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1 Thing Your Blog Can't Live Without

April 14, 2010 By 9 Comments

I was having lunch with a friend of mine last week and we were talking about blog monetization. He has a killer idea, incredible design and fantastic content. He even sells t-shirts on site as a method of bringing in cash from his efforts. The problem…traffic is up and he is not making that much money. In search of an income generating answer, we took a look at his model and figured out that one missing key.

Active Newsletter: The 1 Thing Your Blog Can Not Live Without

It’s true. While we all like to think that enough traffic will gain you the blogging income of your dreams, that is still not the case. If you do not have an active newsletter at this point in time, you are already behind the 8 ball in creating an income generating blog. You can do everything you are supposed to on site, but…at the end of the day…your newsletter subscribers will be your ATM machine as you look to expand your money making opportunities.

Why Do You Need A Newsletter?

Let’s take a look at why your blog needs a newsletter.

  • It captures leads that would normally be lost – By getting that email address, you are able to stay in touch with readers through their email (the most read thing on the web) and bring them back to your blog and content. A vast majority of these readers may have never landed back on your pages, so you are insuring growth over time.
  • Conversions are much higher in newsletters than on site – Let’s put it this way…you released a new eBook or T-Shirt design. Once everything was complete, you wrote a blog post and put up the promotional materials on your site. New visitors and returning visitors see the materials and blog post as they hit up your corner of the web that day. However, their man focus is on new content and not your latest and greatest product. Now…you also have about 1,500 people signed up to your newsletter, so you send out an email announcing your new release. In your email, there is zero distraction. Which one do you think is going to convert better?
  • Newsletters create automated sales funnels – With any well performing newsletter, you are setting up broadcast emails that produce original quality content for your subscribers. This process is completely automated after setup, so once the subscriber signs up…you do not have to do a thing! Now…imagine you are providing quality content with related affiliate promotions. You have just put your money making machine on autopilot as new subscribers are receiving those emails on a daily basis.

Your goal as a site owner is to capture as many free leads as you possibly can, provide quality/original content to those leads and covert that into dollars you can live off of. Having a quality newsletter subscription is the #1 way to accomplish that goal, so you need to sign up with Aweber (I use Aweber for all of my sites and you can get started for $1) or another email service and get started today.

Tomorrow, I’ll show you some hooks I use to attract more subscribers and keep them subscribed to my newsletters. In today’s world, people protect their email addresses more than their own kids, so there are some tips and tricks you can use to insure greater success.

Newsletter Series Recap

Sign Up For Aweber By Clicking Here (get started for only $1!)

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Filed Under: Blogging, Generating Cash Tagged With: , , , ,

The Secret Key To Converting Search Engine Visitors Into Subscribers And Customers

March 29, 2010 By 8 Comments

The key to any successful site or blog is conversions. Once that reader hits your page from a search engine or other online resource, you want to convert that reader into a regular subscriber or customer of your products and affiliate promotions. That is why we are all here right? To grow our blogs and hopefully make a little bit (or a lot) of money doing so? So what is it that successful blogs do that convert readers at a high rate to increase their bottom line?

There is a lot of talk on the web about where to place your newsletter subscription sign-up form, rss button and sharing icons, but what can you do to raise your conversions rates drastically to increase your business up and over that plateau?

Tailoring Your Content For High Conversion Ratios

I see a lot of bloggers that are taking all of the right steps and still not seeing any success. They create a free ebook to entice newsletter subscriptions, they are creating high-quality content on a regular basis, they have a logo and design that is clean and easy to navigate…but they are still spinning their wheels trying to figure out how to get those high dollar and subscriber numbers.

The Key To Success Is Attracting The Right Audience

One of the major mistakes that most bloggers make is ignoring their highest converting part of their blogging…the content. I’m not talking about just “quality content”, I am specifically targeting content that will draw in the exact reader you are looking for in your converting process. Who exactly do you need to land on your page and find value in what you are delivering?

When I set out to write Ramped Riding on Bike198.com (paid ebook on becoming a better mountain biker), I started writing a series of “riding tips” articles on my blog to attract readers who want to become better mountain bikers. These were not articles that were in the ebook, but separate, quality content that would preview what was included in the 130+ page paid ebook. This got my readers used to what I am able to provide in the world of riding tips and pre-qualified those readers as customers for the ebook.

Now…what about that search engine visitor that is reaching my page for the first time? They are searching for riding tips and happen to land on one of my in-depth how to’s. After they read the article that helps them with a specific aspect of their riding, they see there is an ebook on the site that can help them with even more…so they click on the landing page and find a more in-depth solution for their needs.

Do you see what I am doing?

I am pulling in quality, qualified, targeted leads on to my pages through my free content to convert on my paid content.

The same holds true for your free options as well. On RobbSutton.com, I give away a free eCourse and eBook titled Ramped Blogging. Do you think I would get a lot of conversions on newsletter sign-ups if most of my articles were centered around blog design? Absolutely not…so I write articles on RobbSutton.com that attract readers who want to become better bloggers. I then show them (you guys) how I do it and how I can help you do the same through my free and paid products (Ramped Blogging and Ramped Reviews). By doing this, I am solving your issues on the web by attracting the right audience through my free content.

When you go to draft your blog articles, you need to ask yourself a simple question before you hit the publish button.

Who am I targeting and what are they going to do once they hit my site?

Can you answer that question about your last 5 articles?

If you can not answer that question, you need to start taking a serious look at how you are planning out your content generation on your blog.

One of the common misconceptions when bloggers offer a paid product on their blogs is that they can not give away any free content on their blog about that topic. But…if you have no way to draw in free leads, then you are going to see low conversion ratios. By offering complimentary, relevant, free content related to your paid options, you are pulling in highly targeted readers that have a real need to purchase your paid options or sign up for your free ones.

Having a successful business, online or brick and mortar, is all about bringing in targeted leads that need your products and services. 1,000 targeted leads will always be better than 100,000 worthless leads, so as you chase the latest “hot topic” that is bringing in thousands of worthless visitors, try to focus on the profitable content that will bring you the 1,000 targeted leads that will drastically increase your bottom line and growth. It is not about high numbers…it is about targeted ones…

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Filed Under: Blogging, Generating Cash, Tutorials/How To Tagged With: , , , , ,

How to Find More Time to Blog

March 24, 2010 By 10 Comments

In this guest post by Ralph Jean-Paul from Potential2Success.com, he tackles a problem that a lot of bloggers run into as they strive to grow their blogs to a full-time level…finding the time to get the necessary steps complete for success. If you are interested in guest posting on RobbSutton.com, read this article on guest posting and hit me up via email.

Let’s take a trip back to when you first started blogging.  Remember the first time you saw your blog listed on Google?  Or what about the first time someone left a comment on a post?  And who could forget the very first time you made an affiliate sale or revenue from an Adsense click?  Good times, good times.

That was then and now you probably realize that blogging is not a way to make some quick cash.  Blogging as a business doesn’t take much money to start.   However, that doesn’t mean that it’s free.  In order to have a successful blog, it will require some of your valuable time.

Finding time to blog can be difficult.  Most bloggers have a full-time job, family, friends, and other commitments that they are responsible for.  So finding the time to write, post, and market their blog can be a challenge.

It is possible to run a successful blog and have a life.  I learned this when I first started blogging.  I had a full-time job, taking 6 college courses, and I had to learn how to build and market a website.  It was a challenge, but I was able to do it successfully.  I still use the same methods I learned back then today to make time to blog.

Finding More Time

Use the Time You Have Wisely

Part of the reason it may seem like you do not have enough time is because you haven’t made good use of the time you have.  Often we think there is not enough time to write content, market, and develop our blog.  The time is usually there, we just need to know what to do with it.

One way to make sure that you are using your time wisely is to have a plan on what you will be doing before you get in front of your computer.  Your plan should include a list of tasks and a timeframe to complete those tasks.  It is also a good idea to prioritize the list.  If you fall behind, and do not have time to finish everything, the most important tasks still get done.

If you don’t have the disciple to not visit Facbook and Youtube while you’re working on your blog, then make sure that you close those windows.  You don’t need any unwanted temptation to distract you from finishing your tasks.

Find Your Best Working Hours

Find out when you are the most productive and work on your blog during that time.  By finding the time when you are the most productive, you are making it possible to complete your tasks faster thus taking up less time.

I recently began waking up at 3 am because I realized that I focus best early in the morning.  For some reason, trying to write during the day is almost impossible for me.  Something about the thought of sunshine outside makes it difficult for me to concentrate.

Do More of What You Do Best

I think the goal for any successful business is to find out how to profit from their best product or service.  As a blogger, this is also your goal.  Instead of wasting time on things that are not effective, focus on what will make the most difference.

So what’s your strength?  Do you deliver dynamic content?  Are you exceptional at marketing?  Take whatever you do best and do more of it.  The problem that I had when I started blogging is that I was doing so many things that didn’t produce the result that I wanted.

Once I realized that there were just a few things that produced the result that I wanted for my niche, I focused on those things and worked to improve them.  Instead of wasting time on what you have been told will work, focus on what is working and stop doing what isn’t.

Blog Everywhere

Ideas and inspiration are everywhere!  Whenever you have an idea for a post, capture it immediately.  I use the Notepad on my Blackberry if I don’t have any paper and my voice recorder when I’m driving.

One night I went to the movies with some friends.  While we were watching the previews, I had an idea for a post about the top 10 inspirational movies of all time.  Ignoring the cartoon that told us not to use our phones during the movie, I whipped out my Blackberry and started typing.  Before I knew it, my idea became 150 words and a good start to a future post.  That post became one of my most popular posts and is still in the top 10 most viewed pages on my blog.

There are really two main benefits to blogging everywhere.  One, you get to act on an idea that you had.  Having an idea is good but it’s pretty much pointless unless you turn that idea into action.  The second benefit is that you don’t waste time looking for ideas.  When writers block strikes, you can always go back to your vault of ideas and pull something useful.

Share the Burden

When times get tough and you need some extra time, opening up your blog to quality guest posts is a great way to keep your blog updated.  Publishing a guest post is also a great way to give yourself a little break from producing content.

It also gives your readers some fresh content from someone who may have a different writing style.  It also offers the opportunity to boost your traffic as that blogger will usually market their guest post.

Ralph Jean-Paul is the main writer for his blog Potential 2 Success which is a result-driven personal development blog. He is also a monthly contributor for 2 other popular personal development blogs. Along with being a writer, Ralph is also a speaker and entrepreneur. For more from Ralph visit Potential2Success.com

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Filed Under: Blogging, Tutorials/How To Tagged With: , , ,

Something I Wish I Could Tell Myself In Grade School That Improves My Blogging

March 8, 2010 By 6 Comments

There are certain life lessons that apply to both business and life. There are also those that you wish you could just go back in time, shake the crap out of your ‘old self’ and scream…”JUST LISTEN TO ME! I’LL MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER!”. But…then again…it is the lessons we learn throughout the mistakes in our lives that really brings us success and happiness over time. So as we look at our blogging and those lessons we have learned, what is it that I should have known in grade school that know helps me tremendously in my blogging?

I Wish I Could Tell This To Myself

Back in the day, I was a pretty geeky kid growing up. I was also that kid that was obsessed with fitting in with the ‘cool crowd’. I wanted to hang out at the same places, do the same things, wear the same clothes…but the more I tried to ‘fit in’ the more I was kicked out. A funny thing happens when you focus all of your energy on being someone you are not. You get the opposite reaction that you were looking for. Up until about my junior year in high school…that was me. That geeky kid just trying to be one of the crowd.

About half way through my junior year in high school (after beating my head up against a wall since 6th grade), I finally just gave up. I found a group of friends I could connect with and started acting like me instead of a person that I thought everyone else wanted me to be. It was almost an instantaneous switch that changed my life. Now…all of those same people I wanted to be like actually wanted to hang out with me. Not because I was exactly like them, but because I was being like me.

Now…all that time and energy was being spent towards being myself and enjoying time with friends who actually gave a shit how I was doing that day…and that confidence and uniqueness attracted others. Funny how that happens.

How Does This Help Your Blogging?

Far too often, I see bloggers struggling with who they want to be online. They see someone else in their niche who is successful and they emulate that formula expecting the same results. They are no different than my confused grade school self just trying to fit in. What they forget is that blogger made it to where they are because they brought something unique and different to the table. That uniqueness bred the success…not trying to be one of the ‘cool crowd’.

Daring to be yourself and stand out from the crowd will gain you the respect and individuality that is required to be apart of the ‘cool crowd’. The weird thing…99.9% of people and bloggers go about it the exact opposite way by trying to copy someone else.

It is time to be different.

It is time to stand out from the crowd.

It is time to see success by being yourself.

It is time to stop worrying so much about what other people thing when you are probably wrong.

It is time to be you.

Through being yourself…you will find success. If you want to copycat someone else and focus on the wrong aspects of your blogging, be ready for frustration and disappointment. Blogging is about that connection between the blogger and the reader and if you are too worried about being like someone else…you will never get that connection and you will never see success. People want to connect with something unique. If you are just like someone else, they will just to read the real thing.

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Filed Under: Blogging, Content, Lifestyle Design Tagged With: , , ,

10 Tips to Boost Your Blog's Loyal Readership

March 1, 2010 By 13 Comments

Building a group of loyal followers to your blog is probably one of the most difficult aspects of blogging. You might be pulling plenty of one-time readers, or have a small group of loyal blog watchers, but how do you build that into a bevy of diehard fanatics? Many bloggers ponder that question as they publish posts that draw but a handful of comments, or review their daily statistics with hopeful expectations that are quickly dashed by the cruel hand of blogging reality. To help you keep a quality core of loyal readers returning to your blog, here are some tips you might find helpful.

1. Build A Community

Building a community is often easier said than done, but if you can draw likeminded and loyal readers to your blog (friends, family, co-workers, etc.) you can start a strong core of followers. Similar to the six-degrees of separation game, simply by word of mouth and friends knowing friends, this small core can often grow into a much larger group of loyal readers.

2. Invite Input

By inviting your readers’ input to various posts, you can make them feel as if their opinions are important. Not only can this build loyalty among your readers, but you might find some quite useful contributions and ideas along the way that can further your blog and posts.

3. Give Feedback

Inviting input from your readers only goes so far though. If followers continue to post comments that aren’t responded to, eventually even the most loyal of readers might hit the road in search of someone who is listening. Keep your readers feeling as if they are part of the group and that their thoughts are meaningful by providing feedback to their comments and queries.

4. Avoid Junk

There are few worse things to encounter on a blog site than a bunch of clutter and useless information. Scrolling down a page that seems to stretch endlessly through a string of posts and video clips can get old quick. By archiving old posts, keeping your clutter to a minimum, making your posts informative, and taking it easy on the videos and graphics that slow the loading of your blog’s page, you can keep loyal readers from ditching your site in favor of greener pastures.

5. Keep It Easy On The Eyes

Sure, sometimes we have a lot to say and want to get our ideas conveyed properly. However, excessively long posts can deter readers. Short posts, bolded points and topic headings, and bullet points or lists can make your blog and your ideas easier to understand to your followers.

6. Contests And Giveaways

It often doesn’t take much in the way of freebies to entice people to visit your blog. Holding weekly contests, free giveaways, and making use of similar promotional ideas can be a great way to build loyalty among your readership.

7. A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

While this isn’t to say you should go posting pictures of half-nude models all over your blog, finding a picture of yourself that shows you in the best light possible might not hurt in building loyalty among your followers. Using a handsome picture of yourself that doesn’t include a spouse or child (unless it’s pertinent to the subject matter of your blog) can appeal to followers. Sure, while a personal relationship with you and one of your followers isn’t likely, how many men and women are disappointed when their favorite actor or actress gets married? The human mind works in funny ways and people thinking that you are handsome, single and available may appeal to certain readers and increase their loyalty.

8. Play The Field

When a reader invites you to check out their blog site, by doing so and responding to their invitation, you may gain their loyalty in the process. Visiting other blogs can also open up other avenues of advertising and increased traffic. You never know what networking through other blogs might bring you when it comes to loyal readership.

9. Create A Series

If you’ve written a post that turns out to be highly successful, it might be worth considering a follow up post or two along the same lines. If those posts hit with equal success, you might have stumbled across an idea that you could turn into a series of posts that will hook your readership and bring them back on a regular basis.

10. Leave Them Hanging

Sometimes a little suspense can go a long way in bringing an audience back for more. You don’t want to show your hand right off the bat. Pace yourself and your posts so that your readers want more. If you give them all the answers right away, why would they need to come back?

About the Author

Tom is a designer and writer based in the UK who works with a supplier of Epson printer ink, toner and printing accessories. You can stay up to date with his latest posts about design and art on their blog, CreativeCloud.

Image: by Steve Keys

Filed Under: Tutorials/How To Tagged With: , , ,

Are You Writing Articles That Have The Ability To Make Money?

February 26, 2010 By 20 Comments

While we are on the subject of making money online, generating income through your blog and every other cash infusing aspect of your blogging, we need to take a look at why some blogs are successful on a monetary standpoint and others are not.

I see it all the time…

“Robb! I have a lot of traffic, a ton of comments and everything is growing! But I’m not making a bloody cent!”

To make money online through blogging, you have to be doing two things and most bloggers do neither in their pursuit to fire their boss and live the life they dream.

  1. You have to attract a reader that is actually prepared to spend money.
  2. You have to publish posts that actually generate revenue.

Sounds simple doesn’t it?! Then why aren’t more people making a living online? Let’s tackle each of these quickly so you can get an idea of what I am talking about and apply it to your blog.

You Have To Attract A Reader That Is Prepared To Spend

Your 1,978 comments don’t mean anything if those comments are coming from readers that are not prepared to buy something. If you just want to grow a blog for the community aspect and you enjoy writing, that is great! Keep on rockin’ it! But…if you are looking to generate revenue (cash…that stuff that pays the bills), you have to take a serious look at what kind of reader your content is attracting.

Articles like reviews of products and services, complex tutorials related to your field and other valuable resources will attract a reader that is looking to solve a problem. Generally, problems are solved in this world through products and services that you can either provide through your own products or by promoting someone else’s products and services (affiliate marketing). By attracting the readers looking to solve problems and solving that problem for them with a solution you recommend…you are setting up the possibility to profit off of that readers needs.

Attracting a bunch of know-it-all’s with controversial opinion or pining after that first page of Digg isn’t going to bring you a reader that is ready to buy. It might get you traffic…but unless you are ready to make basically nothing until you have 100′s of thousands of visitors…that is probably not the route you want to take.

Publishing Blog Articles That Generate Cash

Once you have an audience that is actually ready to spend some cash, you have to make sure you are publishing content that will actually result in that monetary spending.

We’ll take blogging about blogging as an example because all of you guys are familiar with it and a lot of people try to jump into this field and fail miserably. You know all of those list posts about “how to blog”, “how not to blog”, “how to get more readers”, etc?! They are worthless. Well…wait…let me rephrase that…they are worthless if you are not selling a coaching program, offering up a free eBook about blogging for newsletter subscribers or complimenting that content with something that generates revenue for your blog.

Let’s take another example. On Bike198.com, I write a ton of tutorials about how to ride, how to become a better rider, etc. Every single one of these post have basically zero revenue by themselves. They do, however, attract a reader that is looking to become a better rider. This way…I am funneling traffic to my Ramped Riding eBook and my newsletter which are both profitable for the site. See what I mean about complimenting content with cash generating assets?

It is vital that you create a business model that promotes online spending by providing online resources that funnel traffic to your own products and services or the promotion of other people’s product and services.

Some Final Thoughts Cash Generating Blogs

The blogs that do this really well can make a great living online with smaller traffic. It is all about attracting the right reader and solving their problems by creating solutions that generate profit in your blogging. It is a win/win for both you and your readers and by providing these solutions…you are gaining their trust and positioning yourself as the expert in your field.

Just blogging is not a business model…but selling your own products and services or the promotion of other products and services (in the corporate world we call this a Rep) is a solid business model that can grow with time.

If you are expecting to have a small amount of traffic convert well with affiliate banners and PPC campaigns, you are going to be constantly counting pennies while the bloggers that do this the right way are counting 5 to 6 figure incomes with the same amount of traffic.

Filed Under: Blogging, Generating Cash, Tutorials/How To Tagged With: , , ,

Blogging Tips: How To Flow Like Snoop Dogg

February 24, 2010 By 9 Comments

Every successful blog on the net has flow. The bloggers voice just rolls off the keys and posts magically appear in your reader that invoke feelings and emotion. It is all done effortlessly with a uniqueness that is genuine and not faked. This consistency and effortless appearance is a skill. It is not acquired through osmosis, but through hard work and developing a craft. The the rap world, Snoop Dogg has created a flow that surrounds everything he encompasses. The rhythmical rhymes flow with ease as he attracts millions of fans year after year. So how can you get this same flow in your blogging to attract more eager readers?

Hint: It is not smoking a pound of weed and hitting the keyboard. I take zero responsibility for the outcome if you decide to go that route.

Blogging Tip: How To Flow Like Snoop Dogg

How can you…the blogger…obtain the same flow that Snoop Dogg and successful bloggers demonstrate that breads success?

Be Unique

Expecting to be a copycat blogger and see results? Success is about being unique in an un-unique world. It is about standing out from the crowd with original ideas and something different. Do you want to be the next Snoop Dogg or do you want other aspiring bloggers to be the next you? That is a question you need to answer for yourself before you even get started.

Forget what has already been done. Forget the “magic formula” for success. Uniqueness is still the #1 factor behind most highly successful blogs and individuals. Their listeners, followers, subscribers and reader all want to be the next them…not the other way around.

Collaborate With Other Bloggers

Where do you think Snoop Dogg would be today without Dr. Dre? Remember back in the day (and maybe you don’t) when the two were inseparable? That collaboration in the early days allowed for fast growth through multiple ideas and multiple audiences to combine into a massive empire.

Who can you collaborate with in your niche? Which bloggers can you work with to help grow your blog and theirs by mixing ideas and audiences? You can’t go at it alone and you are going to need some help along the way. Look for ways that you can bring your strengths to the table and find collaborations that are beneficial for both parties.

Ride The Wave

Early adopters have a much easier run at it than the ones that are late to the party. In the early 90′s, gansta rap (yeah…I just said gansta) was building steam and Dr. Dre, 2Pac, Snoop Dogg and a small handful of other rappers were pushing the charge. After a couple of platinum selling albums, every kid from the street and studio was trying to get in on the action. Those handful of rappers were already 10 steps ahead of everyone else by being the original group that lead the push instead of being the ones that were following the trend.

Watch for trends in your niche and capitalize on those trends by being an early adopter. Many of the massively successful blogs you see today are successful because they got on the bandwagon early. Competition is low, risk is a little bit higher but the return on your investment (time, hosting, etc.) is much larger with the decreased competition.

Be Authentic

This is a big one. Do you think anyone would take Snoop Dogg’s songs seriously if he was some kid from Beverly Hills? During the time period where he was really creating a name for himself, he was rapping about his life. That authenticity is a massive part of the equation for success.

Don’t blog about making money online if you aren’t making any money. Don’t blog about successful blogging if you have never had a successful blog. Find a blog topic that you can be 100% authentic on and people will gravitate towards your ideas. You might think you can fake you way through it, but your potential readers will figure you out in a second. It is always better to be yourself and see success than a failure trying to fake it.

Brand Yourself and Your Blog

Snoop Dogg is not just a rapper these days, he is a walking brand that prints cash. This central branding carries into everything he does. Are you branding yourself and your blog? Do you have a central theme that spreads throughout your work? Or are you just winging it to see what happens? You have to create a brand around your blog or you will just confuse everyone in the process.

Blog flow works itself into everything you do over time. It doesn’t come automatically and you can’t fake. Some bloggers have it and others are working on achieving it. When it hits…you will know. Things get a hell of a lot easier and all of the sudden…your lyrical rhymes are ripping up the net as more readers soak up your content, buy your products and sign up for your membership sites. It’s a beautiful thing…

Filed Under: Blogging, Tutorials/How To Tagged With: , , , ,

Don't Read This If You Want A Boring, Low Traffic Blog

February 16, 2010 By 25 Comments

Blogging is getting more crowded by the day. Many of the A-Lister’s that you are following now had the added advantage of being early adopters with little competition. Now…with a flood of new bloggers hitting the market on a daily basis, you have to stand up and demand attention where in the past this may have been much easier. The trick…you need to stand up above the crowd and declare your blog as something unique that is worth visiting on a regular basis. As a blogger, how can you stand up and show your uniqueness without begging for readers? How can you be seen as the go to blog in your niche by diversifying yourself from the rest of the noise? How can you be successful in today’s blogging world?

Tips For Standing Out Above the Blogging Noise

Raising Hand - Blogging - Stand Out from Crowd

No one likes a beggar. Remember that kid in your class that always begged for attention? “Oh…pick me! Pick me! I know the answer!” Almost shooting out of his chair…the rear legs tapping the ground as his forward anxious motion almost brings him to the front of the class, he just couldn’t wait to suck up to the teacher and show the rest of the class his brilliance. This came to the annoyance to the rest of the class as the same routine was carried on day in and day out. No originality…just a 1st class suck up trying to be unique and going about it all the wrong ways.

Did you know that when you start getting desperate in your blogging, you are doing the exact same thing and you don’t even know it?

The trick to standing out above the noise can be handled in several ways (I recommend all of the below). Take these tips back to your blog and find ways that you can apply them to make sure you are putting your correct foot forward to insure that your blog is not just another number…but something unique.

Quality Content

A blog is nothing without content and you have heard this point until you are blue in the face. In fact, you are a little pissed off at me right now because I mentioned quality content first. I can see you now…”here we go again”. But…you would be surprised how many bloggers I see waste so much time on every other aspect of blogging while completely neglecting the unique, quality content variable in the formula. For some reason, a lot of bloggers overlook this in favor of some of the other items on this list. I don’t know…maybe they are lazy or just unable, but the rest of this list does not mean a damn thing without the quality content as the foundation of a great blog that stands out above the crowd…regardless of niche.

Remember the kid in class? You do not want suck up, non-original content. You do not want to recycle what the teacher is saying. You need original thought…original angles…and something different than ever Joe Schmoe blogger hitting the market today. Before you concentrate on anything else, get your content so hot it is burning the place down.

Consistent, Unique Branding

How many blogs have you visited that still have the plain text title in the header? Have you ever seen any successful website or company that leaves the default text? If you haven’t…then why are you?? Consistent branding is your leverage to keep your site, blog and social media circles focused on who you are and why your blog is different. It does not have to be something complicated. Often times, the simplest logos and tag lines are the best…but you need to at least have one. This branding also needs to extend to all social media and other off-line promotion to keep your name and your branding consistent. Without consistent, unique branding…you are just noise in the crowd.

Clean, Unique Design

This will go hand in hand with your branding, but how do you honestly expect to stand out from the crowd if your standard Thesis Theme install looks just like everyone else that started up a blog that day? Premium themes are a great way to get a leg up on the design process especially if you have zero coding or design experience, but do not leave it there. If your blog looks exactly like 385 other blogs on the net in your niche…forget about standing out from the crowd because you look exactly like the crowd! Great designs portray the feeling of the site while making the content and business model easily accessible. Forget all of the fancy widgets that no one pays attention to and just clutters up your site. Get to what is important and 70% of your readers need.

Originality

Copying another bloggers winning formula is just going to leave you frustrated with zero results or not enough to make a real run at serious blogging. Look…everything has been said that is going to hit the net at this point unless it is something brand new. If everything has been said, then how can you stand out? You have your own unique opinions and delivery and you need to start using it. Have a unique voice, a unique opinion and deliver that in a way that is unique and different from the other blogs in your niche. Why is a reader going to stay at a copycat blog when they can have the real thing? They aren’t…so it is your job to make other blogs want to be “the next you”.

Attention To Details

Pay close attention to the details as those are going to be what set you apart from the noise. How can you make your content look better through the use of formatting and pictures? Are there little tweaks that you can do to make your site more engaging? Pay very close attention to your stats and continue to tweak what works and trash what doesn’t. By increasing efficiencies and capitalizing on what you are doing right…you are able to keep the success train on full throttle. The bloggers that fade back into the noise are the ones that are not paying attention to the small details that add up over time.

Strong Social Media Backing

Social media is just a part of life as a blogger. Should the worst happen…social media can keep the traffic rolling and your brand in front of the eyes of people in your niche. Social media is also an incredible outlet for personality as many of things you do on Twitter and Facebook are not site related…but personal. People want to connect with people and not machines, so the more you keep on top of your social media outlets as an extension of who you are and what your blog represents, the more viral your content will become over time. Just remember…you want that same consistent branding strategy to carry over into your Twitter profile, Facebook profile, Facebook fan page, etc. Use the same pictures and logos so your audience recognizes you where ever you go.

Use of Multiple Medias

The days of just throwing up text on the screen are long gone. Readers are now expecting more exciting ways of delivering content through the use of images and video. Not only do these increase your social media spread (ex. YouTube profiles), but they give you a leg up on the competition that is relying completely on text. A large majority of your audience is going to be visual learners and through the use of images and video, you can really connect with these people on a personal level. That connection will make you easy to remember…

Bottom Line On Standing Out

You do not want to be that kid in the class that is begging for the attention. You want to bring the attention to you through quality and originality by incorporating the items above in your blogging. Sometimes it takes an objective look at what you are doing and what you are trying to accomplish to reach your goals. If you are planning on just sliding by…be prepared for disappointment as the ones who really want it are going to take action to get here.

Blogging is an action sport…so you have to get on it or you will be left in the nameless crowd without an audience…

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Is Trust Getting Harder To Earn?

February 9, 2010 By 11 Comments

Having success in blogging is all about gaining the trust of your readers. That is something we all know as we move forward looking for increased subscriber numbers, comments and other metrics that are a by product of successful blogging. Without that trust, you are not converting casual lurkers into active members of your community. Therefor, gaining that trust of individuals that you want to stick around can be a difficult thing to accomplish. Without this trust that you are going to deliver the goods on a regular basis and enrich the lives of your readers, you are really just pissing in the wind as you continue to struggle with making anything out of your blog. So…as you move forward in this journey, how can you gain the trust of new readers and keep the trust of your existing?

Is Trust Getting Harder To Earn Online?

Online trust is a funny animal. With blogging gaining steam in mainstream media to the point that even my mom understands what it means to be a blogger, there are more and more individuals looking to have a side hobby or business online with a blog. What does this mean of the blogger looking to make an income online and gain the trust of thousands of readers by delivering great content? There is a lot more noise online today than there used to be.

Everyone and their mom (literally) has a blog these days. Many of these blogs are here today, gone tomorrow blogs, but they still add to the clutter that we find online. The struggle then is to gain the trust of potential subscribers when they are bombarded with more content than they can really handle on a daily basis.

How many times have you searched Google online for an answer to your question, only to jump from page to page with no real answer in sight? There is a lot of noise and it is your job to combat that.

I think trust is a harder thing to earn online these days due to the mass quantity of blog posts hitting the net on a daily basis. It is going to be harder for you to achieve that success and rise above the rest. What does this mean to you? You have to work harder to get above the noise, but benefits are even bigger. With more noise, there is a much larger audience. So when you do rise above the rest, you have a much bigger success story than if there was no noise at all. Kind of a double edge sword effect there.

A Personal Trust Story To Illustrate A Point

Hans - Male Brindle BoxerWhen I think about building trust online, I always relate it to my male Boxer Hans. It will make sense in a second so stick with me.

We rescued Hans from Atlanta Boxer Rescue so we could have another Boxer to keep our female company. She was getting a little too spoiled as the only child…so she needed a brother. When we first rescued Hans (picture of the first night to the right), he was really sweet but a little stand off’ish. This was understandable as he had been bounced around from house to house and this was after ABR got him on his “last day” at the pound. This guy had seen a lot of different homes in the last year, so his trust level was pretty low.

When we first got him in, he didn’t like it when you messed with his feet. He would almost snap at you if you played with his ears and he got pretty upset if you ever left. Basically, Hans had seen so many different things over the course of his life that his trust level was pretty low. He was happy and loved people, but on his terms and he was guarded. Luckily…he got along with Hemi (our female) beautifully right off the bat, so that was good.

Over time, we worked with Hans gradually getting him over his trust issues by providing consistency. I would move him around a little bit at first and then start to get a little bit more pushy to show that I don’t want to hurt him…I just need to be able to move him around from time to time. Jenn started working with him on his ears and…eventually…he could care less if we just pull the crap out of them.

Now…what used to be a guarded dog is a 70+ pound lap dog that can’t ever be close enough. What did we do to gain this trust? We provided consistent results over time. Through this consistency, Hans was able to let his guard down and become one of the family.

How Can You Earn This Same Trust With Your Readers?

While Hans is just a dog and your readers might be much more complicated, the actions you take to earn the trust of your readers and show them that you are not just another spec in the noise is much the same. Here are some tips to convert the Hans that is browsing your blog…

Provide Consistent Quality

Content is still king, so consistent quality in your offerings on your blog are going to still be the biggest converting factor. When you publish an article, are you publishing one to stick to a schedule or provide real value? Every time a new reader lands on your page, they are going to do one of two things. They are going to scan and leave or dig deeper into your blogs content to figure out if they want to visit your site again. What are your new readers going to find in their digging? Consistent, quality content or a mess with several nice article in between?

Quality Content Over Time

You are posting quality content, but your blog has only been live a week. You are going to have to continue to post up this quality content even when no one is reading. Try to prevent the urge to splash as much content with blog articles as you can on the screen and go for quality instead. People trust blogs that have been around a long time and have that consistency, so you are going to have to build up those same archives on your own blog to show that you are not going away any time soon.

Keep Their Trust By Providing Value

Just like with Hans, just because they are in your house…that does not mean they are going to trust you automatically. Diversify your offerings on your blog to provide valuable resources that fill the needs of your readers. Trust is largely earned by giving more than you receive, so these resources will gain more trust and provide a nice asset in your blogging. These can take the form of resource static pages, ebooks, ecourses, membership sites, etc.

Social Proof

If  you have been doing the whole blogging thing awhile, you have gained some social proof in the form of comments, subscriber counts and other metrics. Converting new readers is much easier if you can show that new potential subscriber that a large quantity of people trust you enough to interact as well. It is a follow the herd mentality, but it works.

Be Original

This is one of the most important aspects of successful blogging and gaining that crucial trust online. You have to be original. You do not want to be the next (fill in the blank here)…you want other people to want to be the next you. Forget regurgitating what someone else is saying and start being original. No one wants to trust someone that is copying another winning formula…they will just go to the originator instead of you.

Gain That Trust And Keep It

Once you gain the trust that it is so hard to gain online, protect and keep it. Just because you have converted that casual lurker, that does not mean they are going to just blindly follow. It is your job to show them that their trust has not gone misguided by continuing your promise to provide quality.

If you want success online…that is the key…

So what do you think…is trust harder to gain online these days?

Trust image by thorinside

Filed Under: Blogging, Tutorials/How To Tagged With: , , , ,

The Insider Secret To Positioning Yourself As The Expert

January 21, 2010 By 52 Comments

For a blog to be truly successful within a given niche, it needs to be seen as an expert in that given field. You have heard it time and time again and as you look at the blogs you read on a daily basis…you perceive them as an expert in something related to the subject at hand. Positioning yourself as the expert in your field can be a difficult thing for new bloggers and bloggers looking to increase their readership. How in the world do we…as bloggers…position ourselves as the expert in our niche to be successful online? How do we capitalize on that same asset that successful bloggers are pulling from and seeing fantastic results?

The Insider Secret To Positioning Yourself As The Expert

I am going to let you in on a little secret that is going to make your life easier and your stress level decrease. The secret to positioning yourself as the expert is an easy one to conquer with the right mindset. The key…you are positioning your blog, website and online resource as the expert…not specifically you. Unless you are blogging under your name (and sometimes even then), your goal is to make your blog the expert…not necessarily you! Now that the weight is lifted off of your shoulders, doesn’t it seem like a lot easier task to accomplish? Your goal is to make your url an expert in your niche by providing valuable resources that instill confidence in your brand.

How Can I Make My Blog The Expert?

When I started Bike198.com originally, I knew there were a lot of resources and blogs online about mountain biking. Most of these blogs were centered around specific rides, geographical areas and personal experiences. While I wanted to inject myself into my blog with those aspects, I also wanted to create a resource that other riders could go to on a consistent basis and expect to find useful information that was universal to mountain biking. So…how did I do that and position my blog as the expert in my field at the same time?

  • How To Articles - One of the easiest ways to position your blog as the expert in your niche is to teach. By helping other people in your niche solve problems, you are creating a blog that becomes the “go-to” resource to get things done in your niche. You are also creating a relationship with your readers by providing solutions to their issues. Throughout all of my blogging, this is the #1 most successful way I have found to position yourself above the rest. The more you teach…the more success you will see.
  • Resources – Providing valuable resources is another way to increase your expert status online. Does your niche have a lot of  specific vocabulary that you could make a page on and feature on your site? How about a list of resources like I do with my Blogging Toolbox? Resources can be pages or articles that provide your readers with definition or outside information related to your niche. Much like how to articles, these resources provide an immense amount of value your readers and add points on the expert scale.
  • Reviews – Every niche has a set of products or services. By providing high-quality, honest reviews, you are creating another expert resource for your blog. Your opinion means something in a review and…while not everyone will agree with your opinion…your site naturally becomes an expert on everything related to your niche. Your readers will start to look to you for information to influence their buying decisions.
  • Bring In Bigger Experts Than You! – One of the biggest ways to position your blog as the expert blog in your niche is actually one of the least used methods among beginning bloggers. If you do not have the expertise to draw off of during your beginning stages, bring in people who do to help build up your street cred. By allowing guest posts or conducting interviews and podcasts, you are able to draw off of other people’s expertise in your field and make your blog the expert at the same time.

Positioning yourself as the expert in blogging is not all about your fingers unleashing the latest and greatest to the audience in your niche. It is about creating a valuable resource online through careful planning so that people will see your site as the go to site in your niche. You do not have to be the expert…your blog has to be the expert…remember that as you move forward and there is no limit to what you can accomplish.

Image by Pete Prodoehl
Filed Under: Blogging, Tutorials/How To Tagged With: , , , ,
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