I’ve been blogging at Wealth Pilgrim for almost 2 years. When I started, I didn’t even know what a blog was or why I should do it. At the time, I was writing a book and my publicist told me I should create a blog to support the book. Once I agreed to do it, I started reading everything I could find on the subject and luckily discovered ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income by Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett.
The book really inspired me but I had questions. I hunted down the authors and tried to hire them to coach me. Fortunately, Chris Garrett agreed to do it and became an invaluable resource. I twisted his arm and Chris agreed to do an interview for Yakezie to share his knowledge with the network.
Neal: Tell me about Problogger book. What inspired you to write it? Did you expect it be so successful? How did it help people?
Chris: There was a hole in the market because, to be honest, people who wanted to make money with blogs didn’t have anything to turn to other than other blogs. We knew this because we were part of the community we were serving. Originally Darren and I were going to do an ebook based around the topics we knew people wanted to learn more about and the questions people sent us. The opportunity to have it published by Wiley then appeared and it just made sense. For most people it helps give people a sense of direction, things they need to look out for, some inspiration and some options. Of course there have been some
resounding successes – like the lady who built up her blog then sold it for six figures based on what she learned!
Neal: What is the biggest challenge that bloggers face now? What can they do to
overcome that challenge?
Chris: It’s tougher to get noticed now because there are so many great blogs out there. Bloggers need to work on the fundamentals but also strive to stand out.
Neal: What can we do to stand out?
Chris: When people ask this I usually ask the following questions back:
1) What are you doing that is worth noticing?
2) Are you giving people enough opportunity to notice you?
3) How is what you doing different to everyone else?
Neal: Good response. So…what is your best advice for the newbie blogger?
Chris: Don’t give up – people often give up too soon, it’s a long process.
Neal: One reason people do give up is because they pour all their time into it and make no money. Tell me about monetization. What are the different models and how do you suggest bloggers approach making money?
Chris: The way I make money is by bringing together a tight-knit audience of people who really want to hear from me then creating products and services that provide solutions to challenges those folks are facing. Darren’s approach is to sell advertising and so on. Somewhere in between there is earning a sales commission by reviewing or recommending products.
Neal: How do I know which model is best for me?
Chris: Your gut will often tell you, but also do what works, which means testing and tweaking. There is nothing wrong with having a mixture, just be careful you don’t cannibalise your services by sending people to competitors through advertising!
Neal: You put out a ton of stuff that helped me when I started. What are some valuable resources we can take advantage of?
Chris: The first resource I suggest you check out is my free ebook “Creating Killer Content” which will help you understand how to put together really compelling resources that attract a bigger and better audience. You can get it free by subscribing Chrisg.com.
Neal: Yes. That was one of the first resources I used and it was the foundation I build Pilgrim on. Let’s turn to the business side. How can bloggers be efficient? This can be a huge time drain and that leads to burn out. What do you suggest?
Chris: Lots of bloggers burn out, but it’s not just bloggers. It seems most people I talk to feel stuck, that they are not making progress with their goals, or that they are just stuck in perpetual time suck. That’s a common issue and my customers were asking about it so I put together a course about it called Make More Progress.
Neal: What does it take to be a successful blogger?
Chris: You just have to be awesome to the people who are important. Identify who you can most help then focus your attention on them. My approach is to be the go-to person in your niche but it is not about being internet famous, in fact outside of your niche nobody might know who you are. It is about being so valuable to your *specific* community that your target audience knows, likes and trusts you. It’s both more rewarding and a lot more fun that way!
Neal: Thanks Chris. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me and for the members here at Yakezie.
Nice interview Neal and thanks for sharing it with us.
Great interview Neal. Problogger is full of great resources and tips for building a successful blog. I read the book awhile back when I first set out to launch Saving Money Today and it was a huge help. I still go back and reference it regularly…invaluable resource.
I like Chris and Darren’s mixed approach on blog monetizing. Having a balanced strategy is just like having a diversified stock portfolio. This makes revenue more predictable in the long run (but of course you must have a foundation of good content).
Excellent interview, Neal. Thanks for sharing this. I’ve been feeling like I’m not quite targeting the right audience and my topics are all over the place. I’ll have to check out the ProBlogger book, it might help me find some balance.
Thanks. I recently rehired Chris to help me turn my blog into a referral machine for my business and it’s working already! I’m stoked!
this interview is excellent and filled with value.
would definitely be more interested in learning about how to machine was built and how you are benefiting from it.
Great interview. Will have to check out there material. I have spent time at Copyblogger, but haven’t visited Problogger.
Thanks,
Great job on the interview Neal, Chris is one of the heavy hitters in the blog, social media and marketing worlds. Loved reading it!
Great interview. Awesome to get that for us. I have a guest post going up over at the problogger website on February 24 about blogging as a married couple (which I am really excited about) and I have read the book so this was really cool to read.
Wow, at problogger, huh? good luck – that’s a big one!
Seems the advice here is fairly similar to general marketing advice. Create a great product + target a niche + be awesome = success. Advertising seems to be on the decline as savvy web users ignore ads – but referrals and product reviews are a great idea!
Thanks for the interview. I haven’t been to problogger website for quite a while, perhaps it’s time to revisit it again
Thanks for sharing that. I just downloaded the Killer Content ebook. Excited to read and apply!
Terrific interview filled with great advice. Do you and Chris still talk shop? Valuable resource.
Very intriguing advice! I often think about how much different it probably would be to start a blog back in say 2006. There must have been a lot less competition then.
Awesome interview Neal. His advice about not giving up is on point. MPFJ, you’re right, there was less competition, but so many people start blogs today and die off within a year. Time always tells who will stick around for a decent time. They are the ones that we now know about.
This was a great interview. I’m always fascinated by the blogging world and how people continue to come up with so much great content.
I hear so many great things about ProBlogger…but shamefully have not checked them out yet. I will head on over and grab a copy of Killer Content. Thanks for bringing this to our attention!
Great interview, Neal! I’ve also heard positive feedbacks about ProBlogger, will definitely check it out soon. Being noticed in the blogging world really takes a long process, but is all worth it at the end.