SBI, discouraged.

[TiffyLove]

A little info so you understand:
I have been committed to my own personal development and growth for about five years now. It is what I spend all my spare time and money on, so in short it is truly my passion.

I am also a free spirit (spiritual, not religious).

That being said I have enough knowledge in me to help a lot of people but most of all I have the passion and desire to do so. My awareness and heart expands everyday, I LOVE the feeling and want nothing more to help people find that within themselves. As I grow I know I will have more and more to offer.

I obtained my coaching certification, along with all kinds of other certifications and "learnings".

Now I am on day 2 of SBI to build a website where I will offer my coaching services, along with energy work, books, energy jewelry, etc..

I am having such a hard time to coming up with the OVERALL keywords to use for the domain name and site name. I can come up with thousands for all the different products and services I would like to offer. However anything that comes remotely close is too broad (at least by SBI standards).

I have a tendency to self sabotage my success especially when it involves being paid to help others. I have been helping others for free as long as I can remember, I LOVE IT. It's time I get out a job that is not aligned with who I am and I spend a lot more time serving others and in order to do that finances are required (see look I am even trying to justify it to you guys).

Anyway my point is I don't want to allow myself to sabotage this as well and I am determined to move forward and get beyond my limiting beliefs that have been holding me back. However I can not seem to get past this part in order to move forward with my website.

I have been using keyword tools like crazy, I am drained. I felt a glimpse of hope when someone mentioned on one of these threads that they enter markets with lots of competition, I don't want to look at it as competition, I just want to be able to use my talents to contribute and be successful doing it.

[nightdiamond]

Hi TiffyLove,

I have some suggestions if you don't mind;


Be kind to yourself, it's day two! It's ok to take a little time think carefully about the keywords you will choose, no need to rush yourself.



For choosing a good domain name, try to make it short and easy for the surfer to remember. Something easy for them to type. It will make it most likely they will remember it easily and come back to it later.

So on top of choosing a domain name that is related to your services, also choose one that is short and cute as well.

If you like, how about trying a "mind map" to help you come up with some ideas?

Put emphasis on your ezine too. The goal will be to get a large number of subscribers.

Surfers don't always buy immediately from sites, but ezine subscribers are far more likely to buy what you offer, because they know you more and agree to accept offers from you.

Once you get those subscribers, then after some time, you can just send them a single one page email, offering a special product you may have for sale. If just a small fraction of them respond, then you could make a huge profit.

Example- let's say you managed to sign up at least 5,000 people to your ezine. After repeatedly sending your ezine for about 4 months, one day you send a one page email offering a unique product you have for $15.00

Out of the 5,000 subscribers, only 100 subscribers respond, you will have made $1,500.

That is just an example, you could do even better, depending on what you offer and how many subscribers you have.

And TiffyLove, don't let setbacks stop you either, it is very common for successful people to have failed the first times, but they almost always say the same thing; they learned from their mistakes, and kept trying.

In other words, be prepared before hand, know how you will respond if a setback occurs.

The thoughts you have are normal for someone doing this at first, so it's ok. Since you know how you'll react if there is a setback, you will do ok, and steamroll ahead anyway.

And you'll have plenty of tools and help available...

Let us know how it's going, take care.....

[TiffyLove]

I am also concerned about the ezine. Two concerns actually, that I won't get subscribers (How I will market it) and that I won't have enough content to fulfill its purposes. I am filled with knowledge and ways to help people but I am not usually good at articulating it on demand. Usually when I am speaking with someone the wisdom just flows and I really don't think about it much. Sometimes I'm impressed by what comes out and can't believe I said it.


Thank you for responding, the process is overwhelming. I thought for the domain name that it needed to include all the keywords in the exact order. Something simple and easy to remember sits better with me.


I think I get anxious and just want answers now. Magic1 is helping me really learn how to relax and trust source!

Everyone on here seems so genuine and eager to help others, thank you again for responding, you help settle some concerns of mine.

Tiffany

[alexplatups]

Tiffany,

have you asked for help in the SBI forums, there is a section for that

for example in the watercooler section, we post on a regular basis, in a thread
called Sharing Everyday Progress, where I post daily, and you can ask questions
that you have

using Brainstorm It, Working with your Master Keyword List, Interpreting
Keyword Supply, Demand, Profitably and Finding your niche, are the best
sections in the *SBI forum* for your situation that you described

this is the best suggestion that I can give you, because if you are using
SBI, the forums are there especially for people that just started, since this
is the hardest time that you will go through in your journey in creating
an online business

Alex Platups

[nightdiamond]

Originally Posted by TiffyLove

I am also concerned about the ezine. Two concerns actually, that I won't get subscribers (How I will market it) and that I won't have enough content to fulfill its purposes. I am filled with knowledge and ways to help people but I am not usually good at articulating it on demand. Usually when I am speaking with someone the wisdom just flows and I really don't think about it much. Sometimes I'm impressed by what comes out and can't believe I said it.


Thank you for responding, the process is overwhelming. I thought for the domain name that it needed to include all the keywords in the exact order. Something simple and easy to remember sits better with me.


I think I get anxious and just want answers now. Magic1 is helping me really learn how to relax and trust source!

Everyone on here seems so genuine and eager to help others, thank you again for responding, you help settle some concerns of mine.

Tiffany

You can market your ezine, right from your site. First, you make your site interesting, so that the surfers will enjoy reading or surfing the site.

Then you can have a section where you offer your ezine. Something clever like, " Join this ezine, where you'll get the secrets you'll need to make those changes you want!"

It should be something that will make the reader WANT to subscribe, to know more.

I think you should be able to provide the content for your ezine. It can be monthly, bi-monthly, or even weekly if you want, but the monthly, and bi-monthly options give you the opportunity to take time to come up with your content.

It should be fun! You can compile your lists of topics, when you are just relaxing or something and then write the ideas down, save them. Then you can write your ezine articles from these topics.

Since this has to do with your passion, I think it will be easy for you to come up with topics and ideas for your ezine. Think about what you know about concerning coaching, energy healing, etc and write a small article about it.


Also think of a topic that would interest your readers, something they would want to know about, then write about it!

You can even just practice, just see what your writing would look like without posting anything, just practice for now...

For ezines, the key is to make it interesting, something your subscribers will want to look forward to reading each month or week. As coach, invite your subscribers to ask questions that you will answer...things like that..



Good luck, keep us updated.........

[Curtis2011]

You should really be posting on the SBI forums about this, not the Pavlina forums lol.

[bluedragon]

Why shouldn't he post here? We can help him...
As for the SBI forums, in my experience, the level of interactivity there is at least 5 times lower than in Steve's forum. Almost nobody answers my questions there, and when they do, it's always a person who says she is a beginner herself, but if she were to form an opinion, she would say that...
At least here, he got a few answers (even if most were just telling him not to ask )

[TiffyLove]

bluedragon,

Thank you.


And I asked here because I was reading several other posts which were talking about SBI and I know Steve Pavlina recommends it.

[Blueskied]

Originally Posted by TiffyLove

I am having such a hard time to coming up with the OVERALL keywords to use for the domain name and site name. I can come up with thousands for all the different products and services I would like to offer. However anything that comes remotely close is too broad (at least by SBI standards).

Ready-fire-aim!
-> Do It Now by Steve Pavlina

[bluedragon]

Try asking a shorter and very specific question in the SBI tips and tricks thread in the Business section here. Maybe the other SBIers can give you a tip or two. They're more successful with their sites than I am (for the moment).

[David Cain]

I am having such a hard time to coming up with the OVERALL keywords to use for the domain name and site name. I can come up with thousands for all the different products and services I would like to offer. However anything that comes remotely close is too broad (at least by SBI standards).

The funny thing is, you will soon settle on something and get used to it, and forget that this was ever an issue.

Honestly, it is not the most important decision in the world. Nobody will reject your site based on its domain; it is the content that matters. Did you discover this site because you were searching for 'Steve's or 'Pavlina's in google? I'm guessing you learned about it because someone linked one of his great posts and you found it.

I decided not to bother with sticking keywords in my domain name. IMO, a short, memorable name is much better than some long, hyphenated string of keywords. Look at the most popular sites; they are all short and NOT full of keywords.

Look at the domain in my sig. It isn't even a real word. But it is memorable, and easy to say. I'm already getting great feedback. I'm glad I didn't name it something lame like helping-people-with-happiness.com

But really, no matter what you pick, you should not get hung up at this stage. You will have to make decision after decision, and each time you get hung up, you set yourself back. Register one you like by the end of the day.

I have a tendency to self sabotage my success especially when it involves being paid to help others. I have been helping others for free as long as I can remember, I LOVE IT. It's time I get out a job that is not aligned with who I am and I spend a lot more time serving others and in order to do that finances are required (see look I am even trying to justify it to you guys).

There is nothing wrong with making money. You deserve to make a living doing what you love, so don't be ambivalent about it. But don't worry about making money yet, just get into the habit of providing value. You need fans and traffic before you can make money. Read Steve's posts about making money blogging, if you haven't already.

There is no shame in monetizing something if you are providing genuine value. If you don't come to terms with this, you will not be able to make a living.

You'll do fine, just keep moving ahead!

[Holistic Star]

Hi David,

I agree with you. I'm in the process of changing my SBI domain to a one word made up word domain. (have just sent you a follow on twitter, so you'll be able to see what it is!) And you are right. I didn't search for Steve or Pavlina to find steve's site!

Tiffylove. I had the same problem as you in that the PD world has a lot of supply for little demand.

People aren't necessarily looking for the words 'personal development'. What they want is better relationships, confidence, less anxiety.

I've decided to break all the rules with my SBI site. I'm doing that knowing it will take longer to build my business, but I am confident that it can be done if you have a unique voice and ideas.

[David Cain]

Ah, I had already followed you back!

Send me a tweet when your site is up.