Community

Jun

What would do if:

Someone gave you a website, but never transferred the domain name to you completely after more than one request for the authentication key. Later letting the site lapse without telling you losing all content and work on the site?

Someone took said website back for a short time, while you were on vacation, when the opportunity came up to monetize through a giveaway and twitter party. Without sharing the revenue?

Someone asked to review your ebook, using the content to successfully write an ebook, without ever crediting you in any way?

Someone stole your idea and launched a book the same month as you on the same topic?

Someone posted a blog post with your same title two days after you?

Someone launched the cover of her coming book the day after you did?

Someone bought a domain for a website with similar focus as your main blog one week after talking with you about your passionate idea?

Someone later told you on the phone it didn’t matter because “ideas aren’t trademarked and as long as the work is her original words it’s not illegal”?

Someone replaced your affiliate links with her affiliate links on a website you both worked on?

I’m not sure what you would do but blocking and unfollowing were therapeutic for me. A small amount of whining and a passive-aggressive blog post were also helpful. Creating my new to-do list and kicking butt on my new ebook project were even more helpful.

Understand this – there is definitely an ugly side. But you don’t have to fight ugly with ugly! That and there is sometimes a difference between what is illegal and what is ethical – decide whether you are willing to settle for “just legal” or if you want to have a truly clear conscience so that no one can smear your good name behind your back.

Dec

How to Add Niche Newsletter Autoresponders Using Mailchimp

By AngEngland | Community, How tos

1 Comment

This screencast will cover how to create targeted autoresponder newsletters for your subscribers via Mailchimp. I love mailchimp because you can start out at a free level while building up your newsletter subscribers. I only wish that I had set up a newsletter for my websites much (MUCH!) sooner. Do not make my mistake – go to Mailchimp and get an account for your blog immediately.

Why Use Autoresponder Newsletters For Your Readers?

In the screencast video you’ll see step-by-step one way I might set up an autoresponder for the niche topic newsletters I’m just creating for Untrained Housewife – in this case, Menu Planning, Recipes and Meal Prep. It’s a good way to include affiliate links while providing GREAT content for your subscribers: I’ll be highlighting archived articles that might otherwise be overlooked and be able to group similarly themed articles written by multiple contributors (in this case when I finished polishing I pointed readers to three pizza-related articles on Untrained Housewife). I will also be including lots of newsletter-only content.

Steps to Creating An Autoresponder in Mailchimp

1. Log in and click on the Autoresponder tab in your Mailchimp dashboard.

2. Click “Add Autoresponder” and Title your autoresponder. This is the title YOU will see, not any of the people on your list.

3. Once you’ve created your autoresponder, create the email (use the quick links under your newly created title)

4. Select the group or list segment you want the autoresponder to go to. In this case, I’m selecting specific list segments based on who signed up for the additional resources group on the Untrained Housewife newsletter subscription page.

5. Select the template or create your email and enter your specific copy. In this case I found a couple other articles about pizza and made the content section bigger so it’s balanced with the sidebar ad.

6. (not shown on the video) Click NEXT just above the editing screen. Click Copy from HTML. This creates a plain text version of the newsletter or autoresponder so that people who request plain text emails will still get the mailing.

7. Keep clicking next and double check that everything is how you want it. Watch your reply to email in case you want a different email than the one you signed up with. Click START AUTORESPONDER (see orange button in image) and your autoresponder will “turn on” and be ready to mail out as soon as the selected parameters are met. In this case – as soon as a subscriber reaches their 60th day, viola (!) this email will appear in their inbox!

Affiliate Programs I’ve Used

Linkshare is the affiliate program I demonstrated in this screencast. It’s easy to use and has a wide variety of advertisers involved. This and Share-A-Sale are the two I’m now using most frequently.

Commision Junction is another one I’ve used with fair success.

Share-A-Sale is something I’ve recently joined when I joined the Headway Themes affiliate program (the theme I have on Untrained Housewife) and I’ve had very good success through them so far. Better than any of the other programs I’ve tried, although the Share-A-Sale site is a bit harder to navigate than Linkshare.

ClickBank has a lot of digital products, but didn’t work as well in my own experiences.

Note that some links in this post may be affiliate links.

Sep

Turning One-Time Visitors into Loyal Returning Friends

By AngEngland | Community

3 Comments

Are you connecting with customers and encouraging them to make the leap?

You know how sometimes “real life” can teach you so much about business, marketing and things online? I had that experience recently when we signed our kids up for a Bible program called AWANA at a new church we had never visited before. Our first time there was to enroll the kids was on a Wednesday night and we had no intention of trying the church services on Sunday – we just wanted our children in the Wednesday night program.

Friday afternoon I got a letter from the pastor in our mailbox. Expecting the standard form letter “Thanks for visiting”, what I found was a much more personalized and heart-felt letter that has relevance to all of us.

He welcome us by name. He mentioned each of our children by name in the letter, and let us know who the teacher was in that age group, and what they were currently studying. He invited us to the small group session and let us know that we’d already met the teacher of the young marrieds group at dinner on Wednesday night. What his letter taught us about marketing and reaching out to first-time visitors is truly profound.

Here are the takeaways:

1. Be Personal

Our family was mentioned by name. Our children were included and since it was obvious from our first visit that our children are important to us this was a huge plus to us. When you thank someone for a purchase or a visit or contacting you, do you respond personally? Or with a stock form letter?

1. Be Specific about What to Expect

In this case it was the mention of my children and their age groups that provided the specific details. Hearing their teacher’s names and lesson topics meant that I could prepare my children ahead of time if we chose to come. It made me feel like I already knew what to expect and so the fear of the unknown was eliminated.

People can come up with a hundred excuses to not go to your website, buy your product or hire you for a job. Often they boil down to not knowing what to expect – the fear of the unknown. The other is feeling a lack of connection to the company, brand or person. This letter from the church effectively address both of those major concerns in a very neat and concise manner. How are you doing?

Aug

Blogging Buddies Rule! Do you Have One Yet? – Day 15

By AngEngland | Build a Better Blog, Community

1 Comment

This is the part of blogging that I love – collaboration and communication! Really…it’s fabulous to me to connect with other bloggers, offer them a guest post opportunity, stumble their link, leave a comment or introduce a couple bloggers who might benefit from touching base with eachother. I cannot count the number of times I have passed along a writing, blogging or other opportunity (even book opps!) to fellow bloggers because I KNEW what they were about.

This is where speaking up, shaking hands (even if virtually) and making some connections can be so valuable. So that if a friend hears about an opportunity for a pet blogger they won’t say “I do not write about animals” and hit delete, but will think “Oh this would be perfect for Lorie” and hit the forward button. I do a lot of this as Editor-in-Chief of Blissfully Domestic, and at Untrained Housewife, where I’m able to pass along review, interview and other opportunities to my columnists.

In addition to commenting on eachother’s blogs or helping to promote via social bookmarking sites (also known as “link love”) connecting with another blogger can help motivate and encourage you. Do you have another blogger in your niche topic area that you can partner with? I remember reading an article once about a group of five individuals who created a “Blog Alliance” for themselves. I think this is a fabulous idea.

Your challenge today is to introduce yourself to a blogger you’d like to partner with OR formalize a blog-buddy relationship with an existing friend. Darren’s suggestion in 31 Days to Build a Better Blog, is to find someone who’s blog is on a similar level as yours…..if you’re both extremely new, fairly established, or well established you’ll have similar challenges and better relate.

If you need help finding someone LET ME KNOW. I know literally hundreds of bloggers in the various venues I haunt and can probably make an introduction for you if necessary.

Jun

What’s a Blogger to Be?

By AngEngland | Community, Getting Started

Be Humble About Our Blogging Success

There is very little about my personal success that is something I did completely by myself. I am one unique visitor on this blog – just one of the thousands who have visited. Yes, I write. But others share. You come and read. Comment. Support. Inspire. Without YOU this blog wouldn’t be much at all.

Be Gentle To New Bloggers

Sometimes new bloggers ask questions. Sometimes the same exact question I’ve answered a few dozen times already. Just like my fourth baby born this April is bound to ask the same, semi-annoying questions a hundred times that my 5 ½ year old asks today with regularity.

And just like I won’t snap at my children for a healthy curiosity and desire to learn, it isn’t helpful to snap at newbies who are just trying to learn the ropes and curious about how to get where you are.

Experienced Bloggers Should Be Patient With Beginner Mistakes

EVERYONE makes mistakes. Let’s never forget the time when we stumbled in the public eye and be patient with eachother. I promise you readers this – I will never expect you to be perfect until I am perfect. Lol!

Quite some time ago – when I first started writing online – I sent an email with a sarcastic, teasing line. As soon as I sent it I realized that the recipient would not take it the same way I was meaning because of a personal history. Oh no! My hands were shaking and sweaty – I was beating myself up as I quickly called to explain and apologize.

What a gracious, loving response I received. Just like the end of the verse says to bear with one another. TOLERATE eachother’s mistakes. Eachother’s personality quirks. Because my goodness do I ever have some personality quirks!

And am grateful to you all for the tolerance you show me.