[Note from the Proprietor: In case you're wondering what it's all about, well, we're smack in the middle of BLOGAPALOOZA! Hey, you're welcome to join in the fun if you like! All ya gotta do is click that cute little link and read all about it!]

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Guest post by Mary Ellen Merrigan who writes over at ProfitMeister

I learned three big lessons in 2008:

• The path is non-linear.
• The lessons are personal.
• I am not alone.

In 2008 I stood before a vast ocean called the Internet and a sea of blue called “website.” I was like a person afraid of the water who knows she must eventually venture into deep:  I knew I had to jump in to Internet public relations. Thanks to help from a few of my friends, I earned my Internet “dive certificate” in 2008.

You see, I’ve always been afraid of the water, of being lost beneath the surface, breathing in quick, shallow gasps, floating between here and there and belonging nowhere. I learned early on to ignore the fear by taking deep, even breaths.

It seemed like smooth sailing in January. Seductive talk about viral marketing lulled me into a false sense of competency. I posted about David Meerman Scott’s new rules of viral marketing with a tinge of smugness and encouraged ProfitMeister readers to download his ebook about how “word of mouse” spreads your ideas for free. How fun is that, I thought?

Like rapids, my answers (and lessons) came fast and furiously, but I brushed them off and rowed on down the channel. In February, I wrote: Contact Us (If You Can). It was a thinly veiled cry for help. I had a 404 error from the contact page on my own site, and my webmaster could not be found.

In hindsight, I can see lots of connections. For example, I met Casey Hibbard, author of Stories That Sell, through a client. We talked about case studies, and I posted Let the Customer Make Your Case with a Case Study. In addition to working with Casey, I later hired her to produce a case study of my own. But I digress.

Somehow, concentrating on the positive seemed like a solution and a person in my mastermind group referred me to Alyson Stanfield. Her book I’d Rather Be in the Studio caught my attention, and Alyson became another resource. We met in Albuquerque in November, and she included one of my Special Reports as part of her bonus offerings for Christmas purchases. But again, I’m ahead of myself.

Clarity Begins at Home marked a turning point in my year. Although I wasn’t yet ready to swim, I quit struggling. Almost immediately, the roar of the waves slowed, and I could see bits of shore. I saluted the difference and began to reorganize my website yet again. Yes. I even blogged about the experience: Review: Walking your Talk Requires Taking Your Own Medicine. Vulnerability worked, I told myself. I got it.

What did I know? It was July then and within a few days got more antsy than ever. How do you define crazy? The illusion: I thought I knew. In September, I humbly tried again: Walk your Talk and, PS, Take BIG Steps described the migration of my website to WordPress.

Seamless? Not really. The transition took the rest of the year, but my vantage point had changed. ProfitMeister reflected as much with Thanks. That Doesn’t Work for Me and Emotion-Connection-Purchase: Looking to position your product?

Early in December I wrote about my blogging mentor. I asked for participation and, as usual, the universe responded with seven comments. As I review 2008, I’m almost giddy with the realization I’m finally rowing in the direction recommended by the old nursery rhyme: “Gently down the stream.” What a year! The lessons: non-linear, personal, and thanks to a little help from my friends, doable.

Rock on, 2009! It’s going to be just fine.

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Mary Ellen Merrigan is a marketing and publicity consultant who coaches entrepreneurs to combine traditional and online media for snap, crackle and pop in communications. She publishes a monthly newsletter, ProfitMeister, and maintains a blog about all things marketing at ProfitMeister.

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[Further note from the Proprietor: Hey, if you're interested in having your own "best of 2008" posts highlighted right here at the Middle Zone, then by all means, click on this link: (BLOGAPALOOZA: What I Learned From 2008) and read all about it! BLOGAPALOOZA will be open for entries from now until Sunday, January 25.]

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