Chris Garrett
Build your business by sharing what you know
Anniversaries are a good time to reflect and look back. What have I learned from the online business startups I have been a part of? When I wrote this in 2017 I was working at Copyblogger/Rainmaker-Digital, a short time afterward Rainmaker was sold, and then the StudioPress division was also sold to WP Engine so …
Consulting and coaching businesses are great because you get a deep connection with your customers, their problems and goals, plus you can start quickly (and start making money faster) than many other business models. There are some downsides though. That deep connection means there are always lots of “exceptions to rules”, people flake on paying, …
What is the secret of getting a person’s attention? Why do some people seem to be able to get anyone to take their call, while other people seem cursed with obscurity? I have been asked this question twice, recently. I’m always uncomfortable when I have multiple answers, none of them satisfactory. So I mulled over …
Do you want more email subscribers and readers? What is stopping your list from growing? How do you keep people from leaving? I will tell you there is always something you can improve when it comes to growing your subscriber base, and the answers are not always difficult or complex … once you see what …
How many times have you seen a misunderstanding caused by a message being delivered lazily over text? How many people have you seen get into an argument because of what they perceived to be an insult, that was not intended that way. It’s happened to most of us at one point or another, particularly during …
Why do some people with so-so content seem to easily grow their community, while other much better writers seem to struggle to get a few opt-ins? I believe there are three factors that set a growing list apart from a struggling one, and many people either overlook the necessity or are unaware of it. When …
How do people really connect and build friendly relationships? What is it that causes people to want to hear from you more than anything else?
Why do some people manage to stick around forever, while other people and brands seem to be here one day and gone the next? What is it about some people that makes you warm to them, while others give off a dodgy vibe that repels even the most tactile extroverts?
What is the difference between new products that take off in popularity and those that essentially get ignored? How do you know when your new product is ready to sell? Today I would like to share with you the key strategy that will allow you to not only sell more of your products and services …
What is the secret behind Copyblogger’s 9 straight years of growth? How has it been achieved without any outside investment, without sales people, and with close to zero advertising? Join Chris Garrett and Tony Clark as they talk about: The simple secret to success (and why it is not easy) What you need before you create your product …
Since I let slip that I was a wannabe fiction writer, a few people have asked me questions about the modern author/publishing business: “Can you make a full time living as a writer, without being freelance?” “What should a modern indie author do to maximise their business?” “For successful self-publishers, what would we do differently?” I’ve answered …
A big question I get asked all the time here and on Copyblogger webinars (right after how to generate traffic or build a list), is “How can I get more people to respond/buy/subscribe?” In my previous post, I talked about what makes content truly successful, and I gave a big answer, but for this particular …
What is the secret to getting your content read, shared and acted on? Is your content really useful versus just well-written? Why do some writers get real results from their articles, while other writers work just as hard, or harder, and don’t seem to get noticed? Of course there are many reasons, but a key …
What does it take to be successful in blogging as or for a business? My friend Al from Coolest Gadgets contacted me for some quotes to use in a presentation he has coming up, and as usual, I gave him way more material than he could use. Rather than let it go to waste, I …
What are the most important skills for an online marketer, blogger or professional? I am going to list my response to that, but I would be interested in hearing your thoughts in the comments. I’m intentionally keeping this one short so you can dive in and tell me where I am wrong! This post came …
Have you ever worked with someone who uses the phrase “It’s just business“? Or played a game with someone who, after cheating, back-stabbing, lying or just being a jerk, said “It’s only a game“? How did that make you feel? Did you respect the person more, or less? Did you trust them more afterwards? When …
Why could Brian Clark send one email from his email list and make 6 figures? Is it list size? Yes, scale obviously comes into it, but if someone else had his list they wouldn’t necessarily get the same result. So what is the crucial factor that makes the difference? Is it Authority? Yes, of course, that’s …
When should you write? How often? How long should your blog posts be? Should you have a schedule? I get asked these questions and similar every week, between emails, Q&A calls/webinars, and clients. Content is becoming super important. We used to talk about if content was king or not. Now, I see a shift. The …
Today, I want to talk about what happens when you give in to your fears. I want you to learn from my mistakes so you can have the courage to do what you need to. I have a lot of fears. That’s just part of who I am. I’m risk-averse, and I tend to focus …
What would you do if your business burned to the ground? If you had to literally start over, would you be able to cope? What would your approach be? I have been falling behind with my workload lately. You just have to look at my posting frequency to see that I have been dropping as …
One of the key ideas behind being an Authority Blogger, or “Content Marketing”, is that you put out lots of educational material that ordinarily people would be willing to pay for. How do you turn that free stuff into profit? The thing is, while we KNOW this works, a lot of people get stuck on …
You might have noticed a bit of a gap in posting here. Well, I have still been writing, just over at the BMO Bank’s Small Business site: I am writing about how online tools and techniques can grow your business. Check out my most recent articles and let me know what you think! 4 Key …
I think everyone has the capacity to be creative, but if you listen to some pundits it seems creativity is something only bestowed on an elite few. The fact is, the word “creativity” itself can cause a lot of creative resistance, and make people feel that the bar has been set too high for them. …
We are half way through the year. How are your new-years resolutions working out? Are you closer to achieving your goals? A lot of my coaching clients feel bad when I ask this but I want to encourage you to not feel like a failure if you have not achieved all that you had planned …
One thing all businesses have in common, large or small, is they all have to generate sales leads. If you are not generating sales, well, you are not in business! A lot of my customers come to me because they have had so much referral business over the years they have never really developed a …
How do you use the web to gain face to face clients? It’s a question I get asked a lot, and it is a growing part of the world of marketing online. Think about your own buying behaviour. Would you buy a car now without at least researching online? Or even a TV? The web …
Why do you blog? Is it for traffic and attention? If you blog to get more visibility, then you have a lot of company. One of the major reasons companies and individuals create content is to increase their share of attention, to build credibility, and to grow an audience. HubSpot research indicates companies that blog generate 55% …
Is your website harming the trust and credibility of your business? Are people worried or put off when they visit you online? Could your site be working against you rather than working as a business asset? I’m sad to say that this is more common than we would like. It was certainly the case with …
It’s a simple but uncomfortable truth. Nobody cares what you do. Oh, people might ask. At a networking lunch, a cocktail party, and so on. But nobody cares. What do people actually care about? “Enough about me. What do you think about me?” It’s funny because it is true. People want to hear if listening …
I joke that I am the most conventional unconventional guy you might ever meet, but it is true in a way. When we think of unconventional we often think about specific things. Going off to live on a commune might be a big one, having tattoos and piercing might be smaller “bucking the system” type …
Well it’s finally here! The third edition of the Problogger book is now available to order. (You might have already seen the news at Problogger). The first edition came out May 2008, co-authored by Darren Rowse and myself, and published by Wiley Publishing. We released the second edition in 2010 to expand and update the …
We are bombarded by “feel good” social media advice. Join the conversation. Engage. Listen. But this stuff takes time and effort. Where is the return on investment? It’s not just about chatting, and the ROI is not found by simply throwing up a Facebook page. If you are struggling to convince your boss (or yourself) …
What should a blogger do when they want to profit from their creativity, knowledge, experience and skills, but not by teaching “how to”, but instead from the results of their work? As you no doubt know, my strategy for building a profitable blog around what you know is called Authority Blogging. Build an audience of …
How do you know when your audience is ready to buy from you? Should you wait to “monetize”? How big does your audience need to be? These are common questions and the answers have been debated over the years. I am going to share an answer I gave George from the Man Up Blog during …
In the first 7 days of this blogs life, 20,000 visitors checked it out. Sounds like a pretty nice result doesn’t it? I was super happy, but a little disappointed in one specific respect. Only 500 people subscribed. Now, don’t get me wrong, I loved and nurtured those 500 subscribers and 500 subscribers in any …
Your audience does not want your content. Your audience probably does not want to hear from you at all. If you think that because your website looks great that people will want to visit it … think again. What do they really want? Your audience and potential customers know who they are and probably have …
As much as I tell people to seriously reconsider buying too much into the hardcore “Make Money Online” hype, I can not argue against its allure and the fact that, well, people DO make money online. The problem is, there are the usual caveats: These are challenges facing Roman who asked me for a blog …
Fear and anxiety dominate if we allow it, but we have to keep working and striving. How can we succeed despite fears, panic, and anxiety?
If you feel like you are working too hard, or working too many hours, this might give you some hope for a solution. I’m not saying it would work for everyone, but it has certainly given me a new perspective on my own business. Over the summer I achieved something I thought was unlikely at …
This critique will be useful to you if you believe you are doing all the right things but are still not getting the results you want. I get a lot of clients come to me with similar situations and many are on the verge of giving up due to this frustration. Fact is, you could …
