Day 78 - Getting Real Online

via thinkingaboutlosingweight.com

Today I made a monumental decision.  I decided to quit dancing around the subject and tackle my overeating head on.  I have chosen the Overeaters Anonymous 12 Step Program to help me do this.

My first step in the process is admitting that I am an overeater.  This is a tough one for me because I have been consciously restricting my food consumption for most of my life.

I have followed dozens of diets, both fad and healthy.  I have attended Weight Watchers, done the Nutrisystem and most recently attempted to change my eating habits with self-hypnosis.

All of the worked for a time, some better than others.  Yet, here I am again starting over with a massive 60 pounds of unhealthy fat weighing me down.

So why am I blogging about this here?

One of the first rules of blogging successfully is picking a topic you are interested in  or that you know a lot about.

I have been mostly ignoring this rule until today.

Today, I faced the fact that my excess weight impacts every aspect of my life, including my blogging so I might as well quit avoiding the topic and give it center stage.

I am going to start an online video enhanced Overeaters Anonymous group.  You can hear about it above or read more below.

If it is something that fits in your life... join us!

 

Forming Online Overeaters Anonymous Group

 

I am going to put together a live, interactive video meeting for folks like myself who want to go through the 12 step program for overeaters.

I anticipate this program will begin on January 1, 2011.   If you are interested in participating in this  program please fill out the sign up form below and you will receive information about days and times by return email as soon as they are finalized.

* Your Email Address:
* Preferred Format:	HTML Text
City:
Country:
	Email marketing by MarketingF5

Day 77 - A Little More About Free Traffic System

Photographer: EA
 Yesterday I mentioned that one of my sites had jumped 450% in traffic over the previous month and upon reviewing my actions with that site I saw that the only change I had made on that site was to set it up with Free Traffic System to receive articles posted by FTS members.  In the last month I had received and published 10 relevant articles from Free Traffic System members.
These results warrented a second look at this application.  I had to stop and ask "just what is this program and where did it come from?"  This is what I found out.
Beginning in September 2008, the Free Traffic System team started testing its new SEO strategy of getting 1st page in major search engines for the niche keywords.
For the testing purposes a group of volunteers - owners of web sites in different niches - was gathered to test the new strategy offered by Free Traffic System team. This testing team was built of people without search engine optimization experience who had web sites in the niches of: health, business management, investments, car loans, travelling, vacations, self development, computer games, gambling, arts, etc.
The aim of the testing was to show how people without SEO knowledge, by doing simple procedures offered my Free Traffic System, can get 1st page in Google and other search engines.
FTS claims that within 2-9 weeks their test sites had gotten to the 1st page in Google which is interpreted by Free Traffic System team as a serious unbiased proof of the effect from its strategy. The screenshots from Google that show the testing sites on the 1st page are published on the official web site of Free Traffic System project.
After checking the effect of this strategy on the testing team, Free Traffic System officially announced the launch of its free service.
Anyone can claim the free membership which gives site owner access to the unlimited amount of quality one way links. These one way links help site owners to improve SEO value of their sites and get good positions in search engines.
I was impressed enough several months ago to sign up for a free membership but only last month added the above mentioned blog for article publishing.  I must admit, it appears to be working as promised.

Download a free copy of FTS's Smart and Safe Backlink Building Guide.



As usual, I have provided affiliate links in this article and I will receive compensation if you choose to buy a product through one of my links. However you are cautioned to research the products yourself to be sure they will fit your needs. If someone else has directed you to the product or you have a friend that you want to get credit for your purchase be sure to clear your cookies and access the product again through their affiliate link when you purchase.  Most affiliate programs will flag the first affiliate that directs a buyer to their site.

Day 76 - First Things First or They Just Don't Get Done

Photographer: nuttakit

 I am learning, slowly to be sure, but I am making progress.  I realized this morning, after discovering that I had missed this scheduled post yesterday (for third time in 75 days) that I need to make lists.   I know I said this wasn't my style but I have found that as I get older I tend to get distracted easier and forget where I am headed and why I was going there in the first place.

You know the old joke about the old lady who walked from one end of the house to the other and then asked her husband why she was there?  It gets old fast and it isn't as funny when it happens to you.

But be that as it may, I have started writing things down to help jog my memory.

Speaking of distractions... that is my second shortcoming.  I get started on a project  and am going pretty strong but then I see something else and start off in another direction.  I use to be much better at multitasking when I was younger.  I could manage two or three projects at a time and get them all done in a timely manner.  That doesn't seem to be the case anymore.  I find that I once I leave a project alone for a few days, it gets lost in the pile so to speak and I never get back to it.

So today, I am starting over (AGAIN) and I am making a commitment to myself to work this particular assignment through to the end. The program claims to show me "How to Get Free Search Engine Traffic for Life, and How to Convert that Traffic Into Dollars Using Autopilot Sales Machines". It should take me about a month to work through Niche Profit Classroom (NPC from now on)  and I will follow my progress in these daily posts.

My first task, as usual is keyword research.  NPC provides a word matrix for selecting profitable keywords. Since I already have an abundance of domains up and running, I started out with the one which is currently drawing the highest traffic.  It is a fully automated site which has netted me a few dollars a month in Adsence.  The traffic on the is sight has recently (this last month) jumped significantly and it reviewing my Analytics stats I find that appears to be favored by Yahoo at this time. 

Before moving on with NPC, I looked back to see what I changed a month ago that might have triggered the increased traffic.  I found that I had set up an automated guest posting on the site  with Free Traffic System about that time.  Note: I have had mixed success with NTS.  I have had to deactivate the service for some of my sites as the articles that were posting were unrelated to my site content but for this particular site they were right on topic.

So for my work today I have set up to find more keyword phrases to submit to FTS for new articles.

 

 

 

As usual, I have provided affiliate links in this article and I will receive compensation if you choose to buy a product through one of my links. However you are cautioned to research the products yourself to be sure they will fit your needs. If someone else has directed you to the product or you have a friend that you want to get credit for your purchase be sure to clear your cookies and access the product again through their affiliate link when you purchase.  Most affiliate programs will flag the first affiliate that directs a buyer to their site.

 

Day 75 … Surprise « From The Deck in San Felipe

via fromthedeck.net

Ok, so I posted yesterday but it was to the wrong page ...... Was distracted I guess. But I did make a plan... more later

Day 74 - Making a Plan vs Dreaming a Dream

Photographer: Salvatore Vuono

One of my greatest shortcomings is lack of planning.  I have never been inclined to think three steps ahead, much less nine or ten.  I hate even making a shopping list and playing Chess.  Tetris is a stretch for me.  I can only see two pieces of the puzzle at a time.

According to the experts, success is not likely without this step in the process, yet I have achieved success in a number of areas in my life. I graduated from college and earned a BA at the age of 56.  Speed was never the criteria I based success on.  The journey was always more important than the destination.

I built my career from the ground up in a new field that had not existed before in my organization.  We wrote our own job descriptions and brought our division into being.  Oddly enough, the stratetic plan came after the fact not before.

Why is that?  Even though I never laid out a plan on how to get there, I was very good at setting goals in my mind and in spite of my lack of planning I meandered in that direction until I reached my goal.  Not reaching that goal wasn't a possibility in my mind.  Getting there eventually was a given.

I am one of those incurable optimists who don't accept "can't" as an option.  My father taught me this concept from my ealiest years.

The phrase, there is always a way over, under, around or through always followed any claim of I can't in our house. The practice of writing down the steps involved to achieve something did not get equally ingrained in my personality.

I'm not sure why.  My father was a journeyman machinist so I know he worked with plans.  He would not have attempted to create an intricic jig or aircraft part without a plan laying out specifc dimensions and angles, so it is likely he also had a plan for other actions in his life. 

He built a successful business.  He probably had some plan for how he was going to do this, but I never saw any sign of it, so I grew up thinking it just happened on it's own.  In my mind, if you had a dream and wanted it bad enough, it was just going to come about.

The question arises, why is success so evasive now?  Why is it that after nearly two years of working this internet marketing gig I am not bringing in wheel barrows full of money?  I have all the tools necessary.

Is it lack of planning or lack of a goal?  I think it is the second.  Money has never been big motivator in my life.  So what is my goal?

I have difficulty envisioning where I want to go at this point and without a destination in mind... you can't get there from here.

Day 73 - Happy Thanksgiving to All

Day 72 - Teach a Man (or Woman) to Fish!

The Death of Email Marketing

by Greg Hood

Email has had its day and will soon be replaced with video email.  When connecting online, video is proving to be the best medium.  Video email is now deliverable to most computers and Smartphones and nearly 67% of Americans have Smartphones.
Add to this, Americans are reading less everyday.  1/3 of all Americans read at a 5 grade level or less and November 2009 prior 6-month year to year newspapers sales dropped 10.6%.  Over the same period, YouTubes’ growth was more than 200%.  Email has fallen prey to illiteracy.  Marketers, particularly those tracking metrics email campaign tools such as Aweber.com and ConstantContact.com, are acutely aware of this decline.

To find out what this means to you and your business, read the rest of this article at inseinemktg.com

Greg and Christina Hood are new friends and business associates of mine. They are reaching out to the desert community of Apple Valley (and beyond) to bring local businesses an innovative, cutting edge technology with the added bonus of a hands on personal element.
Greg, a civil engineer, and Christina, an airline pilot, have created Inseinemktg.com with the purpose of giving people not only the tools but also the skills they need to meet today's economic challenges and come out on on top.
One of the tools the Hoods recommend is my very own favorite: ComF5.

Day 71 - Everything Can Look Like a Failure in the Middle

Photographer: renjith krishnan

I hope that Gary Ryan Blair will excuse me for using part of today's lesson in my title but it was just what I needed to hear today.

You may have noticed that my posts the last few days have lacked inspiration.  I have been going through a writer's slump and have only continued to post anything because I am bound and determined to complete this personal challenge to myself and you my reader.

Yet, along with writing daily I am also continuing my daily lessons in the 100 Day Challenge and continuing to study my new product ComF5.

I admit, I have been discouraged recently by my lack of progress so I think today is a day to review my successes.

I have been blogging for a little over two years.

I have a half dozen blogs that have some daily readers, one with a PR of 3.

I now get authors asking if I would post their articles on my sites.

I have a few dollars coming in this month from several sources: Adsence, Amazon, and a couple other affiliate programs.

I have 178 friends on Facebook.

My Youtube videos have had a total of over 1400 views.

I would not by any stretch of the imagination consider myself a success in this venue (yet) but I am not a failure either because I haven't finished yet.  I am a work in progress.

I am half way there and as long as I keep moving forward, I will get there.

Day 70 - Typical Day - 4 Broadcasts In - 1 Out

Photographer: Francesco Marino

Today I watched four broadcasts and published one of my own.  Two of the broadcasts were about a product that I am already a consumer and reseller of (ComF5) and the third and fourth were about new marketing programs that someone recommended to me.  The broadcast I produced was a test run of the ComF5 tools in preparation for a family Thanksgiving broadcast I am planning.

So what did I learn today?  From the last webinar I watched I learned a number of new things about picking niches and keywords.  From the first video I learned an interesting approach of setting up a funnel for bringing buyers to your products.

Both of the other programs I watched had some very good tools and presented a strong case for their products. Both are membership sites which require you continue with their program to continue to reap the benefits of their program.  

The most significant lesson in this was that the key to a successful online marketing business is having a loyal following who either are willing to continue buying the products you recommend or you need to implement a "continuity product" that offers your customers enough continuing benefit and value to make them willing to pay monthly membership fee.

If you would like to see my trial broadcast you can view it here.

 

Day 69 - Trying to Come Up With a Plan

Photographer: Gregory Szarkiewicz

 

Day 68 - Something New in Google?

google preview

Is this something new or have I just never noticed it before?

This morning I was doing a search for a phrase in Google and suddenly previews of the the items in the list started appearing on the right side of the page as I scrolled down the list.  After playing with it a bit I discovered that they were linked to the magnifying glass next to the items listed and could be clicked on and off.  Has this always been there or is it something new?

I find it even more interesting that these previews blocked the paid ads.

On a similar note, have you noticed the option in small print at the top right of your search box that says "instant on" or "instant off?"

According to Google:

Google Instant is a new search enhancement that shows results as you type. We are pushing the limits of our technology and infrastructure to help you get better search results, faster. Our key technical insight was that people type slowly, but read quickly, typically taking 300 milliseconds between keystrokes, but only 30 milliseconds (a tenth of the time!) to glance at another part of the page. This means that you can scan a results page while you type.

This also may a big impact on the internet marketing world as the consensus is that folks will be inclined to jump to on page listed quicker rather than typing in a longer description.  Many online marketers have counted on the longer descriptions (long-tailed keywords) to get traffic.  This could required a change in marketing strategy.

Day 67 - A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Photographer: graur razvan ionut

I have no words today.

Day 66 - Seek Out Less Traveled Roads by Chris Brogan

Seek Out Less Traveled Roads

Nov 09, 2010 -

As marketers go, I’m far from typical. The other day at lunch, I met with someone who asked me about whether my company did flyers and marketing packages. I honestly blinked a few times before realizing that these were things that most people still equate with marketing.

 

Before I go on, realize that I don’t think of myself or my methods as any better than anyone else’s. I simply took a completely different road to get where I got in the world of marketing. Traditional marketers and advertisers are, I surmise, very good at what they do. I’m just good at doing something different than what most of they do. And that’s the topic.

 

To read the rest of what Chris Brogan has to say about

Less-Traveled Roads

go to American Express openforum.com

Is honesty the road less traveled. I did not use to think so. Most of my life I have believed that most people were basically honest and even if everyone lied sometimes it was only to keep from hurting the feelings of others or at worst to avoid an unpleasant confrontation.

Now I am not so sure. Lately I have been encountering a whole new group of people who study the art of making friends solely for the purpose of creating a list.

So how do you differentiate the sincere from the less than sincere? Perhaps there is no distinguishing line between the two camps? Maybe even the sincere start out with good intensions and end up sucked in to the system.

We all have to do something to make a living. If we sell a product, then is it wrong to sell that product to our friends? I think the true disparity comes if we are selling something we would not recommend to a friend.

The challenge then is to find products we really do think worth their price that we have no reservations sharing them with our friends.

So how do you know whether or not someone really wants to be your friend or just saying they do?

Even more critical, what do you do when you realize the promises of help or support in your new business were empty and your are on your own?

Move on and strive to not fail those people you make promises to but you will you know.

Day 65 - Building Relationships - Building Trust - Building a Business

Photographer: jscreationzs

"Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest."

Mark Twain

Why does this title seem like an oxymoron to me? 

I hear the same thing in every lesson, from every direction.  The key to developing a successful business, online or off is developing an atmosphere of trust. 

Yet, if the key marketing technique promoted is focused on building trust in order to gain future customers, how sincere is that relationship?

When is the last time you heard someone say their product was not perfect?  

It just isn't done.

Or is it?

Is it wrong to focus on the strengths of a product and down play or ignore the weaknesses?  U.S. laws require we "disclose." We get a high speed, small print disclaimer at the end of every drug ad telling us of "possible" side effects.  We must be warned of the risks involved.  Some states hold sellers and Realtors responsible for informing the buyer or hazards related to a piece of property whether they be natural or imagined.

As an affiliate we are also required to disclose that association somewhere in our presentations.  Hence you will usually see a non-conspicuous paragraph at the bottom of my posts.

So do we need to make the same disclosure in developing online relationships?

Somewhere on this page should you see the disclaimer reading:

"I am hoping that you will find my articles entertaining and informative and that by reading them you eventually decide that I am someone who's opinions you can trust.  Once you have come to know me better and trust me, it is my hope that you will "click through" some link on my site and buy something."

That puts a lot of weight on my words.  Now if I say I like 100 Day Challenge or ComF5, I am putting my credibility on the line so I feel the need to qualify those recommendations with honest misgivings like I think the exercises in the challenge are great but so far the focus is too much on self, our wants, our dreams, etc.  

I would also need to say that even though I think ComF5 is an excellent communication suite for a very reasonable price, I have noted that it is a work in progress and there is still room for improvement. From what I have seen so far, I personally think many of those improvements will be on the table in the near future but I can not guaranty that.

Another product that I have been very active in promoting is ContestBurner.  

I have personally found competing for prizes a bit addictive and have even taken the pseudonym of "ContestManic" in some cases.  Obviously, there are a lot of others like me who get caught up in the competition and by "playing" the contest generate a lot of traffic to the site promoted in the contest.  This is itself is a selling factor for ContestBurner.  The cost is another.  After all the hoo ra ra, I was genuinely surprised to see the low selling price.  I really don't know how Bill McIntosh  can afford to include a two day event at  that cost.  It can only be that he believes most buyers will upgrade to the premium level and continue to pay the monthly membership.

Since I'm talking about honesty, I feel compelled to say that I was a bit put off by the latest contest (even though I won one of the drawings).   I found the navigation back to the link page awkward.  I had to resubmit my email address every time I wanted to review the prize list or get to the youtube links.  I was unable to bookmark that page and go directly to it without resubmitting my email.  I have no idea if this was a glitch in the program, was intentional on their part or was caused by my browser's retention of cookies.  I just know it was irksome.

Yet in-spite of this flaw, I still feel comfortable encouraging people to buy the ContestBurner software to create a contest of their own and thus bring viral traffic to their site.  I would caution contest players though that the validity of the contest is contingent on the trustworthiness of the people who are conducting the contest and there are no guaranties implied for any individual contest.

So that's my true confession for the day folks.

In case you missed it I restate it once more.  

I blog because I like to "hear myself talk" but also because I sincerely hope to encourage my readers to buy from my links when they decide they need something I talk about.

The underlying motivation in this and most of my blogs is to put myself out there in hope you will find me someone you can like and trust and that trust will encourage you to buy from me when you decide to buy.

 

 

 

 

As usual, I have provided affiliate links in this article and I will receive compensation if you choose to buy a product through one of my links. However you are cautioned to research the products yourself to be sure they will fit your needs. If someone else has directed you to the product or you have a friend that you want to get credit for your purchase be sure to clear your cookies and access the product again through their affiliate link when you purchase.  Most affiliate programs will flag the first affiliate that directs a buyer to their site.

 

 

 

Day 64 - How Does a Day Totally Get Away From You? - Caught Up in ComF5

I must admit that I was surprised when I discovered that I had totally missed a day of writing yesterday.  When I reviewed the day to find out why, I discovered that I HAD spent the day productively.  

I had listened to a very informative broadcast by Shawn Eiferman entitled See the Bridge.  I had written others about ComF5. I had worked on some templates for my business.  

What I hadn't done was write.

This s a major no-no in the 100 Day Challenge.  Meeting your commitments to yourself and others is number one on GRB's list of requirements.

Another hard and fast premise is to strive for Excellence.  

This is a tough one for me.  Excellence isn't a term that plays a big role in my life.  I have always strived for good, some times even for great, but never excellent.  Excellence is too close to perfection.  I have no expectations of being perfect.  I have always known and accepted that I am flawed, not perfect.

I can live with that.  Perfection is an attribute of the Most High.  I am but a humble tool and servant. 

That doesn't give me leeway to not work toward higher achievements or to keeping trying to be better than I have in the past.

Yet, I don't know how people who demand perfection of themselves live with the pressure.  What a horrible weight that must be.

I guess that is why I am so draw to ComF5.  It really is a great product but it is not perfect.  There is room for improvement but looking over the changes they have made in just the last couple of months I can see that this company is on the road to even greater achievements.  

I can get behind a product that provides a real value for very little money much more that one that promises to do some out of this world phenomenon and make me rich overnight.

Does it need improvement?  Yes.

The user interface needs to be a bit more intuitive and they are working on that.  I expect to see great improvements in this in the next month or so.

For those of us with less that fabulous internet connections, uploading videos can be a challenge and using the Paragon encoder does limits the versatility of the live broadcasts but they are working on that too.

There is room for growth but they are growing by leaps and bounds.

ComF5 provides real tools to promote real businesses.  I like that.

ComF5 offers these tools at a price anyone can afford.  I like that.

ComF5 offers solutions when others offer promises.  I definitely like that.  

Find out for yourself ... check out ComF5 The Solution Now!

Day 63 - Oops Where Did Monday Go to?

I honestly haven't a clue where yesterday went.

Day 62 - Why is Larry speaking like a Brit?

via xtranormal.com

Yesterday I talked about using videos in marketing but what do you do if you are camera shy? Granted, I'm not camera shy but there are times when I feel that my grandmotherly image might be driving away the readers instead of drawing them in. In times like this I turn to free or low cost anime videos like the one above. They are fun to do and easy to make. Try it for yourself.

Day 61 - Live Is Definitely Better!

Photographer: Ambro

Why we prefer live

There are at least three reasons why someone might pay five or ten or a hundred times more to see a concert than the CD costs (not to mention the value difference: you can listen to the download again and again but the live gig is gone forever):

• There are people around you, fellow travelers, magnetic energy, shared joy.
• Something might go wrong. The artist is like a tightrope walker, taking big chances and the drama it creates is engrossing.
• You might be surprised. Something new and wonderful might happen and it might jar you awake.

And yet, people in the 'live' business--restaurants, people doing presentations, the concierge at the hotel--often work hard to avoid getting anywhere near any of the three.

From Seth's Blog

Everywhere I go on the internet there are two topics of conversation that are bound to come up:

They are:

• Using video to market.
• Marketing to the Mobile Audience.

This is why ComF5 has caught my attention.  These guys aren't kidding when they say "Whatever your marketing need: ComF5 is the Solution."

Although it is still a work in progress, when I came in the door they had just added two items that I think are essential to promoting a LIVE video broadcast: screen sharing and video playbacks within the broadcast. 

Even before incorporating these features, the ComF5 suite included incredible Email and Marketing modules and the price point was well within reason for the invidual and business packages. 

Add in the MobiF5 module and you have the whole shebang!

MobiF5 is perfect for reaching any audience:  real estate, entertainment, church, whatever!  To see it in action for yourself: text the word "solution" without the quotes followed by a space and your email address to 69302. (text: solution URemailaddress.com to 69302).

I saw absolutely no reason to sign up for the Business package.  I am really confident that once folks see this product in use, they are going to want to share it with their friends, so I opted in as a Reseller.  The cost is still well below what I would pay if I purchased similar functions elsewhere. 

Check out this price comparison for yourself.

 

 

 

 

As usual, I have provided affiliate links in this article and I will receive compensation if you choose to buy a product through one of my links. However you are cautioned to research the products yourself to be sure they will fit your needs. If someone else has directed you to the product or you have a friend that you want to get credit for your purchase be sure to clear your cookies and access the product again through their affiliate link when you purchase.  Most affiliate programs will flag the first affiliate that directs a buyer to their site.

Day 60 - What Are You Passionate About?

Photographer: federico stevanin

Loving, living, doing the right thing.  

I have often thought that there wasn't anything that I was particularly passionate about.  

Others around me followed great dreams.  I just moved on from one event to another in my life with no great plan.  

I didn't strive to fall in love and get married.  I did.  

I didn't aspire for a career, I sought a job, sought to learn new stuff, and ended up with both a degree and a career.  

I didn't aspire to be an internet marketer, I desired to keep my mind active and stay alert, I ended up a blogger and web consultant (of sorts).

My life has been a total contradiction to the principles of being goal oriented.

Yet, here I am in my sixth decade, looking to set and pursue goals.

The key element missing in my life is the passion.  Or is it?

Perhaps my passion is just such an integral part of my being that I haven't seen it a separate thing.

What motivates me?

My faith.  My belief in God.  My love for others.

I believe my life has purpose and my faith is integral to that purpose.

My goals in my 100 Day Challenge are to better know my God and understand and fulfill my purpose here on earth.

I have not been given a talent for art or music.  I am not a mathematic genius.

I have a middling knowledge and skill with computers.  I have a love for learning new things.

My passion is to use what I have to help those with great passions to share them on the internet.

My passion is to inspire others to try new things.

My passion had lead me to learn to blog in an effort to promote the art and good works of those with great passions.

My passion will never win me an Oscar or Nobel Peace Prize but it does fill my days with peace.  That is enough.

 

 

 

 

Day 59 - Did I Say That?

Photographer: Evgeni Dinev

You are out to sea and everything is rolling along smoothly then suddenly there are rocks ahead.  Yep, that's what happened yesterday.  Two hours into the morning I thought it was smooth sailing.  By the end of the day I had gone aground three times, twice in my family relationships and once with technology. 

I was certainly ready for a lesson on failure this morning when I opened up my 100 Day Challenge assignment.

Of course, the lesson pointed out that failures are a normal step in the growth process and that we should embrace them for the lessons we learned and move on.

What I learned was that I tend to run ahead of myself and try to skip some of the steps necessary for any project.  You know those critical elements like planning and testing? 

I love new technology and when I get a new program I am ready to go all out and launch a major event using the software.

This may not be all bad, by scheduling an event I give myself a deadline which motivates me to get it to work.  The invitations have been sent, resevervations have been made, so sink or swim the show must go on but just in case, I may want to have a back up plan.

As far at the personal upheavals my invites created, I think that all worked out okay.  My challenge is to not take others indifference personally.  My daughter put it rather poetically: "Mom, not everyone has the chip implant yet so don't be surprised that they aren't all that eager to GO LIVE on the internet."

Oh well, like I told her... Resistance is frutile my dear.... the world is changing whether we like it or not, might as well get with the program.

Day 58 - Learn Something New Every Day

Photographer: jscreationzs

Do you have days when everything just comes together?  It is only 8:00 a.m. and today has already proven to be such a day.  

I am on Day 44 of the 100 Day Challenge and today's lesson is on continued learning.

Early in this Challenge I set several goals for myself.

One included helping the local food bank.  As part of that task, I am helping a food bank organizer create a new web site.  He wanted a change made in the format on the page that I had no idea how to accomplish.

So it was "back to school" for me, only this time my teachers are the pros that lurk in the Help Form at Wordpress.org.  A quick search in the knowledge base lead  me to the following question and answer:

 

CHANGE the_excerpt to the_content! (2 posts)

1. lendikkan
   Member
   Posted 2 months ago #

   I need help! When you look under the category and archive pages you can see only an excerpt from your posts, I want everything to be seen, including pictures. I have Understood that it is something about the codes the_excerpt the_content but i cannot find them anywhere in my templates. I'm using the theme "Twenty Ten" and would love some help.
   My website is http://llinda.se

2. alchymyth
   Member
   Posted 2 months ago #

   it is in loop.php:

   <?php if ( is_archive() || is_search() ) : // Only display excerpts for archives and search. ?> <div class="entry-summary"> <?php the_excerpt(); ?> </div><!-- .entry-summary --> <?php else : ?> <div class="entry-content"> <?php the_content( __( 'Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span>', 'twentyten' ) ); ?>

   change the first line in this area to:

   <?php if ( is_search() ) : // Only display excerpts for search. ?>

   that would still leave the excerpt to show in search results.

via wordpress.org

And lo and behold I now know how to edit a loop.php so that the pictures will not be clipped when someone selects a category from the menu bar.  I had previously managed to edit this file to extend the excerpt to more characters at the request of another friend who I was helping with her site (SanFelipePesoSaver) but had up til now failed to be able to get the images included.  Now both parties are happy and I have learned something new today.

As an added bonus, I also have a topic to share with you my reader in this article which completes my goal oriented task of posting daily for a year.

This lesson wasn't a tough one for me.  I have always considered myself a "professional student."   The fact that it took me 39 years to get a Bachelor's degree was confirmation of that.  When asked, I told folks I was on the 40 year program but graduated a year early.

In all truth, I just love learning new stuff.   Since graduating in 2004, I have just exchanged the internet for the college campus.

Day 57 - Ed Dale - "The Hottest Man in the Universe" Continues to Put Out

09 Nov

Q & A Session Nov 5th 2010 with Ed Dale, Dan Raines & Guru Bob

Author: admin  //  Category: Challenge

Photographer: Salvatore Vuono

Ed and Dan are great about follow up. Don’t miss this question and answer call with John Dean, Ed Dale, Dan Raine and Guru Bob.

via For a synopsis of Topics Covered go to eddalefanclub.com

My lesson learned today was two-fold: follow-up and follow-through.

Ed Dale is the king of market leadership because of these two critical elements. He continues to add valuable content on top of valuable content even when starting with a free product!

Ed's latest Challenge (2010) was even a better "bargain" then his earlier 30 Day Challenges... and he gave all that incredible knowledge away for FREE.

He just keeps right on GIVING IT AWAY!

Day 56 - Rethinking My Email Marketing

Aug 27, 2010 -

A recent survey reported that over 93 percent of people have an opt-in daily contact with a brand via email. It also said only 15 percent of Facebook users and 5 percent of Twitter users have a similar relationship. 

That's one of many reasons to rethink your use of email marketing.

via Read the rest of this article at openforum.com

In order to test out my newest product, ComF5 I am putting together a live broadcast/online family reunion for Thanksgiving weekend.
With family scattered across the U.S. it has just become financially unfeasible for all the of cousins and grandchildren to travel to one physical location for a family get-together so when I saw that ComF5 could create a live broadcast session that would allow people from all over the world to join in a chat room or even share a screen and get into the act via a live video broadcast, I thought Alleluia!
Now everyone can get-together under one "roof" and visit with everyone else.
ComF5 offers many tools for putting together such an event. I used an email template to create the first invitation and the Marketing F5 module to create a form for folks to send in their RSVP.
By using a form I will be able to import all respondents into a Family list which have been email confirmed and thus allow me to send out future updates to the event or a link to the recorded event following the broadcast.
The most difficult part is sending out the original invites and links to the opt in form (which I neglected to include in the first email.) Since I didn't the family in a double opt-in list, I could only send the invite out in small batches. Once folks submit the form I will be able to send out the whole group a event broadcast.
I love these ComF5 tools.



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As usual, I have provided affiliate links in this article and I will receive compensation if you choose to buy a product through one of my links. However you are cautioned to research the products yourself to be sure they will fit your needs. If someone else has directed you to the product or you have a friend that you want to get credit for your purchase be sure to clear your cookies and access the product again through their affiliate link when you purchase.  Most affiliate programs will flag the first affiliate that directs a buyer to their site.

Day 55 - Not Much to Say - a Day of Doing

Photographer: Simon Howden
Today was all about doing, not saying.
I purchased two new domains for a local charitable group and uploaded Wordpress for them.
I purchased a new domain for my family's online Thanksgiving Reunion.
I sent out invitations for the Live Thanksgiving Broadcast and worked on email follow ups and RSVP forms.
I went to lunch with my husband and gave one of the dogs a shower/bath.
I work some more on creating forms and landing pages for the reunion broadcast.
That done, I've nothing left to talk about.
Time to call it a night.

via Getting Families Together With ComF5

Day 54 - When Writing Is The Last Thing On Your Mind

Photographer: Salvatore Vuono

 

My head is filled with ideas about new ways to use ComF5.  I have always been good with ideas, not so good a creating a plan or following through with it. 

So how do I get from "lots of ideas" to "a good plan"  and a "complete profitable project?"  

I don't know.  I honestly don't.  I haven't made it that far yet.  

One thing I do know is that I am going to complete the projects I started. Writing this article is one part of that commitment.  

Writing because I said I would, even when I would rather be playing with my new program. I rather be thinking about a dozen different things or designing a new web template, anything but writing about blogging.

Yet, write I do.

You have had those days haven't you? Those days when the next project is so much more appealing than the current one?  

What do you do?  How do you do it all?

One thing at a time.

Now is the time for writing. 

Day 53 - Staying On Track

Back in September (the 12th to be exact) I made myself (and you my readers) a commitment to compose and post something of value or interest each day to my Blogger blog, and at that time I renamed the blog to 365 Days in the Life of a Blogger.  As noted in the title of this article, today is day 53 of that task.
At the beginning of October I committed to completing a course called The 100 Day Challenge.  The 100 Day Challenge is not directed specifically to blogging, marketing, or business ventures for that matter.  It is a goal centric program to aid anyone to achieve any goal they choose, whether it be improve their marriage, be a better parent, get a job or promotion, or earn a specific amount of money within that 100 days.
What ever the goal, this challenge provides lessons to help the participant to define their goals and put together a plan to achieve those goals.  I am on day 39 of this program.
As part of the program, we are assigned a task of doing a weekly progress report (to ourselves).
I wrote down five goals when I started.  Of the five, I have made progress on three or four and totally ignored the fifth.
What has become evident to me is that the 5th goal was one I felt I SHOULD pursue but not won I am at all motivated to work on.
One of my goals required me to learn to speak Spanish fluently.  To do this I have been working on LiveMocha.com and at least until this last weekend I was doing it pretty consistently.  Two days on the road and two in a seminar has put a bump in the road but tomorrow, I will get back into my routine.
One of my goals has been to write and post at least one article daily.  As you have witnessed, I missed a couple of days on that but I am back at it.
My number one goal is centered on my spiritual life and that has been the one I have been most faithful in staying in the groove.  Thank you God.
The last of the four focuses on building a profitable online business.  The trip to Vegas was part of that task and I think it was time well spent in spite of the fact that it through my other plans a bit off kilter.   I am not confident that I have found a product that I can market with confidence and not compromise my integrity.
If you want to learn more about that you can find a wealth of information at ComF5 The Solution.

Broadcasting Live With ComF5

Today was one dedicated to the exploration and testing my new communications software, ComF5.  I created a slideshow, imported it into a video broadcast and scheduled it to view later this evening on my 365 Days in the Life of a Blogger site.
It was pretty exciting.  You can view it here or on my blog, 365 Days in the Life of Blogger, after the scheduled broadcast at 10:00 p.m
In case you didn't catch my previous notes, ComF5 is the product that I went to Las Vegas review.  Needless to say, I was sufficiently impressed with the product and company to make the decision to sign up as a reseller.
That decision has brought all kinds of feedback.  Some of it very good, some food for thought and some just skeptical.
In future posts. I will try to answer all constructive questions as best I can or find someone that can.

ContestBurner update.... I didn't win any of the prizes but I did profit from the experience!  I met some really great people who followed my progress in the contest!

Day 52 - Testing Out New Software - Broadcasting With ComF5

This is my first attempt to create a video broadcast with ComF5.  Click on the broadcast title to play recorded broadcast. 

Day 51 - Contest Wrapped Up - Time to Get Back to Work

Tune in tomorrow for the BIG NEWS.

Day 50 - On the road... no post