23 Flares
23 Flares
×
I may be wrestling pythons soon.
Kelli and I are all set to take our next journey.
This time it’ll be Jimbaran, Bali.
We attracted a 4 month house sitting gig in a tropical paradise.
Yeah I know…..again. Ho hum.
Picture a peaceful, quiet, pristine little beach town located on the southern end of Bali.
Jimbaran is a fishing village known for its seafood. Since Kelli is a vegetarian and I’m kinda pukey when it comes to food from the sea we’ll be passing on that.
We’ve visited Jimbaran in the past so this’ll be an exciting return trip.
Maybe more exciting than we’d wish for.
Pythons in Paradise
We’re house sitting in a dang sweet spot. Jimbaran offers boolies – and Balinese – a mix of beach, sand, scrub, farm land and creature comforts too.
Our gig involves tending to a house and the house pets on farmland.
Since Jimbie is relatively undeveloped compared to overrun towns like Kuta (bleh) and Ubud you may see:
Spitting cobras
Pythons
Monstrously large monitor lizards
…or other critters in this area.
As a matter of fact the crib owners relayed a tale involving a not too responsible house sitter, an open chicken coop, missing chickens and a frighteningly large python to us not too long ago.
The specifics: party girl, forgetfulness, 10 foot python, brave Balinese, capture, return to jungle.
Kelli and I are excited. We love wildlife. I mean, we REALLY love wildlife.
Even though I’m a bit terrified to come face to face with a sinister-looking spitting cobra and I’m kinda petrified to come face to face with a python I AM excited to make my return to my Island of the Gods soon.
Maybe seeing a python will inspire me to work on my pythons (insert Gun Show jokes here).
Maybe seeing a primitive, Paleolithic monitor lizard will inspire me to watch Jurassic Park. The first one because the 2nd was terrible and the 3rd was absolute garbage (Jurassic Park movies not monitor lizards).
You best believe RB will have his shades handy if I encounter a spitting cobra.
I’ve seen enough Steve Irwin-spitting cobra encounters. These devilish snakes can spew blinding venom from 10 feet away.
And my kiddies, they are Deadeye Dicks! (too much Justified)
2 Years Ago in Jimbaran
Our Indonesian friend Agram relayed a somewhat terrifying story to us 2 years ago on the Island of the Gods (that’d be Bali).
Picture this; you’re in paradise, in Jimbaran, Bali.
Palm trees sway lazily in the breeze. You hear the squawking of chickens. The buzz of insects.
(Public Service Announcement: type your email address into the form at the top of the page to sign up for my email updates. One 7,000 word blog post weekly plus other free updates including exclusive mouth-watering discounts only for my subscribers. Thank you. Back to our regularly scheduled programming.)
Papaya trees dot your yard, providing you with sweet breakfast fare not 15 feet away from the crib.
Agram stressed that living in paradise includes the full, authentic, Balinese experience.
Which in this section of Bali includes encounters with venomous snakes.
One day he strolled into his bathroom, without a care in the world, other than, well, you know……
2 seconds later he found himself staring face to face with a spitting cobra.
The 2 meter long cobra reared up and stared him in the eye.
His heart skipped about 30 beats.
After some quick thinking and even quicker moving Agram shut the door.
He later dispatched of said snake but both the story and image remained seared on my mind.
Just about anywhere in Bali I carry a flashlight with me for night trips to the throne.
No need to meet up with Spitting Cobra Sam at 3 in the morning when it’s time to empty myself of the day’s supply of banana shakes.
Reptiles with Legs too
I vividly recall observing a baby monitor lizard cautiously wandering around our front lawn in Jimbie-town.
We also made best buddies with an 8 inch long Tokay gecko. “Friends” meaning this little chap ate the 2 inch long cockroaches, scorpions, centipedes and other little nasties which tend to keep me up at night, unless the guardian of the home is around.
Paradise rocked. We had a 5 minute motorbike ride to the beach. Breakfast was papaya and passion fruit picked fresh from da hood.
We even had a taste of the West; 2 kick ass Italian restaurants weren’t but 5 to 10 minutes away.
How could things go South?
Well, they did, and in a horrific way.
Jimbaran was the spot where I almost died.
Motorbiking and Mortality
I recall the scene vividly.
Kelli and I had just shopped at Nirmala. We picked up our customary tempeh, rice, produce, Balinese sweets (you know me by now!) and we were cruising home.
I noted a street dog limping on the side of the road. Mangled, injured front right paw. She was suffering after being hit. It disgusted me.
“Why in the frick do these morons drive so damn fast? Why? Hitting poor little poochies. Idiots!”
I shook my head in judgment. Which moved my attention from the road. Which moved my attention from the box truck ahead which spun out suddenly due to an oil slick. The oil slick sneakily coating a fair chunk of the road. On a sharp curve. Some 10 meters ahead of me.
You need not be a savant or Nostradamus to figure out what happens next.
I spin out, lose control of the bike, land on my chest, can’t get my breath for like 30 seconds, catch my breath after believing that I’m dying, wonder if my ribs have pierced my lungs, wonder if my lungs had collapsed (good God it felt like this was the case), drive home and sit in a bed – in paradise – for 4 days before I can move without experiencing *excruciating* pain in my back and lungs.
That one little moment of mindlessness could have cost me my life. I was quite fortunate not to have suffered life-ending internal injuries as I….
….hit the pavement Superman style after I was ejected from the motorbike.
I landed on my chest. Not good REALLY not good. But here I am.
Being a fit, buff dude no doubt helped me. Being aligned? Well, say what you want, but I feel that I have a purpose here on Mother Earth and Mr. and Mrs. Universe wished to keep me around in bodily form for a minute to inspire my minions.
Now I can hear you thinking……
“What in the HELL does any of this stuff have to do with why your blog ain’t making ugatz, money-wise?”
“Why in the Sam Hill doesn’t Ryan get to the POINT already?!’
Now you’re a smart cookie. You know my posts span some 7,000 words or more these days. So you know old RB is up to something in paradise.
These 1,110 prior words – and their equivalent in other posts – have helped me make a nice chunk of change.
I have been blessed financially because of these 1,125 prior words.
I have:
Lived in paradise for the past 45 months as a professional, full-time blogger
Boosted my savings
Lived in places like Bali, Fiji, Phuket, Koh Lanta, Quepos, Kathmandu, Kovalam Beach, Hue, Kampot, Penang, Vientienne, and a bunch of other exotic spots
Changed time zones like most folks change their minds
Why?
I shared my experience.
I shared My Story.
Money is found in stories.
YOUR story.
Your story is pure gold because nobody in human history can tell your story like you can tell your story.
Money-making blogs tell stories. Like, all the time. Like, through every post.
Money-making bloggers relay their experiences. Like, all the time. Like, through every post.
Nobody on earth has lived this Ryan Biddulph’s life story and nobody on earth can tell this Ryan Biddulph’s story like RB.
So I live my life and tell my story to free me and to free you.
Bloggers who free themselves and who free their audiences have no problems making money through blogging because everybody loves a good story.
Some folks may not vibe with my story but if I stay true to me, and my story, and if I blog passionately, you best believe I’ll attract a bunch of readers who’ll eat up my stories with relish.
Said readers/relishers/rabid fans grow my community. Communities inspire, promote and prosper bloggers.
My kiddies, I have prospered through blogging. I have struggled through blogging. The moment I started regularly telling stories the whole online business bit changed for me.
I:
Created Blogging from Paradise the Blog
Created 10 Blogging from Paradise eBooks
Created a blog coaching business
Saw an influx in freelance clients/work/cash flow
Am currently publishing paperbacks of each eBook (easy there cowboys and cowgals this takes a bit!)
If you’re struggling like hell to make money blogging or if you want to jump like 2 or 4 or 6 tax brackets come in closer, listen in soak up these reasons.
Please be honest with yourself.
The average blogger tells stories about as frequently as pigs fly.
Since I haven’t seen any airborne bacon recently – and trust me I’d love to so I can snatch it out of the air for a salty , albeit artery-clogging treat – it’s safe to say that a fair share of bloggers could tell more stories to rake in that sweet, sweet blogging money.
On to the reasons my Blogging from Paradise buddies.
1: No Story Telling (or not Telling Your Story)
This reason’s been covered above but just in case you don’t get it….
Horrifying Cockroaches
I figured he had to be over 3 inches length.
Kelli was fast asleep. Thank God.
I saw a 3 inch long, prehistoric-looking, hovering cockroach cruising in from the kitchen.
The Penang, Malaysia air traffic control must have issued the command to head back to the kitchen because money turned tail.
Curtis the Malaysian Cockroach went into a holding pattern. He was slowly circling our kitchen, looking for the right spot to land.
The buzz of his Mothra-sized wings terrified me.
Imagine if this SOB landed on my face? Oh….the horror!
I didn’t mind the crawlers. Even though the cockroaches in Malaysia – the most bio-diverse country on earth – are the size of small children I never was much bothered with critters working the floor.
The airborne suckers are the ones that make me bite my fingernails to the point that I’d create a bloody pulp of my fingers.
And to think that this helicopter-sized cockroach taught me a blogging lesson……
…..
Stories Sell
OK guys, that was 2 stories already – or more, really –and I haven’t reached tip #2 yet.
Struggling bloggers rarely make money because they rarely tell stories. Struggling bloggers routinely tell other people’s stories.
Are you having a difficult time making scratch?
You’re probably not telling your story.
You’re sharing practical tips and all that good stuff but you’re missing that emotional bond building, brilliant strategy that the prospering, blogging in paradise guys and gals use: they tell their story because your story is where the money’s at.
Re-read that line:
Your story is where the money’s at.
Stories sell. Some smart guy or gal said that. Or 1 million smart guys or gals said it at some time.
Movies sell. TV shows sell. Books sell.
Story telling bloggers make money blogging.
The Solution
Tell your story. Every post.
Recount stories from your day. Recount stories from your life.
Here’s the kicker; link your story to your niche.
I link my stories to blogging tips. You link to your travel blogging, or blogging tips, or heck any niche you’re covering.
Draw parallels. Prosper.
I don’t care if you’re a:
College student
Working mom
Stay at home dad
Retiree
…you have 15,000 stories to tell.
You don’t have to have been:
Bitten by wild man in Kathmandu
Stricken by a stomach alien in Muhamma
Coked out in Cusco
Stalked by whores in Bangkok (post coming soon)
…to tell a mean story.
Yes of course, each prior bullet point was a tiny little boring chapter of my life.
So ho hum I know.
Tell your story!
2: Being a Doctor and a Lawyer at the Same Time
Doesn’t that sound insane?
Imagine being a doctor and lawyer at the same time?
Even Frank Abagnale – the Catch Me if You Can Guy – gave himself a breather between each profession.
Yet I’ve seen bloggers attempt to blog about:
Personal development
Travel
Blogging
Social media
Freelance writing
Astronomy
Astrology
Gossip
Godzilla
Gamera
Minor League Baseball
….ok the gag is up.
If I ever saw such a blogger he or she would be my hero, if only because they have a working knowledge of Gamera, the great guardian of Japanese monster lore.
If I have 24 hours to work with today and a set amount of energy I couldn’t become a successful doctor and lawyer at the same time.
Asinine idea, really….because……
Where your attention and energy goes, grows.
Here’s the deal: people who make money blogging or who make money offline or who make money doing ANYTHING become REALLY good at 1 thing.
Where their attention and energy goes, grows.
So:
Tony Robbins is Mr. Why Guy
Richard Branson is Mr. Business Builder
Bill Gates is Mr. Software (or was during his active days)
Warren Buffet is Mr. Investor
Richard Branson didn’t try to become Mr. Why Guy while building the Virgin Empire and Tony Robbins didn’t try to become Mr. Business Builder while becoming the most recognizable coach on the face of God’s Green Earth.
Ryan Biddulph – Mr. Blogging from Paradise – used to try to be:
Personal Development
Network Marketing
Law of Attraction
Make Money Online
Inspirational Quotes (I’ve written 1000 of them ya know?)
Home Business Coach
….and add about 10 more hats. I attempted to wear all on my old blog which is why my old blog only started making money in the past few years.
Even then I had to work like a dog to make that scrilla.
Now I’m Mr. Blogging from Paradise. Where my attention and energy went, has grow, and it’s grown in a glorious way.
If your blog ain’t making that dough you may be trying to be a doctor and lawyer at the same time. Online-wise.
You may be trying to run a multi-topic blog. All cool, if you feel passionate about multi-topics, but what makes you think you can know travel better than Nomadic Matt and then blogging tips better than Darren Rowse?
You can’t. Because Nomadic Matt spends his working time daily mastering travel blogging and Darren Rowse spends his working time daily mastering blogging tips.
You can’t master multiple topics like a skilled, experienced pro who chooses to master one topic.
So Nomadic Matt and Darren Rowse will rake in that blogging dough while you’ll struggle like hell to gain the trust of your audience because few readers will trust someone enough to hire them or to buy their products if they claim to master 2 or more niches.
The Solution
Blog about 1 thing/topic. Do it well enough to rake in that chedda.
Be known for doing 1 thing to gain your audience’s trust.
That’s enough for this one.
Do 1 thing. Do it well.
A jack of all trades usually makes a pittance with each trade.
How could you find the time to master multiple blogging niches?
Pick your niche. Stick to it. Learn it inside out. Become a pro’s pro in that niche.
3: No Mental Homework
How you choose to think, feel and act dictates how much money you make.
Most bloggers think, feel and act on autopilot.
This means that this crowd reacts to what happens in their blogging lives.
Not good.
Example; if you check your Paypal weekly and see a big fat old goose egg – this means you’re making no dough – you’ll think, feel and act like a broke blogger.
This is called reactive blogging.
Reactive bloggers generally make, maybe, 2 pennies to scratch together and not much more.
Then you have the second crowd.
The masses of bloggers call this crowd:
Lucky
Talented
Blessed
A whole host of curse words reserved for folks whom are the objects of struggling cyber folk envy
This second crowd of bloggers makes money blogging on the regular.
Or they’re simply full-time, professional bloggers who’ve engineered freeing lifestyles through their WP backoffice thingee.
The second, prospering crowd usually spends 20 or 40 or maybe 60 minutes a day working on their mindset. Maybe even before they touch their laptops.
This mental work helps the prospering crowd from being reactive bloggers.
Some look at the money making, pro blogging crowd and figures that they are superhuman. Who in the HECK could ignore outcomes – empty Paypal accounts, like 2 opt ins a week, etc – for weeks or months?
I’ll tell you who: people who work on their mindsets!
The abundant mindset crowd feels:
Grateful
Prospering
Rich
Successful
Inspired
Despite appearances this full-time income blogging crowd feels rich and naturally the rich feelings create rich ideas which move bloggers into rich actions…..even if Paypal comes up as goose eggs and opt ins are kinda low.
If your blog ain’t making money you’re likely reacting to outcomes instead of vibing high despite outcomes.
As Within As Without
Let me introduce you to a man named Richard Weinberg.
I met Richard in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Picture a mix between a Buddhist monk and a salty-mouthed, unabashed New Englander.
Richard was shot through the head in Saigon during the Vietnam War.
He was given days to live, then weeks. Beat those odds.
Then he was told he’d never leave his hospital bed. Beat those odds.
Then he was told he’d be paralyzed, living in a wheelchair.
Yep he beat those odds too.
Richard has made it a habit to say a big old “Bump You” to everybody who doubts him, to the point that current day Richard, in his 60’s can achieve physiologically impossible yoga poses.
Physiologically impossible poses.
That means doctors have observed his movements and can attest that physiologically, based on how his spine has developed over the years, there is no way he should be able to achieve the Lotus position.
Yet he does.
How?
Mindset, mindset, mindset training.
Every appearance/suggestion around him led to death after he was shot, then it led to him never leaving the bed and then him being paralyzed.
In his late 60’s this joker turned around and became an accomplished yoga teacher in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
If you step inside Richard’s sometimes highly disheveled apartment you may find him naked save for wearing a cape (I did once) without a care in the world or if you’re not that lucky you’ll notice the endless positive affirmations and images on his walls.
OK….here’s his apartment….and here’s Richard….and yes he’s losing his pants and that’s the reason I cropped this image.
He did the impossible by going within, through:
Meditation
Affirmations
Exercise
Prayer
Practicing loving kindness
My point is kiddies that if you think, feel and act in a wealthy, prospering way – by working on your mindset for 30 to 60 minutes daily – then you will begin to reap the benefits of your mindset work, by seeing blogging cash flow.
If Richard could not only walk but achieve physiologically impossible poses as a yoga instructor through mental science I know you can get over the mental block of not making money.
My Suggestion
I love this guy’s audio hypnosis files.
His name is Steve G. Jones.
I listen to his hypnosis recordings for 30 minutes in the morning and for 60 minutes before I go to bed to expand my prosperity consciousness.
So far, so good.
Check him out:
Steve G. Jones
As within so without guys.
The Solution
Before you touch your laptop each day realize this: money responds to your thoughts, feelings and actions.
If you are having a helluva time making money through blogging the culprit is within……you!
No worries! That is a most freeing truth because clearing out those inner, little, itty-bitty, nasty, critterish money demons is the way to start raking in that scrilla.
Practical Tips
Ok for starters:
Spend 30 to 60 minutes on mindset training on waking
Meditate, visualize, affirm, pray or listen to hypnosis audio files….or do all of these things
Take short, frequent breaks through the day to stay light, calm and inspired
If you’re looking for an in-depth study guide for developing the mindset of a successful blogger…drum roll please…look no further than my eBook
Download it for an inspired, fun read of what it takes to blog from paradise…from the inside-out. Click this link:
Creating the Mindset of a Successful Blogger
We now return to our regularly scheduled programming.
Bonus Reading
Kelli Cooper – my soon to be wifey – published a brilliant post explaining how she manifested our 4 month house sit in Bali.
Awesome practical tips and experiences here.
Click it. Read it.
5 Law of Attraction Lessons from My Landing a 4 Month House Sit in Bali
4: Attachment to Readers with Money Problems
I remember the days crystal clearly.
A fine reader would comment on my old blog. Said reader supported the living stuffing out of me.
Said reader would promote me and go to bat for me, alight.
They’d follow me into battle…..or even into the depths of hell, should I need to recruit new blogging readers from Hades (leave no stones unturned right?).
But damn, if they didn’t explain away why they couldn’t join my team (in those days) or why they couldn’t hire me to write articles for them because they couldn’t afford it.
Naturally, like a guy who needed to do some mental clearing I attached like mad to these readers.
I tried to force broke people to pay me money.
This is like trying to sell ice cream sundaes with all the trimmings outside of an Overeaters Anonymous meeting.
Sure you’ll catch a few folks who fell off the wagon once every month but that’s about it.
Ditto with financially struggling readers who’ll buy your books or who’ll hire you.
Bloggers who have a hellish time trying to make money are generally looking for money in all the wrong places.
If virtually all of your readers can’t afford your:
eBooks
services
products
….try networking with a different breed of reader.
A more prospering reader.
The Solution
Mental science will help you attract a more prospering, ready to buy reader but just plain network with rich, successful leaders in your blogging niche by:
posting in-depth comments on winning blogs
emailing prospering bloggers to build bonds
promoting prospering bloggers aggressively
Just hang with bloggers who have dough.
More of these bloggers will become readers of your blog and subsequent customers and/or clients.
Any blogger who’s living their dreams is generally a safe bet in the “they are a prospering blogger who won’t make the money excuse” department.
Hang with these folks.
Release the tire kickers.
5: You’re Blogging to Make Money
I wanted to spit on his money.
The dirt bag took Kelli and I for a ride.
I wanted to clam on his colones.
This weasel was lower than low. He even looked the part. I thought I walked into Central Casting of Scarface circa 1985.
The slimy piece of poop work charged us like 30 dollars (did the exchange rate in my head) for a 10 minute taxi cab ride.
By Costa Rican standards this was highway robbery.
After he charged the price I remember the feeling so well.
We were warned about the sleazy characters in Puntarenas….after our harrowing tale, of course.
Turns out many drivers in the area like to party. Partying requires money. Tourists carry money. Tourists can be grossly overcharged if tourists are new to areas and if tourists don’t know the lay of the land.
Tourists are also at driver’s mercy if it’s Sunday in Costa and about 4 buses are running in the entire region. Sunday is God’s day in the Land of the Ticos folks.
So he charges us $30 for a 10 minute ride. Wasn’t but a few miles.
I felt used and abused.
Puntnrenas Pablo saw dollar signs. He sure as hell didn’t see people.
I called him a “mentirosa” and handed over the colones with an angry look on my face.
After Puntarenas Pablo sped off to spend the money on blow and booze I seethed.
I know of few worse feelings – traveling or otherwise – than being treated as a human ATM machine. The desperation and greediness of folks disgusts me and even though I get the desperation of a fiend I still felt like popping Puntarenas Pablo in the grille because he was just so sucio….ya know what I mean?
Blogging to Make Money
Are you blogging to make money?
If you are WOW are you in for a surprise.
Money does not send you money.
People send you money.
Which is why bloggers who blog to make money find themselves terribly disappointed.
You can’t appeal to an inanimate object. You can’t force money to give you money. Which is why blogging for money is like blogging for trees; trees can’t really respond to your calls to action, just like money can’t respond to your calls to action.
Blog for PEOPLE. Not for money.
Start with yourself.
Find your motivator. Tie your blogging motivator to some form of being free. Doing so will inspire you to do freeing things even if the freeing things feel uncomfortable at times.
Blog to free your audience.
You know my drill: I free you by helping you retire to a life of island hopping through smart blogging.
You, my loyal supporters, my loving readers, send me money by:
buying my eBooks
hiring me to write your eBooks/articles/newsletters
hiring me to coach you
buying my affiliate products
It’s a nice gig. I blog to free me and to free you and you free me.
Bloggers, if you’re wondering where all the blogging money is try looking eye to eye with…..you! You may be blogging for money. Money can’t send you money. Money is inanimate. Money can’t promote you or can’t endorse you or can’t send payments to your Paypal account.
People send you money. Blog for you. Blog for people.
The Solution
Choose the reason(s) why you’re blogging. Tie it/them to being free.
For example, Ryan Biddulph blogs to travel all over the world. Ryan Biddulph also blogs to inspire folks to travel all over the world so folks can:
appreciate the beauty of the world
introduce themselves to new cultures
practice tolerance and acceptance of all cultures
see that we are all much more alike than we seem
make some nice scratch in the process as a full time, professional blogger
Blog to free you and to free your audience. Move your attention from an inanimate object toward a living, breathing person who’s hungry for your blogging tips.
When you blog to free you and to free your readers money will make a beeline for your bank account.
Video time! Watch this 1080 HD video I filmed in NJ. My version of paradise now.
Watch the analogy I make between riding a train and making money through blogging.
6: You’re Not Having Fun
“Content is kind. But promotion is queen.
Create value to help your audience.
Watch paint dry while reading these words.
I hope to hell you guys are still awake because I just dozed off.”
~ Blogger Not Having Fun at All
If you have ever penned the above words on your blog, I am making fun of me and my old writing style. Lash me with a wet noodle (this phrase will be included in every post going forward).
I was boring. Old school RB was not having fun blogging.
My writing reflected my boredom/seriousness/blandness.
Then something happened. I lightened up. I played. I wrote.
Imagine a bowl of boiled pasta. No seasoning. Just da pasta. Yuck.
Now visualize a bowl of Thai mixed vegetable curry. My fave dish.
We’d eat this like every other day in Chiang Mai or in Phuket. Or every day at some vegetarian haunts.
The dish is brimming with flavor. Quite the opposite of bland, boring, unseasoned pasta.
My point is this: I went from bland pasta to mixed vegetable curry by deciding to write for fun.
By having fun with blogging I boosted my blogging income.
Why?
Having fun detaches you from blogging outcomes. Detached bloggers find that money sneaks in the back door.
For example, I’m writing these words at about 5:43 AM on a Friday morning.
7,000 word posts DO take you a few days to write ya know?
I am writing for the sheer joy of writing. I am not *trying* to make money off of this post but I know that I will because if I have fun writing I detach from outcomes and if I detach from outcomes I always seem to attract prospering opportunities through my blog.
Solution: How Do You Have Fun Blogging?
Easy.
Subscribe to my blog. Scroll up to find the opt-in form. Yes check out the ugly yellow bar at the top of Blogging from Paradise.
Get drunk off of the fun I have each week.
Let my fun brand infect you.
Blog for fun as I do.
Other practical tips include: blog your passion, write from an inspired space, surround yourself with fun bloggers (to learn from them) and write daily to find your writing voice.
Bland bloggers make little money – in most cases – because bland is boring and boring isn’t exactly prospering.
Fun-loving bloggers attract all types of fun situations, and generating cash through your blogging efforts sounds pretty fun to me.
7: Ad Frenzy
If you’re a world traveler you’ll likely have seen 43,435,786 shops/restaurants/places of business billing themselves as “The Best.”
I walked by 3,987 of The Best Super Pollos in Cusco, Peru. I have seen The Best restaurant in every location I’ve visited on earth pretty much. And each location was dotted with 3 to 54,645 of The Best restaurants/shops/places of business.
Ad after ad. Boast after boast. Ad after ad. Fliers. Ads. Fliers. “The Best” claims.
After a while I was ready to pick “The Worst” restaurant just to reward a somewhat savvy entrepreneur for their willingness to deviate from the mindless lemmings following one another off of the advertising cliff.
I tuned out “The Best” restaurants and paid no attention to fliers after my 13th day on the road. Or maybe after my 333rd day on the road.
I was blinded by ads and boasts. Naturally, I turned away from the blinding light. I ♥ creativity. I
♥
ad laziness.
Some Bloggers Get Away with this
Some top bloggers get away with the ad frenzy method of marketing because hey; the big boys and gals generate so much volume that folks click on ads and net their pockets through the sheer force of numbers.
Now that this is out of the way, unless your name happens to be “John Chow” (whom I deeply admire or who I flat out believe rocks!) beware ad frenzy.
Your blog ain’t making money because desperation *scares* you into over monetization.
If I see a teeny bit of value on a blog; like a few thin, weak posts….complemented by 745 screaming, tacky, gaudy advertisements, I am out.
Blogging from Paradise went to Koh Lanta, Thailand in May 2014. Sunrise at low tide.
This would be like Dairy Queen offering a full menu of a crappy, cheap Sundae yet placing 2,312 ads trumping how this is the: “Best Sundae on Earth!!!!!” all over stores, newspapers and online.
Take it easy on the ads kiddies. Go heavy on value. Go light on ads.
Once you reel in some serious traffic and scratch you can add, ads (hahaha I made a funny) or more ads but at that point, if you’re already rolling in it, why add more ads?
Your choice.
The Solution
Devote virtually all of your creative energies to creating inspired, valuable, in-depth content if you’re struggling to make money blogging.
Add your second or third ads gradually, after you rake in some dough and develop a name.
Ads don’t make you money. Trust makes you money. People trust you based on the value you bring to the table – the in-depth posts, videos, helpful newsletters and free giveaways – and then they click on your ads.
Go light on ads. Go heavy on creating something that’ll knock my socks off.
Then I’ll click on your ads and then you’ll make some scratch and then, if you feel a genuine pull in that direction add an ad, or 2.
8: 1 Income Stream
I once read that Bob Proctor has over 200 income streams.
That’s some serious coin!
I’ve no idea of his net worth. I do know the man won’t be found on breadlines any time soon.
The thing is guys we’re working with Source. Or 1 Source. Or God, or the Universe.
As atheists rocket up my bounce rate – don’t let the cyber door hit your derriere on the way out…joking still love ya! – I had to tackle this topic because I believe my detachment from channels and focus on Source has helped me craft a freeing, fun, inspired life.
I am no ultra spiritual guy but I do feel we all come from one thing.
One substance.
Call it God or the Universe of whatever, just know that money flows from that same source.
So if money flows from Source then it makes perfect sense to open as many channels to that source as possible.
The flow is unending; no money problems exist because money is in consciousness and a “lack of ideas” is an impossibility.
Of course, people choose to cling to ideas like:
money problems
scarcity
lack
limitation
poverty
….and naturally these beliefs and feelings manifest poverty-like conditions.
But if you fall in love with the idea of multiple sources of income – MSI – you’ll never have a tough time making money through blogging again.
The thing is though a few folks like putting all their eggs in 1 basket. Which leads to problems, like a heavy attachment to those eggs and that one basket.
When you drop the basket and the eggs break – because humans drop things – then you’re crestfallen.
But if you’re an abundant-feeling cat or kitten you’ll carry a handful of baskets. Or if you’re really prospering you’ll hire an army of folks to carry baskets to the market for you.
Wow I love where this analogy has gone!
1 basket = 1 channel of income.
Channels of income open and close. Source is eternal, and unlimited.
So open a handful of income streams – but not too quickly, as you’ll want to improve your skill set as you add those streams and make money through each channel – to tap into Source and to immunize yourself against any one channel closing for whatever reason.
I currently have opened these income channels through my blog:
ebook sales
paperback sales
freelance writing
blog coaching
affiliate marketing
sponsored posts
….and I have a few other streams in the works.
The Solution
1 stream closes for whatever reason and if you have 3, 5 or 10 streams you can rest easy.
Slowly and steadily open 1 income stream after another stream.
Here’s how it works; say you enjoy writing like nobody’s business. Write, write and write some more daily to improve your writing skills.
Then you chance upon Blogging from Paradise.
You see a moderately handsome man who ‘s obsessed with shooting selfies in every possible tropical location on earth.
He tells funny travel stories. He makes vague references throughout his work. He seems like a kinda cool guy. Or a whack job.
Anyway, this guy makes money through freelance writing, blog coaching, affiliate marketing and by selling his eBooks on Amazon, Create Space and Selz.
He lights a spark in your mind.
“Hmmm….maybe I should be a freelance writer and blog coach and maybe I should write eBooks and sell affiliate stuff?”
At this point you want to do 2 things: keep writing each day. Aim for 2,000 words minimum. The money is in the writing.
Source IS the source of money of course but improving your writing skills makes your content valuable. Valuable content inspires people to pay the guy or gal who created the content, to coach them or to write their articles, or they pay these value providing bloggers by buying their eBooks or affiliate products.
So that’s A1: keep writing.
A2 is this: add 1 income stream at a time to learn the nuances of the stream. Over the course of weeks and months you’ll learn how to run a successful freelance writing business.
Next up; learning how to write and publish a successful eBook (click the link. Buy what’s inside).
Then you’ll learn how to convert through your email newsletters.
You know the drill. Hone your skills and add income streams patiently.
9: Crappy Driver
Sometimes people look at Kelli and I like we’re aliens.
Like, as if I wasn’t a broke ass pier guard 7 years ago.
I struggled because I was happy being comfortable versus being free.
I made comfortable decisions which kept me bound.
Fast forward 7 years.
I make freeing but sometimes uncomfortable decisions which free me more daily.
Financially suffering bloggers who feel it’s impossible to make money blogging may deem me lucky, or blessed, or talented.
Bullshit, I say!
I found the right driver. That’s all.
I blogged to free me and to free you.
Naturally, I regularly move into inspired actions to free me and to free you.
Even if the actions are uncomfortable at times.
The thing is though I am enjoying these freeing actions more daily. Life’s becoming a big old playground in the tropics.
I enjoy writing one 7,000 word blog post weekly.
I enjoy emailing my list. (scroll up to sign up for my list already!)
I don’t need to push myself much; if you’re hungry to be free more than you fear doing uncomfortable stuff, you don’t need a motivator really.
You’ll do freeing stuff. Automatically. And you’ll love doing that freeing stuff.
The Problem
A striking majority of bloggers blog to:
make some money
make a ton of money
make 13 cents
make just enough money to pay the bills
get readers
get social shares
get more subscribers
grow their email lists
When is the last time you dreamed at night about growing an email list?
Like, does dreaming about your Aweber account and seeing those numbers skyrocket make you feel alive?
Unless you have a bizarre email list fetish, I think not.
This is why bloggers struggle to make that sweet online money.
Their driver is weak, their inspired actions are feeble – or non-existent – and another blogger bites the dust.
What Helped Me Create a Spectacular Life
If God wanted to create the perfect-looking beach he would create Nagigi, Fiji.
I had to pick my jaw off of the ground after Kelli, Olivia and I cruised by on the bus.
After soaking up the beach view *through a filthy, dirty bus window* I figured this is pretty much what people think about when they think, “paradise.”
What a stunningly, stupidly, mind-numbingly pristine location.
The *feeling* I experienced visiting Nagigi in person was the *feeling* I experienced well before I visited the beach in person.
I felt free. For a while. Well before I blogged from paradise.
My driver was to free me and to free you.
I held that intent: to free us both.
The intent inspired me to create my blog posts and to connect with leaders and…..voila! As a force of luck, and good fortune, and because I threw salt over my shoulder thrice daily for 4 months I wound up in Nagigi.
Joking my kiddies.
I visited one of the most beautiful beaches on earth because I did the things that one does to align with one of the most beautiful beaches on earth.
I did the things that one does to align with one of the most beautiful beaches on earth because I DID NOT blog to:
make money
get subscribers
get social shares
….I blogged to free me and to free you.
Purify your driver.
Find your freeing driver.
Make sure your driver doesn’t relate to leaving your old life because doing so will focus your attention and energy on your old life. Where your energy goes grows.
Focus your driver on being free.
Maybe your freeing driver is:
to retire to a life of island hopping (this life doesn’t suck let me tell ya)
to retire to your home office in your home town (also not sucky)
to build a blogging business which inspires others to free themselves
Whatever your reason for blogging make it all powerful.
I blog to free me. And to free you.
Does it get any more powerful than that?
Does it make sense why I’d be living in and blogging from paradise?
10: Non Aligned Ads
Imagine seeing advertising for a vacuum cleaner on a travel blog site.
Do travelers need vacuum cleaners? Maybe. Maybe not.
A vacuum cleaner ad would do perfectly on a vacuum cleaner blog.
Imagine how silly an advertisement for Gremlins cereal would look on Blogging from Paradise?
Hell I’d grab a freaking bowl right now. I adored the cereal. Had an unhealthy obsession with the disgustingly sweet, highly processed gremlin figures floating in a bowl of ice cold milk.
If I had my druthers I’d hop in a time machine, press the wayback button to the mid to late 80’s and I’d enjoy a bowl now while I watched He Man.
But advertising such a cereal on a blog billed to help you:
Retire to a Life of Island Hopping through Smart Blogging
…..probably isn’t the smartest way to inspire folks to click the ad.
Disconnect time.
Readers click relevant ads.
Relevant ads are aligned with the blog title and tagline.
The problem is non relevance. Readers don’t click non-relevant ads. At least not regularly. Which means you find yourself suffering from EPS: Empty Pocket Syndrome.
Relevant ads intrigue readers. Readers click relevant ads.
The Solution
Look at my sidebar. You see…..MY sidebar.
Or a Blogging from Paradise sidebar.
Ryan Biddulph smiling in tropical locales. His trademark tight T-shirts. The same mustard yellow T-shirt which has not failed him since Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Snazzy glasses. Paradise.
Me and my friend Olivia in Nagigi, Fiji. July 2014.
You will see one ad. Uno. That’s it. Blogging from Paradise: How to Retire to a Life of Island Hopping through Smart Blogging the eBook.
Paperback’s out too; find it on Amazon and CreateSpace.
1 ad. Relevant to Blogging from Paradise, the blog, the tagline and the brand.
People may just click on it. And they have. Because it’s relevant.
11: You Don’t Trust Yourself
There it is.
I said it.
As a guy who has not and has trusted himself (at least some of the time) I can assure you; if you ain’t making that sweet, sweet scratch through blogging you don’t trust yourself.
Have you ever wanted to whack one of those uber successful, inspired, blogging demigods in the face?
Jealousy is a factor. Envy? Check.
But at an energetic level you are resisting a successful blogger who trusts themselves because you don’t trust yourself.
Think of it this way; if you haven’t made $3.12 blogging – after blogging for 3 months – you either have god-like trust in yourself and ignore your results or you have absolutely zero trust in your money-making ability.
Or, if you’ve made thousands of dollars blogging but want to take this game to the next level, to the hella successful blogging level, you haven’t made the leap because you don’t trust:
yourself
your content
your ability to make money blogging
The Solution
Trust yourself by doing an absolutely, positively kick-ass job writing in-depth, pillar style content.
Enjoy the living stuffing out of the process.
Vibe high.
Then……here it comes……give away a bunch of stuff for free.
You are always good enough to make money blogging because money is in consciousness and no lack of consciousness exists.
This is why people who do apparently nothing much of note in life win lotteries.
BUT….since you’re blogging, and likely have some limiting beliefs about money and blogging, you may struggle to make money blogging because you have some mental blocks concerning money.
Theoretically you can attract the dough but you don’t trust yourself enough to do it.
Give away free stuff.
Long, valuable, insightful blog posts.
Free eBooks.
Free webinars.
Free videos.
Free newsletters.
Then, you’ll move into the spirit of opulence.
You’ll be like: “Damn I’m generous. Damn I’m rich. Damn all these folks love me and what I have to offer.”
You’ll feel rich, successful and pretty opulent. Rich feeling, successful feeling and opulent feeling people trust that they will make money blogging.
Mental blocks dissolve.
Here money, money, money!
It’s so much easier to trust yourself when you give away your best work for free.
I know I’m always worthy yet, in my human moments, I may doubt meself here and there.
Enter the free content – my best work – that I give away regularly.
I trust me again; hell the evidence is right in front of my grille.
I feel opulent.
Cha-ching…..or, another Bali house sit in the future. Or, another prospering partnership forms.
Abundance!
Summary
Tell your story. Do one thing well. Do your mental homework.
Your story is a fortune waiting to happen.
Your story can make you famous, prospering and rich. If you want that stuff. Or it’ll help you make a good living through your blog.
Doing one thing well inspires folks to see you as an authority. Authorities get paid.
As within, so without. Money finds rich feeling bloggers. Rich feeling bloggers do their mental homework.
Lose the tire kickers. It’s kinda tough to build a blogging empire on a solid foundation of people who have no money. Or who’re experiencing problems expanding their prosperity consciousness. Inspire these folks by hobnobbing with cyber high rollers.
Blog to make yourself and your audience free. Don’t be like a cyber version of that scumbag in Costa Rica. Just joking. Te amo Pablo.
Blog for fun too. People having fun get paid. Or, blogging for fun makes you attractive to freeing people and things. Money’s a freeing thing.
Less ads. More content.
Establish multiple streams of blogging income. Think abundance.
Blogging for money ain’t the only crappy driver. Rid your mind of all low energy drivers. Focus on that blogging for freedom thing again.
Align your ads. Be relevant.
Trust yourself by giving away a bunch of free stuff. Do your absolute bestest job too. It never hurts.
Your Turn
Do you vibe with these reasons?
And with these tips?
Can you add any more reasons below?
Are you having a helluva time taking your blogging game to the next level?
Let me know in the comments section below.
Call to Action
The emails are coming the emails are coming! (imagine the Paul Revere line here)
I am building a list and checking it twice.
From paradise.
You may be starving to take your blogging game to the next level. Whether you’re struggling to make your first $100 blogging or you want to jump a few tax brackets I can offer you free, inspired updates to help you to free yourself financially.
Sign up for my free weekly blog post plus free update (i.e, special discounts on my eBooks, books and services available only to my subscribers).
Scroll up to the top of this page. Find the form. Sign up.
Oh yes, please be a doll and share this post on all of your social networks.
I appreciate you!
Until next time…..enjoy paradise.
Leave Ryan a comment or I’ll attack!
23 Flares
Twitter
11
Facebook
2
Google+
6
StumbleUpon
1
Pin It Share
1
LinkedIn
2
23 Flares
×
The post 11 Reasons Why Your Blog Ain’t Making Money (and 11 Solutions) appeared first on Blogging From Paradise.