Not long ago, I went to an Internet Marketing Seminar. One of the speakers was John Reese, a man who set the Internet world abuzz in August 2004 by achieving the amazing result of just over a million dollars worth of sales in 18 hours. The product, Traffic Secrets, was all about driving traffic to web sites in order to become known and ultimately make a profit.
So what is the common link between writing and internet marketing?
It's simply this: the mantra that John Reese lives by -- "Every result is an asset".
You may be thinking that it's very easy for someone who made a million bucks in less than a day to say something like that. Undoubtedly, such results are an asset to him! But when you learn more about John Reese, you discover that he spent years finding out what worked and what didn't work. Before he made that million dollars, he started 'in the hole' - one hundred thousand dollars in debt. Nothing he did seemed to work.
John didn't give up. Bit by bit, he added to his store of knowledge and built his business. He treated every result as an asset: another fragment to add to his growing data bank - whether the news was good or bad. If something didn't work, he knew not to try that again. If something worked well, he adopted that strategy as part of his arsenal. He tracked results, tweaked and tried again, made mistakes and had successes. Then, a HUGE success - a million dollars in a day.
"Every result is an asset."
Think about that for a moment. Imagine what it means to your daily life. It has implications far outside Internet Marketing - and far outside writing. It's first cousin to the saying "Everything happens for a reason". It's all about learning what works for you in life. Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone experiences rejection. Everyone encounters roadblocks.
You can choose whether to give up when the results fall short of your expectations... or you can treat every result as a valuable piece of information.
Your story or article is rejected
After you swear and slam a few doors and maybe burst into tears, calm down and think about how this result can be an asset. What have you learned?
There are other things that rejection can teach you, too - like how much you want to keep writing. Is your desire to write strong enough to withstand rejection? Are you willing to put in the time necessary to polish your craft and market your work? Do you have the resilience to bounce back after rejection - or would you be happier with another hobby or job?
Belinda Alexander's Story
Belinda Alexander was devastated when she sent her 'chick lit' story to agent Selwa Anthony and got a firm 'no'. After all, chick lit was selling well. Belinda thought she could write it OK.
Her agent didn't agree. She told Belinda to go away and figure out what it was that she really should be writing. So Belinda did.
The result was "White Gardenia" - a sweeping saga of a mother and daughter torn apart by war and finally reunited more than two decades later, after spending years searching for (and just missing) each other. Belinda's inspiration was her family - tales of wartime hardship and the plight of refugees.
This time, Selwa Anthony gave a resounding 'yes'. The novel met with critical acclaim and was a best-seller - and Belinda has found her true voice. For her, the apparently negative result of an initial rejection was a huge asset - it set her on the right path.
As a writer, you are going to meet with rejection - from editors, agents and sometimes from critics who pen negative reviews. You are going to say things you wish you hadn't said. You are going to hear things you don't like from those offering critiques. You are going to get a 'no' when you send in samples of your writing in order to secure a grant or a writer's residency.
At those times, remember: EVERY RESULT IS AN ASSET. What have you learned about yourself, your writing, your approach? Use what you learn to do a better job of crafting your work, finding new markets or deciding on a better direction. Use every bit of knowledge to move yourself further along the path to the results that you really want!
(c) Marg McAlister
Marg McAlister has published magazine articles, short stories, books for children, ezines, promotional material, sales letters and web content. She has written 5 distance education courses on writing, and her online help for writers is popular all over the world. Sign up for her regular writers' tipsheet at http://www.writing4success.com/
rental limo Atlanta .. Lockport Chicago limo O’Hare10 - You will always have a job. As long... Read More
If you have been online for any length of time... Read More
You sink back into your favourite chair with a new... Read More
Nothing is more daunting for any writer than having to... Read More
In my ten years as an advertiser, I've encountered plenty... Read More
IntroductionSometimes it may be beyond a companies or individuals budget... Read More
Have you been guilty of procrastinating on your book project,... Read More
Connectors -- conjunctions, punctuation, and transitional phrases -- allow readers... Read More
I recently set up a website to promote a new... Read More
ESSAY 2Andre Malraux once said that what interested him in... Read More
Back in the mid to late 1980s I was a... Read More
If you either want to write a book to help... Read More
The decision to publish a book is very exciting! It... Read More
Verb and SubjectIncorrect:"I bet you two had a fine time,"... Read More
Before I became a teacher, I was a sports writer.... Read More
Did you know that your back cover information is, after... Read More
11 Secrets from an Experienced InterviewerOne of the unwritten rules... Read More
You've decided to write your very own Newsletter to promote... Read More
Every hero has a seminal insight - the apotheosis. Once... Read More
If you're a writer, you're in business. It doesn't matter... Read More
First drafts are for getting down the ideas. Anna Jacobs... Read More
Writers often get stuck because they make assumptions about writing,... Read More
For many years, I've been a tutor for students undertaking... Read More
Business etiquette is fundamentally concerned with building relationships founded upon... Read More
We writers are a powerful lot. We control time. We... Read More
Bedford Park taxi to Midway ..Creative Writing Tips ?When an idea comes to us for... Read More
User documentation is all too often written by programmers for... Read More
Becoming an author is probably a lot easier than you... Read More
Why would anyone want to write for trade journals? Aren't... Read More
Simply put, it is the art of writing scripts for... Read More
For many authors just starting out, it can be a... Read More
Recently, I was hunting for a book that would simply... Read More
Writers often get stuck because they make assumptions about writing,... Read More
Do you consider yourself a storyteller? Do you consider yourself... Read More
My article this issue is an excerpt from a book... Read More
Creative Writing Tips ?Complete a character questionnaire for each of... Read More
What a wonderful resource the Internet is!Students find information to... Read More
For many years, I've been a tutor for students undertaking... Read More
If your writing muscle isn't in shape, writing a novel... Read More
There are various forms of structure, including frameworks, work processes... Read More
We've all seen those ads that grab our attention and... Read More
The decision to publish a book is very exciting! It... Read More
Griselda spent hours polishing up her resume. No detail was... Read More
If Ben Franklin were alive today, he would be...uh, very... Read More
How do you describe a scene without slowing down the... Read More
I've seen it time and again. One of the most... Read More
The principle for writing good screenplays begins with good idea... Read More
Our Freelance Writing Needs DefinedWe must make freelance niche types... Read More
First, let's tackle the question that is uppermost in many... Read More
A friend and I were talking the other day about... Read More
Writing |