Just Checking In

After almost three years, here I am, back to this blog. I thought that I won't be posting here anymore, but I was wrong.

So much has happened after my 100th post and today, I feel the need to give some update about me and my endeavors. Even if this blog is retired, I do know that people still find it because internet marketing, and the woman whom this blog is named after, are very much alive.

This year, Wowezine.com is no longer mine. I've given it up. Although it saddens me, there are just so much on my plate and I'm no longer able to sustain it.

The future is looking bright for me. It just holds a lot of promise and I do wish you all well, all of you who happen to pass by and chance upon this blog. I wish you all the best!

100th Post to Hollymannia

I can't believe that I have reached the 100th post on this blog. I know I have not been actively posting. I have been very busy with things outside of internet marketing.

It has been great. I made money--passive income from blogging and writing articles. Somehow, my effort has been paying off. I say it's passive because I have not been active but I guess, you reap what you sow. I'm just enjoying the fruits of hard painstaking labor that I did before.

If you are wondering what has been the main source of this "passive income," that would be Google Adsense and of course links to my affiliate products. I just kind of spread my affiliate link throughout the world wide web. It's kind of trial and error or hit and miss. It all depends on traffic and demand. I think I just got lucky finding the right keywords and pursuing them.

I will definitely get active with internet marketing again but right now, my focus is on something else. Internet marketing is just there for the taking, anyway. I do hope my passive income will remain. Internet marketing is so volatile. I'm just happy I'm having my fair share.

Free Press Release Submission

I just realized that there is a scarcity of free press release submission service around. Just when I got lucky and found one and successfully submitted my press release, I got an email saying that my press release was not approved because it did not follow the submission guidelines. When I tried to edit it, I was turned to a page saying that the edit feature is only available to paying members.

I learned from Holly Mann the power of press release. And she is right. With the previous websites I had, I created press releases for them. All for free and I can see that when I type the name of my websites on search engines, those press releases populate the results -- even if I submitted them a couple of years back.

But now, it's hard to submit a press release for free. PRWeb, the one that is perceived to be the best (and well recommended by Holly Mann) does not accept free submissions anymore, and the least price it charges is $80.00.

Right now, I'm combing the web for any free press release submission service. Press release does work and I don't care if it has loads of advertising in it.

Another Day

So this is just another day and no action where so ever and what so ever. Yep, just another day.

I'm changing back the name of Holly Mann Blogs to Hollymannia. I guess the name Hollymannia excites me more than Holly Mann Blogs.

My WowEzine

I have not been updating my online magazine -Wowezine.com for some time now. I feel quite guilty about it. I remember a year ago, I was so enthusiastic about it. But now, I have been busy with other projects that I can't attend to it.

Today, I am going to do something on it. I will write a new article. I hope I can revive the spirit of this ezine. And so my own.

Last night, I thought of just discontinuing the ezine and concentrate my effort on another thing, which is what I'm doing right now, anyway. But then, I also thought that my ezine is my baby and it is me who is the source of all its content. I should be proud of it and not leave it.

So today, I'm giving it time.

Personal Branding

I came across this concept of personal branding (sales page at DNANiche.com) and I agree with the author that it is true. I just don't know if it is worth the money but I'm guessing there is nothing new to the concept.

Makes me think that when I fist came accross Holly Mann, that was back in 2006, she was heavily using the name of Rich Jerk in her marketing tactic. At that time, she has no name yet so she linked herself with somebody who is wildly successful in the same niche that she is trying to enter.

And the result? Fantastic. Now she is rich and have her own name: Honest Holly.

That leads to the concept of personal branding. It would be hard for us marketers to market if we are unknown. Much more that we don't have a product and a brand to sell.

The concept behind DNA Niche is to build your own niche based on your self-image and from here, everything comes together for good, I mean for marketers like us.

I remember a while back, I posted in this blog that I want to be an invisible marketer. I think I may have to change that and create a publicity around myself. I am not yet comfortable with that idea as I hate being in the limelight. But a shift in marketing direction can mean better horizon so I'll see what happens.

My Adsense Earning

After three years of doing Google Adsense, I'm about to receive my first check. You know why? Because my account has reached $93.45. Now, that's only $6.55 short of Google's required balance. I don't know if it will take another month or months to reach $100.00. But you know what? I'm excited?

Because I can see it coming. I'm getting there. Three years and a hundred dollars? Wow, that's a shame compared to what our guru, Holly Mann, is making in a day. I'm saying this with all due respect to Holly Mann. At least, I still have some enthusiasm left.

I found this Adsense ebook that I don't know if it's good but here's the URL for those interested: Adsense Profits.

Comeback

It has been a while since I posted in this blog. I have been very busy with a project but now that is over and I'm back again.

Expectedly, the search engine ranking of the Holly Mann blog fell but it's okay because I will revive the spirit by posting more. With the few years that Holly Mann blog has been running, I came to know how blog ranks with search engines and that's through posting and updating.

I hope to post more about internet marketing here and regain my Google position.

Hope This Is The One

I've found a solution to my marketing problem. And no, it didn't come from Holly Mann.

I will test drive this idea this February and see if it works. I'm getting desperate. Two years of trying and not really making it.

The thing is, if you don't have a product, it's really very very thin that you have a chance at making it. I've used article marketing, product reviews, free and paid classified ads, free and paid press release, blogging (obviously), squidoo (didn't like it) tons of hours spent on the internet, have my bank account robbed (well, in a sense), skeptically bought more info products, cynically bought software for adwords, willingly paid for an e-course, let my daughter cried somewhat longer for calling me while I work for nothing online, and have my relationship suffer...And the overall RESULT??????

No money in. Nada. Zilch.

But now, I'm getting hyper again because I found this other option. It looks promising but yet another blow to my already dwindling finances. For now, I will not disclose what it is. For now, I'm keeping it a secret. Once I get my feet wet, I'll be more than glad to share it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Holly Mann Blog is Crowned No. 2

This blog on Holly Mann continues to get Google Rank No. 2 on the keyword Holly Mann for over a week now and I could not be happier. Of course, when I started this blog about 13 months ago, I was shooting for the No. 1 spot. This Holly Mann blog was my SEO experiment, following the techniques outlined by Holly Mann in her ebook Honest Riches. And now, because of persistence and consistency, it has reached the peak of Google index.

Not bad for a stay-at-home mom who just challenged herself that she could beat the arena of Search Engine Optimization. It's quite a feat knowing that Holly Mann herself is a professional search engine optimizer and knows the ins and outs and all the complexities of the game of SEO.

This blog is my testimony. I know lots of marketers are optimizing the keyword Holly Mann and they even pay to be in the first page or the next. I was just looking at the sponsored listing on the page -- it goes up to the 21st page of Google -- I kept clicking to know but got tired.

But you know what, being on top of Google isn't everything. I'll tell you on the next post.

I'm afraid to buy another ebook!

If honesty is the hallmark of this blog, I would confess that Honest Riches is mainly the reason why I'm afraid to buy another ebook. It made me skeptical and leery of another ebook-- the fear that it's not it. The fear of yet another failed expectation.

Don't get me wrong, Holly Mann's Honest Riches is a good ebook but almost two and a half years from when I bought it, I'm still stuck. Why? Because it is not the ebook for me. It does not match me or what I'm looking for. Now, because Honest Riches is the first ebook I bought in the market, I'm afraid all ebooks or egoods out there are the same: good sales pitch, good cover, but limited substance within.

But this is just a personal opinion. I don't know about you and I can't advise you. My story may be different from yours. I'm just having a dilemma that's why I'm writing this. I just encountered this Yahoo Cash for Idiots and I really really really really really want to buy this ebook but I can't because of my fear to buy another ebook. Yes, even if it has an iron-clad no-question asked money-back guarantee.

So here I am. I guess the main reason I'm stuck is buying Holly Mann's eBook in the first place. But then again, I look back and thought I would never have all the general knowledge on internet marketing if not for Holly Mann. I'm sure I'm doing something wrong here. I can't see beyond the tunnel. Maybe I'm blind and just hard to learn or I'm so focused on the goal and missing out on something.

The main thing is, I'm afraid to buy another ebook.

Google Ranking and the New Year

Right now, this blog on Holly Mann, author of Honest Riches is enjoying a fourth google ranking for several consecutive weeks. I should be glad because this is just a blog and not a website. I don't pay to maintain this site as this is hosted through Blogger. Also, I have no page ranking as you can see. This blog is just what it is -- a blog. I just post whenever there is something about internet marketing that I stumbled upon or when there is about Holly Mann that I want to post here.

But I dont trust search engine. One time you're on top but the next day, you could be gone: completely...without nothing. As in a bubble, pop!... then you've vanished and you are just history.

I must admit, I am ecstatic everytime I see Holly Mann blog, which as you know is named Hollymannia, on top of Google but I don't let it get in my head. But now, I finally decided to monetize on this blog. Since I get about 20 visits everyday, I will put more advertising and see if it works. I really will and I will start today.

Today is the 2nd day of 2009. What a new year. My new year's day was great. This year, I'll start over again. And my goal? $50,000.00. Nothing can stop me now.

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.

Back to the Current Layout

Finally, my blog layout control panel allowed me to revert to the updated settings. I used the classic template out of mistake and now, I'm glad I have the layout preference again. I will be more careful next time I edit my layout.

I think writing to Blogger admin did help and I appreciate that they responded to my query, not through email but by solving my dilemma. I think the layout preference is better and easier. It makes you put additions and gadgets in a snap. This is the foremost reason I use Blogger and not Wordpress.

So back to blogging again. I like my HollyMannia blog because this is the first blog that I created that I really put an effort on posting on and had the intention to keep it. Yes, I still write about my marketing endeavors after reading Honest Riches, the ebook of Holly Mann, and a lot more.

My PC crashed!

My PC crashed on the 21st of October for unknown reason. I used it in the morning and then I can't use it in the afternoon. I turned it on but it would not run. The monitor remained blank and the light indicator is amber.

Two weeks and $298.00 later, my PC is back. For two weeks since the crash all the days I could have spent online I spent watching the presidential election coverage. On the election day itself - November 4th -- my PC was fixed. I had to order an extended warranty from Dell.

As I suspected, either there was a connection issue or the system board had failed on my PC. It was a nightmare for a couple of hours. But my dismay turned to glee. I realized that I needed a break from the internet, anyway. I had been so wrapped up with all these interent marketing, trying to make money online, that I knew I could use some diversion. So all the days I did not have online access, I did not miss it. I took my time to rest from all the internet buzz and chaos.

So, two weeks of internet interruption? No harm done.