How Seann Could Make Betty Draper A Better Mother

in money •  8 years ago 

Well... I can't, really, but I thought the title would catch your attention.

Is This Really Betty Draper

My name is Seann Valen. I’ve been around the internet marketing world for 16+ years. I’ve made some money, I’ve made a lot of money at different times. I’ve also lost money and spent more than I’d like to admit in the pursuit of making money. Like many/most IMer's.

I’ve followed the gurus (not anymore, BTW) and purchased all too many of the “you-name-it-latest-and-greatest-products”. Some good, many BS and some…well...I was just too lazy to put to use or forgot about. Still do…LOL!

I can’t tell you how many "hoorah" seminars I’ve spent time and money on over the years. Actually, some of them were for personal growth and I got a lot out of them.

Then, several years ago an opportunity presented itself to write content for a client. As it turned out, our writing styles were very different so the writing was off the table. After some negotiation I agreed to publish and market his books on Amazon Kindle. He is very well known in his niche. Over 2 years I did all the editing, formatting, cover design, publishing and marketing (including video production) for approximately 30 of his books.

Our personalities and ideas about how to do things always differed and we finally had a parting of the ways (a good thing). When I started, I knew very little about how to produce and market Kindle books. The learning curve was steep and it was a fast uphill climb to get up to speed quickly. Fortunately, I was already a writer and familiar with Microsoft Word, Scrivener and different graphics programs. And I spent a fair amount of money and time learning the entire Kindle platform.

The end of the project wasn’t of the good but overall, the experience was well worth it. More tools in my marketing tool chest and I made a fair amount of money along the way.

Now what? I’ve really launched myself into video production and graphics since then. I’ve maintained a day job (it sucks!) until I figure out my next move which is marketing affiliate products from Amazon, Clickbank and whatever else I find. And perhaps do some video production for local businesses as well. No more publishing for clients.

So here comes Steem Power. Wow! What’s that? I get about 120 emails a day from people promoting products and here was one email about it from Mark Lyford. I thought, “Oh, here’s another BS money making scheme of some sort” (no offense, Mark) “Blogging for cash, RIGHT.” “Nobody pays for posting content, voting, etc.”

But then I read the sales page, thought about it for a day, went back and re-read it again and jumped in with both feet. “What the heck!” “This looks like I could actually make some serious cash!” And reading the report and listening to Mark and Michael on the webinars, I think this could grow into something great.
BTW, I’ll still be doing other projects as I’ve never been one to put all my eggs in one basket.
I’ll wrap this up for now and tell you about my life outside of IM in another post.
I look forward to meeting some of you via Steemit.com and Steemology.live.

Authors get paid when people like you upvote their post.
If you enjoyed what you read here, create your account today and start earning FREE STEEM!
Sort Order:  

Hi @seannv! Glad to have you here. I think you'll find Steemit is an unusual and exciting experience. Your opening photo almost turned me away, but it represents the kind of thinking that can do well here. If you have questions, try Steemit Chat. I'm curious whether you think the Amazon marketplace is growing or plateauing. In any case, while I expect you'll have a knack for Steemit posting, expect a little frustration and you'll weather everything better. Well met!

  ·  8 years ago (edited)

Hi pulpably, Sorry if the photo was offensive. It was not meant to be. It was just a humorous moment on the beach last summer. There were hundreds of people out on a hot day and she didn't seem to care that her behind was showing. How could she not have known? Enough on that. My thoughts on Amazon...I've sold using the Fulfillment by Amazon platform (FBA). I sold some musical instruments and did well and I also had a set of Pickard China which languished there for over a year. My conclusion for FBA is to find a couple of products that will sell well, and find a source for them that will ship to Az. You don't handle any merchandise. The Kindle platform is a highly competitive one that Az has a tight grip on because people abused it in the beginning. There are millions of books there and you can do well if you market outside of Az as well. All in all I think Az is a great marketplace. It must still be growing as they have built many warehouses across the country that average 1.2 million sq ft. Perhaps they've plateaued some but they're still the largest marketplace in the world. Some of their services like Amazon S3 and others are complex and can be intimidating. I've switched to S3 to host my videos recently. It's inexpensive and I'm sure I'll be comfortable with it soon enough. Thanks for your post. The feedback is appreciated.

Oh I definitely didn't find it offensive. I just might not have read the article. But that's just me. Wow! Thanks for your perspective on Amazon. I have worked as a freelance editor and have self-published one book and found it simple enough to do, but chose the ibookstore. I've also lived in Seattle and there's been some changing opinion about Amazon as their workplace policies came under scrutiny and then they laid off their couriers...still it's one of the most powerful employers in the city. I've always assumed it would continue to grow and am glad that seems to be what you're seeing.

Thanks for this in-depth response! I'll be following and curious what you post. :)

Congratulations @seannv! You have received a personal award!

Happy Birthday - 1 Year on Steemit Happy Birthday - 1 Year on Steemit
Click on the badge to view your own Board of Honor on SteemitBoard.

For more information about this award, click here

By upvoting this notification, you can help all Steemit users. Learn how here!

Congratulations @seannv! You have received a personal award!

2 Years on Steemit
Click on the badge to view your Board of Honor.

Do you like SteemitBoard's project? Then Vote for its witness and get one more award!

Congratulations @seannv! You received a personal award!

Happy Birthday! - You are on the Steem blockchain for 3 years!

You can view your badges on your Steem Board and compare to others on the Steem Ranking

Vote for @Steemitboard as a witness to get one more award and increased upvotes!