On December 23rd, I registered my domain name. Then I went to Italy with my girlfriend and after I got back, I started writing about my vacation. To be honest, I had no idea what I was doing (and I still don’t till this day LOL) but I am quickly learning how blogging works.
From the beginning of January till now, I have been consistently blogging three times a week and every time I hit the publish button on WordPress, I get the feeling I could have spent a little bit more time tweaking it and if I had some more time, I would make it awesome – oh the irony!
I am a blogger now – woa! I didn’t think I was going to say that last year around the same time. If I had to think about it, I am just a blogger now but this is the proven method to any content developers madness. How does a content developer make money these days? Build a tribe of followers who connect with you on a personal and emotional level to consume anything you put out there – it is these people who eventually buy whatever it is you have to offer. Typically, a tribe connects with someone who is transparent, honest and real – this world is full of corporate conglomerates and more than ever, people want to connect with real poeople. Privacy is gone on the Internet so why not embrace it? Show people who you’re and adapt to your environment.
Building a tribe is not easy. As of now, I am getting a steady 12-15 visitors per day. From my Google Analytics account, I can see that they are mostly returning visitors (25% new –vs- 75% returning) so maybe they are all my friends and everyone I know but my site is less than a month old and I’m not worried. My motivation for writing blog posts for right now is to establish creditability in my areas of expertise so that when I do have a strong following, there will be something to consume and munch on.
So far, I have built my platform. I have my blog, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ accounts and YouTube channel setup. However, there are a few things left to do to. You see, having a new platform is great but its like buying a home and having no furniture. So yes, I have my home now (social media accounts + blog) but now I need some furniture so that when my guests arrive (you!) I look presentable and professional.
Here is what I mean:
- My blog needs a new skin. I am considering going with the Thesis 2.0 + Marketers Delight 3 theme. It’s a really slick design and its perfectly tailored to take advantage of the latest web protocols.
- I need to setup my optin form.
- I need to setup Mailchimp for my email subscribers.
- I need to hire someone on Fiverr to create backgrounds for all of my social media outlets so that my Twitter, YouTube and Facebook accounts all look consistent.
- Since I will be doing video soon, I also need a video intro and outro and I’ll probably find someone on Fiverr for that as well.
- The next thing I need to do is invest in some good lighting equipment. I am considering going for a $400 setup with 5100 watts of light but I am wondering if that will be overdoing it? I am still researching.
- Finally, an eBook to give away on my site. My business is nothing without emails! This eBook will have to be grand, polished and with my best ideas. I want this thing to go viral and into thousands of hands, if not millions. So far, I have found a web site that will create amazing eBook Designs.
So yea, I will “need” a lot of things but right now, I have everything necessary to create content. As Michael Hyatt says, “your content is the King and the platform is your Queen” Therefore, I have what I need and I can build up on all my other needs in the weeks to come slow and steady. Once everything is polished, I will feel better and then I can devote 80% of my energy to content creation / marketing, 15% of my energy to delegating tasks that are time consuming and not worth me doing and 5% of the time thinking and strategizing. (80%/15%/5% rule is amazing for any content creator!)
As I build my tribe and online platform, I want to immerse myself in video blogging and weekly podcasting as well. So add something else to the list – professional audio equipment for my home studio – woa! This is exciting stuff – so you mean to tell me that someone out there will allow me to have my own airtime on my own platform and create my own talk show? That’s pretty cool! Obviously, I will be doing my weekly video blogs through YouTube but my Podcasts will be through iTunes and similar outlets.
Again, all this will take time but it really is exciting and a lot of fun. Currently, I am studying a lot. I wake up at 5am every day and I wish I can practice my 80/15/5 rule but it’s not possible because 70% of my time is used to educate myself, do research and hone my skills. A month or two from now, I hope to practice my 80/15/5 rule and get rocking! However, right now, I feel like I am in grad school going for my brain surgery exam and I need to study as much as possible!
Patience young Skywalker, patience! LOL
