Blogging. Fatherhood. Business Building. It's all here.

It’s time for a change…

November 14, 2011 By 68 Comments

This morning, I was getting for the day when I came to a realization…

I hate blogging about blogging.

What started off as trying to help people has turned into the vicious cycling that I had dreaded from day one.

So what exactly happens?

The more I post useful tips that actually work…the more people just want another list post about “how to get more comments” or “how to make more money” that they can tweet without reading or use on their own “make money online talking about making money online” blog. It is less and less about building a business out of something unique and more about copying the success of others in the hope that money can be made off of the same blueprint.

As this cycle continued to show itself…I was finding myself thinking about creating training course, more eBooks and other related materials that would basically just become more of the noise. I wasn’t happy about it and I was dreading every second of it.

Why I Initially Got Into Blogging

I got into blogging to connect and help other people in the biking industry with Bike198. Luckily, that site is still doing that. However, when I tried to apply that same theory to Blogging Labs, I was getting stuck in the rut that most blogs about blogging head in…and it is time to stop the madness.

I want to connect with people again and I do not care if that costs me money in the long run. That is not why I started writing about online publishing in the first place…but that is what it turned into. Bike198 is still doing incredibly well on the income side of things without having to sacrifice the connection and sharing within the industry. That audience could care less about the blogging and make money online world…all they want to do is share their passion online.

If I have to take an income hit to get back that connect here…it is worth the tradeoff to not be another “blog about blogging” or “make money online by talking about making money online” place on the web. There are enough people doing that already and 99.9% of them are all saying the same thing. Saying that, there are very few (ie. DavidRisley.com and some others) that are still publishing content that I will even read.

So things are going to change rapidly. I am going to get back to connecting with people by publishing everything here on RobbSutton.com and I am completely dropping Blogging Labs. The old content will stay live, but now you are going to be connecting with me…not some brand…not what the industry wants…just me. The about pages, categories and other items will shift into the direction that I want this site to take.

I have a lot going on now that I do believe can help people and I want to share, but I do not want it to be list posts about rehashed crap in an attempt for pageviews. If you want to connect with me…the guy behind the scenes…then you will love this change. If you want more list posts and how to posts that will “get you 100 more subscribers today”, you are not on the right site anymore.

It’s time for a change.

To start…I am going to give everything I used to charge for away for free. Ramped Blogging and Ramped Reviews are now yours to have whether or not you subscribe to a newsletter or purchase them. Here are the download links…

Ramped Reviews

Ramped Blogging

They will continue to be free for anyone who wants to download them. If you sign up for the newsletter or rss feed…great! I am glad to have you as a part of the site. But…I will no longer be offering a free incentive on this site as part of the signup process as the blogging about blogging world is full of people that purely signup for the free stuff and aren’t interested in staying connected. They are just interested in that next “magic bullet”.

Blogging needs to get back to its roots…

I have this fundamental belief that blogging needs to get back to its roots. What started off as making that one on one connection has now become almost solely focused on money and becoming another “get rich quick” scheme. What many people fail to realize is that the money came after the connection…not before. It is only when these connections got in such high numbers that bloggers began to gain respect for the amount of income they were producing that was a byproduct of the connections…it wasn’t the initial goal.

So here is RobbSutton.com…it will be about me. My successes, failures and life laid out  in the attempt to connect with people on the other side of the screen. I am going to keep this site as far away from MMO as possible and focus my life, what I enjoy and the principles that create successful ventures.

Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With: , , ,

4 Tips To Insure Your Success In 2011 and Beyond

January 5, 2011 By 6 Comments

With 2010 behind us and 2011 up and running, everyone is looking to improve this year over last. For many of you, you might be looking to make 2011 your breakout year as you take your dream and make it a reality. It is possible, you just have to keep you mindset on the right path to success and that makes the sky the limit for what you can accomplish over the next 12 months.

#1 – This Is Not A Backup Plan

Your future is too important to treat your business as a backup plan. I hear far too many bloggers and small online business owners say, “It makes me some side cash and hopefully…one day…it will be full time.” One day never comes with that attitude…it will always be side income instead of your profession.

Owning your own business (online or not) is dependent on a correct mindset from the very beginning. Do I believe in working a 9-5 until you can replace the income with your blogging? Absolutely. I even suggest working both if you can pull it for as long as you can balance the needs of your lifestyle (before you have kids, etc.), but if you expect to make it big with the mindset of small…you are sorely mistaken. You have to jump into your life headfirst as if there was no other option. You want to be full-time with your dream and that is the goal from day one. Will it provide side income in the meantime? Yes it will, but you will spend the side income on stuff you don’t need with a bad business mindset instead of putting it where it belongs…back into your business for growth.

Start 2011 with the mindset that you are going to make it big in 2011. It is not if or hopefully…it is when and that is dependent upon you.

#2 – Form Efficient Working Habits

We waste a TON of time. It’s true. Even those of us that think we are incredibly efficient still waste a lot of time.

In 2011, you need to figure out how you can efficiently work to get the most out of every minute you are in front of that computer or networking. I personally use tools like Evernote, Google Calendars and scheduling posts to make sure I am running at full steam at all times. Just recently, I used my need for efficiency as an excuse with my wife to pick up an iPad. While my intentions were to just get an iPad, I actually found that my efficiency level increased during meetings and on the go as I had a way to get ideas down on paper easier and a way to edit plans/invoices and other documents during crucial meetings.

My efficient working habits are not going to be the same as yours in most cases but you need to find out how you can make the most out of the time you have. There are going to be things that come up to derail your plans, so having everything in place and planned will be crucial to your success in 2011.

#3 – Watch The Trends

If someone would have told you to ignore Digg 3 years ago, would you believe them? What if they told you Facebook was going to be more powerful than Google 2 years ago?

The web is still finding its way. Its users are still figuring out how they want to share and find information online. Ironically, 2010 marked the year of consumers (yes…your content is a consumable) going back to their roots of personally recommending products, services and other items through social media outlets like Facebook. How many people looking to buy a vacuum cleaner online hit up Facebook first to ask their friends what they are using before they searched Google? Online word of mouth is building up steam quickly, so capitalizing on that trend can bring you some serious growth by not wasting time on old, tired out methods.

However, just because it is the trend that is working today…that does not necessarily mean it will the the trend of tomorrow. It is up to you to watch out for the next Facebook or Twitter. Will there be another flood of social media like those two created? Probably not…but what if the next flood is something that is branded outside of social media?

In 2011, you need to watch the trends and test theories to see what works for your audience and your business. You never know…you could find a secret goldmine.

#4 – Stay Positive And Have Fun

2010 in many ways was the year of negativity and polarizing opinions. Personally, I stopped watching the news as it was just depressing. At the end of the day, we are all dealt the same hand of cards. It is up to us to make the most we can of this one life we have, and if we are going to live it miserable and negative…there isn’t much point.

Your success this year will completely depend on your outlook on life. Are there things going on in this world that you don’t agree with? Yes. Are there people in your life that just get on your nerves? Yes. Is that going to change? No…but you can change how you interact and look at the world. By staying positive and having fun with your life, you will attract other positive people and things. If you make the conscious decision to be negative and angry, you are going to attract nothing but negative and angry people or things.

If you only do one thing that will help your business this year…it should be to have fun with it. The rest will fall in line naturally.

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

Do You Want To REALLY Know How To Make Over 6 Figures Blogging?

December 27, 2010 By 3 Comments

There are a lot of bloggers that claim to make money online. For every single one of those “6 figure bloggers”, I am almost positive that about 80% of those are faking it in the hopes that their perception of wealth online will lead to eventual income. It is the environment we work in with the blogging/make money online niche and it is often up to you guys to figure out who is blowing hot air and who is actually making enough money online to talk on the subject.

6 Figure Blogging

Six figures is a number that is thrown around pretty regularly in the blogging world as a benchmark to hit with your blog. Once you hit that number, you are seen as having “made it” in blogging even though you could have been making a full-time income for quite awhile.

The truth about six figure blogging is that you are living very comfortably (if you are living within your means) and generally all of that work starts to pay off huge dividends as it is much easier to grow at that point time. Six figures a year is a lot of money to most people in this world and wouldn’t you love to be able to make that kind of income doing what you love from the comfort of your own home writing your own ticket in life??

How Do YOU Make 6 Figures Online?

Surprisingly enough…most people and bloggers try to over-complicate the process of making process of making a big income with their blogs and they start to listen to these “gurus” who probably have zero clue on how to get the job done correctly. While I could go into a huge dissertation on how 6 figure incomes are actually made online, a friend of mine and fellow blogger David Risley has already done that for you with 6 Figure Blogger Blueprint…and guess what…it’s free!!!

I do not normally promote other bloggers free reports, but Risley’s eBook on making 6 figures online is dead on and easy to understand. Better yet…David has not only done this once…but twice with two of his blogs earning over 6 figures online and he does it outside of the blogging/MMO niche as well as within this market.

You can download his free eBook here: 6 Figure Blogger Blueprint

You will even notice a testimonial by me on the landing page and that is a sign of how much I truly believe in the content. If you are serious about taking your hobby full-time or just want to generate more income with your blog, this is a must read so download it today.

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

My Small Mistake That Cost Me Big Money On My Blog

November 29, 2010 By 7 Comments

This past week, I made a mistake that cost me money. The funny thing is that it was not a huge mistake by any means…just a small oversight that was caused by not taking that extra couple of seconds to make sure everything was in line and ready to go.

This story starts with Black Friday. Like I pointed out in an earlier post, I take great care in timing my Black Friday promotions so that my cookie will be recorded within affiliate programs when my readers start buying their products online (read how I do this here). By planning ahead and timing my articles correctly along with timing an email to my newsletter subscribers through Aweber, I am able to capitalize on large buying days and sales throughout the year. That is…of course…minus this one mistake.

First: My Small Mistake

Just before Black Friday, I wanted an email to go out to my newsletter subscribers on Bike198.com that they were already used to that provided value and contained my affiliate links to setup for Black Friday. I had timed everything perfectly so that a blog broadcast email was going to hit on Thanksgiving morning just in time to record the Amazon cookie for the next 24 hour period of buying.

The blog broadcast feature in Aweber is the source of my highest traffic days and those emails see the best open rates out of anything I send out. It was the perfect way to promote my articles and Black Friday deals. I used a method that I have previously outlined on this blog (article: Are you leaving serious money on the table?) and edited above and below my blog broadcast feature through Aweber to include reminders to check out the Black Friday deals on Amazon and the largest online bike retailer JensonUSA as you can see below.

Formatting HTML Email in Aweber

As you can see by the screenshot above, everything was set and ready to go. However, I only linked my affiliate account to the links you see underlined and left the brand names of the online retailers untouched and unlinked. Not giving it a second thought, everything looked good to go at first glance and I set the email to blast out to my newsletter subscribers.

The Mistake That Cost Me Big Money

As the email when out, I started tracking clicks, open rates and responses on the blog just as I would with any other broadcast email. When I went into my email inbox to delete all of the “out of office” responses and check for any reader responses, I noticed something strange.

Email As It Showed Up In Email Program

As you can see in the screenshot above, the Amazon and JensonUSA links are linked to the online sites, but they are not linked via my affiliate link…they are linked to the respective homepages! Worse yet…they are the first two links in the email!

What I forgot as I was drafting up my email for release was that most email applications will automatically link anything with a .com, .net or .org within the email body. This means that anything you put with an ending will not give you credit for the referral and subsequently not give you any affiliate sales. My readers clicked on those links, bought items from the online stores and I did not receive commission all because I put the .com ending on the brand names in the email without linking them up with my affiliate link.

So…like I alluded to earlier…stupid small mistake that ended up costing me a large sum of money. Did readers still click on the other links and purchase? Of course, but the amount of income I brought in during this 48 hour period would have been higher if I would have taken one more step and made sure everything was in line.

I write this article hoping that it helps other bloggers out there but it is also done for a self reminder to slow down to dot my eyes and cross my t’s. Is it the end of the world? Absolutely not…what I learned from this little mistake has me better setup for the future and hopefully my experience can help you guys not make the same mistake.

So as Miles Davis says…”Do not fear mistakes. There are none.” We learn from our experiences and apply that knowledge to the future.

Products Mentioned: Aweber and I use PopUpDomination to grow my newsletter subscriber list.

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

Interviews With Bloggers That Are Actually Valuable

November 15, 2010 By 4 Comments

The latest trend in the blogging world has been to incorporate interviews in your content generation. I for one believe we have a lot to learn from those related minds around us and that is why I include interviews on all of my sites as they generate interesting content for readers. However, in the mmo/blogging niche, the interviews seem to center around the same cookie cutter questions (trust me…I have done the same interview about a dozen times at least) which makes them boring as hell. How many times can I be asked “how do you make money online?”?!!!

Awhile back, I was interviewed by Srini about diversifying income streams online and it was a refreshing conversation. I didn’t feel like I was getting asked the same questions I have been asked a thousand times…it was an organic conversation on what it really takes to be successful online. I was one of the first they interview on BlogcastFM.com and now they have an astounding list of over 100 bloggers they have interviewed on numerous subjects.

To help compile all of this incredible content into something that is useful that you can take action on, Srini and Sid (founders of Blogcastfm) have put together a premium coaching program based off of their massive amount of success breading content and BlogcastFM premium was born…

Within the doors of BlogcastFM you get:

“BlogcastFM Premium gets you access to 12 expert interviews a month, coupled with actionable worksheets and mindmaps to give you the advanced training you need to take your blog to the next level fast.”

  • Experts From Different Fields. We bring in experts who have succeeded across the board – so you don’t just hear what’s worked for one person, or one exceptional case. You get advice, techniques and strategies that have been successful for many people, in a variety of niches.
  • Frequently Published Training – Updated Every Week.  We’re constantly bringing you new content so you know what’s working in blogging today – not what used to work five years ago.  We bring back experts when they have new information to share with us, but we also focus on getting timeless advice and techniques you can use as well.
  • Expert Audio Interviews coupled with Killer Documents.  By combining audio training with actionable notes, you’re going to get the absolute most out of every expert we bring on. We also organize everything discussed into detailed mind maps for you – so you never miss a single technique or strategy.

I would love to spell out just everything you get in one blog post (I have have a membership so I have seen the content), but there is honestly so much actionable content within the doors it is crazy. Right off the bat you get modules based off of Adam Baker (Man Vs Debt), Dave Navarro (Launch Coach), Scott Stratten (UnMarketing), Yaro Starak (Entrepreneurs Journey), Michael Martine (Remarkablogger) and others with at least 12 new ones hitting every week. Next up to bat is my friend David Risley so that should be a great one to check out.

It isn’t very often that I promote coaching programs like this because I truly believe there are very few out there that are worth anything. However, after having interacted and worked with these guys in the past and having seen first hand what they have done with this program, I definitely recommend it for bloggers of all skill levels whether you are making money online already or just looking to get started. I for one am excited about what they have in store for the future and I will actually be taking action on their content and worksheets as well. There is always something I can learn from others to improve my business.

Their introductory price is going to end on Thursday November 19th, so check it out now while the going is hot.

Check out BlogcastFM and the full list of features by clicking here.

By the way…word on the street is that my module will be going live sometime in the future as well.

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

Which One Of These 7 Monetization Strategies Is Best For Your Blog?

November 10, 2010 By 8 Comments

The world of making money online through generating content on a blog is not an easy one at times. While there are more options to bloggers than ever to generate revenue that can either be great supplemental income or the full enchilada for their family, the process of making that income a reality is a bumpy road filled with learning experiences. When you start to look objectively at your blog to dissect how it is going to generate income, it requires an outside look in completely independent of daily, weekly or monthly content generation. When I am looking to increase my blogs monetary value, there are several things I look at before I even think about implementing any new strategies and these are some basic questions.

  • Is my content attracting an audience that is ready to spend money?
    (Releated Reading: 2 Groups That Are 99% of Your Blog’s Income)
  • Am I generating content that has the possibility of making money on its own?
  • What are the problems that my readers need solved that I haven’t addressed yet?
  • What is my successful competition doing well that I am not?
  • How much traffic do I have and what is my monthly growth?

Once I have answered these questions, I can start searching for different revenue generating avenues for my blog, but if you do not even know your own audience and content, you are just going to be a hamster in a wheel…spinning really fast but going no where.

7 Basic Monetization Strategies for Bloggers

When it comes to blogging, there are 7 basic groups of monetization strategies that you can start applying today to make more money online.

  1. Selling Your Own Products – Selling either physical (soft goods, products, etc.) or digital (ebooks, recordings, reports, software, themes, plugins, etc.) is a great way to increase your bottom line and market your blog at the same time. For most bloggers, the look towards selling digital products is the first step into selling something of your own through your blog. With a low cost of entry…in most cases just your knowledge and time…you can release a digital product and enjoy very high profits which allow for high percentage affiliate programs to get it to spread like wildfire. For example, Ramped Blogging and Ramped Reviews both carry an affiliate program that pays out 65% and cost me nothing but my time and knowledge to develop.
  2. Selling Community Services – In recent years, the sale of memberships, coaching programs and premium content has gained a lot of traction in the blogging world as more affordable software for delivering these programs as become available and the “I can do that too!” idea has spread. One of the biggest advantages of these types of programs over digital products is the recursive income over the one time sale.
  3. Affiliate Marketing – When you suggest a product to your readers and get a percentage of that sale, you are participating in affiliate marketing. There is not a single market out there that does not carry at least a couple of affiliate marketing programs for retailers and other products that can have commissions ranging from 4% all the way up to 75% of the sale in some cases. This is typically the 2nd place bloggers start when they look to make more money with their blogs.
  4. Advertising – Just like with a magazine, your blog has a lot of physical real estate that can be sold. Whether it is through pay-per-click campaigns like Google Adsense or selling spots for a monthly fee, you are turning your empty white space into dollars by generating clicks or impressions. The more you have…the more you get.
  5. Professional Services – Many blogs (like this one) offer consulting or speaking services for a price. If you have built up a solid reputation in your niche to the point people really value your point of view, you can charge for that time.
  6. Selling/Flipping Blogs – There are companies and individuals out there that want a blog but need to have an audience right away or do not want to hassle with the beginning start up. On the flip side, there are bloggers that specialize in starting up blogs just to sell them off for profit. When these two needs meet, you get the art of blog flipping.
  7. Non-Measurable Benefits – For many bloggers online, they are not looking to be the next biggest thing in their niche. However, they are looking to get a new job, increase awareness of their photography or art or even just looking to make connections online. When these needs result in a positive outcome (like getting a new, higher paying job), that is an immeasurable, monetary benefit to blogging. While it may not fit next to the “how much money I made with Adsense” column of your spreadsheet, it does have a drastic influence on your life in a monetary sense.

There are always new and inventive ways to generate income online, but these 7 basic strategies are the most common and cover the complete gamut at this time.

Which One Of These 7 Monetization Strategies Is Best For My Blog?

As you look at each of these 7 strategies in pursuit of making more money online, which one is best for your blog? As much as I wish I had the easy answer for you (hoping I would say “that one!” weren’t you…), the solution to that question is not that easy on the surface. It really boils down to the answers you have from the questions at the beginning of this article.

Ideally, I like to mix as many monetization strategies that will operate successfully on my blogs. With each of my strategies taking up a smaller percentage of the big picture, I am able to handle swings in reader preferences and changes in the market much easier than blogs that rely solely on one or two methods. What happens to the blogs that rely on one affiliate program for the majority of their income when that program goes away (which I have had happen)? With Bike198:

  • I sell direct advertising space.
  • Have PPC campaigns like Adense.
  • Sell digital products (Ramped Riding).
  • Sell physical products (Bike198 kits and t-shirt line).
  • Refer products through affiliate marketing (reviews and suggestions through my active newsletter).

All of these methods are tested over and over again to increase results and to continue adding to my bottom line, so as you look at your blog…you need to ask more questions…

  • Do I have enough traffic to make any income through PPC?
  • What is the biggest issue I could solve with a digital product?
  • Is there another product or service that my readers would find useful that has an affiliate program?
  • Do have have the buying audience and capital to release a physical product and what do my readers want to buy?

After you answer those questions for yourself, you can start hammering away at making more money per month on your blog. Typically, bloggers look towards advertising and affiliate marketing techniques as their first jump into making money online. They are the easiest to implement and can have instant results. As you move up the effort chain to creating your own products and selling coaching programs and services, the risk and monetary benefit is higher with the added developmental time and work.

The best monetization strategy for your blog is the one that you have tested and it works. There will be bloggers that will tell you how you should do things, but at the end of the day…whatever performs the best on your blog is what you should be doing. You should then continually test and add over time to keep the snowball effect going. There are many ways bloggers can make money online, it just takes an objective look at your internet real estate and the willingness to step outside of the box and try something new. Most of your ideas will probably fail miserably, but the few that win will win big and the lessons you learn from the failures will prepare you for the next big win.

Side note…a blog without an active newsletter is a blog that is deciding to make very little money. Check out this series on why you need a newsletter on your blog to find out why…1 Thing Your Blog Can’t Live Without.

Which one of these monetization strategies have you found success with on your blog?

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

Blogging Labs – Formulating Blogs That Make Money

November 8, 2010 By 37 Comments

As you may have already noticed, things have drastically changed around here! What used to be RobbSutton.com is now BloggingLabs.com and that comes with a new design! So let’s dive into it as I explain what we did here and why the change.

Why the domain change?

RobbSutton.com started with a single purpose, to help other bloggers make a run at making money online through blogging. After getting numerous emails from other bloggers asking how I got so much product into review on Bike198.com, I decided to start RobbSutton.com as a way to talk to those bloggers publicly and not through just email. It was the simple theory of reaching more people in a personal way which is one of the foundations of blogging.

As time progressed, the blog continued to grow and expand. Through that expansion, RobbSutton.com actually grew past what I wanted from a personal blog standpoint. When you start to move past your personal name into a site that creating its own brand identity, you really need to have a domain name that is not your own personal name. This has several key positives to it.

  • Trust is built into brand names easier than personal. How many “wannabe” probloggers are out there talking about internet marketing and making money online through their personal name all looking to be the next John Chow (who also wishes his site was not on his personal name) without any real world experience or income to back up the claims?! A lot…don’t you want to separate yourself from those other bloggers? I do…
  • Branded domains are easier to sell in the future. While I nave absolutely no intentions of ever selling this site, you have to think about how having your content cemented to your personal name can affect your business plan down the road.
  • My personal domain can now stay personal. One of the biggest driving forces behind the move was this one. I want to create a personal blog on my name in the future to keep friends and family updated on our family. My wife and I are looking to start having children and it would be cool to have all of that information in one place. Since I do not want my name to be the brand anyway, having my personal domain stay personal is the perfect avenue to accomplish that goal.

So here we are…Blogging Labs…where we formulate money making blogs through real world experience that generates real income online.

First Impressions Start With The Name: Blogging Labs

As I racked my brain to think up of a domain name for the new site, I wanted something unique that was applicable to all past content as well as where I saw the blog heading in the future. Domain names are a tough animal to tackle as you not only have to come up with something catchy and memorable, but you also have to come up with a name that is actually available!

It took me about 2 weeks to actually nail this down and Blogging Labs is where we landed. At Blogging Labs, we formulate blogs that make money through tested and proven techniques on blogs in and outside of the MMO/internet marketing niche. With solid offerings like Bike198.com to back up the claims, we are going to keep pushing forward to innovate the way content is delivered online and consistently monetize that content. That is the core to Blogging Labs.

The New Design: Pagelines Platform Pro Framework

When I went looking to hack up a new design, I wanted something that was going to offer more flexibility than I had in the past. Previously, I had been using WooThemes and while I absolutely love their design and backend management system, I needed something that was easier to integrate key elements without a lot of hand coding and hacking.

Naturally, when you start looking at theme frameworks, there are four sources you are going to turn to.

At the end of the day, I ended up going with Pageslines Platform Pro because it had a lot of the key elements I needed as I sketched out exactly how I wanted this site to lay out. Platform Pro is the new dog to the race in terms of frameworks and so far I am incredibly impressed with the back end management, drag and drop functionality and incredible support from the developers. The other frameworks are all great and have an incredible reputation, but at the end of the day…I made the right choice for my abilities and this site. As you take a look around, you will see the elements that make this framework unique.

The Future and Blogging Labs

As we move forward into the ever evolving future of blogging, Blogging Labs is going to continue to pump out content that is going to help you increase your bottom line through real tutorials, techniques and reviews. Since we solidly believe that mindset is also key to success, we will continue to publish hard hitting articles to get you off your ass and working. Thank you for the support over the years with RobbSutton.com and we are looking forward to the future with Blogging Labs.

Filed Under: Blogging, The Web Tagged With: , , , , ,

Underground Blogging Secrets: Extracting Money From Your Blog

October 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

With the ultimate goal of pulling monetary value out of your content, you have to figure out how to extract dollars out of words. While we drive traffic to our blogs to get more eyes on our content, if you really want to make it online full-time, you have to build up a digital empire by applying underground blogging secrets that extract money out of your content.

We watch bloggers everyday do it wrong. They post up content, promote it on Twitter and Facebook, sit back and wait for a social media traffic spike and then rinse and repeat. Meanwhile, they keep checking their stats and wondering…”why am I not making any money?”

You are not making any money because content publishing on its own is not a monetization effort. Have you ever looked at a blog and wondered, “how the hell does this site make so much money?!” It is because 90% of all of the income made online (unless you have as much traffic as Perez Hilton and…if you are reading this post…you aren’t) is actually made off-site. If you are really planning on making money in your blogging, you have to realize that your blog content is the means of attracting more readers and your off-site marketing and promotion is your means of monetizing those readers.

So what can you include in your digital empire to actually generate income? While there are dozens of ways to generate revenue…here are the big three.

  1. It’s All In The List – The word email list makes most people flinch up and run for the hills. However, it is still the #1 resource online for generating income. Before you start thinking you have to be an email spammer to make money, that is actually the complete opposite from the truth. Your email list is your means to build up trust and respect with your readers…not spam the crap out of them. Your email list is a collection of your loyal minions that help you grow your business past the couple bucks a day stage. With that respect…comes responsibility to continue delivering the goods (both free and paid).
  2. Your Own Products – When you sell a product (eBooks, tangible goods, services), you income is generated outside of your normal blog content. By providing valuable resources and goods, you further solidify your reputation online and…through that…you create repeat business. The big question you have to ask yourself is…”what do my readers want to spend their money on in my niche?” Once you find the answer to that question, it is up to you to provide the solution.
  3. Exposure – The online world is growing rapidly. With major print productions looking to online resources as a way to evolve and grow, more readers are looking to digital resources over typical print. This opens a huge door for entrepreneurs looking to make it big as you no longer have to compete with the high, up-front capital investment required for print. With enough traffic (and email newsletter subscribers), you are able to provide exposure for companies in your niche for advertising. However, this requires you to step outside of the online world and go after the advertising dollars. If you are planning on putting up an “advertise with us” and sit back and wait for the offers…you are going to be consistently waiting. You have to be willing to put yourself out there, step outside the box and cold contact potential advertisers.

The key to success online is through diversification. If you can take one thing from vastly successful corporations, it is that diversification is the one thing that keeps a profit driven company consistent over the longhaul. By constantly evolving and adding in different methods of income generation, you are able to weather storms with ease.

What would happen if your primary income stream went away tomorrow?

The scary question that most bloggers never ask themselves. With as many viable income streams as you can manage coming into your digital empire, you are able to consistently grow and not worry about disastrous situations. You just keep rolling on…expanding and growing while others falter.

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

EPIC Post: How To Breathe Life Back Into Your Stale Blog

August 26, 2010 By 4 Comments

I got an email in from a reader this week that is a common occurrence in the blogging world. You hit the ground running and start to see some success. With time, you start to shift your focus elsewhere, leaving behind your primary source of revenue only to find that traffic and profits decrease on the project that is the source of getting you online success. Or…all of your current methods have hit a plateau in traffic and earnings and you have no clue on how to get off it and back to sustainable growth! And what are you left with? A stale blog starring you in the face. You need to win back old readers and find ways to attract new readers to your corner of the web to bring back up profits and encourage growth. The big problem…where to start?

The Story of Tweaks For Geeks

I figured the best way to tackle this common occurrence in the blogging world was hit it head on with a real world example, so here is the email I received this week. I hope Kevin doesn’t mind!

Kevin’s Email To Me:

Hello Robb,

We’ve corresponded a few times in the past, perhaps you remember me. Anyway, my query is as follows:

This particular question may actually make for a good article for you; as I’m sure there are others out there like me that have started up their sites and have seen some success, but have either stalled in their progress or simply want to take their online business to a whole new level.

I’ve owned a site about computers/technology (primarily focusing on how to fix various computer issues) for a little over five years now. While I am one of the few that can say that he has made over $1,000 a month from his sites, I am simultaniously one of the many that has fallen prey to the “do nothing” bug and have let my main earner fall into stagnation (and sadly seen my revenue plummet as a result). It still brings in ad money, but needs a new updated look to it (which I almost have done), and fresh consistently updated content.

So – with that in mind:

  1. What steps would you take in order to give an established but a bit “dusty” site a jumpstart?
  2. In your professional opinion, how long do you think it would take in order to make a site like that a contender again that regains its old readers and acquires new ones?

Currently I am in an excellent position where I can dedicate most of my time to revamping and regrowing my online ventures; and with my technical background I am fortunate enough to be able to do all of the programming work myself in order to add new and innovative features to it.

Really I just want to know what the most effective course of action would be to take this from a publication that gets approximately 55,000 unique monthly viewers that are all one-time visits and turning it into a destination where people visit and then want to not only stay, but return regularly. Of course, I would also love some tips for explosive growth.

Again, I think that this would be an excellent article for your readers; so perhaps you’ll want to do a full writeup on it. If not, then some friendly pointers would be greatly appreciated. If you do decide to make an article of it you can feel free to post parts of this email, or all of it in its entirety as part of your content.

Also, thank you for providing such a concise and informative site about the blogging industry. RobbSutton.com is one of the best resources out there that I’ve come across.

Keep up the good work!

Thank you,

-Kevin Souter
Owner, TweaksForGeeks.com | Rent A Geek Computer Services

Breathing Life Back Into Your Stale Blog

Ok…before we even jump into this…my biggest recommendation to any blogger is “do not ignore your primary income generator“. Yes…blogging is exciting and new projects are always more of a rush than old, but by jumping around starting and stopping new projects, you are just crippling yourself for the future by not giving anything ample time to grow. I am not sure if that is what happened in this case, but that is the most common mistake I see in new bloggers. Try to fight the urge to start “the next great idea” every week and focus on projects that you can tackle without leaving what has brought you success behind.

When you look to breathe life into a stale blog or bring new growth to an existing blog, your efforts are going to fall into 3 basic categories.

  1. Content
  2. Blog Design
  3. Promotion

These are the three core elements to blogging that will bring you new growth and make existing readers happy every time. When you start to jump on each of these aspects of your blogging individually, you need to do so with a plan and ask yourself the right questions.

Content: Shaking Things Up

No…I am not going to sit here and give you the same, old, tired out line of “write pillar articles and content is king”. Hopefully, you have already been doing that or you wouldn’t have seen any success to begin with. When you are looking to attract new readers and bring life back to old readers, you need to ask yourself a couple of questions.

  • Who do I want to attract? – You need to specifically lay out exactly who you want to attract with your content. Who are you not reaching now that you want to? Are you generating content for that specific target audience? You need to start bringing in high quality, targeted content into your blog to pull in new readers that you are specifically targeting. However, this content needs to be relevant to current readers as well, so do not step too far outside the scope of your niche as you can start to alienate your die hards while trying to attract new.
  • Where can I expand? – When I start working with new bloggers, I tell them to find a niche that is manageable. Do not take on TechCrunch right off the bat…you will loose. When you find a sub-niche in your industry, you can really drive it home and start to see success because you are reaching a very targeted audience in a smaller competition market. When you take this theory, you can start to run out of content over time, so now is the time to look into your expansion opportunities in related subject matters.
  • How can I be more useful? – How you write your content and the types of articles you publish are incredibly important. Are there certain articles that seem to perform better than others on your blog and in search engines? In my experience, tutorials and other “helpful” articles tend to perform the best, so look into areas that you can continue to hit a home run and start to product more of those types of articles as you look for new growth.

Your content is the core of your blog. Without it…you are left with an empty design that doesn’t do too much of anything. When you are looking to expand or revive, it is where you need to start as the rest of this isn’t going to mean a thing without your content.

Blog Design: Time To Shift Focus To Action

How your readers interact with your content is completely based on your blog design. Where there eyes go…where they click…the actions they take (rss feed subscribing, newsletter opt-in, social media spreading) are all dependent upon how you present your words through the design. When you are looking to ramp things back up a bit, it is time to look at how your readers are interacting with your content.

Note: I would highly recommend paying close attention to your bounce rate and reader trends in Google Analytics as that gives you an insiders look at what is going on with your blog.

  • What do I want my readers to do when they finish reading? – You have to put yourself in the shoes of a reader in your niche (not a blogger looking at a blog article). In non-tech/blogging niches, your readers will have no clue about blogging and social media other than their own personal experience. It is your job to step inside of their head as they land on your pages. Do you want them to share it on Facebook? Do you want them to check out another article? These are important questions that you need to answer as they directly affect what you put at the end of each article.
  • What is my blog design not accomplishing? – Are you not increasing your opt-in rates? Are your pageviews low? You need to start looking at what your design is not doing for you currently. The outward appearance of your blog is not just a visual mechanism, it is how your readers interact and move through your site. When you are looking to get readers to dive deeper into old content, click on advertising or feel like they are on a quality site, you lean heavily on your design. To get things rolling, start to look at things like logo design, navigation and design elements while keeping in mind where you want your readers to go. As a general rule, bloggers tend to add too many elements to their blogs so only put it up if 70% of your readers are going to use it. Anything else will just be wasted space and clutter. You want to draw your readers eyes to your most important elements that promote growth and conversions.

What you should have created at this point is a site that is accomplishing your goals while also looking professional. One key thing to keep in mind is that you are building your site for your readers and what they will interact with…not what you are going to interact with. Keep your personal touch…but back it up with function.

Promotion: Time To Take It To The New Masses

The order of this process is intentional. With an end goal of attracting new readers, you have to create an atmosphere that they want to land on before you go out and find them. This does not meant that everything has to be perfect before you move forward (it never is…blogging is an evolving process), so don’t get locked down with “it has to be perfect” panic. When you feel like you have accomplished enough of the goals you have set out with content and design, you need to start pulling new readers into your revisions. Hopefully, you already know who you want to attract through the first content step…so let’s go get them.

  • Where do my new/potential readers hang out online? – It is your job as the blogger to pull in new readers. Where does your new “perfect target reader” hang out online? By visiting these places and building up a solid reputation (online forums, other blogs, meetup groups, Facebook fan pages, etc.), you can pull them back to your content and create another subscriber.
  • How do my new and existing readers spread content? – Not all niches spread content the same. While Twitter might be a great viral spreader for one niche, it could be horrible in another. It is your job to figure out which ones work the best in your subject matter and start building up a profile in these areas. The easiest (and hardest) way to get new reader’s eyes on your content is through viral spreading, but you want to make sure your time is not going wasted by doing some research before you jump in head first.
  • How do my new readers like to subscribe to content? – As part of your promotion techniques, you are trying to attract new, long term subscribers to your blog. How do these readers want to subscribe to online content? In the biking world, more than half (probably even less) know what an RSS reader is or even care. It is still a world of email, so I put a lot of emphasis on my RSS email subscription and newsletter subscription. When you promote your new content and pull new readers into your blog, you need to feature a method of subscription that is the most widely used in your niche. Do not force feed what some other blogger says you need to do. It is up to you and what your readers want.
  • Who can I collaborate with? - Guest posting is a fantastic way to pull in new readers to your blog, but it isn’t always an option in some niches. Try to think up of unique ways that you can work with both online and offline resources to bring more content/promotion to their medium while also promoting your corner of the web. In the past, I have worked with forum site owners, industry magazines and special interest groups to help them accomplish their goals while at the same time promoting my website. It brings you credibility and new readers at the same time.
  • What can I give away? – Contests and giveaways can grow a blog faster than just about anything else online. People love free stuff and they will promote you to no end to get it. Before you start sweating about the money you are going to have to spend…keep one thing in mind. Even the giveaways with inexpensive products…when targeted correctly…perform incredibly well. You can also have companies and other blogs donate prizes in exchange for promotion within the contest and you will not have to spend a dime. Just be sure you structure the giveaway or contest in a manner that you get some needed asset (newsletter subscriber, rss reader, etc) and that contest is virally promoted (stumbled, Tweeted, shared on Facebook, etc.).

Rinse, Repeat and Evolve

That is really the nuts and bolts of breathing life back into a stale blog (or starting up a new one for that matter). When you are looking to rejuvenate your blog, take a look at these three core areas of blogging to see what you are doing wrong and how to improve it. By taking a systematic and planned attack, you can not only bring a blog back to its former glory, but you can lift it above and to a success you never thought was possible.

When you create an atmosphere that is based around the premis of helping others, they will in turn want to help you. Ideally, you want to create a “cultish” following online where your readers want to tell other people that they hangout in your online space. When you focus on that idea of helping…you can make huge strides in creating an online community that breads repeat visitors.

So how long does it take if you are on the right path?

Honestly…success is often a byproduct of the effort put forth. While it can differ depending on competition and market saturation, I have found that the hardest working (when it is a planned, thought out attack) get ahead the fastest.

Image by R’eyes

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

Trust, Credibility and How To Lose It As A Blogger and Marketer

August 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Internet marketing can be a jungle. Everyone is fighting to be the first to release products while at the same time relying on others to help promote them. While everyone is watching out for #1, there is an unwritten truth throughout the industry that you need the help of others to get ahead, so you better not burn too many bridges. Typically, this keeps everyone on their best behavior and everything rolls along smoothly, but…every now and then…something happens that you attach your name to that either isn’t on the up and up or is dancing around that sleezy line that you would rather not be involved with. Before we get specific…let’s talk about credibility, trust and their rolls in your blogging.

Your Online Credibility Is Built One Reader At A Time

Online street cred is not an easy thing to come by. By building up trust with your readers, fellow bloggers and companies that want to deal with your blog over time, you are able to establish a strong, positive credibility online. This takes time and sometimes lots of it. With each action, you are adding to your point total and this happens progressively through consistent effort and results.

This is nothing new to the business world. Just like with brick and mortar businesses, you have to watch who you associate with in blogging because your name and your brand get attached to everything you touch. At the drop of a hat, several wrong decisions (or sometimes even one) can strip you of your positive trust and you are back to square one clawing and scraping for anything you can get.

So your job as the blogger is to protect that credibility by watching who you associate with, how you treat your readers, the quality of the products you release and controlling the quality of the products you promote. It is a constant balancing act all with the same goal…to build our business.

A Recent Situation: Fake Scarcity

Recently, I was caught in a situation that I had attached my name to that made me uneasy. Fake scarcity was attached to a product I was promoting but I didn’t know it was happening. Let me preface by saying a couple of things off the bat…

Scarcity When Followed Through With Is Not A Bad Thing

Yes, especially in the blogging/mmo niche, we deal with scarcity on digital products. Many of you might say…”there is no way you can only have 150 eBooks…that is dumb and sleazy.” However, scarcity with digital products can serve two functions.

  1. It Can Control The Amount Of Work – If you are releasing a product that is going to require a lot of follow up time and support, only releasing a certain amount of copies, spots, etc. can keep your work level manageable on the backend. Can you imagine trying to converse and support thousands of people? I can’t…so sometimes putting a limit on things is a good idea from a quality standpoint.
  2. Scarcity Gets The Tire Kickers Off The Couch – By only allowing purchase of the product for a specific period of time or raising the price after a prelaunch, you are able to get people to take action. The key…follow through with whatever you are planning on doing after the allotted time period or quantity.
Where Scarcity Goes Wrong

When scarcity goes wrong, it is usually an attempt to scare visitors into taking action when the scare tactic is not ever going to be followed through on. So what happens? The potential client/customer takes the action thinking they only have a little bit of time left. Then, at a later date, hits the same sales page only to find that nothing has changed.

At this point…the product means nothing as the customer feels cheated.

To make matters worse, if you were the one promoting that product…your name is attached to it just as much (sometimes more) as the marketer who released it. Except…you have zero control or ability to change it.

The Personal Experience: Lessons In Affiliate Marketing

The recent experience involved a marketer I have dealt with in the past and a product that I actually use and believe in. I promoted the product. I was told the product was going to go up in price…so I promoted under that premiss…and the product didn’t go up when the time hit. At that point, was was emailed by readers who were pissed. I can’t blame them because I was too.

To make matters worse…emails and attempts at rectifying small bugs and the situation went ignored. On the outside…it seemed like this kind of attitude was taking place…

You made me my money…now I’m done with it.

Ego blogging at its finest. Use it up and move on to the next…

One of the hard parts about affilate marketing is attaching your credibility to a product and marketer that you have zero control over. Like this circumstance, there are even situations when you think you can trust what is hitting the screen only to be blindsided when things go wrong. It is dissappointing to say the least and I do take those situations personally.

On the flip side…when you create products and services and you need another bloggers help to keep the ball rolling, keep this story in mind as I will never promote for this blogger/marketer again because of the anger that came out of my readers and my personal views on using those kinds of marketing tactics (I hate them if you can’t already tell). You will need the help of others during your blogging career and burning bridges like this is not a good idea.

If you take anything from my situation, let it be these two things…

  1. Your credibility and the ability to be trusted as a blogger is everything. Do not waste that in an attempt to make a couple of bucks…you will lose a lot more in the long run.
  2. You are never bigger than one of your readers. If anything…you are a servent to you subscribers…not the other way around.

Image by ShivF1

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