Cheri, You said: "My problem is that I need quite a bit more detail, such as you gave in your explanation Linda, to understand where you're going with the assignments. There was a time when I would have tried to analyze it and come up with the answer myself. Overload has made that impossible--I now need to be spoon-fed. On the other hand, you're writing a book for the masses, so to speak, and about 85% of them would be saying 'enough already' long before I was satisfied with the amount of explanation." I don't know if that is so true. There are lots of things out there trying to tell you how to do what Linda is teaching us but if you don't already understand what they are trying to get across it isn't going to do you any good. I like the fact that Linda wants to sort of hold your hand in her book and really help the beginner go through things one step at a time. Linda, Am I right on that? Thanks for that question Cheri. Martha

Hi Linda, "And - while we know who we are targeting and what we're offering - we often fail to price according to how we KNOW we stack up to the competition or by who we sell to. Many of us shortchange ourselves and price too low." I know who I am targeting and it is definitely to the upper income bracket but how do I get to them? If you search for "ready to craft gourds" or "craft ready gourds", you will find my site numerous times in the first pages. But those terms don't even show up in the keyword search. So is anybody searching for them? "Gourd" and "Gourds" are the top terms and have high search results but you will not find my site on google with it. I think most people are finding me through other gourd sites that I have exchanged links with especially the ones that have a gourd supplier category. One more question and then I quit. There are lots of sites dealing with gourd art. Would it be spam if while at their site I contacted them about my ready to craft gourds? I am thinking of the sites that have the high end gourd art. Martha

Hi Cheri... ========================================= On the other hand, you're writing a book for the masses, so to speak, and about 85% of them would be saying 'enough already' long before I was satisfied with the amount of explanation. ========================================= I think you're right - but with a caveat. See, I'm beginning to see that people say "enough already" when they aren't following. As long as they can follow along, they will often keep coming back for more. And, to me, that's why it's so important to keep it understandable - and why all the feedback I'm getting here is so priceless. ========================================= So, low-hanging fruit. I can see that. I'll go back to the spreadsheet where my keywords are saved and pick the most targeted for what my products actually are...right? Those will go in the metatags, or whatever the jargon de jour is, and the very general terms will go in my original content. I'll also look for them in any reprint articles I find for the site. Am I on the right track? ========================================= Yes. The low hanging fruit would go in the content of secondary pages (articles, product pages, etc) as well as the meta tags. ========================================= If so, that answers my question about whether to use terms that my product isn't but that bear some relation to it, e.g., debt consolidation. Since I'll be writing about the relative merits of the roll-down method of debt reduction/elimination vs. debt consolidation, it will be a perfectly natural phrase to use, thereby capturing some of the traffic searching on that term. Right? ========================================= Spot on! ========================================= Is the fact that my main products are marketed through MLM going to make any difference in the doing of this and future assignments? Or do I just focus on the products and not worry about the companies' marketing models, since I'm breaking away from that to focus on the products themselves? ========================================= Just focus on the products heavily. I find that the MLM products that are affected by the company marketing model are really only the ones that require consumers to "join" to buy. If they can buy without joining, people don't really care all that much about the marketing model. : ) Linda

Hi Martha; ========================================= There are lots of things out there trying to tell you how to do what Linda is teaching us but if you don't already understand what they are trying to get across it isn't going to do you any good. I like the fact that Linda wants to sort of hold your hand in her book and really help the beginner go through things one step at a time. Linda, Am I right on that? ========================================= You hit the nail on the head. It's the same learning anything. The minute a person feels lost and doesn't understand, that's when they say "Whoa, whoa - too much!" That's why I try to take it all one step at a time - to maintain the feeling of "I can do this!" : ) Linda

Hi Martha; ========================================= If you search for "ready to craft gourds" or "craft ready gourds", you will find my site numerous times in the first pages. But those terms don't even show up in the keyword search. So is anybody searching for them? "Gourd" and "Gourds" are the top terms and have high search results but you will not find my site on google with it. I think most people are finding me through other gourd sites that I have exchanged links with especially the ones that have a gourd supplier category. One more question and then I quit. There are lots of sites dealing with gourd art. Would it be spam if while at their site I contacted them about my ready to craft gourds? I am thinking of the sites that have the high end gourd art. ========================================= When you start the search engine modules, you'll learn why you're not showing up for the big keywords - and how to achieve that. As you go through the modules, you'll find that I've created them a bit like building a puzzle. There's a piece here that looks like a flower - and a piece there that looks like a sky - and when all the pieces are finally put together, you see the whole picture. : ) To answer your question, no it wouldn't be spam. Especially if you word the letter with thoughts toward mutual benefit. If you offer something they don't, and they offer something you don't - mutually endorsing each other works to both sites' benefit. I also cover that in the search engine modules, so you'll get more help with that and discovering who to contact once you start those units. : ) Linda