It’s My Birthday and I’ll Blog What I Want To

Following in others’ footsteps, like BloggingBookshelf and Adrienne Smith, I decided to do a birthday post mentioning odd tidbits about me you probably don’t know.  These are random and only snippets.

*  I graduated from the University of Washington in Seattle. How many dorms do you know that have mountain and lake views?

*  I was a life insurance underwriter after college and worked for the insurance company, in 3 different states, for 9 1/2 years.

*  I used to be a petsitter before I went fulltime with Internet marketing. Writing an ebook about petsitting is on my To Do list.

*  I like to quilt, although I haven’t done much since IM took over my life.

*  I like to watch South Park. It’s totally irreverant, politically incorrect, and clever. Plus I like the local Colorado references that only Coloradans get.

*  I’ve lived in Santa Maria and Bakersfield,California,  Seattle,Washington,  Austin, Texas,  Portland, Oregon, and Denver,Colorado.

*  Two of my favorite movies are Inn of the 6th Happiness and The Gift. And I love chick flicks, even though they’re predictable.

*  I’ve been married 21 consecutive years to the same guy.

*  I still love to ski and do just about anything outdoors.

*  I am a lover of books. I’d rather hang out at a bookstore than go clothes shopping.

Sooo…. can you relate to any of these?

 

Internet Marketing Milestones – My Results Writing and Selling PLR

Now that all the 2011 goal-type posts are long gone, I think it's okay to write a milestone post… because it's my anniversary! I've been writing and selling PLR for 3 years and I'd like to share some of my journey.

Prior to the PLR store
 Although I had a website for CookinKids since 2003, I didn't catch the Internet marketing fever until September of 2007. I started by interviewing 11 IMers about how to look after your list of subscribers and build relationships, and turned it into a free optin ebook. That link will take you to the original squeeze page, which I think is pretty good considering I really didn't know what I was doing at the time! 

Then I floundered a bit trying this and that with no clear plan of action. I was working hard and making a little money, but I knew there had to be more. Then I thought about writing and selling PLR. I knew how to set up a website and I'd already become an EZA expert author so I knew how to write articles.

April 2008
I officially opened the doors of AllstarPLR with 9 article packs. A lot went on behind the scenes first – looking at the other top stores and making lots of decisions. I had to decide how to lay out my store, what topics I wanted to have packs on, how much I wanted to charge, etc. It was a lot of work, but very exciting. I knew this was work that had to be done once, and after that I could make money selling my articles.

I can still feel the excitement I felt back then when I first realized what the term "passive income" meant. And that's what I wanted! Having a PLR store made perfect sense – write the article packs once and sell them again and again.

Since I "knew" it was important to have a list, I put an optin form on my site giving away a report I wrote about 51 ways you can use PLR.

I started growing my PLR list by telling all the people I had on my existing list (from the ebook freebie mentioned above) about my new venture. Some of them joined my new list and bought some of my article packs.

Note – I make sure to keep my lists separate. If a list is only regarding PLR, then I only send them info on PLR.

I also did a WSO on the Warrior Forum offering 3 of my bundles at a discount. This did decent sales considering I was an unknown, plus I got some good testimonials. What surprised me was people visited my site via the WSO and I sold more of my other bundles than I did the ones listed in the WSO!

Note – I didn't think to collect my testimonials and keep them all in one place until much later. It would have been easier to do it as they came in, instead of trying to gather them up afterwards!

Rest of 2008
I continued a pattern of writing and as I got done with 3 packs I would list them for sale on the Warrior Forum. I would let my list know too, but with it still in its infancy stage, the Warrior Forum provided a much bigger base of potential customers plus a chance to further grow my list.

I also joined a few Giveaways with my stuff and got more subscribers that way.

Beginning of 2009
I didn't do as many article packs in the beginning of 2009 because I was also growing my other businesses. I wrote and sold some of my own ebooks and reports and worked on a few projects with other people. 2009 was surely my year of massive learning and growth as an Internet marketer. One added benefit to all that growth was now I could really write IM PLR with the voice of experience.

March 2009
Pat Graham and I teamed up for MyNichePLR, a membership site, and started the first membership for Baby Boomer. The software we used delivered 3 new articles every week plus a report once a month. Next we added a Wedding membership, and a few months later added an Internet marketing membership.

Wow, I can't tell you how thrilling it was to wake up every morning and see "You've received a subscription payment" messages in my inbox!

We wrote enough articles to keep these memberships going for 9 months and then decided to cap it. The way the software worked, it didn't matter when someone joined, they would start at week one. That meant we could still welcome new subscribers even as existing memberships ended.

Rest of 2009
I tallied up how many PLR articles I wrote in 2009 and it was 313! One new thing I did at the end of 2009 was create my first full PLR package including ebook, bonuses, salespage, articles, download page, graphics, etc. This was a big money-maker and I vowed I would do more of these in 2010. I started a website for these complete packages at PLR-Packages.

As far as my PLR articles went, I was now making an average of $10-25 per article, and that's just with the initial announcement of new packs. That doesn't count the sales I make over the lifetime of the article – customers come to my site to purchase when they need something, not just when I announce the new stuff.

2010
As my list grew, I really understood it's power. If I send an email to my list, I make money. You hear of that happening, but it is so cool when it happens to you!

Note –  Of course not all my emails are promotional; sometimes they're just informative or asking the subscriber to take some sort of action. 

Pat and I turned MyNichePLR into a non-membership site so that people who don't like the membership part of it could buy the PLR in bundles. We are planning a new branch – Baby.

I'd been writing PLR when it suited me, which is usually when I get in the mood to do it, or realize it's been a while, or I'm in-between other projects.

I really like this business model and I'm happy with how it's going, but I realize it could be so much more. I make a conscious decision in 2010 to quit dividing my time equally between my different income streams and put more, much more, of my time into this one as it's my most successful.

2011
I'd been thinking for quite a while about writing an ebook about starting a PLR business for others who are struggling to make money online and need a sound business model to follow.

I finally wrote it because I had an upcoming interview about PLR with Tristan Higbee of BloggingBookshelf. Some of his blog readers had been asking me questions about selling PLR so I knew Become a PLR Writer would be of interest to at least some of them.

Then I realized I had even more to say about writing PLR after the ebook was done so on the backend I offered a paid subscription newsletter called the Professional PLR Provider newsletter. I just finished writing the 2^nd month and I really enjoy sharing what I've learned about building a list, getting traffic, tips for doing WSOs, package ideas, and marketing the business.

Some lessons learned –

·    Hiding behind your site doesn't make you much money, no matter how good your products are. Be bold and be everywhere!

·    Some people will buy everything you create, so keep creating and don't stop.

·    If Spider Solitaire is installed on your computer, uninstall it.

·    SEO is very, very important.

·    Working on your relationship with your customers and treating them right means customers become friends and supporters. I really like that.

Is my PLR business a success? That depends on how you define success. No, I'm not making a gazillion dollars but I am making money and reaching goals I've set for myself.

There's great satisfaction in setting out to do something and having it really work, even if the path to get there wasn't exactly how I envisioned it!

 

 

I croaked when I got this email…

Have you ever gotten an email that gave you that punched in the gut feeling?  I felt like that yesterday. All I could think of was my hard work going down the drain and losing customers (before I even had them, mind you!)

Maybe you got the same email I did?

It was from Jimmy D. Brown, Mr. Nearly Perfect Guru With Integrity?

His email was about a new ecourse on how to profit from PLR and also how to sell PLR.  Ding ding ding!  The alarm was going off inside my head.  I just released my new ebook, Become a PLR Writer. I didn't do a big launch, just let my friends know.  Plus I did an interview with Tristan Higbee that was lots of fun.  I've been working up the backend and starting to talk to affiliates. 

photo credit: liewcf

So I'm thinking my ebook is now sunk in the water and I go off to wallow in self-misery.  If this isn't a good excuse to break out the chocolate, I don't know what is.

So while I'm having my private pity party and wondering how the little guys, like me, can compete with big marketers like Mr. Nearly Perfect Guru With Integrity, I come up with a couple thoughts.

1.  His product is targeted more towards people who want to learn how to use PLR successfully.  Yes, it's a two part deal, but more emphasis seems to be on learning to profit from PLR.  And the promo emails I've received from his affiliates are pushing that angle.

2.  His product comes with a steeper price tag, $197.  I'm absolutely sure it's worth it.  I own several of his products myself and I know Jimmy D. Brown puts out nothing but the best.  But my point here is he is targeting a different customer base than I am. 

I am offering a product for just under $18 and I think that appeals to many people who are looking for an online business model they can follow without having to spend a lot of money.  I could have added more to the product, but then I would have raised the price and that would defeat my purpose.

Okay, I feel a bit better. And you know what?  I made 2 more sales while I was feeling miserable. 

Don't get me wrong, I feel great about Become a PLR Writer and I believe it can really help people. I'm also very excited about the backend product I'm putting the finishing touches on.  It's not about the money (ok, a little) but it's more about knowing something really well and passing it on to help others.

Slow and steady wins the race (that cliche is for you, Mark at icebluebanana.com)  and I won't stop putting out products!

Thanks for listening, er… reading.

I'd like to hear what you think!

• Has this ever happened to you?
• What price point would you rather buy at (with the value of the product in line with the price point)?
• How do you market your products to make them stand out in the crowd?

PLR Articles, Oktoberfest, and New Computer

Whew, just getting serious here after a week of confusion with my son home on fall break.  It’s interesting how you can just do what you need to do and discard the rest (like playing Spider Solitaire) when you don’t have all day to do it.   As I try to get my head together, I’m going to mention what I’m currently working on Internet marketing-wise.

But first, a picture from my weekend in the Rocky Mountains for Oktoberfest at the end of September.

I know,  I know, it has nothing to do with Internet marketing but the fall colors were gorgeous!

Okay, here’s how my present and near future’s shaping up:

1.  I came up with a great idea that helps PLR ATM owners out and I got it up and running.  I sent out a JV request to someone who could really do this justice and I’m writing this post instead of sitting and watching my in-bin for a response, which is really what I would rather be doing.  I’ll tell you more about it in my next post.

2.  I need to at least unpack my new harddrive and stare at it a bit before I attempt to boot it up and replace my ailing and almost dead harddrive.

3.  I came up with another idea that puts a new welcomed twist on the next set of PLR articles I’m going to write.  Today I’ll do a little reseach on the idea and put my plan into motion, i.e., start writing the twisted PLR articles.

4.  I will continue uploading PLR articles onto a test blog.  It’s a case study and I will be happy to share the results with you when I’m done and have all the results.

5. One two of my websites are sorely in need of updating and I’m going to do that so it won’t continue to nag at me.  It’s like when you were in school and you had homework to do but you did something else instead – you got that little niggling feeling.  Or maybe that was just me?

6.  Not high on my list, but I shall continue to improve the SEO on one of my sites.  It’s obviously not this one as I keep forgeting about writing it for search engines and just write it for people.

That’s a wrap!

Care to give any teasers on what you’re working on?
Leave a comment below.

All My Glasses Are Half Full… And I’m Drowning

Strange title, but I can explain.

See, I’m an eternally optimistic sort.  I almost always see the glass as half-full.  The only time I’m not optimistic is when I’m looking at myself in a full-length mirror in a department store dressing room, but let’s not go there now. 

I’m also a dreamer and an ideas person.  I can come up with several business ideas every single day – good, mediocre and second-thoughts (second-thoughts are when you think about the idea the next day and say “On second thought… that sucks”).  But many of my ideas are good, and I can grow them in my mind from baby seed to full grown mature tree complete with treehouse.

So those are some of my character strengths and I’m pretty proud of them.
But how is that working out for me with Internet Marketing?  Being optimistic?

So-so.

Everywhere I go in this Internet Marketing world, I see fantastic business opportunities.  It’s like this Walmart of business models. 

“Ooooh, that’s not going to cost me much and I think I’d wear it well, I’ll take that!” 

“That’s my favorite color, even though it doesn’t really fit me, I KNOW I can make it work!”

And I find myself in this IM Walmart constantly, even though I don’t need anything else.  I have what I need – a good idea, a perfect color, the right size.  All I need to do is work it, 200%.

This brings me to the bigger problem… TIME.

Oh sure, I have the same 24 hours everyone else has and I work my rearend off but I’m not putting all my efforts into one big project; I’m adding content for a site, videos for another, emailing my list for a 3rd, SEOing another, creating a new one, and all are unrelated. 

It’s crazy!

I’m afraid I don’t have enough fingers to count all the Internet Marketing projects I’ve got going.  It’s not like I’m trying to have multiple income streams, it’s because I’m curious and want to give new things a try. 

Also in my defense – dabbling has allowed me to figure out what I DON’T want to do and has given me a well-rounded education in Internet Marketing (which also  helps me to write really authentic Internet Marketing PLR).

But this has also made me a jack of all trades, master of none. 

But I now have clarity, blinding clarity.

 I can have a big project with my strategies mapped out beforehand (not just winging it) and really work it til it’s working for me, OR I can continue on with lots of suboptimal projects that don’t “complete me”.

Which leads me to the glass half full thing…

 
All my darlings have such great potential!

“It’s a GREAT topic and a really beautiful blog theme! If only I had time to add more content, I KNOW I’d make more sales.”

“I like article marketing, I bet I could really drive traffic to my other site if I had time to set up an article marketing campaign and submit a lot of articles to Ezine Articles…”

“Someday this site is going to be big!  Well no, it hasn’t made me gobs of money yet, but it’s got lots of potential!”

Until now, I haven’t been able to let go of these subprime projects.  It’s like having a closet stuffed full of clothes two sizes too small and not being able to get rid of them because they’re really cute and might fit me again once I finally lose those 10 pounds I’ve been meaning to lose.

But I’ve seen the light.  The hardest part has been to decide which projects to keep.  I can’t base it totally on how much money each one is currently making me.  I also have to consider my strengths, my passions and desires, and where the project can go.  And by where it can go I mean the backend.  It seems funny to think about where something is headed by what’s at the back, but you know what I mean.
 

So anyone care to join me in cleaning up their Internet Marketing business by starting a big bonfire with all the little pieces of projects they have lying around that don’t fit the bigger picture? 

 

I’m throwing in several blogs at various stages, quite a few services I offer, some partner projects that were started and shelved til later, a bunch of domain names I have plans for, some ebooks I’ve written but not marketed, and anything else I can find that muddies my vision and steals my time without giving back.

Whew, I feel better already.  I will now have only 2 sites I’m working on.  Both are sites I had already spent more of my time on because I enjoy them, I’m knowledgeable and talented regarding the subject, and the backend is wiiiide open!  That means when I want to be creative with a new optimistic idea, it needs to be related and work as an upsell.  :)

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