Super Foods
10 Reasons Most Blogs Fail
Here is a list of reasons why most blogs fail by Chris Garrett. I think it is pretty accurate. I’m sure a lot of you have your own opinions. The truth of the matter is, most people can succeed at blogging for an income but most don’t. In short, people usually expect and want the immediate payoff, being short sighted in the long term. It takes a year or 2 to see any serious traffic from probably anything you do online. With that said, most people can’t wait for their 5 minute popcorn to pop (do they still make that). It takes another scarce trait too, determination. Figuring out certain internet jargon isn’t impossible but takes time (do you know how hard it was for me to set up this darn blog). Learning about adsense and affiliates isn’t an overnight process, but can be done. Anyway, enough of my rant, check the list tell me what you think.
- Not enough time – as Chris writes, it is hard work and takes time on an ongoing (daily ideally) basis
- Giving Up too quickly – most successful blogs don’t hit their strides til they are at least 12 months old
- Non commercial Topic – some topics are easier than others to find significant income streams for
- Lack of writing skills - like it or not, blogging is a written form and unless you are able to write you’ll almost always struggle
- Breaking the Rules - some bloggers get greedy and break the rules, either of the ad programs they use or the unwritten rules of blogging
- Distractions for the core functions of a blog – many get caught up in one of the many distractions that challenge bloggers and forget to concentrate on their actual writing of quality content
- Unluckiness – sometimes a blog’s success hinges on a lucky moment – miss it or fail to take the opportunities that come and you might miss significant rewards
- Taking Readers for Granted – I’ve seen a couple of blogs over the last year or so that fell over because the blogger became so self important that they forgot that a blog rises and falls upon whether it’s readers find the blog useful to them.
- Spreading self too thinly – many bloggers have the gift of being visionaries (a good thing) but fail to have the gift of realism. The result is that many start things that they have no way of seeing through or spread themselves across too many projects too quickly (to the detriment of all of them).
- Lack of Focus – hyperactive bloggers who flit from one unfinished project or idea to another without seeing anything through tend to fail to build sustainable blogs
My Green Mile
I was watching this incredible movie the other day and a couple of things came to mind.
#1 A question – If you were in a position to experience and know that someone you were dealing with was one of God’s miracles, like the way John Coffey was, but due to evidence in the court of law they were wrongfully guilty of a crime and sentenced to death to be carried out by you, would you carry it out or not in fear of being sentenced to damnation at the pearly gates?
I would not. No matter what the immediate cost to livelihood. But, I know a lot you still would deep down if it meant loss of status, home or personal peril.
For a lot of people the “here and now” means more than the “then and after”. I’m not trying to get religious or anything but I just think that this is an interesting perspective.
The other underlying message I got was how anti-death penalty the film was. I felt that point was very artistically executed. Anyway, Stephen King is genius like we didn’t already know that.
10 Blog Strategies guaranteed to persuade anyone!
Repetition
Talk to anyone well versed in learning psychology, and they’ll tell you repetition is crucial. It’s also critical in persuasive writing, since a person can’t agree with you if they don’t truly get what you’re saying.
Of course, there’s good repetition and bad. To stay on the good side, make your point in several different ways, such as directly, using an example, in a story, via a quote from a famous person, and once more in your summary.
Reasons Why
Remember the power of the word because. Psychological studies have shown that people are more likely to comply with a request if you simply give them a reason why… even if that reason makes no sense.
The strategy itself does make sense if you think about it. We don’t like to be told things or asked to take action without a reasonable explanation. When you need people to be receptive to your line of thinking, always give reasons why.
Consistency
It’s been called the “hobgoblin of little minds,” but consistency in our thoughts and actions is a valued social trait. We don’t want to appear inconsistent, since, whether fair or not, that characteristic is associated with instability and flightiness, while consistency is associated with integrity and rational behavior.
Use this in your writing by getting the reader to agree with something up front that most people would have a hard time disagreeing with. Then rigorously make your case, with plenty of supporting evidence, all while relating your ultimate point back to the opening scenario that’s already been accepted.
Social Proof
Looking for guidance from others as to what to do and what to accept is one of the most powerful psychological forces in our lives. It can determine whether we deliver aid to a person in need, and it can determine whether we muster the courage to kill ourselves.
Obvious examples of social proof can be found in testimonials and outside referrals, and it’s the driving force behind social media. But you can also casually integrate elements of social proof in your writing, ranging from skillful alignment with outside authorities to blatant name dropping.
Comparisons
Metaphors, similes and analogies are the persuasive writer’s best friends. When you can relate your scenario to something that the reader already accepts as true, you’re well on your way to convincing someone to see things your way.
But comparisons work in other ways too. Sometimes you can be more persuasive by comparing apples to oranges (to use a tired but effective metaphor). Don’t compare the price of your home study course to the price of a similar course—compare it to the price of a live seminar or your hourly consulting rate.
Agitate and Solve
This is a persuasion theme that works as an overall approach to making your case. First, you identify the problem and qualify your audience. Then you agitate the reader’s pain before offering your solution as the answer that will make it all better.
The agitation phase is not about being sadistic; it’s about empathy. You want the reader to know unequivocally that you understand his problem because you’ve dealt with it and/or are experienced at eliminating it. The credibility of your solution goes way up if you demonstrate that you truly feel the prospect’s pain.
Prognosticate
Another persuasion theme involves providing your readers with a glimpse into the future. If you can convincingly present an extrapolation of current events into likely future outcomes, you may as well have a license to print money.
This entire strategy is built on credibility. If you have no idea what you’re talking about, you’ll end up looking foolish. But if you can back up your claims with your credentials or your obvious grasp of the subject matter, this is an extremely persuasive technique.
Go Tribal
Despite our attempts to be sophisticated, evolved beings, we humans are exclusionary by nature. Give someone a chance to be a part of a group that they want to be in—whether that be wealthy, or hip, or green, or even contrarian—and they’ll hop on board whatever train you’re driving.
This is the technique used in the greatest sales letter ever written. Find out what group people want to be in, and offer them an invitation to join while seemingly excluding others.
Address Objections
If you present your case and someone is left thinking “yeah, but…”, well, you’ve lost. This is why direct marketers use long copy—it’s not that they want you to read it all, it’s that they want you to read enough until you buy.
Addressing all the potential objections of at least the majority of your readers can be tough, but if you really know your subject the arguments against you should be fairly obvious. If you think there are no reasonable objections to your position, you’re in for a shock if you have comments enabled.
Storytelling
Storytelling is really a catch-all technique—you can and should use it in combination with any and all of the previous nine strategies. But the reason why storytelling works so well lies at the heart of what persuasion really is.
Stories allow people to persuade themselves, and that’s what it’s really all about. You might say that we never convince anyone of anything—we simply help others independently decide that we’re right. Do everything you can to tell better stories, and you’ll find that you are a terribly persuasive person.
5 ways to make killer titles and opening paragraphs!
By Brian Clark
1. Ask a Question
Opening your post with a question is a rhetorical device (hence, the “rhetorical question”) that creates curiosity and gets the reader thinking. Thinking equals active engagement with your writing, and that’s a very good thing.
2. Share an Anecdote or Quote
Anecdotes are quick stories that can make people laugh or immediately establish the main point of your post. A nice quote from a recognizable authority or famous person can also work wonders when holding attention in those crucial opening seconds.
3. Invoke the Mind’s Eye
Producing a mental image in a reader’s mind is one of the most powerful things you can ever do as a writer, so expressly engaging the imagination is a powerful opening technique. Activate the mind’s eye of the reader by using words like “imagine,” “picture this,” “do you remember when,” etc.
4. Use an Analogy, Metaphor or Simile
Analogies, metaphors and similes are some of the most powerful devices available when it comes to telling a story in a single sentence. This is a great way to capture a reader’s attention and also acts to provoke mental imagery that allows readers to tell a story to themselves.
5. Cite a Shocking Statistic
Starting off with an interesting factoid is also a great technique. People love being provided with interesting data, but only if it is unique, startling, or even shocking. The statistic should also be directly relevant to the point of your post as well.
Bonus Tip: The third most important part of your blog post is the closing. A great way to close is to tie back into your opening.
So, which of the 5 techniques did I NOT use in the opening to this post?
By The Time The Devil Knows You’re Dead
This incredible film by Sidney Lumet is undoubtedly one of the years best. Script by Kelly Masterson, the story is about 2 brothers that decide to rob a jewelry store due to their financial needs but botches the robbery and someone gets hurt. Impeccably written.
I didn’t even realize that the brother was banging the other brothers wife. That was crazy! Anyway, what I took away was how desperate people can get in their desire to get over. The need to “survive” will have some people cross moral boundaries which they never thought were possible. The worst part is that, that vision of “surviving” has been deformed through a life of bad decisions giving bad outcomes, to the point that you don’t recognize your own definition of “surviving”.
Great Film. Must See.
30 Minute Backlinks
Here is my absolute favorite Online tool and strategy for creating massive traffic for your online business. After using it within 1 WEEK I had the number 1 Google search ranking for the keyword I used. No Lie! This is a way to create backlinks to your site to drive as many people there as possible (for those that aren’t familiar). For instance, If I had a music site to sell the newest hottest music on, if I made my main keyword “Hip Hop Music” there are millions of other people competing for the same keyword for their music site. The truth is, most of them aren’t “optimized” for web searching. So if you “optimize” your site by creating “backlinks” to your site, whenever someone does a Google search for “Hip Hop Music” you will be the first thing they see. That can easily equal to millions of visitors A DAY. One of the quickest most useful tools I’ve seen to do this is:
This tool gives you the quickest advance in “Page Rank” than I have ever seen. A brilliant tool for the Online Side Hustle.
Failure is Mandatory
Failure is Mandatory!!
You show me someone who has never failed and I’ll show you someone who has never tried anything NEW!!
Failure is Mandatory! Failure is the catalyst for change. Thats the point of evolution. Evolution occurs when something we are doing to survive isn’t working. We then change or evolve based upon our previous methods which did not work.
Failure is GOOD!! Keep on failing!!! The more you fail, the more you learn, the better you get!
The real beauty is once you keep failing you evolve and get better at what you failed at, which then brings you to THE NEXY LEVEL.
Once at THE NEXT LEVEL you find more areas to FAIL at, which you then defeat through repetitious trial & error , FURTHER EVOLVE, and then go to THE NEXT LEVEL yet Again!!
So in closing, FAIL ON!!! FAIL MORE!!! FAIL STRONG!!! You will be better for it. It’s the only way to GROW. Rise to the CHALLENGE CONSISTENTLY and you will SUCCEED in EVERYTHING YOU DO!!!
16 rules to enhance your business
Here is a great article from profitwar that I thought would help a lot of people. I pretty much live by this on a regular basis anyway. I thought it would be good to share it.
Enjoy
1. Get and stay out of your comfort zone. I believe that not much happens of any significance when we’re in our comfort zone. I hear people say, “But I’m concerned about security.” My response to that is simple: “Security is for cadavers.”
(MY FAVORITE AGAIN)
2. Never give up. Almost nothing works the first time it’s attempted. Just because what you’re doing does not seem to be working, doesn’t mean it won’t work. It just means that it might not work the way you’re doing it. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it, and you wouldn’t have an opportunity.
3. When you’re ready to quit, you’re closer than you think. There’s an old Chinese saying that I just love, and I believe it is so true. It goes like this: “The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed.”
4. With regard to whatever worries you, not only accept the worst thing that could happen, but make it a point to quantify what the worst thing could be. Very seldom will the worst consequence be anywhere near as bad as a cloud of “undefined consequences.” My father would tell me early on, when I was struggling and losing my shirt trying to get Parsons Technology going, “Well, Robert, if it doesn’t work, they can’t eat you.”
5. Focus on what you want to have happen. Remember that old saying, “As you think, so shall you be.”
6. Take things a day at a time. No matter how difficult your situation is, you can get through it if you don’t look too far into the future, and focus on the present moment. You can get through anything one day at a time.
7. Always be moving forward. Never stop investing. Never stop improving. Never stop doing something new. The moment you stop improving your organization, it starts to die. Make it your goal to be better each and every day, in some small way. Remember the Japanese concept of Kaizen. Small daily improvements eventually result in huge advantages.
8. Be quick to decide. Remember what the Union Civil War general, Tecumseh Sherman said: “A good plan violently executed today is far and away better than a perfect plan tomorrow.”
9. Measure everything of significance. I swear this is true. Anything that is measured and watched, improves.
10. Anything that is not managed will deteriorate. If you want to uncover problems you don’t know about, take a few moments and look closely at the areas you haven’t examined for a while. I guarantee you problems will be there.
11. Pay attention to your competitors, but pay more attention to what you’re doing. When you look at your competitors, remember that everything looks perfect at a distance. Even the planet Earth, if you get far enough into space, looks like a peaceful place.
12. Never let anybody push you around. In our society, with our laws and even playing field, you have just as much right to what you’re doing as anyone else, provided that what you’re doing is legal.
13. Never expect life to be fair. Life isn’t fair. You make your own breaks. You’ll be doing good if the only meaning fair has to you, is something that you pay when you get on a bus (i.e., fare).
14. Solve your own problems. You’ll find that by coming up with your own solutions, you’ll develop a competitive edge. Masura Ibuka, the co-founder of SONY, said it best: “You never succeed in technology, business, or anything by following the others.” There’s also an old Asian saying that I remind myself of frequently. It goes like this: “A wise man keeps his own counsel.”
(I need to remember this more)
15. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Lighten up. Often, at least half of what we accomplish is due to luck. None of us are in control as much as we like to think we are.
16. There’s always a reason to smile. Find it. After all, you’re really lucky just to be alive. Life is short. More and more, I agree with my little brother. He always reminds me: “We’re not here for a long time; we’re here for a good time.”
12 Low Cost ways to increase your traffic
Here is a helpful article I found that I wanted to share with you. You can probably pull from it several techniques that may work for you.
I prefer the social networking.
Enjoy
Low-Cost Techniques to Drive Tsunami Traffic to Your Website
by blue_inferno2001
Now that you’ve prepared your products to be sold, developed an attractive website, there’s one last but not least thing to do. In fact, neglect this factor and your prior efforts would almost be a waste of time. You need to drive targeted, stable, and increasing traffic to your site. An excellent site with nobody knows its whereabouts is like a buried lump of gold where nobody even knows it exists!
You don’t have to pay a lot to generate traffic to your site/blog. All the routines below can be practiced at low-cost or even free. All of them are worth doing and have good effects for your site, but you need to test which works best for you and your site/blog. Don’t bother thinking of shortcuts, you’ll get dissapointed and it’ll be fatal for your site. By building and maintaining a good reputation, you can be just as thriving as using up your resources for advertising.
The general methods that fit most sites are usually search engine optimization, link popularity and forums. Even so, others are proven to be helpful too.