Cheri, I should know so much more than what I do. I've been reading and learning for 6 years. But when I get too confused I give up and go back to doing what I know already. I don't know how many e-books I have on the computer that I never read but thought they would be needed. If I wouldn't have had Levi here to coach me once in awhile I would have been lost. He just seems to soak things up like a sponge and understand what is going on. I am so grateful for Linda's simple language. It makes things much easier to digest. Can't wait to read the next part. Martha

Hi Cheri; =========================================== It's funny, I started out to create a little ezine, with no real idea of how I might attract readers, and with the notion of stealth-marketing to them if I did (listening to all the wrong people, obviously). ... Now I can see a way to provide real value to people like myself. You've raised my consciousness of the sleaze factor in the ways that people use to manipulate their prospective customers--things I might have done myself without stopping to examine them, because it appeared to be the standard way to market. I can't believe my luck in finding you! =========================================== Thank you, Cheri. Sometimes, you say things that make my heart sing. Through this group, I've really rediscovered how much I love teaching what I know. I love design, and enjoy what I do - but when I pass the knowledge along, it makes me feel as though I can put a little glowing ball of power and magic in their hands. You're right. There is a lot of "sleaze factor" in a lot of what's done online. I think most people just repeat it without thinking a thing of it. And yet, I see people that use those techniques getting less and less response and "marketing" almost desperately. 10 years ago, a marketer might get a 10% response from a mailing to "devoted" followers. Today, they might get a fraction of one percent. It's the same thing we've seen over time. Back in the 50s, tv ads sold product like mad. The fuller brush man came to the door and was treated like a visitor and offered lemonade. The Avon lady was our friend. Today we ignore tv ads and close the doors in the face of door to door marketers. Pushy techniques are dying and hype is dying. May they rest in peace. While I see all that going on, I have clients (that I do marketing for) that are continually growing month after month after month. The feeling of good luck is mutual. I think we're all going to grow together. : ) Linda

Hi all; My turn to ask a question or two. : ) I've been looking at all the materials I have as I split them into modules for you. Not sure if I mentioned, but I'd once had the materials available in a smaller number of "mammoth sized" ebooks. For example, the original search engine module was 10 chapters. The module I just sent you all is only the first two chapters. Image 5x that amount of material. I had sold a few copies of the mammoth sized books... but as feedback came in (and it was great!) I started to realize how much people were "missing" because it was so intense. That's why I decided to break it into smaller modules. Digestable. lol. So, as I'm splitting them up, a couple of questions cropped up in my head. I'd love your feedback on them. Question #1) Which first? One of the modules teaches how to edit and update webpages. Another of the modules teaches "onsite" optimization. Changes to make on your website to make it more understandable and indexable for search engines. It's a chicken/egg kind of situation, and I'm really not sure which module should come first. If I give you the "on site optimization" one first, you'll know the techniques when you start working on web page updates, but some of the terminology might not make sense as you read it because you won't know what an "h tag" is, or how to change a "style" for example. If I give you the "html editing" module first, you'll have fun adding articles and content to your sites - but you'll have to redo some of the work once you read the optimization module. Side Note: You're not going to have to learn the extent of html that I know... lol. You're not learning how to be a hand coding designer - but just raw basics so you can add to your sites. Martha & Winston, you'll fly through this one! When I learned, I learned html editing first... and optimization second. Once I understood optimization, I reworked some of the content accordingly. In my thoughts, that's the logical way. After all, a website is a bit like raising a child. We're never "done" and are always growing and evolving anyway. But, you might prefer to read the optimization materials first. Chicken? Or egg? Your thoughts? Question #2) In the beginning... Kathy might be the best person to answer this, because it affected her most - but I think it could potentially affect others. Most of the group knew what they wanted their site to focus on, so starting with "foundations" was a good place to start. But, I think there are many people in the same boat as Kathy, where they have so many interests that their website becomes like a giant flea market with a little of everything but specializing in nothing. That's not criticism at all, but just an observation of something a lot of people struggle with. My very first site, back in 1995, was exactly the same. lol. So, I know that of which I speak. Anyway, so I'm wondering if I should cover things like what to sell, how to find a focus, why *not* to get into "internet marketing" products, etc. If so, would it be better to add that TO "foundations"... or add a unit before "foundations." Thoughts? Your opinions are very appreciated since you've gone through those modules already. : ) Linda

OK I will give a stab at answering your questions. From your explanations about not knowing the terminology if you give us the "onsite" optimization part first I think I would rather have the edit and update webpages first. If I don't understand something and it doesn't make sense to me, I would probably keep putting off working on it. As far as Foundations goes: It was pretty involved already with all the exercises we had to do. I think you should add another unit before it. Martha

Hi Linda, Question#1 which First? It seems to me that "onsite optimization" would be the best choice to come first. That way even though we might not know some of the terminology, we will be learning the techniques so that the terminology makes more sense to us when we do learn it. Question#2 In The Beginning... I think you could incorporate all that right into "Foundations". Explaining along the way what to sell, how to find focus, and what not to get into. In "Foundations" on page 6 you have "How To Choose the Right Business For You". Perhaps right after this you could incorporate the explanations of what to sell, how to focus and what not to get into. It would basically keep with the flow of what you are trying to teach. Just my thoughts. Your Good Friend Deborah