Posting or Optimizing - The Chicken and Egg Question of Online Marketing

I've said before on this blog that web marketing is hard, tedious work. It takes a lot of time.  I came across a site yesterday, and it is one of many programs, that claims to provide you with a way of setting up your web based, work from home business, without having to understand a lot of the technical stuff that goes with it.

Now, I know there's a lot to learn. I'm pretty sure that plunking down some money to some web hosting company, whose programs have all the "bells and whistles", would be easier. That may give me an edge on getting my blog or web page out there. But if you don't have the money, you have to do the slogging and the legwork. That is precisely what this blog is about. The slogging, the false starts, the frustration, the learning curve. I hope it will eventually be about the victory.

I find it gets discouraging when you listen to these presentations and think, "Boy, I'd sure like to just do the fun stuff" or "I had no idea about "metatags" or "links? what links? How do I get links?" You think you've gotten a handle on the process, but then you realize how little you actually know. And the bills keep piling up. Ever notice they seem BIGGER when you don't have a steady income stream!?!

Of course, I hope to understand all this stuff eventually, and to pass on what I've learned to others. Maybe, for you, the way to go is to buy they programs that the hosters offer. Whatever you choose to do, I hope it makes your work at home dreams come true!

The question of what to do first, as stated in my title, is kind of circular, just like the debate of the chicken and the egg. In reality, though, since life was created, the chicken came first, and reproduced after its kind, so I need a "chicken", a content rich blog or website. Then, with some "meat" to work with, I build the other stuff around it.

I have been busy in the background, building relationships, inviting people I 'meet' online, to check out my blog, offer feedback. I do the same for them. I think its only fair. "Do unto others, as you would have them do to you." Excellent principle. Help others and they will do the same for you.

I have, as a result, some "followers" some comments and a feeling of reaching some sort of goal.

The goal of all sites is TRAFFIC. Ultimately, your goal is to make a living. Traffic translates eventually into business.