How Does Personal Branding Fit in With Your Business?

TweetHave you taken the time to sit down and decide what your business really is? Most people never really think about it on the level that I want to share with you today. Ask any business person, whether online or offline, and most will tell you their business is delivering information, or a product or a service. These are things you do in your business but your real business is you. You are your business. If people don’t like you or feel compelled...

Niche Travel Blogging Demystified

This guest post is by Matthew Kepnes of Nomadic Matt’s Travel Site. If you look at all the travel blogs out there, you’ll notice many common themes. People tend to write a blog that falls into an overarching category like cruises, backpacking, solo travel, or digital nomad travel. They don’t refine their offerings any further. What readers are left with is thousands of blogs about the same thing, and a crowded field where no one really dominates. There are no leaders, no experts, and the bloggers’...

How to Capture Your Reader’s Attention

“OH MY GOD! Your hair is on fire!” Well, that’s probably not true. I only said it to get your attention. Getting attention is the most important part of online marketing. No matter how brilliant your ideas are, you can’t even offer them to your prospect unless you’ve made her look in your direction first. You have to get your prospect’s attention before you can turn her into a reader, let her know how wonderful you are, or sell her something....

10 David Ogilvy Quotes that Could Revolutionize Your Blogging

This week, I’ve been reading The King of Madison Avenue—an interesting biography of ad man David Ogilvy (aff). I’ve always been fascinated with Ogilvy and see a lot in what he’s done as relevant to bloggers. So here’s some of his more famous quotes, with a few thoughts on how they relate to our medium. 1. “The consumer isn’t a moron; she is your wife.” How appropriate—both for internet marketers (who are often known for tactics that treat those...

Do You Think Selling Is Easy? Think Again!

A couple of months ago a person approached me to see if I was interested in becoming an affiliate for his “Make Money Blogging” eBook. In his email he explained that he had great plans for the eBook. The price would be $29, and he was expecting to sell 10,000 copies in the first six months. The numbers got me curious, so I went to visit his blog. According to his “Advertise” page he received 50,000 monthly visitors, and had 2,000 RSS subscribers. Hhmmm, I thought. I didn’t want to rain on his...

5 Ways To Network Your Way To Blogging Success

Networking has become a buzzword over the last few years and with the explosion of social media, it has become “the way” to build a business. We all know the vast power of social media and the role it can play in your success as a blogger. However, there are still many, many blogggers who are not taking advantage of this phenomenon. When I say taking advantage of it, I don’t mean posting your weekend activities on Facebook or tweeting out random thoughts you have throughout the day. What I’m...

Understanding the Difference Between “Want” and “Want to Buy”

This guest post is by Ryan Barton of The Smart Marketing Blog. As I was sitting at a café over breakfast, the couple nearby flipped through their Sunday paper. As I tend to do, I eavesdropped on their conversation. “Will you look at that bedding? That’s wonderful!” “Oh my God, I’d die for those shoes.” “I love that movie, and it’s on sale!” Aside from my habitual eavesdropping problem, the conversation’s simplification of the “want” impulse is...