By now, you’re probably wondering what I’m rambling about, so here’s the scoop. I’ve been pretty quiet for the last few weeks really thinking about where I’m going and how I’m gonna get there. I almost let myself be talked into creating a completely new business model that would see me totally abandoning my goals and starting over. One good thing that has come out of that little detour is that I have been able to narrow down my focus to the one area of internet marketing that continues to get me all fired up, even after 12 years of slogging away in front of the computer.

It’s funny how it should have been obvious to me, given the list of what I originally set out to accomplish by July 1st. But it wasn’t, and it took some good hard conversations and a lot of thought to actually make me see and admit that yes, I am a PLR addict. Nothing gives me a bigger rush than buying a new package of PLR material and seeing how many ways I can rewrite, reuse and repurpose it. It appeals to me on so many levels — it feeds my thirst for knowledge and my need to conquer new worlds (niches); it opens my mind to new ideas that would never have crossed my path otherwise; it stretches my creativity to the bursting point, and it gives me the reason to justify my obsessive need to research a topic to death. All that, and an income too — pretty cool, eh?

What amuses me the most is I look at that list of goals and see how much more I could do, and others look at my list and say it’s too much. And I suppose it does look like a lot, and in fairness to my body’s need for food and sleep, I could probably cut it back a bit.

But here’s the thing I’m struggling with… and where the change in plans comes in… If, say, I were going to offer my services for either re-creating content, or teaching how to re-create content the way I do it, shouldn’t I do it first and offer up the proof that it can be done and that I have at least half a clue as to how to go about doing it?

If, for example, I were to tell you that I could take one PLR article and create at least 10 pieces of content out of it, would not the first words out of your mouth be “prove it”? They’d sure be mine if you told me that so don’t think I’m gonna be insulted if you ask me to prove that it can be done.

This is one of the reasons that I don’t write a whole lot in the Internet Marketing field even though I love it and I’ve been doing it since 1997. I like proof! And I’m not smooth enough to finesse you into believing something works if I haven’t tried it for myself first. But that’s gonna change, starting now. The writing that is …not the smooth talkin’ fake-it-til-ya-make-it bs. Because as I work towards completing as much of the content goals on that list as possible in the next seven weeks (I know I’m not gonna get the whole list done now), I will be writing about the process and showing you how it’s done.

Is there a catch? Sure, there is, and it’s not what you think….

Your participation is required. One of the things that frustrates me about blogging is the feeling that I’m talkin’ to myself. So I need to know that you’re reading and using what I’m writing about. Use the comments section to answer the questions I pose, leave your feedback, and share your results if you take action on any of the things I share. As long as there’s comments (at least five of them) for every post, I’ll continue. When the interaction stops, I stop posting. I think that’s only fair, don’t you?

So to get started, here’s your first question… How many pieces of content do you think I can create out of a package of 25 articles. Leave your guess in the comments, and I’ll let you know on Monday how much I got done over the weekend

In order to give myself the best chance of success at achieving my goals, I’m making myself publicly accountable by posting them on a separate page here. The only thing I won’t do is give away the links to all my niches, but you will be able to see how much content I intend to create for them over the course of the next 3 months.

You can find my progress page here. And as always suggestions for topics to create content around, and words of encouragement are always welcomed and greatly appreciated!

Copyright 2007 Ruth Ritchie and Ritchie Media. All Rights Reserved.

No offense, but I don’t want to talk to you. I’m not too keen on meeting you either. And dialing your phone number feels like leaping into a chilly swimming pool.

is gonna get my attention real quick. And this one did.  In Here’s how introverts can survive and thrive while networking Patrick Garmoe has put together some great tips and advice from networking experts to help even the most introverted among us feel more at ease in a networking session.

I have to admit that the thought of doing anything like this scares the heck outta me. Even online networking sets my knees shaking at the mere idea of connecting with someone new. I’m really glad to have these tips because as someone who really wants to get out there and attend events this year, I think they’ll really help a lot.

What helps you get over the “introvert jitters” when you’re in a networking environment?

Sounds like heaven, right? And it may well be to people who are outgoing and find it easy to be around other people. I watch in awe as people I admire and respect banter back and forth. I make my own little tweets and my heart soars when I get a reply or a direct message. And yeah, I realize how pathetic that sounds, but you have no idea how much courage it takes for me to hit that send button. I can write no problem, but actually sharing that writing in a place where there’s a chance that someone’s not gonna like it… that’s one of the hardest things for me to do. And while I’m getting better at it and it gets a little easier every time, there are still too many days when I would much rather crawl into my little hidey-hole and stay there.

Therein lies my dilemma. I know that to have an effective presence on twitter or any other social network I need to be there interacting with people on a regular basis. I also know that I need to be sharing at least some of what I’m doing and thinking so that people can get to know me better, and lemme tell ya, that idea is almost a deal breaker here. I’m so used to being in the background, and living basically alone that I telling people what I’m up to is a totally foreign concept.

So my question is this…

If your natural inclination is to be more isolationist than social, how do you do it? How do you overcome those anti-social tendencies and interact with others on those days when you just can’t handle the thought of talking to another person?

If I’m coming across as melodramatic, I’m sorry. It sounds over the top even to me, but I really want to know. More like need to know because this is something that I struggle with on a daily basis, and it’s something that I really want to overcome.

Please leave your thoughts and suggestions in the comments. I’d love to hear your take on this, and as always, introvert and extrovert points of view are welcome.

Thanks to Jason Anderson for swiping this off Ryan Deiss‘ blog and reposting it, and for tweeting it. And a big thanks to Perry Belcher for turning the lights on! If you want to follow any of these guys on twitter (and I highly recommend that you do), just click on their names. If you want to follow me, click this.

I was getting ready yesterday and putting a gift package together, and nothing was going right. I couldn’t find the things I needed to get the job done. (I learned I really need to organize my hard drives in the process, but that’s beside the point.) The more frustrated I got, the more I realized that I really wasn’t having fun, and that the idea of participating in these giveaways was not making me feel good.

It doesn’t have anything to do with giving stuff away. I love giving away information because I know what it’s like to want to get started and not have the money to shell out. I get a real sense of satisfaction when something I say or write is helpful to someone else. And yes, I’d love to have one of those huge lists that the big dogs brag about, but I’m not convinced that being part of these massive giveaways is the best way to go about it.

The bottom line is that after spending a week of getting ready it didn’t feel right. And I’m learning, finally, that if something doesn’t feel right, then I should trust my instincts and not do it. That’s not to say I’m good with staying in my comfort zone and never stretching or doing something new. There’s a big difference in saying no because you’re scared to change (I’ve done that too) and saying no because your gut is screaming at you to stop and think about it.

Does this mean that I’ll never give anything away again? Nope, it doesn’t. I will always have free information available for anyone who wants or needs it. It also doesn’t mean that I’ll never play in a giveaway again. If one comes along that feels right to me then I’ll play along, and be happy doing it.

For now it just means that I’ll be looking for alternative ways to grow the readership of The Introverted Marketer, ways that fit my style and leave me feeling happy with my choices.

Now, I’ll be the first to tell you I’m great at making plans and really, really horrible at the follow through. The amount of half-finished projects and half-baked plans littering my office space (they’re not just on the desk anymore) are evidence of that. But I’ve made a goal to have at least on solid, completed project by the end of this year so that I end things on a positive note.

In an earlier post I wrote about facing my fears and that’s what I’m doing for the first part of my plan. I’m going to be playing in a few select giveaways starting this week in order to re-introduce myself to the marketing community and to start building those connections that I talked about in yesterday’s post.

Sad to say, however, that true to form I left things a bit late. It didn’t hit me until yesterday that the first giveaway I’d signed up for is just about ready to open and I’m nowhere near prepared for it. For the rest of today I’ll be getting my gift ready for the Make a Wish Giveaway that starts tomorrow (November 25th). I hope you like what I’ve picked out for you. It would have been easy enough to just grab something from my massive collection of resell rights products, but I couldn’t do that.

So I’ll be back tomorrow with more on my end-of-year plans, but you can head over to the giveaway site now and get registered to be notified as soon as the doors open.

‘Til tomorrow, keep a smile on your face and your stick on the ice,

Lena

It’s no secret that personal connections are important to success in internet marketing. Or that attending seminars and meetups are a great way to meet people and establish those connections.

It’s also no secret that for many beginning and/or struggling internet marketers, the cost and logistics of travelling to a seminar are out of reach. And that’s before you factor in any introvertedness, shyness, or lack of self-confidence at being out in public.

I’ve always wanted to go to a seminar but the cost has been a big obstacle for me. The other major obstacle I need to overcome is the total, knee-knocking fear of being in a room full of strangers.

Regardless of the fears and obstacles, though, the desire remains. I’ve heard so many great stories from others about how the connections they’ve made at conferences and seminars have turned into friends, jv partners, team members, and support networks. And I know that for someone who spends as much time alone as I do, holed up in my cave here, that I really want that.

Now, thanks to the insight and understanding of Ross Goldberg, me and many others will have the opportunity to experience a seminar from the comfort of their own home. The face-to-face aspect of live networking won’t be there, but Ross has assembled a great cast of speakers, as well as chatrooms, forums, and networking events so that the participants can get to know each other and develop those essential connections. In fact, inside the members area at MastersSeminar.com, there’s already a forum set up so that participants can begin interacting with each other before the presentations start.

This is such a great opportunity to meet people and learn a lot too. And it will go a long way to breaking through one of those obstacles that many introverts may have when it comes time to attend an event away from home. Chances are that room won’t be so filled with strangers because you’ll have connected with some of those people at this virtual seminar first!

If you’re at all interested in finding out what an internet marketing seminar is all about, then you really owe it to yourself to check out Ross’s site at MastersSeminar.com, or you can just click on the banner below.

So how did this happen? I could blame it on the fact that I’m an introvert. I could blame it on my health. I could blame it on the fact that I became a golf addict this summer. I could blame it on the fact that I’ve been doing some part-time work for someone else. The point I’m trying to make here is that there are lots of things I could blame and a ton of excuses I could make for why I didn’t get it done this year. In the end, it all boils down to two things — I wasn’t motivated enough to meet my goals, and I was afraid of putting myself out there.

Why am I telling you this now?

This is the time of year that can make or break an internet marketer, even an introverted one like me. What you do in the next few weeks can turn a bad year around. How you prepare and plan now can go a long way to determining the level of success you have next year.

For myself I know that I’m going to be working my butt off for the next six weeks because I want to finish this year on a high note, and I want a good start for the new year. I’m more motivated than I’ve ever been because I’m tired of disappointing myself. For several years now I’ve let my fear of failure and my fear of being ridiculed stop me from achieving my goals.

So what does my change of heart mean for you?

Well, for starters it means that you’ll be hearing from me a lot more often. There’s no way I’m gonna make a promise I can’t keep and say I’ll post every day, but I’ll do my best to get at least three posts a week done.

Second, it means that if you want to watch over my shoulder and see what I’m doing to generate income and create a stable successful business, you can do that. I still have to work out the details so keep an eye out in the next few days for that.

For sure one of the things I’ll be doing this holiday season is playing in some of the giveaways that are going on. I’m not sure how many yet, or which ones. That’s what I’ll be figuring out this afternoon. If you want to make sure you stay updated as things go forward, you can either sign up for the mailing list or the rss feed, or you can follow me on twitter.