How Long Does It Take To Start Making Money Online?

I get asked this question fairly often.

Usually it is from somebody evaluating one of my products to buy. Sometimes it is from somebody who is seeking a solution and just looking for whatever is going to work for them.

Often, the question is something like this:

How long will your system take to get my income up to $1,000/month?

Every time I get a question like this, I feel this compelling need to start preaching at them. Why?

Because it is the wrong question!

In fact, the question isn’t even valid.

People who ask that question have fallen for the mistaken concept of the “system”. You know, this paint-by-numbers thing where you can just execute some steps – steps that somebody else passes onto you with their ultimate wisdom. And, if you do those steps, in that order, in the exact way you’re told… well, then money will pop out. You don’t have to even know what you’re doing or think for yourself. Just execute the “system”.

Oh, and not only do they want this “system” that removes all thinking and responsibility, but they don’t want the “system” to take up very much time. They want it now. Just money.

Just give ‘em money.

And if the money doesn’t just pop out of the ether, then the person who sold that “system” to them is a liar, a scammer and full of hype.

Has it ever occurred to anybody that they get the marketing they DESERVE? The marketing they SEEK? Those hypey-ass marketers only do that because it frickin’ works.

But, of course, I have to look at myself in the mirror. I want to set an example for my kids when they’re finally old enough to understand what I do. So, I don’t mislead people into “systems”. You can find plenty of people in the Warrior Forum with their fancy WSO’s hocking “systems”.

But, that place is mostly full of hopers, not doers. There are two classes of people in the Warrior Forum… the hoper who just blindly buys stupid shit if its cheap and hypey enough… and the producer who is posting WSO’s because it is like shooting fish in a barrel in that environment. Consumers and producers… the classic breakdown of how any economy works.

So, how long does it take to start making money online?

Well, here’s the real answer:

Nobody knows. Because the answer is determined by one person. YOU.

What market you choose. What your technical skills are. Whether you’ll self-sabotage yourself. Whether you’re willing to work or not. Whether you’d rather sit there and play video games or watch a movie. Whether you’re the kind of person who over-analyzes things and is afraid to pull the trigger.

These things matter. And these are things which YOU control. And ONLY you.

Not the “system”.

The word “system” is a marketing term designed to remove responsibility from the consumer. It is just a mental game being played on you. The word “system” increases conversion rates. Nothing more.

On the flip side, there is some good news. And it is this…

If you’re willing to actually do the work, then almost all the “systems” out there will work for you. And you’ll make money online.

Because there isn’t any magic to internet business. Its just business. There’s nothing mysterious about it. And, yes, you CAN DO IT. Absolutely you can.

The question is only…. will you?

The Geeky Gear I Use To Run My Online Business

There is one thing that all internet entrepreneurs have in common: we ALL use a computer to do what we do.

Not only that, but our computer and the gear that goes along with it ends up being a central part of our lives.

Over the years, I’ve gone through a lot of equipment. There may be people that think I buy things which are too expensive (i.e. buying a Mac when a cheaper Windows machine would do), but the way I look at it is like this…

When you make your entire living on a computer, you might as well invest into what you really want and need.

So, anyway, just for shits and giggles, I thought I’d give a quick tour of the gear I use to run my business. I’ll concentrate here mainly on the electronics.

Apple 27″ iMac

This is a recent purchase and is now my main machine in my office. The 27″ screen is gorgeous. Under the hood, I have 12GB of RAM, the i7 3.4 GHz processor, a 1TB hard drive along with a 256GB SSD drive. This thing is a screamer.

I picked up this machine as an upgrade to my first generation Mac Pro. Primary reason = VIDEO. While my Mac Pro is an awesome machine, the fact remains that it is about 5 years old and isn’t the speed demon it once seemed. So, being that I tend to do a fair amount of video, I wanted to be able to speed up the process. And the iMac does that in spades.

I still use the Mac Pro for some things. It is still a real workhorse, and solid as a brick shithouse. Plus, it is very expandable in ways an iMac isn’t.

Learn More About the 27″ iMac

Apple 15″ Macbook Pro

Obviously, this is my laptop. I use this when I want to head out to a coffee shop or somewhere else outside the house, yet need to get real work done which an iPad isn’t suitable for.

I know some people use Macbook Pro’s as their primary computer. They simply attach a monitor to it. I had that option (obviously), but an iMac is faster by quite a bit. Not only that, but I didn’t want my primary computer also being the one that I stuff in laptop bags, run through airport security, and bump around. I’m a believer in redundancy…. if one computer breaks, I’ve got another which is fully ready to take up the slack.

Learn More About the 15″ Macbook Pro

Sennheiser PC-166 USB Headset Mic

These things rock. See, I do a lot of screencasting videos… and one thing that is SUPER important about any video you produce is audio quality. I started out with a cheap headset mic from Logitech, but it picked up a lot more environmental noise as well as gave me “hot” audio if I ever spoke too loud for it. It is a case of “you get what you pay for”.

Sennheiser makes awesome equipment. This headset mic produces professional audio quality and it works over USB. So, whenever I do screencast videos, Skype calls or webinars, I’m wearing the Sennheiser.

Unfortunately, this exact model has been discontinued. The PC 161 looks like it might be their closest active model.

Blue Snowball

The Blue Snowball is a truly funky looking microphone, but a good one. I don’t use this microphone as much as I do the Sennheiser, however it is useful when I want to record a video directly into the iMac’s webcam, but not be seen wearing the headset. This mic can sit right next to the computer and pick up everything with great quality.

Western Digital External Hard Drives

I’m a big believer in redundancy when it comes to storing my files. Whether it be raw video footage, Screenflow files, information products – pretty much anything big – I like to keep it backed up outside of my main computer. All my smaller working files are backed up automatically in Dropbox, but I don’t put the big files (like videos) up there because it’ll eat up my account too fast.

I use a Western Digital Elements 2TB as a redundancy drive and a Western Digital 1TB My Book as my Time Machine backup drive.

Wacom Bamboo Fun Tablet

A lot of people use tablets mainly for drawing things in Photoshop. As a blogger, I only use the Wacom Bamboo Fun Tablet for that purpose a little bit. Mainly, I picked this up so that I could draw on my screen or do digital whiteboard videos. I can actually draw on screen and record it, kind of like I did in this video.

I do this using a cheap program called Flysketch (Mac only). This is a great program that makes it easy to draw on a plain-white background, or even make it transparent so I can draw over anything else on screen. This is great for blog evaluations where I can literally draw on the person’s blog to show them what I’m talking about. I’m not aware of a Windows equivalent for what Flysketch does, however I also know a lot of people use Photoshop to do whiteboard-style videos.

Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300

This small little scanner is able to scan things directly to searchable PDF. I use it specifically to scan things directly into Evernote. I have gone almost exclusively paperless with my filing system. Bills, contracts, bank statements… it all goes into Evernote. And, when I get it in the mail, I use this scanner to put it into Evernote.

If you want to go paperless and make your entire filing cabinet truly searchable, this scanner is a great way to go (in conjunction with Evernote).

Learn More About the Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300

Video Cameras

I use several different video cameras off and on. Obviously, the most convenient one is the one built into the iMac. But, in addition to this, I also use:

• Kodak zi8 – A great little portable camera with an external mic input. Yay.
• Panasonic PV–GS80. This is an older camcorder. Not even HD. And it records to MiniDV tapes. Tapes! But, not to worry… I have never ONCE used that functionality. I have this camera for one purpose – webcam. With built-in Firewire, this camera has the ability to stream live over Firewire, turning in into a webcam which has a heck of a lens on it compared to most. 32X zoom, too.
• Apple iPhone 4S. Yeah, it is a smartphone. But, it happens to have a pretty awesome camera on it. And it is pretty convenient for quick live action videos. And there are accessories available for it which help with things like stabilization and even external microphones.

Bose Companion 3

OK, I can’t end off this article with out this vital piece of equipment for any blogger – kick ass speakers! And I’m using the Bose Companion 3 Series 2.

I consider these things a productivity tool. After all, music is a big part of how I keep my game on while I’m working. They sound absolutely AWESOME. The sub sits under the desk and the satellites are small and take barely any room on the desk.

Whether I’m listening to CDs (which I’ve digitized into iTunes), Pandora or iTunes Radio, these speakers see a lot of action.

 

What The Wrong Internet Marketing Mindset Looks Like

So, I got an email from a reader. This person will remain unnamed, but it spawned this blog post.

While I’m removing some of the text, this section is left unmodified. I’m going to BOLD the parts I want to focus on.

I just feel bad that I am not rich and knowledgeable enough to be in your blog master club . But I am not sure if blogging is what I want to do . It seems like a lot of work. I was thinking more about getting a web site, and making it work, and then automating  it . And then have a few of them going . My goal is to put 125,000 a month in my pocket after tax and what ever it cost to do business. I have followed doing business on line for awhile now . And I am not able to make anything work. I realize now it is me . I need to work on myself first and then get a site up and make it work. But it cost lots of money to be able to see someone to get the help I need . So I feel stuck were I am . But I will never stop trying ! Again thank you David for everything you do ! And no matter what STAY REAL !

I would imagine that this email probably reflects the thoughts of many.

But, I’m going to lay it out there. And I’m going to tell it like it is. That’s what people expect from me. Let’s take this one thing at a time…

“I just feel bad that I am not rich and knowledgeable enough…”

This statement is rooted in a feeling of inadequacy. It is an excuse. While this person (I’ll say “he” from now on, just to keep it simple) is saying this because he can’t afford my Blog Masters Club program, that is really only an apparency.

“It seems like a lot of work.”

So, he is looking for a “get rich quick” scheme. Something with a paint-by-numbers, guaranteed income. You blindly follow some “system”, and out comes money if it is done in the proper order. Right?

Wrong. Common sense tells us those things don’t work. Any real business takes a lot of work. What I do is no different. And, the moment I hear that somebody is trying to make this work while avoiding work, I know they have already failed.

“… then automating it.”

Again, this is the avoidance of work. You don’t automate what you can’t yourself do. Automation comes AFTER the process has been mastered, documented, then properly handed over to another.

The Internet seems to further this idea of automated riches. It is true that one CAN create an automated business online, but if they think they can do that while also avoiding work, they’re lying to themselves.

“I have followed doing business online for awhile now.”

So, what’s stopping you, then? It is one thing to read “make money online” stuff just so you can cling to a dream. But, it is quite another to actually read this stuff with a firm eye on APPLYING it and taking action.

If one has been reading “make money online” stuff for awhile and still hasn’t generated the first buck, then the problem is within.

“I am not able to make anything work. I realize now it is me.”

Yes, it is. And part of it is your viewpoint of yourself and your own abilities. The very fact that you say something about yourself like “I am not able to make anything work.” WOW. What an insult to yourself!

As long as you are talking yourself down (and this email was laced with it), it will be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

“But, it costs lots of money”.

No, it doesn’t. It takes lots of action and work (which you’ve already said you don’t want to do). Money isn’t the problem. Money is just a representation of energy. Money is a form of energy. And, you’re not willing to dedicate much energy to what you want. So, obviously, you’re not willing to put much money there, either.

“… to get the help I need.”

It sounds, here, like there is an expectation that the only way to succeed is to have those who came before you take  you by the hand and guide you. That’s not necessarily the case at all.

Information products can help fill in gaps and provide specific strategies to get where you want to be. But, YOU have to bring the drive and the direction. And “make more money” isn’t a drive or direction. That’s a result. That’s an outcome. Not a “why” or a “what”.

“I feel stuck.”

Given all these self-imposed limitations, I bet you do. But, the walls are illusions.

My Parting Thoughts

I don’t write this post in order to be mean or make fun of anyone. I just know that these thoughts aren’t uncommon in this niche. In fact, many marketers seem to foster it and it creates a trap for people who are ripe for being trapped. The person who wrote this email is almost the ideal prospect if one was a dishonest online marketer in it only for the money. The only thing that comes up short is the fact that this person is short on money.

But, this person is looking for answers. He thinks they are to be found in expensive products. And he seems to believe the false dream that this online income can be generated without doing much work.

The difference between one who succeeds in online business and one who doesn’t is NEVER the amount of money they started with, finding the right info product to follow, getting to know the right “guru”. Those things form only a fraction of a possible picture.

What is consistent in ALL who make it is this…

• They’re passionate.
• They’re willing to work their ass off. Not only willing to, but they actively do it each and every day.
• They don’t make excuses for themselves.
• They don’t approach the world as if they’re a bottom feeder looking for the right lucky combination.
• They’re producers, not consumers.
• They’re willing to be personally responsible for the outcome, because they realize that it rests on THEM, not some “guru”.

It starts with a decision.

Are you going to do it “maybe”, “if X doesn’t happen”, “if I can get some money together”, “if I can find more time”…. ?

Or are you just going to DO IT?

Everything SUCKS! (Or So They’d Have You Think)

If you paid attention to the news, to TV shows, to newspapers and magazines, you’re left with a few impressions. Things like: (a) The economy sucks, (b) Things are dangerous, (c) You can’t do anything about it.

In a word, EVERYTHING SUCKS. Or at least that’s what they’d have you think.

What follows is a chunk of a video from my Time Master Formula training course. I decided to pull it out and post it publicly. Because I think it is something you ought to realize and understand, especially now. The transcript for this video can be found below.

Do You Agree With This?

Successful people don’t let doom and gloom into their minds. (Tweet This)

If you think this message should be seen by others, retweet this post and share it on Facebook. I’d really appreciate it.

The Transcript

You’ve heard the old saying before, that you are what you eat. Now, this saying typically has to do with nutrition, the idea that if you eat junk food a lot, your body is going to kind of turn to junk. If you eat really healthy, nutritional food, then your body is going to obviously reflect healthy and nutritional food.

So a lot of us are familiar with this saying. What I’m saying is we’re going to redefine this just a little bit to include also what you take and what you eat mentally. When you consume bad information or doom and gloom type information, that type of stuff will become a little bit more of what you actually are. You are what you eat. It’s not just our food, but it’s also what you eat mentally.

So let’s look at what happens when you, quote, unquote, “eat” things which go against your desire. You have this desire to survive as best as you can. You want to do things that help further your goals along. You would like to make more money. You would like to have nice stuff. You would like to do lots of things that will help your life be as good as you can. Now, “them,” and I put that in quotes, have an opposite intention.

Their idea is demise. Now, I don’t want you to interpret this chart in saying that everybody other than you wants to see you succumb, because that’s obviously not true at all. But what we’re talking about here in this video is those outside influences that do want to see you not do as well as you are, because they in some cases actually survive better when you survive less. Let’s go over that a little bit more.

Who are we talking about here with “them”? I’m talking specifically here about things like the news media, talk radio, and trash television, like reality TV. These types of influences, and we’ve seen them all over. They’re out there all the time. Just turn on Fox News or CNN or any of them, and they’re doing this. It’s just one piece of bad news after the next. Talk radio is all about controversy, and they drum up controversies over things that were really not that big of a deal.

They take politicians, and they interpret what they say in all these different ways and just sit there and bloviate about it. You’ve got reality TV, which just seems like it’s getting junkier and junkier all the time. There’s just some really, really low end stuff out there on television, and when we’re out there consuming these things, it affects us. The funny thing, too, as a parent, this type of thing is obvious.

We don’t like our kids to watch rated R movies, or we don’t like our kids to watch junky stuff, because we know it affects them. But for some reason, as adults, we lose track of the fact that that stuff also affects us. That matters. It affects our efficiency. It affects how well we are surviving in our lives as well. If we take this chart again and then just look at this comparing to the news and what you’re seeing out there across news and talk radio and TV and all that, you’ll see what we’re saying.

They keep talking about things like how bad the economy is. Usually, that’s in cases like the economy is just doing its thing and it’s so horrible, and we have no responsibility for our own finances. If you open up your local paper, chances are the front page is going to be nothing but doom and gloom in terms of people getting killed or car crashes or somebody got murdered. You’ve got riots in the streets. You’ve got so-and-so getting arrested.

You’ve got the whole left versus right thing in terms of political stuff. If you tune into of these 24/7 news networks like CNN or Fox, that’s pretty much all they do from about 6 p.m. onward, is they debate things. They get up in each other’s faces and they yell at each other over these political things. At the end of the day, they’re not influencing much of anything. They’re just sitting there bloviating and trying to get as good of ratings as they can.

You’ve also got the whole thing with terrorists. The list goes on and on and on. I challenge you to just take a look at your local paper or turn on the news and just sit there for 10 minutes and just listen to the stories that come out of them. You’ll find that an overwhelming majority of them are bad. Not only that, it also affects your mentality, especially the 24/7 news networks. They make it seem as if everything is equal to everything else.

They’ll just jump from one story to the next all day long, and then they will come back and repeat it. It just leads to this entire idea that the world is dangerous. That’s what they’re saying. They’re really saying that the world is dangerous. They’re telling you that you’re not going to make it. They’re sitting there talking about how horrible the economy is. That is a basically indirect way of saying that you’re not going to make it because the situation in your environment is bad. You have no control over it.

It’s all, quote, unquote, “their fault,” that you don’t have much responsibility for things and basically, life sucks. If you just take all the themes of what these news media networks put out, that is basically the theme. Everything sucks. It’s just something that as adults that we wouldn’t let our kids watch horrible horror movies. Why are we watching this stuff day in and day out?

The facts are that them scaring you equals profits for them. They’re in the business of selling advertising. They want you to watch them. You ever watch the 24/7 networks, especially, they will put on some little cliffhanger right before they go to commercial break, so that you will sit through those commercials where they make their money and then come back on the other side. It’s usually something, of course, bad.

They want to shock you into it, make you sit there and wait and find out just how bad whatever it is they’re talking about it is, after the commercials, of course. Them scaring you equals profits for them. Their goals are exactly opposite of yours. That’s the truth of it. So the solution here is don’t watch the news, and that includes not just television, but it also includes magazines. It includes the newspaper, things like that.

At the end of the day, you really just don’t need to consume that stuff. It may go against your grain. You might think that you are not informed or you’re somehow stupider because you’re not paying that much attention to what’s going on out there. But I would challenge you to simply just give this a try and see how your mindset shifts a little bit. Just for one week, stop consuming any current events or news media, just any of it. Don’t consume anything.

If you watch some History Channel or Discovery or maybe some sitcom, you be the judge of that. But definitely avoid any source of news or current events. In order to go in the ideal world here, you would just not watch any TV or don’t read any newspapers at all. But you need to see how far you’re willing to go on this. Then after one week, see how you feel. See if your outlook on things is different because you’re not paying attention to all that crap.

See how much more efficient you are in getting things done or maybe even making some more money because you don’t have the news media shoving down your throat all the time how you’re not in control and how the economy sucks and everybody is poor and unemployed. That’s what they’re telling you, but it doesn’t do you any good to sit there and think those things.

If you ignore all that stuff, and you weren’t even thinking about it all, and you’re only worried about your own environment and getting you as successful as possible, you’ll be amazed how much better you are at it when you don’t have those outside influences pecking at you and telling you that you’re not going to make it.

So you’re basically not in alignment towards your goals at all if you’re letting in forces from the outside world which are counter to your goals. That’s what I’m showing you is happening here. If you’re constantly letting in these forces from the outside that have intentions that are against yours, then you’re not really in alignment toward your own goals, and you’re fighting them all the time, even if you don’t realize it.

So I’ll leave you with this: successful people don’t let doom and gloom into their minds. They simply don’t pay any attention to it, and they realize it for what it is. It is crap, and it’s mental trash, and we just don’t let it in.

To learn more about Time Master Formula, click here.

Increasing Productivity with Home Office “Feng Shui”

Most of us spend quite a bit of time in our office. Have you set it up to make it a space you actually want to be in?

I mean, look at it this way…

I like to have a nice bed because we spend around a third of our lives in it. If the average person is sleeping 7-8 hours per night, that’s a third of every day.

Well, I don’t know about you, but I spend about that much time in my home office every day, too. Not only that, this is where I MAKE MY MONEY. So, it is a pretty important space. And I imagine the situation is similar with YOUR office.

Are you as productive as you could be in your office? Is your office a space that you like to be in or not?

Perhaps it is time to get your feng shui on to increase efficiency and get more done.

What Is Feng Shui?

Time to get our “woo woo” on.

Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese art (and science, really) of arranging spaces in order to assure the health, energy and fortune of the people in that space. “Feng” means “wind” and “Shui” means “water”. In Chinese culture, wind and water are associated with good health.

It is based on a Taoist understanding of nature, including the idea that our environment is filled with “Chi”, or energy. Fostering good “chi” makes the space more conducive to success and health, at least according to this theory.

The obvious question from a practical standpoint is…. Is Feng Shui a bunch of horse hockey?

Truthfully, my gut reaction leans toward “yes”. However, I am a smart enough guy to understand that there ARE things going on in this world that we can’t see. I believe energy DOES impact us in ways we can’t see or even directly feel sometimes.

So, I’m at least willing to look at this idea of feng shui, take the parts that make the most sense to me and put them to use.

Which brings me to my own home office….

What My Office Looked Like

The best way for you to see it is to watch a super-short video I did when I first moved into the house we’re in now. The first part of this video is the old office setup…. then I take you into the video room.

A few things to note about the setup:

1. I was facing into the wall. My computer was on a corner desk so I was facing smack into a wall all day, with my back to the door.
2. The hutch on that corner unit was rather claustrophobic. It made the space on the desk look much smaller and it caused the two monitors to bunch up to one another at an angle just to be able to fit on the desk.
3. The room itself is rather small and kinda dark.

The biggest factor for me was the lack of space. And it led me to say this on Facebook…

In feng shui, one of the most important ideas is the “command position”. The command position is when you are seated on the far side of the room from your door and FACING the door. Also, you don’t want to be staring right out the doorway. So, essentially, proper command position is when you’re on the furthest diagonal corner from your entry door.

From an article on FastFengShui.com…

In the Command Position, you are able to benefit from the chi that enters and flows through the space, while being far enough removed from the doorway that you are not exposed to chi that is too strong. A true Command Position also provides a solid wall behind you for support. Using this position puts you in visual command of the space, and allows you to face life directly, both literally and symbolically.

Well, I was facing AWAY from the door, into a corner, with my back at the door. And anybody could walk up on me without me knowing it. In fact, my kids have done it a few times and it freaks me out.

So, I Made Some Changes

I decided to move my primary office setup into that video room shown on the second part of the above video. That room has a lot more space to it. Plus, it is convenient having my video setup right there in the same room.

Interestingly, once I decided that the lack of space in my office was affecting my productivity, I set up a make-shift desk in the bigger room just for a week so I could work in the larger room.

My desk is a modular one which means I could purchase add-ons for it which actually match. So, I picked up a long table desk and NO hutch. I then set up an L-shaped desk setup.

Once the new desk arrived, I got it all set up:

I still have yet to work out where all those video lights are going to go so it doesn’t crowd up my field of view, but I’ll figure it out.

Now, here’s the thought that went into it:

1. When I’m at my computer, my back is now to a wall and I’m looking out into the (much larger) room. Toward the door, too. That is the “command position” according to feng shui.
2. Aside from this room being larger, it also has two windows. More space that way.
3. According to feng shui, the southeast corner of your space is the prosperity corner. While the foundation of this seems a little odd to me, it was easy as pie to stick my desk in the southeast corner of the room. So, I did.
4. The plant is fake (probably not good feng shui), but at least I’ve got something green in there. Perhaps I’ll replace it with a real one soon.

A few other things I might do to the space are:

1. As mentioned above, I’ll likely put a real plant into the room. I’ve even thought about setting up a small electric water fountain. The noise of running water is soothing.
2. Organize the video stuff so that it doesn’t clutter up the room. Clutter is the enemy of focus.
3. Instead of just hanging any ol’ thing on the wall, I can ensure that the things on the wall represent part of me or things that motivate me. Success images, for example. Photos of my kids.

The Point Is…

We have to like the space we work in. When you do, you won’t mind being there.

We are all “hard-wired” to want space. There’s a reason that, when we feel bad, going for a walk can help. It is because you are looking at space. You are actually creating your own space by observing the space around you.

So, try not to work in a constrained environment. Try to set up your desk with the command position in mind. If you absolutely can’t do that, try faking it with a mirror on the wall so you can see space.

For me, I DO feel as if my efficiency was higher since I moved into the larger room. I enjoyed being in there.

So, What About You?

What do you think? Have you had any experiences with the setup of your office increasing or decreasing your efficiency?

Google-Powered, Full-Featured Ad Banner Management For Your Site – For Free

Banner ads have been and always will be a popular way to make money with your blog. It isn’t exactly my favorite method, but it does work if you have the right kind of audience and the traffic to throw at it.

A lot of bloggers, too, are familiar with Google Adsense. It is the ultimate equal-opportunity blog monetization opportunity. Anybody can use it (unless you’re running an adult site or something of that ilk). And, with the right targeting and the right traffic, people can and DO bank with Adsense. (Quick Plug: Workshop On How To Maximize Revenue With Google Adsense).

While Adsense is easy, you’re also paying for it. The typical publisher split with Adsense is 68% (according to a 2010 announcement from Google, anyway). So, that means you’re giving Google 32% of the total revenue your site is earning. The big publishers (however they define that) often arrange custom splits.

So, that’s always an option.

Eventually, most bloggers who use banner ads think about direct-selling, removing the middle-man, and keeping 100% of revenue. For more on this, you can check out an older post I wrote on How To Sell Ads On Your Blog.

Many site owners end up getting confused on how to actually manage this in-house.

• How can you rotate ads on your site internally?
• How do you track performance?
• Does this mean I can’t use networks anymore like Adsense?

That last one ends up being a biggie for many.

You want to direct sell ads, but you don’t want to stop using ad networks. After all, they’re fairly dependable. You simply want to be able to use your own campaigns IF you manage to sell them and they make you more money.

OIO Publisher remains a good option for many. It allows you to run 3rd party ad networks along with your own in-house campaigns.

But, there is another option provided by Google. And it is free.

It is DoubleClick For Publishers (DFP) Small Business.

It isn’t super well-known that this solution is there. Most people just think of standard Adsense when it comes to Google. But, yes, Google bought the Doubleclick network back in 2007. Now, you can use the power of Doubleclick – for free.

DFP allows you to manage your in-house inventory AND integrate Adsense into it. You can also use any other third-party ad network with no problem. So, you can sell in-house ad campaigns and still seamlessly have Adsense use up your unsold inventory. The system can even maximize revenue by running whichever networks is paying you the most.

Setting up DFP has a lot of similarities to setting up Adsense… however, it is a bit more complicated. You have to take the time to set up the different ad placements and ad slots. If you sell a direct campaign, you set up an order, set up creatives, tell it which slots to deliver the banners to, etc. The first time or two you do it, it will take a little trial and error. They also have a Youtube channel with video tutorials for it.

You’ve also got pretty much any option you might need for campaigns. For example, sometimes an advertiser might want to limit display of their banner only to the U.S. You can geo-locate a campaign easily with DFP. You can also target campaigns to a user’s browser, language, operating system, or domain. You can do frequency capping easily (capping the number of times per day a user sees the same ad).

I also like the fact that it is all managed by Google. Less headache that way.

There is no WordPress plug-in that I can find to auto-integrate this into your blog. To set up the ad tags, you’ll need to modify your theme manually and insert the ad tags into the right spot.

If advertising is part of how you make your money online, then definitely check out DFP.

Why Story-Telling Is The Super Glue For Your Blog

Why is it that you can give the best information in the world on your site, and yet barely hear a peep from your readers?

No comments, no retweets, no shares. Its like being in the woods in the dark of night – crickets.

Yet… somebody’s shitty blog with hardly any real useful content seems to get all the activity.

Are they just lucky? What’s the missing X-factor?

Often, it is the STORY.

There’s a reason we fall in love with movies. Even more to the point, there’s a reason why traditional story-based movies almost always get more fanfare than a documentary.

There’s a reason a lady from England writes a story about wizards and it ends up being an international sensation. Actually, her characters become the sensation and she feels obligated to continue the story.

There’s a reason Barack Obama got elected to the presidency despite have zero experience for the job.

That reason is… the STORY.

Have you ever noticed that the best speakers are the ones who weave their major points into a storyline? Those are the ones you remember.

See, people might arrive on your website for the information, but they’ll stick around for the STORY.

The ones who feel a connection with you, who resonate with your story – those are the ones who stick around and become raving fans. Those are the people who will buy from you.

Story-telling is an art. It is one you get better at over time. You don’t want to tell one of those “just the facts, maam” kind of stories. There’s no heart in those. No emotion. They’re flat.

But, when you can tell a story from the heart, one with emotional highs and lows…. and use that story to relay your point…. you’ve done something that many bloggers fail to do.

This is why content-light personal blogs sometimes take off. Even if the content isn’t really helpful at all, the audience feels a kind of comradery with the blogger. They want to know what’s going to happen next. They’ve turned that blogger into a character.

So, think about this…

Instead of lecturing your reader, can you tell them a story? Can you work your own backstory into your content?

I bet you can.

The root word of “authority” is “author”. Think about it. (tweet this)

Are You Dropping The Ball When It Comes To Facebook?

The numbers speak for themselves.

Facebook is fast approaching the point where it will have over 1 BILLION active users.

50% of them log into Facebook on any given day.

Facebook is a BEAST. Pretty much irregardless of what market you’re in, your prospects ARE on Facebook. And, statistically, they’re on Facebook almost every day.

The question is…. are you dropping the ball?

Are you spinning your wheels trying to build your business with Facebook? Your fan page not getting the traction you want? Not sure how to convert Facebook people into real customers?

What about using Facebook to grow a list?

I encourage you to sign up for a special webinar on Facebook marketing done right.

WEBINAR: 7 Simple Strategies To Profit From Facebook Marketing

Our guest speaker will be Amy Porterfield… somebody who definitely knows her stuff when it comes to Facebook.

On this webinar, she will cover:

• Super Fans: What they are and why you need them
• Essentials of a Facebook Marketing Foundation
• Smart strategies to grow a lucrative fan base
• Quick tips to get your fans talking and engaged.
• How to move your fans up the ranks to a “super fan” status

The facts are this…

Chances are, you are on Facebook fairly often. You’re already chatting with friends, uploading pictures, commenting on people’s posts, and generally staying in touch with people personally.

… but it’s time you leverage Facebook the RIGHT way so you can reap the benefits of it from the business standpoint as well.

Amy lives, eats and breathes Facebook. And she has some new information she wants to share on this webinar.

WEBINAR: 7 Simple Strategies To Profit From Facebook Marketing

The webinar is held on Thursday, 12/8. And you have two time slots to choose from (yay, convenience!). So, pick whichever slot fits your schedule better.

I’ll see you there. I’m looking forward to it.

The #1 Reason Your Product Or Service Isn’t Selling

This is a guest post from Dusti Arab, a professional copywriter. Stay tuned to the end for a special webinar invitation. Take it away, Dusti!

It’s the ultimate frustration. You’ve put time into your blog, you’re following the popular advice, and you’re doing XYZ to your blog because important-blogger-so-and-so says it works for them. Everything seems to be going smoothly, so you decide to take the leap and put up a sales page for your new service.

And then you wait. If you put it up, they will come, right?

You know better. This is not the way to take your blog to a business.

You might be an amazing writer. You can have subscribers who love you, even.

But the #1 reason your product or service isn’t selling is: Your copy sucks. 

Don’t feel too bad. There are tons of good writers out there who have no idea how to write a sales page, let alone good stand-alone copy for the rest of their site. That’s the real difference between having a blog and an online business. Businesses have great copy that speaks to their audience. Blogs don’t.

If you don’t know how to talk to your people when it’s time to offer them a solution to the problem you can uniquely solve for them, you’re in for a reality check.

Fortunately, it’s not too hard to figure out what’s wrong with your site copy. Here are the main problems of my copywriting clients – and they’ll probably sound familiar to you, too.

4 Likely Reasons Your Copy Sucks

And they are:

1. You don’t know who you’re talking to.
2. You don’t know how to talk to them.
3. No one knows what you’re actually selling.
4. No one knows why you’re selling what your selling.

These sound super simple, but addressing each one of them means you have to know your business inside and out. As a seasoned copywriter, I’m going to take you through a couple of the exercises I take my copy clients through to get them crystal clear on each of these common mistakes.

#1 - You Don’t Know Who You’re Talking To.

Yep, it’s all about your target audience. If you haven’t drawn – yes, drawn - up a customer avatar yet, do it! There is a reason major agencies use them. They are effective.

When I was developing the business side of my blog, I could often be found having animated conversations with Sheila, the avatar pinned up next to my desk. (I love Sheila. She’s like my best friend.)

Creating an avatar gives you a clear, explicit idea of who you are talking to. So where do you start? Easy. When you think of who you’d like to talk to, who pops up in your head first? Don’t judge your first instinct – just get it all out on paper.

Who are they? What are their likes/dislikes? Focus on the psychographics over other potential ways of classifying them because online, psychographics are the basis of how people find you. They were looking for an answer to their problem – and they foundyou.

Your customer avatar will evolve and change over time – this is normal. And your copy will start evolving, too. Roll with it!

#2 – You Don’t Know How To Talk To Them.

It’s been said over and over on marketing blogs for a reason: talk to one person. Why? Because if you’re talking to one person, you can address their needs and desires specifically. By speaking to their needs as an individual, your reader is much more likely to feel understood. And feeling understood is one the deepest human desires.

So talk to an individual! Write a post with one reader in mind who loves what you do. Then, rewrite your sales page to show them how your service fixes their problem in a more complete way - because you understand what they need.

#3 – No One Knows What You’re Actually Selling.

I don’t believe in talking to your audience like they are brain-dead. That’s not the person you want to have a conversation with. You want to engage with the person who understands the issue you’re talking about.

However. That does not mean this super awesome person can read your mind. You have to explain exactly what you’re selling. Don’t leave any room for guessing.

Are you selling an infoproduct? What kind? What mediums (ebook, mp3 recordings, webinars, etc.) does it use? How many words or pages in the book? Do I get to see a free chapter to decide if it’s for me?

The most important thing to clarify on your page of offerings, though, is the problem you solve and how you solve it.

Example: As a copywriter, I tell the stories of others when they can’t tell them themselves. I do this by working through an extensive questionnaire and interview with the client, drawing out their key stories, and translating them into beautiful copy. Depending on the type of copy package they purchase, that translates into more sales, more readers, and/or more exposure. (Usually all of the above.)

Key pieces to identify for your product or service include:

• The price
• The problem you’re helping them solve
• The solution you’re presenting (it’s not a secret – you want them to know it)
• The exact method of how you help them solve their problem
• All of the deliverables they can expect to receive

#4 – No One Knows Why You’re Selling What Your Selling.

It’s the difference between douchy marketing tactics and relationship-based businesses: Tell me your freaking motive. What are you getting out of this? Why are you offering this service? Is it just about the bottom line?

So what is your motive? Make a list of all of the reasons, personal or professional, why you are putting this offer on the table for your people. Pick the best ones, and talk about them with your audience! They’ll love you for it.

Great copy begets great business. Make sure yours is telling the story you want it to, and you change the game. Your blog can transform into a business – but you have to start treating it like one first.

Dusti Arab is the killer copywriter and brazen brander at Undefinable You. You can learn how to write sexy site copy in a free, live webinar on Dec. 5th by signing up here.

We All Start Somewhere – The Story of My First Product

If you’ve read my manifesto – aka the Six Figure Blogger Blueprint - then you should know by now that I firmly believe that selling your OWN product is the #1 way to build a business based around your blog.

I even talked in there about how I arrived at that…

It is the story of how I “sold” PCMech.com to a company called eFront Media. This was in the height of the dot-com boom and everybody thought that online advertising was the new gold rush.

So, this company offered me about a million dollars for PCMech.com. And, I was like – Holy Shit!. And I took the offer.

Of course, it was a horseshit contract in retrospect. Most of it was stock options – in a company which wasn’t even public and had no real plans to be. I was an idiot to enter into that deal, but that’s the kind of thing that happens when 7-figure paydays are floated in front of a 21-year old kid.

The cash portion of the payments dried up when the reality of the dot-com boom was upon us. All that value out there was fake. And since eFront was no longer bringing much ad revenue, all of a sudden they weren’t paying me for a site I was running, but didn’t legally own anymore.

But, I wasn’t about to let my income dry up without a fight.

As I held eFront’s feet to the fire, I embarked on the creation of my first product.

See, at the time, CD-ROMs were still a cool thing. And, I had written this tutorial on how to build a PC.

So, I took that tutorial and put it into ebook form. This wasn’t a PDF ebook… it was a compiled HTML ebook. People don’t really make those anymore. In the same fashion, I also created a “PC Mechanic” reference book, pretty much made up of the content of the online version of my website.

In other words, probably 75% of my offer was stuff that was already available on my site. However, I had made it more accessible, searchable, and easier to get onto your computer (seeing as we didn’t have high-speed internet back then).

The value wasn’t just the information, but the convenience.

But, I had this CD-ROM and it could hold about 650MB. My ebooks didn’t take up that much room. So, even then, I was thinking “thud factor” like a lot of internet marketers used to like. So, I put a bunch of open source / shareware programs on the CD, too. Basically, software which I was legally allowed to distribute. I put it on the CD, again, as a convenience because, for many, it would take hours to download these things over their dial-up connections.

To make the CDs, I went down to Staples. I bought blank CD-ROMs on a spindle, a labeling kit with labels. I designed a label using the template they provided. I burned the CDs one at a time right there on my PC. I then “stomped” the label on, packed it into a Staples envelope, licked my own stamps, manually hand-wrote the shipping addresses, and drove them down to the post office.

I remember the lady at the office asking me what I did. I told her I was selling these online. She thought that was pretty cool, especially seeing as she saw me once or twice per week.

Eventually, I graduated up to the idea of printing my own labels rather than hand-writing them. Microsoft Word mail merge was my friend.

I sold that CD for several years. At one point, I even had a vocational school buying them en mass – usually about 150 at a time. The volume got to a point where I eventually outsourced the printing to another company and I, instead, simply managed inventory.

That’s History Now… But, It Led To bigger Things

I eventually stopped selling that CD because times had changed. More and more people were using high-speed internet connections. And the medium of delivery was very much turning to the Internet rather than CD.

But, it all started somewhere.

With a necessity. And with me simply providing a convenience to my readers.

I helped them solve a problem and I packaged a solution and sold it.

It was my first offer. And it led onto much bigger things – obviously.

Things are so much easier now than they were then. The tools we have to work with are things I could only dream of when I started in this business.

But, the rules haven’t changed. Help your audience solve a problem, package up a solution, and offer it to them.

When did people make this stuff complicated?