Does Brian Clark know about this post yet? Well, I can’t answer that question. I don’t care how much traffic I send to his awesome blog at www.copyblogger.com.
But one thing I know is this: In my 3 months of launching my blog, I’m already seeing results. Thanks to Brian Clark for his awesome content.
I’m a very observant person. When I first came online, the first blog I encountered from the search engine was copyblogger. And ever since, I have been following, commenting and learning. I tried a lot of times to get my guest post featured but I’m yet to break even – hopefully, by next year 2012.
So, listed below are 9 essential lessons I’ve learned. They are in no other but can transform your life and business if you abide by them.
1). Unquestionable Vision:
I discovered from the onset that vision is spice of life. If you have vision, there is no height you cannot climb and the world changers today, are those who made a FIRM decision to visualize. Brian Clark is the brain behind this unique blog. Although very successful today, he did not achieve success instantly. There were pains he went through. It was vision that kept him afloat.
Question is: Do you have vision for your blog and business in totality? Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years or less? Does hard times mean you are a failure?
2). Quality Content Beyond Borders:
I haven’t seen any blog out there that has better content than Brian’s copyblogger. Although, it’s my own personal opinion but I’m trying to let you know how engrossed they are towards quality content. As a result of this, this blog ranks highly for major competitive keywords.
Even keywords that have over 4M web pages optimized, they still trounce the industry and are getting a handful of organic free traffic.
I learned that quality content is the PIVOT, the FRAMEWORK and they REAL JUICE of marketing on the internet. If you want to succeed long term, don’t trade and adulterate content no matter how long it takes to become populous. You’ll succeed if you continue in this might on delivering quality content day in and out.
3). Unique Writing Voice:
If you read Brian Clark’s articles, you would discover the uniqueness of his voice. This has even transcended into his copies. I was opportuned to read his “smart bloggers” series and felt really happy because of the way he writes. There is no way you can neglect reading his piece. He’s truly amazing and this has set him apart from the OCEAN of web content writers.
Your voice is what makes your blog a go-to for your specific topic. It’s true that there are millions of blogs on that particular niche too – why must someone take delight in your blog posts? It’s your voice that attracts them. Write as natural as possible and don’t fail to tease and caution readers when the need arises. Have you discovered your writing voice yet?
4). Solution Driven-Community:
How much solutions do you provide to your community? Brian Clark takes this to heart every time he writes a blog post. I personally have benefited and several of my questions have received answers. Although I read other blogs, but I take the advice of Brian Clark to heart. I believe you don’t need 100s of mentors to succeed, just one person is enough to make your life good.
If your focus is on money, you won’t succeed long term. Quit searching for ways to monetize your blog when you lack the resources to solve pressing problems – it doesn’t work that way and that is the root of all struggles. The first day I launched my blog, 2 of my close friends also launched theirs’
They once told me that they want to earn $1000 every month from the second week. But that was never my motivation. I was motivated to solve problems because I learned this from copyblogger. What’s your focus – is it money or helping people?
5). Passionate Blogging Is The Key:
You can’t struggle for long, to succeed in what you love doing. I learned that for you to make it HUGE as a blogger, knowing that this course is forever, you need to blog about your passion. For instance, I like every article about “traffic generation” because I believe it’s the live-wire of succeeding online. So, I studied and took courses on it. Today, I know a bit above the beginner in terms of traffic generation.
If you are not passionate about your niche topic, you’ll run dry like a Car without a fuel. Don’t allow this to happen to you. Have you started a blog just because of money, you don’t even like what you’re writing about? Stop right there and make amends – instead of regretting in the nearest tomorrow.
6). Build Fanbase Instead of Email List
The money is in the list – I’m sure you have heard that several times. But guess what, there is a better way to supercharge building a list. The money is not in the list per say, but in the relationship you have with the list. So, what’s the best way to build a strong relationship with your subscribers?
Definitely not via autoresponder messages, but via blog updates (RSS Feed). Why? When you build your list with auto responders, you’re signing up for real competition because your subscribers gets to receive thousands of email messages daily. Which one should he click and open?
Why not build a huge fanbase? These people are your fan, they love you, trust you and believe in whatever you say. Why? Because you have demonstrated months, years of credibility in delivering top-notch content. So, don’t be tempted to build a huge email list of subscribers, rather, invest and focus on increasing your readership base, facebook likes, twitter followers and you’ll succeed like Brian Clark.
7). Build Your Business – Not Someone Else’
Robert Kiyosaki is a very famous author and bestselling entrepreneur. In his book, Rich Dad Poor Dad, He explained why people struggle all through their precious lives to make ends meet, and pay up their drowning bills. He advised everyone to “mind your business.”
This never became real to me until I started following a like-minded entrepreneur. I’ve never invested in real estate of bonds, but I have invested in several domain names. So, learning from an internet practitioner is much more ideal. Brian Clark doesn’t build other people’s business. He’s always looking for channels to enhance his own portfolio and earn extra income as a blogger.
Today, he owns premise, scribeseo, studiopress etc. If you want to succeed as a blogger, you need to create and launch your own product. It could be an e-book, a software, a wordpress theme or a membership site. Some of the successful bloggers I know don’t even promote affiliate offers because the conversion rate is less, compared to your own product.
And if you must promote affiliate programs, at least, use it before recommending.
8). Automate Posting With Content Delivery:
Fast loading blogs is vital to success. You can see how observant I am on this particular blog. Another thing I discovered is that Copyblogger is powered by a content delivery network.
What does this mean? It means that sometimes, most of the content and articles you read are not manually submitted, they have been written, scheduled and delivered by netdna, which in turn speeds up the blog. This makes it possible for you (blogger) to concentrate on other profitable online business like launching another blog, writing your own e-book, networking with other successful bloggers and attending seminars to learn more.
If you don’t automate your blog, at least 70% of the activities going on around it, you would be stucked in this rate race of blogging game. Don’t let that happen to you. As much as you can, outsource some of your blogging project like writing, backlinking, programming and concentrate on the core aspect of your business.
9). Twisted Social Media Marketing
Why is it twisted? Simple: contrary to what other bloggers do when it comes to social media marketing, Brian Clark does not waste his time on facebook and twitter. Like I said earlier, he automates several of his activities and social media marketing is not exempted.
That does not mean he abhors twitter or facebook, but he knows how much time such places can consume, without you having proofs. So instead of doing what old-beginners do, he places social buttons on his posts so that readers can help him promote his content easily. A typical post on Copyblogger has over 200 likes, 400 tweets and 100 Google +.
Who made this possible? You and I off course.
So, get started by automating your twitter tweets and facebook likes. You can use a simple tool like twaitter to post and schedule your tweets so you don’t have to bother.
Action Takeaway:
I decided to write this to inspire and show you how to become a better blogger. If you have not been implementing the lessons above, do start today. Action is the only criteria for success. Is there any other lesson about blogging I did not mention? Please share on the comments box below… see you at the top!