Week 1 - What I Have Learned

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[The next Challenge starts on SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11th, 2009!]

The next Challenge starts on SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11th, 2009! ...

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http://www.30DayIMChallenge.com

[Terri Shearer]

Gina, I know you've been beating me over the head for almost a year now.....but I am finally taking the time and the steps required to really think through my strategy.  Although I have other web sites that need this new found strategy, I decided to start totally new with a new site for this challenge.  It is called http://www.alternativemedicinestuff.com

Now, when you go to this site, I want everyone to keep in mind that I purchased this site.  There are more people than me that TODAY has this same exact site.  But I can find no one that has any page rank on this site, including me at the moment.  So, the challenge is going to be to change the site, edit the content, change the ebooks and add new ebooks, and monetize the site. 

This week I have installed the site, researched my demographics at quantcast.com and compete.com and have done a keyword analysis using the tool Keyword Elite.  I also wrote a Word document which is somewhat of a diary of what I'm doing and also include my Long Term, Mid Term and Short Term goals.  I decided not to use the website you recommended because I found it too cumbersome but have used the Task and To Do list in my Outlook and set up filters and reminders to do the same thing.

I'm in this to win, of course, but also to help as many people as I can along the way, learn from as many people as I can along the way, and finally realize my goal to be a successful, profitable internet marketer.  God gave me a gift to do this but has put many barriers in my way, both outside barriers and internal (inside my brain) ones.

Please, everyone look at my site and realize that I have done NOTHING to alter the content - I'm going to play fair.  By the end of next week, you'll see major changes in this site.  Keep in mind that I've already invested heavily in tools books etc.  But...I did purchase the Redirect software and the 7 Days to Pro Profits.


Here are my stats for week one.  I have them attached as a document to this page.  If anyone can tell me how to insert them into the body of the message, please let me know.

Looking forward to reading and hearing about everyone else!

Terri

[John Cussons]

Terri
Good on you for starting this thread. Another Gem for this forum and the 30 Day Challenge.

I too would prefer to "journal" my progress in this thread/forum than the online site. Will keep me focused here where I need and want to be.

So I have some catching up to do and will over the next couple of days put together my data. It is also to my benefit to do this, and if someone else get something...WIN WIN!

Where are you getting those stats from? What program?

Cheers
John
http://www.online-digital-photo-albums.com

[keithaw2k]

Hiya Terri,

You asked the question how to put the image in the body of your text.  What you do is upload to a server at a particular address.  So for instance if you have a directory in your website www.alternativemedicinestuff.com/images/nameofimage.jpg for example put the jpg in there. 

Then all you have to do in this post is put the address of that file and surround that with the image tag (second in from the left in the second row of icons) and that will do it.  The same process as putting the link in for the URL

Hard to explain but in fact very simple.

Regards

Keith

[John Cussons]

Quoting Gina
[Do NOT take a page that I offer advice on down from the internet.  Take that page and move it to an archive area and THEN put up the new page.  When you report back to us in the forum, give us both URL's.]

Where do I archive a page on my server and how do not have it indexed?

Cheers
John

[admin]

Great question, John!

I would add a folder to your website and name it "/archive".  Then, you can add a robots.txt file to the root directory and in it, use the "No Robots" tag and tell the robots to not index the /archive folder.  You should be able to find everything you need to create this file at:

http://www.robotstxt.org/


-------------------------------------------------------------------

Now for Terri ...

Is this site using a blog anywhere?  If not, I truly believe that you would be better off with a blog on the index page itself.  Then, move the opt in page that is currently there to a new folder on your site.  Perhaps even:

http://www.alternativemedicinestuff.com/free-alternative-medicine-ebook

so that you can get the keywords in there.

On the blog, use the graphic for the ebook with a strong headline.  Put this right at the top of the blog and link it to the new opt in page.  Then below that graphic, have the link to subscribe through FeedBurner's RSS feed. 

I really think that having a blog on the index page of the site, coupled with the article drectory internally (and linked from the sidebar of the blog, of course), will help you to acquire page rank even faster.

The absolute FASTEST method I have ever seen for acquiring page rank is by using what are called "Hub Sites".  I outlined this strategy in one of my emails/blog posts earlier this month.  You'll find it at:

http://theimuniversity.com/2008/04/03/how-a-blog-hub-site-can-improve-your-results/

One of my students is in the process of implementing this strategy in the RV niche.  You'll find his site at:

http://www.rv-hub.com

Feel free to watch his progress!  The site just went live a day or two ago.

Anyway -- the reason that I mention it is this ...

I think that it would be TOTALLY acceptable for you to put a hub site script on the root directory of your site, with your own blog at the /blog folder.  On the hub, your blog would ALWAYS show up as a "Featured Blog" and you would have ads for your products there as well.  Since your blog always appears as the top featured blog, that will drive traffic to your blog itself, which in turn drives sales from the strategically placed links in your sidebar and posts.  Since your ads appear on the hub, that will help to increase sales as well.

A few of the hub sites that I've been watching where the PR is growing steadily are:

http://www.milblogging.com and
http://www.autism.co.uk

If you're really serious about increasing your page rank (which in turn will increase your search engine rankings, which in turn drives more traffic, which therefore brings in more sales -- at least theoretically, anyway), then I would most certainly consider this strategy that I've just outlined.  You could actually get to a PR 5 or so within 6 to 8 months time I think (at least if the other sites that I'm watching are any indication at all).

Don't just take my word for it.  Check out this great article on the topic:

http://www.askggg.com/hubsite

If you're interested in doing this for yourself, I would use one of these two scripts:

http://www.askggg.com/hubscript or
http://askggg.com/kitchen

Keep up the great progress, Terri!  I'm so proud of you for finally taking action on what I've shared with you!

Keep us posted on your progress!

Gina

P.S.  I agree with you guys that it's easier to track your progress on this forum rather than on the 43Things.com site.  I offered that as a resource for ANY type of goal setting so that you could have the peer pressure that helps to drive you to achieve your goals.  I think you'll get plenty of that here in this forum with regard to your goals for your business and the 30-Day Challenge!

[Terri Shearer]

Thanks Gina for the great advice!  I just installed a blog, well the beginnings of one at the /blog folder.  So....using the hub site makes perfect sense.  I'm also really working hard to determine the 3 keywords or keyword phrases I'm going to initially use for each of the three pages:  alternative health, aromatherapy, and acupuncture. I'm getting pretty comfortable with my choices and am finding both info products and physical product affiliate products to add to the pages. 

Once I put up the hub sites, I'll next do the Squidoo lenses, and the Facebook pages.  Off to the races!

[John Cussons]

Terri

Great that you have taken the step to start a blog

Code:

http://alternativemedicinestuff.com/blog/

coded so that it doesn't get picked up until you are ready.

I'll be watching your progress to learn from you

Cheers
John
http://www.online-digital-photo-albums.com

[admin]

Hey Terri:

Good job!  I'm really proud of you for making so much progress so far!

I wanted to let you know that my sister, Lisa, is a certified aromatherapist.  Several years ago, she had a website for aromatherapy, but as her day job as a reservationist at Delta Airlines got more hectic, she decided to close the business.  But, since things at Delta are a bit tenuous at the moment, I'm sure that she wouldn't mind writing a few articles if you needed them.  She's been talking about finding a way to do a little more online anyway and that would be a great start for her.  Let me know if you'd like for me to make the introduction.


And John, I'm impressed!  Did you know how to do that before the thread that I posted in talking about the robots.txt file?

[John Cussons]

Gina, well yes and no, I use the Meta TAgs <robots index><no follow><no cache> etc (not exact codes!) but was unsureif here was an extra trick to learn while ARCHIVING.

I did come across another bit of info that might be helpful to us all, aside from your excelent link to http://robotstxt.org and that is:

Code:

How to Generate .htaccess Files the Easy Way
On web servers, .htaccess files are used to control many different functions, including authentication, access restriction and redirection. Setting them up can be a nightmare for part-time webmasters, but this site will generate your .htaccess file for you. All you need do is fill in an online form
http://www.htaccesseditor.com/en.shtml

Cheers
John
http://www.online-digital-photo-albums.com

[John Cussons]

I haven't yet got my Journal info prepared but wanted to say that I have taken Gina's advice and moved the launch date of http://www.online-digital-photo-albums.com from May 1st to June 1st.

Had I not found the 30 Day Challenge I would have met the original date BUT in no way would have been as advanced and automated as I will be because of the EYE OPENING coaching that is present everywhere in this Forum and from the PRICELESS feed back from Gina and all of my fellow Netpreneurs.

Speaking of EYE OPENING, I hadn't mentioned that I have cataracts in both eyes, the right eye being all but useless, and have surgery scheduled for April 30 and May 7th to correct this. (I can't wit to 'smell' everything I haven't seen properly for almost a year!) So the planned May 1st launch was a little (?) ambitious anyway? LOL

I am working on a Special Offer for all the participants of the 30 DAY CHALLENGE and will be announcing it shortly. My service is ready to go; I am building the site and blog etc to support it now. BUT I am looking for TESTIMONILALS  so the BACKOOR will be made available...OK enough said, stay tuned for the Special news 

Cheers
John
http://www.online-digital-photo-albums.com

[admin]

Hi John:

I'm sorry to hear about your cataracts, but I am happy to hear that you will soon have that problem licked!  Every person that I've ever met who's had cataract surgery has had amazingly great results and I'm sure you will as well!

With regard to your launch -- want one more little suggestion?

If you are serious about attending JV Alert, why not push the launch back by 1 week and launch the week AFTER JV Alert.  That way you can use your experience there to drum up JV Partners.  If you're as serious as I think you are about your business -- why not even consider contacting Ken McArthur about doing a hotseat at the event as well?  At EVERY JV Alert I've ever attended, at least one person scheduled for a hotseat has for one reason or another backed out at the last minute.  So, even if he already has people planned for the hotseat, there's still a fighting chance that he might need a replacement.

What this would mean is that you would make a presentation to a panel of experts about a project that you want to launch.  The panel will then pick the proposal apart and show you where the holes are.  They'll ask you probing questions to help you see bigger directions that the project can go in.  All of the advice you'll receive would be INVALUABLE to your business!

Even more importantly, though, this would give me a reason to stand up in front of the group and ask for their support for your project and see if we can't get you some JV Partners out of it.  Before I can promise to do something that bold, though, I want to hear more about your business plan as well as your plan for the launch -- just to make sure that we can count on people joining you if I were to do this.

Even if a hotseat isn't an option at this point, though, I am most certain that just networking during the weekend will bring JV Partners in.  So, there are 2 choices that you have:

1)  Continue with a June 1st launch and build a mechanism into the plan that will allow you to capitalize on those JV Partners 1 to 2 weeks after the launch, or

2)  Push the launch back by a week to 10 days so that those who join from JV Alert will be able to participate.

I believe that both options can work equally well.  It's truly a matter of your personal prefernce.

Let me know what you think and what I can do to help.


One last thing ...

On the special offer that you mentioned, why don't you give me a call to discuss it?  If I really like it, I'm more than happy to mention it in one of my upcoming emails to all of my subscribers.  This could help to motivate others to join in the 30-Day Challenge as well.

This is an offer that I will extend to anyone participating in the challenge.  If you have an offer that you'd like to make to participants, AND if it could act as a way to motivate others into taking action by joining in the challenge, let me know about it!  I'll be happy to consider promoting it to my entire list.

I'll be watching for details, John!  I think it would probably be easiest for us to chat via phone to discuss it when you're ready, so just keep us posted and we'll work out a time to get together.

Gina

[John Cussons]

Hi Gina

Thanks for the ENORMOUSLY BENEFICIAL feedback you just posted!

On Sunday night i was reading the web page for JV Alert and recalled how you were INFLUENCIAL in the rocket to success of Rob Benwell as he was on the "HOT SEAT". I likened it to a T.V. show in Canada where entrepreneurs pitch their businesses and inventions to a panel of very successful business people who make immediate decisions whether THEY are willing to BUY into the deal.

"Be Still My Heart" is becoming a mantra for me whenever I get direct feed back from you. I just left a lengthy comment for Duane moments ago and I have a feeling he will adopt this mantra as well LOL

YES is my answer!

Whether or not my business is HOT SEAT material speaking with you would be a great advantage to me. In fact, I purchased yesterday your 21 Days for Blogging Profits, mostly for the offer to speak one-on-one with you for 15 to 45 minutes.

ATTENTION FORUM MEMBERS
$37 FOR PDF, MP3 and Video material AND the priceless 'Chat' with Gina...a No Brainer for me!

I am just waiting for your staff to connect with me for a scheduled time.

So I am not going to respond to your post in detail as we will have that conversation soon.

Cheers
John
http://www.online-digital-photo-albums.com/

[admin]

Hi John:

I can't wait to meet you on the Strategy Session!  I have some great ideas for you (as you can probably already tell!).

I'm sure that my husband will be calling you soon to get your Strategy Session scheduled.  He's been great at helping me get them scheduled over the last few months.  He's really a novice on the computer, but he's great on the phones so it's a nice way for him to join me in the business.  I'd been looking for a way to make that happen for YEARS!

I mention that only as a suggestion to all of you as well ...

Many times your spouse or significant other may really want to participate in your business, but until you open the door to the subject, may not say anything about it.  I've found that when you are able to bring a willing spouse or significant other into your business, they can become an even bigger support, helping you to enjoy building your business even more, and bringing you even bigger results in the end!

However, unless you actually PLAN this into your business, their may not be a way to fit a willing significant other into the picture.

That was the case with Bill (my husband) for years.  Since I did everything online and he didn't use a computer, there was no way for him to join me.  So he just sat on the sidelines, patiently, always feeling awful that he couldn't help and feeling even  worse when I couldn't spend time with him.

Now that I've added telemarketing to what I am doing, and brought Bill in to actually do the work, he finally feels like he's able to make a difference in the business, and he's become more supportive than ever of what I am doing.  This  has not only helped to increase the profitability of the business, but it's helped strengthen our relationshp as well.

This is something that EVERY entrepreneur should think about for their business if they're involved in any type of a serious, long term relationship.                               

Gina                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

[John Cussons]

Just got off the phone with Bill, didn't at the time know he was your husband!! Kudos on a job well done!! He was terrific, bubbly, friendly and most of all HELPFUL. Good on you two for collaborating and having fun all at the same time.

We'll be chatting tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 pm, really looking forward to this Gina.

Re your earlier post/reply to me, I will PM a short message that hopefully will give you a bit better understanding of what I am launching, so we will be on most of the same page tomorrow (I have a good feeling that your idea will fill many new pages for me )

Talk later

Cheers
John
http://www.online-digital-photo-albums.com

[John Cussons]

I just hung up the phone on GINA!!

As a side effect of buying her "21 Days to Blogging Profits" I received a ONE-ON-ONE STRATEGY CALL form Gina, on her dime.

I thought I was getting a lot out of the 30 Day Challenge Forum (and be assured that I am) but in that short live chat she took me through Steps 1 to 4, re-tuned my niche enterprise, restructured my business plan, and set me up to reap online success in a way I would never have imagined. I am numb as I type this.

I am now taking several hours off because my overall business plan is about to be re-written. I need to digest everything before I take another step forward.

I stated in a previous post that the cost of the "21 Days to Blogging Profits" course was to me a means to an end, and that was the Strategy call. Little did I know how prophetic that posting was.

All I can say is invest in yourself by going to http://www.theimuniversity.com/blogging/blogging.shtml and talk with Gina over the phone and get the side effect of a superb blogging course. This is NOT an affiliate link, I have already earned a gazillion times more than promoting this would ever bring in.

Cheers
John
http://www.online-digital-photo-albums.com

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