Running into a Wall with My Site
I'm starting to have a hard time adding to my site. It's only been about two weeks, but I really want my page up and running by the time the $20 Premium runs out. I've heard that you can't downgrade to a free membership and you end up losing access to the WA servers if your Premium runs out.
Maybe I'm burnt out? The things that are giving me the hardest time right now are a. keywords (there's only so many times I can throw the same thing in the keyword tool, and I guess I'm just having a hard time really exploring and finding new keywords). but also b. PICTURES. My hands shake and I just don't seem to have a feel for photo composition. It's a real problem for someone of my generation -- it seems like everyone spends so much time photographing everything that they don't really live, but my photo illiteracy is really hurting me here.
Don't get me wrong, I have a really good idea of more than a few pages I want to write. And I can write them! But man, getting the finished product out there is getting harder and harder. I find myself more willing to wander away because I don't want to face the picture-ing stage. I can't even ask other people to help. My family is caught up in a lot of surgeries, busy schedules, and a beloved pet with aggressive cancer, and my friends are mainly full-time workers and/or students. Nobody else has time!
I'm starting to feel like my site is getting very blah, and I don't want that to happen! But I'm also not sure what else I can do. Success is my greatest encouragement, and I'm just not proud of my content anymore.
Halp! ><
Lauren
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Don't give up Lauren, it is only early days for you yet. I use a lot of clip art on my site and that seems to work for me. There are lots of places you can get photos on the Internet.
Why not do a post on your new clutter free wardrobe. Then it can be short and sweet with the reason you are being clutter free!
Take a deep breath, go to the free photo sites, and write! I am a photographer and I have used a site called pixabay. I use my own photos too, but sometimes I just want something different to use. You can do it!
Pixabay is nice and well-rounded. I saw small images, drawn images, hi-res photos, etc. A couple did have watermarks (which I don't feel comfortable putting on my site), but the majority did not. Thank you! And thank you for the kind words. I kind of got myself into a tizz writing this last post ><
Don't worry about it! Don't put anything on your site that has a watermark on it. Just use the free ones. Keep going!
one thing to remember a winner never quit and a loser never win that a break get away for a while and take one thing and work it just don't surrender
I'm sorry to hear that you've hit a wall. There are lot's of free photostock websites that can help you out. Lemme go look up their names and see if I can get these back to you....
I think I'd seen what was on Wikimedia and wasn't impressed. I think I got it into my mind that I'd just "figure it out" and take my own pictures. Photography is so much harder than it looks! I'm already learning so much as I do research on my posts -- ain't nobody got time for two huge learning projects! I've learned my lesson, I'm sticking to freebie sites from now on :x
I am not sure what your niche is so I cant really comment on that. Perhaps your niche is too narrow?
What are your competitors doing?
What can you apply from their marketing strategies?
Try and compare this to your website to get an idea of what you're missing.
I will say that everyone faces challenges. Be it time, family, money or health. The difference here is how you approach these challenges.
The switch in mindset is crucial. Look back to your reason why you decided to make a go of this. If the reason why is strong the how is easy.
I've been wondering if my niche is indeed too narrow -- it's a fashion concept called a "french wardrobe" that means you buy only a few things, but you get something nice that will last. It's not a very well-known concept, so I'm having a hard time finding relevant keywords. It's something that I think people would be extremely excited about, though, if they were to find it! I'm a little torn. Should I expand my niche? My name is very targeted to that niche (myfrenchwardrobe.com), so perhaps I could expand to keywords in other frugal/timesaving/good quality clothes?
I'm very ambitious, and have been since the day I was born, but I'm also very impatient about it. I've been adding new content 6/7 days per week for the past two and a half weeks, sometimes more. I might just be getting discouraged with what still looks like a website-in-progress and need to give myself more time.
Hi Lauren -
I am far from an expert, but I think you can keep your small niche site theme, and expand into some of the related areas you mention above. Your site is impressive for how long you've been involved - you have a lot to be proud of. I know it's an emotional roller-coaster - you spend hours adding content, are all pumped, then go back a day or two later and it doesn't look as good. But it's progress, and you can keep tweaking the older content to make it better over time.
I think you're totally on track and cranking!
Everyone goes through what you are going through, the writing and the keyword research gets easier the more you practice and your site will evolve over time so don't worry if you are not always delighted with it. As for pics, I have no idea what your niche is but maybe you can use some free images that you find online Free Images for a Website - Free to Use, No Attribution The Ultimate Guide to FREE Images
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Hi Lauren . I am sorry to hear about your pet.
Someone at WA will be able to help you.
They are very helpful to all newbies .
They really are. I think I have a good deal more picture resources, and that makes it easier to write. I've updated my old posts (other than one, which I think I'll need to take my own pics for), and I think I should be able to move on.
Thank you for your sympathies! She's been a sweetheart for 13 years straight and I just don't want her to to suffer ><