Archive for ed dale mentoring
Internet Marketing Overwhelm Is Kicked Into Touch
Posted by: | CommentsI looked at my inbox first thing and felt my energy drop as I was bombarded with the latest Internet Marketers plying their wares. As I’ve been feeling overwhelmed recently, I’ve not been opening these emails so they’re just sitting there, torturing me.
Here are just a few:
- Really cool opportunity (get in now)
- Life Changing (I Promise)
- Ready to TURBOCHARGE your web visitors and profits??
- Webinar That Will Change You (Seriously)
- I’ve got something BIG I WANT TO GIVE YOU
Why do I do this to myself? Why even read them?
I am haunted by a fear of missing something important – of missing the one big thing that’s going to make the difference. It seems to be part of my cells now, an almost instinctive response that makes it hard to let go. And yet, if I only stop to think about it this fear has no validity whatsoever because THERE IS NO ONE BIG THING.
I know from personal experience that there is always another “life changing” opportunity in internet marketing. Not to mention that, all the ones I’ve signed up for, in the past, never actually changed my life. But that’s all part of the internet marketing dream isn’t it? The magical promise that some product is going to be the big thing that changes everything. It’s the same erroneous mentality as winning the lottery. And we all know that the vast majority of the big “winners” can’t hold onto the money or end up miserable. But still we chase the dream.
Well not me. Not any more!
Behaving as though there is something important out there to miss is slowing me down, confusing me and is counter productive to my achieving what I’m really after. I have caused this internet marketing overwhelm so I can get out of it too. Here’s how:
- take a deep breath.
- unsubscribe from all “just in case I miss something” email lists – not just internet marketing but coaching as well.
- unsubscribe from all teaching lists apart from Ed Dale’s.
- cancel all teaching products apart from Ed Dale’s mentoring.
- filter automated emails from my coach Elese Coit and from Michael Neill so they don’t hit my inbox. Read only when I need a bit of a motivational push.
- DO NOT SIGN UP FOR ANYTHING NEW unless it forms an intrinsic part of my CURRENT (as in RIGHT NOW) web marketing strategy.
- take a deep breath.
. . . Done!
Internet Marketing Overwhelm or Oops! I Did It Again
Posted by: | CommentsAs last week drew to a close and my stress levels increased. I realised I’d made the classic Internet Marketers mistake (again!) and was trying to focus in too many directions.
One of the reasons for joining Ed Dale’s mentoring programme was so I would have a structure to work within that might contain my tendency to jump from one thing to the other. Alas, in the short-term, this has not been the case. I’m still tempted by “shiny new” and, as a result, I find myself in a position of having to make some decisions about what to drop and what to keep.
There’s a fine balance to be drawn between focussing on a single thing (e.g. this website) and bringing other things into the mix to add a bit of variety which helps me stay interested and motivated. However, I need to work at something long enough to create a system around it, so I can outsource it. I’ve reached that point with the link building for this site so I’m ready to add something else into the mix.
Since I’ve never outsourced work full-time before, this process in itself has to be learned and is, therefore, a project in it’s own right.
So, currently I have this website and setting up an outsourcing project to focus on.
But . . . I’ve also been tempted by other stuff since I started the mentoring, some of which I’ve not mentioned before. These include – list control, the free “Take Over Page One” video course, John Reese’s Outsourcing videos, Crowd Mountain and the addition of Ed’s teaching on buying and selling websites. Oh yeah. And then there’s the stuff in 30 Day Challenge+ which is included in the mentoring package. So, with all these things swimming round in my head, you can see why my mind is beginning to get more than a little muddled.
There’s simply not enough time for me to do all those things – soooooo – how do I sort out the mess and narrow down my focus again?
Well, as I said – this website and setting up an internet marketing outsourcing project are in. This website is the current focus for my mentoring and I definitely need to outsource stuff if I want to create a business that I really enjoy. There is only one more John Reese outsourcing video so I’ll watch that later once my CFT is completed and then I can delete that from my list.
The 30 Day Challenge+ I can follow as and when I need it. I have created an index of what is available so I can check there when I have questions or am starting a new process.
List control, which has been on the back burner, will have to be dropped. I don’t have enough traffic to be building a list a this point and it just takes focus from what I need to be doing right now.
The “Take Over Page One” video course will be moved to the back burner. I will look at that once I’m actually in the position of making a video. Seems pretty obvious when you write it down, but it’s so easy to get sucked in and distracted when you have emails tempting you and what you’re currently doing is more than a little tedious!
What else . . .
Crowd Mountain. Hmmmm. Bit tricky this one.
My main motivation for signing up was to have an opportunity to try out the CM tools. However, the sales message was misleading. In the guarantee Michelle McPherson stated that, amongst other things, we would have 30 days to try out the tools. Once inside, this is not the case. Three weeks in and only one tool is available. We won’t have full access until week 6 apparently, so I’m not going to be able to test them out until after the guarantee has passed. That said, I like Michelle’s approach, so I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt and pay the money so I can try out the tools.
That results is a bit of a dilemma though. I’m tempted to follow the Crowd Mountain process as well as wait for the tools, which ties in quite nicely with what I’m doing since it has bits in common with the 30 Day Challenge. But there simply aren’t enough hours in a day. I think I’m just going to have to try and fit this is once my critical focus time blocks are completed.
Once I’ve got some outsourcing sorted I’ll be able to spend more time in Crowd Mountain and, possibly, apply the strategy to my old sites.
Life In The Grind
Posted by: | CommentsLife in the Grind was the subject of last week’s webinar. Apparently, there are a few mentoring students moaning about the boring work they’re doing. And, I have to admit, I’m one of them. Dull, dull. Endlessly dull.
The good news is I’m keeping at it. I’m plodding on and, for the most part, not being diverted. So that’s a success. Hoorah!
Before my 1:1 call with Ed Dale last week, I made a hasty dash to complete my CFT file. I’d been slacking a bit. Not wishing to gloss over the truth my last entry recorded:
21.4.10
45 mins 3 by hand comments
45 mins Faffed around
45 mins Faffed around
Fundamentally, I was struggling from a lack of variety. And, a lack of not noticing exactly what I’d achieved. Oh yeah, and from impatience.
Ed wrote a great blog post about this topic earlier in the week – How Farmville holds the secret to online success or something. In it, he explains that in the computer game World of Warcraft, apparently paid for and played by 11.5 million people per month, players (Oops, sorry, gamers) talk about “grinding”, i.e. getting to the next level. How soon they do that is a function of time spent playing the game, i.e. DOING stuff.
The equivalent in internet marketing is what you do in your Critical Focus Time which, as we know, consists of stuff like creating content and building back links.
So, considering the fact that most people who have a go at the internet marketing game don’t get very far, and faced with a bunch of moaning mentees, Ed poses an interesting question – given that millions are willing to grind away at games such as World of Warcraft everyday where there’s no monetary reward, where as in internet marketing being willing to work means you end up with actual cash -
“What’s different, what makes one form of grinding a game loved by millions and one seem like dreary work?”
Two things jump out at me in answer to that:
1. Implicit in the build up to the question is the assumption that people are “doing” internet marketing purely for financial gain. Now, admittedly that’s what most people would say they are doing but, in my experience as a coach, it’s never about the money. It’s what you think the money will buy you that’s what you’re really after. And if you don’t know what that is it’s hard to keep going when the going gets tough. If you can connect your end goal to your daily grind then you will find it easier to stay motivated. But just saying you want to make money isn’t sufficient.
2. The words “seem like dreary work” are an interesting choice. The fact is, no work is, in and of itself, dreary. Only your thinking makes it so. So, as I mentioned in ‘How To Manage Boring and Repetitive Tasks‘ if you keep telling yourself what you’re doing is boring then you’ll be right. Your work will be boring. (Note to self – please remember this and adjust voices in head accordingly!)
By making the daily grind into a bit of a game you can begin to play with ways of making it more interesting. For ideas on how to do this read the “boring and repetitive tasks” post. I would add to that the strategy of mixing things up. So far my focus has been on this website and building traffic to this website. Now that is ticking over I am ready to add a bit of variety and will be revisiting my old websites to see what might be done with them. Do I work on them and sell them? Do I just sell them? Do I work on them and keep them? Not sure.
The key thing is to accept is that the daily grind is a part of setting up an internet marketing business, that cannot be avoided. (At least in the beginning). So you might as well accept it. Then you can free up the energy, currently used in complaining, and use it on experimenting to find the ways that will make this process less painful for you. And, who knows? You might even find yourself enjoying it!
Julia Uses The “F” Word
Posted by: | CommentsWell that was one crapola day! First one since I began the mentoring when I didn’t do any Critical Focus Time activities. I woke up bored with the whole thought of it and failed to push on through. So here I am. At 17.21. The end of the working day in other words. Still faffing about on the internet.
In my 1:1 with Ed last week I said I would rather wait and create a business that I enjoyed, i.e. blogging about this 12 month experience, than create something just to make money. And he mentioned a couple of blogs where people had set out with no intention of making money but had, none the less done so. And that, as long as I was willing to wait, then carrying on with writing this blog, as part of the mentoring, was fine with him.
One of the blogs was the Julie/Julia project which I’ve just visited whilst NOT doing my CFT.
The first thing that leapt out at me was . . . now don’t laugh . . . that she uses the “f” word. I was struck, not so much by the use of the word itself, but the style of her writing and the image of her it conjures up in my mind = Someone who knows her own mind and is not afraid to express herself.
Whilst writing this blog I’ve been aware of a certain reluctance to say what I’m really feeling, for all sorts of reasons, and part of me longs to have the courage just to write it as it is. I’m too old for this “caring what other people think” s**t. And yet, if I cared that much, why bother publishing a blog at all?
In Julia’s second post she writes:
“The Hows and Wherefores…
For the moment, I will not tackle the existential query, “Why, Julie? Why Julia? Why now?” Instead, I shall stick to explicating the rules of engagement.”
I like that she doesn’t answer the “why” question. Since, in my own life, I have found it an oft overrated one. Not particularly useful whilst, at the same time, one I seem addicted to asking . . .
. . . “Why Gillian? Why Ed? Why Now?”
True to form I attempted to answer those questions in my first three internet marketing coaching year posts. But, today, after an exhausting lack of focus I’m tempted to answer:
“Why Gillian? Why Ed? Why Now?”
“WHY THE BLOODY HELL NOT?!”
And as for the “rules of engagement” . . .
Here are mine:
- I will not struggle.
- If I’m not having fun I will take the time to step back and do something about it.
- I will honour the commitment I have made to stick with this for 12 months whilst applying “1″and “2″ above.
Once The Shiny Wears Off
Posted by: | CommentsLast week’s webinar was just the kick up the bum I needed and I made a decision and just went with what I had as I said I would in my Fail in the Field not in Your Head post. So I’ve put up a site, done days 1 to 6 of 30DC and the Stage 1, getting indexed linking, recommended by Rob in 30DC+. And . . . OMG . . . drum-roll please. I’ve just checked and I’m already indexed AND ranking for my main phrase and indexed (but not yet ranked) for 2 category phrases. Cartwheels of excitement and all that!
This was written on March 23rd and then the rubber hit the road.
As the site was indexed and ranked I assumed I could now stop doing a couple of the really boring tasks, e.g. adding the links to Traffic Bug and Propeller and Rank Tracker etc. But apparently not. And this is where, without the accountability provided by a coach, I would normally wander off to pastures new.
Interestingly, the subject of this week’s webinar was about just that. Entitled “This S@@t is hard, a job and often times, boring and repetitive”. Every project, once the shiny wears off, feels like a chore. But the difference between being successful or not depends on getting through this bit.
I actually felt encouraged by that because I know that my usual pattern, of changing tack, doesn’t work.
My mind, ever hopeful, at the possibility of getting out of such work immediately turned to the possibility of outsourcing. Maybe I should just pay someone to do this stuff. But I’ve tried that in the past too and it didn’t work. What I learned was that if you don’t have an effective system in place, all that happens is, you have 2 people jumping from task to task, from project to project, instead of one. Outsourcing comes later, once you have effective systems in place.
So, there’s nothing for it but to knuckle down and get on with the boring repetitive tasks that must be done. However, there are ways to make the process less painful which I will cover in another post.
Critical Focus Time In Internet Marketing
Posted by: | CommentsThe first “lesson” from Ed Dale’s mentoring program was on what he calls Critical Focus Time or CFT. Basically it’s about committing yourself every work day to a certain amount of time during which you will only work on actions critical to your business.
This is something I’ve frequently struggled with for 2 reasons:
- I’ve not been committed enough to the outcome to practice getting good at CFT (see internal motivation post for more on this).
- I’ve misunderstood, in realtion to internet marketing at least, exactly which activities should/shouldn’t be done during my CFT blocks.
~~~~~~~~
1. Critical Focus Time Takes Practice
A mistake I’ve made in the past is to think that a commitment to being focussed is sufficient to make me so. I’d start out all keen and determined and then discover that creating a new habit was not as simple as saying as I was going to do so. I’ve learned that, like any new skill it requires consistent effort.
For example, one strategy I’ve found to be helpful is to work in 45 minute blocks – what I call the 45/15 rule. I’ve been applying this idea for a number of years, on and off, and reaping the benefits. But I forget to do this every day. It has not yet become a habit so I’m still practising. I have to remind myself each day to set the timer and then discipline myself to stop when it goes off.
So, don’t expect to get your CFT right the first time you try it. Chances are you will need to practise until it becomes a useful habit. While you’re learning accept that you will make mistakes and let that be OK. If you see this in the context of learning a new skill you will be more motivated to keep practising until you’ve cracked it.
In order to get the most from your Critical Focus Time:
- Remove All Distractions – turn off your phone, clost your office door, ask your family/colleagues not to be disturb you for your allotted time, etc.
- Set A Timer – start with 10 minute blocks is you’re new to this, working up to whatever you’re optimum work block length is. You will need to expereiment and find what works best for you. However, never go beyond 45 minutes as studies have shown that this the the maximum amount of time we can focus for effectively.
- Take Regular Breaks Between Sessions – up to a maximum of 15 minutes for the 45 minute block. Use that time to get up from the desk and away from the computer. Do something that requires you to move our body.
2. Critical Focus Time for Internet Marketing
Here are the tasks that Ed counts as IN:
- activities that directly relate to bringing money in
- content creation
- link building including using Market Samauri Rank Tracker for finding and making back links
- outsourcing guides
- prospecting, e.g. active Joint Venture making (by phone not email) or looking for clients
- creating/tweaking PPC campaigns
Tasks That Are Not Included in CFT
- anything passive
- learning
- answering emails
- editing writing
- ANY social media (I was a bit surprised at this one!)
- exploring new keywords
- checking ranking
So, now you know what and what not to do in your CFT sessions. Make a commitment to how many blocks you will do each day. Start small and work your way up and, remember, practice, practice, practice.
———– An update on this post can be found at more on critical focus time.
Fail in the Field Not in Your Head
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s the end of week 2 of Ed Dale’s mentoring program. It’s been a bit of a non-week work-wise. Well, that’s what it’s felt like anyway.
I emailed Ed last Monday with my Market Samauri (MS) keyword and competition research for the internet marketing coaching market, expecting him to look at the figures and give me his opinion on them. I was finding it difficult to find things that I wanted to write about in internet marketing/success coaching where the competition numbers weren’t really high and I also wasn’t sure what the strategy is re. the use of Market Samauri in relation to Market Leadership as opposed to 30DC.
Rather than look at the numbers, he emailed back saying – “There is a big difference between using MS for leadership and for SEO – I’ll cover this in group this week as it’s such an important point – bottom line your practicing leadership in a market -you are researching phrases for traffic.
Write about what you want to write about as a market leader – it’s not about SEO.”
And that was it as far as building a website went. I ground to a halt unsure as to whether I should be doing more market research so I just continued with writing stuff for future use in my Critical Focus Time time.
This week’s webinar was entitled “Market Selection and how it differs from Market Leadership”. There a number of issues that it addressed which clarified things for me a bit and I’m ready to get going again. Hoorah!
First and foremost was the message of:
Fail In The Field
Apparently, MS research should be only 5% of our testing. The other 95% should come from the field, by getting stuff out there, which means content.
I see now, I misunderstood Ed’s meaning in his emails. I thought he was saying do MORE research. That stopped me because I didn’t know what else to do (I’d already researched >150 potential keyword phrases). But I realise now that what he meant was use the research I’d already done.
After watching this week’s webinar I realise I just need to get on with it and test in the field.
Here are some of the key points:
- Fail in the Field and Not in Your Head
Apparently, 98% of people fail in their head. I’ve definitely been guilty of that this week, which connects nicely with another point:
- It’s Never Perfect
When doing market research you are never going to find the perfect keywords, competition figures etc. So take the best you find and, you’ve guessed it, test it in the field.
- Indecision is Resistance – Period
Switching from a “getting it right” mentality to one of “testing” is a big help here. I’ve been indecisive, this week, because I’ve been looking for the “right” theme and category keywords.
- YOU Need to Decide
I emailed Ed for his opinion about my theme/category keywords and when he didn’t respond specifically I ground to a halt. This is connected to the earlier points.
So, using the research I’ve already done, here’s what I plan to do next:
- Pick a theme phrase
- Pick a couple of category phrases
- Put a blog on WordPress Direct
- Get It Indexed
- Do Some Backlinking
AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS FOR MYSELF!
I’m excited to be moving again.
Narrowing Down The Market
Posted by: | CommentsPhew. Just had my first 1:1 mentoring session with Ed and it was a bit hairy for the first 20 mins or so. We talked about how coaching was what I’m really interested in, rather that building an internet marketing business (although I probably didn’t state it as clearly as that) and then went about trying to identify a market.
Problem is the world is my market and people in general, However, that was never going to wash with Ed.
I could see his point.
In the traditional marketing model one of the biggest mistakes is to try and market to everyone. But choosing a market with the sole purpose of creating an IM business is not something that works for me. I’ve done that too many times in the past and resented all the time I spent writing about cholesterol, finance, pilates, swimming pool pumps (I kid you not), water purification etc. etc.
As the call went on I could feel my energy dropping as I imagined picking a market and trying to make myself enjoy the work involved.
The breakthrough in the conversation came when Ed said how good the content was on my Life Moves blog. I was surprised at his enthusiasm since I see my blog posts and my IM writing from the past as distinctly different. I was assuming that it would be the latter type that I would have to revert to if I picked a specific market.
“Could I continue to write like I do on my Life Coaching blog, and have a specific market I asked?” “Absolutely”, says Ed and then proceeded to bring up my latest blog post, on the screen, and add a few words here and there to make it useful to the real estate market, as an example.
Hmmm . . . getting better but not quite there yet.
I am interested in the mechanics of internet marketing. I like numbers and measuring them and learning new things.
But I like to write about life. The journey. The process.
These things attract me more than the goal of just making money in an online marketing business. If you told me I could make a million this year but the content I’d have to write about was something I wasn’t interested in I wouldn’t take your money. So it’s important for me that, no matter how the business side of things pans out, I am able to enjoy the process while I’m creating it.
This year, part of my journey will be an internet marketing adventure being mentored by Ed. I’d like to write about that experience and also record the actions I take and progress made. (See the Web Marketing Strategy and Results section).
I’d assumed that Ed’s response would be to say that the IM market is already saturated and too hard to get into but, to my surprise, he thought it was a great idea.
And so, this blog was born.
Actually it was conceived rather than born since some keyword seo and niche research was needed before I chose a domain name etc.
But before we move onto that let’s look at how this web marketing game differs from those I’ve played in the past. See my post regarding internal motivation.
