I’ve written around 1,250 posts on this blog since 2007. It’s been a wild ride, and I’ve had a lot of fun. I’ve touched upon some topics often, and one of those topics is marketing. It turns out I’ve written 115 posts on marketing, and my very first post on the subject came in October 2008 when I first started marketing my ebook Using Your Website As A Marketing Tool.
However, that was internet marketing, and as I took a look back through the archives I realized that most of the time I’ve talked about marketing as it relates to making money online. I’m not even including the posts where I’ve talked about affiliate programs; we’d have to add another 43 posts into the mix.
I did write an article on the reality of making money by blogging, and it turned out to be quite a popular post, at least by readers, even though it didn’t get a lot of comments. And yet, even in that post, where I got real in telling people how one really makes money blogging, I realized that I missed something, something that many people probably both think about and don’t think about at the same time.
That “something” is marketing, plain and simple. What’s funny is that I actually wrote a post back in November, around the same time as the post about making money by blogging, titled Social Media Marketing Is Just Marketing, and even in that post I didn’t talk about marketing, or the reason why marketing is important. I almost feel ashamed; almost that is. I tend to believe that all of us get to a point where we suddenly begin focusing on something, and when that happens it’s time to take steps forward, time to do something about it, time to talk about it. And as I went through a period last year when I was talking a lot about influence, I’m going to be obsessive for a short period about marketing.
Here’s the reality. Many people probably aren’t going to be interested in this series of posts coming up, which is why I’m writing this preamble on the topic. Let’s talk about who these posts probably aren’t for. If you have a job and you’re happy with that job, these posts won’t be for you. If you’re not running a business, consulting, small, medium sized, these posts probably won’t for you. If all you want to do is affiliate marketing and nothing else, these posts won’t be for you.
But if you want to work on your overall business, no matter what it is, and you want to read about the trials and tribulations and ideas and, hopefully, successes of marketing, and I do mean marketing, not sales, since marketing leads to sales if you’re lucky, and I mean sales of all kinds, then stick around with me on my journey, which can become your journey. I have big dreams to fulfill, things I want to do, need to do, and I can’t do any of them if I don’t step up my marketing, my real marketing, marketing mainly for my offline businesses, some of which can be done online, some of which can be done offline.
It won’t be all I write or talk about; after all, this is I’m Just Sharing, right? But it’s going to become the next focus, and quickly. Are you with me?
I’m with you, lead on!
Just keep up with me Allan! lol Course, anything you have to offer, being a small business person yourself, just share.
I’m happy that you want to take this seriously because I’m interested in that subject line as well. Willing to stay active with the series from you. And God will be with you.
Thanks Olawale; course, me being the ultimate heathen, I’ll just have to hope for the support of everyone else. 🙂 We get real about this stuff starting now.
I will await next one, Mitch. I personally think that there is not a problem to work full time and run a blog, however if want to make serious money from blogging, most likely this will need more time. On the other hand online marketing is one of the best ways to promote brand, in business blogging I see this as a tool which is adding personal touch on products or services as well as one of the easiest and cost effective ways for brand building.
Carl, part of my point is that people might have general misconceptions about what “making money blogging” really means. For instance, sometimes you make a call, give some information, and then people might check both your website and your blog. If they like what they see, you could get hired to do work for them and indirectly your blog helped you make money because you were able to show expertise.
I get your point, Mitch and I think you are right and I am willing to say that 99% of bloggers doesn’t know what exactly making money blogging means. And of course there are many ways that will always remain hidden and unwritten in any books.
I’m with you Mitch but only if you do something about the last sentence in your second to last paragraph 😉
Heck Sire, you actually liked that sentence the way it was and just don’t want to own up to it. lol But it did need correcting; at least it wasn’t a misspelling. lol
I take it you’re insinuating something by that comment old friend 😀
Who, me? Would I do such a thing. 🙂