Embrace Your Mistakes In Online Marketing:
Hi Everyone! Hope you all are having a wonderful day! I learned some things yesterday, that I wanted to share with you, so that you won't make the same mistakes that I did on my blog posts.
I learned some new things about myself, this blogspot (Blogger) blog, and online marketing in general.
First, let me say, that I'm never going to profess to be something I'm NOT, nor pretend to know something that I don't.
However, I will share information with you that I have implemented or read and compared it to what I already know about a particular subject.
So, when I emailed Tiffany Dow saying that I was amazed at how well my Blogger blog posts were ranking in Google, I felt that it was because one of several things.
Either, Google was showing favor, because it was it's child. Or, because it was the length of my posts, or perhaps it was because I might actually be doing something right...BUT for whatever reason, I wasn't making any sales. That had me puzzled.
You see, I don't want a make a sale for a sales sake. My objective is rather to help others, if I can. But, I was hoping to make a sale, so I would know if I was on the right track, and people were getting value out of what I presented on my blog.
You see, I've written a lot of reviews on the Warrior Forum and have always gotten lots of thanks, even received thanks through PMs and emails, so this had me really bewildered. I'm not saying this to brag, but to disclose why this had me so confused.
Anyway, in Tiffany Dow's true entrepreneurial spirit and love for her subscribers/followers, she offered to have a look. While I appreciated the offer, I didn't immediately take her up on the offer.
For one, I'm stubborn and was bound and determined to find out where I was going wrong all by myself. In trying to solve my dilemma, I searched the web, and read some products that I previously purchased from some well-known marketers who are considered among the leaders in the field, etc.
It was one such guide that I used that Tiffany called me out on in her "evaluation" video about how my efforts could be improved. Now, she didn't know what product I used tips from that actually made my blog posts worse, but I do!
At the time, I thought some of what was suggested in the product I used was "off", but this product got rave reviews by everyone. So, once again, I thought it had to be me and my inexperience with blogging that was the problem. I was certainly willing to take the blame.
So, I started trying new things in order to change the situation to see if I could get some conversions, and figure out what was wrong.
Here's what I didn't like about the blog and felt was partly responsibility for the results I was seeing:
*Sterile Blog (That's obvious - take a look!)*In Blogger, there is no way to have an H1 Header and a post title and it NOT show up TWICE! I've tried to correct this to no avail. Can't stand the way it looks!
*No way to set up categories and couldn't get rid of dates
*All the Blogger templates were like the free WordPress templates that had "unfriendly" code that could wreck havoc on my blog/site.
*Need to inject color, graphics, etc into blog somehow, especially since a proper template can't be found.
*Blogger is constantly having error problems, etc. Doesn't save the posts like they should, etc. I know that this must sound like a Bitch-fest, but it can drive one insane. Take a look at this. Everything looks like it's suppose to, then after I publish it, Blogger changes it to look like this!
* If that's not bad enough, take a look at this one. This happens about 85%-90% of the time as well.
This is only part of the struggle I've had with using Blogger as a free host platform.
1. Like Tiffany said, the site was sterile. I searched high and low for a blog template for Blogger that would serve me well, but none of them were suitable due to the "unfriendly" code. So, it was no wonder that she said that.
2. I hated that I couldn't have categories, and yet, couldn't get rid of the dates. Although, Tiff didn't mention that, it still rubs me raw that there is no way around it.
3. Because of the sterile look of the blog, I wanted to infuse color into the post to draw out and highlight certain things and to take away from it looking so, well..."BLAH!" There is just no other way to say it! So, I did that.
The trouble was that when I followed that ummm...well-known marketer's teachings in his product, well, that set me on what looks like a commercial or regurgitated sales ad. That was the last thing that I wanted even for this BLAND old blog!
But this marketer has been in business for 10 years or so. His teaching recommended taking the sales graphics and including them in your reviews. I really questioned whether that was the smart thing to do, so I'm glad that Tiff called that out.
Since he has been in the business for 10 years or so, that led me to creating what some may take as SPAMMY looking reviews or regurgitated reviews. That was the last thing I want to have happen! So, I made changes to all my blog posts based upon that! Big MISTAKE! Makes me wonder how successful this person really is at this point.
4. To make myself feel better about the situation, I kept telling myself that the blog being bland would allow visitors to concentrate on my reviews instead. OUCH!
Maybe that was what was wrong with it! They did concentrate on my reviews and they SUCKED! LOL Boy, does that sting! LOL OH MY GOODNESS! I don't know if you can relate to any of this, but hey, I'm honest, even when it HURTS!
5. You know, in my previous teaching profession, teachers were always expected not to smile or show a personality or anything. I always had fun with my students, so when I was being evaluated, I didn't change a thing. My evaluators always told me that they were suppose to mark off points for that, but they always said it worked for me, so they didn't! I told them, when there comes a time that I can't have a good time with my class, then it's time for me to get out of the profession!
So, I have to remember that now on any blog I set up. Injecting personality into a blog is rather difficult for me. I work so hard to take what I do seriously, that I get so wrapped up into it, that I tend to bore the HELL out of things! Plus, I can't imagine anyone being interested in my life or business happenings on any given day.
6. Because I could never decide on a good domain name, I chose to work with this Blogger blog. I knew it wasn't perfect, but I had to start somewhere. After all, I'm still looking for a good Wordpress blog with "friendly" code, until I can afford to purchase one that I really want. So, it was no wonder that Tiffany said I really needed to consider moving it to a WordPress blog. She didn't want me to get too vested into this site and risking having it taken away.
From The Mouth of ONE Marketer I Trust:
So, after it was all said and done, what did Tiffany Dow have to say about all this? What were her suggestions:1. Tiff suggested that I move my blogspot/Blogger blog to a self-hosted Wordpress site, (because as you know, Google owns Blogger and it can go away at any time).
2. She spoke of the same sterile template I've been stuck with, saying that it needed color, a header, images, etc.
(Yes, Blogger does have a few templates that I could have used besides this one, but they really didn't fit, I didnt' think for this type of blog).
3. Use the MORE tab, which isn't available on Blogger.
4. Underline hyperlinks for those with color-blindness.
5. Use more personal injections into the beginning of each post.
6. Include more of the implementation into my posts. (I did this in other posts, but not this particular products post, because of the type of product it was. Very hard to explain. Unfortunately, this was the worst of them.
Fortunately, the other products posts are better with the exception of implementing the salesy crap the other well-known product creator suggested! Just goes to show, once again, be careful of who you follow or what you choose to try.
7. Suggested different social sharing buttons and why. (Those are automatically included on Blogger and I could find no way of excluding them or changing them out.)
What did I think of Tiff's suggestions:
First of all, I am extremely grateful that she cared enough to offer to take a look. That is what distinguishes her from the so-called gurus, and the so-called expert who's ill advise I followed,etc.
In addition to that, I value the advice she gave and will take it to heart. From her expert opinions, I'll begin making the necessary changes. Although, I may not do that until I move them to my WP blog.
I wasn't going to make the changes to the blogger blog, but decided to any way on that one post. I'll be going back and changing the others too and moving them to a self-hosted blog.
From this experience, it inspired me in a direction I want to take on my permanent WP blog that I'll be registering. In my efforts to improve my blog and seek solutions, I'll implement what I find...good or bad and see what works or better yet, what doesn't work!
So, whether through a product or from research off the web, I'll then, highlight the results on my blog, so that others don't make the same mistakes.
Although, I wish Tiff had seen more of my implementation on other posts, so I could see if it was more or the right amount of what she would suggest...this worked out ok as well. It was still a learning experience for me and I'm hoping you get something out of my experience as well.
I have much to learn. Thanks again, Tiffany Dow! I am most grateful!
I do have a couple of questions...
Do I leave these articles here? Do I delete them? I thought of using a redirect, but not sure I would want to leave them on blogger.
Should I simply rewrite the articles from what I have learned from Tiff and put the rewrites on my WP blog?
Those will be the questions I'll be seeking next! So, if any of you have any suggestions, please feel free to let me know. I'd love to hear what you have to say.
Well, it's been 36 hours since I've had some sleep, so, I hope that this post is more cohesive than I fear! I'll try to come back and have another read through later today after I've had some sleep.
Until then, I hope you have learned something from my mistakes!