How You Really Make Money Online with Podcasting
by Case Lane
This post is part of the Real Stories Behind Making Money Online Series.
Information is valid as of February 26, 2022
The oral tradition has sustained humanity for millennia. Without the spoken word, and the passing of information through speech, our progress would have been severely slowed.
So when the podcasting format appeared, with its ease of use and access, no human should have been surprised when everyone decided to start a podcast.
But in fact, although podcasting looks like the ready domain of every talker across all subjects and ideas, today there are over 3 million podcasts, a fraction of which have at least ten episodes, and another fraction of which are considered consistently active.
As the least crowded of the major online platforms, podcasting is an extraordinary opportunity for anyone with a message. But creating a podcast does require production equipment, some technical skill, and quiet time to get your show recorded.
And of course, there is the talking part…
Podcasting is for those who can carry on a conversation, teach, entertain, or facilitate discussion for an audience they cannot see. It is not for those who are turned off by the sound of their own voice, afraid to play with digital files, and have no interest in promotion.
With podcasting, the opportunity to create and join the podcaster community remains a reality for those who want to try it. As each new show emerges, a successful gem brightens, and the excitement over podcasting begins again.
And it’s important to understand how you can monetize your podcast, and use the audio program to your advantage.
Podcasting as Your Online Business
While starting an online business is an extraordinary opportunity for you to establish a foundation for your own professional satisfaction, financial security, and lifestyle freedom, to get started you have to select an online platform that fits your interests, skills and budget.
Podcasting allows you to have open discussions about any subject in the world, share the conversations you want, grow an audience that enjoys listening to valuable information, and earn income through sponsorships, advertising and memberships.
But does the platform have all the elements you want and need for an online business venture?
If your online platform of choice is to start a podcast, you need to be aware of the joys and limitations of the effort.
In this article, I explain the real story behind starting a podcast to make money online.
Podcasting is for Talkers
A podcast is a streaming audio program, usually recorded, sometimes live, that can be supported by advertising, sponsors or listeners.
The term podcast comes from merging the idea of an iPod, a portable audio player, with broadcasting to, in the beginning, play radio programs. The pod part remains a mystery for those who may not know the word iPod was made up by a copywriter.
Although many have tried to develop an acronym for it…the word is just iPod. A word now forever tied to the podcast communication medium. While most iPods remain buried in the back of consumers closets, the podcast holds firm as the legacy creation from the device’s existence.
Today, podcast content has gone far beyond existing radio programs. The range of programming you can listen to includes commentaries, historical narratives, interviews, true crime, sports analysts, fictional dramas and much more.
If you want to start a podcast to make money online, you have to consider the subject you will be delivering to your listening audience. Is there an angle or viewpoint missing from the current offering of podcasts (there always is), and how can you deliver for that audience?
Podcasting is for talkers, and podcasts are for listeners. The content you need to create to make podcasting pay must align with that basic fact. You have to create audio programming that people want to hear.
Become a Podcast Host
When you create a podcast, you are the host. Whether you plan to speak solo on a subject for a half-hour, interview an interesting speaker, or direct a debate between two guests, you are in charge of the show.
When you are thinking about creating your podcast, consider who you want to be, and how you want to run the show.
Podcast Format
Podcasts are found through podcast directories, and all list various categories of related content. But all of the categories are subject…not format, specific.
You are going to want to select a format for your show.
Decide on the type of show you want to host. Some shows sound like parties, others are serious. Some have a lot of adult language, some play music, some are always live…you can do any type of performance to attract your audience.
You can even mix your formats, maybe have a commentary episode , then an interview, then a teaching episode, then back to a commentary.
Podcasting has no rules. You decide on the format, length, content, tone, and pace of your show.
The only basic concept is that the audio must be clear. You are asking listeners to give up their time to hear your show. Poor audio quality creates an unsatisfactory user experience, which typically does not lead to repeat customers.
If there is a question between experimental content and audio quality, choose audio quality all the time.
Should You Start a Podcast?
Once you consider the format that might work for you, you will have to decide if podcasting is going to be your online business.
You can go all in with a podcast..if you:
- Like to talk
- Have a good subject area or topic, or a flair for audio creativity
- Are not afraid to promote your program
- Have the ability to edit and produce digital audio, or pay someone to do the work for you
- Are prepared to be consistently and reliably posting shows
How to Start a Podcast
The technical aspects of starting a podcast creates trepidation for potential podcasters.
The basic approach is:
- Name your show
- Record an audio program, edit as necessary
- Create a show graphic for the cover art
- Upload to a podcast hosting service
The process can be 100% free, which is one reason there are so many podcasts that only post an episode or two. Assuming you have a digital device like a smartphone, and access to the Internet. You can record your audio, download your file, and host your podcast on a free service.
But if you definitely want to build a business out of your podcast, in most cases there will be upfront expenses for a quality external microphone and a dedicated podcast hosting service. If you decide to have a website for your show, your costs increase.
The investment in an external microphone is typically worth the cost. As stated earlier, audio quality is the hallmark of good podcasting, and having a dedicated microphone gives your show a professional characterization that you will want to continue.
No Frills Podcasting
The no-frills, all free road to podcasting would work like this:
- Record your show on your smartphone or laptop using the built-in microphone
- Edit your show using free software like Audacity, or don’t edit at all
- Create a show graphic using a free tool like Canva
- Create an account on a free hosting service like Anchor, and upload your files
In no time, you will be live and broadcasting to the world. As you grow your audience, you can add the other features that would transform your podcast into a business.
Podcast Hosting
A podcast hosting service stores your recorded file and creates an RSS feed that can be distributed widely to ensure you reach your targeted audience.
Today, podcast hosting providers offer free and paid services.
Free Podcast Hosting
Increased competition has opened up opportunities for podcasters as more free services are offered by hosting providers who cover programming needs. In fact, some of the free services are beginning to offer more features than the paid ones!
But typically, there will be a catch – usually related to using the service’s branding and advertising – which constrain your money making options and intentions.
Paid Podcast Hosting
Paid hosting will include features like reporting where you can track your audience growth, and tools for social media or your own website.
Costs typically depend on factors like podcast length. For example, Buzzsprout’s rates are free for up to two hours a month, paid rate starts at $12 a month for up to three hours.
If you plan to do a daily half-hour podcast, you should look for the most affordable rate.
Recording and Distributing Your Podcast
Recording
Once you know where you will be hosting your content, you can create it. Podcast content is created everywhere – from car commutes to Hollywood studios. But if you’re just starting out, your preference is likely to be a quiet corner of your home where no external noises will be picked up by the microphone.
But even intended silence is not assured, as dogs bark, kids laugh, and the delivery trucks drop packages at your door.
You will have to find the best time to record, maybe after trying several times, before you know what will work best for you.
Ad-libbing versus Reading
Some podcasters swear by the natural, free-flowing conversational style that ad-libbing brings to a recorded show. They keep just a few points in mind, and then say what they want to say off the top of their heads.
Others find ad-libbing too unstructured and risky. They prefer to remember everything they want to say by writing it down first, and reading from a prepared document.
If you are doing a commentary show, you may want to have notes to help you remember your best points, and ad-lib only at naturally sounding spots in your dialogue.
For interviews, you have almost the same split between those who read from prepared questions, and those who allow the conversation to flow. Since either option can make for great audio, you just have to decide how comfortable you are with the outcome.
Editing
Uhhh….Ummm…click…long pause…doorbell…Ahhh…long pause…’oh, can you take that out?…’
Editing the podcast can turn a 30 minute project into three hours, it smothers the joy of the production, and can be one of the reasons many podcasters drop off the platform after only a few episodes.
Some podcasters recommend leaving in all the ‘natural’ sounds, but have you ever heard a successful podcast that is not also a clear and smooth broadcast? If your guest takes long pauses that split the flow of the show, that’s where you start editing. If the sounds are just natural conversational speak, you can leave it in.
Either way, even if you are not personally editing the core show content, you may need to add an intro or outro to your show, or if you want to get paid…advertising, which still takes time and requires some production.
Editing can be outsourced, but you must carefully select your editor and provide clear instructions. You will still need to listen to the show to make sure it sounds the way you intended.
If the first editor you select does not work out, keep trying until you find a good one.
If you have no funds to hire an editor, you will have to do the work yourself using free software like Audacity. The app has a lot of features, but you only to need to learn the basics that will help you create a good show. So go ahead and set aside the extra time to get the editing work done.
But remember, editing is not the fun part of podcasting. Be aware that this may the beginning and end of your efforts if you are not realistic about the time and effort it takes to produce a good-sounding show.
Adding Music and Effects
Music is a wonderful addition to a podcast show, especially a consistent intro that becomes your theme. On the Ready Entrepreneur podcast, you can hear the ‘news room’ sound that signals the show is information and discussion oriented.
To add music to your show, you can search for websites that offer free, cleared music.
Clearances
If you plan to use copyrighted music, and make money off your podcast, you must obtain a clearance from the copyright owner. Unilaterally, using someone else’s content to make money is not legal, and not cool.
Send an email to the copyright owner explaining who you are, why you want to use the music, and how you plan to use the music. You might be surprised by the response. Many copyright owners are happy to share their creation, especially since podcasts are offered for free, and an up and coming podcaster who intends a limited use of the product, is not typically a threat to their ownership.
Video Podcasts
YouTube has become one of the top platforms for ‘listening’ to podcasts. And many podcasters make a video version of their show.
If you are doing interviews, and use Zoom or another video communication platform to record, you automatically have another asset when you create the podcast. You can edit the video and put it on your YouTube channel.
Creating a video podcast enhances your web presence, provides more search engine results, gives you an opening to another audience, and provides your guests with another asset to share with their audience.
The video podcast is extra work, but it is also a great option for extending your podcast brand.
Transcripts
Re-purposing podcast material is one of the reasons the medium is a great asset for podcasters. If you write out your show, you have automatically created the transcript that you can also post when you upload the episode and make it available to listeners.
In general, best practice is to include a transcript of your show for the hearing-impaired. While there is limited enforcement of this practice, if you have the material, you should post it. If you wrote out your show but ad-libbed, you can put a disclaimer at the top of the transcript that says it may not be an exact word-for-work transcription of the show.
The transcript can also be used to create subtitles if you decide to post a video version.
When you are first getting started with your show, focus on delivering great content. But as you are comfortable with production…and certain you will continue, look at the other services offered by your hosting provider and consider adding features to your show.
Admin and Legal Stuff
DISCLAIMER: This section is provided for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. For all legal issues related to your podcast, you should seek the advice of a legal professional.
When you create a podcast, accessibility is not the only administrative issue that you may encounter.
If you are doing guest interviews, many guests will assume it is audio only. But if you plan to post the video, make sure you advise your guests, that show will include a video version – and get a signed clearance.
Your podcast episodes are assets and you want to be able to use them across platforms as you see fit. While there has yet to be a major case of someone suing over a podcast interview, it’s better to get clearance ahead of time that the guest knows you own the show, and may use the audio, video and guest likeness (photos) for distribution and promotion.
You can obtain this clearance before the interview by including it as a statement on your guest interview form that the potential guest has to check before submitting their request.
You should also be careful about using copyrighted images, quotes, graphics, videos or other content. You want your podcast to stand-alone as your own material, so make sure all the content you include is owned by you, or has an open creative-use license.
Podcast Directories
Once you have completed recording and editing your show, you will post it to your hosting provider.
Most hosts will automatically distribute your show to a number, but not all, of the podcast directories. The podcast directories are the lists of all the podcasts available to listen to on a specific platform.
While the biggest names like Apple, Amazon and Spotify are exactly where you want to be, you will also want to make sure your podcast is listed on every available source.
Being in every directory increases your search presence, and enhances your ability to be found by random listeners. When you search for your podcast online, you want to ‘own’ the first page of search results.
Check your host provider’s list of automatic feeds against the list of all possible directories to confirm that your podcast can be found ‘wherever you listen to podcasts.’
Promoting Your Show
While you can be discovered through a listener directory search, the only successful way to promote your show is word of mouth.
No podcast directory is perfect in its search and information capabilities. And no service is offered that breaks down all the podcast information to help you find the exact type of show you are looking for.
So if you have a podcast, you have to promote, promote and promote again.
The podcast launch is typically the first move new podcasters make to get their show in front of people. You promote directly to your list, friends, organizations, and anywhere you have an audience to let them know that your show is available.
But after the launch, you have to keep growth going by spreading the word through social media, your work or business, speaking, and guest podcasting.
For every episode, create show posts that highlight the content and can be promoted across social media platforms. If you have guests, distribute the posts to them and encourage them to promote on their own social feeds.
If you are speaking about a particular product or person on your show, give them a shoutout on social media also, by tagging, and letting them know they were featured.
And keep talking about your podcast. Mention your show wherever you have a chance. Re-use the content, across platforms, and re-use the promotion materials to re-feature a good or popular episode once or twice a year.
How Podcasts Make Money
The more you can promote your show, get the word out, drive listeners to you, and raise your ranking and popularity, the more opportunities you will have to make money.
There are multiple ways to make money with a podcast, but the four most direct are to promote your own or affiliate products, get paid advertising, get a sponsor or sell a membership to exclusive content.
Promote Products
Your podcast is your platform, and you can choose to promote your own or affiliate products as part of your show.
When deciding to promote, find products that align with the content of your show and integrate them into the discussion or commentary that you are already doing. The transition can be smooth, as you state that you have an affiliate link in the description of the show, or you can do a hard break, and ‘insert’ your own type of advertising.
If you are promoting your own products, especially books and courses, you should be able to clearly connect your content to the content of your podcast (unless they are completely different topics). This actually enhances your authority, and gives your audience more insight into the value you deliver.
You can create your own ads, add music and effects and make it sound like a professional advertisement. But be careful about being too ‘salesy’ or promoting products out of context. You want to provide valuable information to your audience, this includes information about products or services they can use.
But you do not want your show to be just an advertising vehicle, so choose wisely.
State the links in your ad or comment, and put them in the episode description. If your listener is interested they may just click and buy the product.
Paid Advertising
You can also have third party advertisers place ads in your show. For the most part, you have to have minimum audience numbers to attract national brands. But if you are talking about a specific subject, which may be interesting to specialized or local businesses, you can solicit advertising directly from them.
Advertisers are looking to target unique and niche audiences. If you demonstrate how you can deliver ‘ears’ you may be able to attract advertising even if you have a small podcast.
Start by reaching out directly to advertisers you think may be interested. Tell them about your show theme, topic, audience size and frequency. Remember once you commit to delivering a show for an advertiser, you have to deliver the show. So make sure you are comfortable with podcasting as your platform before actively reaching out for ads.
When you have paid ads, you are typically paid upfront, you don’t have to wait for someone to click on the ad. This helps give you some stability and support for your podcast.
Sponsorships
You appeal to sponsors the same way you would reach out to paid advertisers, by telling them how aligning with you would be good for business.
A sponsorship can be for an entire episode, or for the show. Sponsors can request that you read promotional material, or refer to the sponsor in comments, or for a portion of the show.
If you have a video podcasts, sponsors can ask for their product to be displayed behind or beside you, or even on you, if it’s a clothing.
If you have a specialized topic, you may be able to obtain a sponsor to cover your editing, transcribing, hosting and other costs. The only way to find out is to ask.
Memberships
You can also ask your audience.
In recent years, more podcasters are reaching out to their audience to sponsor and financially support the show through paid memberships. The podcasters offer exclusive members only content in exchange for a fixed or open fee.
As a podcaster this will mean providing additional content like the video, snippets, learning guides, exclusive outtakes from interviews, or other material that extends the podcast brand, while building a home for the audience community.
While there can be a lot of extra work in establishing a membership site, it can also be an outstanding opportunity to grow your entire business.
Your podcast community can also become the community that buys your books, courses, products, and services. You can start with membership in a podcast and turn it into membership in your world. And the more you grow your listeners, the more opportunities you have to make money online with a podcast.
What Makes Podcasts Successful?
While the most successful podcasts begin with great content, there are plenty of shows that are able to deliver that initial element. What separates them from the shows that have millions of listeners? A few key factors…
Consistency
When listeners see a show has hundreds, now thousands of episodes, they are more willing to make an investment in the podcaster, because the podcaster has made an investment in them. Consistently posting a show, and building day-to-day or week-to-week gives the listener a sense of security…and FOMO…
If a listener sees the show constantly putting up new episodes, they begin to wonder what they are missing and are more inclined to check and click on the latest information they want.
Specificity
Listeners are searching for people who are speaking about the subjects they care about, and being relevant and interesting in the process. If you can find a topic with a core audience that is currently under-served but available, you will have your successful podcast.
Uniqueness
With three million podcasts, there should be three million unique voices, but far too often podcasters try to copy the work of those that they hear.
The most successful podcasters create a unique voice, one people identify with that person. From the types of questions that are asked, to the shock-value of their commentary, to the revelation style of their facts…these types of speakers have transformed audio programming, and taken the audience along with them.
As you set out to be a podcaster, think about your unique voice, your singular message and your particular style. Be an emergent leader in the space, and promote to those who have been waiting to hear from you.
Podcasting is an extraordinary opportunity for you if you have a message that you want to deliver. There is a spot waiting for you, and you can use podcasting to make money online.
On the Ready Entrepreneur Podcast, I offer information and advice on getting started with an online business, and interviews with outstanding entrepreneurs about their journey, find the show wherever you listen to podcasts:
You can also hear Case Lane interviews on dozens of awesome shows focused on:
Entrepreneurship: https://www.readyentrepreneur.com/podcast-guest-appearances/
Guest Podcasting: https://www.readyentrepreneur.com/podcast-guest-appearances-speaking-about-guest-podcasting/
Awesome Product Offers
If you want to start guest podcasting to promote your product or business, click here to get an extraordinary offer on my Expert’s Guide to Finding Podcasts for An Interview:
If you would like to get the Podcast Directory List of where to post your podcast, click here: https://podcastgueststar.com/podcast-directories-list/
DISCLOSURE: links to Buzzsprout are affiliate links that earn for eligible purchases at no additional cost to you.
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How You Really Make Money Online with Blogging
by Case Lane
This post is part of the Real Stories Behind Making Money Online Series
In the beginning, it was the Internet curious’s first introduction to creating online – starting a blog. Today, it remains the most dominate creative platform – more than 600 million blogs – more than ten times the number of YouTube channels and podcast shows combined.
That fact should make one point obvious…blogs are, arguably, the easiest online platform for launching your online business.
But how many of those 600 million blogs are making money for the blogger?
Blogs operate in a crowded marketplace where you have to be prepared to promote and market your message. So if you’re shy about telling people about your thoughts or creativity, blogging may not be for you.
Blogging as Your Online Business
While starting an online business is an extraordinary opportunity for you to establish a foundation for your own professional satisfaction, financial security, and lifestyle freedom, to get started you have to select an online platform that fits your interests, skills and budget.
Blogging remains an incredible force for delivering a message, creating a community, and earning advertising revenue. But does the platform have all the elements you want and need for an online business venture?
If your online platform of choice is to create a blog, you need to be aware of the joys and limitations of the effort.
In this article, I explain the real story behind blogging to make money online.
Blogging is for Writers
Blogs are websites, almost always supported by advertising, that writers fill with content aimed at their target audience.
At its core, blogging is the written word. For creators, blogging means consistently writing articles online around a specific theme or subject. The word blog comes from ‘web log…weblog’ a phrase used to describe the act of journaling or recording (logging) information online.
To create a blog to start an online business, you must create written content…or have it created for you.
Blogging is for writers, and blogs are for readers. People who want to get their information in written words.
Types of Blogs for Making Money Online
With 600 million options, breaking blogs down into specific categories may be an overreach, but in general there are three popular types of blogs – information, commentary and product-specific.
Information Blogs
The most popular blogs offer information, such as How-Tos and guides. They provide step-by-step processes, and insight into products, services and issues. For many readers, these types of blogs are consistently delivering information they want to learn more about or research.
A blogger who provides information is creating a go-to platform for a topic or idea. Once enough interested readers learn about the blog’s existence, it can jump to the top of search rankings for the topic, and become a popular site.
If you are planning to create an information blog, the key is to be a great resource. You do the research your readers want to avoid, and you put the information together in easily digestible articles.
In this case, you do not have to be a great writer. You just have to make sure you are delivering information that a particular audience is seeking.
Because you already know the information readers are searching for, these types of blogs are the fastest and easiest blogs to create. Spend time researching the topic, then re-organize, re-write, and aggregate the data you find into new articles that address the topic for your target audience.
This approach also allows you to outsource the work. If writing is not your strength, or you have no time to do the research, you can use a freelancer site like Fiverr to find someone who can put together the information based on your ideas.
For example, you may find a subject where most of the existing blogs are aimed at college students, and you decide to do one aimed at the parents of college students. It can be similar information, but re-written for the parents consumption, and interests.
Also, if you can write well (or outsource) in a language other than English, there is extraordinary opportunity available to write about popular blog subjects in other global languages.
As the Internet continues to grow and spread around the world, you may find your ability to deliver information in a language used where online usage is on the rise, provides you with an opening where other bloggers cannot compete.
Commentary Blogs
Another successful blog theme is commentary – the original web log. Some famous bloggers are known only for their comments and observations about society and the world. These blogs can have millions of readers who enjoy the writer’s viewpoint, and learn from their perspective.
If you are writing a commentary blog, then you do have to be a good writer because the blog is directly from you, and your ideas have to resonate with the reader. These types of blog literally hang on the word of the blogger. If the writing is bad, the blog is a non-starter.
That said, the definition of ‘bad’ is relevant to the audience you are targeting. If you want to write a slang-filled, emoji-driven commentary blog aimed at high school students, then you may have a niche. But you still have to make the content valuable to that audience. It has to be ‘good’ to them.
Commentary blogs are the most difficult to launch because everyone has an opinion these days. But if you have a way of looking at the world that is unique, and underserved, you may be able to take a commentary blog to an audience that wants to learn more from you.
Product-Specific Blogs
Another type of blog is a mini-website aimed specifically at marketing a product by providing content-rich articles related to the product’s purpose.
The site will have ten to fifteen articles all leading to the same conclusion – the reader should get the product.
These blogs are advertising and affiliate marketing vehicles designed as information blogs, but the content is legitimate (assuming you are not a scammer).
This is a blog where the idea is to deliver information, but it’s not general information, it’s tailored to the product and all issues related to the product.
For example, if you are marketing a new vacuum cleaner, you could have articles about the perils of dust, carpet maintenance, keeping your family healthy, the exercise benefits of doing household chores, and so on.
These types of blogs are one-and-done. You write the core articles, set-up the webpages, and drive traffic to the site.
Once again, you do not need to be a creative writer, you are aggregating topic-specific information for an audience that is looking for the insight. Your articles must be valuable and useful to them, especially if it is new or misunderstood information.
This is also an opportunity to outsource the writing, but you have to be creative about the topics related to the product. You are looking for products that cross over a variety of different issues, and give you sufficient content to create a legitimate site.
Who Should Start a Blog?
Regardless of your type of blog, you want the content to stay consistent and reliable. So the hard truth about blogging is that you have to keep posting relevant content. You have to find enough content to maintain interest for a growing audience. That is a challenge that many aspiring entrepreneurs do not conquer.
If you:
- Like to write
- Come up with good ideas
- Are not afraid to promote your own writing to strangers
- Have a good subject area or topic
- Have money each month to spend on maintaining your website until you can grow your advertising revenue
- Are prepared to be consistently and reliably posting to your website
…then you are likely ready to move forward with starting a blog.
But blogging can be tedious, especially if you are lukewarm about your subject, and since it’s the most crowded online platform, you have to be creative to stand-out and be counted.
How to Start a Blog
As mentioned earlier, blogs are the easiest online business to start, but one that requires maintenance and has up-front costs to do it right.
The basic approach is:
- Get a domain name
- Set-up a webpage
- Start writing and posting content
Domain Name
Free Domain name
If you decide to use free website hosting, you will also likely receive a free ‘hosting’ domain, which typically includes the name of the website provider in your domain name.
This is a domain name you do not own, and one that may be long and cumbersome to use when speaking or posting about your new blog.
But for some, a free domain may be a necessary option for getting started without any upfront costs, but if you have a few dollars ready, and you are serious about your blog, you should start with a custom domain name.
Custom Domain name
The domain name is the name of your website. For many bloggers, it can be their ownname.com, for others it’s the subject they are discussing. You just have to decide.
Domains can cost as little as $3 a month to start. You can buy the domain from a stand-alone site, or purchase it when you set-up your webpage on a hosting site.
Carefully check the renewal terms for your domain name. Sometimes you can get the domain for a low introductory price, but it renews at ten times that rate, a year later.
Although a great domain name is valuable, like all actions in starting an online business, it is better to move forward than to worry about picking the perfect domain.
If you’re not sure, go with your own name or a made-up-name and move on. You have no online business until your site is live, so getting launched should be your focus.
Website
Free or Paid
Before you create your website, you must decide if you want to use free or paid blog hosting services.
Your blog is hosted on a website, which is hosted on a server managed by a website hosting provider.
‘Free’ means you sign-up and begin writing and posting content without paying any upfront fees. The ‘catch’ with free is there may be limitations on whether or not you can advertise on the platform. Since you are starting the blog to make money, this would be a limitation, but not an obstruction to making money.
But, If you are not sure if blogging is right for you, start with free services, and switch to paid when you are certain you want to move forward with the platform.
If you know you want to be a blogger and start with paid hosting, you have more flexibility to do what you want with the blog.
Your Own Website
Once you select your paid provider, they typically provide basic services aimed at getting you set-up. There are many blogging apps, but the most popular is WordPress, and you can quickly set-up a basic WordPress site through your provider.
Since WordPress provides flexible functionality for a website, for example, you can host an eCommerce store with your blogs, some bloggers find WordPress too complex for their plans, and are comfortable with a ‘blogging’ only app.
If you think you might want to do more with your blog – for example on my website for Ready Entrepreneur, along with the blog, I have my podcast embedded, links to online courses, and a store – and I am able to use plugins to extend the capabilities of the site from inserting landing pages from another app under the same domain, to capturing contact information.
As always, if you are unsure, start with the most basic option and be prepared to build from there.
Third Party Website
Blogging platforms, like Medium.com are websites where bloggers can establish their reputation and build an audience. These sites allow anyone to open an account and posts blogs, for free. Although these sites lead to a variety of subjects, they also attract a variety of readers who want to discover new voices, and learn more.
If you want to access the reader audience on these platforms, you can repurpose the blogs you create on your website. This allows you to gain both the traffic on the platform that is casually browsing, and the followers on your site who could one day become your dream customers.
Writing, Posting and Distributing Your Content
Once you have set-up your domain and webpage or site account, it’s time to write and post content.
Refer back to the Types of Blogs section to pick the direction you want to take your content.
If you are looking for topic ideas, listen to your friends, colleagues and neighbors, check social media, Google trends, and news headlines, and remember how you became interested in the subject in the first place. You probably have stories, ideas and anecdotes from your own experiences that could make the content for a blog.
Take a look at the work other bloggers are doing. Do not copy. Instead use other content as inspiration, and as a springboard for developing your own ideas.
You can post blogs on your own schedule as little or as often as you wish. But the more consistently you post, the more reliable you will appear to your readers. If readers enjoy one article, and they see another one the following week, and the week after, they are more likely to remember you, and maybe even recommend your work to others.
Search Engine Optimization
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process, both technical and creative, that you use to help search engines find your blog. When you distribute your blog online, you should always make sure that you are search optimized, to drive organic traffic doing searches.
You will find many SEO apps and plugins online, and implementing SEO practices is not difficult. But being noticed is a challenge, you will have to do your own work to ensure people click on your blog.
Do Your Own Promotion
While search engines can organically find your blog, you will have to do your own distribution and promotion to drive traffic to your site.
Social Media
You can use social media to drive traffic to your blog by posting about the topic you wrote about and including the direct link to your blog in your posts. Add images or videos to attract attention, and ignite curiosity about your content.
For bloggers, all of the big social media sites are helpful, except Instagram, which does not have links in regular content. So if your content is visual, and insta-perfect, this limitation will be a concern, but you have the work-around of using the other platforms.
If your social media followers are mostly friends and family, include a Call-to-Action for them to share the post with their networks.
Track Your Traffic
If you have your own website, you can set-up analytics to track your visitors and the pages they frequent. This data will help you understand your most popular content, and perhaps give you additional content ideas, or more promotions you can do for specific content.
Track consistently to look for trends and opportunities to grow your blog’s popularity. For example, if you notice more traffic is coming from mobile, you can do a more mobile-friendly layout for those users.
How Blogs Make Money Online
The final part of your blog set-up is monetization…making money from the blog.
For the most part, your revenue opportunity comes from placing advertising on your blog pages. You can have Google ads automatically on your pages, affiliate ads that you place yourself, or links to your own digital or physical products that you sell in your own store or on a third party platform.
Essentially, having a blog works like a broadcast television network that creates lots of content, and drives ‘eyeballs’ to the shows that advertisers are paying to be featured on.
Your opportunity in earning for your blog comes from driving as much traffic as possible to your site, and having a percentage of that traffic click on the ads, and in the case of affiliates, making a purchase.
Google Ad Sense
The fastest way to begin making money with a blog is to set up a free account with Google Ad Sense, and let the search engine automatically post ads on your blog pages. Google’s advertising program pays you for clicks through to the sponsored ad pages.
You can control where the ads are placed, and to which pages, and you can ban content you don’t want associated with your work.
Google is set to match your blog content to related ads, but if subject matter is beyond the translation of Google’s A.I., you might find the ads do not match at all.
Once you set-up with Ad Sense, continuing monitoring the placement of ads to make sure they are where you expect to see them.
Affiliate Ads
Affiliate advertising is when you align with a third party to promote their product or service, and earn a flat rate or percentage for purchases made by other people through your links.
With many affiliate programs, you can sign-up for free on sites like Swagbucks, and place their advertising images with your affiliate link directly on your page. As more people sign-up, you earn a ‘bounty’ for bringing in new affiliates.
If you join the Amazon Affiliates program, you can also earn a ‘bounty’ for sign-ups to continuity programs like Amazon Prime.
Or you can promote products, including almost everything on Amazon.com, and earn whenever someone purchases a product through your link. As mentioned in the content section, you can even have an entire blog that is linked to affiliate products.
Because there are affiliate programs for almost every product you can think of, you should be able to find products that align with your blog content.
To keep your blog orderly, you want to have ads that support your product, and do not make your site look just like an advertising vehicle for sponsored products, or worse, a scam.
Links to Your Own Products
If you sell your own physical or digital products, you can use a blog to drive people to your products.
Write blogs that align with your product, then promote your product links directly in the blog or in the sidebars of your website.
This is often done with reviews (which you do not write for your own product, but you can post what others write), the review is linked back to the product.
But the real success in using this process is to write the definitive article about the value of your product, and then drive people through the links to your purchase pages.
Extension Products
Advertising is the direct way that blogs make money, but if you have a successful blog you can repurpose it to make money on other online platforms like podcasts and YouTube.
If your blogging positions you as an authority on a subject, you can also create courses, sell coaching, write books, or do speeches or other activities that are related to your blogging content, but are not directly revenue created from the blog.
All of these opportunities come with time, once you make your blog successful.
But when you are starting out, and you have no traffic to your blog, you will have no money from your blog, that’s the reality.
That’s why you must think carefully about how much you are willing to spend up-front, and how much time you will place in promoting your blog.
If your SEO is working, or your topic is unique and sought after, it’s possible for organic traffic to discover your blog, click on your ads, and you make money. But in general, if you are too shy promote your own work, you will not have a chance to earn from your blog.
What Makes Blogs Successful
A successful blog has great content. But that’s only the beginning.
The most popular blogs are delivering a form of comfort to readers. Whether it’s in the form of information or provocative statements or how-tos, a reader is satisfied after reading a great blog. And they’ll keep coming back for more if they feel the content is consistent and always appealing.
To get your blog into a success position, which means it starts paying you, build on the positive comments and reviews you receive.
Try to discover what appealed most to those readers, and why. You don’t have to start trying to tailor every blog to a raving fan, but it helps if you have an understanding as to why a specific blog post resonated with people.
From the beginning, blogging has been about the writing. While many blogs contain great visuals or videos, it’s the writing that brings people back time and again. If you want your blog to stand out and be noticed, that’s where to start.
But all the other activities must be completed also to make your blog a professional and reliable site for return readers. And you must promote the blog to as many people as possible to get the traffic on your site that will make your business profitable.
Choose blogging as your online business platform if you’ve come this far and believe you have the ingredients to make it work. But, ignore blogging if you plan to only do a superficial job of writing and promoting your site.
The real story behind starting a blog to make money is to make an effort marketing and promoting your blog to drive traffic to your site. Because without the upfront effort in creating your own publicity, you are unlikely to make any money. But with it, you give yourself a chance to stand-out among the 600 million and take your place in the online entrepreneur community.
Check out Case Lane’s blogs:
For aspiring entrepreneurs: https://www.readyentrepreneur.com/blog-posts/
For guest podcasting: https://podcastgueststar.com/
For fast, healthy eating: https://food.readyentrepreneur.com/blog/
For travel: https://travel.readyentrepreneur.com/
For Case Lane books: https://caselane.com/blog/
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The Only Fair Trade is from the Value You Add
Inspiration for Starting Your Online Business
The only fair trade in life is to offer your best for the best that others have to offer. As an aspiring entrepreneur, you are constantly on the lookout for where you can add value and be productive. You are participating as a contributor and producer in the world.
That’s the best way to function.
Below is The Only Fair Trade YouTube video, and the video transcript.
Video Transcript
This is the only entity in the world…actually in the universe…that is not sexist, racist, agist, homophobic or discriminatory in any way…
This goes to whoever wants it…
And it knows who wants it…because those who want it demonstrate their desire every day by…adding value
By being contributors…
Producers…
Those who are moving forward…not obstructing the way
And this knows to go to them to because value is what is most appreciated in our world today.
In fact, we are desperate for it.
For those who recognize a need, see a problem, and don’t just talk about it…but actually deliver a solution for it.
We are desperate for those people…
We demonstrate our desperation every day through our searches, our questions, our asks in every way…help…
If you have an idea, a way to solve a problem, to lighten the load, to change the world…you need to get your idea out in front of the people who want it…and you can do that by starting your own online business that is focused on delivering a solution.
Starting a business is not what it used to be. You don’t have to be tinkering in a garage or pitching to stuffy investors or giving up your life savings for a location on a shopping street…
…because you start online, where many resources are free or inexpensive.
You can test your idea, discover your niche market, cultivate your customer avatar…all without spending a lot of these.
And you can find out what works, so that you can build and grow your business idea from that foundation.
This…will come to you if your idea has value
You don’t have to be making millions, or billions…
You just have to find enough people – as you determine by your own definition of success – who want your product…because it’s valuable to them – it’s a solution they have been looking for.
This is the best time in history to start your own business – you have the convergence of two important facts…
The Internet which gives you the resources you need…
And access to the Global Marketplace – through the Internet – which allows you to reach the world with your idea.
It’s all before you…
And this…is all around you…
The next step is yours…
I’m Case Lane, the author of Recast, a book about the first ten actions to take when getting started with an online business.
You recast to play a new role in your own life…this time as an online entrepreneur.
You take practical action to overcome your own doubts and distractions, and do what you have been thinking about doing.
Becoming an entrepreneur and starting your own business is about giving yourself a chance to live the life you have always wanted to live…
Do work that creates value and gives you meaning and purpose in your life…
Make yourself busy, involved and committed to doing something…anything that’s about going forward not backward…
Set yourself up for a future you want to live in…not one that will be handed to you
Entrepreneurship is about being free…
It’s not just about this…although lots of these are a party…
Be active…
Be involved…
Doing what you really want to do…for those you really want to do it for…
That’s the difference when you set out to become an entrepreneur.
And the fastest and best way to do it these days is to become an online entrepreneur.
Take a look at the description for this video to get access to resources you can use right now to get your online business started.
Video Description
Recast Inspiration to Start Your Own Business. This video is called The Only Fair Trade…the value you add for the Benjamins.
FREE // Learn the first 5 Actions to take when getting started with an online business. It’s not what you may be thinking think…but it may be the answer to getting past your procrastination and distractions. Download here: https://www.caselane.net/recast-actions
Maybe like you, I did all the ‘right’ things to end up in all the ‘right’ places only to discover that what I really wanted to do was contribute and add value on my terms. I started out in the online business game chasing all the shiny apples, only to discover that none of them laid out a clear plan for actually getting started with an online business, and working through the details to launch a business.
So I’ve learned the lessons, and now I pass them on to you…
Recast is the path you need to follow FIRST before you take any more confusing steps towards becoming an online entrepreneur.
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT If you have business ideas in your head, but you’re still thinking maybe entrepreneurship is not for you, you must FIND THE CONFIDENCE TO START YOUR BUSINESS, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xstvw…
GET THE RECAST BOOK
Recast is my Practical Guide to Getting Started with Your Online Business. You will learn the foundational actions to take to set yourself up for success, followed by the creative actions that take you towards launching your online business. These are the practical actions no one talks about, but everyone should do BEFORE you start chasing a specific online business ‘magic’ plan. Click here for the book: https://caselane.com/books/recast/
TAKE THE DOMINATE ONLINE BUSINESS COURSE
Already set to get your online business started? Get all the training and information you need to launch your business in the Dominate the Year Start Your Online Business course. This comprehensive program is like no other – it’s total and complete details for you to understand the online business landscape, pick your idea, pick your platform, create your content, find your niche market, launch with confidence…and much, much more. Learn more about the course here: https://www.caselane.net/dominate-course
Get more information…much more about how to move from ‘aspiring’ entrepreneur to online entrepreneur at the Ready Entrepreneur website https://www.readyentrepreneur.com/
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WHO IS CASE LANE?
Hello, I’m Case Lane. I’m a global entrepreneur, writer, traveler and observer to the future.
But to start out, I followed all the traditional paths and ended up as a lawyer, economist, corporate executive, management consultant and diplomat.
Along the way I lived, worked and studied in ten different countries, learned to speak three languages, and became focused on economic development through business enterprise.
In my travels and living in different countries, I observed how entrepreneurs in all economic circumstances take the resources at hand, and build not only thriving businesses, but rising wealth. In the humblest rural small towns, or in the midst of a chaotic unregulated urban centers, action-takers who want to start a business implement their ideas, change their lives, and the community around them.
I decided to bring those similar tactics to a broader audience by creating Ready Entrepreneur as a comprehensive guide for taking your business from IDEA to OPEN.
And I wrote Recast, specifically to help you get started, when you have no idea how to begin your entrepreneurial journey.
I want to make sure you have practical, doable action you can take right now, to get past the obstacles that have been holding you back from pursuing your dreams.
If you think this sounds right to you, subscribe to my channel, and make sure you get your free copy of the Recast First 5 Actions so that you don’t miss more great information that you can use to get started as an online entrepreneur.
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The Creative Actions for Starting an Online Business
by Case Lane
This is Part Two of Two posts about my new book Recast: The Aspiring Entrepreneur’s Practical Guide to Getting Started with an Online Business.
The book is ten practical actions for aspiring entrepreneurs who want to start a business online, live with purpose and achieve their dreams
In this second post, I’m covering the Creative Actions, where aspiring entrepreneurs must understand the options for moving forward with a business idea
Part Two: Recast
When you Recast Yourself as an Entrepreneur, you are deciding to change the way you think, work and act so that you can bring forward – usually from scratch – the vision of a product or service that provides a solution for people who want or need it from you.
You are doing something exciting and terrifying.
You are aimed against the tide, and this whole societal idea of what you should and should not be doing.
Maybe it’s a little crazy?
And maybe it’s the entire idea of progress.
But how exactly do you do it?
Recast for Success
The role of Marty McFly in the fabulous Back to the Future movies was originally played by Eric Stoltz. They had already started filming when the production decided Stoltz was not right for the part. They wanted Michael J. Fox, who at the time was the star of a hit comedy series called Family Ties.
Now this is Hollywood, and Hollywood does not exactly share talent. The problem is like having a professional athlete who wants to play two sports. Like Bo Jackson, who played professional baseball and football at the same time. Both teams are freaked out that the athlete will be injured in the other sport – and then deny the other team their star. This might explain why you rarely get the two-sport professional anymore.
When Back to the Future was recast, the production had a problem. How do you get Michael J Fox in two places at once? Legend says they worked out a deal where a car service, and an assistant took him back and forth between the Back to the Future set and the Family Ties set, and made sure he was where he was supposed to be.
Both sets had to work out a schedule, plan their shooting for when he was available, and the transport had to get him back and forth as required.
Presumably, Michael J Fox could catch up on his sleep in the car.
Both Back to the Future and Family Ties were iconic mega hits, so history can assume everybody was happy.
But the opportunity for came from working through the logistical and schedule details.
The Creative Actions
For an aspiring entrepreneur who wants to get started with an online business, which requires navigating between an old life, and a new dream, you have to focus on the Creative Actions that bring the dream to fruition.
The five creative actions you need to move forward, follow the five foundational actions discussed in a previous post. As in the book Recast which covers all ten actions together, the count for the creative actions begins at…
6. Identify your Idea
7. Research
8. Connect
9. Create an Action Plan
10. Do Activity #1
6. Identify Your Business Idea
Your business idea is the core value you want to deliver as an entrepreneur. What is the product or service you believe is wanted or needed by people in your soon-to-be-defined community in the world?
Identify your interests and skills, your passions within those interests and skills, and extract your business idea from that information.
Even if you are not sure about the idea, pick one so you can move forward. You can always change it later as thousands of entrepreneurs have done before you.
7. Research
Once you have your idea, you begin researching. This research is specifically about how to get started and set-up a business around your idea. For example, if you want an online store, you begin investigating how to set-up an online store.
Your research can include taking an online course, reading books, listening to podcasts, watching videos – taking notes. Whatever is the best way you like to approach learning.
Take notes about key points so you go alone. For example, if someone outlines a step-by-step, take notes include where there are gaps in your understanding. Your next research will be to fill in the gaps.
Put together a picture of the work you have to do next.
8. Connect
Part of your research is also action #8 – connecting. You want to talk to people who have done what you want to do. If you cannot find like-minded people – you can continue to research specific people by listening to their podcasts, or watching videos and reading their books.
If you can talk to specific people, use the information you gathered in your initial research phase to ask questions that continue to fill in the blanks.
Ask what the gurus leave out! That’s the most valuable question: What are people not saying about a particular product, service or industry?
9. Create Your Business Action Plan
As you are gathering research, you are creating an action plan. Make a blueprint for the activities you need to do to start your business.
Your blueprint can include activities such as buying your domain name or options for product manufacturing. Each activity will likely have additional activities attached to it. As you create your action plan, account for any area where there are still questions.
In your Action Plan, include how long an activity is estimated to take, who is needed to do it, and how much it could cost.
With any cost that looks prohibitive, identify alternatives, or create another action to identify the money.
Keep going through this process until you’ve given yourself a complete overview of all activities you would need to do to get your business up and running.
But do not keep adding ideas and activities forever.
The key to the entire process is to take Action. You create a plan only as far as you need to begin creating your business.
10. Complete the First Activity in Your Action Plan
Your final get started action is to complete activity in your action Plan. Finishing the activity will lead you to the next one. Completing your first action gives you momentum – and feedback. You can begin to see results and get more ideas.
Your Action Plan is a living document. One that adapts and changes as you take action. You keep it going with each new move you make.
Summary: Your Creative Actions
When you Recast as an Entrepreneur, you are setting yourself up for a life of – professional satisfaction, financial security and lifestyle freedom – on your terms.
But you have to be prepared to be an entrepreneur.
And you have to get started.
Your Creative Actions for Your Entrepreneurial Dream are to:
- Identify your Business Idea
- Research
- Connect
- Create your Action Plan
- Complete your First Activity
Every action you take towards building your business gives you the confidence and momentum to keep going forward. And if you keep going forward, you avoid falling away to the fears and obstacles that stop many aspiring entrepreneurs from achieving their lifestyle dream.
Disclosure: Links to Amazon.com are affiliate links which earn for eligible purchases at no additional cost to you.
ARE YOU FOLLOWING THE RECAST PATH?
CLICK TO GO TO THE GETTING STARTED FACTOR YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND NEXT:
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The Foundational Actions for Starting An Online Business
by Case Lane
This is Part One of Two posts about my new book Recast: The Aspiring Entrepreneur’s Practical Guide for Getting Started With an Online Business. The book is ten practical actions for aspiring entrepreneurs who want to start a business online, live with purpose, and achieve their dreams
In this first post, I’m covering the Foundational Actions, that are often overlooked by aspiring entrepreneurs who just jump right in to the online business arena.
Part One: Recast
When you make a decision to stop doing everything you were supposed to do – college, work, mortgage in the suburbs – and start doing everything you have always wanted to do – you throw off years, maybe decades of indoctrination and start again – as someone else.
An extraordinary moment for an extraordinary person?
Or just the right-of-passage for every entrepreneur?
Historically, most people were dependent on their tribe or community, and could not just walk away. Now you can be individually free, and that’s both liberating and terrifying.
In a steel mill, to recast means melting the steel down and reshaping it into a new form.
In Hollywood and on Broadway, recasting means replacing the original performer with some new.
What does it mean to Recast Yourself as an entrepreneur?
The Consequences of Recasting
In the DVD extras for the movie The French Connection, director William Friedkin talks about the actor who played the movie’s memorable villain. Friedkin had told someone to go to Europe and get the actor he wanted to play a rich French drug dealer named Alain Charnier.
When the actor showed up on set, Friedkin took one look at him and said something like: ‘you’re not the guy I wanted.’
The actor said something like: ‘I didn’t think so. And I’m Spanish not French.’
That bit of mistaken recasting created one of the most memorable roles in one of the greatest movies ever made. Spanish actor Fernando Rey would play Charnier in both the original movie, which won five Oscars including Best Picture, and in the sequel The French Connection II.
Recasting is a Hollywood, and Broadway, reality that is loaded with disasters and successes. But at it’s core, recasting means giving the part to a different actor. On the screen, a new person comes in, and makes the role their own.
When I set out to write a book about getting started as an entrepreneur, I wanted to capture the essence of how you should adapt to your new role – and I called the book Recast.
When you decide to become an entrepreneur, you are recasting the role of your life, from playing perhaps an obedient adherent to the status quo, to someone who lives the life you have designed for meaning and purpose.
And you come out on the other side thinking of yourself differently.
Start Your Recast With Yourself
Start your recast as an entrepreneur in a completely different place than most people…start with you.
Many aspiring entrepreneurs remain ‘aspiring’ because you are trying to jump right in to starting a business without any preparation. Then when you get derailed by relevant details, you stay derailed and do not get back on track.
The Five Foundational Actions
When Recasting, begin with the foundational actions you need to take to BEFORE you launch into your business details. Your five foundational actions are followed by five creative actions.
The five foundational actions are to:
1. Take a deep breath
2. Establish your workspace
3. Gather your tools
4. Remove distractions
5. Set your schedule
1. Take a Deep Breath
Taking a deep breath is shorthand for saying make sure you are mentally, and physically prepared to dedicate your time and effort to your business.
Entrepreneurship is a marathon of endless sprints. You have to be prepared to constantly adapt and change to circumstances, to shift when something is not working, and to double-down when it is.
You want to be able to move forward with confidence and security, and the only way you can do that is to make yourself prepared for the long-haul. So once you have convinced yourself that is what you’re going to do, you need a good place to work.
2. Establish Your Workspace
If you do not already know for sure where you’re going to work, take a moment to walk around the house or neighborhood, and identify your spot. This may sound mundane until you realize that you’ll want your own corner for maybe hours at a time to do business related activities.
Don’t skip this action, and then come back a day later and say you did not do any work because you could not find a good quiet spot to focus.
Take a whole day if needed. Identify several locations that you want to test, but select one to start that’s realistic and suitable for your work.
3. Gather Your Tools
After picking the place to work, avoid sitting down, and getting up five minutes later because you forgot coffee or a pen or the lighting does not work.
Make sure you have around you all the tools you like to use when you’re working.
When you go to work in a corporate job, on the first day HR takes you around and shows you your desk, the break room, the supply room, and so on. Do the same for yourself.
Identify your coffee or water. Get the supplies you like. Even if you’re 100% digital, make sure the electrical outlet is accessible. And you’re not in a wi-fi deadzone.
Although, these actions may sound trivial, these are exactly the setbacks that provide obstacles…and excuses for aspiring entrepreneurs who end up delaying their business…sometimes for years.
4. Remove Distractions
When establishing your workspace, be aware of potential distractions. If you are sharing space, make sure you can work without being interrupted. And interruptions do not only come from your household. You could have external disruptions such as a school bell or trash pick-up that interfere with your video calls.
Also if people know you’re working from home, they will inevitability think you can be on the phone or sign for packages or run an errand – when you’re trying to get your work done.
Removing distractions means letting everyone know you are working on your business, not having a vacation. And you have to be serious and dedicated to this particular action.
5. Set Your Schedule
To finalize your foundational actions, you will create your new schedule. In corporate life, you have a set time to go to work. In online life, you want freedom and flexibility. But you also have to do the work, or delegate to others and supervise.
The most common factor among successful entrepreneurs is the fact that they actually did the work. They created a business, and kept moving forward with their plans.
Create a schedule where you put time aside every day to do the work. You may only have a limited amount to do, or a lot, but establish the time you need to complete your daily tasks.
Account for conflicts with your household or location. You do not want to be scheduling your calls at the same time your child is having a piano lesson.
You want to have a picture of your entire day, and then identify the times within the day that work best for your work.
Summary: The Foundational Actions
Setting up a solid foundation for your business will support you going forward, and make the next part – the creative phase that much easier.
To Create a Solid Foundation for Your Entrepreneurial Dream:
- Take a deep breath and get mentally and physically prepared to focus on your business
- Find a dedicated workspace
- Gather the tools you will need to do the work
- Remove all distractions from people to devices
- Create your schedule that fits your selections
If you take these actions first, before you dive in to your business, you will feel more confident and secure before moving forward.
For the next article: Click Here for the Creative Actions: Part 2 of 2: Recast: Ten Practical Actions for Aspiring Entrepreneurs Who Want to Start a Business Online, Live with Purpose and Achieve their Dreams
Disclosure: Links to Amazon.com are affiliate links which earn for eligible purchases at no additional cost to you.
ENJOY LIVE CLASSES?
Case Lane is delivering a FREE WEBINAR: How to Start an Online Business With An Idea You Champion!
Thursday 10 am PST via Zoom
WANT TO READ THE BOOK?
You can Download Recast at Amazon.com
Get all the details about how to Recast your life, and become an online entrepreneur in this exciting new book!
Disclosure: Links to Amazon.com are affiliate links, which earn for eligible purchases at no additional cost to you
How to Dominate Your Niche of Niches Online
Part 4 of 4: Be the Automatic Leader in the Niche of Your Choice
by Case Lane
As an aspiring entrepreneur, you may have spent years, maybe four or 8 or 10, continuing your education, putting in hours or days on your chosen skill, or maybe even researching a subject of interest every day.
With the activities you enjoy, and wherever your interests lie, you have more information about the subject than someone who is looking for the product or service you have to offer.
Yet when it comes to thinking about delivering your message online, you may feel uncomfortable. You squirm a little at the idea that you could be someone who could deliver value to others – for money.
Maybe even at your work, there are probably people who are paid more than you; in education thousands of others have your diploma; and in your hobby…it’s a hobby, for a reason. Your daily reality may make you question how you could be a leader on online.
You Can Provide Solutions
Once in the Duty Free store at Los Angeles International Airport, I overheard a discussion between a store clerk and a passenger. The clerk was trying to explain to the passenger that she could not take the bag of stuff she had just bought – alcohol, perfume – with her.
That policy can be confusing for infrequent travelers. Duty Free Stores are promoted as free from taxes. You can purchase products when you are leaving the country. But the store must send the items to your flight, and you pick them up literally as you are walking on to the plane.
The passenger obviously had not bought duty free before so she was confused, and was trying to understand the rules in a language that was not her own.
But I could understand both. Or make myself understood. I had an approach – unique and singular – based on my education, knowledge and experience. No one else can deliver in exactly the same way (no one else was around), the moment was mine to seize.
I could provide a solution.
Of course, there is a risk in providing unsolicited advice. Some people might consider you rude, presumptuous or…not an expert. You may not be their idea of a solution provider, your approach may not suit their sensibilities, or they may not respect the experience you have.
There are many possibilities….
But at the same time, when people are struggling, and they’ve tried other solutions and nothing worked, they still need help.
In my case, I was in a position to deliver a solution.
Where will you be when your future customers come looking online for you, and your potential product or service?
If you are an aspiring entrepreneur, your role is to deliver value to those who want or need the product or service you want to offer. If you have something to offer, the only way your community can learn about it is if you offer your knowledge.
You may find it awkward to offer people your help in a way they are not expecting. But at the same time, if you have the knowledge and a way to deliver it, you can support another person’s goals, and be a great assistance to them.
In the beginning, you may feel imposter syndrome because your position is new and untried. But it’s valid. You have a solution – someone else does not. It’s your opportunity, some would say, responsibility as an entrepreneur, to offer the value you have to deliver.
Summary: How You Dominate Your Niche
1. If you have gone in to business, it’s because you believe you have value to offer. You have business ideas in your head or a solution for someone else’s problem. That value needs to be expressed.
2. Your approach to the product or service is different from others, and it’s an approach you should not feel afraid to deliver. Because your experience, education, expertise – that’s all unique to you, and that uniqueness is what is going to differentiate you and make you the automatic leader.
3. There were automobiles before Henry Ford, furniture before Ikea, makeup before Mary Kay, mobile phones before Steve Jobs, movies before Walt Disney. And you probably do not need to be told why those products became unique when those individuals decided to deliver them.
As an aspiring entrepreneur, you do not have to be creating a global corporation, but you do have to use your uniqueness to attract the customer base that you have created the product or service for.
Online people can be accusatory and critical – but there is a way to ensure those ones are not relevant to you.
You deliver to the people who appreciate your uniqueness, and you ignore everyone who does not.
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Case Lane is delivering a FREE WEBINAR: How to Start an Online Business With An Idea You Champion!
Thursday 10 am PST via Zoom
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How to Decide on an Online Platform
Part 3 of 4: Choose to Be Comfortable
by Case Lane
When choosing to launch an online business, you do not want to be phony.
In fact, you are told must be authentic.
Except there’s the conflict. You are being told you MUST be authentic, under the assumption that everyone knows what authentic is.
At the same time that people claim you must be authentic, they also claim you should make videos, or send email, or start a podcast or dance on Tik-Tok.
Aspiring entrepreneurs who want to start a business, and attract an audience, but are turned off by the so-called ‘authentic’ things everyone is saying to do, need an alternative for appearing on an online platform.
The best bet is to pick the space where you are most comfortable.
What is an Online Platform?
Your online platform is the Internet space where you have your online presence – the basis for your business.
Bloggers have a website, podcasters appear in directories, vloggers post YouTube videos. Social media influencers dominate on Facebook or Instagram or Twitter.
You decide which one works best for you by deciding first which form of public expression suits your preferences.
A Presence You Own and Defend
A while back, in Hollywood, one of my colleagues once told me about this incredible idea one of the senior executives had that would change the industry.
My colleague was prone to exaggeration about a senior executive’s idea…especially if it could lead to career advancement. But the executive in question was more qualified than most, and had a solid reputation.
The idea could have been great…
….but, it was terrible.
And to my surprise I told my colleague exactly what I thought of the idea. I reacted against character because I felt passionate about the subject, and had a strong opinion of its viability.
The decision whether the idea would be implemented was not mine to make, but the opinion was definitely mine to express.
The defense of your own approach is even more pronounced online.
Model Your Own Instincts
When you see people online in your target industry acting all the same – being cutesy, dancing, giving shoutouts, swearing and hollering….
You might think that’s how you have to behave to win over people in your potential community.
Many aspiring entrepreneurs imitate successful people because they believe the success can be directly copied.
But that approach rarely works.
There is already a successful person being the original version of who you want to be, so a fake version has a limited chance.
Often a new entrepreneur does not want to behave like the successful person. But does it under the mistaken belief that the community will only respond to the questionable behavior.
However, since you are passionate about your product and service, and turned off by the presentation of the existing leaders in your field, then you may have an opportunity with other members of the community who feel as you do.
No doubt your niche has specific approaches to ensure you are seen by your community, and are communicating your message effectively, but you can modify your approach to ensure you are comfortable, and therefore authentic in your presentation.
If you see a successful person in your industry who is a blogger, but you hate writing, you can either do something else, or outsource the writing to someone else.
Remember, online your marketplace is the entire world. There is likely a community that would appreciate receiving your product or service in a form that it is not currently presented.
For example, today almost every book is released in digital, print and audio formats. Not to mention those that may eventually be made into a movie or show.
The reason you can keep releasing the same story in different forms is because different people want to absorb the same story in the format they prefer.
Select Your Platform Preference
You can deliver your product or service offering on exactly the platform that you prefer.
You have to decide where you add value, and how you want to contribute based on your expertise and skills.
You can also look at your niche the same way. Test the approaches you prefer, and measure your community’s response.
For example, professional NFL football has one community of beer-drinking, screaming, face painters…and another of statistics and analysis geeks from analytics professors and statisticians to college students and the curious who discuss the probabilities of certain plays, moves and scores in every scenario.
The business of data is data tables, analysis apps, fantasy football instruction manuals, courses on how to understand the game, blog, podcast, affiliate for clothes, gear, and food…and more.
You can approach your own passion in your niche in any direction you choose, and find your community wherever they may be hiding.
You can write, talk, film, teach, dance or holler…
Practically everyone is on the Internet, and everyone is looking for their preferred approach to education, information and entertainment.
There is no competition and all fields are wide open because people are constantly searching for their preferences.
When you go online with your business idea. You can deliver as you see fit.
That’s the incredible opportunity that exists in the online space today. And you have the opportunity of a lifetime to take advantage of it.
For the next article: Click Here for Part 4 of 4: How Dominate Your Niche of Niches
ENJOY LIVE CLASSES?
Case Lane is delivering a FREE WEBINAR: How to Start an Online Business With An Idea You Champion!
Thursday 10 am PST via Zoom
WANT TO READ THE BOOK?
Get a FREE Summary of Case Lane’ new book Recast: The Aspiring Entrepreneur’s Prep Guide to Starting An Online Business
Click this link to get your summary and early bird notice of the book’s release.
Today’s entrepreneur will inevitably be asked at some point where you like to connect on social.
Are you on Facebook? Insta? Do you tweet? Pin? Prefer Linked?
If you are not in to social media, or you prefer not to have your business on social media, you will miss out on potentially thousands, maybe millions, of customers who use social to find all the information they seek.
But you have many options for choosing a preferred social media platform. Some will say follow your audience, others will stay stick with favorite site. Some believe in only being on the biggest. Others like the niches. Some insist you should be everywhere, others believe you must specialize on one.
In all cases, consistent and valuable content helps build a lasting audience that always knows where to find you.
But what is the best path for choosing a social media platform?
And how do you know which social media platform is right for your business?
Whether you love or hate social media, you are going to have to have a position on the platforms for your business. Potential customers will look for you on social, and they will want to engage with you there. You will also have the opportunity to market, promote and share value every day, all day.
So how do you choose?
Understand the platforms
You need to understand what each of the social media platforms are, and what they do. You should also understand the demographics for the dominate audience on each platform.
The basic idea of a social platform is that you establish a profile, post your text or pictures, and people engage with that profile, leaving comments and feedback that other people can see.
Find Your Audience
When marketers say you need to know where your audience is hanging out, you can use either formal or informal approaches to finding this information.
The informal approach is to check out the sites and see who is there. Make sure you set-up a profile and see if you can engage with other participants.
Search topics relevant to your business, and look at the people who are posting and commenting on the subject. Narrow your search as much as possible. If you search #entrepreneur on Instagram, you see tens of millions of posts.
But if you search #womenentrepreneursofsaskatchewan, there are fewer than 100 posts.
As you look at the public profiles or pages of your potential customers, you will be able to learn about their preferences and interests.
The formal search approach involves using paid analysis services.
When you are looking to analyze where the audience is located, you can look at sources like Hootsuite. Every year there are multiple organizations that analyze social media trends and usage. You could spend some time reading these documents, or you could just go to each site and see what’s there.
Although these are great services for information, they present the information in generalities. While the general profile of the audience may be valid, you will not have the specifics about your potential customers who could be anywhere.
Be careful about dismissing a potential audience thread because you read the audience is more likely to be somewhere else. Look at the content on the platform and see for yourself if you think the audience appeals to you.
Go through the platform as a user, search for topics that interest you and see what comes up, and whether it’s easy or difficult to find what you are looking for.
Do you get bored after a few minutes or end up being sucked in for hours? That’s the real test of whether or not the platform works for you – now ask does it work for your ideal customer?
Overview of Each Platform in Alphabetical Order
Despite its increasingly eroding reputation, Facebook is still the social media behemoth. With a couple billion users a day, Facebook is impossible to ignore. But ironically it’s one of the more difficult platforms for building an audience.
You must bring friends to your Facebook page, and hope they will like or follow you, or preferably both. Facebook is the most demanding platform when it comes to proving interaction.
Your potential customer must friend, follow and like you to count in your numbers. That’s three clicks just to be recognizes as operating in your world.
But you have the benefit of using Facebook for long text messages, short messenger messages, images, videos, and links. That kind of complete functionality does not exist on the other sites.
If your business is prepared to spend Facebook also has a robust advertising program that allows you to directly target people who have expressed an interest subjects you define. The scope of their customer analytics is extraordinary, but the frequently changing rules is a challenge for all sides.
Goodreads
Goodreads is included as an example of a subject specific social site. The site is for readers, which means it’s used by authors who have profiles, to answer questions, post reviews and engage in groups.
If you are a writer or writing a book that is linked to your business or other non-fiction in your genre you can engage with readers on the platform. But be careful, Goodreads is a readers site meaning authors are not welcome to promote their books, only to offer value.
You can search for subject social sites and forums discussing issues around your product or service.
The occasionally-defined, and often-repeated rule is to add value first, avoid promoting your product or service unless permitted, and respect the site for its declared purpose, not as a place only for you to find more customers.
For all the photography buffs, Insta is for you. The site is defined by its visual presentation of images and videos. The emphasis on images leaves you with a limited profile and no place to put links inside posts.
Insta is perfect for businesses that use images in promotion like travel and cooking. It has fewer opportunities to direct people off the platform, unless you have a business account, which does have additional features.
In the past, Instagram has been one of the best sites for growing an audience organically because you could use hashtags to connect your content to various topics and ideas, and people would discover you.
However, it seems to be getting harder to be discovered on Insta which limits the options for those who do not have community coming from somewhere else.
Linked In
The site for professionals is all about profiles, networking and adding value.
Linked In is probably the most serious of the sites, with people who have high expectations for the type of contact that should be available. You can add links, videos, and pics, but all should be of the highest quality and interest.
This is probably the hardest site for growing a business and attracting people to developing ideas, but one of the strongest for more established ideas and information people can use in their existing professional lives.
Many are surprised to realize that Pinterest is more of a search engine, than a social site. This is a place where people are looking for specific topics and ideas.
The user’s approach appears to make Pinterest more serious than a typical social site. Pins often lead to blogs, that provide detailed resources, keeping users off the social site. But the functionality also makes Pinterest the most mysterious of the social sites.
You are pinning your ideas, which require extra work to find and create an appealing pin graphic, and then writing the post in the description area. The organization and categorization of your pin is not intuitive. If you decide to become serious about using the site, you should do some research into keyword selection and writing for pins.
But if you are putting together interesting collections on your pin boards, you may be surprised about how you begin to attract new followers.
Snapchat
The site most associated with a younger crowd appears to have lost its original lustre. But it’s all about creativity – pictures and captions – decorated and enhanced for appeal and attraction.
This site is mostly ‘fast,’ and in the moment so if that’s how your business rolls it could be your preference.
Tik Tok
This is one big party. You could have room for your business here, but only if it’s a party.
Whether you are inflamed or not by the messages, you know Twitter is where people make statements sometimes short, sometimes threads, and all range of controversy.
If you want to be quoted, leave your comments on Twitter. You can also just use the site to post announcements about your business.
If you are using Twitter for business, you may not want want to be doing anything that will effect your revenue or turn off your ideal customers. The temptation is there to fill in those 280 characters with a shocking statement. But it’s not always the most ideal way to move forward.
YouTube
If you set up a channel for your videos, you can use the description section in YouTube to provide more detail, and help people find you.
Although YouTube not set up as a social site, it can still be used as one. Viewers can engage with you in comments and you can reply – allowing others to see the discussion.
Next to Facebook, YouTube is the biggest social site. It’s hard to ignore the appeal of video. Even if you are not comfortable on camera, you may still want to consider how the platform may be useful for you.
Summary of Social Media Platform Differences
Here’s a quick glance guide to each platform:
Facebook – short or long posts, images, videos, and links, but you have to get the audience to come to you. There’s an invitation step for friends, and a commitment from followers
Goodreads – readers, readers and more readers and all things books – look for similar sites in your niche
Instagram – images, videos, stories, people can find you through hashtags – but no links and not many long involved posts
Linked In – serious, professional, more thoughtful posts, but also more engaged and possibly more connected
Pinterest – images, text in the descriptions, links, more of a search network, no comments, but people can find you and follow you
Snap Chat – all social all the time, great if you want to be communicating with your audience all the time
TikTok – all performance all the time, if you have creative videos this is where you should be
Twitter – short phrases, witty posts, your quotes and brief comments hashtags, but not much room for serious engagement
You Tube – video with text explanations, a search engine, links in the description, social in the comments
When aspiring entrepreneurs begin investigating the options for starting an online business, the variety of options can be overwhelming. People appear to be making money as bloggers, podcasters, vloggers, teachers, and not to mention the all-encompassing ‘influencer.’
The open question is: How do people actually get set-up and become successful online?
Then there’s the terminology. The word website is ubiquitous, but what about landing page or squeeze page? Email, direct response, digital and targeted marketing? What’s the best approach and best tools for the type of business you want to create?
3 Key Online ‘Presence’ Tools
The most common tools, that you control, for establishing your online space are: your website, landing page and email management.
If you want to understand more about what the online tools look like, and how you can get set-up using them go to: guide.readyentrepreneur.com to get a step-by-step introduction to getting setup on your website, landing page and email management. And there are videos there too.
Reasons for Using a Specific Tool
You can decide which tool to use based on the depth of online presence you want to have.
You do not have to have a website to have an online presence. You can use social media to build your online presence or start a YouTube channel. Or just have an online store through Etsy or WooCommerce. Establishing your content on a third party brand can act as your website, but that decision has its limitations.
Ask yourself: Do you want or need a specific place where you can send your community, or do you want to be hosted on a third party’s platform.
Important Considerations
If you do not have your own space – you are subject to the other platform’s control. You would end up being dependent on Facebook’s latest rules, or design limitations on a template store or similar constraints developed by others.
The consideration around the type of online presence you want is whether or not you want to have control.
You also have to consider how you want to scale. With your own space, you can scale on your own terms.
The question is: Are you a renter or an owner? You can imagine the preferred approach is to own so you can grow and have the flexibility you need.
Landing page or Website?
The terms landing page or squeeze page or lead page or lead magnet, all refer to the same thing. Your landing page is a one page website that provides information about your business, product or service, and usually prompts the viewer to do something like enter an email address to receive a product from you.
Entrepreneurs start with a landing page as a way to collect e-mail addresses or sign-people up for a webinar or another service. This is a great way to start if you want to build your community from the beginning, and manage e-mails from the beginning. It may also be less expensive to have only a landing page instead of a website, and starting with one page helps you get started quickly.
A website is much more in-depth because it has multiple pages, and you can target each page differently. On the Ready Entrepreneur sites there are pages that provide foundational information about finding your confidence, time, money, value, action and lifestyle – the 6 core factors in Ready Entrepreneur.
There are posts for the blog. If you plan to start a blog, you would start with a website, not a landing page.
You can have integrated pages from another site. If you select the courses page on the Ready Entrepreneur website, it takes you to the platform where my courses live, which is Teachable.
And you can collect e-mails and other information.
In general, you have more flexibility to present more ideas with a website. All the functionality of a landing page is with a website, but not vice versa.
Collecting E-Mail Addresses
Whether you start with a website or a landing page, you have to decide if you are going to collect e-mail addresses.
Why do businesses ask for your email?
The top reason is they want to own a record of interested customers for continued marketing. Over time, you want your own community – that you own – by having a list of emails of people who are interested in what you do, and why you do it.
Almost everyone looks at email every day. Even the people who use multiple email addresses to keep the marketing separate from personal or business correspond, still definitely look – because they want to see if there are any new deals or offerings that are interesting. And they know the businesses who have their emails are the businesses they have done business with, and might want to do it again.
An aspiring entrepreneur has to make a decision about collecting emails. Many people may believe it’s an obvious decision, but it’s not as obvious as it sounds. Once you collect a customer’s e-mail you have to protect it, and you should decide what to do with it.
If you decide to start communicating with the people on your list, you want to be able to provide them with continuously interesting information so that they will remember you, and be engaged with your e-mails. If you decide to neglect communicating, and then suddenly start up again, you may surprise people. If they’ve forgotten you, you may receive a quick unsubscribe.
Before you start collecting e-mails, think about what your plan will be for your email list.
Will you have an opening sequence, a series of emails that are scheduled to send you messages in a defined sequence?
If so then you are probably wanting to use an email management system, like ConvertKit, which is what I use (and for which I’m an affiliate). At ConvertKit, Mail Chimp and a few other providers, you can set up your account for free. You begin to pay as you attract more subscribers and scale.
If you are not planning to do elaborate communications, or you do not want to have any upfront costs, you can manage emails in a spreadsheet. However, you have to be careful that your system does not get out of control as your business grows. If you are planning to do a promotional push to get people to sign-up with you, you probably want to get a paid system, and automated, system.
There are many different email management systems that are differentiated on features and price. What you want is ease of us and flexibility. Think about your strategy for emails. Are you going to have different programs with different lists that need to be managed differently? Then you definitely want a system that can help you to do that efficiently.
The considerations are flexibility, growth management and cost.
Summary
When you are starting out as an aspiring entrepreneur, you will know doubt look at online resources and try to decide how to use them.
For each option, tactically think through each option to avoid being lost or wasting time trying to make a decision.
- Decide what kind of online presence you want – your own controlled or hosted on another platform
- Do you want to manage your own image and style without limitation and not be subject to someone else’s rules, or do you want to keep it simple
- If you pick your own space – between a landing page or a website do you want to start big or small
- If you are going to collect emails you have to decide if you want to manually or automatically manage the process
- Manually is potentially more difficult especially as you grow.
- Automatically will grow with you, and provide flexibility to do different approaches with different groups
- Think through your reasons for using a particular tool before you get started.
Disclaimer: Links to Bluehost, Convert Kit and LeadPages are affiliate links which earn for eligible purchases.
