IFTTT: An Awesome Marketing Resource that You Don’t Want to Abuse

Be careful of misusing a great resource so the results of your activities don’t backfire on you!

IFTTT is an acronym for the words:  “If this, than that”, and that is exactly what this awesome marketing resource is all about.  In a nutshell, the IFTTT website will allow you to create what they call “Recipes”.  The Recipes are little formulas you devise to help trigger a specific reaction.  I know you might not understand what I mean right now, but before I go into detail about the benefit of this site, and how things actually work, here is a word of caution.  Make sure that you don’t abuse the IFTTT Recipes.  Keep in mind that as with most things in life, there is always the possibility  of “too much of a good thing.”

IFTTT Recipes

According to the IFTTT website, this is the official description of a Recipe:  “Recipes are simple connections between products and apps. There are two types of Recipes: DO Recipes and IF Recipes.  These Recipes actually give you “…control over the products and apps you love.”  The “IF” recipe is triggered by a specific action, for example:

“IF” I publish a video on my Just Charm YouTube channel, the IFTTT Recipe that I selected will automatically post a tweet on my Just Charm Twitteraccount.  In reality, this action is not really new to some of us, especially when you have multiple Google-related accounts.  But at IFTTT, you really get the full benefit of how these Recipes actually work, plus, you can pick and choose the ones that you want to work together.  Not only do they have a huge selection of pre-made Recipes for you to choose from, but you can even create your own recipes! 

  

Finding Effective Recipes

Just Charm currently uses a number of effective IFTTT Recipes, in addition to the YouTube / Twitter “IF” Recipe that is described above.  Here are a few more that you can choose from their website, and set into motion yourself. 

“IF” I make a new post on my Tumblr blog, automatically post a link on my Blogger blog.

“IF” I get a positive Fiverr® gig review, automatically post a tweet to my Twitter account.

“IF” it is 8am (PST), automatically post a pre-created tweet to Twitter, saying “good morning”

As you can see, these Recipes require a specific action to occur before the result is triggered.  This can be an awesome tool, but be careful.  Inadvertently duplicating some of the same recipes can become a nuisance to your viewers.  It is easy to make this mistake when you select IFTTT Recipes, because many of them are the same, or similar (merely created by different people). 

At IFTTT, creating your own Recipes is not only allowed, but encouraged.  In fact, some of the more popular Recipes were created by people who really need them, just like you.  That is why it is so easy to create Recipes that already exist.  A smart practice would be to analyze all the Recipes you have selected, to make sure that there are no repeats.  Also, as was mentioned, most accounts that are Google-related (or owned), are already connected.  That means, that you don’t want to make the mistake of selecting Recipes that are already being trigged by Google.

How “DO” Recipes Work

The “DO” Recipes are not the same as “IF” Recipes.  There is nothing for you to trigger with a “DO” Recipe.  Instead, they “…run with just a tap and enable you to create your own personalized Button, Camera, and Notepad.”  These work really cool and rely on the connections between your devices.  “DO” apps are available for iOS and Android.

Monitor what Works

Whatever Recipes you decide to select, create, and use on the IFTTT website, just make sure to pay attention to the results that you are getting.  Try to monitor what is happening on your blog, website, social media and other related sites.  This way, you can determine just what is actually working, as well as when it’s working; and maybe even why it’s working!  After all, isn’t that what we want from an effective marketing resource?  This website is a perfect resource, and it is absolutely free to use.  The last thing we want to do is misuse it.  This is the voice of experience speaking, because I believe some of my own selected Recipes are on steroids!  I plan to go over everything thoroughly, and determine which ones need adjusting.  But as for the effectiveness of the IFTTT website, I wholeheartedly recommend the site!

Self-Branding and Taking Good Advice

Self-Branding efforts wouldn't be complete unless you bother to get your own website.

www.Charmbaker.com launching soon!

Owning a website has always seemed like an inconvenience to me in the past, although I knew it was important to your online presence.  Website activities seem to have a way of taking over your life, in a similar way that blogging can do if you're not careful.  To some online workers, this is actually a good thing, but to working writers and aspiring authors, this could pose a problem.  But whether having your own website is an inconvenience or a godsend, the fact still remains that you need to have one.  In the long run, and further along in your online career, a website can be an invaluable resource to you.

Self-Branding Advice

I wrote a recent post called:  Self-Branding: When Will YOU Finally Start? In it, I discuss the reasons why it is necessary to finally take the step to brand yourself (or your online presence).  I purposely omitted any details concerning the need for a website.  In truth, in many ways, you really don't actually need a website, depending on what your web activities and objectives happen to be.  But the advantages of having a website far out weighs any perceived disadvantages.

The Just Charm website is scheduled to launch this Saturday (2/13/16) and you can visit it by going to:  http://charmbaker.com anytime after 12 midnight.  More upcoming posts will discuss the advantages of haing a website, particularly when it comes to your online writing and related activities.     

Self-Branding: When Will YOU Finally Start?

Read why my 2016 Focus went from Fiverr.com to Just Charm!

Self-branding is something that I have realized was important  for a while, however, I have to admit, I have done a piss pour job of demonstrating it.   Having the right attitude about self-branding is something worth giving sincere thought to.  Failing to develop a self-promotional attitude is counterproductive to whatever you hope to achieve online.

For years, my own son (the business major) has scolded me about my bad habit of latching on to someone else and THEIR dream.  Since I've been a freelance writer, I have rallied for other websites and online businesses that I found to be worthy.  I have spent a significant  amount of time and manpower (or woman-power) singing the praises of everyone but myself.  Clearly, this is no way to effectively brand yourself, not when you're busy promoting someone else's name.

2016 Plans Change

This year, my intention was to hit the ground running, by launching a Fiverr.com related blog, and devoting all my time to promoting Fiverr gig providers like myself.  Fiverr is a great site for finding creative ways to generate online income, especially if you have a wild imagination.  For freelance writers like me, there is a great demand for a variety of writing related work.  I've used the site off and on for several years, but last year I really began to experience a lot more success, primarily because I started using video presentations.

My initial intention this year was to generate more Fiverr sales for the gigs I planed to provide, while at the same time, helping to market and promote other Fiverr gig providers. The idea to shift my focus and concentrate on me - just Charm - all started when I was having trouble uploading acceptable videos to the Fiverr website.  I made the decision after experiencing a series of creative, technical, and finally administrative difficulties.  During this time, my son continued to caution me about exerting so much time and effort to yet another name that wasn't mine.  I thought seriously about what he was saying, and knew he was right.  Then and there, I decided to change my plans.  Fiverr would be the last thing on my mind, at least for 2016.

Believe in You

I considered my previous record of getting fixated on everyone's good idea but my own.  I told myself, there comes a time when you truly have to believe in YOU.  For me, that means self-branding instead of always promoting someone else and their brand.

PERSONAL EXAMPLES:

Years ago, I fell in love with Constant Content - a site I still earn money from, although I haven't written anything new in a while.  Any writer who is familiar with this site knows that it can be difficult to write for because the administrators are extremely hard to please.  My point is, when I first discovered the site, in addition to writing as a ghost writer for Constant Content, I was so ga-ga for them, that I created a website specifically to promote them to other writers.  You can imagine the time that it took to do this; time away from my actual writing!

Bubblews was another writing platform that I was hooked on and began to excessively promote, even when others were having financial problems with them.  I created two blogs that were dedicated to the site, one for the existing writer, and one to inform those who were interested in joining.  Bubblews turned out to be a fraudulent company that schemed lots of writers out of the writing compensation they earned.  But even if this had not been the case, it was a mistake on my part, to devote so much energy to helping someone else's brand.  The year that I wasted fooling around with Bubblews (for a few hundred bucks), I could have been marketing the novel I had only published less than 3 months earlier!

Plan to Self-Brand

If you take anything away from the information you read in this post, let it be the desire to start self-branding you and whatever it is you promote online.  This doesn't mean that you shouldn't accept work from others, or not take advantage of referral or affiliate opportunities.  The money that I continue to earn from Constant Content is a direct result of their former Writer's Compensation program that I was grandfathered into.  Some of the more than 90 writers that I encouraged to sign up for the website years ago continue to earn me commissions.  There is nothing wrong with speaking positive about a brand you believe in, but why not start doing the same about your own brand???

Online Success Comes Down to Traffic

Blogs, websites, books, products, services, and everything else online all have one thing in common, and that is the need for traffic.  In fact, to be successful at anything online all comes down to traffic.

With the launch of my new blog and plan to focus entirely on branding myself this year, I thought it fitting to choose the topic that is always on everyone’s minds.  Traffic is what ultimately translates into book sales, product sales, and repeat customers for any online services.  In the past, this has been a huge challenge for me to tackle as an aspiring writer and later, a published author.   But even when I recognized just how much a problem the lack of traffic, viewers, and readership could be; doing what it takes to solve the problem wasn’t easy. 

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 BOOK EXCERPT

Addressing a Major Challenge

A major challenge to online writing, marketing, and conducting internet business, is acquiring traffic. No matter what your internet goals happen to be, you will never reach them without jumping this particular hurdle; not just once, but on a regular basis.

If you write articles – YOU NEED traffic for page views, if you do affiliate marketing, YOU NEED traffic for sales leads, if you publish ebooks, YOU NEED traffic for reviews and ebook sales. There is no getting around the fact that when you work and promote online, YOU NEED TRAFFIC!

Traffic will always be a major challenge for online writers, marketers and internet business ventures. Page views, readership, visitors, no matter what you call it, it all amounts to actually connecting people to what you have to offer. That translates into traffic.

Because generating traffic is a lot harder than people imagine, this can become a number one obstacle to your success. Your degree of traffic (or lack thereof) will eventually determine whether you continue your online endeavors or give up entirely. That brings us to the all-important point of sticking to it.

To read more, visit Smashwords to purchase my publication:  “How to Stay Focused on Your Internet Goals”.  PRICE:  .99¢

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What I eventually discovered about traffic is the same lesson I learned about marketing and promotion.  I can actually sum it up in one word:  DILIGENCE!   That means find what works and do it.  Then do it again, and again, and again, and again…  

 As you follow this blog and spend time browsing the different pages, pay attention to the writing habits that you want to imitate and duplicate yourself.  All of my writing is structured in a way to appeal to readers, while at the same time, utilizing specific SEO concepts.  These concepts and strategies that I use when writing are useful in helping to generate more traffic, but ONLY when done consistently.  

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Related TAGS:  resources, challenges, seo, traffic