That sentence resonated with me because it reminded me of the mistakes I made when I started to blog back in 2006.

I was more concerned with building another backlink for my main site instead of building a readership and focusing on writing solid content.

I’m glad I finally read Yaro’s free report.  I have to admit, I wasn’t overly excited about it because I assumed it was just going to be a plug for his blog coaching service.

Of course it was (and who would blame him?), but there is also a plethora of solid advice in the report.  If I was just getting started blogging I would definitely consider signing up to have him coach me.

If you’ve been on the blogging scene long enough you’ve probably read many of the tips Yaro writes about.  However, he does an excellent job of putting his own perspective on various topics.

Do You Write Pillar Content?

Yaro talks about the importance of creating Pillar content.   He defines it as the “foundation of a good blog.”   It’s that content that gets people’s attention, builds your credibility and often gets spread virally over time.

Some examples would be a How-to article, list article (100 ways to do X), articles on theory, controversy, definition or even a resource report.

These articles can be very helpful at boosting your readership because of the viral potential.  I’ve even noticed from reading other blogs, many of the “most popular” articles are of these varieties.

People also tend to bookmark this kind of content and even submit them to sites like Digg and StumbleUpon.

Most bloggers don’t write Pillar content.  They simply re-report facts and information this is already out here, and then wonder why their traffic struggles.

Is Yaro Down on Websites?

In the report, Yaro takes a small shot at websites saying, “Websites are too technical for most people.” I agree with that on some level, but I still don’t think a blog is perfect for every situation.

And because blogs are so easy to setup (especially compared to websites), people often believe they are a faster route to financial success.

However, Yaro makes it clear that blogging takes work and more importantly an understanding of business.  I am glad he emphasized that point.

Nevertheless, it didn’t surprise me that Yaro seems somewhat anti-website . After all, he sells a blog coaching service so of course he wants to gently nudge you toward the blogging world.

However I still believe you should do your homework and decide which option (blog or website) is best for your individual needs.

And if you do decide that a blog is best, then Yaro may just be one of the best online mentors around. Why not learn from someone who is actually walking the walk and making a solid 6 figures from his blogs?

Keeping it Real

Yaro’s statement, “Most bloggers are poor marketers” may offend some people, but he’s absolutely right.  Too many bloggers only focus on re-reporting facts without a solid plan for marketing.

And if you find that traffic and sales from your blog is struggling, perhaps you should give Yaro some of your attention.

You don’t have to sign up for his blog coaching service, but you can at least download his free report.

It may open your eyes to some promotion techniques you’ve never thought of before. And most importantly, it will help keep your expectations in check.

I always wondered why some YouTube channels had small banners over the profile names and others didn’t. So after doing some research, I found out about the YouTube Partner program.

I just got accepted last week and I’m pretty excited about the added perks…

1) A customized banner (875×75) at the top of my Channel homepage

2) A customized banner (360×55) above the “Video Info” box

3) Ad revenue sharing for “InVideo” ads and other ads along the right side of the video

4) An HTML-enabled text box at the top of my Channel homepage that I can use to promote my sites, blog, forum, etc.

5) Recognition for being on YouTube’s Top 100 list for “Most Subscribed Partner” of the week

6) More space for video descriptions

Payments are made through AdSense, so you must have an active AdSense account before you can get accepted into the program.

I really like that YouTube rewards members for high-trafficked channels.  Hopefully this is just the beginning of more opportunities.

My YouTube Channel homepage now has a PageRank of 5. And while I’m not one to put much emphasis on PR, I still keep track of it.

Now being able to add links to my sites and blogs from this page may be beneficial since this channel is considered pretty reputable in Google’s eyes.

Getting The Kinks Out

While I’m excited about the YouTube Partner program, it’s obvious there are still a few kinks.  I tried adding the “InVideo” ads to one of my videos about WordPress, and suddenly an ad for Playtex Bras scrolled across my face.

Ummmm…. hopefully YouTube is working to target these ads a little better.  Or maybe there’s a WordPress bra out there that I am not familiar with? 

I also noticed the Google ads that display are often unrelated to the title or description of the video.  So I’ll continue to experiment with different videos to check for relevancy, etc.

Making Your YouTube Debut

OK, enough about me.  Let’s talk about you!

If you haven’t thought about putting yourself on YouTube, now’s a great time.  YouTube continues to add revenue and branding opportunities that will only get better over time.

And if you’re not comfortable putting your face on camera, remember you can also record ScreenCast tutorials with software like Camtasia.

If your site is related to computers or there is some relevant software you can demonstrate for your audience, you can also upload this type of video too.  You can see an example with my CSS tutorial.

I’ve definitely learned one thing in the past year…  People absolutely love video.  They provide a nice break from reading and they give your site personality, uniqueness and depth.

So hopefully you are putting some thought into how you can use YouTube to grow your brand awareness, traffic and even make a little revenue on the side.  Before you know it, you’ll be the next YouTube celeb in your niche!

Go here for more details about becoming a YouTube partner.

In this quarter so far, my sites have generated over $1,300 worth of sales, which earned me a whopping $50 bucks.

With most affiliate programs, that kind of revenue would generate at least $300 in commissions.

Nevertheless, Amazon.com is still worth considering as an additional revenue option, simply because they have great name recognition.

Also, Amazon suggests more products to buy during checkout, and people tend to purchase more than they originally intended. Of course, you earn commissions for those products too.

Just last week I earned $5.00 for a baby’s car seat and I am 100% sure I’ve never specifically recommended such a product from any of my sites.

Not to mention they sell almost anything. So if you happen to be endorsing a product, chances are, Amazon has it. You can refer your visitors to their site and earn a commission.

Widget-ize Your Site

In September of last year, Amazon introduced widgets to their affiliate program. Widgets are simply snippets of code that generate dynamic advertisements that you can customize.

Since the initial widget release, they’ve added several different varieties. I have to admit, they’re kinda fun to play around with.

Their most recent release (May, 2008) is the MP3 widget. If you have a music-related site or blog, you can promote specific songs right on your page, and earn a 10% commission for any sales made.

There’s even a widget that works a lot like Google AdSense. It’s called Omakase. You place the code on your page and Amazon will promote products that fit within your content.

I finally got around to seeing how the widgets would perform on my sites. My commissions are up about 20%, so they definitely seem to have an impact.

Lately I’ve been testing the widgets on the header of flat-stomach-exercises.com. The one I have up now is called “My Favorites” and it just happens to be my favorite widget so far.

You can choose which products you want to add to your widget and customize the colors. Notice how the widget blends nicely into my header’s background. This can all be controlled through Amazon’s affiliate management area where you can specify hex color values.

And if you want to make a change to the products or colors in your widget, you can update them at Amazon without having to update the code on your page. I even added the title, “Lisa’s Flat Stomach Product Recommendations” to give it a more personalized touch.

A lot of people pass on the Amazon.com program because of its low commissions. It’s not even close to being one of my top money makers, but the revenue is still a nice supplement, and if nothing else, it pays all my site’s hosting costs for the year.

Now that they provide so many types of widgets and different ways to link to their products (a specific search result, category, product cloud, etc.), it’s fun to experiment and see what cool ways you can incorporate Amazon products into your site.

So don’t discount Amazon’s affiliate program yet. If you haven’t tried their widgets, join the program or login to your account to see what they offer. You may find it’s worth it.

Yup, you guessed it.  Now you can display AdSense ads right inside your Feedburner feed.

You probably new this was coming because there were rumors about Google testing this out on certain accounts.

Well, now it’s available to all AdSense account owners.

Before you can activate this long-awaited feature, you need to migrate your Feedburner account over to Google by simply emailing adsense-support-aff@google.com the following details…

1) Your Feedburner username

2) The email address you used to sign up for AdSense

After this, Google will follow up with migration instructions (I’m still waiting on my e-mail.)

Once activated, you’ll be able to choose your ad type (text or image), frequency, post length and position of the ads.

This is pretty exciting.  It’s always great to have additional ways to monetize existing content.

Happy feeding!

Of course, there are many reasons people get off track, but in the video below I discuss what I believe is a common reason people struggle.

Even though her site has been around for 2 years, she just added an About The Author page in June.

Due to the fact her site includes a lot of personal information about her own depression, she didn’t want her family and friends to find out about her condition from the web.

So she registered a private domain and chose to remain anonymous.

After reading numerous blogs and websites that discuss the importance and advantages of getting more personal, she realized it may be doing her site a disservice to remain anonymous.

So she created an “About The Author” page that includes a few details about herself.

Even though Arial does not disclose her real name, she tells her story about her battles with depression.

You won’t find a photo of Arial on her site, but she uses her Yahoo Avatar and playfully promises her audience, “It looks pretty close to the real me.”

Arial admits a real-life photo would be better, but due to her situation, I can certainly understand why she chose not to go there.

Nevertheless, she believes telling her story and being honest about her situation is much better than having no information about herself at all.

I asked if she’s noticed a difference since she added her “About The Author” page.  Here is her reply…

The first thing I noticed was how I am able to connect with my readers better than before.  Now that I’ve told my story, many people have emailed me because they can relate to my story, and they’ve given me ideas for other topics.

Feedback from my About The Author page has provided greater insight to what my audience wants to learn about so my content will be more relevant and useful going forward.

And the best thing is, my affiliate commissions have gone up by about 30% even though my traffic has remained steady.

While I have no proof it’s all because of my About The Author page, it’s hard to believe that doesn’t have some impact.

I also just updated my design using your free 3 column template, so I’m sure that helped as well.  My old layout was pretty drab.

Nevertheless, I still believe people are more likely to buy things you recommend when they know about your relationship with the topic.  That’s hard to accomplish when your website is anonymous and you don’t explain how you’re connected with your subject matter.

My site may not be completely un-anonymous (Is that a word?), but it’s better than before.

Arial’s right.  Telling your audience about yourself and how you relate to your topic can do a world of good for your credibility.

People want to know what qualifies you to be the “expert” on the subject, so adding a few sentences about yourself can breathe some life into your site or blog.

I encourage you to think of ways you can connect with your readers better. If you’re not comfortable adding a picture, it’s not a necessity but definitely helps.

Also explain how you got involved with your topic and why you created your site or blog. Small changes like this can make a big difference in the long-run.

Some develop them from scratch in programs like PhotoShop, Illustrator or Paint Shop Pro.

Others seek out sites that offer online e-book cover generators.

(Although, most of them come out looking like crap because the online design options are severely limited and the image quality is often very low.)

Finally, there are people like me who buy e-book graphic templates and go from there.

I can make my way around PhotoShop pretty well, but not enough to create a presentable, 3D e-book cover.

So about two years ago I bought some PhotoShop Actions from VirtualCoverGenerator.com.

Well, I just happened to pop over to this site the other day and discovered the author is now offering these PhotoShop Actions for free!

Darn, if I had only waited a couple of years.

What are Actions?

PhotoShop Actions are similar to macros for Excel.   They are pre-recorded actions that you can load into the program to complete multi-step tasks.

And trust me.  If you are not PhotoShop savvy, creating an e-book cover would definitely land in the “multi-step task” category.

In other words, VirtualCoverGenerator.com has done all the work.  All you do is load the Action file in PhotoShop (sort of like a template), add a title, image, etc. to your book, click “Step 2″ and your e-book cover will be generated in seconds.

Pretty cool, eh?

You’ll be able to customize your e-book cover any way you want by adding your own custom colors, fonts, text, images, etc.

There are also Actions for a CD cover, newsletter, and a software box.

So if you offer any of these items from your site or blog, you can use these Actions to create a digital cover or box.

It took me all of 60 seconds to whip out that software box you see on the left.

All I did was open the appropriate Action, add my text, customize the colors and let the Action go to work for me.

I cropped the image down a bit, saved it as a JPG and published it to the Internet.

“So What’s the Catch?”

You know the drill.  There’s always a catch with free, right?  Well this is certainly no exception.

Of course you need PhotoShop (version 6 or higher). Second, you have to provide Fairuz (the owner) your name, email (so he can send you additional offers, no doubt) and agree to his terms and conditions.

Then you’ll be presented with an offer or two (which you can graciously decline if you wish).

Finally, you’ll need to create a password to the site’s members area.  Once you’ve done that you’ll be taken to a page to download the Actions (zip file).

Whew!  Yes, it’s a bit of work, but a small price to pay if you need a high-quality e-book cover.

“This is Useless Info to Me”

You may be reading this now thinking, That’s great, Lisa but I don’t have any e-Books that I offer from my site or blog.

Well, my response to that would be…

Why not?

e-books can be amazing, viral marketing machines for you.  You can create a useful, free guide that is relevant to your niche, provide links back to your site/blog in the book, embed affiliate links and offer it as a free download.

Before you know it, friends will email your book to their friends.  Webmasters and Bloggers will recommend it from their sites.  The possibilities are endless.  And the more useful your product is, the larger the circulation potential.

Pretty soon you’ll be able to sit back and watch the viral magic happen!

I’ve been offering e-books (the PDF variety) from my sites for nearly 5 years and when I check my stats, at least one of my books has generated a commission for some product almost everyday.

There’s nothing like doing the work once and getting paid for it over and over and over again.

Of course, you can also sell your digital product.  You don’t necessarily have to give it away for free.  Thanks to PayPal and other online payment sites, collecting funds from digital good sales is more convenient than ever.

So what are you waiting for?  Get those juices flowing and get started on your e-book?  Then dart on over to VirtualCoverGenerator.com and scoop up those Actions before Fairuz decides to sell them again.

In this book, Ken outlines 13 different mentalities/personalities that cause failure.

Even though this book was written years ago, it contains eye-opening, in-your-face points that are still very relevant today.

From the Ready-Aim-Ready-Aim mentality (the person who plans, researches, plans, researches, and never starts) to the Fire-Fire-Fire-Fire-Fire-Fire mentality (the person who jumps from one idea to another and has trouble sticking with one concept because they lose patience if the money doesn’t roll in fast enough).

Ken does a great job of categorizing the various personalities.   In one section he carefully describes one group as “IQ challenged”.

Don’t frown. That may sound insulting, but it was written quite tastefully. He bluntly points out that this business is not for everyone, just like any other line of work.

Unfortunately many people have trouble facing this fact. They believe that wanting to make money should be enough motivation to succeed, but it takes more than that.

Adding My Two Cents

If I were to add a 14th mentality to Ken’s list, it would be “Fear of Failure.”  So many people never make it over the hump because they are afraid to fail.

I cannot tell you how many emails I’ve received from people who are hesitant to start a blog or a website because they worry no one will ever visit… as if it’s some kind of personal rejection.

Let me tell you.  I’ve had more failed sites than profitable ones.  And if it weren’t for those failures, I wouldn’t be earning a living online today.

It’s not about how long it takes you to succeed. It’s about acknowledging the mistakes you make and using those lessons to catapult yourself to the next level.  And if that means trying 3 or 4 different concepts before finding the right one, so be it.

People forget that success is largely mental. If you go through this process plagued with fear of failure, it can stifle your creativity and prevent you from sticking with it when progress is slow.

That’s why so many people get too caught up in the Ready-Aim, Ready-Aim, Ready-Aim mentality Ken mentioned.  They are afraid to step out of their safety net and just do it (as the old Nike campaign instructed.)

So if you haven’t read Ken’s mini book, give it a read (right-click, and “save as” to download).  It’s free.

If you’re having trouble getting your site or blog off the ground, you may see yourself in this book. That’s not necessarily a bad thing.  It could be the reality check you need.

The first contest is a trivia question that will reward you $50 when you’re the first person to answer the question correctly.

Note: You must have a valid/active PayPal to receive your winnings.

Due to your member status, you may or may not be able to see the contest forum on the homepage when you login.

I’ve decided not to disclose the requirements for eligibility (to prevent abuse and post flooding).

However, I believe the requirements are reasonable and reward those who have contributed to the forum.

When you become eligible to participate, you will see the contest forum on the homepage of WebsiteBabble.com.

This is one of many more contests to come.  So if you’re not eligible for this one, there will be others.  I will be giving away cash, EntreCard credits and more.  Most of the questions will be trivia related.

Why a Contest?

I did not create this contest to collect email addresses, so please don’t worry about being added to some random list that will clog your inbox.

The only email you’ll receive from me is the one notifying you that you’ve won.

The main purpose is to improve/maintain forum activity and build loyalty among the members.

So if you’d like to join my online family, sign up here.

With the emergence of the social networking scene, developing connections and acknowledging regular contributors is an important part of marketing (particularly if you’re a blogger).

Having said that, I thought I’d discuss a few of the ways people publicly reward their visitors…

EntreCard - Top Droppers

Many EntreCard members make the occasional post to their blog with a list of their top EntreCard droppers.

If you aren’t familiar with EntreCard, it’s a free service that allows you to promote your blog by dropping your card (a 125×125 image) on other blogs.

You earn credits for every “drop” you make and you can use those credits to buy advertising space on other blogs.

I haven’t posted a list of my top droppers as of yet.  On one hand, I like the idea, but on the other, it opens the door for a bunch of empty drops by people looking to make my “Top Dropper” list.

Nevertheless, it can be a good way to build up loyalty.

Top Commenters

I read every comment posted here and often follow them to view the person’s blog.  But I pay even more attention to the people who take the time to craft insightful posts.

Blog comments are important because they make a blog look active and they encourage participation from other readers.  So I appreciate it greatly when people take the time to make a thoughtful comment.

WordPress has a plugin that allows you to display the top commenters as a widget on your sidebar.  While that’s a very generous thing to do, you still have to monitor rewards like this very closely.

People are competitive, and any time there’s a reward for quantity, some take advantage of that and the quality of the content begins to suffer.  So you have to evaluate if it’s worth implementing.

Your top commenters may not always be your best contributors. Personally, I’d much rather reward someone with a few good comments than someone else with a bunch of empty ones who is just looking for first billing on my widget.

That’s why I’m a fan of the new partnership between SezWho and EntreCard.  Hopefully this will enhance the commenting community and encourage more productive discussions across the blogosphere.

As an EntreCard member you can now earn credits for leaving comments on SezWho-enabled blogs.  The catch is you only earn credits for quality comments.

This keeps people from flooding other blogs with quick comments like “nice post” or “great info”, just to drive up their credit totals.

Just for the record, this blog uses SezWho, so if you’re an EntreCard member, get to commenting and earn those credits.

vBulletin - Top Posters

There’s a hack out for vBulletin 3.x that allows you to show your forum’s top posters for the month.  I’ve installed it and posted a link to this list in two places on my forum Website Babble.

While the quantity vs. quality issue could come into play here as well, I’m not as concerned about that with my forum due to the high number of regular, quality contributors.

As many of you know, it takes a lot of work to build and maintain an forum active, and I am truly grateful to the active members who have helped Website Babble grow.

My forum is nowhere as active as Digital Point or ABestWeb, but for someone who has launched 3 forums that failed in the past, you won’t hear me complaining.

When I first launched Website Babble, I held 2 contests and gave away cash prizes ($300 and $150 respectively) to the the MVP (Most Valuable Posters).

I do believe that incentive helped my forum grow in the early days, and I do have plans to offer more prizes in the near future.

The great thing about this reward was that it was based on quality of posts, not quantity.

Even though I had to manually review several posts to determine who was eligible for the contest, it was worth it. It’s important to recognize and give back to quality contributors.

You can join my forum here.  I’d love to get to know you.

If you’re thinking of starting your own forum, think of ways you can reward your members.  It doesn’t haven’t to be money.  Perhaps it’s free advertising space on your blog, or you could give away EntreCard credits.

Public Response to Tweets

Darren Rowse of ProBlogger.net is good at this.  Anytime someone poses a question on Twitter that he feels is best answered publicly on his blog, he’ll post a link to the person’s Twitter account in the post.

When you get a link from a blog with over 50,000 RSS readers, you’re bound to get some kind of reward, even if it’s just a few extra Twitter followers.

I just started using my Twitter account in the last week to announce my blog posts, and plan to come up with more useful ways to interact with my followers.

————-

The bottom line is people love to be recognized, and it’s important to show your audience that you appreciate their support.

Do you reward your visitors?  If so, how do you do it?