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This one is personal - I need some advice.

by SandyDuPlessis
37 replies
I need to set up a blog on behalf of my granddaughter. She has a health problem and after almost 2 years we are still trying to find out what is wrong with her. She is 3 years and 9 months old.

My daughter has had to give up her job on order to care for Erin full time. Unfortunately her health care has become so expensive that I am really struggling to provide the extra funds my daughter needs.

I simply can't figure out what keywords to research/use in order to register an appropriate site name or what products could best be sold on the site.

Since I will be telling Erin's story, I guess I could simply use her name for the site itself, but what keywords do I use for a mystery illness that will get people to come to her site and encourage them to purchase products (probably related to natural health care)?

I would really appreciate your thoughts on the matter.

Thank you
#advice #personal
  • Profile picture of the author Tony Dean
    Difficult problem. Until the child's illness can be diagnosed you don't know the illness, you don't know what keywords to target.

    I would keep on at the doctors to try and find out what the illness is.
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  • Profile picture of the author VegasGreg
    Well, for the domain name, you could do something short and catchy, like ErinsStory.com or HelpErin.com or SupportErin.com just to get up and running.

    Domain names with target keywords are just a small percentage of SEO. (Look at ebay and Amazon).

    Then your blog post/page titles can be any keyword you want to target.

    I think the story that is being told will attract more visitors than actual keyword organic traffic. Share the story with as many social media outlets that you can (Twitter/Facebook) to drive traffic.

    Once people are on the site, just have various links, banners to affiliate sites as possible and don't hide the fact that any purchases made through the links on your site will help contribute to support medical expenses...etc. Make that BOLD on the site to encourage buyers.

    You could even have a general "Buy Anything At Amazon/Ebay/Any Store" through this link to help support our cause.

    Also put a big DONATION button on the site. Some people will just like the story and the cause and want to help without buying anything.
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  • Profile picture of the author KenThompson
    Hello Sandy,

    Sorry to hear about your grand-daughter.

    You may want to consider all the possibilities with finding a
    product from which your daughter can profit.

    I understand what you're trying to do, but I don't think that
    would tie in well only because it has not been resolved. Also,
    you know how skeptical people are online. I think some may
    read the story and wonder if it's really true and just being used
    to try to make sales, etc.

    Of course I may be wrong about that, but I tend to doubt I am.

    You are an online marketer/businesswoman? Then just do what you
    know how to do and create a business for your daughter. I guess
    you will need to run it, but you can set everything up in her name.

    Perhaps consider a WSO if you can create something to meet a demand
    that is reasonable and present.

    That's how I would approach it. Be willing to consider all alternatives
    rather than getting stuck on an idea that may not be as viable as you
    think.

    Good luck to you.


    Ken
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    • Profile picture of the author SandyDuPlessis
      Originally Posted by KenThompson View Post

      Hello Sandy,

      Sorry to hear about your grand-daughter.

      You may want to consider all the possibilities with finding a
      product from which your daughter can profit.

      I understand what you're trying to do, but I don't think that
      would tie in well only because it has not been resolved. Also,
      you know how skeptical people are online. I think some may
      read the story and wonder if it's really true and just being used
      to try to make sales, etc.

      Of course I may be wrong about that, but I tend to doubt I am.

      You are an online marketer/businesswoman? Then just do what you
      know how to do and create a business for your daughter. I guess
      you will need to run it, but you can set everything up in her name.

      Perhaps consider a WSO if you can create something to meet a demand
      that is reasonable and present.

      That's how I would approach it. Be willing to consider all alternatives
      rather than getting stuck on an idea that may not be as viable as you
      think.

      Good luck to you.


      Ken
      Excellent suggestion Ken - You are most probably correct. I have got to the stage that I am just too close to the problem to be analytical and sensible.

      I am more than willing to look at all alternatives.
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      • Profile picture of the author eibhlin
        First, I'm also very sorry to hear about your grandchild. Not knowing what's really going on... that has to be difficult.

        I agree with VegasGreg that making the story personal is more likely to lead to affiliate clicks and outright donations.

        However, never underestimate the weird people who spend far too much time online, trying to connect with others on a personal level. For that reason, I'd be cautious about using anything that makes it easy to identify your daughter or your granddaughter. A single photo is good. After that, I'd use line drawings, or pictures of your granddaughter from an angle where her face isn't easy to recognize.

        That's also why I like Ken's idea of you working to create/build a business for your daughter, not just for the financial help it'll give her, but also so she has something else to focus on. I'm sure the worry gets to her regularly, and that's a health risk for her. She needs to stay strong, too.

        You have several options. Mostly, I hope that you're able to find comfort in the support you have here. We're all friends, and I'm glad you asked this question so we can at least share our opinions and ideas.
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        • Profile picture of the author SandyDuPlessis
          Originally Posted by eibhlin View Post

          First, I'm also very sorry to hear about your grandchild. Not knowing what's really going on... that has to be difficult.

          I agree with VegasGreg that making the story personal is more likely to lead to affiliate clicks and outright donations.

          However, never underestimate the weird people who spend far too much time online, trying to connect with others on a personal level. For that reason, I'd be cautious about using anything that makes it easy to identify your daughter or your granddaughter. A single photo is good. After that, I'd use line drawings, or pictures of your granddaughter from an angle where her face isn't easy to recognize.

          That's also why I like Ken's idea of you working to create/build a business for your daughter, not just for the financial help it'll give her, but also so she has something else to focus on. I'm sure the worry gets to her regularly, and that's a health risk for her. She needs to stay strong, too.

          You have several options. Mostly, I hope that you're able to find comfort in the support you have here. We're all friends, and I'm glad you asked this question so we can at least share our opinions and ideas.
          Thanks for your kind thoughts Eibhlin,

          I agree with you about the pictures.

          Kim, my daughter, is trying to set up a "party platter" business from home, with the help of a friend. Having worked in the restaurant industry for many years it is the one thing that she knows well, but it will take time to build up a client base. I have already built a basic website to help get her going.
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  • Profile picture of the author jackpot9
    This is sorry to hear.

    If you're thinking of getting people to donate money to her sickness, you'll probably need to include plenty of photos so that they look authentic or something. I'll personally use a .org domain for that, but again I'm not too sure about that because I haven't created such a site myself.

    Would love to lend a hand. Once you've done your keyword research and have built your site, drop me a PM and I'll hook you up for daily backlinks for an entire month for free. Details of that service are available in my sig if you're not sure what it does (the drip feed), but it'll help you go up higher in Google ranking for sure.

    All the best to Erin and cheers to her for having an awesome family. Things will only get better.
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    • Profile picture of the author SandyDuPlessis
      Originally Posted by Jackson Soo View Post

      This is sorry to hear.

      If you're thinking of getting people to donate money to her sickness, you'll probably need to include plenty of photos so that they look authentic or something. I'll personally use a .org domain for that, but again I'm not too sure about that because I haven't created such a site myself.

      Would love to lend a hand. Once you've done your keyword research and have built your site, drop me a PM and I'll hook you up for daily backlinks for an entire month for free. Details of that service are available in my sig if you're not sure what it does (the drip feed), but it'll help you go up higher in Google ranking for sure.

      All the best to Erin and cheers to her for having an awesome family. Things will only get better.
      Thank you Jackson,

      I am not looking for donations, so I won't be posting heartrending pictures all over the place all I need is a sensible approach to the problem.

      Your offer is truly appreciated and I will contact you at the appropriate time.
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  • Profile picture of the author misterkailo
    The domain should have his name in it somewhere. Just spread the word out through Facebook and other social networking sites.
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    You can also try go fund me
    Raise money online in less than a minute!
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  • Profile picture of the author KenThompson
    Sandy,

    Here is an idea that just came to me.

    You could create a fan page and target those with family
    members who have undiagnosed illnesses of any kind. Or,
    even those who have sick family members and the illness
    has created hardships on the family - emotional, etc.

    Then, could you create a short pdf outlining how your family
    has coped with your situation? You would need to offer something
    solid in the way of methods, approaches, strategies and
    techniques that you have found to be helpful.

    You could talk about the brighter side of things, too, such as
    how the experience brought everyone closer together and created
    stronger bonds.

    Offer something positive, as much as possible, so people will feel
    there is some kind of bright side to the situation.

    Then, maybe include a resource section where people can get some
    kind of help. This one may be more difficult. But there has to be
    some place where people can get information online that is about
    dealing with hard-to-diagnose diseases.

    It has to offer very solid information. Maybe search online for support
    groups for diseases. What you could do, as an example, is search
    for a support group for diseases that have similar symptoms to your
    grand-daughter's illness. Or even support groups for families in a
    similar situation.

    Also... if you cannot find one, create your own. Invite everyone who
    joins your fan page.

    Charge something less than $5 for the report. Maybe 10-20 pages?

    Explain the profits are going to your daughter to relieve financial stress.

    You can tell your entire story in your fan page. Then, search FB using
    keywords for diseases, etc; anything appropriate. Make comments and
    people will notice.

    Name your fan page/group something specific and related to the topic. I
    read that FB will delete groups with highly generic type names. So avoid
    being non-specific.

    Have your daughter create a paypal account and people can use that to
    pay for the report.

    Whaddya think?


    Ken
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    • Profile picture of the author SandyDuPlessis
      Originally Posted by KenThompson View Post

      Sandy,

      Here is an idea that just came to me.

      You could create a fan page and target those with family
      members who have undiagnosed illnesses of any kind. Or,
      even those who have sick family members and the illness
      has created hardships on the family - emotional, etc.

      Then, could you create a short pdf outlining how your family
      has coped with your situation? You would need to offer something
      solid in the way of methods, approaches, strategies and
      techniques that you have found to be helpful.

      You could talk about the brighter side of things, too, such as
      how the experience brought everyone closer together and created
      stronger bonds.

      Offer something positive, as much as possible, so people will feel
      there is some kind of bright side to the situation.

      Then, maybe include a resource section where people can get some
      kind of help. This one may be more difficult. But there has to be
      some place where people can get information online that is about
      dealing with hard-to-diagnose diseases.

      It has to offer very solid information. Maybe search online for support
      groups for diseases. What you could do, as an example, is search
      for a support group for diseases that have similar symptoms to your
      grand-daughter's illness. Or even support groups for families in a
      similar situation.

      Also... if you cannot find one, create your own. Invite everyone who
      joins your fan page.

      Charge something less than $5 for the report. Maybe 10-20 pages?

      Explain the profits are going to your daughter to relieve financial stress.

      You can tell your entire story in your fan page. Then, search FB using
      keywords for diseases, etc; anything appropriate. Make comments and
      people will notice.

      Name your fan page/group something specific and related to the topic. I
      read that FB will delete groups with highly generic type names. So avoid
      being non-specific.

      Have your daughter create a paypal account and people can use that to
      pay for the report.

      Whaddya think?


      Ken
      Ken that is a brilliant idea.

      I don't know too much about fan pages but I am certain that there is plenty of information out there.

      As for reports, I sure that I can come up with something useful - as a former EMT (intermediate) I know a fair amount about heath
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      • Profile picture of the author KenThompson
        Originally Posted by SandyDuPlessis View Post

        Ken that is a brilliant idea.

        I don't know too much about fan pages but I am certain that there is plenty of information out there.

        As for reports, I sure that I can come up with something useful - as a former EMT (intermediate) I know a fair amount about heath

        Thank you, glad you like it. I kinda like it from the standpoint that
        it seems like something that could work out well for you.

        There is more than enough info in this forum about fan pages.

        There are WSO's although I do not know which ones are the best, etc.
        You can find people to make your fan page here in this forum, but I
        cannot recommend anyone.

        I would suggest the overall tone and look of your fan page to be
        professional and somewhat neutral only because you will be getting
        people from all across the board in terms of demographics. Both
        genders, all levels of education, all professions or most of them, all
        ages, etc.

        You can do this.


        Ken
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  • Profile picture of the author Ian Varnava
    Sandy,

    Sorry to hear about your granddaughter. My heart goes out to her, you and your family. Erin will be in my prayers.

    I do like Ken's idea of either doing a WSO around it and/or setting up a FaceBook Fan Page.

    You can consider creating a valuable WSO based on what you are able to bring to the table, and then make it clear in the WSO that it is for a good cause, with a brief telling of Erin's story.

    FB fan pages have also been known to gain good traction in these situations... you said you're not looking to collect donations which is very respectable, but it is very possible to drive a good amount of donations by setting up a website telling her 'story' and using the power of social media to reach out to people and get them to donate.

    Another idea would be to set up an internet business... any type of business, preferably one which has parents as the target market (think baby/kids stuff), and then market it just as you would market any other business online (SEO, PPC, etc). It can be an affiliate store targeting a niche in the baby clothing market, for example. The only difference would be that you can make it clear on the website that all proceeds go to help out Erin and her family, with their story on the 'about' page perhaps, or linked to a separate site you set up about Erin.

    I also like VegasGreg's idea of having a general 'buy anything from Amazon/wherever' using one of our links to support our cause. However, I think you'd be looking at greater success if you target a specific niche, just like one usually does when building a business online.

    I'm thinking you need to approach this from a perspective that you're setting up a business online from scratch... setting aside the fact that it's for Erin. Since your main objective is to have a means of income for Erin and her family, you don't even necessarily need to include her story on any website you set up. It can just be a regular website, selling something as usual, and you can privately have the profits go to them. Just thinking out loud.

    Best of luck and let me know if I can be of assistance in any way.
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    • Profile picture of the author SandyDuPlessis
      Originally Posted by Ian Varnava View Post

      Sandy,

      Another idea would be to set up an internet business... any type of business, preferably one which has parents as the target market (think baby/kids stuff), and then market it just as you would market any other business online (SEO, PPC, etc). It can be an affiliate store targeting a niche in the baby clothing market, for example. The only difference would be that you can make it clear on the website that all proceeds go to help out Erin and her family, with their story on the 'about' page perhaps, or linked to a separate site you set up about Erin.

      .
      Thanks for your input Ian.

      I must admit I rather like the idea of setting up an affiliate store. Gosh, you are all giving me so many great ideas,

      I am going to have my work cut out putting as many of them as possible into action
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  • Profile picture of the author Rose Anderson
    I think Ken's idea is great.

    Maybe even a report on "How to deal with a sick child" or one written for children "How Can I Help My Friend who's Sick?" or "Ideas to Entertain Sick Children". Being stuck in bed can be hard on the parents as well as the child.
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  • Profile picture of the author JamesGw
    I like the idea of a helperin.org domain. Just set that up and work on social networking and driving viral traffic to your site. Keywords are somewhat irrelevant for this sort of thing.
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  • Profile picture of the author Newbie11
    Just a suggestion...have you thought about contacting the show Mystery Diagnosis? I can't remember if it comes on TLC or the Discovery Channel. If nothing else maybe they can help to get the word out.
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    • Profile picture of the author Dan C. Rinnert
      Sorry to hear about your granddaughter. I hope someone is able to figure it out and find a treatment.

      I'm thinking along the lines of what others have said, except maybe a more multi-pronged site.

      The main part of the site is the story.

      Then, you have a section on things that have been ruled out. Symptoms, information, resources, etc. for each illness. You could possibly use AdSense on these pages, as you probably wouldn't be selling any kind of product here but just referring them to quality sites for more information.

      Another section could deal with coping with the problem. This could be applicable to anyone with a sick child at home, whether or not the condition has been diagnosed. (Of course, not having a diagnosis presents its own set of challenges.) But, in either case, they may have a parent staying home to keep an eye on the child. So, you cover the related issues there.

      The other section could be work-at-home income. A lot of people in that situation will be looking for ways to make money while staying home. You can warn them off the scams, and talk about different legitimate opportunities.

      It need not be as complicated as it sounds. LOL. A blog with different categories would probably suffice and each category need not necessarily be updated daily.

      Then again, maybe it is too much to manage such a site and take care of a sick child...
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  • Profile picture of the author temp_12000
    unknownillness.com ? it is available.
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  • Profile picture of the author DeborahDera
    I just put a few terms into the Google Adwords Keyword Tool. Things like unknown illness, unknown disease, mystery illness, mystery disease all came up low competition but also had very low monthly search numbers. Things like childhood disease, childhood diseases, childhood illness were all a little better on monthly searches. Maybe target words like that.

    I'd do two things. Set up a simple blog with your grandchild's name in it. There are several similar blogs out there right now, where parents simply share the story. You could put a PayPal donate button on that site, with a notation explaining that medical expenses are out of control.

    The second thing is what others suggested - start some sort of business for your daughter. Do you write? Does she write? Maybe you could do some article marketing or start a simple PLR store. You might even find it easy to make a niche store regarding healthcare considering it sounds like you guys are gaining some experience in that regard.

    Best wishes to you and your family.


    Originally Posted by SandyDuPlessis View Post

    I need to set up a blog on behalf of my granddaughter. She has a health problem and after almost 2 years we are still trying to find out what is wrong with her. She is 3 years and 9 months old.

    My daughter has had to give up her job on order to care for Erin full time. Unfortunately her health care has become so expensive that I am really struggling to provide the extra funds my daughter needs.

    I simply can't figure out what keywords to research/use in order to register an appropriate site name or what products could best be sold on the site.

    Since I will be telling Erin's story, I guess I could simply use her name for the site itself, but what keywords do I use for a mystery illness that will get people to come to her site and encourage them to purchase products (probably related to natural health care)?

    I would really appreciate your thoughts on the matter.

    Thank you
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  • Profile picture of the author mattjay
    i am truly very sorry to hear about the granddaughter. i and my friends will pray for the answer. there are a lot of really good suggestions on this thread.
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  • Profile picture of the author mattjay
    i wanted to ad if you sell something here on the forum i will support it
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  • Profile picture of the author Sebastian Batiste
    Hello Sandy
    I am Truly sorry to hear about you grandaughter.
    I would suggest that because it is a mystery illness that you target that key phrase and others like it e.g undiagnosed illness these have a relatively low competition so you could potentially rank within 3 months although the search volumes are not that high these would be laser targeted potential customers.
    God Bless
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  • Profile picture of the author Doran Peck
    The symptoms=the keywords.


    Additionally I would advise seeking eastern medicine/methods.
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    • Profile picture of the author drmani
      Sandy, telling your story may work best.

      Just see how many replies you've got here. They are in
      response to your authentic story.

      Keep narrating it on the blog. If they are relevant,
      you could make some product offers or promotions in the
      post itself. Otherwise, host a link to an online store
      or feature products and services saying that all the
      cash from purchases will go to Erin's health care and
      support.

      Make Erin the PURPOSE behind your business.

      Any purpose-driven business WILL succeed - often in a
      much better way than others.

      And yes, leave a donation button. Some people will
      want to show support by making a donation.

      As far as SEO goes, you'll find that each individual
      post will be a target for a specific keyword, esp. if
      (as you don't yet know the diagnosis), you'll be
      writing about various possible causes, symptoms,
      investigations etc. - each post will be naturally
      optimized for different keywords!

      Maybe it isn't generally applicable, but I've found a
      synergy emerges whenever people see you building a
      business around a human cause - like your grandchild's
      health, in your case, or to help kids with heart defects,
      as in mine. And they WANT to support your business
      BECAUSE of its bigger purpose.

      Of course, what you sell still has to be good value.
      But when that isn't in question, people would rather
      buy where their money goes to help in a bigger way
      than from another place where the intangible benefits
      aren't as high... provided YOU make that value clear
      from your 'marketing'.

      And related to what Ken Thompson said earlier, focus
      on the POSITIVES. Yes, health problems can be depressing
      and painful - but most people DON'T want to hear about
      that... unless it is in context of the BENEFIT they are
      helping create!

      My 'success stories' aren't focused on how much trouble
      the CHD families went through - but on how different a
      future they can now look forward to thanks to the support
      of generous donors. How these kids, who might otherwise
      have died or remained limited physically, are now able
      to live normal lives, play, go to school, excel, look at
      future careers, have families, live to old age, enjoy
      life... you get the picture.

      "All this possibility is being unlocked thanks to YOU"
      is the message you want to leave your supporters with.

      And then, you tell them HOW they can help - through a
      product purchase, a donation, by telling a friend, etc.

      One more thing that works well is to have periodic
      fundraisers, with a specific target, for a specific
      purpose - and post progress towards that goal.

      It may be to cover one aspect of Erin's care, or to
      cover the cost of one test or treatment option. Tell
      the story of what, why, how much - and how to help.
      Then, post about progress towards the goal, and how
      hitting it will impact Erin's family. Then, after the
      event ends, thank your supporters - and keep them
      engaged in Erin's progress as she heals.

      People LOVE to be involved in something like that.
      It creates community around an unfortunate situation,
      one that throws up in positive energy and support far
      more than it may do in pure dollars and cents - and
      it is far more valuable too.

      Hope this helps. If you'd like to brainstorm some more
      ideas with me, shoot me a PM. I'll be glad to help

      Oh, and give Erin an extra special hug from the Warriors

      All success
      Dr.Mani
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      • Profile picture of the author SandyDuPlessis
        Originally Posted by Newbie11 View Post

        Just a suggestion...have you thought about contacting the show Mystery Diagnosis? I can't remember if it comes on TLC or the Discovery Channel. If nothing else maybe they can help to get the word out.
        I have watched the program many times, but must suspect they are more interested in the eventual diagnosis since a all the programs seem to include one. I will however see if I can find out more about them. Thanks.


        Originally Posted by Dan C. Rinnert View Post

        Sorry to hear about your granddaughter. I hope someone is able to figure it out and find a treatment.

        I'm thinking along the lines of what others have said, except maybe a more multi-pronged site.

        The main part of the site is the story.

        Then, you have a section on things that have been ruled out. Symptoms, information, resources, etc. for each illness. You could possibly use AdSense on these pages, as you probably wouldn't be selling any kind of product here but just referring them to quality sites for more information.

        Another section could deal with coping with the problem. This could be applicable to anyone with a sick child at home, whether or not the condition has been diagnosed. (Of course, not having a diagnosis presents its own set of challenges.) But, in either case, they may have a parent staying home to keep an eye on the child. So, you cover the related issues there.

        The other section could be work-at-home income. A lot of people in that situation will be looking for ways to make money while staying home. You can warn them off the scams, and talk about different legitimate opportunities.

        It need not be as complicated as it sounds. LOL. A blog with different categories would probably suffice and each category need not necessarily be updated daily.

        Then again, maybe it is too much to manage such a site and take care of a sick child...
        Dan thank you. That is an excellent idea, perhaps I can work on incorporating most if not all of the various ideas being presented into something that works along the lines of what you suggest.

        Originally Posted by DeborahDera View Post


        The second thing is what others suggested - start some sort of business for your daughter. Do you write? Does she write? Maybe you could do some article marketing or start a simple PLR store. You might even find it easy to make a niche store regarding healthcare considering it sounds like you guys are gaining some experience in that regard.

        Best wishes to you and your family.
        Hi Deborah, Unfortunately my daughter does not write and is totally IM illiterate. So whatever has to be done in that respect will be done by me.

        Originally Posted by Doran Peck View Post

        The symptoms=the keywords.


        Additionally I would advise seeking eastern medicine/methods.
        I agree Doran. We are already looking at various alternate methods of treatment and diagnosis. Unfortunately it seems that the various members of the medical community that we have seen to date have tunnel vision. One Pediatric Neurosurgeon told me quite bluntly to mind my own business when I ventured a query based on internet sites written by medical doctors.

        Originally Posted by drmani View Post

        Sandy, telling your story may work best.

        Just see how many replies you've got here. They are in
        response to your authentic story.

        Keep narrating it on the blog. If they are relevant,
        you could make some product offers or promotions in the
        post itself. Otherwise, host a link to an online store
        or feature products and services saying that all the
        cash from purchases will go to Erin's health care and
        support.

        Make Erin the PURPOSE behind your business.

        Any purpose-driven business WILL succeed - often in a
        much better way than others.

        And yes, leave a donation button. Some people will
        want to show support by making a donation.

        As far as SEO goes, you'll find that each individual
        post will be a target for a specific keyword, esp. if
        (as you don't yet know the diagnosis), you'll be
        writing about various possible causes, symptoms,
        investigations etc. - each post will be naturally
        optimized for different keywords!

        Maybe it isn't generally applicable, but I've found a
        synergy emerges whenever people see you building a
        business around a human cause - like your grandchild's
        health, in your case, or to help kids with heart defects,
        as in mine. And they WANT to support your business
        BECAUSE of its bigger purpose.

        Of course, what you sell still has to be good value.
        But when that isn't in question, people would rather
        buy where their money goes to help in a bigger way
        than from another place where the intangible benefits
        aren't as high... provided YOU make that value clear
        from your 'marketing'.

        And related to what Ken Thompson said earlier, focus
        on the POSITIVES. Yes, health problems can be depressing
        and painful - but most people DON'T want to hear about
        that... unless it is in context of the BENEFIT they are
        helping create!

        My 'success stories' aren't focused on how much trouble
        the CHD families went through - but on how different a
        future they can now look forward to thanks to the support
        of generous donors. How these kids, who might otherwise
        have died or remained limited physically, are now able
        to live normal lives, play, go to school, excel, look at
        future careers, have families, live to old age, enjoy
        life... you get the picture.

        "All this possibility is being unlocked thanks to YOU"
        is the message you want to leave your supporters with.

        And then, you tell them HOW they can help - through a
        product purchase, a donation, by telling a friend, etc.

        One more thing that works well is to have periodic
        fundraisers, with a specific target, for a specific
        purpose - and post progress towards that goal.

        It may be to cover one aspect of Erin's care, or to
        cover the cost of one test or treatment option. Tell
        the story of what, why, how much - and how to help.
        Then, post about progress towards the goal, and how
        hitting it will impact Erin's family. Then, after the
        event ends, thank your supporters - and keep them
        engaged in Erin's progress as she heals.

        People LOVE to be involved in something like that.
        It creates community around an unfortunate situation,
        one that throws up in positive energy and support far
        more than it may do in pure dollars and cents - and
        it is far more valuable too.

        Hope this helps. If you'd like to brainstorm some more
        ideas with me, shoot me a PM. I'll be glad to help

        Oh, and give Erin an extra special hug from the Warriors

        All success
        Dr.Mani
        Dr Mani thank you. The thoughts and the information you provided are invaluable. I would very much like to do a brainstorming session as soon as I have put all the wonderful ideas together and written up a plan of action.
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  • Profile picture of the author Linda_C
    I agree with Dr. Mani. You may find an unexpected other result - people who have children with the same symptoms may find your site Googling the symptoms and have a level of caring and support than a "commercial only" endeavor would struggle to achieve.

    My niece had premature twins with CP. Her site got traffic from terms I'd never heard of before the babies were born. To see another Mom find the site because she googled grade IV brain bleed... (a term I'm never heard before the twins)... to read her comments saying "I am so glad I found you, you give me hope..." and to watch all these people form friendships and support each other, sending more people and spreading the word... it's a beautiful thing to watch. The best of human nature - people helping people.

    Give extra hugs to Erin and her mommy from me, too.
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  • Profile picture of the author ricoramiro
    Sorry to hear about your granddaughter. Whatever site you decide to build put a PayPal Donate button in a prominent position.

    Make sure it's a button as studies show that people like clicking on buttons more so than on links.
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    • Profile picture of the author Richest
      I'm sorry to hear about your granddaughter

      In my humble opinion, it is also important to find out the root cause of the ilness. i.e. Since when she got sick? And what happened before she got sick.

      Because as far as I know, some mystery ilness cause is not always physical but often psychological.

      Wishing your granddaughter get better soon
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  • Profile picture of the author terrencewan
    Hey sorry to hear about your situation,
    what i think most important is to made
    some money online to help your daugther
    to pay for the medical expenses.

    Therefore i suggest you focus on how to
    made money and not on the name or keywords
    to use.

    Hope that helps. Takecare and God bless.

    Terrence
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  • Profile picture of the author christina ward
    So sorry to hear about your grand-daughter, I think you should try keywords like childhood sickness or childhood illness, and put them in the Google keyword tool and see how search's it gets. I so hope that your grandchild gets better, she is to young to have all these problems my heart goes out to her You and your family are in my prayers.

    Thank you
    christina ward.
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