Day 3

Last Update: October 28, 2010

I created and wrote content for four pages on my website Online Marketing 101.  I also researched 30 keywords to pick ones with low competition for article writing purposes.

I can't express enough how much having a plan that's broken down into daily tasks has helped me.  Of course it isn't my plan so I don't exactly have a grasp of the big picture.  I trust that the authors of the plan do :-).

Before when I was trying to fathom the big picture and all the steps it took to get there, I had a really hard time being done for the day.  To me it wasn't "done" until it was all done, whatever that meant.  Obviously it's impossible to have it all done in one day unless you're a pro, so I was never really satisfied.

Now I have daily assignments and it's homework.  I do what I'm told and when I'm done with the tasks I'm done.  I know my site isn't finished and my campaign hasn't even gotten off the ground, but I finished my homework!

I realize now how important classes are when you're new.  That was a weakness WA had until now.  Yes, we have all these resources, tutorials about everything you could need, and even a fairly comprehensive intro course.  The problem was that it was still up to us to put together our plan and carry it through.  I love to plan but in this case there were too many details and I'd get lost in technical details and couldn't see both the details and the big picture so I just never knew for sure if I was getting somewhere or just spinning my wheels.  And since I wasn't making sales, I tended to fear that I was spinning my wheels.  Now, I assume I'm getting somewhere.  After all, the plan was put together by people who've done this successfully.

So, I would like to see WA expand on the clubs.  First, have the basic article marketing club happen every month (OK, maybe not in December, but definitely in January).  Second, open up a level two article marketing club so that we can take our campaigns to the next level, such as by adding an opt-in.  Third, turn the 12 week intro training course into a club--only this club lasts three months--and make it mandatory for everyone, or as "mandatory" as you can make it.  Very strongly encourage everyone to take it.  Article marketing club would then follow right on the heels of the basic training.

Next have pretty much every type of campaign become a club, or rather, an online class with daily tasks that we have to complete.   You have a PPC club, article marketing club, a club dedicated to building and maintaining a list, one on squidoo marketing.  Some of the classes or clubs become part of the core curriculum and everyone is *strongly encouraged* to take them.  Others become electives that you take if interested.  WA would start working a bit more like an online university in that sense.  But I would make sure that with the exception of the basic course, which by necessity forces you to dabble in all the key aspects of IM, all the clubs produce legitimate campaigns and results and all of them could make you money.

I think if WA continued to build on the club theme, it would get to the point where it could claim that  some high percentage of its membership makes x amount of money after being a member for y amount of time.  That could become an amazing selling point.

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TinaDavis, based on my experience (and I am still working through the intro tutorial, but now am in the article marketing club), I would recommend you work completely through the intro course and mainly just learn the information. Then I would get into the next article marketing club. There are things I've learned in the club that I never grasped from the tutorial. I'm not saying it's not there. It's just that the club takes a very action oriented step by step approach towards setting up a campaign from the ground up. The tutorial gives you the big picture view, which is important. The club gets you moving on the actual steps involved. I think the two complement each other. In any case, the article marketing club is all about promoting WA, so I actually believe completing the intro course is a great prerequisite. In the article marketing club you are going to have to write about all aspects of Internet Marketing, so you need to get familiar with the concepts now. But I would wait until you got into a club to actually set up your first campaign. If you do, you will save yourself a lot of trial and error and wheel spinning. I'm not sure when the next article marketing club will open but the trend is monthly. I can see them skipping December, but for sure they'll start one up in January. By then you'll be done with the intro course and all ready to really get moving on a campaign to promote WA. Hope this helps.
Oh, and the professors could be people like Kyle, Carson and Marcus, or any WA member who has a proven track record. I guess they could apply for the job and send a resume with their Internet Marketing credentials just like for anything else.
Labman, I think the tutorials are great, but there's something about having other people doing the same thing, getting daily tasks, that real time aspect that helps keep me on task in a way that a tutorial never could.

Where I might have different options with classes/clubs would be that people could choose the pace they want to work at. In the case of the article marketing club, it could be set up as a 30 day club like it is now, or it could be set up as a 30 week club--same thing, only you get a week to work on each task instead of a day.

People could opt for different paces depending on how intensely they want to pursue this.

The main thing is that with the club, you get a working campaign by the end of it, and that translates as making sales.

The tutorials are great to have and should stay, but I think they serve better as supplemental classroom reading than as stand alones--at least for my learning style.
Labman_1 Premium
So, you are advocating a curriculum vs. a set of tutorials. Hmmm, homework again. If it were arranged to provide a level of learning that good be a really great thing. I'll bite. I wonder who the professors are gonna be.
tinadavis Premium
I really appreciate this. I'm still working my way through the introductory class, and think I'm getting it, but not sure if I really am and wondering if I should actually start a campaign before I finish the course. Maybe doing will help me understand everything better. Would appreciate any feedback. Thanks.
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