Ten Steps to Building College Reading Skills

Preview: This is the best-selling account of the martyrdom of Jim Elliot and four other missionaries at the hands of the Auca Indians in Ecuad

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When is the right time to start selling?

This guest post is by k from Brandon Yanofsk of B-list Marketing.

If another blogger that you've ever asked, "when is the right time to start selling on my blog?", you know you never get a solid answer.

Some say as soon as you a person visiting your blog.

Some say never to start selling until you have at least 100 subscribers.

And some say sell before you 10,000 people on your email list is premature.

However, I'm here to straighten and give you a solid answer.

But before I give you that answer, I need to explain something.

Everyone thinks of the sale as something nasty — something you don't need to do. They think of shady car sellers or cliche snake oil salesman. In fact, someone trying to rip them off.

It is no wonder then that people do not want to sell on their blogs.

Instead of calling the "sell", let's call it what it really is: providing a solution to a problem.

Now, let's rephrase the original question:

Copyright NatUlrich-Fotolia. comIf someone runs to you and says: "Hey, I need your help", you would reply with, "Sorry, I'm not selling right now."?

Of course not. You would jump right in and help.

So, is the right time to start selling on your blog:

Once you have a problem and a solution for this problem.

It doesn't matter if you are a Subscriber, or 100,000 subscribers. Once you have identified your readers, it's time to create a solution.

I know of a blogger who has a very, very healthy trailer. Yet he fails to make a sale. The reason is: he's not providing a solution to a problem his readers face. He just creating products and buy them hope someone.

On the other hand, I've seen bloggers who have very few subscribers. They still have a very healthy company selling products. Why? Because they identified a problem their readers face, and the solution.

So, don't let people tell you there are a number of followers you need before the sale of products. It does not exist.

Instead, ask yourself two questions:

1) I Found the problem? and 2) I can provide the solution?

Looking for more tips on creating a blogging business? Check out Brandon Yanofsky (Canada) site B-list Marketing where he teaches you how to create a blogging company your readers know, like and trust.

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Shadow of the Almighty: The Life and Testament of Jim Elliot (Lives of Faith)

Preview: This is the best-selling account of the martyrdom of Jim Elliot and four other missionaries at the hands of the Auca Indians in Ecuad

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How to Be a Good Guest Post Host

This guest post is by LJ SimpleProductivityBlog.comserious.

You often see articles about how to be a good guest poster: things you can do to make an impression and your message published. But what about the downside of that? Do you have what it takes to be a good guest post host?

Guest posting is beneficial both to the writer and the Publisher. It builds relationships, strengthened support and generate publicity for the host while giving exposure to the writer. Here are eight things you can do to improve the host of the post of the guest.

Frequently asked questions are good ways to keep yourself from the same questions again. For guest posting, have a FAQ that relates to the questions you are, such as "how long messages need to be?" and "what format should I use?" It also serves things such as your blog topics and the frequency of posting, although this must be clear for those who have done their homework. After a FAQ can save you a lot of extra work answering email, and provides a place to link to in response to General questions.

Even if you don't accept guest posts, your general blog FAQ say this outright. It saves the author a lot of problems.

It does no one any good if you have a guest posting FAQ that nobody can find. The link must be prominent and convey that it's going to be guest posting.

A great way to get your guest posting guidelines is to provide a link to it on every guest post that you publish. A prospective author finds it more quickly if they're looking at a guest post.

The process of submitting a guest post is one where the poster submits an idea or article, and then it goes into a kind of freezing until the blog host accepts or rejects. The article not be submitted elsewhere, and it may go out of relevance.

Part of the FAQ should be a period when you return to your possible guest receives. Even then, you must honor what you say. If your timeframe is five days says, make sure you have respond in five days, even if it's a "I the article, but I'm swamped and the need for more time to look at it." If you find yourself consistently missing your change timeframe specified, something that in the FAQ you can meet.

Respond within a certain time, builds credibility and makes people more likely to send a message; After all, who wants to get a message into a black hole to knowingly send?

An individual e-mail address or form of guest post submissions makes it easy for you to keep track of what comes in. It also gives the author of a feeling that his post will not be lost in other email. This information can be included as part of the FAQ.

We all strive to improve what we do. But without external feedback, it is very difficult to find out what we are doing right and wrong.

Who doesn't like to have praised their work? If there is something that your attention in the article was caught, telling the author. This form of community building will you just allies and readers.

On the other hand, if you are rejecting the post, some basic feedback why. If the entry does not meet the criteria in your FAQ, let the author know (along with a link to the FAQ). Or if the post too much editing on your part would require, the author must know as well. This type of feedback will help them write better posts in the future, should they choose to use information.

Sometimes it works not a post on your blog because of the timing or any other factor that has nothing to do with the article itself. In that case, ask the author to be flexible. I had a recent submission where the author did everything right — but the article was about the same topic as an appropriate way out of the following week to go. I asked him if he would like to delay publication in connection with the timing, and he agreed. A possible rejection into a win-win.

Negotiate with the author can not only build relationships, but also a reputation for honesty.

It is your blog, after all, and you have the last word on the content. If your blog is about widgets, and someone sends a post on elephants, not the quality of your content in danger by publishing them. Also, feel free to reject messages that do not make the cut, even it they come from someone you know.

With creative work read by others can feel like having your skin removed. Remember that the person on the other side of the email is a person with feelings. So friendly as you can.

Have you thought about what it takes to be a great guest post host? Share below.

LJ seriously is a computer programmer by day, geek productivity of all time. Using the principles of productivity and simplicity SimpleProductivityBlog.comon, she helps people get through the things that they do so they can get on the things that they want to do. They can also be found Twitter and on Facebook. Remember, a productive life don't have to be complicated.

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Napoleon Hill's Golden Rules: The Lost Writings

Napoleon Hill's Golden Rules: The Lost Writings consists of a series of magazine articles Napoleon Hill wrote between 1919 and 1923 for Success Magazine, of which he eventually became an editor. Hill's drive to become successful led him from the poverty stricken Appalachian Mountains to study rags-to-riches tycoons. These articles focus on Hill's philosophy of success. Drawing upon the thoughts and experiences of a multitude of influential people, Hill shows readers how those successful people achieved their status. Many of his writings, such as the chapter on the Law of Attraction, have been the basis of several bestselling books. Readers will discover principles designed to guide them to success if studied and put into action.

Amazon Exclusive Quiz: How Successful Are You?

Napoleon Hill was born in 1883 in a one-room cabin on the Pound River in Wise County, Virginia. He began his writing career at age 13 as a "mountain reporter" for small town newspapers and went on to become America's most beloved motivational author. Hill passed away in November 1970 after a long and successful career writing, teaching, and lecturing about the principles of success. His work stands as a monument to individual achievement and is the cornerstone of modern motivation. His book, Think and Grow Rich, is the all time bestseller in the field. Hill established the Foundation as a nonprofit educational institution whose mission is to perpetuate his philosophy of leadership, self-motivation, and individual achievement. His books, audio cassettes, videotapes, and other motivational products are made available as a service of the Foundation to help others build a library of personal achievement materials, and acquire financial wealth and the true riches of life.

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Sample Question from the Quiz: Learning from Adversity and Defeat
a. Does defeat cause you to stop trying? Y N
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c. Do you believe that temporary defeat can become failure? Y N
d. Have you learned any lessons from defeat? Y N
e. Do you know how defeat can be converted into an asset that may lead to success? Y N
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Six things I learned in my first six months as a Problogger

This is a Guest Post by John Saddington of TentBlogger.

Like many professional bloggers, my journey started years ago, as I dabbled in blogging for myself and for my friends. I’m not exactly sure when it happened, but it did—the date doesn’t matter much here. And, to be completely honest, I had really no idea of what I was doing at the time.

Nearly a decade later, I jumped into the deep end, going pro as a full time blogger. I decided that I’d try my hand as a professional blogger, “blogging for fun and for profit,” and seeing where it would take me.

So far it’s been everything that I had expected, but even moreso, it’s been extremely eye-opening, humbling, and down-right scary at times. I finally had the time to actually review that first half-year and here’s what I came up with. My hope is that I can pass these learnings on to you so that you can jump to that stage in your blogging (if you wish). Hopefully, you’ll be even more prepared for what lies ahead!

Making the jump from a full-time job into professional blogging took a lot of patience, calculation, and financial management. Heck, I had mouths to feed (I already had one daughter, and a second on the way!) and I couldn’t afford to make a serious capital error on my finances. In other words, it just had to work and I had to stay ‘in the black’ as best as I could.

I was diligent, I was safe, and I was conservative as much as the next fiscally responsible person—and although I’d never call myself a professional financial accountant, I was confident in my ability to make the ends meet. But the importance of being on top of my finances kicked up a serious notch the moment my blogs became the number one source of income.

What I wish I’d done was to take into account every single penny that was going in and going out from the blog; yes, to that degree—pennies.

You see, I had general (and accurate) estimations of my earnings but without the exact penny figures I couldn’t completely optimize my earnings in the specific areas that needed to be optimized (like affiliate marketing, direct sales, etc).

I encourage you to start counting those pennies today, even if it is just pennies—you’ll be even more ready to make the jump when you do.

Make a list of your current costs, both from a week and month-to-month perspective. Start documenting today so that you’re aware of what’s coming in and what’s coming out.Share your list of expenses with those that know you best. Having accountability is one of your greatest weapons against over-spending.Always wait before purchasing—make a mental note and goal to never spend any money the same day that you feel like you need something.Share your list publicly! Your blog readers might actually enjoy walking with you through this neat part of your blogging journey.Set times for your to conduct monthly and quarterly reviews. You’ll find these times and activities very fascinating as you dive deep into your fiscal planning for your blog. You might even come away having learned some significant new lessons.

I love the applications that I use for my work, and most of them have been paid applications. The challenge of being in the freelance world—and especially the problogging world—is that there are always newer and shinier programs out there that are constantly enticing me. Heck, some claim to make me money instantly so why not, right?

Wrong. My approach quickly changed to finding open-source or free alternatives to paid apps. Sure, there’s nothing wrong with paying for your apps, but every single dollar counts—especially in the beginning, as you work your way to a profitable blog. You need to save where you can save, and do it over and over again.

Take the time to find the right free apps. Develop a thick skin for those moments when you see advertisements for apps that say they’ll help your blogging more if you just buy them today (especially if it’s a “limited time only” offer). You can go pro without paying a dime—in fact, why not challenge yourself to do just that?

Always do you your research. Find the best sites and blogs that cover open source apps and freeware. You can’t go wrong with being thoroughly equipped to make the right spending choices.Ask your network for solutions. Facebook and Twitter can provide valuable information and resources that may just end up saving you significant time and money.Blog about your apps and the way that you use them! I’ve found this to be not only a neat exercise, but also a great time for the commenters and community to share their thoughts on both use and other perhaps better alternatives.Think beyond apps: consider all the things you need to function properly as a blogger. For example, what about free wifi at your local hotspot and coffee shop? I know of many bloggers who go to the extreme in their attempts at saving, and they did it. Sure, they can afford wifi at home, but they still jump over to the free wireless often!This goes with the previous section on counting pennies but it’s worth mentioning again: never purchase on emotion or gut reaction to a felt need. Wait a few hours (days perhaps), ask a few people, and make the wisest decision you can. Copyright AVAVA - Fotolia.com

The first six months have been riddled with fear, anxiety, doubt, and depression—pretty sweet, right? It’s exactly what you want to hear from a professional blogger! One can get seriously beat up on that emotional rollercoaster ride!

The thing is that these are normal emotions for anyone who has experienced a job change. I just didn’t expect that they’d come on as strong in a job that I had been wanting to dive into for so long. It’s like getting to your dream job and realizing that it’s not like your dream at all—well, it’s still a “dream” job but it’s different, right?

There is no perfect job, and if you’re looking for it, then don’t be surprised when the kryptonite called reality arrives and you realize that you must still manage the stress and pressure of providing for yourself and your family. But it’s still worth it.

There’s no coaching or preparation that I can give you for making a jump into professional blogging but I can tell you that it will be emotional and that’s okay.

Prepare today for the ups and downs of changing your job, and adopting a lifestyle that’s entirely different than the one that you had previously. Simply being aware of this transition can make you all the more prepared.Get your personal network in order so as to provide support during the transition. Broadcast and share where you’re headed and get people involved. It’s much more fun that way too!Don’t be afraid to ask for help. This is one of the healthiest emotional places to be: where you’re confident of your continued path, but humble enough to know that you’re not the first (nor the last) to travel that road and you might need some help here and there.Be completely okay with the expression of that emotion. I didn’t learn until much later in life that it was better to be completely honest with my emotions than to hide them, especially during tough life changes.Set up a schedule and a time to rejoice. Your career choices are exciting, but often we forget to simply celebrate and enjoy the ride, so to speak.

Since I started my blogging as a hobby I didn’t really care about where I was when I wrote anything—the fact that I managed to get in front of the computer at all seemed like a feat, and there was no rhyme nor reason to my work environment or circumstance. This worked just fine.

As I moved closer to writing seriously, I still didn’t have the full appreciation for my environment: I was writing during my lunch breaks, at the kitchen table after a late-night meal, or early in the morning before the coffee finished brewing. I blogged where I was because that’s where I was when I had the free time to do so. Sure, I tried to find those “optimal” writing environments that I felt helped me stay productive effectively, but it was more of luxury than a necessity. I just wanted to write and I’d write anywhere.

Now, as a professional blogger, this is what I do and my environment is under my control—and it’s never been more important that I craft the right environment for optimal thinking, drafting, and publishing. I’m even sharing this experience publicly as I craft the perfect professional blogging office with my community.

The challenge, though, is that I wasn’t taking notes for all those years as I spent time in the many different places where I wrote. I wish that I’d been more aware of the places, circumstances, environments, and all of the related paraphernalia that came with those environments, so that I could more easily create that perfect problogging office today.

I’d encourage you to start taking notes today if you’re planning to head in the direction of professional blogging. Then, when you do get there, you’ll know exactly what you need to create that perfect writing environment.

Obviously you’ll want to start documenting all that appears to help you be your most productive. Include the elements of the space, the artifacts, the tools, and anything else that just seems to “work.”Pay particularly close attention not only to the “where,” but also to the “who” in your environment—does a bunch of strangers help you feel motivated to write? Or are you always with people that you know intimately? This could be a critical part of your environment!Don’t just make a list of elements—begin to categorize and price them. This is exciting because it can give you an opportunity to set goals for yourself around when you’ll purchase them, and when you’ll get to use them.Share your ideas about your ideal work environment with your blog community and ask for their feedback, as well as their thoughts on particular environments and tools within those environments. They might even show you alternatives that can save you money. That’s a win-win in my book!Allow yourself to dream a little. There’s no perfect place for you to write until you get there and so a lot of the environment creation process will take place in your head. Just don’t let your head stay too close to the ground. without imagination, you won’t be able to craft the optimal environment.

The well-known adage we hear from many gurus is that you should seek to work smarter, not harder. And I believe that is generally true … except that it’s often not, especially in the space of the professional blogger.

I’ve learned that I must do both, at the exact same time, at about the same pace, and with extreme prejudice. There are elements of writing full-time that require you to work a lot harder than you’ve ever worked previously when you were blogging as a side project or hobby. And you need to blog at the exact same time you’re developing new processes and workflows that allow you to work smarter as well.

For example, I’m not working fewer hours than I did before. I work about the same (if not more). But I’m also working smarter during those times, churning out blog posts while developing strategy for marketing, awareness, and social engagements that’ll increase traffic. I’m also bucketing time for building a business around the blog as well as doing the administrative tasks that are required of any small business owner.

If you make the jump to being a problogger don’t expect to sip pina coladas on a beach in Tahiti working two hours a day with your remote 4G external wifi connection. No, your head is down (in your awesome work environment) making as much progress as you possibly can. After all, there’s no guarantee that your community is coming back to your blog tomorrow.

Start documenting your workflows so you can get to a place of good writing rhythm. Catalog them and spend time refining them.Invest in your existing toolkit, and master those tools. Even if you know certain applications well, I bet you could know them better if you spent the time learning such things as shortcut keys and optimal work patterns, for example.Act like you’re a problogger today, creating the exceptional content that your community deserves, and you’ll find the change of pace less disruptive.Become better at scheduling your time and batching your efforts. This is one of the most critical skills that I’ve learned: I had to become even better at time management and waste as little of it on things that wouldn’t bring value to my work.Remember that rest is a vital part of working “smarter,” and that you’ll need this every single day. Rest well and your work will be the best that it can be! Learn to do this today so that when you get to be a problogger, you’ll find rest just as natural as, well, sleeping!

As I ramped up into full-time blogging as a career, I day-dreamed about what it would look like, what it would feel like, and how I’d wake up every morning with a feeling of intense personal satisfaction knowing that I’ve “done it.” It was all about me. What I quickly realized is that professional blogging is less about myself and more about the community that helped you get to this point.

And yes, we all know that already but it becomes even more apparent when you realize that your financial stability and generation depends on those that believe in what you write and what you have to say as important (or more important) than the many other voices out there. This truth brings humility and grace at the right time and reminds you that your blog is nothing more than a collection of passionate people that are headed in the same direction.

Learn to appreciate your community even more today than you did yesterday. What this means is going to be different for each blogger!Dedicate time to engaging with your community. Most people don’t have a schedule around their community engagement and they end up doing it throughout the entire day. That ends up wasting a lot of time when you can learn to use a workflow and batch your efforts.Look into other ways to engage with your community, such as Facebook and Twitter. Even starting an email newsletter might be one way to reach a particular part of your community that you don’t typically engage with.Be explicit and thank them continually. Do this today and they’ll be with you tomorrow.Have fun with them—life’s better that way, and your blog will be better for it as well.

Whether you’re a problogger, a blogging stalwart, a hobby blogger, or a newbie, you’ve probably learned a few lessons of your own. Share them with us in the comments.

Written exclusive for ProBlogger.net by John Saddington. He is a Professional Blogger who loves sharing his blogging tips, tricks, tools, and practical teaching covering SEO, WordPress and making money through your blog! You can follow him on Twitter too: @TentBlogger.

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