Polly Wishes To Explain...(Part Two!)

So, this is the second post today - I thought it best to do two or three short posts rather than one extremely long winded one...

You may remember that not only did I win one of the Freebie Friday giveaways over on Garrendenny Lane Interiors, I also won the Frugal Theme Wordpress package complete with a skin pack! For the uninitiated amongst you, this may not seem so special, until I mention that this prize is worth a wacking €170 or thereabouts!

The only problem with this prize is that I am a bonefide wordpress.com user in my own right and the wordpress.org site that I administer was set up by somebody else. This of course means that I am basically an ignoramus regarding the why's and wherefore's of how to use my prize! Luckily I signed up for the Blogging Starter Pack on TechBased Marketing a while ago...

Actually I did this when I won another similar prize a couple of years ago. I signed up with great intentions, but like so many things it was not to be. Laziness and other committments simply got in the way! Anyway, I'm here to suggest that my readers who might like to become bloggers might like to do something similar and for those competent bloggers, maybe you would like to set up a membership site of your own? Whichever you are, Lynette Chandler at TechBased Marketing really can help out by offering you the opportunity to take your blogging to new limits, effortlessly!

In the meantime, I've got to go off and play. I've decided to revamp both my website and this blog, I wonder did you notice the changes which have taken place already? Do let me know what you think about it...

Have a great weekend,

Polly

VINCA Cards

Polly Says Wanna Learn How To Quickly Put Together A WordPress Membership Site?

A lot of people have dreams of owning a membership site. It really isn't all that hard with the tools we have now compared to those we had only a few short years ago. But, that's not was scares most people. Most people are put off because they *think* it is very technical and they are also overwhelmed by the many moving parts of membership site.

Talk to those who already own membership sites and they will tell you. In the beginning it was all very intimidating for them too. But once they have the first one set up, the next one becomes easier because they know how to lay it all out and how things connect to each other.

What if you could get this blueprint from them? I'll tell you where to get it - TechBasedTraining.

They have a new training course out that walks you through the various steps of setting up WordPress as a membership site and they have also included a theme that can be used as a schematic to lay out the membership site in a manner that flows well and makes sense to your members. They really understand that part of the game is in a well designed membership experience. And the training helps you achieve that.

The best part, it is very affordable. In this day of over priced training products, this is certainly very refreshing. Don't let the low price fool you though. A lot of thought and work has been put in here so you get a solid training. Use it yourself or purchase a copy for your assistant. Details can be found at TechBasedTraining...

Article Marketing For Polly

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time you will have noticed a couple of underlying themes; one of which is the need for me to make some money. At the rate I'm spending it, I need to replace it soon!!!

One way of making money on-line is to sign up for affiliate programmes. By this I mean that you join a programme which gives you the tools and a dedicated link to promote products supplied or provided by another company or person. One example of this is of course Lynette Chandler and

her Blogging Starter Pack; which is something I have subscribed to myself and am certain that it will provide me with very useful information. I just have to find the time to implement the steps she recommends so that I can start up my very own Wordpress affiliate blog.

Another affiliate programme that I signed up for is Alice Seba'a Internet Marketing Sweetie Course.

In this Alice teaches how to kill your competitors with Kindness! It's actually a great programme, I should know I have signed up for this and another couple of her e-courses. It's no wonder I don't have much time to spend on the house, is it?

My Tesco link is another example of affiliate marketing and so is my Amazon link, ie Polly's Peri-wrinkled Pages or Amazon Shop. Unfortunately, neither of these have been too successful and I am still waiting for my first cheque, however this isn't going to happen in either case until I have passed the £10.00/€10.00 mark! Still, it will happen. I am convinced as to the validity of this type of passive marketing/income and know several people for whom this has worked very well.

Another way of generating revenue is to submit articles for publication. This can prove quite lucrative in more ways than one; as your name becomes associated with articles published in a variety of places it lends more credibility to your name. In turn this should indicate that you are a reliable and trustworthy source and might even lead to increased sales in whichever area you are concentrating in.

My problem has always been what to write articles about. Sure I make Handmade Greeting Cards and Wedding Stationary; but who am I to profess to be an expert. Self confidence is an issue here! This morning I slept in; I woke up properly just before 10am and oh, it was so nice unlike last week when I wasn't feeling very well at all. The two boys are both unwell this week, so there were no school runs to get involved with and I could just take it nice and easy, just like this young lady!

photos courtesy of ©D.M.Williams Photography

With LB snoozing in my nice warm bed I sat down at the PC with some freshly brewed leaf tea and hot buttered toast with homemade raspberry jam. Heaven! Now all that was missing was the morning news and correspondence; this of course was the IBW Forum; which is never dull.

Six hours later, I have seven unopened letters behind me and a parcel from America which cost me €20.20 in customs charges. My tea is long drunk and the crumbs on the plate are calling out for company; it has indeed been an interesting morning largely due to a lady called Susan who introduced herself and her new website to the forum. So far I have contributed two 'articles' to the forum and now have a clear idea of where my niche lies; so thank you Susan!

In case anyone is wondering just what is so exciting about this I will briefly explain myself. Having breast fed two wonderful babies, who are now big strong boys who drive me insane from time to time I developed a keen interest in the topic of breastfeeding. As a student I was drawn towards Midwifery but decided against it in favour of Operating Theatres instead; in latter years I was privileged to attend many births - by Caesarian Section instead!

Unfortunately, since my return to Ireland my interest in helping other new mum's succeed at what should be easy; but often isn't has been thwarted by my lack of Midwifery qualifications. At a time when I needed support myself I attended La Leche League meetings in the physio department at the local hospital. Eventually my schedule became so gruelling that they had to stop!
Happily; despite my lack of physical activity, today has not been wasted, in fact it has been very productive indeed!

A cheery-bye for now! Polly Pierce

Hand-made Greeting Cards & Wedding Stationary

photos courtesy of ©D.M.Williams Photography

Polly Studying

It has just gone three in the afternoon on Monday and guess what? No kids! BJK is collecting LB; while I head into town and collect the organic basket and do some banking for DG. Obviously I'm not doing that at this very moment; but I will be...

Actually, I'm listening to a pod-cast by one of my on-line mentor's; ie Alice Seba. It's an interesting recording; though it does demand that you set aside some time to listen to it properly. I really must locate my famed MP3 player; the one which DG bought me at Christmas for that express purpose! It really annoys me; that I don't use resources which have been made so freely available to me.

Ultimately; these amount to the two e-courses that I subscribed to way back in June, and of course the famed mp3 player. Thankfully my subscription for the Blogging Starter Pack is valid for a long, long time; allowing me to learn how to set up a blog from scratch at my leisure. As is Alice's Internet Marketing Sweetie; Hallelujah!

Today for the first time I have actually taken the time to sit down and listen to the first part of one of these courses; forced to do so largely by the aches & pains currently inhabiting my body this is nevertheless quite an achievement. Since subscribing; all that time ago, I printed out the accompanying seventy page workbook a second time. Last time it was an unmitigated disaster. I'd decided to be clever and print on both sides of the paper; thus making it impossible to maintain continuity. The front page was printed on the back of the last page and so on...

This afternoon I used A5 format allowing for two pages per side; cleverly avoiding any further abuse of modern technology. I'll be reverting to my beloved guillotine and comb-binder in the very near future to make this e-book look and feel like something a little bit more robust.

In the old days I would have resorted to using a hole-punch and a ring bound folder. Had I been really posh; or even that bothered, I may have strengthened the holes by applying paper polo shaped reinforcements....

It appears that there's a lot of study ahead of me; and once again procrastination is being booted out the door. Time's too short and precious to waste it feeling sorry for myself; nursing sore hands, back and feet. I also resolve to take my medications as prescribed; not to loose the new packages any more and to go to bed early having already completed my homework.

The very thought of it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I mean; it's okay to have all the answers for the children but it's quite a different matter when it comes to disciplining oneself and putting all that into practice.

I wonder; do you practice what you preach? Do let me know; I could do with a little bit of moral support right now...

Polly Pierce
Greeting Cards & Wedding Stationary Diva