Business
Blog Setup = Huge Business Opportunity
Blogs are sprouting up all over the place these days. And it isn’t going to stop anytime soon. I expect this recession is resulting in a huge growth of blogging. This opens up a huge opportunity for people who know even basic blog setup.
This is not something I have any intention of doing myself. I like to help people USE their blogs to achieve their aims. Even though I can set up a Wordpress blog with my eyes closed and my hands tied, it isn’t something I want to do on a paid basis because I don’t want to trade time for money like that.
But, what about you? Do you know how to set up Wordpress? Do basic theme design and setup? Install plug-in’s? For many of my readers, this is probably child’s play. For most of the world, though, this stuff is HARD.
Besides, most people just want the technical stuff done for them so they can get on with writing. To the majority, the technical stuff is a barrier and they hate it.
There is a huge business opportunity here for so many people. Offer to set up people’s blogs for them. Charge them money.
Even if you charge somebody as little as $100, chances are you can set up a blog with a pre-designed theme in an hour or less. Even if it took you a full hour, that’s $100/hour. And most smart people will spend $100 to save them the endless hours of research to learn how to set up a blog on their own.
Couple this with a little bit of marketing to teach them the benefits of self-hosting, having your own dot-com domain name, etc.
Lastly, target your local area. Sure, you can offer this to anybody on the Internet, but if you promote to relevant circles in your own local area, you will have much less competition. Word gets around that you are the person who can do quick blogs for people.
Listen, I know at least a couple people in my own local area who are doing this. For them, setting up a Wordpress blog is trivial. To their clients, not so much. And there are a lot of people out there who want blogs but don’t know how to start them.
Your thoughts?
From Business Misery To A Solution
What follows is a bit of a personal story which happened yesterday, but one which led to a huge realization about my business.
Yesterday, I got some work done in the morning. By early afternoon, I was feeling burned out. Unenthusiastic. Just not happy. I was at Panera Bread working because it is nice to get out of the house sometimes. By the time I got back home and walked into my office, it was very clear I didn’t want to be there. Life sucked.
So, I want for a walk for about an hour. I took the Iphone with me and listened to a couple of podcast episodes of Internet Business Mastery. The two episodes spoke right to me. Episode #48 talked about lifestyle design (a term popularized by Tim Ferris). Jay and Sterling spoke of their various life goals and how they set up their business to make those things happen. Episode #49 talked about their big mistakes and what they would do differently if they were starting from scratch. In it, they talked about the importance of setting up systems. That is, systematizing all procedures in the business so that they were not personally trapped by it. It means documentation so that another could sit down and do the job.
After listening to these two episodes, I felt re-energized. But, by night, I was incredibly upset once again after my wife and I had a two-hour argument. It all started with the fact that I was on my laptop at night – again. I was on the Internet – not exactly working, but doing some stuff related to my line of work.
The truth is: I find myself defaulting BACK to work-related activities even when I’m not officially working. It leads to constant work, and not enough time with my wife and daughter. I really do enjoy what I do, but there is a definite lack of balance. Not good. Click Here To Continue Reading »
Blogger Gold Rush – Is It A False Hope?
There are certainly a LOT of blogs out there. Many of those bloggers want to make money with their sites. Some actually start the blog with the express purpose of making money with it (usually a mistake). But, do they deserve it?
Louis Gray, a new Silicon Valley blogger that pretty much came from nowhere and is now considered an A-list blogger in many circles, states it point blank: Most Bloggers Don’t Deserve Any Ad Revenue. He goes on to state that, for most bloggers, the hopes of making good money with their blogs is just misguided. There are too many bloggers, and most have little to offer.
The part where Gray loses me is with:
Yet, some bloggers act as if it’s their God-given right to write, post a few ads and start raking in cash.
OK, I have certainly seen bloggers who start a blog to make money. They’re hoping for it, yes. But, I have never met anybody who does so thinking they have a God-given right to it. I think Gray is overstating his case here, perhaps just to be provacative.
He then goes onto say that bloggers are not adding any value to the web. I STRONGLY disagree with that. Look, bloggers put out content that is, hopefully, interesting. Maybe even valuable. It helps people. To say that that is not valuable would be to say that most TV shows are of no value. They are, because they provide the real estate on which to advertise.
Sure, not all bloggers are adding value. Some just add to the noise. But, that’s the way it works in almost any field. It is capitalism, and let them try.
Louis Gray Is Right AND Wrong
Gray had a good point, then went too far. What he forgets is that the most valuable commodity online is one thing: EYEBALLS. Attention. Bloggers who truly concentrate on their audience, provide value, cover things with a unique perspective, provide interesting insight and personality – THOSE bloggers attract eyeballs. And that is valuable. And those bloggers CAN make money through their blog.
Even if that blogger is talking about the same things as others, it comes down to something making them unique, be it perspective, humor, whatever.
This whole notion about bloggers demanding their fair share of the advertising pie – I think this is a made-up figure in Louis Gray’s head.
I make many thousands of dollars per month by blogging. And, yes, it is a tech blog. There are a LOT of tech blogs, no doubt. It is saturated niche. However, do I manage to attract readers? Yes. Do I get a lot of them? Yes, probably 10,000 – 15,000 unique readers daily. Is that of little value, Louis?
I think Louis is onto something, and that is a huge reality check. Yes, blogging is, well, a complete and total bitch. It is hard. It isn’t something that is going to quickly result in an influx of cash. To most, it never will. There is a LOT of competition.
But, to any prospective blogger who is thinking of getting started, I hope you do not become discouraged by Louis Gray’s rant. Just get into blogging with the right expectations. Realize that you have to stand out and that it is going to take time. Also, realize that in many cases the value of a blog is in the branding rather than ad revenue. There are, actually, much better ways to make money with a blog than by hosting ads.
So, I agree with Louis Gray. I just think he could have stated his case a little better.
Bank of America is Too Expensive
I have had my business checking account with Bank of America since I established PC Media back in 2000. But, now I am less than happy with the bank. They have increased their bank fees to a level that I think is just ridiculous.
It used to be that I paid $8.00/month (something like that) if the account balance went less than $3,000. That was acceptable, especially since I am hardly every below $3,000. Last month, though, I got charged $29.00 for the monthly maintenance fee even though I had over $3,000 in the account. When I looked in on the situation, it says they are going to charge $35.00 for the monthly fee if the combined balance in the bank is less than $35,000.
This is getting to be ridiculous. BOA is too expensive and I think it is time to switch.
I have been looking into Regions bank and Wachovia. I have yet to go down and talk to the folks at Wachovia. My main criteria is that it is not too expensive (or preferably even free), that I can download transactions into Quickbooks, and that I have online access to my accounts.
If anybody has an recommendations, feel free to contact me. The bank has to have branches here in Tampa, Florida.
Bank of America is, in my view, a big bureaucratic behemoth that simply overcharges it’s customers. There is no reason to charge that kind of money for a basic business checking account.
Corporate World Versus Blogging
I was in Orlando on Friday attending BlogOrlando. It was an interesting event and I actually like the “unconference” format. Rather than the one way dribble of a potentially boring lecture, there was a constant back and forth. Very welcome change.
But, one of the things that came up constantly while I was there was how bloggers working for corporations had their hands tied. One guy I recall specifically. He worked for the Tampa Tribune, running one of their blogs. He was curious how to promote his blog given that the company would only list his site WAY down at the bottom of the primary website. And the problem was that most of the ideas we came up with would not be easily applied because the powers that be wouldn’t go for it.
The constant themes I found were:
- Problems explaining the idea of blogging to corporate bosses in the boardroom.
- Problems with corporate bosses killing ideas because they didn’t see a blog as valuable.
- Problems with companies not TRUSTING their personnel to blog. They are afraid bad stuff might air in public, I guess.
It really is unfortunate. I have been in a cacoon. I am my own boss. When I want to do something, I just do it. Many other bloggers who work for companies don’t have that freedom.
And that’s kinda sad.
To Such Companies
What we’re running up against is the dichotomy between the old way of thinking and the new media. Traditional thinking is to hold things close to the vest and you MANAGE the media. In other words, dish out those things that make you look great and try to hide all the rest. The problem is – that’s not only an old way of thinking, it is not workable. Not anymore.
Business is getting personal again. Going are the days when big corporate lingo is the way to do things. The emergence of social media sites online is putting personality to people again. We want people who are being themselves. We want people who speak of “I” and not just “we”. We want companies that participate in the global conversation, not just hammer us with a barrage of ads aimed to interrupt us and try to fool us out of our money.
And for the corporate bottom line folks, don’t worry. Blogging, especially when done correctly, can and will generate business and goodwill for your company. You should not tie the hands of bloggers. You should instead work to ENABLE bloggers for your company. Bring some people onboard who are internet-savvy and have them get your company’s tentacles out into the global conversation. Don’t shackle them.
This is an evolution in media. A new media, if you will. It will take time to catch on.
Anatomy of an Internet Bubble, and How I Almost Fell For It
Those of us who have been online awhile remember the so-called “bubble burst”. We hear about bubbles all the time in this business. People LOVE to speculate about the next bubble burst. In fact, a lot of people are looking at this whole “Web 2.0″ thing as another bubble about to burst. But, what the heck is all this? Well, let me explain it in brief, and then give you a little story about how I almost lost it all in the midst of the 90’s bubble.
What is a Bubble?
Anybody familiar with even the basics of economics knows that the economy is cyclical. It rises and it falls, over and over again. We see periods of growth, more growth, then a gradual slowdown, then a faster slowdown, then a recovery, then a gradual growth, and so it goes. It just happens. Well, the internet economy is part of the overall economy, and it has ebbs and flows just the same way.
“Bubble” refers to the sharp growth of something while it also being simultaneously weak, and could burst at any point. A real bubble is very weak, has mostly air on the inside, and can burst instantly. A technology bubble is something that grows, is mostly hot air, and can burst instantly. If you look at the normal progression of a bubble in technology, it starts with great, new technology. It proceeds to grow. Others catch on. MORE people catch on. Then the money-makers and pure marketers jump on the bandwagon in a big “me too” migration, dirty the scene with pure money making motives and no innovation. Lots of money gets thrown around in a big digital gold rush. It is all based on hype – hot air. And, it bursts when the laws of economics catch up to the fact that there is no substance there.
So, that is the usual progression. It is pure technology. Smart people making cool new things and have little business and marketing skills. Then smart businessmen get involved and start creating a buzz around this new technology. It grows to the point where we get a good balance between innovation and marketing. But, then the “make money at any cost” people get on the bandwagon, create a lot of hype, get lots of venture capital. They are better at marketing than they are at creating a decent product. It is hot air, and it goes POP!
A bubble burst.
The 90’s Bubble Burst
The famous “dot com bubble” of the 90’s is a lesson in and of itself. It is marked by a LOT of hype and spectacular failures. Online businesses were sold as the next big thing, where anybody can just put up a website and make millions. Dot-com businesses were sprouting like weeds, many without any business plan, but flooded with lots of venture capital investment. It was all hot air. And it all came tumbling down.
Like many things on the stock market, it is usually a collection of things with bad timing that cause a collapse. When you take the poor earnings reports of some of the dot-coms, the government’s ruling of Microsoft as a monopoly, the Federal Reserve increasing interest rates to try to slow the bubble down, some of the internet tycoons cashing out their stocks at the same time and various other factors, the whole thing came tumbling down. Internet businesses were disappearing overnight.
My Personal Experience
I have been working online for a long time, since 1997 to be exact. So, I came into this in the height of the dot-com bubble. PC Mechanic was my first site, and it grew like crazy. I was eventually approached by a company called Efront Media to buy the website. They offered me essentially almost $1 million in fake money for the site and I fell for it. The promise of big dollars was enticing. I fell for the internet boom. I had grandiose dreams of buying my own sailboat, a nice car, a big house. And here I was a poor college student living with my parents at the time.
ut, why do I call it “fake”? Well, it was based on a monthly income stream and stock options. The total sum WOULD have been almost $1 million, but it was all money which did not exist. The concept of a stock option was crap because the company was not public and had no idea when they would go public. So, they based a LARGE chunk of their offer on this non-existent stock. The cash part of it was a monthly payment stream, so essentially they were paying me over time while they were making money with the site. The “offer” they sent me had the $1 million figure in BOLD, with details underneath. My jaw hit the floor seeing an offer that large. How could I say no?
The company was dishonest, and I fell for it (stupidly) in the height of the dot-com bubble. Later, they had the nerve to start paying me less monthly because they said the traffic was not as good as contracted. They offered nothing in terms of news on an IPO. So, it amounted to a takeover of the site with no financial compensation. Sure, I was getting monthly checks, but gimme a break! I was making monthly income from the site before eFront!
eFront Media was a prime example of the dot-com bubble. They may have originally approached me with honest intentions. But, their “value” was all on paper. Nothing real to it. They were enticing site owners with big dollar values that were not real. When I started hounding eFront for breach of contract, the criminal CEO of that company actually told me I had to BUY the site back from them. I ended up getting a lawyer and authoring a letter to eFront telling them they were in breach. I removed the site from their servers (luckily they didn’t bar my FTP access to it). I put the site back onto my own web host. Then, I had to work eFront hard to get my domain name transferred back. While I firmly hold that the CEO was a criminal shithead, there were people there who were not and one of them made it go right for me to get my domains back. In my letter, I told them if they don’t like what I did, I would see them in court. That letter was refused by the sender.
While we were in the midst of all this, FuckedCompany.com (sorry about the name, but that is literally what it is called) was hounding eFront. And it came out that the CEO was involved in some internet chat hanky panky. His computer was hacked by somebody and his chat logs were made public. That seemed to mark the final downfall of eFront Media. The logs not only contained said hanky panky, but also private chats with others on how to deal with the pissed off publishers (like myself). It made for interesting reading, I have to say.
eFront died. It was a sinking boat, started in the dot-com gold rush, and then got involved in really questionable tactics to stay afloat as reality set in. And I almost lost it all by attaching myself to it.
Just a quick note, the eFront domain is now held by a completely different company which has no ties to any of this. So, I don’t want anybody to connect dots that aren’t there.
The Next Bubble?
A lot of tech pundits will tell you that Web 2.0 is the next bubble. And it’s funny, too, since a lot of people can’t really even place their finger on exactly what Web 2.0 is.
I DO think Web 2.0 is the next bubble, but I DON’T think that the next burst will be nearly as dramatic. Sure, there are a lot of people out there starting various social sites, slapping “beta” all over their colorful logos, hiring “evangelists” to sell everybody on the idea. And many of them could go POP. Some people will lose their shirts. But, I think internet entrepreneurs, on the whole, learned hard lessons from the 90’s bubble. Those people will not (hopefully) fall into the same hype this time around. But, some will, and they could lose out big time.
Web 2.0, while as much an undefined buzzword as it is, is also a real concept. The social nature of the web is a real phenomenon . Social networking sites, community driven content, interactive bookmarking, web applications…all these things indicate a very real trend on the internet. It marks great business opportunities and many are taking advantage of that.
But, a lot of “me too” marketers are jumping onboard, too, with weak concepts and crappy business plans (if they have one). It’s the same pattern as the first bubble burst. So, yes, we probably do have a little POP coming. Will it be as dramatic? Likely not.
Actually, for the REAL bubble burst for this economy, one should look away from the internet and more toward real estate and predatory lending practices using fake money. THAT is the real bubble, but it has little to do with WebbyOnline, so I will leave it alone…
Other Viewpoints:
- Bubble 2.0 Coming Soon, by John C Dvorak
- Is the Web 2.0 Bubble Set to Burst?
- Bubble, Bubble, Bubble, from Techcrunch.com
- Bubble Burst 2.0, from Scripting.com
- On Web 2.0
- Bubble 2.0?, by Ajaxian.com
Virtual Tradeshow for eCommerce Marketers
I just recently came across this virtual tradeshow called eComXpo. I have talked before about how it is important to get out there and network. It is usually with the help and knowledge of others that you can put yourself over the top. This is a really hard business in which to be a lone wolf.
Now, when I spoke about this, I was talking more about REAL tradeshows. The kind where you have to travel and you rub elbows with real people. But, I understand that that makes it harder to attend. I mean, I have a few shows I would like to hit by the end of the year, but I can’t because of other obligations (a baby on the way being a biggie). What makes eComXpo different is that it is virtual. You don’t have to GO anywhere. Sweet!
It is an online tradeshow for online marketers and those interested in affiliate programs and ecommerce. Sounds interesting. It is a 3 day tradeshow, running from October 9-11. It’s got all the makings of a normal conference: keynotes, booths, etc. But, in Second Life style, you are doing the whole thing virtually. Watch this video of how it works.
It is free and you don’t have to go anywhere. So, I thought it was worthy of bringing to your attention.
As a concept, these virtual expos are a really cool idea. It will never replace actually meeting with real people, but these kinds of shows definitely have a role.
Consulting
“I take this opportunity to comment that our new site has become an instant SUCCESS. We have had several people call to commend us on it and the internet based inquiries are up 500%. Thanks for your very professional work. It is a job VERY WELL DONE ! ” – Frank Suarez, Natural Slim, Rebajar.com
“I’d like to thank you so much for your quick and efficient service that you gave us in the preparation of our new website. We were very short in time and it look almost impossible to make it. The website was ready right on time and is operating and people love the simplicity of its programming. You are definitely a pro! Wish you all the best!” – Association for Prosperity and Security in the Middle East
“I am really happy with the speed and cost/benefit ratio of PC Media services. They are very professional, have very affordable prices and deliver the projects in the timeframe they promised — which is a really hard to find “feature” among programmers!” – Gabriel Torres, HardwareSecrets.com
Looking to Get Your Web Business Off The Ground?
David Risley is an Internet publisher. His sites have helped hundreds of thousands of web visitors (probably millions by now). He want to enable others to do the same.
It is not enough for us to own and operate our own sites. A lot has been learned in the process of turning our websites into highly trafficked web properties. We want to help others find their own success on the web.
We are in the business of help. We educate. We provide. We design. We use the internet as our medium. Our products and services are designed to help real people solve real problems with their internet business.
What Can David Do For You?
David is here to help you with your website. Drawing from the pool of knowledge which has been aggregated after ten years of work in the field of internet business, David offers one-on-one consulting to help your business become a success. That expertise and understanding is backed up by a full offering of web services to put the ideas into practice, including web design and web programming.
- Need help setting up your e-commerce website?
- Need marketing advice to bring in traffic?
- Need your website re-designed?
- Need a brand new, custom web design?
- Need help getting your blog set up?
Contact David for a free estimate. You will be dealing with David one-on-one. He’ll find out what you need and we’ll see what we can do for you. David also has a pool of talented people to go to for various kinds of work.
Let’s make your site into a success.
To get in touch with David about your online business, email him or give him a call at 813-425-4558. You can also check out the main company website at www.pcmedianet.com.
Using Facebook to Improve Your Business
It has now been established that Facebook is new, different and all around cool. But, what is it’s impact in the world of internet business. Can it help you make any money?
Internet Marketers Should Take Notice
Internet marketers are all about people. Social networks, especially popular ones, have lots of people. So, yes, Facebook would be a natural fit for internet marketing. How would a marketer take advantage? Some ways may include:
- Establishing and enhancing your brand image
- Establishing and enhancing your authority in your market, a thought leader
- Using your network for market research (opinions and viewpoints, good for surveys)
- Creating a Facebook group of people of similar interest. Great for networking.
- Targeted Advertising…
Yes, according to the Wall Street Journal, Facebook is working on a system to allow targeted advertising to specific networks of people with similar interest.
Social-networking Web site Facebook Inc. is quietly working on a new advertising system that would let marketers target users with ads based on the massive amounts of information people reveal on the site about themselves.
Eventually, it hopes to refine the system to allow it to predict what products and services users might be interested in even before they have specifically mentioned an area.
Could this be the Adwords of the Facebook world? And we all know how much internet marketers drool over Adwords.
Money in Facebook Applications
This new growth of Facebook does, of course, open up markets for making money. Remember all the websites that popped up offering Myspace profile themes? Well, those things made money by, if nothing else, banner advertising. So, sites offering up Facebook applications are likely to serve the same role.
Also, some applications have become a bit of a commodity. In fact, Inside Facebook reports that TripAdvisor.com has just paid $3 million to the “Where I’ve Been” Facebook application. That is, by far, the largest such acquisition. There have been many smaller ones. I have even seen job postings on sites like Craigslist for Facebook app developers.
The reason is clear. Businesses are catching on to the viability and money potential of this whole social networking phenomenon, thanks to Facebook. Some of them truly get it, others are probably just getting on the buzz bandwagon. Either way, its an interesting mass migration.
Next Steps
So, how should you get started on putting Facebook to use?
- Get a profile
- Start adding friends. Think strategically. There is the “more the merrier” approach, and then there is the “those that really matter” approach. Think of both.
- Search for relevant networks and join in.
- Explore the Facebook applications that would be applicable to you and set them up.
And with that, happy networking!
This Chick Gets Around! – Stock Photography
It’s so funny. Being that I work online, I get around to a lot of different websites and am involved in a lot of things. And seeing as I am in the business, I can see what other people are doing and many times know exactly where they’re getting it from. Well, stock photography is one of them. I am a user of Istockphoto from time to time. When I need something that I have neither the time nor inclination to create myself, many times I will check out IstockPhoto for something to get me started. Let’s look at this image I used several months ago on the PC Mechanic Store. And let’s compare it to the version on IstockPhoto.
Looks pretty similar, right? It is. All I did was add a little text to it and kick it out the door onto my site. Why did I choose that image? Well, she was holding a laptop with a blank screen. It’s computer related (so is my site), and the blank screen meant I could put something of my own on top of it. Secondly, she’s a cute woman. Most of my audience are guys. Connect the dots here. It isn’t hard. 
Am I alone? Hell no. Crucial Technology is now running an advertising campaign across tech sites (PC Mechanic being one of them) that is using banners with this chick all over them. Observe:
I am also a subscriber to Website Magazine, and who did I see staring at me in one of the ads? Yep, you guessed it:
Is she modeling for all these companies? No. She modeled for one photographer who then stuck the image up on stock photography sites. Then, a bunch of us lazy business owners went and bought the image and used it in our ads. Will most people notice? Probably not. Well, the one in the magazine reaches an audience that is a lot more likely to notice. After all, website owners have a much higher likelihood of using stock photos.
Stock photography is a huge time saver. But, on the flip side, you do run the risk of lessening the impact of your ad if somebody notices that they’ve seen that image before. I mean, we’re SUPPOSED to think that this cute chick is really endorsing this company. Instead, I come off thinking that the business is just super lazy and are aware of Istockphoto.
Related Reading
I'm David Risley. I've been making my living as a blogger for over a decade. Blogging is my business and how I support my family. With this blog, I'm just gettin' REAL and telling you how this business works. 
