This post was was guest blogged by Alan LeStourgeon of Affiliate Confession.
Want to be a Dot Com Mogul like John Chow? How about showing up every day and being consistent for starters, how far would that get you?
Many bloggers and affiliate marketers may not ever find the answer to that question because they won’t do it. Even though I’d never recommend anyone get involved in an mlm business, my 2 ventures into that dark realm were very valuable lessons. We learned that to be in the top 10% of mlmers all you had to do was show up to meetings and events, and then to be in the top 5% all you had to do was show up on time and be prepared to do business. Those seem like brain dead simple things to do, but it was utterly amazing how many people didn’t do them.
Translate that into blogging and online business and you’ll find the secret to making at least some money on the net is no secret at all. The secret is called work. Being in the top 10% of bloggers and affiliate marketers requires that you just do something besides shop on eBay and read the news all day. If you are going to blog, then quit screwing around with it and do it every day, no excuses. Being in the top 5% probably requires little more effort than adding 10 comments and 2 forum posts a day and 1 article to an article directory per week.
It’s a joke to think making any money in the online world is easy. It is not, and the minions of ebook pimps selling their seductive elixir are liars if they tell you different. But don’t kid yourself, a few thousand dollars a month in earnings is well within your grasp if you just follow some simple guidelines and do them every day or as required, on a consistent basis.
What are they?
1. Blog or write content for your web site every day. If you can’t do this, then just flip burgers for a living and get out of the way of the rest of us.
2. Leave 10 comments on blogs in your niche every day and especially try to find blogs that award top commentators with links back to their sites. I also prefer not to be too negative or crude in my commenting, but some creative disagreement might bring a good amount of traffic to your site from people wanting to know more about your perspective.
3. Write 1 article a week related to one of your niches and submit it to 3 article directories for additional links back to your site. My top article directory is ezineArticles.com .
4. Leave at least 5 forum replies or new threads each day in forums like the DigitalPoint Forums or Bloggeries.com .
5. Grab some sort of attention for your blog at least once a month by ordering a review, writing a guest post, sending a blogger a pic of yourself in their logo t-shirt hoping they will blog about it, paying for a quality ad spot or something else to get featured in a major blog.
Sure, to get to the top blogging and affiliate marketing levels may require some evil tactics that John is an expert at, but there is so much money to be made and so much opportunity at the lower and middle levels that can be had just by doing basic things. We all have to work our way through these levels if we ever have any hope of making it to the top. Probably more than anything else, your level of commitment to your work (there’s that 4 letter word again) will determine your level of success.
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Oy, a simple but correct post. I find that webmasters get so involved with get traffic quick schemes we forget to just do the simple things.
It’s like the guy spending all his cash and time on get rich quick schemes instead of getting a real job.
sometimes this is a good thing. The more people make mistakes, the more they can learn.
Good tips!
Totally correct their. People will work for hours crafting an AdSense ad, and 0 on puting content on the page!
Hey Alan,
Completely agree with your points about being consistent. When applied to blogging, this means establishing a posting schedule or frequency and being disciplined. I think the tips your provided are a good way to get started, and that bloggers should make a ‘plan of attack’ when it comes to their daily activities. With RSS these days I find it easy to bum around. John publishes 2-3 posts everyday and has built and expectation that makes people return. If he wasn’t docked by Google, he’d be getting a HUGE amount of search engine traffic.
After reading your post I was reminded of something I read over at ProBlogger about how blogging is like a marathon. If you just keep going, or as you put it – “Show Up” you’ll outrun your competition simply by the fact that they’ll drop off.
Keep up the good work,
Hafiz Dhanani
I specifically like this line “get out of the way of the rest of us” …. very true regardless of the niche.
Excellent post.
I need to do #3 more. #4 and #5 I don’t really care about because my main goal isn’t to live off blog income or anything :p
Even if you don’t care about the money, #5 still helps you get your message out.
I’ve made the commitment to post every day, but it can still be a struggle sometimes. It’s pretty easy to waste your time just reading random things around the web among other things. I could definitely use a little more focus.
By the way, this is one of my 10 comments for today…
You hit the point about the Internet. It has everything one can find. It is very easy to stumble on an interesting website and spend hours reading it.
One way to overcome this problem is to create a list of things you must complete today. Stay on track and finish the list then you can wonder off and read your favorite sports news.
I guess that could have been point #6, make a list of the 5 most important things you want to do every day and get them done no matter what.
I try to get my 10 in a day as well. And try to make 3-4 at new sites as well!
Great points. These are the exact things i’m aiming for and I love your first point
Cheers!
Great post guest poster
-Mike
Great post Alan, I’m liking the contributions you’ve been putting in at this site. Keep up the great work!
It’s not the same Alan. This post is by Alan LeStourgeon of Affiliate Confession. The other one is Alan Johnson from the Rating Blog. It’s a great post though!
Yes, I’m the Affiliate Confession Alan. Thanks for the clarification.
“Sure, to get to the top blogging and affiliate marketing levels may require some evil tactics that John is an expert at”
Tell me more about these evil tactics
You’ll have to ask John about those evil tactics, I know nothing about that…lol
Good advice. Thanks for the info John.
Shame…it was a guest post
Nice post. It’s good to set doing certain goals each day that’ll help you in the long run.
Nice post!
Consistency is key. You have to post every day. That is what I’ve been doing since I started blogging three weeks ago. That is why whoever blogs should choose a subject or topic that he or she is passionate about. Without that passion, you simply cannot sustain it.
I’ve seen some progress in terms of traffic growth from all the tips mentioned here. Not too much from the forum idea though.
Outstanding post. I haven’t found anything this hard hitting or concise on any of the other professional blogger sites. It’s a ton of work and Alan really gives you the straight dope. I started commenting and signed up for the forums. I’ll be working on my first article this week.
Great post. I know that I’m guilty on not posting to my personal blog every day, but I do post to my niche blogs daily (and some multiple times per day). Consistency is the key to success, not only online, but in the “real world” as well.
This should be a wake-up call for a lot of people who don’t understand “why” they’re not making money online.
Once again, great post.
This was very good advice that a lot of us bloggers can do. I have been trying to leave more comments on blogs in my niches but I have about fifteen blogs on different subjects. A lot of people call me crazy for having so many but i love to blog and am good at it. I love the little line that you added about getting out of the way of the rest of us, very funny and true stuff.
Great post, every time I visit this blog I learn something new.
Hmm… Sounds too much like work.
Point well made.
If you do the hard work now…you can get the rewards later. This blog is an example of that
The few things mentioned are basic, but they really speak volumes. If you want to blog to make money, then treat it as a job! You definitely can’t just write whenever you wish (ie. infrequently), put in only a half-ass job marketing it, and expect to make any kind of serious money.
Good job with this article.
Thanks for the nice tips..
As for “..Leave 10 comments on blogs in your niche every day..”, I just thought why not start it by commenting the first time on your blog itself?
Thanks again..
That’s a very interesting and inspirational post
A lot of people have problem focusing on their job. But hey, it’s always easy when you do what you like AND make money doing what you enjoy. We all should find that balance.
Nice post.
Very helpful for me, right now, as I have just started my personal blog about success.
Have a nice day and a lot of successes.
Kacper
This is a very good lesson for bloggers at all levels. I totally aggree with all of the above, especially the point of paying for advertising. Many bloggers generally belief everything should be for free. Well, it is surprising that even those that are for free are still difficult for some to go for. The best point i will like to stress about blogging is that you must learn to love it. If you are doing it just for money, try and start including love in it. If not, it will be very difficult to keep up and all “rules” will be poison to you.
Cheers!!!
Well written one Alan. Consistent work is required to grow, new posts are needed to entertain (keep readers coming back) your visitors.
Once you get readers, you have to think of your blog as almost a newspaper. Suppose your daily newspaper decided not to publish one day, what would happen to their readership?
Totally agree with you. I’m now mantaining a regular daily posting on my blog even though I only have 2 days to prepare those postings at home. The least you can give at least an interesting youtube video.
~Terry
You must be pretty busy those 2 days. I need to put up a few interesting YouTube videos as well, they’re a good way to keep the posts going and have readers stay on your site for awile.
Perfect post! Just showing up is more than half the battle! With this posting and commenting schedule, if followed correctly and done over the long term, you will see the effects of “compounding” and you will making money! Just do it…money never sleeps pal!
The business I’m getting back to (after a 8 year hiatus to raise my kids) is all about how much I create with my writing. Thanks for a basic outline for how to begin.
Although many of your posts are useful. This is one that I am actually going to bookmark. I have seen a lot of this information in other posts, but I really like how it seems it up for me. This is a really spectacular post, thank you!
http://www.talkprice.net/
Jake Cohen
He does write many useful post.
Nice informative post. It’s the daily repetitive tasks that usually no one wants to do is what makes your site successful.
“1. Blog or write content for your web site every day. If you can’t do this, then just flip burgers for a living and get out of the way of the rest of us.” – Good point, but for someone who has taken up blogging full time, and has given up their day job.
“3. Write 1 article a week related to one of your niches and submit it to 3 article directories for additional links back to your site. My top article directory is ezineArticles.com .” – I always wondered about that…won’t that also give you dupe content?
I write an original article that doesn’t get published on any of my sites. It goes out to 3 article directories and what you are looking for is a trickle of traffic and a link back to your site. Since you aren’t hosting the article, you shouldn’t have any issues with dup content.
Nice post and is very useful for bloggers.
Great post!
I am going to start writing articles and writing replies on blogging forums more often. I think this is an awesome way to get your link around and start seeing some insane traffic. Advice holds true, bloggers have to stick with it!
The suggestions provided in this article is very true and helpful to all. Blogging is a serious business if you want to make money with it. You have to commit yourself to it like you would a real business and take the necessary steps (marketing) to ensure its visibility and readibility. Great article.
I agree with these tips, but it so much easier to take the path of least resistenace, load up WOW, or EQ2 and play your worries away.
Great post with some really good advice, thanks for passing that along! http://wannasmile.com
yup these tips are one of the essential ones for bloggers.
I totally agree with this and am trying to implement most of them in my daily routines.
Well said – just showing up is more than half the battle in just about everything.
Countless examples abound about how it’s a marathon and not a sprint. Do the work and the rest will follow.
Also liked the remark about getting out of the way.
Good thing is that work really is a barrier to entry for a great many – which is actually good for the rest of us.
I like that, work is a barrier for many, lol. There isn’t as much competition in the lower to mid levels of earnings in affiliate marketing and blogging that one might assume. There’s really a lot of low hanging fruit to be had.
Good tips, but definitely not how JohnChow.com became successful; the first sentence of the article is misleading.
John had to start somewhere, and like I said in the post, these are levels we all have to move through to get to the top…if that’s where you’re going.
Then don’t! If you want your web site to stand up as you put it, then do the list every day.
well thats exactly what he is suggesting you. If you don’t do the above the chances your website standing out will be much lower than if you do the above, so if you are ready to do the things they listed above then you are good to go. Otherwise you are wasting your time
Awesome article Alan — great information. It is a consistent effort over the long-term that will separate the serious bloggers from those who think they can “just show up.”
What a great post and a breath of fresh air. I am new to this, I almost have a blog up and running and have been reading some posts in forums that consistently talk about PR, Links, Adwords and exactly how many letters should be in a title tag yet when you visit their site/blog there is minimal content.
Awesome tips. I will try to follow them regiously and see how it works out.
Great article Alan and thank you for the mention! When I first found out people were registering from a post on John Chow I couldn’t believe it! If you liked this you should read the 30 day blogging contest; it will help you get jump started.
Whether you join my forum or not; they are an excellent way to network and collaborate with other like minded individuals as well as learn something new.
Good post. I agree. Most people underestimate preperation. Showing up on time and prepared is the golden rule in any business you own.
More than likely this comment will end up in the spam, but I have to include a list of blogging forums that will help out besides the two Alan mentioned. There’s 13 total that I came up with at http://www.datmoney.com/2008/02/13-blogging-forums-you-should-join-or.html
Sorry JC!
Jay
Great post John Chow. I thought it would be easy to make money online…but its hard and requires work. So following your advise from step #2, here is my first comment of the day.
Hey GerryV, The post was guest blogged by yours truly.
Thanks John for the useful tips. Getting traffic is the most headache part for a blogger, and this post helps a lot.
hey John, this is excellent post, Very informative. Maybe I will use your tips from this post, to promote to my blog readers tips for quality blogging and making money. I need your permission to use the tips in my blog post? Please answer
John Chow great tips, especially #2.
Great article. Making a blog and making money that way sounds so easy. But being consistent is soo hard. It’s true, writing every day is quite a lot of work.
It’s like trying to quit smoking. You know you want to, and you know you can do it,,,,,but but but. ……the excuses …;-)!!!
No excuses!
That really is it. You can’t quite and you must have some determination for reaching your goal. Show up and do the work…it applies to every aspect in life. A simple rule but so many forget. Thanks John for putting it out there again.
Very very well written post. Thank you so much for the above guidelines. I will always keep them in mind while blogging.
I would like to say first and foremost that I love the tone of your post. If more people wrote this way, information would be a lot easier to digest.
I thought I would add another resource that is for the individual who would like to know how to make income online to include blogging.
Hope you find it useful. It is located at http://www.realmoneyshow.com.
You can email me at info@johndaly.tv.
Keep posting great information.
Great post Alan, keep up the good work!
Thanks Tom for a great new blog design by the way!
good post…….
I guess this would fall under #2, creative disagreement?