I am quickly coming to the realization that the timing for the launch of this blog was poor. I simply have too many things going on outside of this project at the moment. I will be closing on a home purchase this week or next (which has been in the works for nearly two months). I have been getting inspections, shopping for furniture, calling movers, pricing insurance, etc. Even after the move completes, I will have to move in. Additionally, school (university) starts next week.
That doesn’t mean this project is on hold. It is simply that for at least a few additional weeks forward I will not be able to blog regularly. I am going to attempt to maintain my blogging schedule on The New Self, but even there I am behind (I have written entries for the 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th which I have not yet published and have still not written or planned for the 15th or 16th).
I am going to continue to do some background and planning work on the next projects but I am not likely to make any substantial progress until things settle down just a little bit for me. So for that, I apologize, but for the next two to four weeks, posts will be few and far between and sporadic at best.
Wordpress is a great blogging platform and my choice in blogging software. Most hosting services offer a one click install process. This allows users who know absolutely nothing about a building a website to have their own blog up and running in a matter of minutes without needing to learn anything about HTML or FTP or building websites for that matter.
While wordpress is infinitely customizable, many users opt to use the default settings out of the box. There is one very important setting that needs to be changed as soon as you setup your wordpress blog. That is your displayed user name or nickname. When creating a new blog, a default admin user is created and this is the user most blog owners will log in with.
If you want to become a successful blogger, you need to create an online identity or brand for yourself. The very first thing you should do is decide how you want your articles to be labeled. In my case, I use the name A.J. which also happens to be my real life initials. There are two ways to accomplish this:
- Create a new author user and log in as that user when you want to write posts
- Change the display name for the admin user
To create a new user, you should log in as admin, click users and fill out the form at the bottom of the page. Be sure to select Editor or Administrator as the type of user.
To change the display name for the default admin user, you should log in as admin, click users, click Edit where it shows the admin user and then put in a nickname. Click update user. After it saves, you will then need to select the nickname from the Display name publicly as: box that appears just under the nickname field.
This is important because this will not only affect how your name is displayed on your blog through each of your posts, but it will also affect how your blog posts are listed in various search services like Google Blog Search, Technorati and other similar services.
Finally, it affects how your blog posts are displayed in RSS readers. For example, I use Microsoft Outlook 2007 to subscribe to blogs I read regularly. It means each new post appears like an e-mail in a special inbox. I don’t get to read every post on every single day. You would be amazed how many different blog posts come From: admin. The sad thing is, there are a few prominent bloggers and even some blogs that are devoted to blogging tips where the display username has never been changed from admin to something more identifiable.
The work I’ve needed to complete on this blog and on The New Self has been dragging on and progressing a lot slower than I would have hoped for. The work that remains is primarily in navigation and adding a few more plugins to the line up to improve the blogs functionality.
The delays are in part due to a very busy and hectic schedule in my personal life. I just finished a Summer Semester at college and am getting ready for Fall Semester (thinking about going part time). I’m in the middle of litigation on several different fronts. At the same time, I’m in the process of buying a house. Additionally, I’ve made myself available for some volunteer work in which I was previously active but have been out of the scene for the last few years. As if that’s not enough, I’ve started a diet and a personal financial makeover. And to boot, remember that I keep a full time job and am a single parent of three boys.
That said, I have to force myself to move forward. I’m enjoying blogging, particularly keeping a personal blog. As much as I believe these blogs are a necessary foundation to the larger picture, they are not going to go very far by themselves to help me reach the goals that I have laid out. It is important that I keep my focus and keep myself moving forward.
So I’m setting this week as a deadline for me to put the finishing touches on these blogs. I would like to be working on the next project by the beginning of next week. By setting a deadline, I’m forcing myself to move forward. This doesn’t mean that I won’t continue to work on these blogs after this week is over with. More specifically, this means that I will be working on the next project even if I cannot allot the time to finish setting up the layout and navigation and functionality that I had hoped for in these blogs.
As I make rounds in the blogosphere, and more specifically as I read on other sites where users are chasing huge entrepreneurial and financial goals, I am amazed at how many of them want to be wealthy but are missing the first key element, the mindset.
While this topic in and of itself is very broad and encompasses lots of things, I want to focus my attention on a particular item. In many of these blogs that I’m visiting and following, I’m seeing a common theme. These blogs and sites are often chasing the cheapest and easiest road there. This is evidenced in the fact that many of them don’t start with their own domain. Once they realize a domain is necessary, they chase the absolute cheapest hosting they can find. And they are afraid to spend a few dollars on advertising.
I believe the old adage which says that it takes money to make money. As you’ll see in my post Owner’s Investments, I am placing $1,000 of my own money towards the success of this project as well as $100 per month of additional funding if needed. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t some success stories out there from people who started with nothing. But it’s like starting out with a choke hold on yourself.
More importantly however, this isn’t even about spending your own money or using start up capital and more so about a way of thinking. Let me pose a question. How many millionaires do you see riding around in Kia Rios or Hyundai Accents or other entry level or lowest priced cars? I know several millionaires and none of them walk into the dealership and buy the cheapest car on the lot. Not all of them buy expensive luxury cars, but they realize that both their time and image are important. They buy reliable and reputable cars and trucks that have a bit of power behind them. They ensure comfort and functionality and they typically avoid base models.
Now let’s be careful and understand that I’m not advocating buying the most expensive items out there. In fact price doesn’t always equal quality. But more often than not they are relational. I can be as frugal as they come sometimes. For example, the Internet’s largest registrar also happens to be one of the lower cost registrars. In this particular aspect ,I recommend that you save money because there is no quality difference associated with the lower price. In fact, their customer service and support is often superior to that of more expensive registrars.
That same company however is a very poor choice for hosting. I watch time and time again as these sites chase the very cheapest hosting offering they can find. This is sort of like setting up a high end jewelry boutique in the worst area of town in a run down strip mall. Why would you choose the cheapest building and worst section of town to put the cities finest choice in jewelry.
So for what it’s worth, to anyone out there that wants to be successful, you have to start developing the mindset of those who are already successful. There’s nothing wrong with using sub domains for personal blogs, but get your own domain for your business interests. There’s nothing wrong with using free themes and templates for personal sites and blogs either, but get a design or at least buy a commercial quality template for your business sites and blogs. And don’t chase saving $3 or $6 per month on hosting. Get a solid $10 or $20/mo hosting plan on a reputable service provider.
Remember, I’m not suggesting you run out and spend all sorts of money or select the most expensive or luxurious choices. Be smart with your money. But if you want to succeed, start doing what successful people do. Make wise choices and spare no expense to have what you need to be successful. Choose reliability and functionality over price and be willing to spend a few dollars.
I’ve only touched on one aspect of thinking like a millionaire. I highly recommend Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker if you want to see the bigger picture.
This week’s focus will be spent finishing up and tweaking the remaining items on the personal blogs. This entails a number of different things but they are all specifically “on site” changes. What I mean by that is I need to tweak and add some navigational elements. I intend to add a related posts plugin and a comments communications plugin to the site to make it more functional. And finally, on The New Self, I will be back filling the last few elements of content which are already outlined and partially written but not actually published yet.
I received an e-mail from a user asking when I was going to start making money. That’s a fair question. There’s a difference between my project and many others that are out there online. My goal isn’t to make a quick buck. It’s to build a lasting business model. One of the most significant challenges is time right now. But even with that out of the way, my plan is laid out and includes making money but there is no pressure to make it quickly. I’m more interested in something that will last. I don’t have any urgent needs that say I have to make a certain amount within 3 months or by years end. That puts me in a unique position. I can build an online identity and brand. I can launch sites that are designed to give me benefits other than money but will be major advantages down the road. I know many will not understand this. All I can ask you to do is bear with me. It will take several months for any measurable revenue to shape up.
Everyone’s been asking for it and I’ve been promising it. I’m not done with everything I had hoped to do but I don’t want to miss the deadline I set for myself so I’m going to share the link now.
It is important to understand that this is a personal blog. It was not designed for business purposes nor is it expected to bring in any substantial revenue. It will be a jumping board and leverage point for some content and links to other projects and does have some valid business uses in that regard.
The content there is personal in nature and that blog is not designed in any way to compliment this one. It will however give those who desire it a peak into my personal life and answer some questions about me personally for those who are interested.
Be aware that there is still work to be done there including articles that I have written for the 14th, 15th, 24th, 25th and 29th of July which are not yet posted (still working on those).
Without further ado, the blog is as follows: The New Self - http://www.thenewself.com
I just wanted to give everyone a quick update. I’m continuing work on the personal blog. I should be ready to post the link here on Sunday evening.
I wanted to provide an update on the progress of the blogs which are now officially considered the first project of the overall I Am Facing Millions concept.
Blog 1 - I Am Facing Millions
This blog is well under way. It receives about 100 unique visitors per day and to date I’ve done very little if any promotion. I visit a circuit of blogs daily and leave comments and that has been the majority of the traffic so far.
The posting schedule was intended to be 4 posts per week, Monday through Thursday. I have not always met that in the past, but now that this blog is an official part of the overall goal, I am setting that as a requirement for myself.
The next step for me to move this project forward is to build some links and traffic to this blog. That will be done in various ways which Ill outline in the near future, but will just leave it at “links and traffic” for now.
From a monetization standpoint, the plan is only to do in content monetization at this point. So no worries, there won’t be ads all over this page or begging for donations. For now, if I mention a product or service I will use the affiliate link to it when appropriate. I will not however blog on specific items just to mention affiliate links or otherwise. See Rule #4 - In Content Advertising Policy for an expanded explanation.
Blog 2 - Personal Blog
I have been posting on this blog since July 2nd and have 17 posts on it to date. My posting frequency has been best described as “random” there. Since July 16th, I have posted every day and in fact some days have had 2 posts. Now that it is an official part of the overall project, I am setting a requirement for myself that the blog must have new posts at least 5 days per week.
The traffic has been extremely light on this particular blog because I have done NO promotion whatsoever for it. It is currently receiving approximately 10 unique visitors per day. This actually fits within the plan in that I wanted to build an established post and content base more so than an audience initially. However, now that it’s part of this project, building traffic is a necessary element.
Since this is a personal blog, it’s promotion strategy will be slightly different. I will still work on building links and traffic but I will also work on building a social network as well. It’s not that a social network would not be appropriate for the I Am Facing Millions blog, but I think it will have a better return on time for the personal blog.
Finally, monetization will happen a little more quickly on the other blog. Because I’m an avid reader (I am reading 4 books concurrently right now), every book link will be an affiliate link. Just last week I applied for a rewards credit card. I’ll likely talk about that there since personal finance is one of the 3 core topics there. It has a nice affiliate program. This blog falls under the overall I Am Facing Millions concept and so it will adhere to the same in content advertising guidelines that I mentioned above. I am undecided at this time if I want to take on other sponsorship/income opportunities or not on that blog.
I have been asked by a few people for the URL to the personal blog. It’s no secret and wouldn’t be that difficult to discover, but I’m not quite ready to link to it from here. I need to back fill a few items on content there and work on some layout and navigation elements. I believe that should be finished this weekend and at that time, I’ll announce the URL here.
The first project is likely to confuse many of my readers. And that project is concisely defined as “blogging.” In and of itself, that’s a very vague and broad item. This almost seems to contradict my description of it as being concisely defined and my admission that it’s very vague and broad. And those word choices were carefully selected and deliberate. This project refers specifically to “pure blogs.” What I mean by that is this excludes any other sites that open a blog as part of a broader or more comprehensive site. This project entails sites which stand alone as a blog or are comprised primarily of blogging.
This first project is likely to confuse some of my readers. I said early on that this was not a “Make A Million Dollars From A Blog About Making A Million Dollars” type site. I also said several times that I did not anticipate this blog or blogging in and of itself to be a significant source of revenue, at least not at this time. But this blog is a critical part of the “I Am Facing Millions” concept.
And my prior statements about blogging and it’s revenue perspectives have not changed. Essentially, what I’m stating up front is that blogging is a critical portion of the overall concept. This blog, I Am Facing Millions, falls under this project heading and is well under way. I have additionally opened a personal blog that is a couple of weeks in the running already. The personal blog follows much the same rules that this blog follows in terms of revenue, comment moderation, etc. There may be additional blogs added to this project down the road.
I originally considered excluding the personal blog from the larger “I Am Facing Millions” project because I normally don’t like to mix personal views on topics like politics, religion, relationships, etc. with business interests. That aside however, I believe a personal blog opens the door to some fertile content grounds that might otherwise be difficult to reach from a merely business oriented perspective. This flexibility presents an interesting opportunity to leverage the personal blog for links, publicity and promotion towards some of the other business projects.
Earlier in the week, I noted that I was at a fork in the road at which I needed to determine the direction of this particular blog and project. The dilemma is explained in the post Deciding Direction. I solicited user feedback on this particular topic. I was a tad disappointed that I only received a couple of items of feedback from the 200 or so people that passed by in the last couple of days, but that’s entirely my fault since I have not put forth any substantial efforts in promoting this blog at this time.
The dilemma in a nut shell was that as this blog developed, I came up with an idea for this blog but realized it was too time consuming to do that while I also focused on the other projects. It is not that it is not worth the time or effort, but in my current life and situation, I don’t have the 2 - 3 hours per day needed to accomplish that particular idea and still do other projects to produce income.
I don’t think I gave enough information on the idea for users to make an informed decision. The best way that I can put it is to say that this blog would have become a “book camp” or “training ground” of sorts for other users to interactively learn in a far more advanced manner than what is found on the typical blogs out there that just give tips and advice and instructions on Internet topics, marketing and other related topics. I had even worked out a model to monetize it where I could offer some very useful content and training for free on the blog while balancing some very advanced content and mentoring type services for a fee.
The consensus that I received however was that there were plenty of blogs out there providing tips and information and so I should instead focus on the projects themselves and that my readers would be more interested in that. Though I sort of have a sudden passion for the idea of making this blog primary and have some ideas that I think are somewhat unserved at this time, I am going to follow the advice that I received. I will start with projects and prove myself first and when I am full time self-employed and have the extra 2 - 3 hours per day to devote to the training and mentoring I will pursue that.
It’s probably better for me to tackle it in that order anyway. I’ve been successful online in the past but for most of you, that’s just my claim about myself. Other than me saying so and a fairly select number of people and clients to whom I am well known (an inner circle of sorts), I’m essentially an unknown to most of you. It doesn’t matter that I already today make about $1,000/mo in online affiliate income from a site that I have spent a total of 2 hours on in the last 2 months and perhaps not more than 30 - 40 hours total in it’s entire life. It would be hard for me to prove that to you (I could scan checks but would have to black out the FROM info so I don’t know how credible that would be to you) since providing any substantial verifying information would create a rush of other people to take share from me in that particular keyword group that I found which is producing very well for me.
So that said, I appreciate the advice and I’m going to follow it, particularly since it is more closely aligned to the very original intent/idea of this project. This blog evolving into an entire training camp came along after I got started and as an advancement to the original idea/project and that may still come to be in the future.
I will start a brief series next week that will set reasonable expectations for how this project will begin to take shape and what you my readers can expect to see. I will also spend some time this weekend and next week going through the 50 or so domains and ideas I have and start selecting out which ones I want to start with (beyond the minimal efforts I’ve already engaged myself in).
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