Last month I made over $3700 from offline clients as an indirect result of my Blogging.
In this post I will examine not only how I used the skills I learned in blogging to start a business – but the all important steps I took and the processes I followed to actually get new customers and potential clients to my door. By the end of this post you will have the confidence and the necessary tricks and techniques to go out there and do exactly the same thing yourself, enjoy…
Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy.
The first thing to note – and probably the one point all of you know already is that starting a business is easy! Anyone can do it, so long as they have the $100 or so required and have filled in the relevant bureaucratic mumbo jumbo. It’s the next bit – the actual acquisition of clients and assets – where 97% of businesses fall flat on the delusion that was their great idea.
Today I want to share with you my story – and how I went from an average blogger making a decent enough income to the owner of an SEO Company that provides SEO and Web Consulting Services to clients throughout the world. In so doing I hope to give you some tangible advice that you can take away and act upon yourself.
Where… no How Do I Begin?
I know for me the hardest part was knowing where to start and what to do.
It all seemed too daunting at the time and to be honest I still had that little niggling voice of doubt in my head that made bold statements and asked stupid questions like:
- “Why would anyone want to hire me?”
- “I am not ready for this – I mean I am only one guy”
- “I’m not a Web Designer per se”
- “How do I convince a business person to use my services when there are so many established SEO/Social Media companies out there already!?”
- “Why does my washing machine eat socks?”
Of course, nothing is going to happen until you take action – and so as hard as starting is, once you just do it you will be amazed at how well momentum starts to work.
I could remind you of some of our more worldly expressions that fit this situation, sayings like:
“Just throw yourself in the deep end, it’s the best way to learn how to swim” and
“A Journey of 1000 Miles begins with the first step”
But I fear that if I do I may vomit up a fortune cookie or choke on some incense… or something
Now, before we begin let me remind you;
You Have Some Serious Skills and Knowledge that People WILL Pay For!
I know you already know this – you’re a blogger after all 
but it’s time you stopped talking about how much you know and started showing how much you know.
But How? Where do I begin…what do I do? … I want my Mummy.
The MOST Important Element.
(This is the Fifth Element NOT the most important… although Milla’s pretty hot.)
Before you can even think about going out there and promoting yourself you need to have a system in place. I don’t care how complicated or simple you want to make it – so long as you create a process of building and ranking websites that you can rinse and repeat – over and over (and over) again.
If you do not have this already then please do not read any further. Just jokes, here are some tips to getting a ‘system’ in place:
- Find a WordPress Theme (or 3) that you know inside out, feel comfortable using and most importantly – can make look unique each time
- Keep the backend, including Plugins and the like to a minimum – just think ‘simplify’
- Create a new folder for each client – and put EVERYTHING in there.
- Log your time – be accountable to yourself.
Some of these tips may seem obvious but sometimes it’s the obvious things we completely overlook.
Sorry… How Exactly Am I Going to Make Money Again?
I can see why you’re a little confused – I mean I’ve waffled on about how you CAN make money from your blogging but I haven’t explained exactly HOW.
You are going to make money (on a monthly basis I might add) by …(wait for it) … Building Websites!
Wait, wait I know what you’re thinking, but before you go off all half cocked allow me to break it down a little more; Because not only are you going to be paid handsomely to do the following things, you will be happily paid – and then they’ll come back for more (after they tell their friends)
- Keyword Research
- Building an SEO ready website using a Premium WordPress Theme
- Creating 4 Pages of Content (that you will use again later ..we’ll get to that )
- 2 – 6 hours of 1 on 1 – teaching them how to manage and update their new WordPress site
And there’s your one off payment. Until…
- Monthly maintenance of the wordpress blog (because really they don’t actually want to DO any of that stuff)
- One off SEO job “Just to see exactly what it does”
- Monthly Search Engine Optimisation and Adwords campaigns work, because “I see Exactly what it does!”
Finding and Winning Potential Clients.
Aah the important bit. I probably could have made this a post unto itself but Alex only does Epic! (and ‘speak in third person’ apparently)
Finding clients is about knowing where to look – and using your brain a bit.
Think about the world we live in. Where is the work? More importantly – where is that work NOT associated with the internet.
Know the answer? Now you know where to look 
A Perfect example (one of many answers) would be the building industry. Sure there are a million building related websites out there, but for every website there are a hundred builders with no web presence what so ever.
The best part is that within the building industry there are like a million different trades (niches) – and each one of these trades has a thousand tradespeople all competing for the same piece of local turf.
All you need to do is start looking for these tradespeople. (I know, I’m a genius)
Now do you have an idea of where you can start?
OK so let’s WIN that client over.
The easiest way to winning potential work is to show them examples of sites you have built before. For this I would recommend building a couple of sites for ‘pretend offline clients’ so that you have some web property to show them – more importantly you can ‘show off’ (sorry I mean highlight) the great elements of the theme you plan on using.
Maybe its got a kick arse slider element – or maybe the calls to action are so good that even Lorem Ipsum would make you ‘Buy It Now’ – whatever the case is, it is here on the page that you are going to win them over.
Why am I so sure?
Because let’s face it – the majority of websites owned by builders and offline workers are old, complicated, hard to navigate and basically shite.
AND (this is something your clients don’t need to know of course) … you are an internet marketer with a treasure trove of tools, WSO’s, Plugins, themes etc – making it really easy to create landing pages, sales pages, awesome looking sites, sliders ….pretty much anything with total ease.
Moral of the story: Your sites are going to look insane against the ‘examples’ you will show them of the competition and other sites in the same niche.*
*Make sure you do your homework beforehand and have examples of average to bad sites.
**Want a Theme that actually does make it really easy to create landing pages, sales pages, awesome looking sites, sliders ….pretty much anything with total ease? Get PROFITS Theme. (it’s OK you can thank me later)
The Adwords Trick
Here’s a little something you can do to really put the icing on the cake and help ‘seal the deal’
I mentioned before about how easily we as marketers (ahem… I mean bloggers, sorry) can create landing pages and sales pages, well have you ever clicked on the paid ads in Google. (rhetorical question)
How confusing and complicated are the ‘landing pages’ they link to!!?!?
The vast majority of paid ads seem to go to a confusing page of chaos or a home page that provides no direct call to action.
AM I THE ONLY ONE FLABBERGASTED BY THIS?!
Show your potential client how their competition are trying to get ‘more work’ and then show them examples of landing pages that you have created.
I Guarantee you will instantly pique their interest because they start thinking in $$, which I might add is the language they speak.
Do You Speak $?
Conclusion.
The biggest challenge in this whole process is your thinking. Once you can get your own self doubts out of the way and stop worrying 18 steps ahead you will succeed.
Start small – build someone a website, maybe a friend. Do it for free even. They’ll proudly show a friend who will then show their friend….. it’s how we tell people to get traffic online and (I’m telling you now) it works offline too!
If you want to start making a regular monthly income from your blogging then you need to take your skills offline – end of story. Sure you can make money blogging the old fashioned way – but it’s slow and steady wins the race.
Meanwhile the world is racing by at a frenetic pace and every day a thousand more people choose to ‘get online’.
I’d love to stay and talk about it more but at least one of those thousand people is going to need a website…
Still not inspired? Please help yourself to some more
Google+ it
BlogEngage it
Pin it
Kube it
{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Alex,
Wow, didn’t I just have an “ah ha” moment. Excellent post btw. I actually am a web designer(a damn good one, I might add) and have been looking for more clients.
Everything you said makes perfect sense. Why am I not doing this already!
Ok, I have to get started.
PS. Milla is wicked hot in The Fifth Element
Hey Ian, Really stoked to hear you had one of those moments -it means the post worked! LOL can you see I’m as modest as you
Thanks again for commenting and sharing – especially with a PS. as correct as that!
Have a good one… oh he’s gone to find clients already… fine then.
Ian only thinks he is a good designer because I tell him that… only about every day! lol
After all, he did do a pretty good job with TGC…
And by the way, Alex; according to a PBS show my daughter loves, the lost socks end up in space and you need a talking dog in a space shuttle to go retrieve them. And did I mention the space shuttle has a cool vacuum to suck the socks in? And now you know…
lol! And now my life is complete…
Ah the things our children teach us
Reading your writing after a while (oh wait, can I read anything other than writing?! Never mind). Milla is so hot and I’m a fan of her.
Coming to the meat of this post – so it all boils down to creating websites, Alex, isn’t? I mean making professional websites, associated with a blog that is helpful. That should cut it.
Thanks for the awesome stuff man. You rock, as usual.
Hi Alex,
That’s a reminder for me. They say you have to take the first step but recently I saw a video that someone explained when you take the first step you have to “lean forward” so the center of gravity is over your feet and you have “traction”. If you lean back because you’re afraid or scared you’ll lose your balance and fall.
“Knowing that you need a change isn’t enough. You’ve got to find the guts to do it.”
Thanks for the idea. It is doable and will be successful for someone who has the guts to do it “the right way”.
Best,
John Mak
G’day mate!
Long time no see – oh yeah that’s my fault
Great to see such a thought provoking comment – quite profound too I might add (did you just vomit up a fortune cookie too?)
Glad to see the post inspired you to ‘lean forward’ as it were – not that I have ever known you to stand still in the first place though
Thanks for the comment Mr Mak – great to see you again (sort of – well you know what I mean)
Hi Alex
Wondered why we hadn’t heard from you in a while. Now I know … busy building your business. So glad it is working out for you.
Sounds like you are going great with your offline clients too.
Regards
Patricia Perth Australia
This is a comprehensive and information laden post. I was thinking of selling my site too, however, it is still not ready. You have discussed it thoroughly, and I have never thought about this concept- selling my sites. Thanks for the enlightenment.
I feel the best way to make money out of blogging is freelancing, atleast for me. The one who can write amazing content with absolutely all the aspects to win over a lot of traffic can freelance from their homes and earn that extra doze of cash with much ease and enjoy every part of it.
Thanks so much for the heads up on this Alex. I’ve been thinking of building a web site for free for a friend who has a small business but doesn’t have the time to put into a web site. It would be good practice for me and would help us both. A good nudge for me in the right direction from your epic post!
haha it is my pleasure Laurie… Now stop reading comment replies and get back to building your mates site!
Hi Alex,
I have come across your blog while doing some Google search and I am glad that I have come across your blog.
I agree with you that there are many offline businesses who are still not taking advantage of the internet to get more exposure for their business. I do have a friend who provide SEO services for small offline businesses and he is making a killing.
The main reason he is successful is because he provides very good customer service and his clients are very happy with his services. It comes to a point when he do not need to look for customers already as his past customers refers customers to him.
Nice to know that you are successful with this model too
Thanks again for sharing the content.
Zack
Hey Zack,
Your point about customer service is a very poignant one – because it is THIS very reason that we can compete against the bigger fish, the only downfall to getting too large is you lose that personal human touch and that one on one time that newbies need – which is where we come in
Thanks for your comments and value add
Well written article! I think this way is very useful and am going to try it out.
Totally agree with you on the kind of websites being sold by most offline builders. And the fees they charge are insane! And all this while I’ve been thinking out impossible ways to get my websites promoted, when I can make a better business out of selling them. Word of mouth does seem to be more effective than online marketing since the competition online is crazy, though I do have my doubts. Nonetheless the system you suggested is certainly worth a go. Thanks for sharing, Alex.
comprehensive and information laden post, am gonna try some of your tips/advice.
It’s true that showcasing past work (if it’s good), is one of the most effective ways to score new clients.
Per AdWords, it always amazes me how confusing many PPC landing pages are. It’s a waste of money if you can’t convert them, or they can’t find an easy CTA.
Great post. Been seriously considering branching out offline myself lately. Time to lean forward
. Cheers.
Hope to see some more great stuff. Thanks for writing. Bill
I have thought about creating sites for other people and charging them for my services but like you said in your post, I’ve always hesitated because I don’t have that much programing/web design background. I kinda thought that was a requisite if you want to be a designer. I am working on a site for a friend though so I’m gonna see what I can learn from the experience.
Good attitude you are taking then Malds!
Definitely let the first few sites you build be an ‘experience’ rather than a job per se.
It is through these experiences that you not only get the confidence – you also get something far more important – a repeatable system (ie a consistent service and experience for all future clients)
Thanks for stopping by, glad the post inspired you
It’s true that we have potential. We just don’t it. There is not one stopping you from making money online. They online one who is stopping you is you yourself. Reading this article made me remember my early days of being a blogger.
Ill take that memory flash as a compliment then (of course I will – I’m a blogger after all
)
I have one question though mate… What’s with Jeff? Seriously
you are totally right the biggest challenge is our thinking if we think positive and clear our mind of the doubts we have then only we can succeed in what we are doing thanks for this great post and keep up the good work,,,
It seems so easy to make money from blogging. However, it takes a lot of planning and execution to be a successful and high income earning blogger. One should be perfecr with his writing and marketing skills. He should also possess a good sense of adding relevant pictures and videos that generate traffic.
Don’t you think the title should have been “make money through web development” as you have discussed everything related to web development
Hmmmm. and would you have come and read the post if the title was as lame as that?
It’s all about clickthroughs my friend – and besides, the post does tell you how to make money as a result of your blogging.
As you said, we have potential, we just do not know or use it.
Starting out as a blogger, I was the novice of novices. I contemplated using a developer to build me a site. Good thing, i could not afford one. I researched on how to go about it, how to market it once it is done, basically, all the necessaries. Time after time, I would change themes trying to get to the one.
Now, I think I should just start contracting as a web designer on my free time. I think I can develop a website in a few days.
Excellent post Alex! The tips which you have provided are really effective and I tried by hands-out in enforcing them for my blog. I would like to add one more point here: If you are blogging for bucks then definitely you should try implementing selling ads on your blog too.
Hey Thomas, thanks for the comment mate. As for the tip – have you found this to be effective? I have personally not had much luck in that regard – certainly did not find contextual ads worked.
What we’ve all learned on our first parts of the venture in money making blogs is how we must go through a hard time to find guts to believe in ourselves and type out our thoughts. And if you’re one of the lucky ones who easily got out of that cage, then trying to figure out how to make money out of our blogs would be the next troubling step to take. This is where the posts helps you on exploring.
I will say making decision is not the hard part but sticking with your decision is. When I started blogging I was confused how will I do it? But I started and made some mistakes. And the most beautiful thing is I learned a lot and still learning from my mistakes.
Great post Alex! There are lots of great info on how to make money here! I don’t think people understand the different aspects that you can make money from.
Wonderful post, I think the one who can write amazing content with absolutely all the aspects to win over a lot of traffic can freelance from their homes and earn easily earn the good amount of money. You have shared some wonderful tips, I will try implement that, thanka for sharing.
Making money through blogging can be a really daunting task. Though it is true that planning is a essential in creating a successful blog, your courage and self-confidence is also a necessity to make your plan possible.
If you intend to make money form blogging you really need to create a feasible plan. In addition, it is important that you study how you can efficiently carry out your plan. Identifying your strengths and weaknesses can also help you address the possible problems that could get in your way.