Have you ever set a goal only to find you come up short in achieving it?

Ever wonder why that happens?

Recently, I found myself wondering about this very thing.

In January I set a goal to increase my list size by 3,000 before the end of April.

So, did I meet the goal?

Nope, I sure didn’t…

But on the positive side, I did get a little more than 1,000 subscribers added to my list. And yes, I’m very happy with that!

But still, I set a goal for 3,000 and didn’t meet it.

Does that ever happen to you? Do you set goals and then keep missing the mark?

It can be quite discouraging, wouldn’t you agree?

I could list the many reasons why it didn’t happen, and I’ve taken that approach before.

But this time I decided to evaluate what was going on when I got it right.

And this is what I discovered…

When I got really focused on the goal and kept asking how I could make it happen, that’s when I had forward movement.

During those times of intense focus, I got into a state of mind where I just had to get the work done, no matter what.  I was driven to make decisions and take action!

It was exciting and I was energized to the max!

And during those times when I lost focus, days and weeks would go by without having any forward movement at all.

Holy mackerel how could that happen?

So much wasted time and of course it hampered efforts towards reaching the goal.

Is it just me or have you ever noticed this about your own business activities?

The realization hit me that I wasn’t doing ‘whatever it takes’ on a consistent basis.

When I was in the zone I did very well, in fact it was really awesome!

I realized I need to be in that ‘state of mind’ all the time in order to keep moving forward and pushing, not just muddling through, but truly pushing forward without question because it’s that important and nothing will stop me!

Now I don’t consider myself lazy, but that’s what it felt like recently when I wasn’t focused and driving towards results.

What was missing was a lack of drive and not doing whatever it took to reach the goal.

I think this quote by Vince Lombardi Jr. helps explain it better:

“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack in will.”

So vowing to stay in that ‘state of mind’ I have placed a daily reminder on my wall to do ‘whatever it takes’ (see picture above – I’m not an artist by any stretch LOL, but it works!).

If you’ve read this far and have little thoughts popping into your head on this topic I’d really enjoy hearing from you in the comment section below…

What drives you? What are you willing to do to achieve the goal?

Are you just muddling along, or are you really doing whatever it takes?

Keepin’ It Real and Still On The Journey!

Donna

The post Are You Really Doing What It Takes? first appeared on Donna Ragland.

Hey Everyone,

Well I sure as heck did! I got distracted over the past few weeks and lost focus big time!

I knew what my goal was but still allowed myself to drift off in different directions.

In looking back I think it all started when I was conducting research on getting more traffic to my squeeze page.

This research tied into tracking traffic, setting up email messages, using social media, advertising, blogging, etc. And instead of keeping my main goal in focus I kept doing more research into these other areas.

The research just kept expanding and expanding and expanding…

And before I knew it, I was all over the place and NOT focusing on my primary goal which was to get traffic to my squeeze page.

So I wasted a lot of time! Aarrgghh!!

Very annoying, especially since I know this was avoidable by simply doing a daily review of my planning and outcomes. But I got distracted and didn’t follow through on my daily routine – not a good thing!

Does this ever happen to you? Do you sometimes feel like you’re just jumping from one thing to another?

If you can relate I’d like to hear from you in the comments section below! And if you have any tips for staying focused I’d like to hear about that too!

On the upside, I’m now aware that when I conduct research I must be clear on the outcome and frequently check the status of my research to avoid getting distracted.

So now it’s onward and upward to getting back on track! As Denis Waitley says:

“Don’t dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next. Spend your energies on moving forward toward finding the answer.”

I’m back to my original focus and continuing to build my list.

I have discovered the sign-ups from giveaways have been lower than I’d like, but it does work. And I plan to continue using this method for now to obtain new subscribers. It doesn’t take that much time to get set up and advertise, and the benefit is getting new members.

I’ve also found using paid resources can be a great option for list building. However, it can be expensive, so for me I must budget and plan carefully when using paid options.

Building my list is still the focus and I’ll continue to explore more ways to get traffic to accomplish this goal.

That’s it for now. I’ll keep you posted and let you know how things are going.

It would be great to hear from you on staying focused so remember to leave your comments below!

Have an awesome ‘TOTALLY FOCUSED’ week!

Donna

The post Do You Ever Lose Focus? first appeared on Donna Ragland.

It’s been really busy for me from shoveling snow, to working at my part-time job, and of course being engrossed in the business, which I really enjoy!

Target List for List Building Goal

I’ve been working on the goal to increase my list size by at least 3,000. I must admit it’s pretty exciting to be focused on this goal!

The highlighted list in the above chart is the target list we will be watching over the next several months. There is currently 15 subscribers on this list.

To increase list size I will need to drive tons of traffic to my squeeze page.

Oh yes, it’s quite a challenge!

And I’m fired up to research and check out as many methods as possible to get traffic to the squeeze page, time is ticking by TICK TOCK!

Then once I figure out which ones are working for me I’ll be able to let you know so you can give it a go and build your list even faster!

There are many ways to get traffic to a site, including free and paid, and I’ll be looking at several methods over the next weeks including solo ads and social media marketing.

The method I’m focusing on now is Giveaway Events.

I used to participate in these events with good success so I’m getting back to using this method.

I’ll let you know how things are going and keep you posted on any lessons learned!

If you’re not familiar with these events here’s a summary.

A Giveaway Event is a place (a website) where free gifts are made available for a period of time.

There are two ways to join – as a contributor or as a member.

Contributors join before the start date. They are the ones who place the free gifts into the event. They can join for free or take a paid upgrade offer which provides enhanced ways for their gifts to get noticed during the event.

Contributors benefit by placing a free gift because individuals wanting their gift will need to enter a name and email address to access the gift. This is how contributors build their subscriber lists.

Members join during the event period. Registration is free. They only need to enter their name and email address to get into the event.

Giveaway events are a win-win for both contributors and members. Contributors build their lists and members have access to hundreds of free products.

You may be wondering if there is a catch, and there really isn’t, other than to get into an event you must have an invitation.

If you are interested in receiving invites to Giveaway Events and are not currently a member on my list, just register at the top right of this page to sign up for my newsletter and you’ll get the invitations to the Internet marketing events I’m participating in.

So that’s about it for now. I’ve got some advertising to do for the current giveaways I’ve entered and more research to do on getting multiple sources of traffic to my squeeze page.

I’ll keep you updated on my progress…

Have a super week!

Donna

P.S. Have you had any experience with Giveaway Events? If so, I’d really like to hear about it,  just leave a comment below!

The post Traffic Rush and Getting To The Goal! first appeared on Donna Ragland.

I hope 2012 was a successful year for you and that you are moving forward to even greater success in this exciting New Year!

Can you believe it – over half of January is already behind us!

So, the big question for this time of year is “Have you reviewed last year and set new goals for this year?

It’s a standard routine, I know, but it’s very important. If you don’t know where you’re going how will you know when you get there?

Along with setting goals it’s also important to write your goals down.

“People with clear, written goals, accomplish far more in a shorter period of time than people without them could ever imagine.”
-Brian Tracy

A few years ago I learned a valuable lesson about the power of written goals.

During a training course I was asked to complete a list of things I would like to have, which I did but didn’t really think much of it at the time. The course ended and I put the training materials and my ‘wish list’ away in a file.

More than a year later I ran across that list. Two big items on the list were a piano and an organ. I was totally shocked because both of those items came into my possession within a few months after having completed that list!

Now I know that just because you write something down doesn’t mean it will magically appear every time. But I do think there is a lesson here that writing goals down sets things in motion and creates a better chance of success. . . just my two cents.

So on to goals for 2013…

What’s going to get you up and going this year? What goals have you set for your business in the next few months?

Remember to write them down!

Here’s a thought – if you comment below on what your goals are you will have them written down (smile)!

Besides, I’m excited to hear what you will be working on!

And as an added benefit for those who comment, I will help you work on a plan to move your business forward.

Let’s make 2013 an exciting and prosperous new year!

Keepin’ It Fresh in 2013,

Donna

P.S.  My get up and go is to increase my list size by at least 3,000 before the end of April.  What’s your get up and go going to be? Go ahead and leave a comment below and fill me in on what you’ll be up to so I can help you with a plan

The post What’s Your Get Up and Go for 2013? first appeared on Donna Ragland.

Just a quick update, this week has flown by…

Hey – the new design – what do you think?

– Went from three column to two column
– Simple color scheme
– Streamlined access to other areas on the site

The goal was to make things easier for you to read, post, to move around and share.

Was the goal met?   I’d love to hear your thoughts below!

There are still a few things to update on the site and I’m continuing my work on traffic.  I’ll have more on that for you in the coming week. So that’s about it for now.

I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

Be safe and enjoy!

Keepin’ It Real,

Donna

The post New Blog Design Is Live! first appeared on Donna Ragland.

It’s been quite a ride so far and now it’s time to step things up even further!

You may already know where I’ve been:
–    Four years of serious frustration and getting stuck
–    No dream house and no Lamborghini
–    Struggling to the max
–    Feeling alone and like an idiot
–    Made less than $200

It’s not a pretty picture…

But that was before and this is now!

I’m on the road to success and for me that means having an extremely successful online business so that I can be financially independent — to have, do and be what I want — and to not have to work if I don’t want to.

(And of course getting that dream house and Lamborghini! )

Pie in the sky stuff?

Not to me because I’m going for it all – full steam ahead!

And I am confident I will achieve online success!

So there it is my big vision of success. To get there will take focus and setting goals.

As you may know, I’m a coaching student of Alex Jeffreys and Alex says to ‘Think Big, Start Small’.

So here it goes…

I’m setting my first goal to make $500 online.

Got to get started somewhere – I’ll keep you posted.

Now on to the progress from my last post:

Activities include responding to comments, connecting with my readers, and reaching out to others who are struggling with their online business. These activities will be ongoing throughout my journey.

The new and improved blog design should be ready this week. It’s exciting because it will have some great new features for you, my loyal readers!

My next focus is getting more traffic to my blog.

I want to let people know they are not alone out there in the online world. And I want others to be able to benefit from my successes and failures.

I’ll continue to document what I’m doing so others can follow along, learn from my mistakes and know what to do to achieve their own success.

So here are my outcomes for this week:
–    Research ways to get more traffic to my blog
–    Develop a traffic strategy and start implementation
–    Learn more about Google Analytics to track the traffic

If you have any traffic questions or comments just let me know by commenting below. And if I’m not sure about something, remember I have access to Alex to ask questions. So take advantage of this opportunity and leave your comments below!

Now it’s time to get busy…

Keepin’ it Real,

Donna

The post Overrated Success? Time to Step It Up first appeared on Donna Ragland.

It has certainly been mind blowing to say the least, especially since this ONE POST has generated nearly double the number of comments received from my previous 120 posts combined!

It’s freakin’ amazing and I’ve got to say I am PUMPED TO THE MAX!

So what did I do differently in that post that created so much conversation?

Well, quite frankly, I just followed the advice given to me by my mentor, Alex Jeffreys. And that advice was simply to write about my experience with Internet marketing. In other words, I wrote my story.

The energy created with the overwhelming number of responses has been incredible! This obviously resonated with everybody as most people are still in that situation I was in for four years. But since this post, titled ‘Four Years Later and No Dream House?’, things are beginning to happen and I’m very excited to continue my journey and help you guys out.

Alex Jeffreys’ guidance for me to tell my story has been right on target. I’m going to continue applying his recommendations and will share what I’m doing on my journey.

Alex suggests we identify three things to work on next and that we hold ourselves accountable to get those three things completed. But before getting to the next steps, I wanted to assess how things were going by looking at what went well and what didn’t go so well.

On the up side:

–    I took action and wrote my story. In my previous four years online I hadn’t had this kind of dialogue with others in the IM industry. For the most part it had been a one-way conversation from me to them. I wanted to engage with my readers but just didn’t know how. And now, thanks to Alex, I’ve been able to do that by simply telling my own story. I will let you in on a little secret though – it took me way longer to write it than Alex may think, but it has more than paid off!

–    Traffic was great. And Alex helped me out here a lot by sending visitors to my site. So I owe him a big thank you for that! I also sent emails out to my loyal members and wrote some tweets on Twitter.

On the other side:

–    Wasn’t prepared for the overwhelming response and still haven’t personally been in contact with everyone. But I will be making contact and ask for your patience.

–    Had some technical issues – replies were not being nested under the applicable comments and had blocked comments. These were simple fixes with options in the WordPress settings.

So moving forward my next three steps will be:

1.    Continue to respond and personally connect with you, my readers
2.    Reach out to others who are struggling and invite them into our community.
3.    Improve my blog design to present a more open style of communication. I’m currently working with a contractor to help me do this.

So there you have it, my next steps moving forward. Stay tuned and I will let you know how things are progressing.

In the meantime, if you have any questions or comments just post below, I’m here to help out!

Keepin’ It Fresh,

Donna

The post Holy Cow The Flood Gates Have Opened! first appeared on Donna Ragland.

Four years of hanging out on the Internet, writing and posting, and learning a lot about traffic, list building, social media, link building, affiliate marketing, monetizing sites, creating products, using PPC (pay-per-click), writing articles, hosting services, auto responders and email marketing, and the list goes on…

When I first started online, I didn’t know what any of those things were.

And now, not only am I able to talk intelligently about these topics, I’ve even incorporated these things in my business!

Quite an accomplishment… And certainly worthy of a huge celebration wouldn’t you think?

NOT!

And I’m not celebrating!

So, you may be asking, why not?

Well, quite frankly it’s because…

I still don’t have my dream house or Lamborghini!

And THAT REALLY SUCKS big time!

Heck at this point, I’d be happy making enough income to pay off my debts and driving a brand new Buick Lucerne!

But I don’t have either of those – not yet anyway – and after years of very limited success and making less than $200, I just knew it was TIME FOR A BIG CHANGE!

Sure, I’ve learned a lot, but my idea of success just hasn’t happened.

I realized in order to make a big change I first had to figure out what I needed to do differently.  Not an easy task I admit.

But I knew it was critical to take time to reflect on what I had been doing with my business.

Otherwise, I’d probably still be here four years from now singing the same old story – ugh!

I decided I’m not going to let that happen again…

When I first started my online business I was a total newbie!

So new, in fact, I honestly thought there was a ‘school’ you could attend online that would take you through the steps to start, build and grow a successful online business – and to do it in a few short months too.

Was I ever off on that one!

But even still, I remember being so full of energy and excitement. I just knew I could make it happen quickly, and I’d be so successful…

So I started my journey with research and finally found a program to help me get started. I was so excited to be getting my business going. There was a lot to take in and the going was slow at first.

I read every word and applied as much as I could. But then I got to areas that weren’t specific enough to move forward.

I got stuck.

I figured I was just at a point where I needed more information to take my business further. So I found and purchased another program I thought would help. But like the one before…

I got stuck again.

So, you guessed it, it was time for more information and I again purchased another program believing it would give me the right answers this time…

But it didn’t.

And I continued this cycle many, many times looking for more guidance on what should be done.

One thing for sure about the Internet Marketing industry — there is NO LACK OF INFORMATION!

In fact, the information overload alone can really immobilize you and zap all your energy!

I know.  I’ve been there and I still struggle with information overload as we speak!

Some programs were very helpful and others weren’t. I just kept seeking out more information believing the right answers would eventually appear.

But for whatever reason, I just haven’t been able to connect all the dots yet.

Now don’t get me wrong here. I feel very fortunate to have connected with awesome individuals who provided exceptional advice on achieving online success.

And I am grateful to them and thankful for what I have learned because it helped me put some important elements in place.

But these things in and of themselves have not made me successful – I’m not making the income I want.

And there were many times over these years I started to question my own intellect – maybe I just didn’t have the smarts to do this online stuff after all.

But then again, I would read the stories from people who are successful online.

And many of them had no special experience, and some talked about being a school dropout, or having no college degree, or being lazy or a drunk or into drugs…

And yet, they made it to success.

And here I am with a college degree and really struggling to figure it all out.

I have to wonder if anyone else is struggling as much as I am – learning and working at it day after day after day and getting absolutely nowhere.

Am I out here in my own Internet space just talking to myself on my own little blog, and getting real tired of feeling like an idiot with no intellect?

Regardless, I was committed to not let it beat me down.  If they can do it then certainly I can achieve some level of success too.

So I kept on searching for new information and recently came across a deal I couldn’t turn down – it was access to Alex Jeffreys coaching program.

I knew his coaching programs were highly recommended and I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to get in.

I started going through the training and in one of his presentations Alex said “If you’re not marketing, you’re not making any money”.

And for some reason this statement really hit me. I wrote it down in my notes then continued on with the training.  However, I kept thinking about that statement and it started to nag at me.

After all, I’m not making any money.

Mmmm, I thought I was marketing with everything I’d been doing thus far — from web hosting and auto responders, to affiliate marketing and getting traffic…

Could this be what I’ve been missing, this marketing stuff?

Well, I wasn’t sure but I knew I had to figure out what he was talking about.

And the one way I know how to do that is to act on his recommendations and see for myself because I am so ready for success!

According to Alex, telling my story would be a part of marketing. So here I am, sharing my own story with you in this post.

And as I continue to explore Alex’s advice on achieving online success, I will post my strategies and share my results with you here.

So this will be an opportunity where you can get an insiders’ glimpse as I continue to learn and apply Alex’s training on my way to success.

If this is something that excites you I’d really like to hear from you. Just leave your comments below and tell me what you think.

And remember to tell me your blog address so I can visit you also.

Hey even if you aren’t sure about all this stuff, I’d still like to hear your comments.  It’s OK, I can take it (smile).

So after four years, I’m making a BIG CHANGE!

I hope you’re up for the adventure because it sure would be exceptional if we achieved our success together!

Keepin’ It Fresh,

Donna

P.S.  Hello, hello, am I really all alone out here?  Hey, if you do see this and you can identify with anything I’ve said, it really would be awesome to see your comments below…

The post Four Years Later and No Dream House? first appeared on Donna Ragland.

“To succeed in business, to reach the top, an individual
must know all it is possible to know about that business.”
– J. Paul Getty

When first starting an online business it can be
overwhelming. There are a lot of things to get into
place and some areas require more knowledge than others.

The basic steps to start an online business include:

1. Choosing a niche
2. Finding or creating a product.
3. Selecting and registering a domain name
4. Getting website and hosting services
5. Obtaining an email autoresponder and building a list
6. Putting a business plan in place
7. Setting up a payment and delivery service (if needed)

It also helps to have training and advice from someone
who has a successful online business — and right now
there is an awesome resource available that can do just
that to help give you an edge and get your business started…

Just click above to watch a short video (about 15 minutes)
that explains more about this exceptional resource!

I know it can be overwhelming when first getting started
online because there is so much information available.
However, it is important to have the right information to
be successful and I believe this resource can be of
great value to getting your business started.

To Your Success,

Donna

The post Steps to Start An Online Business first appeared on Donna Ragland.

Just a brief note to get this awesome
resource out to you as quickly as possible…

If you’re still struggling to understand
Internet Marketing and how to be successful
online this new resource will be extremely
valuable to you!

It’s a comprehensive resource providing
tools, training and continuing coaching
to help you succeed – a pure goldmine
for newbies and seasoned marketers alike!

Just click on the box above to learn
more about this truly remarkable resource…

To Your Business Success,
Donna

The post New Internet Marketing Resource first appeared on Donna Ragland.