Wednesday, July 22, 2020

Blogger Overview - Peek at the Dashboard



Rainy day here. A good day to do some recording and editing.
Been putting up some more videos on the channel.

I'm going to miss the legacy dashboard!

Saturday, July 18, 2020

Wordpress, Platforms, Customer Experience

For a while, I didn't want to install wordpress on my site.
It drives me crazy with the plugins and themes etc.
Plus, always looking for tutorials for how to do this and that etc.

As a coder, it doesn't seem to be easy to style it the way I want to.
Because you need a plugin to do custom CSS. 😒
And there are premium themes and plugins, and paid.

So the paid versions are the ones I'd need to do what I want.
When you're first starting out, you may not have the cash to spend
getting set up, etc...

Etc.... Etc.... (I'm feeling redundant today!) 😂

A well known marketer is quoted as saying:
"If you can't afford to spend $200/month on your business...
You shouldn't be in business...." -RB.

I'll quote him with his initials.
Because I don't like talking about him (or his platform).
He said this quote in a video he did.
He was talking about his competitors (another platform)
that was under pricing him.
(Probably still is). 😂

The thing is with the new platform... (Not as new anymore)
Was that the ONLY payment method they had was PayPal.
A lot of people had their PayPal accounts closed, permanently.
So when that happened, they lost the ability to pay for the platform,
AND they lost the 'grandfathered in' status. 😒
Because their accounts closed due to non-payment
(because they couldn't have a backup payment method). 😒

So they screwed themselves AND their customers on that.

The platforms I'm talking about are site builders.

If I was a bomb at programming, I just would do it myself.
I'm a coder, not a programmer, so I still rely on platforms
that already have a CMS (content management system)
even though most (not all) of the platforms SUCK!
(Or elements of them SUCK!)

But this is coming from MY perspective
as a coder who wants to be able to do more.

The reason why I even mentioned that quote is....
To people like RB, it's about the money.
It's obviously not about the customers.
He's all proud of his 'product'
(As generic as it is....) 😴

Yeah, to make money, you gotta spend money.
Whether it's on platforms or whatever,
or training, or inventory....

But, the more affordable something is,
the more it will sell
because the people who can afford it will be able to afford it.

This is part of the reason why I tell people about FREE tools.
People are already spending an 💪 and a 🦵 on products
and services for their business, if they CAN.

Those who can barely afford to be in business...
Are struggling.

People who are making money, hand over fist, like RB,
don't want to think about what it would be like
not to be able to afford $200/month on ONE tool.

Because other tools cost money, too.

And yes, they are in business to make money.
That is the whole point.

BUT, what I'm saying is it's also ABOUT the customers.
If you show that you care about your customers....
And they aren't just a digit to you,
then you stand to gain a lot more in the long run.
If it weren't for the customers, there wouldn't BE a business.
If nobody wanted to 'rent' his product or services...
He wouldn't be making money.
He wouldn't be bragging, 

and he'd be eating a nice BIG slice of  Humble Pie. 

His quote did NOT make me want to buy his 'product.'
No matter what the 'benefits' may be.
His attitude alone doesn't justify me paying that dude $200/month.

He said some similiar stuff about another competitor.
Comparing 'active members'
to someone who JUST started in the market.
Not a fair comparison,
but AGAIN, his attitude SUCKS
and it doesn't make me want to do business with him, period.

THINK ABOUT YOUR CUSTOMERS.
PROVIDE THEM WITH VALUE! ALWAYS!
Show that you care! It shows!
It really shows when you don't....


If it's a free training, it's a free training.
If it's a free sample, whatever it is....

I know.... A lot of people have said that if it's free,
they won't appreciate it....

It's like people have associated the VALUE of something
with the COST of something.

Just because it costs $200/month....
Doesn't mean it's WORTH $200/month.
Not with the "I'm better than you" attitude.
Not with the "You shouldn't be in business" attitude.
Not with the "I DGAF about my customers" attitude.

None of that says I should pay him $200/month.
Sorry. NOT sorry. 

Customer appreciation GOES A LONG WAY, PERIOD.
Show your customers that you VALUE their business
and they will continue to do business with you.
They will also give others reasons
why THEY should do business with you, too.

OR.... show them you DGAF about them, and lose them. Forever.
Even before you get them....
(DRIVE THEM STRAIGHT TO YOUR COMPETITION,
YOU MAY AS WELL....)

Anyway, with the cursing aside....
And my personal opinions aside....

Just remember, people are watching you.
When they get to know you, they'll be watching.
They'll quote you like I did with RB.
I don't care how good his books are or how much he is worth....
His attitude doesn't do it for me, period.
Even if his 'product' was more 'affordable.'

All he seems to care about is how many books he sells,
how many 'active members' he has,
how much money he's making.

He doesn't look at his 'active members' as customers.
There is ZERO customer appreciation
with MOST businesses.
As a result, they LOSE customers.

Not to mention customer service....
If your customer service SUCKS, you'll lose customers.

It doesn't mean you have to kiss their butts....
It means that you don't treat them like CRAP.
AND expect them to want to do business with you in the future....

For an example: (It has to do with business and customer service).

I've paid for certain services and got ripped off.
I'm currently dealing with lawyers and insurance agents in one case.
Because I was going to go on vacation
and the bus we were on, CRASHED. We got INJURED.
The customer service for that company was super CRAP. 😡
It took 5 DAYS for them to ship our luggage back
to a city that is only 5 hours away! 😡
If your service INJURES someone, make them a priority!
I probably wouldn't have gone to the lengths that I had to go
just to get COMPENSATION
IF THEY OFFERED ME COMPENSATION.
(AT LEAST REFUNDED MY TICKETS,
PROVIDED SOME ACCOMODATION,
ENSURED THAT WE GOT OUR LUGGAGE PROMPTLY!)
INSTEAD OF HAVING TO CHASE THEM DOWN...
AND GO THROUGH LAWYERS AND INSURANCE... 😡
Then, that would have improved my experience with them.
Greatly, even significantly.
Instead of the 'customer care line'
giving me different numbers to call
and running me in circles
because nobody wanted to actually deal with the mess or with me.
Or even take the blame for something that was their fault. 😡

I left messages, I got angry. I was a customer.
We paid to get to a destination.
They had one job to do. Get us there, safely.

It wasn't JUST the accident. It wasn't JUST the injuries.
It was how we were TREATED in light of it ALL.
It made me NOT trust them.
It made me NOT want to pay for their services again.
It left a sour taste in my mouth.

Another example:
I had a business meeting with someone at a business.
Instead of meeting with me,
he sent someone else to deal with me. 😒

That didn't sit well with me.
Honor your meetings.

Meet with the people you're supposed to meet with.
Because they won't be customers very long, if you don't.
THAT is poor customer service. 😒

For another example of customer service,
I had someone make a mistake when it came to an account.
Instead of blaming someone else for THEIR mistake....
They actually were decent and sent me an email

with a sincere apology!
That is what we like to see in business.  😍
I have MORE respect for those who can and will admit they were wrong.

People are bound to make mistakes. We aren't flawless human beings.
Nobody is perfect. Nobody.

But the DECENT thing to do is ADMIT it.
And then, correct it. 😎

Customer appreciation,
Customer service,
and customer experience
are ALL very important.
To the overall experience.

If they have a great experience, they will return.
They'll even rave about you. 😎

No matter what their experience, good or bad,
they will tell people about it.
They are most likely going to talk about CRAP experiences, though.
CRAP experiences aren't just frustrating, they are stressful.
Nobody wants added stress. Goes without saying, truly.

Something to think about. 🤔

Friday, July 17, 2020

Recording, Editing, Videos & More!

The last few days, I've been recording videos.
I'm just as crap narrating as I'd be on camera, hahaha.
(Debating whether or not I should release the last ones I did).
I could leave them there and be all like...
"Look how bad I was when I first started!" 😂

I've found a bunch of free tools...
On top of the tools I've been making videos of.

I got a list of some pretty cool ones to add to the list on here.
It'll end up being a pretty long list.
I found some really good ones that I've been paying for, for free.

Anyway, been testing out some free stuff
and want to test some other stuff out.

I want to see what can be done with it.
Specifically these tools by Growth Tools.
They will be added to the list, too.

Found some good videos on youtube, also.
There are a bunch of teachers on Youtube,
doing vlogs and stuff, teaching how they use some of the tools.

I find that teaching, coaching, and mentoring etc is the way to go.
People pay a lot of money for information, but to be taught....
That is a service....

And, yes, some people are hard to teach.
And yes, some things are hard to learn.
But we do our best with what we've got.

Doing videos is a different beast for me.
For one, I don't like going on camera.
For two, I sound like a teenager. (It's true). 😂

I don't script any of my videos.
And I mess up, a lot.

Luckily I can edit my screen captures,
but editing is another beast for me, too.


I'd spend over an hour filming something that turns out
less than 10 minutes long.
Just for having to restart the video... Many times
And having to pause for noise in the hallway...
Having to pause for many reasons.

And I'm self concious. So I get nervous while recording.
All the while knowing that I'm messing up.

Someone told me: "Done is better than perfect."

So I try to have a task to complete.
Whether it is recording, or writing, or research....

Some days, I learn a lot, but don't get a lot done.
Some days, I get a lot done, but haven't learned a lot.
So I try to balance it out, the best that I can.

And one of the best ways to learn and only ways to really learn it
is by actually doing it.
That is where the testing comes in.
At times I feel like I'm testing myself, too.
To see how much I can take... Hahaha. 😂

To be fair, I'm trying to get where I'd like to be in a couple of years.
And that's a bit of a stretch from where I'm at. Honestly.

Been looking at the e-learning model, though.
I was looking at it a few years ago, too.

I just know that with my voice, it would be hard.
Maybe there is some secret prize for worst tutorials hahaha. 😂
People would buy it just to see how bad it is 😂

Seriously, PLR can be used for online courses.
It can be used for a variety of things.
Blog posts, pod casts, videos, courses, membership sites etc.

Been looking at Google Slides. 😍
It'll be in one of my next videos.

Saw some teachers doing some pretty neat stuff.
Including animation, with slides.
Then she went to a website and imported her slides,
and her slides were turned into a .gif.

So there's a lot I've been learning about over the past couple of days.
I'll be adding some more videos on here.

Videos that I find helpful.... I'd love to share.
So I'll be adding some of my stuff with other people's stuff.
Nothing wrong with: "Hey, I like this. Hope you do, too."

Thanks for the views on my latest video....
Much appreciated! 😍

Monday, July 13, 2020

Create An Email Address in Cpanel And Forward your Email to Gmail



The first video I uploaded to the new Youtube channel...

Google Tools

Google has a bunch of free tools to use.
There are some I didn't know existed. Honestly.

A couple of them are:

Google Sites

and Google Classrooms

I'm about to test these out.
And I'll be actually starting a YouTube channel....
To make some videos about cool things I find out about online.

(Making videos isn't my favorite thing to do,
but I upgraded on Screencast-o-matic
just so that I can make some videos to put up on youtube.

I'll make some unlisted videos just to put on this blog.

I want to say a BIG THANK YOU to my readers.
You're giving me the encouragement to keep moving forward.
I appreciate you stopping by 🥰

Google sells domain names, too.
I found this out because I wanted a custom domain for this blog.
So you have the abilitiy to create a little site with google sites
and connect a custom domain to it.

Google Sites is pretty neat, as far as what you can do with it.
It's one of those editor type platform things,
but you can get creative with it.

This is why I love knowing some basic coding stuff.
Because I can add custom stuff to it.

I'll be showing you how to do stuff like this in the videos I'll be making.
I'm going to recommend some channels that I personally subscribe to.

Anyway, if you can't afford the tools like ClickFunnels....
And you want to get a little site out there,
even to pitch a product or something like that....

And yes, you can integrate stuff with it if you can embed it.
The embed tool thing is awesome.
That's what I use to put custom stuff on it.

I've been messing with it the last couple of days.
And I think it's neat.
There are some things that could be better,
but it's FREE, you can make as many as you want....
It's hosted BY Google.... It lives on your google drive.

You can use it in conjunction with google docs....
You can also use it in conjunction with other google tools...
There's quite a bit you can do with it.

Google Classrooms. I haven't tested it out a lot.
I think it's cool that it exists.
You can create a classroom
and the only ones who can enter have a code to enter.

So if you want to make a mini course, it's a good thing to test out.
If you don't have one of those fancy sites
with all those plug ins and stuff....
(Wordpress drives me crazy....
This is part of the reason that I'm using Blogger.
The other part is that Blogger is awesome!)

Check these out if you want to.
They can be a neat and free alternative
to using sites and tools if you're absolutely broke
and just starting out.

Saturday, July 11, 2020

About Building Websites

Marketing is a struggle to get into.
It's more than just building a website or a blog
and hoping that people visit it...

Pointless to quit when a year from now someone could be
somewhere else entirely.

That's the hope people have when they start an online business.
They want to see some results for the effort they are putting in.

Obviously, the results depend on the actions they take, or don't take.

Hard to expect changes when nothing changes.
When we keep doing what we've always done,
we'll continue to get what we've always gotten.

It takes a lot of learning.
Even just to be a business owner.
Let alone all this marketing stuff....

There's a lot people know and charging a lot of money to teach.
What happens when you don't have thousands of dollars for specialized training?

It gets harder to learn what we aren't exposed to.
It's easier for people who know other businesspeople to talk business with.
Instead of trying to figure it out on their own.

This is why when I learn stuff, I want to write about it.

But at the same time, I'm still trying to get myself set up.
It's easier to set things up when you've done it before.
The more experience you get, the easier it gets.

The less experience you have, the harder it is.
Especially when you're the only one you've got.

I know. I've been there.
There's still stuff I'm learning every day.
But at the same time, I want to be excited about this.
I want to be able to talk about it with my friends
but they don't get what I'm doing or why I'm doing it.
They think all my interests when it comes to this stuff is only 'hobby'
And they tell me to choose between 'hobby' and 'career.'
They have their opinions about what is realistic.
Even though ecommerce is worth trillions of dollars.

Sometimes I'd just like to talk about it. Y'know?
Very few people I know have anything to do with internet marketing.
And the very few people I know of....
Are too busy to talk about it haha.
They are busy doing it.

My friends think this is all about building websites, but it's not.
It's about more than that. A lot more.
Having certain pages, like landing pages, squeeze pages, sales pages...
And even bridge pages.... It's more about having a system set up...
And that means a lot of planning
unless you already have several systems....

Then you could plug and play...

But, when you are starting and you want to put out something good...

I was checking out one those webpage builder things.
I'm not going to name it on here.
I admire people who come out with their own software
or are trying to compete with bigger companies,
providing a similar service, etc.

It's just that a lot of the software I've used
when it comes to website builders.... It's pretty frustrating.
So many limitations.
And a lot of the time, it's a WYSIWYG editor thing.
And you can only do so much with those.
(Not saying I expect it to be perfect or anything),
I'm just saying that they don't always make things easier.

I was talking to a friend the other night about websites.
He said: "Would you rather put like 90+ hours into a website
and risk people not liking it or put that time into something else?"

Firstly, who's to say everyone's going to hate it?
What if it's just diffferent enough that it stands out a bit more?

Secondly, if  a webpage has to be built, so what if it takes a long time?

Personally, I'd rather put the effort into it and not just slap something together.
That's what a lot of people do. They just slap things together.
It took me a while to be content with the design for this blog.
I changed the theme a bunch of times.
I tried to import a theme, but I couldn't insert an image into the header.

Getting set up is the challenge. Once you're rocking, you're rocking.

Gotta be willing to suck at stuff to get better at it.
For me, it's making videos.
And a lot of other things.

But that just means there is room to improve
and at least I'm willing to honestly admit
that I suck at those things.

We all have our challenges and limitations when starting out.
And a lot of it has to do with sucking at things
(that we haven't done before or don't do often).
And things we don't really want to do,
(we can outsource stuff).

This brings me to PLR. Instead of having to write their own stuff,
they can take it from PLR, repupose it and rebrand it.

I'm going to be writing more about this in the next few posts.

Friday, July 10, 2020

A Bit About SEO & Business

Been curious about how Google ranks keywords.
I read in this article that Google doesn't support
meta tags for keywords.

 I wanted to add some keywords somewhere
to see if I can pop up in the search engine.

I'm in the top 2 for the search words "lucky star plr blog"
and only the posts I wrote about blogging show up there.
It's cool that I'm in the first 2 for those words.
But I'd like to learn to rank for more words.

I was reading that the meta tags don't work for SEO anymore.

I was also on a call with someone from the bank.
Setting up my business account.

He pointed out that the Legal name of my business is the same as my name
because I registered a sole proprietorship.
I want it to be the name of he business I registered
as I can collect payments as my business name
and not as my personal name, if that makes sense.

So I tried calling Service Canada and it was frustrating
because they didn't answer my question
about changing my license
so that I could accept payments as my business name.

Can I or can I not get the name of my business
as the legal name of the business on my license?

That is all that I'm asking.

It can be confusing for a new business owner.
There are laws and rules and all kinds of things
that I'm still learning.

But when you have questions, it's important to get answers.
And it would be nice if the people we talked to
understood what we are asking about in the first place
so that we can get those answers.

I'm asking questions about a license.
To make changes to the license.
If changes need to be made, and in this case they do.

Because if I charge them as a business owner,
it is differently from charging them as a business.

I have to get this straightened out before I can even start doing business.

Blogger Overview - Peek at the Dashboard

Rainy day here. A good day to do some recording and editing. Been putting up some more videos on the channel. I'm going to miss the lega...