Traffic Rush: Have I Bitten Off More Than I Can Chew?

Better late than never Caroline. At least you are doing something, taking baby steps everyday. Two years later I am sure you will remember procrastination with a smile on your face. You are not racing here, If you add value to your audience with your project, they will wait a few more weeks, no doubt.

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I am sure that your course will be great once it’s finished. I agree with Mert that it’s better late than never.

I am having the same problems. Well, not exactly the same.

I started writing my e-book a few months ago, and all was great untill I found myself doing something completely different. I almost forgot about my e-book for a few weeks, but now I am back on track.

It’s hard to stay focused in a world where so many things are happening every single day.

I am not going to try to rush you into something, but I am really eager to get more information about your course (LOL)

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Hi Caroline,
I think we all know the insurmountable scenario ;-)

I know you have it all planned out and maybe the market can wait.

I can’t remember what your syllabus was, but if it was me, I’d either do a pre mini course, or space the installments further apart.

I appreciate some people (2%) are advanced and will want to got to section 11, of whatever 10 section thing you make, but most people find things are quite difficult to implement successfully.

Also as it’s Stumbleupon, they will need to build a reputation and monitor the culture of the place and their specialisms, before they go steaming in.
Or at least that’s what I would advise.

That’s going to take them at least 2~4 weeks.

If you can’t make 1 module in 1 week, and that is all you are doing, then you need to out source it, as you are being too much of a perfectionist or going in to detail the majority will never understand.

I know I’m talking to myself and you’ll carry on as you are ;-)

So I’m expecting the launch news in about 5 months. LOL (joke)

With luck StumbleUpon will be having a second wind of popularity by then, and you’ll be back on the buzz.

Peter.

Hi Caroline,
I wanted to let you know that I am really looking forward to the course. Your eBook about WordPress was instrumental in getting me started with developing my own blog (not fully launched yet but will be very soon!) and I have every reason to believe that the SU program will be just as valuable. Thanks so much for what you do - it is appreciated!
Cheers!
Laura Z.

It’s late? Did I miss some sort of time-limit update?

Relax and breath…the course will be done when it’s finished. Rush it and you’ll miss a step or 2. ;)

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I know the feeling.
Why don’t you release the modules you have done allready? Then you will get some feedback that could help you with the other unfinished modules, and encourage you to complete them.

I know the feeling, boy do I ever know the feeling.

I started writing a film script 6 years ago, and have now seen TV series that encapsulate enough of my script to make me wonder if somewhere along the line, if someone that I showed it to, didn’t do a word of mouth on me.

My film script is in page 134 and not finished, but I did a 5 page precis of a 22 week continuing series on the same, and that may have gotten to a few more people than i suspected… Oh well…

I like Peter’s suggestion above. And its perhaps what a senior editor, who is outside of the subjectivity component of the project, would have done. That is to brutally evaluate whether or not there is, in truth, too much to be reasonably done by one person within a limited timeframe and outsource or chop chop chop if necessary.

Dominic also had a great suggestion ( modularity/timed releases ) that can be combined with Peter’s and this is also something that a manager who is not subjectively tied up with the project might have suggested much earlier.

When we code large projects, we do so in modules. This enables us to test the modules, preview to the end user and maintain a test jig that can continue to automatically test the module in the future as changes are made to it and its related modules.

By releasing the first few modules, a few weeks apart as a beta ( not a finished product ), and enlisting us to help out with this beta project, you would not only get valuable feedback as Dominic suggested, but you would get far deeper into the more important area of marketing your product.

After or if a strong outline with some supporting detail is written, there are people in rentacoder.com and other places like that that can ghost write for you, while you manage the support and sales role for the product.

Its a balancing act, and I can’t say I’ve got it right either, but a few great marketing people have said, that if you are already a subject matter expert, more of the ultimate process is marketing focused than is production, and watching their sales and seeing the database from which their customer base originates, this sounds logical.

T

I understand your feeling of overwhelm, I have many projects still sitting unfinished due to the same thing.

If you are still doing the course in a linear manner through email and have the first sections done, then set yourself a schedule of say one email a week and start sending them out as a version 1.0 of your course. Then you can write at least a week ahead and also would have a firm deadline of that week to make sure you had the next installment ready.

Then, once you are done, compile it all and send the people who have stuck with it the compiled pdf of all the sections with any updates you might make, as a version 1.5

Then do whatever paid version you do as a version 2.0 based on feedback and general feeling you get from having done and completed versions 1.0 and 1.5

Sometimes procrastination means your subconscious is trying to tell you something. Maybe there is something about your plan that isn’t a good “fit” for you. Maybe going forward would commit you to something you shouldn’t allow, etc.

It might be worth taking a day or two to “Look out a different window” and revisit the foundation of your plans.

To figure out procrasination.

Consider not doing it. What do you feel? What do you feel great about not having to do? What do you feel bad that you won’t achieve?

Once you know what it is about it’s easier to decide and move on - with doing it or not.

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@Peter, yeah the original plan was to release it in the way that you suggested but the problem with that approach is that I don’t want to take money for a product that isn’t ready yet. What if something happened and I couldn’t finish it? I just wouldn’t feel comfortable with that so I feel like I need to completely finish it before I can roll it out.

@Dennis, no it’s not late as such as I never announced any kind of schedule but when I started it I was hoping I’d get about 3-4 parts done per week and so far it’s been about 1 a week.

@Trevor, this certainly isn’t something I could outsource as all the information is in my head and it’s going to be a chance for me to demonstrate the quality of my teaching material so it has to come from me. As I said to Peter the main reason for not wanting to release in modules is because I want to be 100% sure I can deliver what I have promised before I take any money.

I could of course just release the free half in that way but the purpose of that is to encourage people to buy the advanced course so if I released that before the advanced half was ready they may have lost interest by then which will lose sales for me :-)

@Paul & Evan, I have mulled over this a bit and I’ve not come up with any answers because when I think about having it all complete it makes me feel really good and I do enjoy doing it when I get stuck in. It reminds me of when I used to do karate and for some reason I would always dread it and then enjoy it when I got there - made no sense!

Hi Caroline,

It may be the difference between the process and the result.

Evans last blog post..S & M

Many this kind of books always appear in the market as if anyone would actually buy it. I can a few free ones. Basically I think there are more than enough.

Hi Caroline,

Your honesty and writing are the reason I keep reading all your posts.

I understand your frustration.

I just wanted to say that I am sure that if you had spent all that energy on another niche other than internet marketing one, you could have make much more money in less time.

Ethan

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This looks like a great idea for a book. I just went and registered for it - I’m looking forward to what you have to say about it.

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I for one can’t wait to see what you come up with.

Guru Bob

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Dont regret for you’ve helped many many people such as me. We appreciate your efforts, and i hope that you’ll be able to handle all everything. Steady does it and it’ll be over before you know it!

wow at least u started already. in a few months or weeks u will be gettin 3-4parts done a week i hope. wish u all the best

journeys last blog post..The amazing secrets of Sagrada Familia

Progress is realy not easy. The sentence I have remembered from TedTalks about Internet entrepreneuring was: The idea is easy, but the execution is realy hard. So this whole hard work we have to put unto the execution will sooner or later produce incom. With discipline you can achieve everything! Over 2900 RSS subscribers will support you on that.

dun be disappointed. although progress is slow, but slow make prefect, so keep on working, all the best..

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You are obviously doing something right though. 2k subscribers, most blogs would kill for that. In fact plenty of bloggers in this niche make 2-3k a month from half that subscriber base. Anyways, Stumble Rush is something I may look into. I feel like I know a lot about StumbleUpon already so buying lessons wouldn’t benefit me much.

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I understand completely. In my schedule I am supposed to be writing my book at the moment or at least be doing some more research.

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