Why I'm So Happy I Joined the Freedom Weekend Workshop

When Mr. Jomar Hilario came to Cebu for a 3-day Internet Marketing Workshop and VA Seminar, I was blessed enough to join the event and it was such an eye-opening experience. I learned so many neat stuff that I'm still digesting things until now. Seriously, it was such an enjoyable experience.

The best thing I took away from this experience is gaining new friends who are such nice people.

Day 1 -- VA Seminar

The best thing I learned from this seminar is the importance of having confidence in yourself and always being open to new experiences. They say the only thing constant in this life is change so learning should never stop. Acquiring new skills is not enough, we need to hone those skills and find ways to become better at what we do.

Another useful information that I picked up is the importance of becoming familiar with new software and keyboard shortcuts. Seriously, shortcuts can make or break your day. Something as simple as switching tabs and copy-paste shortcuts can save you some much needed time in the long run.

What really cracked me up was this warning for Virtual Assistants and other people who work from home. Ready for it? "Your bed is nearby." Seriously! You have to take into consideration that working at home means you're AT HOME. It's not just your bed that's nearby, so is your fridge, your family, your kids, your pets, so many reasons to step away from the computer. The lesson here is being disciplined and being focused. You see, distractions will always be there, whether you're working from home or at the office so it really all boils down to your determination to stay focused no matter what. The last part is based on my own experience. :)

Days 2 & 3 -- Internet Marketing Workshop

You know what I really liked about the workshop? The fact that it was "hands-on". As in everyone gets the chance to go through all the steps with Sir Jomar, then review it with a fellow student, and then we can do the steps on our own. I like Sir Jomar's teaching style, very up front and direct without being too intrusive. He and other students who have already been through the workshop really helps each one of us. My favorite part has to be the "hands-on" experience. It made everything so real and simple. The steps are all there for us to follow. Learning while doing, now that's my cup of tea.

The best and perhaps most memorable information that I learned from the workshop is "Dreamboards".

Dreamboards ... I first heard of this word from Bo Sanchez in one of his audio talks and it has stuck with me since. I have written down a list of dreams, which was inspired by his book, How to Know If Your Dreams Are God's Dreams. For some reason I never got around to coming up with my own dreamboard. I kept editing and rewriting my dreams list but just didn't feel motivated enough to look for pictures and other stuff to add to my own dreamboard.

Dreamboards are visual representation of our dreams and what we want to achieve in life. It can be anything from pictures to magazine posters to training certification -- virtually anything that best describes what we want to happen in our life. This was explained in detail by Sir Jomar and he even showed us his dreamboards.

And oh, Sir Jomar also said the Mac is the best. I think I'll add that to my dreamboard. :)

Perhaps the most practical lesson I learned from this activity is the importance of planning. Research, planning, implementation, follow through and monitoring, documenting results and applying the lessons learned. At least that's what I've been doing since the Freedom Weekend.

I also learned to appreciate the importance of having mentors. Learning from experts really helps. People who have already "been there, done that" and are willing to share their knowledge with the world are out there, all we need to do is find them.

Plus, the freebies, so many freebies! Bonus materials that we can't find anywhere and pdf files that allows us to review the whole workshop from start to finish. So cool!

I'm really looking forward to doing the assignments. Procrastination is the enemy and I intend to defeat it no matter how hard it gets! Bit by bit, little by little, right? I'm inspired and I'm not afraid to show it.

It was called the Freedom Weekend and it was the most appropriate way to describe it. So many of my old belief systems have been uprooted and I'm hoping that with God's help I can get rid of the most difficult ones to uproot. I intend to fight old habits with new, improved ones, starting right now!

Advanced Web Ranking & Advanced Link Manager -- SEO Simplified

Advanced Web Ranking truly is one of the most effective SEO tools that simplifies the way we determine and manage search engine ranking, in my experience. From the most basic to the most complex SEO tasks, this software handles everything smoothly and efficiently with no glitches or problems whatsoever.

Seldom have I encountered a Search Engine Ranking tool that works seamlessly, without causing any confusion for its users. Right from the start, the instructions and the processes are clear-cut and user-friendly. Nearly all SEO requirements are right where I need it, with short bursts of useful information right there on the tool itself to guide me along the way. As a first-time user of the software, I am impressed at how easy it was to set up and activate new projects.

Creating a project is very easy — I just opened the program, clicked on the new project menu and I was on my way to building my first project. All I had to do was follow the quick and easy steps, choose the search engines that I wanted to follow, add my chosen keywords, enter my website and off I go. I got the results really fast, thorough and accurate, covering everything that I wanted to check and track. The Advanced Web Ranking tool is brilliant and surely a welcome addition to the SEO software market.

First of all, the software provides so many options for keyword research. Naturally, keyword research is one of the basic fundamentals of any campaign. Accuracy is important; otherwise, it takes longer to reach your goals. Advanced Web Ranking does not just offer ordinary keyword research and analysis; it also has relevant and useful options like Keyword Suggestions and Keyword Builder, which makes finding more targeted key phrases much easier.

Keyword Research can be quite tricky, but with Advanced Web Ranking, different variations of keyword research can be done all in one place, with accurate results that are very useful for SEO. Plus, importing keyword is automated, which saves time and a whole lot of effort and giving me more time to spend on other tasks that are just as important. With so many options to choose from, I can just decide which ones I want to keep tracking. The Intelligent update feature allows me to do just that — I only search for and get the results that I really need and save lots of time in the process.

And then there’s the automated updates — this feature is by far the most appealing, especially if you run an SEO business. I can set a schedule for all of my projects to be updated simultaneously, even while I’m sleeping. Plus, the projects are organised. No more sorting through hundreds of projects, searching for the one I want to review or update. I can find everything I need to know about my chosen projects in less time. What’s more, I even get the option to receive an alert in case one of my websites does not appear on the search engines. Less hassle for me and I can take immediate action to find and correct the error, whatever it may be.

The best part about this tool is the fact that it allows me to do more research and comparative analysis about my competitors all in one place. It offers access to over a thousand search engines, which allows me to monitor my Website Ranking as often as I want. Add to that the printable reports that are ready for export in these formats: HTML, PDF, XLS, XML, TXT and CSV; automatic upload of reports to websites through an FTP server; or email reports that can be automatically sent to clients without having to worry about doing those tasks manually. The personalised reports, which can easily be integrated into my company report templates makes this part of the business a whole lot easier. Throw in scheduled backups and updates for all projects and we’ve got a frontrunner SEO tool here!

The fun part about the whole experience is that while I was using the Advanced Web Ranking software, I was able to explore so many nuances of search engine optimisation for my websites that it was like entering a whole new world of possibilities. I find all the new features and nifty gadgets very useful. This Keyword Research Tool is extremely powerful and excellent in quality.

And the amazing SEO experience doesn’t stop there. Advanced Link Manager is now available as well. I tried the software and like Advanced Web Ranking, this one doesn’t disappoint. In fact, I’m impressed by its many functions. Virtually everything that an SEO professional needs for Link Building and Link Popularity can be found in this amazing tool.

One of the most efficient features that Advanced Link Manager offers is the domain analysis function. This tool allows you to analyse multiple domains — whether your own domains, your partner websites or your competitors — seamlessly integrating all the necessary tasks required in website optimisation. This Link Manager tool helps users find ways to enhance on page optimisation based on a thorough analysis of web pages. Not only that, finding prospective link partners is such a breeze, it’s even possible to link to your partners, both existing and new ones, and automatically upload them to your website.

Launching link exchange campaigns has never been this easy. Finding potential partners and actually setting up web pages that link to them used to be either too expensive or time consuming. But with Advanced Link Manager, the whole process has become such a pleasant experience. This tool does almost everything for me — finding link partners is so easy and fast; the domain analysis results are really accurate; and the tool automatically creates and uploads new web pages with my partners’ links — all in record time. When the project was ready, all I had to do was set the parameters, schedule updates, and then I could conveniently manage and monitor my projects and get regular updates based on my preferences.

The best part about both Advanced Web Ranking and Advanced Link Manager is the scheduled reports, which are automatically prepared and sent to all clients. Multiple reports can even be produced, updated and sent on a regular basis to each client. Plus, all projects are organised for easy access; the days of painstakingly searching for a specific project is over. The software also enables users to make a backup for all projects and then schedule periodical backups after that.

I’m quite keen on using Advanced Web Ranking and Advanced Link Manager for all of our SEO projects. The possibilities for growth, research and development is endless that why I’m really looking forward to exploring every feature of these tools. I’m sure our clients will be very pleased when they receive the weekly project reports on time, every time. Now that is every SEO business owner’s dream!