Retirement Work for Baby Boomers » baby boomer internet marketing

Avoiding Information Overload for Baby Boomer IM’s

Kellio — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 23:47:06 +0000

There’s a term that’s been floating around internet marketing circles now for some years and is still worth a mention here, if for no other reason than to remind myself of its meaning and complications.

The term is “Information Overload” and can be an extremely serious drawback to budding internet marketers. As a baby boomer I first developed an interest in internet marketing for baby boomers a couple of years ago, but I was restricted to a dial up connection due to living within a region of Australia which had no other form of connection available at that time.

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These days I’m still restricted to a satellite connection which is just so much better than dial up and allows me to get serious about internet marketing for baby boomers but information overload has very nearly put an end to a baby boomer’s journey toward internet marketing on numerous occasions.

The problem I found in my search for information was that I found too much.
It’s no secret that there are millions of internet marketers out there and they are all trying to market something on the net. Hence the term: “Internet Marketer”.

This is where the problem of “Information Overload” raises its alluring head. For me, it seems that when carrying out research into finding the best learning product, each product “appears” to be better than the last one because it seems so much easier and simpler to understand.

No one likes to work and because most baby boomers are approaching the time socially considered to be the end of their working lives as such, they are probably more adverse to work than proceeding generations. This makes them an ideal target for information overload simply because they are looking for an easier way to achieve success as an internet marketer.

It took me quite some time to realize the folly behind chasing the easy way, not to mention the amount of money I invested and for the most part lost.
Every teacher, coach and guru will tell you that you should stick to one method until you master it but they will also tell you that their product is the one you should be sticking to regardless of how far you’ve progressed with the one you are currently doing, and so encourage you to change horses in mid stride so to speak.

This is where information overload becomes an anchor in that rather than having the fortitude to indeed stick to one method, we tend to learn a little bit here and a little bit there and a little bit elsewhere but without the having the final step which binds them all together, they are an incomplete study because they are all snippets of information that without following the complete course are time consuming and worthless.

Baby Boomer Internet Marketers of course are not the only ones guilty of this behavior which should be avoided by all, but let’s face it, baby boomers don’t have the time left that following generations have to learn something new and so more than anyone should not be tempted by good sales copy and avoid Information Overload at all cost.

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Baby Boomer Blogging for Internet Marketing

Kellio — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 20:39:15 +0000

A Must Read for every Aspiring Internet Marketer/Blogger. Rob Benwell’s “Blogging to the Bank” has been the blogging Bible for thousands of IM bloggers and his latest 2010 edition has received countless positive reviews from the world’s most successful and renown Bloggers.

Over the past few weeks since I set out on this venture which is ultimately to learn how to be a baby boomer internet marketer, I’ve come across quite a few unexpected hurdles. When I use the word ‘unexpected’, I do so with tongue in cheek because I knew from the onset that there would be hurdles. However I hadn’t realized that some of these hurdles would take so much time to clear.

I think I mentioned in an earlier post that so many of the free tutorials available on the net through places like U-Tube etc, are often out of date soon after they come online because the software they refer to is being constantly updated.

Such is the case with blogging. I think I also mentioned that in building this blog, I’m using wordpress which is a prime example of software being constantly updated.

As a baby boomer with no experience whatsoever with computers until well into my 50’s, getting my head around even the simplest of concepts was initially (and please excuse the pun), a real headache. I didn’t know for example that when a computer is shut down, it should always be done from the start menu, and not just by pulling the plug or using the on/off switch. It’s the simple things like that which kids have been learning at school for the past 20 years that makes new technology for some baby boomers so difficult to grasp.

The above is a very simple example and I’m sure that all baby boomers who have ever sat in front of a computer are well aware of how to do that one properly, however, I have friends who simply don’t understand much more than how to send an email.

I was talking to a long time friend who I’ve known since we were teenagers the other night on the phone and although we keep in touch on a regular basis through emails and phone calls, I was really surprised to learn that he doesn’t know how to “cut and paste”.

Trying to explain that to him over the phone had him tied in all sorts of knots and he eventually became frustrated and angry with himself and gave up. The next time he tries to do that he well may succeed but it’s more likely that he won’t even try again because he remembers the frustration and anger it caused him last time he tried. Once again a simple example but the same principle applies to more advanced techniques as well!

While getting a haircut yesterday, I was chatting to my hairdresser (another baby boomer) about the internet in general and she was telling me among other things, about the problems she was having with her satellite internet connection.

Now I’m no computer technician but I had experienced similar problems in the past and was able to offer her a couple of suggestions which someone had passed on to me when I was in a similar situation. She called me this morning to tell me that she’s done what I suggested and her connection is now fine and that I’d saved her the hefty bill she would have received had she called a technician out. (I should have asked her for a couple of free haircuts.lol)

The point I’m making is that the information is out there if you happen to be in the right place or if someone points you in the right direction to find that right place.

Such is the case with blogging. I think I also mentioned that in building this blog, I’m using wordpress which is a prime example of software being constantly updated.

The following is a very short list of free tutorial websites I strongly recommend through my own experiences. The reason I’ve kept this list to a minimum is because of a what is called “information overload” which will be the topic of another post. Enjoy!

Affiliate Marketing.

Afflilorama.com ( Free Site.This where I was just less than 1 year ago!

Blogging!

WordPressclassroom.com ( Up to date Free WordPress video tutorials.)

Check out Rob Benwell’s updated and revised edition of Blogging to The Bank here

Netmarkbootcamp.com

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The Myths and The Realities of Aging. Part 1

Kellio — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 02:22:54 +0000

An Introduction

Note: Click here for part 2. Perceptions of the Aged

While it’s a debatable point, many believe that life and therefore aging begins at the moment of conception. What is not debatable however, is that the aging process continues over a lifetime. Each individual experiences the process in different ways depending on variables such as gender, culture, education geographical location environment and of course the culmination of life’s events and circumstances.

Improvements in public health care, living conditions, income, and the control of infectious diseases during the first half of the 20th century were important factors in determining life expectancy, while the second half yielded an increase in health technology leading to the development of antibiotics and wide spread immunization. As a result, people are now more likely to die of diseases associated with living longer such as stroke or heart disease rather than the infectious diseases of childhood.

Here in Australia, the cohort of people born since 1995 may live longer than previous cohorts as they have received the most benefit from lower child mortality rates. Older people will make up a larger proportion of the population and there is little doubt that more people will be seeing a hundred years of life or more by the mid 2050’s.

Because of overseas migration to Australia during the period 1995 to 2015 older people from non-English speaking countries will comprise around 66% of the older population compared with 23% of people born in Australia for that age group.

The future old people in most western societies will be healthier, wealthier and posses a higher education with many funding their own retirement. The huge contribution they are now making to society can no longer be under estimated or under valued. It’s always been a common saying that you are only as old as you feel and many researchers are finding that those aged over 60 are far less accepting as being seen and described as “old” then the preceding generation.

Because an awareness of ageing has been strongly ingrained in our societies, the majority of people are well aware of the kinds of behavior expected at a certain age. But this would not be a problem if these behavioral expectations did not result in the accepted stereotypes relating to older people, which have led to discrimination simply on the basis of age.

Body language, the way we talk, the way we clothe ourselves, even the way we exercise and the recreation and sports we undertake may indicate “age appropriate” behavior. After all we make sense of age through the recognition of significant milestone such as birthdays and anniversaries.

Rather than welcoming the positive changes that have led to an expected longer life span, many in society see the increase in the number of older people as being a concern and a drain on heath services and the economy.

It’s unfortunate that the word “old” is often used as an insult prefaced by the words “silly” or “stupid” and the vocabulary used to describe older generations fails to account for the huge diversity and differences between people. Media portrayals of old age in terms of frailty, senility, poverty, powerlessness and loneliness tend to reinforce the stereotype perceptions. The media is not helping either by sending mixed messages referring to and advertising anti-ageing products with stories and literature which focus on looking younger and being healthier in order to live a longer life.

Some older people do accept and adopt the negative images attributed to them and become subconsciously aware of having to conform to the expectations of certain elements of society and “act their age.” At the other end of the spectrum many older people revel in challenging stereotypes and seeing older age as an opportunity to undertake new ventures and or indeed take on ventures long with held because of social or family pressure brought on by society’s expectations.

Some stereotypes even focus on positive aspects of age such as the kindness and wisdom of older people and these views can be equally unrealistic. Not all old people are wise and kind! Overall, most age stereotypes seem to be negative, and can even be accepted quite inaccurately by some ill-informed health care professionals.

“Negative stereotypes about older adults abound – they are sickly, frail, forgetful, unattractive, dependent, or otherwise incompetent. Such stereo types can lead to ageism or prejudice against elderly people. Most elderly adults have internalized these negative views but believe that they apply to ‘other older adults’ and not to themselves”
Sigelman. CK and EA Rider. Life span Human Development. 5th ed. 2006 Australia: Thomas.

Currently, the myths of ageing are associated with general perceptions about being old such as older people being in poor health, ill or disabled; having a lack of mental sharpness; failed memory; senile; being sad; depressed; lonely; grouchy; sexless; boring; all the same; lacking vitality and vigor and following inevitable decline; being unable to learn or change and being unproductive.

Myths about older people are based on a lack of knowledge about ageing and when they are used in the media or even in professional literature they support negative attitudes which lead to age discrimination.

As the older population grows and the baby boomers begin approaching the traditional retirement age of 65 years, new myths are emerging. In the pages which follow I will attempt to provide, statistical information, research findings together with the opinions of older people themselves (including myself approaching 62 years) in the hope that others will add and comment in order to provide an understanding of how negative perceptions about aging can be challenged.

“The complete life, the complete pattern includes old age as well as youth and maturity. The beauty of the morning and the radiance of noon are good, but it would be a very silly person who drew the curtains and turned on the light in order to shut out the tranquility of the evening. Old age has its pleasures, which, although different, are not less than the pleasures of youth”

W Somerset. (1874-1965) British novelist and playwright.

NOTE: Click here for Part 2. Perceptions of the Aged.

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A Trek in the Affiliate Marketing Jungle.

Kellio — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 23:47:35 +0000

Now that I have the previous post off my chest which I really needed to do I’m just going to provide a fairly brief account of what I’ve done so far.

Like many budding internet entrepreneurs, when I first looked into the idea of internet marketing, I fell for yet another ploy which I can’t really condemn as being a scam but the only thing I got from it was the realization that I was wasting my time and money with it.

It was one of those “ready made” web sites you see so often in the search engines and fluttering around social media sites such as twitter etc.

The general idea for most of them is that after paying a membership fee, you are then provided with a custom built website on which you can market any or many of thousands of online products usually involving sites like clickbank, paydotcom, eBay etc, etc, etc.

While I’m not suggesting there’s anything wrong with selling these products and indeed a lot of people do so very successfully, doing it through a prepaid membership site with a pre-fabricated web site etc, is not something I would recommend to a new starter.

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More often than not with the majority of these sites, once you’ve paid your money, all the promises about providing ongoing training and support 24/7 dries up within the first couple of days. I tried several of them as a short cut to success with the same result.

So regardless of how good their sales pitch is or how enticing their promises, I’d advise anyone reading this to stay away from them. You’ll lose your money and become discouraged. It happened to me and it will happen to you!

I know this through experience but 99.9% of genuine mentors and marketing tutors will tell you exactly the same thing.

Nope! I found that there are no such short cuts by traveling those roads. What I did find however was that there is just so much free information and tutorials available on the internet for beginners, there is really no need to be spending money on these courses when so many are free.

In saying that I also have to say that there is lots of absolute garbage out there as well. There is so much outdated and ineffective strategies being offered by unscrupulous “gurus” who will offer products to you in exchange for your email address in order to promote more up to date products for which they are paid a commission. 5 years ago you would have been expected to pay as much as $2000 for a course which is now being offered free because the internet is changing so rapidly.

There are just too many out there to even attempt to list but there is one in particular I do recommend and was certainly a great learning platform for me as a rank beginner affiliate marketer a little more than a year ago.

I’m not going to go into any great detail other than to say that New Zealander Mark Ling has an excellent site jammed with great free stuff which you can find by right clicking on the link below and clicking on “open in new tab”.

Afillorama.com