He’s been asking me wordpress and search engine optimization questions for the past month or so, but had neither a website nor WordPress nor a page to optimize for the search engines.

Still, I kept answering his questions (some of them rather challenging to explain via an email) as I know that some people like to get their ducks lined up before they type one word.

Anyway, he sent me one line of text in the subject of the email and he literally MADE my day. “I’ve decided to stop talking about it and just dive in.”

Had he read this stream of “Just darn well do something and stop second guessing yourself!”

I’m not sure and I don’t care, I’m just happy that someone, somewhere served up a little tough love and one more start up entrepreneur is on his road to success.

Over and out and grinning ear to ear,

Laura

“While one person hesitates because he feels inferior, the other is busy making mistakes becoming superior.”
-Henry C. Link

Again, I’m not blaming a soul (says Laura covering her bases) because mis-communication is just as much the writer’s responsibility as the readers’.

I messed up my end of the communication by writing about two subscribers – the the skimmers of the world lumped both of them into one person.

And I messed up by not disclosing the history I had of hour long conversations with the first subscriber. Or specifically state that I did not write those words back to her (only vented them in my blog – which I must start remembering is no longer a personal space).

Worse yet is that the entire meat of the piece was written to try to inspire people to contemplate where we’re all headed as marketers, about how the pulse on the web is changing, and how on earth we’ll be able to meet the needs of our future customers – and THAT point was completely missed.

Laura Childs

P.S. Besides all that, my ‘tough love’ stance – “just darn well DO something!” – has been known to push many into action.

“Procrastination is the grave in which opportunity is buried.”
- Author Unknown

First of all, the time that it took to write that email to me could have been invested in signing up for free and watching those videos – moving forward in your business instead of wondering and treading water. Secondly, I don’t send my subscribers anything that I don’t use, haven’t seen or reveiwed, or believe in myself…

This strikes me as a bit cold and condescending. Of course they could have watched a video and ohhhhed and ahhhed through it. Of course the difference here is “doing something” – you can complain all you want / they want. It’s about working towards something – if you don’t try – you don’t succeed.

I’m not sure why this article bothers me as much as it does. Is it because I don’t think many of those “make money now – here’s a free ebook” sorts – who push the free, then the upsell – irk me. There are many out there who sell each other’s products – like a nice tidy collective. And we as subscribers to their newsletters – get the same email from 3 or 4 different marketers.

… I’m afraid I go – UNSUBSCRIBE.

I do appreciate however that you say that you try the product first before promoting it. I think that’s a bit more above board – especially when blogging about the topic.

Book: The Titus Concept Money For My Best and Highest Good
Website: http://www.soar2006.com
Seminar: SOAR 2006 The Titus Concept Live Event

Yah it’s a big conspiracy. We all get together every year at a big conference and announce “Here’s the big secret. Remember, don’t share it with any newbie! Make them buy all your products with your enticing offer but don’t tell them how to really succeed…”

LOL. Sad thing is there are hundreds of people thousands maybe who think this.

I’ll tell them the secret for $2. No wait! For free. “Launch a freakin’ website and DO something instead of complaining, whining and saying making money online is a hoax!”

Whining that internet millionaires don’t give anything that truly helps. Whatever. There is more free information about how to get an online business rolling then there is about where to get free samples from pill manufacturers.

Thats how I started. With the free stuff. The rest was work. Trial. DO!

Sam

p.s. So how did YOU react?

My 2 cents?

My first rule online and off is don’t associate with negative people. I’ve always just unsubscribed them or let them go. Life’s too short to hold people’s hands or carry them to success. I’ve got my own success to worry about. Plus these negative people are never thankful when you do try to help them.

I’m interested though in what you think the internet is coming to. I have noticed a slight drop in my online sales.

Alice

This is, in fact, the other response to the distrustful subscriber who thought we were all untrustworthy and weren’t disclosing all the secrets. The ’secret’ is you have to apply what you’ve learned. The secret is you actually have to put an effort in. The secret is, at some point you have to stop reading, watching and looking for scapegoats and just get down to it. Get started.

Laura

The part we’re holding back from you… “… it’s a state of mind and you can be handed the keys to the kingdom but if you’re full of distrust and uncertainty you’ll always be sitting on the sidelines saying “I don’t have it all.” There is only one way to succeed online and that’s to get busy and put the knowledge you have already gained/learned/bought or been given to action. From there you grow – in income and knowledge. No one else can do this for you.

At the end of the day, it is not our job to do all the work for our subscribers, nor is it good business to give everything away, we have to live as well, but if you were to take all the free pieces and put some energy behind them (i.e., work), you’d find you had a legitimate and lucrative business. Most marketers are running businesses aside and apart from teaching or sharing with others, which is how we learn what works so that we can pass this information onto you, our subscribers.

In Michael’s case – with his free videos – they took weeks to create and he’s happily giving them away to new people. Yes, he’s hoping that some will see the value he offers and buy the big package, but again the free version is more than most $40 courses supply. It’s a great gift he’s offering. But again, all we can do is pass the information – it’s up to the ‘receiver’ to make something of it.

I’m curious, what information do you feel you aren’t being given? Perhaps I can answer your questions. An online business requires a domain name, a hosting account, an autoresponder, and your effort (to perform keyword research, to stay on top of current events in your target market, to create content for your website, write emails to your list, drive traffic to your website) – there’s nothing more to it.

Feel free to write me back with any questions you have. You are unsubscribed from my main list, and will not hear from me again if you don’t reply, but I thought I’d write back from my personal email address if you needed to chat.

Laura Childs”