I have been struggling with motivational issues the last 2 weeks, especially this week. In fact, that’s why I am writing here b/c I don’t want to work on my sites!
Part of my issue is a lack of earnings lately. Adsense earnings have been down and eHow is down (and the new changes mean I won’t be posting there anymore) and most of my sites suck. I hate using that word, but it’s just too appropriate. Beyond that I think I have a bit of spring fever and am having trouble sitting at my computer when it is so nice out. And I’m tired. Overall, alot of excuses.
BUT, I only have about 7 weeks until my kids are home for the summer so I need to get my act together. I am about to shift directions a bit and start some new sites and reorg a few of my old ones. The non-earners are either going to be placed on the backburner or ditched completely. I’m excited about a few of the niches I have picked out, but am having trouble finding more. I’d love to have about 20 sites started or re-started so that I can later run with what works, but my niche-finding skills are not so great, apparently.
Anyway, that’s enough whining for now. I need to work on a short-term plan and then maybe I will post here for some accountability since I am motivationally-challenged, we’ll see. How is everyone else doing?
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Hi Carrie, I would say that if you are working alone and trying to be successful at internet marketing then perhaps above all else, the motivational factors can be a killer.
Looking for just a single little piece of good news regarding one of your website’s rankings or a good comment on a recent post your made – or whatever it may be, is all that it takes to really boost the motivational juices. But, very often these things are lacking and everything seems very stagnant indeed!
I think that’s when you need to have your internet friends around you to encourage you and to share tales of woe – being part of a small community of great people is a wonderful thing!
Try and discuss your internet-related motivational issues with your parnter, husband, wife, girlfriend, boyfriend – whatever, and you tend to get little sympathy. Thus its incredibly important to find some really good internet friends (community) who are going through similar day to day struggles and I suspect this is a great encouragement to motivation and getting through those tough times.
That light at the end of the tunnel that seems so, so far away, suddenly seems just that little bit closer!
Best wishes Carrie!
Regards
Joseph
Carrie -
First off: Joseph, nice SEO on your site — I see you’re blog commenting away, and apparently doing it the right way: actually commenting! Love it. I always find your thoughts very provocative, and when I say “always,” I mean, “both times I’ve found you.” Because we go waaaaay back!
In any event, glad to see you here, Joseph.
Carrie, I’ll ditto what Joseph’s said, but also add: you need to write/promote/blog etc. about something that you actually *want* to blog about.
Personally, I had my wife/mother-in-law/2nd oldest daughter write some articles (paid of course!) for topics I didn’t want to write on, then edited and posted…their work has generated income, so it’s worked out, but I’m not motivated to work on those particular sites.
So: it may behoove you to find a handful of sites to work on that motivate you to write and research…
Another motivating factor is to re-ask yourself what you’re doing all of this for.
When I owned a franchise, an advertising franchise I believe I told you about in another context, we all had to write a few paragraphs about the “Why” behind our purchase: what were we going to be shooting for? Why?
Those “few” paragraphs turned into an official white page/report when I got my hands on it — I had a lot riding on that business, lost about $65k and a bit of my direction in life — but those same goals drive my current business/work ethic because the goals are serious, soul-deep, and timeless goals.
My goals are generational: I have 8 kids (if you’ve heard my tallies before, there’s a story there behind the jump from #7-#8 that’s much beyond the point of my current narrative…), married, and was born into a family of little means but a hard-work-gets-you-social-security-and-nowhere-fast ethic/family tree that I do NOT want to repeat…
’nuff about me. My point is: dig deep and find the reason to the madness, then find the vehicle to get you there (i.e.: what drives you? This motivation needs to be *soul deep* and meaningful, a “new pair of shoes” won’t cut it…and by “vehicle” I mean: do you like to write? do you *like* your current niches? you may need to go beyond the #s and find topics you believe in, to get past this rut and get you going again…)
Hope that helps. Sorry I ran all auto-biographical there…sheesh.
Hey Joseph, thanks for stopping by and leaving some encouragement. I’m sure this funk will pass and having like-minded friends online certainly helps!
Hey James, I think you actually hit the nail on the head. One of the reasons I plan to abandon some current sites and start all new ones (besides the low earnings) is b/c I realized I need to work in niches I have some interest in. Now, I do enjoy the general challenge of ranking a site, but if you end up ranking and there are very little profits AND you aren’t that interested in the niche, it’s hard to keep going.
I was actually hoping I would have a plan to move forward by now but I think I still need some more time to reflect on a few aspects. I have found that IM can be very rush-rush, pump out sites, pump out links, etc but when I did that I ended up with stuff that hasn’t panned out. So I think I will take some more time to think about the sites I want to start, make a plan, and then just move forward at my own pace.
There, I was autobiographical also
Thanks for the encouraging words.
You are finding your way now in this game called internet marketing! Thats what its all about! Once you get there, you’ll know you’ve got there and things really do begin to fall into place much more quickly.
Best…
Joseph
Lack of motivation can always feel like a massive hurdle. I was easily distracted last week and today I started off productive but then at around 2pm today i checked out mentally. I was done. I didn’t want to do anything for my sites, I just wanted to waste my day watching Youtube videos and browsing the forums that I am active on.
I think its definitely important to have a game plan for each day. Even if you have totally lost your motivation, make a promise to yourself that you only need to do 2 tasks for the day (whatever they may be). Maybe its writing 3 articles for the day or writing 1 page of content and then bookmarking it on an older site.
Burn out is completely normal. I feel you on the summer almost being here and then having to work from home while having kids around to distract you. But I think even doing some sort of task for the day will still boost your business and won’t be a total waste of a day.
I think when you are feeling down, there is no point to work on your website. Just take a day or two off and enjoy yourself, you will be more likely to do good work after! At least, that’s how I do it!
Carrie,
I think you need a much needed break. Just take a couple of days off, then you will be clear headed and plan your next move.
Thanks guys. I have been taking it easy and it feels better.
Carrie,
That is good-it is sooo easy to burn out working online!!!