Today I have something for you to think about. I figure this is a good time, being as we are at the start of a new year. It's a word for you to consider. That word is "compelling". In marketing and blogging people often throw around the word compelling. It is right up there with "remarkable". How many of us actually sit down and really think about it? If you buy a product in the next week, look at your feeds or check out the news stand, ponder for a moment what is driving your … [Read more...]

One of the stranger aspects of being paid for offering your advice is how much easier it is to see in others the same mistakes you overlook in your own work. Have you noticed that? On Saturday I was lucky to meet Liz briefly and she gave me some constructive criticism about my blog. The problems mentioned were small but important. Unfortunately to my shame, I had no great nuggets or tips to return, I am going to have to work on that! I'm so glad it was Liz who pointed out the issue. There … [Read more...]

I was chatting to a couple of bloggers over the weekend and I thought the discussion was divided and interesting enough to open up to you guys. As we often do we got around to talking about cool sites we have seen recently. I mentioned "Why Digg is Blocked" and almost immediately regretted it. One individual launched into a rant about ad blockers "sucking the life-blood from the internet" :) When the dust settled there seemed to be the following positions about the situation, let's see … [Read more...]

Why? "Why?" might be the most important question you can ask. Why should someone visit my blog? Why would someone buy from me rather than anyone else? Why ought someone choose this product? Why advertise with me? Why do readers like this over that? Why am I doing this? Why are we in this situation? Why will next year be better than this? Why are you still reading? Action is often praised and valued over thinking. There is a lot to be said for taking action. Having said … [Read more...]

I am getting a bit annoyed with the Hollywood writers strike. Not at the writers but at what people are saying about them. While I do not know any details about what caused the strike, the popular perception seems to be these writers are over-paid already. Some are obviously paid very well indeed, I expect 99% are not. People seem to take the headline figure and determine that is what each and every writer in that industry gets 365 days a year. I'm willing to bet that is not the case! It … [Read more...]

What is wealth to you? What attitudes do you have towards money? Are you attracted and enthused by the idea of business or are your feelings conflicted or negative? A couple of people have told me they get uncomfortable talking about money. In fact reading about business or making money makes them feel uncomfortable. It's understandable though we should not leave unchecked thoughts that hold us back from succeeding. What we focus on we get more of, so let's think in ways that help rather … [Read more...]

While in previous entries of this series I mentioned how the implementation is more important than the idea, no human endeavor in this world happens without someone first having a brainwave. Look around, how many things that we take for granted were some bright sparks moment of inspiration (often followed by years of perspiration). Making a success in business is hard. As well as developing marketable ideas, we also have to come up with ideas that continue to inspire us months or years after … [Read more...]

Making money online need not be something you only dream about. In this series I hope I have given you some ideas and inspiration that show you really can do this. A common theme in feedback though has been an issue of confidence, so let's address that now. … [Read more...]

Making real money online does not happen inside your head, it happens out in the world. If you are like me you will have lots of ideas that never get acted on. We need to go from day-dreaming to doing! In the previous entry of this series I talked about scaling up your operations. How we can be more efficient and outsource. In this article I am going to discuss probably the most critical element of your success; actually making it happen. First though a word on "ideas". … [Read more...]

Making real money online means breaking out of the limitations you have set yourself. We all constrain our earnings in our own ways. This post is how you can change your approach to earning money and break through your profit ceiling. … [Read more...]