Lee McIntyre’s Honest Marketing Blog

Some Big Changes at Lee-McIntyre.com

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Can you believe it’s almost a year since Lee-McIntyre.com was born?

11 months ago I was a struggling high school teacher not knowing what my future would hold.  Fast forward a little and I’ve enjoyed a ride like no other.  There have been ups and downs and LOTS of hard work, and I can safely say that I’ve enjoyed every second.

Now things here are going pretty well indeed.  I have money in the bank, and every day I wake to discover yet more sales in my account.

But I’m still not happy. Why?  Because I’ve never been content resting on my laurels and I’m not going to change now!

After much careful thought I’ve decided that I’m going to push my company through a massive and sudden expansion. I have so many exciting ideas for the future, and I’m increasingly of the view that it’s simply not possible to execute them all working with a virtual team from my home office.

And because of some offline projects I have just begun, I’m also in need of a physical client facing office.

With this in mind I’ve decided that this month I’m going to be relocting my work to a nice new shiny 3 person office in town.

I’m also going to be recruiting a project manager who can come in and manage the office, oversee some projects, and coordinate with my outsource team.

Yes this is a bold move, but it’s fun to be bold every now and then don’t you think?

In one week I’m going to be advertising for a full time worker in the local press.  Before I get to that stage though I thought it might be a nice idea to post here to see if there was any interest from my readers in this position.

I’m still working out the exact details and terms of the post, but I’d love to hear if there was any reader interest before I promote this locally.

Are you potentially interested in relocating to Manchester, UK to join my company as a project manager?

If so open a support ticket here and let me know you’re interested. Please just supply some brief details including who you are, what online experience you have, and why you think you’d excel in this role.

I’ll personally reply to everyone, and if I think I’d like to hear more I’ll send you the full details in a couple of days and invite you to apply formally.  My first choice is to hire a subscriber or blog reader, so if I get enough interest I’ll cancel the proposed local media ads and just interview those who respond now.

If you have any questions let me know in the comments below.

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Why I’m Happy About the Aweber Price Increase

Recently Aweber announced a huge increase to their prices.

Hit play to discover why this a great opportunity for email marketers everywhere..

So what did you think? Let me know in the comments below…

Popularity: 44% [?]

My Thoughts On The Aweber Upgrade

In case you missed it, Aweber recently announced that they are increasing the prices for all new customers. They’re also dramatically increasing the functionality too with the introduction of some advanced email marketing analytics.

As I currently understand the situation, all current customers will have the option to stay on their existing price plan or to upgrade to the new structure.

What’s my take on this?

Stay tuned because tomorrow I’ll be uploading a video explaining what I’ll be doing and why I’ll be doing it.

I have 11,000 subscribers in my account, and my subscription fee will increase from $40 to $149 if I upgrade to the new features.

Visit tomorrow and I’ll explain why it took me less than 10 minutes to decide what to do, and why most of the people discussing this on the marketing forums have the issue all inside out…

Popularity: 35% [?]

Does It Get Any Better Than This?

Those who regularly read this blog will know that I’m a huge Manchester United supporter. I’ve had a season ticket since the age of 8 and have travelled all across Europe watching my team.

My favourite trip by far was to watch United play Fiorentina in Florence in 2000. The game was pants, and it finished 0-0, but the whole event was fantastic.

Myself, together with a group of 4 friends, drove down to Luton Airport and then flew to Nice.

We then got a train from Nice to Pisa, spent the day and night in a very cheap youth hostel, before then visiting Rome, before finally landing in Florence.

Yes the football was rubbish but we had a great trip and it was something I’ll never forget!

I really treasured these events as I knew that when I entered the world of work I’d be chained to my desk and I’d be unable to enjoy this type of freedom again.

And I guess this is why I really do love the Internet lifestyle…

You see, today Manchester United are playing in the final of the European Cup for only the 3rd time in our history.  And I’m so nervous I could pinch myself!

Unlike in previous years I’m not travelling to Russia to watch today’s match, but working online still gives me an incredible buzz when these events come around.

I’m meeting a group of five friends in Manchester Centre to watch the match on a big screen in our favourite bar, and it should be some night.

Yet while my friends are rushing around, feeling stressed, and trying to make sure they get into town on time, I’ll be having a relaxed day enjoying the buildup.

Is running an Internet business hard? You bet!

But it also gives you an incredible amount of freedom that is simply hard to match.

I’m writing this post at 5:15 am as I can’t  sleep as the match tonight has made me so nervous.  Soon I’ll be off to the shop to buy all the newspapers, which I’ll read over a glass of fresh orange and a bacon sandwich.

I’ll have Radio five live on in the background to soak up the big game buildup, and then at 10am I intend to walk my friend’s dog (this is so he can come straight to the pub after work).

At 12:10pm I’m having lunch with my grandad as part of our pre match routine. And then at 2pm I’m heading into Manchester to meet a friend for the first beer of the day before my other mates come down after work at 6pm.

If we win I won’t be back home until 5am tomorrow. And if we lose? Silly question as we simply WON’T lose…

What a day!

As you’ve probably guessed, it really is the simple things that keep me happy.

In my world the money is nice, but it’s the lifestyle that’s the most important of all, and that’s why I love working online so much.

If you had this kind of freedom how would you spend your time?

Would you travel the world? Would you spend time with your family? Maybe learn a new language?

Building an Internet business is hard. But the rewards are worth it in ways I cannot describe.

Today promises to be a fantastic event.  I just hope we come home with the trophy or you might not hear from me for a while!

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Is This Mistake Costing You Thousands?

Are you making this HUGE mistake? Hit play now to discover exactly what I’m talking about and to discover an easy way to increase your online profits

So there you have it…

Did you enjoy the video? Let me know in the comments below!

Popularity: 40% [?]

Why Do Gremlins Only Come Out at Night?

Two days ago I issued the access code to those Interns who had progressed to week #4.  I then went away for the day, feeling happy that this task had been completed and that my hard working Interns would be delighted with the free training.

Today however I returned to discover we had a crazy htaccess error that meant that people couldn’t login to the site. Disaster!

Why do problems only seem to happen when they are the least welcome?

I’m quite sure that if I hadn’t gone away for a day or two then everything would have been smooth sailing!

So why do the gremlins only come out at night?

I’m not sure, but the fact that serious problems only seem to develop when I go away for the day is playing havoc with my desire to live the true Internet lifestyle!

Anyway, all is now fixed and the gremlins are safely tucked up in bed.

If you’re a week 4 Intern please just register again and all will now work.  I’m also going to be giving you a very nice surprise to say thanks for the patience.

I’m currently hard at work trying to develop more contingency into my business so that there is a backup system when problems like this happen. I’ll let you know how I get on in the coming days and weeks….

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Hidden Problems With the Internet Lifestyle

In an effort to become more organised I went to see my bank manager today. The aim was to set up some investment projects, and to make sure that everything was as streamlined as it possibly could be.

Except for one major problem…

As I walked down the crowded high street I couldn’t help notice a few people looking at me as though I was an alien!

It was almost as though people were staring at me as I continued to walk, and they all had a semi confused look on their face too. Very odd .

Even the bank manager was looking at me as though I was either from another planet, or had recently visited one. Never mind I thought and carried on with the rest of my morning.

It was only when I got home an hour later and looked in the mirror that I noticed that I was wearing my blue T - Shirt inside out and that I also had a pretty big hole in my shorts too. Arrghhh!!

(the hole was in the last place you would want to discover a hole in your shorts!)

No wonder people were looking at me as it must have appeared I was either tripple crazy or maybe just making a very odd fashion choice.

Anyway, I blame the Internet Lifestyle for this one…

When I was a teacher I never would have managed to stumble outside with my clothes inside out…and if I had I would have had kids teasing me about it for years!

Living the Internet Lifestyle is an incredible thing, but it does come with some hidden problems.

It’s all very well working from home in the most scruffy clothes I can find, but I must remember to get changed before I head out. How long until I end up at the bar whie still in my dressing gown?!

I’m just glad I didn’t bump into any former pupils or there would have been pictures of me and my inside out T-Shirt all over Facebook by now.

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Personal Challenges and a New Start

Well this is certainly a difficult blog post to make, and not one I’ve been looking forward to writing. Here on this blog I like to make sure that I share real life experiences with my subscribers, and I’m always telling stories from my personal life.

Because of this many subscribers know that I live in Manchester UK with my finacee, in a nice house where it rains a lot.

Well this is actually no longer the case, and a few months ago we seperated amicably, and I recently decided to move out and to leave the house to my former partner. This had nothing to do with my Internet business, and we just grew apart after 7 years together.

Anyway….

The reason I’m mentioning this is that I’m always chatting about my personal life, and so it felt odd not to mention this personal challenge (though it’s double hard to make this post).

For months I’ve worked tripple hard, but I’ve found this situation a personal challenge, which is why I’ve been working less and less for the past few months. I guess it’s hard to apply yourself as you would like when experiencing such personal difficulties.

It’s been a tricky time, but the good news is that I now feel this is all behind me, and I’m now really positive about the future again. I’m currently staying with a friend and running my business from his office, though I have no idea what I’ll be doing in the future, or where I’ll live.

The brilliant part of running an Internet business is that I have choices.

So where I go, and what I do with my life, are very much up in their air.

It’s certain I’ll continue running Lee-McIntyre.com, but I’m also strongly considering going travelling with friends for a while, and I’m also thinking about moving to another country for new experiences and adventure.

Who knows what I’ll do, but the fun part is that I have great choices available and I’m going to have fun deciding. After all, life’s too short to not make the most of every day don’t you think?

Suddenly becoming single after a 7 year relationship is quite a shock, but I’ve now wrapped my head around the idea that there’s no point regretting the past. Life is for living!

It’s been a difficult few months in my personal life, but the future looks bright once again, and I just can’t wait to see what’s now around the corner.

For now it’s full steam ahead with my Internet business once more, and an open mind about the changes and challenges that will come my way in my personal life…

Popularity: 31% [?]

Are You Making it Hard For Your Customers?

I’m currently in the process of trying to signup for a mobile broadband contract so that my laptop can connect to the net while on the move.

This summer I’d like to do a bit of travelling around, and in an ideal world I’d be able to quickly check my emails for 5 mins each morning before enjoying the rest of my day.

About 10 minutes ago I rang BT to ask a couple of really quick questions about one of their price plans. The phone rang and rang and rang, before eventually I had to go through an automated menu system.

FINALLY I was able to speak to a real person and I explained I needed information on their mobile broadband service. Before I even finished I was placed on hold, with no explanation, probably while she went away to get someone who knew the answer to my question.

About 1 minute later and she returned wanting to know my name. She didn’t explain why she needed this, so I asked. Her reply was that this was needed for her records.

I just wanted to ask a quick 10 second question!

I relented and gave my number only for her to tell me that it wasn’t coming up on her system, whatever that means. To fix this she now needed my postcode, and residential address. Arrrgghhh!

All I wanted to do was ask a QUICK question before placing an order.

What kind of crazy business practice is it where they make you jump through so many hoops just to ask a question? In the end I could take no more and politely told the lady that my brain was about to explode before gently hanging up the phone.

Do you make your customers jump through hoops? How easy is it to order from you? How easy is it to ask a question and get a reply?

If you’re not going out of your way to make the sales process as smooth as possible then there’s a good chance this is costing you sales. After all, if someone wants to give you their money you really should make it as easy as possible for them to do so!

Anyway, I’m off to see if it’s possible to get through to a human who can answer my quick question at Vodaphone...

Popularity: 30% [?]

New Free Webinar Software

I’ve just stumbled across some pretty cool Webinar software that I wanted to share.

It’s called DimDim and is absolutely packed with the kind of features you’d need from some reliable webinar software.

It uses VOIP technology (like Skype) meaning you can share your screen with people attending the webinar, and they can also contribute via voice without having to call in on a seperate phone number.

What I really like about DimDim is that people can attend your webinars without having to download any extra software, and it also works well on Macs too.

And best of all it’s FREE to use!

The free version does have some limitations, but the upgrade cost is VERY reasonable for this type of service.

Sadly it does come with a major drawback though because it doesn’t yet have the ability to record your webinars, though I read this is to be added soon.

Anyway, I spent ages looking for some Webinar software so I wanted to share.  If you have any alternative suggestions please let me know in the comments below…

Popularity: 30% [?]

Is this the Real Internet Lifestyle?

When I first started online I worked double hard and never seemed to stop.  I’d work late at night and I’d work weekends too.

Yeah I’d have the odd break here and there, but getting my online business off the ground took up a huge amount of time.

When I was also working as a teacher I didn’t see my friends for weeks.  I barely saw my family.

For about 6 months I just threw my all into everything I did online and didn’t stop until I succeeded.

Was this the best way to achieve my goals? Probably not.

Am I glad that I did this? Absolutely!

I’m sure it would have been possible to still make money online without taking my personal workloads to the edge of insanity.  But I’m glad that I took a bit of short term pain, as now I feel as though I’m really starting to enjoy the benefits.

This weekend I was feeling tired so I just decided to go away for a few days.  I dropped everything and enjoyed a mini holiday and yet the money continued to roll in.

This morning I was tired so didn’t get out of bed until 10am, and I’m now sat in the garden in the sun while typing this message. What a way to start the day!

I’m going to finish this blog post, send some emails, and then enjoy some fresh orange while reading the sports pages.  And I get to do it all on my terms while sat in the sun.

I’m even quietly debating whether to open a cold bottle of beer as not many things beat an ice cold beer when the sun is shining.

Here’s my point…

Running an Internet business can be hard. And starting one can be even harder.  It’s important to know that if  you really do want to succeed you’ll have to suffer a bit of pain while you get your business off the ground.

But the good news is that all that work is worth every second.

Yeah it’s hard getting going, but trust me that life feels pretty nice once you get to the other side. If you’re like me you’ll probably have moment of doubt where you question everything.

Where you wonder if it’s all going to be worthwhile.  When you consider whether you should be doing something else with your time.

I’m not here to tell you it’s easy.  It’s not.

But the rewards you will enjoy when you reach the other side are something that most people can only dream of.

I guess the question to be asked is ‘how badly do you want it’?

Anyway, I have a cold beer waiting for me and I really should make the most of this Manchester sunshine before the rain comes back for the rest of the summer…

Popularity: 28% [?]

What Are You Doing at 11pm Tonight?

Tonight is week # 1 of the Super List Building Webinar conference, and to say that I’m excited is an understatement.

At 11pm this evening I’m going to be teaching all about email lists to 25 other marketers and I can’t wait to get started!

Being a full time marketer is a dream, but there’s still a huge part of me that misses being a teacher.  I love sharing what I know, and helping others achieve their goals.

So I guess this is why I’m so excited…

Now I get to be a full time marketer AND I get to teach as well!

Tonight promises  to be a great event and I’m going to try and make it one to remember.

(For those looking to join the conference I should add that the course is fully booked and that all 25 seats sold out in less than 12 hours) 

Popularity: 30% [?]