Here are few improvements you’ll be sure to make:

Your writing will get better

Much better, in fact. Having the discipline to write and publish everyday is just like exercise: you eventually get into shape. You start sounding more relaxed and the act of writing doesn’t hurt so much.

The first week is especially tough, I will admit. It’s painful to force yourself to do something that can feel so uncomfortable and strained. Getting past the second week is pretty rough, too.

But once you get to the third and fourth week you’ll start to hit a stride. After that, blogging every day doesn’t feel like such a task. It’s actually quite enjoyable

Perfection is no longer a constraint

Part of the reason I was such an infrequent blogger (one post per week, sometimes less) is because I really dragged and took my time to “handcraft” each post to what I felt was a state of perfection.

We have to remember that blogging is not like book publishing where a team of editors refine our work until it’s ‘perfect’ (*ahem* there is no such thing as perfect). That’s the old way of doing things!

Blogging is meant to be more rapid-paced and fluid. When you commit to doing it every day, it becomes “publish or perish.”

So no matter what kind of day you’re having you know a new post has to be live before you go to bed. That kind of pressure forces you to ship your work by making snap, creative decisions.

You’ll start to find your voice

This is by far the biggest benefit to daily blogging.

Like any novice, beginning bloggers tend to copy the styles of the more established bloggers because they haven’t yet discovered their voice.

But when you write every day, you get more comfortable with yourself and your words until it starts to feel like…you. Your blog becomes you.

Pretty soon your writing feels more natural, like speaking. Your personality starts to emerge, and people start to get comfortable around you.

That personal connection is vital for making friends and attracting passionate readers.

If I can do it, so can you

Rapid fire blogging is a lot like boot camp: you learn what you’re made of.

Today marks the the last successive day of my month of daily blogging (Monday through Friday). I just proved to myself that I am indeed capable of writing and publishing on a daily basis.

I’m also happy to report that it feels great!!

Despite that fact that the world doesn’t make it easy for you to write, why not drop the excuses and just give it a try?

Photo by kevindooley.

John Chow: The Blog is the Business

John Chow’s blog is the home base of his business. This means his content is written for the purpose of attracting a high readership, which he hopes to convert to paying customers.

The more traffic John gets, the more leverage he has over pricing his services like site reviews, banner ad space and sponsored tweets. The last time I checked, John charges $500 for a site review, between $250-1,000 for an ad and $117.65 for a sponsored tweet. Not too shabby.

But that’s not really how JohnChow.com makes its money. The real profit is in the list, as they say. When you subscribe to receive John’s free Make Money Online ebook, you automatically start receiving his autoresponder email series. These carefully timed, automated emails detail how you can go from zero to $40,000 a month with your blog, just like John did.

John makes money as an affiliate from the products he recommends in his autoresponder series and his blog. Some products have monthly recurring payouts, like Aweber, so John will continue to get paid as long as you’re subscribed to the service he recommends.

The more content John puts out, the larger his influence spreads over the Internet Marketing space. More influence equals more readers, more readers means more income, and so on.

Shoemoney: The Blog Compliments the Business

Shoemoney’s blog is a bit different than John Chow’s. For one thing it’s not the entire structure of his business. He makes most of his money from successful internet marketing ventures in various niches as well as his Shoemoney System.

Shoemoney’s posts are off-the-cuff but really insightful on how he’s done so well for himself. Where John is exclusively a blogger—and a good one at that—Shoemoney tends to speak his mind more assertively. He makes a lot of subjective observations about what’s going on in the Internet Marketing world and elsewhere.

I believe Shoemoney makes some pretty good money with his blog as well. Aside from freely promoting his own products, he has the Shoemoney marketplace which allows advertisers to pitch their product once a week on his blog. He may also throw in the occasional affiliate offer in his posts.

Which model is better?

There’s no right answer to this, because each one works pretty well. It all depends on the path you want to pursue. There’s no right way and there are a million other ways as well.

But if you want to make blogging your business, listen closely to John’s advice and read his book “Make Money Online” (I’ve reviewed that here).

If blogging isn’t your main thing, check out Shoemoney’s “Shoemoney System.” In it he breaks down exactly how he makes his money, from eBay to Facebook to a dozen other creative approaches. (I’ve seen the system and it’s solid.)

For what it’s worth, Shoemoney.com gets more traffic than JohnChow.com, according to Compete.com. There are some other stats on that page worth looking at as well.

Personally, I prefer Shoemoney’s blogging agenda. He doesn’t have to worry so much about his blog making him money because his business is spread across other enterprises. John Chow too has other endeavors, like his book and blog training program, but I’m certain his main money maker is the blog.

What do you think?

Road photo by i_yudai, comic by Comictan.

Disclosure: links to Aweber, Shoemoney System and Make Money Online book are affiliate links.

Apply to be a beta tester and get the first look at upcoming Facebook products.

After clicking through, you’re presented with a page titled “Help us build the future of Facebook.” There’s some description about the “launch of a brand new product to the world” and how you can apply to be a beta tester.

Normally I’d ignore something like this, but what Facebook is proposing is too fascinating to pass up: a chance for my writing to be seen by “tens of millions of people — including job recruiters” as well as a visit to the Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto (where my awesome sister Blair lives).

Too good to be true? How about an attempt to exploit masses of struggling, web-savvy writers? Hmmm… To be considered for “exclusive beta access” you have to submit on the page a question and its answer about something interesting that you’re familiar with. They provide a sample question you can reference for editorial guidance. I scrapped my first question/answer—How close can you get to molten lava?—in favor of this one:

In surfing, what’s the difference between a longboard and a shortboard? With respect to length, longboards are generally nine feet or more and shortboards range between five and seven feet.

Longboards are also wider in the nose and tail, which gives them more stability and flotation for quicker paddling and easier wave catching. These factors make them for ideal for learning how to surf.

Shortboards are designed for maximum speed and maneuverability through turns. They require more responsiveness from the rider and therefore deliver more performance than longboards.

Variations in wave size and shape as well as surf conditions often dictate which boards are being used at a particular break. It’s easier to catch a wave that’s small, slow and mildly-sloped on a longboard than it is on its compact counterpart.

On the flip side, you’d fare much better on a shortboard if the wave you’re riding has a steep take-off with quick and hollow sections. There’s an entire culture and science built around surfing and surfboard design. You can learn much more by checking out Surfline’s surfology at http://www.surfline.com/surfology/surfology_a2z_index.cfm

Aloha!

It’s been submitted and I’ll basically forget about it, unless I get magically chosen for “exclusive access.” Then things might get interesting. That “including job recruiters” phrase concerns me.

It’s feels like Facebook is dangling a carrot in front of enterprising writers while indicating they won’t be directly compensated in any way (like a job) for their efforts. Fair enough, but this “opportunity” could mean Facebook is attempting to leverage an army of volunteer writers who can quickly produce a massive cache of quality content.

They can then contextually match that content with any of their tens of millions of users. See where this is leading? For example, anyone talking about surfboards on Facebook might see a link to my little write up. Or maybe they find the page (ranked high) in Google.

Either way, they’ll get to the page which will inevitably be monetized with Facebook ads. Owning socially-endorsed content on one of the world’s largest websites/ad networks sounds like a goldmine to me. Not just for Facebook but their opportunistic advertisers as well.

But there are issues: they absolutely must establish strict editorial control from the start or they’ll end up like Yahoo! Answers or worse yet, Mahalo.

The other and perhaps bigger issue is where does this leave the hard working niche bloggers? Wouldn’t it be easier to find what you need in your favorite, trusty all-consuming Facebook account than to go out and seek multiple bloggers with varying degrees of answers? If there’s any truth to this, then bloggers are in for a Mega-Challenge. They need to be well-poised not just creatively or editorially but as powerful publisher brands with nimble content.

And that’s not such a bad thing.

Image from benstein.

Here’s the problem: we still think we’re in college English class. Yes, that one: dialectic thesis statements, multiple drafts, red ink editing, rewriting and other rigors of academic perfection.

I’m now convinced there’s no such thing as a perfect blog post. We are not scholars pursuing an ‘A,’ but rather friends sharing interesting and relevant ideas.

Blogging is simply written conversation with value—stuff people enjoy reading by choice.

Try a Secret Blogging Exercise

On January 1, I started tiny personal blog project on the side where I try to write at least 100 words per day. So far it’s been a very helpful exercise in breaking through my stiff scholastic style (except I have yet to apply it here at Wordful).

One hundred words is just enough to share an idea without ever having to overthink or overwrite. You sit down, compose and publish, and you do it quickly. Words add up.

Granted, blogging to yourself is pretty easy because you’re not concerned about who’s listening, but consider my results: 30 posts average per month on my private blog versus 2.3 average monthly posts on this blog.

Give it a try. Quantity does count for something.

Take it From Chris Brogan

Chris Brogan is a prolific writer with a relaxed, conversational style. I get his RSS feed in my inbox every day and on many days, he’s crafted more than one post for me to read.

Granted, they’re not always the most hard-hitting, loaded-with-benefits posts like the ones Copyblogger strives for, but I find myself very a comfortable reader in his presence.

I can tell Chris loves to write. In fact, he told me so in a great little audio seminar on the Third Tribe site.  Chris’s premise is this: to succeed in blogging you need to remove all the tradition and formality from your practice and just start writing— whenever and wherever you can.

**

If the truth sets us free, and writing is our truth, then we should be constantly writing in pursuit of freedom.

Photo by suneko.

Quite fittingly, I read the book while on a long plane trip from Hawaii to China (where John Chow is from) seated next to The Man—my boss. Little did he know that while he was snoring next to me, I was plotting my escape from my job by reading John’s book!

What I like about Make Money Online

So far, it’s the best guide on blogging I’ve read. More so than the other books on blogging by Problogger and Huffington Post, John’s book is lively, personable and full of practical, easy to understand information.

Also, Make Money Online is only 144 pages—definitely short enough to read in one or two sittings.

I applaud John decision to partner up with writer Michael Kwan. Michael gave the book a well-edited, professional polish that luckily didn’t erase too much of the snarkiness and shameless self-promotion that JohnChow.com readers like me have enjoyed over the years. (note to Michael — Wordful found a small typo on page 49: “This is the maximum number of ads allows on a page.”)

John’s “roadmap” is very clearly laid out: He gives you just enough inspiration, motivation and pragmatic advice to get you on your way to blogging, but not so much that you’re too overwhelmed to do anything about it.

Some of my favorite parts include:

• John Chow’s story. Every success has a story, and John’s is definitely worth paying attention to.
• John telling you upfront that he’s not writing this book to give you some magic overnight success formula. He’s merely showing you what works for him and how to start thinking for yourself.
• the section on finding blog post ideas. He reminds me there’s way more ideas than just what’s floating around in my head.

…and I thought I had a good handle on blogging, but I also learned a few new things like:

• the importance of internal deeplinking to SEO. External links provide the most value, but internal links describe your content in better detail.
• setting your preferred domain to prevent Google duplicate content penalty.
• how to hold a blogging contest.

While I’m at it, here are some of the book’s best quotes:

• “You have to make your own opportunities.”
• “Don’t be afraid to state your views or piss people off.”
• “Your content has to be good, and it needs to be unique.” (This is the Wordful philosophy!)

What this book is missing

Of course, Make Money Online isn’t perfect.

I wish John would have touched more on what exactly defines “good content” and how he measures it. I feel like many of my posts are insightful, but I often don’t get any feedback (comments). How do you know when people appreciate your stuff?

I’m also puzzled as to why John didn’t explicitly discuss his real moneymaker—the email list. Some time ago he posted a video he gave to a class in Vancouver which was by far the single most powerful and useful piece of content John has ever published. He does give a link to that video at the back of the book, but it’s never really mentioned anywhere else.

Beyond that, I really wish John would have shared more of his deeper wisdom on work-life balance. If you really want to get to know John Chow, you need to go through his blog and find the nuggets like this one or this one.

And since I happen to be in China as I write this, I can’t help but insist you read John Chow’s post about his very humble beginnings.

John’s so-called hustler attitude is really just an effective front for a person who is really an awesome, genuine person — and this to me makes all the difference.

My Final Thoughts

I think anyone who’s into making money online through blogging should read this book to get an idea of what’s possible and how it can be done.

But I imagine John would also tell any reader that he’s only giving us the roadmap — it’s up to us to put in the passion, relationship-building and hard work.

And don’t ever forget this: John Chow is the only person on Earth who could ever get away with saying: “I make money online by telling people how much money I make online.”

Brilliant!

Click here to buy “Make Money Online” at Amazon.

I want you all to know I suffered at the ruthless hands of time and atrophy to bring you this.

We’re talking countless hours spent thinking, writing, scribbling, procrastinating, rewriting, deleting, groaning and starting over—all for a blog post.

Nowadays it’s better. I developed an easy 7-step system that helps me power through my blog writing. I now get it done not just in record time, but with much better efficiency and competence.

So here you go:

1. Get an idea. Ideas are plentiful, and the best way to capture them is to write them down. Fill your notebook with all the ideas that flutter into your consciousness throughout the day. [You do have a notebook or Evernote, right?] Tip: write one-line summaries for your best ideas, then circle them for easy finding when you’re ready to write your post. Then…
2. Write the headline. I lifted this tip straight from Copyblogger, which recommends you write your headline before your content, because “you have the benefit of expressly fulfilling the compelling promise you made with the headline, which ultimately helps to keep your content crisp and well-structured.” Very well stated. Now prepare to…
3. Spill your guts. Otherwise known as writing the first draft, where you need to sell yourself on your own ideas. Isolate yourself from all distractions and write from the heart. Don’t worry about clarity or persuasion or spelling, and don’t get self-conscious — just make sure you write down the essence of your message. Once you’re done spilling…
4. Walk away. Take a necessary break and leave your first draft alone for at least an hour. A day is even better. The time away allows your writing to take root and your mind to refresh. The result: refined perspective. Now you’re ready to…
5. Come back and edit. Editing is tough but powerful. It’s where you make sure your writing is totally clear, accurate and relevant to your audience. It’s also where you strengthen your voice and style and personality. Take the time to edit your post until it’s as perfect as you can get it, then…
6. Add the xFactor. Nobody really talks about this, but I do. It’s something you should do with every post you write. Adding the xFactor is the art of making a good post great, and the difference between presenting yourself as a professional and presenting yourself as an expert. What could you add (or subtract) from your post to make it better than anything anyone has ever read on the subject? Is your post in context with what other people are saying? Does it evolve an idea people believe in? Will it challenge people to take action? Ask yourself these tough questions, then answer them in your post. Now it’s time to…
7. Publish. Don’t underestimate this final step. It calls on your courage to broadcast your ideas to the world. It calls on your responsibility to be accountable for what you say and don’t say. It calls on your conviction to influence, educate and entertain your readers. Like they say — publish or perish.

What do you think? Anything missing or something you’d like to add? Please share in the comments.

Instead of solely focusing on ways to be more expressive, free-thinking and creative with your blog, I’d like to put more energy into how you can build your blog into a viable media publication. This implications of this shift have huge upside potential, as it follows blogging’s natural evolution towards mainstream publishing.

A Brief History of Blogging

In the beginning, blogs provided soapbox-like platforms for personal expression (Blogging 1.0). Then, a few smart bloggers started posting useful content and hustling for readers. From this they built traffic and loyal audiences and began making money. Enter the blogging goldrush.

With potential to profit from such a low-barrier medium, the blogosphere was soon crowded with millions of eager problogger wannabes. Everyone started blogging with the hopes of becoming the next John Chow, Yaro Starak or Darren Rowse–money-making thought leaders deservingly elevated to guru status (Blogging 2.0).

Now, the Future

Let’s be honest–few have actually made it (you didn’t think it was going to be that easy, did you?). However, John, Yaro, Darren and a few others like the brilliant and respectable Brian Clark did help to establish the core fundamentals of blogging, such as picking a niche, being useful, copywriting, commenting, traffic building, RSS and more.

These fundamentals now make up the foundations of modern blogging, which–beyond the surface appeal of fame and fortune–are now helping to catalyze and revolutionize the publishing and media industry at large.

So while the problogger goldrush as we know it starts to fade,  blogging as we know it is evolving into something much bigger and better (Blogging 3.0, or “Content Marketing”).

Right now, many of the old giant media companies (which include newspapers and magazines) are failing–they can’t figure out how to turn a profit with their content. Meanwhile, the blogging business model has just been proved to be viable.

The two haven’t collided quite yet, and it’s only a matter of time before they do.

When this happens, you’ll either see large media companies buyout successful independent bloggers (which is already happening) OR independent bloggers will start building their own media companies based on new rules, new markets and a much more level playing field. [I side with the latter.]

Stick Around, Please

I want us to be right in the middle of this collision as it happens.

I’ve got a massive boatload of ideas, insights, advice and good old fashion pioneering spirit to help guide you get to the promised land. Top that off with my dozen or so years as editor, marketer and recently–blogger–and you’ve got yourself a trusted friend.

This isn’t to say I’ve abandoned the original intent of this blog, which is to make you a top-notch writer, editor and publisher. I’m merely deepening the focus to adapt to an inevitable shift which many of us see as very large and very, very profitable.

Today we are going to show you how to appear like an inspirational, creative, buzz generating genius, with almost zero effort.

Hmmm…why would anyone want to merely appear genuinely inspirational and creative? Why not just be genuinely inspirational and creative? Well, to answer that question look at the end of the sentence: with almost zero effort.

Standing out from a crowd takes effort, no matter who or where you are. Bloggers need to be brilliant, innovative and patient to realize a payoff. However, it’s very common to see the most eager and ambitious bloggers quickly get derailed by the artificial promise of the quick and easy payoff.

This easy money mentality is based on the now-saturated “make money online” (MMO) niche, which basically goes like this: get attention, monetize your content and repeat.

The MMO model really can pay off if you’re the right type of person – the one with a killer salesman instinct. But if you decide to go down this path you better make sure you have the best weapons and armor. You need to know that MMOers live within a food chain where the big guy gets bigger and the small guy has a low chance of survival.

So ask yourself right now: are you the aggressive marketing type? If you’re not, then why even bother?

If you’re still reading this, then maybe you are serious about dominating your niche and assuming top command in your field. To that I say don’t hesitate: embrace and follow that path starting right now.

For starters you must learn how to ignore and transcend the seductive trappings of so-called internet riches and simply focus on being you. From an editorial standpoint, it’s necessary that you occasionally turn your back on the buzz and hype of the crowds in order to develop trust in your own ideas.

Doing this will help you become a more powerful and effective thinker, writer and editor. Only then will you be able to produce content that doesn’t just appear excellent, but really is excellent — in spite of all the entropy.

Yeah, But Show Me the Money

They say most bloggers suck at marketing, and it’s true. Admittedly we need to be mindful of marketing if we want to succeed. But ask yourself, who would you rather be: rock star or concert promoter? The source or the middle man? Picasso or art dealer?

The web ultimately rewards the ones who are true innovators. If you can achieve this level of authority, you will never have to worry about marketing the next big thing, or compromising your identity to make a sale.

In fact, you will have the freedom, comfort and confidence to express yourself as you are, connect with others like you and create a lasting impression on the people you influence. 

Blogger Steve Pavlina is a great example of someone who makes it all work. He says this:

With this blog I currently have no sales, no employees, no products, no inventory, no credit card processing, no fraud, and no customers…Now it brings in over $200/day $1000/day (updated as of 10/29/06).  I didn’t spend a dime on marketing or promotion.  

What Pavlina’s example shows us is that it pays to be yourself. What not a better way to live?

I do mostly agree it’s no fun to both read and write long anything these days, but no writer should have to mute their individual style just to get their point across. The length of a sentence – or an entire post for that matter – should be no more than what conveys the information via the unique voice of its author.

Just imagine if everything sounded the same on the web — what would be the appeal of reading other than to systematically derive facts and information for consumption? If bloggers are to survive in this fiercly competitive web, than we need to still be mindful that writing of any kind can always be a work of beauty. Humans are naturally attracted to beauty – we always have been and always will be. Am I right on this?

In fact, Estill quotes Mark Twain, which I’ll repeat:

I notice that you use plain, simple language, short words and brief sentences. That is the way to write English – it is the modern way and the best way. Stick to it; don’t let fluff and flowers and verbosity creep in.

~Mark Twain, March 20, 1880

Sure, what Twain says is right on the money. But Twain is also better known for his style, for writing with wit and elegance and charm. His books are by no means short. He was concise, but also as relaxed and animated as a campfire storyteller. I doubt if Twain were a blogger would he be so cut and dry and, how should I say…boring. 

Now don’t get me wrong: Estill makes a good point and I support it. I know he’s not advocating us bloggers to completely lose our voices. We must indeed write as if every word serves a premium purpose to deliver our essential message. But don’t for one second let this “rule” kill your style, or think that because shorter is better then longer must be worse. Bottom line: get to the point and let yourself shine through!

Did anyone get to the end of this or was it too long?

End note: If you have a chance, go and read some of Arianna Huffington’s editorials. She’s got style if you ask me. And keep in mind that her blog, The Huffington Post, is the #1 blog in the world according to Technorati.

I notice that many bloggers out there are prolific and can crank out one post after another, up to several times a day. Their ability to create a steady flow of content is certainly impressive, but is it editorially effective? Let’s take a look at the following definitions as it pertains to blogging:

Defintion of a Writer
Writers produce content. Their task is to craft words into clear and understandable syntax in accordance to the subject they’re writing about. Good writers are able to craft content that is convincing and reads smoothly. (Great writers, by the way, are ones born with the natural ability to shape language into art). Most blog writers are savvy enough to edit basic spelling and grammar prior to publishing (this is known as copy editing).

Defintion of an Editor
Editors manage publications. They oversee the writing to make sure it’s timely, well-written and that it serves its readers while also supporting the mission of the publication. Editors are also responsible for what does and what doesn’t get published, and which articles (blog posts) get placement priority. Editors usually also write.

I used to be the Editor-in-Chief for my college newspaper many years ago. It was a tough and gritty job but I loved it. In short, my responsibility was to plan and publish each week’s issue without fail. Every week involved rapid brainstorming and decision making while managing my team of staff writers. I was to assign them the most relevant and interesting stories as well as write my own stories and editorials. You’re right if you guessed it was a lot of meticulous, stressful, deadline-crunching work, but I really liked being in charge every time I saw someone reading our paper.

Why Bloggers Need to Be Both Writer and Editor

To be honest, editorial duties have not changed much since my days at the college paper. What has changed, however, is the way we publish: blogging — at least at the personal level — is a one-person publishing operation. This means we’re not just responsible for good post writing, but also organizing and managing our writing so our blog as a whole becomes a quality, timely and responsive publication.

If you can understand and incorporate the “blogger equals writer plus editor” reasoning, I can promise your blog will come across as eternally smarter, more interesting and more authoritative than others in your niche.