Microsoft have today threatened Yahoo that if they don’t accept their current takeover offer, they’re going to go hostile. Yahoo have been given till the end of this month to accept the deal on the table before Microsoft are going to go ahead and mount a takeover bid anyway.What I don’t like about this is that it’s counterproductive and a terrible PR move. The Microsoft brand is a strange one - particularly since Vista. It seems as though they have the image of the conglomerate, unfriendly corporation which isn’t ideal when you’re selling tech products. Yahoo on the other hand have a somewhat different brand. In the eyes of the average punter, this threat from Microsoft will seem unfair and to coin a phrase ‘hostile’, particularly towards the end result. This seems to be another case of Microsoft using its resources to suppress competition.
Blogging is undoubtedly one of the hottest tickets of recent times online. Heck, even slow, reactive corporations are beginning to get on board. It’s obviously possible to make money from it, but the truth of the matter is that 99% of bloggers won’t make any money over time despite investing both time and money in the process.
More often than not, a new blog will fail to get off the ground or those that are writing and promoting it will just generally lose interest. From there you’ve still got to monetize - and that’s easier said than done. So how do you make money from blogging? Well, it sure isn’t an easy route to take.
The professional blogger will be required to deliver consistent quality in his content and keep up with promotional and networking duties, not to mention overcoming ‘bloggers block’ - which some of us experience more than others…
Making money from blogging isn’t easy but it is possible. The key is in the niche - nothing new there. But by working in a niche that can attract a decent, responsive readership to the content you post you can build any number of opportunities for monetization and making a decent living.
The advantage of starting in the business now is that there is an unlimited amount of information already available on blogging and how to monetize those page views. For the pioneers of yesteryear the world of blogging was unknown and untested. Now? Everyone and their mother’s in on it.
The key is creating good content that is useful and insightful. After that it’s a case of getting the word out there to bring in the readers and monetizing to generate revenue in what it is you do. Content + Readers + Monetization = $$$
But that’s not the only way to make money from blogging. There is a secondary route to riches from publishing on the web. Blogging is one of the most effective marketing tools out there simply because it creates a personal bond between blogger (and service or product provider) and the reader (a.k.a. customer). From a personal branding perspective blogging can throw you into the spotlight infront of your customers in a controlled, managed through your own rose-tinted spectacles.
If you’re not making money through trying to monetize your content, why not use it to this secondary effect to promote your services and build your online profile?
The inspiration for this post came from a good couple of hours deleting spam comments on Biz-Blogger.net.
I was struggling to clear the backlog after letting things slide and that meant facing the daunting prospect of deleting around 8,000 comments (of which 99% were spam).
That got me thinking about the business model behind spam and why these comments appear so frequently.
When I talk to colleagues about spam, most of them are surprised that anyone actually clicks through to buy the products offered by these spammers.
True - would you buy pills and potions from a website employing mass-spamming techniques?
But I think people largely overlook the main business in spam - advertising. Since the explosion of advertising networks allowing anyone with a website to earn on a CPM basis, spam has become a viable option for those lacking in ethics and out to scam a few dollars here and there. But with a little more thought it’s obvious why spam is such big business. Adult spam has a CTR of an estimated 5.6%.
Let’s do some math…
1,000,000 spam comments or emails x 5.6% = 56,000 visits for adult spam
At a CPM of $3 (common with popunders) = 56 x $3 = $168
When you consider the level of automation spammers can achieve it could be possible to send even ten million or a hundred million comments or emails everyday. Spread across a number of different sites, you could be looking at six or seven figures quite easily.
This came to my attention when browsing through the DigitalPoint forums. The photo is from Vancouver, where 3M are marketing a new safety glass product by installing it in bus stops filled with real cash. What an innovative and fresh way to market the product. According to the original poster, the glass has been tested with golf clubs and baseball bats, but as of yet to no avail…I think I might head over there and give it a go myself.
I read an interesting post over at ProBlogger.net about the value of an individual page of content citing a recent interview in Wired News. The post refers to a face-value of $10 per page per year from blogging for those ‘making a living’ off their content.
I would say that if this statistic is correct, there are much more profitable ways of putting content to use. Consider a static content site and a well-positioned niche. With a little SEO each and every page of content can bring in much more than that. AND it’s less hassle to work on a static site than on a blog.
If this statistic is anything to go by, it seems that static content sites would appear to be a better way to spend your time.
Probably the easiest way to start in online business is what I like to call eBay Arbitrage. It’s a phrase I’ve heard used quite a lot in eBay circles and it sounds much more complicated than it actually is. Not that I am supportive of the eBay model - I think the pricing is extortionate, the market is terrible for sellers and I dislike the whole eBay ethos - but it is none the less a good way to start experimenting and making some cash.
Here’s a quick example of a market that works perfectly on the abitrage model but also ticks all the other boxes for eBay selling - golf balls. Easy to post, easy to sell, easy to market - golf products practically market themselves.
As a Brit I can leverage currency exchange rates against the dollar to buy a $25 pack of golf balls (costing £12.50, give or take) and resell for £25.00, undercutting the local golf store. And as for shipping? The more units I buy, the less the shipping cost. If I buy 10 units, my shipping cost might be $50, so $250+$50 = $300, or $30 per pack of balls, which I can sell for £25.00 a unit - all in all a profit of around $200 for a few trips to the local post office.
Of course currency exchanges can and do fluctuate but there are hundreds of different ways you can leverage an advantage to sell on eBay and still make a profit. If only eBay was a more seller-led market…
If someone told you you needed to earn $1,000,000 in order to save your life, what would you do? If the well-being of your family depended on you raising more money than you could ever dream of, how would you start going about reaching your goal?
I know if I was in that situation it would involve a load of long nights and strong coffee. I don’t know what I would do, precisely, to raise that kind of money in a hurry, but what I do know can be adopted by any entrepreneuer to make for a more successful business career.
In this kind of situation, regardless of the amount of money you have to invest or your knowledge of business or marketing, failure isn’t an option. It’s not a case of “I’ll give this a try and see if the next get rich quick scheme will see me to my target” - you simply have to get your head down and get on with it.
Imagine being in a position where you depend on excelling yourself. Could you do it? Probably. So what’s stopping you? We all have it in ourselves to perform beyond our comfort zones and taking that attitude and that determination into your own business context is the first step to real success.
Recently a new concept called ‘coworking’ has been introduced by Evan and Jacob Styles, both with their own separate jobs who participate in the coworking phenomenon. In a recent article from Fortune Small Business, they reported a new trend for the work at home businesspeople where you have space away from home, yet the flexibility that comes from working for yourself.
Known as Office Nomads, Haddad and others are able to use clean and furnished office space for a decent fee, which enjoying the interaction with others in the same place they are. Working from home is great for flexibility and ease, but the benefit to a shared office space is having a place to focus and get away from the at home responsibilities.
Being someone who works from home as well as keeping a regular job, I love the thought of getting away for a chance to get work done. Coffee houses are busy and distracting, and staying at home gets boring. Office Nomads is the perfect solution for balancing your work life with your home life. As their website states, this is Individuality without Isolation.
Office Nomads is based out of Seattle, but many other places worldwide have similar structures and opportunities. Check out http://wiki.coworking.info/ for information about where to find coworking spaces in your area.
One of my biggest pet peeves about marketing is also one of the best creative ways you can gain a stronger presence in the market. This is when a company begins an ad campaign so catchy that the jingle or characters become commonplace and get stuck in your head.
Think of the Verizon wireless commercials (”Can you hear me now? Good…) or awhile ago when Quizno’s had ads on TV with singing animals (spong monkeys) performing the “We Love These Subs” jingle. McDonalds and Taco Bell are known for their catch phrases as well.
These creative taglines and songs were most likely thought up randomly in brainstorming sessions, but they have caused many a consumer agony as they suffer hours with the “Hover Round” song stuck in their head. At the same time, they prove that creativity in advertising can work out extremely well for any company.
Basic brainstorming sessions are the best way to start any new ad campaign, and getting employees involved is also worthwhile. Most regular workers are able to think up more random ideas than some marketing experts, and may even have a better concept of what your business should be doing. Dare to be annoying, and you will be remembered.
The other day I was at the grocery store, and was blindsided by how disorganized some of the aisles were. In my mind there was seemingly no rhyme or reason to having balsamic vinegar by the Mexican food supplies, and baby food near the dairy aisle. Leaving the store with a headache, I thought through the logic of why any business would appear to be so upside down.
Honestly, this was not the first time I have seen a company make small decisions which hinder the flow of traffic and customer clarity. When I was in the midst of job searching it was shocking how many companies either do not have websites, or have sites which are difficult to navigate or read. There are thousands of sites online which are excessively creative, but make the user frustrated at attempting to find the right links for necessary information.
Because of all this, part of thinking outside the box is remembering to rein in creativity at times so you are able to still serve clients affectively. So choose to take a step away from the box in business practices, but keep things realistic in how you interact so the ideas are able to come across properly.
