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David Risley, from BlogMarketingAcademy.com, reveals the pathway to a successful, money-making blog. He reveals his online business and blogging strategies, marketing tips and tricks, and what's working now in the world of blogging. Discover how you can build and operate a successful authority blog, utilizing the strategies of content marketing to create a REAL online business and create the lifestyle you want. David is a 20-year veteran of blogging, having started as a technology blogger back in 1998. After turning his tech blog into a six-figure business and running it for several years at that level, he began helping others bloggers achieve the same. Social media, outsourcing, search engine optimization, niche sites, list building, membership sites, webinars, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, eBooks, online training, affiliate marketing and everything in between to help you crush it with your online business.
- 345 - Lack of Tech Skills?
Sometimes we do have constraints that bump right up against our lack of skills.
Common for many in this business is lack of technical skills. And this is often coupled with the habit of comparing yourself to others where you see other good looking blogs and you try like hell to make your own look that good despite not having the skillset to do it.
You have two options here:
- Do it by yourself. Hire somebody to do it.
Now, going the “do it yourself” route is a viable option for some, but I see some people basically grinding their entire progress to a halt over it.
In the “real world”, you hire people all the time. You probably hire somebody to fix your car, or to do major repair work around the house. You hire them because they’re the expert and you want the result quickly.
So, WHY is it that we lose this perspective when it comes to the Internet?
Fri, 30 Nov 2018 - 04min - 344 - Shiny Objects
In our last issue, we met Bob. Bob set out to start up his own online business, but ended up drowning in information and left himself overwhelmed and confused on what to do next.
And when we left Bob last time, I talked about how Bob needed structure and order… and he needed to implement “just in time learning”. He needed self-imposed tunnel vision in order to weed out any incoming information that took him off his goal or simply was talking about something which isn’t yet relevant to Bob.
Let me give you a classic example…
Let’s say our friend Bob here has a niche in mind. He’s even started his site up for it. He’s written a few blog posts, perhaps. But, his email list is still practically non-existent and he has yet to make his first buck online. So, Bob is still in the early phases here.
But, Bob is subscribed to some “guru” who is pretty big into podcasting. Bob listens to that podcast. Loves it, in fact. The host of that podcast even publishes income reports and Bob finds it motivational. So, the “guru” launches a course all about podcasting. And it sounds freakin’ awesome to Bob.
But, let’s back up here. And let’s talk a little sense into Bob, shall we?
Wed, 28 Nov 2018 - 07min - 343 - Information Overload & Confusion
Information overload and overwhelm are two of the biggest constraints to people looking to build their online business. But, here’s the rub…
Most people are doing it to themselves voluntarily!
Let’s look at a typical person who is trying to start and grow an online business. Let’s call him Bob.
So, Bob wants this. He has visions of making enough money online so that he can walk out of his day job. He is under no illusions that it will be an overnight thing. He knows it will take a lot of work.
But, Bob needs to figure out what to do. So, he goes out and starts searching for and reading various articles and “gurus” in the world of online business. He subscribes to several email lists. He puts a bunch of RSS feeds into his phone so he can keep track of different sites. He registers for some webinars.
But, Bob is confused. He feels like he is understanding the theory behind things. He can start to use some of the terminology from the world of online marketing. But, he’s still personally confused on what HE should be doing.
He tries to solve it by buying a few courses. Being on all these peoples’ lists, he sees things for sale. They look awesome. Certainly, the ad copy on those pages makes each of those things seem like the best thing ever. So, he picks up a few.
He also picks up some tools. He picks up a couple WordPress plug-ins and some online services. Every time he buys one of those things, he feels like he did something concrete to grow his business. But, there’s still this nagging feeling…
He’s still confused. He’s still feeling overwhelmed.
Tue, 27 Nov 2018 - 06min - 342 - Weekly Update - Thanksgiving Edition!
For #ASKBMA this week, I'm talking about what to do when you've been blogging for awhile, but it isn't working. Carl is in the personal development niche and is having a problem figuring out his unique selling proposition (USP).
Also on the agenda...
- Black Friday 2018 - The latest on The Daily - An update on the Coffee Break Blogging podcast. - What's new inside THE LAB
Quick Links:
- BLACK FRIDAY - http://www.blogmarketingacademy.com/blackfriday/ - THE DAILY - http://www.blogmarketingacademy.com/daily/ - PODCAST - http://www.coffeebreakblogging.com - THE LAB - http://www.blogmarketingacademy.com/lab/ - ASK BMA - http://www.blogmarketingacademy.com/ask/
That's our weekly update for 11/21/2018. See ya next week! And Happy Thanksgiving!
Wed, 21 Nov 2018 - 24min - 341 - The Painter Of Your Own Life
When we focus on what we don’t have, it will often lead to more of that. See…
You get what you validate. And, when you validate your shortcomings by focusing on them, you’ll just magnify them.
I’m about to get a little “woo woo” on you here, but I personally believe this…
As beings, we imbue the world around us with energy. It is like we’re literally painting our environment with energy. That energy can either be positive or negative. And that “painting” is driven by our attention.
Not only that, when we give something our attention, we’re also giving it power. We’re validating it. We’re imbuing energy into it, merely by focusing our spiritual energy on it.
That energy has a quality to it, however. It can either be positive or negative.
There are those people who, when they put their attention on things, things tend to go right. There are also some people who tend to screw up anything they get involved with. There are lot of different scenarios here, but all of it is summarized by simply saying that we imbue things with energy and that the nature of that energy has a lot to do with the effects.
Positivity or negativity toward things is a learned skill. You might have a natural tendency toward one or the other, but you have control over it. You can train yourself to be more of an optimist by taking time each day to list one or more things you are grateful for.
Being grateful is literally injecting beauty into the world.
One might not think of gratitude as imbuing their world with positive energy. Many think of it as merely “being thankful for” something. But, it is so much more than that.
It is something to strive for.
And something to be aware of the next time you find yourself being rather negative about your own situation. When you’re doing that, ask yourself…
What reality are you postulating for yourself right then?
Fri, 16 Nov 2018 - 05min - 340 - Comparing Yourself to Others, The Folly Of Selfies
Man, they appear to be doing so well. What’s wrong with me?”
This is a pretty common thought to a lot of people.
You may see somebody in a bigger house than you have… then look at your own and wonder what went wrong. You may see somebody else with a nicer car and wonder why you’re driving around such an average vehicle. Or, let’s make this even more common…
You’re scrolling through Facebook and seeing pictures of people’s parties, their vacations, their fancy meals. They seem to be living the high life. What’s wrong with YOU?
It has actually been proven through experiment that such use of social media actually helps further depression. People are unhappier due to social media, in a lot of cases. On top of the comparisons, it doesn’t help one bit that social media is being used these days to divide people and stir them up. But, that’s another discussion…
But, if you’re the kind who makes a habit of comparing yourself to others, then you’re more likely to find unhappiness breeding in you when you are active on social media.
But, let’s bring this back into the world of online business…
When you want to make money online, one of the first things you often do is search the internet for how to make money online, or how to make money blogging. And you come across people who are talking about it. And often they talk about how much money they make.
Pat Flynn, from Smart Passive Income, publicly posts his monthly income reports. It is a popular feature of his site, and many others have done the same. I actually used to do the same thing, but have long since stopped. Why is that?
… because I believe it leads people into making comparisons between themselves and me, or themselves and Pat – or whoever.
You get inspired by the money, then the next move is to try to do what they have done instead of charting your own path. Instead of doing what you need to do, you’re instead left trying to copy somebody else. And if you don’t get the forward movement, it is pretty deflating.
Plus, income reports put the emphasis on the income and not what actually creates that income… which is delivering value to others.
Comparing yourself to others will almost naturally lead to an attitude of “lack”. Your attention and your focus is on what you DON’T have. And you will inevitably get more of what you focus on.
The ironic thing is that, most of the time, these comparisons are based on an outright LIE.
Thu, 15 Nov 2018 - 07min - 339 - Prison Rules And The Ease Of Having A Job
You ever seen the movie Shawshank Redemption?
FANTASTIC movie. Hard to believe it was made 24 years ago now. Anyway…
If you recall, Morgan Freeman’s character was in prison and he was afraid to leave prison. He saw what happened to some of his fellow prison mates when they were released. Free from the structure of the prison, they lost themselves and committed suicide in many cases.
There’s that sad scene where the old man was released from prison, felt completely lost in the regular world without the prison rules, and ended up hanging himself.
But, I thought about that. And I saw some parallels to people who are trying (or simply want to) gain freedom from a traditional 9-to-5 job.
While there are negatives to having a 9-5 job, the truth is that it is actually easier than trying to build a business.
With a job, you live within the confines laid out by somebody else. You play by their rules. You do what you’re told. You do it well enough and out pops a paycheck.
There’s a kind of order to it. It is an order laid out by somebody else, so there isn’t that responsibility of having to drive the ship.
Once you go into the uncharted territory of your own business, then you’re on your own. You’re like a pioneer. All of a sudden, the rulebook is gone and you’re the creator of your own rules. You have nobody to impose discipline on you but yourself.
Wed, 14 Nov 2018 - 04min - 338 - Re-thinking Podcast Norms
One thing I know from all my time in the business is that there are a lot of things that people just do. Almost out of habit. Because it is considered normal and they see everybody else do it.
They might not ever question whether it makes much sense, but they will just do it in another case of “follow the leader”. After all, if the “big guys” do it, it must be right.
You see a lot of it in the world of podcasting.
I got to thinking about the intros.
Everybody seems to want to get some intro for their podcasts that sounds like a radio show. They hire somebody to record it, or maybe they cheap out and go to Fiverr. Either way, it is considered normal that you have to get an intro to make your show official.
But, why?
Tue, 13 Nov 2018 - 07min - 337 - Selling From Your Heels And The Fear Of Selling
The other day, I was reviewing somebody’s front-end offer. The central portion of the landing page for it was a video of him talking. And I noticed something…
He was not portraying any confidence in his offer.
In fact, he was practically apologizing for making it. He started off by saying he wasn’t trying to make a quick buck, saying it wasn’t a scam, etc. I mean, who puts forth a good offer by leading off with the fact that it isn’t a scam?
I call this “selling from your heels”. It is delivering a sales message while leaning back, almost propitiating to your prospect for even making the offer.
What do you do when you're seriously nervous about trying to make a sale?
Mon, 12 Nov 2018 - 06min - 336 - Using Twitter in 2018
My relationship with Twitter has changed a few times.
Like a lot of bloggers, I used it. Built up a following, and used it to interact with others in my marketplace.
But, like a lot of people, I felt Twitter got to be super noisy. And my enthusiasm for the platform dropped. To be honest, I slowly shifted away from actually using Twitter. I barely ever used it… and almost all the posts that I made were automated. Essentially, I was link-dropping my latest stuff to Twitter and otherwise forgetting my profile exists.
And even though I was dropping those links out to over 14,000 followers, the results were a reflection of exactly the energy I was giving it. In other words… damn near zero. Twitter was almost zilch as a traffic source to the Blog Marketing Academy.
It seemed as if Twitter shifted. It seems like it has gotten really political. It seems as if Twitter is more of a platform for people in the media, politicians, celebs, etc. A place for them to vent off over things which, frankly, they should probably just shut up about. And then, those tweets end up becoming the basis for entire “news” stories.
It works for reporters. Trump likes it. But, for the rest of us, not so much.
But, recently, I decided to give Twitter another “go”. Only this time, quite differently.
Fri, 09 Nov 2018 - 08min - 335 - List Building Challenge #10 – Building a Quiz
A quiz is a unique type of lead magnet to grow your list.
Typically, creating an online quiz has been a real technical challenge. But, one of the more recent tools offered from Thrive Themes is the Thrive Quiz Builder.
With Quiz Builder, you can create different kinds of quizzes. And here’s the best part…
You can use them to create segmented email lists, offer them different lead magnets depending on their answers, and more.
One of the biggest challenges can simply be coming up with an idea for a quiz.
From a marketing perspective, the aim is to have a quiz which gets them to look at the problem that you solve with your business. It can help raise them on the customer awareness scale from being unaware to problem aware. Quizzes which give them a score on something they can improve can work well for this.
The fact that you can build a simple assessment or quiz using a drag-and-drop interface like this is just amazing to me. Thrive Quiz Builder really is an amazing tool for that.
Thu, 08 Nov 2018 - 07min - 334 - List Building Challenge #9 – Mobile opt-in forms
Mobile traffic is a really big deal these days. So many people are browsing our sites on mobile devices so it is VERY important that your site is mobile responsive to work on smaller screens.
When I look at my own stats as of this writing, about 38% of my traffic over the last 30 days was on a mobile device. And, almost all of that was on a phone of some kind – not a tablet. We’re talking small screens.
So, the question is… do your opt-in forms adjust properly and work well on such small screens?
A sidebar opt-in will usually be pushed way to the bottom of the screen on a mobile device, since sidebars usually just get kicked to the bottom. Your opt-in rate will be garbage. If you use an exit pop or some other popup, the trigger settings might not work right on mobile. Plus, there’s little that’s more annoying than having an opt-in completely takeover my iPhone screen when I’m on a site. It is interruption marketing at it’s finest.So, you may want to change up your opt-in strategy for mobile devices. Display different forms that are more likely to work correctly on small screens.
Wed, 07 Nov 2018 - 08min - 333 - List Building Challenge #8 – Opt-in form placement
Today, let’s talk about placement of your opt-in forms. We’ve already talked about running split tests on your opt-in forms. But, one of the things you definitely should be testing is placement of your opt-in forms.
Most blogs have a primary lead magnet placed right in their sidebar. However, the sidebar is usually one of the worst performing locations for your opt-in. Typical conversion rates for this location are like 1%-2%. And frankly, that sucks. Most bloggers put that thing in the sidebar simply because they see everybody else doing it. So, it becomes a case of the blind leading the blind.
Definitely experiment with opt-in form placement. Don’t just fall back on your sidebar because that’s what everybody else does. To grow your list effectively, you can’t just do the bare minimum.
Your action item for today is…
Set up a different form of opt-in placement than you are running right now and test it out.
Tue, 06 Nov 2018 - 08min - 332 - Blog Marketing Academy Weekly Update - 11/1/2018
For #ASKBMA this week, I'm answering:
- Using other people's Youtube videos in your content. Is it OK? - Her email list isn't growing. What's she missing? - Offering private discounts to people who ask?
Also on the agenda...
- The latest on The Daily - An update on the Coffee Break Blogging podcast. - What's new inside THE LAB
Quick Links:
- THE DAILY - PODCAST - THE LAB - ASK BMA
That's our weekly update for 11/1/2018. See ya next week!
Mon, 05 Nov 2018 - 16min - 331 - List Building Challenge #7 - Reaching people who left your blog
All of us – and yes, you – have people who come to our blog who end up leaving without opting into our list. Sometimes it is because they’re not interested. Sometimes they just never saw your lead magnet. Sometimes, they’ve got such short attention spans that they could have the most awesome, relevant free download staring them in the face and they don’t see it.
But, once they back away and leave, is that it? You’ll never see them again?
Not necessarily. Bring in retargeting (sometimes called remarketing).
You know it, even if you don’t think you do. Because we’ve all experienced going to some website to check it out. Then, we just happen to see their ads all over the place. It is like they’re FOLLOWING us! You might see an ad for them in your Facebook news feed. You might even see banner ads showing up on other websites you visit.
That’s retargeting.
And it is usually much cheaper to do this kind of paid advertising than going out to new people. Usually.
In effect, you’re capturing traffic that bounces off your site and your circling back to give them another opportunity to connect with you.
Fri, 02 Nov 2018 - 04min - 330 - List Building Challenge #6: Giving your list a big boost
Today, I’m going to share another strategy to build your list much more effectively. In fact, it works very, VERY well. It will, however, cost you a bit of money. But, the way I see it, if you’re one that is seeking to avoid any form of spending, you’ve already cut yourself off at the knees.
My list growth trend was rather flat while I was out traveling in the RV all summer. I didn’t really have any major list building campaigns in effect. The business was just… coasting. But, as you can see, when I got back, I started things up again and you can clearly see the spike.
Now, there’s a few things I did, but most of that spike is due to a single ad campaign that I re-started on Facebook. Specifically, it is an ad for one of my more popular lead magnets: The 90 Day Online Business Startup Plan.
This episode covers how this worked, and what the specs of my campaign were.
Thu, 01 Nov 2018 - 07min - 329 - List Building Challenge #5: A Strategy For Using Your Squeeze Pages
A lead magnet squeeze page is like an island unto itself. It won’t have any top nav menu. No sidebar. No links to social media profiles. At most, it will have the typical boring links to your privacy policy and terms of service in the footer. At the top, it might have your logo. Also, most of the time, you would hide this squeeze page from your top blog navigation menu. You don’t HAVE to. You may want to try including it there. But, often these squeeze pages will just sit there and the only traffic it will get will be when you specifically link to it.
So, where might you use this thing?
Well, I could give you a bunch of ideas today. However, this whole list building challenge is about specificity. I don’t want to give you a ton to do all at once… otherwise it is more likely you won’t do it.
So, today, let’s just talk one simple strategy.
This strategy isn't so much about building your list... as it is about keeping your existing subscribers engaged.
Wed, 31 Oct 2018 - 07min - 328 - List Building Challenge #4: 10X Better Opt-in Conversions
In case you’re wondering, here’s some fairly typical opt-in rates for various types of forms:
Typical blog sidebar opt-in form will typically not convert much better than 1%-2%. A contextual opt-in form inside a blog post (aka content upgrade) can convert anywhere from around 5% up to 12%. I’ve had them go as high as 30%, but usually that’s a temporary fluke. But, it happens. A dedicated landing page can convert anywhere from 30% up to 50%. Sometimes even higher. I’ve got one right now which seems to be converting at about 88%, but again, it might even out. I have found 50% to be a good, rough average.So, in this case, a squeeze page is the equivalent of using the electric drill compared to a screwdriver. It is simply FAR more efficient and converts far better than you’ll almost EVER see on a blog, regardless of location.
Why is this? Well, the answer is pretty simple...
Tue, 30 Oct 2018 - 09min - 327 - Blog Marketing Academy Weekly Update - 10/25/2018
Here's our weekly update for 10/25/2018. For #ASKBMA this week, I'm answering:
Transitioning from single products to a membership Daily blogging and building up to 25k subscribers BEFORE you monetize? Whuh?! How many blog posts do you need to launch?Also on the agenda...
The latest on The Daily An update on the Coffee Break Blogging podcast. What's new inside THE LAB Sneak peak at what's coming up with the next training courseQuick Links:
THE DAILY PODCAST THE LAB ASK BMA MEMBERMOUSENew Blog Post: Pricing Strategy: The Non-Marketer’s Guide To Figuring Out What To Charge For Your Digital Products
Mon, 29 Oct 2018 - 22min - 326 - List Building Challenge #3: Split Testing Opt-in Forms
Building your email list is always a marathon, not a race. It is a constant effort and something that you’re always doing.
And, if all you do it throw up an opt-in form with a single lead magnet and then waiting it out, you’re just not doing it right. We’ve already talked about how you can magnify your list building power by creating additional lead magnets and/or content upgrades.
But, what about the actual opt-in forms? How do you improve those and make them work better?
Split testing.
Now, decent chance you already know about split-testing. Thing is…
Do you actually do it?
Fri, 26 Oct 2018 - 07min - 325 - List Building Challenge #2 - Content Upgrades
If you’ve not yet read my flagship blog post on The Redwood Strategy, I recommend you do now. It should be very clear that I’m big on the long-term use of a blog post.
I like to build leverage… not a hamster wheel.
In that post, too, you will see a content upgrade.
A content upgrade is simply a lead magnet which is highly specific to a single blog post. As of this writing, that content upgrade is converting at 11.27%.
This is a simple, concrete action you can take to more effectively build your list.
Pick one post. Preferably one already getting some traffic. And make a content upgrade for it.
Thu, 25 Oct 2018 - 06min - 324 - Blog Marketing Academy Weekly Update - 10/18/2018
This week's (and the first) Weekly Update. :) On the docket this week...
The latest on The Daily An update on the Coffee Break Blogging podcast. Is it coming back? What's new inside THE LAB #AskBMAFor #ASKBMA this week, I'm answering:
Third party landing page creator (like LeadPages) versus Wordpress landing page builders. Which is better? Should you put your customer downloads behind a login, or send it via email? Thrive Themes and SumoMe? Should you use a pop-up on your site to build your list? What (in my experience) works even better than a popup but isn't so annoying?Quick Links:
THE DAILY - http://www.blogmarketingacademy.com/daily/ PODCAST - http://www.coffeebreakblogging.com THE LAB - http://www.blogmarketingacademy.com/lab/ ASK BMA - http://www.blogmarketingacademy.com/ask/ Thrive Leads - http://www.blogmarketingacademy.com/go/thriveleads Thrive Architect - http://www.blogmarketingacademy.com/go/architectWed, 24 Oct 2018 - 22min - 323 - List Building Challenge – Action #1
“Subscribe to our Newsletter” is quite possibly the dumbest call to action ever to litter the internet. It might have worked back in the 90’s when “You got Mail!” made people feel special. But, today? Ha!
Today, you need to give people a damn compelling REASON to subscribe to your email list. And that reason is simply an opt-in offer, otherwise known as a lead magnet.
Now, for most of you, I would imagine the concept of a lead magnet is nothing new. However, ask yourself this…
Do you have only one or two lead magnets?
If so, then time to get busy. Because…
The more lead magnets you have, the easier it is to grow your list.
Tue, 23 Oct 2018 - 05min - 322 - Here's What's Coming With This PodcastMon, 22 Oct 2018 - 05min
- 321 - 7 Tips For Turning A Service Offer Into A Product And Scaling (Episode #160)
Do you run a service business? Are you a consultant or a coach?
If so, then you’ve likely thought about the issue of how to scale. The idea of trading time for money is something many people grow allergic to. There’s nothing wrong with it at all, however every service provider eventually starts to look ahead at how to evolve the business beyond that.
How can you scale a service business? How can you turn it into a product? How can you begin to set things up so that it isn’t simply a trade between time and money?
In this episode of Coffee Break, I’m talking specifically to people who run service businesses. We’ll be discussing 7 specific strategies to begin executing so that you can begin to scale a time-based business.
This isn’t a transition one just jumps into. And I’m not going to recommend you just jump into the world of membership sites and online course creation. There are certain systemic things you need to be doing internally to strategically AIM your business toward more systematization and productization.
It is a myth that the kind of marketing and revenue generation strategies we discuss around the Blog Marketing Academy somehow don’t apply to service businesses. They most certainly do.
Tue, 14 Mar 2017 - 26min - 320 - 6 Reasons Why You Should Be Accepting Bitcoin In Your Online Business (Episode #159)
In this episode of Coffee Break, we're taking a little side road off the usual fare and discussing the issue of money itself.
Specifically, Bitcoin.
The reason I think this topic is important is because we have to understand the very medium we deal in when it comes to generating money with our business. Most of us deal in the US dollar and we tend to think that higher quantities of dollars is automatically better. But, when you look at the nature of the dollar itself and it's colossal lack of purchasing power over the last few decades, we see that more isn't necessarily better.
We run our businesses - or seek to build them - in order to provide purchasing power to ourselves.
So, we discuss Bitcoin here as something new. We'll discuss the cryptocurrency and its advantages. Plus, we're talking about 6 specific reasons why I think all business owners (but, especially online businesses) should be considering accepting Bitcoin payments as a payment option on their checkout pages.
Tue, 07 Mar 2017 - 25min - 319 - 7 Reasons NOT To Use A Facebook Group For Your Membership Site (Episode 158)
For the longest time inside The Lab, my private community was running inside of a closed Facebook group.
My thinking was this: My members most likely are already on Facebook They find it easy to use It saves me hassle Notifications will mean they see conversationsAs I now sit here a couple years later, I realize I was mistaken.
In this episode of Coffee Break Blogging, I share with you 7 specific reasons why I decided; after a couple years of having my member community on Facebook, I switched to a privately hosted forum for our Lab Community.
I also recommend that anybody else looking to have a private community inside of their membership site should set up from the start on a private forum that you own and control.
Make time for this episode... and learn from my mistakes.
Thu, 23 Feb 2017 - 20min - 318 - Top 10 Most Effective Ways To Promote Your Blog (Episode #157)
Every blogger on the face of the earth wants more traffic. But, what are the most effective ways to get it? What are the best promotion strategies that are working in 2017?
In this episode of Coffee Break Blogging, we dive into the world of blog promotion yet again... this time covering the top 10 most effective strategies for promoting your blog.
What Works... What Doesn't.We are most definitely leaving behind the content "hamster wheel" that most bloggers run on to try to promote their blog. You know the one. It goes like this:
- Post a new blog post. Share it on social media. Rinse and repeat as often as you possibly can.
Simply put... this technique doesn't work. Not anymore. Content volume shouldn't even be a thing in your mind at this point.
What IS working are things such as:
The Redwood Strategy Paid Advertising Guest Posts Guest Podcast Interviews Facebook Live Building Your List Link Building (correctly) Content Worth Sharing Product Launch WebinarsI discuss each of these strategies in much more detail in this episode of CBB.
Wed, 15 Feb 2017 - 25min - 317 - The Return Of The Podcast (Episode #156)
In this informal episode of Coffee Break Blogging - and the first episode in some 6 months - I cover the question of...
What happened?This episode is primarily an internal look at the Blog Marketing Academy itself, this podcast, and some general news. I discuss:
Why the podcast was originally discontinued Why I'm bring it back now What I've been working on behind the scenesSat, 21 Jan 2017 - 21min - 316 - The 60-Minute Webinar Plan (Episode #155)
Continuing our topic of webinars, this episode is a walk-through of a general layout for a 60-minute webinar.
You can download the reference for this episode at: http://www.blogmarketingacademy.com/webinarplan
We talk about a general plan for: Introduction (10 minutes) The Content (40 minutes) The Close (10 minutes) And we'll be discussing a lot of tips and strategies for how to execute each section of your webinar.Wed, 13 Apr 2016 - 32min - 315 - Planning Out The Content Of Your Webinar (Episode #154)
In just about any webinar you will ever do, the guts of it will be a content-rich presentation of some kind. How do you put this together?
In this episode of CBB, we're talking specifically about the content portion of the webinar... that 30-40 minutes of "pure content" that you will deliver to educate your attendee and provide a transformation that they can walk away with whether they buy from you or not.
How do you determine what the topic of your webinar should be? What should be in the webinar? How can you build in trust and likability? How do you make the slides? How can you help increase the chances that they will stay until the end of your webinar?These - and more - are all discussed in this episode of Coffee Break.
So today, we are going to continue talking about webinars; because the last couple of episodes we have been talking about webinars and various aspects of them, today specifically, I want to talk about how to plan out the actual content portion of your webinar.
Sat, 02 Apr 2016 - 26min - 314 - How To Set Up An Evergreen Recurring Webinar (Episode #153)
In this episode, we get into specifics on how to set up an evergreen webinar. This one is chocked full of tips and advice on how to properly set up an evergreen recurring webinar.
We'll be discussing: Tips for the presentation of your webinar for recurring use How to set the schedule of your evergreen webinar How to set up the registration landing page (and how I personally do it) How to set up the video recording itself so it plays properly How to handle the questions, chat, and the fake attendee list Setting up the pre-event and post-event emails What happens AFTER the event is over Tips for how to present the offer on your webinarThis is a highly tactical episode of CBB, going into a lot of the internal details of running a webinar on automatic so that it is literally going 24/7.
Okay, so today we are continuing on our series here about doing webinars. At the last two episodes here, we talked about various aspects of webinars. In the last one, I talked about doing a live webinar versus doing a pre-recorded or Evergreen Webinar.
Thu, 17 Mar 2016 - 32min - 313 - Doing Webinars: Live Or Pre-Recorded? (Episode #152)
There are two ways to do a webinar: doing it LIVE, or pre-recording it. Which should you do?
In this episode, I walk through the basic process of doing both.
First, I walk through the process of doing a live webinar, offering up a number of tips as well as some of the reality of what goes on behind the scenes.
Next, I discuss the pre-recorded - or evergreen - webinar. Typically, after you have done a live webinar a number of times, you'll begin to think about automating it. What is different about it? What are some of the specifics that go into a pre-recorded webinar?
Going evergreen on a webinar is the secret to scaling it and turning it into an automatic business builder. But, there's some things you need to know before going into it. And that's what this episode will cover. :-)
Sat, 12 Mar 2016 - 30min - 312 - 8 Reasons Why You Should Be Doing Webinars (Episode #151)
Ever done a webinar before? If not, then after listening to this episode I hope you will consider doing so soon. :-)
In this installment of CBB, we're discussing the benefits of webinars and 8 specific reasons why you should be doing them.
This episode gives some "inside scoop" on my own personal history with webinars, starting all the way back in the days of my tech site.
Then we discuss 8 specific reasons - with advice throughout - on why webinars are great for list building, relationship building and sales. Also why webinars are AWESOME for building leverage in your business and allowing you to make more income while spending less time doing it.
This is the first of a multi-part series where we will be discussing webinars.
Want a plan to get started? Check out the 6-minute webinar plan, which you can download in PDF at: http://www.blogmarketingacademy.com/webinarplan
By the way, we are going to start a new series starting from today. So for the next few episodes, we are actually going to be discussing the topic of WEBINARS and various ins and outs of doing webinars. Now, of course you have probably heard about webinars in the past. It is possible that you have actually done one before. But if not, I want to convince you that you should. :-)
Wed, 02 Mar 2016 - 25min - 311 - How To Re-purpose Your Products For Udemy (Episode #150)
Many people who create information products have looked to the potential of publishing on Udemy.com. And, sure, Udemy is an attractive place. They have a lot of traffic from people who are actively looking to learn things. Plus, they make it easy since they provide the platform and take care of all the headaches.
But, SHOULD you publish on Udemy? And if you do, how should you go about it?
In this episode, we'll talk about Udemy and the pros and cons of publishing courses on this popular platform. I also discuss the best ways to use Udemy to build your own business.
If you've ever looked at the potential of earnings from Udemy, be sure to make time for this episode.
But before we get started with our discussion for today, let me first tell you about a couple of changes I am going to make here in this podcast...
Fri, 19 Feb 2016 - 21min - 310 - How To Use Your Email List To Move People Through Your Profit Funnel (Episode #149)
You've probably heard it a number of times by now...
"The money is in the list".
Great. Cool. But, what does that mean? And why is it true? Does it mean you're just constantly pitching to your list?
No, not at all.
If you back up to the last episode (#148) where I once again gave the bird's eye view of how this whole business works, you'll see how the primary purpose of the email list is to move people through your sales funnels.
Those funnels are like pipes.... and the more people you can keep inside those pipes, the more money you make. And the email list is literally the force which flows people through those pipes or gets them to re-enter those pipes.
In this episode of Coffee Break, I walk you through how this works. What happens when people get onto your list? What do you do with your "general list"? Are you constantly pitching?
Let me show you how this works.
So today let's talk about how to use your email list to move people through your profit funnel; your sales funnel.
The whole purpose of the email list, really, is to keep people flowing through your blog profit funnels. Now the blog profit funnels; these are essentially your sales funnels. I would like to call them blog profit funnels, personally, because... You know, my whole business revolves around the blog and how everything tacks in to the blog, so I am fairly specific about the way that I define it. But at the same time, it is essentially a sales funnel. That is what it is.
Sat, 30 Jan 2016 - 16min - 309 - How A Blog Really Makes Money (Episode #148)
Periodically, I feel I need to go back and revisit the "big picture" about how a blog actually makes money.
See, most people who start a blog with the intention of monetizing it do it with certain expectations in mind. Usually, it has to do with talking "about" something they find interesting, building a big community and audience, getting famous and getting a following.... THEN monetizing using ads and affiliate products.
That's cute.... but it rarely works. It is what most people try.... and it works for some, but definitely not most.
In this episode, I revisit the TRUE function of the blog and how a blog actually fits into the scheme of things. This episode will provide a "bird's eye view" of the business model, where a blog fits into it and what the purpose is.... and you'll see how a blog actually makes money.
If you understand this, you'll save yourself a lot of time and effort chasing unicorns. ;-)
Wed, 27 Jan 2016 - 19min - 308 - Conversion Triggers (4 of 4): How To Sell More, Get More Opt-ins, Get More Email Opens (Episode #147)
In the 4th (and last) installment of this 4-part series, we will discuss conversion triggers. In other words, we will talk about the psychological principles behind much of the marketing you see today and why they work.
Today we discuss: Sense of Belonging / Community Current Events Scarcity ControversyUnderstanding these "triggers" will allow you to move people into action.... whether that be to buy something, to opt into your email list, to open an email, to click on an email, to post a comment, to click on a tweet.... whatever it may be.
Moving people into action is the name of the game, and these conversion triggers are a very important part of doing it.
In this series, we will discuss many different conversion triggers, why they work, and examples of using them.
And perhaps you'll even learn something about yourself. ;-)
So like I said, what we are about to do is Part 4 of our Conversion Triggers series where we have been talking about various psychological components that you could build into your offers, your emails, even your blog post in order to move people into action.
Now if you want to catch up with us, it is the last 3 Episodes here of the podcast where we have been talking all about these various Conversion Triggers.
What we are going to do in this one is quickly wrap up 4 more; and this will actually wrap up this particular series on Conversion Triggers.
Sat, 23 Jan 2016 - 17min - 307 - Conversion Triggers (3 of 4): How To Sell More, Get More Opt-ins, Get More Email Opens (Episode #146)
In the third installment of what will be a 4-part series, again we will discuss conversion triggers. In other words, we will talk about the psychological principles behind much of the marketing you see today and why they work.
Today we discuss: Anticipation Status Social Proof Reference PointsUnderstanding these "triggers" will allow you to move people into action.... whether that be to buy something, to opt into your email list, to open an email, to click on an email, to post a comment, to click on a tweet.... whatever it may be.
Moving people into action is the name of the game, and these conversion triggers are a very important part of doing it.
In this series, we will discuss many different conversion triggers, why they work, and examples of using them. And perhaps you'll even learn something about yourself. ;-)
Wed, 20 Jan 2016 - 18min - 306 - Conversion Triggers (2 of 4): How To Sell More, Get More Opt-ins, Get More Email Opens (Episode #145)
In the second installment of what will be a 4-part series, we will discuss conversion triggers. In other words, we will talk about the psychological principles behind much of the marketing you see today and why they work.
Today we discuss: Stories Simple & Easy Common Enemy CuriosityUnderstanding these "triggers" will allow you to move people into action.... whether that be to buy something, to opt into your email list, to open an email, to click on an email, to post a comment, to click on a tweet.... whatever it may be.
Moving people into action is the name of the game, and these conversion triggers are a very important part of doing it.
In this series, we will discuss many different conversion triggers, why they work, and examples of using them.
And perhaps you'll even learn something about yourself. ;-)
Sat, 16 Jan 2016 - 24min - 305 - Conversion Triggers (1 of 4): How To Sell More, Get More Opt-ins, Get More Email Opens - (Episode #144)
In the first installment of what will be a 4-part series, we will discuss conversion triggers. In other words, we will talk about the psychological principles behind much of the marketing you see today and why they work.
Understanding these "triggers" will allow you to move people into action.... whether that be to buy something, to opt into your email list, to open an email, to click on an email, to post a comment, to click on a tweet.... whatever it may be.
Moving people into action is the name of the game, and these conversion triggers are a very important part of doing it.
In this series, we will discuss many different conversion triggers, why they work, and examples of using them.
And perhaps you'll even learn something about yourself. ;-)
So first of all, I want to welcome you to 2016. This is the first episode of Coffee Break for 2016.
I took a few weeks off for the holidays. Christmas, New Year's... spent a lot of time not in my office. And then last week; it is was just kind of an interesting week, getting back into the groove in terms of business. But then, there are some personal stuff going on; not bad, in fact, very good. We actually purchased another RV for the family, not that matters very much to you but it is a little time consuming on my part. And it did have something to do with why I didn't release a couple of podcast episodes last week and kicked off 2016 earlier. The new RV is definitely a huge improvement over the one we had before. And you know, sometimes we travel and I do business from there, not like actual business; it is an online business so I can run it from anywhere. So sometimes while we are traveling the country, I can just run the business right from there. It is a lot of good times. One of the things that define me is that I love to go out and do that kind of thing.
Anyway, enough about that. What I would like to do now is we are going to jump right in to our topic here. And this is going to be the topic that we are going to talk about for the next few episodes; and it is about Conversion Triggers.
Wed, 13 Jan 2016 - 23min - 304 - A Review of 2015 - What's Coming In 2016 (Episode #143)
This will be our final Coffee Break installment for the year 2015. We'll be on a brief hiatus and then hitting the ground running in the new year.
But, to that end, I thought it'd be a good idea to review where we've been this year, how things are moving along, and where I intend to take the show in the year 2016.
In this episode, we will discuss: The original reasons I started Coffee Break Blogging Why I do solo shows and don't generally have interview guests A review of the "7 Stages To Building An Online Business" and where this podcast currently stands in the 7 stages What I'm looking to do with this show in 2016 What is going to happen after the 7 stages are done?Sat, 19 Dec 2015 - 19min - 303 - How To Grow Your Online Business When You Have No Time (Episode #142)
As we bring 2015 to a close here on Coffee Break Blogging, I wanted to take a break from the usual programming.... and just talk to the general idea of growing your online business.
... Especially if you feel you are lacking for time.
I've gotten that feedback from many people - including some Lab members. Short on time, not enough time... and for this reason they put their business goals on hold and go put out fires.
And I get it. Jobs, kids, family. Life can be a messy business sometimes. :)
So, in this situation, how can we continue to make headway on our business and not put the whole thing on perpetual hold?
In this episode, I share my thoughts on expanding your "sphere of influence". It is the idea of being able to spend time on those other things.... AND your business at the same time.
I also share a few productivity tips - and the underlying reason for each - to help you make more headway with your business.
Hope you find this episode helpful.
So today, we are going to take a little bit of a hiatus from what we have been talking about. We have been talking here about monetization, so to speak; about making sales, about generating revenue. And we are going to continue on that track. But here is what we are going to be doing… We are going to take a little break today, we are going to talk a little bit about how to make progress or how to grow your online business when you think that you have got no time.
And I am injecting this in here for a couple of reasons: One is because I have been seeing these feedback coming from many different people; including some of my Lab Members. The other thing is that we are heading into the Christmas break here and so I am going to be taking a little hiatus, myself. The next episode is going to be kind of a little pit stop episode; so to speak, that will be more clear when we get there, and then we are going to take a little bit and come back in going full steam ahead in 2016 with Coffee Break Blogging. So we are going to have a lot of fun with that.
Wed, 16 Dec 2015 - 19min - 302 - The 10 Components Of A Converting Sales Page (Episode #141)
You can't sell something on the Internet without some kind of a sales page. Whether it is a written sales page or a video one, the components are primarily the same.
So, this episode is going to give you a full grand tour of the major elements of a converting sales page.
We'll discuss: The headline Opening text Stories Credibility Sub-headings Testimonials Proof it works The offer Risk Reducer The CloseFor each of these 10 components, we go into detail about how to do it and what you should be thinking about in each.
If you are new to copywriting or making sales pages, then this Coffee Break episode is highly important for you.
So let's get in to our topic for today, and that is... A Sales Page. Specifically, we are going to talk and give you a grand bird's eye view of the 10 components of a converting sales page.
Now what this episode is NOT going to be for you is a full breakdown of copywriting and sales conversions and all that... We couldn't possibly cover that in one episode if I tried. But what I am going to do is kind of walk you through the 10 big components; the 10 big things to keep in mind when you are putting together a sales page to sell your product.
So let's jump right in because there is 10 of them; it is going to take us a little bit to do. :-)
Sat, 12 Dec 2015 - 23min - 301 - How To Name And Brand Your Product (Episode #140)
When it comes to giving your product a name, this is something you want to put some thought into and not just "shoot from the hip".
I've had some real doosies for product names. My first product was called "3 Day Money"... which is probably my worst product name of all time. But, even the Blog Monetization Lab itself used to be called "Inner Circle"... then the "VIP". :D
What is wrong with these names?
Well, in this episode, I boil it down to 3 things to keep in mind with your product names:
Brand-ability Communicating the benefit Avoiding ConfusionsI explain each of these in this episode. I also talk about the exercise you should go through to arrive at an awesome product name. Lastly, I discuss 3 specific followup tasks you should do, both while considering a name, as well as after you've chosen one.
Don't take the name of your product lightly. This episode of Coffee Break can help you avoid problems down the road in your marketing.
So let us go in and get into our topic of today...
We have already talked about it in several episodes of the show; the process of creating a product. We talked about that in a few different episodes here. Again, you can go view the archives and go back and find that.
But we need to talk about naming the product, as well, because what you call the product is an important part of the marketing of the product and it then has something to do with selling it. So we need to discuss how we name it. Do we just name some summary type of title that just kind of says what it is about or do we need to think about some other considerations there? At the end of the day, your product name needs to serve as a brand name for that product. The name of your product needs to be something that can stand alone. It does not mean that it needs to go out and be on a whole separate website or it needs to stand alone from you, but it needs to be able to exist as a brand unto itself.
To show you some examples of kind of how I have screwed this up in the past; because I am not going to sit here and tell you that product naming has always been my thing, even to this day this is something that I struggle with. Now, it certainly helps that today, my main offer with my business is the Blog Monetization Lab. So, right now, I only really have one central product and it is fairly well named, actually. But I want to give you a little bit of background into some of the stuff that I kind of pulled in the past and you can kind of see what I am talking about here.
Wed, 09 Dec 2015 - 16min - 300 - Do You Need To Plan Out A Big Product Launch? (Episode #139)
So, you have that new product you'd like to bring to market. It could be a new ebook, a new course, a new membership site, etc.
So, you start thinking about product launches.
Launches are sexy - no doubt about it. You've like heard the tales of the huge pay days. The million dollar days. Hell, you'd be OK with a multi-thousand day, right? :-) And it seems as if some big product launch is the way to go.
But, is it? Do you really need to do a traditional product launch?
In this episode, I talk about the fun parts of a launch... as well as some of the realities of a launch. Behind the scenes, it isn't always as sexy as it can seem.
When is a launch a good idea? When does it make sense?
And when should you slow down and think a little longer term, and perhaps forget about a traditional launch?
And how do you get started setting up an evergreen launch funnel?
All this and more... in this episode of CBB.
Sat, 05 Dec 2015 - 17min - 299 - Securing Your Product: How To Keep People From Stealing It (Episode #138)
For anybody who creates digital products for sale, there will inevitably come that concern of other people stealing it and making it available for free somewhere.
It happens.
How much should you really worry about it? Is it really that big a problem? And, what can you do to keep it from happening?
In this episode, we'll talk about tools you can use to protect your paid content from getting stolen (at least easily).
Keep in mind... if a person has the right tools and right knowledge, there is little you can do about this. Where there is a will, there is a way. :-)
So, let's talk about what to do about it and to what degree you should let it occupy your thought process.
So, let us get into that... Let's talk about Securing Your Product... Namely, how to keep people from stealing it.
Now, here is the thing... I know that especially when you are first getting started and you put products out there for sale that you want to prevent people who have not bought your product from being able to gain access to it. Now, I will be upfront with you, that I believe that many people who are first starting out tend to worry about this problem a lot more than they probably need to. I mean, the thing is... the nature of digital products is that it can be duplicated. There is not much that you can do about it at the end of the day. If it can appear in somebody's web browser and if somebody has the know-how, they can get it. They can download it; even if you try to keep them from downloading it, if they have the right knowledge and the right software, they can get it. Okay?
So the first thing that I want to do is discuss the question of:
Should you even worry about this? Should you put a lot of effort into keeping people from stealing your stuff?
Wed, 02 Dec 2015 - 14min - 298 - You've Sold Out!: How To Deal With The Haters (Episode #137)
There's always that tiny risk, yet many bloggers who are new to all this fear it almost out of proportion to the reality... You put your product out there, and somebody gets mad.
"You've sold out!", they say.
How do you deal with the haters, if they happen?
There are two aspects to this that we discuss in this episode...
- The truths about the haters The truths about YOU.
It goes both ways. So let's address this fear head on, in this episode of Coffee Break Blogging.
Now, let us talk about our topic of today which is... HATERS.
Sat, 28 Nov 2015 - 16min - 297 - Naming Your Price: The True Starting Line To Growing A Real Business (Episode #136)
We'll end off this multi-part series on pricing with a bird's eye view of the whole thing...
So many bloggers out there don't have any product yet. They just use banner ads... or affiliate links. And, all this stuff about pricing doesn't yet apply to them.
If that's you, then realize this...
Until you make your first offer and name your price, you haven't even really gotten to the starting line.
Your offer is the starting line.
Give this episode a listen. It is important if you ever intend to make your blog the crux of a full-time income.
Wed, 25 Nov 2015 - 07min - 296 - How Do You Figure Out What Price To Charge? (Episode #135)
Figuring out your price for your product is usually a touchy subject. What if you price it too high and nobody buys it? What if you shoot too low?
This is an episode you might want to have a note paper handy for before listening.
In this episode, we'll discuss: The most common mistake product creators make when pricing their product How YOUR perception of value of your product can be different than your customers... The basis for determining your price How to survey your audience to find out what they'd be willing to pay How to ask them what they'll pay without directly asking 4 specific questions to learn price sensitivity Looking at the prices of your competition... and how to compete with themThis is a meaty episode. Get ready. :-)
So let us get in to our topic for today, which is pricing.
Sat, 21 Nov 2015 - 20min - 295 - Is There Any Reason For Prices Which End In 7? (Episode #134)
In the world of internet marketing, you very often see people price their products with prices that end in 7. $7.... $27.... $97...
Why do they do that? Is there some hidden psychological reason for this?
The answer is no, and this episode goes into it.
We discuss: How the 7 prices got started How you never see an emphasis on 7 outside of the IM world Whether it makes any sense or not to test out incremental price changes When is the ONLY time it makes sense to make such tests?Let's put this into perspective.
What we are going to be talking about today is going to be kind of informal but it is one that you guys have seen many, many times... And that is Prices that end in 7. Very, very popular in the whole internet marketing world. And you might wonder, is there any reason for it? Is there some deep reason you are unaware of why so many internet marketing prices end in the number 7?
Wed, 18 Nov 2015 - 11min - 294 - Setting Your Price Part 3 - How To Test A Price And Product Idea (Episode #133)
A story that is all too common...
You get a product idea. So, you ask a few people about it and they give you glowing feedback. They tell you its a great idea and they'd be interested in it. So, you think you have a winner on your hands. You're onto something! You go and make it, put it out there for sale and...
Nothing. No sales.
What the hell happened?
Another common one is to create a product you think is awesome. You let a few people into it for free to get feedback. They tell you great things. Then, comes time to sell it and once again...
No sales.
So, this begs the question...
How do you test out a product idea? How do you test out a price?
Well, the short answer is "pre-sell".
This episode describes the typical situation people find themselves in - and then walks step-by-step through the pre-sales process and how to do this for yourself.
The Blog Monetization Model starts with "product/market fit". This process is a HUGE part of how you find and validate that fit.
Sat, 14 Nov 2015 - 16min - 293 - Setting Your Price Part 2 - When Is The Right Time For Low Prices? (Episode #132)
In terms of techniques to drive sales, the most common one out there is the low-ball the price.
Put it on sale, offer a discount, put out a coupon.
And sure, it works. For awhile. Until it doesn't.
See, low prices is really lazy marketing. And if you end up relying on it too much, it puts your business into a poor position.
That said, there IS a good time to have low prices.
There's a specific reason for them - and a specific context to them.
In this episode of CBB - and part 2 of our series on setting your prices - we talk all about low prices.
The 5 dangers of relying on low prices as your primary sales strategy When the right time is to use low prices Specific " real world" examples of low price strategies being used correctlyThis is an important episode, because the last thing I want you to do is mislead yourself into thinking you're going to generate a really nice income online on the back of $7 eBooks. :)
Today we are going to go into Part 2 on how to determine and specify what to charge people... How to set your prices. And today, I want to specifically talk about When Is the Right Time to Have a Low Price Point? And this is a really important topic because I find a lot of people really do try to low-ball their price; almost as if it is a crutch, like they are depending on it. Like you can't make sales unless you low-ball the price or if you are giving discounts and coupon codes and things like that. Or I also see people who just instinctually go to low prices because, quite frankly, they are scared to charge anything more than that. And so, we need to talk about this. We need to talk about when is the right time to use low prices and when it is not the right time to use low prices.
Wed, 11 Nov 2015 - 15min - 292 - How To Determine And Specify What Price To Charge - Part 1 (Episode #131)
In the first of a series where we'll be talking about how to set your prices, we're going to deep dive on the psychological factors that affect pricing - both for your customer... and for YOU.
Many people struggle with what to charge for their products. And the easiest path is just to low-ball the price. While low prices have their place, it is too often done out of fear.
Fear of being salesy Fear of not making sales Fear of being able to deliverSo, how do we get past that?
In this installment of CBB, we'll talk about how to get over the confidence issues with your offer and your price. We'll also talk about the foundation for how to set your price. Lastly, we're going to talk about how price affects what happens AFTER the sale has been made. This is a HIGHLY important topic... and may very well result in you confidently asking for higher prices. :-)
This is the first of a multi-part series having to do with prices - an important aspect of product creation and the monetization of our businesses.
Also, if you're finding these episodes valuable, I'd highly appreciate it if you could post a quick review over in iTunes. You can also share on social media and direct people to CoffeeBreakBlogging.com. Be sure to use hashtag #cbb so that I can see it and thank you.
So let us get in to our topic for today...
Topics We'll Cover In This SeriesWhat I want to talk to you about today is actually the start of a multi-part series that we are going to run for the next few installments of Coffee Break Blogging. And we are going to talk specifically, about pricing... How to price your products. This is an often a very confusing topic for people; and me, too, at many times. And there is not an entrepreneur out there who has not second guess himself of what their pricing should be. So, if that is what you feel; it is totally normal, it is totally fine. So what we are going to be talking about here over the next few episodes is just some of what goes into deciding what price to have for the various products that you are selling. So if you are worried about pricing your product too high; or are you thinking maybe it will be better to aim low and hopefully make up for it and they'll buy them, or are you one of those people who just basically give everything away for free, then in a lot of times there are just psychological reasons behind that.
Sometimes there are legitimate marketing reasons to give things away for free; in many cases like lead magnets and blog posts and stuff, but sometimes I find that bloggers are just giving things away for free because they are actually outright afraid to ask for money. So those are some of the things that I want to begin talking about on this episode and in the next few episodes. I want to talk about things like, our fear on charging higher prices; I want to talk about why the size of your product does not necessarily have to be humongous... I want to talk a little bit about what happens after they buy based on what they pay; because that is definitely something you need to keep in mind, especially with instructional products. I want to talk a little bit about the balance of exchange and how important that is. I want to talk a little bit about why aiming low on your prices is not always a good idea but there is a specific right place where low prices make sense.
We are going to talk about how to test out a product idea that you want to charge money for and see if it has any legs. We are going to talk a little bit about those internet marketing style prices that end in seven, and whether there is really anything to it. We are going to talk about how price affects the perceived value of your product. We are going to talk about how to ask people what they pay, but without actually just straight up asking them... How much are you willing to pay; you know, it is going to be a lame question. And we are going to talk about how your pricing is affected by your competition.
Not all of that are we going to be talking about today; but let us go and get started on this topic and talk about a few of them...
Sat, 07 Nov 2015 - 19min - 291 - Setting Up A Membership Site Community (Episode #130)
Should you have a community inside your membership site? Should you set up a forum or set up a private Facebook group? That's the topic of this installment of CBB.
Truth is, while there are many benefits of having a community inside your membership, it also comes with several cons. And those cons are much more pronounced in the beginning.
In this episode, we'll discuss: Pros and Cons of having a community Choosing a platform for your community When is a Facebook group better than a forum? When should you say "no" to a community for your membership? When is the right time to start a community? What is my preferred platform and why?Lastly, if you're finding these episodes valuable, I'd highly appreciate it if you could post a quick review over in iTunes. You can also share on social media and direct people to CoffeeBreakBlogging.com. Be sure to use #cbb so that I can see it and thank you.
Wed, 04 Nov 2015 - 17min - 290 - 10 Tactics For Increasing Your Member Retention Rate (Episode #129)
In our last episode, we talked about member onboarding and how it helps you keep members in your membership site longer (member retention).
In today's show, we're going to go right at the topic of retention head on...
How do you increase member retention rates?
We're going to cover 10 specific tactics to make it happen, including:
Orientation A member challenge Community swag Get them to promote your program (and its for a specific reason) Gamification Payment Plans Monthly content teasers Community Stand For Something Promote best members to VIPFor an explanation of each of these tactics, give this episode a good read. :-)
Lastly, if you're finding these episodes valuable, I'd highly appreciate it if you could post a quick review over in iTunes. You can also share on social media and direct people to CoffeeBreakBlogging.com. Be sure to use hashtag #cbb so that I can see it and thank you.
In the last episode; Episode 128, we talked about member onboarding which is that on ramp that you need to send new members to your Membership Site through in order to get them integrated and moving along. Now, that has a lot to do with retention; which is how long will your member stick around. Along that note, I want to go a little further on that topic of Member Retention. And we are going to talk about 10 different tactics for increasing your member retention rate on your membership site.
And we are going to go fairly quick through this; we are not going to get super-detailed on them because this is a "coffee break" session. It is not supposed to be that long. If you want to jump further into all these things, I actually am working on it currently and it will be posted soon inside the Blog Monetization Lab, but I am creating a new very in-depth Action Plan called the Membership Site Blueprint. And this Membership Site Blueprint will be a full, beginning to end on a how to set up a membership site that is profitable. Not only that, I am going to take you behind the scenes on exactly how I built the Blog Marketing Academy. Not only every little tool, but how those tools are configured. It is all going to be there, it is going to be a true blueprint and it will be only available to members of Blog Monetization Lab.
So let's jump right in to it. ;-)
Sat, 31 Oct 2015 - 20min - 289 - How To Make Your Recurring Members Stick Around Longer Using Onboarding (Episode #128)
So, once you have a member sign up for your membership site, how do you get them started? How do you get them to stick around?
After all, your monthly program really doesn't matter that much if people don't stay a member.
An important component of this is called ONBOARDING.
It is what happens immediately after they join in order to get them up to speed, get them consuming material, and get them winning.
In this episode, I talk about the goals of onboarding and some ways of doing it. These tactics will also go along way toward increasing your member retention.
Lastly, if you're finding these episodes valuable, I'd highly appreciate it if you could post a quick review over in iTunes. You can also share on social media and direct people to CoffeeBreakBlogging.com. Be sure to use hashtag #cbb so that I can see it and thank you. ;-)
Wed, 28 Oct 2015 - 18min - 288 - 5 Techniques To Get New Members To Sign Up For Your Membership Site (Episode #127)
How do you go about selling a monthly recurring membership? Is it harder to sell a monthly membership than a one-time payment?
In this episode of CBB, we dive right into the topic of selling a recurring monthly membership. And we do that by discussing 5 different techniques for getting new members.
We'll discuss: Webinars Front-End Offers and "Splintering" Different positioning Blog calls to action TrialsHow (and when) do you use these different things? Learn the in's and out's of each of the 5 techniques in this episode of Coffee Break.;-)
Sat, 24 Oct 2015 - 21min - 287 - How Can You Set Up A Monthly, Recurring Membership Site Subscription? (Episode #126)
OK, let's be real... all this talk about membership sites lately here on CBB, and what really makes it "sexy" is the monthly recurring revenue. I've made it clear that a membership site can be used in many other ways, but people REALLY like that monthly recurring revenue.
So, how can you do it? What can you offer that justifies a monthly subscription?
We'll discuss: The one simple rule that you must follow to sell a subscription and keep them from cancelling The 5 things people will pay the MOST money for Examples of how to build these 5 things people buy into your membership 2 key factors of delivery to keep your members around How I deliver monthly content to my own members How to go about building a member community How to do what I call "outsourced thinking" and charge for itThis episode will likely get the gears going and generate some ideas for you on how you could set up a monthly recurring subscription program for your blog. I hope it does, because this kind of business model is the "holy grail" of online business.
Once you've set this up, you'll find there's no more preferable way to go. :-)
Wed, 21 Oct 2015 - 22min - 286 - Shopping Carts: How Do You Choose One? (Episode #125)
Hello there! I'm back with another episode of Coffee Break Blogging; Episode 125. It's amazing how these episode numbers just stack up so quickly! :-)
In the last episode, we talked about how to take credit cards on your site. But, the next question is... how do you actually accept the order?
That's where the shopping cart comes in. And, there are a TON of these things out there to choose from.
But, what kind of shopping cart do you really need?
In this episode, we'll discuss: The different kinds of shopping carts In which circumstances you should use each kind of cart Different options for keeping things SIMPLE, especially when you have just a few downloadable products to sell An overview of the hosted shopping cart systems and why you may want one The benefits of using a membership site platform as your shopping cart Exactly how I do it at the Blog Marketing AcademyThe shopping cart market is huge with lots of competitors. This episode of CBB will help you find your way through it all.
Sat, 17 Oct 2015 - 19min - 285 - How To Accept Credit Cards On Your Blog (Episode #124)
In order to sell much of anything on your blog, you're going to need to be able to accept credit cards. But, just HOW do you do that?
This episode of Coffee Break is a 101-level overview of exactly how to accept credit cards.
We'll discuss: What's a merchant account and payment gateway? Do you NEED a merchant account? How much does a merchant account cost? Is a merchant account cheaper than Stripe? Should you use Paypal? How does a credit card transaction work?If you need a "plan English" discussion on how to take credit cards on your site, give this episode a good focus right now. :-)
Wed, 14 Oct 2015 - 21min - 284 - The Tools I Use To Build Membership Sites (Episode #123)
Today, here at Coffee Break, we are going to talk some more about membership sites. And because I've been asked many times what tools I use personally to build my membership site, the Blog Monetization Lab, this episode is my answer to that question.
We'll discuss... What membership plug-in do I use? How do I build my sales pages and checkout page, and what do I REALLY think about Lead Pages? How do I process credit cards? How do I put together the Action Plans and courses?Today, actually, we are going to specifically get a little bit technical. We are going to talk about the tools that I use to build membership sites. So we are going to talk about some specific tools that basically, this is how the Blog Monetization Lab is built. So if you have ever wondered how I put it together, this podcast is going to answer that question.
Sat, 10 Oct 2015 - 19min - 283 - 6 Reasons Why You Should Create A Membership Site (Episode #122)
Hello there! This is yet another new episode of Coffee Break Blogging, where today we are going to talk about 6 Reasons why you should probably think about turning your blog into a Membership Site.
I've said this many times...
A blog is NOT a business. It is merely a marketing platform for a business and the actual business almost always takes place somewhere else.
But, there is just one exception... The membership site.
I am a HUGE fan of the membership site. And, this goes way beyond recurring monthly billing (as that is only one application of a membership site). For many reasons, if you want to turn your blog into a business, I believe turning it into a membership site is the way to go. So in this episode, I share 6 specific reasons why I believe you should consider turning your blog into a membership site. If you intend to sell information-based products at all, especially on your blog, then this episode is made for you.
Now, I want to say right off the bat, that when you hear the word "Membership Site" and if you only associate that word with monthly recurring billing, I want you to realize that what we are going to be talking about today is bigger than that. Because what I am really talking about is turning your blog into a business platform. And the membership site is essentially just the platform of the business. It really will be the business itself and all of your products, not just recurring, can take place this way. So it is a different way of thinking about it. Certainly, the monthly recurring revenue is sexy; it is something that we all like and certainly I am a huge fan of, and it has its place in the funnel that we are looking to build behind our blogs. But realize that when I say that we should turn our blog into a membership site, we are talking about something bigger than just recurring monthly type of programs.
So with that being said, I want to jump right in to why you should probably look into turning your blog into a membership site, and this of course is for people who are looking to actually make money doing this; to actually create an information centric business online via your blog.
Wed, 07 Oct 2015 - 15min - 282 - 6 Hard-Learned Info Product Creation Lessons After 17 Years In the Business (Episode #121)
Hello there! So we're here again in another episode of Coffee Break Blogging!
This episode is going to be fun... and that's because I shed light on some of my big product creation screw-ups over the last 17 years.
What can you learn from my mistakes?
My goal is to save you time and effort by allowing you to see some of my... shall we say, "finer" decisions over the years. ;-)
We'll discuss... Why the way to make more money with your business is NOT to focus on marketing and conversions Why you should literally SCHEDULE time for delivery The big mistake I made with my first training product Why you shouldn't make a BIG training course Why I moved from making big courses to creating "Action Plans" for my members How to structure your products so they're actually effective My somewhat humorous experiences with NAMING my products... how I screwed it up and what this means for you.Learn from my mistakes. When I teach this stuff, I do it from a lot of experience. :-)
Sat, 03 Oct 2015 - 23min - 281 - 4 Tips To Create Your Online Course Faster - And How To Ensure You Finish (Episode #120)
Your entire business strategy depends on having effective products to offer to your audience. Preferably, more than one. And in order to do that, you need to be able to create these things quickly and effectively.
In this episode of Coffee Break, we're going to talk about how to SPEED UP product creation.
We'll discuss.... Why you should plan your product BEFORE you start making it The exact tool I use to outline my training products My internal process for producing Action Plans for the Blog Monetization Lab Why you should consider teaching your product (the first time) in a live environment Why it is OK to sell your product before you ever make itPut these tips to use and you'll drastically speed up your product creation. This doesn't have to be a big deal. And "lack of time" should not be an excuse for not having products of your own to sell.
Wed, 30 Sep 2015 - 13min - 280 - How To Create An Awesome Online Training Course (Episode #119)
Coming straight off an important discussion about how to build the different learning styles into your training products (see episode 118), we're now going to move into some of the specifics on how to create an awesome online training course.
How can you make the course truly effective? How can you alleviate confusion? How do you put it together?
In this episode, we'll discuss: 4 highly important aspects of a successful course What to do before you ever create your first training video Whether you need to use modules or not Should you give them everything at once or drip it out to them? How to make your job as the instructor much easier (and ensure you get the course done quickly) The learning management system I use to assemble my courses Where to host your training videos How to do a "digital whiteboard" video How to make your training videos more engaging and less boringThere's a lot in this episode (and its a little bit longer than the average CBB episode). Be prepared to take notes.
So now, let's get started with this new episode of Coffee Break Blogging!
Sat, 26 Sep 2015 - 26min - 279 - How To Create Training Content That Works (Episode #118)
If you're going to create informational training products that SELL, you're going to need to make it effective. With that in mind, you need to pay some attention to specifically engineering your product to get the stated result on the receiving end: your student.
To do that, we need to look at the different learning styles people have and specifically create our training to cater to them. In this way, you'll have students who get results and end up praising your course.
We'll discuss: The 7 primary learning styles How we can build each of these 7 learning styles into our product An overview of the 4MAT learning system A simple 5-party structure you can use to create training videosIn the end, it doesn't matter how well you sell a course... if it doesn't actually get the result, it will ultimately all come down. This is how you make your course DELIVER.
Wed, 23 Sep 2015 - 18min - 278 - Product Creation Starts With Your Offer (Episode #117)
Most people create the product they think will be wanted and loved... then proceed to make the sales page and offer afterward. This can result in a flop.
In my opinion, the best way to do this is to start with your offer and then create the product to match it.
But, what goes into creating the offer?
In this episode, we'll discuss: Why most people get split testing all wrong 6 factors for creating an offer that will sell How to remove risk so people will trust you enough to buy What to do if your perfect offer isn't something you feel you can deliverSat, 19 Sep 2015 - 13min - 277 - 8 Tips For Creating An Awesome Information Training Product (Episode #116)
Hello there! Welcome back to Coffee Break Blogging where we are going to be talking today about creating an awesome information training product. And if you're in the business of creating training products (or plan to be), this is an important episode.
I've been creating information training products for over a decade now - and this episode sums up 8 important tips I've learned over the years on how to make great products.
You'll learn... Why the "thud factor" is a mistake and why your product should be smaller Why you need to outline your product before you make it Why you need to CONTROL your student The importance of a clear start and end The danger found in the WORDS you use inside your product How to design your product so that your student wins and they KNOW they did.Wed, 16 Sep 2015 - 20min - 276 - What Kind Of Information Product Should You Sell? An Overview (Episode #115)
Welcome back to Coffee Break Blogging!
Today we are going to talk about what kind of information product that you can sell. We are kind of going to do a little bit of a bird's eye overview over the different product types.
But before we jump in to that I want to give you a quick reminder, especially for those of you who are newer to the show that this is of course a podcast but it is more than that. It is actually a course that goes in a particular order. And so, we are at a particular stage in our overall sequence of starting an online business from scratch and we happen to be at that point now where we are talking about building the actual business side of things where we are going to start talking about money and product creation and that type of thing; hence today's topic. But if you would like to play "catch up" and look at the past episodes of the show, you can go over to coffeebreakblogging.com, check out the archives, go back in time and check out everything that we have done. This is Episode 115, so obviously it goes back away. So once again, coffeebreakblogging.com.
Okay, let's jump right in to today's topic... What kind of information product should you sell?
A Bird's Eye View Of Main Product Types You Can Make Physical product Software product (software as a service) Training/Info product ServiceI give the pros and cons of each, then we dive into the main types of information products.
You'll find out: The problem with eBooks as a product type What a membership site is, really Why I prefer the membership site as a product platform How a live workshop has many benefits as an offerI sat down and looked at the big types of products here and I came out with those 4 huge categories of products mentioned above. Let's discuss each one in bird's eye view, at least.
Sat, 12 Sep 2015 - 18min - 275 - How To Validate A Product Idea Before Going All In (Episode #114)
The LAST thing you want to do is spend a lot of time creating a product that nobody wants. And, quite frankly, even if you have a number of people TELL you it is a great idea... don't listen to them.
... because the ONLY valid test for a product idea is whether people will yank out their wallet and buy it right there on the spot.
In this episode of Coffee Break Blogging, I discuss the PRE-SELL. Selling a product before you even make it. Not only is this a great way to test an offer, but it is also a way for you to generate some revenue (potentially) immediately because you can just create the offer out of thin air.
Find out: Why an actual order is the only valid product test How to create an offer for something which doesn't yet exist How you can do this even if you don't have an audience yet The minimum number of people to bring to your offer page to consider it a valid test How you can use webinars to build leads AND test potential offers at the same timeWed, 09 Sep 2015 - 14min - 274 - Going BIG: Why You Should Design Your Business Backwards (Episode #113)
We start off this episode with a matter of simple math...
You're not going to create a nice six-figure online business on the back of little eBook sales.
Remember, there are 3 ways to grow a business...- Get more customers Get more frequent purchases Get higher ticket sales.
With that in mind, we begin talking about DESIGNING your business with this in mind: Namely, your funnel and why you should lay it out BACKWARDS.
Sat, 05 Sep 2015 - 16min - 273 - How To Determine What Products To Create For Your Audience (Episode #112)
In order to build a real business online and generate the most revenue, you'll need to create and offer products of your own rather than relying on affiliate marketing. And it ALL starts with getting solid ideas for products to create in the first place.
In this episode, we discuss several methods for gathering ideas on what your audience needs and wants.
We'll talk about... The first place to start when getting product ideas How to gather ideas from your market even if you don't have an audience of your own yet The 7 word question you can insert into your list to get endless ideas The most effective - yet most forgotten strategy for learning TONS about your target market An extremely important point about the makeup of any product you create moving forwardI recommend you keep an idea list inside of Evernote or some other document, because this process of getting product ideas will be ongoing.
Wed, 02 Sep 2015 - 15min - 272 - An Overview Of The Blog Profit Funnel (Episode #111)
The concept of the "funnel" has been used in sales for years. And it is quite possible that you've heard the idea of the sales funnel before. In this episode of CBB, I outline what I call the blog profit funnel.
This is the sales funnel adapted to what I believe is the best version of it for a blog-based online business.
In this episode, you'll learn: The 3 key ways to grow any business How these 3 business growth strategies are built right into our funnel The key role of each of the 3 stages of the funnel Why a membership site is, in my opinion, an awesome business model. Especially for bloggers How these funnels fit into the blogToday we are going to talk about what I call The Blog Profit Funnel. What we are basically going to be talking about here is the idea of a sales funnel. The reason I call it blog profit funnel is simply because the way that I put the system together is that it is very much integrated with the blog, which is something that not all marketers do. A lot of marketers run paid traffic and stuff; that stuff, we will be talking about as well. But being that we are talking about here is a blog centric business, I am basically just kind of adding a little naming tweak to the concept of the sales funnel because we are applying it to our blog.
So I want to be clear about that; it is called the blog profit funnel, at least in my world. I want to also say that what are we going to be doing in this episode is kind of giving a broad overview of that funnel. But we are not going to be getting in to all the details of it. And I am actually not going to spend a lot of time on every little nitty-gritty detail of it only because it is the stuff that I teach inside the Blog Monetization Lab. So with that being said, let us go ahead and start talking a little bit here about this funnel.
Sat, 29 Aug 2015 - 17min - 271 - The Transformation And Why It Is Your Roadmap To Products To Sell (Episode #110)
The first and possibly most fundamental concept to understand in order to build a profitable blog is the transformation.
Everything begins with the transformation. Product/market fit is determined by the transformation that your audience is looking to achieve.
In this episode, we'll cover: What do I mean by "transformation"? How the transformation maps out to potential products to offer How understanding the transformation is also the key to effective affiliate marketing How to move forward if you're in a niche where you can't figure out the transformationWed, 26 Aug 2015 - 17min - 270 - Why Banner Advertising Is the Dumbest Way To Monetize Your Blog (Episode #109)
As we begin our series on monetization and the business side of blogging, we simply MUST address the topic of banner advertising. Banner ads is usually the default way to monetize a blog. It just so happens to also be the DUMBEST way to go about it.
In this episode, I'm going to make it very clear where I stand on banner ads. Even though I've made quite a bit of money with banners in the past, I still believe it isn't the best way to go for many blogs.
It comes down to some problems which I give the details below...
- It doesn't make much money at all. It sends people away from your blog. Readers hate them. It delivers no value. It makes a mockery of what you're doing.
In this episode, I explain all 5 points - with backup. I also reveal the one SMART way to make money with ads. Lastly, I talk about the one situation where banner ads is really the only way to go for you.
Sat, 22 Aug 2015 - 15min - 269 - Pit Stop: Where We've Been. Where We're Going. (Episode #108)
In this episode, we take one of our "pit stops" to look at the bird's eye view of what we're doing on this podcast, where we've been - and where we're heading.
Based on the 7 Stages of Building An Online Business, this podcast goes in chronological order - to show you how to build a blog-centric online business from scratch.
We are about to embark on stage 5: DELIVERY. For the next many episodes, we will be talking various aspects of the BUSINESS. This will include info product creation, course creation, sales funnels, membership sites, launches, making offers, increasing conversions - and more.
But, first, let's take stock of where we've been so far...
Wed, 19 Aug 2015 - 09min - 268 - Why Monetization Is Your Key To Building Your Traffic (Episode #107)
Traffic has changed - big time. And many bloggers haven't realized it yet. In this episode, we talk about the new world of blog traffic and why your monetization strategies have EVERYTHING to do with how you're going to get traffic to your blog.
Driving traffic to your blog is actually a secondary priority. The model you use to bring them in the door has everything to do with how this is going to work.
Don't miss this episode of CBB to get acquainted with how you should be looking at blog traffic moving forward.
You can get all the traffic you want to your blog if you just change the way that you think about it.
So that is everything that we are going to be talking about in this episode of Coffee Break Blogging. We will be talking about "Why monetization is your key to building your traffic."
Sat, 15 Aug 2015 - 16min - 267 - How To Develop Your Editorial Calendar (Episode #106)Wed, 12 Aug 2015 - 17min
- 266 - Why You Should Plan Your Content Well In Advance (Episode #105)
This podcast has been planned out through the end of 2015; through episode 146, to be exact. This is a level of content planning that I haven't done in quite some time.
Thing is, it has been a HUGE time-saver. And that's the topic for today's episode of CBB - planning your content in advance.
When you fly by the seat of your pants on your content, it leads to a lot confusion on what to talk about, a lot of pressure on yourself... and it generally turns your blog into a digital slave driver. It isn't that much fun anymore.
It also happens to be not very effective, either.
The answer is PLANNING.
There are 4 specific reasons to plan your content in advance, which I share in this episode. Plus, I'll share some more details on exactly how I planned out this podcast so far in advance. Behind the scenes, baby! ;)
Sat, 08 Aug 2015 - 17min - 265 - The "Be Everywhere" Strategy. Just How "Everywhere" Are We Talking? (Episode #104)
Do you really need to be everywhere?
In this episode, I take a good hard look at "be everywhere" and whether it is necessary - or even smart - for a blogger looking to grow their web traffic. Is this the real secret... or a recipe for burnout?
I'm a HUGE believer in leverage as we grow our business. Truth is, trying to be everywhere is just inviting you to spend time on very LOW LEVERAGE activities.
I'll explain in full in this episode of CBB.
Wed, 05 Aug 2015 - 17min - 264 - Beyond Youtube, Where Else Should You Post Your Videos? (Episode #103)
No doubt that YouTube is the big kahuna when it comes to video marketing. IT is the biggest video site in the world, also the world's second biggest search engine. You will no doubt be publishing any video you produce to YouTube.
But, where else should you put it? Is YouTube the only place to bother with?
In this episode, we look at the relative importance of some of the other video sites out there, such as Vimeo, Viddler, Veoh, DailyMotion, etc.
And where exactly does Facebook fall into the mix? Surprisingly well, actually.
If you've wondered if you should be bothering to post your videos anywhere besides YouTube, this episode will answer that for you.
Today is our last episode where we are going to be talking about YouTube here on our little traffic series. Okay? But today, we are actually going to mention it in the course of leaving it. We are going to actually talk about the world beyond YouTube.
Should we post our videos anywhere else besides YouTube?
Sat, 01 Aug 2015 - 15min - 263 - Youtube Annotations: What Are They And How Do You Use Them? (Episode #102)
If you're going to use YouTube marketing to its fullest, then you're going to need to take the extra time to set up certain things for each YouTube video. One of those things is annotations.
What are YouTube annotations and how do you use them? That's the topic of this episode of CBB.
Also in this episode, I'll give you 5 specific tactics you can use annotations for in order to grow your list and increase engagement. I'll also share how this lazy guy (that's me) deals with annotations. ;-)
And that's what we're going to talk about in this episode of Coffee Break Blogging.
Wed, 29 Jul 2015 - 17min - 262 - How To Create Videos That Look Professional (Episode #101)
Welcome to Episode 101 of Coffee Break Blogging!
Today we are going to continue talking about videos; specifically on how to make good looking videos.
If we're going to use video marketing to grow our traffic, we want to make sure those videos look as "pro" as we can. It doesn't need to be perfect. It doesn't need to be Hollywood. But, it does need to look somewhat pro so that people enjoy watching it.
In this episode, we'll discuss: Microphones to use to make your videos Cameras to use to make your videos How to record audio and video separately and match them together How to script a video and not have it look robotic The hardware and software that I am using personallySat, 25 Jul 2015 - 18min - 261 - How To Build Up Your YouTube Channel (Episode #100)
We've just spent the last 4 episodes talking about using podcasting to grow your traffic and your business. Now, we move into the topic of video.
And we'll start with Youtube. How exactly do you build up your Youtube channel? How do you get more video views? More subscribers?
Like anything, if you're going to do it right, it takes some time. So, let's do it with some foundation in mind.
In this episode, we'll talk about what I see as the two main approaches to YouTube: Being Helpful, and Being a Personality. For each, I'll share some of the things which go into it.
Then I share 8 best practices to build into your habits so that you can effectively build up your YouTube channel.
How you can control the "related videos" at the end of your video A little "trick" for dominating the related videos in the sidebar on YouTube.com, next to your own video. How to use your video stillshot to get more views. How to use Youtube as a social network to build your profile. How to look for good topics to make videos about.We also celebrate my 100th podcast! Really appreciate all of you - thanks for much being a part of it! ;-)
Wed, 22 Jul 2015 - 18min - 260 - 6 Strategies To Effectively Use Your Podcast To Build Your List And Sales (Episode #99)
We're talking about podcasting in these few episodes because it can definitely help you increase your traffic - and that's the stage of our business that we're currently talking about on Coffee Break.
But, surely... and ultimately, you want to build your list and sales. We start podcasts to grow our business.
But, how?
In this installment, I discuss a few specific strategies to help you monetize your podcast.
How to deliver calls to action on your show Specific tactics to build your email list from your podcast The 3 ways to promote your own products on your podcast A more advanced tactic which will allow you to specifically track the ROI of your podcast How to learn how to build your email followup engine, so that your podcast will then result in residual sales down the road from your email list.Sat, 18 Jul 2015 - 19min - 259 - 8 Strategies To Grow Your Podcast Audience (Episode #98)
Now that you've decided to start and launch your own podcast, it is time to start thinking about the long road to growing your audience. Podcasting is indeed a long-term content marketing play. Results are not immediate. This episode will show you some of the tactics you need to build into your podcasting for the long haul.
If you're going to bother podcasting, you might as well do it for keeps. :-)
Wed, 15 Jul 2015 - 15min - 258 - How To Start And Launch Your Own Podcast (Episode #97)
If you listened to the last podcast and decided YES to launching your own podcast, then let me help you get started.
In this episode, I'll share with you how to get started with your show and how to go about launching it.
Sat, 11 Jul 2015 - 20min - 257 - Should You Start A Podcast Of Your Own? (Episode #96)
You've possibly heard about the big surge in podcasting lately. And since we're talking about growing our traffic during this phase of the podcast, a natural question is....
"Should YOU Start A Podcast?"This episode starts with some basic stats on the growth and popularity of podcasting from the likes of Edison Research and Libsyn. Numerically speaking, it seems like podcasting makes a lot of sense. And for many, it does.
But, there's some questions you need to ask before diving in so that you don't run into the wall quickly and sputter. I share 4 specific questions you need to ask yourself before starting a podcast. Also, I give you 3 things you need to think about before getting started.
No doubt - podcasting can be a powerful extension of your blog and your brand. This very podcast is even beginning to catch up to my blog. When you compare my weekly downloads to my weekly blog visits, the podcast is now doing about 43% of the traffic of my main blog. Really cool! But, don't dive in without asking yourself these key questions.
Learn from my mistakes. :-)
Wed, 08 Jul 2015 - 18min - 256 - Do Facebook Page Likes And Twitter Followers Actually Matter? (Episode #95)
A lot of bloggers spend a fair amount of time trying to grow vanity metrics like their Facebook fans and Twitter followers. But, we must ask the basic question... "Does it matter anymore?"
In this episode, we'll discuss some basic statistics. Just what is the average organic reach of a post on Facebook? What is the average click-through rate on a tweet? And given these metrics, is this really where our time is best spent?
How should you deal with the issue of your fanbase on social media? Need you worry much about the size?
So let's talk about Facebook Page Likes and Twitter Followers and basically any of these vanity metrics that many people think about, here today at Coffee Break Blogging.
Sat, 04 Jul 2015 - 13min - 255 - The New World of SEO (Episode #94)
SEO has long been a thorn in the side of all blog owners. And a lot of sweating has been done over getting backlinks, proper keywords, keyword density, meta tags... yada yada.
But, things have evolved. Today, the new SEO is User Experience Optimization or UXO for short. Do they click it? Do they read it? And do they ENGAGE with it?
This episode talks about 5 key factors of UXO and immediate actions you can take to improve the quality of your content, but also optimize the user experience. Which will in turn help your rankings in the new world of search as it stands today.
Wed, 01 Jul 2015 - 18min - 254 - Is Guest Posting An Effective Traffic Strategy Anymore? (Episode #93)
In early 2014, Matt Cutts (from Google) all but declared guest posting to be dead. But, is it really?
In past episodes of this podcast, I've even bad-mouthed guest posting to a degree.
So, in this episode, it is time to clarify things. Does guest posting still work? IS it still worth your time? When is the right (and very WRONG) time to use guest posting as a traffic strategy?
Sat, 27 Jun 2015 - 13min - 253 - 4 Social Media Tools To Help Grow Your Business... Conveniently (Episode #92)
Using social media can definitely be a big tool in your arsenal when it comes to growing your blog traffic. Thing is, it can also be a HUGE time suck.
In order for it not to take over your life, you need to use tools to help you get the benefits of social media without sacrificing all your time.
In this episode, I discuss 4 specific tools I have used in order to automate my social media (to a degree) and make it take less time.
Social media purists might take issue with this. However, if you want to grow your blog and your revenue, you have to spend your time on the more effective things. And, playing around with social media all day isn't going to get you there. So today we are going to talk a little bit more about it, and specifically some of the tools that you can use to make it a more convenient thing to do.
Wed, 24 Jun 2015 - 14min - 252 - How To Set Up A Syndication Strategy For Your Blog Posts (Episode #91)
The answer to getting blog traffic is to ensure your content is out there where your prospects and future readers are hanging out. In other words, you need to be found OUT THERE. The answer to doing that is called syndication.
The "secret" to effective syndication is found in two words: leverage and repurposing.
In this episode, I go over multiple syndication tactics you can use in order to get your blog content out there and into other formats. That's the key... to reach people where they're at rather than cross your fingers and hope they find your blog on their own.
Today, here at Coffee Break, we are going to talk about blog post syndication... That’s how to get your blog post out there and make as much headway as we can with them, get as much traffic as we can with them.
Sat, 20 Jun 2015 - 20min - 251 - How to Use Social Media To Distribute Your Blog Posts (Episode #90)
For many bloggers, promoting their new posts on social media is pretty much the only way they try to gain new traffic. Well, at least if you're going to do it, do it right. :-)
In this episode, we talk about how to promote your posts on social media - primarily for free. We talk about Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Google Plus. I share some tools you can use to automate it, and I also share a strategy you can use on Facebook to give each new post a jumpstart in the very beginning.
Wed, 17 Jun 2015 - 19min - 250 - Why You Should Be "Pixeling" Your Blog Visitors - Immediately (Episode #89)
All blogs have an inherent inefficiency in how they deal with traffic, and we see it show up in the form of our bounce rate. A certain percentage of people - often upwards of 80% - will visit a single page on your blog and then simply leave. And no matter what things you do to decrease that bounce rate, you can only fight it so much.
Enter the world of retargeting... Retargeting is the absolute easiest way to get started in paid traffic. It is also very cheap and very easy to get a VERY good ROI with it. It also just so happens to short-circuit the entire problem of bounce rate.
By "pixeling" every single person who comes to your blog, you are building what I call your "second list". It is a real asset almost as important as your email list. And in this episode of Coffee Break Blogging, I'll show you exactly how it radically improves the efficiency of your blog as a marketing platform.
You need to act on this information right away. As ad rates increase, it could become cost prohibitive to advertise at all, UNLESS you have a retargeting audience built. So, this episode is very important... and timely.
If you back up one Episode, go back to the previous episode, we did a smackdown between free traffic and paid traffic. We did talk about the benefits of paid traffic and how you really do need to mix it in with your "free" traffic.
Now when it comes to the paid traffic side of things, it just so happens that retargeting is one of the easiest ways to get started with this. It is really cheap and very, very effective. So that is what we are going to be talking about in this episode.
Sat, 13 Jun 2015 - 18min - 249 - Free Traffic Versus Paid Traffic. The Smackdown (Episode #88)
Paid traffic. Those two words usually scare the crap out of bloggers because... well... it costs money. However, it is really important that we understand the real differences between free traffic and paid traffic.
In this episode, we directly pit free traffic methods up against paid traffic. I outline several different free traffic methods and how they work, then we compare up against how things work when you use paid traffic.
If you really want to get more traffic to your blog and grow your online business, this will be a VERY important episode for you.
So, welcome back to Coffee Break Blogging! And today we are going to get deeper into the topic of Traffic.
Specifically what we are going to talk about today is free traffic versus paid traffic. And we are going to do a comparison between the two. We are going to call it the "smackdown". Because here is the thing, there are definitely differences between the ways the two types of traffic work. And it is not just because one costs money. So we really do need to look into what is involved with free traffic versus paid traffic. And also, I want to make the point to you that free traffic really isn't free. Okay? Most people don't even consider paid traffic because they just think "Well, that costs money; I therefore do not want to do it!" So they immediately go to the "free" traffic but I want you to understand that it isn't free. And not only that, your results are far from guaranteed.
So let's go and get started...
Wed, 10 Jun 2015 - 19min - 248 - Why Blog Traffic Is Like Rice - And How Blog Traffic Has Evolved (Episode #87)
The first key to growing your blog traffic is understanding what the world of traffic looks like today. Bloggers have been using the same techniques to grow their traffic for years now. Things like SEO, social media shares, guest posting, etc.
But, does it work? Yes and no. They can work, but it is VERY slow. And for some people it just doesn't work because they have a hard time standing out in a sea of high quality content.
Thing is, blog traffic is actually a lot like rice. You need to understand this. So, in this episode...
You'll learn: How blog traffic has evolved over the last several years How monetization has everything to do with your blog traffic Why stating your blog and growing traffic is similar to driving a manual transmission carSat, 06 Jun 2015 - 14min - 247 - Pit Stop: A Review Of Where We Are With Our Series (Episode #86)
This episode is a "pit stop" episode, as we end off on stage 3 of our business-building roadmap and move into Stage 4.
In this episode: An overview of the 7 stages to building an online business. A review of Stage 3 (Email Marketing) A look at what's coming up with Coffee Break Blogging A few awesome iTunes reviews. :-)In the next episode, we'll get started on Stage 4 which is TRAFFIC BUILDING.
Like I said, we're going to do a pit stop today. So let's get going! ;-)
Wed, 03 Jun 2015 - 13min - 246 - The Death Of The Email "Blast" (Episode #85)
Hello there! Welcome to another episode of Coffee Break Blogging.
We use a lot of funny words in online marketing - some of them a bit demeaning, actually. And one of them is the phrase "email blast".
Not only do none of your subscribers sign up in order to be "blasted", but it doesn't even work that well anymore as a strategy. Sending the same message to every single person on your list regardless of who they are just doesn't work that well.
In this episode, we'll talk about: Funny words marketers use Why the size of your email list doesn't matter The two metrics which are FAR more important than the size of your list How to adjust your email marketing strategy to this new world (or face extinction) How the world just isn't linear, and how your marketing has to adapt to this.Sat, 30 May 2015 - 14min
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