ProBlogger: The Secret to Using Your Blog to Generate Sales

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The Secret to Using Your Blog to Generate Sales Posted: 30 May 2013 08:42 AM PDT This is a guest contribution from Karl Staib of Domino Connection. You've probably been at a party where some fool is talking his face off at everyone he meets. He talks about his trip to Spain and how he is such an amazing photographer. He never asks, "What you do or what interests you?" He just blathers on and on about himself. On a good day I silently chuckle at this guy's lack of social common sense. On a bad day I snap and scream, "PLEASE listen to me for just 10 seconds!" When all you do is talk about yourself, you send people running in the other direction. If you don't care about other people they for sure won't care about you. This was how the old school way of marketing worked. Megaphone style. Image by nem_youth Many of you might not think of your blog as a business and I understand, but one day you might want to create a ebook, product or use your blog to leverage a new career. When you improve your engagement your blog it becomes a tool to help you level up your life and career. Spray and Pray Back in the day, companies used to spray and pray. They sprayed their message in as many places as possible (magazines, newspapers, TV, radio, etc) and prayed that they picked the right advertising spots. Larger companies could afford to pay for market research, so they were able to make sure most of their efforts paid off. Smaller companies didn't have this luxury. Straight out of college, I worked in the marketing department for a high pressure valve company. They grossed about 10 million a year in sales. Not too shabby, but nothing compared to the bigger players in the industry. We had to carefully choose our national magazines and our marketing company told us who read the magazines and which ones we needed to advertise in. We had to believe them. We had nothing else to go on. This style of marketing has been turned upside down due to blogging and social media. Every business has the opportunity to measure their engagement on their website, email and social media accounts. The problem with all these new tools is we have the wrong attitude toward them. Companies are afraid to be transparent and engage with their customers. Why? Because it's hard work. Truly Listen Mr. Blather Lips, from the introduction, had a great time at every party he went to because he didn't have to gauge people's emotions. He just blathered on until he found someone to listen or it was time to go home. Now businesses actually have to listen to their customers because if they don't, a social media storm comes crashing down upon them. Just ask Netflix if they wished they had a better plan for when they doubled their prices. Listening to your readers isn't just for dealing with social media storms. It's also so you can anticipate them and avoid them before they even happen. Now, every business has the opportunity to do market research. You can ask specific customers if they would be willing to fill out an online survey. You can ask them direct questions on your blog or social media that help you figure out what they want from you. You don't have to guess what you think people need. You can ask them directly and find out. You can even include them in the process of creating your product. Invitation to Join In  Threadless created their million dollar t-shirt company from this idea. They have people send in t-shirt designs, have the users vote on which designs they would like to buy and print only the most popular ones. They already have a built in audience for their t-shirts. It's a win-win for everyone. The company prints the most popular, making some good cash and the buyers get a limited edition t-shirt that they are proud to wear. Even the winning t-shirt designs are helpful to the designers. They can add this accomplishment to their resume. You probably knew that engaging your ideal people was wise, but now what? Now you have to go out and find them and start a conversation, but before you do you need to find out where you can connect with them. Write a description of the ideal client for your product You have to ask yourself some specific questions to help you gain clarity: What does she look like? What motivates her? What does she do for fun? What are her career goals? Where does she hang out? (Facebook, conferences, Twitter, etc.) How do you engage with her? (light banter, philosophically, monetarily, etc.) The hard part is making the mental switch from talker to engager. I'm not just talking about being a better listener. That's a good start, but to engage with people you have to be listening and asking great questions. It's part art and part science. If you want an example of someone who understands her community then visit Mayi Carles to see how she is creating content that engages and builds trust. You'll notice that she creates content around branding and business building. All a perfect target market for her. Engage Your Readers Image used with permission If you want to engage your readers, start by asking questions to show them how much you care about their success. Ask them: What topics they would like you to cover? What products you could create to help them? How you can improve your services? By keeping the focus on your readers you'll improve engagement, find new ways you can help them and use your blog to grow your influence. You will also learn the type of language they use. It's this copywriting trick that you need to use to engage your ideal readers. Using the language they use in the copy on your sales page will increase your conversion rate. It’s that simple. For example, let's say Problogger gets a lot of questions on how to create content for their blog. His ideal people might not reference the word "copy" they might use the word "write" or "blog". If this is the case then the key to writing a great sales page is to insert these words into the page so they feel comfortable with the sales copy. Your Turn  How have you learned to increase your visitor's engagement on your blog? (Please share in the comment section.) Check out Karl Staib of Domino Connection and his e-course "How to Create an Amazing Product Launch," You can also click here to download the Domino Connection sales page checklist for free so you can create a compelling sales page that converts potential customers into buyers. Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger The Secret to Using Your Blog to Generate Sales

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“11 Quick Tips for Writing Compelling Posts On Your Blog” plus 1 more

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11 Quick Tips for Writing Compelling Posts On Your Blog Posted: 29 May 2013 07:58 AM PDT Yesterday I ran a workshop for a small group of bloggers here in Australia. One of the sessions I covered was on writing compelling content. Here’s a brief look at a few of the recurring themes in what I shared: Be Useful – if your post isn’t informing, inspiring, entertaining or making someone’s life better – don’t publish it until it does. Share your Opinion – opinions are often what sets bloggers apart from the pack. Cut out the Fluff – before you hit publish, revise your post and remove anything that doesn’t add value. Visualise Your Reader – writing with a reader in mind personalises your writing. Make Your Posts Scannable – only 16% of people read every word online. Format your posts so that your main points stand out. Work and Rework You Headlines – a good headline can be the difference between a blog post being read, or ignored. Write with Passion – when you show you care about what you’re writing, your readers are more likely to care too. Give your Readers something to do Next – ask your readers to DO something once they finish reading. It could be to read something else, comment, apply a lesson, share the post etc. Tell Stories – stories are powerful ways of connecting with, inspiring and teaching your readers – they also create memories Give Your Posts Visual Appeal – the inclusion of an eye-catching image or a well designed diagram can take your post to the next level. Practise – the best way to improve your writing is to write. Practise Makes Perfect. Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger 11 Quick Tips for Writing Compelling Posts On Your Blog

Is Making Money from Blogging Passive Income? Posted: 28 May 2013 08:05 AM PDT Recently, I attended an event and heard a speaker talk about how they’d build a passive income from blogging. The person sitting next to me leant over toward me and at whispered: “Based on your Twitter Stream, I’m not so sure that blogging is ‘passive’ – is it?” I thought it might be an interesting discussion to re-open here on ProBlogger – do you think that income earned from blogging could be classified as ‘passive income’? Wikipedia defines ‘passive income’ as: Passive income is an income received on a regular basis, with little effort required to maintain it. Wikipedia also goes on to define it from a tax perspective, which I’m won’t get into here. I’m more interested talking about the ‘with little effort required to maintain it’ aspect of the definition, which I think is what many people are attracted to when they hear anyone talk about ‘passive income’. Let me kick off the discussion by making a few comments: Most Bloggers Making a Living from Blogging, Work Hard This has been a recurring theme here on ProBlogger, since I started the blog in 2004. While there’s no single way to make a living from blogging, most full time bloggers I know – who blog as their primary income stream - work pretty hard on their blogs. They: Post content on a daily basis Spend a significant amount of effort to maintain the community around their blogs Work hard on promoting their blogs and finding new readers Build relationships with other bloggers Work hard to maintain their income streams (whether that be by liaising and working with advertisers or developing and launching products) Also work on any number of other tasks including SEO, maintaining social media accounts, answering emails, moderating comments, blog design, racing other blogs, managing hosting etc Some full time bloggers have grown to the point where they are able to outsource some of the above – but then there’s the task of managing a team! Income from blogging is neither quick or easy. In short, if you expect to earn an income from your blog, you need to consistently put time and effort into it. Some Aspects of Blogging Will Generate Passive Income Having just said that blogging for income takes a significant amount of work, there are some elements of blogging that could be said to generate ‘passive income’. Let’s look at a few examples: There’s Gold in Those Archives Each post I publish could potentially generate an income for me, on the day it’s published but also tomorrow, next week, and next month. Even years into the future. Example 1 – when I dig into my Google Analytics account and drill down into the AdSense stats there, I see that last month my post ‘Aperture‘ on dPS earned me $233.23 and this Wedding Photography Tips post earned $222.61. Those posts were published in 2007, five and a half years ago! Example 2 – when I look at my Amazon Affiliate earnings, I can see that my Popular Digital Camera and Gear post generated $60 yesterday for me. That post has been up since 2009 and while I do update it from time to time, it has been over 2 months since I reviewed it. Of course, part of the reason those old posts continue to generate income for me is because I continue to publish new content on the site. Alongside the new content, the posts in my archives have the potential to earn income for years to come (if all goes well). You could argue that a blogger who spends years doing all of the above could then completely stop doing any work and still make some income based upon continued traffic from search engines. However, that traffic (and the income from it) would decrease in time without you maintaining your blog (depending a little on how evergreen the content of your blog might be). The Long Tail of Products In a similar manner, when you develop a product to sell to your readers that product can continue to generate an income for you into the future, without needing continual development. Example – when I first wrote and released 31 Days to Build a Better Blog, it took significant work to get ready to be published. There was the time I put into creating the content, the editing, the design, the setting up of shopping carts, the marketing etc. In return for that effort the eBook produced a good income when it launch during the launch period. However, it has continued to sell almost every day since then. I did a full update of the eBook and added new content in 2012 but other than that, the 31DBBB continues to sell (as do our other eBooks) thanks to it being promoted in our sidebar/navigation areas and through annual discount promotions we’ve run. This is the beauty of creating something to sell for your readership, particularly if it’s evergreen and doesn’t date. Is Making Money from Blogging Passive Income? I’d love to hear your thoughts on the topic – do you see the income you earn from blogging as ‘passive income’? Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger Is Making Money from Blogging Passive Income?

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ProBlogger: On Hamburgers and Hooks: How to Effortlessly FIND (Not Write) Your Compelling First Line

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On Hamburgers and Hooks: How to Effortlessly FIND (Not Write) Your Compelling First Line Posted: 27 May 2013 07:59 AM PDT This is a guest contribution from Kelly Diels-Rostant. Image courtesy of Suat Eman FreeDigitalPhotos.net "Where’s The Beef?" asked the lil’ ol’ lady and in so doing launched her late-blooming acting career. It was 1984. Clare Peller was eighty-four years old. It was her first acting gig and it was a hit. Her Wendy’s spot spawned a series of follow-up commercials, launched a slew of licensing and merchandising deals (t-shirts, coffee mugs, beach towels, oh my!), and became an instant cultural catch-phrase. It may even have turned the tide of a presidential primary. In a televised debate, listening to presidential hopeful Gary Hart talk about his "new ideas", rival Walter F. Mondale leaned forward and said, "When I hear your new ideas, I’m reminded of that ad, ‘Where’s the beef?’". Mondale, not Hart, won the democratic nomination. That’s the power of a pithy, provocative phrase. A hook. The beef. And your blog post has got to have it. So let me tell you where your blog post beef is: it’s the best, most quotable line of your piece, and I promise you it’s already there. Really, it’s there. You already wrote it. It’s just in the wrong place. But first, a little background. The most quotable line of your blog post could – and should – be the first line. The hook. Hook your readers. In conventional newspaper journalism, the first line of the piece is the entire piece: Who. What. When. Were. Maybe even how and why. All in one line. The way if the reader stops reading right there after the first line (bad reader! lazy reader!), she still got everything she needed to know. Which means she can stop reading, yes? NO. Is that what you want your blog readers to do? Stop reading after the first line? So that’s instructive. To write effective, compelling, must-read blog posts, accept the dramatic imperative of classical journalism and hook your reader with the first sentence. Then abandon the methodology – do NOT spill the who, what, where, when or how. At least not yet. Write hooks, instead, which means don’t give it all away the first line. In fact, don’t lead with any context at all. Context can come later, in the second pararaph, or even later, in the second section of your post. Because the more provocative, mysterious and insensible the first line, the better the hook. Your reader has to keep reading to figure it out. Mwahahaha. That was my evil bloggess laugh. It’s genetic. For example, remarking upon my progeny – one of whom is the incomparable, six year old Lola whose first viewing of 101 Dalmatians provoked her to confide, I really like that evil girl [Cruella DeVille], I like her style – Amanda Farough once said, "She’s only one bad science experiment away from becoming an evil genius." True dat. I digress. Sort of. But like any good villainess/bloggess, I do have a signature, sneaky trick in reserve. It’s a guide to finding your blog post hook in one step. Notice I said hook finding, not hook writing. IMPORTANT: I want you to avoid performance anxiety – I mean writer’s block – because so far, there’s no little blue pill for that. Alas. Because if I sit down and try to write The Best First Line Ever, a hot-and-sexy hook, I won’t be able to get my writerly mojo up…so lo, the page will remain blank. Unloved. But. If I just write and write and write until I’m finished (I call this Draft Zero because it’s the utterly unselfconscious and necessary blathering that precedes what writer Anne Lamott calls The Shitty First Draft) and then go back and ask, Where’s The Beef? AKA Where’s the Quote? Then and only then can I get it on. That’s when I’ll find it: the great line I’ve already written. The hook. And you can, too. So, when you’re hook-finding, ask yourself this: Where’s the beef? If you were a reader, what line would tickle, stroke or slap you? Where's the leap-frogging, cart-wheeling, caterwauling sentence that demands to be known? Where's the wisdom? Where's the beef? The quote? Doncha wanna give good quote? Yes, you do – and if you can't find a few foundational, architectural phrases that transform your piece from sentences laid end-to-end into "arcades and domes", then your Draft Zero work is not done. But if you seek, you will find them: arcadian, majestic, domestic lines of genius already embedded in your blog post. They’re there because you let yourself write them. Yep, it’s true: there are gorgeous phrases and stunning sentences already in your blog post just waiting to be relocated to where they really belong. And one of them is your hook. It’s already there, you already wrote it, you just have to find it. That’s why this exercise is called Hook Finding, not Hook Writing. So that’s all you have to do. Flow, write, finish, realize you’re not finished (editing is 90% of real writing), ask yourself, where’s the quote?, and voila! there’s your hook. Cut ‘n paste to the first line -         which will, inevitably suggest a new narrative arc and the direction for subsequent editing, hallelujah!  - then revise your piece to support and amplify your new hook, answer the hook in the last line… …and just like that, you’ll have a hook AND a cohesive, compelling, must-read blog post. So that’s how you find your blog post’s hook and then use your hook to tie it all together. Tie it up. Some people like it like that. Like, your reader. The one who was hooked. The one who read your piece right through to the end. And like the hamburger-eating public. Asking Where’s the Beef? increased Wendy’s annual revenue by 31%. One stunning phrase in the right place – a television commercial, a presidential campaign, the first line of a blog post – can change everything. So please sally forth right now and find your hook. Yum. ————— The Moral of the Story in Four Short Tweetables*: Asking yourself "Where’s The Beef?" works for burgers AND blog posts. (click to tweet) The more provocative, mysterious and insensible the first line, the better the hook. (click to tweet) "She’s only one bad science experiment away from becoming an evil genius." (click to tweet) Hook Finding 101: Write; reread your work; ask yourself, "Where’s The Quote?"; and voila! Hook, found. (click to tweet) *Wanna know how I wrote these tweets? I didn’t. I found them already written in my post. Yup, hook-finding works for crafting Tweetables, too. Kelly Diels-Rostant is the evil villainess/writer-for-hire responsible for Cleavage. Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger On Hamburgers and Hooks: How to Effortlessly FIND (Not Write) Your Compelling First Line

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Highest selling video game consoles

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Highest selling video game consoles Posted: 25 May 2013 08:36 AM PDT Here is the list of highest selling video game consoles in the world. Sony Playstation 2 Sony PlayStation Nintendo Wii Sony PlayStation 3 Microsoft Xbox 360 (core) Nintendo Super Nintendo Entertainment System Nintendo 64 Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Atari 2600 Microsoft’s X-Box Nintendo GameCube Sega Mark III/Master System NEC PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 Sega Dreamcast Source: [ World's [...] Those who liked this article, also read these: What is Game Theory ? Top 5 Best-Selling Smartphones Example – What is Short Selling ? Highest Paid Football Players in the World. Highest Internet Users in the World – China

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ProBlogger: How to Create a Blog Purpose Statement in 3 Simple Steps

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How to Create a Blog Purpose Statement in 3 Simple Steps Posted: 23 May 2013 08:54 AM PDT Yesterday, I shared a series of questions to help those bloggers seeking a little clarity when it comes to what their blog could be about. Today, I wanted to share 3 more questions – these are not so much focused upon YOU as a blogger but upon your readers. Hopefully they’ll also help you achieve a little clarity. Who are your readers? What do they need? How will they change as a result of reading your blog? Answer these 3 questions and you will actually have a pretty good purpose statement for your blog. You could certainly go into some real depth on each question but even doing it at a low-level will be helpful. For example on dPS I would answer the questions as: My readers are camera owners (who they are) who are not using their cameras to their potential (their need). Reading dPS will help them to gain creative control over their cameras (the benefit). I shared these questions on my Google+ account a few weeks ago. Yesterday, I received an email from a blogger who set aside 15 minutes to answer them. She told me that in doing so she realised that she’d created a purpose statement for her blog which she also turned into a tagline for her blog. Give it a go and let us know how you answer the questions in comments below. Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger How to Create a Blog Purpose Statement in 3 Simple Steps

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ProBlogger: 7 Questions to Ask Yourself to Bring Clarity to Your Blogging

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7 Questions to Ask Yourself to Bring Clarity to Your Blogging Posted: 22 May 2013 08:28 AM PDT Do you feel like you’ve lost clarity around what it is that you’re trying to do with your blog? I’ve recently bumped into a few bloggers grappling with this idea. Some were new,  even ‘Pre’ Bloggers, while a couple had been blogging for a while but had lost some direction. Out of these conversations, I put together a set of questions to help them think it through. The questions revolve around asking: What are YOU About? While I won’t guarantee you instant clarity on answering these questions I hope that putting a little time aside to work through them might help – please let me know if they do! What interests do you have? What experiences (good and bad) have you had? What expertise and skills do you have? What are your passions? What gives you energy? What do you talk a lot about to friends? If you could write about anything – what would it be? Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger 7 Questions to Ask Yourself to Bring Clarity to Your Blogging

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ProBlogger: 7 Steps to Proofreading Like a Pro

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7 Steps to Proofreading Like a Pro Posted: 21 May 2013 09:37 AM PDT This is a guest contribution by Charles Cuninghame, website copywriter and owner of Text-Centric. I'm sure we can all agree that proofreading is the least fun part of blogging. But while it may be tedious, it's well worth the effort. Typos are not only embarrassing, they can also cost you money. In a widely reported study in 2011, British entrepreneur Charles Duncombe found a single spelling mistake can cut online sales in half! If you don’t have a product, then you could be missing out a blog subscriber or repeat visitor! Here's a tried and tested proofreading process that I've taught to many novice writers with great success. Once you get the hang of it, you should be able to thoroughly proofread an average length blog post in 5-10 minutes. What you'll need: A printer A red pen A highlighter pen Step 1: Set it aside Time permitting, set your blog post aside for a while before you proofread it. An hour is good, a day is better. The more time you put between the writing and proofreading, the more refreshed you'll be and better able to spot any typos. Step 2: Print it out Research has shown that proofreading on-screen is not as effective as proofreading a printout. So do yourself a favour and print your post out. But run it through the spell checker first, to fix any obvious spelling mistakes. Step 3: Mark up your changes Get ready by minimising distractions. Proofreading requires your undivided attention. So turn off your phone, close your email and switch off the music. Read through your post marking up typos and rough spots with your red pen as you go. Force yourself to slow down and concentrate. Focus on each word and character as you read. Make your mark-ups obvious so you don't overlook them at the corrections stage. Punctuation marks (commas, apostrophes, full-stops/periods, etc.) are particularly easy to miss. So it's a good idea to circle the mark-up for extra emphasis. It's also a good idea to put a cross in the margin next to a line that contains a correction. Step 4: Read out loud Once you're been through your blog post once, read it aloud. Reading aloud helps in two ways. Firstly, your ears will often catch mistakes that your eyes miss. Reading aloud forces a higher level of concentration than silent reading. And secondly, reading out loud helps you to write conversationally. If your post sounds clunky when you speak it, you need to revise it until it sounds confidently conversational. Step 5: Double-check details There are some details that are particularly embarrassing or troublesome to get wrong. So you should double-check the following: The spelling of people's names e.g. is it Janine or Jenean? Stuart or Stewart? Ditto brand names e.g. is it WordPress, WordPress or Word Press? Telephone numbers and email addresses Prices Click links to make sure they go where you want them to. Step 6: Make corrections Make all your corrections in one go, not as you find them. Be very careful as you make changes. You don't want to add in errors at this stage. Be especially careful with any sections you've rewritten. If you've rewritten a significant portion of your post it's best to print it out and proof it again. A common mistake is missing corrections you've marked up on your printout. So as you make each change mark it off your printout with your highlighter. When you've finished making changes, go over your printout to make sure you haven't missed anything. Step 7: Final check As a final check, run the spell checker over your corrected post. Read it on-screen to make sure it looks OK. Break up any paragraphs that are longer than 5 lines. Now you're good to hit the publish button! Charles Cuninghame is a website copywriter and the author of the Website Content Cheat-Sheet. For important documents he usually hires a proofreader. Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger 7 Steps to Proofreading Like a Pro

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