Entrepreneurs-Journey.com

I’m back in Toronto now, returned from Las Vegas and Chicago. By the end of my trip I was really itching to get back to full time work, so I’m happy that the rest of this month is all about the Blog Mastermind launch.

No doubt all of you who had even a tiny interest have watched John Reese’s Traffic Secrets video. Most people were impressed by it and based on some of the comments I’ve seen floating around, people feel that John has certainly had an impact on what we consider good product launch video.

What Content To Launch With?

A few months back I was thinking about what great resources I could come up with for the opening of Blog Mastermind.

The Blog Profits Blueprint has a been a huge success and the best launch resource for Blog Mastermind I could ever hope to come up with.

I was thinking of updating it for the reopening, but after looking at the document, besides a few minor updates, there’s not much I’d want to change about it. It’s still very current. If I added to it I might turn it into a long winded extension, and I like how succinct it is now.

My next thought was to use video. Video is definitely performing great, all successful launches are using it and since I’m eager to improve my video production skills, video seems the right choice.

It’s because of this that a few weeks ago I switched to Mac, which has much better video tools than Windows and now after more than a month with it, I can honestly say is a much superior operating system, especially better than Vista, which is an absolute monster and crashes constantly.

How To Make A Splash With Video

After watching John’s video my heart sank a little because there’s no way I can compete with his production quality given the time frame I have. However, I think powerful content even without the flashy sound and video effects can still make an impact, so I’m not too concerned. The most important thing is to really hit on some key concepts, which I think I can do.

I’ve become proficient at ScreenFlow for Mac, which is just a breeze to use. I’ve already recorded two behind the scenes videos and this week I’m going to put together the main presentation.

I’ve been thinking about the merging of the Blogging and Internet marketing worlds a lot since I straddle both with this blog. I think there’s things to be learned by groups on both sides of the fence and that is where I intend to focus the video presentation.

I can’t talk about it too much now since I’m just formulating the concepts, but you won’t have long to wait, I plan to have this out this month, July.

Bloggers Need To Become Better Business Builders

There is one point I will end with, which I think is a core issue. Most of the Internet marketers I know are much wealthier than bloggers, yet they don’t really work any harder.

The day to day activities a business owner completes result in much more financial success because of what model they choose for their business. Bloggers unfortunately choose a model that is much harder to become long term wealthy with.

I covered this topic in much depth in the series I wrote on whether professional blogging is a sustainable business model. This series is VERY relevant for what I am going to talk about in the video. I strongly recommend you go through these articles either for the first time or as a refresher if you have some time over the next few days.

Here are the links -

• Is Professional Blogging A Sustainable Business Model?
• Do You Have What It Takes To Be A Professional Blogger?
• The Advantages Top Bloggers Have That You Don’t
• The Key Resource For A Sustainable Blogging Business
• Is This The Only Sustainable Blogging Business Model?

If you like where these articles are heading and you are ready to build a real business through blogging, stay tuned, I have some killer stuff coming out.

Yaro Starak
Business Blogger

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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

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I woke up early this morning - well early for me - to catch a group coaching call with Rich Schefren. I wanted to ask him some specific questions regarding the future of my business and get his input on how to craft a blogging product offer.

During the call there was a lot of focus on reputation building and blogging, and my name came up several times as a good example of someone who has used a blog to get the attention of the big players in the industry. Obviously it was great to hear my name so positively endorsed by a leading business figure like Rich, but there was more to it than that - Rich is really passionate about this topic.

If you are on Rich’s email list then you may have noticed a trend recently - he has begun to blog on a consistent basis (check out his Strategic Profits blog). Rich is a calculated guy, he doesn’t do anything without there being a strategy behind it.

The second part of his Attention Age Doctrine is due out in a matter of weeks. Given the topic is attention and how to capture it, and Rich’s recent blogging activities and comments in today’s coaching call, it’s clear Rich sees a blog as a key tool for capturing attention. I expect he wants to turn his blog into a focal point for participation in the community and to further cement his position as a thought leader in his industry.

Community Participation Is Mandatory

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It’s taken four articles to get here, but at last the final chapter in the series on sustainable business models that use blogs. If this is the first time you have read this series please read the articles in sequence. Here are links to the previous articles -

• Part 1: Is Professional Blogging A Sustainable Business Model?
• Part 2: Do You Have What It Takes To Be A Professional Blogger?
• Part 3: The Advantages Top Bloggers Have That You Don’t
• Part 4: The Key Resource For A Sustainable Blogging Business

If you have stuck with me and read all the articles in this series you are probably eagerly awaiting my recommendation for professional blogging business models that ARE sustainable. I have compiled my suggestions below and I offer one main method for using blogs as the focus of a business, but the picture I paint is not an ideal business model in my opinion.

It is still very early days in the blogging world and there are not many people currently using a blog or several blogs as the main focus of their business model. Thousands of people use blogs to augment an existing business, but not many focus on blogs as the business and of course there are many successful professional bloggers, but that’s not a business as I have explained over the course of this series.

In order to become a professional blog business owner you must establish a small business model that uses blogs, but does not require you to always blog. In order for this to work for you, as I hinted in previous articles, you need to learn how to create something that is not dependent on your own input for success and adjust your preconceptions of how to build wealth.

The Blog Network

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I recently completed reading Naked Conversations by A-List ex-Microsoft blogger Robert Scoble and Shel Israel. It’s a fresh book (2006) covering business blogging.

For a blog fanboy like myself this book provided no real insights or techniques I could apply to my own blogging, but of course the book is not intended to be a blogging guide, rather an introduction to the potential for blogs to be used as business tools.

There are numerous example cases provided, some of which I found quite interesting, others I scanned over quickly. In particular I enjoyed stories of small business owners who start blogging and go on to almost entirely rely on their blog for new leads, launching worldwide operations within a matter of months as word of mouth and the power of the blogosphere brings exposure to places the business could never have possibly reached, even with a standard website without blogging.

I enjoyed the flow and style of writing in Naked Conversations and it was fun to read mention many of the blogs and bloggers I’m familiar with already. It’s good when an online medium such as blogging gets exposure offline, like in this case through a book - it helps bridge the knowledge gap and increase awareness for the blogosphere. I’m sure this book has been recommended as a smart introduction for marketing and PR professionals to read to quickly grasp what exactly this whole “blogging” thing is about and how they can integrate a blogging strategy in their business.

Will You Enjoy This Book?

If you already blog this book will entertain for sure. Don’t expect a discussion from a technical standpoint - this is a business book - and if the psychology of commerce interests you, Naked Conversations will please.

If you are new to blogging and are looking for a “how-to” this is not the book to start with as it won’t teach you in a “for dummies” style how to do it. However if you work in a large organization and your boss has asked you to provide a report on the potential for blogging in your organization this book will teach you what you need to know and why blogs are such a revolutionary communications medium for business.

Yaro Starak
Stark-Naked Conversationalist

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