This morning while actively participating in some marketing over at the Firestorm Forum, I came across the ideal post for our blog today

You aren’t aware of this, but I really sweat the typos, grammar, punctuation, etc., while creating and posting a new blog post. Ask Scott how often I read and re-read and tweak and change. Luckily, he’s a patient guy, and also believes we need to post our “best work.”

And, nothing can back me up as much as the blog post I found today. The headline (or link name) This Kid Is Lucky To Be Alive really scared me at first. I was anticipating (horribly) the worst. (more…)

I need to start this post by telling you that we (Scott and myself) have been around for a LONG time. I know more about advertising and marketing online then any individual program/membership owner can ever tell you. I do this day in and day out, trying to help you make sense of what it is you are doing online – and how to get it done.

Scott, with a background long on years in affiliate marketing, is also an expert when it comes to marketing, advertising, and promoting online. We teamed up a few years back, (the best move either of us ever made!) and provide several online business resources tailored specifically to help you be successful online, too.

Each and every thing we do – whether planned that way or not – revolves around helping others be as successful as possible online (with offline ideas thrown in for good measure).

With that bit of hoopla and flag waving out of the way, today we’d like to help anyone who’s stuck in what can be a vicious, yet unnecessary, cycle… (more…)

Very late last night I received an email over at My Wizard Ads from a gentleman wanting to know if he was wasting his time online. He wasn’t questioning the MWA services, but his whole perception on trying to make money online in general.

Of course I emailed him back and forth several times. I’m afraid I climbed on my soapbox and did my thing (which he did appreciate). The crux of the making-money dilemma is something I will cover in the next post (I promise!) and present solutions to that problem.

In the meantime though, I want to take a moment and show you a shortcut to making money – under your own steam, without relying on anyone or anything else online.

After proving to ourselves, for ourselves, that a person can make money writing online, I set off on a journey to uncover a resource that could shave years off the learning curve. A way to step up to the plate much faster in the field of writing – any kind of writing - online.

With income potentials of $85,000 or more per year, this is hardly something you will want to poo-poo out of turn without researching!

I’m happy to report I found such a resource – and  (more…)

Or When Do You Stop “Learning” and Start Doing?!

Unless you are in a position to inherit money, get continuous cash gifts from relatives, or win by chance in Las Vegas (after parting with your own money first on that chance), nothing comes to mind where a person can sit still and rake in money (okay nothing legal that is).

Not offline. Not online.

Even the money making programs out there that tell you “no this” or “no that” don’t really mean it at all. The fine print, if they even bother to put fine print on the page, would read, “But the more effort, time, and money you put into this, the more successful you might be.”

End of story.

Same goes for the ever popular “guru following.” Now I am not slamming gurus, they are actually some of the smartest people on the internet. They know. They share some. They anticipate you will return to get the next piece. And the next, and the next, and the… well you get the picture. Granted, information. But will you ever really get going doing what you need to be doing or will you fear you need more pieces and do nothing (and nothing could be further from the truth).

Very few people on the internet say, “Here you go!” and give you everything you need. Very few people will continue to give you even more information to learn more or stay current with rapidly changing online techniques without some expectation from you.

Some would tell you that it is because one person cannot possibly want (or need) to “know it all at once.” (Pure fabrication)

Others will never tell you outright, but the truth is if “it” is given to you in bulk, will there be any reason for you to return? They fear your fickleness.

And, to be perfectly honest, people are fickle.

Witness the statement made at the top of this article. Where else in the world would you really think to yourself, “Oh good, I’m gonna get rich by not doing a thing!” Go ahead, re-read that. Sounds ridiculous because it is ridiculous.

That’s not to say there are not great programs out there to work. The emphasis, of course, lies on your willingness to become active and engage in the process to make it happen.

[A word of caution: If you are lazy and broke, do not exacerbate that condition thinking the internet will solve your problems.]

If you are able and willing, the internet can bring you wonders you never dreamed possible. No where else is it possible to meet and make friends with others from around the world. Friendships just as solid as if they were your next door neighbor (and maybe even more so in some cases).

There also are numerous methods to use when you’ve chosen a project to work diligently. Advertising and marketing online abounds, but again caution is in order. Throwing money at something, without a passion for that something, is no better than walking into a casino and handing your money to the doorman (if they had them), turning around, and leaving.

As you study your options online, all sorts of traffic-driving techniques may intrigue you. Many with (false) promises of the ease and viability with which it can happen. After a decade online, and in the marketing arena itself, I can with all honesty say there is nothing that does not require effort on your part – physically and economically – to make it happen. In particular – time and money.

Money is obvious, some services and methods are going to cost the green stuff. Time, however, and the concept of “I want it (or expect it) now” can be mind boggling. Ask yourself, do you get every job you apply for in the real world? Didn’t you have to prepare for the interview, dress the part, interact with others, and then wait for the phone call that might mean you got it? Time does not mean something else online, it’s just that… time. And being online means alloting proper amounts of it from all angles.

Okay, if you’ve made it this far (and I thank you!), then you deserve a reward. The key is to combine what you love with what you join and use both traditional and web 2.0 techniques to tell the world, “Hey here I am! Come visit me!”

Ah, there’s the rub. But it can be done in an amazingly short period of time – like visitors arriving today if you do it right.

Will they buy from you? Ask yourself instead, “Should they.” If you are willing to engage your visitor and give them a reason to come to you, really care that they do come, referencing to “time” above and the answer is yes.

Visitors arriving immediately. Staying and returning to talk with you. Yes the adage, people buy from people they feel they know is very true. You just need to help them discover who you are.

Yes, it really can be done and there are honest people out there willing to help you on the right road to doing something you love – now and forever.

Change fickle to “finally!” and learn the skills to get your job done.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Theresa Cahill and her partner Jeff Greer publish their OIMS blog under the pen name Diane Scott. They cordially invite you to see for yourself how to increase website traffic using a combination of how to strategies and you. Visit today, stay for life.