Getting started in Internet Marketing seems to be, so far, a hurdle that I am having a hard time reaching, much less actually overcoming.
I know it’s only been a couple of days since I started this blog. I know I have to learn to crawl before I learn to walk. But I find myself getting frustrated already that I haven’t figured out what I’m actually going to do from the standpoint of making money online.
I guess that part of the reason I’m frustrated is now I’m back into my weekly work schedule and don’t have the time to do what I WANT to do – and that is work full-time on building income streams online.
One step at a time, Dustin. One step at a time.
I will say this, though. I found that today I was in a much better mood at work than I have been lately. I actually felt a little “lighter” today because I felt like there was a light shining at the end of the tunnel. I don’t hate my job, or my boss, or anything like that. I get frustrated with the way things go at work sometimes. A lot more lately than I used to. But over all I just feel so overwhelmed at work and, as I stated in my “About Me” page, I am not feeling that sense of satisfaction that I want by being involved in something that I feel really matters. The fact that I am working toward financial freedom is a stunningly refreshing feeling…even if I haven’t taken the first IM steps just yet.
So, there’s the update, but in the spirit of posting the questions that arise as well, I want to know what my (more experienced) friends think. As I am reading through Holly’s book, I keep finding myself thinking, “Ooooh, I gotta put do this now!” or “Hey, I gotta try that now!” In my mind I told myself from the beginning “Read the whole book first for the information. Then go back and read through again for instruction and implementation.” So far, I’ve done ok, but I’m getting anxious and impatient.
Should I stick with my initial gut of “read first, then go back and implement” or is there some advantage to trying out techniques as I read them? One of my biggest obstacles I’m going to have to overcome in this journey is my fear of failure. I read a blog post today (and for the life of me can’t find the link right now!) that talked about how you have to accept failures as a part of doing business and although I logically understand that, the thought is actually painful for me.
So – is my “read first, implement later” reaction something that’s risen out of my fear of failure or is it just good solid advice from the depths of my being?
Please – share of your wisdom! You’ve been here before, what did you do?
Tags: getting started, Internet Marketing
October 1st, 2008 at 9:52 pm
Hi Dustin. As you know, I’m still a newbie also. In the spirit of being perfectly honest about everything, I did not wait until I totally finished the book to do a few things. One night I thought that I wanted to at least “start”. So, I took the steps and finally ended up with my blog. When I finally get to that point in my “diary” entry, you will see the evidence of why reading all the way through is probably the right thing!
As far as when I’ve been reading, I do two things:
1. If there are links I know I will be using later, I save them to my favorites. (I would suggest being very organized with your link/folders from the beginning, to avoid a mess!)
2. As you read information in the book, that you KNOW you will really need to refer back to throughout your IM career, make outline notes with the page numbers, like your own study index. It made finding things I wanted to look up a lot easier.
These are my thoughts…but I won’t go any farther, for I don’t want to be a blind person trying to lead you! The other experienced ones will share info., I hope, that we can all learn from!
Until next time…Annie
Annie T. Baxter´s last blog post..What About Dropshipping?
October 2nd, 2008 at 1:55 am
Well, first of all, you already have a WP blog and are learning to use it. That puts you miles ahead of where I was when I started. Or 1.5 years ahead, to be more precise. You already have IT knowledge and that DOES make a big difference.
Secondly, whether or not you implement as you go has a lot to do with what you are implementing! The first steps, or the last steps? Keyword research?
I would continue to work on your blog while you read the book, get familiar with Wordpress, settings, and plugins. This is a perfect blog to learn on – so that later if you make a niche or keyword-based blog you will know exactly what you are doing.
This blog, for example, has some settings you would want to change from the defaults. Such as your permalink structure. But I’m not going to overwhelm you will all of that at once. Keep posting, exploring plugins and possibilities, read Holly’s book, look for your niche.
Oh – when I first started I was anxious to get my first website up. I thought I knew how to find the right keywords but I had a confusion somewhere. I targeted the wrong keyword and got to the top of the SERPS for it. Other synonyms (which were just as easy to target and meant the exact same thing) had more traffic. I realized a year later.
Anna´s last blog post..Internet Marketers – Who SAYS its time for Bed?
October 2nd, 2008 at 6:30 am
@Annie – see as I go through the book, I find myself checking out the links provided and such, looking over what’s at the links, and then trying to get back to the book. I guess that has it’s pros and cons. For example, as I’m reading, I’m looking at and soaking in the things Holly talks about. On the downside – it’s taking me a WHOLE lot longer to read her book. Perhaps I should jot down notes or outlines or something like you said!
@Anna – You know what’s funny – I WANTED to change my permalink structure…but I didn’t know what it was called! As soon as you mentioned it by name, I went into settings and changed it! That’s kind of the frustrating thing about a mind like mine. Sometimes I know exactly what I want to do, but because of my erratic thought processes (a mind map of my mind might look more like a 3-year-old’s scribble) I sometimes need someone to paint a bright neon green arrow at something that says “HELLO! HERE’S WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING FOR!!!”
Permalink structure is changed. (FINALLY!) It’s funny, I started this blog so I could ask the stupid questions and still find myself NOT wanting to ask the stupid questions…LOL (of course, my creative composition teacher in high school used to say “There’s no such thing as a stupid question, just stupid people.”
But nonetheless, I appreciate your guidance!