That’ll be $30, please!

Imagine visiting a brand new, locally owned, restaurant that just opened down the street and, upon being seated, your waitress hands you a bill for $30…..before you've eaten anything; in fact, before you’re even handed a menu, a bill for $30. It’s a safe bet that you'd get up and leave. Why? Because they’re unproven. You have no idea if their food or service is any good and, most importantly, you haven’t received anything for your money.

What if we changed the scene just a little bit? Suppose that the restaurant is your new blog or website.  You couldn’t expect to sell much if this were the case.

A successful blog is one that offers a service, product or entertainment without asking for anything in return. That may sound strange! But it is worth repeating: A successful blog is one that offers a service, product or entertainment without asking for anything in return. If you provide useful and entertaining content, your readers will keep coming back. By doing this, you are building a relationship with the readers, and they will develop trust in you. Once they trust you, you will be able to sell your service, product or whatever with ease.

Be patient! This will happen, but usually not overnight.

Ready, Set, Blog! Beginner Step 2

Are you ready to start blogging? Well, not so fast….

Before you start your blog, I want you to consider a few things:

~ Write as though you are speaking to a friend. By this, I mean be casual, not stuffy.

~ Get to the point! Try to convey your message in 500 words or less. Stay focused and direct. Assume that the readers have limited time….because they probably do.

~ Give freely and ask for nothing in return! They will repay you in time by coming back to your blog over and over again. (I’ll explain this in detail in a future blog)

~ Be honest and transparent! Your readers will not return if they do not trust you.

~ Be relevant! Your readers are seeking an answer to a question or to be entertained. If you do not provide this to them, don’t expect them to return.

~ Don’t over-commit or under-deliver! You should blog frequently and consistently. That means at least once a week.

~ Try to be grammatically correct! An error here or there isn’t the end of the world, but consistent errors will drive your readers crazy. Have someone edit your blog for you.

~ Lastly, have fun with it! To be effective at blogging, you must approach it as a marathon, not a sprint. Simply put, if it’s not fun, you won’t stay with it.

So go ahead; give it a shot. Log into your Blogger account and click on “New Blog.” Once you’ve written your masterpiece, click on “Save,” but don’t publish it just yet………

How To Make Money Online! : For The Beginner

  So you want to learn how to make money online, but, as a beginner, you don’t know where to start. This series is designed for the aspiring Internet marketer who has very basic Internet navigation skills. Consider this course: Internet Marketing 101. Through this series, I will introduce you to “blogging,” “Google AdSense,” “YouTube” and basic social networking. Keep in mind that this is not a “get-rich-quick scheme.” It will take weeks and months of consistent effort on your part, but it will pay off!

And don’t worry if you are not a good copy writer. With a little practice, you will be able to easily convey your thoughts to words very soon.

Before you can begin your new Internet business, you must first determine what your passion is. By this, I mean: What interests you? It may be scrapbooking, football, painting or any one of a billion other things. Keep in mind that you don’t need to be the world’s foremost authority on the subject, but you do need to have some knowledge and be willing to do some research, if necessary. Your passion will be the catalyst for your new Internet business. More on this later.

I recommend that you use Gmail, YouTube and Blogger because Google owns them, and therefore, they are compatible with each other. If you don’t already have a Gmail account, you’ll need to set one up. Gmail is Google’s web mail system, and it is very user friendly and functional. To do this, go to http://www.google.com/ and click on the word “Gmail” at the top of the menu. A new window will open up. On the lower right-hand side of the screen, click on the bar that reads,”Create an account.” Fill in the required information. Keep in mind that your username and password will be used later on to create a YouTube channel and your AdSense account.

Once your Gmail account is set up, you will need to set up a blog at http://www.blogger.com/. Blogger.com, like Gmail, is easy to set up and very user friendly. Remember, when setting up your Blogger account ,that your username and password will be the same as your Gmail username and password. Blogger.com will give you the option of purchasing your own domain name or using your chosen name followed by “.blogspot." (Example http://eatonim.blogspot.com/) Whether you do or not is up to you. It does cost money to have your own domain name, but will lend you credibility. My advice is to forgo getting your own domain name for now. You can always get one later.

Once your Blogger account is set up, you will want to set up your YouTube channel. The setup instructions can be found at http://www.youtube.com/. Remember, the username that you chose for YouTube can’t be changed later and is visible to the public. For this reason, you should pick a domain name that complements the service or product that you will be blogging about. 

Lastly, you will want to set up a Twitter account. Twitter, like Gmail, Youtube and Blogger, is very easy to set up.  However, if you are having trouble setting up these four accounts don’t hesitate to email me for help at eaton.craig@gmail.com