I just know I’m going to enjoy writing this trenches post. Previous editions have focused on what I’ve learned from my screw ups. This edition focuses on what I’ve learned as things have started to fall into place.
I’ve been slogging away at this for 2 years but last month, I got told I was getting evicted. This one change made me change the way I approached business. I started asking for help and many people were happy to give it. I was able to turn things around drastically in just one month.
I’ve:
- Started a job with Dave Navarro. It’s awesome. I’m accidentally learning about launches and am getting paid for a skill that comes naturally to me.
- Starting earning consistent affiliate income. I literally wake up to sales most work days.
- Launched an email newsletter. This was really scary but heaps of people are signing up and interacting with the content.
- Have found joy in my work. It look a lot of experimenting but now I am so happy I can make money from my love.
In this edition, I’ll be focusing on some of the factors that have contributed to my success.
A quick note about the job
Part of my job with Dave is monitoring the smaller launches and reporting on the info-product trends in several niches. If you are, or know of someone, that is releasing a product then let me know. Where relevant, I’ll pass it on. I can also support you in arranging email interviews with him. Just contact me and I’ll help you create a kick arse post.
Lessons Learned:
Starting a list doesn’t have to be a scary thing
I procrastinated badly when it came to starting a list. The idea felt foreign and cold. I only started a list because I wanted to knock the project off my to do list.
It has been amazing. I’ve had my list set up for 2 weeks and have over 40 subscribers. I’ve sent out just one email and had several people respond. When I tweet about it, I get a lot of friends signing up.
It has been a fascinating journey. I’m really enjoying it and think I will like it a lot more as I learn more about it. I’m so excited about the potential to connect with new people.
The best thing is that you don’t need any fascinating programs to learn how to do this. I’ve been saving email marketing messages for 18 months and am now going through them to find the techniques that worked for me. I’ll be applying them to my own newsletters as I learn.
Review products before launch to capitalize on the buzz
My review of The Sticky Ebook Formula marked the first time I’d made my money back from an affiliate based review. I’d considerable income by placing my reviews on high profile blogs but never on my own.
I discovered The Sticky Ebook Formula when visiting the Remarkable Marketing Blueprint. It’s an awesome community. I immediately took advantage of the prelaunch special and did a review of the product. I let Kelly know via the forum. She tweeted about it as well as linked to it via the sales page and mentioned it in a follow up post.
I’ve made four sales from a review that was just a blog page. I’ve had several people thank me for it and tell me how awesome Kelly is. I learned a lot about affiliate marketing from this one review.
- Buying and reviewing an affiliate product is a great way to break the ice
- The act of filtering awesome products is a way to network. If people enjoy the product, they’ll be thankful to you for pointing it out
- You will capitalize on the buzz if you are one of the first to review. This is something I haven’t been able to do due to time constraints but will now be doing.
- Mentioning the review in a newsletter is a good way of driving extra sales.
I now wake up most mornings to an affiliate sale. It’s awesome.
Perception is everything
Over the past month I’ve taken a step back from other responsibilities. Instead, I’ve been working on the rebranding and focusing on developing my blog.
Since we’ve started doing this, we have seen a lot more traction. I’ve been working with Bill on improving the appearance and usability. As a non-techie, I’ve never really focused on this before. I assumed my content would suffice when it comes to telling my story.
Since I’ve involved Bill in the rebranding process I’ve been getting a lot more comments about the design. Every time I’ve spoken with Dave he raves about the design of my products. It has led to more subscribers and engagement with content.
I’ve been featured in a product
My corrupting influence good friend Catherine Caine just a course called Awesome Fear Wrangling. It was my honor to participate. My interview appears alongside my friends and idols.
Catherine has had to work very hard to overcome her own fears and rock it online. She has been an inspiration and was recently able to quit the day job and take the leap into full time business. If it sounds like your thing, head over and check it out. If not, I’d still recommend following Catherine on twitter. She’s kinda awesome.
Over to you
What awesome stuff has been happening for you over the past month? Let me know if there’s a way I can help you guys kick arse too.
Wow Jade! I'm totally impressed with the honesty. I absolutely love it when folks are real.
I'm in the same boat as far taking a step back and focusing on rebranding a bit. It's a little scary but fun too. I'm encouraged to hear about your triumphs and excited to watch your progression forward. Kudos!
Thanks Andy! If you read the previous trenches post, I've been really honest. They have mostly been about my screw ups. My biz partner pulled me up and was like “You've been totally rocking it this month. Talk about what you are doing right”. I'm glad that I did coz, I dunno, its nice to know that screw ups don't define you. They help make you more awesome.
Rebranding has been hard. I somewhat don't believe in branding so I've been trying to focus on adding personality and making the site a fun place to be. I think we've been doing that.
I monitor a lot of people in the blogosphere so let me know if I can help you. I know of lots of people that have successfully rebranded
Thanks Andy! If you read the previous trenches post, I've been really honest. They have mostly been about my screw ups. My biz partner pulled me up and was like “You've been totally rocking it this month. Talk about what you are doing right”. I'm glad that I did coz, I dunno, its nice to know that screw ups don't define you. They help make you more awesome.
Rebranding has been hard. I somewhat don't believe in branding so I've been trying to focus on adding personality and making the site a fun place to be. I think we've been doing that.
I monitor a lot of people in the blogosphere so let me know if I can help you. I know of lots of people that have successfully rebranded
It's awesome to read about your successes and to get an insight into what's going on for you. Congrats on the job with Dave, by the way! (If I've not already said that, I meant to..!)
One of the best things from your post, I think, is that you've found joy in your work — that you're refining what you love and finding ways to do more and more of it.
Keep rocking!
Yeah Jade! I get the feeling you're really starting to find your Thing!
Honestly? I totally am. It's literally been after my dave consult where he mentioned the on their radar concept and I sorta created everything around that. Since then, things have just taken off. It's awesome and it is such a relief to not have to worry about money anymore.
It's also awesome because I love it. I don't feel skeezy doing it. You're part of it, y'know. I saw what you were doing on your site and I was like “I can be helpful and happy and enjoy my work”. Its really helped my anxiety. Thanks!
Thank you heaps!
I didn't think it was possible to be happy working. I really believed that I would always struggle with any form of employment and was content in that I had the luxury of working from home. I'm now finding it fun, and exciting, and a challenge and I'm really enjoying it. Since I've found that happy spark, I've had a lot more success. It's kinda awesome.
*grin* I'm so honoured and pleased to be able to help, Jade.
Congrats Jade, that shounds great! Seems like things have really taken off. I hope you keep on building momentum from here on more.
I've been having a lot of fun this last month too. I've been interviewing micro business owners from all over Europe and writing a manifesto that will feature all of them as well as the philosophy we're guided by. It's been an amazing experience so far.
Thank you so much
Its nice to be able to post about the good things.
Let me know how the manifesto goes. It sounds fascinating and from experience, you'll learn a lot from the process. If I can help, get in touch.
I've been working with my partner, Peter, on our photography website. It's a bit nerve-wracking learning everything for the first time and hoping to God that we're on the right track.
I've sought out interviews with photographers for the first time, which is pretty scary since I've never been the type to make the first move in contacting people – it's a lot easier over email and twitter cos then I don't stumble and stutter!
It's really awesome to see people who are trying to do similar things – blogging and making a living online. You've done pretty well – I mean, you're up there with the big names with problogger and rock your day – that's pretty cool.
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