January 2004
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Happy New Year!
Welcome to the January issue of the Wholesale
Marketer Newsletter, The Marketer
Monthly. We
wish all our readers a prosperous, peaceful and
happy
new year! Being as 2004 is now upon us, this
issue will
focus on goals and New Year's Resolutions. We hope
you find the articles informative and useful. If
you ever
have suggestions of what you would like to see in
future issues of the Marketer Monthly, please
let us
know.
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 Many of you may have groaned when reading the
introduction to this month's newsletter. The
idea of
setting goals and resolutions for the New Year may
have become somewhat cliché; nevertheless, it is
dreaming dreams
and
setting goals to achieve those dreams that make us
change.Setting goals is important to the success of any entrepreneur/marketer. Whether you're using the Wholesale Marketer drop shipping system to sell a multitude of products online, or just working on something of your own design, goal setting will play a vital role in your success. So if you've already started your own business, now is the time to set goals for growth, and if you haven't, what are you waiting for? It won't happen until you make it happen! Earl Nightingale, successful entrepreneur and author of The Strangest Secret, said, "People with goals succeed, because they know where they're going." This holds true whether you're seeking success in your professional career or change in your personal life. Without waxing too philosophical, it is this ability to change that makes the human creature so amazing. We can change! We can change not only who we are, but what our status in life is. British novelist George Elliot expressed this idea so inspiringly when she wrote, "It is never too late to become what you might have been." As I thought about what to write for this article, I reflected on goals that I've set and resolutions I've made in past years. I thought about both the goals that I accomplished as well as the resolutions that failed. The rest of this article is a summary of the things that have helped me to achieve success in keeping resolutions. First, before you think about what you want to
achieve
next year, I encourage you to review the past
year. Take a look at what you've achieved in 2003. As I
reviewed my accomplishments from past
years, I
was
astounded at the amount of renewed determination I
felt for the New Year. Taking stock of the
past year is often forgotten, and yet is an
essential
step to being successful. In the quest to
achieve more,
we often forget how far we've come.
I end with a quote from Shakespeare's play Measure for Measure, "Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good that we oft might win, by fearing to attempt." In the past, I have, at times, deliberately chosen not to set goals or to set very easy ones because I was afraid to fail. I believe that fear of failure is the number one reason people don't reach their dreams in life. We don't want to leave our comfort zone and therefore we trick ourselves into believing Homer Simpson when he says "Trying is the first step towards failure." The truth is, as so many great minds have expressed in so many different words, the only real failure, is the failure to keep trying. Have a Happy New Year and Clark Winegar Monthly Marketer Editor | |
 In keeping with Wholesale Marketer's quest to provide
superior service, we've spent nearly the entire month of
December identifying ways to improve and enhance
Wholesale Marketer. Our resolution is to implement
these changes step-by-step over the first half of
2004. This overhaul will include everything from a
better help desk, to improved product pricing and
selection. You can also look forward to a more robust
search function, enhanced product browsing, and
improved site design/usability.
Researching these changes, we conducted various member surveys and on-site usability tests. Our goal is to make Wholesale Marketer's great service even better, but more importantly, our goal is to make our members even more successful. We are confident that our goals for 2004 will make it easier for you to achieve your goals. You may have noticed that we've already started making some of the easy, smaller changes that our users have requested. These changes include a Lost Password Tool, Logout Button, and product IDs in our preview catalog, so our support team can easily address product questions from those who have not yet signed up for membership. Keep your eyes open for more changes in the coming months! | |
 Since the focus of this newsletter has been setting and
achieving goals, we wanted to tell you about two
services that offer help in keeping your resolutions.
The first service is absolutely free and can be found at HiAspire.com. HiAspire offers free "Resolution Reminders." Basically, you select your resolutions and HiAspire sends you periodic reminders throughout the year, so you can check your progress. Of course, since it is a free service, the reminder emails are filled with ads for services that might help you achieve your goals. It's a tricky way for them to get ads into your inbox, but for the free reminders, we think it's worth it. Plus, we've tried it, and they don't abuse the advertising privilege by flooding your inbox with emails everyday, there are just a few links along with your periodic reminder message. In addition to the reminders, HiAspire also offers a unique chat room where you can get support from people with similar goals or find a "Resolution Buddy" If you think you need even more help, www.MyGoals.com provides a more robust service for a small monthly fee. They allow you to build custom goal plans or choose from a large selection of pre-made goal plans. You can choose when you want to receive email reminders and what you want them to say, and you can view your plan and calendar online. There's also a lot of great articles and resources provided freely to anyone (The Goal Setting Tips section is particulary useful). If you've had a hard time sticking to your resolutions in the past, one of these services might just give you the extra motivation you need to reach your marketing goals. |
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