Even My Own Emails End Up In My ‘Spam’ Folder
By Daniel Flower | November 11, 2008
If you use Aweber to manage your mailing lists then you’re probably familiar with the ‘SpamAssasin Score’ that Aweber gives you before you send an email. Put simply, it analyses your message and gives it a score on how likely it thinks your email is to be detected as ’spam’ by email software.
Now the best score to have is ‘0′, and sure enough I wrote an email today to send to one of my lists and it came back with a score of ‘0′…
Perfect - except the email STILL ended up in my spam folder, and by the time I’d realised this it had already gone out to a list of several hundred subscribers.
The offending word was “free” that I’d used in the subject line. I changed the subject to something different, and sure enough it rectified the problem, and the email reached my inbox.
But the upshot of this was that everyone on my list ended up with two identical emails. Not good because I hate sending too many emails to my lists.
And imagine if this had been an email launching a new product I’d spent months working on, and my list consisted of 10,000 people, of which 6,000 of those never got to see my email because it ended up in their spam folder too.
Next time I’ll be sending my emails to myself first before they go out to subscribers. Just because Aweber tells you the email’s fine doesn’t always mean it is : -)
Of course that’s not the only reason to test it first. I recently sent out an email to a list where the formatting had gone horribly wrong.
I’m not quite
sure what happened but my email l>>ooke d someth
ing like this when it reached my
inbox.
I’ve never done it personally, but I also know of plenty of marketer’s who have sent emails to their lists of thousands with broken links in them. Again not good if you’re launching a new product thsat could make you a lot of money.
So always test your messages before you send them to your list!
Have you had a mailing list disaster? Feel free to share by leaving me a comment.
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A Great Freebie For You
By Daniel Flower | November 7, 2008
I’ve managed to conduct yet another interview with a leading internet marketer. This time it’s Paula Brett, and we’ve put together a 27 page eBook full of solid content - yours completely FREE as a thank you for reading my blog.
There’s some great advice in here from one of the friendliest marketers I’ve ever met. If you’ve come across Paula before then you’ll know that she offers help by the bucket load, and her down to earth approach to online business is an inspiration to anyone.
Download the interview eBook for FREE right here!
Have a read through it and let me know what you think by dropping me a comment.
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I’m an Idiot
By Daniel Flower | October 22, 2008
Remember in my last post I said that I was having trouble inserting a link in a PDF I was creating?
Well the good news is that it’s now all fixed - and the even better news is that I’ve found out that for the last three or four years I’ve been creating PDFs in the most faffy way possible! (Well, ok that’s not good news, but at least I know a much easier way now!)
Previously I was using something called PDFedit995 - and I thought it was a pretty neat piece of software. But it’s so much easier using OpenOffice. I’d always discounted this in the past because I’ve always used Microsoft Office, and I never imagined that a free office suite could actually have more features than one that costs several hundred pounds. (Bill, it’s just not on ; -)
So here I was sitting here typing my last post telling you how I’d been advising a subscriber how to create a PDF…. I shall have to email him again and tell him to ignore everything I told him.
The conclusion to this is that 1.) I’m an idiot, 2.) I’m human and I make mistakes… But take a look at some of the ‘gurus’ out there. Don’t they always give the impression that they NEVER make mistakes and that everything they do turns to gold? Well I can 100% guarantee that even the richest internet marketers make mistakes on a regular basis. They discover things they didn’t know and probably feel like idiots too (although they conceal it very well.)
It’s all part of the learning process guys. You WILL make mistakes along the way, and find out you’ve been doing things one way when actually there’s another way that’s much easier. I’ve been knocking around internet marketing for quite a few years now and I’ve only just learnt what I did yesterday.
Just thought I’d share…
Ps. I want to say a HUGE thank you to Paula Brett and Mark McWilliams for alerting me to how to do this!
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The Little Things Hold You Back The Most
By Daniel Flower | October 17, 2008
Over three hours I’ve spent this afternoon trying to get a link to work in a report I’m creating. It’s normally a simple thing and something I’ve done many times before - create the PDF document, open up the editor, and insert the links. But for whatever reason this one particular link just doesn’t want to work. The other ones work fine, but all in all I’ve ended up spending almost an entire afternoon on ONE link…
All this got me thinking about how little things can stop you dead, and about the amount of time you end up wasting in IM. This is particularly the case when you’re just starting out. You’re trying to learn the techniques and strategies that you want to use, AND you’re trying to battle with the technology to actually make it work. I’m sure that my problem is easily solved, but unless you know HOW to solve it then it can hold you back for a very long time (much longer than my one afternoon….)
I consider myself to be quite good with computers, but as an internet marketer you have to be conscious of the fact that even an experienced user faces problems with technology from time to time. At the end of the day we’re internet marketers not IT technicians.
A subscriber emailed me recently and said that the reason he hadn’t written his own eBook was because he didn’t understand how to create a PDF. He’d actually got a pretty good idea for a book, and he was wonderful with the written word. But he didn’t understand the concept of a PDF at all, and had no idea how to create one.
When I explained how to do it I think he was pretty amazed at how simple it was. This one little thing had held him back for years. It had stopped him writing his book, and had been a mental barrier to taking action.
And sometimes in internet marketing you have to take a step back and think about what your customers might NOT KNOW. It’s easy for some guru to sit there writing about a new technique to make money online and then assume that their customers already have the knowledge to put it into action. I’ve read many many eBooks on how to write and sell an eBook, but only one or two actually explained the process of creating a PDF.
Now you might be thinking - ‘yea, but if you don’t know how to do something then it’s easy to find out through the internet’ - and that IS perfectly true, but sometimes something can seem so alien to you that it discourages you from even trying to find out.
If you’re trying to build a business in the internet marketing niche then you have to remember that amongst your subscribers there might well be 80 year old’s who have only recently found the internet, not just 18 year old whizz kids who (annoyingly) know everything.
It’s very easy to spend all your time doing things that aren’t actually building your business. I could theoretically spend the next 7 days solidly trying to solve my link problem, but would that help me to sell my eBook? Nope!
It’s a strange thing with computers too. Internet marketing has the power to change your life (of that I have no doubt,) but at the same time it has the ability to totally frustrate and turn you away from IM completely. I’m not talking about deeply technical things either. Most of the skills you need to build an online business are quite simple, but sometimes it’s the little things that hold you back the most.
Ps. If anyone knows about links in PDF’s, or you’ve got something else you’d like to say, then drop me a comment : -) I always like to know if people are identifying with my posts.
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Are you Coca Cola, or are you Tesco Value Cola?
By Daniel Flower | October 13, 2008
It seems like everyone wants to be a ‘guru’ in internet marketing, and most people’s idea of doing that is to find a guru and replicate them. Do what they do. Do it how they do it. And you’ll be a guru. That’s the idea anyway.
Which is fine and I agree with this, but only up to a point.
Take a look around at all the successful guys and you’ll find that they all have their own identity too - their own personality - their own brand. The one’s that stick in your mind all have their own unique story of how they became internet marketers. They have their own ideas about what they want out of life. They are very different people, not just ’some guy or girl’ on the internet that makes money online.
In short the people I buy from the most are those who I feel like I ‘know.’ Now obviously I’m using that term loosely because in the vast majority of cases I’ve never personally met the person in question, but I have this image inside my head of what they are like.
And if you can identify with that chosen lifestyle or personality then it’s very powerful.
The way I see things is that you need to become a person, not just another internet marketer. If you’re pretty sure that someone is making money then YES look at what they do and try to incorporate that into your own business, BUT do it in your own way. Put your own slant on things. Become someone to remember, not just another clone.
Basically create your own brand…
The most powerful brands stay in your mind, and create a message inside your brain that makes you purchase it time and time again.
It’s exactly the same in internet marketing as it is in the supermarket. So are you the leading brand, or just a clone of it? Are you Coca Cola, or are you Tesco Value Cola?
I know which one I want to be, but I’m also pretty sure that I could try harder.
Brands are funny things too because the reality is often very different to what you have inside your head. Going back to internet marketing, sometimes you’ve followed an internet ‘guru’ for quite a long time, and then maybe you meet them, or you speak to them, and they’re different to what you were expecting. They speak differently, they look different, or whatever it might be.
But the more you know about someone the more you feel like you KNOW them. The internet can make it difficult to let yourself shine through because we’re not all meeting face to face. But if you can successfully break through the barrier then it can only be a good thing. I want to feel like I know who I’m buying from, and in the vast majority of cases those are the people who I DO buy from.
Maybe it would be interesting to do some kind of test. Write down a list of the people you follow online, and sum them up in a few words. Try to work out WHY you buy from them. What is it about them that makes you tick?
Create a brand around yourself. I’m still working on mine - but I want it to be young, dynamic, and a simple common sense approach to internet marketing.
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How I Got Leading Experts To Write Products For Me… For Free
By Daniel Flower | September 19, 2008
This post is taken from my first ever newsletter issue. If you’d like to receive content like this every month straight to your inbox then don’t forget to subscribe at http://www.DanielFlowerNewsletter.com or by entering your details in the box on the right.
————————————————————————————————–
A big thing that many people struggle with when starting an online business is product creation. Ok, so we all know that being a product owner (whether it be an eBook or something else) opens up many doors in the online world, but what do you do if you’re sitting there with a blank page in front of you, and you have zero idea of what product you could create? If only you had your own product to sell then you could start making money online…
Well over the past few months I’ve been having products written for me left right and centre… by leading experts… and all for free. And best of all I’m the product owner… meaning I can do what I like with them.
So what have I been doing? – Interviewing experts in my various niches and then creating eBooks out of them!
In the internet marketing niche I managed to get interviews with Tony Shepherd, John Thornhill, Randy Smith, and Paula Brett, and in the other niches I’m working in I’ve managed to interview experts there too.
All in all, I’ve had over 10 eBooks created for me for free, and the beauty of it is that they are all experts at what they do, meaning they are quite well known in the niches they operate in. Plenty of people in the IM niche want to read what people like Tony Shepherd and Randy Smith have to say, and so I’ve got red hot products written for me for free.
Now you might be thinking ‘why would an expert want to do an interview with ME?’ After all, I’m pretty much a nobody in the online world… But the thing you have to remember is that it benefits both sides. I get a shiny new information product created for me by an expert, and the expert gets free promotion and advertising for their own sites.
Some of the interviews I did are being given away for free to build my lists, and the others I have made into paid products to sell. It’s up to me what I do with them though because I’m the product owner.
So if you’re wanting to write your own information products, but don’t know where to begin, then I recommend you try doing the same thing.
Find experts in your niche, and approach them asking if they’d like to do an interview. It’s not as hard as you might think - out of the 15 or so people I originally contacted, 10 of them did an interview with me!
You could record the interviews using Skype or similar, and then offer it as an audio course, or you could do what I did and simply write down your questions, email them over to the other person, and get them to email back their responses….. and bam – you’re a product owner!
The interviews I’ve done make eBooks of 15-30 pages each, so you’re creating a substantial product. The key is to ask the questions people in your niche are desperate to know the answers to. Do that – and you’re going to have a quality product that people will want to get hold of.
As always it would be wonderful if you could leave me a comment on this post. More soon.
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Grab your free copy of An Interview with Randy Smith
By Daniel Flower | September 14, 2008
If you’re one of my subscribers (or you read this blog on a regular basis) then you probably know by now that I’m a firm believer in achieving success by looking at how someone else does something and then learning from them…
Well recently I’ve conducted quite a few interviews with some leading internet marketers to pick their brains on how they run an online business successfuly, and the good news is that the latest interview is now ready for release - and I am once again giving it away to you for FREE because that’s how we like to do things at Daniel-Flower.com : -)
Randy Smith is one of those people that always leaves me truly astounded by his helpfulness and enthusiasm for IM, and if you want to achieve success online then you should definitely check out this interview. It’s 16 pages of solid content, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did doing it!
Download ‘An Interview with Randy Smith’ right now for FREE.
That is a direct link too, so you don’t even have to opt-in to get hold of it. It’s another gift to saying a huge thank you for visiting my blog.
On another note, my first ever newsletter issue should be released in the next few days, and I’m pretty excited about that too :- )
As always please please please give me feedback and let me know what you think. It’s always nice to hear from people who enjoy my creations and really gives me a huge push to keep on going.
Talk to you soon.
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How Much Money Do You Have Just Sitting On Your Hard Drive?
By Daniel Flower | September 3, 2008
If the truth be told I feel a little foolish. Why? Because I’ve just spent some money on a product and then realised afterwards that I already have it sitting on my computer…. Doh!
The purchase in question was some PLR material, and not only did I already have what I purchased but a lot more besides!
And then I did some more digging and found a few hundred more eBooks, articles, and audio courses that I had long since forgotten about.
Some of this I could profit from right now - and I’m putting some niche sites into action as we speak using the materials I found.
If you’ve been interested in internet marketing for any length of time then you’re probably in the same position. Go have a dig around at the files gathering digital dust on your hard drive and you’ll probably be surprised at what you find.
So if you’re struggling for ideas or knowledge, don’t get out your credit card just yet. Have a poke around on your computer and the thing you wanted might have been there all along!
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Do You Make Money on eBay?
By Daniel Flower | September 1, 2008
I hope you enjoyed my interview with John Thornhill (you can read both part 1 and part 2 below.)
As you can see, John walks the talk and makes an incredible income through eBay. Yet why is it that so many internet marketers overlook eBay when it offers such fantastic opportunities to make money online?
John has written an eBook called Auction Profit Streams in which he reveals EXACTLY how HE makes an insane income through eBay. I don’t recommend too many products because in truth there aren’t that many products which are worth recommending : -), but this is one that I believe no internet marketer should be without…
==>> Click Here To Check Out Auction Profit Streams Right Now
If you’re not making money from eBay then you probably haven’t read this book.
Speak Soon
Dan
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John Thornhill Interview Part 2
By Daniel Flower | September 1, 2008
Here it is - and if you missed part one you can find it in the post further down the blog or by clicking here.
Don’t forget to subscribe to my FREE Daniel Flower Newsletter to get access to more fantastic content like this…
DF: Ok John, so how do you generate your traffic?
JT: Most of my traffic comes from my resale rights products. This method of marketing still works as well today as it did back when I got started. Create a product and give someone the incentive to distribute it by telling then they can resell it and keep 100% of the profits and you have a very very powerful marketing tool indeed.
DF: If you had to choose one aspect of your business, such as your mailing list, blog, or JV’s, which do you believe is your most important asset?
JT: My mailing list, you can take away everything I have but as long as I have my list I can make money on demand. With my list I can attract JV partners, with my list I can launch new products, with my list I can create money on demand by simple sending an email. Like I have already said there is nothing more important.
Never forget that.
DF: You’ve created many products over the years. Do you have a personal favourite, and which would you most recommend to a new aspiring internet marketer?
JT: My first ever product was ‘The 90 Day PowerSeller Challenge’.
It has been updated many times and still sells as well today as it has always done. In fact this is the most viral product on eBay and will show you how I operate. If you want to check it out live on eBay go to this link:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320271275243
DF: You’re well known for your success with information products on eBay. Do you believe that being known as a ’specialist’ in this particular area is a key aspect of your success?
JT: Yes, definitely. If you are considered an expert in one field you will have more chance of success. As an example if I tried to create a product showing you how to make money from AdSense it would probably fail because I am not seen as an expert in this field. Even though I do make money from AdSense.
DF: What do you believe is the single biggest reason why you’ve become successful?
JT: I can answer that in one word. eBay.
DF: What are you going to be doing over the next 7 days?
JT: I am currently working on a new product; this will take up most of my week. It’s very important that you strive to create a new product at least every 3 months. This means you have something new to offer your subscribers.
DF: And where do you hope to take your business over the next 12 months?
JT: I am hoping to expand my business so much that I need to take on more staff. My business has now reached a point where if I want to expand I need to hire more staff. This is a nice problem to have.
DF: What about 10 years time?
JT: I would like to be in a position to pay one person to run the whole show for me while I travel the world. That is my long term ambition.
DF: Finally, is there anything else which springs to mind that you think people who read this might benefit from?
JT: Start building a list and creating your own products. Do this and you will be fine.
DF: Thanks John - that’s it for now :- D
JT: It was a pleasure.
==>> If you would like to find out more about how John makes huge amounts of money through eBay then make sure you check out Auction Profit Streams
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An Interview With eBay Legend John Thornhill… Part 1
By Daniel Flower | August 28, 2008
This is a copy of an email I recently sent out to my newsletter subscribers. I managed to grab an exclusive interview with John Thornill, someone who is extremely well-known for building a hugely successful business through eBay.
I was very excited to hear what John had to say… so here is a copy of the interview for you to read and enjoy. It’s an exclusive freebie to say thanks for visiting my blog, and if you want to access more great free content like this don’t forget to sign up to the FREE Daniel Flower Newsletter - I think you’ll be very glad you did :- )
So without futher ado here’s the first part of the interview… Keep an eye on my blog right here for part 2!
DF: Hi John - thanks for agreeing to do the interview.
JT: No Problem Daniel, it’s a pleasure.
DF: We’ll start on JV’s if I may. What do you look for in a potential JV or interview partner?
JT: While I try to help out as many people as I can, if I tried to help everyone I would not have enough hours left in the day. You can usually tell how determined someone is just by their approach in their email. It also helps if the person contacting me knows about me and my business. So I tend to look for someone who is confident and knows about me. If it’s an interview request, I also look to see what’s in it for me as while I like to help it helps if I will get something from doing it.
DF: How did you first become interested in internet marketing?
JT: In 2002 I discovered eBay, and this is when I realised there was a lot of money to be made from selling products online. I started out selling mobile phone accessories. While I made money it was hard work and there was so much competition (there still is). Then 2 years later by chance I discovered eBooks and I started selling those on eBay, at first I was simply selling resale rights eBooks other people had created, then I started to create my own eBooks and inside these eBooks were links to my other products and services. I granted resale rights to these products and this created a viral process that has brought me most of my success, and since then I have never looked back.
DF: When did you first make money online?
JT: Like I already said I first got started selling mobile phone accessories. I bought in bulk and sold individual items. While this was ok it was nothing compared to selling my first info product. I was getting paid for sending out a download link, and I couldn’t believe how easy it was. To this day it still amazes me how anyone can create a product out of nothing and make thousands of dollars.
This is the beauty of the information age.
DF: Could you tell us a little about what you were doing before you started online, and also if there was anything specific that happened which made you decide to quit your job?
JT: I used to work in a car plant. This type of work is very hard, boring and repetitive. When you have a job like that you are always looking for a way out, and this was he way.
DF: A lot of people are interested to know what other internet marketers spend their days doing. Could you go through with us what you’ve done in the past 24 hours?
JT: Most of my days are different. The best thing is I choose when I start work and when I finish. But most days will be spent doing emails and working on future projects. The best way to see how I operate is to check out ‘a month in the life of John Thornhill’ on my blog:
http://planetsmsblog.com/category/a-month-in-the-life-of/
This will show you how I ran my business for a full month.
DF: How would you go about making $1000 in 7 days?
JT: I would email my list with an offer :- )
Never forget that there is nothing more important than building a list and building a relationship with your subscribers. If you are not building a list you are not building a business.
Check back here for part 2 very soon!
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My Results! Using Forums To Generate Traffic
By Daniel Flower | August 20, 2008
I’m not usually one for analysing visitor stats too much - but I simply cannot ignore the HUGE power of posting on forums to send targeted traffic to your websites.
The other day a single post on a forum sent me 21 visitors to my website, and another post sent me 5 visitors. I would say that 1-5 visitors per post is an average - which doesn’t sound a lot, but when you consider the fact that I am posting on multiple forums, and making many posts each and every day, then these sorts of numbers start to REALLY add up.
And the great thing is that this is all TARGETED traffic. People browsing and posting on forums are looking for information, and because they are all looking for information on one specific area or subject it means that you’ve got a ready-made collection of potential buyers.
The key however is NOT to sell, but to participate in discussions, and generally be as helpful as you can.
One of the key things I am trying to do is get people to ‘PM’ me (that’s where someone sends you a private message.)
Imagine the scenario from the other person’s perspective:
You’re browsing a gardening forum (substitute that for any niche you wish), and you see a really helpful post from someone who seems like they know what they are talking about. You join in the discussion, ask a question, and this person replies with exactly the info you were looking for, and generally they are VERY helpful indeed. Then they PM you (or they ask you to PM them) and they give you some more really really helpful information - and they offer it completely free, without the expectation of anything in return.
By now you’ve got a pretty good relationship with this person. You feel like they are genuine, and they appear an ‘expert’ on the subject. So when you see a link to one of their websites in their signature, are you going to check it out? I DEFINITELY know I would…
… and people DO. If you seem like someone who is helpful and genuine you will get people actively asking you for information and advice - and someone who you’d turn to for advice is exactly the type of person who you might buy an info product from, right? After all, if the info they give for free is THIS good, then how good would their paid stuff be?
I’m quite excited by all the possibilities forum posting can offer. Having a signature link to your website is just one such way that forums can benefit your business. It’s all about building relationships with people, and I find it really fun too.
If you’re not already then try it today. Sign up to forums relating to the niche you’re operating in, have a signature link to your website (check that it’s allowed first), and get stuck in to discussions. Be genuinely helpful and make posts that subtly suggest you know what you’re talking about (because you DO - and don’t let anyone say otherwise - an expert is merely someone who knows more than the person they are giving advice to.)
Just because something seems simple doesn’t mean it doesn’t work. This is a VERY VERY powerful method, and I urge you not to underestmate the power of forum posting. It’s a great way to generate traffic, and completely free too 
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Increasing Productivity
By Daniel Flower | August 19, 2008
I’ve been experimenting over the past few days with different things that I hope will increase my productivity as I build my business.
One of the big things I’ve concluded is that I work much better when I’m listening to music.
I’ve always found music to be one of the most powerful things in life, and I find that it gives me inspiration and ideas that I just can’t think of when I’m sitting in a silent office.
I LOVE electronic music - whether it be chill-out style or dance music. I love the deep powerful underground style and find it really inspiring because it often makes me think of the natural world… mountains, the sea, waves…
Some of you might know that I also like to produce my own music. In fact I’m hoping to have some kind of website set up at some point where I can distribute my work.
But back to internet marketing….
and the other big thing I’ve come to realise is that some tasks you will simply NEVER enjoy, and if you don’t enjoy doing something then the chances are that given half a chance you WON’T do it.
My advice would be to do the things you hate doing FIRST. It gets them out of the way, and somehow makes every other task that you complete afterwards seem much, much easier. Get over your fears, and the rest will flow…
Of course different things work for different people, and there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution to improving productivity. Some people work better in complete silence. Others find that it helps to sit down at their PC with a glass of wine. Or maybe it’s sitting outside in the garden with your laptop that you find is the ultimate way to work.
I’d love to know how YOU like to work, and if you’ve got any tips for increasing productivity then I’d love to hear them - Simply post your comments below.
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The Free Monthly Daniel Flower Newsletter is Here
By Daniel Flower | August 11, 2008
I’ve decided to start my own internet marketing newsletter so that I can document my online business experiences - warts and all. I’ve tried to make it the newsletter that I’d like to receive myself, and I’ve got some wonderful content and fantastic freebies coming up that I’m sure you’re going to be VERY interested in ;- )
I’m not going to sell it too much here - but once you see the content I have for you I’m convinced that you will be VERY glad you opted in. Remember it’s completely free and you can subscribe now by simply entering your details in the box below:
Alternatively you can subscribe at http://www.DanielFlowerNewsletter.com
I hope you enjoy it!
Dan
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In Bed With Internet Marketing
By Daniel Flower | August 7, 2008
I seem to get all my internet marketing ideas when I’m lying in bed at night. It’s funny, because I can be sitting at the computer for 7 hours during the day and feel like I don’t know what to do or where to go next, but get into bed and you can be sure that within 10 minutes of thought I know EXACTLY what to do - and I’ll have 10 business ideas all come to me at once.
I put it down to it being the one place when I can really think straight without distractions. You can become so wrapped up in individual tasks such as posting on your blog, answering emails, etc, that you can lose all sense of perspective. But when you’re in a silent, dark room, it becomes easy for it to all make sense. What are you trying to achieve? What is your target market, and how will you reach them? Where are you going?
Sometimes it’s just a case of needing to switch off. There becomes a point where you’ve simply had enough for the day and it’s impossible to do any more. Wake up the next morning and things take a new perspective.
Which is why I believe the bedroom can actually be more useful than the office.
As I’m writing this, I don’t want to sound like some sad geek, because the bedroom definitely IS for other things too : -)
But ‘being in bed’ with internet marketing is actually helping me greatly right now - just through thinking and reflection.
Ok, so it’s not actually taking action, but clarifying your thoughts is an immensly powerful thing. You need to know WHAT you’re doing in order to be able to actually do it. Kind of obvious I know, but everything you do should be towards an end purpose, and when you can think of that end purpose on it’s own then it becomes much easier to think of what you need to do to get there.
Everything is either short or long term. Ok, so in the short term your goal might be to build a mailing list for example, but what do you want to do with that mailing list once you’ve created it, and is the thing you’re doing right now related to that? Maybe it feels like it at the time, but look back on it after and maybe it doesn’t seem like such a great idea. Internet marketing is a series of jigsaw pieces that all fit together at some point, but sometimes the pieces just don’t fit - but it takes reflection to realise it.
So spend a few minutes at the end of the day (or the beginning) and reflect on your business. I find it really really powerful, and it gives me tons of ideas that I simply can’t think of when I’m wrapped up in the individual pieces and day-to-day tasks. It’s an over-used cliche, but sometimes you can’t see the wood for the trees, and spending those few minutes can help to stop you going down a path that leads to nowhere.
More soon - and as ever you’re always welcome to leave me a comment.
Dan
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