TheStraddlersDiary

On-line marketing FAQ: Building your lists

One of the most frequently asked questions for online marketers, is how to build a list?  Since the key to on-line riches is to create your very own media outlet which you can promote to over and over that consists of highly targeted people who will buy your products on the grounds of trust and the quality of your previous offerings.  Building a list becomes one of the single most important things you must do for your on-line business to prosper.

Once your list stretches over the five thousand mark, you should have at least one product for sale, with the majority of contacts on your list coming from the promotion of that initial product.  Avoid any program or plan that asks you for cash to add subscribers to your list because without a track record of success, compared to what you can achieve through joint ventures and other means, the quality of the list will suffer.   

POST: The magic of E-Books

E-Books are an entirely new medium for sharing marketing information, ideas, techniques, and expert knowledge.  As the vast numbers of internet users show, it's obvious how and why electronic self-publishing has become so popular so quickly.  Lets take a look at what makes E-Books so important and unique, supporting the reference to them being potentially very profitable.

• E-Books      have certain abilities and qualities that other mediums do not possess.      For example, E-Books are fairly easy to produce, and their production cost is nearly free. Just think about it: you don't need a publisher, an agent,      a printing press, offset film, ink, paper, or even a distributor. You just      need a great concept, the ability to write (or if you can't write, simply hire a writer), and the      right software (Microsoft Word is about it).

• E-Books are easily and rapidly distributed online. They may also be easily updated without requiring a reprint and they do not require a second print run.  Because of      this flexibility, E-Books can be written, change or grow as fast as you can type.

POST: Who am I?

The Straddlers Diary is a blog of my personal quest to escape the corporate trap that so nearly snuffed the life out of those entrepreneurial dreams I’ve held for many years, without taking action.  Won’t you join me on this exciting journey of discovery and success?

Who am I?
I am a 39 year-old technology sales and marketing professional in the consumer electronics industry (currently working in Silicon Valley) who lives in the Pacific Northwest with my beautiful wife and two amazing children.

Though at one time I was “on the fast track”, seduced by the allure of promotions, international travel, and large stock grants- long stretches away from home and 60 hour work weeks have finally given me impetus to alter my career reality for a more balanced and fulfilling life.

POST: How it all started

Welcome to the journey – what you are reading is an entrepreneurs blog that chronicles my experience as a “straddler”. 

This all started with the book “The 4-hour Work Week” by Timothy Ferriss.  NOTE: Click, don’t run, and buy this book now because it will change your life!

If you’ve read my ‘About’ page then you have some idea of how this site came to be, but first let me give you some more details.

POST: Soft launch here we go

Hello everyone, thanks for checking out my "construction site".  It's still a little dirty and we haven't finished painting, so please watch where you sit, wouldn't want those new clothes to get ruined!

What you are seeing is a very, very soft launch of my new project TheStraddlersDiary.  This site is intended to be a resource, forum and place of refuge for those of us who are straddling full time jobs while working on or in a business on the side.

It seems crazy that I am embarking on this project, as if I don't have enough to do without starting a business venture to boot!  But all I can say is that after 15 years of dreaming about being in control of my own future, I've decided it's time to actually make that happen.

So, what you are looking at is the first part of a multi-year construction project which when completed, I hope will redefine my work and financial life as I've known it... now if I don't go broke trying to build this thing, tweak my back, break a bone, or get shut down by the city, I should be OK!

Seriously though, you will have a place in all this.  It is my desire with TheStraddlersDiary to gather those who may be feeling a little tired, burned out, or are starting to question why they've attempted to do whatever it is they are doing, so together we can encourage, support and grow our businesses. 

I envision this being a place where ideas can be exchanged, resources shared, assistance requested, and thoughts provoked.  If we can get half way there I'll feel that this project had a positive impact on the world and my fellow entrepreneurs.