I was talking to my fellow SWBN geek girls last night and we were all excited about the announcement of the next Over the Edge conference that will be happening in the UK in Spring 2009. We hope this will be an opportunity to finally meet each other face-to-face as well as network with other members of the Immediate Edge who are doing great things in Internet Marketing.

Marketing seminars and events can be great places to make connections and friendships, as well as find people to collaborate with on future projects.

In 2006 I went to an Internet Marketing seminar in London. The training was good but it was the many cool people I met and was able to hang-out with that really made it so valuable: Ed Dale, Robert Somerville, Dan Raine (pre-Immediate Edge), Jeff Walker (PLF), Mike Mindel (Wordtracker), Carolyn McCourtie, Yanik Silver, Andrew Fox, Rob Benwell, Peter Woodhead, Phil Gosling…

Now, I don’t even begin to suggest that these people are all good buddies as a result of our meeting (some of them I have not had contact with since and would never assume to believe they would even remember me), but the time I spent with them gave me new ideas, encouraged me to achieve more, and forced me to “raise my game.” And I do consider one or two of them friends.

When I had the chance to meet Mike Mindel again recently he shared some incredible Squeeze Page tactics with me and invited me to be a beta tester for the all new and improved Wordtracker, Ed Dale and Dan Raine continue to humour me when I ask them for advice, and Caro…well, Caro turned out to be one of the loveliest online friends I have.

Networking offline can be just as important as networking online. Never underestimate the value of meeting someone “in the flesh” and what that can lead to. If you look at the previous two Over the Edge conferences you can see some of the great things that came out of them: Market Samurai (already being developed but probably a very different entity after OTE), the further development of what has now lovingly become known as the Manchester Mob, and the addition of Lynn Terry and Michelle MacPherson as co-hosts on a weekly podcast with Ed Dale and Paul Colligan (4 BIG names in one). I would love to know some of the things that have come out of OTE that we don’t know about.

Of course, not all seminars are created equal. The last conference I went to was very much aimed at beginners…and in huge numbers. Forging quality connections at these events can be much harder (but not impossible).

And if you can’t make it to a national or international seminar then check out the local business events around you. I recently went to a Federation of Small Businesses meeting with a colleague and made some great contacts. It even led to my colleague working with our local Member of Parliament on a topic he has a lot of knowledge about that she wanted to raise in the House of Commons.

Many people complain about the “gurus” of Internet Marketing all hanging our together and promoting each others’ stuff, but it is natural to want to work and mastermind with people you get on with. And how do you think they made friends with each other? Most of the stories I have heard about how friendships were forged between Internet marketers have involved meeting at an event of some sort.

Don’t get me wrong, networking online can lead to some great collaborations too – that’s how Allison Reynolds, Barb Sabathil and I met and decided to create the Secret Women’s Business Network – but if you have the opportunity to attend a seminar I would highly recommend it. For many it will mean taking a giant step out of your comfort zone, but the right event could lead to great things for you and your business.

And if any of you do come to Over the Edge 3 (I don’t have details yet so watch the space) I look forward to meeting you.

It’s been mighty quiet around here lately; I think I just saw a tumbleweed blow by!

I’ve been really busy working on a number of other things, one of which I am extremely proud of and finally able to talk about a bit more.

About a month after I launched this blog I was asked to get involved with a new project called the Secret Women’s Business Network. Allison Reynolds, who I met through the Thirty Day Challenge and Immediate Edge, asked myself and Barb Sabathil to join her on this project to offer other women online an environment to learn, collaborate and mastermind together. I was over the moon about being asked. It is something I have wanted to do for ages, and I knew Allison, Barb and I together could do some great things (honestly, collaboration is the way forward if you are running an online business).

The main site will be heading into beta testing very soon and then we will be good to go! Yesterday our Secret Womens Business Network blog was launched, which will be where we have a strong online presence for anyone to access (not just women) and where you can learn more about us and our business philosophies (and just general thoughts on the world of Internet Marketing).

I’d love you to checkout the blog and add your comments on the posts that are already there. Also take a look at the video explaining exactly what you can expect from us: What is the SWBN?

Now, better go catch up with that tumbleweed!

Donna Fox wrote an excellent blog post last week which prompted some interesting discussions about women in Internet Marketing.

I didn’t blog immediately about it, partly because I wanted to mull things over a little first (i.e. not be reactionary) but also because I made a lot of my feelings known previously in these posts: Where have all the good girls gone? and Celebrate your differences!

But, this topic is slightly different from the focus of those posts, and in light of my new project (Secret Women’s Business Network) with Allison Reynolds and Barb Sabathil, I wanted to highlight one or two things.

As mentioned before, there are simply fewer women in Internet Marketing, although this balance appears to be gradually shifting, especially with so many women choosing to be SAHMs and wanting a career they can pursue from home. The imbalance is reflected in business as a whole – in the UK the latest figures show that the male to female ratio of self-employed workers is 3:1.

Also, many women have a different focus when it comes to their Internet businesses. Their priorities are often dissimilar to men, and hanging out with the top Internet Marketers is not necessarily one of them.

I enjoy male company and most of my closest friends are men (perhaps a throwback to my years in what was a heavily male-dominated career – radio presenting), but I understand that many women prefer to socialise and “hang out” with other women. That’s why SWBN has been created: to offer an environment where women can learn, network and mastermind with other women. This will appeal to some women more than others.

There are all-female business groups throughout the world, established for just this reason, so it’s not fair to suggest that male Internet Marketers shouldn’t have their own mastermind groups and friendships. We are all drawn to socialise with others like us, and we all like to network with people whose company we enjoy. Internet Marketers are no different. This may mean networking with other women, with other men or with a mixed community – wherever is most comfortable.

However, that wasn’t really what Donna Fox was writing about in her blog post. There are women in Internet Marketing who want and deserve to be known for being at the top of their field, and being accepted into the upper echelons of this business is part of that. They have set themselves goals to be the best at what they do. Part of this would naturally include being invited to speak at seminars and be recognised as one of the movers and shakers. And I think that female marketers at all levels need to see that happening – in any career, we need our mentors and role-models.

While I have no problem with the “boys club” within mastermind groups and social networks (none of us has the right to tell others how to pick their friends and associates), at events and programs that are supposed to bring together the cream of online marketers it seems unlikely (and remiss) that this wouldn’t include a number of women.

There may not be as many women at this level as men, but they certainly exist. I set myself the task of naming as many as possible off the top of my head and in just a few minutes came up with 18 (Donna Fox, Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero, Lynn Terry, Alice Seba, Michelle MacPherson, Rosalind Gardner, Julie Perry, Lee Milteer, Coach Deb, Kelly McCausey, Nancy Andrews, Sylvie Fortin, Sydney Johnson, Mari Smith, Liz Tomey, Mila Sidman, Lisa Preston, Loral Langemeier…). I’m sure if I delved deeper into the recesses of my brain I could name many more.

We all have our personal goals in life and our careers. Probably for most this will not include being recognised at Internet Marketing events. You may simply aim to be good at what you do and live the lifestyle that enticed you to online marketing. But for women whose goals include becoming a seminar speaker, writer and/or teacher in this field, it’s important to be recognised for their skills, not because they are women but because they are good at what they do. It shouldn’t be a question of sex, it should be a matter of talent.

And, before I upset all the men I respect in this business, I am happy to report that I have almost always been treated with respect at marketing conferences and meet-ups (not because I am a woman, but because I am a fellow marketer with as much to offer as anybody else). There are those that have patronised me for being a woman, but thankfully they have been the exception not the rule. Frankly, those that have been patronising are not people I want to hang out with anyway.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Secret Women’s Business Network and finding other women to network and mastermind with (or you simply want to learn more about online marketing in a fun and comfortable environment), please sign up for more information from SWBN.

Since writing this review a couple of years ago, some things have changed. WordPress Direct still remains a viable option for anyone wanting to set up WordPress blogs quickly and schedule automatic content (please use this functionality with some discernment). Prices are slightly different to below at $47, $97 and $197 per month.

I have also found another option. I recently became a member of the Wealthy Affiliate University and they have released a new tool called WordPress Express. This doesn’t offer the automatic content of WPD but it does offer different benefits:

1. Quick and easy set-up of WordPress blogs with the 60-second installer
2. Unlimited hosting included (buy the domain and point it at the hosting)
3. All the important WordPress plugins already installed
4. Easy domain manager
5. Unlimited sites (for a limited time – that’s the current offer as of 07/07/10)

On top of this they also include full membership to the WAU with all the training, tools and support that goes with this. All for $97 per month.

While on the surface the 2 tools have a similar premise they are actually aimed at people with different needs and priorities.

Hopefully one of them will offer the functions and extras you are looking for

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Numerous people have been asking me what I really think of WordPress Direct. I am one of those who has been lucky enough to use this as part of the Thirty Day Challenge, where it enabled thousands of challengers to get new blogs online quickly (and contributed to some excellent and fast rankings). But, with the big launch now taking place, the question I am being asked is, what uses does WordPress Direct have and is this system right for my needs?

What is WordPress Direct?

WordPress Direct is a system that quickly creates multiple WordPress blogs. You can set them up in seconds, once you have researched your main keywords, and the blogs come with the most useful plugins and are fully optimised. Unlike many other blog creation systems, all the blogs are hosted with your own blog host and you own the domains and overall control of the blogs (should you ever cancel).

WordPress Direct will also create automated posts for you, legally gathering the information from other websites, so your blog can always look active to the search engines even if you don’t have much time to put into them.

Who is WordPress Direct for?

WordPress Direct is the perfect tool for anyone who: wants to create multiple niche blogs quickly and easily; wants their blog to be optimised for their keyword phrases; and isn’t concerned with every post being 100% original.

Who is WordPress Direct NOT for?

WordPress Direct is not for anyone who is creating one or two personal/business blogs that they want full control over and intend to write for and build-up over time. While it would still work for setting-up your blog quickly and provides a good optimisation structure, it probably wouldn’t be an effective use of your money. You would be better to pay to have someone create a blog that is unique to you.

Can I Create Multiple WordPress Blogs like these without WPD?

Yes, these are essentially WordPress blogs with a number of carefully selected plugins. If you know how to set up a WordPress blog then you could create multiple blogs yourself (there is even software to enable you to clone previous blogs so you can do it quicker). The automated content is drawn from different places online (Youtube, Yahoo Answers etc.), which you can do yourself or pay someone else to do. You will also need to re-create the linking and blog structure for optimisation.

What Can I do with WordPress Direct?

WordPress Direct is perfect for: creating multiple WordPress sites if you don’t know how and don’t have the time to learn; reviving old websites and/or domains that have been sitting gathering dust but which you don’t have the time or interest to build-up; creating blog networks each focused on a different microniche to build traffic and authority to a niche blog/website/ecommerce/service site. If you

You can then sell the individual blogs or networks based on traffic and/or PR, or use them to bolster your main business.

And, as the Thirty Day Challenge has shown, the system can be used to test microniche keywords quickly for traffic and commercial potential, without needing to invest too much time or money.

What are the WordPress Direct Membership Levels and are there any other expenses?

The current offer is:

$1 trial for 45 days leading to the Bronze package at $37 per month (up to 10 blogs)

Silver is $97 per month for up to 20 blogs

Gold is $127 per month for 100 blogs

Platinum (currently unavailable)

As well as these subscriptions you will need to pay for domain names and hosting with one of the accepted cpanel hosts (I use Hostgator and Bluehost).

Pros of WordPress Direct

* WordPress Direct is quick and easy to set up. Doing this yourself will take a lot of time and continuous effort.

* There is no need to create new, original content all the time (those worried about duplicate content should know that the content is presented in such a way that doesn’t appear to receive any penalty – even if duplicate content is a true issue, which is another blog post in itself)

* Blogs are optimised for you

* You can add banner ads, one-off offers and adsense

* You can still monitor and select the auto content you like (and set it to supervised content)

* There are a number of useful videos that show you exactly how to set-up your blogs and automated content.

* You can easily install Google analytics and track your ranking within the dashboard.

Negatives of WordPress Direct

* Some monitoring of auto content is needed to prevent odd stuff appearing or suddenly seeing 15 posts appearing all at the same time

* WordPress Direct can only work with a limited number of hosting companies

* My own support issues were answered relatively quickly and satisfactorily, but I know others that have had genuine problems with the support system.

* There are still quirks in the system that need ironing out, such as multiple themes not working well with the system and/or having funky code in them (WordPress Direct is working at pulling out or amending the dodgy themes)

* You cannot set up posting to go out at specific times or days like you can with WordPress blogs (WordPress Direct have said this feature will be implemented within the next few months)

* Images do not always format properly (I usually have to login to my main WordPress admin to re-format the pictures).

* This is not a blogging panacea. While I had one blog rank well for a phrase match keyword phrase just from sitting there minus content, this is not to be expected in every case. You still need to implement a backlink strategy.

Would I Recommend WordPress Direct?

A number of people have asked me this question and I find it difficult to answer, because it really depends on you and how you will use it.

Yes, I recommend WordPress Direct if you are keen to build your own network of multiple WordPress microniche blogs and/or revive old sites/domains with minimal effort (both of which I am doing). If your business model require blog clusters and siloing techniques then this is ideal for you.

You still need to monitor the sites and content and you still need to be prepared to build up backlinks and authority in order to rank well for your keywords. You will also need to be prepared to work with the quirks and not expect great things when you require support (that’s not to be unkind to WPD, just to point out that customer service has not been an overall strength so far).

I wouldn’t recommend WordPress Direct if you don’t have a strategy in place to use the software to its full potential. If you only want a few blogs or hate the idea of allowing automated content onto your sites, then you have probably not grasped the concept and value of the system. These are not the sort of blogs that will gain you problogger status. The blogs are not “pretty” – you are not going to win any design awards for them, and some people can’t bear creating unremarkable websites. That said, they are not “ugly” but the themes are all fairly standard.*

Many people are going to hate the notion of WordPress Direct because the blogs it creates are not personal, unique blogs like this one. There is no (or should be no) emotional attachment. This is another tool to test niches, build traffic and PR, and assist your linking strategies.

I am happy to recommend WordPress Direct as a system for creating and maintaining multiple WordPress blogs if you are going to use the system to its fullest, but if you simply want one or two blogs then I would suggest finding a good WordPress course (there are some excellent free and paid tutorials available) and/or spending the money to have someone create a blog for you that you can update yourself on a regular basis.

There is a 45 day $1 trial, so if you are still undecided you can trial the system before you make your final decision.

*Since writing this, a number of people have pointed out that WordPress Direct blogs can be personalised and made to look more ‘pretty’ and have even shown me evidence of this. So, I back down on this one and agree that there is scope for making your WPD blogs unique and personal. This involves logging into your admin panel and playing with the theme design, which will depend on your experience level with WordPress blogs. I haven’t done much to mine as that isn’t the object of my use of WordPress Direct.

Now that the Thirty Day Challenge has ended, many people’s thoughts turn to the Immediate Edge and whether this paid membership/subscription program might be right for them.

It’s a subject I get asked about a lot so I thought it wise to give my honest opinion about the Immediate Edge.

First, I think I should explain what the Immediate Edge is for those who don’t already know. It was the brainchild of Dan Raine, an exceptional online marketer, who now with Ed Dale and their combined teams teaches online business and marketing strategies and tips, as well as provides excellent tools members can use to make life easier.

Basically, a program that gives its members the “edge” over their online competitors.

Secondly, for folks who don’t know me, and in the interest of full disclosure, I should point out that Ed and Dan are two of the people I respect the most online. They are excellent businessmen and have an equally talented team of staff and interns. As a result of the respect I have for them, I volunteer as a moderator on their Thirty Day Challenge forum, and I have been a paid-up member of the Immediate Edge since its creation (note that I pay for it and have been happy to pay for it even during the Beta trial).

Naturally, I am going to be writing quite positive stuff about the program…

But I hope this review will also explain why the Immediate Edge won’t be for everyone.

The Immediate Edge is for you if:

• You are a Thirty Day Challenger who has grasped the concepts of the Challenge , made some money/found a good niche, and are ready to move on to the next level.

• You are in Internet Marketing, whether running a niche business or promoting an offline business, and need more strategies for growing your business, as well as the tools to make it easier.

• You are ready to take massive continuous action on your IM business.

It is worth noting that the strategies taught by Dan, Ed and the team are usually “borrowed” by others and appear 6 to 12 months later being taught in a different guise, so you really are ahead in the game (a particular bonus if you are in a fiercely competitive niche).

The Immediate Edge is NOT for you if:

• You have found the Thirty Day Challenge concepts and process hard to grasp and are still not making it work (please go back over all the free training).

• You (whether Thirty Day Challenge or otherwise) need a lot of hand holding and guidance. If you rely heavily on membership forums to help you, you are probably not going to find that support in the Immediate Edge. The Edge has just introduced a members’ forum but it is not aimed at being a support mechanism or offering extra training. It is simply a place for a meeting of minds and some discussion. Dan and Ed’s ethos for the Immediate Edge is very much about taking action and not using the site to socialise.

• You need things to appear at a regular time or when promised. Dan and Ed try to keep to agendas but they are not well-known for their “punctuality”. This is partly due to behind-the-scenes work and testing strategies or creating tools (these things never run to plan). When they do deliver, they well and truly OVER deliver, but if you are going to become frustrated expecting training and updates to appear on certain days, you probably shouldn’t join.

Nowadays, I don’t subscribe to any other membership sites apart from the Immediate Edge. Most of my subscriptions are tool based. There comes a time when you have to stop learning and start doing, and I find that the Immediate Edge offers me more than enough to do and implement (and I still haven’t done it all).

Feel free to ask any further questions about the Immediate Edge in the comments section – I’m sure I will have missed something. If you already feel the Immediate Edge will be a good ‘fit’ for you and your needs then they are offering a free 14 day trial for a limited time – I suggest you head over there and check it out.

Another Thirty Day Challenge (number 4) has come to an end, so how did I do?

On the plus side, I followed and finished all the training and enjoyed using the new tools and learning an excellent strategy for researching and testing markets (and finding micro-niches).

On the downside, I didn’t put enough time and effort into creating enough content and backlinks, so I didn’t get enough traffic to fully test my niches or make my dollar.

In the end I put up 4 micro-niche sites in 2 niches (yes, I probably overstretched myself again – when will I ever learn?). The last of these sites only attracted my focus 2 days ago when I realised it was number 3 in Google for phrase match and didn’t even have any content on it (good ole WordPress Direct).

This site and the other that ranked quickly just don’t appear to be getting the traffic in those positions, and the other 2 sites haven’t ranked high enough yet.

They did prove an interesting point that I had already been conscious of but wanted to test further. As long as all the other criteria are right in the market research, keyword phrases with more than 2 words seem to rank quicker and better than phrases with just 2 words.

Also, the lower the competition the better. That may seen obvious but sometimes it’s worth dropping the expected traffic numbers in order to find a lot more phrases with low competition, that you can use to create a number of blogs or web pages to draw traffic for a much more competitive niche. I would rather have 3 sites ranking at the top of Google for their keywords with only 30-40 visitors per day than 1 site that only ranks at number 4 and so only receives a small fraction of the expected 140 visitors each day. Your analytics will then provide you with more good keywords you can use and you can build more traffic from there. Once you have tested the niche with the longer tail keywords you can always target a better traffic phrase with more competition, knowing that the extra time and effort to get it ranked will be profitable.

The most important part of the Challenge for me is that it has set me up with a strategy for taking my old domains and tired sites that see little input from me, and building them up using more focussed keywords (found using Market Samurai). I have already set up a bunch of domains each on separate hosting (within my Hostgator reseller account) and started to use WordPress Direct on them. The aim is to get good rankings on some long tail keywords, start to build up traffic, and either sell them or leverage the eventual good PR and age.

Talking to Ed Dale in London yesterday about this strategy, he said this is something the Immediate Edge will also be focusing on in the coming months – showing exactly how to employ this effectively. Hooray! I had already planned to use some of the great Edge strategies that were not covered in the Thirty Day Challenge to improve my rankings and traffic on the Challenge sites and my new projects (if you are wondering whether the Immediate Edge is right for you, they have a $1 trial at the moment and I will be giving you my honest review of the program later today).

On a separate note, being a moderator on the Thirty Day Challenge forum this August (as well as for the past year) has been a tough but rewarding job and I love doing it.

Major props to: Ed Dale, Dan Raine (you didn’t see much of him but he was always there behind the scenes), Robert Somerville (for the training and overall organisation and concepts), Super Moderator Caro, Nez, Asbjorn, Paul, Collette, Kenny, the guys at Noble Samurai for the Market Samurai tool, the WordPress Direct team, all the other moderators, those who helped on the forums just because they like the community, God, the Academy, my mother, my dog Jenny who was the best childhood pet a person could want, and anyone else I have forgotten….

That’s not really the end for the Thirty Day Challenge for this year. The main August challenge may be over, but the forum continues and anyone can take the training at any time they want, so I hope to see you there.

There is an endless debate online about whether you should only enter markets/niches that interest you,  and with the Thirty Day Challenge nearing the end that question has come up more than a few times.

The two downsides of the debate are these:

• If you tackle a niche that doesn’t interest you then it is going to be harder to: write content for your own web site, article sites and Web2.0 sites; find and read information on the topic on a daily basis; visit forums and blogs and participate in discussions on the topic; keep your interest long enough to monetize your site etc.

• On the other hand, if you are too interested in a subject you can become so attached to the idea of it that you ignore the signs that is may be a dud (too much competition, not enough interest, not enough traffic, not a spending market). You will find it difficult to view this market with neutrality.

Of course, on the plus side:

• Even a niche that doesn’t interest you can make you a lot of money and your detachment can work well from a business point of view. Good business is about finding a need and filling it.

• But, if you are interested in a subject your passion will show and will increase your chances of succeeding in that market, writing about it and generally keep the momentum going.

I find myself happily sitting on the fence in this argument because I have had successes and failures on both sides of the debate.

I was passionate about radio and being a radio presenter, to the extent that like many young presenters I was prepared to work crazy hours and do anything (or nearly anything) I was asked to do, for quite low wages. After a number of years and lots of office politics, my passion started to wane and it stopped being fun anymore. If I ever work in radio again it will be in the knowledge that it is first and foremost a business and I need to accept it as such.

However, I was also passionate about voiceovers… and still am (when I have the voice to do them). I love the nature of the work, the fact that everyday is different, the way I can use my voice for so many different projects, being fully self-employed. However, the difference is I accepted from the beginning that this is a business above all, and so I have to make business-like decisions about the work, my marketing, when I work and who I work with.

Online, most of the niches I have entered have interested me at least a little. The niche that hasn’t really worked was one I was passionate about and I was probably too close to. Others held my interest for a while but ultimately the interest fizzled, and one has grown into a passion beyond anything I imagined.

There is a new post over at the John Cow website called Start a Blog About Something You Want to Kick Ass At. There is a lot of sense in this, as it is easier to write about things you are passionate about, and work isn’t much fun if you aren’t interested in what you are doing. However, if you are entering a market that is your passion or hobby, and you want to make money from it (rather than just create your own fun hobby site) I would suggest asking yourself these questions:

• Do the numbers add up? Is there traffic for your keywords, can you compete with other sites targeting those keywords, are your visitors actually likely to buy, can you make a profit?

• Will working in this market gradually lessen your enjoyment of it? There is a big difference between pursuing a hobby and making a business out of it.

• Can you walk away from it if things don’t work out?

I don’t think there is any problem tackling a market you know nothing about. Once you have tested it and started making some money you can always outsource the work so you only need to keep an eye on the overall business concept. If you become fed-up with it then you can sell the website/blog and make some money to start a new one. You may never become passionate about a topic but as long as other people are (or you fulfil a need) you can make money to leverage other pursuits (business or personal).

On a final note, I would suggest you do a bit of both. I would never have started this blog if I hadn’t been passionate about Internet Marketing and wanted somewhere to publish my thoughts on it. The IM world is crowded enough as it is and I didn’t enter it with plans to dominate and usurp the big names in Internet Marketing. I do believe I can make some money from it, but I don’t expect it to be hugely profitable. My main objectives were to create an outlet for my own observations of online marketing and help others in the process. Those are perfectly valid and good objectives to have.

You may have a similar desire to write about your hobby, a medical problem, your weight loss, your overseas travels or your favourite Wii games, for no other reason than to share with and help others and hopefully make enough to have the website pay for itself.

From a business point of view this makes no sense, but on a personal level it can be extremely rewarding. However, if you wish to make money online you need to be prepared to be more objective and sometimes enter markets that don’t interest you. No one would admit to being enthusiastic about getting rid of cats from the garden (actually, get me onto the subject and I can be wildly passionate about it – spot my nemesis at the top of the post), but you can bet someone out there (me) wants information on stopping cats from using their garden as a toilet.

It’s all a matter of perspective. And if you can use the less exciting markets to fund your passions and a great lifestyle then you will be a lot happier than if you stay attached to a market you love but which sucks up all your time and makes no profit.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Please add your comments

Is there such a thing as the best Internet Marketing course? Should we be striving to find the ultimate course and ultimate teacher?

As is always going to be the case when a big online event like the Thirty Day Challenge happens, the criticisms and misconceptions begin to fly. It happens to all the big name marketers when they launch a product or do something new. It happens in the offline world as well. Successful people will always have critics. Individuals will always have their opponents.

Some things I’ve heard others say about the Thirty Day Challenge so far:

• They are just teaching affiliate marketing

• They are just teaching social networking

• They have given this tool away for participants to use but there are other tools that do the same thing

• They are teaching people to create spammy blogs

• They are not giving everything away for free – look there are affiliate links on their website!

All these statements can be confusing for people just starting out on their Internet journey and can lead them to doubt what they are learning and who they are learning from. How can they possibly judge which course is best? If you are one of those people facing confusion, it’s worth noting that:

1. Some people criticise a process without first getting all the facts and then following the process through to completion i.e. testing the process to see if it works
2. Many people online become very defensive about their own process and tools for marketing. Instead of observing what others are doing from an analytical standpoint they immediately see it as a criticism of their own methods.
3. It’s easy to criticise the leading names in Internet Marketing, and through creating controversy they draw more people to their own blogs and websites.
4. Any big name on the Internet is going to face criticism, especially when they launch a new product. It happens offline as well. Famous authors, directors, actors all face strong scrutiny when they release something new, and much of it is far from complimentary.
5. People can’t see that free is actually free. They look for a catch. They have to point out what’s in it for the person giving stuff away. They even have to criticise the giver for doing it.

I would like to suggest that people bear these points in mind when following the Thirty Day Challenge (or any Internet Marketing process for that matter):

• There’s more than one way to skin a cat! Meaning, there is more than one way to create an online business. People have succeeded creating businesses online using many different methods, so no one method is necessarily best

• If you start following a process (in this case the Thirty Day Challenge) you are most likely to succeed if you pursue it through to its conclusion. Giving up halfway through because you can’t see the outcome, or switching to another process because someone else slammed the current one or made a great case for their process being better is not an effective use of you time and efforts. Have a little faith and follow the process exactly. If it doesn’t work for you then you can move on (in this case after only a month of your time)

• Personalities clash online and offline. You may not warm to a particular teacher and/or their methods but that doesn’t mean they are wrong and does not give you or someone else the right to flame them. If you truly believe you have been ripped off then follow the appropriate legal path. Trying to discredit them online is beneath you and serves no purpose except to make you unhappy. Your energy would be better spent becoming successful yourself.

• Trust that the process you are following has been tested and proven. I can’t speak for all online marketers and I do believe you have to be discerning in your choices, but I know that the Thirty Day Challenge system has been tested over and over again by the lab to ensure it works. And they have the added difficulty of finding a process that will work for thousands of people all using the same tools and methods at exactly the same time. Most Internet Marketers are only teaching their method to a fraction of those people.

• Show gratitude to the people who give their time and a lot of energy to try and teach you new things. Not everyone has an ulterior motive. No, they wouldn’t be Internet Marketing “gurus” if they didn’t make a good living out of it (that is true) but many of them only choose to teach their methods because they have a desire to help others. The Ed Dales, Dan Raines, Jeff Walkers and Jason Moffatts of this world all know how to make a lot of money online, and would probably make even more money if they focussed solely on non-Internet Marketing products – that’s how they became the experts in the first place. But something compels them to share their knowledge and success with others. I may sound naive to some of you – and I know that many people start teaching “making money online” because they think there is a fast buck to be made – but if a person is an established online marketer and has been at the top of their profession for some time and others hold them in high regard, then there is probably a good reason for that.

• We’re all human. Some people we will like, some we will find annoying, abrasive or arrogant (got to love alliteration). Some people will not warm to you and your style either. When I was a radio presenter I used to have people criticise me all the time – not everyone liked my style, what I said or the way I said it. But I also had enough people (thankfully) who loved listening to me. You can never please all of the people all of the time.

• The great thing about the Internet (and radio) is you can shut out the people you don’t like. If you don’t like their Twitters, their constant promotions by email or their Facebook invites then you just turn them off/block them/stop following them. If you decide you don’t like their personality and would rather not learn from them, you never have to deal with the again. Just walk away (figuratively, of course).

In terms of the Thirty Day Challenge specifically, I hate people criticising what Ed and Dan do. They are two of the finest and most giving people I have ever met, but I understand that other people have their own opinions and experiences. However, I will defend them to the hilt if someone makes a slur on their character or suggests that they are not as honest and transparent as they make out.

I could go into great detail responding to those earlier comments but I can’t be bothered! There are too many other things to be doing right now and it just demeans me and my time to enter into petty arguments. I simply suggest they (and you) follow the training through in full before passing judgement, and if you have any questions, concerns or comments you can join us on the forum to air them (I’ll try to be polite).

If you are still on the search for the Holy Grail – the best Internet Marketing course ever – then I’ll let you in on the secret. The best Internet Marketing course is…..the one you finish and take action on.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I was originally focused on creating an online business separate from the voiceovers. I had a couple of niche information products and a variety of websites and was doing OK with them, gradually building them up in my spare time.

At the same time I was becoming quite well-known as a voiceover online, especially among Internet Marketers as these were the people I was hanging out with in forums and on Twitter/Facebook etc. I was often asked for advice on both outsourcing audio work and creating audio products themselves. At the end of 2007 I was so busy working as a voiceover I put everything else on hold. I just didn’t have time for the other stuff and decided I didn’t need it.

In January 2008 I noticed my voice wasn’t sounding or working quite the way it should – nothing too serious, just cracking occasionally or sounding a little tense. I decided it must be the result of a virus I had before Christmas and did everything I could to keep it in tip-top condition. By March 2008 it was clear that my voice was not working properly and producers/clients were starting to notice. I went to see a doctor and he referred me to a specialist. After having a mini camera stuck up my nose and down to my vocal chords (ugh) I was diagnosed with Functional Dysphonia (laryngeal tension) and sent to a speech therapist. By the time I saw my lovely speech therapist my voice was so bad I had stopped being able to work altogether. She gave me daily exercises to do, and we were confident my voice would be back in no time.

Without going into too much more detail, things haven’t improved. My voice has deteriorated to the point that I cannot even hold normal conversations. Definitely no quality voiceovers coming out of this mouth at the moment! The docs think they may have found a new reason for the problem, but I’m still waiting on confirmation. I have been keeping very quiet about this problem (literally – lol) because I kept thinking it would be temporary and I’d be back voicing very soon (and I didn’t want to lose work because of it).

I don’t tell you this to illicit your sympathies or make you feel sorry for me. I don’t feel sorry for myself so please don’t waste your own energy on those emotions. The biggest bummer of this whole situation is I lost out on a job to voice a full length video promo for Second Life in the UK (told you I’m a geek)! Oh, and I miss being able to chat like I used to (but my friends are enjoying the peace and quiet).

The reason I am telling you this is because it may explain this blog more. I have had more time to throw myself back into Internet Marketing, especially attempting to revive my online niche businesses. I continue to update my Audible Marketing blog and provide information on product creation/audio marketing there, but I find myself limited on what I post there. Those are rules I have placed on myself, but I feel that blog is better suited to remaining focused on those topics as much as possible.

I wanted a place where I could be more open about my endeavours online, and to be held accountable for what I am doing. I wanted to talk about other issues that I believe go hand in hand with Internet Marketing, such as mindset, prosperity and business management. And I wanted a place to post about my experiences of this year’s Thirty Day Challenge.

I hope this blog will be as useful to you as it is to me. It will be an evolving project and if you have any questions or want to suggest topics for me to cover here I would love to hear from you.

What this blog will not do: Internet Marketer bashing; misleading linkbaiting; endless affiliate promotions of products I have no experience of; or anything else that creates negativity. If you prefer controversy to rational conversation this is probably the wrong place for you.

What this blog will do: offer calm, reasonable (and hopefully balanced) posts on the subjects mentioned and others that may develop; include product reviews of products I use or have a good knowledge of, with affiliate links where appropriate (after all, I’m a business woman); make no apologies for the content of the blog.

I’d love you to stick around and see where this goes and help hold me accountable. This is going to be a lot of fun (and hard work)!

Let me tell you a bit more about myself and my plans for the IM Geek Girl blog.

My name is Lisa Hartwell and I have worked most of my adult life as a Professional Mouth! My family and friends will tell you it’s a job I was destined to do!

I went off to university planning to be an actress/singer. My ideas quickly changed and I left university thinking that TV and/or radio were more up my alley. Radio came first and after a year of working as a volunteer and then swing presenter (i.e. stand-in presenter…not what you were thinking), I was offered my first full-time gig at a radio station in Plymouth. Apart from 9 months spent travelling around Australia I have been here ever since, working for 10 years on various shows at both Plymouth Sound and South Hams Radio and making the transition in late 1999 to part-time then full-time voiceover.

My interest in Internet Marketing began back in 2004/5. I can’t remember which came first, but I found some of Yanik Silver’s and Jim Edward’s stuff online and I was also learning general marketing through Dan Kennedy’s books and training. At the time I had big plans to launch an information product for voiceovers in the UK. Thankfully, I learned very quickly to do my research before anything else and realised the UK voiceover market was too small to be profitable in that area.

The love of Internet Marketing took off from there. There are so many possibilities on the Internet that have still not been fully explored, utilised or even imagined. That’s what makes it so exciting. Of course, Internet Marketing should be about business building, so I take action as much as possible – I am a great believer in lifelong learning but there’s no point learning if you don’t do anything with it.

Originally, I pursued Internet Marketing as another string to my bow. Having worked as a freelancer in radio and then as a self-employed voiceover, I was aware of how important it is to diversify and have several strings of income. I also had long term plans to eventually work fully online so I could pursue one of my biggest passions in life – travelling. I love to travel both within the UK to visit family, friends and new places, and around the world and I want to have the opportunity to do it more and more often.

After I discovered the original Thirty Day Challenge material in late 2005 I became a huge fan of Ed Dale and Frank Kern and have taken part in all subsequent TDCs as well as being a member of their Ultra Underachievers membership site. When that ended I watched with interest as another Ultra Underachiever, Dan Raine, set his own challenge to make $15k in a month and only just missed out on managing it. He went on to create the Immediate Edge, which I have been a very happy member of ever since. The Edge is now a joint project with Ed Dale that utilises the skills of their lab and various teams/interns, and Ed and Dan have also joined forces on the Thirty Day Challenge (2007 and 2008).

Things went a bit awry for me this year (2008) which I will explain more about in the next post, where I’ll also give you more info on my plans for the IM Geek Girl blog.

Lisa