Author Archive
May
17
Top 10 Business Blogs and WHY
I just came across an excellent blog post on http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com that I plan on incorporating into my Entrepreneurship 101 course for it’s educational value.
The author of this blog is very talented with creating visually appealing content as you will see when you visit. However, it’s not only a beautiful blog, but I was very impressed with not only his top 10 selection, but his reasons WHY he chose them. He builds on the theory that you don’t need to re-invent the wheel, but simply model the best.
Take your blog to the next level by studying these unique, successful blogs and the reasons they have done so well. I plan it-and sure have a lot of work to do!
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Apr
15
How To Create a Profitable Blog
There are so many tools out there online anymore that just about anyone can create a good looking blog. In fact, blogging is becoming the national past time – and a very popular way to make a little extra money. While many are still doing it just for fun, there are those that aspire to that “6 figure blogging” reputation. Why not? Its start up cost is almost nothing and all it takes is your time. Or is it?
It looks to me that blogging for income will soon mirror the 2 out of 3 failure rate of new businesses. Actually, I don’t think the majority of new blogs will succeed for the same reason: Poor planning and lack of focus on how it will make money.
This is just one reason that teaching the basics of business to your teens is so important. The common mindset is “Just Do It”. It looks so fun, doing what you want, when you want, how you want. Why wouldn’t anyone want to have their own business or blog?
What happens when they have spent hours and hours buried online, pouring their heart and soul into what inevitable becomes a source of deep discouragement and frustration with no monetary return. Was it really so free? How much could they have had in the bank if those hours had even just paid him minimum wage? The “Build It and They Will Come” attitude doesn’t work any better with blogs than it does with a new business.
There are many that are very public with their opinion that you can’t make money blogging because they tried it and didn’t work, like Daniel Lyons, a talented blogger known for two years as “Fake Steve Jobs” (until Newsweek revealed his identity). In an excellent post by CopyBlogger, Daniel Lyons tell how he only made a little over $1,000 after a traffic spike of 250,000. If you can’t make money with that kind of traffic, he rationalizes, no one can succeed with a blog.
On the other side of the coin, there are many very successful bloggers that share their so called “secrets” and became successful doing just that. But that’s not the only way to succeed. Top bloggers like Darren Rowse with his photography blog will tell you he makes far more with helping those with their camera than he ever did helping beginner bloggers. I’m not sure it’s a secret or not, but there are some essential factors to actually making money with your blog.
CopyBlogger, in that same post referred to above, gives the cornerstone of any successful, profitable blog:
If you want to make money in the real world, solve real problems.
It’s sounds simple, and it really is-but most new bloggers don’t realize this. They jump into creating a blog on whatever suits their fancy. This is a sure recipe for failure. That is, unless what suits your fancy includes helping others suit their fancy. You must have a plan and direct the purpose of your blog to something that will solve real world problem for your intended readers.
If you would like to transform your blog into a profitable blog, study other great bloggers. CopyBlogger is a must read. Of course you must apply the principles, and work at it like a job, but to make money online you have to make yourself useful. Make sure your vision includes a purpose that has income potential.
I agree and personally need to take CopyBlogger’s hard hitting command to heart:
It’s time for online business to grow up
I love that. When blogging first started, most blogs were personal diaries and people loved (and still do!) seeing inside other people’s lives. Now that Facebook takes care of that in a big way, personal blogs have gone back stage. Everyone wants information that will help them in some part of their life that bothers them, and there are a multitude of ways to serve that up. What can YOU do to help someone else?
CopyBlogger is one of my absolute favorite blogs because it is intensely useful. Take a look at his headlines and you will find yourself wanting to read every single one. (at least I do..) He knows what bloggers need (goes beyond want) and gives practical advice that works. Learn from one of the best, go to http://www.copyblogger.com/no-money-blogging/ . Another excellent place to gain a full blogging education is http://www.problogger.net/.
Do you have a favorite blog or one that has useful information on how to blog? Please share with us in the comments. I’d like to compile a list of great bloggers that share it all and we can all learn from – who do you think makes it to that list?
Apr
12
Secrets To Making Money Online by ProBlogger
You all know that I highly recommend all of Darren Rowse’s materials if you want to succeed as a blogger, and his website is a goldmine of information. I recently came across this video that I wanted to share with you:
Please share with us any ideas or (secrets) you might have to making money online with your blog. Thanks!
Mar
24
Entreleadership Seminar with Dave Ramsey
I would guess that the most of you have heard of Dave Ramsey, and if you haven’t, you will love his teachings on ‘Financial Freedom’. Almost 10 years ago we met with his agency and it changed our life. So much of what he teaches you will probably already know, but haven’t really applied to your life. Dave Ramsey has a gift of ‘telling it like it is’ that has inspired millions to change the way they manage their finances
On April 1st Dave Ramsey is offering a seminar in Nashville, TN called ‘Entreleadership’. Entreleadership is best described on their website as:
EntreLeadership is Dave’s premier leadership training program where he personally teaches individuals, teams, and businesses how to grow.
Whether you’re an individual who wants to develop your leadership abilities, a business or organizational leader who wants to develop your team, or an entrepreneur who wants to build a business on solid, proven principles, EntreLeadership is for you
The Lessons you will learn:
* Leadership Development
* Dreams, Visions and Goals
* Hiring Champions and Confronting Failure
* Financial Peace for Business
* Decision-Making The Right Way
Attend this dynamic seminar in person for $99 if you live near Nashville. You can also register to attend a simulcast nationwide for just $39. They are broadcasting it in over 250 places around the US and to see if there is one near you go to: http://www.daveramsey.com/entreleadership/simulcast/ .
If you have a business, or are serious about starting a business with your teens, this would be ideal to attend as a family. The information is priceless and, if applied, will be worth 100 times the admission price. See you there!
You can watch a free 40 minute lesson online at: http://www.daveramsey.com/entreleadership/preview/.
Mar
02
Turning Childhood Drawings Into a Business
Juliette Brindak loved to draw and at only 10 years old she conceived the characters that make up the Miss O series of books. She launched a website, http://missoandfriends.com/ that has been a huge hit with tweens. Watch the video, and start thinking homeschoolers. There is a vacant niche in the tween crowd, a very influential age. You may want to take a second look at some of the pictures your children are drawing…Juliette is only 19 and worth over 15 million dollars. Ask your tweens what they like to read about, or assign your teens a writing project that might have spoken to their heart a few years ago. You might be surprised what surfaces.
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