I’m back!
I’d like to say thanks to all that took the time to reach out during my 7 weeks away. Everything has been fine–actually things are better than ever–and I mean that. My family is wonderful, business is good…the year has started off well.
In my blogging hiatus, I learned that stepping away to look at my activities from afar, offered me a new perspective that I never had while being directly in the mesh of things. To take it a step further, I was/am willing to accept the fact that I had adopted some bad practices that needed to be corrected in order for me to stand a chance of success in the blogging arena.
The Tipping Point
After this site being up and running for about 16 months, I finally put my first product up for sale here. That item being my recently published book: Driven To Learn, Learning To Win. After analyzing my initial sales, I knew I had some significant opportunities for improvement.
It was surprising to find that only a few of my fellow bloggers purchased a copy of my book. These are the folks I had developed relationships with, spent hours in communication with, support in many ways including free web design, custom graphics and so on.
To understand my audience, here’s a breakdown…
My audience consists of fellow bloggers, which used to be the majority, and in the last six months or so I’ve developed a larger non-blogging audience (created from Search Engine Traffic and referrals).
I was totally amazed that the people buying my book were people I hadn’t interacted with at all. The math just didn’t make sense. But it didn’t take me long to understand the dynamics of my book sales. Yes, it hit me by surprise initially–but after an honest assessment– it actually made perfect sense. It was the spark to a critical lesson that I’m excited to share with you.
NOTE: A portion of my blogging audience was not able to purchase the book because I only shipped within the U.S.
The Right Audience
One of the biggest lessons learned during my time away is the importance of attracting the right audience.
Having the right audience is crucial in life and business alike. In life, if you want to be successful then a “right” audience could be associating yourself with a group that has similar aspirations. In business, it could be marketing your products and services to the people who have interests in buying them.
Imagine Stephen King marketing his books to 1st graders. Failure. Wrong audience.
Imagine a Nintendo marketing their WII video game system (which is based on body motion) to elderly quadriplegics. Failure again. Wrong audience.
The Trap of False Momentum
Looking back, the growth of this blog was generated through an unsustainable means and with no thought to attracting the right audience. When this placed started to pick up (traffic and engagement), it was because my activity greatly picked up in the blogoshpere. I spent hours reading and commenting on other blogs each week. After time, fellow bloggers would come here and read and leave a comment in return.
On weeks where I was busy and didn’t have time for my normal blogging activities, this place would sit quietly, only visited by a few loyal readers.
I knew what was happening long before my book sales, but I was somewhat blinded because I thought I had developed momentum. This site was starting to grow, and I didn’t want to lose the momentum that took me so long to create. But what’s the point of momentum if it’s not the right momentum. It’s counterproductive. It pulls us in the opposite direction of where we really want to go.
My book sales proved the point of false momentum. The amount of books sold, matched my expectations, but I was surprised to find that [for the most part] my customers were folks I didn’t really know on a personal level.
Imagine your family not attending your graduation, but you still have a group of unknown people cheering for you when your name is called. It’s cool to hear the cheers, but it’s surprising that it’s not your family.
TIP > > > If you have a blog and you want to truly discover if you have the right audience, or at least to identify who in your audience is loyal, stop spending hours commenting on other blogs for one month. Just continue posting new articles. This will provide you with a priceless lesson showing you how many of your relationships are heavily built around conditions of “what have you done for me”, and those who truly find value in your work.
What’s Next for Hustler’s Notebook? Growth
A lesson does us no good if we don’t act upon it.
I’m going to act upon the lessons I learned from my blogging hiatus. I’ve admitted, accepted and moved on from the fact that I had developed and participated in many poor practices of time utilization and non-strategic networking.
Coming off my biggest year ever (2011): personally, professionally, financially, spiritually and so on, it’s my belief that cleaning up the bad practices that I’ve developed over time will help me reach my next set of goals. I have total faith in it.
Since starting Growth Effect (my web design biz), and its early success, I simply don’t have time to mess around anymore. My actions have to be direct and deliberate. My time has become more valuable than ever. And finally, I understand that my time should be spent in ways that not only allow me to give value to others, but to receive value in return.
I’ve noticed a trend online: the blogosphere, at large, is a complacent environment, just like the off-line world. People do the same thing, year after year, but continue to raise their bar of result expectations. The most successful people, no matter the environment, make adjustments and mirror their performance with the types of results they want to achieve.
Stay in the Loop
Some major changes are on the way for Hustler’s Notebook. As I work behind the scenes to improve my blogging practices to better align with my goals–in the next month or two you’ll see some drastic changes in things here.
If you find Hustler’s Notebook to be a source of value, then I asked that you sign up below to stay in the loop of the major changes that are in the works. I’ll periodically send short updates to your email, uncovering the “what’s next” for this place.
It’s my hope that every single time you read something I’ve composed, that it makes a positive difference for you. I take every sentence seriously. I write from experiences, good and bad, and all shaped in a way to inspire growth, personally and professionally.
Discussion
Have you and do you actively seek the RIGHT audience? Or do you try to make everyone and anyone your audience? What are your thoughts on taking time away to gain new perspectives on your activities? Are you willing to possibly lose momentum to assess if you have the right momentum in first place?
Don’t forget to sign up above to keep up with the changes to come.
{ 94 comments… read them below or add one }
JK,
That’s interesting how it played out for you. I took a break around the same time as you did (holidays etc) and rarely had the chance to comment anywhere. I didn’t notice too much of a change in my comments overall probably because I tried to at least comment every month on my favorites, instead of after every post – just not possible, and I find that other people understand that, because they get busy, too. However, somewhere along the way I completely missed the fact that you had your book out now (so, congratulations! I will go check it out!)
My blogging friends and commenters are generally NOT the people who buy intuitive readings from me (I don’t have any books or products out yet). Usually the people who order new readings are “unknown” to me, and since I think in spiritual terms, I put it out there to “bring me the people who I can help at this time.”
The other thing is, I notice sometimes that people will send in donations to the blog around the time that I may have interacted with them or helped them in some way – they don’t want or need a reading, but they just want to say “thanks” in some small way. It may be that’s the case with your book – it’s not that they don’t value YOU, but they may feel strapped or just don’t feel in the mood for another book on the bookshelf (information overload or whatever)…OK, I like to find a reason for what could be taken as “lack of support”, maybe I am dreaming
Finally, I come here and comment because I’m interested in general in what you have to say, but I don’t expect you (or other bloggers) to automatically come over to my blog in return. Maybe you aren’t interested in spirituality in the way I am presenting it, or don’t care for my writing style, or whatever – but that never stops me from visiting blogs I like and commenting anyway, because quid pro quo is not always the way. It’s good that you’re taking a hard look at “what am I doing this for?” and making adjustments accordingly.
Hi Julie,
Thank you for the open and honest comment here. I appreciate you sharing your very own experince. It really did help me see from a different perspective.
One thing I was initially worried about when writing this was to sound like I was upset or sad about my books sales. The truth is, that I’m estactic, although intitially surprised to find this new lesson.
Attracting the right audience, for me, is the difference between reaching goals and wasting time. It’s not a money thing, soley, I truly have a urge in my heart to reach the right people because I have something to share that will be of benefit for the right people. If my energy is targeted without that very important key in mind, then I lose the chance to share–what could be–valuable lessons to the people that need it.
And you’re right, some people are strapped. I’ve been there before, that’s why my sales style isn’t too in your face. I casually put the book for sale and let it be. The book sold decent, I was just surprised who bought!
I really, really enjoy your comments Julie. You bring a great energy with you wherever you go. Thank you for taking the time to read and leave your thoughts.
Enjoy the weekend.
Hey Man!!!
it’s great to have you back. Your site is real inspiring and the words are like rocket fuel to any hustler.
I’m thrilled that you just published this article, it encompasses EVERYTHING I went through in the last few months with the blogosphere.
I realized the giant circle J$%RK of sharing posts… Just like what triberr did… You share mine, I’ll share yours… You comment on mine and I will comment on yours.
It starts to seem dis-engenuine when most of your visitors are fellow bloggers and you can tell they commented, just because they want more comments.
It’s partially my fault in having a “watered down message” and trying to please too many people.
For that, I am having my surfer lifestyle re-designed and rebranded to REALLY hit surfers. I went to two industry conferences, got great video footage from business owners and pros for my relaunch, and I will make sure it is a resourceful community for someone trying to live the “surfer life”.
It was cool for the first year… It makes sense in hind-sight that most of the posts where based on my experience. If I want a blog to grow though, it has to be more resourceful and less of a journal. (I’ll keep that stuff on my personal site)
I feel what you are going through man but congrats on your book!
I’d love to chat soon about your new methods of blogging. I really like your focus and how you value your time for blogging. That is the biggest thing I am working on this year… everything has a purpose!
Thanks for this man! I’ll be sure to share it around (not because I want you to share stuff from me, but because this post has TONS of value lol)
Surfs up!
Sal
p.s. Dude, I think I might have mentioned a little hustle project I was getting together last year… Check it out on http://geektoFREAK.net I created a supplement called 4 Hour Power to help people do the geek to freak program from the 4 hour body! WHOOP WHOOP!!! Peace!
Sal,
You embody what I see as a progressive and successful blogger.
Why progressive? Because you’re willing to go all out and reach for the very thing you aim for. A lot of people just aim–and they don’t reach. They want; but they don’t do what it takes to get there. You do it. You practice what you preach.
Why successful? Because I have absolutely ZERO doubt that if you continue to push the way you push, you will achieve whatever it is that you want to achieve. I believe it, for real. I hope you believe it to.
We need to be in much better contact this year man. And I’m LOVING your geek to freak. Please let me know how I can help support your growth. That’s what I’m hear for.
PEACE
Wow man!
Your reply means so much to me, thanks a ton dude! I might even screen shot it and use it on my site lol…
We will be in contact 112 percent!
See you in your inbox…
Incredible post, Jk!
I have been asking myself many of the same questions here lately. I did an experiment not to long ago, similar to the one you mentioned about taking a month not visiting sites to see who returns to the site, without feedback from me on their blog. My findings were similar to the ones you’ve gathered. People were visiting only because I was leaving feedback on theirs.
It’s a hurtful realization at first, but once I snapped out of the fact that someone wasn’t stroking my ego anymore; I made a decision. Either I was going to participate in the normal see-saw of the blog world, or I was going to get a clue and step up my game to do what I needed to do my site. Choosing to continue playing on the see saw wasn’t… and isn’t an option. I grew from that, and I learned how to provide my ego with enough stoking that I didn’t need it from other’s to survive. While there are still a few that I continue to play the game with, to be honest with you; it’s only because I enjoy the individual and the content they serve me. I do not however consider them a part of my readership. Unfortunately, we must come to this type of realization early in the game, if we’re to survive in the blogging world.
I think that what you’ve said here is an important process that many blogger’s will eventually have to own up too. “Am I attracting the right readers?”
The only thing I find hard to answering this question, isn’t actually hard at all; it will however require us to start over from time to time and build other relationships outside of the comfort zone we maybe forming for ourselves. I am constantly staying mindful not to “grow from one comfort zone just to walk into another one”. And in the blogosphere, it’s so very easy to do.
So whenever I make my visits to my regular’s, I always make it a point to visit the same number of new sites. I don’t want to get caught up getting stuck in a routine visiting the same 10 – 15 blogs ever! I’ve done that and it’s exactly what bought the “see saw” effect to my attention in the first place.
Loved this post man! I could go on and on on this topic, but I’ll save room in your comments section for your other readers to voice their opinions. BTW, Loving the book man!! Great Job!! Very well written post as well, my friend! Loved it!
Deeone,
Thanks for the awesome comment man. I appreciate you sharing your similar experience.
It was me that got caught up in wanting people to comment on my site. I guess I was getting some validation out of it. I was trapped in the illusion of momentum.
This experience allowed me to make sense of it all. I now know what not to do. Do you know how valuable that is? That’s absolutely powerful. To know what to avoid. And I didn’t even fail to get there. I still had a book published, still sold a bunch of copies, and still had the best year of my life. I listened to my gut and took a break.
That was the tipping point. The willingness to allow all momentum to stop–a risk sure to set me back a long way. But you know what, I realized…”What in the heck is the point of having momentum, if it’s not moving in the right direction”.
This post was about me. My poor practices that I picked up throughout the blogosphere. The reason why some (one or two) bloggers have shown me some hate on Twitter (direct messages) is because they fall into the same category and they don’t want this unspoken reality to be spoken about.
But it just wouldn’t be me, to not be me. And I am someone who is willing to say what I feel is right for me to say. I’m willing to have tough conversations. I’m willing to be honest. I’m so willing to keep it real.
I don’t blog to feel good about myself. Noooooo! Man my kids treat me like I’m a rock star. I get home from work and you’d think I was Michael Jackson walking into my house. So I don’t need confirmation from the internet. That’s not my point for being hear. But I think my actions where showing that I did need validation. And now I have it all straight!
Man, sorry for the long reply, but I bet your comment was even longer. Feels good to be back in the game!
Hey JK,
That’s interesting that a lot of your momentum was dependent on commenting on other people’s blogs. I noticed you have a lot of participation in your posts, but I thought it was justified since your content was so good. I guess you do have some work cut out for you as far as attracting the right audience. I could probably work on this myself – do you know what you specifically plan to start doing differently?
Either way, keep it up with the great content. Your presence was missed.
Steven
P.S. I wish I knew you had a web design company. I just hired someone the other day to make some changes on my site.
Hey Steve,
I appreciate you stopping by man.
I believe, without a doubt, the reason I’ve gotten such interaction around here is because I write originally. That, what I’ve found makes this place somewhat unique. I’m not about the numbers. I’m about the quality of the content that I produce. That’s why I’ve always had the craziest blogging schedule online maybe. I take my time; I’m in no rush; I just want what I have to share to be worth the read.
Yes, I do have some work to do…and I’m looking forward to it!
I launched Growth Effect last October. Man, it’s been great. In the future, if I can ever be of assistance, just let me know.
Thanks my friend! Expect to see more of me, around your domain this year.
PEACE
Very good questions, Jk, and I’m eager to see what answers you come up with in the coming months!
On our end, it’s definitely been a challenge. We aren’t one-dimensional characters, like the cartoons on the Simpsons.
What does Homer Simpson want? The answer is food and beer.
Marge wants a happy family, Bart wants troublemaking adventure, Lisa wants intellectual stimulation, and Maggie wants her pacifier.
Every member of the family can be summed up in just a few words, and so their focus never wavers; sure, Marge might develop a drinking problem, Bart might explore a more ethically- or intellectually-driven lifestyle, and Lisa might flirt with life on the edge… but never for longer than a portion of a single episode.
The beauty of the Simpsons is that they really aren’t very complicated, which means that their focus never wavers from whatever it is that they’re after (food and beer, the pacifier, etc.).
But real people aren’t like that!
Our interests are diverse, our lives are complex, and our attention spans are fairly short. We encounter new challenges, develop new skills, take up new hobbies, and continue to grow and develop as people. We also get tired of our own messages, which we hear more often than any of our prospects or customers, and we try to inject some variety into our lives.
So we stray off topic, and we stray into the areas that grab our attention, rather than the areas that will grab the attention of our prospects. We forget that even though marketing can be described as a conversation, it’s still an intentional conversation that you have to guide, and not a free-flowing conversation where anything goes!
In our case, it’s been into the world of blogging. That isn’t our industry – we’re in the marketing education business, and blogging is a small part of that. Drawing the line and keeping away from becoming yet another “blog about blogging” has been a challenge at times.
We’re certainly working on it, and I think we’re making progress. We’re re-opening our training program in February to new students, so I guess the numbers will ultimately show how we’ve really been doing…
Keep up the good work, Jk – I’m definitely in on your list, and looking forward to seeing what’s coming!
Wow Danny, Now that’s a comment. I hope you use that Simpons example in a full post of your own. Or build it up further because that was pretty dang good man. Thanks for sharing that here.
What you said made a lot of sense about how we stray and get wrapped up in the wrong kind of momentum. I believe you understand this as much as anyone…not because it’s necessarily happened to you, but because you’ve worked so hard and taken on so many things that it’s had to cross your plate at least once.
The beauty about this is that this type of knowledge can be powerful if you act on it. Eliminating a behavior can be a huge difference maker.
Last year, as I know you recall because we had some email communication about it, I simply stopped allowing every and anything to get in the way of my productivity. I made VERY SMALL changes and it changed my life man.
So much power came from the realization that I wasn’t nearly as productive as I thought I was and uncovering the many bad practices I had, that captured my attention way to easily.
I’m working on something in the lab. It’s a full display of the many lessons I’ve learned during my hiatus. One of those being “THE POWER REALLY IS IN THE LIST” -something I always ignorantly avoided. In it I share the story of you throwing an intro and link to my book in your newsletter and the great results I got from it. That was awesome man. Thanks!
Amen to the “power is in the list!”.
Hey JK,
I’m going to try to keep this short because you’ll probably have 200 other monster comments.
First, congratulations on having such an awesome year last year. You don’t just work hard you work smart, and you always follow through on what you say. I know 2012 is going to be a big year for the both of us, and hopefully there’ll be a collaboration sometime soon.
I remember seeing John Falchetto write a post about this, and I think Marcus did as well – saying that customers and the people that leave comments are usually two very different sets of people.
Everything in life involves an opportunity cost, and we have to look at the ways to best spend our time. For many people I believe that the time is not worth spending on blogging if they want to turn it into a business. Danny (above) is a good example of what a gigantic amount of effort you have to put in to have any sort of serious success on a blog.
That’s why I don’t spend much time on my blog, I just blog when I feel like it. What’s the point in commenting on loads of people’s blogs so they can come and comment on mine, when we both have the same goals? We’re never going to be each other’s customers. It’s a weird setup, and can easily get superficial.
The blogosphere is a funny old place. It’s great but there’s too much “you scratch my back I’ll scratch yours”, even if people try to kid themselves into framing it as something different.
Amen to that Robert!
EVERYTHING!
I’m working on a document that covers the misconception of Blogging as a career. I honestly think it’s one of the biggest misconceptions that new bloggers get caught up with. They read a problogger (or you name it) article from 2008 and that becomes their blueprint to making a mill off of your blog. Maaaan please!
Business bloggers do it right man. Overall, the business bloggers that have a blog to share educative content–they do it right. I’m not talking about the ones that have blogs that spend all day every day posting and commenting and replying to comments. Successful business people are making moves and don’t have 6 hours to spend on their blog everyday. I know this for a fact.
Yes, we’ve gotta collaborate on something this year man. I remember I firs shared with you my thoughts on what Growth Effect would be. And it’s here!
To a huge 2012.
PEACE
Hi Jk,
It’s good to see you posting again! It’s clear that the break from blogging here has taught you a number of valuable lessons – perhaps the most important being that you don’t truly know who your audience are until you discover people that listen to you without expecting anything back.
We’re all searching for the answers to our efforts, whether they be blogging or otherwise. I am constantly searching for the answers to my financial problems, which is why I took on full-time work. However, I’m finding that this is counter-productive to who I am as a person. I want to have financial security, but at the expense of personal health. The two are mutually important, and so need to be balanced accordingly. If this means that I must search elsewhere for financial means, so be it.
I’m sure your book is awesome Jk – your work always is. If you want to talk more about what you’ve discovered, I’m always up for a chat
JK,
This is very interesting. As a newbie blogger I have been told that the way to build a captive audience is to comment on other bloggers blogs. After reading your post I completely understand why you experienced those results. Engagement isn’t a self-licking ice cream cone. There has to be more substance to the relationship than just scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours. Looking forward to your updates.
Aisha
Finally you got it bro!
I can still vividly remember my guest post about trading comments on Tristan’s blog -thebacklight.com, this was one of the things that inspired the post. We even talked about this remember? When I asked how you keep up with all the commenting.
Over time I sat back and began to watch the general trend online, it was more of a party than a business. It is what the folks at copyblogger call “kumbaya blogging”. When all you get is just some bunch of folks running around repaying one comment favour after another, one retweet favour after another and on and on the cycle goes.
I began to ask myself, most all my audience be bloggers? Does it mean every customer must have a blog only then do they deem it fit to comment, to retweet or share my contents?
At that point did I make up my mind to make it clear those I wanted to attract – entrepreneurs not bloggers. I realize that bloggers measure the wrong metrics; comments, retweets, shares, traffic, etc. They don’t sit down to measure conversion, sales and loyalty. This was when I stepped back and drastically reduced my commenting and started focusing my energy on generating contents my target audience were searching for. Suddenly I noticed my traffic from google began to grow and non-bloggers began to subscribe. They read my content not because they owed me a favour, but because they needed the information I was sharing. They didn’t subscribe just to entice me to subscribe to their blog, they genuinely subscribed because they valued what I shared.
What we must all realize is very simple; blogging is not the business. It is simply a business tool for marketing purposes. If we don’t define what our business truly is and the audience that we exist to serve, all these hoopla online can be very distracting. I don’t see how success will come from trading comments. If you won’t read my blog unless I read yours, then you are not my target audience. It’s not rocket science, it’s just common sense. I am an entrepreneur and not a blogger. I write to promote a cause for those who support my cause. It’s that simple.
Thanks buddy for sharing. I am glad you finally got it. Patricia of lavenderuses.com also shared a similar post recently when she too got it!
Jk,
Welcome back brother. what an incredibly honest and helpful subject. Some great comments too. You have hit on something that so many of us have struggled with. we want everyone to “like” us without considering if they are a good fit for us as clients. I have been doing a lot of soul-searching recently and I agree with so much of what you have written here. Thanks again Jk, I can’t wait to see what you have in store for 2012. Know it’s going to be awesome. Let’s chat soon. Hope to be in Denver by May. The CARE-a-van ! Woo Hoo !
Hustle, the art of taking action. LOVE IT !
Take CARE.
Al
JK
finally!! SHEESH!
I wonder if this is part of the growth process in terms of blogging. I took a break from blogging a little before you. Then i dialed back on commenting. Then i realized that i was attracting the wrong customers. Making good friends online but still not my customer. Finally i came to the same realization as you “My actions have to be direct and deliberate.” i don’t have time to waste anymore.
I still comment on certain blogs that i’m interested in supporting and reading. You, Christian, Adrienne Smith and a few others but have dialed back a lot. It’s been a real eye opener.
p.s.
i pinged you a while back telling you i could’t get the book because i am in France. did you get the message? I can’t remember if i left a comment or emailed you.
p.s p.s.
Your new design biz site looks amazing. So many clients already. You’ll have to give me some lessons as i’m about to release some services and making a video course soon for would be people wanting to learn how to take a life sabbatical to travel with their family.
Glad you’re back. it was lonely out here all alone.
Hey JK, it’s great to have you back sir!
As you know, I took a bit of a hiatus myself from blogging and social media and you can learn a great deal by doing so.
The social web, as with everything else in business, is a learning experience. Those who are gaining this real-world experience are the folks who will inevitably be successful with their efforts in the space and they’ll also be able to help others do the same. This is all still very new…
I can’t wait to see the changes you’re initiating on your site and look forward to discovering, learning and creating the social web’s best practices
Growth baby!
This attracting the right audience thing, seems to be a big deal in the blogosphere. I messed around with it for a year, built a following, and scaled back because I was starting a physical company in PA.
But, I can intellectualize what you’re saying. It makes sense to me
Hope Growth Effect is going well! You’re a stud, you’ll do just awesome, and the openness and vulnerability in this post is sooo human. And human always wins.
PEACE!
Hey brother, you already know how I feel about this, but let me just say I think you’re awesome for putting it out there and letting others learn from your experiences.
continued growth,
Marcus
Amen JK, i wrote about the same topic a few weeks ago when I said Your Tribe is killing you.
All this reciprocity nonsense won’t help because it hides the true value of the content.
Love the fact you have come to the same conclusion
Just received an email to my phone about your comment on CSH, and had to come read this post (here goes the reciprocity thing again!
). But seriously, you already know how I feel about this…and it comes with no surprise to me that the people who purchased your book had never interacted with you on your blog before. I don’t know the stats, but I would bet that’s true for the vast majority of blogs and products out there.
For me, this is very important…I want to be updated with your post…Thanks a lot!!
Hey JK,
I appreciate your honesty here. I have the same dreadful feeling about my audience. We are about to launch a major product and I’m afraid the people I interact with the most won’t end up buying it.
The value is incredible and it’s the first of it’s kind in the market. We already have major organizations using the tool and they love it, but I’m with you.
When it comes to bloggers, they’ll do the reciprocal actions of commenting or checking out a blog, but when it comes to making a decision that could require some money to support ht blog you’ve been reading all this time… we hesitate.
I honestly would love to read your book. I relate to every post you read and I fel that it will be the same way with your book.
Is there a kindle version. Sorry, this is my first time reading about it.
Bryce
Welcome back JK!
Thanks for sharing your experience. Have you tried putting your book on Kindle? I think you’d be able to reach a wider audience there. It seems to be pretty popular these days.
I definitely do think too that the majority of people that buy products are the ones that lurk from behind. They consistently read the content, but they never comment.
I thought the same thing when I sold my t-shirt. I thought the first week sales would be amazing! I’d sell out the first box of them because I thought the people who regularly left comments would love it.
Instead I sold only a few that week and since then maybe seven total. I’ve sold them mainly to people I’ve never talked with before on or off my blog. The ones who I’ve gotten know since I’ve started blogging didn’t buy, but that’s okay! I guess I got too excited..haha. So I kinda understand your feeling too.
Great to have you back on the blogging scene!
I really appreciate the unique ideas it contain. Thanks for sharing great thoughts.
I totally agree that it is very important to attract the right audience in order to get the desired results.
Thanks for sharing those lovely ideas and tips.
-Johny
Hi Jk.
People are puzzled over the part they should play in transforming their lives. You have spoken the truth when you ask, “Where should I place my personal effort, and where should I withdraw it?”
You are up to making a difference in the world, and you are up to making money while doing that (I think that’s your intention).
My admiration for you is your awakened sense of nobility. You must be true to yourself, not to some internet community that demands that you be true to them (by spending hours commenting and being nice on their websites so they do the same for you). What’s the point? Really … what’s the point?
I travel the world extensively. I am taking race car lessons at Leguna Seca Raceway. I jump out of planes (with a parachute on), and I make seven figures a year in my business endeavors. That’s the point of being here for me – living out loud (not hiding behind a keyboard being nice so other folks will be nice back).
YES, I put time into my website and I take a peek at what others are offering (and occasionally comment), but that does not give me nearly the thrill as the things I love to do (of which I just mentioned a few).
Use the internet to further your dreams and aspirations out there in the world.
Use the internet to share your life-lessons with others for the good feeling it gives you (that you are giving back).
But, do not let the internet use up your life … it will if you allow it to.
LIVING ON THE INTERNET IS LIKE HOLDING UP A CANDLE TO THE SUNLIGHT (it just ain’t that bright!)
These is my points of view … I support you Jk.
Blessings, rob
This is a big help to all of us…Thank you for the great job here then!
I totally agree, just like we have to choose the right niche for our product. A niche that is good as well as related to our product will increase chance clients will be aware of what we are providing. A good niche and a well written content can make a good impression on our prospects.
JK – Im right there with you and looking for the right audience. This is something that I heavily focused on when I was starting out but have slowly drifted away from. I definitely need to focus on that a lot more with the coming of my book here in the next few months. Working my butt off to deliver it in time, although I am having my doubts.
.. there is still so much to do and I want to do it right, you know?
Thanks for this awesome post and I am sure that a lot of people will be interested to read this…
Glad to know you’re back JK! I agree with you about attracting the right audience. I agree that choosing the right niche is one the factors that will attract audience. Thanks JK for this great information, I truly learn a lot!
We have to be aware with this and I think this is the right post we have to spread to most people…
I am not that familair with this but for me, this is awesome!
Thank you for your awesome post here and i am also hoping that you can post more to inspire a lot of people…
Glad that your year has started off well!
The right audience is something that a respectable blogger should pay attention to. If you are doing this solely because of the money, than it shouldn’t bother you, but if you really want it to mean something – then it’s a different story!
Hey JK!
I, for one, have missed you. I applaud the courage of your openness about what you’ve gone through and the realisations and feelings you experienced as a result. I suppose the important thing is to dust yourself off, flip the script and thrive because of what you’ve learned.
I think you might have fallen for something I experienced in the past, mistaking allies for real friends. We can chat on that later. For now, I’m just glad you’re back. Spread your wings!
Jason
Hey JK,
As you know I’ve been off the blogging scene for many months now and I’m just getting ready to relaunch my blog since training as a lifecoach. I’m so happy to find you here still telling it ‘as it is’. I’ve been tripping around your blog for the last hour or so and just loving all your posts as always. You really talk no bull@%$t and everything you say rings true with me. I love your courage and forthright point of view…always coming from the soul. Delighted (but in no way surprised) to see you’ve written a book too…when my credit card recovers from Christmas burnout I will definitely buy it. Hope you’ll be able to ship to Ireland! Rosemary
This is a very well written article. I can’t agree more on attracting the right audience for getting the desired result.
I’m definitely going to follow those agendas from now on.
Thanks for sharing.
-Ivan
Hey JK,
Happy 2012!
I didn’t take a break, in fact, I’m busier than ever, and at some point I just got too busy to comment a lot on other people’s blogs. I still read a lot but I don’t comment unless I actually have something to say. Interestingly, the number of bloggers that commented on my posts did go down, but other people jumped in. I love my blogger peeps, but honestly, they are not my core audience. They are potential joint venture partners, shoulders to cry on, people I can bounce stuff off of, etc. So they are incredibly valuable, but that doesn’t change if they comment on my stuff or not. Who I really want to hear from on my posts are the “normal” readers – as you said, the people that will actually buy my services and products.
I tried to do the whole “comment on tons of blogs” thing for a while, but it was just too much and I wasn’t having any fun. So now, I read what I want, don’t comment unless I really want to, share what I feel like, build relationships with people I admire and trust and trust that the audience that resonates with what I write will find me because of the content I produce (prolifically). It’s actually working nicely.
Huge hugs and welcome back!
Melody
Such an inspiring and interesting text! Thanks for sharing it. I totally agree with you, the most important thing while doing an online marketing is to find the right audience. You could have written a nice content or have an attractive design if you aren’t able to find the people in your niche you business won’t work.
Some very good insights and this subject is something I have been working on because I had a similar experience with selling a book via my blog. It was a much slower build than I thought it would be and I realized that I needed to attract a constant stream of new readers to get good sales. Not just a few new readers but a lot because 100 new visits might only generate 1 sale so I agree with your tip that constantly writing new content and concentrating on the quality of your site will eventually bring the new visitors required to make money.
I agree that this is really inspiring and I hope you can post more…
I think people don’t enjoy spending time around people they have NOTHING in common with, so similarities are definitely important. But men & women compliment each other with their differences..
Accepting the lankiness different factors and trying to upgrade the right ideas is truly amazing, And I think this is the right way for attaining the satisfaction with in self in for the others.
> It’s cool to hear the cheers, but it’s surprising that it’s not your family.
I like the example and the way you make the point.
I think the beauty of the Web is the ability to find your tribe of raving fans from around the world … and your values serve as the lightening rod. Asserting our values is the best way to find the birds of a feather to flock with. The real key here is that while opposites attract … similarities bind.
I am sure this is the right way to attain the satisfaction kin our self..thank you for sharing this inspiring post to us..
I totally agree with you. You need to attract the right audience for getting the desired result. One must always stay alert for false alarms.
This is a great article and should be of great help for people to get their desired results.
Thanks for sharing.
-Jonathon
Hi JK,
Sounds to me like you have a handle on everything. Build your community around you. Write when you can, visit the blogs that really interest you and good things will happen. It might make for slower growth but you tend to up with people who are more interested in your thoughts and your words.
What you described is part of why I always say that comments aren’t currency.
I am not that familiar with this but thank you for letting us know about it…
The post can really help…I am sure a lot of people are looking for this one…
This is a great and honest post. I’m looking forward to reading more of your material.
You’re right. That is marketing in the simplest sense. You have to appeal to your target consumers so that your product or service will get a lot of sales.
Style that you have followed like before starting a topic indicates about it’s agenda is very much impressive to me. I think an agenda can give value of post. Thanks for a tremendous submit, would study your others content. thank you your ideas within this, I experienced a trifle struck by this text. Thanks again! You make a good aspect.
Saddle Ridge dog walking
I totally agree with the information you have shared us here…This is very motivational…
yah, that is very important things for blogging. i have no position with you opinion about this. I hope it will inspire the readers to there interesting blogging.
The very first thing that you really have to do is to know your target audience. But how do you examine if you have the right audience in mind for your product or service?
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this particular issue.
-Roberto
Such a nice article! I totally agree, the most important thing is at the beginning of a marketing process to find the right audience.
Hi…This is definitely one one of the best posts i want to share with my friends…Thanks for the information too…
Hi JK,
We haver communicated before. I read your post and just wanted to say that I agrre with you . Sometime is necessary to step back a bit and give yourself to re-access your approach and direction. Good for you.
I totally hear you JK.
One of my previous blogs would get 2000 visits a month and like… 2 comments. That’s because much of the traffic came from random SEO stuff, for weird keywords, not from personal relationships or referrals.
I learned that what I really enjoy, is what Danny Iny teaches: Engagement, more relevantly, Engagement From Scratch, which I feel deserves a link in this comment thread, since it’s an incredible audience-building resource:
http://www.engagementfromscratch.com/
If I recall, you had a piece in it
True! In marketing, you really have to know first who are your right audiences so you would have to what to present to them! Good job!
Thanks for the information you have posted here…i am sure most people need this especially the businessmen…
It really very important to show your work to your right audience cause i think they have only respect to your work because they know hoe you work and wrote the content . Thanks for the sharing and it really very helpful for me.
The audience is important especially in a business…So we have to know who are the right audience for us and for the business too…
For me, in order to catch the hearts and minds of the audience you need to consider and gain different resources that they can relate to.. Conduct a kind of research topic is the best one.
We need to be aware with this especially if you are a business owner…This is a big help…
This is a problem of common sense, if you sell tomatoes, you won’t sell them in the Mall but in the market. A lot of webmasters just can’t make the difference and that’s why they don’t get the results they are longing for.
This is very important and good thing you come up with this kind of idea…Thanks a lot!
We don’t need to work so hard in order to success rather working smarter. By realizing our past misdeeds and putting things all together, do some research and develops what we had now. The target should be specific and act accordingly.
We have to attract right audience especially to those who will need it…This will be very important to businessmen too…
Very valuable post! I really am willing to learn more from the well-experienced like you.. I really want to be a better person.. Thanks for sharing this with us! You are really a huge help for me..
Yo – J, I’m glad to see you back and all is well, I was worried, yes your right, sometimes its important to step back to check out your map, I’ve been a bit quite in the blogging arena myself over the last 2 mouth so I come understand, Don’t watch no face, do your thing you add value your a powerful force King more than you know, you have and do enriched a lot off people with your presence, Do what works for you
Seeing you back has given me a boost of energy
Blessings on love
This post has a lot of importance to the people…I hope you can continue to inspire and post more of this…Thanks!
True. You should really who your audience are for you to be able to come up on a marketing plan that perfectly suits them Thanks for sharing..
The audience is very important especially in business…So in order to catch their attention, you should do anything that interests them…
What a Malleable post it is! What should I do to increase page rank of my blog-spot site?
Good job,
Anthony
We have to attract the right audience and at the right time too..But for sure this post can help…
Here’s hoping that 2012 brings you even more prosperity. Congratulations…
Here’s hoping that 2012 brings you even more prosperity. Congratulations…
(Sorry for the double post, but I was wondering why my CommentLuv link didn’t take.)
It was real pleasure to discover this blog. Maybe you’d like to place a banner on my blogroll? How can I contact you on private?
Attracting the right audience is really important not attracting the spammers . By the way, thanks a lot for the information I think and I guess many readers will benefit of this.
I appreciate all the ideas you have here, as for me it is very useful. Thank you for the wonderful post though!
How long have you been blogging for? you make blogging look easy. The overall look of your website is fantastic, as well as the content!
Wow, the post was a bit long but I learned so much. I gotta change the way I do things starting now.
This is a wonderful post. I found it to be very informative, I totally agree with you that you need to attract the right audience for the desired result.
Thanks for sharing.
-Dirk
This is nice topic for discussion and as it is said a mass visitor is not a worth of any thing unless they are very keen on your blogs and are true followers. So it is very important to attract the correct visitor rather then wasting time to collect unwanted visitor who just visit the site once to check it out.
That is very true. The right audience matters if you want your business to succeed. Talking to the wrong people may be a total waste of time, you may end up finding yourself lagging behind.
You really should target your preferred audience if you want traffic and valid page impressions
I loved this post. It is wonderfully written. I loved the points you mentioned here on how to attract the right audience. That indeed is very important.
-Jason
A lot of people try to write on topics they think will draw in a big crowd. But if you write on a topic you are not familiar with, this could be a dangerous route to take. Instead stick to what you know and understand. If you are passionate about what you are writing about, this will be attractive to your readers.