Comment posted on Sunday Coffee with Ana: Quit Blogging Now or Forever Hold Your Peace by Ana
I was going for more of “think of your own blog” kinda thing, but you are so right, Lou - I do have a business; why not connect it to my blog?
Either way, there’s always someone else who does the same thing; it’s up to us to be different enough and stand out.
Ana also commented
- I don’t always get trackbacks on pages either…
- So good to see you, Brian - trust me I understand how life gets in the way, and for the most part, it’s because we let it.
I thought you are due for some link love; I’ve seen a lot of articles on the topic, but you were the fist one to bring it to my attention, so thank you!
- Exactly my point, Mavis - who are we selling to? Each other. Not a good business model.
- Sorry, Geraldine - still don’t have have much positive feedback.
The first page still looks like a very poorly designed hype-filled lack of real info page.
The sales page itself is not readable with the current formatting.
Tough love, I know, but truth is you won’t make many sales with this setup.
- Welcome, Stuart!
Recent comments by Ana
- Search Engine Ranking Tip: How to Search Google Incognito
I do like Rank Checker; I only wish someone would come up with a tool that tells YOU what pages are ranking for what keywords, instead of us trying to see if we ranked for a particular keyword.Makes sense?
- Search Engine Ranking Tip: How to Search Google Incognito
I still prefer Firefox, but only out of habit. I think Chrome has great functionality. - Search Engine Ranking Tip: How to Search Google Incognito
Dennis… Don’t tell me you didn’t actually read the post… again! - Search Engine Ranking Tip: How to Search Google Incognito
Of course, just signing out doesn’t work well.You are welcome, Pippa!
- Anyone Should Blog? 3 Types of Blogs and 3 Ways to Handle Them
You are very welcome, Lou.However, the point here is to narrow down your focus. You can’t be blogging for all three reasons - it just doesn’t work that way.
A little tough love, my friend: decide what your primary goal is with the blog and go for it!
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I am a wife to a great husband of 13 years (here ya go, now I have to make changes to this sentence once a year), a mother to a beautiful and, no doubt, genius little girl, and a successful internet entrepreneur. I also devoted my life to Jesus Christ many years ago, and He remains my true priority, focus, and hope.
{ 44 comments }
Hi Ana
You pose a really interesting question here, namely are we just generating work without generating money, I for one had no idea just how much time I would end up just answering comments
I am hopefully 1 step ahead in having created my own products which I am in the process of launching shortly
As is so often the case you have set us all thinking with this
Thanks for sharing Tony
Tony Clingan´s last blog ..“The Power Of Your Mastermind Group”
Ana,
Loved your message today and it’s been something that is on my heart as well.
I believe that so many of us got into the blogging niche for our home based businesses, but I’m finding myself venturing down new paths I never expected.
I’ve been working on a product, using several free training webinars I’ve been hosting as a way to create it.
I started the Prove it Blog Challenge last month to help others get their blogs rolling and as much as I’m loving it, I feel somewhat frustrated about the way it’s going. Everyone is doing fantastically well, but I feel like people are slipping through the cracks as much as I am trying to keep up with everyone. Kind of like being a hostess at a party and not being able to get around to visit with everyone.
In order to “solve the problem” of not being able to help everyone in my challenge, this week I’ll be launching the Clever Marketer Mastermind Community on my blog, a membership site with monthly trainings and a forum to carry on the tradition of the EIF commenting tribe on a bigger scale.
I struggled with the decision of how much to charge, wanting to keep it affordable, but still make it worth my efforts. In end I am here to make money like you are, and a monthly membership site is one possible way I can see some increased consistency in my income. I’m having a free level, but two different paid levels with training and bonuses for each. I have no idea if it will work, but I’m all about giving it the good ole’ college try!
I’ll have to check out your post on tracking the comments! I’ll be excited to hear what you find out.
I love your niche site idea and your video inspired some fun brainstorming for me! Thanks for being so honest and opening up your heart to us. I am grateful to you as always.
Heather
p.s. Sorry I’ve been MIA for a while…I’ve been busy at work-behind the scenes-getting the membership and forum ready for it’s grand opening!
Heather
Heather C Stephens´s last blog ..The Talent Code Hotbed Secret to Creating Overnight Success in Everything You Do
Hello Ana
and thank you for commenting on your thoughts about the page. I did change some things around, if you could please take another look I would be most grateful! Thanks again and love everything you do. I would also love to connect with you on Skype, my Skype name is dglimited Oh and here is the link to the site in case you lost it. http://dglimitedsite.com
Sorry, Geraldine - still don’t have have much positive feedback.
The first page still looks like a very poorly designed hype-filled lack of real info page.
The sales page itself is not readable with the current formatting.
Tough love, I know, but truth is you won’t make many sales with this setup.
Ana´s last blog ..Anyone Should Blog 3 Types of Blogs and 3 Ways to Handle Them
Your video is spot on, Ana. Definitely food for thought…
Interestingly, I have been thinking about this lately - my audience is in the same niche as I am. My content is just helping my readers to do things better in their businesses or to improve their blogs.
I also think I need to create my own product and revisit my blogging goals.
All the best,
Mavis
Mavis Nong @ Attraction Marketing´s last blog ..How to Rise Above The Noise and Bring More Traffic to Your Blog
Exactly my point, Mavis - who are we selling to? Each other. Not a good business model.
Ana´s last blog ..How KeywordLuv Can Get You on the First Page of Google
Yes you’re right…”hands-free” is a good definition (for me in particular…I work with my hands
And I think I should focus on it too.
See you soon
Elena´s last blog ..Fiori di Bach e oli essenziali per i nostri amici cani e gatti!
Holy Moly! I had no idea about the feedburner stealing your links from commentluv. Thank you so much for that tip. I went and changed my settings, hopefully they will switch back over soon. I just did a huge write up about commentluv on one of my blogs. I’m going to have to go back and give everyone the heads up on this tip. Thanks so much!
Jackie Lee @It’s a Wahm Life´s last blog ..Centering Exercises- Get Your Day Started Right
Ana!
You are incredible. Thank you so much for highlighting the FeedBurner problem and linking back to my post.
I feel like I’ve been a little MIA lately in the blogging word because the web development side has been practically running my life. I was up until almost 5am last night writing close to 30 pages of proposals and contracts.
I also co-founded a nonprofit organization which launch about three weeks ago. I couldn’t be more excited about how quickly it’s taken off, but it also hasn’t exactly helped in easing my time constraints.
Enough of the excuses…I definitely need to find a way to make time, because I’m already missing it. Again, thank you so much. I can’t tell you how much of an inspiration you are!
So good to see you, Brian - trust me I understand how life gets in the way, and for the most part, it’s because we let it.
I thought you are due for some link love; I’ve seen a lot of articles on the topic, but you were the fist one to bring it to my attention, so thank you!
Ana´s last blog ..Search Engine Ranking Tip- How to Search Google Incognito
I was going to go into “your own product” but since you did it so well, I’ll move on…
OK Trackbacks - very good tip, and you can expect at least two from two different posts I’ll be creating from this one.
I usually link to about pages, but I also know first hand that some themes allow comments/trackbacks on pages and some do not…mine, custom made, does not.
Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing´s last blog ..The Scrolling Homepage- A Sticky Tactic You Haven’t Heard…
I don’t always get trackbacks on pages either…
Ana´s last blog ..Why All Your Make Money Blogging Efforts Will Fail Without This
Very good Ana, I was unaware of Feedburner being a bit naughty and stealing up all the link juice! Sorted that now so I feel a little better. Keep shining!
Stuart´s last blog ..Ways To Make Valentine’s Day More Lovable
Welcome, Stuart!
Hi Ana,
Very Informative post, actually I don’t know about trackbacks but after reading your post I got to know about it and it’s importance.
Priya @ Goa Carnival´s last blog ..Goa Carnival Date 2011 5th to 8th March
I skipped the questions on your post as I have some questions from your video
You mentioned that you’re going to have a slight shift in direction. Does that mean that you’re going to be creating products to answer the questions that people here are asking you, or something else?
At the risk of pissing off my fellow readers, from the sound of it, the people coming here are putting the cart before the horse, meaning they set up a site w/out doing the initial keyword and other research necessary. Is that an accurate statement?
Also it sounds like I’m in a good position myself as I have 8 niche sites running under a variety of conditions. I also have many products I’ve created on different sites, and am running surveys to determine which products to create next. That’s all in addition to the affiliate products I’m selling via my authority and niche sites.
You’ve got me curious now to see how things progress here over the coming weeks and months. Perhaps you didn’t mean to hit that chord in your video, but you sure did.
Thanks as always Ana.
Is this the comment that was presumably “eaten” by my blog?
I think you are a perfect example of how to run an online business, Robert - never put all your eggs in one basket.
I saw you wrote a guest post; so behind, haven’t had a chance to check it out.
However, how about writing another one based on what you just told me? Teach people to diversify.
Ana´s last blog ..Why All Your Make Money Blogging Efforts Will Fail Without This
Hello Ana
just dropping in as usual to say hello, and thank you again for all the great content you post. All the information and tips are so helpful to us all. That’s another reason I’m here today, I found this incredible tool that you and your subscribers need to see.
Thanks for the recommendation, Geraldine, and saying Hello.
I checked it out and they lost me the second I saw the salesy sales page.
Hi Ana,
For a video done away from home, that’s really good.
Going straight to the questions u raised, yes it’s really a vicious cycle of Bloggers marketing to each other. I must say that I always wonder if bloggers make money from marketing these products when all of them have the same products for sale.
One way of making money that you should really look into is selling ad space on your blog. You told me once before, in your reply to my comment, that you do not intend to do that. But I think you should have a re-think. A lot of experienced bloggers count that as one of the assured ways of making money with a blog or even a niche site if you have the traffic. You name your price, the advertizers will com knocking and you are sure of a certain amount of money each month.
I don’t know why u decided against ads but those tools you have on your left nav sure looks like sponsored ads to most people so why not put some banners on there as well and get paid for just displaying them rather than wait till someone buys before you earn money?
Those are my 2 cents.
I think you are selling yourself short, Maky - that was almost 10 cents worth of advice.
Selling ad space… Still not sure about it. You see I am all about trust, and if I can’t vouch for my advertisers, I’ll have a problem. If I ever find a perfect combo of a great product and good ad price, I’ll think about it.
Actually, now that I though about it for whole 30 seconds, I do like it more and more…
Hey Ana, you’re so awesome. Thanks for the mention, hopefully some of your readers take advantage of podcasting as a way to grow their business.
I saw your video and you raised a very interesting question. Corbett Barr talked about this briefly in a post he did on his blog. He says that everyone is trying to teach others how to become social media marketers - I think it goes a lot further than that and you definitely hit nailed it with this video.
We’re selling to each other… THAT is the real problem..
I, too, made a conscious decision a few months ago to make sure my content wasn’t just geared towards the “marketing” crowd because there are other people out there who (unbelievably so ..Lol) just want to learn how to build a business around their own passions.
Maybe they’re really good with helping new moms with their newborn or they love helping people hook up their cars and make them faster.. whatever is it, WE have the KNOWLEDGE to help them take their passions from HOBBY to BUSINESS.
Let’s do this Ana..
thanks again
Hector
Hector Cuevas´s last blog ..BBP 012- What’s The One Thing You Want To Accomplish This Weekend
Hector:
This response is EXACTLY why people are drawn to you. Very inspiring.
Cheers,
Lisa
Lisa@start a blog´s last blog ..Feed Your Brand- RSS Style That Is
Thanks Lisa.. :0)
Hector Cuevas´s last blog ..Just Because You Blog Doesn’t Mean Everything Has To Be Free
Ditto!
There are so many markets that actually need us out there, Hector - those who find them will eventually keep on growing.
I am definitely going to try podcasting!
Ana´s last blog ..Sunday Coffee with Ana- Quit Blogging Now or Forever Hold Your Peace
Ana:
I have to admit it was a bit sad watching your video this morning, I din;t feel like adding the Kamchatka after that!!
I understand exactly what you mean and I do think product creation is the way to go. Another thing I have been pondering a lot lately is this:
You have built up a HUGE LOYAL fan base. I think most blogs have loyal readers. Those are not the people we market to, they are not our customers. They have seen all of our offers and heard our marketing experiences.
It’s increasing our search engine traffic that will bring more people interested in products that we use to build our blogs successfully. So I struggle myself with referring traffic/organic traffic.
And truth be told, I dont want to keep marketing to my loyal readers. They know if they are interested in something, they can come to me or ask my opinion.
I think I am babbling…lack of vodka I believe. I am pretty sure you get my point though.
Продолжение успеха (WOOT!)
Lisa
Lisa@start a blog´s last blog ..SiteLinks- What Google REALLY Thinks Of You
Nail on the head, baby.
Loyal readership is incredibly great, but it won’t make us a dime (well, maybe a quarter:).
We definitely need to draw in fresh blood and SEs are one way to go.
Of all people, I know you’ll figure it out. Always welcome to bounce ideas off me, you know that.
Perfect Russian, my dear - I appreciate the effort!
Thanks for the link Oksana, A small ‘disclaimer’ for the post is that I have based the post on my own tweaking and reading. The changes wont make a MAJOR diff to your SEO though imo all the touches also help readers.
The feedburner comment luv thing…ahh I rem writing about that back when I was last online in like 09 (man i’m old) and its all linked to stats tracking.
The next week sounds good…will keep an eye out as always
Donace@Hostgator Coupon´s last blog ..Get your backlinks indexed quickly
I think your post has a lot of merit for user engagement as well, Don. Broken links, too many choices… Definitely, something to look into and I will, and as I said, I’ll be asking questions.
Ana´s last blog ..Blog Audit Friday- Lend a Helping Hand to Traffic Generation Cafe
Also give me a shout on how you got super comments ‘fixed’ so they are seen by G now.
Don@Internet Marketing Tools´s last blog ..Plug your link leaks!
First, I wish you a same journey!
Second, thanks for connecting with me on Skype even if all I heard from you was ‘hi’ and ‘yeah busy’ that time may not have been the best but thanks all the same for connecting.
I feel you’re a terrific blogger, connecting with your readers and asking their opinion…wish problogger would start doing this after it hit STAR-DOM
Finally, trackback is somethiing I want to learn more about but for now, I’m focusing on building my secret blogging alliance where new bloggers like me can connect for free, promote each other’s post, submit each other’s post and become successful together…thanks for being who you are!
You are so welcome, Tim - hope one of these days I’ll have more time to chat.
This post might be of interest to you:
https://trafficgenerationcafe.online/drive-traffic-commenting-tribe/
Thanks for the directions to fix the feedburner link in comment luv. I had no idea how to fix it, but it’s taken care of now.
Katie Goode @Living Anxiety Free´s last blog ..How does Mindfulness Work
No problem, Katie!
Ana´s last blog ..How to Track and Manage Your Traffic Generation Efforts
Ana, I came with coffee to see you this morning, forgetting it was going to be two weekends you were gone, only to find this post with all kinds of things to do and to look forward to…wow, and you are on vacation???….:) I will need to come back to this post later and go over everything, gotta get to a late Sunday breakfast!
Be safe and look forward to next week…:)
Dan Reed´s last blog ..Internet Marketing- Don’t Go Broke Trying to Build an Online Business
Thanks, Dan, and see you next week!
Ana´s last blog ..Blog Traffic Challenge- Did You See My Glove Laying Around Here
Hi Ana,
I’m not sure if you’re asking for suggestions in your video, but I think with all the free content on your blog that can actually help people market their site no matter what their niche, you deserve to be little more forward about your products. As you say, you are interested in making money. I know what your affiliates are, but I really have to dig deep to find your connection with yournetbiz.com. As you said, a blog needs a product, and some of your readers might want to use that as a product.
My niche is much different than yours, but I, like everyone need to learn how to generate traffic. You’re number one in your field. I have a core product and some affiliates. But I wouldn’t try to affiliate market in your niche. Mine is in cards and gifts. So my products and affiliates are in cards and gifts.
I hope I haven’t confused you, hope that I contributed to the discussion.
Lou
Lou Barba@informationhighwaycardandgiftshop.com´s last blog ..A New Value of Pie
I was going for more of “think of your own blog” kinda thing, but you are so right, Lou - I do have a business; why not connect it to my blog?
Either way, there’s always someone else who does the same thing; it’s up to us to be different enough and stand out.
Ana´s last blog ..How to Track and Manage Your Traffic Generation Efforts
It sounds like your vacation gave you plenty of time to think about your blog, Ana. It’s nice to unplug from time-to-time and be able to really look at what we’re doing and why we’re doing it. It can be so difficult to get this point of view when you’re in the day-to-day hustle of posting, commenting, and engaging with others through social media.
I just found out last night that I was listed in a write up at Blog Engage as one of its top male users. It doesn’t make me look so involved though when it was over two weeks old before I saw it and was able to comment on it. Your tip on always linking to a post so the person knows is a good one. If you’re not going to do this then give them a shout out via Twitter or Facebook letting them know they’re being mentioned in the post.
Safe travels, Ana. Thanks for the Sunday morning tips.
Brad Harmon @ Big Feet Marketing´s last blog ..Making Footprints- Volume 1 Issue 3
Hustle… Good word to describe out world, huh, Brad?
Yes, I had lots of time to think.
Congrats on BlogEngage write up - as you said, too bad you almost missed it!
Ana´s last blog ..How to Track and Manage Your Traffic Generation Efforts
Hi Ana,
I didn’t think you snubbed me. I was intentionally linking to Home Pages because that is where I wanted visitors to arrive. My list was about websites, it was NOT about specific site articles. At the time I published the list, I certainly understood Trackbacks. Most everyone discovered the list as a nice surprise when coming around for their usual visit
From my experience, leaving comments bring me traffic. And others I have talked to have had the same experience. Although anyone’s mileage may vary, an interesting comment on a ComLuv site has always been successful for me.
Rick
Rick LaPoint @ Internet Marketing´s last blog ..Niche Market Websites- Gateway or Authority
Either way, glad I found your post and I just wanted my readers to take advantage of trackbacks to the fullest. Thanks for the mention and letting me use your blog as an example!
Have a good way home, Ana! I am playing with Thesis and I am happy
))
I absolutely AGREE about creating own products. I don’t have one (actually I sell my courses, I am a teacher) but in this period I am thinking about it and beginning to create something. It is necessary, I think.
About you and your blog…what about selling educational trainings instead of only “tools”? Consultations? And do you know that so many people need your services but they don’t know? I have the experience of my students. They learn ayurvedic massage and then some of them struggle to work because they don’t know how to market their job. They can’t imagine the power of a blog. My personal commitment is to help them find a new way to be wealthy…
Maybe your target could be not only traffic generation, but traffic generation for people who…and you choose.
Next Sunday I teach in a seminar so I can’t be here anyway…see you soon
)))
Elena´s last blog ..Impara a aromatizzare un tè o una tisana con gli oli essenziali!
All great ideas, Elena.
I would love to create my own product (I’ve got a few ideas - just need some sleepless nights to actually do it
.
Services - great thing, and I do do that. However, I want to come up with something that is more hands-free.
Still working on it….
Miss you next Sunday; have a great seminar!
Ana´s last blog ..How Two Days Without Internet Made Me Stumble Upon a Great Idea
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