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Why Bloggers Give Out Oodles Of Information For Free

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Free Content

At this point, I have written over 300,000 words for this blog. I know there will be a certain point when this blog reaches 1 million words. Many people wonder why I have given away this much information for free, and better yet, why I actually plan on continuing. Other bloggers have also given away oodles of free information, and people continue to wonder why these bloggers give so much content away from free.

The goal of free valuable content is to build a connection with the person. The more valuable content you provide for free, the better your paid products must be. Customers have a belief that a paid product is better than a free product. When bloggers provide oodles of free content, visitors believe that the paid products contain more valuable content than what they are already getting. This does raise the bar quite high for bloggers, but it also results in more sales.

Bloggers want their visitors to subscribe and receive blog posts through email. Then, this leads to a sale. If you want to boost your sales and get more subscribers, you need to provide more free content and make sure that free content is also valuable. That’s how giving away oodles of free information yourself can grow your business.

 

Blogging Monetizing Do’s And Don’ts

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Blog Monetization

There are many ways to make money with a blog. Just like in any other scenario, not all options are created equal. Some methods of making more revenue with a blog are very effective while other methods are not what they appear to be.

Advertising is a big don’t. Many people see advertising as a way to generate extra revenue for a blog, but advertisements distract a visitor from reading your blog content. In addition, if someone is visiting your blog for the first time and clicks an ad, that person may not come back. You lost a potential returning visitor (who could have been a customer) for two extra pennies in your pocket.

That being said, I still see a potential for making money on a blog with advertising. However, I only see advertising useful for the big guys like John Chow and Jeff Bullas. Being one of the big guys means being as low on the Top 100,000 list as possible. If your Alexa Rank is not under 100,000, then you are not ready for ads. If your Alexa Rank is under 100,000, then it is at that point when people know about you and you are popular in your niche. You can slip in some ads on your blog at that point because you are going to make much more than two cents, and those people are going to return anyway.

No matter where you are with a blog, having your own products is a big must. Having multiple products with these three different price structures as well as some free products that provide value will allow you to make more revenue with your blog. This pricing system is used by John Chow who now makes seven figures (yes, the big million) every year from his blog.

It is important to note that creating your own products and being an affiliate are two different things. Being an affiliate marketing means promoting someone else’s product and getting a cut. However, when you get the sale as an affiliate marketer, people don’t come back to you. Let’s say you are an Amazon Associate, and a customer buys something with your referral link. You get a cut, but people are not going to come back to your blog just to buy from your referral link. Instead, they go directly to Amazon. They don’t care about your affiliate link. They only care about Amazon.

So, is affiliate marketing dead? I don’t think so. You can do a mix of affiliate marketing and promoting your own products (although you want to promote your products more often). In addition, you can tell your visitors to buy something with their affiliate link and then you will throw in one of your products for free. This means it is still possible for you to get a returning customer.

Another thing that works well is consultation sessions, if you have the time to do them. When deciding whether you are the right person to consult with, people will look at how valuable your content is and what you charge for a consultation session. The less you charge, the more sales you are going to get, but at the same time, you are going to have to talk to more people for more hours. That may get in the way of your work. The best option is to charge a high (but not overwhelming) price that encourages some people to buy the consultation session.

Two great ways to make money with a blog are creating your own products and having a consultation session. Affiliate marketing can be used sparingly, and affiliate marketing works as a good substitute for the people who do not have their own product…yet. Advertising should not even be attempted until your blog’s Alexa rank goes under 100,000. That means you are getting a huge number of returning visitors even if you slipped in an ad or two on your blog. At the same time, you don’t want to display too many ads no matter how popular your blog is because that popularity can spiral downwards with too many ads.

 

How To Get More Blog Traffic From Squidoo

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Squidoo is a big hub and a great source to get more blog traffic. On Squidoo, you are able to write pages (they call those pages lenses) that you can use to write content on almost anything. Squidoo gives you the ability to promote your blog using their sidebar feature and the ability to promote products on Amazon and eBay.

If you create enough pages on Squidoo, and some (or all) of those pages become popular, your blog traffic can dramatically increase. Let’s say you have 100 pages on Squidoo, and they all bring in 1 visitor to your blog every day. That’s an extra 700 visitors every week, 3000 visitors every month, and 36500 visitors every year. Those numbers really add up, and you only get to take advantage of that by creating pages on Squidoo.

Creating a page on Squidoo is very easy. All you need to do is create a page, work on it for 15-30 minutes, and then you’re done. Promoting your page is all you need to do at that point. Promote it on your blog and social networks. You may be wondering why you don’t promote your blog right from the get-go, but circular viralocity says otherwise. You want to promote something that leads to your blog or social networks, and have those blogs and social networks promote each other.

Promoting a Squidoo page has the potential to share valuable insight with others. If people take the step to click a link on your blog, they will most likely read through your blog’s content and follow you on your social networks.

Not only is Squidoo a great way to bring in more blog traffic, but it is also a great way to earn extra revenue. Some people on Squidoo are making thousands of dollars every month from ads and product commissions. You also have the option to donate a percentage of your earnings to charity. Whether you feel like donating 7% or 77% of your earnings to charity, you can donate any percentage of your earnings to charity.

Do you want to bring in more blog traffic. Squidoo may be the answer you have been looking for. What are you waiting for? Join us!

 

10 Valuable Articles From The Archives

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Archives

The problem with any blog is that as more content gets added to them, other content gets completely forgotten about. A tweet can only do so much to bring back attention to older blog posts that got published months ago. There are many blog posts on this blog that were written last year with methods that still work to this day. In fact, some of those blog posts are still popular, but they still don’t appear on the front page. I decided to dig through my blog to find 10 valuable articles that you should give a second look. They contain oodles of knowledge and things to think about. Some are longer than others.

100 Amazing Blogging Tips

100 Amazing Pinterest Tips

70 Amazing Twitter Tips

20 Thoughts To Live By

The Problem With Waiting For Something To Happen

What Do You Want To Be Remembered For?

Every Blogger Needs To See This Picture

New Year’s Resolutions: Memory Or Lifestyle?

Esurance Won The Ad Bowl By A Landslide. That’s what everyone was raving about when Esurance did its giveaway. The follow-up blog post is “Reanalyzing The Day After The Super Bowl: Was The $1.5 Million Giveaway Worth It?”

What The New York Times, Apple, Twitter, And JetBlue Have In Common

As a bonus article, I present Why Fast Food Restaurants Are Successful.

Which one was your favorite?

 

Three Reasons Why You Need To Use Instagram

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For a very long time, I underestimated the power of Instagram. I saw Instagram as a personal social network where people would just post pictures to friends. Everything changed when I responded to some people on Twitter, and after receiving a response, said how happy they were that I was not a bot.

I guess a 16 year old entrepreneur with over 100,000 Twitter followers is a rare sight that seems too good to be true, but it amazed me to think that if I did not respond to these people, they would have thought I was a bot. It’s amazing what you don’t know and what you learn by interacting.

Therefore, I have taken a stronger interest in Instagram. I still see it as a personal social network, but now I see Instagram in a new light. Not only that, but I would go as far as saying that everyone should have an Instagram account. That’s a big jump from someone who never thought of using Instagram. Now you are probably curious why I changed my mind so dramatically about the social network. Here’s why:

  1. Instagram allows people to know you at a more personal level. In other words, what do you do when you are not wearing the tie, buttoned down shirt, and writing blog posts. Most people only know me for writing blog posts and books. I want people to get more into who I am as a person. I run outside, play video games, and do other fun activities. Now I am using Instagram to share some of that.
  2. Instagram allows you to look back at where you were and what you did. On Instagram, you have the power to look back at great memories. You can go back to accomplishments, special days, and places you went to every day just by scrolling through your Instagram pictures.
  3. Instagram pictures get a lot of engagement. I have seen some people with 500 Instagram followers who get over 50 likes for their photos. It is easy for a photo to spread far and wide on Instagram. All you need to do is take good pictures and have a story behind each picture.

Instagram allows you to capture a part of you that most people don’t get to see: your personal life. You don’t have to take a picture of yourself 24/7 or show people the bad parts of your life. Just take enough pictures so you can look back at them, show people who you are when you are not working, and get more engagement all at the same time.

Do you use Instagram? I am a newbie just taking picture after picture. What are your thoughts about that social network?

 

5 Steps To Get On More Webinars And Podcasts

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Mobile Podcasting

Getting on webinars and podcasts allow you to show off your expertise in a certain area and interact with other audiences. However, few people know how to get on a webinar or podcast to share their expertise. These people want to interact with more audiences, but they don’t know how to reach those other audiences. I remember when I always dreamed of getting on webinars and podcasts because at the time, it was something close to impossible. Now I have been on multiple webinars and podcasts. In order to get on more webinars and podcasts, follow these five steps.

  1. Build your credibility. The more credibility you have, the more reasons someone has to interview you on their webinar or podcast. Building your credibility will help you out in additional ways as well.
  2. Post valuable content. People will only invite you on their webinar or podcast if they know you are going to provide their audience with value. By posting valuable content on your blog, your YouTube videos, and anywhere else you are, these people will be more likely to include you in their next webinar or podcast episode.
  3. Grow your own audience. The people who have their own webinars and podcasts are looking for more exposure just as much as you are. There is always an incentive for a webinar or podcast owner to interview someone who has a big audience that can promote the webinar or podcast.
  4. Be on YouTube. Posting valuable content on a blog and being on YouTube are two different things. In order to conduct a webinar or a podcast, the guest needs to do most of the talking. The person in charge in most cases will just give you a quick intro, ask you questions, and say a quick comment each time you answer a question. Being active on YouTube shows a webinar or podcast owner that you can talk about your niche for a long period of time.
  5. Webinar and podcast shows begets more opportunities. As you get on more webinar and podcast shows, more people will come to you asking if you can be on their next show. After showing off that you can do fine on a webinar or podcast, the fear that some owners may have will be gone. They know that you can do a good job which means they would be happy to have you on their next show.

Those are the five steps to get on more webinars and podcasts. By getting on webinars and podcasts, you will be able to grow your audience and interact with people who you would have never been able to interact with before. What are your thoughts on the list? Do you have any additional tips on getting invited to go on more webinar and podcast shows? Please share your thoughts and advice below.