Mass Traffic Attack Chapter 2 – Organization and Preparation
I know you are itching to get stuck into the practical methods of writing articles and article marketing, but it is all too easy to read an eBook such as this and then take no action. It can all seem so much work. Well, you can relax, by the time you have reached the end of this eBook you will know everything you need to know in terms of how to construct your articles, where to submit them and how to make money from them.
However, many of us do struggle with getting started. If you have never authored an article before then it can be extremely easy to say, “this sounds great, I’ll make a start next week.”
Does that sound familiar?
In this chapter I am going to deal with getting your mind space right, avoiding procrastination, and getting yourself organized. This advice applies to all your business ventures, not just article marketing. Unless your own mind, your own workspace and your own computer are organized, you will struggle. This section is vital; I suggest you read it carefully and put into practice all the principles that apply to you.
The Right Mind Space
Let us deal with getting your own “mind space” right. I am sure you have read about the importance of having a positive mental attitude, goal setting, the Law of Attraction and so on. This is not the place for a detailed examination of the “mental” part of various “self-help” principles; numerous particularly good books abound on the various aspects of that subject. All I will say here is what you expect, or what you wish for – you will get.
Back to getting your mind right. Expect failure – that is what you will achieve. That is true for everything in life, not just your business but that also applies to your social and family life. If you come into any part of internet marketing, not just article marketing, with the attitude of “well I’ll give this a try but I’m not really expecting anything” then guess what? That is EXACTLY what WILL happen – I guarantee it.
On the other hand, expect to be successful and you will be. Believe me, it really is just as simple as that. It is vital that you get your mind space right, and it is truly a question of mind over matter. In an article marketing your most valuable tool is not your computer but the space between your ears!
So, let us get into the detail. Let me ask you a question
“What single word do you think is the biggest enemy standing between you and online
success?”
Money? – no, compared to the costs of starting a traditional offline business the cost of setting up one on the internet is laughably cheap. And article marketing is free.
Knowledge? – again no, that is easily acquired. Anything you do not know to succeed online, such as technical skills can be learned from eBooks like this. Authoring articles is quick and easy
Contacts? – none of the remarkably successful online marketers were well known when they started. Using things such as forums it is extremely easy to build up a network of online contacts these days. You will be astounded by how few articles you need to write before you build up a following of your own and you are seen as the expert.
The single word is procrastination.
Overcoming Procrastination
Procrastination is the act (or the “non-act”) of putting something off until later – tomorrow, next week, sometime soon, never. It is by far our biggest enemy. Whole lives have been wasted by this very real problem. Businesses never started, families never began, vacations never taken, relationships never started all because of this.
Imagine if there were no procrastination in the world or in your own life – you would do every task there and then without regard to the consequences.
Thinking of starting an online business? – you would act on it immediately?
Thinking of asking that guy/girl for a date? – you would not hesitate?
Thinking of taking that vacation you really need? – in less than 5 minutes you would have bought the tickets.
Thinking of writing five articles to promote your site? – you start writing, an hour, and a half later you are drinking coffee, all articles done.
Of course, acting immediately without thinking things through can lead to negative consequences. That is why procrastination is human nature, it is in our genes. What is the main reason we procrastinate?
Fear of failure.
We fear that if we take a “leap into the unknown” we are moving outside our “comfort zone” and that is why it is completely natural for us to delay acting. Our inbuilt self-defense mechanism kicks in – “What if I lose my money?” “What if I get rejected”, “What will others think?”. It is far easier to maintain the status quo; inaction is less risky than action.
Most of us suffer from this, more than we would care to admit. Picture this scenario:
You sit down at your computer in the evening determined to put in a couple of hours’ work. But before you get started you check your emails first, there are a few there that need a reply from you. Having done that, you check out a few websites, then see if there is anything new on Facebook. An hour has now passed. You get a coffee and promise yourself you will just quickly have a look in a couple of your favorite forums.
Two hours later, your husband/wife has gone to bed, you are tired, and you need to be up early in the morning for work. Frustrated at your lack of progress, angry with yourself that you got sidetracked you go to bed, promising yourself that “tomorrow will be different.” Some people have been like this for years, wondering why they can never make any money online.
I know all about the above scenario, it caught me out most nights for a long time. If you recognize anything in yourself from that example the first thing to do is NOT beat yourself up about it, as I used to do. Procrastination, in whatever form it takes, is a natural defense mechanism. Your mind thinks it is protecting you from danger, i.e., from a potential change in your life or lifestyle with all the “hazards” that suggests!
We are naturally more comfortable with what we know; the environment in which we grew up. Over time our mind has conditioned us to accept that this is how things are supposed to be.
Seriously, that is true.
I was stunned when I first found out about that. I thought the reason I procrastinated was because I was lazy. Nope. Without going into the complicated psychological reasons as to why we delay things, I just want to get across two points:
- Everyone procrastinates at some point
- It is not your fault
OK, having established that this is simple human nature, what can we do about it? To succeed in internet marketing, indeed any business, we are going to have to overcome this one way or another.
Procrastination often happens when we do not have an exact plan of what we want to do. How often have you sat down at your computer with just a vague idea of “doing a few things for my online business”? That is a sign of not having a detailed plan. Planning is one of the key features to running a successful business.
There is a well-known expression
“Plan your work, then work your plan”
That is, it briefly. Unless you know exactly what you want to achieve every time you sit down at your PC – every morning you wake up, one week from now, one month from now and so on, you are always going to struggle. As well as planning, you need to clear the clutter both from your workspace and your computer.
Firstly, let us clear the clutter from your mind, but remember unless you clear the physical as well as the mental clutter you will not make much progress. Do not forget that all these things work in combination with each other. If you are a particularly bad procrastinator (and I was one of the worst) then these things have combined in the past to work against you. It is now time to turn the tables and make them work for you.
This is also where the idea of setting clearly defined goals will help you. If your dream is to own a villa next to the beach, or a particular car then put a picture of those things on your office wall where you can see them.
This will strongly focus your mind on what you want, as well as reminding you at a subconscious level what you will get (your reward) if you do those tasks, you have been putting off.
Here is my 9-point plan for kicking procrastination into touch.
- Make an exact plan of what you need to do, detailing every single step
- KNOW exactly what tasks you must do every time you sit down at your computer (if at any time you do not know this, then there is a gap in your plan, and you need to go back to it and refine it)
- Some days we feel motivated to work, others we do not. One effective way I have found of getting myself “in the mood” or “in the zone” to really do author some articles is by listening to music beforehand. This is a simple tip, but it is highly effective – put together a playlist of music with a positive message, or music that uplifts you and listen to that. It does not matter whether your musical tastes are Mozart, Madonna or Motorhead – pick something that is positive to you. Songs like Survivor – Eye of the Tiger, Bon Jovi – It is my Life, Queen – Breakthru, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, 2 Unlimited – No Limit all work well. Heck, move around to the music if that gets you psyched up, whatever works for you! We will all have our own favorites whatever type of music we listen to.
- Stand up and do a bit of stretching, move your body around. This will get your creative talents flowing.
- As well as knowing exactly what tasks you want to do, you must also clearly define exactly how long you will be working. So, for example you could say, “I’ll start working at 7pm and finish at 9pm”. Psychologically it is important that you do not leave it open-ended. By defining an “end time” you are giving yourself a deadline to work to and most of us work better with deadlines. As a bonus, your spouse will be a lot happier with you doing this, rather than working until you go to bed. If you finish your tasks earlier, then see if you cannot do one of tomorrow’s tasks as well.
- If you are a particularly bad procrastinator, then do the quickest and easiest tasks first. Yes, I know the “expert” advice given out is that you should do the most difficult one first – I too have read all the self-help books. I tend to think that if you pick an especially challenging task first there is a great chance of giving up halfway through. That is the voice of experience. My own view is that if you do the easy tasks first, you will have a greater sense of achievement at having completed something. This will spur you on to complete the next one and the one after that. Instead of going to bed frustrated that – yet again – you have hardly done anything, you will finish the day very much upbeat and pleased with yourself at ticking items from your list.
- Divide all larger tasks into smaller tasks, or mini tasks. You would be surprised at how many small tasks can be broken down even further. For example, suppose your goal was to write an article, which is all. Well, an article consists of a title, six paragraphs and an author’s bio box. So, what you thought was one single, medium sized task is eight different mini tasks. Worst case scenario – even if all you do is the title and nothing else, you have at least completed one of the eight tasks. Which is psychologically a whole lot better than not having completed the single task of “write an article.”
- Every time you complete a task, reward yourself by taking a break. Do that AWAY from the computer, never go playing games or surfing the web on your break. It is far too easy to get distracted and you will not get back to your jobs again easily. Grab tea/coffee/coke/beer/water, whatever and go somewhere else.
- Once you have completed your tasks, then go over the tasks that await you in your next “working session” – whether that is the next day, in a couple of days’ time, or in the afternoon. Make sure that you know EXACTLY what you will be doing then. If you need to, take the time to make your plan, and make amendments where necessary.
If procrastination is a particularly bad problem for you, then follow those nine points and you will soon see changes. This will not always be immediate; it does take time and effort to change our habits. Naturally, some days it is easier than others. So, keep at it, do not beat yourself up if you slip back into the old ways, we all do it.
Just come back stronger the next time.
The biggest tool that you have in an online business (indeed any business) is your own mind. We are now going to look at the other tools at your disposal – your workspace and your computer.
Best Wishes
See Tomorrow: “An Efficient Workspace”
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