Working On The Road Marketing Lessons

I’ve been sharing my trip details here: Working On The Road Trip

Here it is… the article you’ve been waiting for!  I’ve got some really cool things to share today… so hold on to your hat.

Back To Creativity

You might remember the “creative blogging” articles I wrote a few weeks back:

Relax and Enjoy the Process

Creative Blogging

Well.. I don’t just “talk” here… I put my ideas into practice. (How else are you going to trust me?)

First – I used my “working on the road” trip to get a bit creative on this blog.  I just shared what was happening during each day… the fun and the challenges.

Second – I got to spend a “bunch” of time thinking and brainstorming about my business.  You saw that here: What I Accomplished. I’m here to tell you right now… you need to set aside some time – away from the computer – to just think.

I’ve actually scheduled at least an hour on Sunday to do just that. I’ve been taking a hour long walk almost every Sunday for about a month… just to think about my business.  I take a little note book with me to jot down anything I think is worth remembering and then it’s cleared out of my head to keep thinking.

The really BIG ideas will come when you spend hours and days (such as on a long road trip) just visualizing how you want your business to grow and/or change.

I came up with a great idea for a new blog.  I’ve had this idea on the back burner for a while… but it never “gelled” in my brain. Now it has!  The idea is about combining my research for “retirement” (the fact that retirement is looming – I’m a youngish baby boomer – is something that is often on my brain) AND finding a NEW niche that I can go into that is Large… is where I’m headed.

You know I’ve been a big fan of small – tightly targeted – niche blogs. I still am… but I can’t keep building more of them. Something has got to “give”.

I already have several Large – Wide – Niche Websites! And they are my “best” money makers. The small ones are nice for drips of income… but my large sites make money every day.  Sometimes the income is Huge and sometimes it’s a dribble… but I can count on them making money “Every Day”.  Nice. 🙂

So… enough about this new idea. I promise I’m going to share the entire idea and you will get to see the blog in a few days (or weeks).  I want to fill it up with really good content quickly… and I’ll share how that’s getting accomplished.

Let’s go back to Creative Blogging

First – I’m going to check in on the two blogs that I shared here Creative Blogging.

Samantha – Old Favourites

Samantha and I have had a few back and forth chats. She is obviously a very creative gal and likes to share ideas.

I gave her a few suggestions about “monetizing” her site as an affiliate. She is Australasia and converses with Christine – so I encouraged her to keep chatting with Christine and looking for ways to monetize her size.  (I am not an expert on anything outside the U.S.)

Christine and I have found a work around for her to use… I’ll get there in a minute.

I haven’t heard from Samantha in a week or so… I hope she sees this article and will start a conversation in the reply area below. 🙂

Christine’s Blog GippsyGirl

I really LOVE reading Christine’s blog. Now… that she is just sharing her life and funny stories. I mean it’s a pleasure to read and I look forward to each day’s new post.

Christine started this blog as a “WAHM” type blog… so she could recommend WAHM products (and make money).  This is sooooo not Christine.  I can tell just from reading her last two weeks of “fun stuff”. She really took my challenge to heart.

I can feel her relaxing and getting comfortable just chatting.  It’s as if she is talking to a friend.

Talking To A Friend Is Marketing Lesson One

Some of you (you know who you are) are very “sterile” when you are blogging.  If you have a “current news” site or something similar… that’s okay.  But… if you have a blog such as Christine’s or Samantha’s why don’t you chat with your reader instead of talking “at them”?

Imagine you are writing to someone you “know” and just write as if you are writing (or chatting) with them.  See if you can’t get some personality in your blog.

You will “connect” with your readers!  Readers don’t become fans until they “know – like – and trust you”.  I’m serious.  Not joking.  It works for me here and on my other blogs.  The more personal I become – the more I connect with others – the better my sales are.

You can be Funny, Sad, Depressed, Sick, Happy, Frustrated, Emotional, Hormonal, Fed Up, Giddy and share those “feeling” in creative ways on your blog and in your emails.

How do you “know” how to chat on your blog?

My very best suggestion:  Get on a forum that people are actively “chatting” about a topic in your niche. What kinds of words do they use? What types of questions are they asking? How “sterile” is the conversation?

Use that research as your guide. This is NOT Rocket Science!

But – How Will I Make Money? Marketing Lesson Two

First – Look at the blog post Equipment Needed For Working On The Road

I chatted about all the equipment I was using and what I thought needed replacing and why.  Did you find any of that useful? Maybe not… but if you were getting ready to go on the road and work online – do you think some of that article might then be useful?

Skip back to my idea for a new “retirement” site.  Can you see how this article “might” tie into an idea for use on a retirement site?

Of course – I used affiliate links all over the place. The article is Not A Good Example of an Article for marketing as an affiliate.

Why? Because it has to many choices. It’s filled with to many options and each option only has a tiny bit of a review of each product.

The good “stuff” about that article – I just chatted away and got all the “ideas” into one blog post.  Now I can eventually take all those ideas and separate each one into a new blog article about just one product. I can research the product – make comments and give hints – make it a long – long article filled with just about anything anyone might want to know about that product.  (Spinning it towards the “on the road in retirement angle and publish on my new retirement site.)

Now… Let’s Look At Christine’s Site Again

A fresh look at Christine’s site with a different view point.

Click Here —>>  How will Christine Make Money?

Note : I had to break this up into two articles… It’s easier for you to “consume” 🙂