FOUR Months Update
Hey WA-ers,
I promised myself that I would write monthly updates. Back on November 5, 2014, I started this venture. And every month, I take time out to remember and then look ahead. And I write them with two purposes in mind.
First, I am trying to keep myself accountable. I guess could say it’s like a personal diary. I want to write it down to review at a later time and be thankful for the journey I have taken. And the funny thing is that I would often go back and read and realize how much I had forgotten! And I actually relearn something so that I can apply it again. How funny is that!
Second, I am hoping that someone will find commonality with my journey and actually read through the details. And maybe it might help that person in his/her writing strategies and perspective.
Click for First Month Update
Click for Second Month Update
Click for Third Month Update
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THE FOURTH MONTH UPDATE: 2/5 to 3/5/15
The keyword for the fourth month is “confirmation.” This keyword did not come from Jaaxy or any low hanging fruit case study. It came from my own convictions after four months. Now, this wasn't the keyword four months ago. Four months ago, the keyword was vacillation. Now, it's a different keyword. Why? Four months had passed.
There’s a saying, “It Takes Time.” And it’s the idea that time has to pass for things to settle. And for me, the honeymoon is over and many things have settled. And I have been confirmed about many things.
1. This confirmation is not coming from others, although I deeply appreciate the friends who have come along side to encourage me. The consistent encouragement I received has been a major blessing to me. But I differentiate encouragement from confirmation. Encouragement comes from the outside, confirmation comes from the inside. And inner confirmation brings peace even when things are not right on the outside.
2. This confirmation has become an inner conviction that this online work is simply an expression of an inner passion. Following an inner passion is a basic conviction of affiliate marketing. We have been trained to think of our interests and find a niche. And for me, because it comes from within, I can honestly say that this is what I want to do regardless of my financial situation. If the Publisher Clearing House comes to my door with their balloons, cameras, people, and an oversized cardboard check for the millions I have just won, it would not change what I want to do for the rest of my life. Seriously…..
3. This confirmation is rooted in my growing understanding of intangibles. The general strategy of affiliate marketing is the promotion of tangibles like Kyle's blenders and microwaves. And so, it’s been a four months journey of trying to understand how to promote something that is not tangible such as education/spiritual teaching/consulting. This challenge has led me to write a mini-series called “Promoting Intangibles” (3 blogs written so far) and it has confirmed in me that there is validity to my endeavor even within an affiliate marketing structure. The blog series I am writing will be ongoing for me as I will always be learning how to work with intangibles.
To me this is the key to my development in affiliate marketing. Once I grasp this, it will become a win-win situation where visitors are helped and I can provide for my family. And to those WA-ers who are reading and wondering. The answer is "yes" I am generating income from my application of this principle of promoting intangibles.
4. This confirmation is rooted in the philosophy of building lasting relationship and trust. This is at the core of Wealthy Affiliate strategy and training. And it’s intrinsically compatible with online ministry pursuits. For, at the end of it all, it’s about helping others by providing solutions for their quality of life and building trust and lasting relationship which in turn creates as worthwhile ministry of me.
And so, in the fourth month, I have worked hard to create 8 websites that work together to provide solutions for everyday life and relationships.
This work was more about creating synergy so that visitors would not get isolated on one site and not see the big picture of the 8 sites working together. I give credit to Gordon Appleby, an expert in marketing, for helping me see the importance of this for my work.
CAVEAT: Having said that, there is nothing wrong with having multiple sites which are completely separate from one another. People can venture into completely separate niches without violating any principle. My point is more about what is best for me and my work.
And so, this confirmation about the importance of trust and relationship has sharpened my understanding of social media and newsletters. I have to be sensitive and careful about how I approach people so that they don’t misunderstand my intentions. Again, I am promoting an intangible which is ultimately about the betterment of their lives. And so, that care and concern for their lives must be palpable to them. And so, all this greatly impacts how I post on social media. And it impacts my work with MailChimp – its mailing list, optins, and newsletter strategies. I wrote about the work in Mail Chimp, but I still need to write more about the philosophy and strategy of using it to promote intangibles.
5. This confirmation in doing an online writing ministry has impacted my use of affiliate links and its placement within my sites. Conservatives and old school Christians have found offense in certain displays, especially Google Adsense. Everyone once in awhile, a provocative ad would appear which is diametrically opposed to what I am promoting. . I tried so hard to eradicate these, but they kept coming back. I felt like I was playing Whack-A-Mole. I kept hammering down the bad ads, but they kept popping back up.
Not only this, some have found offense in the simple advertisement of Amazon links. And so, for the sake of the greater cause, I chose to delete them.
Now, I still use Amazon links to promote spiritual material that is relevant to my teaching, but I am no longer display their random banners.
CAVEAT: I have no problem with the way affiliate marketers are using their affiliate links. I just chose to temper my freedom for the sake of a greater cause.
Now having done this did not make my sidebar a barren wasteland. far from it. I chose to use a slider widget called “Meteor Slides” which I wrote about. This slider widget has allowed me to promote my own works and specific ministry affiliates along with authority recommendations. And the overall feel is that it is more accurate to my intentions which is to minister to people.
6. This confirmation in doing an online writing ministry has kept me connected to the church. Now, this is actually a huge topic that I will write about later. But for now, I will keep it simple as this is just a four months update.
CAVEAT: My writing about the church will be more about strategies in the light of promoting intangibles and not really a posting of a religious blog which is prohibited. I wrote a response to religious controversies in the past (of which I was not participating).
The 8 websites represent the chapters of life we go through and the challenges we find along the way and the spiritual lessons we can learn for ourselves and our relationships. This can easily become a systematic curriculum for the church. And so, I am hopeful that churches would adopt it as an official curriculum for small groups. To make this a reality, I would have to visit churches and make presentations to their leaders. These opportunities are coming up in the near future. I will be speaking over 10 times in the next few weeks in various churches up and down CA. I am hopeful it will open doors. If it does, it will be another step towards understanding the promotion of intangibles.
7. This confirmation from within me has been so real that I officially left GoDaddy hosting and let it expire a couple days ago and completely dedicate to Wealthy Affiliate. I wrote about the transfer process. It was not easy and occupied my efforts for a better part of the fourth month, but I have no regrets.
8. And finally, this confirmation leads me back to the basic tenet of affiliate marketing: write quality content to provide solutions and build trust. And so, in this fourth month, I have always gone back to this most basic strategy. Yes, Google is important and site health monitors are important and the comments people place on our sites are important. But apart from all that, I just need to buckle down and write and then write some more to fill out my 8 sites so that it is presentable and helpful to the visitor and to the churches.
This is a photo I took of the walking path near my home.
I try to take this path everyday for exercise and to clear my head. This path really makes me think. It’s a thinking path. And my thoughts in the fourth month have led to one keyword: confirmation.
And thank you to the special friends who stop by and share a kind word. Your encouragement has been a great blessing to me
Glad to still be here after four months
PT
* to see the overall inter-relationship of all the websites, click: http://pastortae.com/sponsor
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Recent Comments
23
This is a fantastic blog post!! Pastor Tae, thanks very much for always encouraging us!! You are a special, and really a man of God!!
You have so many accomplishments, I salute you!! I wish you more success to come!! :)
Thank you for all the exclamation points!!! As you know, we are all working hard. And it's nice to take a moment and celebrate and give thanks and appreciate the journey. I'm sure you had many defining moments in your journey that have been great. Thank you again for the encouragement.
Pastor Tae, you are very hardworking man of God, great job you are doing!! Love what you are doing, give thanks to the one above who makes mysterious miracles happen everyday!! Take care and lots of love, Jewel Carol
Thank you Jewel. And many blessings and love back to you and your endeavors. And we should always acknowledge His mysterious and providential ways in our lives. Proverbs 16 vs 9
Thanks for the great blog Pastor Tae. Yes, "confirmation" can only come from one source as it only relates to "your" path and not anyone else's. I really like the discussion around intangibles. Faith is exactly that, an intangible, can't be seen or touched it but you either have it or you don't. With faith it can take you anywhere. Thanks again and keep up the kingdom building. Steve.
Thanks Pastor Tae. Those are encouraging words to me. They also challenge me to keep going and not give up and even think about how maybe I can do a similiar and link sites, but a step at time right now.
Great. I hope it all comes together for you and you're right it's one step at a time. That's how I took it. The confirmation came later for me
I don't share your beliefs but I like the way you think and dedicate yourself to something. I save a lot of your stuff as there are many helpful hints in there. Thanks and keep up the good work.
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You're a very good writer PastorTae!
Thank you. It really is hard work for all us. But I appreciate the kind words