ProBlogger: How to Make Your Blogging Dreams Come True

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How to Make Your Blogging Dreams Come True Posted: 12 Jun 2013 08:42 AM PDT “ONE DAY I’ll be a full time blogger!” ‘V’ – my wife – must have heard that statement 100 or more times in 2003-2004. Me posing for my first ever press photo in 2003. Out of shots all my neighbours were watching on and wondering why I was videoing a guy taking a photo of me while sitting in my front yard. It would usually be accompanied by a spread sheet and/or chart in which I showed her how the earnings from my blog had grown from $9 per month to $11 per month and me excitedly talking about how if things kept growing like that I’d be full time…. in 9 years time. Back in those days I spent a lot of time dreaming about my future as a full time blogger. I remember laying in bed at night, hoping  it would happen and wondering what opportunities might open up to make it a reality. Those of you who have read the ProBlogger hard cover book know the story of how ‘V’ heard me talk about my ‘dream’ one time too many  and challenged me to take my blogging seriously. In short, she challenged me to start treating my blog as a business ‘today’ rather than hoping it might be one at some point in the future. Note: I wrote about this in my post ‘The #1 Reason My Blogging Grew into a Business‘ That challenge changed my mindset and was a huge part of making my dreams and hopes a reality. We CREATE our Future I recently came across this quote: "The future is not some place we are going, but one we are creating. The paths are not to be found, but made. And the activity of making them changes both the maker and the destination." – John H. Schaar We don’t arrive at our future… we create it! I wish I’d heard that quote back in 2003 when I began to experiment with making money blogging. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with ‘dreaming‘ of ones future. I just keep meeting bloggers (and people in other fields too) who seem to be stuck in the ‘dream’ phase. The reality is that nobody really gets anywhere just by dreaming. There needs to come a time to ACT. Just Do It Do you dream of your blog one day being bigger, better, more profitable, or bring you better opportunities? Just Do It! Your future isn’t something that will just magically happen to you – you make that future. So the time is now to begin moving in that direction through action! Is it All Too Big? Of course, giving the advice ‘just do it’ might be the kick up the pants that some people need to get moving but many bloggers I meet feel overwhelmed by all that lays ahead in order to create their dreams. I often here one of two things from bloggers facing this: There is too much to do I want to do it perfectly Both of these statements can cause paralysis and put your future on hold.  Here’s my advice to you… (and I’m really writing this for me as well… because I feel both of those things too)… Start With Something Small Choose one small thing to start with that will move you toward your dream and do it to the best of your ability (tweet this). Let’s break that down: Choose One Thing – if you’re feeling overwhelmed by the many things you need to do, you can end up doing nothing or trying to do everything, but failing. Doing one thing well, and then moving onto the next thing, will take you further than either of those options. Do a Small Thing – if you’re currently ‘stalled’ you need to get momentum so choose a smaller thing to get the wheels rolling. Achieving that small thing will give you energy to tackle the next bigger thing. Choose something that will Move You Toward Your Dream - it’s so easy to be distracted by tasks that seem like a good idea but aren’t really important in the scheme of your goals. Choose something that is directly tied to your ultimate goal (I’ll give you some examples below). Do it to the Best of Your Ability – if you only ever do things  you can do perfectly, you may never do anything! Do it as well as you can now and perfect it later. By starting you’ll learn so much and in the long run will produce something great. What I’ve outlined above has been a strategy I’ve used many times over the years. Let me give you some practical examples. Example 1 – Starting dPS I put off starting Digital Photography School for a couple of years before I actually launched it (I’ve never admitted that before). I had previously had a camera review blog that did well but I always dreamed of starting a more ‘tips’ related photography blog. I thought it’d be more satisfying to write and would have more potential to grow a relationship with readers. I had every excuse in the book not to start dPS. I already had too much to do. I didn’t have the money to invest into a custom designed site. I doubted my own ability to write content on the topic. I couldn’t find the right brand/domain name… The list went on. However, I had the dream and one day I realised that if I didn’t actually start the blog that I’d never have any chance of arriving at that dream. So I started small. I made a call on a brand and domain name – It wasn’t perfect but it allowed me to start I started on GoDaddy Hosting – I knew it wasn’t the best option but it allowed me to start I started with a free WordPress theme – it wasn’t as professional or customised as what I saw in my dreams but it allowed me to start I wrote a handful of posts – I wanted to have more in my archives but it allowed me to start I started with comments switched off to allow me to focus on creating more content – doing so fell short of my vision for a ‘community’ driven site but it allowed me to get moving The design of dPS when it launched using a free theme. When the blog launched I remember looking at it with a mixture of: Dissatisfaction at all the things  I knew I could have done to make it better Immense pride that I’d actually got the ideas out of my head and had finally implemented something With the ball rolling, I was able to improve and grow what I was doing. I moved to better hosting (and have done so 3 times now). I moved towards a custom design (we’re about to launch our iteration of the design). I’ve since published over 3800 posts and developed a team of writers. I switched on comments and added a forum area to build community. The site is now 10 times bigger than any blog I had at the time I started it. It is still not perfect by any means (I have a long to do list) but it is a lot closer to my dreams than ever before. Example 2 – My First eBook My First eBook (now no longer available as we updated it) I shared this story at the ProBlogger Event last year but don’t think I’ve written a post about it. After a year of starting and then evolving Digital Photography School I began to see the opportunity to create a teaching product to sell on the site. I wasn’t sure at first what format would be best (eBooks, courses, events or something else) but knew there was an opportunity there. I gradually settled on the idea of an eBook to test the waters with my audience but procrastinated and made excuses on why I should delay doing it for another 12-18 months. Again my list of excuses was long and I justified my inaction with things like: not having time to write and develop an eBook not knowing how to set up a shopping cart not knowing how to design or format an eBook doubts about knowing enough about the subject matter I put off the creation of that first eBook for a couple of years but managed to snap myself out of the paralysis and decided to start. I decided to write the eBook about Portraiture – the topic my readers asked the most questions about and the one that I knew most about. As I was time poor, I decided to get up 15 minutes earlier every day to create the eBook. I would have rather been able to set aside a week or two to work solidly on it but I had blogs to run and a newborn baby at home. I had some major sleep deprivation already so figured 15 minutes less sleep a day wouldn’t hurt! It wasn’t the ideal way to write – but it allowed me to start. I decided to use some repurposed blog posts as the basis for the eBook. I’d rather have written it all from scratch but this approach allowed me to start. I decided to outsource the design but kept it as simple and clean as possible to save on cost. I’d have rather had a beautiful/rich design but it allowed me to start. I decided on a relatively simple and inexpensive shopping cart set up. I used e-junkie (aft) and synced it with PayPal. It wasn’t the most feature rich solution but was relatively east to set up and didn’t hold me back on launching. I hada relatively simple launch. We launched it over 8 days with a pretty simple sales page and sales email to my list. I made a lot of mistakes in that launch and have a much more sophisticated process these days but I got the product launched! I look back on the creation and launch of that eBook now with a mix of embarrassment at how simple it all was and pride at what I achieved as someone with no experience in creating an eBook. It could have been A LOT better on many fronts but it was the beginning of something that has transformed what I do. That eBook sold 4800 copies during its launch (bringing in a total of $72,000) which at the time completely blew me away (in the years after it sold a lot more) but the income from it wasn’t the best bit. The most valuable part of creating that eBook was the lessons I learned in doing it. That eBook and its launch became the template for future eBooks. I have now published a total of 12 on dPS, 6 here on ProBlogger and 1 on SnapnGuides. The creation process of our eBooks has changed a lot (we no longer use repurposed content, now use editors, proof readers etc and have evolved the design quite a lot) and our launches are a lot more sophisticated but it all began with 15 minutes per day and doing the best I could! More Quick Examples This pattern of small steps towards big dreams is something that I could give you many more examples of. Like how I got the ProBlogger hard cover Book published. It started as a draft for an eBook and some content that Chris and I had published on our blogs. And how the ProBlogger Event was started. This has grown to be an annual event for 400+ bloggers but it started as a hastily arranged day for 100 bloggers in a dodgy suburban hotel. Like how I developed 31 Days to Build a Better Blog. It started as a series of blog posts that evolved into a quickly produced eBook which grew again into the best selling ProBlogger eBook that we offer today. And how I developed the ProBlogger Queensland Competition. It started as a crazy idea I got while sitting in an airport. I tweeted something and it ended up being one of the biggest campaigns I’ve ever done with a brand. I’m certain that others reading this post would have more personal examples – I’d LOVE to see them in comments below. Choose 1 Small Thing… Let’s return to the take home advice… Choose one small thing to start with that will move you toward your dream and do it to the best of your ability (tweet this). I can’t emphasise enough how powerful doing this has been in my own business (and my life in general in other areas). Give it a go – I can’t wait to see what impact it has for you! Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger How to Make Your Blogging Dreams Come True

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Shoemoney - Skills To Pay The Bills

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The 5 things to do before you kick The Bucket List. Posted: 12 Jun 2013 05:00 AM PDT If you could have MORE of anything you wanted in your life what would you choose?   If you are someone who earns less than $83,333.33 a month then I’m sure you would choose MONEY. However, the more money people earn the fewer you’ll find answering this way.   It’s like everybody who’s fat wants to be skinny or at least in shape. Everybody who’s skinny wants to gain some weight. People with curly hair really want it straight. People with straight hair want it curly, OK.   What do rich people want?   Don’t ask me why but for some reason this question popped in my head so I came up with this list. Maybe, we’re ALL doing it wrong. I’ll never forget the scowl that the Queen of England had on her face at the last Olympics.   One thing I noticed from observing  extremely wealthy people is they rarely appear to be happy. It’s like the other end of the spectrum I guess. They have the same look on their face as extremely poor people have, isn’t that ironic? “Some people are so poor the only thing they have IS money.”      -Someone smart   THE BUCKET LIST.  The 5 things to do before you kick the bucket:     #1 – Live at least one year in paradise. NO, you don’t have to rough it on a remote island with no power or running water like an episode of Survivor back in the day when it was popular. It’s 2013 now and thanks to technology there are tons of fantastic locations where you can actually telecommute to work from the beach. This means you can live a day to day lifestyle of awesomeness by witnessing breath taking sunsets everyday instead of idiot non-drivers on the interstate at rush hour.   #2 – Write a book. WHY? What you write lasts for years after you’re gone like Dr. Suess.  How many of us were brought up on green eggs and ham?  Writing a book is also the best way to position yourself as THE EXPERT in the eye of the public and your potential customers. Are you one of the best in the business at what you do? NO? Well, why in the hell would anyone want to hire you or buy anything your selling? If you’re awesome at what you do and you know it writing a  book  is the best way to separate yourself from everyone else.  You get the floor to communicate the fact that you know what you’re talking about and explain WHY we should listen. I wonder how things have changed for Jeremy since publishing Nothing’s Changed But My Change.   #3 – Save somebody’s life. Yes, comedian Dane Cook is 100% right when he says that most men would love to be part of a successful caper like a bank robbery if we knew we could get away with it. It’s just our nature I guess. The problem with capers in real life is you always get caught which leads to jail time ie ending someone’s life.  Therefore saving someone’s life is the ultimate caper.   Here are 3 ways to save someone’s life:   i – Teach somebody how to earn money on the internet. No, I’m not talking about becoming the next international GURU or NOTHING like that.  I’m talking about taking  the time to sit down with somebody rather it’s your aunt or your young cousin or whatever to actually teach them how to EARN money online. Yes, you can lead a person to water and no, you can’t make them drink. However if you give someone a fish they’ll eat for a day but if you teach them how to fish they’ll eat for a lifetime. This is why you should focus on the people who are already interested in what you’re doing. They are the ones who asked you questions like hey, how do you actually make money online? Teach them the way of the internet Jedi and save their life from an unfulfilled existence as a wage OR salaried slave. NO, they don’t have to learn how be an internet marketing master they can just simply get paid to write articles. It’s all about being independent and self sustainable. ii –  Pay the property taxes on somebody’s grandma’s house. She doesn’t owe anyone for the house but she’s behind on the taxes and they are going to sell her house and kick her out in the street.   You appear out of no where and cut a check, she will call you a lifesaver. iii –  Help a good kid stay in school. You can call any college or university and after some research they’ll put you in touch with someone who knows about the GOOD students who really need financial help staying in school.  You contribute money to help keep them there rather it’s a book scholarship or whatever.  You cut the check, they will call you a lifesaver.   #4 – Set or be a part of setting a Guinness world record. In my opinion this ongoing international event is the definition of awesome free publicity. Red Bull has taken what was started by Guinness to a whole new level but the Guinness book of world records is where it all started. You can get in on this too ya know and you don’t have to do it all by yourself. A great example is the Crawl for Cancer where organizers set the world record for the number of people participating in a bar crawl.  Another is the Los Angeles Angels setting the world record for The largest gathering of people wearing wigs.     #5 – Patent an invention preferably a time machine. Ok just joking, kind of. Apple went iSue last year with Samsung and iRonically’ they just lost the decision from a judge who ruled that THEY were the ones who actually infringed on patents. Either way the whole thing has been a big publicity event for Apple and even though it’s bad news they lost the case they still got a ton of attention out of it. This is why you want to own a patent it separates you from everyone else yet again AND it’s great marketing for your business. If you didn’t know you don’t have to actually build the item that you patent either.  You can get a patent for your idea and maybe later someone else will come along and actually build it. In the meanwhile you can look like even more of an expert to your potential customers. Imagine having this discussion with a potential client, “Yes maam, our technique is so unique we have a patent.”   YES There are some prerequisites for this bucket list. If you don’t know how to make money online you’ll need to learn how first. Don’t have enough money to save somebody’s life? Save YOURS first.   Whatever you do never let the fact that you don’t know how to do something be the reason that you don’t try. Maybe that’s what’s wrong with extremely rich people?   They’re not happy because they don’t know how–to be happy.   Maybe it’s because they’ve never really tried? What do you think?     Trying to increase your Google rank that is like no other?

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