From: "Ian Brooks" <webmaster@wisewolf.com>
Hi
I've read in the last couple of issues that you want to hear from those
people who have a success story to tell your readers. Here is mine.
I wrote, and had published, an article in your newsletter a while back about
that I used to work for PIYB (that unspeakable name on most of your readers
lips) and that in the end when everyone else was loosing their money I lost
my long distance job and was left in debt because my owed wages were never
paid. Anyway, enough boo..hoo
Since I first started to encounter trouble with PIYB in December of 1999 I
decided that I should try and set-up something of my own and utilise what
knowledge I had gained from my time online over the past 18 months. After a
bit of thinking I decided I would use my VB programming knowledge to create
an application that would help online marketers show their sites, services
or products to the world both on internet and straight onto people's
desktops. I checked out with a few people first my idea and then sat down
and started the task of coding it.
A few weeks went by, days and evenings spent coding and testing and finally
I came up with version one of Wise Wolf Pages. I had spent a lot of time
trying to make the software not only function well, but also look fairly
neat as people, especially internet dwellers, like thinks that look tidy.
When all looked well and functioned well I released the software to the
masses.
After a couple of weeks of people downloading and using the software and me
fixing minor problems, people told me the software was great at first, but
they couldn't see there was any great long lasting use in the software for
them. People needed more from the software so that both they and their
potential customers would keep on using it. I busily began updating the
program and adding ideas in that people had thrown my way.
Eventually after releasing version 3 of the software I had amassed over
1,000 users of the software, which I was very proud of because I had taken
an idea, built it into something solid (well electronic) and go other people
interested in using it. As I have also been fond of saying "Take an acorn,
plant it and it may eventually grow, but you won't know unless you do".
Around the time of releasing version 3, I was moving address from Birmingham
in the UK to London with my girlfriend and her daughter. When we finally
moved in I had to wait 2 weeks for the telephone line to be put in as the
telephone company kept on making mistakes and somehow managed to 'blow up'
the exchange box on our street!! Yes, that's right they blew up the exchange
putting in my telephone line!! LOL
In the time I spent off line, because of no telephone or internet
connection, I decided to update Wise Wolf Pages again and this time make it
do other things that would encourage people to use it and keep on using it.
I did a lot of coding and thinking and finally came up with version 4,
released it when the phone line was installed and sat back and waited.
In just over 1 week I had 400 downloads of the software and I hadn't even
submitted it to the software archives around the internet yet!! This made
me feel great and made me think that a lot of work is paying off at last.
People are now using the software to promote their sites by using it's
categorised advertising system, web adverts and incorporation of their
banners into the software. People are also getting very excited about the
other features I added in so that they are assured to get some traffic to
their web sites by using the software. Quite a few people also paid the $15
registration fee I asked, although it is not actually necessary for them to
pay as the software never expires. Users are also making money from the
affiliate program I have set up for them.
So all those dark thoughts I was having around December 1999 are now finally
disappearing and I am looking forward to a better future on the net. I may
not become mega rich, but my main priority is to make a difference and
hopefully one day see that acorn grow into the tree I was talking about.
If people want so see what Wise Wolf Pages 4 is all about then they can
visit http://www.wisewolf.com and take a look and if
they want join a
community of marketers that do their marketing by using a small application
that sits on their desktops then they should download it and give it a go!!
If I could give one piece of advice to your readers, then it would be if
they have a good idea then try and put it into action as you never know what
may happen. Give it a go as you won't know until you try.
Thanks for a great newsletter,
Ian Brooks
------------------------------------
Wise Wolf Promotions
Get FREE software to promote your site, service or product at:
http://www.wisewolf.com
--------------------------------------