Untangling the Gordian Knots
A step-by-step following of instructions in the lessons in different levels of the Certification here does not ensure a smooth, gradual climb for most of us. Personally, when I enrolled myself for the Premium membership, I had made it a point to absorb each and everything provided in the lessons and I had pretty much assumed that when I do that diligently, my journey would be more or less smooth. I did all of that – watching the walk-through videos, joining discussions seriously, putting up small queries here and there in live chats and in the classroom, joining live classroom sessions, clearing myself of all doubts through questions and reading people’s blog posts here, searching for topics and going back to lessons. I did not miss a single task and I finished off all of them before I jumped on to the subsequent lessons. I’m already 20 days into my training and by all standards, I would like to think that my progress has been steady. Yes, I have been busy here, chasing a dream that I thought was achievable. And there had been frustrating times too.
Some frustrating moments
Tax formalities during affiliate program sign ups:
The registration for affiliate programs/networks are no walk-in-the-park for some people (or most people?) because of the existing tax laws in US and elsewhere where the registration is to be done. For instance, in my case, I could not complete my registration in amazon.com because of my inability to furnish necessary compliance report or information on tax details. I gave up and joined the affiliate program of amazon.in instead because that was relatively hassle-free. It is another matter that I preferred the amazon.com program.
Google Adsense does not allow registration of a website in its “beta” phase:
This is somewhat frustrating because during the course of our lessons, we were given the task of adding Adsense in our website. I did that and had to wait for three days before I got this email notification from Google telling me that my application was rejected because of “insufficient content”. Mind you, it had taken me two days to add the Adsense HTML code in my website. I totally agree with the reasons given by Google but the frustration was more on the part of me being not made aware of beforehand that Google is strict about incomplete websites. And I think, my website is going to remain incomplete for sometime as it is still evolving slowly.
Some website themes do not have very visible customisation option tabs:
Again, a frustrating experience. I have chosen the theme Hiero for my website because, to a beginner like me, it looked like a neat theme and with the kind of niche that I had picked up, I was satisfied. I do not think that I have chosen a wrong theme but a simple customisation like trying to change the header picture is proving to be not so easy.
I think the lessons were planned keeping in mind the need for us to do certain things on our own and explore the various aspects of website building. The trials and tribulations had been a test of my patience and my ability to remain focused. I think I have been rock steady there. Many days from now, when I look back, I think the hurdles I met on the way were for my own good. Tomorrow’s another day.
Recent Comments
7
Yes, it sure can be a bit overwhelming when we first start off but eventually we overcome all obstacles. Thanks for sharing your experiences up to this point.
Jerome
I agree, trials and tribulations make us better in the long run. Nothing worth having or gaining doesn't come without effort. If we run into a roadblock, gaining knowledge of how to reroute will only help in the long run. I keep telling myself it's a marathon, we've just begun the journey so stay the course. Thanks for sharing. This reminds us all of how due diligence and perseverance are skills that are worth nurturing.
John
I try to write 3 posts per week. I have adsense but only have $.20 in revenue in 2 weeks.
Honestly, I'm not too optimistic with revenue generation through AdSense. I hope to be proven wrong.
Hi, Sukumarth,
You are not alone. For Adsense, I believe after you have 5-8 post they will approve your account. I have mine before I joined WA on a hoppy site, just wrote like a journal on anything that came into my mind. Don't worry, You will get there.
I have yet to come to the Adsense part in the training I do ABC and Certification together, would like to know how it works.
I understand the rejection from Google, my website is nowhere near complete. The frustration was more because I did not know I needed to have a robust, healthy website for Adsense. As to how it works, all I know is that it helps the site to monetise itself by placing ads on it. I'm just going along with the lessons and don't really know how it actually works. So, can't tell you much on that :) I'm yet to start the Bootcamp. Thought I'll complete the certification first.
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At an early stage this is all a case of trial and error checking.