When I was in High School, I wasn't really a "part" of any particular group ... however, I was friendly with, and able to "hang" with just about anybody. I could dress like a prep, but party with the rockers. It was actually a good position to be in. I got the benefits of each group without getting caught up too much in the downsides.
So, what does this have to do with this particular blog post?
Well, I recently joined two new Internet communities/forums ...
The first is likely to have a few of my blogging friends scratching their heads. I signed up for Darren Rowse's ProBlogger.com, and bought the 31 days to build a better blog ebook (it was only $10 on sale). I have a couple of "A-list" blogs that I enjoy reading ... this is one of them. Here's the thing though, I don't read A-list blogs in an attempt to learn how to "Make Money Online". Instead, I've determined that my long term goal for Todd's Tips is fort it to be a "successful" social blog, that ultimately allows me some options when it comes to supporting/promoting my money making sites. And let's be honest here, problogger fits that description to a T ... it would be silly not to try to learn from a site that is already doing what I intend to do.
On the flip side, when it comes to actually making money with my little laptop, I also joined Court and Mark at The Keyword Academy. I've learned a whole lot about Internet Marketing over the past couple of years. I have some good domains/sites, and have already made some decent money online. However, I also have a bit of "online ADD", and think I will really benefit from having a step by step plan that I can learn and implement. And as an added bonus, I can also apply some of what I'm learning to my little social site here at tmtips.com (lol, although I'm not sure what terms I'm trying to rank for with this post title).
Anyhow, my point of this post ...
When it comes to deciding who you should follow and learn from, don't let yourself get caught up in the hype .. whether negative or positive. Decide what your specific goals are, and then choose the best people to learn from.
As for myself, I admit that it would be cool to someday have an "A-list" blog. It would be silly not to learn about how to achieve that goal from the proverbial "horse's mouth".
I also see absolutely no reason that I shouldn't be able to go out and create niche sites that regularly add 4-figure monthly checks to my bank balance. For that I have sought out and found experts with a plan.
In short, I don't buy into the idea that I should have to choose between Problogger, ShoeMoney, CopyBlogger, etc, and Griz, Court, Vic and my other "real" make money online friends. It's not an either/or thing ... I can learn something from both.
Ok, on that note, time for breakfast and work ... "chat" with you again soon,
Todd
Todd Morris
Hi Todd,
Oh no!, you’ve gone over to the dark side! Haha just kidding!
Knowing what direction you want to go with your blogs is of course the first step towards being a success at whatever kind of blog you have, social or a money maker.
Making tmtips.com into a successful social blog can of course help your efforts on your money making blogs with keyword backlinks etc as you well know, plus you can pretty much write on all sorts of topics here with the categories you have. This will be fun!
Lin @Telling It Like It Is´s last blog ..Free Dental Care Clinics – How to Get Low Cost or Free Dental Treatment
Todd, I really like that you think for yourself.
hey- Did Sam block your Facebook page?
Hope all is well.
LOL I can relate to that a bit. I have actually been hanging on the social bloggers sites finding out about email marketing LMAO for my new site.
As I want real return customers it seems reasonable to rank for my keywords to get the prospects and then sell to them by using the email update/autoresponder thingy – I know that it sometimes takes a few times of looking for me to actually buy anything
Lissie
Legitimate Online Businesses´s last blog ..Building Backlinks To Your Websites – An Introduction
Todd,
Your absolutely correct in your thinking about going to different people to learn what you can from all of them.
What you call a “A-List” blog I call a flagship blog, that blog that is going to be your most broad in nature yet working its way up the PR ranks a little at a time.
I probably follow some of the same blogs you do, and I follow a couple others to that I admire for various reasons.
One of those is Lifehacker.com. If I could manage to get a blog as popular as Lifehacker, My quest for success on the Internet would be complete.
Problogger and Lifehacker are two guys I admire a great deal.
I just purchased a niche site course and although I have yet to do anything with it, I am applying what I learned to my blog and have already seen impressive results in a month or so.
My poor little blog is still only PR ) and I’m working hard to get the links back to it that will get it up to 1, and then PR 2.
Anyway I’ve added you to the list of blogs I follow and wish you luck. Your welcome to guest blog on my site if you wish.
ElvenRuneLord
Elvenrunelord´s last blog ..Flash Forward Review Episode Three
I agree with you in the meaning of having to choose between different bloggers. The best thing about internet is that most people wont even notice, which is a big difference then high school.
About the a-list then. Well, personally I think few of them present new material and it is just the same thing going round and round.
What are your opinion on the Problogger forum? Have you learnt anything new?
Stefan´s last blog ..How to Automatically Back Up Your Computer
Hi Todd,
I enjoyed reading your School days, I must say that you had a decent High School life.
You are absolutely right at joining the communities that are related to the experts in the field like Darren’s community.
Joining all such communities help a lot in getting the best information about the present developments and trends in the industry.
Ravi Kuwadia´s last blog ..5 Tips to Becoming a Better Leader
I think it’s all well and good to look at how the other side does thing. The thing to remember it to remain true to yourself. They have their way of saying things and while it suits them it may not suit your style.
The idea is to learn what you can from them and to apply what you have learned to accentuate your own personal style.
Sire´s last blog ..A Poem For Halloween The Night Of Frights
Todd thanks for posting this. I can totally relate, i have a blog of my own but i can’t bring myself to choose between any of the major players….. ahh well, i don’t really have any serious aspirations to be a big time blogger so i think i’m okay with where i’m at. Thanks for keeping us posted!!
Todd, I know what you mean by being the floater in high school that was totally me. I think the biggest take with interacting with people on and offline is to determine what kind of relationship you want. If you are out to learn how to make money watch what they do and not what they say. If the goal is to tap the social channels for interaction and publicity then by all means approach things from that angle.
The Real Josh´s last blog ..School Fundraising Ideas for Kids and Adults
Blogging for a living is hard work! It only makes sense to use different axes to chop down a tree and build a house. Your theory sounds solid to me.
Donnie @ Chattanooga Web Design´s last blog ..SEO Research & Development
Hey you just decribe me with your first paragraph. Yeah TKA is great, it really helps meking money online. I agree, als oreminds me of a post by court where he said we are information addicts and we read blog after blog just to make the excuse we are ‘learning’ but avoid taking action.
Ganar dinero´s last blog ..Como ganar dinero con Adsense
I think we have similar experience when I was in high school.
Ah by the way, I already read that book from Darren Rowse. We sell books before and have plenty of blogging tips. That book helps me understand better the essence of blogging.