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I’m afraid the first few days of building a new blog are completely un-eventful. It’s a lot of the same crap that everyone hates doing, which is why people spend money on these things in the first place. So if you need a quick checklist of where you should be at this point… look no further!
- Register a domain
- Set up hosting
- Get Wordpress installed
- Find a theme
- Tweak the theme
- Get going on content
You should be on the content stage by now, at least I hope you are. Here is where it gets a bit more hectic, which is why I waited a few days to get this post out. It was going to come out tomorrow, but since AP is a jerk, and tomorrow happens to be Independence Day, I didn’t figure any of you would put down the beer and bbq long enough to come check out the new post. So, it’s a day early.
Alright, so as I was saying. This is where it starts to get a bit hectic. If this were your flagship blog, I’d say don’t launch until you have at least 20 posts. You don’t want people visiting for the first time, reading all of your posts in one sitting, and having nothing to come back for. However, this ISN’T your flagship blog, so grab hold of the wheel… because you’ve got homework!
Over the weekend I’d like each and every one of you to try and get 5-7 “pillar” posts done. These posts are the posts that your blog is going to be built around, and anyone that visits your blog in these first few days should easily be able to tell what type of blog it is, just by your pillar posts. These are called pillar posts, because they are the posts your blogs are built on. You can’t build a house without foundation, so don’t try to build a blog without good content.
The best tip I ever ran across as a blogger came from my buddy Yaro Starak. He told me that if I was going to succeed in blogging, there is no waiting to produce good content. A lot of people have great ideas for a post, but they hold off on it because they don’t feel they have enough readers to truly make it worth posting “the goods” that early. So they fill their blogs with fluff until they feel they have an audience. I’ve got news for you… FLUFF DOESN’T ATTRACT NEW READERS! So, be an authority from day one, and your audience will treat you as such.
Let’s take the ever vocal AP (you didn’t think you were gonna get away with that comment did you?) and use his blog as an example. If you are going to blog about reggae, then you need to be out there sporting the biggest dreadlocks, the most red, yellow, and green, and smoke the most weed out of any reggae fan on the face of the planet… not literally, but you need to put yourself out there as an authority, rather than just posting Youtube clips of Bob Marley (by the way, he’s not doing this, it’s just an example). What keeps people coming back to a site like this? It’s not the video clips… any idiot that can type can do a search for Bob Marley videos on Youtube, and quickly forget about anything you have to offer.
STAND OUT
You can’t be the same as everyone around you, or you’ll be treated like them. And let me tell you, you don’t want to be treated like all the bloggers around you because most of them are clueless, and they’ll give up before ever making a dime. Don’t fall into that trap.
Try to get that content out by Monday. I’d like you to have at least 7 posts, but 10 would be ideal. Once you reach that magic number of 7-10 posts… you can start marketing these things. We’ll focus on promotion, marketing, and seo a bit next week. For now, get the content cranking! Once you guys get these sites going, I’ll try to stop in this weekend and critique them. Look for that on Saturday or Sunday.
July 3rd, 2008 at 5:36 am
Whoo Hoo we are up and running for the competition now! Can’t wait for more information.
I am a big fan of Yaro also. He always has some great content for us.
You will all have to bear with me on my blog for a few days but I will have some good content and a better theme soon. Any suggestions will be much appreciated.
Good luck
Coach Kip
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Bryan Clark reply on July 6th, 2008:
Can’t wait to see what you’ve got Kip. Hopefully you’ll make a hefty profit on your first attempt!
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July 3rd, 2008 at 6:12 am
Eeek, only critique mine on Sunday, please? I have a backlog of orders for work and haven’t had time to work on my site yet - so can only get cracking on it tomorrow or Saturday. XD
But I will get your ‘homework’ for us set out by then, promise!
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Bryan Clark reply on July 6th, 2008:
Awesome Jovana!
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July 3rd, 2008 at 6:29 am
Touché Mr. Clark!…or should I say bombaclot!
On a more serious note I think I have ticked all the boxes on the checklist so, as the coach says, woo hoo - we are up and running! Great advice on the pillar posts and the authority example. Like you say..people always start small and try to build up to things. We dont have time for that so act big, write big and do something a little bit different.
I had actually planned to steer clear of the obvious Mr Marley (apart from a little trip to his old house in Camden…which is not too far from me) for that reason. Think Reggae, think Bob - not on my site - I have a few ideas that I think will surprise even you!
So, I am lacking in red, yellow and dreads but I got the green covered! Oh, and it is ok to use a few youtubes but I only use them as fillers or little extras if you like.
Have a happy 4th July Bryan. I am off to my local rum shack looking for inspiration!
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Bryan Clark reply on July 6th, 2008:
Yes, youtube clips are fine. I think a couple of you misunderstood my point here. The point wasn’t the Youtube clips, it was just pointing out that others get their “inspiration” from sites that are already an authority on the subject. Try to avoid this, and do something to set yourself apart! You’re doing great!
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theaffiliatepost reply on July 8th, 2008:
Thanks Big man. I have not been around much recently but I have been following!!!
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July 3rd, 2008 at 3:55 pm
Where’d you find my baby picture?
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Bryan Clark reply on July 6th, 2008:
It’s in my stock photography file. I’ve got your mugshot too!
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July 3rd, 2008 at 4:56 pm
I’m Live, well BloggersSearch.com, is. I had forgot to change the nameservers at the registrar. Duh!
I am on the lookout for a cool theme, i kinda like the NEW! free premium theme by UBD. Will see how this one looks on the blog.
Bryan, the feedburner and GA accounts are fully updated. Let me know, if you dont have access, or if something is off.
Missy.
P.S. Happy 4th of July! to all.
P.S.S. Where are you getting your pics from? They R nutZ.
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Bryan Clark reply on July 6th, 2008:
Awesomeness Missy. I see that you are getting going quite nicely. I hope to see you make a push for the title!
The pic was actually found on Flickr.
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July 3rd, 2008 at 4:59 pm
Also, my FTP client has been very wacky the last few days. Anyone recommend a free and easy one?
(easy, as in a 3 year old can manage it)
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Bryan Clark reply on July 6th, 2008:
I use Core http://FTP. It’s simple, fast, and it’s a wonderful FREE ftp software.
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July 3rd, 2008 at 6:55 pm
Hey! AP has a “Going Green” theme too, although it’s not in direct competition with my traffic.
@Bryan, I know you what you meant regarding the youtube videos, but I’d have to disagree with it being a “bad thing” in general for blog content (if that’s what you meant). I’ve seen blogs do well that were based solely on a niche of youtube videos and commenting on them, and I don’t agree with “any idiot that can type can do a search for Bob Marley videos on Youtube, and quickly forget about anything you have to offer.”
For example, let’s say I did a blog on “Guitar Lessons Videos”, and only used YouTube videos as content (but I briefly commented on them as well to utilize targeted keywords, unique content and such).
What would be the reason to stay, return, subscribe? Well, I could provide the visitor a service by weeding out all the bad ones that appear in the results on YouTube where the guitar player didn’t even play the song correctly. I could go a step further by have narrowed niche categories of their interest such as “classic 70s guitar lesson videos”, or “Led Zeppelin Acoustic Video Lesson Videos”, etc. Know what I mean? I’m saving them time/hassle.
Applying this example to AP’s blog for the contest, he could have a Bob Marley guitar lesson category that was all YouTube videos and target Bob Marley song title keywords for SE traffic.
What do you think?
Jay
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Bryan Clark reply on July 6th, 2008:
Yep, you are exactly right Jay. But I think you missed my point. The Youtube videos were just an example. I’m talking about people who mimic other sites in order to build their blogs. Some people see an authority site, and they try to build a blog just like it. This is one of the few areas where you can’t “mimic” proven success stories.
And for your example, I think you’d do fine with that. However, I think you’d do better if you put out your own example videos, and marketed them on Youtube, as well as your own blog. When using Youtube videos, you are limiting yourself to your blog as a marketing tool. When you make your own videos, you can use your blog, Youtube, Vimeo, Google Videos, Revver, Meta Cafe, and half a million other video sharing sites. All of which will bring more traffic to your blog. So using You Tube videos, instead of creating your own, is shooting yourself in the foot.
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Jay reply on July 6th, 2008:
Hey Bryan, Yeah I agree with you that creating your own videos is better in general, and of course, it’s always better to have kick ass, unique, high quality content. However, I’d be more inclined to spend the time/effort creating higher quality stuff that was on a project that I planned to keep/sustain/grow long term.
I’m curious if you think (and approach) the two the same? If I’m going to build 10 sites that I know I’m going to sell within 30-60 days, then personally, I’d prefer to spend as little time on them as possible. Do I mean add crappy content? No, but it would be less quality than one I planned to buid over time, simply because there are only 24 hours in a day.
Do you think this is a bad way to approach “build to flips”? Maybe I should be thinking more “quality than quantity”, even for these types of sites? I mean, even if I got $300 x 10 of them, it’s better than $1500 for one (in the same time frame)?
Sorry if this seems like rambling..I didn’t sleep much last night. lol
PS. When is the good stuff coming? Maybe I should just shut up and wait til you tell me what to do?
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Bryan Clark reply on July 6th, 2008:
The good stuff is coming this week. I didn’t want to post it to early, because a lot of you are still trying to get set up.
I disagree with your statement that you’d rather build 10 sites for $300 each. I guarantee it’d take you more time to build 10 crappy sites, than to build one good one. You have to approach this as if you are building this blog for you. Otherwise, it’ll end up passed over like all of the other blogs that go for a couple hundred bucks. I’ve never failed to sell one of these 30 days flips, and the smallest amount I’ve ever received for one is $500 - That’s the last time I try a Photography blog!
There are tips that will shave time off of your building process, but as a whole, you’ll be building this as if it were your own. I promise you’ll see the difference in the long run. It turns into repeat business, and a trusted name on the marketplaces. I have buyers that email me asking if I have any sites that are almost ready to sell, that’s before I even list them! Repeat business is only gained through trust, and that comes from building a quality product.
July 5th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
I’m with Jovana - the day job interferred with getting up and running before today. I’m off for the next 3 days (Sun-Tues) - so everything will be posted then and I’ll get caught up.
A lot of the big stuff (theme, autoresponder, plugins, etc) are done. Just getting the content finished up so everything can start running along.
It’ll look much more filled out by Monday PM.
Marceia
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Bryan Clark reply on July 6th, 2008:
Just keep moving Marceia. Nobody is timing you here, these are just guidelines. This is all for your own good, so as long as you are following along, you’ll do fine.
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July 6th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Repeat business/recognition is a good point.
That’s why I wanted to join the contest. My experience with quick sales is usually with average quality. Looking forward to seeing the difference.
And..that’s why I was asking you..cause you’ve done it regularly. I will try and focus on quality over quantity - even for “fast flips” and see what happens.
Thanks for the replies.
Jay
PS. - I can build 10 crappy sites pretty quick man! You might be surprised. lol
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July 6th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
Wow this sounds awesome, Bry if I can still join please email me - Id love to do it!
BTW is there any specific “niches” that this needs to be on? Can I choose ANYTHING? Also can the blogs also include pictures in them?
Also do we HAVE to sell in 30 days? 30 days seems really fast to sell a blog, when you could probably get twice as much for it in another month…maybe…
Either way - sounds fun!
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theaffiliatepost reply on July 8th, 2008:
Sent you an email yesterday Chelsea! Hope to see you getting involved
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