My Take On Squidoo

I don't know about you but Squidoo is not for me.

I like reading lenses on Squidoo and they are really interesting and informative. Since I become I member, I favorited quite a few lenses. But for me to write Squidoo style? Not really my thing.

When I write, I write with a flow of emotion. I don't need to be asked or guided with questions. I just want to write and not have to think about adding modules. I also don't want to mind about HTML. They dont have a WYSIWYG editor so it's really hard for me especially when I want to add a URL.

For some people, Squidoo is excellent. I understand that it is a good medium to have your voice heard, to have a platform for your ideas, and also to raise funds for your charity. And for some people, it has become an avenue to make money. That was actually a motivation for me to join and I did. But two months after, I still can't get the hang of it.

My hand hurts whenever I try to post a lens or edit my existing lenses on Squidoo. I keep clicking and going up and down with my mouse just to see the right command. After I edit, my revisions don't come out. I found out that I should hit the publish button which is way up the screen. Also, reading lenses takes a while. They all become a part of one page and it becomes very very long. It takes a while for all of the page to load.

The idea behind Squidoo is actually noble. Give half of the earnings to charity. That's really a good cause. It is also a networking site so you get to promote your ideas or merchandise to people. You build connections and relations along the way and you get to have more exposure. It is an ideal place to be at for internet marketers.

But my style of writing -- the way I write is not consistent with the way they structure their lens creation. This is for people who are not used to write and I'm pretty sure it is done so in order to guide inexperienced writers or to make writers out of non-writers. And it works. Members create lenses systematically and productively. I think that's what all that matters in the end.

As for me, I decided not to use Squidoo as a medium. My loss.

Invisible Marketer

It's blessing in disguise. Because of what happened, I am now seeking other avenues to market my sites. Marketing is really a big part of doing business online. And for people who have no products or expertise to sell (just like me), we have to invent and discover ways in order to refer products.

I like internet marketing because I don't like personal contact with people that patronize my business. I don't like putting my face or my name out there just to make a sale. Unlike Holly Mann, I don't like big responsibility. I don't want to cultivate client relationship or be attached with people. I just want to be compensated for promoting products of someone else. And no, I'm not going to sell an ebook and I'm not going to be a guru just like Holly Mann no matter how successful I become.

Yes, I just want to be the invisible marketer.

Greed Does Not Pay

So my fears came true. Yesterday, one of the nightmares of website owners/webmasters happened to me. Google dropped my site from the ranks. Actually, I could not find it in the second page or the third or the fourth nor the 20th page. It just suddenly disappeared from Rank No. 2 to nowhere.

Since this is my most profitable site, my cashflow just dropped, too. So I thought it over and over again asking myself why. Then, I found my answer. Greed.

I became greedy right away thinking how easy it was. So, I duplicated my website, not twice but thrice. Actually, I deleted the fourth one because it was redundant. But now, all three sites are not making it to the Google index. I know that Google penalizes sites with similar content and evidently it did mine. What a bummer. And in the middle of traffic rushing in, just streaming, with me making an average of three sales a day. This is really a nightmare.

I'm trying to repair the pieces of this mistake. I don't know if I have to delete the first site and let the two others climb the index. I don't just know. I don't know what to do. I'm at loss here.

Elation and Fear

It's really getting exciting each day because since I found my niche, there is never a day when I am not making money. However small it is, I am thankful. It's still money and I respect it. I believe that if I hone my skills, I will be making more money and I can have a steady income out of it.

So now, I'm getting a taste of what internet marketing is all about. It's really addicting. The thing is, you are seeing the fruit of your labor and it's making you inspired to go on.

For more than two yeas, I did not see any result or reward for doing what I do. It's like firing a gun but you don't see your subject. Or that you know there are subjects out there but you don' know if the gun is capable enough to shoot the bullet at them. I mean the fire may be short or it may be weak. For a long time, that's how I felt.

Not anymore. I'm seeing the end of the tunnel so to speak. And I'm at it right now. This happiness and ethusiasm is coupled with anxiety, though. What if my marketing endeavor is getting result right now because it's the Christmas season and people are spending money? What happens during the time when there is no occasion to spend money for? And in the middle of a recession, I can't really expect to have more sales after the holidays, can I?

So this is my fear: I've tapped into a market that I can call my niche but to what extent and for how long?

Finally

I'm finally making it. The world of internet marketing has opened its door for me. And yes, it feels awesome. I have found a niche, at last. I'm gradually making money. Not raining yet but it certainly is slow but sure.

I've been dreaming of 12 thousand a month. Yup, that's what Holly Mann is making so that's been my goal. I'm very much on it.

One Year Old

On Sunday, this blog will be a year old. I can't believe I'm able to maintain a blog this long. By next month, the archives of Hollymannia would include three years, spanning from 2007 to 2009. That's success for me because I have been able to keep on and keep up with something.

The intention behind this blog is to chronicle my succees (but oftentimes failures) on following Holly Mann's ebook, Honest Riches. But as some of the people who have read this blog already knew, the posts do not include just of Holly Mann's techniques but also the techniques of other gurus. Holly Mann is not the all-conclusive answer to internet marketing as there are those who are as bright, if not brighter, as talented, if not more talented, than Holly Mann.

I have been an affiliate of the Honest Riches Affiliate Program but to tell you the truth, I only sold one Honest Riches ebook. Yes, just one -- for the entire year that I am blogging about Holly Mann. But it's okay, the purpose of this blog is not to sell Holly Mann's eook.

I must conclude that by now, I already found out that I suck at internet marketing. I just can't make it, or break it, or fully grasp it. After you think you found a way to internet dollars, you will see that there is another smarter way, more effective way that you can utilize to make money online. But truth be told, gurus are out there to take your money. Be very careful who you trust.

One mantra of successful internet marketers who turned themselves into ebook authors or gurus is to sell and sell and sell to you over and over and over and over again with the promise of making you successful. But the cold hard fact is, only YOU, yes you, in your hands, perseverance, destiny, and decision can make yourself SUCCESSFUL.

And now I proclaim myself successful for being a blogger, not an internet marketer.