Archive for March, 2008

Starting and Stalling

Ack…I started my new book with gusto a few days ago (after a few months of chronic procrastination) but after 3,500 words I’ve now come to a crashing halt. It’s just a teensy bit frustrating because I know people are waiting for it and I’ve had a few emails recently asking if people can sign [...]

Ack…I started my new book with gusto a few days ago (after a few months of chronic procrastination) but after 3,500 words I’ve now come to a crashing halt. It’s just a teensy bit frustrating because I know people are waiting for it and I’ve had a few emails recently asking if people can sign up for a preview (how cool is that?!?) – that’s one reason I got going with it in the first place.

Firstly I struggled with the structure of it and just couldn’t get going – and now I’ve got “empty chapter” paralysis…I can see the empty chapters waiting to be written and just can’t muster the effort to fill them with words. It’s not like it’s going to be as long as the first one – it’s going to be much shorter and sweeter than that but that’s still long enough.

Anyhoo, I’m hoping that a glass of bubbly will start the writing flow…it usually seems to help me twitter!

Life (And Online Networking) Doesn’t Work Like That…

The more involved and experienced I get with marketing a business online, the more I can see how and why so many people jump on the bandwagon, become disillusioned when it doesn’t work for them and then denounce it as an evil way of doing business.
To an outsider or newbie looking in, it appears that [...]

The more involved and experienced I get with marketing a business online, the more I can see how and why so many people jump on the bandwagon, become disillusioned when it doesn’t work for them and then denounce it as an evil way of doing business.

To an outsider or newbie looking in, it appears that in order to market your business online or attract new clients or sell ebooks or build a popular blog and a huge mailing list, all you need to do is stick up an incredibly long-salesletter-excuse for a website, start a blog & write a few “diggable” posts and hey presto, you’ve sold 50 ebooks for £20 raking in an easy £1,000, you’ve got new clients knocking down your doors and the whole world now knows about you and what you do.

Those of you who’ve tried it, will know it’s just not that easy – despite what some people will still tell you.

There’s an awful lot more involved than jumping in enthusiastically, copying what others have done and expecting the business to start rolling in. And so it is with online networking too…Just like real life, you get out what you put in and you get what you give.

So if you’re starting a new business venture and decide to use the online social networks to promote what you’re doing, expecting huge success quickly – you’re in for a rude awakening. Similarly, if you’ve previously been a lurker on LinkedIn, Ecademy, Facebook, Twitter or other online network and not actively taken part in the community, then don’t expect your network to come running the minute you’ve got something new to promote.

It takes time – as it does in real life – to build relationships, gain trust, build up your reputation and get to know people. Don’t expect it to be any different online.

The Benefits of Marinading

This isn’t – contrary to the title – a post about sauces or marinading!
It is however a post about knowing what’s “right” and letting it just come to the surface in its own good time. It’s a strategy I’ve employed to good effect over the past few months which so far has helped me solve [...]

This isn’t – contrary to the title – a post about sauces or marinading!

It is however a post about knowing what’s “right” and letting it just come to the surface in its own good time. It’s a strategy I’ve employed to good effect over the past few months which so far has helped me solve a number of challenges, conundrums and questions I’ve posed to myself which include:

• Deciding whether to start a couple of projects or wait a while (waiting has proven to be a very, very smart move).
• Wondering how to tie everything together that we do under Project Woodward (check out the revamped site to find out how we’ve done it).
• Wondering which contacts in my network are a good fit to work with – and which ones aren’t (they usually approve or discount themselves if I give it enough time – and my instincts have so far always been right).
• Trying to figure out how to make the best use of some of the domain names I’ve purchased over the years (still working on this but it’s getting clearer)

In my previous incarnation, I’d have barrelled ahead with many of these things, keen to get started right away and not lose momentum – but then wondered after a while whether I should have thought things through better. Not these days…these days, I marinade!

And it works like this…if there’s something you’re considering doing – maybe a business project, venture or launch – or a decision you’ve got to make about your life, let it sit in your head for a while marinading.

Don’t force the decision, let it bubble under the surface and then when you least expect it, the answer will smack you solidly in the face and you’ll wonder why you didn’t “get it” sooner. Great recipe hey?!?

It’s part listening to your intuition and part harnessing law of attraction – “skills” which are sadly lacking in many people these days (but can be re-learned and re-developed if you try really, really hard!!!).