Ok, so I decided to do a little bit of "rebranding" here on this blog by adding two words to my title tag. From this day forward, my little "personal" blog will now be known as Todd's blog about Home Business tips.
For all practical intents and purposes, I'm still going to write posts about my family, share pictures that I've taken, and link out to friend's blogs that may have nothing to do with home business. But since I'm actually making an effort to learn about choosing good keywords for my niche blogs, I figured I might look a little silly if the blog where I do most of my writing is just about "everything" (which let's be honest, really means "nothing in particular").
And here's the thing, writing about home business really isn't a stretch for me ... since that's what my original blog that I started 2 1/2 ago was supposed to be about. Over that time span, as I have "grown" and "evolved" I actually moved the content around to 4 different domain names. lol, If I'd just kept writing on parttimenetworker.com the whole time, I guarantee there'd be a lot more of you reading this right now. 
Hey wait, there's Todd's Tip #1 for this post: If you start a blog, unless you have a very good reason to change, STICK TO IT! Moving your content is generally a bad, bad idea (unless maybe you're upgrading from blogger to self-hosted wordpress).
But I digress ... ok, back to the topic at hand.
Because I was a dummy, and foolishly never blogged in one place for an extended period of time, quite a bit of my good (in my not so humble opinion) content from the "early days" is pretty well hidden from google (and probably most of my readers). But, there is a bright side ...
Since I have all this underutilized content, I figured the best (and easiest) way to launch my rebranding is take a trip back in time and introduce you to a few articles that offer up some solid advice about building a business, leadership and/or personal growth (all are definitely related).
So without further ado ...
- Finding Your Niche - Yikes in re-reading this one, I could have saved myself about a year and a half of "drifting" had I just printed out my own post, and tacked up to the wall next to my desk.
- How NOT To Network - This was a fun, short little post from almost 2 year ago. Sometimes using a negative example can be a good way to teach a positive lesson. That being said, I still get sent these type of messages way too often. Seriously, don't be "that guy"
- It's All About The Story - I shared this lesson in the context of building a network marketing business. But really, I think it's pretty universal, and can be applied to just about any type of home or internet business ... especially those involving sales (ie., pretty much all of them).
- 10 Laws of Leadership - Another one that's a good candidate for printing out and re-reading on a regular basis. I remember doing this exercise way back when I first made this post (which was not Feb of this year ... I think this is one that was pushed up by a plugin I was using called "old post promoter"). I think this is definitely an area to put some additional focus here in the very near future.
- 3 Reasons Why Failure Is Good - I don't know about you, but I actually don't get too bent out of shape when things don't always go exactly as planned. Sometimes, a few bumps in the road are necessary if we're to get to where we are supposed to be.
- The Power Of Rewarding Yourself - "Good Stuff" tends to build on itself. Do you think it's possible that if we put forth a little bit of effort looking for the "good stuff" we might just attract even more of it?
- If You're Not Having Fun, You're Not Doing It Right - I don't this one needs much explanation. It's my new, old, motto.
- Striking The Right Balance Between Family and Business - This one goes hand-in-hand with the article above. No matter how successful you may become with your home business, you MUST keep your priorities straight.
Ok, well there's much, much more. And really, even if no reads any of these articles, I've already considered this post to be a rousing success ... for the simple fact that I NEEDED to have a lot of those concepts reinforced for myself.
Ok, on that note it's bed time.
Catch up with you again real soon,
Todd
Todd Morris
Nothing wrong with a little branding when trying to get more of a presence.
This post is a great way to bring old posts back to life, and you’ve put a nice selection together Todd. I’m sure people will appreciate it.
I’m off to read If You’re Not Having Fun, You’re Not Doing It Right because that baby is right down my alley.
Sire´s last blog ..Why Marketing Your Ad Space Should Precede Marketing Your Blog
Hi Sire,
Thanks for popping in. lol, and yes I agree … you do seem to very much enjoy doing what you do.
Hi Todd, pleased to make your acquaintance through Sire, I presume? I can SO relate to everything you’re saying. I’ve been all over the place with my blog, finally settling about a month or so at my present home, confused about niches and branding and ohiwanttogiveup. I am a mixed bag girl at heart. I like to concentrate my energies on one home base. However, that doesn’t really help as far as seo is concerned. Oh, I’m a mess! But hopefully I won’t be a year from now.
Anyway, glad I found your blog. It looks like you will be a good resource.
Happy Friday!
Heather Kephart´s last blog ..Happy Thanksgiving
Hi Heather,
Happy Friday right back at you (although, technically it became Saturday here in Iraq about 28 minutes ago).
Yes, I found you via your comment on Sire’s blog … and yes, just in the couple of minutes I had to browse (will be back later, when I have more time to explore) I too think that your blog will be a good resource. lol, especially since you appear to be a skilled writer … whereas me, I tend to excel more in the area of reading … I’m still trying to figure out the secret to some day becoming a “famous blogger who doesn’t really like to write”
Anyhow, good luck with your move, and even though I just met you, if I can be of any assistance (or offer advice) feel free to shoot me a note any time.
Talk to you again soon,
Todd
Wow, are you in Iraq due to your military service? If so, thank you very much for serving our great country.
I appreciate what you said. I have been blogging for about a year. Only a few months ago was I bitten by the writing bug. I don’t think of myself so much as a writer, but a student of writing. I am enthusiastic, and there is so much to learn. Someday I hope to master this writing thing. Even if I don’t, I’m going to have fun trying and exercise this old noggin of mine.
With regards to your judgment of your own writing skills, I’m sure you are much better than you realize, but regardless please know that there are quite a few popular bloggers who in my opinion aren’t fabulous writers. What they possess is an ability to connect with their readers and resonate on a personal level. They are also kind and friendly. Don’t worry, you’re going to do great. The only limit for you will be the amount of time you can afford to network.
Heather Kephart´s last blog ..Happy Thanksgiving
Hi Heather,
Yes, the Air Force sent me over here for six months. But really, other than having to be away from my family, it’s not bad at all … in fact work wise, it’s almost a “vacation”. And since I’m a “fobbit” (never go off the base) it’s honestly not much more dangerous than it would be at home, where I drive back and forth to work every day.
lol, as for writing, yes, it’s not necessarily that I think I am “bad” … I sometimes get caught up in the silly “not good enough” attitude, so I end avoiding writing. It’s not at all logical, and I know it … but it is what it is.
Ahh, time for networking. That is always a challenge. It’s actually not too bad while I’m over here, as I always have at least a couple of hours in the evenings to “work”. But once I get back home, I really would like to try to figure out a way to do this effectively in no more than about an hour and a half per day.
Hi Todd ~ Great plan to bring out those under utilized posts and share them with us. Nice tips in the first part of the blog too. I’ve been blogging for about 4 months now and appreciate your insights as someone who’s been doing it a lot longer. (I’m learning from other people’s experiences, as you can imagine).
Keep up the good work. I’ve got you bookmarked now, so I’ll be back!
Hi Denise,
Yes, learning from the experience of others can definitely be a time saver … or, a time waster. Ultimately, I think you just have to find your own groove and go with it.
Todd
Hi Todd ~ Your comment made me smile. Learning through others experiences is not exactly a time saver.:-) Sometimes it is as you point out even a time waster, because you don’t know until you’re almost done reading whether a post has any value or not… Nonetheless, learning by example is the only way to get a handle on anything. (Not just blogging). And then at some point we do as you say and find our own groove and go with it.
Glad you’re managing to stay safe over there. 6 months should go by quickly.
Denise
That is a neat idea, to call Google’s attention to some of your older blog posts and ours also, will read some of them for sure! Linking back to my own, older posts is something what I should do far more often, thanks for reminding me! SY
hospitalera´s last blog ..Time is money, don’t waste it!