INTRODUCTION TO SYSTEM 6

Building a blog can be fun and profitable, and preferably both. If you enjoy creating content, be it written posts, videos for a YouTube channel, or audio recordings for a podcast, are passionate about a topic, and want to share your content with the world, go for it. A blog is a perfect place for you to be.

However, if you aim to monetize your blogging efforts as a part-time supplementary income source or a full-time blogger, you are stepping into an entirely different arena. To be successful, you need a different approach from the recreational blogger.

You need to become a business blogger.

THE REALITY OF PROFITING FROM BLOGGING

The internet is awash with advice for the aspiring blogger, brimming with posts, videos, podcasts, and courses promising easy riches through blogging. If you’ve spent time in the blogging world, you’ve likely encountered these alluring yet misleading promises. They often present blogging as a simple, effortless path to wealth, with flashy titles promising quick, substantial earnings. These guides typically offer a formulaic approach: pick a niche, name it, buy a domain, create a website, delve into SEO, produce content in bulk, and then, supposedly, effortlessly monetize. But this oversimplified narrative is far from reality, leading many into the pitfalls of get-rich-quick schemes.

Embracing blogging as a business venture requires a significant mindset shift. Once you decide to earn from your blog, you’re not just a blogger but a business owner, a “business blogger.” This change alters everything – your thought process, the content you create, and the intensity of your promotional efforts. It’s a competitive landscape where numerous bloggers vie for a limited audience’s attention. Success in this arena is not guaranteed; most don’t achieve the lofty goals set by these misleading guides. It’s a challenging journey, demanding more than just following a simple blueprint.

The way to elevate your blogging success lies in embracing and mastering the theories and skills of marketing.

Embrace The Skills Of Professional Marketing

Business blogging is now the world of professional marketers. I’ve been a professional marketer for 40 years. I’ve launched my products and helped many clients create and launch their own. Building products, branding them, and promoting them are the stuff of the marketer; these are the skills you will need to be a successful professional blogger.

Once you realize your blog is a product and you start applying the rigor of a professional marketer, only then will you give yourself every chance of success.

Without the theory and marketing skills, you will lurk in the dark.

System 6: Bridging Blogging Ambition with Marketing Acumen

Introducing System 6, a marketing and blogging course meticulously crafted for the entrepreneurial blogger. This course is your gateway to mastering marketing, especially if you haven’t previously experienced the formal marketing method.

System 6 aims to equip you with professional-grade marketing skills utilized daily in online and traditional product management domains.

The spotlight is on honing the essential skills for constructing, branding, promoting, and monetizing online platforms – websites, YouTube channels, or podcasts. We’ll delve into the intricacies of strategically positioning your product, branding it compellingly, promoting it effectively, and employing monitoring and research mechanisms for continuous improvement.

The theoretical frameworks and techniques introduced in this course are straightforward yet vital. You will learn how to craft compelling advertisements, amplify your blog’s presence on social media, and develop robust direct marketing skills, which are instrumental in successfully navigating the blogging and marketing landscape. 

What Type Of Blogger Do you want to be

There are three types of bloggers.

1 – The hobby blogger. Hobby bloggers blog because they just like building sites and sharing their opinions, knowledge, or thoughts worldwide. They generally love the topics they blog about, an opinion they wish to share, or some other non-financial goal for starting a blog. The critical point is that they do not create a blog for a financial return. They are not planning to monetize it with ad placement, sell eBooks or other products, or seek rewards from their recommendations.

2 – The side hustle blogger. This blogger is looking to make a financial return aside from their regular job. They have seen and heard about the online opportunities and want to join them. They don’t yet have the time to pursue a full-time career in it, but some extra cash and the potential to expand it into a full-time career are the drivers.

3 – Business bloggers. These bloggers are set on making blogging and online entrepreneurial enterprises their careers. They generally have the time and drive to dedicate the time it takes to learn the ropes, produce the content, and promote like crazy.

Determining the kind of blogger you aspire to be is crucial. If you’re inclined towards hobby blogging with an open-ended approach, diving right in is the way to go. In this scenario, time might not be a constraint for you, and the joy lies in sharing your content online. Whether it gains traction is a happy bonus rather than a necessity.

Conversely, a robust skill set becomes indispensable to forge a revenue stream through blogging. Without it, you risk spending a lot of time in a stagnant phase, making little to no headway. Accelerating your acquisition of these essential skills is the driving force behind the System 6 course. 

Note:

There is one other type of blogger, the “Commercial Blogger.” Often, they began life as a solo blogger, but as they became more successful, they started to employ others to do their work. This allows them to scale the blog and grow it into a large business. They become companies that hire people to create content, build websites, and do promotions. Wages and other outgoings increase, including rent, HR, insurance, and holiday pay – all the trappings of a commercial business.

This can certainly be your goal. Once you have reached a specific size and earned good revenue, you can scale the operation by hiring people to do the tasks you once did.

This requires new skills like hiring and managing people, arranging what is now a business into an efficient business system, and managing and measuring your finances well.

If that is your ultimate goal, then go for it. But most blogs start with just one person, a dream, and the desire to make it real.

An excellent example of this is Mashable.com founder Peter Cashmore, who grew his blog about the tech world into a megabrand that he sold for $50 million. 

Note:

I don’t really like the term “side hustle blogger.” The term implies some type of nefarious or underhanded activity is taking place. That is not what I mean by the term. It is simply the space occupied by the blogger who wants to earn some income from their blog but does not see it becoming their full-time profession.

I just can’t think of another name. If you can suggest one, let me know. 

TASK

Stop reading and spend 5 minutes considering the following. What type of blogger do you want to be? How much time do you really have to devote to it right now? How hard are you willing to work to achieve your goal?

These decisions will determine whether you should continue or not.

THE FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANT SECRET – START

Just get going. If you will be writing posts, write a post today. You don’t even have to have anywhere to post it, but that can happen quickly. If making videos is what you want to do, then shoot one today. Write a podcast.

It doesn’t matter how good or bad it is. You have to get off the fence and start. Post it to a forum, Twitter, or anywhere. But start.

Your first drafts will be rubbish. Every writer, from the professional down, knows this. First drafts are always crap. Then, after the first and second edits, you will have knocked it into shape, and it will be ready to post.

There are two reasons for doing this.

• You get past the “imposter syndrome” complex. You realize that you can do it and that what others think is irrelevant. If people laugh, so what? Laugh with them and say to yourself, “Yeah, but at least I did it,” and then post another one.
• You will get better. Every skill in life takes practice. No one just starts writing and is just good. They write and write, and over time, they hone their skills and become good. It’s the same for every profession.

The point is that the most important thing right now is to:

Just do it.

Where have you heard that before? 

THE SECOND MOST IMPORTANT SECRET – LEARN Marketing

Marketing is the key to the successful organic growth of any new business. Successful business bloggers don’t wait for something else to make their product known. They go into the world, and they tell people about their product. They are not waiting for Google to find, rank, and display them on the first page of the search result. They go around Google and promote. They tell people about their product using the many channels open to them, including social media, discussion forums, and paid advertising. These two Ps, Product and Promotion, are the reasons they succeed. And these two Ps are the essence of marketing.

Many people, when asked what marketing is, think only of promotion. They believe in advertising, building social media followings, or creating lists of people they can email. This is incorrect. If you neglect the P for Product, you will fail as much as if you ignore the P for promotion.

Together with Price and Place, Product and Promotion make up the 4 Ps of marketing. Assessing and deciding the focus and weight you give to each of the 4 Ps is known as the marketing mix. Getting the mix right and in the correct proportions to match the goals and objectives of your business blog will largely determine your success and the speed at which it happens.

There is a great deal to learn in the field of marketing. Some of it is science and some art, but the more you know about it, the better you get at it, and the sooner you will succeed. 

PLAN YOUR SUCCESS

When I was a young product manager working for a major multinational company, creating a new product did not start until I had produced a plan of what I wanted to develop. You had to present it and demonstrate that you had a genuine USP (Unique selling proposition), that it could capture a market segment, and how much it would cost to develop and launch.

The marketing committee would then present it to the board. Without their approval, nothing happened. Launching brands is what gives professional marketers their jollies.

Creating and launching a successful blog is no different. No matter how brief your plan is, to begin with, you need to have one. System 6 will teach you how to write a three-page plan to get you going quickly, keep you focused and motivated, and help you develop a successful blogging career. 

BE A DOER

I purposefully put this point straight after the paragraph on planning to stress a point. 

Planning is essential, and you must do it, but it can sometimes become a hindrance or excuse that prevents us from taking action. While having a roadmap is necessary, being proactive and taking steps forward in your blogging journey is equally crucial. This is why this course intentionally keeps the planning phases concise.

While a well-structured plan is valuable, it’s vital not to get bogged down in exhaustive preparations. Establish a foundational plan to guide your efforts, but prioritize action. By actively engaging, you gain insights and experiences that can further refine your strategy.

In the marketing planning segment of this course, I stress that an effective plan can be succinct, spanning just two or three pages. I provide the primary headings; you can fill in brief descriptors that outline your direction. You can expand and adapt your plan as you progress and learn. 

Business Blogging IS a hard gig.

Imagine starting your blog, researching, launching your site, and writing your first post. You know it’s better than all the stuff you’ve been seeing. How many people do you think will find your great post and read it?

Zero.

You will fail if you rely on organic search (aka Google) to find you and place you on the much-vaunted first page of the search result. Once you have approximately 50 quality posts in well-researched search phrases (keywords) sitting on a well-organized website optimized for mobile with a compelling user experience, Google might notice you. But it won’t be enough to create much revenue opportunity.

The promises of great wealth made quickly because of the wonders of the internet are fiction. The successful bloggers of today all know two things. Two things that you will need to learn. They learned these two things the hard way, as they went, or they sought out the knowledge they needed and studied it.

Either way, you need to get there yourself; the only difference is how quickly you get there.

Those two things:

• The knowledge and skills of MARKETING, and,
• The secret of HARD WORK.

There is no success without hard work, so forget all the get-rich-quick schemes you see advertised online. Read about any modern-day internet entrepreneurs; the work they put into their blog business stands out more than any other.

Behind every overnight success story is a mountain of work, effort, passion, and determination. Some like to think that the winners just got lucky, but the truth is the harder you work, the luckier you get.

So don’t start a blog unless you are passionate about blogging and your chosen niche. Staying focused on a topic you don’t feel strongly about is hard. 

BLOG GROWTH IS EXPONENTIAL – BUT IT TAKES TIME AND EFFORT

The exponential nature of blog growth is due to the relationship between content visibility and audience engagement, which kickstarts a cycle of traffic generation. Initially, as a blog starts receiving traffic, it also begins to gain a footing in search engine rankings. This is due to search engines’ algorithms, which favor websites with higher traffic and engagement, improving the blog’s visibility to new audiences.

This means that you need to get traffic from sources other than search before you get any boost from search.

Moreover, as more people visit the blog, there’s a higher likelihood of social shares, further amplifying its reach and attracting even more visitors.

The second exponential growth phase stems from a growing community and increased credibility. As the audience grows, so does the interaction in the form of comments, shares, and backlinks from other websites. These interactions foster community and significantly boost the blog’s authority and ranking. Organic backlinks from reputable sites are precious as they serve as endorsements, which search engines interpret as a sign of trustworthiness and relevance, leading to higher rankings. This increased credibility entices more readers and opens up opportunities for collaborations and guest postings, further extending the blog’s reach and audience.

Lastly, the cumulative effect of consistent content creation, audience engagement, and improved search engine rankings creates a self-sustaining momentum. As the blog continues to provide value and satisfy its growing audience’s needs, its reputation solidifies, leading to a self-perpetuating cycle of increased visibility and traffic. The compounded effect of all these factors results in exponential growth, where each new piece of content has the potential to reach a larger audience than before, and every new visitor contributes to the blog’s upward trajectory in a reinforcing feedback loop of growth and engagement.

You need to start the growth cycle, which means a lot of promotional activity. It doesn’t matter if it is unpaid; you can use social media channels to reach out to potential customers organically or paid advertising like boosting posts to help your product get noticed. You just need to get it started. Organic search and SEO will not reap many rewards until you get significant page views. 

SEO isn’t the key to success, but it can significantly boost it.

SEO is a sprawling industry, with no end of blogs and courses dedicated to it, eclipsing nearly any other blogging advice category. Regrettably, an SEO-focused approach simply makes no sense.

The conventional wisdom is that hunting down long-tail (scarce) keywords and crafting content centered around these will eventually lead to blogging success. The theory is that this tactic would propel you onto Google’s first search results page due to the minimal competition surrounding those keywords. After engaging in this strategy for about nine months, you are expected to have garnered enough authority with Google. In theory, transitioning to more common search phrases should grant you higher rankings for these popular keywords, causing a surge in page views.

While this narrative might have held water in yesteryears, it’s a dated tale. Here are some explanations for its dwindling relevance:

The numbers just don’t add up.

Let’s assume you choose a long-tail keyword in your domain that attracts around 20 monthly searches. You craft an exceptional post and manage to land some first-page rankings. This could lead to your post appearing on the first page of Google’s search results about 10 times that month. However, you’re just one among 10 results displayed. With a captivating headline, you might secure 5 clicks. That’s 5 clicks a month for a single post. To see any substantial return from your blog, you’d need about 50,000 pageviews a month. At this pace, you need at least 10,000 posts, all performing similarly.

As your authority incrementally climbs, you may venture into higher value, more sought-after keywords, perhaps those drawing 1,000 searches a month. Yet now, you’re pitted against the frontrunners in your niche, limiting your first-page appearances to about 20 times. While you won’t snag every click, you could get 50%, translating to 10 clicks for that post. Now, you’d need only 5,000 posts.

These numbers just don’t add up.

Successful bloggers create engaging offerings through websites, YouTube channels, or podcasts that captivate and hold attention. The kind of attention that earns bookmarks, organic backlinks, social media mentions, or word-of-mouth recommendations. This level of engagement stems from the value they provide, enriching people’s lives in some tangible way. That’s crafting a product. Understanding how to develop a product is a quintessential skill in the marketer’s arsenal.

Perseverance is severely tested.

After dedicating nine to twelve months to content creation, possibly churning out hundreds of posts, the tangible rewards might still appear meager. Many bloggers will find their enthusiasm waning by this stage, faced with scant returns despite substantial efforts, and simply move on.

Quality Content as the True North in Page Ranking, NOT SEO obsession

Google and its page rank algorithm aim solely at one objective – identifying the best digital assets in response to a corresponding search query. The relentless efforts by many bloggers to decipher the algorithm’s intricacies and manipulate the system have been a perpetual irritant to Google, prompting Google to continually refine its algorithm, veering towards less tangible factors that are tougher to fabricate. Google has openly stated that backlinks are less important now and is looking for signs of branded development to rank quality.

These algorithm updates often incite grievances among bloggers, lamenting their abrupt decline in page views. Yet, seldom do they pause to consider that their dip in pageviews probably stems from the inferior quality of their content compared to someone who prioritized quality over SEO. Their post’s shortcomings are now exposed, and their page rank plummets.

Quality holds the keys to success for any product, not just those in the digital realm.

AI Disruption Is Rewriting the Blogging Playbook

The integration of AI technology poses significant implications for the blogging community. A substantial number of searches may no longer lead to a list of website options but instead directly provide an answer, eliminating the need for searchers to visit a site altogether.

Furthermore, the role of AI in deciphering the precise intent behind a searcher’s query will be monumental. Keywords will lose much of their significance in Google’s search mechanism, as the enhanced capability to employ semantic similarity will enable a more nuanced understanding of queries, moving beyond mere word matching from the search phrase to the post title.

SEO is important.

Based on my previous discussion, this may appear counterintuitive. However, consider this alternative perspective: instead of attempting to manipulate the system, focus on facilitating Google’s process to discover and rank your high-quality content. This can be achieved effortlessly without the need for excessive SEO fixation. We’ll delve deeper into this approach in our lesson on SEO.

You’re going to hear this a lot through the System 6 course because it is a simple truism;

Create quality content that meets your target audience’s needs better than your opposition. This is what it means to transition from a blogger to a marketer and a business blogger.

Quality over quantity

Ok, your early stuff will probably not be all that good. Get over it. But ultimately, quality wins. All the leading bloggers today produce good-quality content. You might disagree that the content is good, but in marketing, there is only one judge that counts:

The target audience.

If the target audience thinks what a blogger produces is good, it is. Low-budget, terribly shot videos might be precisely the type of authentic fit for the target audience. That is good content. It can be hard to keep that position looking real. It has an authenticity to it that the audience respects and demands. If that audience is big enough, then guess what – you have a successful business blog.

Producing quality content is the power rather than just reams of content trying to overwhelm the search engines. Ultimately, the search engines are not the arbiter of who wins and who loses – the target market decides.

I’ll have more to say on this point in the latter courses. 

I have been a professional marketer for 40 years. Formally, I studied psychology, completing an honors degree in psychology and then a graduate diploma in marketing. I have been a student of consumer behavior ever since.

I spent the first nine years of my marketing career at Coca-Cola, starting as an analyst in the research department and then as a product manager in the marketing department.

Then, I went into private practice, starting my first market research business. This was followed by a marketing consultancy and a marketing software firm that still trades today. (SMP Surveys).

I still run a small solo marketing consultancy (JFH Marketing), which helps to keep me out of trouble.

I have lived through the explosive effect the internet has had on the practice of marketing and learned one thing above all else. No matter how significant the internet has been, theory, rigor, and marketing skills are just as critical today.

Successful blogs are products that conform to the same rules as any product. If you learn and apply the theory and skills of marketing to your blogging ambitions, you will massively accelerate your chances of success in this most competitive of businesses. 

WHY IS IT CALLED SYSTEM 6

The name “System 6” might initially seem straightforward, given that the course comprises six modules. And indeed, if there were seven modules, it might have been called “System 7.” However, the essence of the name goes beyond mere numbers. “System” is pivotal because establishing systematic approaches is the cornerstone of success. A well-defined system ensures efficiency, consistency, and thoroughness in execution.

Whether it’s a content creation system, a promotional system, a social media engagement routine, or an advertising blueprint, systems are the backbone of operational success. Approaching tasks haphazardly leads to inefficiency, subpar results, and failure in achieving objectives.

So this course, above all else, will help you create systems that will turn you into a blogging machine, propelling you closer to your aspirations and goals.

WHY AREN’T THERE MORE VIDEOS

Many courses involve watching videos. The problem with videos is that you have to pause them and take notes if you going to learn anything. My courses are primarily written, so you do not have to take notes. You can return to the section you need at any time and action the item you are reading by following the instructions rather than listening to the whole lecture again.

In saying that, I recently decided to make complimentary videos for each course. They will be rolled out in the coming months. I will keep you posted on their progress through the newsletter. 

SYSTEM 6 IS A FLUID PRODUCT

System 6 is a dynamic course, continually being updated and expanded to stay relevant. We’re developing four additional lessons, which will be released by the end of 2023, and a section on each of the leading marketing channels.

Given the ever-changing landscape of marketing and the internet, it’s essential to adapt. New features on social media platforms, emerging platforms, and innovative techniques are constantly surfacing.

To keep pace with these changes, System 6 undergoes regular upgrades. Rest assured, all updates and new courses are included at no extra cost for our full members. Stay informed about all modifications through our weekly newsletter, which includes a comprehensive index of all changes. 

Your feedback will contribute to developing and adding to the course material. So please let me know what you think should be included or what you want to see more of.

I can be reached here: jhughes@blogjuice.net

THE DEFINITION OF A BLOG

For this course, a blog refers to any content produced and organized in a specific fashion of a particular platform to provide a service,  including entertainment, knowledge, and discussion, to a specific niche audience.

So, it can be a written blog created on the WordPress platform, a TV channel created on YouTube, a radio station organized as a podcast, or a mixed media site hosted by Facebook or Instagram.

The way to read this course then is to assume that if I ever say write a post, it’s the same as saying shoot a video or record a post.

The reality is that just about all blogging begins as the written word. Whether it is a written post, a storyboard of a video shoot, or a script for a podcast, writing it down is usually where the thought process begins.

Even if you are a TikTok blogger. Successful influencers would plan their video shoots, write a script, and practice before taking the shot.

Throughout all the courses, I use four colored boxes to make or highlight specific essential points. You will have seen some of these already. This is what they mean.

The green box.

This is the “Task” box. If you see this box, I want you to stop reading and do the task outlined. This is an action-based course. You only succeed when you start to do something. 

TASK

Stop reading and do the task outlied.

The Blue Box.

This is usually used when I want to point out something of interest that interests you. Sometimes it’s just a rant. You don’t have to read these if you don’t want to. Hopefully, you find them interesting, though. 

NOTE

Interesting note or point.

The Yellow box.

This is used when I want to make an important point or repeat something you should pay attention to.

IMPORTANT

Something important that you should pay close attention to.

The Red Box

This is a critical point or a warning of some kind. You should heed these warnings. 

WARNING

A warning of considerable importance. Pay closer attention to these signals.

THE BEST WAY TO TAKE THE COURSES

System 6 is organized into 6 modules because these form a practical way of ordering the material. However, this isn’t the sequence you will take them in.

Instead, follow the Action Plans. They are tailored to facilitate the creation of your blog, applying the marketing concepts used to each stage as you work. This approach ensures you get straight into the act of doing.

Action Plan 1

This plan focuses on the “Build It” and “Brand It” components of creating a potentially successful product – your blog. Here, you’ll learn the basics of getting on the web, crafting a basic marketing plan, creating a unique approach to your chosen niche, and how to build and brand it. Your aim is to develop a product that captivates your audience, encouraging them to revisit, bookmark, and share it.

This is step 1 for any professional marketer.

There is much debate about how long it takes to see a return from a blog. Obviously, it depends on several variables. These include:

• The amount of time you have to devote to your blog.
• The quality of your content.
• The quality of your promotion.
• The particular niche you are in and how much competition you have.
• The uniqueness you have to offer the target audience.

But generally, it is hard to see any reasonable return until at least 6 months of hard work. It will probably take you that long to get your product near a stage where it can appeal to the target audience, and you will need time for your promotion to take effect, mainly if you rely on unpaid promotion.

You won’t rank on Google until you build enough authority for your site, meaning you need more than 30 quality posts, a well-constructed website, and a decent amount of traffic.

It will take you at least 6 months to build good followings on social media and discussion sites like Reddit and Quora. It will take time to create enough video material if that is your direction for a YouTube channel or to develop a sizable TikTok following.

The vital thing to recognize is that it takes time and a lot of content. You have to be persistent. 

One of the joys of starting an online business, and so many get into it, is that the start-up costs are negligible.

There is often no physical product to create, manufacture, warehouse, sell, distribute, and promote. There are no staff to hire or offices to rent. You just need a laptop and enough money to afford a domain host, a website host, an email host, and a database host. You are out of pocket, approximately $20 a month, depending on your choices. As you grow, these costs will increase slightly, but your revenues will outstrip the costs.

The one considerable cost, though, is “time”! It is our most precious commodity and something we have a limited amount of. Starting a blog that successfully makes money takes a lot of effort and time. 

MARKETING

This item has no surprises – it’s the reason System 6 exists. This is the number one issue for any new organic business venture. If you are just starting a blog or want to rev up your current blogging business, you must understand and learn “marketing.”

You need to learn about the four Ps, what a USP is, why and how to effectively brand your content, how and what channels to use in your promotional efforts, how to research your opponents, how to research your consumers and become consumer-centric, the difference between push and pull tactics, how to sell with subtlety, how to create ads and just what ads are, how to generate excellent copy, how to write a mission statement and possibly even a vision statement.

Most importantly, you need a plan. A strategic marketing plan or “Stratplan.” Planning is crucial to keeping you on-brief and disciplined. Without this, you will wander off course, make mistakes, and waste time.

Writing a marketing plan begins in the course “Marketing.” The task is not difficult, and the template provided makes it very straightforward. What you will never do is finish it. A marketing plan is a fluid document. Your goals will change over time as you achieve them or change tack because of things you have learned. Your channel selections will change, your product will evolve, and so will the scope of what you can achieve as you grow in confidence. It’s a living, breathing document that needs thought, care, and constant updating.

How to write

You will develop this skill over time, but you must begin to read about it now. Learn from the masters, buy a book called “The Elements of Style” by Strunk and White, and study it. Once you start learning about writing, read with purpose. Watch how your competitors write, especially the successful ones. They have been writing for the audience you are targeting for some time. Learn how to minimize using small words and adverbs, organize your writing into logical paragraphs, and use headings to separate the essential elements.

Read actively, learn from others, and never stop reading about how to write. Stephen King’s book, “On Writing,” is well worth reading. Many great online resources are available to help you become a better writer.

Don’t let anybody tell you that using a writing AI like ChatGPT is somehow cheating. You will still need to wordsmith anything ChatGPT writes for you. It’s just like hiring a writer, only quicker. But it rarely writes well enough to just copy and paste. You must add your style, flair, and voice and keep the content “on-brief.” These AIs are just like graphics packages were to graphic designers when they were first introduced in the 1980’s.

Another great tool is Grammarly. It will spell check as you write and suggest better sentence structure. It’s like an online “Strunk and White.” 

PROMOTION AND ADVERTISING

Success in the digital realm hinges on effectively promoting your product and content. The old saying, “Build it, and they will come,” may hold charm in a whimsical movie narrative about baseball legends, but it hardly translates to the reality of running a successful blog. While crafting a commendable product is crucial, its existence alone won’t draw an audience unless you spread the word about it.

The notion of “build it, and they will come” aligns with an “SEO-only” approach to blogging. Adherents of this approach often wait years to see significant growth in their business blog. This slow trajectory is mainly due to Google’s evolving algorithms, prioritizing elements like branding, product quality, and existing traffic data when determining page rankings. In an open admission, Google has shifted its focus away from backlinks to counter the persistent manipulative efforts of many bloggers. With advancements in AI, the importance of keywords is dwindling as search engines become adept at semantically understanding search queries.

In this landscape, posts from reputable sites are invariably favored in rankings, even if it means overshadowing superior content elsewhere.

Earning a higher rank on Google now demands mastery in promoting your blog across diverse channels targeted at your audience.

Employing SEO techniques can amplify your page views, but only after you have established the requisite authority. The sequence is not creating posts, applying SEO, and waiting for Google to notice. The roadmap entails developing a noteworthy product, vigorously promoting it, garnering pageviews, and monetizing your platform. Only then can you leverage Google’s algorithm to enhance your earning potential further.

The narrative of bloggers bemoaning the plunge in their pageviews after a Google algorithm update is familiar. Yet, this traffic downturn reflects Google fine-tuning its ranking system, which, in turn, demotes sites with inferior content or lackluster products.

Developing a consistent, efficient, and effective promotional system that informs your target audience about your quality product is what being a business blogger is all about. 

Don’t Ignore Search Engine Optimization (SEO). But Do Things In the Correct Order

I say this issue far too much, but it is essential. Skip to the next point if you are sick of hearing it.

You will see a great deal of advice on the topic of SEO. For the most part, the task of “doing” SEO is a misdirection of energy. It implies that you must somehow game the system and fail to understand that your goal and Google are somewhat aligned.

Google wants to serve its customers, people who search, with high-quality results to that search term or question. The Google algorithm is about finding the best links to the best content in response to a search phrase. If you focus on producing quality content and let Google do its job, your rewards will come. That doesn’t mean you ignore SEO; you still need to learn and use it, but your goal is to help Google find and appreciate you, not to get under the Google lid and game the numbers.

It’s more productive to focus on creating great content than to engage in the tedious, time-consuming tasks of chasing backlinks, using semantic keywords, and including them in the right places and with the correct frequency. These activities are essential but result from producing quality content, not by other more laborious and tedious means.

Every minute you spend trying to convince others to put a link to your article (a backlink) is time spent not creating great content. Your product is your content. If it is worthy, it will be shared spontaneously by others, others will approach you for backlinks, Google will begin to find you and rank you, your credibility will grow, and your authority with Google will increase.

It all depends on great content. 

Computer skills

You will need various computer skills depending on your chosen niche and the content you intend to create. You will need to learn how to use WordPress to create a website. A database emailing system for promotional activities. Editing images and producing video content will probably be required.

There are a great many tools and services that will help you learn these skills. I will help you start with many of these skills, but only by doing it, practicing, and researching will you improve. 

Some business concepts

Things like return on investment (ROI), managing costs, handling tax issues as a sole proprietor, etc, will all become more critical the more you make. Eventually, you will begin using paid advertising, and then you will need to closely monitor the return you make for the amount spent. This is ROI, and you need to make sure it is positive.

You may need to learn how to manage others, especially if you begin outsourcing some of the tasks like writing or WordPress management. This involves writing effective briefs and ensuring the people who work for you know exactly what is required of them.

This is all part of the process of running a business. 

Ideation

Products are ideas. Brands come to represent those ideas as they mature into consumer promises realized. How to generate ideas that embellish your product is a constant task. You need to constantly create new content ideas, new monetization ideas, and new and unique ways of presenting your material.

Don’t be afraid to copy others (they probably borrowed it from someone else), but only if it fits your brand narrative and personality. When you borrow someone else’s idea, change it so that it takes on your personality.

Don’t attempt to take your brand too broad. You risk diluting your brand personality and the promise it makes, which will alienate your current franchise and confuse your prospective customers. Always ask yourself if your new idea fits the brand mission statement in your marketing plan. If it doesn’t, then leave it out.

Seek out new ideas and create new and unique ones, but stay on-brief.

Analysis and research

Analysis means many things. It includes Google analytics, keyword analysis, market research, and opposition research. As a business blogger, you will benefit significantly by improving at these things. It seems like a lot, but there are simple things you can do constantly to keep learning and improving.

Try getting better at golf without counting your strokes. Then start counting the number of putts you take, the fairways you hit off the tee, or the times you get to the green in regulation. Each one of these statistics will inform your next practice session. If you take more than two putts a hole, practicing this part of your game will be the quickest way to improve it.

It’s the same with your business blog. How many page views are you getting? That is the total score, but then count where those pageviews come from, and you get a different picture. You might notice that you are getting massive pageviews from your Quora outreach and very little from your Facebook activities, even though 70% of your time is on Facebook. Instantly, you can reverse the percentage amount of time spent on these two channels for an immediate result.

This is an important task, and the templates provided with each course will make it easy to achieve in a reasonable amount of time.

Functional skills

Skills like taking great photos or videos with an iPhone. Learning about lighting, aspect, angles, and composition will all help you create great primary material. Image and video editing, using the tools of the trade like WordPress, and an emailing system will all be required. Maybe how to record podcasts will be vital to you. And, of course, you will need to learn how to write. Not just the content of your posts but also how to write excellent advertising copy for your titles and abstracts.

There are many methods and techniques that, as a solo business blogger, you will need to get a handle on. You should start to see why becoming a business blogger is not easy. And that’s an advantage because the rewards are there for the ones who persist, are willing to learn, and never give up. 

Building a successful blogging business is not complex but is not a get-rich-quick scheme. There are some realities you need to accept from the get-go.

It is a lot of hard work

You have undoubtedly seen many ads on the internet for how easy it is to make money online. “Just do these 4 things, and you could change your life forever“, or the guarantee that it’s a; “no-effort method of keeping the cash coming in.”

I’ve followed many of these offers to their conclusion, stopping just before handing over any money. They are usually great examples of how to write compelling landing pages that sell. A long story building up the brand narrative, multiple calls to action, and the ever-sweetening deal as it gets cheaper the further down the page you go. The time-pressured deal (offer closing in 12 hours with a clock counting down) or the scarcity offer (only 4 spots left). Testimonials, lavish promises, a regular price crossed out with a once-in-a-lifetime deal price usually hundreds of dollars less than the regular price.

It all sounds too good to be valid for a reason. It is.

There is no getting around it – business blogging is hard work. You have to put in the effort. The good news is that if you do, you will probably be among the few who do, and your perseverance will be rewarded. 

There is nothing passive about passive income.

Many articles bestow the virtue of creating a money machine that just rolls on making you money after you have built it. But for the solo business blogger, this is simply not true.

Let’s assume you build a successful blog, get over 150,000 page views a month, are well monetized, and make a full-time living. You say to yourself, ” I’ve made it; I’ve done all the hard work; it’s time to put my feet up and watch the money roll in.

The minute you think that is the minute you begin to go backward. The internet is so big, and there are so many new players looking to take your spot that you are going backward as soon as you relax. Your brand will wither and become old and out of favor with the newer market arrivals, your page visits and revenues will begin to wane, and before long, you will have been swamped by the opposition because of your lack of innovation and effort.

Welcome to business. Passive income only becomes passive after you get big enough to pay others to do what you used to do. Then, you have become a business, introducing new challenges and skills you must learn.

How to hire and fire people, manage their wages, holidays, taxes, grievances, and foibles. You don’t have to take this step; for many, doing it is fun, so why would you.

But unless you do, it will never be truly passive. 

Perseverance

No matter how much hard work you put into your new blog site, it will not happen overnight. In fact, it won’t start to happen until at least 6 months, and even then, reasonably slowly and only if you have put in the hard yards.

The good news is that it gets easier. You develop as a writer, a marketer, and a creator of products, and you have grown in confidence and stature in your chosen category. As you improve, things get easier and quicker, you start to see the results in the numbers, and the thrill of building something begins to gurgle.

Now is the time to run even harder, take the next step, and rev up the system you have built. 

Content is NOT king! Quality content is king!

You are running a business, not a blog

You now own a magazine, so think like they do.

Build a brand, not a blog!

Quality trumps quantity in the long run.

SEO is not the magic sauce to success. It will boost you later rather than sooner.

The digital realm offers a unique landscape where individuals can turn their passion projects into profitable ventures with the right strategies. The beauty of an online blogging business lies in its simplicity and cost-effectiveness. Unlike traditional companies, the overhead costs are significantly lower, and the barriers to entry are almost non-existent. This democratization of the business landscape fosters a fertile ground for aspiring entrepreneurs to sow the seeds of their digital enterprises.

System 6 aims to expedite the journey from a novice blogger to a recognized, profitable business owner by imparting seasoned marketers’ tried and tested techniques. The roadmap laid out in System 6 demystifies the often overwhelming world of online marketing, ensuring that bloggers are well-equipped with the knowledge and tools necessary to thrive in the competitive blogging arena. With a blend of dedication, the proper guidance from System 6, and a touch of entrepreneurial spirit, turning a blogging hobby into a lucrative business is not just a dream but a highly attainable reality. 

If you have any questions about the course System 6, S6 Companion, or the SQUEEZE magazine you can reach me at jhughes@blogjuice.net.

If you would like to continue exploring what System 6 has to offer, you can open Module 1 by becoming a “Subscriber” member.

It’s FREE, so why not not take it for a spin.

Join for FREE here.