How to Increase Your Typing Speed

When you are blogging full-time and this is your business, you have to make sure you have a constant flow of traffic. It will help keep your blog ranking within the SERP’s, but at the same time, keep your visitors engaged with your content. This is important especially when you are depending on your blog for a full-time income and want to continue to grow your brand. I’ve noticed over the years that much of your success has to do with your ability to write content quickly. For example, I have been able to sustain my various jobs because I write approx 3,000 words daily for my various bloggers and personal blogs. I admit I get paid for writing, but the point I’m making is this income is ONLY possible because I’m able to complete the assigned projects on time. I know what it takes to continually push out content and would like to share much of the process with you below.

Let’s get started and go over some of the fundamentals of writing content and how to increase your processing speed. These strategies won’t hurt the quality, but will simply allow you to create value more quickly. Let’s get started…

Improve Your Speed

I have to admit, much of my success does have to do with the rate I am able to write at. I practice a lot and can write words quickly. For example, I timing my work right now and can see within 3 minutes, I have written 300 words, which is an awesome rate. This means 15 minutes will allow me to produce something close to 1,800 words and for many of you, this is way above the average post. I take around 30 minutes a post and by the time I’m done, I have something that is roughly 2,500 words long and full of value.

I take some more time adding images and videos where applicable but obviously, this does depend on the type of content and niche I’m publishing content for. Next, bloggers who have hired me might have a particular criteria so by the time I’m done, I’ve taken an hour to get everything ready. This is awesome because within “4” hours, I’m done and been paid for my efforts.

Create an Outline

One of the main ways my writing has been affected is because I simply lose track of the direction I’m going in. However, this was an easy fix going forward since I started to create outlines every time I write. Here is the process I go through:

• Research
• Outline
• Intro
• Body
• Conclusion

This is very general, but in each section, I’ll write a breakdown of what I’d like to cover, which will help me stay focused throughout my writing.

Change Work Environment

The funny thing is, sometimes you’ll have a complete breakdown ready and have improved your typing speed, but you still can’t get work done. This used to happen to me until I decided to shift offices into a place less distracting. I’ll admit, before, I would get distracted by the slightest things like my phone ringing, family within my home, noise outside, etc. I decided to give a new setting a try and the changes made a huge difference. Personally, I was able to get way more done and this improved my overall productivity, which brought me closer to my bottom line.

This doesn’t have to be a huge shift, but work in a place where you feel you can produce your best work. For example,

• Right lighting
• No noise
• No phone
• No emails

All of these don’t need to be locked off completely, but I choose to NOT have them around when I’m writing content because they cause me to lose my focus.

I’d like to continue this series with Part 2 because I feel there are more factors I’d like to cover. Please provide your feedback and comments on what helps you stay focused.

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Where In The World Is Sally Chow?

On this episode of the Dot Com Lunch, I answer a question that is being asked a lot: Where is Sally Chow? Answer: she’s in China babysitting pandas!

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AdSense Alternatives to YouTube Monetization

In a move that even out-shadowed the whole demonetization controversy of 2017, YouTube announced significant changes to its partner program in early 2018. As a result, many smaller YouTubers got booted from the YouTube Partner Program because they no longer met the new requirements. As a refresher, the new requirements called for at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours watched in the last 12 months. And no one was grandfathered into the program either.

It’s through the YouTube Partner Program that video creators could monetize their videos using Google AdSense. This includes the pre-roll video ads and the banner ads shown in the video themselves, among other possible placements. Without this revenue source, many YouTubers felt distraught… but maybe they’re forgetting about all the other opportunities to make money on YouTube too. Here are a few that you may have left on the table (that you should now pick up if you haven’t already).

Amazon Associates

It probably won’t surprise too many of you to learn that many of the people who watch YouTube are interested in what equipment goes into shooting YouTube videos. This is especially the case with vloggers and other channels that target creative professionals (and amateurs and prosumers too).

One of the simplest things to do is to leverage Amazon’s affiliate program and provide links in the video description to the gear that you use. Similarly, you should be including links to any products you mention in the video too, just as I did in the video where I compared different Amazon Kindle versions. If someone is watching a product video, they’re probably interested in buying it.

Patreon

You might remember when I wrote about Patreon in the context of YouTube monetization a few years ago and it’s arguably even more relevant today. The basic idea here is that instead of trying to get money out of sponsors and advertisers, you get money from the people who are watching your content in the first place. It’s a much more direct relationship and Patreon only takes a 5% fee for providing this platform.

Many of the top YouTube channels have taken this approach. Science video channel SciShow, as of this writing, brings in over $20,000 a month from over 5,000 patrons. That’s nothing to sneeze at and even if you have a smaller subscriber base, Patreon can provide a more consistent and predictable source of income that isn’t subject to fickle algorithms.

Affiliate Lead Generation

If you want to talk about the bigger bucks, this is definitely John Chow’s preferred method of making money from YouTub e. To put this all in perspective, his YouTube channel brings in about $1,000 a month in AdSense (as reported for May 2017). His MOBE earnings for the same month was nearly $250,000 and YouTube referrals accounted for almost a third of that. Put another way, the resulting MOBE affiliate earnings beat out his AdSense revenue by about a factor of 70-to-1.

When you position and target your YouTube videos accordingly and partner up with the right big ticket affiliate program, your earning potential can shoot through the roof.

Your Own Products and Services

You’ve got an online business, so why not leverage your YouTube channel to help build and promote that business even further? The natural tie-in would be if you have a specific product to promote. If you just published a new book or launched a new membership site, there’s no reason why you can’t spread the word on YouTube or include a “promotional message” (from yourself) at the beginning or end of your videos to coincide with the launch.

Collaborations and Sponsorships

Influencer marketing is bigger than ever before. It’s a common misconception that brands only want to work with online influencers who have millions of followers. That’s just not the case. Brands are oftentimes better off working with a larger number of influencers with smaller followings to get the most bang out of their marketing buck.

Speaking for myself, I worked with Subaru Canada on a video that showcased the new Impreza at a local event and that was a sponsored video. Similar partnerships, collaborations and sponsorships are available both through influencer networks and by working with brands (and their PR agencies) directly. Don’t be afraid to reach out. There’s no harm in asking.

Of course, there are innumerable other opportunities for making money on YouTube beyond the AdSense alternatives listed here. Do you have any favorites? Share your experiences and insights in the comments below!

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South OC Cars and Coffee San Clemente – Stay Humble

At this week’s South Orange County Cars and Coffee, I check out a lot of exotic sports car, included a riced out McLaren 540 with 50HP worth of stickers, fake hood scoops, musical unicorn horn, leopard patten seat covers, and it claims its a 4×4 because it has the badge to prove it. Stay humble!

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5 Affiliate Marketing Conference Guides You Need to Follow

Internet marketing conferences are an excellent way to make new connections with brands and business, while also getting that face-to-face experience you might have been missing out on. While email is great for running an online business, nothing beats being able to meet your freelancers, blogger friends, and affiliate managers at a live event.

It’s easy to talk about the many benefits of attending internet conferences from a personal perspective, but I wanted to highlight some other expert guides and write-ups instead. Even John often talks about the many benefits of growing his personal brand by speaking at different events, and how covering various conferences and events through his blog continues to grow his audience and brand in the process.

To improve your internet marketing conference knowledge and getting yourself ready to attend that next big event, but sure to follow these industry guides on affiliate marketing and blogging conferences around the world.

Leadbit’s Guide to International Marketing Conferences

Back in the day, affiliate marketing conferences were mainly held in the United States. Now they are all over the place! At the same time, if you wanted to get the perspective of how these events were, you would likely need to come across an affiliate blog and read up on their perspective. With so many global affiliate networks in place, that’s no longer the issue. Not only do most of the affiliate networks in the world today have blogs, they are also attending such events like never before. You can see a perfect roundup and Q&A session with the team over at Leadbit, in their “International Affiliate Marketing Conferences” reference guide.

Ngo’s Guide to Top Affiliate Marketing Conferences to Attend

Speaking of affiliates and their affiliate blogs, an excellent one to follow is Charles Ngo. Through his blog, you will find a wide selection of detailed tutorials, articles, and reviews on everything related to affiliate marketing. Charles also has an excellent guide on the 26 Best Affiliate Marketing Conferences in the World. If you’d only had the opportunity to attend a handful of conferences, be sure to run through this list and see which are most recommended, or headed to your area soon.

Expert Guide on “How to Prepare for Affiliate Summit”

Affiliate Summit is one of the most popular and largest affiliate marketing conferences in the world today. It’s currently held twice a year in Las Vegas and New York City — but it in the works of expanding to outside of the US. Shawn Collins is the co-founder of the conference, and he’s always providing some great resources and guides on the event for first-timers, and those who are making their way back again. A new post on his blog (by Adam Reimer) covers everything you need to know about attending Affiliate Summit, whether it’s your first time or 15th. Topics include how to choose the best sessions to attend, the best parties to attend, and of course… the importance of networking and getting real business from the event.

2018 Calendar of Affiliate Marketing Events: Conferences, Expos & More

As great as online reviews and guides are for learning about upcoming affiliate conferences, sometimes it’s better to just see a list or calendar of what’s on the horizon. With literally hundreds of internet and affiliate marketing conferences happening annually, it can get quite overwhelming!

Geno from AMNavigator has a constantly updated list of the top conferences and events happening around the world. Be sure to check out this list, as you never know when a new event might be heading to your area.

Affiliate Summit Parties: East and West

As mentioned earlier, Affiliate Summit is where most of the attention is going these days in reference to affiliate marketing conferences. One of the reasons for this is because of the heavy advertiser and network attendance at these events, and the massive parties they throw at each event.

Networks will always send out mailings and invites to these events, but if you are looking to find all of the information on one site, ASWparties.com is the place to go. The site name says ASW, but they have a page and updates for ASE as well. The site also now provides other events and parties outside of just Affiliate Summit.

It doesn’t matter if you are a complete newbie to attending affiliate conferences, or a veteran — each of these resource guides will provide you with a ton of information and resources to make sure you are ready for that next big trip. In addition to each of the resources below, also be sure to check out any of the top affiliate marketing blogs on the internet today , as they are always releasing new articles and topics that have yet to be discussed before.

Feel free to leave your favorite internet marketing event or conference in the comments below.

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The Problem with Blogging These Days – Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of my series and if you’re just joining, then I’d like you to go back and read Part 1. I’m discussing, from my experience, what the common problems with blogging are these days. These are factors that I’ve noticed can contribute to many blogs failing because they simply don’t resonate with their readers like they should. If you can make sure you don’t make these mistakes, you’ll be able to grow your brand and blog quickly. In Part 1, we discussed factors like…

• A simple idea
• Passion
• Not providing value

Let’s get started and your feedback will be appreciated.

Wrong Team

As your blog begins to grow, you’ll starting getting busy with side projects and you’ll have to hire a team. This can be a good thing because it will help divide your workload, however, you want to be careful when selecting the right team. Many people hire the wrong people, particularly those with little knowledge about their niche, and this leads to lower user engagement. You have to remember your audience comes to your blog because of your niche and when they find the wrong type of content, it will lower engagement. I’ll be discussing this in the next section, but in the meantime, it’s important you pay close attention to the following.

• Hire a team who has experience within your niche
• Hire a team you can afford to pay so you don’t run into problems with owning content
• Do background checks to ensure they write authentic content – avoid plagiarism, copyright, etc.

This will allow you to hire the right team for the job, which is very important to protect your brand and the quality of your blog.

Divided Focus

As mentioned, one of the reasons your blog will lose momentum is because your content is way too spread out. You have a specific focus and should focus on it no matter what the results. Even if you have low engagement, it’s NOT because of your niche, but the value you’re providing within your content. I recommend always keeping a close eye on your niche whenever you write content because this will help during the research and writing process.

Some ways to help keep you on track is to:

• Listen to your audience through comments and questions.
• If you have email subscribers, then shoot a quick follow-up asking them for content ideas or to fill out a survey
• Research is the best way to compile topic ideas that are focused and on point.
• Hire a team of professionals who are experts in your niche.

The point I’m making is when you have built an audience for your niche and then write unrelated content, it can cause engagement to slow down. This is a common mistake made by bloggers and a huge reason some don’t survive in this industry.

Not Using Tools Available

You are in a very lucky time, mainly because you have so many channels available to you. I’ve seen some content that was posted on social media with the right #hashtags blow up within a few minutes. With the right combination of value and #hashtags, you can create immediate brand awareness and momentum. This means the ability to build your blog quickly and have a targeted following. If you want your blog to survive, then make use of the channels your competitors are making use of. This means to promote on social media and use FREE tools to find keywords and #hashtags relevant to your content. I can promise you one thing…

If you don’t make use of them, you’re going to lose to your competition because they definitely will be using these channels to promote content. With only content, especially when starting, you’ll have slow and stagnant growth and this will take enormous time to achieve your bottom line.

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Why Online Success Is Not a Spontaneous Experience

The dot com lifestyle is one that is defined by its freedom. You are free from your boss, manager or supervisor, because the only one in charge of your business is you. You have no one to answer to and every decision is wholly your own. You are free to work from practically anywhere in the world, so long as you’ve got reliable access to the Internet on the device of your preference. Have laptop, will profit. And you are free from the confines and restrictions of the conventional Monday to Friday, nine-to-five rat race, because you don’t have to hold conventional office hours.

But should you?

It’s true that time and location freedom are the two greatest things about making your living on the Internet. It means that you are free to attend your daughter’s ballet recital without the worry about being called into the office. You are free to choose that dentist appointment at 11 a.m. on a Wednesday morning, because you don’t have to be at work at that time. You are free to hop on a plane to Barbados or Bali on a whim, because all you have to do is grab your passport and your laptop.

And whether you decide to forge out on your own as an Internet marketer, a freelance writer, a graphic designer, an app developer, a professional blogger or any number of other possibilities, you cannot rely on inspiration striking you out of the blue in order for you to be successful at what you do.

Many people fall under this false illusion that the biggest “Eureka!” type moments in the lives of hugely successful people come about spontaneously. They think that they can just sit under a tree in the park, have an apple fall on their head, and they’ll suddenly come up with the next Instagram or launch the next Problogger. It doesn’t work that way. Great ideas (and great execution) are neither spontaneous nor magical. You’ve got to put in the work.

Even when you don’t really want to.

Absolutely, the flexibility afforded by being your own boss and living the dot com lifestyle means that you can adjust and adapt your working habits to best suit your specific circumstances and situation. Absolutely, it means that you can step away from your work at the drop of a hat if needed. But it also means that you are completely and utterly reliant on your own sense of self-discipline to get the job done and to get it done well.

The only assured way that you will be able to find success, in any field but especially when you work for yourself online, is by sticking with a predictable routine that is predicated on self-discipline. Of course, it is easier to get side tracked by social media and YouTube. Of course, it is easier to bugger off to the shopping mall for a few hours just to kill the time.

See, but that’s the thing. Everyone else is choosing to do the easier thing. Everyone else is melting into their couch for yet another Netflix binge session. Everyone else says that they want to start a blog or get into affiliate marketing. Everyone else says they have a great app idea or they want to write a terrific book. But everyone else isn’t putting in the work. Everyone else is taking the easy route. And you don’t want to be everyone else.

The only way that you’re going to find inspiration is if you’re willing to meet it halfway. The only way that you’re going to have that breakthrough moment is if you commit yourself to putting in the work on a consistent basis, constantly flexing those entrepreneurial muscles because that’s how you’ll make them strong and flexible and durable, just like any other set of muscles. Michael Phelps didn’t win all those gold medals because he decided to skip a day here and there, because he knew it would become a slippery slope.

What so many people tend to forget about achieving any sort of success is that just showing up, and showing up consistently and even when you don’t really feel like it, is the hardest part. But you won’t be able to find success if you don’t show up to greet it in the first place. Success isn’t spontaneous. It’s strategic. It’s planned. It’s constructed, built brick by brick. And you’ve got to show up to lay those bricks.

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