How to Earn an Income from Your Blog : Interview with David Risley

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src=”https://contenttrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/headshot_200_200.jpg”]Last week, I had the opportunity to interview David Risley. He gave a presentation at Blog World titled, “Blog Monetization Options: What are ALL the ways to make money with a blog?”. I enjoyed his presentation and was engaged from the the get go especially when he started his presentation by stating that blogs don’t make money, but businesses do.

David makes his living full-time as a highly successful internet entrepreneur. He describes himself as a father, husband, entrepreneur, blogger, author, speaker and consultant. After he graduated, David did not want to be stuck in a traditional 9-5 job. He started a site called PCmechanic.com back in 1998. The site was very successful and he was soon generating a six-figure income. He started helping others create online businesses with the help of his courses and ebooks.

Many internet marketers sell the internet lifestyle as laid-back and easy. They paint visions of sitting on the beach, sipping a cool drink and chilling. What impressed me about David is that he goes against creating that stereotypical image to tell you that creating a full-time income as a blogger is not easy and takes a lot of work. “Just as you cannot run right out and start an offline business overnight and make money right away… you probably shouldn’t be thinking you can do it online.”

Here are the excerpts from the interview:

“My advice, first and foremost, is to know what VFP (Valuable Final Product) you’re shooting for. In other words, what are you trying to help people accomplish?”

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I heard the concept of creating a Valuable Final Product (VFP) at your conference session and loved it. Let’s say, your VFP is a service/your expertise. What is the best way to market your services online if you are not a famous name but have the experience? How do you attract attention and build authority?

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[/dropcap1]You most definitely do NOT need a famous name in order to offer or market a service online. It starts with clearly identifying the outcome that your clients want, and all that that entails. That will nail down your VFP for you.
As far as marketing yourself online, then you go down the ways that many have already talked about:

• Blogging about your topic
• Going to communities that talk about your topic and get involved
• Putting free offers out there to help prospects (in exchange for an email address, of course), etc.
• Also, I should add… don’t limit yourself to online only. Attend conferences and meetup groups. Many times, offline promo that brings people to your website can work out very well.

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[/dropcap1] You’ve said, “I believe many “professional bloggers” out there who teach blogging are leading people astray by focusing too much on the mechanics of blogging – and not enough on building real businesses.” If you had to start over again, what are the mistakes that you have learned from and would do different in building your online business?
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• I would definitely have started my email list earlier. It is SUPER important.
• I would align around an outcome, or VFP. Blog Marketing Academy had one from the get-go. My tech site did not, and the markets where the people are trying to accomplish something are always much better from a business standpoint.
• Lastly, once you have a VFP in mind, start thinking about product/service offers in the beginning. Because, any business has to have an offer. Otherwise, no customers. And no money. If you want to make money, you have to provide something valuable to an audience in need of that offer. Simply writing and blogging isn’t going to do it.

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[/dropcap1]Of all the options you discussed, affiliate marketing is an option that many bloggers consider. I’ve seen famous bloggers like Patt Flynn, Brankica Underwood and Anna Hoffman make a success out of it. Especially if you have a niche site and are selling to that niche.
What is your advice, warning, top things to avoid to people who are new and just getting started with affiliate marketing?
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• My advice, first and foremost, is to know what VFP you’re shooting for. In other words, what are you trying to help people accomplish? And make very sure that the things you promote will help people get there. Don’t promote unrelated things just because it has a commission attached to it.
• I’ve seen many bloggers promote internet marketing stuff on blogs which have nothing to do with marketing. What happens is that they’re interested in the topic and see IMers making money with these things… and they want to partake in it. So, next thing you know, you have promotions for something like Aweber on a blog about knitting (or something equally disrelated). Just don’t do that. Complete misalignment.
• Also, don’t litter up a blog with affiliate banner ads. Conversion rates are horrible. You’re much better off promoting affiliate programs through the use of truly helpful blog posts where the product is a natural extension of the topic.
• Also, make sure you’re building an email list, because list promotions always work FAR better than blog promotions.

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You are a father, husband, entrepreneur, blogger, guest poster, author. (I’ve bet I’ve missed a few:))
What are your favorite time management techniques? How do you also find the time for social media, commenting, engaging and building relationships?

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[/dropcap1]Honestly, probably the biggest tip I could provide here is the good ol’ 80/20 rule. 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts. When you realize this, you begin to look at the things you do with your time with a critical eye.

You mention social media, commenting, engaging, etc. Truth be told, these things almost always fall in the “waste of time” category. Now, don’t get me wrong… they ARE useful. But, they usually fall in the 80% of effort that brings 20% of results category. Lots of time spent doing that stuff, yet it isn’t NEARLY as good a use of my time as working on building my list, finishing an ebook, making a video, helping my existing customers, etc.

So, the keyword here is leverage. Try to spend your time on the things which ACTUALLY bring you results, not just the fashionable stuff everybody says you have to do (like Twitter, for example).

I have a course called Time Master Formula where I go a lot more in-depth into this whole topic of time management.
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Who did you start Blog Marketing Academy for?
Also, Do you have any books or courses that would guide the beginner blogger along this field?

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[/dropcap1]People with blogs who are looking to make effective marketing vehicles out of it. Bloggers who want to build a real online business.

You bet. 🙂

If one is first starting out and just trying to get their bearings on the whole “how the hell do you make money on the Internet” thing, then I have a 3-day course called 3DayMoney.com.

There is also a free 30-day video course I have called the 30 Day Blog Transformation Challenge.

For my other stuff, check out my Products page. 🙂

What about you? Have you found a way to create an income with your blog? Please share with us in the comments below. Please also, share this article on all your social networks. Thanks:)

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