|
Two Steps Forward; Three Steps Back
Web Site Affiliates: What To Do, What To Do?
Gee! A Chain
Letter That Actually Worked!
By Jove, I Think I've Got It!
Angel Writes Her First Column
Angel Sets Up Shop
Viral Marketing Hits Home
When the Muse Hits
No Matter What You Plan. . .
ARCHIVES:
Nov.2004-Mar.2005 |
|
July 25, 2005
TWO STEPS FORWARD; THREE STEPS BACK
If I have to tweak one more link, I'm going to go crazy. It
doesn't help that I've finally figured out a way to make a subdomain out of
the Treasure Hold but then I had to try to locate all of my links throughout
the main directory. You never really know how many links you have
placed on your website until you have to find them for editing.
The best thing that has come out of having to wait to put
up the new web site is that I have been able to find a way to make the
breathing exercises available in an e-book. By changing the .WAV files
to MP3 files and then putting them inside the book, buyers are able to
immediately download the exercises, as soon as their payment goes through.
While not revolutionary to most of you, this is a big step for the PenmanShip.com. Until now, I had to do everything through snail mail.
My new resolution is to make everything available through immediate
download.
Of course, there are always exceptions and, with the
Starias, I still have to have direct contact with the buyer in order to
personalize their order. That's as it should be. My main goal is to
get the website up by the end of August.
June 30, 2005
WEB SITE AFFILIATES: WHAT TO DO, WHAT TO DO?
Nothing is more frustrating than setting a goal for yourself
and discovering that, like Peter's Principle, nothing goes as you expected.
Wanting to get the new site finished by the end of June, I didn't plan for
the influx of writing assignments that came my way during the past two
weeks, but, that's a good thing, to borrow from Martha Stewart.
My frustration turned to sighs of relief when I was able to
return to the task and found a variety of errors needing correction before
actually uploading my site. The main goal has been to make every page load
quickly, using the 28.8 modem speed as a base. What a nice surprise to
discover that the majority of pages are loading within 17 seconds.
This is a vast improvement, but the white background does take some getting
used to, for me. I do think it looks a little cleaner. I'll decide, later,
whether or not I want to change the background color.
My notes now have notes, so I know I'm getting near the end
of my journey. That, too, is a good thing because it gives me more time to
complete the newsletter. Have also been busy learning the ins and outs of
getting affiliate links. Right now, I've decided not to link with anyone who will not allow me a link on their web site. In
addition, I am not going to pay anyone to be their affiliate. All of
which means that I must continue to work for a living, if you call this
work.
I'm a strong believer in networking and reaping the benefits
of affiliate links but it takes quite a bit of research to locate those
affiliates I feel comfortable supporting. I can understand major
corporations being careful about their affiliates but I really have difficulty with
smaller businesses eager for you to place their
affiliate link on your site but are unwilling to reciprocate. So, I've
become philosophical. I'll use their link but watch it closely. If I
generate enough traffic for them, they will get an e-mail explaining why I'm
dropping them from my site, until they reciprocate IN KIND.
As a writer, I want those affiliates that I feel will best
help my fellow writers, but I will also be adding those sites that can help
you find resources for a variety of your and your family's needs. And, of course, they should be more than
willing to let me put my links on their sites.
June 24, 2005
GEE! A CHAIN LETTER THAT ACTUALLY WORKED!
I can't believe it. For years, now, I have been
receiving chain letters that promise incredible rewards, good fortune, and
untold blessings, if I simply pass them on to 5, 10, or 300, of my nearest
and dearest friends. Only occasionally have I received one that I feel
comfortable passing on.
The bottom line is I really don't have the time to forward
all the chain letters that I receive. Now, this may sound strange, but
I do enjoy them -- especially, those with spiritually uplifting messages.
But, the other day, I received one (no, don't ask me which one it was, I'm
too old to remember things that happened, yesterday) and, on a whim, decided
to send it on. The promise was not enormous riches but a potentially,
steady income from original ideas -- within one (1) hour, mind you.
"Ha, ha," I thought, "this will be good." And, I set
my clock's timer. Well, imagine my surprise when, one hour to the minute, I
received two Staria Melody orders and three assignments from my online clients.
I'm sure that there are those of you who all cry out, "Coincidence!"
But, I shall always go, "hmmmm…"
One of the Staria orders was my new line for weddings, along
with a photo story. I had just completed the sample for this site, so
I was ready for the real thing. Anyway, it's been a very busy,
productive, month. But, back to work and completing the format for my
upcoming Newsletter.
June 18, 2005
BY JOVE, I THINK I'VE GOT IT!
Well, I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks. I'm
almost at a point where I'm thinking that I may have figured this process
out. Little by little, I seem to be going faster through the inserting
of the hyperlinks and making sure that everything works, but I'm nowhere
near full confidence.
I think what I like best about FrontPage is that I can
actually SEE the connected hyperlinks through the exploding views. In
fact, as far as I'm concerned, they've made the whole process very
user-friendly. When I was using the ISP server's web site builder, I
was locked into using preset pages that wouldn't allow me to change any of
the HTML. For most people new to designing a web site, 1and1 web sites
is ideal and takes most of the worry out of it. But, for someone like me who
enjoys getting into the mechanics of anything and everything, I couldn't
wait to get back to total control and working off-line.
My desk is covered with 4 x 6 index cards, each one with a
different HTML note, but I am making progress and have been able to throw
away most of the earlier ones.
The most exciting thing, this month, is that the Staria
Melodies
have begun to pique the country's interest. Since I am the only in the
whole world who does this, I think it's going to become quite an adventure.
The line has now expanded into availability for "all new beginnings" in a
lifetime: births, weddings, and any special new starts in a person's life.
I've decided to follow my own advice and keep it simple.
By offering personalized high-quality half-fold gift cards FREE with either
the audio CD or VCD Photo Story, I should be able
to keep up with orders. The main thing is that I'm not selling the
gift cards. What I am really selling is the creation
of the actual Staria Melody, itself, and I'm just trying to make it into an
attractive package for people.
I suppose I am going to have to write about how all that
began, sooner or later, because I'm sure the time will come when folks will
want to know Well, it's back to the grindstone so that I can finish
all the adjustments to the new web site, and put this behind me (which,
incidentally, is where all my Krispy Kremes go).
June 03, 2005
ANGEL WRITES HER FIRST COLUMN
If you have taken the time to read through the previous
article, you will know that Angel is still just a pup, just a little over
seven months old. Although she is not a full adult, as yet, it won't
be long now. Obviously, she has picked up some writing techniques from
me, the old Alpha Dog, and has managed to get herself a column in The
Buckaroo's Summer Edition. You can check out the
full article on line and I
have done some modifications here as
Angel's
first blog.
As you can see, this site has undergone a major change.
I absolutely adore all the service and support that I have been given
through my ISP server,
1and1 websites,
but I had this perfectly good FrontPage program and really like to be able
to create my own image.
The most exciting thing is learning how to streamline my
site by reducing image size and using a single pixel as an insert and then
changing the actual dimensions in HTML. The beauty in that is
regardless of how much you have changed the actual dimensions of the pixel,
you have not increased its KB size. This may not be news to most of
you, but I feel like a kid in a candy shop.
So, most of the month, will be spent in modifying,
revamping, and transferring all those items I really want to keep onto the
new pages and, most definitely, reducing the pixel size of all my actual
photos. I'll be back with an update when I have conquered more demons.
May 14, 2005
ANGEL SETS UP SHOP
April showers have given way
to North Carolina's version of spring -- that is, a week and a half of
absolutely perfect weather, comfortable 60º temperatures, blue skies and a
warm sun. Angel, my Chihuahua editor, has grown to full-size now but still
expects to be able to nap in my lap. Four pounds of dog is still too much
to contend with when you're on a deadline.
So, I cleared off my little
credenza in front of the double windows of my office and turned the top into
her very own condo. With a comfortable doggie bed at one end and a relief
station at the other, she is quite content to spend her days at my side.
When not getting her beauty sleep, she watches the world go by.
I, on the other hand, have
been working hard at trying to finish up a series of 30 articles on boating,
editing a manuscript for a client, and putting my own e-book together.
Deadlines have been met and I am free to spend more time ripping my book to
shreds. Ah, me, the pain of throwing out those golden words.
Just when you think you have
everything the way you want it, it's time to sharpen the red pencils
and kill the adverbs. Now, I love adverbs. I love adding the "ly" to the
end of words to create even more syllables to pronounce. I totally
understand how passive they are -- I mean, totally, like, really like,
absolutely.
In today's writing world,
adverbs and adjectives are being treated like second cousins twice removed.
You know they exist and you hope they are well, but you do have other things
to do.
As much as I complain about
the process, clean phrasing and tight sentences make a great read. For some
books. By the same token, getting swept away by those paragraph-long
adverb- and adjective-filled sentences of Charles Dickens and Edgar Allen
Poe fills me with a nostalgia bordering on the supernatural.
A product of today's world,
I've often wondered how they were able to not lose their train of thought
without the help of a high-tech computer's cut-and-paste feature.
Of course, without
television, the average person's concentration level was able to hold a
thought longer than a minute. We, on the other hand, cram our days full of
activities while being continually assaulted with nonstop noise from every
quarter. It's no wonder we want our books to read like a screenplay.
So, I'll rip and tear my
golden words to shreds and rebuild into a smaller, tighter tome for the
general public. But, thanks to my trusty C-drive, I can save all the
original work for my very own personal book, complete with every 225-word
sentence, for those nights when I simply want to be carried away with the
prose.
[top]
April 29, 2005
WHEN VIRAL MARKETING HITS HOME, EVERYTHING BECOMES
CLEAR
April has been one of those
months where there definitely is not enough time to get everything done.
Writing deadlines, rehearsals for a new play, and, of course, good old April
15th, have all conspired to make this an exciting but hectic
month. I hope that all of you have been able to render unto the taxman all
that is due, and are now enjoying the rest of the year. This year, I was
supposed to get a tax refund that should be pretty substantial. And, it
was, until my car and home got wind of it.
Coincidentally, the repairs came within a few dollars of my tax refund. In truth, that means I
should be thanking the gods for taking care of that extra expense; but,
selfishly, I was really looking forward to adding to my wardrobe.
I digress. I was really
thinking about viral marketing and how it really works, so far as I'm
concerned. As you know, in the Treasure Hold, I'm trying to offer a variety
of unique, one-of-a-kind gifts. One that has not been brought to the
Treasure Hold, as yet, is the breathing exercises I sell on eBay. This has
been a successful venture since November of 2002, where I have managed to
sell at least two exercises per week. During the holidays, sales increased
to four or five per week.
The sales have always amazed
me and I have enjoyed not only watching the business grow but the income,
which has taken care of almost all of my office supply purchases since that
time. It is one of the few small businesses I have had that has paid for
itself within the first week and continues to this day. Because of its
uniqueness, I never expected to sell more than a few at a time. Apparently,
I have now reached that point where there have been enough sales to interest
friends of the buyers.
This April has shown what
that really means, so far as viral marketing is concerned. I am now getting
purchasers who take the time to let me know they are buying the exercises
because they know someone who has already purchased them and they want their
own set. Not only that, but these buyers are ordering more than one set at a
time.
When I first started out on
eBay, my friend and mentor helped me understand how the system worked and
forewarned me that sales would be very small in the beginning and then, in
one fell swoop, grow exponentially. I thought, oh, sure, like that will
happen with my stuff. Well, I’ve been selling the exercises all around the
world and I guess it’s just reached that point where people are discovering
me. This may seem a very small crossroads to most of you, but I think it's
wonderful. It validates that I have a good product and that it fills a
need. Very soon, I'll be bringing the breathing exercises to the Treasure
Hold to take its place as a very special gift, in its own right. For now,
it's off to making more copies of the CDs and packaging for the next set of
buyers.
[top]
April 6, 2005
WHEN THE MUSE HITS, YOU HAVE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE
Often asked where ideas come
from, it’s hard to give an exact answer. What works for one writer won’t
always work for another. I keep the digital recorder nearby for those
moments when I not only am inspired but feel impelled to give full vent to
the creative moment.
The digital recorder I use
allows me to upload my notes on to my CPU. They are then ready for me to
listen to in a separate window, while I write my article or enhance the note
for later use.
In addition, I also keep 3x5
index cards in my purse ready for quick observations and ideas. The reason I
use the cards is that I like to keep just one item on each card so that I
can file it under the right category when I get home. This is probably the
most important habit for all young writers to learn. Notes become useless
and difficult to find if one card is used for ALL notations. It’s too easy
to not redo your daily notes onto individual cards when you get back to your
desk and, after a while, they are too difficult to recover.
Once you have developed the
habit of jotting down creative ideas, you simply have to make time for the
next step, which is using them to generate completed prose or poetry.
Sometimes, the timing is
right and you are able to not only jot down your idea but finish it, right
then and there. My new article,
“A Container
Garden For Marriage!,” was just such a moment. I had been surfing
different forums, researching for an article, when there was a question
asked by a forum member that was totally out of place for the topic.
The forum moderator gently
let the member know what forum to go to for an answer, and that should have
been the end of it. The main topic was “marriage” and the question was, “
Somebody, please tell me how to make a container garden.” Yup, that was off
the subject. The next day, another member thanked the moderator for
redirecting the errant inquisitor and added, “You know, I wondered what
container gardening had to do with marriage!”
That was too much for me! My
Muse was screaming at me, telling me to do something now, that time and
circumstances were with me -- and this lovely little piece was born. I do
hope you enjoy it.
March 21, 2005
NO MATTER WHAT
YOU PLAN, IT ALWAYS TAKES LONGER
With the best intentions, I
expected to have more observations, by now. But the tweaking of my website
has taken up the better part of my time, and that’s all right. Understanding
how to upload all my information has been quite a learning curve for me. I
definitely wanted to get at least one free E.-book available to my visitors
and that was finally accomplished this past weekend.
I also wanted to get more
uniformity to my web pages, which I think I’ve accomplished, and I’m
delighted with the progress that I have made. Once I am able to figure out
how to actually upload the music for the Staria Melodies, maintaining my website
should finally settle into a nice routine.
Obviously, like the rest of
the country, I’m keeping track of The Apprentice and American Idol. So far,
there are no surprises.
The journey to this point
has been very interesting but has left little time for reflection. With the
calmer seas ahead, so far as maintaining a website is concerned, I’m sure
I’ll be able to share an observation or two.
[top]
|
Copyright.-2005 MCRP – Consulting. All rights reserved. |
|
|
|
