Master One Thing

Happy work week everyone. Today you're being treated to a guest blog from Damien Riley.

Damien has a wonderful blog, Postcards From The Funny Farm, where he keeps an eye on pop culture, the news, and humor all around us. He is a father and teacher, as well as a very energetic entrepreneur. I think you'll enjoy reading him, and certainly be able to understand his perspective in the following article.

Toodles.
Kimberly

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By: Damien Riley

A friend asked me recently how I defined "success." I thought about it and said what I have thought for many years on the subject:

"If you do the right things consistently, the right things will happen to you ... that is success."

I want to tell you about one "right thing" I believe in strongly. Indulge me if you will, and perhaps you will agree once you try it.

In the quest for online wealth, you hit a lot of technological "walls." I'm sure every "Make Money Online (MMOL)" blogger can relate with hearing about the latest and greatest way to make money and then giving up somewhere between registration and implementation.

An example I have hit a wall with lately is Squidoo, my latest venture to make money online. Even though it's been very tough, I am not giving up ... too many people are making thousands of dollars a month, why can't it be me?

The answer to that question is simple: It can't be me when I am spread too thin. When I am working on too many projects with too much technology that I am not familiar with, I can't even get the basics to throw my hat in the ring. Squidoo is just one money making service available to bloggers.

At the footer on this post, I will link the services that are currently making me money. You may choose to spend your time trying them out. I'm not a rich blogger by any means, but I am getting close to paying my student loan payment through blogging.

For me and my family, that is truly a testament that I am doing the right things. One "right thing" to do is to master one online service or technology at a time. Right now, my day consists of marketing my page through avenues I have already mastered as well as reading, learning, FAQ-ing (can I make a word up?) and experimenting with Squidoo.

I will not let my attention go elsewhere until my lens is either a) making money or b) I decide it's not for me. BUT I will not give up until I know how to do it completely. Nine times out of ten when I know the service/system, I am successful at making money. Convinced?

I would encourage you strongly to make a list of those "peripheral vision" services you've been curious about but haven't tried. If you must, register at all of them but try mastering one at a time. You will find you can make more money on one simple service that you know like the back of your hand, than you will make registering on ten sites that you don't have a clue about. Try it out, and see how it goes!

New technologies are complicated, even though they seem user friendly.You need to take the time to master them to give you an edge. MMOL is one vocation, whether part time or full time, that is best attempted with much patience. Below as promised are the links to sites that are collectively working together to make me hundreds of dollars a month. Best of luck on your path to online wealth and success.

• Pay Per Post

• PayU2Blog

• Associated Content

• Helium

• Squidoo (not making money currently, but mastering!)

• Loud Launch

• Project Wonderful

• Entrecard (excellent for marketing your blog, which you need to mmol)

• Adsense

• Private Writing assignments (Google: freelance online)

• Private Ads (Interview blogs where you see these ads)

Internet Marketing Tips - Does Anyone Offer Real Customer Support Anymore?

I've had a frustrating week this past week, especially the last couple days. I've been dealing with some technical issues, and I'm not a technical person. In addition to that, I can't seem to find any help.

I've spent two days trying to get help in solving one technical problem dealing with html code and webdesign/layout.

One of my "pet peeves" about online business are the companies that have huge customer bases, but no technical support. I'm sorry, forums and FAQ's are nice and can often be quite helpful, but that's not true support. That's people sharing information with one another, trading stories and experiences, which as I said can be of some help.

However, when you offer a service or product where people are bound to run into complicated issues, or problems that may not be complicated if you're a "techie", but can hold "average everyday people" up for days if they're not technically knowledgeable, then you need to have some form of "real" help.

Okay, I'm done.

I'm An Idiot

Okay, there has been some speculation over the years, some hypothesis, rumors and innuendo. But, this week I proved it...I'm an idiot.

Just figured out that there's Wordpress.com and Wordpress.org and they're different, which explains some serious confusion I've had in attempting to deal with Wordpress.

So, there you have it. Now, no one can surprise you with the news. I've admitted it publicly.

Happy Friday!

Internet Marketing Tips - A Business Networking Source That Works

Since my early days online, I have tried a number of low cost or no-cost programs, schemes and the like with the idea that they would help me with business networking and building traffic to my websites. Unfortunately, I found little if any success from which to build upon. I clicked, visited sites, participated in forums and exchanges, but never really got any sustained traffic for my efforts, and certainly no real networking opportunities or benefits. Until...

(Okay, I know if you've been to any Internet marketing blogs or blogs focused on making money online lately, you've already heard of this, but I'm mentioning it again because it really works.)

Entrecard.

More than any other program I've tried including BlogRush, Blog Catalog, Traffic Swarm, Link Partners (okay I'm reaching waaay back on that one) or a myriad of others, Entrecard has really been great.

I'm not going to go into the specifics of the program here, there's already too many places to get that information, but the basic premise of the program is to get people to visit each other's blog sites, if only briefly. The difference that this program has made for me is 1) I have discovered some really cool and interesting sites, 2) I have found some great resources for new information, business tools and article writing, 3) I've come across some ideal sources for generating traffic to my sites, and 3) I have made some great contacts and begun to establish what I think will be valuable, long-lasting business relationships.

In a very short period of time, I have seen the results of my efforts not only in traffic to my sites, but also in sales. Now before you get all excited, I'm not breaking the bank by any means, BUT there has been enough of a sales increase to let me know that as I concentrate on the networking and contacts I've been able to make, and as I continue to develop new ones, my results will only get better.

As a believer in finding what works (then dangit, keep doing it!), I am always striving to learn and then share what's really useful. Entrecard works for me.

If you've signed up for Entrecard, but really haven't participated in the program, take a second look. It could be the tool you've been looking for. If you haven't heard of the program before, or just haven't signed up with Entrecard, check it out. It really may help to boost your online business.

We all know successful Internet marketing doesn't come from doing just one thing. There's no one magic potion. It comes from piecing together a series of small things THAT WORK FOR YOU AND YOUR PARTICULAR SITUATION, and then repeating those actions, building upon what works, until you reach your goal.

Now, get to it.

Internet Marketing Tips - Domain Name Search

Sometimes, seemingly easy things, like domain name search, seem to come with the most difficult options. It seems as if this would be a simple enough thing; you just go to a website, plug in your domain name choice and click search. The problem, however, is that there are a multitude of options that can cause you a lot of frustration. What are some of these options, and how can you cut through
the noise in order to find the best domain name possible?

The first thing that you'll find when you initiate a domain name search is that nearly all of the really obvious domain names are taken. In fact, it is a rare thing that you would find exactly what you're looking for the first time out. The exception, of course, would be if you were trying to register a domain that matched an obscure business name. For the most part, however, you're going to
have to get at least a little bit creative when finding your domain name.

When conducting a domain name search, you'll also need to choose between the .com, .net and .org versions of your domain. Sure, there are other extensions, but they don't hold much weight. Even the .net and .org variety of domains are not nearly as recognizable as the .com version. For that reason, unless you are specifically trying to brand your domain with another extension, use the ".com".
It is the most recognizable, and is often assumed when you mention your website name.

If you experience difficulty in your domain name search, there are search tools which may come in handy. Search tools can help you to look for deleted domain names (names that were previously purchased and are about to drop), find domain name variations and even suggest names with the use of synonyms. Even though it may not be exactly what you had in mind at first, one of the domain names you discover may actually end up being better than the one you originally wanted.

Once you have completed your domain name search and settle on the name of your choice, you need to purchase it. The search site used in your domain name search will generally give you options to purchase, but you can choose any registrar that you want.

Although it can sometimes be a bit more involved than you first imagined, a domain name search is one of the most important parts of starting a successful online business. Not only will it help you to brand your business in the marketplace, it can also help to distinguish you, and separate your business from the competition.

Toodles.

Click here to check out the best domain management tool.

Wealth Building Tips - Generation Debt - A Review

Hello All-

I recently came across a blog that's new to me, Frugal Dad. It's written by Jason ---, and I hope he sees this post and provides his name. I couldn't find it anywhere (and I'm in a bit of a hurry this morning), and while I understand the premise of branding, I also like to know who I'm dealing with and who to give credit to.

Anyway, if this is a blog you haven't visited, it's worth the read. He offers some very good articles and insight into the world of debt; a condition that is trapping more and more people, preventing many from reaching their dream of prosperity and financial independence. His blog is about frugality, the enemies of prosperity and correcting your financial perspectives to find the financial freedom you desire.

There is an article that I especially want you to read entitled "Book Review: Generation Debt". It is a review of Generation Debt, by Carmen Wong Ulrich, a recommended book for reading if you're serious about wealth building. Hope you enjoy.

Toodles.

Success and Internet Marketing - Perry Marshall's "Black Wall of Fear?" - You CAN Overcome

Happy Friday Everyone.

I thought it quite appropriate to republish an article in my post today that I recently received from Perry Marshall. For those of you who don't know Perry, he's the ultimate Adwords expert, and a marketing authority worth listening to. In an online world full of "noise", Perry's is a voice of wisdom, help and reason. I encourage you to visit his site at PerryMarshall.com. He's currently promoting a roundtable on March 26th. If you're interested, check out http://www.perrymarshall.com/adwords/roundtable.htm.

I had somewhat of a "meltdown" yesterday - things weren't going well, lately more people and projects have been demanding my time and attention when I don't have enough to accomplish the things I need to do, people were treating me with indifference if not rudeness, and I've been dealing with my own frustrations of trying to reposition myself where I want to be personally and professionally. All of a sudden, everything just got real heavy all at once.

If you've had one of those days recently, or if you've been kept from moving forward because of issues with which you're faced, the following may be of encouragement to you. I hope so. Just put one foot in front of the other. Keep it moving. Take care.

Kimberly

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Marcus is eleven, and last summer I took him to
father/son camp. Years ago Marcus' younger sister Andria
lived with us for three months as our foster daughter. Marcus
(a.k.a. "Tank") became my buddy from the inner city and has
been ever since.

So here we are with no electricity, no running water,
3 days on the Tahquamenon river and every day we
do some daring activity like pole-climbing or the ropes
course.

The ropes course is 25 feet above the ground and
even though Marcus had a helmet, climbing gear
and able assistants at every side, he was totally
intimidated.

The first section was a sort of horizontal rope ladder
that sorely tested his balance and stability. At long
last he made it across. But then the next section
was a tightrope walk on a single cable.... That's
when Marcus lost it.

He looked down at the ground far below
and shook with terror. "I'm afraid of heights!"
Just to put one foot on that cable and put his
weight on it took all the will he could summon.

When he got his second foot on the cable,
panic swallowed him up. He melted into a crying,
quivering, sobbing mess.

He begged, he pleaded, 'please, please, let me go back.'

But... on the ropes course, you can't go back.
Once you're on, you have no choice but to finish it.

After awhile this became a real problem. The camp
counselors tried to soothe him and reassure him but
to no avail. Their experience of helping hundreds of
other dads and kids get across meant nothing in
comparison to the yawning expanse of terror that lay
below that cable.

But then one of the counselors had an idea. She
adjusted his harness and physically proved to
him how far he would fall if he completely lost control,
by making him sit down right there on the high-wire.
He couldn't even fall far enough for his butt to touch
that cable. He sat there and realized how low, low
actually was.

No matter what happens, Marcus, no matter how
bad you screw up, you won't die. You won't
tumble helplessly to the ground and shatter your
bones into pieces. You'll be OK.

That was the turning point.

He got a hold of himself. He calmed down. He
tested and re-tested his harness and realized,
hey wait a minute, I can only fall about four feet,
not 25. This harness really will hold me up.

He was still terrified - his emotions were still raging
in a war with his mind - but he started putting one
foot in front of the other and making progress.

I told the camp counselor, "This isn't one one-hundredth
as dangerous as the neighborhood he grew up in, with
drive-by shootings and crack dealers on the corner.

"But he doesn't know that."

This reign of terror probably lasted 25 minutes. It held
up a lot of other campers. But Marcus eventually made it
all the way through the ropes course, including the giant
rope swing that spans 100 feet (took him a full minute
before he was willing to open his eyes).

Somebody at Camp Paradise took notice and decided
to give Marcus some recognition. This wouldn't be a
big deal to some of the other boys but it was to Marcus,
it was a major victory. Maybe the grandest accomplishment
of his 11 years. At dinner the camp director announced
that Marcus has triumphed over the ropes course and
120 men and boys gave him a round of applause.

He got high fives the rest of the day, and you should
have seen his beaming smile. The most celebrated kid
at camp.

I remember watching him during the worst part of the
terror, thinking "Man, that's me, at a whole bunch of
different points in my life. This isn't something that
happens to you once in your life at summer camp.
The Black Wall of Fear is something that you stare
down multiple, multiple times. Especially if you're an
entrepreneur. And not just in business; The Black Wall
of Fear obstructs your path in every sphere of life that
matters. There will always be times when the lizard
part of your brain is screaming at you, to retreat to safety
and sanity.

Hey, isn't this precisely the thing that keeps millions of
people locked in allegedly safe, secure Dilbert Cubes?
Laboring miserably under buzzing fluorescent lights...
going home to colorless nights washed down with a beer
and a bag of Ruffles. Drowning the droning of their
dreary, desolate lives with episodes of 'reality TV.'
Creating products or inventions or dreaming up
things and never having the courage to step out
and expose them to the harsh light of day.

Hey Marcus, don't ever forget this - you're going to
confront this same Black Wall of Fear at every
important transition of your life. You will always
question your sanity and you will always wonder,
at some level, if the bottom is going to fall out. If the
other shoe is going to drop. If you're going to tumble
to the ground and smash every bone in your body to
bits.

Dear friend, I only know of ONE way
to defeat that Black Wall of Fear:

Punch your fist right through it and drive on.

Do it.

-Perry Marshall

Internet Marketing Tips - Got Traffic Blues? Remember Balance

I have a reminder for you today. Remember, it’s all about balance. In life and in business, you win when you find the balance that works for you. This is especially true in reference to website traffic.

When you have a brand new website or a website that isn’t pulling traffic, and so is producing no revenue or profit, balance is sometimes a hard thing to remember. The more tactics you try in your attempts to attract visitors to your site, the more dismal results you experience. Nothing works, or at least nothing works long-term, and soon your back in the same or worse condition than when you started.

Your website seems like a big, hollow empty shell. Why? Because it’s a big, hollow empty shell. And you find yourself feeling more and more desparate, and more and more of a failure. What are you doing wrong? What is it that all the other webmasters know that you don’t? Why can’t you make it work?

Well first of all, you may be doing everything wrong, or nothing wrong at all. If you’re following the advice, actions, and examples of successful internet marketers, and by successful, I don’t necessarily mean those making the most money (or appearing to) at any given moment, but hose entrepreneurs who have been at the top of their niche for a number of years (yes, years), chances are that what you’re doing is right or mostly so.

So what do the successful webmasters and online entrepreneurs know that you don’t? It all takes time. That’s the ugly truth. Are there overnight successes? Of course there are, but they are the exception, not the rule.

In most cases, if you’re just starting out and do not have an established customer base or access to one, there is a period of time that must be allowed for your website to become established, found in the SERPS, linked to related sites that can forward traffic to your site, etc. It just takes time.

There are things that you can do to shorten the time required to establish your website; continually build links, write articles, and publish releases, but even then, in most cases, it still takes some time for traffic to develop.

My advice, find your balance. If you are impatient to get your site producing revenue, do a few things to get traffic immediately, such as pay-per-click campaigns or joint ventures. But in addition to that, balance those actions by putting the greater of your time, efforts and resources in continuing to do the long-term traffic building; linking, article writing, forum posting, and bookmarking.

By all means, be encouraged. As the saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day. You want to build a firm foundation for your business so that you create something that has success and prosperity, but most importantly longevity. Take the time to do it right, to do it well. This is not a race.

Help For Optimizing Your Website

I first told you about Ryan Allis and his Zero To One Million website back in January. Here is an article from the 800-CEO-READ blog with an excerpt from Ryan's book, "Zero to One Million: How I Built a Company to $1 Million in Sales...and How You Can, Too" that may help you in optimizing your website:

5 Steps To Optimizing Your Website

Hope it's useful. Toodles.

Wealth Building For Generations

Although different people come to wealth in different ways, one of the surest ways of building wealth is through a gradual process of using small amounts of money to grow something substantial. Most of us are not going to "win the lotto" or come into large sums of money. But many of us have charge of small sums of money on a very regular basis. Making a series of small steps and small actions with the money that is available to us, and building them upon each other helps to create a lasting foundation for lifelong wealth.

If you want to ensure that your family, your children, will have the tools for building and enjoying lifelong wealth and financial independence, you must see that they begin to learn the principles of sound financial management and wealthbuilding very early in life.

I recently had an interesting conversation with a young woman (mid-thirties) who I would guess is not "wealthy" in monetary terms, but who is quite successful in her life and career, and appears to be quite comfortable. We were discussing life-changing and life-altering experiences when she relayed a story about her college years.

While less than mid-way through her college career and still quite young, she was given the opportunity to participate in a year-long work-study program with a major US corporation. She realized even then that the opportunity being offered to her had the potential for changing the direction of her life, and it turns out, she was quite right. However, the "catch" was that in order to take advantage of the opportunity, she would have to move hundreds of miles from her home and family, find and secure lodging, set up a new household and make arrangements for transportation to and from her place of work.

She had little resources with which to begin, and she was going to have to convince her family that she could handle the responsibilities involved in the venture before receiving their permission and blessing to make the journey. According to her account, it took her three weeks of planning, but in the end, she was able to pull everything together successfully.

She was able to purchase plane fare, rent a car for a week (with the help of the employer) so that she could make arrangements for her living situation, find a place to live, pay deposits for lodging and utilities, do some investigating with the program administrators to find a roommate who was also a program participant with whom she could share living expenses, and so on.

Within three months of beginning her work-study program, she purchased her first car, was managing her finances to cover all of her living expenses, and had already begun to save quite a nest egg from her work study employment toward future costs for completing her education.

In telling her story, she credited one thing in particular which she said helped her immensely in this situation. When she was still a child, her grandparents, who were obviously wise people although they had never received the benefit of higher education, had her to participate in their monthly budgeting activities. They sat her down when they would gather their bills, figure what money they had to pay for living expenses, what money they would keep and what money they would save. The discussed budgeting and included her within those discussions, and as they figured their budget in “long-hand” (before calculators), they let their granddaughter "check" their figures with the calculator to make certain they had it correct.

What they were really doing was teaching her necessary fundamental financial skills about budgeting, saving, check writing and more.

Bottom line...we expect our children and young people to learn how to conduct their finances successfully; to know and understand monetary value, to understand how to use credit, to manage their money well when they get older. But how will they know how to do those things if we're not actively teaching them; if we're not modeling those skills for them?

Learn to manage the money you have. That's how more money comes to you. And as you learn, teach your children. That's the best way to ensure the financial well-being of your family for generations to come.

For more information and assistance in teaching kids financial management, I encourage you to visit Prosperity4Kids.com. It's an excellent website for helping you to begin teaching your kids sound principals for prosperity.

http://www.Prosperity4Kids.com

Home Forclosures, Warren Buffet, Oil Prices and Obama - Why Should You Consider Starting A Business Now?

In today's news, home foreclosures have reached record highs, Warren Buffet has usurped Microsoft's Bill Gates as the most obscenely rich man, oil prices have hit another record high, retailers are encouraged because a few consumers eased up on the stranglehold they've had on their purse strings for the last six months, and Obama and Hillary are still duking it out while Senator McCain waits to see who'll make it into the ring for the final bout. Whew! There's a lot of stuff going on.

I was not the best math student when I was in school. Unlike some of my more astute counterparts, I didn't enjoy trying to solve theorems and spacial equations, so it's sometimes harder for me to look at a group of events and see how they're interrelated; to discern cause and effect. It's enough for me to know that all of the seemingly unrelated events are indeed related to one another, and what happens in one area will most certainly leave a "footprint" or effect in another.

I do know this: For the "average" person, money is harder to come by and harder to keep. These days, it seems much more difficult to adequately provide for a family of four than it has been in the recent past. The necessities are less affordable, and the list of things that are considered luxuries continually grows. I am more convinced that now, more than at any other time, is a time when you should be taking action as an entrepreneur.

If you've ever had interest in owning your own business, now is the time to pursue it. In light of current events, our national and the world economy, the position and activities of business leaders and corporations, the state of and expense of things like family healthcare, it's time to consider "doing your own thing".

While some may think my reasoning is a bit backwards given the times, I assure you it's not. Why would someone attempt to develop their own business when the overall outlook is not so rosy? My answer is this. Who is more likely to have your interests and that of your family at heart? You or a corporation. You or a supervisor who has thirty other people and tons of various objectives to consider and meet? You or an employer whose business may not be performing as profitably as it was a few years ago?

It's always interesting to me that in bad times, or less-than-great-times, people are so quick to entrust all of their wellbeing and that of their families to people who may be least likely to act in their best interests. And for some insane reason, that makes them feel more secure.

Successful entrepreneurship is hard. It requires hard work. But consider the possibilities, and consider what may be the real benefits. How much better off could you be in positioning yourself to be more in control of your circumstances and your future?

Think about it.