Bob's Work Site

Category: Tools

Tools available in ecommerce

  • IAmAlive-Day5

    I Am Alive Challenge Day 5

    Click here is to see the day 5 video for the IAmAliveChallenge

    Three things I am putting on my to do list with high priority.

    1. Figure out how others are getting their 3Speak videos in their posts. WordPress does not recognized the 3Speak links as video. I will just have to play with it.
    2. Figure out how not to get both my video and the post with my soon to be video on ctptalk. I haven’t reached the point where people want to see it twice yet.
    3. I want to make an intro for my video with a bee flying around. This my take me a while.

    Those 3 ‘To Do’s’ will keep me busy for a while. Hopefully not too long. To day was going so well. I got my video done earlier than usual. But then 3Speak didn’t want to co-operate. I had to try 5 times before my video successfully encrypted. That took a while. The worst part was that all the information about the video has to be re-entered. You would think that you could reuse that information. Guess not.

    Erik @flaxz and Bradley @bradleyarrow have been putting in a lot of work to enhance the IAmAliveChallenge. There is now a Discord site for IAmAlive which provides a great place to get information and answer. Bradley created a ‘curation-trail. What the heck is a curation trail? I had the exact same question. Hopefully, I can explain it. A Curation Trail (or train as keep wanting to type) is a group of Hive members who elect to follow the Curation (up voting) of the trail’s leader. So when Bradley up votes a post or video or whatever everyone in the curation trail votes for the same thing automatically. A curation trail helps people earn crypto faster.

    So that brings another day to a close please join us in the IAmAliveChallenge on the Hive. Do you realize you get paid for your activity on the Hive? You do. Get your free ebook to get started in the IAmAliveChallenge. http://trckapp.com/get-iamalive

    Until Tomorrow,
    Bob Caine

  • IAmAliveChallenge-Day4

    I Am Alive Challenge – Day 4

    I just realized that my last 2 posts never posted. I have no idea what happened to them. I remember saving drafts while I was writing them. I remember previewing them and I remember publishing them. But nothing. A few minutes ago I lost the start of this post right after I saved the draft. They are nowhere to be found. You can bet I will copy this post before I get out of it. (I just tried saving and it never told me it was saved. Something weird is going on.) (Just tried saving again after previewing and it worked.) OK, onward.

    Since my last two posts disappeared here are the links to my day 2, 3 and 4 videos for the IAmAliveChallenge because I know you have been in suspense waiting to see them and be able to comment on what I need to do to improve.

    1. IAmAliveChallenge Video – Day 2
    2. IAmAliveChallenge Video – Day 3
    3. IAmAliveChallenge Video – Day 4

    Now I am back to where I wanted to start this post. I am really starting to have fun with the IAmAliveChallenge. I am sure what is making it fun for me is learning the video software, OBS. OBS is one of those open source programs which is out to prove they are just as good, if not better, than the most expensive commercially available equivalent. I am not sure what that is for a video program but OpenOffice and LibreOffice are two Microsoft Office competitors which are free and do all the same things. Was also using OpenShot Video Editor but at least for the time being don’t seem to need it.

    Originally, I would shoot the video, use Canva to make a title and then use OpenShot to add the title, clip the start and end of the video to elminate dead air and create the video. It worked but I did not think the videos looked very professional. Check out some of my earlier videos to see what I mean.

    Now I am strictly using OBS. With OBS, you make scenes that use different resources. You can mix media in a scene. For example, part of the screen can be showing you live, next of a video on the internet, both above scrolling text. I don’t know about you but I think that is pretty impressive. You create a scene for each combination of resources you need and switch between the scenes with the push of a key.

    So far I have only scratched the surface of what OBS can do. I have added a sound track to and image I use for my title page. Of course, I have just a live shot, and I have the live shot combined with an image and scrolling text. I need to improve on my switching between scenes. The only disadvantage I have found with OBS is you need to be ready to speak when you start recording or streaming. Having a title page helps offset that problem. Plus, there is always OpenShot if I need to edit a video.

    Until Tomorrow,
    Bob Caine

    P.S. Come join us in the IAmAliveChallenge. Get your free ebook telling you how here. The challenge uses blockchain technology so you get paid for all your content. Join Us it is FUN.

  • IAmAlive Challenge

    I Am Alive Challenge

    I have missed quite a few days blogging. The first couple of days I just couldn’t think of anything to write about. Trying come up with some ideas, I managed to find several ‘rabbit holes’ that just consumed my days. I kept telling myself ’10 more minutes’ and a couple of hours later, I would still be there. I want to thank @flaxz for ending mental funk and getting me back on track with his great new ebook ‘I Am Alive’.

    I saw @flaxz ebook in the CTP gauntlet. I downloaded it right away and read it shortly after that. Some how, some where, I totally missed all information about the IAmAliveChallenge. I noticed today by posts in CTPtalk.com that this is the 18th day for the challenge. I can’t ever make up the time I missed, but I am officially throwing my hat in the ring and entering the challenge.

    This post will be my first entry into the IAmAliveChallenge. From what I read in the book, I think I was suppose to make a video on 3Speak to get started. I will do that tomorrow .

    To me one of the best things about this challenge, is that it will force me to use the Hive Blockchain Technology. From what I have seen so far, back when we were on Steem, is the passwords and getting paid to do things like posting or curating others posts. Getting paid to post is a good thing.

    Any of you who have not read ‘I Am Live’ should do so. You can download it by clicking on the ebook.

    I have to cut this short today. I still have to add an email to my list’s emails. I am writing this in WordPress. As I understand it, SteemPress will get my post to all the right places on the Hive. Fingers Crossed. Until Tomorrow.

    Bob Caine is in the Challenge

  • Better at Sunset than I was at Sunrise

    Better at sunset than I was at sunrise. Any of you who have listen to or read posts by @jongolson have probably heard him use that phase. If you could say that everyday of your life, you would die a very wise and knowledgeable person. For me personally, I have had many days when that wasn’t true and there have even been days when the exact opposite is true. Today, while frustrating, qualifies as a day when I do know more tonight than I did this morning.

    I spent the first half of the day becoming more familiar with the Hive. I feel a little more comfortable about using the Hive than I did over the weekend. At least I can find my blog and my wallet but I am still confused CPTTalk.com and whether to use it or not. It is apparently still on Steem and whether it moves or not is still in question. I have enough trouble with one blockchain. Heaven forbid if I have to use 2. So I gained knowledge this morning but I don’t have much to show for it.

    The second half of the day was consumed by video. I needed to make a video and edit for a lead capture page I want to make. To make the video I used a program call OBS. OBS is free and has so much capability it is unbelievable. I can’t image the most expense video creation software having more functionality. It is all this functionality that makes it confusing to a neophyte like me. All I wanted to do is make a video as I scrolled down the ClickTrackProfit Training Lessons. I am sure that it is simple for someone who knows what they are doing but I found more ways to mess it up and start over than you can believe.

    What I finally ended up with is the training lessons scrolling with me in a small window inserted in the corner narrating. This is certainly better than my original plan but took a lot more learning. I would watch a tutorial video and think, ‘Oh, that’s neat I need to do that.’ Finally, I had to cut myself off from watch YouTube videos or I would probably still be adding bells and whistles to that video. What I did learn will help me in the future, if I can remember how to do it, but today it was frustrating because I did not expect it to take as long as it did to create the video.

    Now that I had the video, I needed to edit it. Again free software loaded with features called OpenShot. All I needed to do was trim some of the video off the front and back. This definitely should not be hard. But it took me more than a dozen attempts to succeed. It was not obvious to me how the trim tool worked. I had a heck of time finding a video showing me how to trim. Probably because no one else has a problem. Again, I learned a lot I didn’t need for today but will serve me well in the future. Now I just have to incorporate my 6 hour (effort) video in my lead capture page. I am saving that for tomorrow.

    Once I post this to my blog, I quit for today. I do know more tonight than I did this morning. Hopefully, the same is true tomorrow.

    All Comments Encouraged and Welcomed,
    Bob Caine
    @rcaine

  • Results Are In

    I would like to thank everyone who used their time to provide their thoughts on yesterday’s post. I ask whether people thought a HitsConnect tracking link, software for tracking advertising results, should work in CTP’s Gauntlet, a feature designed to provide feedback on web page design, should work or not. Well, the results are in and I want to share them with everyone.

    I didn’t have to spend much time analyzing the results. The were unanimous. 100% of the responses thought that a HitsConnect tracking link did not have to work in the Gauntlet since the Gauntlet is not suppose to be an advertising platform. I yield to the unanimous opinion. I will never bring it up again.

    The other question that occurred several times in the responses was, “Why would anyone use a HitsConnect tracking link in a non-advertising environment?”

    My answer to that question is, “I consider the Gauntlet as part of my testing of a new page and I want test my page exactly as it will run live.” I am sure I can attribute that philosophy to my 40+ years of delivering software to clients who expect perfect results. And, believe me, no matter how much we thought every scenario had been tested, the client would find one we never imagined.

    My favorite example of this is a system where the user entered the quantity of a product to be shipped to a store. There was a limited number of stores on a page and the user expected to complete 1 page at a time. We delivered the software after extensive testing. In less than 4 hours I get a call that says it doesn’t work. I talked with the user and the problem was that they could enter data past the end of the page. We test more and could not produce the result the user was describing. I went back to the user and ask them to show me. I watched and they were right and I saw the problem. They knew how to type and were not looking at the screen while entering data. None of the programmers knew how to type so they watched the screen as they entered data. The programmers saw they were ate the end of the screen and the users didn’t. We made a very small change that stopped the user after the last store and made a noise to let them know. Problem solved.

    Enough said, I am moving on in search of my next windmill. Thank you all again for your input.

    I look forward to your feedback to help me improve,
    Bob Caine

    PS – I switched pictures because It dawned on me that a real photo is probably more credible than a caricature.

  • I Have to DE-CLUTTER First

    I have to de-clutter first.

    Yesterday, I was so befuddled about how to put a marketing plan together, it woke me up early. After thinking about it most of the day, I finally came up with a starting point at least. What I came up with is not a full blown marketing plan. It is more a plan for what I need to do to advertise more efficiently. If I am more efficient, I should be able to put a plan together.

    So I thought about where does all my time go when I want to start marketing something new. Most of it goes to entering urls into traffic exchanges and sending emails. I can spend hours going from one traffic exchange to another enter the new urls. It dawned on me I have the solution to this – ROTATORS.

    I use HitsConnect as my tracking software and it has rotators. Why don’t I put HitsConnect rotator URLs in the traffic exchanges instead of the direct links. I am sure many others have thought of this but it was an original idea to me today. If I use rotator urls then I can change what link I am showing in multiple sites by just changing it in HitsConnect. Also, this sets me up for split testing. Just add the urls to be split tested in the rotator, drive the traffic to the rotator and, poof, I am split testing. The only other thing I need to do is reset the counters.

    How easy is that? I don’t even have to type what is entered into the rotator. HitsConnect provides a list of all the urls entered and I just have to check the ones I want in the rotator. There is a couple of complications with this method.

    1. There are some traffic exchanges that don’t allow rotators. I assume this is because only one site is verified when a link is added. So a rotator could ‘hide’ a site that does not meet the te’s rules. But I am going to give it a try. The traffic exchange will let me know if I do something wrong. I will just have to keep a list of those TE’s that reject my rotators.
    2. To me the bigger problem is the HitsConnect urls. I have run into several sites that when I use HitsConnects tracking urls, they won’t verify when checked or they verify but don’t display. The original url displays fine, the tracking url displays fine outside the traffic exchange but do not display in the TE. (HitsConnect says this is because the traffic exchange hasn’t updated something.) So I will just have to use a different rotator. I will add these to the list too.

    Hopefully, the list doesn’t of problem TE’s doesn’t get to long or this idea won’t work as well as I think. So, tomorrow I will start changing the sites displayed in the TE’s to rotators. That will easily take all day, maybe more.

    I didn’t intend for this to be a review of HitsConnect but it did. I really believe rotators are the way to go and once I get all the traffic exchanges converted I will save time. At least, I won’t have to wonder about what is being displayed on what traffic exchange reducing elminating that clutter from my mind.

    Until Next Time,
    Bob Caine

  • Question Answered

    Question Answered

    Angry Crab

    If you read yesterday’s post, you will remember that I found the Angry Crab badge. Every time I found that badge before, the next day the Angry Crab surf badges replace the more common Turtle surf badges. So I speculated that if you found the Angry Crab badge one day, the next day would have the Angry Crab surf badges.

    Now I can tell you for sure that this is not true. I did not have the Angry Crab surf badges today. Darn it. So I guess I will agree what one surfer told me. The Angry Crab surf badges appear randomly. I will just have to surf SeaLifeHits each day and see which surf badges are used that day.

    The CTP SealifeHits Mastery challenge requires surfing 1000 sites 10 times with the Angry Crab surf badges. I have 3 out of 10. Who knows how long completing this task is going to take me but I will bet not as long as one of the CupofTraffic tasks.

    It dawned on me that not everyone reading my posts is a member of ClickTrackProfit and therefore doesn’t know about the mastery challenges. CTP is one of the best, if not the best, training hubs on the internet. The mastery challenges are exercises which encourage you to use your training to accomplish specific tasks and “MASTER” a particular internet site. There are seven mastery challenges. They are

    All but one of the challenges requires getting referrals to join the program and all but two require earning a certain amount of commission. Other common tasks require surfing sites for the traffic exchanges, read and writing a number of emails for the mailers. Again, these tasks are designed to create good affiliate marketing habits; e.g., creating posts like this one or regularly sending emails, and not meant to be easy.

    But there is one task in particular that I just don’t understand its purpose or at least the ‘why’ for length of time it will take. CupofTraffic has one task, Login Points, that will require almost 3 years to complete. When you login to CupofTraffic the first time each day, you receive one half of a point (.5). 500 points are needed to complete this task. That’s 1000 days of logging into CupofTraffic or 2 years and 270 days. What am I learning after say 180 days of logging in? This seems a little excessive to me maybe too excessive for me to bother with this challenge. What do you think? Let me know in your comments. (If there is a way to get more than .5 points in a day, I haven’t figured it out.)

    I will talk more about the Mastery challenges in future posts and keep you up to date on my progress.

  • It Has Been A Good Day

    It Has Been A Good Day

    It has been a good day. I actually managed to get everything done that I wanted on a day that had additional commitments. The plumber was here fixing a leak I have in the basement. This has reeked havoc with all the rain we have had in Alabama the last 3 weeks. And, the real time killer was taking our 7 month old, 75 pound puppy, Sarge. to training. It is fun and with a large dog necessary.

    Back to today’s accomplishments

    • I installed and used SteemPress. Now I can create my post in WordPress and it is automatically posted in Steemit as well. I still need to figure out tags but thanks to a comment by @lisamgentile, I learn about default tags which helps. Pictures transfer fine and the posts show up in Steemit very quickly. This is going to be a big help.
    • I completed my 3rd ‘surf 1000 sites’ on SeaLifeHits with the AngryCrab surf badges. Only need 7 more to complete the ‘Surf More’ Mastery task. I hope the Angry Crab surf badges show up tomorrow but that is not likely from what I know.
    • I did some work on cleaning up my blog bobswork.com but still have a lot to do. It has been so long since I used a WordPress blog that I am going to have to relearn a bunch of stuff.
    • I did 4 lessons in the CTP training. I would have liked to have done more but time didn’t allow more.
    • I did several Scavenger hunt’s on CTP.
    • And finally, I had enough time to write this post.

    Hopefully, I can be as productive tomorrow as I was today. I need to

    • Start cleaning up my blog
    • Create the second splash page I need for the SeaLifeHits Mastery Challenge
    • Of course create a new post in my quest to post 366 days in a row
    • Do the normal surfing necessary.
    • Do some CTP training
    • Comment on posts on Steemit and CTPtalk

    We will see what tomorrow brings.

    PS – As always, your comment are not ony welcome, they are encouraged. The only way I am going to get better is with your help. Thank You

  • Let’s Try SteemPress

    Let’s Try SteemPress

    Okay, I have copied the posts I already had on Steem. Now it is time to see how it works so this particular post will be short. What I hope to learn is

    • Did I set up everything correctly and this post gets to Steem
    • How long does it take for the post to get to Steem
    • Do pictures transfer
    • Do tags transfer
    • More questions I am sure once I see what happens.

    Angry CrabBefore I try this I do have to let everyone know the Angry Crabs are back today. YEAH! Personally, I hope they stay for a week but I know they won’t. I just have to take them as they come. After I surf 1000 sites today I will have 3 of 10 1000 site surfs with Angry Crab surf badges I need.

    Ok, lets see how SteemPress works. Hopefully I will have time this afternoon for another post.

  • Splash Page for SLH Mastery

    angrycrab.png

    First, the SeaLifeHits surf badges are the usual Turtles today not Angry Crabs.  Maybe tomorrow.

    Yesterday, I told you I was going to work on the splash pages I needed to qualify for SeaLifeHits Mastery challenge in ClickTrackProfits. I got one done. Here is what I came up with.

    Attacking Fish

    I would love to know what you think about it. The more feedback I can get the better. So, please, take a few seconds, view the page and let me know what you think – good and bad. I really appreciate your time and efforts to provide feedback.

    Also, as predicted yesterday, creating this squeeze page took me a lot longer than it should. As you probably noticed, I used Adkreator to create the page. It made creating the page fairly easy. The thing that slowed me down the most was picking a template to use. There is almost 200 squeeze page templates and I looked at every one before I picked one. Then, I had to figure out a workaround for an Adkreator limitation. It doesn’t provide a way to assign a URL to the button. I got around this by making the whole page a link. You got to do what you got to do.

    I call it a limitation but I think it actually is an advantage for many part-time affiliate marketers. Adkreator is designed to produce very professional looking graphics for those of us who have no desire to become graphic artists. It is not uncommon to reduce functionality in order to make use easier. I think Adkreator has done an outstanding job combining ease of use with functionality. I am sure you have used software that has so much functionality that it becomes very difficult to use.

    This was very true of the video editor I used called VideoPad by NCH Software. This software lets you combine videos, add images, modify sound tracks and I am sure much, much more. All I needed to do was create a short clip from a longer video. Creating the short clip was no problem but saving it. I found another one of my workarounds to save the clip. I exported it and that seems to have saved it but I still don’t know how to just save an edited video even after reading and watching all the tutorials. Maybe I will figure it out next time I use the software.

    Now I need to move on to the second splash page I need (no guarantee it will be done tomorrow) and continue my quest for Angry Crabs.

    image.png

    PS – As always your constructive comments are not only welcome but encourage. I can’t get better without your help. Thank you in advance.#ctp#clicktrackprofit#bobcaine#sealifehits