put it together how I thought it should go, I made myself read the directions for putting together each drawer. Then, after learning their way, and what the finished product should look like, I tweaked their system and set up my own.
Exciting? No, not even a little bit. But ya know what? It works. Follow the steps, tweak them just enough to make it work best for YOU....then repeat, repeat, repeat.
Above all, don't get caught in the trap that making money online has to be complicated OR that it has to have some big, fancy, shiny, and expensive solution.
Links Links Links
You hear it all the time, "Build back links to your web pages - and be sure to use optimized anchor text!"
When you're new, that can sound like a bunch of mumbo-jumbo, can't it?
Why Do We Need BackLinks?
Here's a little secret about Google....
Google, the search engine, is pretty much just one big ol' popularity contest. Google ranks web pages according to many factors (over 200, to be exact), but one of the most important factors is the popularity of your web page.
What makes your web page popular? OTHER web pages linking to YOUR web page.
The words someone uses as anchor text to link to your web page are like a vote for your web page to rank for that phrase. This is why it is important to use "optimized anchor text" for your back links.
In short, 'optimized anchor text' means being sure that the words you want to rank in Google for are used as the clickable words of a link TO your web page.
What you do ON your web page is only about 20% of the battle of ranking highly in Google.... the rest is found within the things that happen OFF your web page and all over the internet.
The "secret" to ranking higher for your chosen keywords is to make sure you have more "votes" (back links) to YOUR web page than the other web pages showing for that search do.
How Many Backlinks Do YOU Need? The answer to that question is different for everybody. Each and every Google search is a different market. However, I would say it is safe to shoot for one more backlink that the #1 ranking web page for your search ;)
To get your web page (article, lens, blog post, etc etc) to rank highly, you have to get out there on the web and vote for yourself =)
To learn more about links and how really, REALLY important they are, and learn how to properly build back links, please read this:
Wealthy Affiliate for $1 !??!
I LOVE Wealthy Affiliate. If I had one wish for all the folks out there that are really giving a serious go of building an online business, it would be that they would become members of the Wealthy Affiliate community and learning center.
Learning is an on-going process with your own internet business, and there is no better place to learn than within Wealthy Affiliate University.
I understand that it can be hard to commit to a monthly fee when there isn't money coming in yet - been there, done that.
But also know this - for less than $40 a month you can have access to all the learning material, tools, and support you WILL need to put all this together and get it working for you. Know what that also means? No need to buy anything else for a while =)
If you have ever even thought that MAYBE you MIGHT like to join Wealthy Affiliate, please listen closely.
During the first week of June, Kyle and Carson (Wealthy Affiliate founders) will be offering a $1 week long trial membership to everything in WA. This is not a limited, just gonna tease ya type thing... this is the full deal for $1.
BUT - it is only available for one week - and it is only available to a certain number of people.
If you think that maybe possibly you might want to take advantage of this $1 trial during the first week of June, please do this so we can be SURE you get the first chance to grab one of the limited spots.
(The guide is offered in a little drop down picture a few seconds after you land on the page)
By getting this free guide you will not only get a great free guide, but you will also put yourself in position to be the first to know when the $1 week-long trial membership is available.
This is a great opportunity, so please keep it mind.
Need More Help with One Week Marketing?
Just a quick heads up to all the new One Week Marketers...
If you find you'd really like more one-on-one help with your One Week Marketing campaigns, there is a OWM Coaching Center available.
Need Help With Squidoo?
Having issues making Squidoo lenses? Having a hard time getting them indexed or getting traffic? Need to know how to make a link on a Squidoo lens?
These questions and WAY WAY WAYYYY more are answered on my Squidoo help lens. If you have any questions about anything with your Squidoo lenses, please start here first:
(One Week Marketers.... there is a special FAQ section for you at the bottom of the lens)
In Closing
Time for me to wrap up the second edition of Straight Talk with PotPieGirl . I hope you've enjoyed this newsletter as much as I enjoyed creating it.
In closing, I'd like to remind everyone to help each other out. We lose nothing by sharing our knowledge, but we gain so much.
"A candle loses nothing
by lighting another candle...."
Keep Moving Forward!
Jennifer
~PotPieGirl
|
Straight Talk with PotPieGirl