Archive for January, 2008
January 8, 2008
i really can’t believe it’s 2008 already. i have had a pretty amazing year, been very blessed, and have met so many great people from the internet community that will impact my life forever.
when i attended SES NY in dec of 2006, i really learned how amazing the people in this community are. being able to spend time with rebecca kelley, cameron olthuis, rhea drysdale, becky ryan, dave naylor, shawn hogan, frank watson, eddie machado, james fleet, dax herrera, rea hoffman, david temple, jane copeland, daron & brandy, todd friesen, li evans, jessie stricchiola, danny sullivan, vanessa fox, greg hartnett, brian prince, adam sussman, simon heseltine, todd malicoat, marcus tandler, joe morin, and mike jones & brock with the pepperjam crew. i know i left a ton of names out there and i’m sorry but it’s hard to remember back a year without going through pictures galore! just know that all of you influenced me in some way and for that i am grateful.
this year i had the honor of organizing the first two elite retreat events, where i learned so much and started my internet community networking circle. to only name a few, elite retreat introduced me to guy kawasaki, lee dodd, neil patel, kris jones, aaron wall, darren rowse, chris hooley, laura alter, kevin henrikson, suj patel, bruce sutherland, alexander barbara, lisa brown, wendy piersall, and many other attendees that i still keep in contact with.
i also attended the affiliate summit west in las vegas (first time in vegas), where again i met so many great people that are some of my best friends today. all of the guys from wicked fire are what made that such a great experience for me. i cannot wait to go back to see everyone again this year!
my favorite conference experience by far was SES NY in april where my crew was absolutely off the chart! chris hooley, jon heinl, nicola young, cheryl clark, amy tuck, and joe whyte are by far the best people i could have been with. i even made a video of how awesome my trip was. not only was it a trip to a conference, but we had a killer time at spotlight which is the best karoake club in the world, where i got to meet kerry simon (as seen on iron chef) and meet master shake from aqua teen hunger force.
after getting to know my friends from wickedfire (eli, c0ck, smax, jon, crypt, tobsn, voodooman, engaged, darfur, conceptualmind, mwattier) for so long we decided to plan a trip together and hang out again. at first it was scheduled for chicago, and soon got derailed to go snowboarding on mt hood in oregon where eli lives, which most people decided not to go but me and eli. jon waraas and wes came to board with us along with eli’s sisters and we had the weekend of a lifetime.
i have been truly blessed this year because of all of the wonderful people who have become a part of my life. because of the amazing relationships i have made this year, i know my business will only get better and i am looking forward to new projects coming up!
I wish everyone the best of luck in this new year, 2008 should be quite an interesting year for online marketing with all of the changes to come.
January 7, 2008
I had a real decision to make. Was I going to drop out short of graduation this year or try to wade through the student loan brokers to find enough money to finish? It hadn’t been easy. I had borrowed all the government money, had gotten all the grants I qualified for, and was not able to do more than barely get by on the jobs I was able to snag. Trying to finish college after a stint in the work world is pretty hard. Parents had helped early on but they are tapped out and retired. You know, really, how long can they be expected to help? I still had classes left. I was feeling really dead-ended. I found myself trying to figure out a million ways to get this done with no real possibilities!
In December I was chatting online with a recent college grad who mentioned NextStudent and how she finished her degree. I found it easily and began looking through the site. It was pretty easy to locate. Then I found what I really need in understandable language- private student loans! It was simple to apply with my information and got a personal reply quickly from a NextStudent employee. He explained that the private loans can cover the total cost of my last few semesters including books, fees, services, and even travel if it is an educational expense. I never expected it to be so easy and so fast. I am heading back this semester with a load off my mind. I know I can borrow up to $30, 000.00 per year if I need it. NextStudent is easy to understand as a website and easy to apply. Man, tell your friends. This site hooks you up with the cash to finish. Go online to NextStudent and see for yourself! It works.
January 6, 2008
i’ve had a really hard time lately trying to find a good designer and programmer and whenever i ask around people tell me that they know of some but they don’t want to give them up! that is completely understandable, but it’s frustrating trying to find someone to fit your needs. The team at WickedFire, an affiliate marketing forum, have created WickedFire Services, which is a fantastic and thorough job board. The site is currently in beta and i would highly encourage any service providers to get on there asap because it’s only $5 per lead!! People who sign up looking for work to be done it’s completely free!
If you can draw, design, code, or are good with seo, now is the time to get on there and get your name known! There is no doubt in my mind you’ll get more work than you can handle. Everyone I know is always looking for work to be done. Here’s the different categories available:
Design: Logos, Landing Pages, Full Sites, Forum Skins. Wordpress Layouts, eCommerce Sites
Programming/Coding: PHP, CSS / HTML, JavaScript, Ruby, Python, Perl, SQL / MySQL, Windows Software Development, Linux Software Development
SEO/SEM: Full SEO, PPC Management, Directory Links, Link Building, Text Links, SE Submissions
Hosting: Virtual/Shared Host, Business Host, Dedicated, Resellers, Cheap Hosting, Linux Server Management, Windows Server Management
Domains: Parking/Monetizing Services, Bulk Registrars, Domain Investments, Domain Services/Tools, Domains Resellers, Domain Auctions, Domain Brokers
Email Marketing: Email Marketing (Hosted), Newsletter Services, Email List Management, Email Consulting, Email Cleaning, Email Lists/Data, Email Servers/Programs, Custom Email Solutions
Services: Article Writing, Blog Posts, eBook Writing
“Ultimately this is a great way for the consumers to know and finally find at least one provider that will be able to deliver a quality project for them, at a fair price. For the provider they no longer have to compete with extremely low priced quotes by outsourcing firms or low caliber freelancers, and best of all, they don’t have to haggle with the consumer anymore. They can spend more time working on the projects and getting them completed quicker with the same high caliber of quality they’ve wanted to produce for ages now, and thus we get happier clients/consumers who don’t have to worry about who’s hands their projects will fall into or worry about having it delivered on time. It’s a win-win situation for both parties, and for WickedFire, it’s great for us, because it’s created a totally new way for us to successfully monetize our network, without harassing our users or ruining our brand with excessive advertising.”
January 4, 2008
as a suggestion from my visit to the doctor yesterday, my nurse suggested that i start to write down everything i eat. by doing this, it makes you more aware of your intake and stop you from eating foods you wouldn’t want to admit you did. i started to make an excel spreadsheet but did a search for food journals online.
i came across a great website called Fit Day and they have a free online diet & fitness journal that is really easy to use. you set your goals and it tells you how much you have to lose, and also breaks down your intake by calories and every nutrient. i like the user friendliness of it because pretty much every food is already in there with it’s calorie and nutrient count, so you just select it and it adds to your journal. for the exercise portion, you just type what kind of exercise you did like..”walking” and there are preset distances and times to select, and you just choose one and it automatically adds that to your journal for you. after you select your exercise, it shows how many calories you burned from doing that.
i set a 3 month goal and i have to lose 3 lbs /week. my goal is between 30 lbs by my 30th birthday in march!
January 4, 2008
Women are like apples on trees.
The best ones are at the top of the tree.
Most men don’t want to reach for the good ones because they are afraid
of falling and getting hurt.
Instead, they sometimes take apples from the ground that are not as
good, but easy.
The apples at the top think something is wrong with them, when in
reality they are amazing.
They just have to wait for the right person to come along, the one who
is brave enough to climb all the way to the top of the tree.
January 4, 2008
like most people, i used to have the mental picture in my head that free health clinics are filled with crackhead prostitutes and the place is all dirty. i was so very wrong. since i do not have health insurance (and haven’t for a year) i did some research on where i could see a womens health doctor that won’t cost me hundreds of dollars for an annual exam. i was told to call my county health department, and to my amazement, i found out that i could have a free annual exam done. this morning was my appointment and i have never had such a pleasant experience at a doctors’ office before in my life. not only was the place clean, the entire staff there was so nice, comforting, and educated, plus i learned so much in the time i was there. i have never had such a thorough exam before either, they spent an hour talking with me about family history of illnesses, new options in birth control (some really great things available now), help to quit smoking, diet and exercise information, and a whole lot more. my old gynecologist never spent more than the 5-10 minutes it took to have my pap and out the door she went. ever since i can remember i’ve always had to see a gynecologist about my ovaries and such, and i was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome at a young age. those visits were always very intimidating and scary to me, but this place just made things feel okay and i felt like i was chatting with my mom. hopefully by talking about my experience i’ll be able to help someone find a place they can go. (most clinics also offer free pregnancy testing, free condoms, and std checks). i also found out today that i am extremely anemic…had a little issue with it this evening but things seem to be a-ok now! my hemoglobin level was 8.2, normal is 15…i was told it’s likely to be a side effect from my gastric bypass surgery (which is pretty common).
January 2, 2008
Over the past 3 months, I’ve had a lot of people ask me if I was going to Affiliate Summit West in February. Unfortunately, I don’t have the money to pay for my trip because I am currently paying my way to attend college at Western Illinois University to finish my degree in Elementary Education. I am paying for school right now from money I make as a bartender and the income generated from my sites. I’m not a big online income generator like many people assume, I do make some money from doing internet marketing, but it’s not my main source of income. I’m a smart, hard working college student who wants to influence the lives of our future generations and make a difference in this world. I have learned so much about internet marketing in the last year, and I hope to learn more in the year to come! My last conference was SES NY in April 2007 and after that is when I started back in school again to finish my degree that I had already started. I plan on documenting my trip with photos, videos, and links of everyone I meet.
I’ve created an incentive to donate….a text link on this blog for any donations $20 and over. Each increment of $20 will get you a link, so you can have as many as you want. This will not only be an investment for you, but it will also be a much appreciated donation! My goal is $600 which should cover my flight, hotel and expenses. I am also willing to hear any other suggestions you might have for me to make money towards this trip if you have work for me online (writing, data entry, etc.).
Click Here to Donate and be sure to put in your url and anchor text for your link(s). If you wish to remain anonymous for your donation just let me know.
*update- please put your link info in “shipping address”if it will let you or send me and email to andrea at planetandrea dot com