I have a confession to make. Not only do I not care that much for reading blogs, I also don’t really like reading e-books. For a Life Coach that has a self development blog and has written 3 e-books, with another due out next month, that is a moderately shocking confession.
I have a folder chock full of e-books that have been sent me to review that have never even been opened. Some have even been sent by friends and I feel the occasional pang of guilt when I see them still sat there all forlorn, unread and unloved.
It’s not that I don’t like reading, I love reading, just not so much on my computer. Maybe its an age thing seeing as I never even had my first PC until I was 33. I’m so old, that when I first started school I had a slide rule to take to math class, and no, unfortunately I’m not joking.
For the last four months I have been running a special offer in which I have taken on 50% of the risk to work with other solopreneurs and bloggers. In other words, 4 clients per month only paid me 50% of my normal fee and the balance was due ONLY if they saw fit at the end of the process.
Fortunately, nobody has yet said they didn’t think it was worthwhile, although a few are still ongoing, so I guess that could still happen.
I have closed the offer for the time being, but I want to replicate a small part of the sale page for the blogging and soloprenuer offer because it is relevant to what I’m about to say. If you have already read it, just skim it anyway so all will make sense.
You Too Can Be A Successful Entrepreneur!
You Too Can Make Money From Your Blog or Home Business!
You Too Can Benefit From Working With A Life Coach With A Proven Track Record!IF and I agree it’s a rather large IF, you have the right attitude and mindset.
But if you have a belief your business (or business idea) will fail, it probably will. That you’re not up to the task, you probably aren’t. Or that you can’t make money in a recession, you probably won’t.
Some people do run successful businesses and make lots of lovely money. Yes, shockingly, even in a recession!
You’re not much different to them in anything other than your belief system. We’re talking about bloggers and business people here, not Chess Grand Masters, Quantum Physicists or Nobel Laureates.
Take a trip to your favorite blog and ask yourself these questions:
* What are they doing that I can’t do?
* What skills do they possess that I don’t, or at the very worst, can’t learn?
* Where do they get their magic fairy dust from and will they let me have some?I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with at least two of the answers.
It takes about the same amount of energy to fail at something as it does to succeed.
Successful people simply focus their energy when and where it’s needed most. They make themselves accountable, they regularly step outside of their comfort zones and they ASK FOR HELP when they need it.
All things that a good Life Coach can help you with, and all things I regularly help clients with from all walks of life.
You can sit around twiddling your thumbs, checking Twitter and commenting on as many blogs as possible. Hoping that one day your Adsense payment will cover your Internet access.
Or you can do something different, a bit like successful bloggers and business people do.
The paradox with blogging at the moment in my opinion, is this:
It has never been harder to make money with a blog than it is now and it has never been easier to make money with a blog than it is now.
I think you’ll agree that as paradoxes go, that is right up there with the best, but what the hell do I mean?
It’s Hard
There are tens of millions of blogs out there. Some are great, some are ok and some are terrible. There are blogs with great content and few readers, and blogs with poor content and lots of readers. There are blogs covering every topic you can imagine and some you can’t. And there are blogs that make lots of money and millions more that lose money.
In other words the competition has never been stiffer with millions of bloggers running around like headless chickens most of the time, trying to drive traffic to their blog.
When I owned a record store we would have people bring in old vinyl to sell. I’d ask how much they wanted and they’d reply with some absurd figure. Then they’d tell me they knew it was worth that because they saw the same item advertised at that price in Record Collector. They never stopped to wonder whether the seller got the asking price.
When people are new to blogging they see what everybody else is doing and then replicate the behavior presuming that is what they should be doing. They never stop to consider whether it actually works.
I was on a consult call a few weeks ago and the person who had contacted me mentioned a product produced by another life coach that she had bought. The product was designed to stop procrastination. I asked what it was like and she said:
“Oh it’s really cool”
“Did it work, have you stopped procrastinating?”
“Er, no, not really”
“Then it wasn’t that cool was it?”
“Probably not, no”
Ask yourself on a regular basis whether what you’re doing is working. I’m not just talking about blogging either. Is your life working like you’d want it to? If not, you’ll have to do something different because replicating the same behavior will produce the same results.
I suppose I should throw the famous Einstein quote in here and say:
“The definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”
Over the last 3 years I have thrown a lot of money at my website and blog, probably somewhere in the region of $7k. In terms of direct ROI, it would cause an accountant to have palpitations. I average about 2 book sales per week and make about $10 per month from Amazon sales. Not amounts to get overly excited about I think you’ll agree, but I’m not that bothered.
The reason I’m not bothered is because about half my clients come to me through my blog. As an average client spends about $600 with me you can see the value of my blog to me is different to people selling products or offering affiliate links.
So whereas I make no money directly from my blog, I do make money from contacts that arise from my blog, as well as having a load of fun writing for it and interacting with people like your good self.
It’s really hard to make money directly from blogging, especially if you do what everybody else is doing. That means you have to usurp the bloggers already in situ at the top of the heap. Unseating Problogger, Copyblogger or Zen Habits is the blogging equivalent of deciding to set up a cola company and going head-to-head with Pepsi and Coke.
Can it be done? Sure it can, but not just by dropping your vending machine next to the big boys machines in a shopping mall. You have to change the rules of the game to suit your strengths and adopt guerilla tactics.
It’s Easy
So now I have told you it’s damn hard being successful as a blogger if you do what the crowd are doing, let me tell you how easy it can be.
A while ago I wrote a post called ‘Stack the Deck’ In it I talked about doing whatever you can in your life to stack the deck in your favor. That could be getting a mentor, hiring a life coach, learning a new language, reading more books, attending seminars and workshops or whatever it is that would give YOU the edge because all the information and help you need is ‘out there’ if you can be bothered to look for it.
I can, and have, helped bloggers become much more successful. If somebody has doubts, lacks self-belief, can’t set goals, needs to be held accountable or simply needs more clarity in their life, then I’m the man.
On the other hand, not everybody wants or can afford to hire a Life Coach. If all they need is the ‘How to’s’ of making a successful career online then, there are people infinitely better equipped than me to offer that advice.
About 6 months ago I reviewed Jonathan Fields book ‘Career Renegade’ To me it was a groundbreaking book for anybody looking to start an online career. Since then I have no idea how many people I have recommended it to, but it’s a lot and I could name at least 20 clients that have bought it, loved it and benefited from it. It helped them stack the deck.
I was surfing my e-book folder this weekend and thought I’d better read one of the books. Cloud Living by Glen Allsopp caught my eye mainly because I run an advert for it on my blog and didn’t like the thought of doing so without having read the book.
I had scanned it when I first got it and did read Glens last book, so I was confident the content was going to be substantial.
Wo-hoo baby! If I’d only read this a year ago (it wasn’t out then, but whatever) I could have saved myself or more likely made myself, thousands of dollars. I learned more about making money online in three hours than I have in the last 6 months poking around with trial and error on my own.
Cloud Living is packed with advice on how to make money from blogging and affiliate marketing. It has lots of how to’s and demo’s and walks the reader through processes as simple and complicated as buying a domain, choosing a host, setting up your blog, attracting traffic and most importantly, making money!
If you have self-belief, if you are accountable, if you are prepared to get your head down and work and understand how to set goals, then you probably don’t need somebody like me. I still think I could make a difference, but then again, I would, wouldn’t i?
If you haven’t already got Cloud Living and Career Renegade and you are wanting to start or grow your blog, then both of these books will help you stack your own deck and make life a lot easier. Oh and before I forget, yes the links are affiliate links.
If you have read Cloud Living I’d love to hear what you think about it in the comments. I’d also welcome a heads up on any other great books that can help people succeed online.
Tim Brownson is a Certified Life Coach and has been unsticking people and helping them reach their true potential since 2005. If you would like to know how he can help you
Hi Tim,
I had bought Cloud Living and had done a podcast interview with Glen. I have to say that the steps are listed and all we need to do is to put in the effort to get started. I love the topic on creating mini sites and I have been doing it for a while back then but with not much success. Cloud living definitely gave me some additional tips that I could try out to improve my results. I would recommend the book to others too. :)
Cheers,
Vincent
I bought Glen Allsop’s Cloud Living. I have signed up to loads of ‘make money on by blogging’ websites and this is the only time I have spent my heard earned cash from my labours at my uninspiring 9-5.
It really was worth every penny and would have been worth a lot more I’m sure. I have successfully set up my blog using it. I have next to no traffic at the moment but have not implemented all of Glen’s advice, so I am in now way disheartened.
I found the book to be very clear, concise, well written and very different in tone from the flash ‘you are a COMPLETE FOOL – SO BUY ME NOW’ tatics I find time and time again online.
I would highly recomend it to anyone wanting to set up a blog or make money online who want something straightforward, easy to follow and very realistic.
Hi! I did enjoy Cloud Living, too and thought it really laid things out in a very clear, easy to understand manner. Although instead of actually doing the stuff in the ebook, I got distracted and started a joke site instead.
You didn’t coach me good enough Tim. Sigh. ;-)
Anyway, Cloud Living is really good and Career Renegade is excellent, too. Also, I’d like to recommend our friend Johnny B Truant, he’s been so helpful and generous with his time and advice. http://learntobeyourownva.com/
You know what I read the other day that surprised me in how helpful it was, the Ninja SEO book by Itty Biz. I sort of bought it on impulse and was like crap $39, mister is going to shoot me, but it was really helpful. I think I found it motivating.
OTOH, Cloud Living also has a lot of the keyword information, too so if you can only afford one, I’d lean towards getting Cloud Living.
Oh gosh, I’ve turned into rambling way too much rambling woman in your comments, haven’t I?
Will have to check out those books.
In the meantime, the only thing I ever liked about Dr. Phil was that one question: “How’s that workin’ for ya?”
Yep.
It might be cool. It might be fun.
But if it’s not working, it’s just cool and fun.
;-)
All the best!
deb
I also have to vouch for “Cloud Living”. I just bought it a few days ago and read it in one sitting…and it was really good! Everything a blogger or person starting a website needs is in it to get the ball rolling. :)
Thanks for the great post and you have a really nice blog!
Cheers
Dayne
@ Vincent, Rachel and Dayne – Thanks a lot for reiterating what I thought, I appreciate it. It’s good to know some people are getting the right kind of advice and implementing it.
@ Deb – I may have to ban you if you put a picture of Dr Phil in my head again. There’s no need for that kind of behavior woman!
@ Tracy – Just had to pluck you out of my spam bin, that’s what you get for dropping links into my blog!
Agree about Truant, he deserves some kudos too so I’ll let it slide ;-)
[...] How To Make Money Blogging | Life Coach Blog: The Discomfort Zone : Tags: and-move, database, database-with, finally, mercy, not-hard-, solution-you, take-your, [...]
[...] Read the rest here: How To Make Money Blogging | Life Coach Blog: The Discomfort Zone : [...]
[...] Tim Brownson wrote an interesting post today onHow To <b>Make Money</b> Blogging | Life Coach Blog: The Discomfort Zone :Here’s a quick excerpt [...]
I loved Cloud Living too (and have reviewed it on my blog) — like Rachel says, Glen’s tone is very encouraging and inspiring.
@Tracy I got distracted too and decided to create a new sales page … but I guess that was productivish! I’m going to give the minisite thing a try within the next few weeks.
@Tim – Regarding the “going head to head with pepsi/coke” metaphor – have you been listening to Online Business School? Or is it just a really popular metaphor across the pond?
Oh, also, I won’t put the link in just in case the spam filter tries to eat me, but I did have a guest post on ProBlogger yesterday on “Every Blogger Starts From Zero – You Could Be On the A-List Next Year” — it’s had a very positive reaction from newer and/or jaded bloggers in particular, so might be worth a read if you’re looking for a bit of a blogging pick-me-up.
[...] Read the original: How To Make Money Blogging |… [...]
@ Ali – I feel so dirty now using somebody elses metaphor. I honestly thought it was original and no, I haven’t been the OBS course.
Here’s the link to your post on ProBlogger in case anybody would like to read it:
http://sn.im/omnai
Great article, Tim.
“Hoping that one day your Adsense payment will cover your Internet access.” Heh.
Cloud living does look like a fascinating book. It really does. You’ve really piqued my interest.
I’m like you, Tim, in that I “make money blogging” but don’t really do it directly because of my blog. My blogs make NOTHING. But they get me out there, give me exposure, give me credibility, and put me in front of clients.
I think the best solution today for making money through blogging is by waking your blog and wrapping a business around it, so that the blog is a marketing vehicle.
Can I add something? In my experience over the last 7 months, there’s another reason so many people are failing at blogging, or making money from blogging. They simply stop. I guess because they lose heart, but I can think of at least a dozen blogs I was reading at the end of last year, that are no longer being posted to. All were good, all seemed to be going well, then they just stopped.
I’m not sure anything can prepare you for the work to income ratio of a new blog – if you look at it rationally, you would never do it. But if you can devote the time and effort, and learn from others, it can be done. We’ve been lucky enough (and persistent enough) to create three blogs from scratch, which are now earning us a full time income for two of us in just 7 months. BUT, we’ve worked like dogs and written over 2000 posts in that time.
@ BF – Thanks mate, and it is a cool book, Glen did an excellent job.
@ Johnny – I agree but stop being serious, I can’t talk you seriously when you’re being serious.
@ Mike – Fully agreed Mike.
In my original draft I actually mentioned that and in particular 3 blogs that have gone by the by, in their original format at least. Today Is That Day, We The Change and John Place Online. The latter was one of my favorite blogs for a while.
Getting to that level in 7 months is awesome mate, well done!
@ Tim – Okay, fine, don’t talk me serious, you big English fruit with a giant hat with monkeys on it and like a big tree growing out of the top or some shit with little iPod speakers in the tree belting out “I Gotta Be Me” and doing that little dance you do; you know which one I’m talking about.
@ JBT – How did you know about *the* hat?
Tim,
Nice article once again. My focus with my blog has been to provide relevant real world useful information that people can apply in their daily lives. I believe if the time comes where the traffic to my blog is high it may be time to consider advertising that is again….relevant to my blog. Time, patience and honesty with your subscribers can bring you wealth in many forms.
Thanks!
Jake
Revive Your Life
Thanks for the valuable tips….
I am new to this & I don’t understand all of it, but in this post, I could grab some…. thanks
Here is another post which would help new guys like me…. http://www.levoltz.com/2009/08/04/blogging-basics-making-money-with-your-first-blog/
Hope this would work out
Thanks
“When there is a will, there is a way!” Some people may think that blogging to earn money is heard, while others may think that it is easy. For me never try never know. Thanks for your sharing in this article, for a newbie like me, it is good especially the two recommended books.
http://www.the-evault.com
I have just read this post and found it very helpful. I came across Cloud Living a few days ago and put off buying it but after seeing yours and everyone else’s recommendations of it I have just purchased it.
Off to give it a read now and to hopefully gain some valuable inspiration.
Many thanks
@Jake – Agreed with all that. At the end of the day there has to be value to the reader otherwise it’s a scam, right?
@ Ajmaal – Thanks.
@ Jason – Absolutely, you’ve gotta give it a go!
@ Tracey – Cool stuff. I know you’ll get a lot out of the book, just make sure you do it! ;-)
Hello. Thank you for this great info! Keep up the good job!
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Margaret
http://grantfoundation.net
thank you! I really liked this post!
@ Margaret – That’ll do it!
Good post. Blogging is an art. But one must know all about this in the beginning for making money
The problem is everybody wants to become a problogger offering blogging tips. It is really difficult to beat copyblogger, problogger and the rest. And to get to their level, a new blogger needs a year or more to do that.
What bloggers need to learn is SEO. They need to know how to out rank the competition. They should stop using social media and learn how to SEO their site.
It useful to me because i am working on a blog for the academic purpose. Want to know more about SEO of blog.
Very interesting Blog. Keep up the great work, you are providing a great resource on the Internet here!