From Side Project to Launch: The SEIQ Platform

Big news today .

Oh really .

Yeah , I'm a little bit nervous for this .

Oh really .

Yeah , so we're going to have a little vote at the end of the episode today , okay , but in order to get there to sort of explain what we're voting about , I need to put it in a little bit of context .

Okay .

So we started . Do you remember when we started this podcast ?

Yeah , I do .

Not date-wise wise , but I remember , yeah , the circumstances . It was over , I think , a little over two years ago I don't remember the date either , but I know we've had two calendar years and it began as just a kind of not a fluke , but like a not a side project . It was just , yeah , it wasn't very consistent , it was a weekly thing .

I think it was kind of like want to do this .

Yeah , we did a few episodes . We put them out there . You asked some people in photography groups online if they thought it was helpful . One group yeah . One group . They said , yeah , we did some more . We kept going , yeah . So at that point it sort of became a side project for me anyway .

Yeah , for you , not for me yeah .

I had some plans with it . I had some ideas , some things I wanted to do in addition to the podcast , because people said it was helpful . The problem for me , anyway , with side projects is that they're relegated to the side and you never really get to , because they're on the side . So what my plan was .

Well , I think that that's a smart choice .

Yeah , but I didn't make much progress . So that was that was . That was 2023 . I was kind of trying to do that . 2024 , I set some targets .

Yeah , you did so 2024, . I set some targets .

Yeah , you did , and I called them targets on purpose , because I just don't like the term goals .

Uh-huh , well , you're an athlete .

Yeah , I guess . So yes , and also to me I don't know , setting a .

if you set a goal and you don't achieve it , it feels like a failure to me , this is just oh , please , yeah , it's just semantics .

But if I set a target , I'm like , oh yeah , sometimes you miss your targets . Right , Fair enough . And so I set three targets for 2024 .

Yeah .

One was to create and release an online course . What we're talking about here , put it in a course format , it's all structured and nice . The second target I set was a little more specific . It was a little more internal business-y , so I won't bore you with the details , but it was along the same lines . Okay , prepare something .

Okay .

And then the third target I set was like well , what you know , those sorts of things are sort of outside my control . They're not completely things I can . Something could happen , and who knows what it is Right right Might be able to do , it might not . Something could happen , and who knows what it is Right right Might be able to do , it might not .

Oh yeah , and what was the hourly ?

goal . I was going to dedicate a big chunk of hours during 2024 to creating this course .

Do you want to share that or not ?

The number of hours . Yeah , it was a big number of hours .

As a side project .

It was basically a halftime project , which is big . But it was more than just creating the course . It was creating and testing a platform , which I will get to in a second . So it did take that number of hours to figure out not only how to create the course but what is working and how are people reacting to it , et cetera .

Yeah , it got you very excited to set more similar targets .

It did get me excited and in doing that , the number of hours I realized oh well , yeah , creating a course and platform takes longer than I thought it would , so I missed those , but I did get fairly close .

You got . You missed it by like what a week . Well , I don't know , because we were also that last week we were taking care of two dogs . It was raining all the time . They were waking up very early . Our sleep was disrupted .

Yes , so what I did get done . I didn't complete and release the course , but I did work on that platform that I mentioned . That platform was in I'll call it beta through 2024 . Did a lot of testing . Again , that's why everything took so long . That platform is now live . That platform is ready and that platform is going to be where the course is .

Which also explains why there were more time in between podcasts as well .

It did take some time away from doing podcasts also yes . Yeah , so the platform is live and there are a bunch of resources that are going to support

So wait , how is this course different from the podcast ?

So it's basically structured versus unstructured . So this podcast , a lot of good tips , and people have written in and said , hey , I've gotten to page one in my city or town based on your podcast , which is fantastic . But the podcast is kind of random in the topics that we talk about . The course is very structured . It is very step by step .

Yeah .

For example , we might talk about on a podcast , like how to do your image tags or how to do your title tags . The course would explain exactly how , when and why you're doing those things , how they fit into a bigger picture , what you need to do before that and what you want to do after that . That's the difference .

It's very thorough .

It's extremely thorough .

You have truly poured your heart and soul into it .

It's been challenging .

Clearer way .

So , like I said , the platform is live where the course is going to go . Okay , so there's a space within the platform where this is going to go . In addition to the course , there are other resources . There is a fundamentals series .

What's that ?

So if you're on Squarespace , there are some fundamental things you need to do just for Squarespace that you don't need to do for other platforms . There's one for WordPress , there's one for ShowIt , et cetera . Some fundamentals , how to get started with different elements . There's one for Google Search Console . Just some basics to get you ready for the course .

That's great . Should you be familiar with all of those before taking the course ?

It would probably be good , yes , but if and , but if you're not within that course . When I get to that part in the course , I say , hey , go check out this video in the fundamental series before you continue . Got it , I gotcha , don't worry .

Yeah , you do .

There's also just general Q and a section on the platform . There are some workshops . I'm right now I'm doing two workshops per month .

Wow , that's great .

And there's a what I call a website R and R , where Websites and I use them as example and then I do some SEO stuff .

Oh , on the website .

On the platform In the SEIQ . It's the SEIQ platform . Yes , SEIQ .

So my question is when the course is ready , how do we get ?

it Two ways . Okay , if you just want to be notified when it's ready , you can join the insiders list . Just go to the Meredith's husbandcom . There's an insiders that you want to be updated when the course

Oh , here it comes , the sprinkles . Yes , sprinkles it at the top .

One of the bonuses is going to be one of these three things I don't know which to create the three things and I'll put a link below where you can vote on this . You don't have to sign up , it's just they'll be like an Instagram poll or something .

Branding .

I'll do all the keyword research . I'll put it online in a nice simple package for you to look at .

So that's one option that sounds good to me .

Number two is the SEMrush free trial guide . So I did this before , so SEMrush is something I talk a lot about . There is a SEMrush free trial . It is a week long . You cannot use everything inside of SEMrush in a week . So this free trial guide is aimed at how to best utilize that week , and so it's like a little mini course on how to use that week .

That's good too .

And , like I said , I did this before , but then SEMrush changed some things and so it should be redone now . So that's option number two , and then option number three is an AI mini course how to use AI for SEO and how to get into AI search results with your SEO .

So those are the three options . What do you think ? Listeners .

I know what I would vote for . I'm not going to say what I would .

I'm not going to say what I would go for .

I would actually . I'm really interested in what people think what would you ? Go for Because I'm going to vote , but I'm coming from the inside . I kind of have an idea of what I would vote for , based on what's going to be best for long-term benefit of a business .

And when does voting close ? At a certain time ? Do we have to vote by a certain date ?

Yeah , let's say we have to vote .

Or voting closes .

Voting closes at the end of this month , january 31st , at midnight .

Oh , that's soon . Okay , get on it .

So what would you vote for ?

I'm not saying .

Okay .

I'm not saying I do not want to dictate any sway , anybody . Anyway , I want everyone to be able to share their own opinion .

Okay , just mouth it to me .

I'm going to tell you after the show .

Oh right , all suspense . Okay , vote below . Like I said , there's nothing to sign up for this is very exciting . Anybody can vote .

Let me know what you would like most .