Another one bites the dust
sometimes you just have to press "delete"
In today's edition of Burke's Bits:
When It's Time to Press "Delete"
A Copy Tip
From the Research Files
Pun of the Day
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When It's Time to Press "Delete"
I had to take down a website today.
If you've been a follower or customer of mine you might be familiar with GrowPLR...the site where I sold my own content as PLR articles and videos in a few different niches.
The site was set up in 2018 and I had a nice little launch with a great PLR provider. He introduced me to his list and I gained over 500 customers in 3 days. Then I had other colleagues promote it to their lists and soon I had a nice email list of over 2,000 buyers - just for my PLR.
I didn't add too many packages to my site until 2020. That's when I decided...oh what the heck, maybe I'll set up a membership on it. My virtual assistant and I installed and set up aMember. The plan was to set up my own affiliate management so I wouldn't have to rely on sites like WarriorPlus or JVZoo (not that they're bad sites...just thought it was a good idea to manage my own affiliates).
The best laid plans...and all that...means I got sidetracked with copywriting projects. Around the same time I was making changes to GrowPLR my email copywriting business boomed. Go where the money is has been my motto since I started my business.
So I let the GrowPLR site sit and focused on writing copy for clients. I still had traffic coming to the site so would get new people on my list when they subscribed for updates and a free PLR package. And I was still making sales from my email list - when I remembered to email them LOL
Into 2021 I was so busy with writing copy for other people I neglected my own email list. Oh sure, every once in a while I'd send an email and make a few sales. But I was also getting a lot of unsubscribes from that PLR list. To be expected from any list you don't nurture.
Wednesday of this week I got an email from Google warning me that GrowPLR was blacklisted. Looks like malware made its way into the site and until it was cleaned up it was removed from search results.
Ugh. I've had my share of website woes. Over the years I've had many niche websites. Most were and a few today are affiliate sites. Some were for practice as I honed my WordPress skills. Then there's the primary website I've had since 2009 for Search by Burke.
Back in '17 I had 9 affiliate sites that were making me money via onsite links and my email lists. Enough to pay the basic living expenses here at home. I got the bright idea that I wanted a couple of the lower revenue sites to be WooCommerce stores and hired a developer to do that for me. Somehow there was a misunderstanding between me and him (I honestly don't know what happened - he lost his mind) and before I could pay him he decided he would cut himself off from me. Didn't respond to email. Didn't respond to text. Blocked me on social media. Took down all 9 of my affiliate sites at once. That's right - one day I had some cool sites making me money and the next they were erased. Gone.
I contacted HostGator for the backups and was told that because I had exceeded disc space I had no backups. Really. That's what they told me. I was devastated and angry. Angry at the developer for being such a mean guy. Angry at HostGator for lying to me. Angry at everyone who tried to tell me how easy it would be to set up these sites again. I was Crying Angry. I couldn’t walk fast enough to get rid of the Anger. I pulled back from most people in the IM industry because my Anger was palpable and I had nothing good to say … to anyone … about anything.
Then I decided to get new hosting and focus solely on my Search by Burke site. Using Wayback Machine I was able to retrieve my content. Then I decided to add blog posts dating back to 2008 onto my site. And of course I set up Updraft to back it up regularly.
Over time I've added new niche sites always growing my email lists and experimenting with content and markets.
The GrowPLR site was going to be where I would make use of the 11K+ articles I have in my hard drive. Articles I've written for myself and for others over the years. All I would need to do is edit them, update them, combine them into small packages and offer them for sale. If I hadn't been focused on copywriting I would have had many more packages on the site. But honestly, there was a very small inventory. And I did have a backup.
So on Wednesday, when I got the Google email saying it was blacklisted, I had a decision to make:
Do I try to clean up the site and remove the malware?
Do I take it down completely and restore an update from May 2022?
Or do I remove the site completely and let go of it?
A simple Cost/Benefit analysis showed me I was losing money keeping it up and running. So, I decided to remove it.
It was time to hit "delete" so I could focus my efforts on what is working in my business - copywriting and creating products and collaborating with others to create products.
I may or may not sell the domain. I will keep the backup files.
I’m glad the site is gone because I made the decision to take it down. Not because some @ss developer lost his mind or a deceitful hosting company refused to come clean with their incompetence. I’m glad to feel relief and not Anger about GrowPLR being gone … for now.
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A Copy Tip
I'm a member of a lot of copywriting groups on Facebook. I'm active in my own group - The Copywriting Women's Club - and in a Discord group - The Copywriting Collective. The Discord group grew by a few thousand new members over the last two months and once again I saw a blizzard of questions asking “How can I know how my prospect is feeling?”
The answer: It’s easy.
The following was written by Clayton Makepeace (1952-2020) a copywriter I have followed off and on since about 2006.
You can count on every prospect you talk to shares at least 10 common fears … 11 common frustrations … and 8 common desires …
10 fears every human being experiences
Fear of the Unknown
Fear of Embarrassment
Fear of Failure
Fear of Poverty and Want
Fear of Loneliness
Fear of Dependence
Fear of Betrayal
Fear of Illness
Fear of Death
Fear of all of the above for people who are close to us.
11 frustrations that drive us nuts
Frustrated by feelings of Inadequacy
Frustrated by the feeling that we’re Inconsequential or Unimportant
Frustrated when we feel Unappreciated
Frustrated when we feel Powerless or Trapped
Frustrated when we feel Used or taken advantage of
Frustrated when we feel Oppressed
Frustrated when we feel Deprived of things that others enjoy or even take for granted
Frustrated when we feel Demeaned in key relationships and when others seem to take us for granted
Frustrated by constant feelings of Guilt imposed upon us by parents, religious institutions and even by our own expectations of ourselves
Frustrated with the feeling that life is going by too fast and that we’re not getting all we could be out of it.
Frustrated with things that shouldn’t be difficult or time-consuming, but often seem to be true.
And each of us shares 8 common desires
To feel OK about our past and to find Justification or Forgiveness for past mistakes
To feel Free and in Control of our own lives
To feel Happy
To feel Alive, Excited and Exhilarated
To feel physically, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually Fulfilled
To feel accepted, respected, admired, needed, desired and Loved
To feel Successful
To feel Optimistic, even excited about our futures.
From the moment I begin thinking about writing a sales message until I hit
the last keystroke, I’m constantly asking myself …
How each of these emotions relates to my prospect’s life in general – and how, by acknowledging and validating them, I can make my sales message resonate at a visceral level
How each of these emotions relates to the benefits of the products or services and the free gifts I’m writing about, connecting each tangible benefit with an emotional benefit – showing how the tangible benefit assuages a fear, eases a frustration, or fulfills an emotional desire, and…
How each of these emotions relates to my offer and the entire process of ordering – assuaging fears and easing any frustrations my prospect may have with similar offers he’s accepted in the past.
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From the Research Files
aka random bits of info you may or may not be able to use in your life
Why Kids Don't Like Vegetables
As you age, the number of taste buds you have tend to diminish. An average child is born with about 10,000 taste buds. An average elderly person only has about 5,000. Vegetables can be very bitter to “super tasters” or those close to that. As you age and your taste buds diminish, this bitter flavor goes away somewhat and changes the taste of the vegetables dramatically in the process.
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Pun of the Day
I’m going to try velcro instead of shoe laces. Why knot?
With Gratitude,
Charlene Burke
Let's Connect
“Sometimes you make the right decision, sometimes you make the decision right.” ~ Phil McGraw