Success Through a Positive Application of Effort

I'm a firm believer in a positive mental attitude. My life experience backs up my belief. There is a catch to PMA -- you have to back up your attitude with action. Not any old, "keep busy" action, either; action based on a solid plan, stripped of all unnecessary time wasters.
    I was one of the "success stories" of Bev Clement's business plan experiment. She provided the basic information for creating a business plan, and helped those that followed through with the support and advice to make the plan effective and workable. Sadly, of the fourteen folks who started, only three of us finished.
    There's a powerful lesson from this little experiment. Positive talk and promises to be faithful and hardworking are nice. Actually being faithful and working hard are much better. The former looks good at first blush. The latter is where the results pay off.
    Bev keeps threatening to create a full business planning course with an affiliate program. As soon as she releases it, I'll put up my affiliate link on my niche marketing blog and business to business Web site. I can honestly say she provides full value and excellent support because I have first-hand knowledge of same. She works as hard as she demands of others.
    P.S. I haven't been posting here due to the application of effort to build one aspect of my business that was languishing. Now that I'm up to speed with that, I'll be around here more often. Maybe...

PayPal Validation vs. Consensual Validation

I've got to admit that I'm happy when others say, "I see what you're doing and you're on the right track." Validation from those "in the know" and who've lived through the uncertainty of building something from scratch is pleasurable. However, the "Most Glorious Make Rich Encouraging" statement for me has been from PayPal regarding "Payment Details".
    Patience is a virtue only as long as it's necessary to exercise it. Once you get what you've been longing for, it's time to celebrate, briefly. Then, it's time to set the next goal point. From what I've seen and experienced, there's not much worse than a great start and then, nothing.
    Follow up is important. Follow through is vital. The momentum behind a success makes more success. Allowing friction and drag to wear away at that positive inertia turns it into static inertia.
    I still like the buzz from getting paid well... :)

A Trend Worth Following and Heeding

What do you say to a bald guy with an occasionally extremely long nose and who drinks out of a purple milk carton? "Hi, Seth." Seth Godin is one of those who makes the world a better place by helping it to think, without being as abrasive about it as, say, I am.
    Good old conspicuous consumption is taking a bit of a hit, these days. Sure, you can get on line (or go online) to try and get Luvaglio's million dollar laptop (no, they don't have an affiliate program -- I asked, I did!), but more and more, it's getting tiresome to be seen as grasping. In this post he points out a trend that all marketers who target the rich should consider.
    Those who have much seem to be learning to spend it without leaving a trace, rather than flaunting it. Funny, how a bit of Old School thinking is finally re-emrging: don't make a spectacle of yourself. It fits right along side of Seth's philosophy of making yourself as conspicuous as a Purple Cow. When selling, flamboyant. When purchasing, plain brown recycled wrapper, please.

Want Information on Marketing a Product?

I get a few folks dropping by from The Warrior Forum, wondering what I'm blogging about. Obviously, it's more than just Internet Marketing and peddling affiliate products. I've even got my LANDLORD checking in every once in a while, to see what I'm up to!
    Since this is my anchor blog, I'm keeping the number of posts much less frequent than my marketing blogs. I want this to be more personal, more thoughtful and more valuable to those who know me.
    Of course, I'm not above hawking my wares and affiliate links -- don't get me wrong, I've got a deep desire to make money, too! In fact, one of the newer marketing blogs is aimed at IM types with a desire to produce their own info-products. Create Niche Products That Sell gives you a view of the actual tools, techniques and resources you might need to create profitable niche products yourself. I say "might need" because plenty of Warriors can (and do) write the book on their area of expertise. Keep checking back at Create Niche Products That Sell, because I have an offering in the works that will definitely point the way to which niches are destined to be the hottest! It's being edited now, and will be reviewed by some of my more experienced IM friends.

An Interesting Market Niche

Rich people. Those with money are more than an interesting niche: they're exerting a disproportionate economic impact on Internet sales. In 2005 alone, they accounted for only 2% of online shoppers, but contributed 7% of the money spent online ($12 Billon). Plus, wealthy shoppers are 36% more likely to use a credit card online than a bargain shopper.
    I'm fascinated with the pathological trance many IM folks are trapped in. They only seem comfortable selling to other IM folks. While some are very rich, most of their customers are not. They quibble over whether to price yet another eBook at $7, $27, $97, but fail to grasp that producing a product and service worth $9997 will actually be easier to sell if it's worth it.
    Trying to get inside the mind of a customer that's worried about getting 50 bucks by the end of the month is actually tiresome. I'd rather contemplate the concerns of someone for whom a bargain is a kick, not a dire necessity. The luxury shopper who seeks comfort and exclusivity is generally happier than the bargain shopper scouring the 'Net for a few bucks off the price of a staple item. I've decided who I want to spend my time contemplating. Like I said, it's an interesting market niche.

Key for Writers - It's Not on Your Keyboard

The real key for this writer is patience. I get frustrated with my old PC sometimes. The mouse has been hurled at the screen of my monitor so hard, that the ring that holds the mouseball in place is totaled. If I lift the mouse up, the ball rolls away! Using a boat anchor of a computer makes one long for a better machine, if only to avoid wasting time on chores that a real computer wouldn't force you to do.
    I'd also like a keyboard that isn't missing a very important key -- the FU key. That one comes in handy when spam arrives in your inbox, your latest article was sent back for a rewrite, or you've gotten to the very end of doing something and the computer just hangs, freezes, crashes or dies. Being able to press that key and have all the crap go away would be Heaven!

Is Content King on the 'Net?

After surfing around lately, I’m beginning to wonder if folks who write don’t get that what they write will be read by others. It’s as if the basic ideas in their heads never gets past their own “take” on something. Even worse, the writer has attempted to “build” an article that’s “keyword optimized” in a way that smacks of pandering. It’s one thing to try to get a keyword-rich article published – quite another to try to stuff your keywords into the reader’s gullet.
    I’m all for monetizing your writing. That’s what I’m about. I’m also willing to write about something without worrying if it’s going to make me a dime. I write because I write. I think, therefore I think (apologies to Descartes). I think.
    If what you write embodies a willingness to achieve something resembling “good”, then you’ve done the job properly. Never mind “excellent”, that’s in the eye of the beholder. Doing a good job means you’ve taken what you know, crafted it with purpose and checked for errors in your grammar and spellinx.
    I’ve been a member of the Grammar and Spelling Police, but I’m retiring from that post. The raft of incomprehensible, misspelled and generally crappy stuff I’m seeing every day means I’d have to give up making good writing. Policing the Internet’s illiterati is a full-time job.