Luddite* – that is how my husband describes himself. But he is also a small business person, creative copywriter and an editor and exceptional at both – no bias here!
So, the first time I suggested a blog, he commented that it was an ugly word. And asked, what did it mean anyway? He has subsequently found out that it is a contraction of the term ‘web log.”
My heart sank. What would his response be then to my SEO help: keyword-focused content and tags, search engine optimization, back-linking, article and directory submission?
I was already imagining a world-wide audience for his creative ramblings and a substantial income flow from them as well – but that’s the subject of: “Okay, I get the blog bit, but how on earth do we make money from it?”
How could I infiltrate this seemingly impenetrable resistance to the world of blogging? And why did I want him to blog anyway?
Well, its simple. Every one of us has extraordinary knowledge that grows daily, as we pursue what ever it is that absorbs our daily thoughts.
If you are in small business, then you are already expert at a number of things. Firstly, what you offer or sell. You wouldn’t be in small business if you didn’t know something substantial about that. You also know what to do to keep afloat, how to employ people, how to outsource to others what you can’t do yourself. In ten minutes with an interviewer, there would be plenty there to write a guide to your line of business.
You don’t believe me? Try it. Turn on a tape-recorder and tape everything you know about your business, hobby, passion, parenting, teaching, living with your partner, gardening, cooking, camping, traveling or whatever churns through your head on a daily basis.
What if you have worked in one career all your life? Think of how much knowledge you have. All that mental processing, analyzing, understanding and application, which you will take with you when you leave your career. Why would you not share that knowledge with others? Especially if by doing so, you create an income stream as well.
Blogging is the tool by which you talk to those people in the world who are most interested in what you have to offer. That is the key. You are not talking to randomly uninterested people. You are targeting and finding your most wanted visitor. Then you are building a relationship with them and finally, you are offering them something they want and in return, at some point, they will give you what you want. It might be money in exchange for an item, or the opportunity to talk further with them. It could just be like-minded conversation.
In the process, you are leaving a legacy of the knowledge peculiar to you only, and adding to the wisdom of the world. And making money along the way.
Back to my husband’s journey into the world of blogging. I am happy to reveal, that we have succeeded to this point so far. Today (May 10, 2010) he has a blog with two posts on it. It took many hours of coercion to get him there, and there will be many hours more before we succeed at creating for him a world wide audience and an authority blog.
That is the goal for us. In sharing the journey so far and then into the future with you, you will avoid the hair-tearing frustration that has tested this 30 year old marriage in ways it ought not to have been tested!
Come on the journey with us and subscribe to the next 19 lessons. From nothing to a blog with two posts on it!
* Person opposed to new technology
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