Twitter Artists Collective

Sunday, December 2nd, 2007 at 5:47 am

Working At Home Technofarts

Iâ € ™ m trying to create a new word for seniors Who are computer savvy. Are we Geeksters? Senior Netizens? Maybe Techn-old-Farts?

I do believe Iâ € ™ m part of a new generation of oldsters Who Can geek it up with the grandkids and maybe Even a € € œout-Twit them on occasion.

It wasnâ € ™ t Always That Way. In Fact, I Was Probably late to the game. I got my first laptop in 1995, just in time to write and format my doctorate dissertation. Boy, would That Have Been rough going with a typewriter.

But for nine years, I Was Relatively techno-phobic, using only bare essentials like email. Blogging changed everything for me in 2004.

Now Iâ € ™ m one of the savvy ones. I make my living online, with words I write. People buy my articles, Â ebooks, and online services, money goes into my bank account, and it all Happens seamlessly, Automatically, while I snooze on the patio.

But itâ € ™ s Not That Either easy or simple. I spend a lot of hours online so That People Can find me, see What I Have to offer, Then â € œclick and buy.â €

I know enough HTML code to update my web pages myself Without Going Through a web guy. Iâ € ™ ve Been writing Since 2004 Several blogs on Which made me a pioneer of sorts. Iâ € ™ m branded as The Blog Squad, and people hire me to help fix Their Their blogs make Web marketing and better.

Other experts ask me to Contribute Their chapters in books, Usually about my area of expertise, content marketing. Also I teach what i know to groups of entrepreneurs in teleseminars, all Virtually. The best thing about all this is, I do it all from the comfort of Our beautiful home in Ajijic.

Iâ € ™ m Not bragging, Iâ € ™ m amazed this has Happened That at all. I Was someone Who Was Called a techno-idiot five years ago. I figured the web programmers Held secret keys to online wizardry. Now my husband asks me about Internet Things € | ha!

I didnâ € ™ t get much smarter That, But online tools and systems Have gotten Easier for us non-techie folks. If you think computers and software Programs are scary, maybe you havenâ € ™ t it a good try Given Lately.

I use Facebook, Twitter, and post videos on YouTube. I Have three main websites, BOTH of them on blogging Platforms Which makes it easy for me to update and make changes. Using a blogging platform INSTEAD of traditional website Programs That Also Means What I write on the Web Quickly gets indexed by the search engines. Iâ € ™ m â € œfindableâ € Easily online. Œgoogleâ € â € Just me, youâ € ™ ll see.

I have a Powerful shopping cart system Called KickStartCart.com, Which Organizes my email marketing Campaigns, and the database list of opt-in email addresses of People who want to hear from me.

I use a voice-over-Internet Called phone system Packet8 Which Gives me a U.S. telephone number and a flat fee for services. Itâ € ™ s Not Perfect, But for running a business, it lets people call me just as if I were in the States.

Delivering For teleseminars (virtual training over the phone), I use FreeTeleconferencing.com, a system That Allows hundreds of people to call in on a bridge line at the same time. It makes recordings of my classes. Either I can sell or Give These MP3 audio files to Others Who missed the class.

I use MyKnowledgeGenie.com to create ebooks (digital books) and training manuals. Itâ € ™ s easy to use and free Almost.

Typepad.com I use for most of my WordPress blogs and to Streamline Theme for two of my other business blogs. I pay $ 15/month and Typepad dog blogs on That Have unlimited account.

We use one of Our blogs for Staying in privately touch with family, and for posting photos. You can get a Small account with Typepad for only $ 9/month, and for That You Can Have three blogs.

Another blogging platform Called is Blogger, and itâ € ™ s Entirely free. I donâ € ™ t recommend using it for business Purposes, But Other Than That itâ € ™ s just fine. Many friends I know just want a place on the Web Where Can They write and express themselves.

None of These systems costs much and many are free (YouTube, 12SecondsTV, WordPress, FreeTeleconferencing.com, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn).

The Biggest cost in running my business is the shopping cart, KickStartCart, Which runs $ 59/month. But itâ € ™ s well-worth it in my database Terms of Organizing, Email Campaigns, digital downloads, and client purchases. Itâ € ™ s connected to my merchant bank for easy online payments ".

If You Had a little home business, Could you use PayPal or Google Checkout and Avoid the costs of a Comprehensive Higher ecommerce system.

I talk to many people whoa € ™ ve retired down here Who Have 40-50 years of expertise in Their Heads. Many are bored and would love to open œlittle € â € But business online.es They havenâ € ™ ta clue WHERE to begin.

Itâ € ™ s Not rocket science but you do have to take it step-by-step and learn a FEW new skills. The Key Is Not To Get Overwhelmed AND NOT to spend a ton of money buying Into Some € ™ s Internet guru get-rich-quick-on-the-Internet program. There are plenty of scam artists and A Few Experienced and reputable experts. All of them want your money. Heck, so do I!

The secret That is key Knowing Thereâ € ™ s plenty of free information available and you Need to read and study this first. Then ask someone for help if You need it, and ask someone Because you really trust theyâ € ™ ve Given generously you free information.

Here are A Few of my basic steps for opening up a little online biz:

1. Think it Through Before You start

2. What problem do you solve?

3. Who will be your target audience?

4. What are the Benefits These People If They to buy from you or hire your services?

5. What products and services do you Have to offer?

6. What is your product funnel: free, free for email, token fee, big ticket items?

7. How will you collect email addresses? (Hint: a good shopping cart system)

8. How will you brand yourself?

9. What domain name (s) Can You Obtain?

10. Cornerstone Create your content, message core values, and background story (bio)

11. Create your blog

12. Several Create your accounts on social networking sites: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube

13. Connect your blog posts These feed to Automatically to Other accounts

14. Learn to post pictures, audio files, and video clips on your blog

15. Create digitally downloadable information pieces, special reports, ebooks, white papers (this will help you build up your email marketing database list)

16. Post on your blog (write short Relevant articles 2-3 times a week). This will help you get found in the search engine indexing, and will create Trusting Relationships with readers.

How This Came About

When my husband and I Decided to move here in 2003, we Sold and closed everything down to couple of Business. I quit my job as a Consulting Psychologist. I only Kept That I Could Do business online and over the phone.

One Was writing newsletters for executive coaches. The other Was Psychologists training over the phone to Become executive coaches. Eventually, I closed out the coach training program to concentrate on writing and formatting newsletters ghost for people.

What Was I discovered nothing short of brilliant. You Can Save a Tremendous amount of time, energy and Expense When you work from home. You donâ € ™ t Have to Get Into a car and drive anywhere, you donâ € ™ t Even Have to get dressed. You cut your stress in half work Because youâ € ™ re in charge of your time and productivity.

At the time, I had a brochure-style website and That Was it. It got Hardly Any traffic. I Had to wait days to get a response from the web guy Every Time I wanted to add something or make a change. Was it frustrating, and futile, because i wasnâ € ™ t seeing new visitors, I wasnâ € ™ t getting found by prospects Who needed my services.

Blogging Changed My Life

I Was sitting at home trying to get a hold of my web guy by email and I Was mad as hell. A simple change on a website shouldnâ € ™ t take two days. Bored, frustrated and mad, I open up an email from a well-Known marketer.

She said, â € œEvery Business Should Have a blog, and Any idiot dog up a blog in September and start blogging in under an hour.â €

It Was September. 4, 2004, And That Was a pivotal moment email in my life. Techno-phobic as I Was at the time, I Was mad enough to take up the challenge as œany idiot.â € â € I went to Typepad.com, set up a free trial account and started publishing my thoughts on the Internet in under an hour. I Was floored at how easy it WAS.

Fast-forward to 2006, as Iâ € ™ m coming out of the Lake Chapala Society, a woman stops me on the street and exclaims, â € œHey, I know you, you arenâ € ™ t The Blog Squad? â € Â In two years time, the power of blogging and online branding Gave me enough visibility to be Recognized by a stranger on the street WHO HAD Been reading my blogs. She Told Me I help her get started with her own blog here in Ajijic.

Thatâ € ™ s the best feedback I can hear. I remember how much I Struggle for years trying to get my online business efforts to pay off. If I can help someone save time, money, and energy and get found-through blogging and online systems, Iâ € ™ m happy.

I invite you to visit my blogs, read them, subscribe to them if That Interests you to learn about online marketing for Small Business. Even You Can leave me a comment and say hello!

About the Author

Patsi Krakoff, Psy.D. is a former psychologist and journalist who writes for coaches and consultants, providing content marketing material for executive coaches, for e-newsletters, blogs & web sites.

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