Thanks for the great feedback about this series!
I do want to make one thing clear. I do not see continuity just as a way to make money. Sometimes people come across a series like this and think, “Ahhhhhh. THIS is the answer. I should be following this model.”
The question you have to ask yourself before starting a continuity program is… “Do I want to SERVE this market month in and month out long-term?”
You’re asking your customers to make a commitment, right? A long-term commitment, right?
Well, the FIRST long-term commitment must come from you. You have to be committed to delivering a great product. You have to be committed to customer service. You have to be committed to the eventual headaches (especially technology headaches) that come with operating a subscription site.
Today I want to take a little of that weight off of you by reviewing the top membership platforms I have personally used.
But first, 2 things…
#1: Other Proof of Income.
This question came in… “Paul, would you mind showing the income from another of your continuity sites?”
Here you go… http://screencast.com/t/IUjksN1R4C Those are all recurring charges from yesterday.
And here’s a sample of today’s receipts from the same site as parts 1-2.
http://screencast.com/t/7sWfXNwm55ZN
You can obviously see why Carrie and I feel a continuity program is as close to a regular paycheck as it gets for those of us in online business.
#2: My Tough Times
A few years ago I was running Nicheology on a membership platform built from scratch. It was working great. Keyword – WAS.
Then the affiliate program hiccupped and affiliates started getting $1 commissions instead of their usual amount.
Next, the system was hacked and everyone started getting charged their full membership fee every single day.
I wanted to throw up. (Actually, I think I did!)
It was a MASSIVE headache and customer support problem. Then the programmer went silent. (No. I did NOT contract a hit on him.)
Anyway, we made it through and finally we’re on a stable system, Membergate, which is a high end system.
Which brings me to the first rule of choosing a membership platform… DO NOT TRY TO SAVE MONEY. Don’t be cheap.
Go with a proven, stable, trusted company.
The second rule is to choose a platform that fits your program.
A regular question that comes in is, “Paul, what’s THE BEST membership script?”
The best one is the one that fits your goal for delivery and collections. If you’re releasing one report a month, then you do not need a complex platform. If you’re going to be loading a site with hundreds of pages, then you’ll want something more robust.
These are the top membership tools I use according to the need:
#1: Membergate
http://membergate.com Tim Kerber owns and operates this system. He’s solid.
Nicheology.com runs on this platform. It’s an all-in-one solution.
- Content Publisher
- Subscription Manager
- Shopping Cart
- Affiliate Program
- Professional Site Design
- Surveys/Opinion Polls
- Calendars
- Discussion Groups
- Master Control Panel
- Search Engine Optimization
- Unlimited Member Plans
- Automatic Member Signup
- Automatic Recurring Billing
- Credit Card Processing
- Banner Ads
- RSS Content Syndication
- RSS Feed Aggregator
- Flexible Site Design
- Comprehensive Reporting
- Site Wide Search
- Auto Page Publishing
- Automatic Page Archiving
- Roles Based Security
- Members & Public Areas
- Daily Page Stats
- Search Phrase Report
- Referrers Report
- Suspicious Activity Report
- Content Management
- Membership Software
- Much, Much More!
You do need a merchant account to use Membergate. If you want to use PayPal you will have to perform some manual operations.
I recommend Membergate if you are planning to dominate your niche and host the ONLY site someone in your market would need to join… ever. (I’ll be speaking at the Membergate event in New York. Check it out.)
#2 WishList Member
http://wishlistmember.com Stu McLaren and Tracy Childers – two awesome, integrity filled guys.
Simple 6, Offline Internet Profits, Membership CSI run on this platform.
- Unlimited Membership Levels
- Create “Silver”, “Gold”, “Platinum”, or any other “levels” you want! Charge more for higher levels of access – all within the same blog.
- Integrates With Your WordPress Site
- Whether you’re building a new site or integrating with an existing WordPress site, installing WishList Member is a breeze. Just unzip the file, upload to your plugins folder and activate!
- Flexible Membership Options
- Create Free, Trial, or Paid membership levels — or any combination of the three.
- Easy Member Management
- View your members, their registration status, membership level, and much more. Easily upgrade members, move them to different levels, pause their membership, or delete them entirely.
- Sequential Content Delivery
- Graduate your members from one level to the next. For example, after 30 days, you can automatically upgrade members from a Free Trial to the “Silver” level.
- Control Viewed Content
- Just click the “Hide” button to protect exclusive content for members of a particular level. Create “modular” memberships and hide content from other levels.
- Shopping Cart Integration
- Seamlessly integrates with the most popular shopping cart systems, including PayPal, ClickBank, and many more. Plus, WishList Member now integrates with Cydec and Infusion.
- Multi-Level Access
- Give your members access to multiple levels within your membership. For example, create a central download location with access granted to members of all levels.
WishList Member does not have a built in Affiliate System. You will need to use your payment platform for that (more on this in part 4).
I recommend WishList if you’re wanting a simple to use, WordPress based membership site. It’s clean and easy to use. Plus, Stu is about to release a single post payment feature. Let’s say I wanted to charge you for what you’re reading right now. I might charge $1 and you would immediately be able to access this post. It’s a GREAT feature.
#3 Amember
paulsimvault.com uses this platform.
- Automated signups and expirations
- Can be used as stand-alone user management program without any payment system
- Checks your database to avoid duplicate usernames
- User is able to check unique user name availability during signup
- Can generate simple usernames and passwords for users (optionally)
- The signup form fields checked for completeness. Your custom checking may be simply added
- Can protect any files/directories. Your customers never see annoying popup login window again – The login form is completely customizable
- Unlimited number of products (subscription types), each with own price, expiration and ANY other parameters. You able to handle any number and combination of products/protected files and(or) directories
- Members may have multiple subscriptions simultaneously (for different products) with only one username/password for all them
- Automated account expiration handling. Memberships are automatically terminated after expiring. Members will still be able to visit special their member profile pages and renew their subscriptions
- Automatically monitor visitors with the same username/password. If the configured limit is reached, the account is disabled instantly.
- E-mails the username/password to the customer after signup is completed
- E-mails to the customer when (before or after – configurable) their subscription expires
- E-mails to customers when they didn’t complete payment
- E-mails to customers when they completed first stage of signup
- Special customizable pages for members with a list of completed payments, renewal control and links to protected areas
- Members are able to change their profile information, such as phone number, address, email and password
- Ability to send password by email for members who forgot their passwords
- Powerful Admin control panel
- E-mail broadcast to your customers. E-mail to all of your customers, expired customers as well as customers of a specified product
- Search members by username, name, email, subscription type (product) and/or by any string in profile
- Manually add members and add subscriptions with desired start & expiration date
- The script has it’s own error and access log
- Customizable reports
- Admin panel is protected with encrypted login/password
- Supported Payment Methods
- 60+ third party payment processors supported – full list here
- Free – to allow free signup
- Moderated Free – admin must approve accounts
- Offline payments: ex.: Western Union, Money Order, offline cheques
- Ability to easily create new plugins (powerful and easy plugin interface)
- Gift Vouchers (your customers can order gift certificates)
- Members List (automatically publish list of paid members)
- One-Time download (useful to protect file and track downloads count)
- Ability to easily create new plugins (powerful and easy plugin interface)
- Web-based installation
- Completely MySQL driven
- Fabulous customizability
- Smarty templates. Unlimited flexibility
- Adding unlimited number of custom fields to products, subscriptions and members without changing database structure! Ability to assign validity checks for new fields.
- Database is completely compatible between versions – easy upgrade
- Ability to add your own protection and payment plugins. Easy integration with your existing site solutions
- Free Support (Trouble-Tickets system, we guarantee answer within 24 hours)
- Free Installation
I recommend amember for an inexpensive all in one solution. It works great with PayPal and its Affiliate System is among the best in the business. You can sell single products or do recurring charges. I really like that each member gets his/her own account area. Anything they have ever bought from you will show up in the system. No more lost download links!
Whew! There you go! Plenty to choose from.
I KNOW that most people simply want me to say, “Use this.” But that’s not how business works. You have to make decisions that tie your personality and style, deliver process and what best serves your members.
In Part 4, we’ll look at the best shopping carts, payment systems and affiliate programs.
Success is NOT an Accident!
Paul
P.S. This is on a TOTALLY DIFFERENT note… If you have NEVER made a dime online…
http://www.nicheology.net/Chris
This may be the best guarantee I’ve ever seen. Chris is guaranteeing you WILL make money online with his 6 week course. If not, double your money back – YES, you will have to PROVE you took the necessary steps. But the steps are not hard. I’ve look over the entire system and this is a GREAT way to get started.
I’m not going to lie like a lot of folks who will say, “My good buddy Chris just sent me this…” I do not know Chris personally, but I have been watching him for the past year. His reputation is stellar and everything I’ve bought while investigating him has been solid.
Check out his video and judge for yourself…
http://www.nicheology.net/Chris
Whew! I ate too much yesterday! It’s pretty easy to lose all discipline on a holiday. Today I’m going to tighten back up a bit and burn off those extra calories.
OK, on to the next step of setting up your passive continuity program.
Make sure you’ve written down the niche you’re focusing on. Write down how often you will publish (weekly, monthly, etc).
Now let’s talk about money – part 2 in our series…
2. Pricing Your Program.
Each niche is going to have it’s own price point. A consumer market will have a lower point. A commercial market a higher point.
If you primarily work with offline small businesses, then $100 a month will not be expensive.
If you’re working with an affluent market, then $1000 a month is not a lot.
If you’re working with a middle class group then $10-$50 seems to be the range.
But here’s the measurement I use. I coined this phrase a few years ago and I’ve noticed more and more people using it…
Forgettable Pricing.
What’s the “throw away” amount for your market.
The average American will “throw away” $4 for a cup of coffee. They will throw away $7 for lunch.
It’s money spent then forgotten.
When you price your subscription think in terms of how your market spends money and how they THINK about money.
If you were to ask a mid-income person what they could do with $100, they would have a pretty big list.
If you ask someone who is rich what they could do with $100, they would have to think about it.
$100 is memorable for the middle class. It’s forgettable for the wealthy.
Most of my online markets are middle class. So I tend to price memberships at $10 a month or $97 for a year.
Here’s a partial shot of today’s receipts from the same site I showed you yesterday…
http://screencast.com/t/0QlJU0DwclTt
As you can see, most of those are $9.95. You also see the one that $97. That person pays once a year. Yes, it’s recurring.
That’s a model I love. $10 a month. $100 for a year, save $20. It’s a simple offer with forgettable pricing.
Of course, at Nicheology it’s $29.95 a month. Why not $10? Because it’s actually 7 memberships in one. I could literally open 7 different membership sites making $10 a month the subscription rate.
1. 3-5 PLR packages a month is worth at least $47 a month, but I could easily set up a site for $10 a month.
2. Video PLR – again, worth at least $47. Could be another $10 site.
3. Product Profiles – another $10 site.
4. Online Business Tutorials – another $10 site.
5. Website Traffic – another $10.
6. The Profit Academy – another $10 a month (should be $50).
7. Q & A Live – another $10 a month (should be $100).
“Wait Paul, I want to know the PERFECT price for my membership.”
Forget perfect (since it doesn’t actually exist), and go with forgettable pricing.
So what’s YOUR price going to be?
Write down the amount and WHY you’re charging that amount.
In part 3 we’ll look at plugins and scripts to run your site.
Success is NOT an Accident,
Paul
For those who attended DIY Recurring Revenue last Friday…
Review hour three where I covered the Simple 6 Core 4.
Core #1: R__________ N_________. This is THE key to a successful site. Make sure you are anchored in that principle. It virtually guarantees that you have chosen a profitable subscription market.
Also, review…
Core #2: A____ P______________. This will absolutely protect you burnout and overwhelm. And it will connect your forgettable pricing to an exact value within your market. That way they KNOW they are getting their money’s worth each and every month.
If you were not able to make the training on Friday the complete replay is available. The price goes up tonight at 9 pm CST. So get it now…
http://diymarketingsuccess.com/recurringrevenue.html
Ahhhh…. Labor Day here in the USA.
Ironic since it’s a day of rest.
And although we’ve taken it pretty easy around our place… rode mybike 10 miles, grilled some great burgers for lunch, and unfortunately Steven has football practice tonight!… I always seemto be thinking about business.
So here’s something for you in case you’re thinking about business today as well…
I want to show you something. Even if you’ve been getting emails from me for the past seven years, there’s one thing you’ve never seen from me.
RIGHT! Grammatically perfect emails.
Aaaaaand……………
I’ve never shown any proof income screen shots.
Why?
3 reasons.
One: It’s tacky. Do you really care how much I make online? Youshouldn’t. You should care about how much YOU make.
Two: It’s manipulation. Most people use income “proof” to convince people they can do the same. That’s just unethical.
Three. It’s private. I don’t really want folks knowing how much Imake. I’ll have some hillbillies showing up at my door claiming to be kin. I ain’t for that!
However…
It’s LABOR DAY and I did absolutely NOTHING today to make what I am about to show you…
http://screencast.com/t/TMp8rh5RlRNv
That’s just twenty receipts. Notice there’s a “next” button at thetop and bottom right. That just means there’s more on the next page.
But let’s pretend there’s not.
After fees, this morning’s receipts came to: $188
(Oh, don’t be a clown and email me saying, “Uhhhh… Paul… one of thepayments says pending.)
Let’s keep pretending and limit each day’s receipts to a $188 total (it’s more, but let’s stay at this level for this example.)
For one month the total would come to… $5640.
That’s not too bad, right?
The particular site related to this income takes about 30 minutes aweek to maintain. That’s it. The only thing I’ve done related to the site today is check the receipts.
That’s the power of recurring revenue. It sure beats selling ebooks one by one!
To help you with your own subscription site, I’m starting a littleseries on things I’ve learned from operating recurring revenue sites. These will help you keep your subscription site(s) goingstrong.
OK, here’s the first…
1. People are schedule oriented.
When you publish your content/training on a predictable date eachmonth, or a predictable day each week, people come to rely on it. They expect it.
It gets locked in their brains and creates a connection.
Two things happen…
First, it helps people remember when to check in. If you scheduleyour releases at the first of the month, then your members will automatically login for the new material. AND they’ll be remindedof what a great value they are getting.
At Nicheology I update every Tuesday. It’s our highest membertraffic day because our awesome folks know there’s something new that day. Each week’s release is easily worth an entire month’smembership fees.
Second, committed people hate to leave someone who is just as committed.
This is a subscriber retention principle no one talks about.
When you become dependable (month in and month out, or week in and week out); you become a small constant in the lives of your people.
Think about it.
We live in a world of chaos. A world where it seems that few people keep their word. A world where the politicians and “leaders” change their stories as often as parents change an infant’s diaper.
When you become predictably dependable, you get a priority positionin your members’ minds.
Stay on schedule and people will stay with you longer. Yes, it’ssimple, but most folks fail at this.
Next time we’ll talk a bit about how to price your membership.
Success is NOT an Accident!
Paul
P.S. Carrie and I did 4 hours of training last Friday on recurringrevenue. It’s just $97 until tomorrow night at 9 pm CST. Then itgoes to $147.
http://diymarketingsuccess.com/recurringrevenue.html
======================
Mission
Educate 10,000,000 about online business
Equip 1,000,000 lifestyle entrepreneurs
Establish 25,000 members in their own business
7 Ways to Make Money from Your Blog
Initially, finding high-quality content for your blog and then getting people to see that content is the most important thing you can do with your time.
However, as your blog evolves and your readership grows, you have to put some time into monetizing the blog correctly. Otherwise, the entire enterprise will be for naught.
Below, I will explain 7 ways in which you can monetize your blog, so that it goes from being a drain on your financial resources to an asset.
1. Use Google AdSense
For starters, you should consider putting up Google AdSense ads. The advantage to this approach is that it is simple.
Tip: If you’re using Blogger.com, the Google AdSense is already built in. After all, it is one of the Google services. However, there are many plug-ins and themes for WordPress and other platforms, which only needs youto insert your Google AdSense code.
All you have to do is create an AdSense account, generate some lines of code, and then place those lines of code in your website. From there, the script will generate ads that are contextually-matched to your site; and will generate revenue whenever they are clicked.
This means that you don’t need to talk to advertisers;and you don’t need to draw up a contract. All you have to decide on is what type of ads to use. You will have a choice between a half dozen types, including banners, image ads, and text ads of various shapes and sizes.
It’s important to note that there are also downsides of using Google AdSense. For instance, you will probably earn less on banner ads and you will also have less control over what ads are displayed on your site.
Tip: Having said that, Google AdSense allows you to block some kinds of ads, keywords or domains from showing up on your blog.
2. Sell Advertising Space
In generally, this won’t work well for low traffic sites. However, if your blog receives a lot of traffic and you can back this up with documentation, such as traffic records, then selling advertising space may be a lucrative option.
When it comes to selling ad space, you will have a few different options.
You can choose between text ads, banner ads, and image ads. You can also choose whether you want advertisers to pay per click or to pay per view.
If you decide to go this route, you can use the following sources to find ad space buyers:
- http://www.webmaster-talk.com/buy-and-sell-advertising-space/
- http://www.sitepoint.com
- http://www.buysellads.com
3. Seek Out Sponsorship Opportunities
In addition to (or as an alternative to) selling ad space on your site, you might consider seeking out sponsors.
The sponsors could agree to provide a free prize for your contest in exchange for being mentioned on your blog in the days leading up to the contest.
Alternatively, you could have long term sponsors for the blog, who make a monthly donation in exchange for your promoting their products periodically and for including a banner on your site that references them as a sponsor.
4. Sell Your Own Products/Services
Another way to generate revenue through your blog is to create your own products or to sell existing products.
If you don’t already have products, you might consider creating an ebook, a short report, or video or audio content. If you don’t feel comfortable creating these products yourself, then you can hire a freelancer at http://www.elance.com or http://www.guru.com to create the product for you.
Once the product is ready, you can sell it on your blog by accepting payments via PayPal.com or ClickBank.com. You might want to start by introducing your product through a blog entry; however, at a later point, you may want to relegate it to a permanent position on your blog, such as in a top banner or in the sidebar.
5. Promote Affiliate Products/Services
An alternative to actually creating products to sell or selling existing products that you own is to promote products as an affiliate.
Regardless of what niche you are in, you should be able to find affiliate programs to join with lucrative and timely payments. In fact, even if you have your own products to sell, it may still be a better idea to sell affiliate products.
For starters, you should visit ClickBank.com, which has a wide variety of different electronic affiliate products. Among these, you can look for ones that that have high “gravity” scores, as well as high commission percentages.
If you want to promote services and physical products, you have additional options, including the following:
6. Post Paid Reviews
Another way in which you can monetize your blog is to join a “pay per post” program. These will allow you to post positive reviews about products in exchange for monetary compensation.
At first, you might think this is unethical to pretend a product is good in order to get money in exchange. But, in fact, you don’t need to do this at all.
Instead, what you can do is focus on products that you have already used and would recommend to your blog readers. You can then recommend it as you would, but you’ll now receive compensation for doing so.
You can find site that facilitate pay-per-post exchanges at the following URLs:
- http://www.payperpost.com
- http://www.loudlaunch.com
- http://www.reviewme.com
- http://www.smorty.com
- http://www.blogsvertise.com
7. Offer Freemium Content
The term “freemium” refers to a business model where the basic content or service is free, but the advanced features require visitors to pay.
This approach can be successfully extended to blogs in the following way:
- First, let your usual posts and content make up the “free” part.
- Next, add some “premium” content, such as a exclusive posts, graphic design items, cheatsheets, coupons, reports, or WordPress themes. Anything that your readers want so badly can be premium.
- Only allow paid subscribers to access your premium section.
From there, you should make attempts to promote your paid section to your free members, so that more and more of them move into that group over time.
Additionally, consider making entry fee very low (perhaps $5/month), so that visitors don’t need to think very hard about the decision.
There ya go. 7 simple ways to make more money from your blog.
Success is NOT an Accident!
Paul
7 Ways to Get More Comments at Your Blog
Comments are the lifeblood of any truly successful blog. They keep the discussion going well after the blog entry has ended. And they signal to new visitors that other people find the blog interesting and worthwhile.
If you want to ensure that your blog becomes successful, retains visitors, and encourages visitors to stay longer and to become more active, then you should do whatever you can to try to draw more comments.
Below, I will discuss 7 different strategies you can do get a lot more comments at your blog.
1. Repost or Reference Comments
One great way to draw in readers and to encourage them to comment more frequently is to reward them when they do it.
Example: If someone makes a particularly insightful remark about your post, then it may make sense to comment on it explicitly.
You can do this by quoting part or all of the comment, mentioning the poster by name, and then saying something complimentary or funny about his or her post.
Tip: Remember to check you type the commenter’s name correctly. If you’ve international blog readers, you’ll easily type their names wrong – and that can only make an impact in the opposite direction.
If you do this in a way that makes people feel involved and recognized for their effort, then they’re more likely to contribute in the future. Others, seeing this, will also contribute.
2. Hold Contests
Another good way to encourage readers to become commenters is to hold regular contests.
In these contests, the entry fee will simply be making one or more comments. And the prize can be a number of different things, including merchandise from your niche or store; or the opportunity to make a one-time guest blog.
As far as picking winners goes, this is up to you. You could either select them yourself by picking the “best comment” or you could randomly select a comment using http://www.random.org.
The first method is entirely subjective; however, the second method may lead you to select someone who only put in a nominal effort, perhaps by writing “good post,” which could anger other participants.
Tip: If you make a random selection , in order to optimally take advantage of this opportunity, you may also want to screencast the selection process and post it on your blog at a pre-determined date and time.
Feel free to make real-time voice-over while you’re screencasting and add excitement to the video.
This could draw a lot of interest from participants and give your blog a healthy traffic spike.
3. Be Controversial
Another good way to encourage readers to comment is to occasionally post something highly controversial, but not ethically objectionable.
Example: You might cite a famous Internet marketer who has claimed that creating an email list is a waste of time; and that you should instead always send traffic directly to your salespage.
When it comes down to it, you don’t even have to take a side. You can simply introduce the controversy and then let commenters jump it and flesh out the debate.
This can be an excellent way to draw readers in and prompt them to get involved.
With all of this said, I cannot stress enough that you should not post controversial topics that could be construed as morally or ethically objectionable material. This is more likely to turn off readers, rather than get them involved.
4. Create a Poll
Polls have many virtues. One virtue is that they allow you to capture information about your visitors that you might otherwise not be able to get. Another virtue is that they prompt involvement on the part of those who feel that their preferences were not well-represented in the poll.
I want you to use polls for the second (and lesser-known) virtue. That is — create a poll that is incomplete — and then allow commenters to chime in by arguing that you should include additional categories and explaining why that is the case.
Tip: Alternatively, you’ll offer a complete list of choices but rather explicitly ask them to comment why they chose it. People will start a discussion on why X is better than Y or the vice-verse.
This should stimulate some interesting comments, which could lead to a discussion between blog readers.
5. Give Readers Less Time to Comment
As with many things in life, it’s all too easy to put off blog commenting and tell ourselves that we will do it tomorrow instead. And, not surprisingly, this is something that many would-be commenters do.
They decide to put comments off until later, but when they go to do them at another time, they find a new blog post and lose interest in placing the original comment.
One way to get around this is to put a cap on the amount of replies you allow or the amount of time people have to post replies.
When they see this cap and realize the implications, they will be prompted to post now, rather than later. While it may seem counterintuitive at first, it can work quite well in practice to bring in additional comments.
6. Show the Carrot
Instead of threatening to prevent people from commenting, you may want to consider giving them a positive incentive to comment.
For instance, you could put some lower bound on the number of comments you must receive before you will create another post.
Example: You might say that you will only post after you have received at least 30 comments from readers.
With this said, it is important that you follow the response to this policy over time. Make sure that readers aren’t simply posting “good work” or “nice post,” but instead are actively participating. Otherwise, this system will not work and you may need to switch to something else.
Note: I can’t stress enough the importance of the “carrot” principle in place for this strategy:
You need to show people what’s next.
Tease them about the next blog post and make it clear that you’ll post this new exclusive post right after you reach a certain amount of comments.
7. Make a Typo
Similar to tip #4, which involved creating a poll that purposely excluded certain categories of response, you may want to consider drawing comments by intentionally making a mistake.
You can do this by occasionally making a typo, which will incite those who cannot accept typos to comment.
Of course, with this strategy, it is critical that you do NOT go over-board. Frequently making typos on your blog will make you look unprofessional and will hurt your chances of long run success.
Conclusion
If you want to have a successful blog, then you need to convert readers to commenters.
Fortunately, if you want to do this, all you have to do is use one or more of the seven strategies I’ve provided above.
In a matter of weeks, you should see significant improvements in your reader involvement, commenting, retention.
Success is NOT an Accident,
Paul
7 Ways to Get Great Ideas for Blog Posts
You might wonder how some bloggers manage to stay inspired and to find new topics effortlessly while others (like you) struggle to find new ideas.
However, the truth of the matter is that many of those prolific bloggers didn’t start off that way.
Just like you, those prolific bloggers had periods of time when they couldn’t come up with great ideas and when they no idea where to look for inspiration.
The difference between you and them is that they figured out how to overcome this problem.
If you want to overcome this problem, all you have to do is find reliable sources of great ideas and then tap them periodically to make sure you don’t run out of material.
Below, you’ll learn 7 useful strategies you can employ to get great blog post ideas:
1. Ask Your Readers
Not surprisingly, your readers know what they want to read about more than anyone else. This is precisely why any attempt to generate new blog topics should begin with a frank discussion between you and your blog readers.
If you use WordPress or a blogging platform that permits it, consider using a plugin to conduct two different polls.
- The first poll should ask what direction readers would like your blog to move towards in the long run.
- And the second should ask which topic they would like you to discuss in an upcoming feature piece. You might consider creating a new poll for the second question on a monthly basis.
In addition to soliciting readers’ advice through polls, you may also want to explicitly ask them to tell you what you should write about through comments or in an email. This will give them greater freedom to explain what they would like to see on your blog.
Finally, if you do not already own a blog, you should start by soliciting this type of advice on relevant niche forums or through your email list. Explain what you plan to do and then ask what people would like to read about.
2. Listen to Your Readers
In many situations, you don’t even need to solicit your readers’ advice! There’s a very good chance that simply paying attention to the comments section of your blog will yield all of the information you need.
Example: Was there a rigorous debate in the comments section over one of your previous topics? Or was there a blog entry that was accompanied by a flurry questions that you never addressed explicitly?
Have you started to realize a new blog post opportunity?
These are all things you may want to come back to in the future by creating a second blog post on the topic.
3. Lurk on Forums
Lurking on forums can be a great way to generate blog entry ideas. If you don’t already visit forums regularly, you can find some in your niche at the following URL: http://www.big-boards.com or by searching like “[your keyword] forum” at Google.
Example: “golf forums” or “internet marketing forum”.
When you’re on the forums, look specifically for hot topics.
For instance, if a thread has received hundreds of replies and has remained at the top of the forum for a sustained period of time, then there’s a good chance that it will prove popular on your blog, too.
Also, if a post proves to be controversial and draws a lively debate between forum members, it may also be something you should consider importing to your blog.
4. Read Newspapers and Magazines
When reading online media, it’s all too easy to jump around without getting an in-depth overview of a topic.
Sitting down to read a magazine or newspaper can often be a better way to get a more detailed, detached perspective of current events and hot topics.
So, grab a few magazines and newspapers of choice and take notes as you read through them.
Look for topics that have the potential to be funny, exciting, useful, or controversial. And then use them to stimulate discussion on your blog.
5. Check Out Article Directories
As an Internet marketer, you’ve probably submitted many articles to directories. What you might not realize, however, is that these directories can be a goldmine for ideas when you need them most.
Next time you’re struggling to come up with an idea for your blog entry, visit EzineArticles.com, locate the category that best describes your niche, and begin browsing. Look for headlines and topics that catch your eye and then consider posting on the idea if it looks promising.
6. Use Keyword Tools
One way to understand your blog readers better is to find out what they look for on the Internet. You can do this by using the Google AdWords Keyword Tool:
https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal.
Using this tool, you can simply enter a word or phrase, such as “golf equipment” and the tool will return a massive list of related keywords, including such things as “golf umbrella” and “new golf clubs.”
Here, you’ve tens and maybe hundreds of keywords that you can easily turn into ideas!
You can also sort these results by the search volume they received, which will allow you to isolate the most popular keywords.
7. Continue an Interesting Conversation
Sometimes you won’t even need to come up with a fresh idea by yourself!
Here is how:
Next time you encounter a hot conversation on another blog or in a forum, continue it on your own blog. Mention briefly where you found the conversation, give an overview of the arguments on each side, and then support one or the other.
Since blog readers in your niche are likely to have strong feelings about such topics, you can expect a strong response.
Success is NOT an Accident!
Paul
7 Ways to Write Great Blog Headlines
Writing great blog headlines can be difficult, which is why many bloggers simply don’t bother to do it. However, if you’re willing to learn how to get better at it, you'll be surprised by how much a good headline can improve your results.
So what’s the secret to writing good headlines?
It’s a combination of things.
But most importantly, it involves thinking like a copywriter. This means that you must understand your audience, think like them, and then make a conscious effort to persuade them using every strategy available to copywriters.
Below, you’ll learn 7 ways you can use to write great blog headlines:
1. Make a Big Promise
Your blog post may provide very large benefits to your readers.
However, if you do not communicate this information to your viewers, then they won’t see the benefit and won’t bother to read your entry.
For all readers, this is a simple and tangible benefit and if this is something they want, then there’s a good chance they’ll read the entry.
2. Arouse Curiosity
Another strategy you can use to improve your headlines is to arouse curiosity.
By doing so, you will make it difficult for the reader to leave without having first satisfied that curiosity by at least skimming your entry.
Again, using our Internet marketing example, you might say something like this:
3. Use Trigger Words
If you’ve ever read a guide on copywriting, you’ve probably noticed that the term “trigger word” is thrown around quite frequently.
If you’re not familiar with the term, it refers to any word or phrase that triggers a psychological response on the reader’s part.
These are very useful, as they can compel people to take action and make decisions when an alternate choice of words would not.
The following is a short list of some “trigger words” that you may want to use in your blog headlines:
• news
• introducing
• new
• announcing
• explosive
• proven
• shocking
4. Get Specific
Blog readers need a story that they can visualize if you want them to be compelled.
If visitors cannot visualize the story that your headline suggests, then they won’t bother to reader further.
One way in which you can make it easier for them to visualize your story is to be more specific. As an example, compare the following two claims:
“Make as much as $200 with this strategy in your first week”
“Make as much as $197.83 with this strategy in your first week.”
“Lose 20 pounds in one month”
“Lose as much as 19 pounds in one month.”
In each case, the second option provides a higher degree of detail than first and signals to the reader that the blogger is communicating the exact story, rather than embellishing or being vague.
5. Speak Directly to Your Target Market
While it’s true that the people you target have other interests, it’s NOT true that you know what they are. All you know about the people who visit your blog is that they have an interest in your niche.
This is precisely why it is vital to target these interests specifically, rather than a person with generic interests.
This is something you should keep in mind when writing headlines.
That is—it should not appeal to general “human interests,” but instead, the interests of those who want to lose weight.
6. Draw Inspiration from Successful Bloggers and Tweeters
One of the best ways to learn how to write better headlines is to copy the style and approach of those who are successful at it.
One way in which you can do this is to watch the Digg.com front page each day. If a headline makes it there, then it has received hundreds or thousands of votes, indicating that the technique was successful.
Another place you can draw inspiration from is Twitter.com. Since tweets are limited to 140 characters, you can think of them as you would an unusually long blog headline. As you did with Digg, look for frequent re-tweets and analyze what it is that makes them unusually salient.
7. Test, Track... Test, Track!
In addition to employing good headline strategies, you must also test them.
Otherwise, you will have no means of determining whether a strategy was successful or not. The best way to do this is to monitor your traffic statistics to see whether a certain headline technique increased the clicks to the post and amount of time the average visitor spent on your blog post.
So, as much as you keep track of your “most popular posts” also be sure to track the readership level of these popular blog posts.
Of course, for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) purposes, you will NOT want to alter the headlines of blog entries after you have already posted them. Instead, you will want to look at the results for many different headlines and blog posts and then see if you can determine which techniques are consistently yielding better results.
Success is NOT an Accident,
Paul
Do you know what the number one mistake Internet marketers make when they email their subscribers? They forget to have a call to action. Yes, even your email should have a call to action, either a call to come contribute to an ongoing discussion at your blog, or a call to join your membership program, or a call to buy your information product. Ask something of your subscribers. You are giving them valuable and free information via their subscription, it is expected and perfectly fine to ask for the sale.
Many Internet marketers do not like selling, they feel bashful asking their subscribers to spend money, but after months of building trust, you must ask them to do something. Otherwise what is the point. Very few people are going to buy your information, join your membership, or participate with you in discussions if you do not straight out ask them to. Of course, a certain percentage will, they are joiners and they’re probably already out there cheerleading for your cause, but the others, they need you to ask.
Remember your subscribers have opted in, asked for you to send them information. So if you offer value, provide instructions, and tell them to sign up, or join, many will. You should not beg them, but you should ask in a creative non threatening way by building excitement for the reader. Put yourself in their place: “Wow, this is a great deal I’m in” is a great way to pull members further into your funnel with a slight push, but requires no begging to accomplish.
If you are excited about your offerings, and you know the value, that will shine through in the words that you use to attract buyers. Be sure of yourself, know your value, and give your subscribers fast and easy purchasing power with buttons right in your email instructing them to click here to thrilled now.
Succes is NOT an Accident,
Paul
One of the more frustrating issues Internet marketers have is after building up a huge email list of targeted subscribers, they still aren’t even opening their emails, much less reading what you are sending them. As an Internet marketer you work hard on creating useful information for your subscribers so naturally you get frustrated if no one is even reading them. How can you make this situation better?
Don’t over sell — If every last email you send to your subscribers is selling something they will be trained to know that and if they’re not in a buying mood they’ll just click “delete” or worse “spam” after weeks of over selling. I’m not saying don’t sell, I’m saying, pull them into your funnel don’t flood them out.
Pique curiosity — Creative and personalized subject lines can go a long way to getting people to at least take a look at your email. But be careful, do not lie in your subject line, nothing can make a subscriber madder than opening what promises to be an interesting email only to find yet another sales pitch. However, be creative and pique the subscribers’ curiosity but do it in an honest way so that you build trust.
It’s all in the timing — If you are not sending your emails at the right time of day then they can become hidden with all the other email that your subscribers receive each day. People get overwhelmed with the sheer volume of email, they will quickly scan subject lines, if nothing is interesting, they click away. Avoid this problem by sending your emails at the right time.
If you know your niche and you should, you should also find a way to find out the best time for them to read your emails. You can try different times of the day and check your metrics to find out the best times for your subscribers but depending upon your niche you can also make some educated guesses on when they might be at their computer reading email — THAT is the time you want to send it.
Success is NOT an Accident,
Paul
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Success is NOT an Accident!
Paul
