One of my favorite guest-bloggers on AdesBlog was Alan Johnson of TheRatingBlog.com. He has since sold his blog to a new owner. Recently he contacted me that the new owner Andrei, who has a vast collection domain names was selling off most of his domain names. He has some good domain names there, if you are interested check out the full list on his blog here.
Thanks Alan for your guest-posts!
Author info: This is a guest post by Alan Johnson, the author of The Online Business Handbook.
One thing is certain: the Web is literally filled with information. You can find anything from downright foolish advice to gems and, due to the huge volume of information which is always just one click away, Internet users who are interested in becoming online entrepreneurs end up thinking that simply copying a certain method is all there is to it.
Is That Really Enough?
The most important disadvantage which comes as a result of such an approach is the fact that, when you are copying someone, you are unfortunately always one step behind and, naturally, the person who has actually come up with a certain approach will always have an edge.
Let’s assume that you notice a certain product (let’s also assume that a certain event has made it temporarily popular) which is being heavily promoted by affiliates and decide to finally jump in. The problem is that, once you finally decide to jump on board, the niche you are trying to approach is most likely over-saturated and, as if that were not enough, the project you were thinking about promoting has most likely lost quite a bit of momentum.
The same way, if you take any business model and try to copy everything, the market will most likely not react in what one would call a positive manner, and that brings us to the following question:
What Makes You Special?
I have previously explained why copying everything someone else has done is not exactly worthwhile, but that doesn’t mean that you need to reinvent the wheel. There’s nothing wrong with a little inspiration from an existing business model as long as you make it yours, as long as you add your personal touch in a way which makes the product in question stand out.
If there is a certain business model you think would work well as far as you are concerned, you always have to ask yourself how you can improve it, how you can turn it into something special or, if you will, how you can add your very own “signature”.
What’s Your Signature?
How are you able to prove value through each and every project you launch? What exactly are you able to come up with which makes you stand out? You can approach the market with something new or you can improve upon an existing business model, the choice is yours and only yours to make but, all in all, you need to understand that having that little something is definitely a must if you are serious about making it in the long run.
Al in all, you need to be confident in yourself and in your ability to provide value through each and every project. Never limit yourself to simply copying something another person has done, as I am convinced that you have far more potential than that. What about you? What’s that little something you have which makes you special, what are you approaching the Web with?
Best wishes,
Alan Johnson
Author info: This is a guest post by Alan Johnson, the author of The Online Business Handbook.
As I have mentioned last week, having the right priorities in life is definitely a must and family should always come first. I have also explained that a lot of folks choose to simply hide behind all sorts of foolish excuses and try to find all sorts of explanations for the fact that they are unable to find time for their beloved ones.
“But I want to be successful as an online entrepreneur”, you may think. Go for it! “But I will have to make sacrifices, right?” Yes, that is also true. Do you see a contradiction between my “family comes first” statement and the fact that I encourage you to maximize results as online entrepreneurs, even if sacrifices will need to be made? Well, guess what: there is none! And that, my friend, brings us to the following question:
Are All Sacrifices Worth It?
It’s all a matter of seeing things in perspective. There are sacrifices which need to be made and sacrifices which are simply not worth it. So you want to be successful as an online entrepreneur? That’s great and yes, you will have to make more than a few sacrifices.
But, and here’s where it can get tricky: the ability to identify sacrifices which are worth it and stay away from those which are not can make the difference between being an individual who is successful as both a person and an online entrepreneur and being an individual who is successful as an online entrepreneur, yet feels miserable as a person.
What Can Money Buy?
The approach I personally recommend is asking yourself the above question. Can money buy a TV, for example? Definitely, so that sacrificing the time you spend in front of the tube can and will prove to be worth it down the road. The same thing goes for all sorts of other things which may seem important, yet pale compared to the things which actually count as far as the big picture is concerned.
On the other hand, can money buy back the time you could have spent with your beloved ones? I don’t think so! There are sacrifices you can afford to make but anything which has to do with family is not one of them.
The Big Picture
Are you starting to see the big picture? Are you starting to think about the things in your life which actually count? In that case, I am pleased to let you know that you are on the right track and that you have finally understood which sacrifices are worth it and, most importantly, that only being successful as an online entrepreneur is not enough.
Best wishes,
Alan Johnson
Author info: This is a guest post by Alan Johnson, the author of The Online Business Handbook.
A lot of online entrepreneurs who are just starting out get carried away, they end up only seeing one side of life and becoming blind to everything else. You can hear them go on and on about what they want to accomplish as online entrepreneurs, about how much they want to earn per month, per week, per minute and per second.
Becoming Wealthy – Your Only Goal in Life?
And you know what? If you are actually willing to work towards achieving such goals, you will most likely succeed at a certain point. One word of advice though: be careful what you wish for. More than a few online entrepreneurs let money get the best of them and become nothing more than slaves without even realizing it.
Any successful online entrepreneur can confirm: working for money shouldn’t be your most important goal, letting it work for you is what counts. In the end, again: if you work towards achieving your goals, dreams can come true but, down the road, they can also turn into nightmares.
Money as Your Top Priority – You Can’t Be Serious!
Even if you don’t come from a rich family, you can eventually become a millionaire if you do your job right. So what? Do you have any idea how many millionaires out there would trade everything they have in exchange for having a happy family, in exchange for being surrounded by people who love them for who they are and not for what they have?
Take it from a person who has been “around the block” for quite a while: friends come and go, that’s how things work in this world. Personally, I am at a point where I am more than secure financially. But I’ll tell you this much: without my family, everything would be in vain.
Family Comes First – Everything Else Is Just a Bonus
Don’t let yourself become blinded by greed. There are things money can never buy and it’s exactly those things which make life special in the first place. You can be successful as an online entrepreneur without being a notorious workaholic who thinks that he or she only represents a walking paycheck for the family.
That, my friend, is a foolish excuse and nothing more. From now, every time you use “I’m sacrificing the time spent with my family for their sake, so that I make more money and secure a better life for them” as an excuse, why not stop for a moment and think if you aren’t actually hiding behind it out of selfishness?
Do you want to secure a better life for your family? Spend time with them, stop acting like a walking paycheck because, in the end, it’s you they need, not those extra profits you could earn by making such a foolish sacrifice. You can be successful as an online entrepreneur without making sacrifices you will end up regretting down the road. Never lose track of what counts, never lose track of the things which actually make a difference in life. Everything else is just a bonus.
Best wishes,
Alan Johnson
Regular readers of AdesBlog know Alan Johnson very well by now. He is the regular contributor to this blog and author of some of the best articles in the blogosphere.
BloggingBoost.com is a new project by Alan offering free domain name and hosting for promising bloggers. Obviously this free service is for serious bloggers or “to-be-bloggers” only. The requirement is that you need to be able to write good articles, at least 5 articles per week (without grammar errors).
I think he has done a wise decision by putting a high requirement. Because if you make it free, there will be a lot of free riders who after getting the domain name and hosting won’t even blog a single post on their blog. Remember my free domain name and hosting contest? Well, most of the winners are to this day didn’t work on their blog. I guess that’s the general attitude for “free stuff”.
So if you are serious, and do not have the means to get your own domain name and hosting, then check out http://www.bloggingboost.com
Author info: This is a guest post by Alan Johnson, the author of The Online Business Handbook.
Do you think that generating traffic is all it takes? You couldn’t be more wrong, convincing visitors to drop by again is simply a must if you are serious about making it in the long run.
Most people seem to have thought of everything, yet have forgotten to try their best in order to convert visitors into loyal readers. If you do your job right as far as website promotion is concerned then yes, you will get people to visit your website, but what happens after that? You may not know it, but most of your potential readers may choose not to stick around, and here’s why:
1) You Make Promises Through Your Title and Don’t Deliver
Yes, a catchy title can “convince” others to check your article out but if you fail to deliver afterwards, you can rest assured that the reader in question will be quite disappointed. Actually, that person leaves and never looks back in most cases, so that it should come as no surprise that readers are not exactly tempted to stick around under such circumstances.
2) You Are Too Aggressive
Sure, you don’t have to lie to readers and tell them that they are perfect but that doesn’t mean that you should start insulting them. You can definitely tell a person that there are certain areas where improvements are in order in a more delicate manner, being too aggressive is not an option.
3) You See Writing as a Chore
If you are not passionate about a certain topic, your readers will definitely pick up on that and the results won’t exactly be worth bragging about. Don’t see writing as a chore and, instead, make sure that your content reflects just how passionate you are about a certain topic.
4) You Assume That Everyone Is an Expert
Just because you are extremely knowledgeable as far as the topic you’re writing about is concerned, it doesn’t mean that each and every one of your readers is. Don’t be afraid to explain certain terms when you think that it is necessary, as a good writer needs to be able to cater to the needs of beginners as well. Otherwise, readers who are not yet experts will leave and that is definitely not an option.
5) You Explain When It Isn’t Necessary
While assuming that each and every reader is an expert is not the way to go, explaining the obvious is not necessary because, if you have such an approach, your entire article will end up being filled with all sorts of explanations and your readers will end up being distracted from what is truly important.
6) You Go Off-Topic Way Too Often
While there is nothing wrong with the occasional off-topic remark, you have to be able to determine when enough is enough. After all, the last thing you need is readers leaving as a result of the fact that you are not able to focus on the topic you are writing about and insist on useless information way too much.
7) You Don’t Remind Them
If you want readers to stick around, why not remind them to subscribe to your newsletter or RSS feed at the end of the article? If you are writing an article series, why not remind them to drop by for the next article? Something as simple as reminding your visitors to stick around can and will make a difference, so why not act accordingly?
If at least one of these reasons sounds familiar, I’m sure you know what you have to do. Identifying what you did wrong is an important first step, but taking things to the next level by acting accordingly is simply a must.
Best wishes,
Alan Johnson
Author info: This is a guest post by Alan Johnson, the author of The Online Business Handbook.
As far as more than a few people are concerned, escaping from that 9-5 job they hate so much and earning a living online is something they’ve been dreaming about for longer than they’d care to remember. Well, guess what? That dream can become reality, but:
Your Current Attitude Has Got To Go!
A person who has been an employee for a long time or, in other words, someone who has gotten used to the concept of selling time, inevitably has some flaws which need to be corrected and that person’s attitude is the first thing which needs to change.
If you want to be your own boss, you have to stop thinking like an employee, you have to drop your current
attitude. Are you serious about becoming a successful online entrepreneur? Well, in that case, you first have to understand that:
You’re No Longer Selling Your Time
Most folks who have just started out as online entrepreneurs see everything from the “one man show” perspective: I have to do this, I have to do that, I have to worry about this and I have to worry about that. As strange as the thought may initially sound, you actually don’t.
Assuming that you have some kind of a budget (it doesn’t have to be an extremely impressive one ,since the Web makes starting out far easier compared to offline alternatives), you can actually afford to:
Be Selective and Start Delegating
You may be extremely knowledgeable as far as topic x is concerned and, as a result, interested in starting a website about it. But, in order to establish an online presence, you obviously need a website. Does this mean that you should start spending countless hours in order to learn how to design and code? Of course not!
Delegate, let professionals do their job. They will do it faster, they will do it better and, most importantly, they will make it possible for you to concentrate on other tasks. That, my friend, is what being an online entrepreneur is all about. You’re no longer selling your time, so that, as I’m sure you have understood by now, the “one man show” way of thinking has got to go.
What about You?
How do things stand as far as you are concerned? Have you managed to “take care” of the flaws which came as a natural result of being an employee? It’s nothing to be ashamed of, since, let’s face it, something you do for a long time is bound to influence you in one way or another.
While having the flaws I have referred to is perfectly natural, doing something about them is definitely a must if you are serious about being successful on the long run as an online entrepreneur. It’s about time to stop thinking like an employee and start thinking like an entrepreneur, it’s about time to finally understand that you are no longer selling your time and act accordingly. Are you ready for this important step?
Best wishes,
Alan Johnson
Author info: This post was guest blogged by Alan Johnson, the author of The Online Business Handbook.
There is a huge difference between blogging and simply running a static website, not realizing that would be one of the biggest mistakes you could ever make. Blogging takes the visitor-webmaster relationship to a whole new level, not taking advantage of that would simply be a shame.
How Do You Treat Your Readers?
As a blogger, seeing each and every reader as a close friend and acting accordingly is definitely a must. It’s important that you see beyond conversion rates, it’s important that you build a solid relationship with the person behind each internet connection.
Treat them with respect and the results can and will be more than worth it. Don’t, and it’s only a matter of time until an inevitable reality check will make you wish that you had been wiser. In the end, a reader who doesn’t feel respected will simply leave or, in other words, if you don’t respect your readers, you can rest assured that there are more than a few competitors who will gladly take over.
Being Self-Absorbed is Not the Way to Go!
If you think that it’s all about “you”, then I am afraid that your approach is 100% wrong. No, being a blogger is not about how you can make money, it’s all about how you can provide value to your readers. Money and everything else comes afterwards.
Visitors don’t drop by because they want you to make money, they drop by because they are interested in quality information. Take yourself as an example, how many websites do you visit because you want the webmaster to make money? I am convinced that the answer is more than clear. Yes, the websites you follow on a regular basis are most likely making money, but that’s because they provide value to each reader.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that, as a blogger, you always have to come first, because that is definitely not the way to go. Sure, you may think that writing quality articles is hard and that publishing them on a regular basis is even harder but, no matter what perspective you were to see things from, you have to understand that:
Readers Come First
If you publish quality content on a regular basis, visitors will gladly drop by on a regular basis. If you don’t then they will simply stop, that’s the way things stand. Yes, you can make a lot of money as a blogger but you have to understand that, if you want that to happen, catering to the needs of your readers first is the only way to go.
Sure, it won’t exactly be a piece of cake, but the results can and will definitely prove to be more than worth it if you do your job right. If you are interested in reaping the rewards, having the right attitude is always a must and, in the end, searching for the easy way out will get you nowhere. What about you, what’s your attitude as a blogger? Who comes first?
Best wishes,
Alan Johnson
Author info: This is a guest post by Alan Johnson, the author of The Online Business Handbook.
If you are interested in reading about something, you can rest assured that the information you are looking for is just one click away. If you want to talk to someone, all you have to do is pick up the phone, even if that person is miles away. All of these advantages do however come with one important drawback: people expect instant results nowadays and that is simply wrong.
Instant Riches? Not Unless You Win the Lottery!
If you are interested in instant riches then you can simply waste your money and buy a lottery ticket (I’ve never bought one and that is not about to change, I absolutely hate the “lottery” concept). 
But if you are ready to get your feet back on the ground then you might as well start by understanding that looking for instant riches is not the way to go.
It’s easy to say that you want to be rich but, in most cases, you are not ready to deal with that much money. Just take some lottery case studies as examples and you will definitely understand that getting your hands on too much money without being ready to handle it can and in most cases will ruin your life:
Take It One Step at a Time!
If you are serious about being successful as an online entrepreneur in the long run, you have to understand that chasing after shortcuts or after instant riches is never the way to go. A person with such an attitude will still be chasing after something which simply isn’t there years from now, while a person with at the very least a small trace of common sense will take things one step at a time and gradually work towards achieving a certain goal.
While having challenging long-term goals is always recommended, you have to take things one step at a time and divide everything into smaller and more manageable goals if you are actually interested in getting there. If you prefer living in denial then I am afraid that taking things to the next level will simply be impossible.
What Will It Be?
The choice is yours and only yours to make. You can either understand that you have to wait until you are on the right track and then continue working towards making sure that things remain that way or you can live in a fantasy world and wait until an inevitable reality check ends up changing your way of thinking.
The right decisions are always the hardest ones to make and, the same way, they easy way out is, in most cases, not the best one. Nobody can stop you if you want to continue living in denial, but you have to understand that you will be the only one at fault for the fact that things never seem to be working out in your favor or for the fact that you never seem to “catch a break”. What will it be?
Best wishes,
Alan Johnson
Author info: This guest post was written by Alan Johnson, the author of The Online Business Handbook.
After I’ve covered the top 5 reasons why you may currently not be earning a living online, it’s only natural that I refer to a few changes which can help you turn things around. And here they are, 5 of the most important changes which can and will help you earn a living online:
1) Be Optimistic
If you start out by seeing everything in a negative manner then that’s exactly how things will stand. Be optimistic, be confident in your ability to approach the market with a quality product, in your ability to make a certain resource worth following on a regular basis, in your ability to take things to the next level and earn a living online.
2) Always Be Ready to Learn
Drop the “I’m perfect, I don’t need your advice” attitude. No, you are not perfect and yes, you always have something to learn. If you have an open mind and are always willing to accept new ideas, even if they may be different to yours then you might just be on the right track and this attitude might just help you get one step closer to your goal of earning a living online.
3) Give It 110%
Always give it your best and always try to improve. That is an attitude which will definitely prove to be more than worth it in the long run. Just how committed to reaching your goal of earning a living online are you?
Sure, you may talk about your intentions, but are you able to also practice what you preach? If you are genuinely interested in earning a living online, you have to understand that it will not be a piece of cake. Just as with anything else, you have to be willing to work in order to obtain the results you know you deserve, that’s simply the way things stand.
4) Provide Value on a Regular Basis
Everyone is excited about a certain project initially, but how will you handle things once you inevitably start to lose momentum? If you are interested in being successful in the long run, providing value is not enough, you have to do it on a regular basis.
A few great articles, for example, will not be enough, not by a long shot. If you want visitors to drop by each day, you have to give them a valid reason to do that. Would you visit daily if a certain website only publishes an article once a month? Of course not, since you would only have a valid reason to only visit once a month. And guess what: that’s the same way your visitors see things.
5) Become More Flexible
If you currently think that blindly sticking with certain ideas is the way to go then I’m afraid that an inevitable reality check will change that. If something is not working out for you, don’t be afraid to implement changes, don’t be afraid to act, as you would be the only one losing out as a result of such an attitude. Become more flexible and you will definitely not regret it.
Best wishes,
Alan Johnson
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
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