Getting On Track

Getting myself on Track

A few days ago, I was reading through the affiliate forums at Poker Affiliate Listings.  Randy Ray had put up a thread asking what other poker affiliates had set in the lines of goals for the month of May.  It occurred to me at that moment, I had several ideas as to what I wanted to accomplish, but I really did not have anything written in stone.

Additionally, I didn’t have anything listed with any urgency.  Nothing was really time sensitive.  My thoughts were unorganized.  I lacked a not only a game plan, without my goals written down, I lacked a scorecard.  The May goals thread is helping me get on track.  I can’t even say “back on track,” as I’ve been unfocused and quite honestly, I’ve been a mess since returning to the online poker world.

Even when I write, I find myself writing for the search engines.  I struggle with my wording, trying to maximize and optimize each post so that it will rank.  Realistically, I should just write.  Part of the reason for this, I think, is because my site – for lack of a better term – has been poor in content.  I’m trying to make up for it by writing a certain way to boost the search results for…  nothing.

Poker Content for other websites

The exact depth of my writing style’s problems became blatantly obvious to me when I began work on a strategy article.  One of my May goals is to provide content to other poker websites.  I know I can write, however, what I’ve been doing here has been anything but writing.  Without much effort, I hammered out the article.   When I reviewed it, the article flowed, much like my writing does when I’m not shooting for search results.  And surprisingly, I remained on topic and would surely receive better results with better content by simply writing, and not trying to over-use catch phrases.

Improving my own content

One of my goals for May, with respect to the Online Poker Circuit is to improve upon my website’s content.  I’ll very likely rewrite my strategy articles, in addition to writing some new ones – to keep it fresh.  I’ve already given the site a much needed face lift, and am continuing to refocus the purposes and focus of the poker site.

Losing the isolationist attitude

Additionally, I’ve decided that as a one-man-show, I cannot both “wear all the hats” and make this website everything I wish it to be to the extent I want it to be without some outside help.  What I mean by that is I want the Online Poker Circuit to be a source for poker tournaments.  I’d love to create my own unique script to push out every poker tournament to every room to my site’s visitors.  Additionally, I want to house a useful relevant poker tournament strategy library, for my poker website’s guests to reference when trying to learn an important tournament poker concept, to improve their poker play, and to just become better tournament poker players.

I also wish to serve as a main resource for online poker legislation, as well as provide commentary that is poker related, poker news, and everything else.  I’m only one person…  I realize now that I cannot do everything I’d love to do with the Online Poker Circuit’s website.  I can only do so much myself before everything turns to rubbish.

Unfortunately, when I first entered the business, the person who showed me the ropes was more of an isolationist affiliate than a social poker affiliate.  He was not keen on a free or somewhat free exchange of ideas.  The one thing I have to say though, for what he was doing at the time, he did it pretty well.  I bought in to his network and he showed me the ropes – doing things his way.

As with most partnerships, there was a philosophical difference in the way things were done.  He had just broke ground on a poker forum, where in theory ideas, thoughts, poker strategy, and general social chatter could be freely exchanged between members.  I’d say I made around 1000 posts, which at the time was about 20% of his forum’s posting volume.

If memory serves me correctly, In a strategy thread he was offering poker advice, to which I had questioned – more accurately, I had suggested the playing style he was endorsing was a posture and not a strategy.  That part is irrelevant to my thought at the moment though.  What is relevant is that he went nuts both in the thread and via email/messenger at my comment.  Add to the mix that any post that was not pro-him was immediately deleted, members were banned for speaking out of turn…  Which, in all fairness, it was his shop, he can do with it whatever he wants.  I was there by choice.  That being said, I chose to leave.

The philosophical gap was just too much to fill, from my standpoint.  I like hearing opposing, different views.  I encourage discussion, rebuttals; things of that sort.  I am open minded enough to share and receive ideas from other people – even from my competition.  Unfortunately, when I returned to the online poker scene, I did not return with an open mind.  No, I didn’t delete off posts like they were the plague or anything in the forum.  However, I was closed to the idea that I could help – and be helped by other people in the business.

Even when I joined PAL and PAP – I was open to helping others, I took help when I felt I needed it, but I wasn’t willing to open the doors to anyone else.  The flawed logic of it all is that without others assisting me, the vision I have for the Online Poker Circuit will never be achieved.  I finally broke down last night and today and installed a script on my home page, designed by someone else to broadcast a list of guaranteed poker tournaments from many of the online poker rooms I tout.

Getting my act together

This week, I am finally open to the idea of either having someone else write for me here at the Online Poker Circuit, or for providing writing and content services to other poker websites.  I am committing to no longer reside in isolation.  If I want to achieve my goals for this poker site of mine, it is imperative that I get on track, remain on track, and lose the isolationist attitude.  I’m a one man show, but it is going to take more than one to build my community.