The lesson which struck a chord with me most was lesson 2 - Blog Like Your Life Depended upon it:

How would your blogging change if you blogged as if your life depended upon it?

For some, especially those who turn their blogs into businesses, dependent upon the income to keep a roof over their head and food in their family’s stomach, it does.

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Wouldn’t that change how you blogged?

You could say this is similar to the question ‘Would You Blog Differently if you had Money?’, especially if your blog is your main/only source of income.

I guess what both questions are asking is how different pressures and stresses affect your blogging. People react to pressure (or a lack of) differently, so the same blogger might not necessarily write the same entry under different conditions.

How would your blogging change if your life depended on it?

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Increasing your readership is not just about your (presumably great) content. I’d say about 40% of blogging is marketing. There are plenty of tips out there on marketing your blog. The usual suspects include submitting to Digg, guest posting on other blogs, including your blog address in forum/email signatures, and commenting on other blogs. There are also some lesser used methods.
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Ramkarthik at Blogging Tips lists 5 ‘Less Used Ways to Get New Subscribers. I’m not entirely sure what he means by “less used” - I’m pretty sure guest posting is already a common (and still growing) method of attracting subscribers, and one which others have written about a lot - but none the less the tips to make sense to try.

Number 1 on my list to try, is make a video. I’m not sure video logging will become a regular feature on the Get Rich Project, but I’m keen to experiment with it. That said, I have a face for radio, and a voice for street mime…

Another of Ramkarthik’s suggestions is to give away an eBook. So far, Chris Garrett is the only blogger readily springing to mind who is using this technique, but again, it’s something I’m interested in trying out.

Have you got any more less common methods you would like to share? Do so in the comments!

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Only I don’t think many of those hyping the site fully understood it, because since it launched, I don’t recall hearing or reading much about it, other than the odd passing reference. I might just be looking in the wrong places, but it seems Squidoo was rather underwhelming for most.

Which is a shame really, because I think it could be a really useful tool if used correctly.

What is it?

Squidoo is all about “Lenses”. A Lens is a page which acts as a sign-post to stuff out on the web, all based on a topic. The idea is based about “permission marketing”, trust and the idea that everyone’s an expert at something. Would you trust Google over a human with a passion for a particular topic? I wouldn’t. Google can be gamed and manipulated, real people are a bit harder to trick.

What can I do?

At the most basic level, you can create a page on the Squidoo site which links to other pages and resources all over the web. You could use this as an additional means to market your blog. I’m only just getting started with Squidoo, so to try it out, I created a very basic Squidoo Lens on the Get Rich Project. It displays excerpts of the 3 latest posts, links I think are relevant, and related items from eBay and Amazon.

This last point is a nice feature of Squidoo - you can make money from your Lens. You earn a cut of all Ad and affiliate profits generated by your Lens. Having a Lens is a nice way to potentially earn an extra bit of passive income, all while providing an extra source of traffic. It’s not often you get to advertise your site and make money at the same time!

Or you could give any revenue earned to charity.

Do You Squidoo?

Are you using Squidoo? If so, what for? Do you use it for your blog, for products, or for personal use? If you are using Squidoo, please share your Lenses and tips in the comments!

The Get Rich Project on Squidoo

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Everyone knows the saying “if you don’t ask, you don’t get.” An analogy might be “you don’t get anywhere if you don’t take risks”. This is all very good and well, but what does this have to do with you? What I’m telling you is to start asking for things.

Look for better deals than are being offered to you. Don’t be afraid to contact people to ask them for something (usually in return for something else, of course). I’m sure 90% of those you contact will be open to a little bargaining. As long as both sides can achieve something positive, there’s nothing to be lost by Just Asking.

Consider This Example

An online personality (name withheld to protect the innocent!) was looking to offload a few items of inventory. He’d offered them about, but no one was buying at the (ridiculously low) price he was offering them for. In the end, he gave up. I missed his initial offer, so was sure I’d missed out on what I thought could be some good opportunities.

But something made me email our Personality about the sites. I asked what he had left, and what the best deal he would do for me was. In the end, I got 25% off. I got some good money making material for a low price, and he got rid of some excess inventory. It was win-win for both of us.

If I hadn’t asked, neither of us would have got what we wanted. So remember this lesson next time you see a resource or something you’re considering buying. Fire off a quick email to the seller, to see if they can give you a better bargain. Some will come back and say no, but that’s the worst they’ll do.

It’s More than the Money.

Wangling the discount is not the only reason to contact a seller. In fact, your contact to contact might not even be about buying anything. It might be a straight-up question. “Who handles your payment processing?” “Who designed your logo?” Perfectly innocent questions with no financial motive. Compliments also work wonders. These can work out just as well (if not better) in the long run. If you approach everyone with the attitude of “what can you give me, you’ll soon get a reputation for being greedy, seedy, and possibly a whole load more words that end in “eedy”.

Take a risk and contact someone for the sake of contacting them. The very act of taking time to email someone creates a connection. Connections lead to relationships, which are the cornerstone of good business. People inherently like to “network” and meet new people. Most of the time, you will be well received, so long as you’re not an ass.

Think Bigger Picture

By extending yourself to other online entrepreneurs, you will invariably lead yourself to new opportunities, just because you once got in touch. The other opportunities might be a direct consequence of that first contact, or they might come from further conversations you have. Regardless, it is the initial connection which has to start the ball rolling.

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