Resources: MarsEdit, Omnigraffle, Screenr.com, Password Protected Enhancement (custom WordPress password protected pages), eDatingDoc.com
jan 7th
whew, the vacation time and company paris travel is now over. i’m on the plane back home and it’s clear to me you can’t work on a wordpress website while offline no matter how many elements you try to download. i’ve been using MarsEdit which is an offline blogging program, but without being able to preview things live, and go through the process of my product now that I have a working framework i’m left with only the ability to draw up rough text anxad the mental beginnings of the pages that need to happen.
after this long break i’m super eager to get creating again. i can sense the feelings of being fed up with little public materials to show, by the end of next week, the three services have to get up on the site in beta so i can see it live and get some feedback, set up the payment processes and videos. roll on.
jan 10th
back in action mode. somewhat stale looking at the mindmaps and flow, it’s roughly %80 done, so i’m just going to make it live on the site to see the flow and look for gaps. progress must be made.
nightrecorded 2 videos, going through the pages for obvious missing pieces.
jan 13th
still sitting in wordpress and MarsEdit most of the time, snapping screen shots, adding text, and finally recording video, although I’m not sold that video is the best medium for me to use.
certainly screen recordings should be used in a few circumstanced but i don’t know about the salespage. see here. http://www.itarsenal.com/wordpress-websites/train-me/
i might try my new screen recording tool screenr.com
opportunities abound while creating an information product to collaborate. i use woothemes often for web development, and usually manage and recommend godaddy, media temple, and hostgater hosting. i finally took the time to sign up for all the affiliate programs and added the affiliate links not only to links throughout the trainer materials, but to my shared google doc for listing my quick access affiliate links
nothing revolutionary lately, grinding it out and it feels good.
helped someone on www.justanswer.com today, ended up referring them to my website to which they immediately said “i need you in my life” bookmarked me, and friended IT Arsenal on facebook. win.
set up my wordpress backup service for someone who was recommended to me by mars dorian. relationships always prove to be your most important asset, always cultivate them, always give. i don’t have anything official in terms of documentation or sales pitch for the wordpress backup, so i set up the backup service for free, and will call on this referral for a testimonial down the line.
jan 13 later
various tweaks and changes to the language, spacing, and some image updates to the WP Trainer site.
created a custom e-mail so when the product is purchased, ejunkie send them access info, and if they click “complete purchase” from the paypal checkout, are brought back to a customized purchase complete page http://www.itarsenal.com/wordpress-websites/wordpress-websites-trainer-purchase-complete/ i can hopefully re-use in the future.
i think i’m only missing a few videos, so i’ve asked a few good friends with products of their own (david, sean) to go through the product, even buying it to test the purchase flow.
i wanted to customize the page you land on if you try to access a password protected page and haven’t logged in. so of course there’s a great little plugin called “password protected enhancement” that lets me customize the text shown, and if I want, include an excerpt of the page. nice.
i had doubts about just using a password protected page instead of a full on membership site, but I like this way, it seems more compartmentalized, and i will be capturing everyone who has bought the product into a mailchimp list, so if I need to update the password in the future, i can e-mail it to everyone fairly easily.
more on the mailchimp link later, it’s done with ejunkie and mailchimp addon capabilities.
jan 17th
amazed that while working on the WP trainer service i was requested to have another service package (the WordPress backup) i am launching to be performed, through Mars Dorian’s referral. rock on Mars… the client relationship grew into a few e-mails, easily a testimonial and finding a kindred spirit. he also ended up looking at my WP trainer and giving a detailed review. can’t knock that. check out “Radio Write” and http://www.edatingdoc.com/ his online business.
so i’ve heard back from 3 people on the WP trainer so far. it’s just about ready for launch, needs a home button placed on each information stage which I totally neglected, and higher quality videos…then it’s ready to go.
the day job is back in full swing, and i’m back to fending off requests for more work from alternate sources and old clients. it seems like a good thing, but they are time sucks.
i have to keep reminding myself that execution is a mindset. front loaded money pays better than cash now trading my time for money.
in that same vein, i’m more present to the fact that blog based business are great for a lifestyle businesses, but require a lot of blood and sweat. i don’t mind it, but diversifying is key. i want to live off these businesses, not just spend tons of hours on them.
so in the background i am working on two projects www.hdvideotest.com and www.memoryphotoblocks.com … both are stand alone, niche based businesses. one to make money off affiliates and traffic, and based off common interest and knowledge…and the other is something i think is a hot uncommon personalized trend. the frameworks of buying the domain, building a skeleton website, and getting a feel for realistic growth are in play.
i used to be so enamored with the tools, the looking up keywords before hand, but i’ve realized you need to get about knee deep in before you can cast those lines and see if your idea has any chance of making it.
you have to be able to look around before you can even ask certain questions you need to answers to. the tools have been the same, web domains, wordpress, a slow networking building of people who know me as an entrepreneur and creator, adwords, and then the trickle of interest that comes from social media posts, articles written at niche websites and forums…then executing on actually providing something to test.
sounds so simple but as the months whirl on, i can attest here that it’s not, especially when you’re going at it in the moonlight. carry on wayward soldiers ->
Commitment Updates
LDP commitment results for jan 16th:
- 10 visual website updates (complete)
- 1 service package online in beta (sales functional, salespage reviewed) (incomplete, reviewed and updating)
- come up with 5 business goals for 2011 (incomplete, haven’t even looked at my dreamlines for a secondtime)
- complete and invoice mortgage site project client (complete)
- clean out update task list for soccer coach site client (complete)
LDP commitments for jan 23rd:
- each service listed on website (placeholders for non ready services)
- WP trainer online in beta for major discount
- come up with 5 business goals for 2011
- salespage skeleton for WP “do it for me” service
- $700 in JustAnswer quota hit, and no more questions answered! stop myself
- all content pages filled for www.hdvideotest.com