Back On The Slippery Slope To Nowhere
Sally, Sally, Sally do you never learn!
That’s exactly what I said to myself as I was sitting in front of my computer dutifully entering my blog rss details into a list of blog submission websites that I found here:
Once I finished working through that list I was going to tackle this beauty:
The reason I was doing such mundane, boring tasks was to win a competition.
A competition to win a $2000 blog revamp.
Over the last few days (as well as doing the above) I have been registering at new forums, submitting articles, creating back links, joining giveaway events, trying out safe lists, hub pages, squidoo lenses, traffic exchanges and much more.
I have been trying to drive as much traffic as possible to my blog in order to win the competition.
But it dawned on me that I was wasting a HUGE amount of my time.
Alex keeps drilling into his students to remember time = money.
Well I have certainly wasted a lot of my productive time chasing traffic to win this competition.
My to do lists have not been touched since I started these traffic generation techniques.
I have been extremely tired and VERY bored.
In the back of my mind I knew I should be doing other, more productive tasks, and I should have listened to myself.
But no, I had to soldier on with a dream of winning a $2000 blog…
Now I suppose I could argue the fact that my time has been spent productively because all the links and traffic I have been driving will be beneficial to me right now and in the future.
But could my time have been better spent?
Yes.
Did I personally have to do those tasks?
NO.
Did I enjoy doing those tasks?
NO.
It really scares me to think how quickly I almost forgot everything Alex has taught me so far.
Or how easy it was to slip back into my old ways and bad habits.
Alex is forever drilling into our brains that we must not do everything ourselves.
I could have easily outsourced those tasks to someone else.
The tasks I was doing did not require a personal touch.
I wouldn’t outsource blog hopping (simply means visiting other peoples blogs and commenting on them).
I wouldn’t outsource my twitter posts.
But tasks such as article writing and submission, rss feed submission, directory submissions etc do not require my personal attention.
My friend Kathy Dobson recently wrote a post on her blog about outsourcing jobs to people based in the Phillipines.
You can read her post here:
Outsourcing – EasyOutsource.Com
She gives a very honest review about the Easy Outsource website and I signed up to the website myself.
I will be hiring people to do the little tasks for me in future.
JOIN TEAM SALLY…
If you want to join “Team Sally” submit a ticket to my support desk and tell me what your absolutely fabulous at doing here:
Just tell me in a few words what your area of expertise is such as:
Designing Graphics
Video Editing
Article Writing
SEO
etc etc.
And I will be sure to reply to you as soon as I can.
The last time I ran a business online, I burned out because I tried to do everything myself, I was scared no one could handle the tasks as well as I could.
I tried to do too much myself and it took it’s toll.
It’s time for me to let go and trust that other people are just as capable, if not more capable of completing certain tasks for me.
Like I said, Alex harps on about outsourcing the little tasks and concentrating on the important tasks.
At first I thought, I can’t really afford to pay someone to do tasks I could do myself.
But I have finally realized, there are only so many hours in the day, I am not superhuman, the hours that I do have available should not be wasted on non-money making tasks.
So I am back on track, with the thought of winning the blog on the back boiler until I can get someone to do traffic related tasks for me.
My to do list is back in business and I can get back to doing the stuff I love such as creating video tutorials, posting comments on blogs (but not to the extremes I have done in the past few days), creating free reports etc.
The past few days have filled me with boredom.
I never decided to start on an online business to continue doing work I hate.
The whole point of an online business was to NOT do the things I hate.
I feel relieved now and happy again.
The traffic generation burden has been lifted from my shoulders and I am free to do only the things I love.
I urge you not to make the mistake I did, if a task can be outsourced, get someone else to do it.
Sally
ps. Everyone keeps asking me where Jade and I got our big pink sunglasses, they were extremely expensive ones…NOT.
We got them from Primark!
Filed under: Internet Marketing
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Twitter: nathanrufus
says:
Sally,
The mundane tasks in this business can take over your life, as I’m quickly finding out.
Thanks for the resources and don’t burn yourself out myfriend, Jade will start running rings around you (…Monsters Inc. already do it to me…)
Look after yourself.
Reach new heights,
Nathan
.-= Nathan Rufus´s last blog ..How To Go From Employed To Unemployable In 346 Days… Or Less! =-.
Twitter: sallyneill
says:
Hey Nathan, yes the boring tasks can get you done, just need to filter them out and move forward with the important tasks, take care Sally
Hi Sally,
Yeah, I think this is one of the main reasons people quit as well since we try to do everything ourselves and then burn out and lose interest soon …
I am also learning more about outsourcing.
Cheers!
Abizer
.-= Abizer´s last blog ..What’s my first blog post going to be? =-.
Twitter: sallyneill
says:
hey Abizer, hope your doing well and getting stuck into the coaching, yes it’s one of the reasons I quit the last time, but this time it’s gonna be different, catch you soon, Sally
Hi sally, nice list n i am sure you will manage to filter the things properly because it seems like a huge amount of tasks
have fun
.-= Wakas mir´s last blog ..Dragging each other’s legs =-.
Twitter: sallyneill
says:
Hey Wakas, yes it was a huge amount, I was proper stressed out, but I am fine now and happy again so that’s the main thing, thanks for visiting, Sally
Sally!!
You are everywhere I look at the minute, keep up with all the effort.
Hope you put a good team together, keep us informed
Matt
.-= Matthew Cook´s last blog ..Hedgehog Or Fox? =-.
Twitter: sallyneill
says:
Hey Matthew, yes I went a bit blog hopping crazy, but I am calming down now thankfully, I have devised a system of putting all the rss feeds into my google reader so it’s much more manageable now. Hedgehog or Fox, hmmm I was a fox but now I am a hedgehog, Sally
Twitter: Dave_Jeffreys
says:
Hey Sally
Your so right, It is so easy to get distracted. You have to stay focussed on the thing that will make the biggest difference.
On the outsourcing front we have used http://www.freelancer.com and also http://www.elance.com. We have had them do artwork, write articles for article directories and that sort of stuff. Always been money well spent.
Stay focussed.
Cheers
Dave
.-= Dave Jeffreys´s last blog ..Dare to Dream =-.
Twitter: sallyneill
says:
Hey Dave, yes I have used elance before, and rentacoder once for a blog transfer, both were really good, take care Sally
Twitter: darrenlcarter
says:
Hey Sally,
Really great post. I understand exactly what you’re saying, although you’re quite a bit farther along than me. Thanks for the outsourcing link. I’m gonna look into that now!
Peace,
Darren L Carter
.-= Darren L Carter´s last blog ..Goal Setting Success =-.
yo yo sally
yes, its hell eh, sit down to visit other blogs,
then 2 hours later im wondering why ive been looking
at a video to ‘make a million in a day’..again..
outsourcing will be good, but at mo im just
‘building an event’ (very slowly mind)and getting blog
looking decent.. traffic will be nice, dont think my analytics is working anyway, so no chance of winning..
i know your the gal in the know so when you go forum next, see if you can give me some advice on my analytics.. i shall start a topic in a bit.. about 4ish uk monday
nice, i will be back… nicky
Twitter: sallyneill
says:
Hey Hey Nicky, how you doing? Good I hope, will pop over the forum and look for your post about your analytics although I really don’t know much about it, only just installed it myself, Sally
Hey Sally,
Your dead right when you say that there are better thing you could be doing with your time. I used safelists and traffic exchanges for over a year and it is the most boring job in the world and eventually you optin to some great copy writing. Glad to here your back on track
Glyn
.-= Glyn Lafferty´s last blog ..Internet Marketing Basics Taking The First Step Forward =-.
Twitter: sallyneill
says:
Hey Glyn, I really hate doing stuff like that, it’s no fun at all, but there are just some things I have to do right now until I can outsource them I guess, take care buddy, Sally
Hey sally
yea i no what you mean about trying everything to get traffic sally love the post really helpful im gona have a look at Kathy Dobson outsourcing post
Thanks
Davy
Twitter: sallyneill
says:
Hey Davy, are you not bored yet? I lasted 2 days and I felt like screeeaaaaaming! Has to be a better way of traffic generation surely, Sally
What is this contest for a $2,000 blog review for? Why do you need to go do all the things you listed out? Is it like a goal between who can drive the most traffic or something?
.-= Chris Guthrie´s last blog ..MaxBlogPress Ninja Affiliate Review =-.
Twitter: sallyneill
says:
Hey Chris, yeah, the person who drives the most traffic their blog wins a $2000 redesign of their blog with all the bells and whistles included, I think it has to be real traffic though not those 1 million bot visitor things, Sally
Hey Sally:
I am planning to go to Pakistan next week and will try to shortlist few candidates for my outsourcing work. I am in the middle of writing job descriptions of those candiates, which I may eventually need for the following roles:
1. Web Developer /Maintenance Expert — Technical person with certain Php MySql and graphical art work Skills
2. Article Writing – English proficient – mass communication graduates
3. Website Promoters – Young fresh graduates who love spending time on chatting internet and pariticipating in discussion forums
I’ll try to understand how much it will cost to hire these candidates on full time basis, but my rough estimate it should not cost me more than 500 Dollars per month to hire No 2. and No 3. Ideally I would like to partner up with few of other student fellows to pool in to hire this team, as they can work on multiple sites. It will help us all and equally a cost effective method to hire a dedciated team of outsourced professionals to work on our websites/blogs/graphics and regular promotion on forums/blogs/article submissions, social media networking etc etc.
I might add a thread on the forum to look for thos who want to partner up with me on this venture to hire our own team.
Meantime, if you would like to send me an email on this thought, please feel free to do so at
aliagha.jafri@gmail.com
Thanks & Regards
Ali Jafri
Blog: http://www.onyourmarketinggetsetgo.com
Website: http://www.profitsnprofits.com
Twitter: sallyneill
says:
Hey Ali, that’s fabulous, please keep me updated I would be really interested in using the same people as you do, will send you an email, Sally
Hey Sally,
Quit dreaming about that $2,000 blog. Look if you do this right you will be able to design your own blog.
Stop chasing the money, let the money chase you.
You need to go back and read my law of attraction post. Create positive uplifting content that makes people feel good.
I hope you know I’m not trying to preach, I’m trying to help!
Steven
MWA 3.0
.-= Steven Keltsch´s last blog ..The Law of Attraction =-.
Twitter: sallyneill
says:
Hey Steven, I know I know, I listen to the Secret everyday in my car as I take Jade to school, I really should act like I have already received it, will try to re-adjust my way of thinking, no would never think your are preaching, I like hearing your opinion, Sally
Twitter: baileying
says:
Hey Sally,
I know exactly what you mean about spending ages doing mundane tasks etc. In hindsight, I maybe should have outsourced setting up my blog to someone else as I spent so long on it, I’m pushed for time doing the important task of building traffic to it!
Thanks for sharing your post and helping me to refocus.
I’m sure your efforts will pay off soon
.-= Bailey Ing´s last blog ..Happy to be on the road to success! =-.
Twitter: sallyneill
says:
Hey Bailey (Cool Name) yes it’s kinda hard to separate what you should be doing and what you shouldn’t but I think you learn from your mistakes and I have made loads so no matter, Sally
Hey Sally,
I was wondering if you weren’t already outsourcing because I see your name everywhere
Surely, there has to be a better way than posting everywhere and sacrificing sleep. You are definitely a hard worker. Now that you are back to you game plan perhaps you will be even more fruitful. Thank you for the insight and the resources.
All the best.
PJ
.-= PJ Bess´s last blog ..EASY CASH WEBINAR by Alex Jeffreys | Free Guide to Fast Track Your Success =-.
Twitter: sallyneill
says:
Hey PJ, ha ha, yes I do seem to be popping up everywhere and I am going to reveal how I done it in a future post, no secrets that just plain hard work but there are a few steps to take to make it much easier, Sally
Hi Sally
Great looking blog, and a very relevant topic to pick. Outsourcing baffles the best of us in the beginning: I know its something I still have to engage in…
Alex is the man.. you couldn’t have a better coach
Regards
Anthony
Twitter: sallyneill
says:
Hey Anthony, yeah he is the man, I am coming on in leaps and bounds since I joined his coaching, thanks for popping by, will be sure to keep my eye on your blog posts too, Sally
Twitter: givesvalue
says:
Be bored so more Sally – loved your total honesty.
As you say blog hopping sure takes a lot of my time but it’s also a great way for me to learn and improve – definitely not a task I would ever outsource.
.-= Peter Beckenham´s last blog ..List Building…..Ground Zero =-.
Twitter: sallyneill
says:
Hey Peter, I am easily bored, I have a terrible attention span and tend to do 5 things at once which is not good, need to try and stop doing that. I agree I am getting lots of great info from the blog hopping, Sally
Twitter: slcroft
says:
Hi Sally,
Very easy to lose focus, been guilty of it many times in the past, still now even, then I will look at my plan and remember what I am supposed to be doing. Really wish I could afford to outsource now, will definitely do it when I start making a little money.
With regards to the comp, not really focused on winning it, just generating traffic, as Steve says, once we are winning, we will have enough money to have it designed anyway.
Stay focused
Kind regards
Simon
.-= Simon Croft´s last blog ..Plan To Fail? =-.
Twitter: sallyneill
says:
Hey Simon, yeah it’s a catch 22 really, you want to outsource but you have no money to pay anyone, you will have money coming in real soon, then you can outsource. Yeah I am not focused on winning anymore either, back to my master plan just like you, Sally
Twitter: RandysIMRambles
says:
Hey Sally,
I started outsourcing recently too – and now I wouldn’t want to get back to doing everything myself…
Though I know I need to do a lot more of it!
My challenge is learning what I can outsource due to not having enough ‘systems’ in place (that happens when you plod through and do your own thing!!)
Hopefully – I’m learning enough from Kathy and it wont be long before I have more and more mundane tasks done by others
Randy
http://www.RandolfSmith.com
P.S. Finally got a link from my blog to yours done today…. about time with all the great content you provide
.-= Randy Smith´s last blog ..Bristol, then A Wedding, & NO Work Done! =-.
Twitter: sallyneill
says:
Hey Randy, you really have to outsource, there is no other way, one man or woman cannot do everything alone. I agree automation is the key to success, Sally
Twitter: jorge_bento
says:
Hi Sally
I read this post very carefully because I was starting doing the same thing in order to get traffic for my blog. I think I even started a thread in Forum talking about “losing time visiting blogs and participating in forums instead of getting the job done (to win the contest)”. And of course Alex was there to put me in the right track.
I can’t outsource backlink building or articles writing or whatever, because outsourcing means you have to pay to someone, and when your budget is “non-existent” you can’t do it.
So I’m doing everything by myself, but for now I’m focused on my blog, “oil rig hoping” and help other people if I can. In the end, I think I’ll be a winner too!
I’m subscribing your newsletter to be sure I’ll keep updated with your activities, because you’re ahead in the path and I can, for sure, follow your steps.
Cheers
Jorge
.-= Jorge´s last blog ..Marketing With Alex… =-.
Twitter: sallyneill
says:
Hey Jorge, I don’t think we are the only ones who wasted time, like I said, I think this has been a good experience to show us that we need to outsource when we have the funds, take care Sally
Hi Sally
You just keep filling your blog with quality content like you are doing – and the traffic will keep coming.
Traffic generation is one of the most easiest tasks to outsource so I’m told by Kathy so it shouldn’t be to hard to find good workers to do it for you.
Take care
Dawn Kay
Twitter: sallyneill
says:
Hey Dawn, sometimes when I write my blog posts I don’t think they have good content, I sit for ages, pondering hitting the publish button, I suppose it’s because I am just sharing my journey online I don’t see real value in my posts, but it seems people online experience the same problems and knowing your not alone makes a real difference, after all we are all trying to achieve the same dream online, to make money and live a better life, Sally
Hey Sally,
Remember the story of the man who had no shoes feeling badly until he met the man who had no feet?
Be happy you’ve got to spend all this time on traffic building. As a total newbie, I’ve just finished putting up my blog (and a very basic one at that).
Since you were one of the first to register, this is the first blog I’ve visited. Love your blog. Feel good knowing you are way ahead of a lot of us and some of us are looking to more advanced bloggers for inspiration and ideas.
.-= Gloria Daniels´s last blog ..To Outsource or Not to Outsource =-.
Twitter: sallyneill
says:
Hey Gloria, if you need any help just pm me on the forum and I will be glad to do anything for you that I can, take care, Sally
Hi Sally,
I see my comment is awaiting moderation.
Sorry about my last blog title, I changed it when I realized it was the same as yours. Any way this comment can be changed to reflect the new title?
.-= Gloria Daniels´s last blog ..To Outsource or Not to Outsource =-.
Twitter: sallyneill
says:
Hey Gloria, all the comments await moderation until I approve them, just because of spammy ones, I don’t pick and choose which comments go live, just delete the spam ones, Sally
Twitter: mikeroosa
says:
My problem with outsourcing is I’ve never found anyone that was good enough to pay. I really don’t want to invest a lot of money in outsourcing and when you are paying bottom dollar that’s what you get in return.
.-= Mike Roosa´s last blog ..Forum Marketing Ninja Tip #5 – Post Early, Post Often =-.
Twitter: sallyneill
says:
Hey Mike, yes I know what you mean it’s really hard to find people that can do the job just the way you want it done, someone suggest doing video tutorials for potential staff then uploading them, so they can see exactly what it is they have to do, Sally
Hey Sally,
You’re doing great…yep, it’s a slippery slope and I hate doing things I’m not great at either. And you know what, I could be doing more. Matter of fact, your blog post inspires me to look at what I should be outsourcing to generate more traffic.
Anyway,
Thanks for the insights.
Brandon
.-= BrandonBurgh´s last blog ..15 Things About Me =-.
Twitter: sallyneill
says:
Hey Brandon, loved your latest video, traffic outsourcing is something I am looking into to, if I find any good resources I will be sure to let you know, Sally
Twitter: anna_haller
says:
Hi Sally,
Know what you mean by getting burned out. Being and living here in the Philippines I guess I’m supposed to outsource right? But like you said it does require money, which is something that I don’t have right now.
I’m still a newbie and in the learning process though. I hope one day very soon I too will be able to outsource. I definitely will check out your resource and file it to use in the future.
Meanwhile, take time to relax and you will be fine in the competition, you’re killing it right now with all the traffic that’s coming here.
Keep up the good work!
Anna
.-= Anna Haller´s last blog ..Investing in Alex Jeffreys Coaching Program =-.
Twitter: sallyneill
says:
Hey Anna, I don’t think anyone really has the money for outsourcing so it’s really a catch 22, you need to make money to outsource, but to outsource you need money! I am not doing as much traffic generation as I should, like you it’s just so time consuming, but once you start checking Google Analytics you can see where it’s coming from and focus there, Sally
Hi Sally, I just wanted to make a quick comment. The things that you are doing now are NOT a waste of time. you are learning to drive traffic by doing. I know its tedious but driving traffic is the core skill of an internet marketer. In time, you will be able to outsource or go via the paid route. It’s just that you are in the hustling phase at the moment. Alex didn’t try and incentivise us to to do this for nothing! Keep the faith and keep up the good work.
.-= Make Money Online with Gregory Hyne´s last blog ..Free Interview with John Thornhill =-.
Twitter: sallyneill
says:
Hey Gregory, I know it will benefit in the future, it’s just a shame I don’t have a crystal ball to see the actual results then I would be more inspired to keep at it! Thanks for your comment, speak soon, Sally
Twitter: andybeveridge
says:
Hi sally, thanks for dropping by my blog the other day.
I have been outsourcing for a few weeks now and it has helped me no end. As you know I have just moved to France and it has taken me three weeks to get an Internet connection. Luckily my outsource team have been on the whole brilliant. My business has actually grown without me there.
Hang on a minute, am I actually needed at all.
Andy Beveridge
.-= Andy Beveridge´s last blog ..I made it in the end. =-.
Twitter: sallyneill
says:
Hey Andy, well done for getting your outsourcing sorted, I am not at that stage yet, I do have an article writing membership so at least I don’t have to write every word myself, Sally
Twitter: robjbradley
says:
Hey Sally,
You seem to be all over blogs right now so whatever your doing it’s working and I hope you’re happy with that!!
My view is graft at the beginning, track your results, trim down to the areas that are getting you the results and then when your earning, use some of the money to outsource!
If you can achieve with minimal investment of money but maximum time and effort imagine how much faster/easier it’ll be when you’ve got that extra to spend!!
Keep it going trooper!!!
Thanks for checking out my blog and leaving a comment too!!
Rob
(** RJB **)
.-= ** RJB **´s last blog ..The Super Sneaky “How To Get Over 1.3 Million Safelist Credits In 3 Days” System =-.
Twitter: sallyneill
says:
Hey Rob, love your site graphics, super cool, I feel like a trooper sometimes, it’s hard work at the start, I guess that’s why most people give up, Sally
Twitter: vancesova
says:
Hi Sally,
I think that it doesn’t hurt to do those things yourself once or twice.
At least you know how to do them and know what it takes. The trick is to not get bogged down and stop doing most of them after that.
Outsourcing is a must but you also need to have a good idea of what work you want outsourced and what you can do yourself.
Now that you know you can free yourself from the boring and repetitive stuff.
I enjoyed reading your post.
Vance
.-= Vance Sova´s last blog ..Email List Building Ebook, How To Build Email List In Any Market =-.
Twitter: sallyneill
says:
Hey Vance,
You know it’s funny how I missed your comment????
Anyway a late reply is better than no reply ha ha.
I have still NOT outsource any area of my business whatsoever, god you would have thought after all this time I would have, but I still don’t feel the need to do it just yet, maybe this year I will outsource something ha ha,
Sally
Twitter: JacintaDean
says:
Hi Sally,
Great post! I need to look at the outsourcing side of things. There is definitely not enough hours in the day, especially when we have work, family and bubbas to take care of!
Stay motivated and stay focused and everything will move along just the way you want it to.
Good luck with it all. See you back here soon!
Jacinta
.-= Jacinta Dean´s last blog ..John Thornhill’s Internet Marketing Master Class Coaching Program Week 31! =-.
Twitter: sallyneill
says:
Hey Jacinta, yes the age old problem of outsourcing, need to do it but dont have money to pay someone to do it.
It’s tough trying to run a successful online business, when you have a family, but lots of people do it, so hopefully we can find a happy medium!
Catch you soon, Sally
hi sally,
I am from Indonesia,
Recently I also do outsourcing for several projects and is very boring for me. But I do have to be fixed.
.-= velli, md.´s last blog ..Salah Kaprah Tentang Tantangan 50Jutacom =-.
Twitter: sallyneill
says:
Hey Velli,
Perhaps you could do some tasks for me ha ha!
Yes I can imagine outsourcing is kinda boring, after all, people only seem to outsource the tasks they dont want to do, so it’s all the horrid ones!
Sally