My How, What and Why for Being a Marketer

In the 8 months that I've been involved with social networking there's one very clear revelation that I've discovered...

People are nosey!

And because of it, the way we conduct business on the internet has changed forever - for the better!

No longer is it enough to have just an email address, phone number, and maybe a picture of yourself on your website. Not if you expect to survive in this web 2.0 world we live in.

Folks want to know the person behind the picture - really know them.

Because believe it or not, they are interested in YOU, not just your product or services.

They want to know about your kids, your hobbies, your likes and dislikes.

They want to know where you grew up, what schools you've attended, what kind of car you drive.

But more importantly...

They NEED to know not only about your successes, but also your failures.

They NEED to know that they're not the only one who's struggled, made mistakes, been scammed, and chased their tail to reach the elusive "online dream" we're all reaching for.

So acting upon my recent revelation, this is where the rubber met the road for me.

Getting Real

You see, during the almost 11 yrs I've been reaching for my dream I'm one of those who's struggled, made mistakes, been scammed and chased my tail.

I've been unfocused, jumped on the bandwagons of the "latest and greatest", and wasted more time and money than I care to think about.

And embarrassing as it is to admit, I've changed directions in my business so many times that even the best GPS locator on the market wouldn't be able to keep up.

"Find Your Why And Then Fly"

As a matter of fact, a few months ago I had reached the point of almost admitting that I wasn't cut out for the world of online business and calling it quits.

But through what I feel was a divine intervention it finally happened... I got the "kick in the ass" I needed, in the person of Carrie Wilkerson a.k.a. The Barefoot Executive.

My first introduction to Carrie was through a free video course she offers where she details how she built a huge mailing list from one simple landing page.

And even though I'm old enough to be her Mama, I immediately knew that this little gal from Texas could teach me what I REALLY needed to know about building a successful business.

But most importantly to me, Carrie helped me rediscover my "Why" for being in business.

As she talks about in her free audio tape, What FUELS You? Driven by your WHY!, it can't be about the money. Your "why" has to be something more meaningful than just money.

My why is my husband of 31 years.

Dave just turned 60 years old on January 2nd and the time has come for him to finally retire from the work-force. Most importantly because of his health, but also because now that all of our children are grown - it is time for US! Since the job he's held for the past 20 years has no retirement benefits - it is up to me to provide enough income for us to live comfortably for the remainder of our years.

Getting Back to My Basics

As a result of rediscovering my "Why" something unexpected happened, I also realized my what and how.

I describe my what and how as what I've had the most success doing in my 10+ yrs online and how I achieved that success.

For me, the what is affiliate marketing - the how is through article marketing.

Upon this realization and as the new year approached I knew it was time for me to basically start all over again.

So I'm now in the process of completely redoing my website to reflect my new business model, the FREE SBM Marketing Club, where members will have unlimited access to Article, Affiliate and Web 2.0 marketing tools, resources and information.

Yes, I also said Web 2.0. Because unless you quickly learn how to adapt your business to web 2.0, you'll be left in the dust.

I invite you to join me as we BOTH start a New Year and a New Direction. Be sure to visit this blog often so you'll be the first to know when my site is ready.

And I'd love to learn what your "WHY" is if you'd like to share it by clicking the comment link found below.

Sharon McPherson
Follow @SharonMcP On Twitter

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