I frequently get support tickets from new members, bemoaning the fact that they are newbies and are not quite sure how to do this, that or something else, and are embarassed to post in a chat somewhere for fear of being teased about their questions… Seriously?

We were ALL newbies at one point!!! In 1995, I thought the internet was a “cute little thing,” in my mind like a pet rock… here today and gone tomorrow….

I had been working with computers at my newspaper job beginning in 1976, but it was a mainframe the size of most bathrooms, and monitors and keyboards attached to the mainframe by a snake-like pile of cables.

Then, 20 years later, my daughter came home from college and told me how the computers at her school were all connected and you could talk to people elsewhere…. Who of us is old enough to remember trying to connect… the interminable BEEP bahh BEEP bahh… as we tried to connect by phone line to the internet and if someone called us, it would kick us offline…

It opened a whole new world for us computer pioneers and we went nuts, trying every kind of program and chat… trying to keep track of it all was kind of like herding cats (Mama says, “Now you be talkin’ my language!)

Get the picture….

I’ve only been in TE ownership for coming-up three years… and I made all the mistakes newbies make… working my way through PTRs, PTCs and the early TEs… joining every program that came across my desk. (And she didn’t always make them good choices… lost big bucks in scams and programs that jus’ disappeared… Hush, Mama, don’t be telling all our secrets!)

So I tell those who ask, start slow… find a couple of programs you REALLY like… get comfortable with the INs and OUTs of how it works… play the games and do the promos… use your credits to advertise, build a downline, and slowly find new sites to join. Then, if you like what you see, invest in that site and upgrade. Upgrades can bring you additional opportunities to earn and credits to spend. Look for sites that don’t promise the world by doing nothing, and most definitely, READ THE TERMS OF SERVICE (TOS)!!!

Look for programs that are NOT generic… I cringe every time I open an email and it says “Welcome to all New Members, Welcome Back To All Existing Members
“Thank you to all for choosing (insert TE name here) for your advertising needs.”

I tell them to look for sites that put some of the owners feelings and personality into their site. My early models were TopFlightTraffic with the late great Randy Ritter and Tezak’s (now Tezzers) with Tony Tezak, not late but still great!

I recently saw a meme on facebook and have shared it widely:

If you FAIL, never give up because it means “First Attempt In Learning”

END is not the end, it just means “Effort Never Dies”

If you get NO as an answer, remember it means “Next Opportunity”

Positive thinking is powerful!!

So, for now… K.I.S.S… and be good to each other….