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Author info: This guest post was written by Alan Johnson, the author of The Online Business Handbook.

Do you think that earning a living online is nothing more than a foolish dream? If that is the case, then you can rest assured that things stand quite a bit differently and that your attitude is an important part of the problem. That being stated, here are 5 of the most important reasons why you are currently not earning a living online:

1) You Lack Self-Confidence

Do you think that successful online entrepreneurs are somehow special compared to you? Think again: we are all humans, all of us have qualities and, naturally, all of us have flaws as well. But why let the fact that you are not perfect keep you from believing in yourself? Yes, you can be able to provide value and yes, you can earn a living online but your attitude has to change.

2) You Are Not Knowledgeable Enough

Sure, you want to earn a living online, but are you knowledgeable enough? Are you able to share in experience in a way which provides value to your visitors? If not, then you have to understand that you need to first establish a solid foundation as far as knowledge is concerned and, of course, gradually build upon it afterwards.

3) You Are Afraid of Hard Work

If you think that earning a living online is extremely easy then, my friend, I am afraid that you may just be facing quite an unpleasant reality check. Yes, earning a living online can be a pleasure and so it should be, but that most definitely doesn’t mean that you can succeed if you are afraid of hard work.

The fact that you can earn a living by doing something you are passionate about should motivate you to work harder and harder, being afraid of work is simply not an option.

4) You Give Up Too Quickly

Do you expect things to happen overnight? If so, then I’m sorry to burst your bubble there but that is unfortunately not the way things stand. Giving up simply because you may not be seeing worthwhile results right away is an attitude which will get you nowhere, it’s about time you understand that.

Be determined, be persistent and be willing to give it 110%, even if it may seem that giving up is your only option. In the end, that’s one of the most important things which separates winners from losers, that’s the way things always were and that’s the way things will stand in the future as well.

5) You Don’t Listen

As an online entrepreneur, you always have to listen to what your visitors have to say (never make the mistake of not taking feedback into consideration) and, of course, listening to what numbers have to say as well (traffic stats, income stats and so on) is also recommended.

These are just a few of the indicators which should tell you that you are not on the right track. Taking them into consideration and acting accordingly is simply a must if you are serious about long-term success.

Best wishes,
Alan Johnson

Author info: This is a guest post by Alan Johnson, who teaches you how to Become More Productive Through 7-Day Challenges over at TheRatingBlog.com.

You may have come across quite a few of my guest posts here on AdesBlog or on one of the over 10 great resources where I contribute and may be wondering how on Earth I manage to get so much work done. Ades was actually wondering the same thing, has suggested that I share my experience through this week’s guest post and I was glad to accept the invitation.

Let me get straight to the point: most people aren’t productive and, if you don’t want that to be the case with you as well, you need to do be willing to do the things which seem “impossible” to most folks.

It’s actually a coincidence that Ades has suggested this topic right when I am in the middle of an article series which helps my readers become more productive through 7-day challenges over at my blog. I have listed 9 changes which, if implemented, can and will do wonders as far as your personal productivity level is concerned.

You basically need to get rid of habits which make you waste time and replace them with new ones which are actually worth it. There’s nothing more dangerous than routine: you get used to a certain useless task and let it turn into a habit. But guess what: every minute adds up and the results can be shocking.

Most people only say that they want to become more productive, but when it comes to taking things to the next level, they quickly drop the idea. I’ve recently had an offline contact complain about the fact that he never seems to have enough time for anything. I asked him what he wanted to do about it.

He mentioned all sorts of complicated time management methods he has heard about and I interrupted him. “How much time do you spend watching TV?”, I asked, and received “about 2 hours each day” as a response, after which he was silent for a moment, having realized what he had just said. Isn’t it interesting how the person in question complains about lack of time, yet always seems to find 2 hours to waste in front of the tube?

That, my friend, is a clear example of something you need to do differently if you are serious about being productive. Are you facing a similar issue? Does it seem that you cannot find time for anything these days? If so, then are you willing to stop watching TV or drop a similar habit? If the answer to my last question is “no”, then I am afraid that, in your case, there is a huge misunderstanding: you only want to be productive, you’re not actually willing to become productive.

Only a few people actually are and, as a result, only a few people become truly successful. Don’t search for all sorts of complicated approaches when the answer is right in front of you. Dropping habits such as the one I’ve mentioned may seem impossible if you have let routine get the best of you, but down the road, you will definitely look back and congratulate yourself. Are you willing to take things to the next level?

Best wishes,
Alan Johnson

Author info: This is a guest post by Alan Johnson, the author of The Online Business Handbook.

So you want to be successful? You want to get on top and stay there, don’t you? But what about when you reach that point, will you give back or will you forget all about how it was when starting out?

Let’s face it: as an online entrepreneur, you will have to deal with people. And, given the fact that there is a lot of competition everywhere nowadays, you need all of the help you can get. Even if you think that you can succeed as a one man show, things don’t exactly have the habit of happening that way. No matter how good you are at what you’re doing, no matter how confident you are in yourself, you will reach a point when you will need a hand. Humans are not perfect and, I’m sorry to burst your bubble there, you are only human.

But what is your attitude towards others? Do you lend a hand when you are asked for help or do you simply turn your back on other people? Always be careful how you treat people because everything can backfire, it’s all a matter of having the right attitude. You can’t expect others to be at your disposal whenever you need help, yet turn your back when others need something from you.

No one is expecting you to be perfect, but helping out whenever you can is always a must and the way you treat others will, in the end, determine the way others will treat you. You can’t always expect to receive and never give back, any person with a little bit of common sense should realize that.

Most people, once they become successful, end up forgetting about how it was when they started out, they somehow think that the fact that they have reached a certain status makes them better than everyone else. When you’re blinded by success, it’s easy to forget that you were once in a position where you needed help as well.

In the long run, such an attitude will get you nowhere because sure, you might be successful, it may seem that everything is working out just the way you planned, but you never know what the future holds, you never know when you will be in a position where you need help and once that happens, you will definitely regret your attitude towards the people you could have helped, you will know what it feels like.

Being successful is all about understanding that we are all humans and that helping others whenever you can is a must as well. That’s why asking yourself the “do I give back”? question every now and then will help you keep your feet on the ground. Always be grateful for what you have, always appreciate every victory but never forget about the people who have helped you achieve a certain status and, at least out of respect for them, don’t hesitate to give back whenever you can. Do you give back?

Best wishes,
Alan Johnson

Author info: This is a guest post by Alan Johnson, the author of The Online Business Handbook.

So you want to be successful as an online entrepreneur, but how committed to reaching your goals are you? A lot of people brag about their goals and the confidence they have in themselves, yet are not willing to take any kind of risks. Is that attitude going to get them anywhere?

Of course not, and the reasons are more than obvious. Take any successful person, analyze his or her life story and you will notice that each and every one of them have been in a position where taking risks was in order and guess what, that’s exactly what they did.

Competition is fierce nowadays and you can never get on top if you play it too safe. If you are serious about maximizing results then taking risks is definitely a must. I’m not referring to foolish risks and I’m clearly not expecting you to put everything on the line when the chances of things working out in your favor are slim to none. Taking calculated risks is the name of the game.

In the end, it’s all about risk vs. reward. Let’s take an example and assume that you have a $10k advertising budget and are running a PayPerClick campaign where, for every $100 you invest, you receive $120 in sales. Assuming that a close online contact who has promoted a similar product tells you about an advertising opportunity (an ad spot on a website which costs $1000 per month) thanks to which he has experienced better conversions ($200 worth of sales for every $100 invested), what would you do?

Conservative entrepreneurs would most likely stay away, since they have no past experience as far as advertising on that website is concerned, even if the person who has shared the information is trustworthy. A wise one, however, would analyze the risk vs. reward ratio, and here’s how things stand:

With his current PayPerClick campaign, he is earning $20 worth of profits for every $100 invested, while he could be earning 5 times more in terms of profits if the advertising opportunity mentioned by the close online contact works out (being a wise entrepreneur also means that you accept the fact that things might not work out as planned). The $1k represents 10% of his advertising budget, and, based on his information, he could be earning 5 times more in terms of profits. Definitely a risk vs. reward ratio worth taking advantage of because he wouldn’t be putting his entire budget at risk, while the conversions the online contact has experienced are definitely tempting.

A foolish risk, for example, would have been investing over 50% of his budget based on some information he has read online, from a source which can’t really be trusted. But in this case, the risk vs. reward ratio was good enough in order to justify a calculated risk on his or her part.

As an online entrepreneur, you will be confronted with all sorts of similar scenarios and, while foolishly putting everything on the line is out of the questions, taking calculated risks is a must if you are serious about maximizing results.

Best wishes,
Alan Johnson

This guest post was written by Alan Johnson, who suggests 123 Ways to Increase Your Productivity and Manage Time Like the Pros over at TheRatingBlog.com

As a webmaster, making the most out of your time is a must and blogging makes no exception. There is definitely more to running a blog than just publishing content on a regular basis, there will be a lot of things you need to be on top of so that asking yourself the “am I a productive blogger” question every once in a while will prove to be a decision you will not regret.

Is blogging really that demanding in terms of time? Of course not, being a blogger can be as easy as it gets: you can set up a free blog in a matter of minutes and there you have it. But if you want to be a successful blogger, if you want other people, aside from family members and friends to visit your blog, that’s when it gets tricky. You can write brilliant blog posts and it will do you no good if other people don’t know about your resource.

You need to place your blog on the map, you need to let other people know that you’re out there, you need to give it 110% if you are serious about your long-term success as a blogger, and this will require time on your part.

How to promote your blog? The possibilities are endless and the only limit is your own imagination. From PayPerClick and SEO to commenting on other blogs, being a guest blogger or buying ads on similar resource, the sky is the limit as far as blog promotion methods are concerned.

Optimizing your website, planning your PPC/advertising campaigns, commenting on other blogs, being a guest blogger and, most importantly, publishing quality content on a regular basis, it can be overwhelming if you do not manage your time accordingly.

The day only has 24 hours and making the most out of them is the name of the game. And if you add your other projects and your family (the most important responsibility of all) to the equation, it’s quite obvious that handling everything is next to impossible without being productive.

Is being productive all about getting more things done? Of course not, never make that mistake, being productive is all about getting the right things done, it’s all about having the right priorities. Without a clear set of priorities and solid goals, the only thing time management will end up doing for you will be helping you go down the wrong path at a faster pace.

You should always make sure that you are working towards reaching the right goals to begin with. Do you like being a blogger, do you enjoy what you’re doing? Where do you see yourself as a blogger a few years from now? What are your short and long-term goals? Of course, getting more things done is also important, but you shouldn’t even look into this before answering the previously-mentioned questions.

Alright then, have you set the right goals for yourself as a person? What about as a blogger? If that is the case, then yes, it’s time to look into getting more things done as well.

How many hours are you spending online and not doing anything productive? How many of the websites you are following could you do without? What would happen if you were to waste less time online? How could you put that time to better use as a blogger? How often do you post? Do you write your articles in advance? These are just a few of the questions which need to be answered in order to determine how productive you currently are and in order to start working towards improving things.

What about you, what is your status at this point? Are you a productive blogger?

Best wishes,
Alan Johnson

About two weeks ago I moved my blog to a new hosting provider, from goDaddy. The whole process was a smooth one, except for the small issue that was caused by one particular plugin.

I thought I would document this process, so that some of you who are changing your hosting (or thinking of changing in the future) can refer to it.

Checklist

First things first, you need to have these things done before you start your transfer.

• All your backups
• Get the latest version of WordPress
• Make sure that your blog theme is compatible with the latest version of WP
• Get your DNS info of your new hosting. You will use it to point your domain name to the new hosting.

What to backup?

• Your Database: it can be done by this plugin or phpMyAdmin, which is usually provided by your webhosting.
• Your blog files: Make sure that you backup all your blog files. Especially;
  • /images folder: without it your blog won’t have any images, so don’t forget to backup this folder. Especially if you are uploading images to somewhere outside your blog theme folder. (outside /wp-content/themes/)
  • Your blog settings: Permalink structure, Writing, Reading, Discussion Options etc.
  • Plugins and their settings: backing up your plugins is not enough. Don’t forget to backup their settings too. This can be done by opening plugins’ settings page and choosing from your browser “Save Page As”. This way, the page will retain its settings in the fields, and you can easily cut and paste them to the new blog.

Transfer Process

By now, you should have everything you need for the transfer to take place. The actual process should be over by 30 minutes or so. (But be prepared for any unforeseen issues, especially if you are using many plugins. Also your DNS might take longer than usual to propogate).

As for the database file, you need to have the latest backup file. This way, you won’t lose the last comments that your readers made. Your objective is to have “zero” loss of info. So, before you start the transfer, backup your database for the last time, and use that file.

• Upload all your files: Start uploading all your blog files to the new server. Including your theme, plugins and ‘images’ folder.
• Create an index.html page and upload it to the root folder: The page extension should be .html. You already have index.php, which is a WordPress file. index.html will act as the temporary index page while you are installing and transferring your hosting. Write something explanatory in your index.html page. Something like “Upgrade in progress, we will be back in 30 minutes“.
• Change your domain name’s DNS to the new IP address: This is done from your domain name management account. eg: goDady, NetworkSolutions..etc
• Wait for your DNS to propagate: This could take from 20 minutes to few hours. Once you see your index.html when you type your domain name, you should start the installation process. The reason why we wait for DNS to propagate is because we want your URL to be in the blog settings. Otherwise your temporary URL would be inserted into your mySQL and you have to change it manually from your DBMS (DB Management System).
• Install the blog: it should take you few minutes to install wordpress on your new hosting.
• Update your blog’s database with your database backup file: This is the file that you backed up with the WP Plugin or phpMyAdmin. This will insert all your posts, comments, some of your plugins’ data to the new hosting. Warning: Avoid inserting all contents of the backup file. Because in it, there are settings that are specific to your previous hosting. Obviously, using it on other hosts will cause your blog to function properly.

  Therefore it’s better to insert the data one at a time. I inserted posts first, followed by comments, and some plugin data. I also found that some plugins like Peter’s Custom Anti-Spam Image Plugin generated too much duplicate data in the database. The amount of data this particular plugin generated was too huge. It kept inserting the same captcha word (eg. adesblog) over and over again into the database. So, next time you should be careful using plugins with known issues.

• Enable the theme and plugins: You should test your plugins locally beforehand. But if you haven’t, then try activating them one at a time. This way, if there is any error, you know which plugin is causing error.

That’s it. This is the whole process that I have taken. It worked very well for me and I was done with the transfer under 30 minutes.

But DNS propagation was going forth and back for about 24 hours. Since I had two blogs running simultaneously on two locations, users who saw different versions still saw a functioning blog. So that is another thing to consider. Do not delete your old blog right away. Give it some time, until your DNS reflects the new hosting fully.

Note: This might not be the best way to tranfer a blog to a new hosting. Therefore, it should not be taken as the only guide that you use for your transfer. Make sure you check other resources too. It just worked for me and I am sharing it with a goodwill, that hopefully it will benefit someone. Please let me know if there is a better way to do some or all of the steps that I have taken. (Ades)