The first 24 tips come from the fabulous resource, 279 Days To Overnight Success Its a free ebook and I highly recommend it! You can also check out his paid resources:
- The Unconventional Guide to Art and Money
- The Unconventional Guide to Working For Yourself.
1. Start with the best design you possibly can
This is a brilliant tip, but you don’t need to hire a designer like Chris did. The following sites have well priced wordpresd themes:
If you do want to hire a designer Reese, who did the Art of Non Conformity, is a fabulous choice. She also designs ebooks!
2. Be Bigger than I Really Am
I don’t do this, but I can see how it is really effective for getting attention. It means that people who see you for the first time are really impressed and are likely to follow your progress. It means more opportunities, more joint ventures and possibly more attention.
Is there a way you can appear ‘bigger’ than you really are?
3. Build Long-Lasting Relationships
This is a really good technique, but shouldn’t be approached as such.
I look for relationships because I love people and learning. I seek out people who have a lot to give to the community and look for ways I can help them. This usually creates a friendship that benefits both people. It especially helps when you create a relationship with someone who similar procrastination habits. You can jokingly berate each other while your trying to get back to work.
4. Answer Every Email from Readers
This is one of the reasons I talk about Chris so much. It doesn’t have to be much – just a quick thank you for signing up for the mailing list or when I bought a product. This initial connection is why I bought Working For Yourself. He continues to keep in touch and remain connected to his community. I have so much respect for him because of this.
5. Begin creating a funnel.
You should focus on creating a sales funnel as early as you can. This is true even if your blog is not monetized. You should create a natural progression of exploring the site, or your products. Create basic information and build. Give people reasons to return for more information when they are ready for it.
Chris has a really awesome funnel.
- His free information via his blog
- His free manifesto
- His paid products
Each group has a natural progression. Could you create a funnel for your blog?
6. Track the Stats, But Not Too Often
Many other top bloggers echo this advice. Checking your stats too often can lead to obsessing over details that aren’t relevant to your business. Check the stats frequently when you are doing a major campaign, but otherwise try to leave them alone.
7. Decide on a clear publishing schedule.
It is so easy to just put posts off until it gets to a point where its been a month, or longer, without a recent update.
Having a publishing schedule will let your readers know what to expect. It will get you into a routine and will force you to work, even when you have more pressing issues.
8. Create a Compelling Story and Be Remarkable
I love Chris. Who wouldn’t? Trying to visit every country by the time he is 35. Trying to reach and influence as many people as possible. He IS remarkable and truly compelling.
What can you do to make your story compelling? It doesn’t have to be as epic as Chris. It can simply be following a difficult path, or trying to defy the odds.
This of the ways you can stand out. Then think of how you can do it better.
9. Clearly Answer the “Reason Why”
This can apply to many scenarios (although only one was explored in the ebook)
- Why are you an authority in your niche?
- Why should someone connect with you on social media
- Why should a person buy from you?
In any scenario, asking the question ‘why’ will help you identify what your customers want. You can then focus on creating solutions.
10. Prioritize Writing and Marketing Over Everything Else
If you are feeling swamped, try focusing on just these two tasks. These are the two that will really matter in the long run.
Fortunately utilizing social media is also considered to be marketing!
11. Sending out review copies of my products and manifestos
This is a great way of developing buzz. I’ve had several people send out review copies of their products, because they know that I’ll connect them with key people who will use it and spread the world.
The main trouble can be identifying the right people to send products too, and dealing with requests for review copies. You have to come up with a strategy that resonates with your principles.
12. Writing my affiliates to discuss their marketing efforts
This is only manageable if you have a very small group of affiliates, but it can be very useful. The discussion could raise some ideas that would make the both of your more money.
13. Build relationships with journalists
This is a really cool technique – and the best thing is, you can apply similar principles to forming connections with bloggers.
Find ways you can help them. That may include forwarding relevant stories from online and connecting them with new sources. Eventually, they’ll need someone to quote or interview – and you’ll be one of the first people they think of.
Another useful tip is finding local journalists on twitter. I’ve had many friends get featured articles this way.
14. Order site reviews
This has multiple benefits:
- You can get additional exposure, without the pressure of guest posting
- You get a lot of useful critique
- You are showing the web that you are serious about your blog.
You can read the review that Chris Garret did. I learnt a lot about it and now intend to get one.
Two of my favorite places to read site reviewers are:
- Drive by Shootings by Men With Pens
- Site Critique by Chris Garret
15. Strategic Guest Posting
There is a core group of bloggers who seem to have skipped the smaller blogs when it comes to guest posting and have a selected portfolio of quality guest posts. In many cases, they provide a massive amount of value on a couple of top blogs. This is so they get maximum impact for less work.
Its not that hard to get a guest post on an A List blog. I’ve done it. My blogs getting launched next week, and I’ve already been requested to post on on other top blogs. The key goal is to provide a massive amount of value to that audience.
16. Don’t Expected a book deal from the initial excitement.
It seems every blogger or social media guru has their own book, but it can be hard even if you have a large online presence. If you really want to publish a book, look at it as a long term goal. Do your research. Work on connections. Seek out mentors. It will happen. It just may not be as soon as you’d hoped.
17. Fire Google and Hire Yourself
You can make a lot of money with adsense – Darren Rowse as made over half a million dollars – but in many cases, it is far more profitable to release your own products. Do your research and experiment with monetization models before committing to something over the long term.
18. It’s better to JUST GET STARTED with something rather than getting lost in the details.
You will learn a lot quicker by just getting started. Achieving success may still take the same amount of time, but you will learn more along the way. Decide what is really important before you get started. Do that. Then ascertain what you can learn over a period of time..
29. Don’t give in to the vampires
Chris describes vampires as the people who try to bring you down. Now, these people have moved beyond blog comments and email and will attack you on social media.
While you should try to clear up misunderstands, the delete and block button exist for a reason. I now check peoples twitter stream and block them once I see if they are a troll.
20. Working for free may be insane in the outside world, but with most smallbusinesses it is actually quite normal.
I’ve often got a lot of criticism about the amount of work I do for free. I see it as I’m unskilled in some areas and am trying to build a small business. I feel I should be paying people to let me help them out.
I help out by:
- Sending tips via DM
- Identify products and services that I think may help them
- Talk with them on google chat to toss around ideas
- Do guest posts – even when the other person is getting a much better deal.
Working for free has led to job offers, free products and has more than paid for itself. Just remember to be strategic about it!
21. Links are the currency of the internet to earn them, you’ll need to do something remarkable.
What can you do that will get a bucket load of links? Could you;
- Be one of the first to review a sought after product?
- Do an in depth interview with one of the leaders in your industry?
- Do an extensive case study?
- Write something epic that takes days of hard work to pull off.
This is the type of stuff I did to launch the blog. As I type it, I am one week before launch and the momentum is really building. What can you do that really captivates others?
22. Site Comments Are Good, But Not Always Representative
This comment is so true. I can get hundreds, or thousands of hits to a site and may only get a couple of comments. Usually its a person who has a vested interest in it:
- I analyzed them, or their work, and they want to thank me
- They are friends with the person I covered and want to support them
- They want to connect with me
- They just want to be one of the first to comment.
And thats fine. But I also get a lot of comments via email and twitter showing different views. Its really worth focusing that the one form of comments does not represent all your readers.
He gave three further tips on his post about trust and authority.
23. When people trust you, they know you are going to put out good work. Some of them are actually willing to pay for it.
This applies to serves as well as products. Trust is very important when it comes to parting with their money. This is why doing work for free can be really useful.
24. I deliberately try to disqualify people from buying the guide if it isn’t a good fit for them
Chris actually discussed this point further in my interview with him. Not all of your products will gel with your audience, and thats fine. By trying to disqualify people, he ensures that the right kind of people purchase his products. They are the ones that will get the most out of it and will be most likely to recommend it.
25. No matter how many times you test things, something will always go wrong for someone
Deal with it. Learn from it. You’ll be fine.
