Crazy Dad Life - Building Online in the Off Hours Entrepreneur | Social Media | Online Business | Parenting | Productivity - CDL 031 – The 7 Deadly Doubts of Building Online, and How You Will Crush Them

CDL 031 – The 7 Deadly Doubts of Building Online, and How You Will Crush Them

11/04/14 • 29 min

Crazy Dad Life - Building Online in the Off Hours Entrepreneur | Social Media | Online Business | Parenting | Productivity

If you are engaged online, you might find yourself feeling a little overwhelmed. I know I do. If you are trying to build a business, stand up a personal website, or just grow your social media engagement, there is no doubt you will ultimately come across one (if not all) of the 7 deadly doubts of building online.

1. You have no shot

You look around and see people with fully built out websites running like well oiled machines. You see beautiful responsive design with functionality you don’t even understand. Then you go back and look at your piddly little blog and naturally feel overwhelmed.

How can you ever get anywhere near the others? You have so much work to do.

WHAT TO DO

Chip away at it. You’re never going to get to the end goal unless you start chipping away a little at a time. Think of a massive tree, it takes time and many chops to knock it down.

The good thing is, EVERYONE has a shot. The online world provides low barrier to entry and a level playing field for all.

2. You won’t be heard amongst all of the noise

There is no doubt there are probably thousands of people in the same niche you want to pursue. If you need proof, take a look at the business section of iTunes podcasts and you’ll see an over abundance of entrepreneur interview podcasts. The market is saturated.

There is a tremendous amount of noise online, and it grows louder every single day.

WHAT TO DO

This is an easy one. Be yourself!

It is really the only differentiator you will find. Many people talk about the same thing. It is the way the message is delivered, and the person behind the message that truly matters.

3. You are way behind everyone else

You are always going to feel behind. If you have been online for any period of time, you will come across other people that make you feel like you are way behind.

Truth is, you are.

WHAT TO DO

Deal with it.

There is a natural timeline and everyone falls somewhere on that timeline. Some are ahead and some are behind. Just know that you are somewhere on that line and each day you move further along. Just remember, there are those that are behind you too. That is important.

4. You are moving too slow

You see others launching new products, posting new content every day, and interacting on numerous social media channels. They appear to be everywhere, at all times. Yet you struggle to consistently post a single 300-500 word blog post weekly.

WHAT TO DO

First of all, stop trying to race everyone. As long as you consistently provide value to your audience, everything will be ok. You don’t have to be everywhere at once. Focus on one thing and do it well. Do it at a pace that fits your life and does not cause undue and unhealthy stress.

5. You are doing it all wrong

Contrary to what you might hear, there is no magic formula. You will hear plenty of advice and “expert” tips but there is no particular way you need to do things. You will also hear plenty of success stories that will make you second guess your approach.

WHAT TO DO

Explore your own style. Figure out what works for you. Figure out what you enjoy and what you can get done given your current workload.

Explore different ways to provide value. Are you a writer? Blog more. Are you talkative? Start a podcast. Are you animated and love to act? Go with video.

Find your best delivery method, then learn everything about it and dive into it. Figure out how you can make it work for you, then go with it.

Remember, if it is something you truly enjoy doing, who cares how you do it!

There are a number of people making money online, but there is a vast majority of us grinding away trying to figure it out. Don’t feel like you are not worthy just because you are not raking in cash like a select few.

6. You are inferior

You come across all of these amazing people online. It’s natural to feel intimidated and anoint them rock star status.

WHAT TO DO

Remember, these people are just like you. They put on their pants just like you. They have families, they have worries, and they have struggles too. And, they started out just like you.

7. You are lost

What do you do next?

You want to create a blog. You want to start a podcast. You want to sell your product, be a coach, and write a book. You want to develop an app. You get the idea.

You can quickly become overwhelmed with all of the possibilities. While it is a beautiful thing, it can also be a curse.

WHAT TO DO

This goes back to t...

1. You have no shot

How can you ever get anywhere near the others? You have so much work to do.

WHAT TO DO

Chip away at it. You’re never going to get to the end goal unless you start chipping away a little at a time. Think of a massive tree, it takes time and many chops to knock it down.

The good thing is, EVERYONE has a shot. The online world provides low barrier to entry and a level playing field for all.

2. You won’t be heard amongst all of the noise

There is a tremendous amount of noise online, and it grows louder every single day.

WHAT TO DO

This is an easy one. Be yourself!

It is really the only differentiator you will find. Many people talk about the same thing. It is the way the message is delivered, and the person behind the message that truly matters.

3. You are way behind everyone else

You are always going to feel behind. If you have been online for any period of time, you will come across other people that make you feel like you are way behind.

Truth is, you are.

WHAT TO DO

Deal with it.

4. You are moving too slow

WHAT TO DO

5. You are doing it all wrong

WHAT TO DO

Explore your own style. Figure out what works for you. Figure out what you enjoy and what you can get done given your current workload.

Explore different ways to provide value. Are you a writer? Blog more. Are you talkative? Start a podcast. Are you animated and love to act? Go with video.

Find your best delivery method, then learn everything about it and dive into it. Figure out how you can make it work for you, then go with it.

Remember, if it is something you truly enjoy doing, who cares how you do it!

6. You are inferior

You come across all of these amazing people online. It’s natural to feel intimidated and anoint them rock star status.

WHAT TO DO

Remember, these people are just like you. They put on their pants just like you. They have families, they have worries, and they have struggles too. And, they started out just like you.

7. You are lost

What do you do next?

You want to create a blog. You want to start a podcast. You want to sell your product, be a coach, and write a book. You want to develop an app. You get the idea.

You can quickly become overwhelmed with all of the possibilities. While it is a beautiful thing, it can also be a curse.

WHAT TO DO

This goes back to t...

Previous Episode

CDL 030 – Bring Clarity Back to Your Twitter Feed

The Twitter Feed

Is your Twitter feed a mess?

Do you constantly miss important tweets you want to see but they simply scroll by too fast?

If you are like me, you probably find Twitter frustrating from time to time. While Twitter can be an amazing resource for interacting with people online and for growing a community, it can also be maddening when you are lost in the never-ending stream of tweets in your feed.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to quickly analyze the people and brands you currently follow to better understand who is really bringing value.

You’ll hear about a tool that you can use to analyze those you currently follow. You’ll be able to better understand how they use Twitter to identify those accounts that are simply filling your feed with garbage.

After listening to this episode and going through the steps outlined, you’ll be able to reduce the amount of nonsense in your feed and start to enjoy Twitter again. As a bonus, you’ll most likely rediscover people that have been lost in the shuffle. I know I did.

Cleaning up the list of those you follow will reduce the noise in your Twitter feed and ultimately provide more value in your daily interactions.

5TIL

In this week’s 5 Things I Learned (5TIL) you’ll hear about...

1. The growth of Facebook stickers

2. Noodle Tools and how it can be used to help you, or your kids, with their school projects

3. Instagram direct messages, who knew?

4. A disappearing video service from Skype

5. HBO’s new online-only offering

As usual, if you find something of interest that you’d like shared on the 5TIL, just send me an email at [email protected] or hit me on Twitter @CrazyDadLife. Hey, you’ll get free publicity and a shout out on the podcast!

Now, I’d love to hear how YOU manage your Twitter madness? Share one tip below that you’ve found useful for cleaning up your Twitter feed.

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The post CDL 030 – Bring Clarity Back to Your Twitter Feed appeared first on Crazy Dad Life.

Next Episode

CDL 032 – 8 Benefits of Redesigning Your Website and One Killer Tip to Save Your Sanity

Have you wanted to redesign your website for a long, long time? I have.

Do you look at your site and wonder why it looks so terrible? I have.

If you were a visitor to your site would you have any clue what your site was all about? I wouldn’t...at least before.

This past weekend I did something that has been on my to-do list for quite some time. I finally sat down and redesigned my website to what I always wanted it to be. In this week’s podcast I share my experience to hopefully lessen any pain you may have as you go through the same process.

It doesn’t have to be hard either. You can actually do it pretty quick with a little digging around and the help of a nicely designed theme.

You’ll hear a brief recap of my experience starting late Friday night and how I worked through some of the changes over the weekend. You’ll also hear probably the most important aspects of the whole process...the why and the benefits.

Why Should You Redesign Your Website?

Let’s be real for a second. If you want to be considered a legit presence on the internet and stand out from all of the noise, you need to have a website that pops. Something that captures your visitor’s attention in seconds and engages them from page to page. My website was lacking this before.

Here is a picture of the “Before” version of my homepage for the Crazy Dad Life site. meh

And this is the new version of the homepage.

Hopefully you like the new design. I’d love to hear your feedback, even if you don’t particularly like it. Head over to my “Contact Me” page and shoot me an email. Don’t be shy.

In the podcast I talk about various pieces of the original design that drove me nuts.

Ok, back to the subject at hand...

8 Benefits of Redesigning Your Website

Here are 8 key benefits you’ll realize if you go about updating the look and feel of your little corner of the internet.

1. Great Learning Experience

There is no doubt you will be challenged when updating your website. Each new theme comes with unique features and configurations that you’ll quickly need to understand.

While it can seem daunting and confusing at first, when you do finally figure it out it can be so sweet.

2. Go from Acid Wash to Skinny Jeans

Updating your website can be like updating your wardrobe. Ok, you may not be willing to go all the way to the skinny jean look, but you can see where I’m going here.

You need to have a site that reflects current trends and popular design, yet separates yourself and defines your vision and your voice.

3. Better for Your Business

Increasing the appearance of your site will no doubt increase the perceived value for visitors. Just as anything else in this world, the better it looks the higher opinion people will have of it.

Redesigning your website should immediately help your business increase relevance and engagement. At least that should be your goal.

4. Mobile Mastery

Do you have any idea how many people visit your site on their mobile device? If you don’t, you should.

Check your Google Analytics and take a peek. You may be surprised at the high number of folks browsing from their phone to your site. For me, my site was a disaster. It would never render correctly so I simply punted and left it as a full size site that the user had to zoom and scroll in order to navigate. Ugly.

You have to have a responsive design that allows visitors to easily receive all the awesome content you have to offer. If you don’t, they’ll bounce and most likely won’t return.

5. Take Inventory of What May Have Been Lost and What Needs to Be Lost

Going through the redesign you will very likely come across broken links, 404 page errors, and other remnants from all of your hard work online. You will also come across content that probably should be lost forever.

The redesign process allows you to truly review your content, and all of the inner workings of your site, to see what works and what doesn’t – what should and what shouldn’t.

6. Reorganize Your Content

Your content may be cluttered, confusing, and generally out of control. Redesigning your site allows you to step back and better organize how your content is presented to potential visitors. When you are redesigning your website it is critical that you do so through the eyes o...