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How My Biology Blog Landed Me My Dream Job

by Paul Joseph July 26, 2011 Featured

Yeah, I know. It’s not what you want to hear about on a blog about Blogging and Entrepreneurship. Who comes here to know how to land a job? Isn’t the entrepreneurial dream never to have to work for anyone but yourself? Isn’t it all about working smart and not hard? Can you be an entrepreneur and still have a full time job ? The fact is, for some “entrepreneurs”, the end goal isn’t ONLY to work for yourself. I fit in this category. I’ve started an online business, and the main thing it does is that it supplements the income from my job as a teacher. It gives me the ability to do things I wouldn’t be able to do without my own online business. However, there’s something that I’ve realized that I can’t deny – I’m a teacher, and I LOVE teaching . Not only that, but I love teaching at the university level, and ever since my days in grad school, in the recesses of my mind, I knew that it’s what I wanted to do. My Educational And Teaching Adventures When it comes to education, I’m somewhat of a sucker for punishment. I did a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and went on for a Master’s degree in Neurobiology. I LOVE neurobiology, physiology and all of those kinds of subjects (yes, I’m a nerd). However, there was a significant problem – I HATED the research (or I thought I did). Although my Masters Research involved traveling to the beautiful country of Germany for two summers along with all kinds of cool stories like playing piano for a gospel choir, staying in a Fraternity house for $80 a month with a chef that came in once a week to feed us AWESOME food, and hiking through the Hartz Mountain, it also involved coming back to a small research lab dissecting crickets and doing electrophysiological recordings for up to 14 hours in a day – YUCK! It was at that point that I abandoned my dream of teaching at the University level. I loved the people, but hated the crickets (and for me, that represented the research). When I was offered a job as a High School science and Math teacher, I decided to jump at it. Teaching, without the research – YAY! This is where the 2nd problem came – I was also teaching things I wasn’t passionate about, and it wasn’t at the level I enjoyed. So, I decided to do something about it. I wasn’t qualified to teach at the university level, but I was going to teach University-level stuff whether it was my job or not. How? By blogging of course . . . My Blogging Experience Since 2008, I’ve been actively blogging and have been having a decent level of success. Working part-time on my blog, I have been able to net anywhere between $500 and $3000 per month , much of which has been relatively passive. Not a ridiculously large amount like many others, but enough for me to feel like I know what I’m doing. I learned about SEO, Affiliate Marketing, Traffic Generation, Building a list, and all of those phrases the readers of this blog have come to know and love (hopefully). What I eventually realized was that I could take those same principles and apply them to Biology. So, I started my Biology Website , where I started making short video clips teaching the content I wanted to teach , with no one telling me what I could or couldn’t do, and it was very exciting. The website grew quickly, and my videos are being viewed anywhere between 1,000 and 2,600 times daily , thanks to a lot of what I learned in Gideon Shalwick’s Rapid Video Blogging Course . Not only that, but I started receiving emails, almost every day, from people all over the world who have been using the site and finding a tremendous amount of value in the content. These people included University Students and Professors, Doctors, Pharmacists, Nurses and a variety of other professionals who have been using them as an integral part of what they are doing, or just as a tool to help them remember the things they forgot from Medical School or University. The Bad Story With A Good Ending Back in April, my father was diagnosed with a serious neurological condition, and was sent to a special hospital in Colombia (the country). Because we weren’t sure how things would go, I went down there to spend a month with my family. He was in an induced coma and was paralyzed to where he could hardly move his arms and legs even before going into the coma. While there, my main task was to help him with his Physical therapy. While he was in the coma , I would exercise his arms and legs twice daily, to help speed up his healing process, and when he was taken out of the coma, the exercises continued. During this relatively stressful period in time, there was a topic of discussion that kept coming up. My mother and aunt would constantly tell me that they thought that I should be a Physical Therapist. I actually let them know that it was something I had considered in the past, but that I knew that my calling was to be an educator. However, if there were one Profession I would want to do in the Health Care field, it would be Physical Therapy. At a certain point, with a lot of prayer, and some serious miracles, my dad’s condition took an abrupt turn for the better. We were planning for him to be in the Hospital for a few months, but in about a week, so many good things were happening that he was moved out of intensive care, into a different hospital, then to a hotel, and was then sent back to our country. The details of all of that would take many blog posts to get into, but the short version is that we’re praising God for the things that happened. The Invitation When I got back home from Colombia, there was a letter in my mailbox from the university I attended. It was an invitation to teach Anatomy, Neuroscience and Pathophysiology, in one of the top Doctor of Physical Therapy programs in the United States. When I received the invitation, I was quite surprised. I was not a Physical Therapist, nor did I have a PhD. In the back of my mind, I couldn’t help but think how much of an “interesting coincidence” it was, with everything I had been experiencing. Well, I decided to apply. Yes, I was unqualified on paper, but I thought that my blog would give me some leverage to where they would at least consider me as a candidate. Then I called up one of my former professors for a recommendation. He went in to speak with the chair of the department, and then told me that I should consider taking a trip to the university to talk with the chair of the department, and show him the stuff that I was working on. The Importance Of My Blog Based on the recommendation of my former professor, I made an appointment and went to speak with the department chair. We had a very interesting chat. At the end of our meeting, the following was clearly established: There were over 30 people applying for the job, many of whom were actual Physical Therapists who were more qualified on paper than I was. The department had already decided that they were not going to hire someone with a Biology Background. They wanted someone with a physical therapy background. If I hadn’t come in, I would have never gotten an actual interview. BUT , he was blown away by what I had accomplished online . Based on my blog , he would make sure that, at the very least, I would get an interview. The Interview And Job Offer Then it was time for the interview. I came into a conference room and sat at the head of a conference table that was surrounded by eight highly educated individuals, most of which had PhDs and DPTs (Doctor of Physical Therapy) ready to grill me with their questions. I started off with an opening statement, highlighting my passion for Biology and the success of my website. I let them know what was happening at my site, and you could see their faces light up. Then they asked me all kinds of questions. I answered. I was cool, calm, and collected, with the confidence that whatever happened, I would leave the situation a better person. Now, I know that I didn’t do a great job with building up the suspense in this article. In fact, you knew the result by reading my title. Yes, I did get the job. In fact, it was a unanimous decision which, from what I understand, doesn’t usually happen in these committees. Why did I get the job? For a number of reasons. However, one of the main reasons was that I used my blog to demonstrate authority. In fact, I can proudly say that because of my blog, people all over the world have come to see me as an authority when it comes to biology. Does it mean that my blog is perfect? Nope. In fact, I make mistakes in my videos and get people saying things like “Umm, actually, that’s all wrong!”. Then I go in and correct the mistakes (sometimes). It’s a learning process, and I learn as I go, and then I share what I learn with people all over the world. If you would like to listen to this full story from my podcast, go to the podcast episode on my blog of How I left My Job because of My blog . The Importance Of Blogging Without a shadow of doubt in my mind, I now firmly believe that Blogging is one of the best ways to establish yourself as an authority in your industry/niche today. It’s a way of building credibility , nurturing relationships , and gaining an audience . These are factors that can help anyone accomplish their goals. Your goal might not be to get a better job. In actuality, that wasn’t my goal with my blog either. My plan was to eventually quit my teaching job and do internet marketing full-time. However, that was me settling because I didn’t think that teaching at the university level was plausible. For me, to a certain extent, doing internet marketing full-time would be settling. I know what I’m called to do, and now, because of my blog, I can do it. I don’t know what your goals are, but I want to encourage you to take this blogging thing seriously, because it has the potential to do great things . My Recommendations My first recommendation is that if you don’t have a blog, START ONE NOW . The concept of blogging is still young enough that most people don’t know how to do it well. You’re reading this blog, so you have access to resources to help you get started and to do it well. In other words, you’re at an advantage. At the risk of sounding like I’m writing this because this is Yaro’s blog, I HIGHLY recommend that if you haven’t taken his Blog Mastermind course , you need to get in on it. Without Blog Mastermind, I would NOT be where I am today. It gave me a strong Blogging foundation as a blogger, and has made me comfortable enough to start a blog and establish myself as an authority. The biggest thing is that it helped me to avoid making some of the common mistakes most bloggers make, and that is worth it’s weight in gold. My final recommendation is that if you are into video blogging, check out Gideon’s Rapid Video Blogging Course. It has really done a lot for me, especially when it comes to my Biology blog , and has helped me to go from hardly any video views to over 1,000 daily views in less than two months. Online video is thriving right now, and Youtube is allowing a lot of people to Crush it! Remember that you can’t keep doing the same ‘ol thing and expect to get different results. Well, you can expect it, but that’s the definition of insanity. Take action! Give yourself a kick in the butt and get going. Your Comments Have you started a blog already? If so, are you having success with it? If so, what has blogging done for YOU? Let me know in the comments below! Until Next Time! Get your bonus copy of my book “How To Start An Internet Business & Make Your First $1,000 Online” Download Here

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7 Blogging Tips You Can Apply Today

by Paul Joseph July 19, 2011 Featured

About a month ago I wrote an email to all the columnists on Entrepreneurs-Journey.com with some advice on how they could achieve more rewards from their writing on this blog and also some tips to improve performance of their articles. As I was writing the email I realized much of the advice is good old fundamentals for successful blogging. I decided why not share some of the points with you and the rest of the E-J audience to help with your own blogging efforts. Some of this might seem obvious, the same old blogging advice you have heard before, but since most bloggers don’t follow even the most basic of advice I recommend you read over these points and ask yourself if you are on track. 7 Steps To A Better Blog 1. The Call To Action In Author Boxes This particular piece of advice refers to the little author boxes we use at the end of articles on this blog, which detail information about the author of the article (you can see mine at the end of this article). This is the primary tool columnists use to entice readers to visit their website or join their email newsletter and continue to gain from having a relationship with that particular writer. Chances are you don’t have the same box at the end of your blog articles, especially if you are the only author on your blog, however that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider adding them. They make great calls to action at the end of each piece of content you publish. Even if you don’t have these boxes, this advice is relevant for any area where you are trying to encourage your readership to sign up for something or click a link – any kind of call to action . Here is some of what I sent to the authors about how to improve their author boxes… Your author box is one of the best places for you to promote your own websites and offers, as well as describe your specialities and history. Although you are welcome to use this space to talk about yourself, you will reap more reward if you use the space to offer something of value (a benefit to the reader) and prompt the reader to click your link to get access to it. If you have a free report, or audio series or newsletter – anything you use a first entry point lead generator – your author box is the place to talk about. For example, if I was going to use the author box to generate leads, I would use something like – “Yaro Starak is the author of the Blog Profits Blueprint, a free report you can download instantly to learn how to make $10,000 a month, from only blogging 2 hours per day. You can access the report from here – http://www.blogprofitsblueprint.com” I recommend offering something like this that has only one link to click (focus is important), not too much text, a clear and tangible benefit and offer, that leads the reader to your best first impression. I derive the most value from my email list, hence I promote my report as the opt-in benefit for joining my list. You might prefer to promote a different page or offer of your own. 2. Use Case Studies and Stories You may have noticed many of the best articles on EJ, based on audience response, are when I explain what I do or what someone else does, to get a result. Talking strategy, theory and tactics are great, but people really engage when you combine these with a story to illustrate exactly what someone did. EJ is successful (as are many other blogs), because the writers focus on explaining what they did and what result they get, using specific details. The more specific and real world you can be with your case studies, the more the readers will respond to your writing and follow your work. 3. Be Specific, Avoid Generic Advice Continuing on from the previous point, whenever you teach or tell stories avoid being generic . People like it when you say things like – “I spent $151 in Google Adwords to buy traffic from the following list of keywords – how to grow tomatoes in winter growing tomatoes in winter grow winter tomatoes etc The result of this was 3546 visitors over two weeks, delivering 543 opt-ins to my newsletter” I could have simply written – “I spent some money on adwords to get traffic to my newsletter” The first explanation is a lot more specific and thus interesting to the reader. People want to know details, it gives them direction and clarity and makes you a much more valuable resource to them. The more value you give them, the more they will listen to you, pay attention to your work, click your links, and all the other things you can ask people to do when they actually pay attention. 4. Create “Top List” Articles If you really want to produce a very successful article the single best format I can recommend is a “Top List” . A top list is usually a Top 10 but might be a Top 20 or even 50 list. The idea is to come up with a list of top “somethings”. It’s especially effective if you focus on people. For example for this blog some good ideas might be – “Top 10 most successful female online entrepreneurs” “Top 50 websites to learn how to make money online (and the people behind them)” “Top 10 most inspiring entrepreneurial success stories” These types of articles work really well if you include photos of each person in the top list, then email them to let them know they are in the list. This can take a bit of research, but the rewards are significant as top lists are always shared around the web. You might consider making a top list in regards to whatever your specialty is. For example EJ team member Neroli who focuses on creativity in her column, might come up with a list of the “ Top 10 most creative business ideas of the 21st century “. You don’t need to have the absolute definitive top 10, this is simply your opinion based on your research and knowledge. Don’t be afraid to upset some people who don’t agree with you, this will do wonders for how popular your article becomes because of the controversy. 5. Write As If You Are Talking To One Person Although this blog has thousands of daily readers you should write to one person only when creating your articles. Only one individual actually reads the article in their head, so talk to them individually. For example, use singular words like “you” and “your”, not “people” or “readers” or “all of you”. I find this works best for me when I think that I am talking to just one person when I write my article. Apply this to your articles and you will foster a stronger connection with your readership, one reader at a time. 6. Respond To All Your Comments Comments left on your articles, especially the solid comments with questions or feedback, should be responded to as soon as possible. This shows that you care about the person who was interested enough in your article to leave a comment and are listening to what they have to say. Commenting facilities two-way communication , and all your readers will feel like you are more present if you respond to their comments, fostering better engagement. I’ve noticed several of the EJ team already do this and you can see the difference it makes, so great work. I have to admit that I have been very lax with this piece of advice in recent years myself. During the early years of EJ I was very diligent with comments and I know that is one of the reasons why this blog took off. In recent months I’ve increased my own comment replies to practice what I preach. 7. Be Consistent With Content Production This last tip I include because seven tips makes for a better headline than six, although it wasn’t sent through to the columnists originally because they are already well informed about the importance of being consistent with their column if they want results (it’s in the agreement they make when they come on board!). You already know content is the key to success with a blog. You also know that consistent content is key, yet this is where so many people fail. If you have ever done any article marketing campaigns you will know that without volume it is difficult to have any success. The same applies here. It goes back to the principle of “owning” more of the Internet. The more places you appear, the more exposure you have to your audience, the more people you reach. Don’t forget that just one exposure to one of your articles is not enough to convince a person to do something – they probably won’t even remember your name! It takes repeat exposures to build up some form of engagement with your audience, and no one person is the same. Some might read one of your articles and never read another, while others will come back and read everything you write because the first article they read of yours was so good. You can’t control when people read your work, or what article of yours they read first, or what situation they are coming from when they find your article, yet all these variables impact how well your content performs. The solution to this problem is put your best foot forward and keep walking – in other words, always produce amazing articles and do it again and again and again if you want to make a real impact, and down the line, reap rewards. Keep up the good work, Yaro Starak Still Blogging About Blogging Get your bonus copy of my book “How To Start An Internet Business & Make Your First $1,000 Online” Download Here

Tagged as: article, book, opinion, person, small-business, space, work

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Divya Dubey, Gyaana Books: How to get published (Part 2)

by Paul Joseph July 14, 2011 Featured

This is the follow-up piece to the article that Divya wrote on June 30th 2011 about becoming a published author. Click here to read Part 1 of ‘How to get published’. With more queries popping up about submissions to publishers, it’s easy to see that many first-time authors have certain fears regarding their manuscripts and publishers – that are quite unfounded.  It is true that landing up with a… (Visit Yourstory.in for full news, other content, and much more!)

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The Day My Life Changed

by Paul Joseph July 4, 2011 Featured

Almost a month ago I woke up to a phone call at 7am. It was my mother’s partner’s son calling me to tell me that my mum had a stroke and was in hospital. She had been watching TV, heard a buzzing noise, had a seizure and started speaking gibberish. Her partner called an ambulance and although she recovered somewhat on the way to the hospital emergency area, she succumbed again and was admitted to the intensive care unit. I arrived at the hospital the morning after the stroke. Thus began our new life. This experience was, and continues to be an emotional roller coaster. It is difficult to see your mother unable to move or talk, essentially trapped in her own body. She’s a strong minded intelligent woman, currently facing her worst nightmare. When she is most alert she can communicate with us via her left toe and arms, and her eyes open, but most of the time she is in a half awake state, constantly poked and prodded by the hospital staff. Her prognosis is somewhat unknown. Time will tell how much better she will get and the main medicine is patience. This is the kind of patience that can last months – even years . I’m currently typing this sitting in the stroke ward next to my mother. She is surrounded by people who are in varying degrees of the same condition and a dedicated staff of nurses and doctors there to help. As her only son I am the closest person in the world to her and I know my presence and voice has the potential to be of the most help. I especially want to be here during the times she is afraid, and to monitor her changes so I can stay abreast of her condition. I Have A Day Job The purpose of this article is not to reflect on how emotional, spiritual or awareness changing an experience like this can be to all involved. That reflection expressed in writing will no doubt come in the future, as the story progresses and I feel it’s the right time to write about it. For the time being I want to offer some explanation for where I have been, given this blog hasn’t seen my writings for nearly four weeks. Considering I have published something of my own on this blog at least once a week since it started I figured you might be wondering what happened to me. I’ve communicated via Twitter and Facebook to update people, but since not everyone follows me at those sites I figured it was time to update the E-J audience. Currently I have a day job . I spend every day, seven days a week, at hospital with my mum. I go home to feed the cat and do the one or two chores I give myself each night (clean dishes, wash clothes, pay bills, process email, etc.). I cook myself some dinner, watch a little TV, check the Internet, then head to bed and do it all over again the next day. I don’t feel upset that my life has become so focused on the hospital and may well be for many months because I can’t imagine anywhere else I want to be. This is a job I have to do and want to do. Being elsewhere feels uncomfortable, though of course I realize balance is necessary, so I don’t spend every hour next to my mum’s bed. I manage to do some exercise at the park near the hospital, head to the city for lunch once a week, see friends occasionally and do some work on the laptop. As horrible at times as this experience has been, it’s also been a real privilege. Though I don’t wish to see my mother suffer, since reality is what it is, I’ve had to take on board this situation and process it from all angles. On some levels it has been amazing and a gift, though it is far from easy. What About Business? At the start of this year I began to make changes to this blog. I’ve written previously about the introduction of the new columnists to E-J, about the switch to a magazine model and increasing the value this site provides through other peoples contributions. A big benefit of this process, and certainly a big motivation behind it, has been to remove the dependency this blog has had on my work to succeed. Little did I realize that just a few months after making these changes would I face a situation that would really test the system. As you can imagine I haven’t had much time to do work, nor did I have a lot of motivation, especially during the first few weeks where everything was constant changes, big decisions and lots of communicating with people about what was going on with my mum. I consider it a real blessing that the entire time I spent next to my mother when all this broke out, my business continued to function pretty much as it had. Here’s what my business currently does without me – The wonderful team of columnists continue to share their entrepreneurs journey with you, with one new article per week-day coming from either Leevi, Neroli, Dr Mani, Dee, Leslie, Nacie, Aziz, Kerry, Mitch, Sunil or Ken . Steph , our editor, works with the columnist team to edit and maintain a publishing schedule. She also liaises with all the writers and handles applications from new budding columnists. Angela , my long serving admin person, handles all the email and customer service for our paying members as she has done for many years. I generally batch process emails once every week or two, handling the 20 to 30 messages that pile up that only I can deal with. In another situation of good timing, development on my new software service recently went into a phase that doesn’t require much from me. We completed the visual designs, which I worked closely on with Mick my designer, but that wrapped up in May. Mick and my development partner Walter have been working hard on the code to put everything together, which has progressed without needing my input. Although I’m not making as much money as I did when all my courses were launched the first time, enough comes in from advertising, affiliate income and new memberships into my Blog Mastermind program to keep us cash flow positive. This all happens either automatically through payment systems and email autoresponders, or with a little help from Angela in the case of setting up sponsor ad campaigns. Thanks to the years spent building up my blog, creating content and recruiting a small but vitally helpful work-from-home team, things run pretty smoothly. It’s also a wonderful feeling knowing that our new projects are still progressing without me, since these are parts of my life I most look forward to on a personal level. There Is One Thing Given that I wasn’t able to find time for anything during the first two weeks in the intensive care unit it was interesting to see exactly what happened without me. Everything in the business continued fine, with only one area that required my help – blog article headline writing . I’m quite picky with blog headlines here on E-J. The columnists write their own headlines, which sometimes we use as-is. More often than not however, I like to go to work to come up with improvements, since the headline is the most important part of an article , determining whether people bother to read it or not. This is a creative task and somewhat subjective when it comes to deciding what will work. You only get once chance with a new article to release it with a good headline, since an article is only new once. It can be a hit and miss process, but since I’ve spent over five years writing headlines and email subject lines (very similar to headlines for blogs), I’ve become intuitive about what works well. Steph, our editor, has stepped up to the plate when it comes to headlines, however her development as a kick-ass copywriter is still progressing. She is having to “unlearn” quite a bit of her academic background in order to develop this skill. Steph and I have been doing headline brainstorming sessions a couple of times per week in order to sort out the headlines. We chat on skype and come up with headline concepts that we slowly work on until we have something we like. Since I’ve been in hospital, Gideon Shalwick has stepped up and helped out at night working with Steph. Headlines and responding to email once a week or every two weeks are the only jobs I’ve needed to do. Even emails don’t really “need” me, since rarely are they actually pressing matters vital to the success of the business. Can Your Business Run Without You? This experience has really challenged me to think what would happen if it was me facing a rehabilitation period of possibly years? What would happen to my business if I couldn’t do ANY work? These are questions you should ask yourself. Beyond your own health, consider what would happen if you had a loved one suddenly need your attention 10 hours per day. What would happen to your business? Would it keep working? Here are some more specific questions you should consider answering if in the event you were no longer able to put in as much work – or any work at all – into your business. What happens if you don’t reply to emails? What happens if you don’t write articles or produce any content? What happens if your contractors or staff don’t have you there to tell them what to do and make decisions? Does your business generate an income without you being there to collect the money, send invoices etc? Who pays your bills? Who has access to your passwords to work on servers when you are not there? How long can you go without doing anything new on your business at all? What about Twitter, Facebook and other social media tools – does your business survive if you don’t maintain these? Can your systems automatically deliver what people buy? What about customer support if things go wrong? Does your business grow when you are not there, or shrink? Have a think about some of these questions and how ready you are for situations that will make you face them. And while you are there, I’d appreciate a prayer or whatever is appropriate from you for my mum, Zahava Starak , during this challenging time. She needs all the help she can get. Yaro Starak Living In Hospital Get your bonus copy of my book “How To Start An Internet Business & Make Your First $1,000 Online” Download Here

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Why Keeping It Real Is Your Best Selling Tactic

by Paul Joseph June 20, 2011 Featured

Greetings once more fellow entrepreneur, this week I have something quite unique and extraordinary to share. Yesterday, I interviewed Shaune Clarke , and what began as a 45 minute interview spilled into nearly two hours as we took a free fall into the mind of one of the most uniquely gifted entrepreneurs I’ve encountered. Because Shaune shared such a wealth of information, I’ve had to edit the interview into several parts, so today we’re looking at the first part, in which Shaune shares with us his insights for entrepreneurs about creating your own game , the 1/2 step away market , unwarranted sales resistance , and the art of graceful persuasion as it relates to building trust through authenticity and our unique giftedness. Phew! And all this in under 20 minutes! You can just imagine what we covered in two hours! So, let us begin, come and join me at the edge to take a leap into the farthest reaches of the unique genius of Shaune Clarke Creating Your Own Game One of the comments that  people consistently make about Shaune Clarke, is that he’s not like anyone else they’ve met in the business he’s starring in, whether it’s Speaking Training , Copywriting , Internet Marketing , Interviewing or Natural Health . Shaune explains that most people will often compare themselves to competitors and try to compete with them, when really, there’s no reason to do this. Shaune learned from his experience as an extremely successful copywriter, that having something different equates to having something valuable, providing there is a market for it. Shaune says that 95% of the time, there is a market, and there are already people in that market spending money. After Shaune had hired one of the top gun copywriters to write sales copy for him and it flopped, he thought, “You know what? I didn’t like that style of sales copy, I wouldn’t respond well to it, so there must be others who would feel the same.” So he invested time and money into learning about how others wrote sales copy, then set about writing in his own unique style that was more aligned with his own values and preferences. This turned out to be so successful, that within 6 months , he couldn’t keep up the demand for his work and he was asked to train other copywriters. Shaune realized two things through this experience. One was that bringing his unique gifts to his work was extremely valuable and lucrative , and training others to emulate his style would not work either. For his clients in his trainings, learning to find their own unique style and inner giftedness and bring that to their work was going to be far more valuable and lucrative to them as well. The Half A Step Away Market Shaune explains that the market is always changing and evolving, and doing so rapidly. The established players are often not able or willing to adapt or change to the market as it evolves, so when we come into the market with something new, there are clients already in the market who are going to resonate with what we’re offering. He also speaks about the 1/2 step away market , which is the people who are at the very edges of the market. These clients have a problem that needs solving, but there’s currently no one in the industry that has communicated to them in a way that resonates with them, and therefore draws them from the edges of the market into it. Everyday, someone who has not spent money in an industry will begin to invest their money in it. There are people both in your market and right at the edges who will resonate with your unique style and gifts that you bring to your business. Unwarranted Sales Resistance Shaune explains further that all clients will experience something he calls unwarranted sales resistance . This is because all of us have had an experience of spending money before on products and services and not getting our problem solved. This means someone’s previous bad experience is going to be projected onto us when they are considering buying from us. This is unwarranted sales resistance because it has nothing to do with us , it is related to a previous experience our client has had, and it is being projected onto the current situation. Our role as business people is to just be aware of this, and to maintain our certainty of the value and quality of our products and services and communicate this elegantly to our clients. It doesn’t involve pushing or comparing. It’s a matter of understanding that there is an element of risk involved in spending money, and the biggest thing is not to try to sell somebody on our products or services, but to build trust. The Art Of Graceful Persuasion Shaune goes on to say, “We don’t need a sales formula, we need a formula for imbuing authenticity into our work which inherently builds trust .” Shaune is acutely aware that his speaking training clients experience a far greater degree of competence, confidence and authenticity when their presentation is imbued with their own unique gifts. He says, “Speaker training should adapt to you, you should not have to adapt to speaking training.” The more our unique giftedness is allowed to be present on our work, the more authenticity there is to it, and the greater the level of certainty and trust we can build with our clients. “We’re all very good at persuasion when we’re self motivated, like persuading our partner to go to a particular restaurant or holiday location or getting the kids to do their homework,” Shaune explains. But when it comes to exchanging money for goods and services, we can get tangled in an uncomfortable and encumbered selling process, when it really doesn’t have to be like that. The art of graceful persuasion is being aware the combination of unique skills, insights and information that you bring to your business, and using these to bring authenticity to your work. This inherently builds trust with our clients so that they understand that we are going to give them quality goods and services, and they will have their problem solved. Shaune’s speaker training is really a method for gaining a greater depth of understanding and self awareness of your unique giftedness and learning how to communicate this to your clients. This builds trust and moves clients through unwarranted sales resistance gracefully and with understanding and empathy . When he was considering taking on the task of training others to speak, he told his partner, Clarinda, “the world does not need another speaker training, what the world needs is a training that shows people how to bring their authentic self to their work and demonstrate this value to others. ” Luckily for those clients like myself, who were seeking to bring more awareness to our unique combination of skills, insights and information and then learn how to communicate this value to our clients, Shaune has put together exactly this, and the art of graceful persuasion is no longer an enigma. There is, however, a lot more to learn from Shaune, but we’ll have to wait for another article to find out as this one is has reached critical mass for the quantity of insights I can fit into my head in one go! I would love to hear your comments at the end, thanks for watching or reading. Cheers, Neroli. Get your bonus copy of my book “How To Start An Internet Business & Make Your First $1,000 Online” Download Here

Tagged as: article, business, client, clients, kids, marketing, money, sales, unique

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Looking Ahead: Developing Your Long Term Marketing Strategy

by Paul Joseph June 9, 2011 Featured

We hear about the importance of business plans all the time, and many entrepreneurs would never think of launching a new venture without one. Most startups carefully plan production, distribution and delivery, and even internal culture. When it comes to putting together a long term, strategic marketing plan though, it’s shocking how many small to midsized companies skip it altogether. It often seems like marketing is something that’s an afterthought. Everyone knows it needs to be done, but we’ll figure it out as we go along. Marketing is not something to take lightly though. In fact, it can literally make or break a business. You can have all the other pieces in place – a great product, a seamless sales process, outstanding service, etc. – and if you don’t do a great job with marketing, none of it will matter. Sure, word of mouth will (eventually) help, but the more people spreading the word, the better, and marketing is the only way you’re going to get the process moving forward. Not IF but HOW Marketing should never be thought of as optional. Instead, it should be an integral part of your business planning, and the question should be how you can do it most effectively. Of course, today more than ever, that’s the million dollar question. With the ever growing array of marketing options opening up online, as well as many traditional, offline avenues still in play, it can be enough to make an already swamped entrepreneur want to run and hide. But take heart. The fact that there are so many options is actually good news. Blogging, Social Media, Email and Article Marketing, PPC, Video, SEM – they’re all simply more tools in your marketing tool box, and once you start to use them, the rewards can easily outweigh any initial learning curve frustrations. Just don’t make the mistake of thinking you need to choose between internet marketing options and offline avenues, such as PR, direct mail, radio, etc. Instead, think about how an approach using all your options would look. You might be thinking that your business is 100% online, so you don’t need to do anything that’s offline. But can you say that a write-up about your company in The New York Times business section or a guest spot on Good Morning America wouldn’t give your business a boost? At the very least, PR can be used in conjunction with internet marketing to realize maximum impact. The key is to mesh the various tools available into one consistent, well-thought-out marketing plan. 7 Steps to a Brilliant Marketing Plan Define your target market. (And drill down to get as specific as possible.) Develop a clear, concise message to be used across all channels. Identify short and long-term goals for each marketing channel as well as overall. Study your market to find out where potential customers get their information. Set a budget for all marketing. (Remember: Social Media isn’t free when you do it right.) Plan each marketing channel individually; then work on melding them into one cohesive plan. Measure and tweak – constantly! (Your plan should be fluid and flexible to adjust to changes in your market, industry, and culture.) See? That wasn’t so hard! Of course there is a lot more to each of the seven steps, but none of it is beyond the abilities of most entrepreneurs. Research online, to find resources that will help you in the areas where you have questions. And if it’s all too much to take on, hire it out. But don’t ignore this piece of your business, whatever you do. An effective long term marketing strategy can take your business exactly where you want it to go.

Tagged as: article, business, entrepreneurship, internet marketing, market, marketing-strategies, small-business, video

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Tired Of Failing To Meet Your Goals? Try My Success Formula…

by Paul Joseph June 9, 2011 Featured

My previous articles have talked about marketing with regards to knowing your customer and refining your niche . This week I want to talk a little bit more about the mental game of business and what is required to build a successful business. Specifically, I want to provide some useful tips for goal setting. If you are currently not setting goals for your business, then this article will help you get started. If you are setting goals for your business, then this article will help give you some handy tips to improve your goal setting and hopefully your results. Goals Give You Direction If you are serious about making a living from your online endeavors, then you need to have goals for your business. At the very least so you have some idea of how you may possibly pay your bills. You also want to have some idea of what you wish to accomplish. If you use a goal in the simplest sense just to give you a general direction to head for, then at least that is a start. Not having any goal would be like getting in a car for a drive and not having any destination in mind. Sure you may end up somewhere nice, but the probability of ending up somewhere nice if you actually planned to end up there would be a lot higher. Traditional Result Orientated Goals Usually goals are stated as what I call result orientated goals and there is nothing wrong with that. For example, business goals may include “I want to make $XXXX amount of money this year” or “I want to sell X amount of products”. Setting goals like this is a good starting point, but I want to help you tweak your goal setting for better results. An Economics Law To Improve Your Goal Setting From The Economist in 1955 is a quote that has come to be known as Parkinson’s Law : “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” A more generalized version is: “ The demand upon a resource tends to expand to match the supply of the resource. ” If you are not a savvy saver you will often find this true of your finances. As your earnings increase, so do your expenses. Basically, Parkinson’s Law can be applied to goal setting in the form of setting a deadline. This is useful for long term goals, but I find it incredibly applicable for short term goals. We probably all experienced this with assignment deadlines in high school or university. If you have two weeks to complete a project, it will take you two weeks. But if you set yourself the goal to get it done in one week, you probably could. Obviously you need to be realistic, but I am just saying you may surprise yourself if you tighten the reigns a little on your goals and set some tougher deadlines. Give it a go on your next small project. For example, I allocated a certain amount of time to writing this article. This pushed me a little and motivated me to be more productive. Break Down Your Goals Into More Manageable Pieces Although I am a fan of dreaming big, I also find it can be a bit overwhelming at times. So I find that breaking down a goal into more manageable pieces can help give you a sense of the smaller stepping stones you need to take to reach your end goal. Plus, it allows you to monitor your progression and make any necessary adjustments along the way. Revising goals is also an important point we will discuss later. There are two ways that I find helpful to breakdown a large goal: 1. Break down the goal into some progressive steps. For example, if you have a goal for your business to earn $100,000 dollars in the third year of operation you may have some smaller milestones along the way. You may breakdown the $100,000 per year goal into a goal of earning $30,000 the first year of operations and then $75,000 the second year. That way the end goal looks more manageable, and you have some checkpoints along the way to monitor progress . This enables you to make any necessary changes during the allocated time period and not just at the very end when it may be too late. 2. Break down the goal into smaller pieces. If you have a goal of getting 73,000 visitors to your website in a year, you could break that down to a monthly or daily figure. You would need 200 daily visitors and 6000 monthly visitors to reach that goal. That way you can focus on these more manageable numbers and know that if you reach them, you will reach your larger goal. A Practical Example Of Breaking Down Goals A great example of breaking down goals is seen by Internet Writer Everett Bogue in his 333 project . Everett has set himself the goal of making $100,000 per year from writing. He has decided to charge a $25 monthly fee to readers for access to “letters” he writes. The math is simple: $25 x 12 months x 333 subscribers = $100,000 . So (in his mind) all Everett needs is 333 subscribers. Instead of constantly thinking about making $100,000, Everett is probably thinking how he can enrich, add value and connect with enough people that 333 of them are willing to pay him $25 a month. Not bad considering most aspiring writers are struggling to make ends meet. Introducing Action Goals The problem with result orientated goals is they tell nothing about the “how to” process of achieving the goal. It leaves you totally unaccountable for your actions towards that goal. So your results orientated goal may be getting 100,000 visitors to your website in a year. What about the process or procedure for that? You can set goals for those also, I call them action goals . They define what you need to do to achieve that result goal. Some action goals for the above example may include: I need to post to my website five times a week. I will submit at least one article a week to an article directory I will update my business Facebook page weekly I will try to guest post on other people’s websites two times a month I will release a YouTube video every week So now you have a procedure for achieving the end goal. Notice the procedures are objectified and very definite so there is no question about if you did them or not. You either did or you didn’t. I find not setting action goals, or not having a procedure behind a goal, is probably the main reason people fail in their goal setting. Don’t Be Afraid To Revise Your Goals Things don’t always go to plan. And I think that constant revision of your goals has many benefits. Firstly, it can help to regularly reinforce what you are striving for and this can be important for inspiration and motivation. Secondly, it can help you make necessary adjustments. If you have some goal stepping stones like I mentioned earlier, you can gauge if you need to make any adjustments to your end goal or your procedures. Lastly, things change. Life is dynamic . Our wants, needs and desires can change, and our goals should be flexible to realign with any changes that happen. Goal Setting Summary Set your result goals and break them down into more manageable stepping stones. Set a time period for your goals so you have a deadline to work towards. Take your results orientated goals and write some objective action goals that will serve as the “how to” steps of achieving your result goal. And finally, constantly revise and update your goals depending on your outcomes and current circumstances. Leevi Romanik Get your bonus copy of my book “How To Start An Internet Business & Make Your First $1,000 Online” Download Here

Tagged as: article, customer, goals

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Market Saturation: Is It Too Late For You To Make Money Online?

by Paul Joseph June 3, 2011 Featured

The concept of making money online through websites and blogs is no longer new, but only to those that have been exposed to this industry for some time now. The last time I checked, there are somewhere around five websites and blogs created every two minutes , which equates to millions more with each passing year. Google has been around since the nineties and the web is ultra saturated today, so it must be true that the train has left the platform, and it is too late for you to seize the lost opportunity to make money online – right? Absolutely not. The facts remain the facts, and there is no denying that, but the good news is that for the vast majority of humans that live on this planet, the internet, and thus making money online is still an “industry” in its infancy. I am a practical example of this statement. I have several niche websites in all kinds of niche markets, which are all making very good money for me on a passive and residual basis . That said, for those of us who are exposed to the internet in a way not many others are (from an income generation perspective that is), many of us may initially feel that the web is super saturated with blogs and websites that teach us internet marketing and how to make money online. Because of this saturation, it is natural for many aspiring webpreneurs to have doubts and second thoughts of making money online, often thinking that there must be tons of others who are doing the same thing. As a reminder, we (the ones who think of the internet from an income generation perspective) have a slightly skewed view of the broader macrocosm. Truth is, the majority of people, who are web surfers, do not view the web as an income generating platform. These hundreds of millions of web surfers still have a need to be fulfilled, and the internet is the best channel available today in terms of reach, ease of entry and low cost experimentation for an aspiring entrepreneur to fulfill that need. The Key To Success With Online Business Given the (what seems like) apparent saturation in the online space, the simplest key to success in my experience has been to stray away from the “make money online” and “internet marketing” niche. You will find one guru after another preaching the next best hidden secret, which does not exist. Rather, spend your time pursuing a niche where you can successfully fill in a void in the marketplace. “But Sunil, you have a blog on entrepreneurship and personal finance that teaches how to make money online as well.” That statement is true, but my blog is not my bread and butter. In fact, I am brand new to blogging and thus my blog is merely an experiment that makes me less than a couple hundred bucks a month. It totally sucks from a profitability perspective. “What a failure,” you might think? Not necessarily, because income is not the motive behind my blog, at least not right now. My blog is a journal recollecting my accomplishments, failures, experiences in entrepreneurship and lessons learned throughout the processes and my overall journey. It is also a place where I can rant and rave openly and freely, while entertaining and helping others at the same time. So how do I make the bulk of my money online? I created 16 profitable niche websites and an ecommerce website, which I sold back in 2007 for $250,000 before I started my Extra Money Blog . I did exactly as I propose in this article – I stayed AWAY from the make money online niche. Consider this: My blog generates the least traffic of all my websites, as well as the least amount of income. My highest traffic generating and most profitable websites have nothing to do with making money online. My website on Rotator Cuff Exercises is one such example. Have a look at this screenshot showing revenues from book sales: I know these numbers are not monster figures by any means, but they represent a consistent stream of income from a niche that has nothing to do with making money online. Add to that the advertisement revenue generated from ads that look like this: . . . and commissions from sales of affiliate products that my visitors purchase either directly from the website or from a recommendation proposed to them through the free newsletter series (also boxed in red in the image above). Also consider the fact that this is a niche website that was built with a fixed number of hours (no ongoing work involved). Because the website provides value, and is built on a “set it and forget it” business model platform, I can leave it alone and still profit from it over time. The website also has several methods of monetization incorporated into it, and as traffic further grows over time, several more are on my “to do” list. For example, I am starting to get offers for private placement ads. I am contemplating implementing a discussion forum where people can share stories, resources and help each other in the process, thus further increasing traffic. I am also contemplating including a paid directory of qualified practitioners who can help those who are suffering from rotator cuff pain. As you can imagine, the possibilities to make money online from just one niche website are endless. Differentiation Factors To Beat Saturation You must be thinking that rotator cuff treatment is also a super saturated niche. You are absolutely correct. It is, but not nearly as much as the internet marketing or make money online niche. That said, there are some things you can do to differentiate your website and value proposition from the rest. For example, you can write the content of your website from a fresh, practical and first-hand perspective. You can write in active voice and talk to your reader, rather than at the reader. This allows you, the author, to build a relationship with your reader. There are many commercial websites out there that are built just to sell sell sell. A fresh perspective in my experience is always welcomed by web surfers. Offer a free incentive such as a free tips newsletter to further build and hone relationships with your readers. When your readers like you, trust you and are warmed up to you (a tactic called pre selling), you can soft sell them products and services that they will gladly pay for. Your individual style itself can be your unique proposition that earns you a place in a saturated environment. People want relate-ability, people want to connect to you as an individual, so don’t be afraid to try this new approach if you haven’t yet. The success of these methods mentioned is predicated on your ability to effectively execute search engine optimization, as well as internet marketing strategies that help give your website or blog a place on search engine rankings. Though it is advisable to learn how to execute these, you can easily outsource this work in today’s environment. Concluding Thoughts Saturation is relative to time . The web is certainly more saturated today compared to yesterday, and will be tomorrow compared to today. The bottom line is that as saturated as the online space looks, there is still a ton of opportunity for webpreneurs to make money online. The folks that visit my rotator cuff therapy website know nothing about making money online, nor are they interested. They do know how to use the internet, however, to search for answers to their questions. They clearly have a need. So as long as you fulfill a need, financial success should follow providing you execute adequately and appropriately. The internet is just another channel to do business in the modern day, and fortunately for people like you and I, it allows us to operate globally at a cost next to nothing. Get out there and let the market dictate your direction. There is absolutely no doubt that you can still make money online despite the apparent saturation of websites and blogs on the internet. Do you agree or disagree? What are the biggest barriers to entry today? What is stopping you from capturing a piece of that profit pie? Sunil Still Making Money Online Get your bonus copy of my book “How To Start An Internet Business & Make Your First $1,000 Online” Download Here

Tagged as: article, experience, internet, internet marketing, make money online, online, online-business, reader, search-engine, thoughts, young

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Why I Am Cutting Costs And Changing Business Models

by Paul Joseph May 27, 2011 Featured

The last few months have been interesting. I’m currently going through a transition phase. While I experience this process I think about my business goals, what kind of money I want to make, how I want to make it and what roles I specifically want to do. This takes time. It’s an exciting process, one that very much appeals to my entrepreneurial side as I get to start new projects and think about what kind of business I want to be in charge of for the next few years. The downside of this process is the direction change has an impact on my income in the present. Many of my current projects are winding down, and because I’m not launching new projects just yet, I rely on ongoing cash-flow from my more consistent income streams like blog advertising and affiliate income . This means I’m not making quite as much money and I’m also spending money to invest in new projects. I’ve seen the signs of these changes coming for a while now so I’ve been preparing for it. Previously I spent money easily and didn’t worry if I was “wasting” money here and there because my focus was on generating revenue. Since my new projects won’t generate revenue for a while, I’ve reduced costs, an activity many business owners neglect, which is a real opportunity to increase profit. A Changing Environment There are many changes occurring right now that are impacting my business. Here are some of them – The US dollar has dropped in value significantly . I’m in Australia and pay for my life in Australian dollars. In the past I’ve earned as much as 50% extra when converting USD to AUD. If I made $1,000 USD, that would go into my bank account as around $1,500 AUD. Today as I type this that ratio has changed dramatically. Now for every $1 US I deposit I receive about $0.90 Australian – I lose 10% on the currency exchange. The amount of blogs and information products out there in the make money online and internet marketing niche has exploded . A lot of people are doing good work, and that means people have more choice with whom they choose to spend their educational dollars with, or even just whom they pay attention to. If you’re not constantly over-delivering, then you are losing your audience to other, better content producers. What works in my market has changed . For example, when I wrote the Blog Profits Blueprint , Blog Carnivals were a traffic tactic that still had some merit. Today people want to know about Twitter and Facebook . Fundamentals never change, but some tools and techniques grow old and new ones emerge, and people want to know what is the latest and greatest. You personally need to remain current in your knowledge . With all these changes going on to technology and marketing techniques and media formats, you need to at least stay aware of what is going on. If you truly want to remain at the top of your field, awareness alone is not enough. You have to study and implement these new options so you can speak with authority that only comes from actually doing something. You need to be your own case study. These are just some of the changes. Not all of them affect every industry, but from my point of view based on the business model I have followed for the last few years, they are all very relevant. Responding To Change I’ve had to make some changes to respond to the current market conditions so I can ensure I have enough ongoing cash-flow to keep things running smoothly while I am in an investment and development phase. I’m also considering how my current projects will evolve to deal with these changes. Here are some examples of the kind of changes I’ve been making to my business – The Currency Issue The weakening US dollar combined with a transition period in my business direction has seen my income fall compared to previous years. I’ve already begun to make some changes, switching some of my income streams, such as advertising prices on this blog, to Australian dollars. I am also changing the price to AUD for my products, but I have to be careful with that because the majority of my customers are from the US. If the currency exchange results in a significant increase in cost for Americans, sales will drop. This problem is difficult to judge because I don’t know where the dollar is going. If the USD collapses completely then focusing on the Australian market may be my best option (selling to Australians in AUD is sustainable while I live here, although a significant reduction in market size because Australia has a much smaller population). If the USD stays around where it currently is, or doesn’t get much worse or improves, then charging in AUD or USD won’t have much of an impact. For now I’m adjusting on the fly based on what the exchange rate is. Cutting Costs I’ve cut the cost of some of the ongoing expenses I have in my business, for example – When I built my training programs I initially used Cachefly CDN to host my media, including videos, audios and PDFs, which provide a server specifically set up for delivering large files. When Amazon S3 came out (another service specifically for delivering large files based on Amazon’s cloud hosting technology) I switched over to that service. Amazon charges by how much bandwidth you use. Cachefly charges a flat monthly fee for a set amount of bandwidth, regardless of whether you use it. My hosting bill was significant because I had purchased so many Cachefly accounts. I continued to pay the fee for a long time because I couldn’t be bothered moving all the files to Amazon and updating the links. Finally at the start of this year I made the switch, I moved the files and my assistant updated the links. It took a couple of hours all up, and reduced my hosting bill by over $2,000 a year . Like most internet marketers I’ve registered a lot of domain names for ideas. Most of the domains I will never use, and even though they cost about $10 a year to maintain, if you have enough domains doing nothing, the bill can add up. I’ve saved almost $500 this year simply by not renewing the domains I’m not going to use. AWeber , my email autoresponder, is vital to the success of my business, however it’s long time overdue for me to “clean” my list. Cleaning simply means taking some steps to cull people from your list who are no longer reading your emails. I’ve got over 80,000 people on my lists collected over five years now, but I know a proportion of these email addresses are dead. Aweber charges by how many people subscribe and my bill has been over $500 a month for a while (even after culling deleted subscribers regularly). In the near future I’ll send notices to everyone on my email list letting people know that if they want to continue receiving my messages they have to confirm their intention. I’ll do this a few times to make sure everyone gets a chance to keep their account active, but if they don’t respond to any of the notifications they will be removed from my list. I expect I might lose as many as 50% of my subscribers doing this, but the end result will be a list of more responsive people and I won’t be spending money to keep dead email addresses on my list. This will save $2,000 to $3,000 a year. Just making these changes has “found” about $5,000 I now get to keep instead of spend on things I don’t need. There are many other things I am cutting out too that I no longer need or never needed in the first place. Cutting costs is worth taking the time to do, so think about it for your own business. Renovating My Products I’ve got some great training materials in my courses. Most of it is relevant and valuable, although some sections need to be updated or removed, and a few new topics need to be added. I also need to restructure what content goes in what courses and consider where I want to expand out into new training resources. In short, my entire sales final needs renovating, which is something I’d like to complete this year. I also have the 2-Hour Work Day report (finished) and program to release, and consider how it will fit into my business as well. There are branding decisions to make, as well as pricing decisions, which are critical when it comes to structuring a solid front and back end sequence of products. What Floats My Boat If you are anything like me, despite knowing there are some great opportunities in front of you doing what already works, sometimes you want a change. In my case although I love running an information publishing business I’m more excited about two things I am working on right now. They are – A software service for bloggers that will be released in the second half of this year. Switching to the magazine model for this blog. These two things are my main focus and heavily interlinked. These are the projects that excite me the most. I’ve always wanted to get into software and I’ve had an idea for a long time that has finally started to come together with the right people helping me make it happen. I like this project because it’s not about me, my personal brand, and has significant potential for leverage if it works. I see this as a true Internet start-up that could go big, and I’m certainly looking forward to seeing how you respond once I release it. It delivers a service I want as a blogger, and I expect lots of other bloggers will want to use it too. This blog for a long time has been a front end for my information publishing business , but that is changing. I’ve always loved the idea of having my own magazine, and running a blog that is focused on being a true “media” site, is pretty much the same thing. There are so many great blogs out there today that are larger than the biggest newspapers and magazines in the print world based on how many people read them. They run a model that isn’t about selling ebooks or courses, instead they deliver a stream of content that people check in every day to consume. The model is about audience size and advertising revenue, and owning a “content channel”. The focus isn’t on one individual personality. You may have noticed that both these focuses are similar in one aspect – they remove me from the equation . While I will be heavily involved with the development of these projects, and I will continue to write to this blog, the goal is to make everything less dependent on any one person. This means they are businesses that deliver value because of the system in place and/or a group of people are responsible for success, with no one individual responsible for any critical component. If someone leaves, the value doesn’t, so the business continues. This is a deliberate choice because I want to create businesses that are sellable and income streams that don’t rely on me. I’ve done a pretty good job of this already in the information publishing world despite basing it on my own brand, but this can only take you so far. I want to move beyond me. You can already see evidence of these changes with all the great columnists coming on board here at Entrepreneurs-Journey. Obviously for this to work we have to continue to deliver value and that is my primary goal. I realize some people come to this blog specifically for my work, which will still be here (this article is yet another example of me continuing to write about my own entrepreneurs-journey), but now you will get more. What Do You Want? I have no idea if any of these changes will pay off, but it’s exciting to be doing it. It’s a new phase for me and I enjoy the challenge and the potential. I value your feedback throughout this process and I’d especially love to know what you would like to see more of on Entrepreneurs-Journey. You come here for a reason and face challenges of your own. The more awareness I have of what you are striving for, what problems you need to solve and what goals you have, the better job we can do providing solutions here at this blog. I’d love to hear your feedback as comment replies. As always, thanks for reading, Yaro Starak Entrepreneur Get your bonus copy of my book “How To Start An Internet Business & Make Your First $1,000 Online” Download Here

Tagged as: article, australia, business, domains, entrepreneur, internet, online, personal, project, small-business, young

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How To Segment Your Subscribers When You Run A Blog Business

by Paul Joseph May 20, 2011 Featured

I was reading Dee’s recent article in his customer segmentation series where he talked about how to segment your blog readers. One of his main premises was the difference between a person who leaves a comment, or many comments and those who don’t. I agree with Dee that these are possible options for segmenting your blog readership, but I want to expand on his piece and give some examples of my own attempts to segment my readership over the years. Blogging For Profit One of the key distinctions that must be discussed before looking at how to segment your blog readership, is the reason why you are aiming to do this in the first place. In my case, and very likely your case too, we want to segment our readers so we can achieve the following goals – Make money , often from promotional content (affiliate links and your own products) Do so without alienating your audience The challenge is always how to find a way to commercialize a blog without diluting the value of the reason people come to the blog in the first place. Often the commercial intent can be blended with the content, so you can satisfy both needs, however segmentation can take this process even further, ensuring only those who are interested in certain types of content receive it, and those who are not, don’t. To achieve this outcome you need to figure out the following – A means to identify each group by specific criteria relevant to your goals Once identified, a means to segment and continue communication with each group separately I’ve always found it difficult to use only your blog content to accurately segment readers into different groups. Sometimes you just want to make sure as many people read your content as possible with no sales message, where at other times you want to make as many sales as possible , but not turn away readers who don’t want to buy. The people who buy are a tiny percentage of your entire audience, so if you spend all day promoting to everyone, eventually you will lose your audience, unless you can find a way to bring in a continuous stream of new people who replace those you lose. Ideally we want to maximize both audience retention and growth , and maximize profit too. Segmentation Options Dee mentioned how I use text, audio podcasts and video on this blog and this is one way to segment my readership. This is true, but in terms of commercial intent (the goal of making money), I don’t segment my readership using these formats, this is merely an attempt to maximize the amount of people I can reach using different media. That’s the same reason why I have brought on more writers to this blog. With more than ten people now contributing their unique ideas and experiences, Entrepreneurs-Journey.com has grown beyond me to point where I don’t feel like it is just “my” blog anymore. We could segment our audience based on authors, or subject, or media format, or the time of day people read or what country they come from, and it would be great to know all this about my audience, but I’ll be honest with you, I found it way too difficult to figure out all this data and come out with methods to segment each group. It’s just too much and too difficult using the format of a blog. I feel it is always best to give all my content to all my readers. That was until the day I made one change. I added an email newsletter to my blog. Why My Newsletter Forced Me To Think About Segmentation Many, many, many times I’ve been asked on coaching calls – “ Which content should I put in my newsletter and which for my blog? “ The distinction isn’t always clear to people since they are both content delivery mechanisms. When I started my first newsletter I knew one thing: I was creating a newsletter to filter people into a group who were interested in one specific thing, so eventually I could sell them something. Here’s a key difference between a blog and an email newsletter (at least in 99% of the cases). Blogs do not require a person opts-in . There is no action to take to read the content, you simply find it and consume it. An email newsletter or email list asks a person to “opt-in”, by presenting some kind of offer, a reason why and what they will receive in return. You can blog away happily for a long time not worrying too much about the specific nature of your topic, as long as you stick to a specific area, and feel your way to a target market. When you start your newsletter, you have to decide the offer you are making, which very much dictates the type of subscriber your attract. This is in fact, the very first point of segmentation, taking a generic website visitor and turning them into a person who has expressed interest in a certain type of information. That first filter is a powerful segmentation step. It tells you that someone is willing to join your list to get what you offer. When I first brainstormed ideas for my email newsletter I considered two variables – What I thought my audience were interested in . What I felt I could deliver to them based on what I had done and knew about. My decision was to launch a blog traffic tips newsletter , which was added to my blog when I did a redesign to include an opt-in form. My newsletter from that point forward was my first ever attempt at segmentation with commercial intent. I know had a readership and a list of “prospects”, people who had stuck their hand up to show interest in one specific topic. This was very helpful when it came to deciding what content went where as well. From then on I wrote a series of weekly emails specifically related to blog traffic (in fact most of my articles about how to build a great blog went into my email list initially, not my blog), while my blog became a place to talk more about my experiences as an entrepreneur, including how my current businesses were going. How I Segment My Audience Today For me, email has always been a much easier tool to segment, even with just a basic autoresponder. I use the AWeber email autoresponder (read my review here – AWeber Review ), which has some simple to use segmentation tools, including – Multiple Lists The ability to create multiple lists, so you can make different offers to create different segments. For example my list of people who want to make money with blogs is one list and those who want to learn more about membership sites is another. I have others for things like my coaching programs and even for sponsors who want to advertise on my blog . This is an important segmentation tool, because you can use different lists for different levels. I have people on prospect lists (never purchased, but opted-in for free content) and customer lists (made a purchase). I can mail these lists individually, or pick and choose which ones I combine or even exclude. One good way to use this tool is to mail your prospects special offers for your products, but exclude people who already have purchased those products. You can also choose to send affiliate promotions only to certain groups depending on what you are promoting and how valuable that list is to you (for example you may not want to promote affiliate products too heavily to your paying customers to keep them focused on your products). Segmentation Based On Action Another tool within AWeber allows you to segment based on an action, for example someone clicking a link in an email, or if they opened the email or not . There are many ways to use this, but I primarily use it to reduce my unsubscribe rate when it comes to affiliate promotions. Affiliate promotions rarely interest your entire list, but for the segment that does show interest, you want to make sure they are mailed several times. Often I email my entire prospect list an email related to a product, then segment the list into people who opened the email (usually around 10%-20%). I then send the segment the followup emails about that same product, for example when the closing deadline is coming soon. By doing this I don’t send multiple emails about the same launch to people who don’t want it. I’ve also used this function to send a different email with a new subject line to the group who didn’t open the first email to see if I can get their attention. The email subject is such a critical variable when it comes to email marketing, so having this tool is like a “second chance” to mail about the same thing, without annoying the group who opened the first. Segmentation Based on Location One other nifty tool is the ability to mail only certain countries. I’ve emailed my Australian subscribers details about events in Australia, which excluded everyone else for obvious reasons. My Australian portion of my list is only about 10%, so being able to mail this group specifically is helpful, especially without annoying the rest of my peeps. A Good Autoresponder Is A Must As you can know doubt tell, having an email autoresponder that allows you to control these different elements is pretty powerful. Don’t forget you also get statistics about all these actions too, so simply by taking the steps to segment your email lists you can learn a lot about your subscribers. If you don’t already have an account, I strongly recommend you try out AWeber now . I’ve been using them for five years and I couldn’t have done what I do without my email list – www.aweber.com Simple Segmentation The main reason I focus my customer segmentation on email marketing and not my blog is that I find it much simpler that way. My blog isn’t the tool I use to segment people as much as it is the tool I use to capture attention initially. I actually see my blog more like a magazine and database of training content . The writers here at Entrepreneurs-Journey.com give you daily training and insights into our businesses. If you want more from any of us, you can visit the respective site and join the email list if available. That’s the same for Entrepreneurs-Journey and my training. If you want to learn more about making money with blogs, then you opt-in for the Blog Profits Blueprint and are then exposed to further training about that subject as well as related promotions. Segment Your Advertising The one area where the blog itself is great for segmentation is Sponsored advertising . However most bloggers don’t take advantage of it. CarAdvice.com.au (founded by my friend Alborz Fallah ), only makes money from advertising, and a heck of a lot of it (millions a year now). They make so much because they segment the sponsors based on the content and charge a premium price for targeting. In fact their only monetization method is advertising, hence they’ve become very good at it. For example Toyota might choose to place their banners only on the Toyota related content, or even sneakier, only on content about their competitor’s vehicles. By doing this they are ensured of having a very targeted reader for their advertisements. If you have a product related blog, this kind of segmented sponsorship might be a great idea. Segment With Purpose Segmentation is definitely powerful and I hope this article, and Dee’s ongoing series on customer segmentation , give you plenty of ideas for how to segment in your online business. Don’t forget the two most important rules – Segment with a purpose in mind – how can what you are doing help improve relationships with your customers and make you more money Keep it simple – there are countless segmentation options available, but only a few steps are enough to make a difference that matters Good luck! Yaro Starak Segmented Get your bonus copy of my book “How To Start An Internet Business & Make Your First $1,000 Online” Download Here

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