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Essential First Steps for a New Business Blog

By Christian

I put out a video series for beginning business bloggers recently that has received a lot of great feedback from readers. This was originally put out on my last blog “Next Level Blogger”, but since a lot of my clients and readers are new to blogging, I want to share some of the key videos from this series with you here.

If you like this video and want to see the entire series, please subscribe, and I’ll make sure you get all 12 videos. It’s several hours of video training, and I’m not charging for it, because before you hire me to help you take your business marketing to the next level, I want you to be able to judge for yourself if I have valuable ideas to share with you.

If you have any questions, let me know!

[jwplayer config=”large” file=”https://vids.rworldproperties.com/pick-a-niche.flv”]

The biggest myth of “making money online”

By Christian

disappointed — I don't mean to disappoint, but there are some "internet marketing" myths that really need to be cleared up 🙂

Do you want to “make money online”? Do you want to “make money blogging”? Do you want to “build an internet business”? Well, forget about it. This article describes why the whole “make money online” thing is completely misunderstood by most business owners!

I’ve spent some time thinking about the whole “internet business” thing lately, and this is part of what originally caused me to start this Dangerous Tactics blog. I’ve read articles recently like this one from David Risley, where he talks about his feelings on why some people make money online…and why most people don’t. Derek Jensen unloads on us here on why people need to stop talking about how to make money online. Sonia Simone has also shared some awesome thoughts with us about why you can’t make money blogging…ironically enough, her post appears on one of the most profitable blogs in existence. Bottom line, the internet is a misunderstood place. It’s a new frontier, and there’s a lot of opportunity here, but let’s not lose track of what the internet is…and what it is not.

The biggest myth of “making money online” is that the internet has somehow changed how business works. It hasn’t. Here’s the truth:

The internet is a place, not a tactic. The internet has changed HOW people buy, not WHY they buy.

On the surface, this may seem like a minor difference, but the difference has massive ramifications. If you take some time to absorb this truth, it will affect how you approach your business on many levels. It will make you more profitable, because you’ll realize all the flash-bang, snazzy products and courses on “how to make money online” are built on a false premise. They are built on the premise that the internet is some magical place that YOU don’t understand. And of course once you “get it”, you’ll be able to “leverage the internet” and make millions.

How to really make money online

To be completely fair, there ARE some things you need to learn about marketing online. There’s some jargon and some moderately techy stuff that you need to learn, but once you “get it”, you’ll realize the internet is just another place where people hang out. You’ll realize that technology has changed…quite a bit. But people…haven’t changed a bit. Most of us are a bit crazy, mixed up, emotional, awesome, a lot of fun…and we buy LOTS of stuff, spend TONS of money on things, and we buy things for the EXACT same reasons as we did a million years ago.

This is what we need to learn how to do: we need to learn dangerous ninja selling tactics, so we can be highly effective and sell lots of our stuff. And yes, we’re going to do it online. We’re going to run blogs and squeeze pages, and we’re going to build email lists and sell things on the internet, and I’m going to show you how to do it. But we’re NOT building an “internet business”. We’re building a “real” business. Does that make sense?

Real Tactics for Selling to Real People

On this blog I share with you many of the ways I’ve made money…both online and offline for the past decade or so. The tactics are solid. They work on the internet. They work off the internet too. How could it be the case that these tactics are so powerful? One reason: people buy for the same reasons, both online and offline. At the end of the day, you’re either running a real business or you’re not.

If you’re running a real business, you will make money. If you’re not, you can use all the blog formulas, make money online formulas, launch formulas or any other type of formulas, and it won’t matter. Formulas don’t make money. Businesses make money.

Now you can choose to market your business online, and that would be a smart decision, seeing as how so many people are here. But don’t think of your business as an “internet business”, and don’t think of your marketing as “internet marketing”. It’s business. And it’s marketing. Just plain old business and marketing.

Screw the internet

The internet could implode tomorrow, and I’d still be rockin, because I don’t run an internet business. I run a business that I happen to market exclusively online right now. If something happened to the interwebz, I would just change my marketing plan. Problem solved. I bet the chances are good that you want that type of flexibility and security in your business as well, no?

If you think of yourself as an “internet entrepreneur” or a “social media marketer” or whatever, then go visit your local shopping mall and try to find a business that considers itself a “mall business”. Try to find a “how to launch a mall business” ebook somewhere. Yeah. Just because a business is located at the mall doesn’t mean it’s a “mall business”, and just because your business is engaged primarily in marketing online shouldn’t define you either. Most internet-based businesses have a LOT more in common with their brick and mortar counterparts than they realize. Figure out your business, and I bet you will see you’re not an “internet entrepreneur” after all. You’re simply an entrepreneur. That’s pretty liberating, no?

How to Sell Online Without Being a Jerk

By Christian

selling-online-making-offers — Selling online requires one simple thing...SELLING! That means you have to MAKE OFFERS! Making money online is not a mysterious process. The fear of selling is one of the biggest production-killers out there 🙂

I just read a very insightful quote from Jeffrey Zeldman at zeldman.com in the latest INC magazine. I want to share it with you, because selling…and how to do it well…is a common theme I cover here. I think his thoughts on how to sell tactfully are beautiful. Couldn’t have said it better myself. Here you go:

There is a difference between being arrogant about yourself as a person and being confident that your work has some value. The first is unattractive; the second is healthy and natural. Some people respond to the one as if it were the other. Don’t confuse them. Marketing is not bragging, and touting one’s wares is not evil. The baker in the medieval town square must holler ‘fresh rolls’ if he hopes to feed the townfolk.

I’m a huge advocate of selling aggressively and fervently. I think if you don’t believe in what you’re selling, you need to get out of business, period. On the other hand if you DO believe in what you’re doing, you have a duty to tell people about it, and make sure you do good business with as many people as you can.

How do you feel about this?

I personally witness a lot of people visibly hesitating to make the pitch, out of fear of being perceived a salesperson. We need to get past this and realize what sales is, and what it isn’t. I’m telling you…there’s so much confusion and indecision out there about how to build a successful blog, how to build a successful online marketing strategy. Of course, there are some things to learn, and there are definitely some techniques to implement, but if you get past the biggest hurdle of making offers…the rest is honestly a piece of cake 🙂

Seriously, it’s amazing what you can get when you just ask!

Tips on Writing Your About Page

By Christian

On a blog, it’s important to think of every page as a landing page. Every page on your site is an opportunity to convert a visitor or lose them. This is true of your front page, each post and each page on your site. Writing your “About” page is a sticky subject for some bloggers when they first get started, so I wanted to touch on this. Let me know what you think!

Don't think of your "about page" as a place to write a book about yourself. No one cares! Instead, answer the more difficult questions: "Why are you writing this blog?" "Why SHOULD you write this blog?" "Why are you different?"

A Few Tips on Writing Your About Page

Here are a few tips to keep in mind when writing the “about” page on your blog.

Your About page is the one page on your blog where you should feel free to talk openly about yourself.
Mention a bit about your experience and why you’re qualified to write the content on the blog. More importantly, share honestly why you’re compelled to write this blog. Your readers are looking for a reason to connect with you.
Focus on the main problem you can solve for a reader. When visiting an About page, a visitor wants to know about you, but they still only care about what’s in it for them. So, talk about yourself, but keep in mind why a visitor should care. What benefit will they get by being a regular reader?
How are you different? What unique value or perspective do you add to the niche you’re covering? It’s rare indeed for you to be covering something that no one else covers. Instead, talk about why you’re different and what you offer that no one else offers.

The About page can be a powerful asset to your blog, or it can also be a great excuse for a reader to take off and never return. How do you feel about your About page? Are you intimidated by it? Do you have any questions about how to optimize it?

Why Unsubscriptions are Good for Business

By Christian

email-unsubscriptions-are-cool — Email unsubscriptions...I'm cool with em!

Pay attention to who unsubscribes from your list and why. One of the many advantages of using a system like Aweber is that it gives people an option to comment on why they’re unsubscribing. This is valuable feedback, but unsubscriptions should not be viewed as a loss.

In fact, they are good for business in every way. Here’s why:

They’re clearly not someone who wants to be on your list, so why should you want them anyway?
Your list shouldn’t be padded with people who aren’t into what you’re doing anyway. Whoever said you need a big list in order for it to be valuable? It’s not true. You don’t need a big list. You need a quality list. Big numbers can be nice. But only if the quality is there.
If the unsubscriber offers feedback, you can use that to improve your business. It’s a win for you either way when someone unsubscribes.

It’s important not to look at losing people as a negative thing. Did you really think 100% of the people would stick around forever? Besides, a lot of the comments you’ll likely get will be like the one I just received. It must have been in response to a sales message I sent out. It went something like this:

“I’m only interested in bloggers who appreciate me for just being a subscriber.”

Ok, then. Clearly the fact that I share new content 2-3 times a week on this site for free isn’t enough. You know, there will always be people who complain no matter what you do. Put up an ad, they will complain. Change your design, they will complain. Do something (god forbid!) to monetize what you’re doing in any way, they will complain.

I remember when Darren Rowse changed the design on Twitip he got a load of comments saying they would unsubscribe because they didn’t like the background he’d selected for his new layout. I laughed out loud when I read those comments. To me it was proof that there is no limit to what some people will choose to complain about. To internalize this is madness. You have to learn all you can from every interaction and realize this stuff is just part of doing business! Make up your mind now that it won’t affect you negatively in the least. It WILL happen. And it’s good for business when it does.