Today started off relatively well. We had our usual morning conference call and I set about my most vital task of the day: writing a solo ad to bring in more apprentices.
At least that's what I thought my task was. I spent 1.5 hours planning each step of the task (and learning all about our new toy: Central Desktop. It's a virtual office space where teams share their files, their tasks, etc. It's fun! So I taught myself a few new things on it during my planning portion of the day).
For three hours after my planning, I worked on the ad. I grabbed a swipe file about apprenticeshop programs for copywriters (didn't find much of anything good). I wrote, rewrote, read outloud, reread and recorded myself reading the ad. I was all set..a bit tired but it was at least to the point we could begin the real revisions.
When we got on the conference call at 6pm and we discovered I had spent an entire day working on the wrong project. We needed a solo ad for our Information Marketing Bootcamp (ZeroToProfitASAP.com). So I had in effect wasted an entire afternoon. And I worked hard I will tell you. I made it much harder than it really was.
I was so upset with myself..I was angry, frustrated and disappointed. Mark heard it in my voice. He said our minds will play tricks on us to keep us where we are and to make us continue doing things the way we've always done them (the hard way). And I've always beaten myself up over mistakes. I don't do that to anyone else..just myself. I'm sure most people are like me in that respect.
So do you know what he made me do? I had to go look in the mirror and laugh at myself..laugh til I cried.
I did it. I laughed and laughed and laughed...for almost 10 minutes. It felt good. I felt good. In fact, I felt 1,000 times better than I had just moments before!
It lifted the weight right off of my shoulders and I cried tears of joy..not frustration or anger.
I then wrote the correct solo ad in an hour. And I think it turned out pretty good! I'm sure we'll tear it apart and rebuild it but that's ok. I'm proud of what I did!
The moral of the story: laugh it off, whatever it is. If your life didn't end it's not that bad.
In addition to the solo ad, I uploaded Google AdSense to my blog (as you can probably see!) . I spent an hour uploading it to my blog. Ok in reality it will take you 10 minutes. When you know what you're doing. I didn't. I asked someone to help me. He didn't know either. Instead of fumbling around for an hour, I should've googled my problem and got the instructions. Eventually I got those instructions so now you can see those lovely ads!
I also uploaded two more documents to Desktop Central that need approval and I did my blog entry for the day (obviously) as well as my handwriting.
And now I've got a few little tasks to finish up. Time to get to bed so I can run in the morning.
Til tomorrow...
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Day Nine - Some Days It Comes Easy
After the struggle I had just to get my head on right yesterday, today was a comparative walk in the park. Most things came easily and with little effort..save for one.
I signed up for my own adCenter account. I was going to run my own campaign and we were going to test it against our original campaign. We wanted to see what keywords the spiders would approve in our new landing page copy versus what a person approved. It will help us improve the process for our affiliates.
Something must have happened while I was adding my own account because we lost our keywords in the original campaign. One minute they were there, the next they were gone!
I was quite upset because I thought I had caused it. Lost keywords meant lost money. I tried to find the keywords file on my own but couldn't. Our next step was to call Microsoft adCenter and find out what had happened. Our usual contact wasn't available and the woman I spoke with wasn't much help. She did her best to empathize but couldn't offer solutions.
Fortunately I had had the sense to save our keywords on my computer. After a little more digging (and a lot of deep breathing!!), I found them. I got the bid price per keyword and loaded them to our campaign.
We decided to go ahead and run another campaign with my ads. My ads were written a bit differently but we used the same keywords. So that's what I did. I'll let you know our progress as it unfolds! I'm excited to see our results and to see the money that follows. It is a simple and
almost effortless process. Naturally I managed to find a few bumps along the way but that's all
the better. Now I know what our affiliates may run into and I know how to help them! What often seems to be a hurdle is really just a learning block.
The secret lies in interpreting the experience. If we see it as a hurdle, it is. If we see it as a learning opportunity, it is! It is that simple.
I spent the majority of the afternoon on the adCenter campaign. Here are the other things I accomplished today:
The most fun I had this morning was going to the bank. Thanks to balancing out my contingency fund and my dog-sitting over the weekend I now have $85 to add to my financial freedom fun! I have $85 to play with, I have another $85 to add to my long-term savings (I'm saving for an FJ Cruiser!!) and I have $42.50 to give away!!! I can't wait to donate that money. I love giving.
The financial freedom fund is cool. I've only added sporadically to mine in the past. I've had a few jobs where I've had a 401(k) and I've always given as much as I could to that. Usually I only had that job for 6 months or a year. And when I didn't have the job, I didn't contribute to my fund. Now it's I am committed to giving 10% of all I recieve. Cool!
I also spent some time late last night looking at spas. I'm making an appointment for an hour long massage and paying for it with my play money. I'm also going to give a tip out of my give jar. I don't treat myself to spa days..don't think I ever have so this is going to be wonderful! I hope I can get in on Saturday and make it a full day of pampering. :)
After the bank, I uploaded my handwriting scans and we had our morning conference call to keep things moving. After the adCenter campaign, I rewrote some copy for one of our team members. I uploaded that and moved on to the next task which was writing copy to snag some help for me.
I wrote copy for a call for apprentices. We're going to traffic it in forums and see who we can get. I need help! I need transcription work done, I need someone to bounce my procedures off of and see if they explain things clearly.
There is more work than I want to do alone. Besides, it's good feedback for me. I've always found that teaching and guiding someone helps me to learn things fully. We learn by speaking, reading and writing. Our brain translates the information differently depending on the mode of interpretation. Teaching is speaking and sometimes writing as well. Showing someone how to do something allows us reiterate the things we know. And we often learn in the process.
Oh! And I also signed up for Google's AdSense so you'll start seeing ads on the blog soon. It's another revenue stream for me.
Now I'm off to finish up a few little things. I've got my handwriting assignment and a group email to send to my database. I may actually finish up before 10pm tonight. Then I'll tackle the pile of books I checked out from the library. I've got a few by Joe Vitale, Les Brown and Dan Kennedy. Good stuff!
Til tomorrow,
Lara
I signed up for my own adCenter account. I was going to run my own campaign and we were going to test it against our original campaign. We wanted to see what keywords the spiders would approve in our new landing page copy versus what a person approved. It will help us improve the process for our affiliates.
Something must have happened while I was adding my own account because we lost our keywords in the original campaign. One minute they were there, the next they were gone!
I was quite upset because I thought I had caused it. Lost keywords meant lost money. I tried to find the keywords file on my own but couldn't. Our next step was to call Microsoft adCenter and find out what had happened. Our usual contact wasn't available and the woman I spoke with wasn't much help. She did her best to empathize but couldn't offer solutions.
Fortunately I had had the sense to save our keywords on my computer. After a little more digging (and a lot of deep breathing!!), I found them. I got the bid price per keyword and loaded them to our campaign.
We decided to go ahead and run another campaign with my ads. My ads were written a bit differently but we used the same keywords. So that's what I did. I'll let you know our progress as it unfolds! I'm excited to see our results and to see the money that follows. It is a simple and
almost effortless process. Naturally I managed to find a few bumps along the way but that's all
the better. Now I know what our affiliates may run into and I know how to help them! What often seems to be a hurdle is really just a learning block.
The secret lies in interpreting the experience. If we see it as a hurdle, it is. If we see it as a learning opportunity, it is! It is that simple.
I spent the majority of the afternoon on the adCenter campaign. Here are the other things I accomplished today:
The most fun I had this morning was going to the bank. Thanks to balancing out my contingency fund and my dog-sitting over the weekend I now have $85 to add to my financial freedom fun! I have $85 to play with, I have another $85 to add to my long-term savings (I'm saving for an FJ Cruiser!!) and I have $42.50 to give away!!! I can't wait to donate that money. I love giving.
The financial freedom fund is cool. I've only added sporadically to mine in the past. I've had a few jobs where I've had a 401(k) and I've always given as much as I could to that. Usually I only had that job for 6 months or a year. And when I didn't have the job, I didn't contribute to my fund. Now it's I am committed to giving 10% of all I recieve. Cool!
I also spent some time late last night looking at spas. I'm making an appointment for an hour long massage and paying for it with my play money. I'm also going to give a tip out of my give jar. I don't treat myself to spa days..don't think I ever have so this is going to be wonderful! I hope I can get in on Saturday and make it a full day of pampering. :)
After the bank, I uploaded my handwriting scans and we had our morning conference call to keep things moving. After the adCenter campaign, I rewrote some copy for one of our team members. I uploaded that and moved on to the next task which was writing copy to snag some help for me.
I wrote copy for a call for apprentices. We're going to traffic it in forums and see who we can get. I need help! I need transcription work done, I need someone to bounce my procedures off of and see if they explain things clearly.
There is more work than I want to do alone. Besides, it's good feedback for me. I've always found that teaching and guiding someone helps me to learn things fully. We learn by speaking, reading and writing. Our brain translates the information differently depending on the mode of interpretation. Teaching is speaking and sometimes writing as well. Showing someone how to do something allows us reiterate the things we know. And we often learn in the process.
Oh! And I also signed up for Google's AdSense so you'll start seeing ads on the blog soon. It's another revenue stream for me.
Now I'm off to finish up a few little things. I've got my handwriting assignment and a group email to send to my database. I may actually finish up before 10pm tonight. Then I'll tackle the pile of books I checked out from the library. I've got a few by Joe Vitale, Les Brown and Dan Kennedy. Good stuff!
Til tomorrow,
Lara
Monday, March 5, 2007
Day 8 - Mountains to Climb
There is something to be said for working on the weekends. It keeps me in the right mindframe. I could tell I had taken some down time over the weekend. I had a harder-than-usual time with concepts and getting my head right today.
But eventually I did. I spent most of the day tweaking our landing page to incorporate our rejected keywords. The more keywords we have the better our chances of having our ads pass. Once the ads pass we can bring in affiliates and start seeing money.
I do feel how I am not allowing money but sometimes I don't know how to change that. When I feel that way I just listen to a few calls and relax my mind. I do get frustrated with myself but I try to remember that as hard as it seems to change my mind, the harder it will be to ever go back! The mind is an incredibly powerful tool..our most valuable asset. And mine is strong. I'm just reprogramming it now.
And I'm going to add a few folks to my team. I'm barely keeping my head above water and it's only going to get more intense. I need some apprentices! I need help!! I will have to work 20 hours a day to accomplish everything. I like to eat and sleep most days so 20 hours is a bit much. :) Somehow I'll manage.
Here's what I did today:
But eventually I did. I spent most of the day tweaking our landing page to incorporate our rejected keywords. The more keywords we have the better our chances of having our ads pass. Once the ads pass we can bring in affiliates and start seeing money.
I do feel how I am not allowing money but sometimes I don't know how to change that. When I feel that way I just listen to a few calls and relax my mind. I do get frustrated with myself but I try to remember that as hard as it seems to change my mind, the harder it will be to ever go back! The mind is an incredibly powerful tool..our most valuable asset. And mine is strong. I'm just reprogramming it now.
And I'm going to add a few folks to my team. I'm barely keeping my head above water and it's only going to get more intense. I need some apprentices! I need help!! I will have to work 20 hours a day to accomplish everything. I like to eat and sleep most days so 20 hours is a bit much. :) Somehow I'll manage.
Here's what I did today:
- rewrote launch page with keywords
- called Microsoft adCenter
- downloaded rejected keywords
- wrote two disclaimers for launch page
- did the handwriting assignment
- wrote this entry
- sent email to former apprentices
- wrote statements of intent for my jars
- bank visit (tomorrow morning)
- upload handwriting assignment (tomorrow morning)
- browse the tools folder (tons of great stuff in there!)
So back to it - I've got to finish my handwriting assignment and writing my statements of intent for my jars. Fun stuff!
Til tomorrow....
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Sunday - Day Seven
One week! Woo hoo! I've been doing the happy dance almost daily it seems. And that makes me happy...hence the name of the dance!
Today was another light day. I reorganized the folder and did my handwriting assignment. I also uploaded a few days of handwriting that I hadn't submitted previously. Tonight I have some documentation I'm going to write.
And I will write my 10 additional ads by 10am tomorrow along with instructions for affiliates to use the ads. I'm just going to get something started and we'll fine tune the copy from there. It's key to simply start and get the ball rolling. It just grows from there. Because nothing has to be perfect we write the copy, tweak it and revamp what is necessary and get it up. Our responses tell us if the copy works or doesn't so it's best to get something out there and get those responses. We can't read minds so we take the easy route and simply respond to our responses. I like it! It's a weight off of my shoulders to know what I write doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be good enough. We always make changes down the road anyway.
It keeps things interesting to do it that way. It's fun to test out new headlines and other verbage.
Oh! The other task I had for today was to watch The Apprentice. I like this show. I will look into renting previous seasons on DVD. There's a lot to learn from each episode and I'm looking forward to watching more.
Til tomorrow...
Today was another light day. I reorganized the folder and did my handwriting assignment. I also uploaded a few days of handwriting that I hadn't submitted previously. Tonight I have some documentation I'm going to write.
And I will write my 10 additional ads by 10am tomorrow along with instructions for affiliates to use the ads. I'm just going to get something started and we'll fine tune the copy from there. It's key to simply start and get the ball rolling. It just grows from there. Because nothing has to be perfect we write the copy, tweak it and revamp what is necessary and get it up. Our responses tell us if the copy works or doesn't so it's best to get something out there and get those responses. We can't read minds so we take the easy route and simply respond to our responses. I like it! It's a weight off of my shoulders to know what I write doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be good enough. We always make changes down the road anyway.
It keeps things interesting to do it that way. It's fun to test out new headlines and other verbage.
Oh! The other task I had for today was to watch The Apprentice. I like this show. I will look into renting previous seasons on DVD. There's a lot to learn from each episode and I'm looking forward to watching more.
Til tomorrow...
Saturday, March 3, 2007
A Day of Rest
It's a Saturday and I've decided to only do a few things today. I'm tired and in need of a day to play. :) My hand is starting to tingle and my wrist is aching from too much time at the computer. My body wants to rest!
So today I emailed our database (3 referrals so far - YAY!), divided up my emergency fund jar and documented the procedure for emailing a database. I wrote my five words again. As I reviewed my emails I realized I haven't posted about 3 days worth of the writing assignment. Off to Kinko's tomorrow to scan those assignments and post them! And that's that.
Tomorrow I'll have better access to our FTP site so I can organize my folders. I will write more ads and document other procedures along with the usual handwriting and blog entry.
So cheerio and enjoy your Saturday.
Til tomorrow!
So today I emailed our database (3 referrals so far - YAY!), divided up my emergency fund jar and documented the procedure for emailing a database. I wrote my five words again. As I reviewed my emails I realized I haven't posted about 3 days worth of the writing assignment. Off to Kinko's tomorrow to scan those assignments and post them! And that's that.
Tomorrow I'll have better access to our FTP site so I can organize my folders. I will write more ads and document other procedures along with the usual handwriting and blog entry.
So cheerio and enjoy your Saturday.
Til tomorrow!
Friday, March 2, 2007
Day Five
Hello again.
I have yet to come up with a catchy headline. I'm a bit spent by the time I write these entries but that's just an excuse. I'll think about it before I go to sleep and I'll wake up with fresh ideas and creative energies.
Today was another day of adventure! Here is what I accomplished:
I have yet to come up with a catchy headline. I'm a bit spent by the time I write these entries but that's just an excuse. I'll think about it before I go to sleep and I'll wake up with fresh ideas and creative energies.
Today was another day of adventure! Here is what I accomplished:
- rewrote the headline and intro for SiteHunt.com
- created a swipe file for that headline and intro blurb
- wrote 10 ads for MSN AdCenter
- followed up on several press releases (currently they are on hold)
- logged 10 new referrals from yesterday's email (those 10 referrals more than doubled my total referrals to date!! YAY!!!)
- conference call
- compensation (must still be documented)
- started reorganizing main copywriting folder
- handwriting assignment
- blog entry
And there's so much I haven't done yet!
- Barbara Hemphill's organization techniques have to be studied (so I can better organize my files)
- Step by step procedures have to be written for oodles of tasks from press releases to ad affiliates
- Pay myself for those 10 new referrals
- Reassess my emergency fund prosperity jar. It's off-balance from the others so I have to take some out and give to the other jars
- Organize files in my folder on the server..they're a mess!
Well that's it from me. It's 11:30pm and I want to go to sleep. Organizing is a priority tomorrow.
Til tomorrow!
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Day Four
I'm thinking I need to come up with a better headline for each day..something more enticing than Day #X. That's kinda boring isn't it? I'll fix it tomorrow.
Remember how exhausted I was yesterday? I was amazed to find I was perky and alert this morning...even before my usual 2 cups of coffee. Today was yet another amazing day with remarkable breakthroughs and insights. I won't go into great detail on that side of things (you'll just have to wait for the course! How's that for a pre-plug?!) but I will give you the low-down on my tasks.
Here's how I spent my day:
Remember how exhausted I was yesterday? I was amazed to find I was perky and alert this morning...even before my usual 2 cups of coffee. Today was yet another amazing day with remarkable breakthroughs and insights. I won't go into great detail on that side of things (you'll just have to wait for the course! How's that for a pre-plug?!) but I will give you the low-down on my tasks.
Here's how I spent my day:
- sent out an email to 5,000 people.
- downloaded Filezilla (very useful - I can now upload documents and they can be shared by the team. As a result, things will be more organized and won't be laying around in my Inbox folder. They will be archived however...always have back-ups and preferably back-ups of your backups).
- wrote questions and templates for 5 press releases
- finished 2 of those press releases (waiting on input from others for the remaining 3)
- wrote new headline/blurb for Sitehunt.com
- listened to call with Mark again for copy revisions and deeper insights
- wrote blog entry
- wrote handwriting assignment
- started documented procedures
- mulling over compensation options (currently thinking on this)
- organized files (still plenty more to do)
- wrote up-to-date receipts for all Prosperity Jars
- mulling over job description and department (again thinking..have a little bit written down)
It was quite a day! I'm always surprised at much energy I have for these projects. It doesn't feel like a "job". It just feels like what my day revolves around. Maybe it's because this has helped me to change my mindset, my outlook and my perceptions. It is not a conventional "job" in that you go to an office and then you leave your "work" behind at 5pm. It filters into all the areas of my life and it feels so much more rewarding than anything else I've done.
Saying that I'm excited to see where this will go doesn't completely convey my outlook but at least it gives you the impression that I am having fun! And I am. :) I'm usually pretty tired at the end of the day but each day is so valuable and rewarding in its own right. There's nothing I like more than going to bed tired but happy at the end of every day. It's nice to feel that the previous 24 hours enhanced my life. I wasn't just existing, I was really living. It's a feeling like nothing else in the world!
Til tomorrow,
Lara
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
