Online Business
Is This One Single Belief Stopping You from Earning More Money in Your Online Business?
“Tell me the niche you’re publishing in now, and I’ll show you someone who is selling the same basic content and likely making more money than you … That’s the simple solution to making money with content that has been around for centuries, and it’s still going strong. If you want to make money with content, charge for it.”
- Brian Clark, Copyblogger and Teaching Sells
One common obstacle to earning a steady income online is the belief that you don’t have anything valuable to offer in exchange for money. I know this, because I used to believe it myself. But I was dead wrong. You may be too.
What follows is a personal story that I hope will not only educate and inspire you, but will also help shatter this limiting belief so you can start earning more money from your efforts to make a difference in the world.
Why Choosing a Niche is Critical to Your Success in Blogging and Business
Regardless of the type of online business you operate (or want to start), there’s one “secret ingredient” that can make the difference between success and failure. Before I tell you what it is though, I’ll share a story from my past that helps illustrate the principle.
It was early 2006. I had just sold a blog called Small Business Branding, and I was moving on to a new business venture I’d named Solostream Global Media. Initially, Solostream was supposed to be a blog network focused on the needs of solo-entrepreneurs. I quickly realized, however, that operating a blog network was more than I could handle, so midway through 2006, I switched gears with Solostream.
I enjoyed web design and felt competent enough that I could do it professionally, so I decided to make Solostream a web design company. My problem, however, was there were hundreds of thousands of web designers out there, and I’d have a hard time making a name for myself with all the competition. So I knew I needed to be more specific about the type of web design services I would offer.
Interview: Information Product Launch Strategy With Tripp Lanier
In this episode, I speak with Tripp Lanier, who’s the host of The New Man Podcast. Tripp recently launched a membership site as a spin-off from his popular podcast, and I had a chance to work with him to help put the launch together. In the interview, we discuss some details of the launch as well as some important lessons learned.
Marketing that Makes a Difference: The Confidence Guy
Here’s a creative video that both informs and entertains. It gets a tad risque at the end, which makes it all the more memorable. After you watch this, ask yourself if you could do something as creative, bold and entertaining to get your message out to folks. From The Confidence Guy.
How to Work Less and Make a Bigger Impact; Abe Lincoln Style
On November 19th, 1863, the great American president, Abraham Lincoln, stood before a group of citizens assembled in a small, southern Pennsylvania field.
With his country deeply entrenched in the brutal and bloody Civil War, Lincoln gazed out at the traumatized, war-torn faces gathered before him and delivered a brief statement composed of no more than 300 words.
Clocking in at just under three minutes in length, Lincoln’s remarks paled in comparison to the two-hour, 13,700 word oration completed just minutes before by Edward Everett, a well-known and highly regarded politician of the times.
Chances are, unless you’re a student of American history, you’ve not heard of Edward Everett before this moment. Nor do you have a clue about the content of his speech that day.
However, you’d be hard pressed to find a single American citizen who’s never heard of Abraham Lincoln or this brief, but historic speech, which he delivered at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
Despite it’s brevity, Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address is regarded as one of the most famous speeches in American history. His words not only helped to re-unite a nation ripped apart by civil war, but they also now serve as a cornerstone of American government and democracy.
“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal … that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government: of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
As for the two-hour long speech of Edward Everett, although originally intended to be the actual “Gettysburg Address,” it seems his words merely drifted away on the gentle breeze of that cool, November day. Irony aside, when you imagine the amount of work likely needed to compose and prepare for a lengthy presentation like Everett’s, the inequity is palpable.
Still, there are lessons to be learned here. How is it that one person can work for hours, days or weeks on a project and achieve little impact, while another can – seemingly – invest a fraction of the effort and produce results that change the course of history? Here’s how Abe did it.
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