25 Lessons you Can Learn From David Risley

1. Don’t think of blogging and marketing as being separate

David expanded on this idea in his Problogger guest post about creating a real full time income

Herein, we are combining the often thought separate world of blogging and traditional internet marketing. In my experience in dealing both with bloggers and internet marketers, I have found that these two worlds often seem to be separate. The blogger is all about building traffic through publishing lots of really great content for free. The internet marketer jumps right into how to monetize traffic immediately. The blogger is all about the page views. The marketer thinks about qualified leads which he can then convert into a sale.

This has been an issue that I’ve struggled with – and am still struggling with. Even though I know I need to sell, I still like to think of blogging and marketing as seperate. This is a must read post that will save you a lot of time and struggle in the early stages of your blogging career.

2. Reciprocate on social networks

David included this as one of his tpis for driving traffic to your blog

When using social media, spend more time promoting other people than you do yourself. It is a matter of reciprocity and being a good member of the party.

When asked, I will often retweet peoples useful content and help when they ask for feedback. In return, they have offered to help promote my blog when it launches and have even given me free products. People appreciate when you help, and reciprocate when they help you.

3. Leverage your other online content

David discussed this in his post about secret content

The key to being a rich blogger is to produce a lot of content. Additionally, you want to have your content be in a variety of formats. You also want to have reports and info products.
All this takes a lot of time. It may seem as if it is so time intensive that you can’t possibly produce this much work. However, there is an answer if you are willing to just strategically approach it.

David then wrote about repurposing your exisiting content to minimize your workload. This is a really useful tip and also gives you the chance to strengthen your brand.

4. Use your name when commenting on other blogs.

David expanded on this in his post about strategically commenting on blogs.

On a related note to the above, I recommend that you use your real name or your brand name in the Name field when commenting on another blog. In my case, I will always use my name (David Risley) when commenting on a blog. Even if I comment on a tech site, I’ll use my name. Now, I could post as “PCMech” and that would mean that I am commenting while representing the BRAND of PCMech.com. I could also post as “David Risley @ PCMech” and that would be fine. However, you will never see me post a comment using a name like “Computers and Technology”. It is stupid. It is meaningless. And it serves no benefit to my brand.

I get frustrated when people comment using their brand on my blog. It feels impersonal and I don’t know when I’m being used. I prefer to see the persons name – I then know that they value the conversation more than the clickthroughs.

5. Make it worth the readers time to subscribe

This was one of the 6 tips David recommended in his post about converting blog visitors to subscribers

Honestly, this one shouldn’t be last on the list because it really is the most important. You could employ every tactic in the book to convert your visitors into subscribers, but if your content sucks they just won’t respond. So, your priority should be in making your blog something that somebody is going to actually WANT to subscribe to. Make them say WOW.
Update often and provide value that makes them want to come back again. If you’ve accomplished that, then it just greases your visitor and pushes them down the slope into being a subscriber.

I make the decision to subscribe based on the quality of the content. This is also the main reason that I unsubscribe. The difference is, poor quality content may result in me ignoring your blog for a long time.

6. Promote your product on ustream with a time limited discount code.

David did a really successful ustream promotion and was able to make money using the following techniques:

• introduced a coupon code that would only work during the broadcast
• Mention on air whenever he made a sale, and named the person
• Tried to be helpful and show off his knowledge.

This technique could apply to many niches and have the potential to significantly increase your sales.

7. Be Personal

Dave recommend this as one of his techniques for getting bloggers to review your product

I get emails from companies that look like form emails with my name injected into it. My first reaction is that they are just peppering the blogosphere with emails looking for bloggers to bite on their bait. No thanks! You need me more than I need you, so don’t waste my time with form email.
So, if you want a blogger to take notice, be personal. No form mails. Actually send a real email to the blogger that is actually personable.

I appreciate it when bloggers are personal in asking for a review. Yesterday, I had a blogger contact me and they mentioned that a friend referred me. Within a few DM’s, I had arranged to do a review, provide a testimonial and interview her around the time of launch. I feel like she is doing me the favour.

8. Seed your retweet tree.

David included this as one of his 5 tips for going viral on twitter

Do you know a few people on Twitter a lot better than others? Friends of your’s? Then, hit them up and specifically ask them for a retweet. This helps to plant the seeds for a viral tweet. People do tend to imitate others and if they see many people retweeting a message, they’re more likely to do it themselves. Especially if the people you seed it with have some authority with their own followers.

I have people that will repeatedly hit me up for a retweet. I do it, and really enjoying seeding that ‘retweet tree.’ I would recommend that you only seed your best content to avoid overexposure.

9. Create a fan page on facebook

David expanded on this in his post on using facebook to market your blog.

Both of my blogs have fan pages set up on Facebook. You can visit the one for David Risley dot com right here.
Now, why did I set up a fan page? Is it because I’m some kind of egomaniac? Not exactly. It is because a fan page is yet another way for people to connect with you and/or your blog. Again, I import my posts into this fan page. In short, a little Facebook community can build up around your blog on Facebook.
To set up a page on Facebook, you need to visit the “Page Manager” which is found in the bottom menu of Facebook’s site. Click on the “Pages” tab, then “Create Page”.
The other thing about a fan page is that you can email your fans en mass. With normal Facebook friends, you cannot email them en mass. Last I checked, I believe you can only email 20 of your friends at a time.

I am yet to set up a fan page, however this has been so important for many of my friends who have small businesses. It is now one of the first things I recommend to my clients.

10. Set up a profile on twitterfeed

David recommended this as a technique to help a brand new blog get off the ground.

Set up a profile on TwitterFeed so that your latest blog headlines are sent automatically to your Twitter followers. Just be sure to participate in Twitter like a normal person, too, because you do NOT want your Twitter presence to be nothing but your latest blog posts. People will not want to follow you unless you’re a real person.

I like this tip because it automates the process and allows you to just focus on interacting with others on twitter. It is also recommended to occasionaly retweet this headline for those in different time zones.

11. Learn to SELL.

This was on the the 50 rapidfire tips he included in his post on power blogging.

The way to a full-time income by blogging is to learn how to MARKET and sell things using your blog. Yaro Starak does a good job of selling via his blog, for example.

I recommend trying to learn this as soon as you can. It is one of the things that I have really struggled with and has led to lost opportunities as a result.

12. Remove all distractions

David wrote about this in his post on time management tactics for bloggers

When it is time to write, you remove all potential sources of interruption. You remove all “Shiny objects” that might distract you onto something else. When you do this, you will find that you can get into the writer’s groove much easier and actually STAY there.

This includes online distractions like twitter and hotmail. I am using my parents laptop at the moment which doesn’t have tweetdeck and online chat options. I’ve done so much more work as a result!

13. Get Busy Writing Reports and Information Products

David included this as one of his 7 tips for blogging your way out of a full time job.

It’ll take some dedicated work to write blog posts while also working on a product to sell, but don’t delay. The true power of problogging lies in creating and selling your own products. The quicker you get that off the ground, the quicker you will be able to quit your job and enjoy the fruits of an internet business.

I’ll agree that its really hard to handle creating products/services as well as working on your blog. But in the longer term, you will have significantly more opportunities to earn an income. I recommend you se his earlier hint about repurposing your content.

14. Get out of the house

David included this as his hot tip for better blog writing.

From time to time, grab your laptop and head down to your local coffee shop (as long as they have wifi, of course). Dedicate some time to pumping out several good blog posts at once and you can queue them up in your blog for later. This form of batch processing along with the change of environment will probably help you get more done.

I highly recommend this. I’m actually typing this at my parents house, because the change in scenery makes me more productive. I also batch process when I’m out of the house, whichleads to higher quality blog posts.

15. Don’t Watch The News.

In an interview on Income Diary, David recommend that you avoid watching the news

All this talk of recession doom and gloom does nothing but self-fulfill. You can’t expected to have the mindset of success while having people constantly barrage you with how bad things are. Well, all that doomy talk is put out by people who don’t have much money. They aren’t who you want to be. And let me tell you something, money isn’t disappearing. The money hasn’t gone anywhere! People still have money to spend. They’re just hanging on to it out of uncertainty, but they’ll still spend money on things they need and want. So, there will be people who come out the other end of this recession rich, and others who are not. The difference is that some people will take action and others will sit and leave it to chance and hope.

I’m quite poor but I still have the same amount of money. I am just changing what I spend it on. I agree that you should ignore the news and just focus on ways that you can help people during this difficult.

16. Don’t lose sight of the big picture.

Later in the post, he said that it ‘is too easy to get so involved with tactics that you get confused and give up when success doesn’t come quickly.

I would sit down and decide what your goals are. Make those goals reasonable and attainable. In other words, if you’re just starting out, don’t make your goal to be making six figures within a year. But, sit down and set some goals. Then, actually write down and imagine what your ideal day would look like if those goals were attained. It might seem dumb, but it really helps many people to put themselves into a mindset of success. And, I’m telling you, once you’ve put yourself into that mindset, you’re good to go.

I agree with this. I get overwhelmed with so much information, that I feel like I’m getting nowhere. But I have experienced a lot of minor successes in the past month. That has all been since I changed my mindset.

17. Check before you publish guest posts

David had an experience when he published a guest post with inaccurate information.

To any bloggers that accept guest posts, don’t repeat my mistake. Don’t take for granted that a guest post is accurate. Do fact check it unless the person has built up a record of trusted content with you. If you publish BS content, it affects your site’s reputation.

This is important to learn. It may take extra time to check the sources, but it coudl save you a lot of embarassment.

18. User twitter search for promotions

Davided talked about this in a post about twitter search.

Run searches for your market keywords. To try to filter out messages that are irrelevant and don’t mean the person has a need, use some phrases that people would say when looking for a solution.

Just be careful that your promotions don’t look like spam. Helpful responses have led to me making a number of purchases.

19. Don’t Ask Bloggers To Censor

David wrote about this in his post on negative publicity.

The MOST incorrect thing you can do is ask a blogger to REMOVE a post because it is unflattering. Especially when you’re dealing with a large blog. Perhaps that might work with a small, beginning blogger who doesn’t know any better. But, it won’t work otherwise.

I agree with this. This can actually lead to a lot of negative publicity and analysis on social media sites. David gives a couple of useful suggestions to approach the blogger instead.

20. Ask for LinkedIn recommendations

David recommended that people get LinkedIn recommendations for your blogging career, as wel as other work.

Testimonials and recommendations are always good for your reputation. Not to mention that you can potentially use them for marketing purposes if the need ever arises.
Don’t discount LinkedIn (I’m speaking to myself here, too). Unlike the major contenders out there, LinkedIn revolves around your professional career. In this era of recession talk and job insecurity in some circles of the economy, updating and using your LinkedIn profile is a pretty good idea.

This is something that many people have started adopting, and it can to a lot of extra credibility and buzz. I will be covering LinkedIn in future posts.

21. Start a conversation.

David included this as one of his 10 tips for getting new twitter followers.

Strike a conversation. Just following a person and sitting back accomplishes little if your goal is for them to follow you back. Strike a conversation with them! Talk back! Send a reply. That’s a sure-fire way to stand out to people who follow a lot of people.

I have met so many of my friends just by talking back. Its usually the random conversations that have led to the best friendships! You wont get anything out of twitter unless you contribute.

22. Network online, instead of trying to market.

David wrote about this in his post detailing how not to make money online.

Social media is a lot more work to use correctly as part of a marketing program. It takes rubbing elbows with people. It takes real networking. If you do it wrong, all you will do is build up animosity with the people you were trying to reach.

I’ll be honest. When my friends try to market to me too much, I feel like not contacting them. Instead, I gently tell them how their promotions may be alienating their followers. I’m not as kind for people I don’t know.

23. Don’t be afraid to be edgy!

David discussed this in his post about getting traffic from controversy.

You don’t want to come out and just piss people off. You don’t want to ever use this tactic in an irresponsible way by causing conflicts or problems. But, strategic use of controversy and pattern interrupts works.

I am too scared to use this technique, but I’ve seen it used very successfully. It may take some time to learn enough to be able to ascertain how to strategically use controversy as part of your marketing plan.

24. Charge to set up blogs for others

David identified this as one of the areas of rising demand in the make money online niche.

Even if you charge somebody as little as $100, chances are you can set up a blog with a pre-designed theme in an hour or less. Even if it took you a full hour, that’s $100/hour. And most smart people will spend $100 to save them the endless hours of research to learn how to set up a blog on their own.

I am actually planning on doing this. I have seen many people make a good income from being the go to person in that niche for blog setups. They also make extra income by consulting, modifying the themes or getting a commission from the hosting company.

25. Try to stay away from pop-ups

David wrote about this in his post asking people to stop annoying their visitors.

The advertising industry has moved heavily into pop-ups because they seem to get better response than the traditional banner ad. So, as a content-oriented site, it may be necessary to run pop-ups in order to generate adequate revenue. However, do so carefully. If you can afford to not use pop-ups, do it. If you must, then use a 24-hour cap so that visitors are not overloaded with them.

I will often leave a site simply because it uses pop ups. I feel that this is intruding and that the site owner cares more about monetization than the reader. This may work in some niches. It is worth testing to make sure you are not alienating your readers.