Why I don't like Automated Software.

13 years ago

Sure, bots might mess up if a site changes its structure or whatever. But if a software I have created or create myself can save me two hours of tedious and repetetive tasks each day for a few months (until it breaks down and has to be updated), that's surely worth it.

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Danny Gardner

13 years ago

The idea of proper scheduling to replace automation intrigues me. What is your gameplan for scaling things? At some point, I don't see how to avoid either hiring help or using automated software.

To clarify further, what kind of automated software are you talking about?

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Dan Riffle

13 years ago

Then don't hire employees either. What you said can be directly tied to them as well.
What you're suggesting is simply trading one job for another.

Automation has its place. You just have to find automation sources you trust. Even
if the source isn't 100% accuarate, it's a benefit if it increases your productivity.

Simple example: You can manually submit 20 articles in 2 hours -- just submitting,
not writing. A bot can submit 50 articles in an hour. Maybe the bot has an error rate
of 25%, meaning only 37 actually get submitted properly. The gross productivity
benefit is 17 articles, or one hour forty-two minutes of your time.

Let's assume it takes you forty-two minutes to fix the 13 articles that weren't
submitted correctly. You're left with an extra hour to write more articles or do
other tasks (that can't be automotated).

Don't write off automation. Just research before you buy to make sure the level
and accuracy of automation is to your standards.

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alexmw106

13 years ago

Automation is great when you work for yourself and of course have no employees. The automation is like having 5 people submitting or creating links for you.

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Micallef

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Timothy Reuscher

I have never liked the whole automated software thing.

Here's why. If I'm going to be successful in my business, I want this to be a lifetime income.

I don't like the idea of trusting some cheap bot to handle my tasks. I'd rather do them myself, so that I'm in CONTROL of my day to day tasks.

If I let some program alone for a while, and then it does something that was out of my control, I'd have my time wasted. Not to mention wasted money as well.

So I'd rather just keep a daily schedule to get things done. It's much cheaper, and I'm comfortably in control.

I hope some of the intelligent answers in this thread have caused you to reconsider your opinion of automated tools.

In my business strategy, I can never have enough links. I have custom built my own automated tool to build links for me. It does approximately 50 times the work I could do manually, in one day.

That is simply an astonishing improvement in productivity.

It is true, however, that very few tools around at the moment are actually any good. Plus they can be pricey.

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profitsforall

13 years ago

It's your business and your decision but personally i'd much rather be doing something else than monotonous form filling and button clicking.

If something can be automated why wouldn't you?

A good robust piece of software will handle exceptions and continue on with the rest of the work - you can then go back and finish the job off by hand.

In my day job I wrote a simple script to automate what 5 full time employees were doing. The script probably took about a day to code and test. It's not even fully automated yet. The head of that business area was extremely pleased that those 5 full time employees could be reassigned to other work.

That one script alone is saving the company a quarter of a million pounds a year.

one final thing to consider - Humans make mistakes, computers don't.

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YoichiSpeaks

13 years ago

Don't buy cheap bots. They won't do you any good. You get what you pay for. Invest in good software, don't buy cheap softwares to automate, you know its going to cause problems. If your business is not in the position to make that kind of an investment that can save you headaches, then you have to work your way up there.

and if you don't want to invest for a good software then

hire someone who will monitor your software so you don't have to worry.
because worry = stress = death.

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Julie McElroy

13 years ago

I understand how you feel, it feels like cheating, but I think there does come a point where some automation is neccessary (consider autoresponder software). But, there are crappy ones out there as well. I think it is a balance.

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mlevenhagen

13 years ago

It really depends on your model as to whether it makes sense to use automation tools.. but sure a chef can bake everything himself from scratch using kitchen tools they used a century ago, but he might spend all day in his kitchen to do what he could do in a fraction of the time.

Or better yet.. he could hire others to use those tools and serve more people.

Is he in the wrong using modern tools and equipment in the kitchen? We aren't much different..

In the early days I whistled the 'do it myself' tune more like you.. then at some stage I embraced automation and it had a dramatic effect on my productivity and what I could accomplish... And then I made another leap most recently teaching others how to use those tools for me.

That's like super-duper, no lifting a finger, out of sight, out of mind, automation.

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CDarklock

13 years ago

Originally Posted by mlevenhagen

a chef can bake everything himself from scratch using kitchen tools they used a century ago, but he might spend all day in his kitchen to do what he could do in a fraction of the time.

I am rather a large fan of classical kitchen tools, but I still use silicone baking mats, nonstick cookware, and don't even THINK about taking away my KitchenAid stand mixer.

You can have the microwave, though.

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mlevenhagen

13 years ago

Originally Posted by CDarklock

I am rather a large fan of classical kitchen tools, but I still use silicone baking mats, nonstick cookware, and don't even THINK about taking away my KitchenAid stand mixer.

You can have the microwave, though.

No microwave? Isn't that classical?

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CDarklock 13 years ago

Originally Posted by mlevenhagen

No microwave? Isn't that classical?

I believe but cannot prove that microwaves do Bad Things to animal cells, so no meat or dairy should ever be prepared in a microwave. Vegan dishes could be prepared in a microwave, but I did not fight my way up the damn food chain to eat a hot salad.
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stephfoster

13 years ago

As so many others have said here, automation has its place. I don't use a lot of it, but where I use it, automation is wonderful! That's because I took the time to pick the right tool for the job rather than just buying the bright and shiny hyped product or the free but doesn't really work product.

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koolphoto 13 years ago

I have been a commercial photographer for a long time. When I started it was film, paper and chemicals. Then Photoshop was introduced. I learned from day 1. It was so much better then the darkroom and smelly chemicals. Faster too. Then actions were introduced in Photoshop. I could program and then do repetitive tasks with the press of a button. A lot of actions I programed I use today. It makes my workflow faster and smoother.

My take on automation. It is only as good as the person pushing the button. I know photography from taking the photograph to developing the film to printing the picture. Using Photoshop to do this for me makes the end result faster for myself so I can do more for clients. The results I get are no different then the results I would get if I did everything by hand.

Now, I know photographers who only know Photoshop and the computer. They don't know the process the leads to a finished print. Some are careless and their quality is not up to standards only because they choose not to learn the whole process manually. Other digital photographers have studied how to take a photograph and the steps it takes to produce a finished print manually. Some are supurb photographers.

It is the same with the automation you are talking about. It just depends on the persons skill level. If someone can do something manually well, automation will make it easier for them. The end result will be the same even if they add automation. Some people are looking for shortcuts. They are the ones that will have problems.

So, I don't think automation is the problem. It boils down to the skill level of the person using the automation.
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Buildingfutures

13 years ago

I set up my own websites, I write my own articles, my own blogs, press releases, etc. But I use bots to submit those to the sites I need them submitted to.

The perfect blend of automation/control. Bots are good for a lot of things, as are website scripts. Don't be so quick to denounce them just because you 'might not have total control over them'.

-Sean

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cypherslock

13 years ago

If you buy one maybe TWO automation softwares then you're good. Personally Magic Submitter and Article Marketing Robot serve VERY well. And if you've taken the time to do proper content, and schedule it on a drip feed, you're good. You don't need much, but you need to consider the VALUE of software (even something like SENuke at 127$ a month) as opposed to cost.

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JimmyRose

13 years ago

Automation really is a case of working smarter not harder. There are reasons things are built by robots now

You can always have the best of both world: manually submit to the most important places, and auto submit to the crap ones.

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Miriam Higginbotham

13 years ago

I have been doing things manually but I am thinking about mixing some automation in there. I am very much a control person but I think I am going to have to learn to try automating some as my business grows.

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CMCarlin

13 years ago

OP, you need to learn about scaling and leverage.

This is a business and we trade resources for income or assets. Automation allows you to leverage time, money and other resources. If you do not do this, you will always have a 1 for 1 ratio of exchanged time and output. I.E You will never go higher than 20 article submissions in 2 hours if you always do it yourself.

This is a business. Scale it.

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dorian2786

13 years ago

I guess maybe you don't use an anti-virus either, its' pretty much automated in kepping your system in check and taking care of your lifeline (your computer).

You'd be surprised to know how many blogs and websites out their that are still enjoying long term income, got started by using automated software and not just automated article submitters.

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Why I don't like Automated Software.

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