Search Results for: ""

Do You Give Back?

by Ades on April 4, 2008 in Articles, Guest Posts with 25 Comments

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.

Global GivingBut 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

Online Business Risks 101

by Ades on March 26, 2008 in Articles, Guest Posts with 9 Comments

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?

photo by gurbejOf 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

Are you a productive blogger?

by Ades on March 20, 2008 in Articles, Guest Posts with 14 Comments

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.

productive_blogger.pngIs 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

How to gain 2000 RSS subscribers in 7 weeks

by Ades on March 17, 2008 in Blogging Tips with 14 Comments

AdesBlog’s weekly guest-blogger Alan Johnson of theratingblog.com crossed 2,000 RSS subscribers mark just in 7 weeks. Very impressive. Congratulations Alan!

He says his success was not due to any luck whatsoever, but due to 100% hardwork. You can read his post on how he did it here.

He has written the following guest posts:

Keep up the good work Alan!

The Building Blocks of a Successful Website

by Ades on March 11, 2008 in Articles, Guest Posts with 17 Comments

Author info: This guest post was written by Alan Johnson. He teaches you how to build a profitable website in 10 days over at TheRatingBlog.com

Are you interested in achieving worthwhile results as an online entrepreneur? Are you interested in getting on top and staying there? Then, my friend, making sure that your project is built on a solid foundation to begin with is simply a must.

Let’s assume that you did your share of brainstorming and have come up with an idea you consider great.photo by Addicted2Addiction The natural reaction in such cases is getting started right away. There’s nothing to be ashamed of, we are all humans and such a reaction is perfectly understandable. That doesn’t mean that you should let it get the best of you.

Due to the fact that they are eager to get started right away, most webmasters end up neglecting the building blocks of a successful website and, there’s no doubt about it, this approach will come back
to haunt them down the road. You should never let the initial excitement keep you from analyzing things objectively if you are serious about long-term success.

So you have an idea which you think has excellent potential? That’s an important first step, but rushing into something is never a wise decision. Everything should start with a solid business model and
solid goals. How will you be providing value through your website? How do you plan on approaching your market? What do you want to achieve with this project in the long run? These are just a few of the
important questions you should be asking yourself before even thinking about publishing a website.

Alright then, now that you have a business plan and your goals as a foundation, it’s time to get started. From content to design, you should make sure that you do everything right before launching your
website. You may want to get started right away and feel tempted to just write some content for the sake of it and set things in motion. Never make that mistake. Creating quality content is definitely a
must, and doing it in advance is always recommended. Of course, you shouldn’t create content for the next century and use that as an excuse for not getting started, but you should always have something
set aside just in case. After all, you don’t want to be taken by surprise in case you will not have time or inspiration in order to create content at a certain point, do you?

You have a solid business plan and goals, a working website and content, now what? Since you are ready to get started, you can do just that and now it’s time to give it 110% in order to promote your website and let the world know about it. Having a great resource is indeed extremely important, but achieving worthwhile results without promoting it is next to impossible. After your website is live, it is extremely important that you always find the right balance between publishing quality content on a regular basis and website promotion.

From business plan and goals to content and promotion, the building blocks of a successful website should never be neglected if you are serious about long-term success. What about you? Are you paying enough attention to each and every one of them?

Best wishes,
Alan Johnson

Online Entrepreneurs and Fake Promises

by Ades on March 4, 2008 in General, Guest Posts with 20 Comments

Author info: This guest post has been written by Alan Johnson, who has identified The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Online Entrepreneurs over at TheRatingBlog.com.

photo by woolloomoolooskyIn this industry, the earning opportunities are virtually endless and, basically, no matter what topic you are both passionate about and knowledgeable in, you can definitely end up earning a pretty penny online by doing what you like and providing value. On the other hand, there are all sorts of people who will make tempting promises in the hope of having you fall for them, only to realize, at a later point, that they were simply lies.

In more than a few cases, fake promises are followed by a ‘buy now’ invitation, and I’m sure you’ve noticed your share of examples. People who claim that their product will help you make problems a thing of the past are lurking around every corner, just waiting to find yet another victim to take advantage of.

One of the most commonly used words in such situations has to be ‘fast’, with ‘make money fast’ and ‘lose weight fast’ being a two of the most relevant examples. People who are trying to trick you into thinking that their product is the best solution for all of your problems often start by trying to make it seem that they somehow relate to you.

They start by describing some of the most common problems people who might be interested in their product are facing and making it seem that they were confronted with such issues as well until a certain product changed their life. A lot of times, such people do that for a living and, as such, they can actually be quite convincing. I’m sure you’ve noticed your share of sales letters where such people are trying to gradually build up trust by making it seem that they have had problems similar to yours before and they even present some more than convincing testimonials. It is very carefully-planned scenario which will, as you may have already guessed, bring you in front of the ‘buy now’ button.

photo by madgirlThey also try to create a sense of urgency in order to trick you into thinking that, if you don’t grab your credit card and purchase their product now, you will regret that decision for the rest of your life. Again, more than a few such people can definitely be convincing, but in the end, common sense prevails.

Always asking yourself the ‘is this too good to be true?’ question is definitely the way to go. Whenever something seems far too good to be true, it most likely is and you are better off not wasting time and money on such a product. Common sense can and will get you far, this applies to dealing with fake promises just as it does everywhere else.

What do you do when confronted with what obviously represent fake promises? What is your reaction? Do you smile, leave and never look back or are some sales letters you have noticed actually able to trick you into thinking that maybe, just maybe, the promises in question may not be fake?

Best wishes,
Alan Johnson

Is Passive Income a Myth?

by Ades on February 27, 2008 in Articles, Guest Posts, Make Money with 8 Comments

Author info: This guest post has been written by Alan Johnson, who has exposed the 100 most popular online myths over at TheRatingBlog.com.

You can hear more than a few people saying that you can earn passive income by working from home, but is that actually possible? Are you, as an online entrepreneur, capable of generating passive income, or is it just one big myth?

Can passive income be earned online? Yes and no, it depends on what you understand by passive. Yes, if you compare being a webmaster to having a regular job, it does seem like passive since, with a job, you
are only getting paid while you work or, in other words, you are selling your time.

As a webmaster, on the other hand, you can definitely earn money 24/7, even while you’re sleeping. Think about it: let’s assume that you are running a website and promoting products related to your niche as an affiliate. Whenever you make a sale or generate a lead through your affiliate link, you are getting paid. In other words, if one of your visitors decides to buy a certain product using your affiliate link while you are sleeping, for example, you get paid. If that’s what you understand by passive income, then yes, it is definitely achievable.

On the other hand, thinking that earning 100% passive income is possible as an online entrepreneur, or, in other words, thinking that you can earn money without working is just plain foolish on your part.
A website which is currently profitable can stop generating revenue at any point, depending on how well you do your job as a webmaster.

Sure, you may currently be receiving visitors form search engines but rest assured, things will definitely change if you neglect the process of SEO. The same way, a PPC campaign can and will no longer be
profitable if you don’t tweak it whenever necessary. No matter what others say, you have to invest time and efforts in order to make money and, while just relaxing and doing nothing while profits are rolling
in does seem like quite a tempting scenario, I’m afraid that things don’t exactly stand this way.

As a conclusion, depending on what kind of meaning the term has to you, earning passive income as an online entrepreneur may or may not be a myth. Are you interested in making money 24/7, even when you are not working on a certain project? Then yes, it is definitely possible if you do your job right. On the other hand, do you think that, after you launch a certain project and it becomes profitable, you can just sit back and relax, that your job is now done? Then, my friend, I am afraid that you still have a lot to learn and you basically have two options: you can either understand just how foolish such a way of thinking is and change your attitude or you can learn your lesson the hard way.

Depending on your answer, your experience as an online entrepreneur can be a dream come true or one large disappointment. What will it be?

Best wishes,
Alan Johnson

What happens after building that website?

by Ades on February 19, 2008 in Articles, Blogging Tips, Guest Posts with 14 Comments

Author info: This guest post was written by Alan Johnson, who provides a cards-on-the-table guide to building a profitable website in 10 days over at TheRatingBlog.com

The thought of being a millionaire or why not, even a billionaire sounds great doesn’t it? You hear about people who have made it all the time, you see them on TV, read about their lifestyle and would like a piece of the action. But do you really have what it takes in order to be a successful online entrepreneur?

image by pbrian49People often make the mistake of thinking that being successful is easy. The luxury, the lifestyle and just about everything else see on TV or read about, these are the rewards. But did you ever stop and think about how they got there in the first place? Rest assured, no entrepreneur will tell you that being successful is smooth sailing, the road is bound to get bumpy every once in a while.

So you want the perks, but do you actually have what it takes in order to get there? Everything in this world has a price and there are countless sacrifices behind every success story. If you want to make
it then you have to give it 110% right away.

Do you think that you can handle it? Alright then, let’s say you do and that you start working on your first project? You will invest time, money and efforts, you will do your best and guess what: you will fail miserably. There is simply no way to avoid failure. Even if things seem to be running smoothly, something will eventually go wrong and make all of your efforts seem in vain. Do you have what it takes
in order to keep giving it 110%, or are you nothing more than a quitter, a never-was and never-will-be?

The best lessons are learned the hard way, and every entrepreneur who has been around the block for a while will agree. Wouldn’t it be just great if everything were to happen exactly as you plan it?
Unfortunately, most things which seemed great on paper don’t perform that great in the real world.

Making mistakes is an important part of the learning process and, as long as you learn from them and don’t let treat them as a sign that you should give up, you are on the right track. If you have the proper
attitude, you will look back down the road, laugh at the foolish mistakes you have made and congratulate yourself for not being a quitter.

Everyone can launch a project, publish a website or a blog, there really isn’t much to it, but only a small fraction of those people will end up finishing what they’ve just started. The vast majority of them will simply not continue once things get rough, are you about to let that happen as well?

Wanting to be successful is great, setting goals for you and your projects is also great, but your ability to take things to the next level will make or break you as an online entrepreneur. Do you have what it takes?

Best wishes,
Alan Johnson

Are you boring your readers to death?

by Ades on February 12, 2008 in Blogging Tips, Guest Posts with 19 Comments

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

photo by MarSraM1024If you’re offering high-end services then sure, a corporate writing style is in order, because being professional all the way is a must. But as a blogger, choosing such a writing style is the biggest mistake you could possibly make.

Why? Look at it this way: there’s more to blogging than just getting a message across, that’s the main difference between blogs and other types of websites. Keep it personal, keep it conversational, add a “community feel” to everything or you may very well be facing the risk of boring your readers to death.

Think about it this way: how do you get a certain message across when talking to a person you have known for ages, a person you feel extremely close to? First of all, I’m sure you don’t use any of the “we pride ourselves with” phrases you see on corporate websites. The first thing you need to do as a blogger is drop the “we”. No, you’re not some sort of corporation, why would you want to make readers feel that you are? That’s not what blogging is all about, you need to establish a relationship with each reader and that’s never going to happen unless you relate to visitors on a personal level.

If you don’t enjoy the scenario of ending up talking to yourself, you had better make sure that you have the right attitude towards blogging. Don’t drive potential loyal readers away by boring them to death, don’t fall into the trap of thinking that a corporate writing style will somehow make you seem more professional, as that is simply not the case.

Most people don’t follow blogs as a chore, they follow them because they’re interested in being informed on the one hand, but they’re also visiting blogs because it is a pleasant experience on the other. If your readers don’t enjoy themselves when reading your blog, they will not stick around. Let’s face it, you would have the same attitude in their case.

Once again, keep it simple, keep it conversational and try to get your message across just as you would if you were talking face to face with a person who is close to you. Always understand that there are human beings behind that screen, not numbers or mindless robots.

After reading one of your articles, always ask yourself: what would I think about this one, how would I rate it if it wasn’t written by me? Always put yourself in the position of your visitors. Offering great information is the most important thing, but it isn’t enough, the way you manage to get your message across is also a factor which could make or break you as a blogger.

Always do your best in order to make sure that your readers are both informed and entertained as a result of following your blog. If you are accustomed to using a corporate writing style, it won’t be easy, but you will, without a doubt, end up congratulating yourself down the road.

Best wishes,
Alan Johnson

Newer Entries →