Still Moving Forward

bythegreycat

225 followers

Updated 6 years ago

Hello everyone! Just thought I would take a little time, to let everyone know what I have been up to since my last blog post here. I will refer to the goals that were set forward in that post, update you (AND MYSELF) on the progress, and I will evaluate the progress toward goals that were made for a later date. New or updated goals will be stated, and I will provide a self-analysis on how I think I am progressing.

Update upon finishing and before posting this blog: A little time turned out to be several hours of two different days, but this has been a truly cathartic exercise for me and I hope you find it either interesting or helpful, depending upon where you are in your journey with Wealthy Affiliate. Its quite long and pretty detailed and I intend to refer back to it often moving forward just to remind myself where I was and where I am going. Hopefully, all the details won't bore you too much.

Update July 4th, 2018: Fixed a few typographical errors.

My Wealthy Affiliate Timeline

On May 9, 2018, I began the Free Starter Membership at Wealthy Affiliate. After reading the initial messages, I jumped right into the training. I have put together a list of what I consider to be some important moments and milestones so far in my Wealthy Affiliate journey.

• Started the Online Enterpreneur Certification course Level 1
• Chose my niche
  
• Built my first website and got it set up in Wordpress
• May 16, 2018: Published an About Post and a Privacy Page:
• May 16, 2018: Became a Premium Member! (3 hours to spare for the discount!)
  
• May 16, 2018: Performed my first Keyword Research
• May 16, 2018: Published my first Content Post: (A pitiful 209 words!)
• May 16, 2018: Started Level 2 training
  
• May 16, 2018: Purchased my own domain and moved the siterubix site over
• May 20, 2018: Got Indexed in Google and posted my first WA blog about it
• Continued to post Content (3)
• May 28, 2018: Finished Level 2 of OEC and posted my second WA blog
  
• June 4, 2018: Published my first 1,000 word post (1,359)
• June 8, 2018: Became an Amazon Associate and added some simple text affiliate links
• Continued to post Content (Total to date: 18 in 6 weeks from first post)
• June 11, 2018: Published a 1,464 word post
  
• June 13, 2018: Published a 2,923 word post!
• June 18, 2018: Published a 2,260 word post
• June 25, 2018: Published a 1,664 word post
• June 27, 2018: Published a 1,936 word post
• June 28, 2018,: Removed text-base affiliate links and replaced with image-based links
• June 30-July 1, 2018: Writing this blog

Detailed Progress Report

Training

In theory, I am up to Level 3 Lesson 6 of the training. When I came to the tasks of joining affiliate networks and programs I began to think that I might be going too fast through the training. I did attempt to join CJ (formerly Commission Junction - they have the most companies within my niche) but to this point I have not been able to receive a verification e-mail. I also attempted to join one niche-related affiliate program but was denied. I moved forward in the training and applied to be an Amazon Associate and was accepted.

At this point, I took a step back and tried to assess just exactly where I stood with what I had learned so far. I continued to publish content through this evaluation period, because I knew that was the most important thing I needed to do to get to where I wanted to go.

I realized that while I was going through the training thoroughly and performing the tasks within each lesson, I was so intent on getting to the next lesson that I was not fully engaged in understanding the current lesson. I plan to go back and re-read each lesson and gain a complete understanding of each topic presented and to continue forward in this manner.

I have also been bolstering my knowledge by watching Jay's WAbinars (live and recorded). What a wealth of information! And presented in such a pleasant and lighthearted manner. I have tried to find those that expand on a subject I have seen in the training and have found these to be just great for filling in any gaps in the knowledge of just about everything I have learned so far.

As a side project I have also been working on the Affiliate Bootcamp course, but I have been approaching this module with my new, slower method through the training with a better understanding of the steps involved. I am currently working on a wealthy affiliate review, which will be helpful for me personally as I have been hesitant to write a product review for my niche site, which is the current step.

OEC Training

• Level 1 Complete: all tasks completed
• Level 2: Tasks skipped or in progress
  
• Add relevant images to all your other posts
• I JUST realized that I had skipped this task
• I did not continue forward with this task
• I am in the process of rectifying the situation
• Level 3: Tasks skipped or in progress
• Join at least one Affiliate Network (Working on CJ)
• Search for and join at least 2 "Niche Relevant" Affiliate Programs
• Lesson 6 : This is where I am at now - Writing a Product Review

Bootcamp Training

• Level 1 Lesson 9
  
• All tasks complete through Lesson 8
• A better understanding of the concepts presented
• Currently working on WA review

Website(s)

I feel like I am making good progress on the main niche site. I have maintained a regular posting schedule with the content getting more thorough and informative as times goes on. My site is getting sporadic traffic through word of mouth, social media, and organic search. It always thrills me a bit to see that last one pop up.

My Goals - Hits, Misses And Rethinking

Here are the goals as stated in the End of Level 2 progress report from May 28, 2018,.

One Month Goals - Can Evaluate Now

1. Post three times per week
   
1. While I have averaged three posts per week, I am not posting three times each week
2. This is due to one flurry where I posted articles for six days in a row
3. My typical output is still at two each week
4. These two come out on a regular schedule
5. Miss?
2. While not outright stated, there was an implied goal of writing 1,000 word posts
1. I have exceeded 1,000 words several times
2. I am achieving this mark consistently
3. Writing is getting much easier
4. I think I am getting better at writing
5. Hit!

This Months New Goals

1. Work on writing Product Reviews
   
2. Re-read first two Levels of OEC training with better understanding
3. Continue to strive for three posts per week, with one of those being either a how-to article or a product review. I must admit this will be a tough goal to meet with the time constraints posed by having a full-time job along with other family and household commitments. But I will work on it and try to get at least one how-to article and one review per month

Three Month Goals - Two Months To Go

1. Finish the Online Entrepreneur Certification course
   
1. Currently on Level 3 Lesson 6
2. Based on my new outlook toward the training I may need to adjust this goal
3. Rethinking
2. Get better at writing
   
1. Making good progress
2. Not quite where I want to be
3. Need to plan (outline) more
4. I will always have this as a goal
5. Now that I know I can get the quantity I can focus more on the quality
6. Ongoing process - Some improvement made
3. Better Engagement on Social Media
   
1. Need to step this up
2. Posting links to my blogs but not really engaging within the niche
3. Needs Work - Post comments to Groups within my niche
4. Continue Bootcamp Lessons
   
1. On Level 1 Lesson 9
2. I am feeling good about the WA review I am working on
3. Ongoing process - I like where I am at here
   

Six Month Goals - Five Months To Go

1. Work on other training modules
   
1. Reading training from members when I hit a technical snag
2. Watching Jay's WAbinars
3. On Schedule
2. Help others find success with the knowledge I gain
1. Have answered a few questions
2. While I have learned so much I still feel a bit shy about this as I am still a relative newbie.
3. Needs Work - But I am getting there
3. Work on training of the own
   
1. None yet but I got a few ideas percolating
2. Needs Work - Stay tuned
   
4. Establish trust and make connections within the community
   
1. Responding to followers - I didn't even think about this at first but I now make a point to thank the person who added me to their network
2. Reponding to messages - I could be better here
3. Asking questions - I have officially asked one question. Usually I am able to find the answer I need by searching through the information already available. The one time I did reach out, my query was responded to quickly and helpfully
4. Answering questions - Only a few so far but have provided the best answer I can with no erroneous information
5. Responding to blogs - I try to like and respond to any blog that touches or inspires me as well as give emotional support when that is appropriate
6. Needs Work - While improvement could be made here, I know the main focus should be and has to be my website. I am more committed than ever into making this my full-time job and that is my number 1 priority and goal moving forward
   

Rethinking My Goals

As I mentioned earlier, I have changed my method and outlook in moving through the training going forward. I will narrow my focus onto the current lesson and completely understand the information that is being presented before moving on to the next lesson. Hopefully, this will increase my ability to take advantage of the training and lead to a broader scope of knowledge gained within the course.

The process of writing is a struggle for me. I tend to have a basic idea of what I want to write and then just start throwing words down on the page and figure out the order as I go along. I do a lot of backtracking and moving the words and sentences around. Sentences get moved to different paragraphs and sections, and whole paragraphs get moved to different sections. This method works up to a point but it takes forever. I know I would be better off, and likely save some time, by having an idea period, a structuring period and then a writing period.

I need to vary the types of articles that I write. My articles have been event-driven, with regular posts before and after each event, first a preview and then a report providing information about what took place in the event. Going forward, I need to write how-to articles and product reviews.

Although I have a lot of experience and knowledge within the niche, I have absolutely no experience writing product reviews. Because the most recent experience I have has been here within Wealthy Affiliate, I am writing a review of WA as a trial run for writing these types of articles within my niche. This has been very helpful to me and I feel really good about how it's going. I have been able to get down to a more personal level of writing that I didn't even know I had.

I do not use SiteComment enough. My articles are somewhat time sensitive, especially the previews, although the after reports also serve as a historical record. They take me quite a bit of time to write due to my haphazard style, and I am lucky that the posting schedule for them lines up with my days off. As a result, after doing the SEO and posting to social media, it is usually long past my bedtime and any SiteComment activity gets shoved aside, unfortunately.

• Immerse myself within each lesson
• Plan the writing better with outlines
• Vary the types of articles that I post
• Use SiteComment more

In Conclusion

Well, I hope you have enjoyed or perhaps gained some insight from my experience so far here within Wealthy Affiliate. I know that writing all this down has been helpful for me as it really forced me to examine what I have achieved thus far, and finding the areas where I could be accomplishing more. My commitment to this endeavor is stronger than ever and I am even more excited about the future than when I first began the starter and premium membership.

I would love to hear from anyone who likes this report of my journey, especially if you find it helpful in any way. I have never been the type of person who just "hangs out on social media," but whenever I have a break or lunch at my full-time job, I am here reading blogs and responding to followers. I am so happy to have "the community" here with me every step of the way. You inspire me, you drive me forward, you force me to hold myself accountable, and you are helping me to change my life.

Thanks to everyone who made it this far,

Your Friend,

Jeff Boone, a.k.a. thegreycat