Archive for June, 2010
Hoorah, hoorah, I’ve Something To Say
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s been 2 weeks since my last post and for a moment there I thought I might never have anything interesting to report again! There’s been a bit of a lull in the mentoring, so no 1 on 1′s with Ed or webinars to write about.
My outsourcing project has also ground to a halt so, for the most part, I’ve been plodding on, head down. After trying out 2 different outsource workers and having them both disappear on me I decided to take a break and rethink my strategy as I was spending huge amounts of energy on it without positive results. I’ve been trying out 2 automatic submission tools and, once I decide which one I’m going to go with, I’ll probably, outsource that work, one piece at a time and build from there.
I’ve made a change to how I organise my CFT blocks, after doing the exercise I mentioned in my “critical focus time backwards” post . Putting pen to paper I realised that working at the pace I was, with the time I have available, I was already at full capacity both in terms of sites and tasks. So I reduced my CFT block length from 45 to 30 minutes which gave me more available work slots. This also had the added bonus of speeding up my work. So now I’m getting more done in less time and with more time to do it! The result is I now have 4 sites in my work rotation.
I feel I’m making real progess now in putting together a system that works for me and the discipline of keeping on, keeping on, is paying off.
The brilliant news is my plugging away is bringing measurable results.
Fan fare of trumpets please . . .
I’ve hit the top 5 on page one of Google and, although my main keyword only has average traffic potential, I am expecting that traffic to pick up from here on in. So more people should be finding me through the search engines who are looking for coaching. This means it’s now time to turn my mind to what internet marketing coaching packages I’d like to offer.
Ed has suggested that any mentees taking the 2010 Challenge should lead a group so that’s one possibility. I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I’m most interested in coaching people who, although not newbies, are having very little success so I could form a group around that. Hmmmm. Wonder if I could set up a forum we could use on this site . . .
Long term, I would like some local clients so I could do some face-to-face group coaching.
If you have any thoughts about what coaching packages you would like to see or what has worked for you in the past, please leave a comment below. I’m all ears! 
Top 7 Must-Do’s Before Employing an Overseas Assistant
Posted by: | CommentsI’ve not posted for a while as I’m needing all my time to keep up with the promotion of my sites whilst trying to progress my internet marketing outsourcing project. To be honest it’s proving more difficult than I had anticipated. So far, I’ve taken on 2 people only to have them disappear on me. This is the point when, in the past, I would have abandoned the idea and moved onto something else. However, if I’m going to turn this into a real business I need to keep at it.
I’m tempted to go back to taking people on, on a per project basis but ultimately I’m looking for one person so, for now, I’ll continue with that approach. If I can find the right person then, in the future, this whole process will be a lot less painful because, hopefully, I will be able to delegate some of it to them.
So far, these are some useful things I’ve learned, the hard way , to do before taking someone on:
1. Know What You Are Looking For
Take the time to do a detailed job specification that includes the projects and tasks that you need doing. Write a person specification to clarify the essential qualities of the person who will do the job.
2. Be Prepared
Know what exactly is involved in a project and how long the various taks take. Wherever possible, have experience of the work yourself so you have first-hand knowledge. If that’s not possible, make sure you ask candidates for estimates of how long they think they will take to do a particular task. Bear in mind that generally people underestimate how long something takes.
3. Have Realistic Expectations
In most cases you will have to train a worker to do the job exactly as you would like it done. Even when they tell you they have experience the chances are they won’t do things the way you need them to. Also, what you understand by a task or skill can often be different from what someone else understands.
For example, if you are looking for a content writer be very specific about what sort of content you require – blog posts, online articles, print articles etc. – and, related to that, what experience you require.
4. Check Authenticity
If available, look at applicants’ profiles carefully and any feedback and ratings from previous work carried out. If you can get references do so, especially if you can speak to the referee.
5. Check The Quality of Work
Ask for examples of past work. However, it is easy for someone to pass off other’s work as their own so, if satisfied with this part, move on to a test piece.
6. Ask For a Test Piece of Work
Ask for a piece of work to be completed as part of the selection process. Depending upon how time-consuming/skilled this is you may or may not want to pay for it. Ask them to time themselves and and make, at least part of it, open-ended. This gives you a chance to test their initiative and their speed and also gives you a comparison point between all candidates.
7. Conduct a Short Interview
Conducting an interview is easily done on Skype. If spoken english is an important part of the work you want done then interview over the phone. If not, then using chat will give you an idea of how comfortable they are with english and how easily they can write in it. Prepare the questions you want to ask in advance, relating them to your job and person spcifications.
Once this steps are completed you will be ready to make a well-informed job offer.
Critical Focus Time Backwards
Posted by: | CommentsJust had a 1:1 session with Ed Dale as part of the mentoring program. As far as this site is concerned I was a little concerned since I’ve been pretty much stuck at the bottom of page 1/top of page 2 for my main keywords, since April. However, Ed thinks I’m doing well, since I’m not going to get much traction from the search engines without a lot of time and effort as my main keyword terms are so competitive. So that’s encouraging.
I’m building this site for the long haul so, whilst more traffic and “conversation” would be great, I’m happy to keep at it and tell the tale whilst building the money-making part of the business elsewhere (for the time-being). One of my biggest challenges at the moment is not being able to get all the work done.
I’m much better at following a system and keeping to my CFTs but it’s still not enough to do it all. I’m still in the process of getting my outsourcing project sorted but that is taking longer than I anticipated. If I keep building sites the way I’m doing I’m just going to end up with a bigger log jam. Not to mention the other sites that I already had, before the start of the mentoring, that I’m not working on at all.
Ed was a great help with this by giving me a different way to look at the problem. I’ve always recognised getting a change of prospective to be one of the great benefits of working with a life coach and now I see that internet marketing coaching is no different.
I’ve built 2 sites so far, following the 5 CFT Challenge parameters, and, whilst I built the second one faster than the first, I’m struggling to keep up with the link building stuff necessary to keep them ticking over. The recommendation in the Challenge is to write, spin and syndicate one article a week and that’s what I’ve been trying to do. But I’m pretty much working at full capacity so there’s no room to build more sites and test new markets or to implement other sorts of promotion.
Ed’s suggestion was this. Instead of starting with the method first (in this case article promotion once a week) and trying to make it fit the CFT available, start with the CFT and allocate specific blocks to each of the sites, keeping some clear for new sites or development of old ones. This means that I won’t be able to write, spin and syndicate one article per site per week but I will be able to keep all my sites ticking over. So my next move is a plain sheet of paper, lots of coloured pens and a trip to my favourite cafe to sketch out the new plan.
Ed Dale’s 2010 Challenge
Posted by: | Comments(This post assumes you’re familiar with Ed Dale’s Thirty Day Challenge. If you’re not please visit Rob Somerville‘s blog for an excellent history and explanation of what the 30DC is/was.)
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If you thought the 30 day challenge was good you’re going to love what Ed Dale has in store for us this year.
Back in April Ed posted that the 30DC was over. But . . . he went on to explain . . .
“There is no way I’m going to leave you hanging. What will replace the Thirty Day Challenge will be radical.
It will be state of the art.
It will be beautiful
It will be fun.
It will be easier.
I will make the same lame jokes…
Even Drummers will be able to do it.
BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY
It will be 100% free.
AND
It will be more EFFECTIVE.”
And now he’s finally announced the shape of what’s to come.
Gone are the thirty days. And in their place are 3 blocks of 7 working days with 7 days off in between.
The format has been changed because of Ed’s frustration, in the past, with how few people actually stuck it to the end of the 30 days. And yes. Mea Culpa. Again! I started the 30DC on 4 different occasions and never got to the end of the first week.
Ed’s take on why people don’t make it to the end, and my thoughts on that, are because of:
1. A lack of time – This has been addressed by limiting each day to just 30 minutes work which includes both watching the videos and completing the tasks that need to be done.
2. The Expectation that they will have a business after just 30 days. The focus of the original challenge was to make your first dollar that has now shifted to more of a business mindset - “the whole point of the challenge is to build the foundations of a business that will last. A business that will replace your 9-5 pay packet over time.”
3. Lack of Stickability – Keeping going for 30 days on the trot is a big ask for many of us so now all we have to do is make it to 7 days. Then take a break and make it to the end of another 7 days. I’m going to be really interested to see how this works out because the downside of having a break is loss of momentum. I’m going to stick my neck out here and predict that the same number of people will drop out after the initial 7 days as did in the past. (Sorry Ed). I think the key to this is to have a balance between the amount of work, which has been met by the 30 minutes a day change, and keeping momentum going.
4. We Hate Getting Left Behind – This is addressed by the 7 day break which will allow people to catch up if necessary. However, Ed feels “This is the number 1 reason anybody quits any challenge.” I disagree. I think it makes it harder but I don’t think it is the reason. I think it is just one of any number of excuses we use when we meet resistance. If this is my excuse of choice then no matter how long you give me to catch up, I won’t. It is a symptom but not the cause.
5. Lack of Results – This is most definitely a biggie when it comes to staying motivated. This is tackled by having a number of different outcomes, namely:
- You’ll have made your first dollar and built the foundation of your online empire!
- You’ll sell your website on Flippa.com and make some money back that way.
- You do all seven sections and you’ll be able to work as an SEO specialist
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So, that’s the new format and, although I disagree with Ed on some of his reasoning, I can’t wait to give it a go. It’s a brilliant opportunity to learn from a master and, if I don’t make it through to the end, it will not be due to lack of quality on the part of the materials!
As with the 5 CFT Challenge I’ll be reporting my progress here so you can follow along. But why not join me (and thousands of others) this time? Ed Dale’s 2010 Challenge is due to start on July 1st but you can sign up now and stay up to date with what’s happening. It’s free and now it’s only going to take 30 minutes a day there really is no excuse not to give it a go. Sign Up Here and I’ll see you on the inside.
5 CFT Challenge – Session 5 and Wrap Up
Posted by: | CommentsFinally arrived at the last block of the 5 CFT Challenge:
1. Do some by hand backlinking from authority blogs, forums and sites
Started with the Market Samurai competition module to do this. It wasn’t particularly successful in terms of finding sites to create links on – only managed 2 and one of those is waiting for moderation, but it did give me a better idea of the competition. I.E. I could see that a number of the top 10 sites are obviously owned by the same person due to the interlinking and that a major part of their strategy is buying links.
I also used the Market Samurai promotion module, looking specifically at the non gov/edu blogs but wasn’t able to get any links there.
Since I’m still testing this site and market I’m not sure if I will keep doing this at this phase of the process. I might wait until the site is a bit more established. I’ll try it a couple more times though and see what it’s like in other markets.
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So, my total for the 5 CFT Challenge is 8 CFT blocks which, in my case, equals 6 hours.
Not bad for a first attempt!
Overall it was an enjoyable experience. I lost a bit of momentum by having my mind on the outsourcing project but there’s always going to be something else going on so I just better get used to it.
I’m going to rearrange the tasks a bit for my next attempt and will use the articles/posts a bit differently. Stay tuned for the next challenge.
5 CFT Challenge – Blocks 3 and 4
Posted by: | CommentsMy report on critical focus time – Blocks 3 and 4 of Ed Dale’s 5 CFT Challenge . . .
1. Edit article written previously for spinning and add to Article Marketing Automation (AMA)
Oops! Forgot to finish this when tackling the CFT 2 session. Got distracted by the blasted plug-ins. Took a full session to finish the writing. I know, I know. Not fast enough.
I need to work on drastically lowering my standards for writing these initial pieces and for the level of spinning since the spinning and submission to AMA took another full CFT.
2. Set up Google Reader to monitor niche
Didn’t do this as I’m not familiar with it and didn’t want to spend the time at this point. There’s plenty of information about my market available to keep me busy writing for a while.
3. Draft an article to spin and submit to AMA next week
Hmmm. Not sure how I managed it but I’ve already done this. The only explanation is I’ve been so distracted by my general life and internet marketing overwhelm and the steep learning curve of my outsourcing project that I didn’t notice I’d completed something. I’m not complaining though because I’m now all set to move onto CFT block 5 and I can mark on my calendar to spin and submit this article to AMA in a week’s time.
Running Total so far – 7 CFT blocks.
Enjoyment rating – good. I’ve done more than I thought I had. Yippee!
