We’ve been talking a bunch lately about what’s coming in 2009; your goals for the coming year and predictions in the internet marketing and social media world.
Goals are fantastic. Looking forward to where the market is going helps you stay ahead of the curve.
But none of that matters if you’re not putting out content… Content is the currency of the web. Your web page is simply a placeholder for your content – audio, video, text, images. People visit your website to consume the content you’ve placed there. Oftentimes, he who has the most content wins; it simply gives browsers more chances to interact with you.
That’s a simple concept. But why is it so hard to execute?
Having provided individual, one on one internet marketing coaching (no longer available) as well as receiving thousands of replies and questions from my subscribers from email broadcasts, I know what holds you back from creating content.
It’s fear.
Fear of looking dumb in front of the HUGE audience that is the web.
I get it. I’ve been there.
I’ll even tell you a little secret. I became known in the internet marketing world because of a software program I sold. I didn’t code the software. Sure, I gave the specs to the programmer, but it was him that implemented it. And when I released 30 Minute Backlinks, I was terrified. I was AFRAID that what *I* had to teach wasn’t going to be seen as valuable to the marketplace, that I was a “one hit wonder” with my software (that I didn’t even program)!
But I also knew that I HAD to produce 30 Minute Backlinks because it is so effective and a technique that had never been taught to internet marketers. And I HAD to do it to get over my own fear. I HAD to prove to myself that I did know my stuff, that people would benefit from my teaching.
As I opened the site up and orders started pouring in, I was happy. But when a few weeks passed and I started getting emails from people who’d implemented the techniques I was ecstatic – #1 rankings, growth in businesses, success stories all around. And then I, well, got over myself.
Creating content – and selling it – can be scary. It’s putting a bit of you out there for people to judge. So if you feel like your writing, your videos, your audios aren’t “good enough” you absolutely need to know that you are not alone with that fear!
I wrote about the release of the Thirty Day Challenge Plus program, but Ed has gone above and beyond this week by actually releasing one of the lessons inside to the public, for free.
This lesson is about content creation, but it goes even deeper than that into the fears we all have about putting ourselves out there. It’s motivating, inspiring and is THE audio you must listen to to get your head stuck on right for the new year.
Read the email Ed sent out here, and then download the audio and accompanying PDF file. Absorb it. Live it.
Now I’ve bared my soul… Would love to hear in the comments what your experience has been with fear in your business and how things worked out once you forced your way past it.
(Remember, if you’re an Immediate Edge member you’re getting all the 30 Day Challenge Plus content inside your Edge membership at no extra charge).
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{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for this Michelle. I listened to the audio this morning and am so fired up. It’s true, we are afraid of rejection. What’s that saying though, there’s nothing to fear but fear itself? Thanks for sharing your story too, it’s not often you hear a guru admit they were once unsure too.
Yeah this is so true.
That fear of ridicule is hard to overcome.
I thought about making videos and podcasts for months but was afraid I would look like a fool.
I finally started making some and you know, once you start doing it, it actually shifts your focus.
“Hey, I can do this. I should have done this months ago”.
I am a perfectionnist. But I had to learn to accept doing “good” ones.
Great post, Michelle! I agree with Marcus; it’s always inspiring to hear that experienced marketers struggle with (and overcome!) some of the same things that beginners do.
I feel this way every time I write a post, even though every time the posts get a lot of praise and thanks from my readers, I still get nervous every time. I think this is particularly bad for a perfectionist like me, maybe you are a perfectionist also Michelle?
@JR @ Internet Marketing: Yes, I am a bit of a perfectionist.
Sometime that fear of the first step, is what keeps us on our toes, sadly for some its what keeps them in their chair and from ever doing anything at all. I have been watching your video’s and I think you have done a great job with them.
You have a very good voice and flow in teaching. lets face it we have all been to sessions at events with horribale speakers, you might have been affraid but you nailed it…so keep at it.
Cheers
Keep up the good work
Nice article. This is proof that one shouldn’t allow fear to stop them from doing things, especially if there’s the possibility of something positive coming from it. Good for you.
It was big of you to make this admission. It is a helpful thing to hear for all of us. Thanks
But what if it’s not a fear of ridicule that’s standing in your way?
What if it’s the feeling that once you start, you’re going to have to keep on… and on… and on… once you’re committed to an endless cycle of the same thing without end? It’s just so doggone much work to commit to…
Or anyway, that’s the feeling.
Michelle, the thing I like most about your videos is hearing your cat meowing in the background. This adds much to the awesomeness of the content and endears us (or me, anyway) to your message.
One of my favorite writers is a guy named Stephen Wolinksky and he has helped me to deal with fear and its nasty cousins: anxiety, worry, etc. Wolinsky talks about feeling fear and deciding that he didn’t much like the experience and so he resisted the fear. But since has has a quantum physics perspective he eventually realized that labeling this energy as ‘fear’ was the real problem, not the so-called fear itself. He says: “When I stopped deciding I didn’t want the fear, and took off the label and saw it as simply energy, there was no longer a problem”. That perspective has helped me enormously and perhaps it might help a reader of this fine blog.
Hi Michelle
I think it’s fair to say that we all suffer from the fear of rejection at different times in our lives and it takes someone very special from the social media marketing community to admit that to us mere mortals. The fear of rejection has the ability to totally paralyse you, to such an extent that you always stay within your comfort zone and never do all the things that you’d really like to do with your life. It’s a horrible thing to see. I fear rejection myself, heck I even thought twice about writing this comment. I overcame this fear by just saying to myself “What’s the worst that can happen?” and then I just go ahead and do it anyway. This has served me well over the years and has enabled me to achieve things in my life that I am very proud of. I take inspiration from great business people like Sir Richard Branson – look at what he has achieved in his life. It’s truly incredible. Some of his ideas have been rejected and even ridiculed but that never stopped him, he just kept going regardless, he laughed in the face of adversity. He faced many obstacles in his life and has overcome all of them. Take inspiration from others that you admire, it might help you to move forward in your own life.
John O’Hara
United Kingdom
Hi Michelle,
I had just written a large post about all sorts of interesting things (i can say that now they are all lost and you are just getting this comment).
Most of all i wanted to tell your readers about the recent research i have just done with your 30 minute backlinks.
I normally would not go for something like this as i consider it to be either:
a. not natural links and therefore harmful or
b. won’t work.
I am happy to say that not only are the links natural but also here are the results i got.
I promoted a recently unpromoted site, the clients selected their keywords and i followed your videos (which took way more than 30 minutes by the way).
I ONLY did the 30 minute backlinks and no other promotion. here are my results – based only on the 30 minute back links.
the site was nowhere in the search engines
after 1 day – no placement
after 3 days – no placement
after 1 week – no placement
after 2 weeks – no placement (and concern growing that all the links must be nofollow)
after 3 weeks – page 1 on google.com, google.es and google.co.uk
Thanks Michelle and Happy Christmas
Regards
Emma
Charles –
I’ve felt that way before. I would suggest reading Tim Ferris’ book, “The 4 Hour Work Week” for some great ideas to resolve that situation. If you have a long term plan for handling the work going in, maybe it won’t be so daunting?
Great post on a subject that is not often spoken about.
I experience this myself.
I think it helps to realize lots of great entertainers, with tremendous talent, do too. Stage fright. John Lennon used to feel so intimidated that he sang with his glasses off and his back to the crowd. He pretended to himself that he was just singing in the shower and no one was really there.
At least I read that somewhere.
So true!
After writing and publishing my first blog post, I sat back and actually hoped that no one would read it. My first articles now make no sense to me, and my first websites literally look like cr_ _!
We all have that fear of diving in to something new, but if you don’t go for it head first you’ll never get started and learn.
I did listen to Ed’s audio yesterday (before reading your post). He’s always so inspiring and has a great way of viewing things.
Thanks for the post Michelle,
Jane
Really great post Michelle
And so very true, I’m a bit of a perfectionist and so I’m always worried that the things i do aren’t good enough, but slowly bit by bit i’ve been getting over it, it’s not easy, but it can be done
It’s great to see that you act totally real in your posts and not like some other successful marketers, that’s why i like you.
Jayen
I think that fear is a good thing – it tends to make us re-think our content before supplying it to the world.
I see a lot of content that was posted without ‘fear’ and as such is pretty much useless.
I think people with a healthy level of fear and perfectionist tendencies tend to put out better content and value to their readers.
When you feel the “butterflies”…
When you feel the anxiety…
When you feel the nervousness,
Then you create true variety.
Variety’s the spice of life,
And life is made for giving.
So when you feel the “butterflies”,
You know you’re truly living.
(may good fortune smile on you in 2009)
Tony
Thank you for this great admission. I have difficulty with content basically because of what you talk about: FEAR.