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Trip Away
Unfortunately, training took a bit of a back seat this week due to my vacation in “sunny” Melbourne. It was a bit of a shock to the system as far as the temperature was concerned. Up here in Cairns, we’re used to at least 20c overnight and 30c during the day. Down there, daytime temperatures didn’t even reach the overnight Cairns temps.
My mother-in-law is doing reasonably well considering her age and mental state. She was over the moon to see us and had completely forgotten that we were even coming. It is so sad to see what she looks like now compared to how we remember her. She is so thin and getting her to eat is very difficult. She just has no appetite and lives on toasted cheese and ham sandwiches. She turns her nose up at anything that is remotely healthy and sustaining. She spends most of her time in bed and rarely gets up to socialise with the other residents. I thought she must be so bored as she never watches TV or does anything to stimulate her brain. Although she said she does read her books, she says!
As I mentioned in last week’s blog, the care home she is in is beautiful. It’s like a 5-star hotel. My wife and I were invited to dinner on two nights we were there. I was so impressed I wanted to know when I could move in. I’m not quite old enough just yet; maybe after I turn 70 later this year, I asked hopefully. I hope and pray it will not be the last time we see her. If she’s anything like my own mother, she’ll be around for years yet. She’s a stubborn but adorable old bird!
Update on TikTok
I haven’t done much with the business this week. I did make two videos which gained some views. In the first, I was complaining about the 200 jail where the views on most videos I’ve made have failed to get over 300. Sure enough, this one limped up to the 200 mark and then petered out. I added a comment with a “LOL” for a laugh.
The second one was more serious and didn’t mention affiliate marketing or make references to my website. It was my own personal statement on the horrific news I had seen on TV in the motel room. There had been a stabbing incident in a shopping mall in Sydney where six innocent bystanders had been killed and several others injured, including a 9-month-old baby. The child’s mother was one of those killed. Within hours, another incident occurred, also in Sydney, where a 16-year-old had attacked a bishop with a knife during a church service.
As you can imagine, it was an appalling state of affairs and I just felt I had to go online to express my horror and disbelief that things like this could be happening in Australia.
Positive Vibes
If you remember from my last post, my follower count was up to about 400. I don’t know what happened but from that point it seemed to snowball. Even before the posting of the last two videos, I’d been attracting more and more followers. I’d wake up in the morning to find another 30 or so had been added overnight. By the time I got back to Cairns on Friday, the followers had pushed past the magical 1000 barrier. I’d been averaging over 100 new followers per day since the previous Sunday.
This is what I don’t understand; the views and likes on the videos were nothing to write home about and yet more and more people were becoming my followers. I’m beginning to think that with TikTok, most people just want to improve their follower numbers to make them look good. They only follow people because they want to be followed back rather than following people because they admire them or want to learn from them. Maybe I’m just being cynical. Anyway, I must admit I have followed back instantly for everyone that has followed me.
I haven’t had anyone subscribe to my email list despite all these new followers. I’m thinking it’s because up to this point, those that were genuinely interested, did not have a clickable link to my website. Their only means to get there would have been to type the URL name into a search engine; even copying and pasting would not have been possible. Now that the TikTok gods have granted the prized clickable link, hopefully things will change. To think that on posting my next videos, over one thousand people will get a notification that there is something new to watch from me. We live in hope.
Enough from me for now. I hope this has been entertaining and you have gained something out of this. I’d be honoured if you could leave a comment.
Until next time,
Take care.
Andy, I certainly can understand your frustration. I’m VERY new to TikTok so I don’t have the experience that you do, quite yet, but from what I’ve been observing from others, this seems to be the norm. The only thing I can figure out: it behooves us to mix up our content… meaning if you can talk about something not quite as straight-and-narrow like Affiliate Marketing… but somehow incorporate that message to affiliate marketing, that seems to prove to be more successful. I recently had this experience… and although it was just with one video, it was eye-opening. I had the idea to make a funny video about buying plants… and although the video itself didn’t have anything to do with affiliate marketing, I allowed the caption to come full circle back to it by saying that I wanted the freedom in my life to do what I wanted, including buying more plants (you’ll have to see the video for more context). Anyway, the point being… this stupid funny video received over 2K views in just a matter of a few hours. It’s insane! So that showed me that I want to mix it up a bit… and if I can make something funny, similar to what I did… maybe that’s the key?!
Andy, it sounds like you had quite an eventful week, even with training taking a back seat to your vacation in Melbourne. I’m glad to hear your mother-in-law is doing reasonably well, despite the challenges she’s facing. It must have been heartbreaking to see her in such a state. Your updates on TikTok and the positive vibes you’ve been experiencing are inspiring. It’s interesting how your follower count has been growing rapidly, even though the views and likes on your videos haven’t been as high, congratulations. Keep sharing your journey, and I’m sure your email list will grow soon too. Looking forward to your next update, thanks Atif
Hi Andy
Hang in there with TikTok. It will happen in time. Patience goes a long way. That’s awesome though, that you have a clickable link now. Things are looking up for you! Thank you for your post.
Meredith
Andy,
Glad you hear your vacation and visit with family went well. It’s always good to see family and spend time with them.
I am also excite for you reaching the milestone of over 1,000 followers on TikTok. Make sure you take a minute and celebrate the win. You should be proud of the success.
Take care and keep moving forward!
Andy,
Glad to hear your visit with your mother-in-law went well. I am sure she was very glad to see you.
Congratulations on achieving 1000 followers. I am slowly getting followers but I am patiently waiting for the day I reach 1000! LOL! I think I might have to post 2x a day.
Sherri
Andy, I’m happy you got to get away for a bit, even though the temperatures may not have cooperated. I know how difficult it is to watch someone you love deteriorate health-wise. I’ve watched my dad do this for the past two years or more before passing away this past February. Seeing the shell of a man who was once so large and in charge was devastating. Kudos to the TikTok subscribers…that’s awesome. I get it that some videos that may be more personal or funny in nature may bring in more views as I think they appeal to people. Only those who are genuinely interested in affiliate marketing are going to pay attention and follow. I did a video just talking about dealing with family issues and the toll it was taking on me, and I think I got over 1800 views. Then I did an affiliate marketing-type video and barely got anything. Unfortunately, it’s just the name of the game, but at least now you have your link!!!
Hi Andy! If you want a real shock come here in Montreal. Today the temperature was rounding near the 1C so I will not tell about the nights🥶. It is good to have your mother quite healthy despite she don’t always eat well. Congratulations for your 1000 followers on TikTok.😃 It’s a nice rise indeed. I still need to work a lot to get there, but I will!
Thank you!
Martin