Archive for 2010
I’m Making Headway!
For years I have held off paying for a theme for my blog because I like free. What I have learned is that free themes are bare bones and usually clone in nature. Having just purchased the Headway Theme after considerable deliberation, OK, I was being all wishy washy on the decision but I eventually did it.
This isn’t a review of the Headway Theme, I’m just sharing how easy it was for me to make the transition. Virtually pain free, I had to learn where things were located and the order in which the Visual Editor likes to function, but that didn’t take long. In fact, I was able to make the shift in a few hours last night, today I have been tweaking the small stuff.
Yes, I am endorsing Headway Theme because of its ease of use, and you will see much thought that was put into it, feature rich, and simplistic in nature. You don’t need to be a coder of any kind, just learn the tools and you can build a slick looking site in no time at all.
I love how each page is treated individually, the sidebar is not automatically assigned to all pages in your blog, you get full control over that Leaf. You can duplicate your Homepage Leaf and place it on specific pages within your Blog, just a couple clicks and you’re done!
I made the shift, please take a look at my Blog and let me know what you think (unless its negative). Just kidding. I’ve tried to keep it clean and simple, I am considering a background on the Banner but that will have to wait, I have to run off to a meeting.
I highly recommend you consider purchasing a Headway Theme (Affiliate Link), you can find them here.
So what do you think of my new theme?
When You're Not Prepared
I mentioned I have been reading alot over the holidays on building a successful blog, a successful business, or whatever else you might be building. I love to learn, but I hate the details. That means I need to build a team of solid people that can ensure the details are getting looked after, it’s in my plan. In my last rant I suggested to you that sitting still is not an option when you are building a business, a following, or even a Blog. But before you can get all wound up with busy, you have to have some sense of preparedness, or have a plan to work from. Because winging it, is really planning to fail.
I would also suggest to you that in my 52 years, I have failed (learned) more than not, from my perspective anyway. Other’s would say I’m a huge success and have my bleep together. Ya right. I’m actually very insecure and tend to over analyze, I am very calculating to the point of doing nothing sometimes. There, I feel better now, you now know my biggest weakness.
Getting back to being prepared, do you prepare for meetings, do you prepare before going outside in sub-zero temperatures, do you prepare and plan your vacation well in advance of leaving? I think you are getting my point here. The truth is, we only really prepare if its important to us, it doesn’t matter what it is, if it’s important, we prepare for it. In fact, studies have been done proving that we plan our two week vacations more than we plan any other event in our lives! That can’t be good, Gary Vaynerchuk once said, if you are working for the weekends and holidays, your crap is broken.
I play on a Worship team in my church, I handle the lead vocals, we try to practice every Friday night, when we do, Sunday goes very, very well. When we don’t practice on Friday’s, like this past week, Sunday morning looks, sounds and feels like we were under prepared. That’s what it’s like when you’re not prepared, it falls apart quickly and comes off bus league, don’t do that. A bad performance is what you get when you’re not prepared. Worse yet, embarrassment. You can’t do most things without being ready, without being prepared, so why do we try to get by without being prepared? The question is perplexing at times.
The same principle applies to Blogging, business or anything else you hope to realize a positive result. Success is not an accident, it takes time, effort, planning, and being prepared. Oh you might get lucky once, but I doubt you will be able to wing it and realize the success you want. Why is it that all the Internet Marketers sell you their plan on how to do what they did? To sell you their success system, their new Book or eBook. They went through the long process of being prepared, they had a plan long before they did anything, they prepared by doing the research, all the writing, the video’s and they worked out a system from start to finish before they launched. Those who do the work, most likely see the results they prepared for.
Do you want success or do you want the result from when you’re not prepared?
Are You Sitting Still?
Here is my first Blog post of 2010, most of the time a message to share with you only comes after I have failed (learned), so here is something you need to consider. After reading a number of books over the Christmas break on Blogging, Marketing and building brand, one thing stands out over all the tips and tricks you can execute to being a successful blogger. You will read and hear that blogging is hard work, and takes effort and persistance. It does, it takes work & effort to the tenth degree, you can’t just poke a stick at your blog and expect utopia results. I know you know this, you’ve read it, you’ve heard it, but do you realize what it truly means.
Building a business, a Blog or anything of value has a price, you will pay a price, nothing ever comes that easy nor is it free. The truth is, you wouldn’t appreciate it if you didn’t know the value of having to pay the price. It’s the same thing as teaching your kids delayed gratification, learning the value of the dollar and saving money. It all takes time and effort.
The same can be said for building traffic to your blog, there is a misconception that you can go from 100 to 2000 readers overnight. A well established Internet Marketer, the Gary Vaynerchuk’s of the world probably can, Chris Brogan has the ability to create a stir like that too. They will tell you, especially if you’re starting out, it’s not that easy or simple. It takes a well thought out strategy, a plan that makes sense. You would serve yourself well reading Beyond Blogging By Nathan Nangen & Mike Cliffe Jones, you will read insight from 15 very successful bloggers, business owners, speakers and what have you. I mentioned two of these 15 above in this paragraph, they tell they’re stories, what they did and some of how they did it. Worth reading in my humble opinion.
We all start out with eyes of grandeur with our Blogs, thinking it won’t take that long to realize success. I’ve been blogging now for almost two years and only now am I looking at monetizing my efforts. I’m a smart guy, I recognize I don’t know everything, I’m seeking help through various reading materials, joining a number forums, membership sites and learning from those 15 Bloggers in Beyond Blogging. Including the writer’s of the eBook.
I know how to build a traditional business, I know how to build I.T. Strategic Plans, but I don’t know all the tricks to monetizing, building a large readership, or direct large volumes of traffic to my Blog here online. Some things seem logical, but not everything is, there are tricky parts to building a strong following, building large networks of dedicated readers. I’m certain you don’t know everything too, that’s why I recommend and sell books on my blog, I also recommend other products and services. I realize you too may be looking for help, that’s why I’m here, to help that’s it that’s all.
So I ask you, are you sitting still? Setting up a Blog is easy, building a website is a little harder, building a Blog that brings value to those around you is even harder. Building a large following that generates revenue you can live on is a whole nother story. People always come back to things that bring them value. So are you providing value? Are making all the moving parts move?
This takes effort, hard work and patience. You can’t build an online business or a large following and readership if you are sitting still, not doing the doing the work and spending the time it takes to get it done. You must become a student of your business, study those who have gone before you and even better, try to connect with them or meet them whenever possible. Building your following and readership means you are always on the move, connecting, meeting and helping all you come into contact with, you can’t be sitting still!