Will You Fail At Blogging?

I was doing a little research this morning for a new client. We built a blog for them over a year ago. They liked the idea of growing their online referrals by reaching out and sharing information. They had good intentions of blogging regularly. But after one year – and six posts scattered across that one year period – they knew they didn’t have the time and effort to make a blog work. So they reached out for ghost blogging help.

As I started researching their industry, I found a few blogs in place amongst their competitors. And likewise, all of the blogs I found had a few posts scattered across a one year period of more.

Blogging works great if you work at blogging.

That’s really the secret.

Of course you need to understand keywording, how to create perfect titles, write about what people are truly searching for, and make your posts informative to the people who will read them.

But above all, you have to work at it. Regularly.

If you commit to blogging one a week, blog at the same time every week. Have more time? Add another day or two to your schedule.

I’ve been blogging for almost 8 years now, and the one thing that makes it work so well is commitment.

I keep a running file of ideas to blog on.
I write regularly and make time for writing.

I was talking with a photographer online the other day. She commented on one of my tips to gain more clients – I said to write blog posts every week. She stated she wasn’t a writer. I agree – not everyone is a writer.

But you don’t have to be a writer to communicate with your prospects and customers.

Grab a video camera and talk about what you do. Post that to YouTube and your blog, and you’ve just created a double strategy to reach out to new customers.

The key isn’t how much content, or how well its written. It’s how well you reach out to your customers, and give them what they truly want to read.

Read more about Ghost Blogging and Social Media.

The Secret To Gaining Clients Through Blogging

Want to know the secret to getting massive amounts of traffic to your blog, have people follow you no matter what you write, make contact with you daily, and turn into clients instantly?

When it’s written in a sentence like the one above, you start to become a little leery. Nothing can be THAT good. Right?

Yet every week I meet with people that have heard me talk about blogging, and they always bring up the statement, “I want to use a blog so I can quit other forms of gaining leads”.

When I hear that statement, my next question is, “how quickly do you want your blog to work for you?” Because a blog is a great tool In fact, I can’t imagine my marketing plan to be without several at the moment. But I’ve also been using blogs for over eight years now.

Blogs are just like any other form of marketing.

• You have to use it regularly to make it work for you.
• In order to bring clients to your blog, you have to give out content that makes them want to come back again and again.
• Traffic will come from a variety of sources; you have to keep trying and do what works.
• People will sign up for and buy different things. You have to make more than one offer to gain clients.
• You have to be patient. A blog will only work after you’ve dedicated yourself to it for a while, and you have the traction of several things working together.
• You won’t be number one in Google immediately. Like everything else it takes time.

So let me ask you a question. Will you be in business five years from now? If so, then you have plenty of time to start up a blog, dedicate yourself to it as one of the best forms of marketing your business, and just do it.

Read more about Ghost Blogging and Social Media.

Make Money As A Stock Photographer

I’m always amazed when I head out to the forums to find photographers complaining about stock photography, and the fact there is no money to be made in that industry?

It’s just not true.

As a matter of fact, it is an incredible way to make money, and I’m seeing huge potential over the coming years in this field.

Last fall I touched on this in my Trends In Stock Photography and today I read more about it in Microstock Photography Is Getting Big.

By far, iStockPhoto is advancing as the leader in the stock photography industry. In February 2006, Getty Images purchased iStockPhoto for $50 million. In 2006, iStockPhoto had revenues of about $23 million. Fast forward to 2008, revenues jumped to $150 million, with projections for this year being around $200 million. Huge growth! And huge potential for us photographers!

If you’re thinking, “How can I ever make money with just a few cents per image sold?”, think again. iStockPhoto obviously has the desire to make money through sales of images, but it also looks for ways for building deeper relationships with great photographers too. Which is why they’ve just announced their newest division, Vetta Collection, which is comprised of images that meet a higher quality. They cost more for the end user (starting at $20 per image compared to the $1 per image for the standard images) – and provide more income for the photographer as well.

So, can you really make money as a stock photographer? Let’s take a quick look.

Obviously the more images you have on iStockPhoto, the more you build your portfolio, the higher potential you will have.

If you sell one image to a person on a pay as you go plan, you can earn anywhere from $0.30 to $8.40 per image. If you sell just 10 images at every level during the month, you would make $270 that month. And this is the lowest level possible to make money with iStock. They also have subscription options, their new Vetta program, and the opportunity to move up in levels when you have bigger sales potential.

And the best thing is you continually build on your portfolio. If you have a best seller this month, chances are it will continue being a best seller a long time into the future.

Convinced? Ready to get started as a Stock Photographer? Then you’re going to love my program on Creating A Stock Photography Business. Get started today.

Growing Pink Roses In Colorado

Growing pink roses in Colorado is a lot like finding one perfect client in a stadium filled with 75,000 people.

Is it possible? Definitely.

Is it easy? Yes. Providing you have the right tools in place.

Let’s start with the roses.

1. You need to choose a viable, healthy plant. (And of course it needs to be pink.)

2. You need to plant it in dirt filled with nutrients.

3. The plant needs to have access to daily doses of sunshine.

4. The plant needs to be watered and fertilized regularly.

5. The plant needs to be groomed for diseases and bugs that may stunt the growth, or kill the plant all together.

Sounds easy enough.

So how does that translate to your photography business?



1. Start with a great idea that is easily promoteable to the consumers in your target market.

There’s really no need to reinvent the wheel here. There are dozens of niches in the photography industry that can make you money. Find one that appeals most to you, and start specializing.

2. Start with a strong base for your business. The more structure you have at the beginning, the easier growth will be down the road. And the more you visualize for your business now, the easier it will be to achieve in the future.

Spend some time visualizing how your studio will look five years from now. Create a map of what it looks like then, and work your way backwards to fill in the blanks of how you will get from your vision, to establishing your business today.

3. Look at any niche within the photography industry and you can find a top player that’s been there, done that. Find that mentor, and use them as your guide. Whether you read books they’ve authored, purchased training programs they’ve created, or attend face-to-face training sessions, follow in their footsteps to gain your own success on a much quicker basis.

4. Design a marketing program that puts you in the spotlight again and again. The key to marketing is getting your name in front of your prospects and clients enough so they remember you when they are ready to buy. With today’s technology, this is easier then ever. From traditional promotions such as post cards, to online promotions such as ezines and Twitter, the key to success is using your strategies on a regular basis.

5. It’s all about testing. Let’s face it, some things work and some things don’t. Unfortunately we don’t know that ahead of time. What works for one business owner may not work for another. And what works one year may not carry through year after year. It’s important to test constantly, and adjust to make sure your business is consistently growing.

If you follow these five steps, you’ll soon start sorting through your prospects and turning them into clients. And you’ll soon be growing your own pink roses wherever you choose!

Clinton School For Public Policy Invites Filmmaker David M. Edwards To Screen Documentary

September 24, 2008 Dean of The University of Arkansas, Clinton School of Public Policy, Skip Rutherford, with involvement from the Clinton Library, has invited documentary film Producer/Director David M. Edwards to screen his film Sprawling From Grace; Driven To Madness at the school on Oct 12th. The film will screen along with Producer Vincent Insalaco's moving film, War Eagle, Arkansas. Both films have enjoyed successful festival runs, and are anticipated to be released to the public by mid to late fall 2008.

“I’m deeply honored to be showcasing my film at the Clinton Library,” stated filmmaker David M. Edwards. “The idea of suburban sprawl and peak oil is finally becoming mainstream, and to be able to share the ideas and information within this film in this location means a lot to me.”

Sprawling From Grace; Driven To Madness explores ... read more >>

Online Marketing - An Independent Mind

Last night I enjoyed another great dinner and conversation with my mastermind group. Every three weeks we get together to discuss business. We’re all building businesses online in some manner, and we ended up together to help each other grow and succeed online.

After a year and a half together, it’s amazing how much we’ve all grown. We’ve seen many changes in our business, some successes and some failures. But the great thing is every three weeks we can share our ideas, ask for opinions, and get honest feedback from people that share a common interest.

I started thinking about why being a part of a mastermind is so important. Obviously there are a ton of reasons. But the one that kept coming to my mind was having a group that in no way is impacted financially by what you do, yet know you well enough to see exactly what you should be doing, and has no reservations on telling you exactly what you should be doing.

Let me give you an example. One of the members has an incredible niche, and has made her full time income from her website for many years now. She’s been adding a few products and changing some of her ideas over the past year and a half. But a few months ago, as she started developing a coaching program, the rest of the mastermind group told her she needed a membership site. It was a perfect fit for what she was doing.

She was skeptical at first, but kept pursuing it. She’s been working on building it during 2008, and last night she reported she’s almost got it all together. Way to go!

It’s so amazing watching things come together for the people around you. And what’s more amazing is that while you are watching their progress, it usually comes together for you too.

We’re not meant to do things by ourselves. Instead we’re meant to build things together. If you’re a solopreneur, get in a mastermind. They are highly worth it - I can’t rant enough about the benefits of a mastermind. You don’t have to meet in person; some very good ones have formed through phone calls.

With the price of a barrel of oil reaching a high each new day, we need to look for alternative sources of energy for our commuting needs. For now, we can take advantage of any savings that will help our bottom line and filling up your vehicle with gas can empty your wallet quickly. Found a site that lists the latest gas prices from stations throughout the US - www.gasbuddy.com Check out the site and save some hard earned dollars. Until we find alternative sources, park your SUV and search for a more fuel efficient car.