Lots of bloggers seem to do everything right, yet they don’t see much success.
They write well-structured posts, they pay attention to SEO, they know the ins and outs of their blogging software … but something’s lacking.
That missing “something” can often be personality. It’s the difference between a blog that readers come across and instantly forget … and a blog that makes a connection and an impact.
Does your blog need a bit of extra personalisation? Here’s how ten top bloggers make their blogs stand out:
#1: Include Great Photos, like Caz and Craig from YTravel
As soon as you visit Pat’s blog, you see huge text of his name and photos of him with what he’s about – “father, husband, serial entrepreneur” – as well as his quirky humour: “protector of baby yoda”.
Lessons learned:
Don’t be afraid to go big! That might mean a huge photo of yourself, a bold statement, or an About page that’s filled with images.
Talk about who you are beyond blogging: Pat lists his favourite book, movie and game, and writes about his family on his About page.
#3: Develop a Strong, Identifiable Tone, like Shannon Kelly White [language warning]
Salty language tends to polarise readers: some love it and find it a big part of a blog’s appeal; others will be put off and won’t return. Shannon swears – frequently and enthusiastically – on her blog (even in her tagline and navigation menu):
Even if your tone alienates some readers, it’ll win the hearts of others. As one of the comments on Shannon’s About page puts it “I love someone who swears as much as me and sounds just as cool.”
#4: Get Custom Illustrations, like Ramsey from Blog Tyrant
As soon as you visit Blog Tyrant, you’ll see the red-shirted blogging super-hero avatar: this illustration features in the banner image on the home page, and in the feature images for several of his posts:
It’s also on the front cover of his free report.
Lessons learned:
Custom illustrations can create a sense of consistency across your blog. Blog Tyrant’s not the only blogger who uses them in this way: Social Media Examiner have their little jungle explorer in their header and at the start of each post.
If you’re not comfortable including personal photos, a cartoon version of you can be a great alternative.
#5: Focus on your ‘About Page’, like Elsie and Emma from A Beautiful Mess
New readers may land on any post on your blog … and you can bet if they like it they’ll be checking out who the blogger is behind the post, by clicking on your “About” page next.
It can help to give them a quick glimpse into who you are and what you’re all about. Sisters Elsie and Emma do this stylishly with a bright, bold photo and short but cacthy introduction.
Lessons learned:
An “About me” widget in your sidebar is a great place to create an instant connection with your reader. Include a link to your full About page too.
Happy, smiley photos of you are always a great draw. Some bloggers include these in the header, but the sidebar is a great alternative.
#6: Be Consistent With Your Branding Across Platforms, like Chris Ducker
Chris Ducker uses the same (smiling) headshots on each of his blog post images, his About page, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, creating a consistent brand across multiple platforms:
Lessons learned:
If you’ve gone to the time and expense of getting professional headshots done, use them – not just in your banner image, but on social media too.
You may want to have variations on your headshot, from the same shoot (compare Chris’s front page image with his About page headshot, for instance).
#7: Use Color to Boost Your Brand, like Jadah Sellner
When you visit Jadah’s site, your eyes are instantly drawn to her beautiful color scheme:
The colours of her clothes tie in with the color theme of the site: it feels like everything fits together seamlessly. (The whole combination feels like a warm, earthy makeup palette)
Lessons learned:
Color matters! Perhaps bright colours aren’t quite right for your blog, but you can still create a similar banner image that takes colours from a photo of you and uses them for text and other elements.
Use color consistently across your site: check out Jadah’s contact page for some examples.
#8: Use a Brand Statement in Your Content, like James Schramko from SuperFastBusiness
The first thing you see on James Schramko’s site is a brand statement calling out his business coaching services and who they’re for. Instantly, it’s clear what he’s all about and – crucially –what kind of audience/customer he’s making content for.
Lessons learned:
Don’t be afraid to be direct and let people know exactly what you’re about and who you’re blogging for.
Make sure, though, your focus isn’t just on yourself and your own story but on how you can have an impact on readers’ lives.
#9: Have a Tagline and “Call to Action” that Cuts Straight to the Chase, like Kelly Exeter
If you can tell your ideal readers, in just a few words, that your blog is exactly the right place for them:
(Your name) is a (what you do) who helps (your ideal reader)… (do what you offer).
And if you have something to offer, get your readers to take action straight away… There’s no use putting them through some complicated email subscription auto-responder series, just get them to click a button and “FIND OUT HERE” what you can do for them.
Like Kelly:
Lessons learned:
Think about your tagline as who you serve (“smart people”) and what your blog will help those people do (“amplify their ideas”).
Add a compelling call to action that gives your audience immediate access to what they came to your blog for in the first place
#10: Personalise Your Reader by Defining Them (or Helping them Define Themselves)
Emily has a TedTalk that identifies her personality type as a “Multipotentialite” and she creates an audience of people who identify with her definition.
The genius move by Emily is that on her home page she uses a quiz as a lead-magnet (“Are You a Multipotentialite?”) to convert random visitors to her site into repeat readers.
Lessons learned:
Define your audience. Help your audience define themselves. Use a quiz or questionnaire.
Develop a lead magnet that converts web traffic into an audience for your blog and put that front and centre.
How are you currently showing your personality on your blog? Did anything resonate with you as you looked at the above examples … and what will you try next?
It’s an idea for that KILLER blog post that is just bound to bring you all the traffic that you’ve ever dreamed of.
With the idea fresh in your mind you sit down at your keyboard and BANG it out – desperate to hit publish as quickly as you can for fear that someone else will beat you to the PUNCH!
As SMOKE rises from your keyboard you complete your post, quickly add a title to it and proudly hit PUBLISH!
Visions of an avalanche of visitors, incoming links and comments swirl before you…
But then…
Reality hits you like a SLAP in the face.
There are few visitors, no comments and no links.
It’s not a KILLER post – but not in a good way – it’s DEAD.
Ever had that experience?
I have – many, many times over.
Today I want to walk you through an alternative workflow for constructing a blog post…
One…
That…
Takes….
Time.
Crafting a Blog Post
If there’s one lesson that I’ve learnt about writing for the web it’s that a key element to writing successful blog posts is that in most cases they take time to CREATE.
I emphasize ‘create’ because I think too often as bloggers we ‘PUNCH’ out content as though we’re in a race or under some kind of deadline. It’s almost like we’re on a production line at times – unfortunately the posts we write often reflect this.
In this series I want to suggest an alternative approach – the crafting (or creation) of content.
This process is a more thoughtful process that is about crafting words and ideas – shaping posts into content that take readers on a journey.
To kick off this series, I want to suggest 10 points to pause at when writing a post on your blog. I’ll include a link to each post that follows in this series as I update them.
Instead of rushing through a post – I find that if I pause at these key moments my post rises to a new level of quality and posts tend to get more traction with readers. They don’t guarantee the perfect post – but they certainly take you a step closer to a good one.
A post needs to have a point. If it’s just an intriguing title and opening you’ll get people to read – but if the post doesn’t ‘matter’ to them it’ll never get traction.
Small mistakes can be barriers to engagement for some readers. Spending time fixing errors and making a post ‘look’ good can take it to the next level.
Having hit publish – don’t just leave it to chance that your post will be read by people. Giving it a few strategic ‘nudges’ can increase the exposure it gets exponentially.
Often the real action happens once your post is published and being interacted with by readers and other bloggers. Taking time to dialogue can be very fruitful.
Take Your Time
Taking extra time at each of these 10 points looks different for me in every post that I do – but I believe that every extra moment spent of these tasks pays off.
Sometimes the pause I take in one step will be momentary while in others it could take hours or even days to get it just right. Sometimes the above process happens quite automatically and other times I need to force myself to stop and ponder something like a title or the timing of a post.
Each of the 10 points above have much more that could be said about them so over the weeks I’ll be tackling each in turn in the hope that we can have some good discussion and sharing of ideas around them. I’ll link to each of them from within the list above as I release the posts.
For each point I hope to give some insight into how I tackle them and will share a few practical tips and examples of what I’ve done that has worked (and not worked). Don’t expect posts each day on this series – like all good things – this will take us some time!
Ever wondered if tapping away at your keyboard can really pay the bills?
Is it really possible to make a living from blogging?
Is it just a small number of people making money from blogging?
Is it only really possible to make money blogging if you write about the topic of making money blogging?
If it is really possible to make money blogging, how likely is it that you’ll succeed?
Let’s cut through the noise. With a swirl of myths and a sprinkle of truth, the blogging world is ripe with tales of riches and rumors of impossibility.
On one hand, we see hype on the topic. Periodically someone will claim to be able to make millions from blogging quickly. These claims are usually accompanied with the release of a product or service (i.e. they are marketing spin).
On the other hand, I periodically see people writing about how it is impossible to make money blogging (or that anyone claiming to be full time is either a scammer, a liar, or is selling something on the topic of making money online).
The reality is somewhere between these two extremes.
I’ve been in the game long enough to tell you: Yes, you can make money blogging. And no, it’s not just for the “make money online” gurus.
From personal hobby to full-time income, I’ve seen it all. Fashion, food, travel—you name it, bloggers are cashing in. But here’s the straight talk: it’s no overnight success story. It takes grit, creativity, and a bit of blogging savvy.
Ready to transform your blog from a digital diary into a moneymaker? Your blogging breakthrough starts now.
7 Things I know about making money from blogging
1. It is possible
I’ve been blogging for just under ten years and for nine of those I’ve been making money blogging. It started out as just a few dollars a day but in time it gradually grew to becoming the equivalent of a part-time job, then a full-time job, and more recently into a business that employs others.
I used to talk about the specific levels of my earnings when I started ProBlogger but felt increasingly uncomfortable about doing so (it felt a little voyeuristic and a little like a big-headed boasting exercise and I didn’t really see the point in continuing to do it)— but my income has continued to grow each year since I began.
On some levels I was at the right place at the right time—I got into blogging early (in 2002 … although I felt I was late to it at the time) and have been fortunate enough to have started blogs at opportune times on the topics I write about.
However I know of quite a few other bloggers who make a living from blogging, many of whom have not been blogging anywhere near as long as I have.
For some it is a hobby that keeps them in coffee; for others it is the equivalent of a part time job/supplementing other income from “real jobs” or helping their family out as they attend to other commitments (raising a family). For others it is a full-time thing.
2. There is no Single way to Make Money from Blogs
Recently at our Melbourne ProBlogger event I featured numerous Australian bloggers in our speaker lineup who fit somewhere in the part-time to full-time spectrum. They included:
Most of these bloggers are full-time (or well on the way to being full-time bloggers). They come from a wide array of niches and all monetize quite differently—doing everything from selling advertising, to having membership areas, to selling ebooks, to running affiliate promotions, to promoting their offline businesses, to selling themselves as speakers, to having book deals, and so on. Many have a combination of different income streams.
They are all also Australian, and are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what is happening here in Australia—the same thing is being replicated around the globe.
There are many ways to monetize a blog. To give you a quick sense of the many methods check out this “money map” I created a year or so back, which outlines just some that I brainstormed (click to enlarge).
From time to time, people have released products that claim to be formulas for success when it comes to making money online. They outline steps to follow to “guarantee” you’ll make money.
In my experience there is no formula.
Each full-time blogger I’ve met in the last ten years has forged their own path and has a unique story to tell. They have often acted on hunches and made surprising discoveries along the way.
There are certainly similarities in many of the stories but each blogger has their own personality and style, each one is reaching a different audience, and each niche tends to monetize differently.
The key lesson is to be aware of what others are doing and to learn what you can from each other, but to also be willing to forge your own path as well!
4. Many Niches Monetize
One common critique of the topic of monetizing of blogs is that the only people making money from blogging are the ones writing about how to make money blogging.
This is simply not true.
In the above list of speakers from our Melbourne event you’ll notice I included topic/niche of each blogger. None sell products teaching others to make money blogging—all are on blogging on “normal,” every-day topics.
My own experience of having a blog about blogging (ProBlogger) and a blog about Photography is that it is my photography blog that is by far the most profitable blog (I’d estimate it’s ten times more profitable).
I’ve interviewed numerous full-time bloggers of late in a webinar series including:
Interestingly, none of them make money by teaching others to make money online. Sarah largely blogs about health and wellbeing, Tsh blogs about simple living, and Ana blogs about woodwork.
5. Most bloggers don’t make a full-time living from Blogging
Every time I’ve surveyed readers of ProBlogger about their earnings, we’ve seen that those making money from blogging are in the minority.
In a recent survey of 1500 ProBlogger readers we asked about their monthly earnings. What you’re seeing below is the spread of earnings from readers who are attempting to make money blogging (note: not all ProBlogger readers attempt to make money, so not all are included in these results).
Keep in mind that ProBlogger readers are generally newish bloggers—about half of those who took this survey had been blogging for less than two years.
So of those trying to make money blogging, 10% don’t make anything and 28% are making less than 30 cents per day. A total of 63% make less than $3.50 per day.
Let’s be clear—most bloggers who are attempting to make money are not making a living from blogging.
Having said that, of the 1508 bloggers surveyed 65 (4%) are making over $10,000 per month (over six figures per year) and a further 9% were doing over $1000 per month (which is at least a part-time level of income).
My feeling, having been attending blogging conferences for six or so years now, is that the number of full-time bloggers is on the rise, and there are actually quite a few more people now at least making the equivalent of a couple of days’ work a week in income from their blogs.
However, most bloggers don’t make much.
6. It takes time to Build
When I dig down into the stats from the survey on income levels above, and do some analysis of those who are in the top income bracket, it is fascinating to look at how long they’ve been blogging.
85% of those in that top income bracket have been blogging for four years or more. Almost all of the others had been blogging for three or four years.
This certainly was my own experience. I blogged for a year without making money and once I started monetizing it was around two years of gradual increases before I approached a full-time income level. It would have been four years before I joined that top bracket of income (over $10,000 per month).
Blogging for money is not a get-rich-quick thing. It takes time to build an audience, to build a brand, and to build trust and a good reputation.
And of course even with four or five years of blogging behind you, there’s no guarantee of a decent income.
7. It takes a lot of Work
Longevity is not the only key to a profitable blog. The other common factor that I’ve noticed in most full-time bloggers is that they are people of action.
Passivity and blogging don’t tend to go hand in hand.
Blogging as “passive income stream” is another theme that we hear in many make-money-blogging products, however it is far from my own experience.
I’ve worked harder on my business over the last ten years than I’ve worked on anything in my life before this. It is often fun and gives me energy, but it takes considerable work to create content on a daily basis, to keep abreast of what’s going on in the community, to monitor the business side of things, to create products to sell, to build an audience, and so on.
The four main areas to focus upon in building profitable blogs are (click each for further reading):
The key is to build blogs that matter to people, that are original, interesting, and helpful. But this doesn’t just happen—it takes a lot of work.
Note: the other major factor is starting. It might sound obvious but I’m amazed how many people I meet have ‘dreams’ for starting a blog but never do it! Here’s how to start a blog (do it today)!
Conclusions
Yes, it is possible to make money blogging. There is an ever-increasing number of people making money from blogging at a part-time to full-time level —however they are still in the minority.
Those who do make a living from blogging come from a wide range of niches, however one of the most common factors between them is that they’ve been at it for a long while.
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In November 2002 I first heard the word blog after a mate e-mailed me a link and said I should consider starting one. Within 24 hours I’d created my first blog (a blogspot blog that doesn’t exist today). Since that time I’ve run 20+ blogs (most have survived, some have not) and I’ve also transitioned from hobby blogger to part time blogger to full time blogger.
Along the way have been many challenges, milestones and celebrations so today I thought I’d do some reflection and create a list of things I wish someone had sat me down and told me in the early days.
Here’s my top 18 lessons learned in my 20+ years of blogging. Write your own ‘lessons’ list and let us know about it in comments below. If you enjoy this list you might also like to subscribe to my newsletter to keep up to date on more posts like this on blogging.
1. Be Lucky
I’m increasingly becoming aware that despite the many hours of hard work that I’ve put into building up my business that many others work just as hard and are much more talented than I am but do not enjoy the success that I’ve been fortunate to have. While I don’t believe that luck is the main ingredient in my own story I am convinced that in combination with some of the other things I’ll talk about below it has been of real importance.
The luck I’ve had along the way has included just happening to bump into the right people at the right time (on many occasions), discovering ad systems that just happened to work well on my blogs, starting successful blogs quite by accident, getting links from bigger blogs that led to a snowball effect of incoming links from elsewhere through to choosing the right partners for different projects. I could write many thousands of words on the luck I’ve had but I’ll not bore you with the details except to say that I’ve been a lucky boy.
The key I’ve found with luck is to run with it and to make every lucky instance last as long as possible. So when you strike it lucky enjoy it but also ask yourself ‘how can I capitalise on my good fortune?’
2. Work Hard
Of course the saying that goes ‘you make your own luck’ has some truth to it. Gary Player once said – “The harder I practice, the luckier I get”
I’m a strong believer that to be successful you need to be willing to work hard. While there are plenty of people selling ‘easy money’ on the web I’m yet to find a method of money making that doesn’t have at least some element of work to it.
Success in many areas of life comes out of discipline and hard work. Getting your body in shape, having good relationships, succeeding at study etc all take some level of commitment and work. Work alone is definitely NOT everything (I’ve seen many hard working bloggers who have not had success) but it is one element that I think is essential.
If you want to get to places you’ve never been before you need to be willing to do things you’ve never done before. This sometimes means leaving one’s comfort zone and knuckling down for some hard work.
3. Use the Power of Exponential Growth
I’m not sure that that heading is the right words to describe this but I can’t think of any others that begin to describe the way in which blogging has the ability to snowball. Perhaps it’s a ‘Tipping Point’ thing but as I look at the last three years in terms of blog traffic, earnings, profile and opportunities I see that the first 18 months were very very slow. Growth was definitely there from month to month but because the numbers were so small it didn’t really feel like I was going anywhere.
The wonderful thing about exponential growth is that if you stick at it for the long term it’s a very powerful force. I look over at the poll I’m running this month and see that 27% of bloggers who responded are making $10 or less a month from Adsense and I know it sounds so little.
In reality it’s not that much but it’s more than I was making 2 years ago from blogging.
Here’s a calculation that I kept in my mind in the early days.
If that $10 a month increases by 20% every month in a year you’ll be earning $89.16 per month at the end of the year. Of course that sounds small for a year’s work and I’m sure many bloggers would give up at that point but lets take it further.
If earnings continued to rise by 20% per month for another 12 months and you begin to see the power of exponential growth with a figure of $794.96 per month. Do it for another year and the figure is $7088.01 per month.
Do those figures with the figure of 30% growth per month and the figure after 12 months is $232.98 per month, after two years its $5428.00 and after three years it’s $126,462 per month! You get the picture. Now I don’t want to promise you 30% growth per month for three years straight but as I’ve written before, the power of exponential growth in conjunction with hard work and luck is possible – it’s my story. I see each post I write as an investment in the future and something that has the potential to earn money for me not just today but over the long term.
4. Differentiate Yourself
Part of the ‘Luck’ I’ve had is that I started blogging three years ago and not three weeks ago.
The Blogosphere has changed in many ways – some for the better (the technology and tools these days are much more advanced) and some for the worse. The downside of starting out now is that for every topic there seems to be many blogs already – the web is becoming more and more congested as people discover personal publishing. It’s also become a more competitive business on some levels and in some segments some of the co-operative spirit of blogging has begun to fade as people build their empires.
All of this means that if you want to build a blog that is a runaway success you need to consider how your blog will differentiate itself from all the others out there. While not every blog needs to reach ‘runaway success’ status for you to make a living from blogging (20 reasonably successful blogs can do just as well as 1 amazing one) even lower level blogs need to find ways to stand out from the crowd.
5. Provide Value
This almost goes without saying but I’ll say it none the less. A key question every blogger should ask when starting out is around the idea of what value their blog will give readers. As I look at the year ahead I’ve been asking this question about some of my own blogs. It’s easy to go a bit stale and so reviewing the value that you’re adding is an important part of keeping things fresh.
Value can be about many things including entertainment, education, community, information, companionship etc Without it you’re not likely to get people returning to your blog, linking to it or participating in it over time.
6. Target a Niche
I remember after about 6 months of blogging having a discussion with my readers (I only had the one blog at the time) about whether I should continue to write a blog that was very general in topic or whether I should start a few new ones. I took a poll and they were pretty split over what I should do. I wish at that point I’d started new blogs but out of fear of losing a few readers I decided to plough on with a blog that covered incredibly diverse topics and that increasingly frustrated more and more readers who shared one interest with me but who were not interested in the other things I was writing about.
Moving to a niche approach where I developed blogs around more tightly focussed topics was where my blogging went to another gear and it was probably one of the most defining moments in my business.
This connects with my niche blogging point well but goes beyond just having multiple blogs on different niches. It’s really about taking the age old advice of not putting all your eggs in one basket.
While there is some real sense in focussing all your energy on one excellent blog there is some risk involved in this approach.
So much of blogging is out of the blogger’s control and there are numerous problems that could lead to a one blog strategy ending in disaster (these include search engine re-indexing, hacking, loss of data, character assassination, competition, the topic becoming obsolete etc). All good financial planners would advise not to invest in one type of investment but to spread the risk – I’d advise the same with blogging.
Diversification is not just about starting numerous blogs. It’s also about exploring a variety of income streams. i.e. if all your income is from AdSense it might be worth looking at other ad systems, affiliate programs, consulting work etc.
8. Don’t Spread Yourself too Thin
Of course take my points on hard work, niches and diversification to the extreme and a danger is developing so many blogs that none end up being remarkable enough to develop a readership and profile.
Balance is important so diversify to the point where it won’t decrease the value that you want to offer readers. This will vary from blogger to blogger depending upon many factors including available time, interests, personality, topic chosen etc. For some of you it will mean two blogs, for others it will mean 20 or more.
9. Have a Backup Plan
I’ve written on numerousoccasions about the e-mails I regularly get from people telling me that they are quitting their job to become a full time blogger without much thought to how they’ll pay their bills in the year or three that it might take to build up their blogging to pay a reasonable wage.
The moral of the story is that it does take time and in the mean time you need a back up plan and some sort of way to help you transition into your blogging business. Very few bloggers are able to go full time quickly – you might need another job (I had numerous other jobs for over 2 years) or some other form of income to keep you going for a couple of years. In fact the fact is that some bloggers work their butts off for a couple of years and still don’t have anything to show for it at the end. So be responsible and see ProBlogging as having amazing potential but as being something that has no guarantees.
I strongly recommend having a backup income while you transition into blogging and to have in the back of your mind a backup plan for if things go wrong. I’ve been developing a number of other skills and interests over the past year simply because I don’t know how long blogging will last as a full time income. While I hope and expect it will continue to work out for me I know I have a few different options at hand to down the track if it all goes pear shaped.
10. Be Light on Your Feet
One of the things I love about being a solo-entrepreneur is that I have a business that is flexible enough to take opportunities very quickly as they come up. When a wave of luck kicks in after all your hard work you need to be able to position yourself to surf the wave. If you’re too cautious or have a model that is too rigid you might just miss the opportunities as they pass by.
I’ve been caught napping a number of times in this way but have also had a couple of times where I’ve taken the opportunities and reaped the benefits. Of course I’m not saying one should throw caution out the window, but try to build something that has checks and balances that isn’t going to strangle the life giving opportunities that might come your way.
11. Relationships are Key
I was attracted to Blogging in the first place partly because of the way in which it enabled me (a shy guy) to connect with others interested in similar things to me. From the very beginning I enjoyed the relational nature of blogging but also the way in which it allowed me to retreat into my introversion from time to time.
As I look at the things that have been most successful for me in my blogging most of them have had the key ingredient of another person (or more than one) to either help me or partner with me. Most recent is my partnerships with Andy with six figure blogging and Jeremy, Duncan and Shai with b5media but the relationships go back much further than that and are many and varied. I try to put time aside every day to seek out and build relationship with key bloggers that I’d like to work with in some ways – it’s amazing how these connections pay off in many unexpected ways.
12. Establish Boundaries
One of the first blog tips that I ever wrote was on setting boundaries for your blogging. The post itself was pretty naively written at the time – as I reflect upon it I’m not sure I really knew what I was talking about – it was a nice theory at the time. In more recent times I’ve come to see that the point of those I was quoting in the post was incredibly valid and wise.
Boundaries are very important on a number of levels.
Firstly they are important on a security level and for your own well-being. I know this personally from recent events. Writing in the public domain can have it’s own risks associated with it. Work out ahead of time what information you will and won’t reveal about yourself, your personal details and those of your family and stick to those boundaries.
Secondly it’s also wise on a readership and niche definition level. Go changing what you will and won’t write about in terms of topics too often and you run the risk of disillusioning your readership. While variety in topic and voice can add spice to your blog you also will want some consistency in your approach.
13. Don’t Read Your Own Press
I recently saw an interview with Elizabeth Taylor who was asked if she read much of what people write about her in the media. Here answer was no – she didn’t listen to or ready anything any written or said about her good or bad. Her explanation as to why was (paraphrased)
‘If you listen to the good things people say about you you might just start believing them. If you listen to the bad things people say about you you might just start believing them’
While I wouldn’t go quite as far as Elizabeth Taylor in saying don’t read anything written about you (after all conversation and engagement with others is what blogging is built around) I would encourage bloggers to hold lightly to the opinion of others about you.
It’s easy to become big headed when people rave about how great you and your blogs are to the point where you end up being a complete jerk and think you’re the messiah but on the flip side it’s also easy to become disillusioned and depressed when they rant about and attack you. Part of the skill of being a good blogger that comes over time is that ability to know when to take on board what others are saying about you and when to leave it. It is important to listen to the praise and critiques of others but try to keep them in perspective or it could lead to your downfall.
14. Beware of Hype
Controversy, Sensationalism, Big Claims and Rants are all very useful tools available to bloggers. Many a new blog has found itself in the spotlight (either by design or accident) after a post where the blogger created a stir with one (or more) of these elements.
I don’t have an issue with using these types of posts myself from time to time but I would advise that it’s very difficult to sustain a blog built solely upon these elements. Blog readers are a fairly fickle bunch and will come read your post that generates a stir but unless they find something of genuine value in your blog over time they’ll probably not hang around too long.
By all means use these tactics to get your attention (but have thick skin because creating a stir can cause a backlash) but you’ll want your blog to have something else going for it to make a lasting impression.
Also keep in mind the story of the ‘boy who cried wolf’. Hyped posts might work once or even twice, but they tend to lose their impact over time unless you work hard to make them fresh.
15. Get a Life
I remember someone once telling me that ‘no one ever gets to their death bed and wishes that they’d spent more time at work’. I remember nodding and making affirming noises. You see at the time I was a lazy slob, didn’t enjoy hard work and never spent much time doing any.
Of course these days I actually DO enjoy my work and the temptation is to spend a lot of time doing it. I love blogging for it’s creativity, relationships as well as the good pay packet that enables me to do things for others and I could quite easily spend a lot more time doing it. As a result I spend considerable time working at my business.
But I’ve also learned that unless I take time off the rest of life tends to fall apart at the seams. Not only that but the quality of work I produce suffers after 16 hours in front of the computer and improves drastically when I sleep more than 5 hours and interact with real people or get into one of my hobbies (go figure). While I love it, blogging will still be there tomorrow and I have a much more balanced approach to it than I once did.
16. Make Mistakes
It doesn’t feel that good when you stuff up or make a mistake but as I look back on the last year or so it’s the times when I’ve blundered that opportunities have often flowed. The key is to learn from the mistake, to make the most of what follows and to see it as an opportunity to improve what you do and make the most of any publicity that comes out of it.
Elbert Hubbard got it write when he wrote – ‘The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.’
Learn to see mistakes as opportunities.
17. Be Yourself
One of the temptations of starting a blog is to spend more time trying to emulate other bloggers than establishing your own voice and style. While there are a lot of lessons to be learned from other blogs there is a lot to be said for developing a strong blogging identity of your own.
There are a number of reasons for this that come to mind:
Transparency – readers are an insightful bunch and will quickly find you out if you’re not being genuine
Sustainability – it’s difficult to sustain writing in a voice and personality that is not your own. Be yourself and you’ll last a lot longer.
Consistency – regular readers of a blog overtime take on a sense of ownership of a blog. When you chop and change your writing to emulate and please others you’ll end up disillusioning the people who make your blog what it is (your readers). Be yourself and you’re more likely to be consistent (I’m not suggesting be monotonous – you can still be creative and surprising – just do it in your own style and you’ll be right).
18. There are No Rules
Lists like these always finish with a point like this that says ignore all of the above – but that’s not the point of this point (can you have a point of a point?).
All of the above is essential stuff (for me) but the thing I love about blogging is that it’s such a new and emerging technology that there are very few things that you can’t do or shouldn’t try.
Push the boundaries, experiment with the model you’ve got, try new tools and techniques and have a blast doing it. The worst thing you can do really is make a mistake – and we all know that they rock!
What Lessons have your Learnt in Blogging? Write your own list and leave a comment below telling us about it.
Ever dreamt of making a living through blogging but feel overwhelmed by the journey ahead?
You’re not alone. Many aspiring bloggers share the ambition of turning their passion into a full-time job, yet the path to achieving this goal often seems daunting.
The Dream of Full-Time Blogging
Last night I was chatting with a blogger who was feeling completely overwhelmed with their goal of making a living from blogging.
I asked them how much they wanted to make from blogging.
They responded that they wanted to be a full time blogger.
I pushed them for a figure – what does ‘full time’ mean for you?
They thought for a moment and said that they could live off $30,000 USD a year (note: they wouldn’t have minded earning more but would be able to quit their current job at this kind of rate).
$30,000 a year sounds like a lot to make from a blog – especially when you’re starting out and are yet to make a dollar. To this blogger it seemed so overwhelming that she had almost convinced herself that it was not possible.
Transforming Overwhelm into Action
If you’re in a similar boat, feeling like you’ve hit a wall in your blogging journey, here are three pivotal steps to help you navigate through:
1. Don’t Give Up Your Day Job…. Yet
Earning $30,000 a year from blogging is achievable, but it demands patience and realism. Overnight success is rare in the blogging world. Maintaining your current job while gradually building your blog ensures financial stability and allows you to invest in your blog without immediate pressure for returns.
2. Set Clear, Specific Goals
Saying that you want to be full time as a blogger is a great goal – but it’s not really specific enough. This is why I wanted the blogger I was chatting with to name a figure. For her full time was $30,000 – for others it could be more or less – the amount is not the point, the point is that you need something more concrete to work towards so that you’re able to measure where you’re at.
For me when I decided I want to go full time as a blogger I decided that I wanted to aim for $50,000 (Aussie Dollars) in a year as the bench mark (at that time $50,000 was around 36,000 USD). That’s around what I would have been earning in my current main job if I had been doing that full time (I was actually working a number of part time jobs at the time as well as studying part time).
Knowing what I was aiming for helped me in a number of ways when it came to getting to that goal.
3. Break Down Your Goals into Something More Achievable
$30,000 USD still sounds big when you’re a new blogger – and in some ways it is. However there are different ways of thinking about that figure. Lets break it down in the way that I used to look at my target.
$30,000 a year = $576.92 per week
$30,000 a year = $82.19 a day
$30,000 a year = $3.42 an hour
We could break it down on a monthly or on a minute by minute basis if we wanted to (in fact I did do it by minute from time to time for fun) – but the exercise is really about helping you to see that perhaps your big goal is a little more achievable if you are to break it down. Making $82.19 somehow seems a little bit easier to me than making $30,000 (or is that just me?). Viewing your goal through these smaller lenses can make it appear more attainable and manageable.
OK – the other way that I used to break down my goal that I found really helpful to me was to do it based upon what I need to achieve to meet that target. For me I would usually look at the daily figure – in this case $82.19.
What do I need to do to make $82.19 a day ($30,000 a year)?
Well there’s a number of ways that much. Lets look at a few:
CPC Ads – lets say we’re running mainly AdSense on our blog and that the average click is paying 5 cents. That equates to 1643 clicks on AdSense ads (note: AdSense also runs CPM ads so it’s not quite as simple as saying you need 1643 clicks… but to keep this simple lets just go with that).
CPM Ads – lets say that we’re running CPM ads on our blog and we’re being paid $2 CPM per ad unit and we had 3 ads on each page (which is effectively $6 CPM per page). This would mean we’d need 13,000 page impressions.
Monthly Sponsorships – one way to sell ads directly to advertisers is to sell ads on a month by month basis as a sponsorship. To make $30k in a year you need to sell $2500 a month in ads. You might have 6 ad spots on your blog so this is 6 advertisers at $416.66 per advertiser per month.
Low Commission Affiliate Products – Lets say we were promoting affiliate products from a site like Amazon and your commissions were on average about 40 cents per sale. To earn $82.19 you’d need to sell 205 products.
High Commission Affiliate Products – In this case you might be promoting ebooks and earning $8 a copy (that’s what you’d earn selling my 31DBBB ebook per commission). The math is simple on this one – you’d had to sell around 10 e-books a day.
Really Big Commission Affiliate Products – of course e-books are not the biggest product out there to promote – there are products like training courses where you can earn hundreds per sale. Lets take one that might pay out $300 for a yearly membership on a bigger product. In this case you need to sell 8 of these per month.
Selling Your Own E-book – got your own product, perhaps an e-book, to sell from your blog? At $19.95 a sale you need to sell just over 4 of these a day. You can do the sums on cheaper or more expensive products.
Of course there are many many other ways to make money from blogs. Subscriptions, donations, paid reviews, selling yourself as a consultant….. etc. You can do the sums for yourself on your own model.
I know that some of the above figures still sound out of reach for bloggers – 1643 clicks on your AdSense ads sounds massive to a new blogger…. and it is – but do keep in mind that you can combine some of the above (in fact I’d recommend you diversify your income).
You might run 2 ad networks on your site, promote Amazon affiliates, sell your own e-book and promote someone’s membership course.
Reflecting on Income Streams
When I first aimed for a full-time blogging income, I diversified my revenue through a mix of AdSense, Chitika, direct ad sales, Amazon affiliate sales, and other commissions. It took over two years of dedicated blogging to reach my goal of $50,000 AUD annually and for me at that time my income mix looked a like this (going from memory here):
AdSense: $35
Chitika: $20
Private Ad Sales: $20
Amazon: $15
Other Affiliate Commissions: $10
Note: I didn’t achieve this milestone until I’d been blogging for over 2 years (I blogged for the first year without trying to make money).
Embracing the Journey
This didn’t happen over night (let me emphasize this – blogging for money is neither quick nor is it easy money) but I really found that breaking things down into more bite sized pieces helped me to stay motivated but also helped me to identify what I needed to work on in order to reach my goals (and for me to quite my day job). Remember, persistence and a strategic approach are key.
Again – don’t quit your day job yet (in fact you may not want to quit it even when you reach your goal – it can be good to have a back up plan) but do work hard at being specific about your blogging goals and attempt to break it down in a way that helps you move towards them.
Remember: Blogging is a marathon, not a sprint. By setting clear goals, breaking them down into achievable targets, and diversifying your income sources, you can build a blog that not only fulfills your passion but also provides a sustainable income. Stay committed, stay focused, and let every small success propel you closer to your dream of full-time blogging.
Have you ever found yourself staring at your blog, wondering what on earth to write about next?
You might think you’ve explored every angle of your topic, leaving no stone unturned. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone.
Many bloggers encounter this challenge, especially after the initial excitement fades, usually between 6 to 12 months into their blogging journey. This feeling of having “said it all” can be discouraging, but it’s far from the end of the road.
The Myth of Exhausted Topics:
The feeling that you’ve covered every topic under the sun is a common misconception among bloggers. Rather than viewing your blog archives as a completed checklist, I encourage you to see them as a goldmine of untapped potential. Your past posts are not just remnants of your blogging journey; they’re stepping stones to deeper, more enriched content. Here’s why:
Depth Over Breadth: Topics, especially in dynamic fields like blogging, are never truly “done.” Just as you grow and evolve, so do your topics and your niche. What was relevant a year ago may have new implications today, and your understanding of certain concepts has likely deepened. This evolution is a perfect opportunity to revisit old subjects with fresh eyes and new insights.
New Readers, Fresh Perspectives: Your audience is continually changing, with new readers discovering your blog every day. These new followers haven’t journeyed through your archives; to them, your older content is brand new. Revisiting past topics can introduce your newer audience to valuable insights they’ve missed, while also giving you the chance to update and refine your earlier views.
As a result of these two factors you should see your archives of old posts not only as a collection of your previous thoughts but as a springboard for new ones.
I regularly scan through old posts for ideas for future ones. I particularly look for posts that I either disagree with (due to a change of perspective) or posts that I think I could go deeper with. Sometimes I link back to my old posts to show the progression of thinking but on many occasions I simply write them as standalone new content.
Turning your archives into a source of inspiration can transform the way you approach content creation. Here are some practical strategies to get you started:
Audit Your Archives: Dive into your past posts and identify which topics could be updated, expanded upon, or even challenged. Look for posts that once sparked lively discussions or those that continue to draw attention. These are perfect candidates for a follow-up.
Disagree With Your Past Self: As you evolve, so do your opinions and strategies. If you find posts that no longer align with your current views, write a rebuttal. This not only demonstrates your growth but also encourages readers to engage in the evolving conversation.
Deep Dive Into Complex Topics: Some subjects can’t be fully covered in a single post. Identify previous topics that could benefit from a more detailed exploration. Breaking down complex ideas into multiple posts or series can provide tremendous value to your readers.
Introduce New Formats: Revisiting a topic doesn’t mean you have to stick to the same format. If your initial post was text-heavy, consider creating an infographic, video, or podcast episode to explore the subject from a different angle.
Encourage Reader Participation: Invite your audience to suggest topics they’d like to see revisited or expanded upon. This not only gives you direct insight into what your readers find valuable but also fosters a sense of community and engagement.
Feeling like you’ve covered every possible topic in your niche is a sign that it’s time to revisit your archives, not a signal to give up. By viewing your past content as a foundation for growth and development, you can continue to produce engaging, relevant, and valuable posts for your audience. Remember, the key to maintaining blogging momentum is not always about finding something new to say but finding new ways to say it.
When you treat your archives as a living part of your blog that can be revisited over time you actually take the conversation into a new realm – talking to yourself. While ‘talking to yourself’ might sound a little strange (my mum always said it was the first sign of madness) I think its actually one of the first signs of a maturing blogger who is taking their blog to a new level by refining their thoughts on a topic. It’s through this refining process that real wisdom and expertise surfaces.
Without revisiting your previous thoughts or ideas you run the risk of becoming stagnant and limit your own growth in your chosen field.
Action Plan:
Start today by taking a leisurely stroll through your blog’s archives. What hidden gems can you find? How can your past self inspire your future content? Let the journey of rediscovery fuel your next great post.
What do you see there that is out of date?
What old posts do you disagree with?
Where could you go deeper?
What older posts might your newer readers have never seen?
If you’re still struggling, one of my favorite techniques in business for organising my thoughts, helping me to review, plan and organise my business and to think creatively and generate loads of ideas is to use mind mapping – listen to this podcast episode to hear how I do it.
I find it is very easy to get distracted by the many different elements of maintaining a blog and the allure of social media, to the point where I find it hard to do the core element – creating content.
Here’s how dedicating specific times to write can not only reclaim your momentum but transform your blog’s trajectory.
The Power of a Writing Routine
Establishing a writing routine isn’t just about discipline; it’s about carving out a space for creativity and productivity to flourish. Research suggests that routines can significantly reduce stress, enhance focus, and boost creativity. Embracing a consistent writing schedule not only helps in managing your blog more efficiently but also in nurturing your mental well-being.
I do this by setting aside time each day (usually the same time each day) for writing but also setting aside longer times on a weekly basis (ie at present I’m experimenting with making Mondays ‘writing day’). I’ve also at times taken even longer periods of time to go away for the sole purpose of writing (ie for a weekend). I find that setting this time aside, away from distractions – and even away from being online altogether – really lifts the quality and style of my writing.
Not everyone’s creative peak happens in the morning. Experiment with writing at different times to discover when you’re most productive. Pay attention to your body’s natural rhythms—your circadian rhythms play a crucial role in determining your most fertile periods for creativity.
A writing session without a goal is like a ship without a compass. Set achievable targets for each session, whether it’s a word count, a post length, or a number of posts. This clarity will guide your efforts and heighten your sense of accomplishment.
Soemthing I do every day, even two or three times a day, is to analyse critically:
‘What am I doing right now and is it worthwhile? Is this three hours I just spent on social media taking me closer to my goals—and it could—or is it taking them away?’
This kind of questioning has become an automatic part of my daily work rhythm. By paying conscious attention to it, it’s become second nature. While that doesn’t always stop me from becoming distracted, it does help me stay focused.
Minimizing Distractions for Maximum Productivity
Distractions are the arch-nemesis of productivity. In a world where every ping could lead down a rabbit hole, creating a distraction-free writing environment becomes crucial. Consider using social media blocking apps, establishing a designated writing space, or wearing noise-cancelling headphones to keep the focus on your writing.
Here’s a couple of posts from ProBlogger writers covering other ways to focus on writing amidst distraction:
Several digital tools can aid your journey towards a disciplined writing schedule. Google Calendar or Trello can help you plot your writing times, while Scrivener or Google Docs offers a seamless writing experience. For inspiration and organization, turn to Feedly for staying updated with industry news or Evernote for managing your research and ideas efficiently.
Engagement: The Heartbeat of Your Blog
Invite your readers to be a part of your journey. Share your experiences with managing writing schedules and ask for their strategies and challenges. This dialogue not only enriches the content but fosters a community of shared growth and learning.
What tips do you have to share with me?
And what tips do your readers have to share with you?
Case Studies: Success Stories
To give you some inspiration, we asked 14 top bloggers who’ve mastered the art of consistent writing to offer their invaluable insights and motivation…
While the emphasis on a writing schedule is paramount, acknowledging the need for flexibility is equally important. Life’s unpredictability demands a degree of adaptability. Sharing strategies for adjusting your schedule without derailing your blog’s progress can provide readers with practical advice for navigating their blogging journey. Here’s how I try to Balance Between Family Life and Blogging Life.
Incorporating a strategic writing schedule is more than just a tactic for content creation; it’s the backbone of a thriving blog. This disciplined approach enhances your connection with readers, showcasing that true blogging success springs from both the quality of your content and the thoughtful planning that goes into it.
Blogging thrives on conversation. It’s not just about broadcasting your ideas; it’s about sparking dialogue and engaging with your community.
One of the most vibrant places for these interactions is often overlooked—the comment section.
As we continue “maintaining momentum” on your blog, let’s explore a strategy that places your readers at the heart of your content creation: leveraging their comments to guide your blogging journey.
I’ve always believed that the comments, questions, and shared experiences from you, the readers, are a goldmine of inspiration. Every comment left on ProBlogger is a potential catalyst for a new post. I read each comment that is left and attempt to respond wherever possible within comment threads. However, the nature of blogging means that conversations can quickly fade as new posts emerge. Although tools like ‘recent comments’ widgets and ‘comment subscription’ plugins can prolong the discussion, they only offer a temporary fix.
The real magic happens when I elevate a reader’s comment to the spotlight of a new blog post. This does more than just acknowledge a reader; it invites the entire community to dive deeper into the conversation, fostering a sense of ownership and belonging on your blog.
Creating Momentum through Engagement
This approach serves a dual purpose:
It provides fresh content ideas. Running out of topics? Your comment section is brimming with inspiration for your next post. In fact, one of my favourite content production techniques is to turn a blog post upside down to get more comments.
Link to the Discussion: Kickstart a new post by pointing your readers to an engaging conversation happening in the comments of a previous post. Check out this post as an example of this method.
Spotlight a Comment: Select a notable comment and feature it in a new post, ensuring to link back to the original discussion and credit the commenter. My motto is “Make Your Reader’s Famous” (see point 7 of this article)
Write a Follow-Up Post: Combine the above tactics with your reflections. Some comment threads have the power to change your perspective or introduce you to new ideas. By acknowledging these shifts openly, you demonstrate the value you place on your readers’ insights.
Using reader comments in your posts isn’t just a token gesture of appreciation. It shows how much you value your community. This approach not only makes the conversation on your blog better but also builds a strong sense of mutual respect and collaboration.
In reality, this strategy has helped ProBlogger keep moving and even gain more momentum. It reminds us that real connections are key to a successful blog.
So, I encourage you to see your comment section as more than just feedback. Think of it as a place where growth, inspiration, and closer connections with your readers can happen. Remember, the real power of your blog doesn’t just come from the content you make but also from the discussions it starts and keeps going.
This week at ProBlogger, we’re diving deep into a topic close to every blogger’s heart: how to keep the momentum going, no matter what life throws your way. Whether you’re just starting out or you’re a seasoned pro, maintaining your blog’s momentum is key to its success.
Last week, we talked about the initial planning stages of a blog that will help to create a sustainable blog for the long term. But let’s be real, most of you reading this already have your blogs up and running. So, today, we’re shifting gears to focus on how to keep that blog thriving, especially through the unpredictable waves of life that might often bring blogging to a halt (many of which I covered here).
Planning for Life’s Big Moments
What ‘life events’ do you have coming up that could potentially break the momentum of your blog?
Life’s big events—be it a joyous occasion like a wedding or the arrival of a new family member, or the exciting transition of taking a holiday or starting a new job—can throw a wrench in your blogging routine. The key here is anticipation and planning. Ask yourself: What big events do I have on the horizon? How can they impact my blogging schedule, and what steps can I take now to prepare?
With some forward thinking the impact of such events can be minimised (and even alleviated). Options for handling these planned interruptions range widely.
These strategies are all legitimate – but it’s important to know what you’ll do, to communicate this to your readers and to especially think about how you’ll reengage with your blogging after the event (more on this shortly).
Dealing with the Unexpected
What would I do if some unexpected life event made it difficult or impossible to blog?
Then there are those life events we can’t plan for—illness, loss, emergencies. While we can’t predict these, we can think ahead about how we’d handle our blogging commitments during such times. Who could you call on to help keep your blog running? Do you have a contingency plan, like a set of evergreen posts ready to publish, or a way to let your readers know you’re taking a break?
I don’t have specific contingency plans for my blogs for these events but have given it some thought. I do know that on my main blogs there are other bloggers that I could approach to take on some of the load (voluntarily or paid) in an emergency. I also have a couple of people who have administrative rights to my blogs in case of an emergency (sort of like giving a friend a key to your house in case you lock yourself out).
For some the contingency plan might simply be a post telling readers that there will be no blogging for the next period of time due to whatever reason you might have. For others it might mean involving others in a blog, having some backup posts ready to go, having a series of questions for bloggers to discuss on your topic, a lighter blogging frequency etc.
Reengaging After a Break
How will you reengage with your blog after a period away from it?
Taking a break from blogging is important. I try to do this both on a micro level (breaks throughout the day and days off each week) but also on a macro level (extended breaks/vacations).
I’m pretty good at taking extended breaks – but find it difficult to get back into the rhythm of blogging when I return.
Here’s how I tackle it:
Ease back into it – don’t expect to jump back in at full speed. Give yourself time to catch up on comments, emails, and your reading list.
Plan for a buffer – extend your break by a day or two on either end to give yourself time to catch up. This isn’t just about extending the holiday but about managing the workload waiting for you.
Set a deadline – announce your return in advance to create accountability for yourself.
Start slow – gradually ramp up your posting frequency. Let your readers know you’re getting back into the swing of things and might need a bit of time to return to your normal schedule.
Next, we’ll explore practical tips to help you maintain your blog’s momentum. Stay tuned!
But for now, remember: blogging is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s about pacing yourself, planning for the highs and lows, and knowing that it’s okay to take a step back when life demands it. You’ve got this.
Originally posted by Darren Rowse, Updated for 2024
Starting a blog is an adventure—a journey I’ve embarked on more times than I can count. And along the way, I’ve learned a thing or two about what it takes to keep that momentum going. Today, I want to share some updated insights on maintaining your blogging momentum, reflecting on today’s digital landscape and planning for success from the get-go. If you already have a blog, reading this article might help you refocus or unlock the solution to a problem that has been standing in the way of your success.
1. Choosing Your Topic Wisely
The breadth of your topic can make or break your blog. Too broad, and you’ll be overwhelmed. Too narrow, and you might quickly run out of steam. Here’s how to find that sweet spot:
Modern Research Tools: Beyond Google News, tools like Ahrefs, BuzzSumo, Google Trends and Answer the Public can offer a wealth of insight into what’s trending in your niche. Use these to gauge the pulse of your potential topic.
Real-world Success Stories: Let’s learn from blogs that have nailed their niche. For instance, look at how “Minimalist Baker” thrives by focusing on simple, delicious recipes requiring 10 ingredients or less, one bowl, or 30 minutes or less to prepare.
A practical exercise that I encourage you to do is to simply brainstorm what posts you could write on the topic. Simply put down on paper as long a list of post titles as you can as quickly as possible. If after 10 minutes you only have a handful of potential post ideas you might want to either widen your topic or find another one. To get your imagination going, you could start with a mind map.
2. Fueling Your Passion
Does the topic excite you? Are you motivated enough to write about it for the long term?
The energy you bring to your blog is its heartbeat. Without genuine interest and passion, your blog might not withstand the test of time.
Ask yourself what your passion and energy levels are for the topic you’re considering blogging about. Be brutally honest about this because as I found, we can sometimes fool ourselves into thinking we are interested in a topic when we are not.
Here are a few questions you might like to ask:
Can you honestly see yourself writing on the topic in 2 or more years time?
Is the topic one that you’re proud to be covering?
Do you want to be known as an expert on this topic?
I’m not saying that you can’t start blogs on topics that you don’t want to be known for or that you’re not interested in – but these questions will help you to work out what your motivations are which is an important step in the process of building a sustainable blog.
If you’re not interested in your topic your potential readers will sense this and the chances of success will fall.
Successful blogs are almost always long term efforts and most do not really begin to see significant ‘success’ for 12 or more months. They take a significant investment of time and energy and I guess all I’m saying is that it’s worth considering if the topic is something that you want to invest your life into for such a significant amount of time.
Here’s what to consider:
Align With Your Personal Brand: Ensure your blog reflects what you’re passionate about and how you want to be perceived professionally. It’s not just a blog; it’s a part of your identity.
Community and Engagement: Joining blogging communities and participating in online forums can reignite your passion and provide fresh perspectives. Platforms like Reddit or LinkedIn groups are gold mines for such interactions.
Balancing Blogging and Life: Remember, your well-being is paramount. Embrace tools and practices that support a healthy balance, ensuring your blogging journey is sustainable and enjoyable.
I’ve written more extensively about “Finding Your Spark” on my own personal blog. In that article I identify four places to look first for inspiration.
3. Realistic Time Management
How much time do you have? Do you have time for this blog?
Every blog demands time, but how much can you afford? Here’s how to ensure you’re not biting off more than you can chew:
Leverage Time-saving Tools: With Trello, Asana, or Notion, you can streamline your blogging process, from brainstorming ideas to scheduling posts.
Automate Where Possible: Use tools like Buffer or SEMrush to automate social media posting and SEO tasks, freeing up more time for writing and engaging with your audience.
Quality Over Quantity: It’s tempting to run multiple blogs or post daily, but focusing on creating high-quality, impactful content will serve you (and your readers) better in the long run.
Wrapping Up
As we look ahead, remember that blogging is a marathon, not a sprint. Embrace the journey, stay adaptable, and never stop learning. Whether you’re refining an existing blog or starting a new one, these considerations will help you build a solid foundation for success.
Stay tuned for our next post, where we’ll dive into strategies for sustaining momentum once your blog is off the ground. Happy blogging!
People read and then subscribe to blogs that they think will enhance their lives in some way in the future.
Many bloggers create a sense of anticipation on a blog quite instinctively – but there are numerous things that you can do quite intentionally to create anticipation and increase the chances of someone subscribing.
So how do you convince people that something that you’re yet to create is worth signing up for?
Today I want to share one effective strategy for building anticipation on a blog with some practical ideas on how to implement it. Like yesterday’s post – it’s not rocket science – but it is something that has worked for me.
Highlight Current and Past Quality Content
Probably the most convincing argument to a reader that you’ll write something that they can’t live without in the future is to have already written something that they have connected with.
Your current and past posts are your most effective advertisements for a continued relationship to those arriving on your blog.
As a result – one of the most effective strategies for creating anticipation on a blog is to put your best content in front of those visiting your blog – show them what you can do and let the quality of that work speak for itself.
Think back to to blogs that you’ve subscribed to lately – if you’re anything like me you’ve subscribed in most cases as a result of reading a post you thought was helpful, interesting, entertaining… etc
Most of us click the RSS feed icon or subscribe link based upon the quality of what we already read in the hope of seeing more of it.
So what’s the lesson here?
Actually there are two lessons – one is obvious and the other many fail to do.
1. The obvious one is to write great content and to do it regularly – its got to be your number 1 priority as a blogger.
2. The less obvious one is to put your best content into the view of those who are yet to subscribe to your blog – particularly first time visitors (who are crucial to target if your objective is to build the number of subscribers to your blog). Let me share a few ways you can do this.
How to Highlight Your Best Content
There are numerous ways to highlight your best content so and in doing so give people reason to subscribe to your feed.
1. Sneeze Pages – Perhaps the most useful technique that I can show you is to creating Sneeze Pages on your blog. I’ve recently done this on Digital Photography School. Look at the ‘Digital Photography Tips’ section in my sidebar (pictured left) – these links point to ‘sneeze pages’ that highlight my best and most popular content.
In having these sneeze pages I not only increase my page views – but I show new readers to my blog just how much I’ve already covered and hopefully increase the sense of authority and credibility that I have.
The subscription rate from users hitting these sneeze pages is extremely high (note – I have prominent ways to subscribe on these sneeze pages and the pages that they link to).
2. ‘Best of’ Sections – Another is to create sections in your sidebar or front page that highlight your best work. Check out this example from a previous design of the ProBlogger website, where we this is the ‘Best of ProBlogger’ section on my front page of this blog. This section is ‘hot’ – quite literally. Check out this heat map (taken a few months back using the CrazyEgg tool) of this section to see how many people click on it.
The benefits of this are numerous – but ultimately it’s about driving people to previously written quality content. My observations are that it’s these popular pages where many subscribers to my blog come from.
3. Landing Pages – Another strategy is to use a plugin like Landing Sites to sense when a reader is arriving on your blog for the first time and showing them other posts you’ve written on the topic they are searching for.
This works well – particularly if you have a large archive – because someone arriving on your blog not only sees one post on the topic that they’re looking for but numerous (increasing the perception that you’re a comprehensive source of information on that topic).
4. Interlink Posts – You should be regularly linking to your previous best quality posts in new posts. In doing this you constantly drive people to the pages where they see writing of a quality that is likely to convince them that you know what you’re talking about. The more pages that they view that they find useful the more chance of them subscribing.
But Wait There’s More
The key to the above four techniques is to send new readers to your highest quality and most helpful posts and then to present them with opportunity to subscribe on these posts (update: here’s my post with more tips on how to build anticipation on your blog).
However this highlighting content isn’t enough on it’s own.
It will definitely work to some degree but there are numerous other ways to create anticipation on a blog and to these I’ll be turning my attention tomorrow.
Once, at Blog World Expo I was coming down off the stage after presenting on a panel when out of the corner of my eye I noticed someone moving towards me – fast.
Within a second of seeing the movement I was literally jumped upon and found myself in a tangle of arms, hair and tears – I wasn’t being attacked, but I was being hugged within an inch of my life.
I didn’t know what to do at first – I didn’t know who was hugging me but while a bit of a shock at first I could tell the person was genuine and so did the only thing I could think to do – I hugged back.
After a few seconds of hugging the person pulled away. I had expected it to be someone I knew but realised pretty quickly that this was a stranger (or at least she had been a moment or two before). She had tears in her eyes and was obviously emotional – I didn’t know why until she began to talk.
For the next 4-5 minutes my hugging assailant (a reader as it turns out) talked, almost without taking a breath. She told me about the first day she read my blog (she remembered the first post), she told me about how it had helped her, she told me about the ups and downs of her blogging, she told me about her family, she told me about my family, she told me that she’d bought my book, joined my community, bought my ebook, she just talked…..
She talked as if we’d known each other for years – I guess in a way we had…
Gradually my new friend began to slow down (and breathe) she suddenly began to become a little more self conscious. She began to blush a little as she realised how what she’d just done. I assured her that it was totally fine and in her flustered state she said:
“It’s just that I feel like I know you.”
As we continued to speak I realised that here was someone who I had previously not known had existed (she’d never left a comment or said a word on my blog in over 3 years) who ‘knew’ me – at least to some degree.
Here was someone who’d not only read something that I’d written daily for years – but someone who had watched my videos, had noted when I’d become a Dad, had seen when I’d travelled, had observed my disappearances from the blog when I’d been unwell.
She didn’t know all this stuff because she was a crazy stalker (far from it) but because I’d allowed myself to blog in a way that was personal.
Not that ProBlogger is a ‘personal blog’ as such (not in the sense that I blog about the movies that I see, the things I eat or the everyday experiences that I have) – but I inject something of myself into this blog:
I use my real name
I share images of myself from time to time in posts and on key pages
I share videos where people can see my face and hear my voice
I include details of what’s happening in my life and family (usually in passing and by way of illustrating something)
I try to use personal language (I blog in the first person most of the time)
I write in a style that is similar to the way I would speak to a person face to face
I tell stories about my experiences as they relate to my topic
I use personal examples where I can to illustrate what I’m saying
I’ve done live streaming question and answer sessions via video
I’ve done hundreds of podcasts, talking to my listeners and sometimes hearing from them
By no means am I the most personal blogger going around. Every day I see opportunities to be more personal in fact – but I have made a concerted effort over the years to inject something of myself into what I do. And it’s paid off.
It’s paid off not just in terms of being jumped on by strangers when overseas but also in creating the kind of site that people want to come back to, the kind of site that people recommend to others and also the kind of site that people want to spend their money on (remember my friend has bought everything I’ve released – she said she did so because they were ‘mine’).
I know being personal on a blog is not something that everyone feels comfortable with and that is in everyone’s style – but it is one thing that I’ve seen exhibited in many successful blogs.
How about you? Do you take a personal approach with your blog?
PS: one piece of advice – when it comes to being personal I’d suggest bloggers think a little ahead about what they will and won’t reveal about themselves, their family and their lives. Having some boundaries in place for personal safety can be a worthwhile thing – this doesn’t mean you’re not being personal, just that you’re being smart and exhibiting some personal safety.
Today’s principle in our series on successful blogging is all about building community on your blog. Let me share how I discovered that community was possible in the online space with a story:
I discovered the power of online community on the very first day that I went online (I think it was in 1996).
Up until that point I’d always been quite sceptical of people who talked about ‘relationships’, ‘friendships’ and ‘community’ when they talked about their online experience.
I just couldn’t see how people could ever call online interaction any kind of community – but I quickly discovered how wrong my assumptions were.
I still remember the moment – the guy who’d come to install my new computer and modem (dial up) gave me a quick tour of how to access the web – Netscape, hotmail and then he opened up a little program called Comic Chat and told me it was for chatting to people online using a system called IRC.
I promptly told him that I wouldn’t be wasting my time with that and closed it down.
Later that day on a whim I opened it up and joined the first ‘room’ that I came across – an Aussie chat room. I used the handle of ‘oziii’ on a whim and entered the room. Within seconds I’d been noticed, welcomed and drawn into the conversation.
3 hours later my view of how community could be developed online was completely changed. 3 months later I’d spent an hour a day (minimum) in this room since that first day. Over the year or two that followed I’d personally met 20 or so other members, had attended one wedding from group members, had helped conduct an online memorial service for another who’d passed away and had become close friends with a number of others.
Was it true community? I’m not sure – perhaps a sociologist out there can fill us in on that – but what I am sure of is that people found a sense of belonging in that simple IRC chat room.
Of course we’ve come a long way on the internet since those days. The mediums have evolved (although I have to say that some of what I see on Twitter reminds me a lot of IRC) but one thing has not changed – people are still going online to connect and find community. In fact with the explosion of social media the web has only grown in the way that people are using it to connect, relate and find belonging.
My own story of learning about building communities online continued to grow with my own stepping into the blogging game – in fact it was one of two things that attracted me to blogging the most (the other one was the way blogs amplify a person’s voice).
I still remember the experience of reading my first ever blog and marvelling at the way that this medium not only gave an individual the ability to communicate with thousands of people around the world but the way that it enabled those same people to add to the conversation. I was amazed by the sense of belonging I saw among readers on the site, the way that they improved the site with their ideas and the way that around the blog was a community of other bloggers engaging with one another’s ideas.
As I began to develop my own blogs I saw this community first hand for myself and discovered that one of the secrets behind growing the readership of a blog is to give people ways to participate in it, ways to belong to it and ways to make it their own.
Over the last 7 years I’ve started over 30 blogs – the three that became most successful for me were the three that became communities rather than just information portals.
Yes some of the ‘information’ sites did get some search engine traffic and made a little money – but they never built a brand, they were never recommended by one person to another, they rarely generated comments and they never opened up opportunities to create indirect income streams like writing a book, selling an ebook or doing consulting or speaking.
I put down the failure of these 27 or so blogs down to numerous reasons – but the main one was that they failed to grow a community around them.
So how does one grow build a community around a blog?
This is an important topic and one that I really do recommend bloggers grapple with because it’s so important in a blog hitting the tipping point of becoming successful.
I’ve written numerous posts previously on the topic so won’t rehash them all here but do recommend that you read at least one of them – 8 Tips for Building Community on Your Blog – a post in which I attempted to summarise my own experience and advice in building online communities around my blogs.
Tip #9 – Play Match Maker with Your Readers
There’s one tip that I want to add to the 8 tips in the previous post and that is to work at helping readers to connect outside your community. This can seem a little counter-intuitive for a web publisher because we often feel like we want to keep people on our site and get them interacting more and more on our turf – however what I’ve begun to discover in my blogging on Digital Photography School and even here at ProBlogger and in the ProBlogger Forums is that when you give people a secondary connecting point with one another that it deepens their connections (and therefore the community) that happens on your own blog.
A quick example of this: one time on DPS I asked readers to list their Twitter accounts. To this day over 630 readers have listed their accounts. Many have also gone through the list and added every other account.
What happened in the weeks that followed this post was that I noticed more and more of our readers getting to know each other on Twitter. While it’s difficult to measure the anecdotal evidence that I’m seeing is that it’s improving the quality of comments being left on DPS. I’ve also had numerous thank you emails from readers who tell me that they’ve met great new friends as a result of that post. There have even been a few readers who’ve started working together as a result of these connections.
As I say – it’s difficult to measure the impact but from what I’m seeing the community on my site has improved because I’ve played match maker with our readers and helped them to get to know each other.
While it’s still early days on the ProBlogger.com forums a similar thing has happened there with a thread asking members to share their Twitter accounts. I figure the more connected people are with one another the more likely they are to stay connected with the community.
I’d love to hear your advice on how to build community on a blog. I’d also like to highlight some advice from my Twitter Followers who answered this question on building community on Twitter last week. You can see a collection of their suggestions here.
Over to you – how do you build community on your blog? What’s worked for you and what hasn’t? Looking forward to seeing your ideas and experiences!
Have you ever stumbled upon a blog that felt like it was speaking directly to you, solving a problem you didn’t even know you had?
That’s the power of “usefulness” in blogging, a concept that’s not just a philosophy for me, but the backbone of my approach to blogging and business.
Today we continue my series in principles of successful blogging by looking at usefulness – making your blog indispensable to your readers.
Why Being Useful Matters
Utility is the cornerstone of any successful blog. It’s simple – if your blog isn’t useful, your readers are less likely to come back.
But in the blogging world, it transcends mere usefulness. It’s about creating content that resonates, solves problems, and fulfills needs. When your blog becomes a solution, a go-to resource, or a comforting space for your readers, you’re not just building an audience, you’re cultivating a community.
When you do hit that sweet spot of usefulness, not only do you build a loyal readership, but they also become your advocates, spreading the word about your blog.
Examples of Useful Blogs
Being useful can take on many different forms. Let’s take a closer look at how different blogs have harnessed the power of utility:
Mashable – Stays ahead of social media trends, offering both news and practical guides.
Lifehacker – The quintessential guide to productivity and tech hacks.
TMZ – Your window into the world of celebrities and entertainment.
Seth Godin – Offers thought-provoking insights into marketing and business strategies.
Each of these blogs demonstrates usefulness in its unique way, catering to specific interests and needs of their audience.
Now you might not read all of these blogs (and there are many thousands more that we could use as examples) and are unlikely to find them all personally useful (I certainly don’t read them all) – but they all have many thousands of devoted fans and daily readers, because they’re producing content that meets some kind of need, fulfils some kind of desire or solves some kind of problem.
How to be Useful
Usefulness in blogging is multifaceted. It’s not just about what you say, but how you say it. Here are some key aspects:
Entertainment: In today’s fast-paced world, blogs offer a breather with light-hearted, entertaining content. People are going to them for laughs, for gossip and for fun conversation.
Education: From step-by-step tutorials to in-depth courses, educational blogs empower readers and many successful blogs teach people to do or be something.
Information and News: . These blogs might not teach you any practical skills but they keep their readers informed about the latest trends, news, and developments
Thought Leadership: Blogs that challenge conventional thinking and open new perspectives. Some readers want a place where they can have their minds open to viewpoints.
Community and Discussion: Creating a space for dialogue, exchange of ideas, and building connections. Some blogs serve as safe places for people to come together to have dialogue and debate around a topic.
Niche Expertise: Catering to specific interests, from gardening to technology, offering specialized knowledge. Many blogs are built more on people having a sense of belonging and feeling that they’re a part of a community than the actual content.
Of course this list could go on and on and will vary from blog to blog with some meeting multiple needs and others just targeting one.
How is Your Blog Useful?
This is a question that I think bloggers would do well ponder before they start blogging as well as during the blogging process (in fact it’s probably a question to ask every day before you publish anything).
Ask yourself: “What value does my blog bring to my readers?”
This question is not a one-time query but a continuous part of your blogging journey. Each post, each interaction is an opportunity to enhance your blog’s utility.
Strive to meet a need and enhance people’s lives in some way and you’ll be taking a step closer to connecting with people in a way that will hopefully be part of a lasting relationship.
Expand Your Blogging Toolkit
Usefulness also extends to the way you present your content. Here are some tools to enhance your blog’s utility:
Engaging Visuals: Use images, infographics, and videos to complement your text.
Interactive Elements: Polls, quizzes, and interactive graphics can make your blog more engaging.
User-Friendly Design: Ensure your blog is easy to navigate and accessible.
Responsive Feedback System: Engage with comments and feedback to build a relationship with your audience.
Regular Updates: Keep your content fresh and relevant.
Remember, the journey of blogging is as much about your growth as it is about serving your readers. Stay curious, keep learning, and always aim to add value through your blog.
A fundamental principle in marketing and relationship building is that people tend to do business with individuals or companies they know, like, and trust.
This is particularly relevant in the context blogging which involves personal branding, networking and a readership.
A Quick Definition of The Type Of ‘Successful’ Blog I’m Writing About
It might be worth stating that the type of blog that I’m talking about in this series is a blog that isn’t purely about profit or traffic – but a blog that has influence in its niche.
It is certainly possible to build a profitable and/or well trafficked blog without Trust – in fact I know a few bloggers who blog purely for Search Engine Traffic who don’t really care about influence, brand or loyal readers but who just want traffic that they can convert to cash.
These bloggers are certainly ‘successful’ on some levels (I guess ‘success’ really comes down to your goals) – but that’s not the style of blogging that I do and is not what this series is on about.
What I’m on about is helping bloggers to not only be profitable and have traffic but to build blogs that have profile, influence, authority, credibility, respect and a brand that opens up opportunities beyond quick profit.
By no means is my approach the only way to make money blogging – but it’s where I’m at and as a result is what I write about.
Why Building Trust is Important
OK – so now we’re on the same page lets talk about Trust.
I’m not sure we need to spend too much time talking about ‘why’ building trust is important as it’s pretty much common sense – but in short – if you’re looking to build influence, to build a brand that is respected and you want a site that is authoritative – you’re going to have a lot better chance if people actually trust you.
Yes with some clever copywriting and good positioning in search engines you can probably convince people to buy certain products – but in order to build lasting influence – trust is going to need to play a part.
On the flip side – many businesses today have seen the way that a lack of trust or even worse, broken trust can hurt a business, destroy reputations and ruin years of hard work.
So building and maintaining trust is paramount for bloggers wanting to build influence – so how does one do it?
One of the best resources on the topic of building influence through trust online is Trust Agents by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith. However as it’ll take a day or two for Amazon to ship you a copy (and I recommend you get one) I thought I’d jot down a few principles of building trust online that I’ve gathered over the years both from my own experience of trusting others and building trust with others.
A Quick Exercise Before You Read Any More
Before you read my thoughts on how to build trust – here’s a very quick exercise to do.
On a piece of paper or in a text document – jot down a blogger or blog that you trust. Under the name – list 2-3 reasons why you trust them.
OK – read on.
4 Principles of Building Trust Online
1. It usually takes time to build
I’m a pretty sceptical guy – I don’t really want to be but after years of being bombarded with marketing messages and experiencing disappointment at expectations not being met by people making big promises my guard is up. I suspect I’m not alone.
While I’m sure there are people who are more trusting than others – I’m pretty certain that most people in my generation (and the generations that come before and after mine) are a fairly suspicious lot. We are capable of trust – but it usually takes time to get there.
2. It is Earned
I do have the capability to trust you – but more often than not it’ll only come once I see that you’re worthy of that trust. An example of this principle hit my inbox this morning – it was from a reader who had just bought my 31 days to build a better blog workbook.
Her email included this:
“I’ve never bought an ebook before, partly because I don’t trust people with my credit card information and partly because I’ve always suspected most ebooks are just fluff…. But after reading your blog for 12 months and being on the receiving end of useful information every day over that time I decided you were probably a credible source of information”.
The sense that I got from her email was that she only made the purchase based upon her previous experience of what I do – something that was earned by providing her with help day by day over a year.
The take home lesson for bloggers is to give value, be useful and prove that you have something worthwhile and authoritative to say on your topic.
Look for ways to genuinely and generously improve the lives of your readers – do this over the long haul and your deposit in the trust bank with readers grows over time.
3. The recommendations of others are important
I still remember (but can’t find a link to) a post by Seth Godin a year or so back where he talks about how he sells a lot more books through a blog post when he’s talking about someone else’s book than his own.
It was the perfect illustration of how the words and recommendations of other people promotion you carry a lot more weight than you promoting yourself.
We’re social beings – we make decisions together – we buy things that others recommend – we trust those that others trust….
This means you have a couple of tasks to do:
Build relationships with others. Some bloggers take the attitude that other bloggers are potential competition and as a result they stay clear of them. However a recommendation from someone else in your industry could be gold – build relationships.
Find Ways to use this social proof. If someone does recommend you it doesn’t hurt to highlight it to others. You don’t need to do it in an ego driven or big headed way – but do find subtle and relevant ways to share it with those in your network.
4. Be Yourself
One of the fastest ways to destroy trust is to be caught trying to be something that you’re not.
Make a promise that you can’t fulfil
Present yourself as someone that you’re unable to be
Make a claim that’s not true
All of these things set up expectations in the eyes of others that can’t be met which will lead to disappointment, anger, disillusionment and as a result – broken trust.
Not only that – I find that people are pretty good these days at picking people who are presenting themselves as something that they’re not. You might not even have to get caught out to have people suspicious (and untrusting) of you.
As a result it’s best to be yourself.
Let people know what you do and don’t know.
Be transparent about your motives.
Share your stories of failure as well as your successes.
Admit your mistakes.
All of these things make you more human, relatable and help to build trust.
What Would You Add?
I’ve only scratched the surface on Trust with this post – there’s so much more to say and I’d love to hear what you’ve got to say on the topic.
What bloggers do you trust (who did you write down in the exercise above)? Why do you trust them?
How do you build trust with your readers?
What stories and experiences do you have to help illustrate these principles of building trust?
As I write this it is the last Tuesday morning of the month and I’m sitting in a local coffee shop going through my ‘end of the month routine‘.
It involves a large lattè (everything else hinges on this) and some delving into my blogs metrics to see how they’ve been performing.
While I do keep track of the traffic stats of my blogs each day I like to set aside an hour or two at the end of each month to go a little deeper and do some more analysis of trends on my blogs – I find that when I do this I notice things that I can build on to continue momentum on my blogs.
This morning as I was looking at the type of posts that had done well in the last few weeks on my blogs I noticed an interesting trend – many of them were ‘story‘ type posts.
The Power of Being Personal on Your Blog – the hottest post on ProBlogger last week – a post where I tell the story of being jumped on/hugged by a reader who I’d never met before.
The #1 Reason My Blogging Grew Into a Business – the hottest post on ProBlogger in the last month – the story of my wife giving me a 6 month deadline to get my blogging to a full time level – or go get a ‘real job’.
Both posts got a lot of traffic, were linked to by numerous other blogs and were re-tweeted more than normal.
I’ve always known how powerful ‘story posts‘ can be on a blog but I decided to dig a little further to see whether this continued deeper than just the last month.
What I discovered was that story posts have been among the most popular posts on this blog over the last 5 years time and time again. They’re not the only type of post that does well (there are a few other types of posts that do well – we might explore these in a later post) but they certainly have performed very well for me.
Here’s a few more examples of popular story posts:
I could go on…. and on! Each month that I looked back on through my blog here at ProBlogger a story type post featured in the top 2 or three posts.
Why are Stories Effective?
A lot could be said about the reasons why stories tend to do well on blogs but here’s a few reasons that I’ve seen in my own experience:
Stories engage the imagination of readers
Stories go beyond facts and theories
Stories reveal something about yourself as a blogger (they’re personal)
Stories trigger emotions and the senses
Stories are conversational– they stimulate others to react and tell their stories
Stories provide hooks for readers to latch onto in your blogging (they’re relatable)
Stories grab and hold the attention of readers
Stories are memorable – while people don’t always latch onto facts and figures – a good story can be remembered for years
Stories illustrate your points in ways that can be much more convincing (and convicting) than other types of information
The key with stories on blogs is making them tie into the rest of your blog – ie make them relevant and ensure that they have some point to them that is useful to your readers on some level. While telling the story of how your dog dug up your vegetable patch might interest you, the readers of your blog about (insert your blogs topic here) may not be quite as fascinated – unless you use the story to illustrate something about your topic.
Now that we’ve looked as some of the reasons stories are effective on blogs – in my next post I want to extend the idea of story telling with a 2nd post that explores some of the types’ of stories that you might like to use on your blog.
Once upon a time, I shared a set of slides from a presentation which outlines a variety of lessons that I’ve learned as a blogger. Over the coming months I intend to expand upon many of the points in that presentation – starting today with ‘Listening’.
When I began blogging in 2002 I made a lot of mistakes and had a lot of false assumptions about blogging. One of the things I quickly found out didn’t work when trying to grow a blog was to use it purely as a broadcast tool.
In the first few weeks of blogging it was almost as though I was using the blog as a platform or a stage where I stood with a megaphone in hand blasting out my message for anyone who might happen to be passing by to hear. It’s no wonder that only my wife read my blog that first week (and even she never really came back).
Nobody likes a loud mouth. Nobody wants to be on the receiving end of someone talking AT them.
The people we tend to be drawn to in real life are people who pause in conversation to let you have a say, people who ask questions about you, people who have a genuine interest in what you’ve got to say.
The same is true (in most cases) when it comes to blogging.
Of course there are cases where blogs are successfully used as broadcast tools with little interaction between blogger and reader – however in most cases there is at least some element of ‘listening’ going on by the blogger. Let me explore a few ways that a blogger should consider ‘listening’:
Listen to the culture of the blogosphere
This is one for those yet to start blogging (and it should also be applied to those getting into new social media tools like Twitter, Facebook etc).
I was chatting with a new blogger recently who described her first week of blogging as being similar to travelling to a new country and having to adjust to a new language, climate, etiquette and customs as an outsider.
When travelling overseas for an extended stay (perhaps for a new job) most travellers know that one of their first tasks as a new resident is to make some cultural adjustments.
learning some basic words in the local language
finding a local who can talk them through the etiquette
getting a map so that they can find their way around
learning to use systems like public transport…. etc
In a similar way – when you’re new to the blogosphere (or any new part of the social media-sphere) it’s important to pause, take stock, learn about the culture, learn to use the tools, discover what is acceptable (and not acceptable), learn the rhythms etc
The danger in not learning the culture of the blogosphere is doing something that not only doesn’t work but that offends ‘the locals’ and hurts your reputation.
Listen for where your potential readers are gathering
One of the key tasks that any new blogger who wants to grow their readership should do is identify where their potential readers are already gathering online.
Of course before you can find these places you need to have an understanding of who you’re trying to attract – so do a little work on defining who you want to read your blog and then begin to look for where that type of person is already gathering (I talk more about how I did this in this recent video on how I use promote my blog).
Listen to what others in your niche are saying
One of the most powerful things that I did which helped take my early blogs to the next level was to begin to monitor what others in my niche/industry were talking about.
I discovered the power of this accidentally one day when I just happened to be surfing on another small blog that broke news of a big story. I picked up the story on my own blog (linking to the first) and then my post got picked up by a massive blog which drew in a lot of new readers. Knowing what was happening in the niche helped to break stories but also build relationships with other bloggers in the niche.
Back then the tools for monitoring other blogs and topics were primitive and meant some manual hunting around (I remember in the very early days having to manually bookmark the blogs I wanted to track and visit them each every day to see if they’d posted anything new) but these days it is a lot easier to set up and automate.
My own monitoring of my niches generally happens in two ways:
Subscribing to Feeds of Key Sources of Information – these days most sites have some way of subscribing to them, usually via an RSS feed. I have a folder in my feed reader for each of my main topics which contains a number of key blogs and news sites in that niche. I used to follow close to a thousand blogs to do this – but these days have refined the list to much less for each topic.
2. Keyword Alerts – using Google’s news and blog alerts I have a number of alerts set up so that if any news site or blog uses a keyword that I’m interested in I know about it. Choosing keywords that are specific enough can take a little time (some words just generate too many alerts) but on almost a daily basis these alerts identify important posts in my niches.
Recommendation Sites – the other listening tool that I use to help me know what’s going on in my niches is to subscribe to sites that are in the business of looking for popular content in my niches. These sites can be a little hard to find depending upon your niche but because I’m largely working in the Tech space there are a few including TechMeme and Delicious. TechMeme looks at what content key blogs are linking to in the tech space and Delicious is a bookmarking site that produces a list of popular content being bookmarked at any point in time (it’s not purely tech related but does consistently produce good results for me). Both of these sites have RSS feeds you can subscribe to to monitor what’s hot.
Twitter/X – I also find that being active on Twitter and developing a Twitter account that has a niche focus can also help you listen to what people are saying about your niche. This partly happens naturally (those you follow in your niche will share links) but there are also great tools including Tweetmeme (which shows you what is being retweeted in different categories) and other monitoring/search tools such as Twitter search (you can set up an RSS feed for different search terms) and tools built into Twitter clients (like TweetDeck which allows you to set up a column specifically for alerts). More and more useful tools are being set up for Twitter to help monitor what people are saying about your industry.
Listen to what is being said about you
The other use for some of the tools mentioned above (keyword alerts and the Twitter keyword monitoring) is that you can use them to alert you when someone is talking about you, your business, your blog or your brand specifically.
I’ve talked previously about setting up a vanity folder in your feed reader to help you do this so won’t go into great detail about it here – however it’s something that I’ve found particularly useful for a couple of reasons:
Building Relationships – when another blogger links to you it is useful to know about it so you can go and build a relationship with that blogger and their readers.
Reputation Management – from time to time you might also be mentioned on another site/blog/press in a more negative way. Knowing quickly about this is also important as it enables you to respond (if necessarily) or at least monitor developments.
Create Listening Spaces on Your Blog
Have you ever had a ‘conversation’ with someone where you simply could not get a word in edgeways? The person talked so fast and without taking a breath – to the point where there simply wasn’t space for you to be listened to.
Sometimes I get that same feeling while on blogs. It’s not that the blogger isn’t interested in their reader – it’s just that they get so excited about what they’re blogging about that they just don’t stop long enough to let others have a say.
One of the simplest ways to create these ‘listening spaces’ on a blog is to ask questions. Ask them at the end of your posts, ask them half way through the and even write posts that are nothing but questions.
Listen to the Questions Your Readers are Asking
One of the most important things to be on the listen out for is questions.
I remember one of my first teachers drumming into the class I was in that there was no such thing as a dumb question and that if one person asked a question it usually meant that others also had the same question going around in their minds.
As a result – when a reader asks you a question, you can bet that they’re not the only one thinking it.
Questions reveal potential topics to write about, problems with your site and opportunities to expand what you’re doing on your blog. Pay careful attention to them in the following areas:
comments section – this is the most obvious place for your readers to ask questions
your inbox – what questions are you getting from readers via your blog’s contact form?
search engine referral terms – often people arrive on your site having plugged a specific question into Google. Most stats packages will reveal these terms and phrases – keep on the look out specifically for questions – also check out 103bees – a tool that specifically monitors and collates questions being asked in your search stats.
questions typed into onsite search boxes – this is a goldmine of information, monitoring what people are searching for when they’re actually on your site will show you all kinds of needs, problems and challenges that your readers want to learn more about. Lijit is one tool that helps you track these questions.
ask readers for questions – from time to time it can be worth writing a post on your blog that specifically invites readers to ask a question.
Listen to what is working (and what isn’t)
The last thing I’ll add on the topic of listening before I open this topic up to others to share their thoughts is to listen by tracking what is and isn’t working on your blog.
This means setting up your blog with a good metrics tool (I use Google Analytics but there are other great ones out there) and regularly using it to work out what is readers are responding to on your blog.
Some places to start include:
What posts are being read most?
What posts are generating good conversation/comments?
What posts are being linked to by others most?
How are readers using your design? (use a tool like CrazyEgg to create a heatmap)
What days of the week are people reading your site most on? What times of the day?
What pages are people ‘bouncing’ from your site on (bounce rate shows how many people arrive on your blog and immediately leave)
What posts are people spending most (and least) time on?
What posts are you getting most negative feedback on?
It is easy to obsess on some of these stats – but it’s also easy to ignore the useful stuff in them that could help you improve your blog.
How else do you Listen in your blogging?
I’ve talked for way too long on a post about listening – so now it’s over to you.
What would you add? Do you use some of the above techniques? What has worked well for you? I’m all ears!
This post on using Tags and Categories on a blog was originally written by Michael Martin from ProBlog Design and updated recently by the ProBlogger team.
Categories and tags are essential for blogs and content organization for many reasons:
SEO Benefits: Categories and tags help search engines understand the structure of your website and the topics you cover
Content Organization: helps both your readers and you to find and navigate through your content more efficiently
User Experience: improve the user experience on your blog by helping visitors discover related content. This can increase engagement and keep readers on your site longer.
Content Discoverability: When readers click on a tag, they can find all the content related to that specific topic, increasing the chances of them exploring more of your content.
Filtering and Sorting: Categories and tags allow readers to filter and sort content based on their interests, which can be particularly useful on blogs with a wide range of topics.
Content Strategy: Categories and tags can also help you develop a clear content strategy. They force you to think about the different topics you cover and how they relate to each other.
In terms of content management and organization, categories and tags are almost identical.
A category system could very easily be used as a tagging system, and vice versa.
So what is it that makes the two different? And how are they best used?
Understanding and Using Categories
Categories are best imagined as a paper filing system. Each page in the system must be filed away in the appropriate drawer. There are only a set number of drawers, and so each must cover a rather wide blanket.
In your blog, categories are best used in exactly the same way:
The number of categories should be small. Resist the temptation to add new categories because a long list of them will not be read or browsed by anyone and so, is of no use.
Each post goes into one category. The categories are a way of giving a post permanent storage, just as the drawers do. You cannot put one piece of paper into two drawers, and in the same way, a single post should go into a single category.
Categories are navigation elements. Categories are not simply a way of labelling posts, they are a core element of your navigation. Your categories should be factored into your site’s architecture and navigation, and displayed appropriately.
Categories in URLs. A category represents the traditional folder system of a HTML website. Using permalinks with category names included is a good way of displaying the tiered architecture of a web site. Consider this URL – http://domain.com/category/post-name/ – If I want to return to the post’s category (i.e. go “up a level” in the architecture), I simply slash the post-name off the URL.
Complement the Categories With Tags
The most common problem with tagging is that it is used for the same purposes that categories are. Your tags aren’t categories. They are complements to your categories.
Think of tags as the colorful little page markers you might use to flick back to your favorite pages in a book. The tags don’t describe the book as a whole, instead they describe individual sections of the book.
Use the same tags over and over again. The tagging system is useless when the tags you use vary. For instance, if you have a series of posts on writing articles, you could tag them as “journalism,” “writing,” “copywriting,” or a hundred other variations. The important thing is that you choose one of them, and then reuse it on every post you ever write on the topic.
Tags do not need to be displayed in the sidebar. Tagging is not a part of your navigational structure, and so it does not necessarily have to be displayed in the sidebar. Why not simply list a post’s tags at the end of the post? The contextualisation will make them much more valuable to readers, and could even be used to replace “Related Posts,” plugins and such.
The tag cloud is easy to scan. If you do use your tags in your sidebar, then use the tag cloud. A list of categories is very easily recognised because it is in a list. A list of tags will be clearly recognised as such if it is in a cloud. The cloud works because it fits a lot of information into a small space, and is easy to scan over.
Tags have a lot of potential. To a certain extent, they could be used to replace searching, if done well. Let’s say I’m interested in posts about FeedBurner. Am I more likely to get good results by searching and having every post that has ever mentioned FeedBurner returned to me, or by clicking a tag and only seeing the posts which have been specifically tagged as discussing FeedBurner?
Categories and tags are both very useful assets, provided they are each used for their own purpose. Are you using tags on your blog? Will you be using them in the future?
In this post, I’m going to show you the exact steps one blogger used to earn over $1 million. That’s making some serious money blogging!
I interviewed Ramit Sethi of I Will Teach You To Be Rich and if you’re serious about making money blogging, then you need to read this interview.
But a heads-up: this post is long and extremely detailed. It took me over 20 hours to write. It will take you about 15 minutes to read.
I know you may be skeptical about the $1 million, so let’s start by looking at the facts.
Ramit Sethi and I Will Teach You To Be Rich
Ramit’s advice on money has been featured on CNN, Wall Street Journal, ABC News, FOX Business, PBS, The New York Times, CNBC, Yahoo! Finance, npr, REUTERS, and most recently in a major feature in Fortune Magazine.
His personal finance book, I Will Teach You To Be Rich, is a New York Times bestseller, and a Wall Street Journal bestseller.
IWTYTBR is ranked 19,466 on Alexa. It hosts over 250,000 monthly readers, and has 100,000+ newsletter subscribers. Prices of IWTYTBR products range from $4.95 to $12,000. But most importantly, Ramit’s tactics get his readers results. See this post, where over 500 readers wrote 54,818 words that say so. That’s as long as a novel!
Impressive, right?
Now, let’s break down Ramit’s five-step system for creating and earning immense value.
Do Research That Gets Inside Your Readers Head
Examples of research insights for IWTYTBR
Use surveys to uncover the words readers use
Collect words from your email subscribers
When to ignore your readers
Don’t refer to comments on other blogs
Collect all the testimonials you will ever need
It’s your birthday: ask for feedback
Target your customers closely
Write a sales page that makes your fortune
Naming your product
Answer objections before your customers even have them
Don’t waste time A/B testing: it’s about the offer
Understand the taxonomy of pricing
Write Super Specific Headlines
Give Your Product An Unbeatable Guarantee
What to do right after the customer buys
Using ethical persuasion
1. Do research that gets inside your reader’s head
When you can truly deeply understand people, even in fact better than they understand themselves, then your sales skyrocket.—Ramit Sethi
There are two reasons getting inside a readers head will skyrocket your sales.
First, you will use the information to create a product or service that matches their wants and needs.
Second, you can use their exact language in your copywriting to reach them at a deeper level.
A big part of selling a product is being able to understand your reader’s barriers. What’s holding them back from their goals? In terms of money, people already know they need to manage and invest it. In terms of weight loss, people already know they need to lose weight and eat better. And in blogging, you know it’s offering immense value to your readers that will make you a problogger.
But they aren’t doing it. There is something much deeper than this goal, which is the barrier to achieving it. You’ll only discover that by doing enough research.
Maybe you’ll find out that in finance, nobody wakes up in the morning and says, “I really need to study a compound interest chart and start investing!” Nobody. They say, “this year I am going to try harder,” or “yeah, I should probably do that, but first I need to figure it out.”
When you know that language, you are inside your reader’s head.
Imagine you are a weight loss blogger. I want you to write a headline for a coaching session on losing weight. Go!
Wait. You don’t have enough information to write an effective headline. The best you can do is generic stuff like, “Lose 10 pounds in 10 days with our experienced coach!”
“Weight loss” is too broad a topic. Maybe your reader wants to lose fat from a specific area. Or perhaps they want to lose weight for a specific reason. A 50-year-old mother of two will have different reasons than a 28-year-old guy living in Manhattan.
So, you do some research and find out your target customer is a single woman who wants to lose weight from her thighs. You could write a killer headline pretty quick, right?
Soon, you’ll be able to truly understand your reader’s hopes, fears and dreams—and articulate them even better than they can. That’s the power of research.
Examples of research insights for IWTYTBR
During our interview, I asked Ramit to share some of the specific insights he has applied from his research. Here’s a big one.
A couple of years ago Ramit was doing a book tour, and he’d ask readers what they really want to learn. Everywhere he went, people were telling him they want to earn more money. That’s why he decided to create his flagship course, Earn 1k On The Side.
But just like “I want to lose weight” is too generic, so is “I want to earn more money.” Here’s what Ramit thought: “I’m so smart. I know my audience so well! They want to live a better lifestyle—fly to Vegas for the weekend and drop a couple grand.”
Then he did his research.
It turned out the real reason his readers wanted to earn more money was so they’d have the option of quitting their jobs. Yeah, just the option. This insight profoundly changed how Ramit created and positioned his course.
By the way, take a look at the signup page for Earn 1k. How much do you want to bet “I can’t freelance … I don’t even have an idea” was one of the objections Ramit was hearing over and over?
So, how do you go about doing research that gets you inside your reader’s head?
Use surveys to uncover the words readers use
The beautiful part is that because so few people are doing this, if you do even a small amount—you completely stand out. You don’t need 25,000 data points. That’s ridiculous. It took me years to be able to get to that. If you have 20 qualitative responses to one survey question, that’s pretty informative.—Ramit Sethi
Before launching Earn1k, Ramit collected 25,000 data points, and then over 50,000 for version 2.0. He calls this his “secret sauce,” which allows him to be the “wife who knows her husband better than he knows himself.” Most of that data came from surveys.
He says that a lot of people don’t use surveys at all, so they come up with useless advice like “keep a budget.” So if you survey even a little bit, you’ll be way ahead of the competition.
Ramit starts with really broad surveys, and narrows the questions down over time. He asks the questions four or five times until he really gets at the truth. Sometimes it takes Ramit four months and 6,000 answers to get at a single nugget of truth. You don’t need that many responses, though: even 20 qualitative responses to one survey question can be extremely informative.
Ask open-ended essay-style questions. You aren’t aiming for statistical validity here.
Ask five questions. Keep them short and specific.
Include examples of the kinds of answers you want: really long, detailed responses, not one-liners.
The two most important questions are “What is it you’ve tried and failed at?” and “What do you want?”
Here’s an example of a question from one of Ramit’s surveys:
“In your own words, what skill would you use to earn more $ on the side? (For example, “I’m good at writing, but I just don’t know how to earn $1,000 using my writing skills…”)”
Download copies of Ramit’s surveys—and an audio case study that walks through an example step by step—here.
Never do this on your survey
I asked Ramit if there was anything we shouldn’t ask on a survey. Here’s what he said.
Don’t ask them what they would be willing to pay. They don’t know. They will tell you an untruthful answer, and it’s pointless to ask them. Okay. People don’t know how to do pricing, so they get lazy and they are like “hey, what would you pay for this special mastermind ebook bootcamp” and you get the worst answers in the world. By the way they are total lies. People aren’t intentionally lying, they just don’t actually know what they would pay for something.—Ramit Sethi
Another thing you shouldn’t do is try to sell. You are doing research. How do these two research questions make you feel?
If I told you I had an eight-week course that was guaranteed to make you 1k a month on the side, would that interest you?
Have you ever tried earning money on the side? What happened?
Aim for the second option. It’s like my mom always said: “treat people how you want to be treated.”
Getting people to take your survey
You write great material, you are adding value for your readers. They love you. They wake up in the morning and see you in their reader, or come to your website or see you on Twitter. They like you.—Ramit Sethi
The key to getting readers to take your surveys is that they have to like you.
If you don’t have a good relationship with your readers, then none of this stuff matters. You can stop reading this post and go read How To Build The Relationship With Your Readers instead.
But if your readers like you, you are set. You don’t need thousands of them either.
Step two is to reach out to your readers via email and social media, saying something like this: “Hey guys, I’m looking for some help here. I’m trying to figure out how I can help you best. Would you mind taking like 5 minutes to give me your thoughts?”
That’s enough. You are set to start getting in your readers’ heads via surveys. But there’s another way you can do it.
Collect words from your email subscribers
You can also use email to better understand your readers.
Here’s what Ramit does.
He writes a big, detailed email with a story about something that happened to himself or to a friend.
He finishes it with a call to action, “Hey, I’d love to hear your story. Please email me back, I read every one.”
He responds to some of the replies. The recipients of those personal responses think, “Wow, this dude actually reads his emails and he cares”.
That last point is pretty good for relationship building, too. These are the little things you can do that will bring you disproportionate results.
When to ignore your readers
Sometimes you’ll get reader feedback that you disagree with. Over time, you will develop a filter for what to listen to and what to discard.
Here’s a way to start developing your filter. When you get a good response, try to find out a little more about the person who wrote it. If everyone who buys from you is a 26-year-old man living in the USA, then listen to them. Ignore the 72-year-old grandma who’s complaining your font size is too small.
If you haven’t made sales yet, focus on getting to know your target audience. As Ramit advised in a previous interview, don’t write for everybody. For Ramit, IWTYTBR isn’t just another blog, so he isn’t interested in people reading just for intellectual entertainment. He wants people who will take action.
Don’t refer to comments on other blogs
You’ve probably heard this advice before: look at comments on other blogs in your niche, then blog about the questions they ask. Ramit says there is no value in this kind of research.
Why? Because audiences on different sites are so profoundly different.
Ramit recently wrote a post called The worst career advice in the world. It received over 200 long comments and was very well regarded. The article was syndicated by another site where the audience didn’t know him at all. On that site, the article got 24 comments, most of which were super-negative.
Your audience is unique and special—that’s why they are your audience.
Collect all the testimonials you will ever need
Another part of your research and development should involve collecting testimonials. We’ve all seen those generic testimonials that are totally contrived: “Oh wow, this is the best product I ever bought and it changed my life forever!”
You need real testimonials, and the best source is people that have bought your products. Send them an email that says, “Hey, hope things are going well. So happy to see how everyone is doing.” Then tell them to click the appropriate link: “If you accomplished x in 5 hours a week, click here. If you did y, but you were skeptical, click here.” This gives you testimonials for all those options.
Here’s another tip for getting rock-solid testimonials. As readers are going through you course, get them to fill out progress reports. That way, feedback is part of the funnel. Believe it or not, Ramit gets so much feedback this way he hired a guy whose sole job is to manage them.
And if you’re developing your first product, Ramit suggests two ways to get testimonials.
First, you may have some respondents you’ve never engaged with before. In your survey, include a comment like, “Hey, if you’ve used any of my free material for x/y/z, I’d love to hear your story. Please be specific”. All of a sudden you have 20 testimonials!
Another way is to offer free trials for your product. So, find five to ten friends or readers. Tell them “Guys, I’m planning to release this thing. It will be about $100. I’m looking for ten people to go through it and give me feedback. If you agree to fill out three surveys, you get this trial for free—and the final product as well.”
It’s your birthday: ask for feedback
During our interview, I asked Ramit about one other way I’ve seen him get people to leave feedback at IWTYTBR.
On his birthday this year, Ramit wrote a post and included this call to action at the bottom: “Nothing could be better than hearing how my material has helped you. Just leave a comment on this post. Or, upload a video to YouTube and tag it “iwillteachyoutoberich.”
“The more specific, the better Share a story. Tell us how IWT helped you hit a goal, pay off debt, earn more, get a better job — whatever. Provide specific, concrete #’s. Tell me what it meant to you. It would make my day.”
The comments are people saying things like “I’m earning $70k more than I was before”, “I was able to quit my job and move across the country” and “I was earning $10 an hour, now I’m earning $40”.
These comments weren’t destined to be testimonials, but here’s one way Ramit uses them. When he makes a post about how he’s able to charge 100x what others do, and why his students are delighted to pay it, he includes the link. It proves that he’s not just providing information, but is also delivering actual results.
2. Target your customers closely
We saw earlier that Ramit targets his customers closely. He targets people who take action. He says it’s better to have a small core audience that takes action, respects what you have to say and gets results from your material, than a massive audience that doesn’t open your emails.
Here is a way to filter them out. Don’t sell via a squeeze page. Ramit sends subscribers through weeks of free material before giving them a chance to buy. If people complain, he unsubscribes them.
Then he tells the subscribers who can and can’t buy the course. For example, people with credit card debt are prohibited from buying his courses. If he finds out they bought it, he will ban them for life. Why? For one, Ramit doesn’t believe it’s right to take that money when he knows it will end up costing the customer twice as much. Second: it sends a message to the other readers.
3. Write a sales page that makes your fortune
We’ve had pages that convert at 68.7%, which in the online world is unheard of.—Ramit Sethi
Ramit spends months (or even years) doing research and development. He spends a lot of time crafting his product and offer, and he has converted as high as 68.7%. In our industry the average is 2-4%.
Realistically, you won’t get conversions that high. But could you improve your sales? Of course. If you don’t you are leaving a ton of value on the table—not just money—but value that users aren’t receiving because you aren’t messaging correctly.
Your blog doesn’t need as big a following as IWTYTBR to implement this. The basic patterns Ramit uses are modeled by people in businesses much larger and smaller. To succeed, you need to deeply understand your readers, then spend time on stuff that matters, and avoid what doesn’t.
Naming your product
Naming your product is some of the most important language on your sales page. If you want inspiration, check out Chris Guillebeau’s work at The Art of Non-Conformity. Chris names products like The Travel Hacking Cartel, Empire Building Kit and A Brief Guide To World Domination.
Let’s look more closely at how Ramit names his products. Why did he call his earning money course Earn 1k on the side? Because $1000 is an achievable figure. A lot of students go on to earn much more. But Ramit says if you tell them they will earn $10,000 they go “I don’t believe you, I’m not the kind of person”. Earning an extra $1,000 a month is life changing for most people. And it’s “on the side” because to become richer, people tend to think that they have to quit their job and start the next Google. The vast majority will not and cannot. But anyone can do five to ten hours a week on the side.
For Ramit’s new Find Your Dream Job course the naming process was similar. Even though the long-term goal is to help people find their dream career, he is using their language. If you are sitting around with your buddies, what you actually say is “I wish I could find a new…” What?
“Job”.
And “dream job” is what people are thinking.
Answer objections before customers even have them
Remember all those testimonials you collected? Now it is time to use them, and they are very strategic.
Imagine you find in your research that people don’t believe they have enough time to implement your advice. Great. Now you go to customers who are really happy and say “Hey, I’m looking for anyone who thought they wouldn’t have time to complete this program, but now you’ve achieved x results.”
Add that testimonial to your sales page, and when the reader’s there, they’ll find an answer to their objection before they even had it.
Don’t waste your time A/B testing: it’s about the offer
So few of us are even spending time on language. We are spending time on things that give us a shiny pop. You know you might be able to measure an increase in conversion by 1.6%. But when you do can things like this you can increase every other conceivable measure. Revenues up 500%. Engagement up 750%. Because you are actually speaking to people in the language that works with them, and not at them.—Ramit Sethi
Ramit really emphasizes how you should spend your time on the things that matter. “My point is, focus on the stuff that matters and is going to make the biggest most valuable gain for you… don’t get caught up in this microtesting world. It’s sexy. It’s fun. We see a 1.3% increase in open rates because we tweaked our subject lines. Or, you can get a 500% increase in revenue because you came up with a better offer,” he says.
Why all the hate? Two reasons. One is that even if you change the color of your button and improve opt-ins by 24%, it doesn’t mean you are going to convert any more sales. Second, even if you do increase the conversions to opt-in, they will eventually regress to the mean. You know who actually gets results from testing button color? Amazon.com.
Ramit says one area to test that can skyrocket your sales is your offers. Do your research and find out what people want. Do they want a standalone ebook? Maybe, and they’ll be happy to pay $97 for it. Or if someone doesn’t want a full video course, maybe they do want transcripts at a lower price. Others want accountability, like live calls every week or even a one-on-one call. Ramit warns that people might say they want an ebook but they may really need someone to check in.
One way to craft your offers is to study people you admire in both the online and offline worlds. What do they offer and how do they offer it?
McDonald’s created the kids’ meal. That’s an offer. They packaged up certain things in a certain way. Offered bonuses. Changed pricing. And the kids’ meal is one of the most successful packages ever created in the history of business.
When I interviewed Neil Patel of Quicksprout he told me about a $199 traffic generation system he offered. He also gave buyers a 30-minute phone call, and after hundreds of sales, is buried in scheduled calls. Ramit says Neil learned two things: that he will never do it again, and that people want his time. That’s very valuable.
Understand the taxonomy of pricing
There is a taxonomy of pricing that is well understood in the information product world.
It goes like this:
blog post: no one will pay for
PDF/ebook: $27-$97
audio/video course: $497-$997
must have video or live component: $997+
in person, one-on-one: the most
If you are putting out a book, and all the others in the store sell for $10 or $15, it’s going to be awfully difficult to roll in and get $200 for yours. Stick to the taxonomy.
Write super-specific headlines
There are plenty of great posts on writing headlines, so I won’t dwell on it here. Check out Copyblogger’s How to Write Headlines That Work instead.
I will note that Ramit says headlines matter profoundly. So spend 50% of your time on them and get super-specific. Doing this, you might decrease conversions, but the people that come through are worth so much more—not just in terms of money, but also in terms of the value you offer them.
Then you want to start thinking about your guarantee.
Give your product an unbeatable guarantee
Offering a money-back guarantee forces you to step up your game, because if your product isn’t good, you don’t get food on the table. I think all of us in this market need that, because there have been so many sleazy people that released substandard products. So I’d like all those people to go out of business, and I’d like the best people, the ones who say “look, my product is so good you try the entire thing and if you don’t like it I’ll send all your money back, even the credit card processing fees.” I want more people like that, because that is a product with integrity versus a fly by night product.—Ramit Sethi.
A big barrier for business people who want to offer guarantees is that they are afraid people will rip them off. Guess what? Some people probably will. But the ability to get a refund will drive more revenue and expose you to many more great people than the few bad apples acting illegitimately.
People expect the opportunity to get 100% of their money back. If your product is good enough, why not let people try the whole thing and get their money back? You have nothing to worry about.
But you should monitor your percentages. On a $97 product you can expect a return rate of about 10%. If you are getting 40% of sales returned, your product is not good. If you are getting 2% returned, that’s a problem too. Why? You probably aren’t selling to enough people. Generally the higher the price, the more refunds are requested.
Ramit offered some tips on creating an unbeatable guarantee. First, the more powerful you can make your guarantee, the better. In The Four Hour Work Week, Tim Ferriss talks about offering a 110% money back guarantee.
Second, the best guarantees are very specific. So don’t just write, “if you are not satisfied for any reason, we’ll give your money back.” Instead try something like, “if you don’t get three paying clients within 60 days, then write me and I’ll send all your money back.”
Third, take as much risk as possible onto yourself. That means offering refunds greater than 100%, paying for shipping, whatever—as much as is economically feasible.
Neil Patel says you can reduce refunds by sending people free stuff you didn’t tell them about during the sale. Just before the refund period is up, send them an email that says, “Hey, next week I’ll be sending you a document that breaks all this down.” Or, “I’ve got a special bonus for you that I’ll be sending along next week,” for example.
So you’ve created a sales page that converts like crazy. But what do you do after your reader buys?
4. What to do right after the customer buys
When they buy, think through their experience. What are they feeling? Nervous. Don’t want to have gotten ripped off. Don’t want to have been taken advantage of. Don’t want their friends to think they bought a weird internet course.—Ramit Sethi
If you told your friends you bought a $2000 video course, they would probably say you got scammed. Normal people don’t buy stuff online, right?
So your newly acquired purchaser is nervous. And after you ease those nerves, they’ll be excited. They can’t wait. Where do they start?
Welcome your customers with a video—Ramit recorded his first one with his MacBook. Tell them something like, “You made a great decision. This is what you are going to get. If you ever have problems, contact us at…” Then give them the material.
It’s important to curate the material your customers see. If you ask people do they want all the information up front, they say “yes.” But if you give it all at once they will be overwhelmed and more likely to cancel or ask for a refund. So tell them, “Here’s why I’m not giving you everything—trust me, and take these action steps.”
I recently watched a Mixergy Master Class called Grow Your Recurring Revenue. It was about how to keep customers that signup for your membership site or courses.
Noah Fleming led the course and said there are three essential Cs: Character, Content, and Community.
In the case of IWTYTBR, the character is Ramit. He’s the personality that readers buy from. The content is what you offer—Noah also emphasized not dumping it all on new buyers all at once.
Community is the elements of your product that let buyers interact with each other. Noah says this is a great way to keep people around, and suggested the idea of forming small groups and giving them tasks: like creating a product together, or developing a landing page.
Ramit tried community by including a forum for Earn1K buyers. He took it down when he found people were spending more time on that than doing work. People still ask him for a forum. It’s what people want—but not what they need.
5. Using ethical persuasion
Life is not just about more conversions. You want to be classy. You want to be respectful. Yeah, you could make more money, but that’s not the goal—the goal is to help them make an informed decision.—Ramit Sethi
Why is ethical persuasion so important? Because now that you know Ramit’s techniques and frameworks for sales, you’d find it just as easy to implement them on the dark side. There are many ways you can use persuasion nefariously, like to convince people to buy things they don’t really need. Ramit says he knows of hucksters who find out how much money their leads have available on their credit cards, then charge that.
Here’s Ramit’s framework for knowing who to sell to.
rational (information + motivation) = decision?
Rational requires that the potential buyer is in a sound state of mind and able to make their decision. Someone in desperate financial circumstances might not be.
Information assumes the potential buyer has all the information in the world about Ramit’s product.
And motivation means it is something they want.
If those three criteria are met, and the lead would buy the product, then Ramit has the privilege to persuade them to buy.
For example, take someone who’s earning $60,000, has $25,000 in the bank and works 9-5 but really wants to earn more. The person has the time, energy, and no credit card debt. If they took the time to go through Ramit’s program, and they trust him, would they buy it? If the answer’s “yes,” it’s a sale.
If someone makes $30,000, has $20,000 in debt, and is looking for a magic bullet, Ramit won’t let the person make the decision to buy.
So, I asked Ramit about those guys who run sites like www.SuperInstantMoneyMakingMachine.com. You know the kind—the ones where they tell you about their life on the beach, drinking margaritas, and chasing women. And there’s a picture of the guy in front of a jet. There is always a jet shot.
Ramit says if that guy has a product that would genuinely change a customer’s life, and gives them an out in the form of a full refund period, then it’s ethical to aggressively pursue the sale. He warns that many pages of long copy, flashing icons, the jet shot, and highlights are scams. Those guys do it because it works, and there are deep psychological reasons for it.
Can you do me a favor and leave a comment sharing the most important insight you got from hearing what Ramit has to say? Be specific—tell us a story, please.
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