This guest post is by Jaime Tardy of EventualMillionaire.com.
Within six months of starting my blog I was contacted by a reporter from CNN. Less than a month later I was on CNNMoney.com and did an interview on CNN Newsroom with Tony Harris. A week after that, my story (and face!) was on Yahoo’s Homepage. Since then I’ve been in Kiplingers Personal Finance Magazine, iTunes New and Noteworthy list, MSNMoney.com, Probloggers Top 40 to Watch List, and on Yahoo’s homepage again.
If someone told me this would happen a year ago, I would have said they were crazy. I started EventualMillionaire.com in March of 2010 as a way to talk about my story of getting rid of $70,000 in debt and quitting a job I disliked. Plus I have a goal to become a millionaire and I wanted to chronicle what I was learning in business to help others increase their net worth too. I was one out of hundreds of new blogs in finance and business, but I really wanted to learn about online marketing and blogging so I figured I would give it six solid months of trying.
Here are a few important lessons I learned in my first year of blogging:
Lesson #1: Believe your story is awesome, then tell it often
We all have a story. Before you ever get mentioned in other blogs or press, you need to believe your story rocks. You are telling your story for a reason on your blog. Is it awesome? Sometimes we are too close to our own story so it sounds easy or not good enough. What do others think about your story?
(If they don’t think it’s at all interesting, then go out and create a more interesting story in your life!)
I asked the journalist from CNN how she found my blog and why she contacted me. She couldn’t even remember how she found my blog, but she did say that she loved my story. She said she was always on the look out for great stories.
Most of the media has found my story from my guest posts on large blogs like Get Rich Slowly. I’ve also used Helpareporter.com to submit to journalists.
Action #1: Believe that other people need to hear your story. Then: Tell your story. Tell your story. Tell your story.
Lesson #2: Don’t quit
The month before all of this press, I was so close to quitting blogging. I had done it for six months and had less than 500 subscribers. It was a ton of work, and I wasn’t getting much in return for all of the time spent.
I even told my coach that I would email my subscribers to tell them I was going to put all of my blogging on hold for awhile. For some odd reason, I could not send the email. Logically it made sense to quit. After six months I didn’t have a lot to show for it, but I couldn’t pull the trigger.
A week after that feeling the first journalist contacted me.
Action #2: Listen to your gut! If you feel pulled to continue, do it.
Lesson #3: Some tech stuff is important: SEO and shared hosting
Yahoo is mostly a content aggregator and takes stories from other sites like CNNMoney. So the first time I was on Yahoo it was a repeat of the CNNMoney story, and there was no link back to my blog. That meant there were a lot of people looking up my name.
When someone looked up my name on Yahoo, my blog didn’t show up first. First was my LinkedIn profile. Then there were links to comments and forums where I had posted. Then my blog. People couldn’t find me! It was a huge mistake.
Action #3: Make sure your websites are first when you look up your name.
The second time I was on Yahoo because Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine did a story on me when they found my blog. This time I had a link. I was so excited, but within two hours and over 9,000 visitors my site crashed and was down for the two days I was on the homepage.
I never thought I would be on the homepage of Yahoo the first time, let alone twice. This mistake cost me all of the visitors to my website, but also my image. There were people commenting about how my site was down for two days. The worst part was that I never fixed my SEO so when you looked up my name my blog wasn’t even on the first page!
Action #4: Prepare for traffic just in case. Now I have a VPS but there are services like Cloud Flare that help with traffic spikes too.
Lesson #4: Prepare as best as possible
I was asked to be on interviewed on CNN on a Friday. The interview was going to be live on TV on Monday. My husband was out of town so I asked my Mom to watch my two small children so I could prepare my blog.
I set up an Aweber account, created a 49-page ebook with worksheets called “The Eventual Millionaire Starter Kit” and created the best blog post I could to greet the new visitors.
The preparation paid off. I received about 5,000 new visitors from mentioning the site, and I converted almost 500 people to my email list.
Action #5: If a guest post or media outlet will mention you, find out ahead of time when it will go live. Then prepare your site to make your new visitors have the best experience possible. (And have a way to contact them in the future!)
Lesson #5: Figure out how to make any success even better
Usually we are just so excited to get attention we don’t think about what more we can do afterward. I wanted to capitalize on the appearances as best I could. I brainstormed and spoke to my mastermind group and mentor. I ended up sending out a press release to local newspapers and TV stations. I even sent a note to RIT, the college I went to.
It took about an hour or so to write the press release. It landed me on the cover of the local newspaper, and an interview with the TV station. I’ve also been in RIT’s magazine and newsletter.
Action #6: Capitalize on the successes you already have. Ask yourself, “How can I take advantage of the success I’ve already had and make it better?”
This past year has been incredible, and it was all because of my blog. Even if your blog isn’t financially rewarding yet, it can open up a lot of new opportunities that you never would have found without it. It’s a long road with twists and turns but it’s an amazing ride and I highly recommend it. Keep on blogging!
Have you had any rollercoaster rides following coverage of your blog? I’d love to hear about them in the comments.
Jaime Tardy is a business coach and consultant who helps you make and keep more money. You can find her at the blog at EventualMillionaire.com, and listen to her interview millionaires about business and finances at the Eventual Millionaire Podcast.
I also want to be a millionaire. That’s why I’m going to be focusing on songwriting rather than blogging.
You might want to listen to Amos Winbush III millionaire interview, because he was a songwriter before he started this new company. He has some really great insights too.
Good luck on your million :)
Thanks. It’s just that making money blogging is so incredibly hard.
Yes it can be. I like to see blogging as a platform for a business though. Unless you have a ton of traffic and make money via ads, it’s about selling something. Blogging isn’t really an end in itself, though it does open up a lot of doors!
I am not going to be a millionaire right now but I always love to follow those tips and tricks for my website.I think yours a great inspirational story.Thanks for share this great post,at least will boost my energy.
Wow, a truly great story to share, Jaime! It’s always refreshing and encouraging when you are hearing true stories/experience and not the same tips you’ve heard over and over again with different tones!
The only problem is most of us bloggers always think that we all have awesome stories to tell where in fact, they are not really that awesome :)
Thanks so much! Really good point about not knowing whether or not we have a great story. What helps is to look at friends and family, because if they already think you are an “expert” or want to ask you questions, that’s a good sign.
My family and friends would always email me with questions about debt or business, so I knew at least they wanted to hear what I had to say :)
Cool! Always great to have supportive family and friends
This is such an inspiring blog post. I’ve been running my blog for over 2 years, it is good fun but I’m nowhere near where I would like it to be. Perhaps I’ll keep going with it and see what happens. Although I doubt it will be anywhere near the success you have had.
Superb article.
Michael x
Jaime,
Great behind the scenes story. Really inspiring. You also made some great pointers and I’m glad you never pulled the trigger to quit. Some stories take time and hard work. Thx for all you’re doing.
Thomas
Thanks Thomas (me too!)
Thanks Jaime… I really loved this post especially the segment about believing your story is awesome and telling it often. Sometimes all we need is a boost of confidence! Congrats on your success :)
Thanks KB :) Everyone needs a boost of confidence! (it makes me feel better that most of the millionaires I interview need confidence boosting too!)
Thanks for sharing your tips, Jaime. I enjoy listening to your millionaire interviews. I think my favorite was Brig Hart. I haven’t listened to them all yet though!
Awesome Eric! Glad you like them. Brig was amazing. Hearing that he earned his 300th million recently was crazy. You should check out his book too- it tells a lot more of the story. :)
I was lucky that my site was mentioned in the “Parenting Section!!!” of Yahoo UK the other week.
http://uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/family-parenting/a-shedload-of-innovation-%E2%80%93-will-yours-be-the-shed-of-the-year-blog-71-yahoo-lifestyles.html
Got loads of traffic – and since then more Stumpleupon and other blogs picked it up, so the traffic has stayed constant
but it builds up a profile for my little shed site so that’s great
Congrats! What a unique idea :) My shed has a lot of lawn and garden equipment in it! You might want to send out a press release locally for it too if you haven’t already.
Thanks for the blog advice. Although I am quite sure our blogs differ, the information is still very inspiring and helpful. I’ve had a “why don’t I just give up” moment myself.
Glad you didn’t give up :) It’s funny how alone we can feel but really so many other people have felt the same way!
While I have no desire to be a millionaire, my husband and I are debt free except for our home. Our home is going up for sale this week and we stand to make a good profit from it. We will then be completely debt free and will being our journey as a traveling evangelist family. We are very excited about this time in our lives. Like the Orientals say, water will find a way, and when you are debt free, you are liquid. So kudos on having the desire to be debt-free. It’s a desire more people should have.
Congrats! It sounds like you have an amazing journey in front of you. Good luck on a quick sale on your home. :)
The most difficult part is to believe that your story is awesome… It makes you think and wonder whether you live an interesting life.
I would start writing down what you think is an interesting life, and do what you can do make it happen. No one wants to live your entire life and still wonder about that question. You want to KNOW you’ve had an interesting life. :)
If you can’t believe on your story how the world would would be!
Great post. Thanks for sharing Jaime
Thanks Rana. :)
I liked when you say “Believe your story is awesome”. Yes, everybody is unique and so is his story. The article is well written :) Highly inspirational.
Thanks Basant! So glad it was inspirational for you. :)
Thanks for the tips.
Lesson 2 is something that is really hard, but it really important. I have quit a couple times, but have now refocused and have learned a pretty valuable lesson.
For sure! I’ve heard someone suggest using the word pivoting instead of quitting. You can change direction, but it’s not always quitting. Quitting has such a bad connotation in society! If you are still alive and still working towards something bigger I don’t see it as quitting. :)
Jamie,
What a brilliant story.
You are proof that when we put our best foot forward wonderful things happen.
Your advice is on point and I’m so happy I dropped by Problogger.
Krizia
Thanks Krizia! It really is amazing how things happen. The possibilities start to open up, only after you take action! :)
This is the best post I’ve read here in a long time. Exactly the actionable advice and encouragement I needed! My one question is SEO related…
How exactly did you make sure your website came up first when your name was Googled?
That is such a great compliment, thank you. :)
First I put it in the main title of my blog, and put it in the H1 tags for my about page. Then I hired someone that knew more SEO than I did! There are simple things you can do on your blog like using your name more (using the h1 and h2 tags etc) then there are things you can do off your blog, like getting links from other sites using keywords with your names.
I spent about $100 or so dollars on a VA to work on it for me. (but it all depends on how common your name is etc!)
I haven’t boarded the “rollercoaster” yet, but I will say the “don’t quit” is the best advice if you want to succeed. My blog began as an outlet for my ADHD and to log some of my experiences. I found it worked well adapting my content to posts. I’ve just started to build a base of readers, mostly through social networking and referrals. I’ve found that the harder I work on my blog, the more visitors I get.
Now, I’m trying to work on layout and commenting on blogs relevant to my interests and instructional in regards to blogging. I hope to graduate from templates and work on my editing as well as provide a constant flow of fun material for my readers. If it isn’t entertaining or useful, they won’t come back or recommend your blog.
Working tirelessly is a tip that I hear over and over in my interviews. Keep up all of the hard work and it’ll pay off!
Thanks Jaime, oh one interesting local promotional tool that has been very successful for me. I had some inexpensive business cards advertising my blog made. I pass them out to people I meet in restaurants and during social events. I’m a very social person so they get around. I find them taped up in local businesses on occasion! Much better than a cocktail napkin!
Thanks for the reply..
Great tips Jaime. I read your post on how you eliminated your 70K worth of debt relatively quickly and thought it was a great story. You were making 100K a year which probably made that process a little easier and faster.
What advice would you give folks who don’t have a nice income like yours was and are living paycheck to paycheck to help get out of debt?
The high income did help, but it’s the same as paying off $35k on a $60,000 salary. It takes a lot of hard work! We worked extra, I mean 70 hour work weeks were common for us (we were tired!) but also selling so much of our stuff really helped us realize how much we had and how much we didn’t need.
If you get a chance, check out the eventual millionaire starter kit. I talk about a spending plan, and my fridge sheet that I used to get out of debt. Knowing where your money goes and making smart choices with it you can do on any income! :) Good luck!
Thanks for sharing the lessons you have learned in your blogging journey. Branding a blog with the author name is necessary to get more traffic.
first post ive commented on after reading lots of them, i’d like to thank Jaime Tardy for this article as it just shows if you keep putting in effort then the rewards may just be round the corner. So dont give up. just hope my site can get some big exposure like yahoo, I keep hoping :)
Your welcome James :) Good luck!!
Thank you for the inspiring post Jaime.
As a relatively new blogger, reading something like this gives me the motivation to make a real go of making my blog successful.
Plus having read your posts regarding paying off your debt and quitting your job, if I achieve half of what you have, then I’ll be very happy!
So glad Andrew. Figure out that goal, and go after it full force. A favorite quote of mine – “We will either find a way, or make one” – Hannibal
Hey,
Forget a Million, I am going for a BILLION!
You know what sounds really cool? A billion dollars .. – The Social Network
Haha- I know, soon enough with inflation we will all be millionaires ;) I do want to interview billionaires too at some point!
Inspiring story, Jaime and congrats on your success. I’ve been blogging for about six months and it is harder than it seems. One big thing is not to focus on making money. In the end, if it happens great. But blogging while focusing on money will derail your blog faster than anything else. It takes time and a lot of people don’t have the determination or patience. What do you find more satisfying, being on tv or writing a popular post?
Good question. I feel like TV gets it out of the social media realm which I like. Sometimes we get walled up in the blogosphere and on twitter and it’s hard to realize there are others who could use this info and don’t have a twitter account! I do like both though, as long as people are getting content they need and can take action on :)
Jaime what a great story! Thanks for sharing. I especially like lesson #1. Sometimes your story can sound “crazy” to you because you are so close to it…but we have to believe it and like you said “tell it often”. I look fwd to hearing more from and about you!
Thanks so much! :)
Jaime,
I think that this is a great way to make sure that we succeed in whatever we are doing. Tell your story and hold yourself accountable to it.
Given the plethora of online social media outlets (blogs, FB, Twitter, etc.) these days, I think it will be increasingly hard to generate revenue from just blogging. I think blogging is best when it ties into and compliments another profession such as if you are a writer or consultant or if you sell things online and blog to promote the products. Just blogging for revenue will be pretty hard.
I have almost completely stopped reading from my google reader, because twitter gives me the best articles of those blogs. Attention in a world bombarded is hard to get! At least with social media we get connection too besides just advertising!
But I agree- blogging is a great platform for a business. Not exactly a business itself. (With a few exceptions!)
Great article, very simple and fondest to fly with, it’s makes me ponder, especially reading this article at a time that I feel so down it makes me to have more faith and stil believe that anything is possible! Great story Jaime, I started a blog without knowing which story and which direction, I hope one day to have a great story such as this! Is there any way to help new bloggers like me?
I was told it can take 6 months to find your voice. I just feel like I’m understanding that now, a year later! So just do it to work on yourself and grow and learn. A blog can open up connections with others that you never thought were possible. Plus you have a history of all of your thoughts! So keep on doing it, because you will learn so much about yourself from it. :)
That is a mind blowing story. You are extremely lucky. I bet you could write a movie scenario using this.
PS: I LOL-ed when I read about the downtime of your website.
haha, you are the third person to say I should have a movie made! :) That makes me blush. Thanks!
I’ve never been on Yahoo or CNN Money web sites. But my articles are often linked from niche aggregators like linuxtoday.com and lxer.com.
Unfortunately, nobody asked me for an interview yet. (anyone?)
But what I have is one nicely optimized (unexpectedly for myself) article for the very fresh topic. If you google for Ubuntu 11.04, you’ll find my post on the 6th page. Nobody scrolls up to 6th page. But if you put “Ubuntu 11.04 Unity”, my post is #1 after couple of video links. This topic (Unity) is hot at the moment, so I get lots of clicks from Google.
I’m a geek too! I have a degree in IT, and used to use linux all the time, so awesome job on getting the SEO for it. Keep going :)
Wow, definitely an amazing story, thanks for sharing.
Way to go Jaime. Congratulation… I was a bit late to read this post. Was down with cold and a bit delayed on my blogging. Lovely write up.
Thanks Eddie :)
I liked that point about preparing your site for a potential spike in traffic. I once got a lot of visits from Stumble Upon. Unfortunately I wasn’t ready and server my crashed. It took me a day or so to be back online.
Isn’t it a pain? We all hope for a lot of traffic and then we get it and it goes down! Frustrating :)
Exciting Story, Congrats!
i didn’t think “Action #3: Make sure your websites are first when you look up your name” is needed, it can be facebook profile page, linkedin page or twitter profile!!
Please tell me your opinion and updates on this issue.
Thanks for interesting post
John
Actually a lot of people found me via facebook which was cool, but it was way down on the list. We don’t have as much control over the SEO of facebook or linked in (especially if you have a popular name) so it was just easier to say your website.
But either way getting in contact with you is good!
Agree, specially in case of popular name,
I want to be at first search result page of search engine it doesn’t matter result show my blog or my facebook page !!
Congratulations! I am a teacher. I began writing my blog almost a year ago. I love teaching, and I love to write. You are right, I’m not making money, but I have connected with so many different people. I have been contacted to evaluate programs for my school. I have shared ideas with so many educators. And best of all, I have been able to share my knowledge with others!
This is a really interesting post (and I like your blog, too). I think a lot of people go into blogging with expectations that things will “happen” for them a certain way. This is a good reminder to not get stuck into one track of thinking or marketing or making money.
It’s nice story. I love to read success stories of bloggers, because I can learn from success. Therefore, I was reading all your story. I’m hoping to take advantage of that story. Thank you.
Jaime, this is seriously great work! I have a slightly different expat blog/writing focus, but by reading, researching and putting to use a lot of the great suggestions that come out of great sites like Problogger and lots of focused smaller sites, I’m experiencing a slow but steady upward trajectory.
So from someone is now six months in, I can say that I learned more in your post here today than in another 100 I’ve read this week. No, go ahead and make that the 300 I’ve read in the past three weeks. Really simple, actionable ‘clean up’ and ‘proactive’ things you can do to work smarter, faster, better. Thank you – this rocks!
Great story-you mention your mentor a few times in the post above but don’t identify him/her..I am intrigued.
My mentor is a local business coach that sold a million dollar business. He’s awesome. :)
Awesome post, Jaime! 500 subscribers after six months is doing pretty well, though – sometimes audiences can take a while to build, especially within a crowded niche. You need something that sets you apart, which is where Lesson 1 nailed it on the head.
I’ve experienced that firsthand. In my niche – personal and business success – the field is also crowded, although it seems that most are rehashing what they’ve read rather than what they’ve experienced. On my blog, my goal is to use stories from my life, techniques and ideas I’ve personally used and which I guarantee have worked, rather than simply using another person’s words and ideas. And it’s starting to bring some great results! :)
Thank you for sharing!
Hello Jaime!
Thanks for the information & food for thought. I like that you gave ideas for action to take on each point – it makes me think about applying the information to my situation instead of just reading, getting excited and then moving on.
Kudos.
Dear Jaime, Congratulations!!! Your story is really inspirational. I am sure thats the reward for your hard work and commitment. Thank you.
Great tips! I believe preparation is the key. You never know when you’ll get the opportunity to share your awesomeness (talk about an overused word). So when your time comes be confident and let it shine!
Number 2 is the hard part. Even after running my blog for only a month I already feel like quitting. Reading stories like reminds me everytime that rome wasnt built in a day.