Internet Newbie Diary

Is Newbie a bad word? To some it seems newbie equates to idiot, dummy, stoodge and (often) fair game for low-quality high-price ‘opportunity’ pitches.

Let me say something right up front here.

If you are dealing with anyone who treats you in a condescending way because you brand yourself a ‘newbie’, then run…don’t walk … in the other direction.

If they say things like …oh, you would think that because (you’re a newbie)….

Oh, you would ask that because (you’re a newbie) …

You would not understand the explanation because (you’re a newbie) …

This particular system, process, product is not for you because (you’re a newbie) …

Or if they say they are ‘training’ you or ’shaping’ you to perform (as in to buy certain things, show up certain places, talk and post about particular people or products)… Run. Run. Run.

You are not a circus monkey to be trained to jump through hoops. And ‘training’ and ’shaping’ in this context is not only blatant manipulation, it’s insulting and condescending.

Here’s the thing

You may be new to internet marketing. Fair enough. But a lot of people that have been around for months and even years still consider themselves ‘new’ because there is a lot to learn. No one person can be an expert in all of it.

Here’s the other thing. Unless you crawled out from under a rock yesterday, you are bringing to your Internet learning a wealth of off-line experience and knowledge. Perhaps you’ve been a marketing manager, or customer service rep, or have done direct sales. Perhaps a copywriter, newletter editor, receptionist or deck-builder.

You bring a wealth of skill to your online business. Yes it will take you some time to put all the pieces together. But even if you consider yourself a newbie in some areas, you might already have mastered other areas.

Look, everybody online started somewhere. Don’t hang out with the bores and the arrogant ones. The ones who call you ‘peeps’. The ones who are ’shaping’ and ‘training’ you. The ones who see you as acquisitions.

Don’t be somebody’s ‘peeps’. Be your own person.

The Internet is a ‘network’, but it is made up of individuals. Think for yourself. Stand on your own two feet. And don’t let anybody talk down to you because you’re new.

Mostly, don’t be afraid to say you’re new. It’s impossible to learn if you don’t ask the right questions. Be yourself. Be authentic.

Newbie is not a bad word. It’s simply an admission that you are smart enough to know what you do not know. And confident enough to ask for help so you can move forward.

Honestly, you would think that bloggers have found the magic beans.

Just about every blog I’ve visited since Saturday starts with a post on BlogRush.

Is it really that exciting? Does everybody have to lead with it?

I think BlogRush does have the potential to be that exciting.

It comes back to traffic again.

The success of a blog, like anything else online, is directly tied to the amount of readers you have. If you build it, and nobody comes, all you really have is a vanity blog. Sure your mother might think you’re amazing, and your friends will leave great comments, but if you’re interested in making money online using your blog you are going to need more traffic.

And BlogRush is designed to bring you scads of traffic.

BlogRush is a widget that you install on your blog. You can see what it looks like in the sidebar of this blog.

It just takes a minute to install and is completely free to use.

Tip on using BlogRush

There are tips and tricks to get the most out of BlogRush and I have a great free report that you can download called ‘How to Win with BlogRush‘. (Just rightclick on the link and choose ’save as’ to download the pdf file.)

Once you read the report, you can head over to the site to grab a free account. There’s a video that explains how it works, and step-by-step instructions. It took me about 10 minutes to be set up.

The only true way to decide is to try it for yourself and test your results.

And while I think this is a really exciting idea, it’s too early to have an informed opinion…

But I have planted the magic beans, and I’m watching for the stalk to start growing. The good news is that I didn’t have to give away the cow.

In an earlier post ‘Master Minds, No Minds, and Never Mind‘ I talked about the value of having a master mind group.

Ideally you’ll be able to form a group close to home and meet face-to-face, but it’s not necessary in order to be successful.
My master mind group of five is spread over four countries and four time zones. Although we share a common goal (to succeed in Internet Marketing), we have diverse backgrounds and markets and each person brings something unique and wonderful to the group.

We do a weekly call on Skype for one hour. There’s five of us and we each get 10 minutes to ask for help, ideas or brainstorming from the group. Ten minutes goes fast. You state your case quickly and each person gets to add comments.

W e have some special challenges because we’re doing our meetings remotely, so each week someone is tasked with chairing the call, keeping everyone on track and making sure things keep moving. This task rotates to the next person in line for the following week. This way no one person is stuck with being the time-police and we’re all leaders.

Five people. Ten minutes each. That leaves us five minutes at the top of the call for announcements and greetings, and five minutes at the end for house-keeping items.

Amazing things can happen when you have five great minds working together.

One of the members records the call, so that means less time scribbling notes and more time to pay attention to the call. And if we miss a call (hey, life happens - kids, car troubles, electricity outages) we can download it later.

Between calls we have a private group on Facebook so we can follow-up, ask questions, send each other helpful links, contacts and introductions to people we need to meet to either JV or further our business.

If you want to benefit from a master mind group, don’t let barriers stop you. Start pulling together a set of people. If you can’t find someone close by, look online and follow our model or build your own.

I’d love to hear about your master mind group and how things work for you.

And if you have any questions, I’ll do my best to answer.