Entrepreneurs-Journey.com

With the success of Blog Mastermind I’m in need of someone to help with the editing and production of audio files. This role includes -

1. Taking the raw recordings of teleconferences, audio recordings and the audio component of videos, and editing them into a production level MP3. This will include adding intro and out-tro music, balancing the volume of voices and minor edits to remove unnecessary words.
2. Coordinating with transcribers to have text versions of audio and video created.
3. Uploading files via FTP to the host server.
4. Minor page creation with WordPress to add files to membership areas.

The person right for this job must be speedy with email communication and have enough sense to edit audio files without needing supervision.

If you know how to use Audacity, GarageBand or any similar audio editing programs this might be the job for you.

The job is a contract role and pays by the hour. Expect anywhere from 1 to 20 hours per week, with significant fluctuation. I’ll also include access to my membership sites for the person who gets the job.

If you are interested I have a test file I’d like you to edit and if I’m happy with your work, we will continue.

Please send applications via email, include your name, location, age, what audio editing skills and experience you have and your experience with WordPress and HTML/CSS, to supportAtblogmastermind.com

Thanks!

Yaro

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Next week I’m releasing the first of my content videos as part of the opening of Blog Mastermind. If you are new to blogging or interested in a better way to blog for money, then stay tuned for that video and the follow-ups after it coming, hopefully, from Tuesday onwards.

You will be able to join Blog Mastermind at the end of July.

Prizes For My Affiliate Partners

You can get full details about my affiliate program, including the prizes and register for an affiliate account, by heading to my affiliate blog and watching the 7 minute video there -

Do You Have Good Timing?

Since the content videos are coming out next week, if you were considering promoting Blog Mastermind as an affiliate, now is the perfect time to get involved.

If you have an audience who are interested in making money online, blogging for profit or business opportunities, you really need to pay attention to this. There’s only a few times when something is brand new and that’s the best time to promote.

Don’t miss out because you were slow to take action when the timing was right.

The Competition Could Be Fierce

To add some spice to the release of Blog Mastermind and because I like giving stuff away, I’m offering prizes to my top 10 partners, including a MacBook Air, Asus EeePC and Sony PSP.

Maybe you want to promote Blog Mastermind for the 50% ongoing commissions, but really, I think a brand new Snowball Mic is a much better incentive and everyone loves a top 10 competition - it’s going to be fun to see if, as I expect, Darren Rowse walks away with top prize.

Once again, if you want to get involved, you can sign up right now and view the full list of prizes on offer at my new -

Affiliate News Blog

Good luck, and I look forward to working with you!

Yaro Starak
Affiliate Recruiting

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In 2007 I decided my blog was due for a new look, but it was not just about a cosmetic face-lift. I wanted to improve usability, clarity and most importantly, highlight a very important aspect of my business - the Blog Profits Blueprint/Blog Tips newsletter email opt-in.

Blog Designer: Mick Real

I’ve worked with a good designer friend now for over a year - Mick Real - who contributed to the look and feel for Blog Mastermind, the cover for the Blog Profits Blueprint and now, the complete redesign of Entrepreneurs-Journey.com.

Mick and I worked many months, putting together a layout, tweaking it and then implementing it over the top of the WordPress platform. There’s a lot to this new blog design and it was quite a monumental effort for both of us to get it right, but I’m pleased with the outcome and we have plans for enhancements in the future too. It’s great to have a designer who is enthusiastic about blogging and I have to pass on a big thanks to Mick, he’s been a devoted designer throughout the process.

The Importance of the Email List

I’ve already hinted many times in previous blog posts and email newsletters about what having an email list has done for my business. A blog is good, but for all but a few of the very top bloggers, most people will never enjoy significant conversion by marketing purely through blogging, they just never build a large enough following of readers.

Email marketing is more forgiving when you have fewer subscribers and is a very effective direct marketing communication tool. When an email list is combined with a blog as an entry point, it makes for a powerful one-two punch and the basis for an entire Internet business.

I don’t think every blog needs an email list, but I think every blog could benefit from one. Most bloggers struggle with one content commitment - writing regularly to a blog - so to include an email list as an additional outlet that requires content, can be difficult. I would argue that an email list requires a lot less “fresh” content than a blog and is more specific in topic, so can easily be set up and then let to operate effectively without constant attention (unlike a blog), but I digress, that’s a topic for another blog post.

Most bloggers are content to focus on generating income from advertising and don’t think beyond that, so an email list doesn’t factor into the model they are pursuing. I’m trying to change that - and at several points through Blog Mastermind I emphasize the power of email marketing - but for now I’ll probably sit as one of the few bloggers who leverage the blog and the list in a symbiotic relationship.

For me, I’m already convinced about email marketing, so I knew my new blog design had to highlight my email newsletter and better present the Blog Profits Blueprint as the incentive for joining. My last few blog + email list combined promotions have brought in at minimum $5,000, one breaking $10,000 and another closing in on $20,000. I could never have dreamed of doing this with just my blog. I know what a good email list can do and I want to continue to build on the great foundation I have laid so far.

The Opt-in Form

Read the rest of this entry >>

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If you are reading this via a web browser you can see that the new Entrepreneurs-Journey.com design is up.

There’s probably quite a few bugs since we also did a server move as part of this redesign, so I’d appreciate your patience while we fix any issues.

I’ll go through and explain some of the new features as soon as everything is working correctly.

Stay tuned!

Yaro

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You might remember a month or so back I posted about some websites I had for sale. One of the sites was my other blog, Small Business Branding.

I am pleased to announce that Vera Raposo has taken over Small Business Branding and will endeavor to continue to grow the site from where I left off.

I’d like to thank Rob Kingston and the great team of writers who kept Small Business Branding going and will continue to write for the site and no doubt take it to new heights. I wish Vera best of luck with the blog.

Vera has posted a brief introduction and I encourage you to say hello and welcome her.

Sponsorship Opportunities

With the change of ownership some new sponsorship opportunities have arisen at Small Business Branding, so if you would like to reach the small business marketplace, visit the advertise page for details.

A Blog Flipping Story

As long term readers of my blog might recall, back in December 2005 I purchased Small Business Branding from Michael Pollock, who created the site and sold it to me to go build his now very successful blog theme design business, SoloStream.

That sale was one of the first publicly announced blog deals between two well known bloggers and it generated quite a bit of buzz at the time. Micheal and I recorded a two part podcast about the deal, which is still interesting listening if you like the topic of buying and selling websites.

After taking over the blog I quickly came to realize that I could not write to two very similar blogs by myself and began a unique experiment into outsourcing blog content creation. Small Business Branding become a magazine style publication with a roster of authors. In February 2007 I published an article - How To Outsource Your Blogging - A Case Study - that detailed how to replicate my system for blog content outsourcing.

Return On Investment

When I purchased Small Business Branding it was a well known blog with good search engine rankings for some popular small business terms and about 400 daily RSS readers. Michael hadn’t focused on monetization so the site was only making about $100 to $200 a month, mostly from AdSense.

Just over two years later, when I sold the site to Vera, it had grown to 2500 daily RSS readers and around $1500 a month in revenue. The income growth came mainly by increasing the monetization techniques applied, with a big chunk coming from adding banners and text links and selling the ad inventory directly to sponsors for a monthly fee. This was obviously helped along by the steady traffic growth thanks to the team of content producers.

I’m not at liberty to disclose how much I sold the site for, but I was happy with the return I made and compared to what I paid for it, I did very well. However you have to take into account how different the after-market for blogs is today compared to what it was when I bought the site.

Michael and I were pioneers in the industry of blog flipping, which today is a much more mature market, with hundreds of deals made every week. People pay more for blogs now because there are more interested buyers and thus competition raises prices. It’s seen as a good investment to buy a blog, with hundreds of case studies demonstrating this. In 2005 the idea of blogging for money was just gaining traction and wasn’t widespread.

As an acquisition and flip go, this deal was very good and my return was well over ten fold. This doesn’t include the income generated while owning the site and I have no doubt as long as Vera continues to grow the blog her earnings will surpass mine. Blogs can be great cash cows and capital investments, if you look after them.

More Sites For Sale

I still have a collection of two forums and a video site focused on the niche of mini bikes for sale, which generate about $1200 a month in almost passive income (you just have to invoice advertisers). I’ve got a PDF document that breaks down the details, so if you are interested, please email yaroATblogmastermind.com and I will send you the info.

Please note I’m looking for around 20 times revenue for these sites (as a group), so do not approach if you cannot entertain this price range.

In case you are wondering why I am selling these sites it is because I am divesting my self of assets not aligned with my core business focus, which is my blog training programs and information products. While these sites are great income sources, they do require mindshare to look after and grow and I intend to use my mind to focus on my main business interest.

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