Great Post. One thing I should ask, all the stuff you discussed in detail have something to do with Information Products. But, how can we take up the physical products like textile, wood crafts etc. How can I build my email list when I only have physical products? I have found one startup www.swatcrafts.com couple of months ago where we promote the products made by home-based craftspeople but I didn't have an idea how can I build my list.
64 Comments (page 1)
You can set up the same sequence and then contribute to blogs that your customers would be reading.
Kyle this post is amazing! I've never thought about starting a blog in this way before. I am getting ready to start one now but will experiment with your ideas to get it rolling before I start writing posts for it. Thanks for the helpful strategies.
Hi Kyle, Thanks for this great post! In fact I'm starting a personal development site, and this launch guide is very relevant :). Referring to your second last paragraph: I'm definitely interested in the advanced method. How do I access it?
Hi Kyle This is great info wish i had this 4 months ago ! Can you suggest why it is that when i started blog The report was free no email required ..I soon had 87 downloads I changed it to free download but after email & name reg Result 1 ! It is true i dont get much traffic but there must be a reason for difference ? Can you suggest what ?
Hey Kyle very intresting post !!!!
Great information Kyle! I saw on Daniel's guest post that you guys let him insert a Leadbox link in his bio after the article. Is that standard practice for new guest posts or do you recommend linking to a Leadpage from the bio? Or linking to the guest's blog?
Amazing article! It has immense value, thank you Kyle. Just wondering, how will i able to pitch effectively to guest post for others if my blog is unknown and i dont have any impressive blogging background. I recently launched a blog and i only published one article. I would like to hear your input. Thank you.
Hi Kyle, Call it luck or fate or destiny but your post could not have showed up in my inbox at a better time. I am just about to launch my online business in the next few days. I am in the travel niche and i am specifically focusing on beach vacations. To say I love the beach is an understatement. I am sure there are other people who feel just the same way. My value proposition is to inspire people to visit the beautiful beaches of the world. My aim through my blog is to provide useful information that will help people have the most memorable vacation. Through my site people will also be able to make bookings for vacations. Apart from you mention on the post are there any specific tips you can give me? Regards, Philip
Great post Kyle! I think you've covered all the bases here nicely, even if it undersells the need to guest post and the effort needed! ;) There is also the important step of moving from guest post to launching the blog as live, how much content you should include on the site to start with etc. Hopefully from 2 or 3 very valuable guest posts you can create a good sized email list that you can then keep active with snippets of the good things to come in the form of "mini posts" or even links to "not yet public" articles on your site, all building up for the big day when you "go live". The email list is extremely important here as a driver of initial traffic, initial comments as well as hopefully sharing around your new articles with the hope you can attract these first-movers into life-long brand ambassadors! I would suggest staying away from running ads as a new blog, as even though you can do some good targeting on networks like Facebook, it's still fairly costly for the click-throughs you are hoping for, something that you can again get for free from a good email list. Further to the guest posting - I have to stress the importance of networking in your blog niche, and reaching out to experts in your field. These guys are your livelihood to start with and if done right will help spearhead your guest blogging and create a lot of traffic to your young site! These guys get a lot of requests so make sure not to bug them too much, but snagging a few as friends early on will help the process vastly! And whilst I'm here - Cub Marketing is gearing up for a launch by the end of this month :) stay tuned folks! Thanks The Cub.
I'm looking forward to see how it goes Brenda!!
I'm willing to outline it here :) Could you give me a few more details about your product? What it is, how you will deliver it, how much it will cost, etc--any details you can think of.
Conversions drop rapidly as you request information--people don't like to give out their email address! So that did a lot, I'm wondering if you had a traffic spike as well or some kind of miscount.
That's absolutely great, valuable info, thanks a lot. I am going to launch a self-development ebook (something different ;)) around July/August and this post makes it a lot easier for me to take the right steps towards the launch, avoiding all the pitfalls I have with my current German blog freiheitspfade.de Actually, this info here would be even valuable for my book... :) I might request a guest post in some weeks applying what you taught me! One question: I will write my book in English, yet want to use my far-reaching German networks to generate traffic. Do you see any problems in creating 2 different landing pages, freebies, mailing lists and so on in one language each, although the end product is in English. Creating the preparation stuff in both languages is not that much work actually.
It's not standard practice necessarily, but you should certainly ask :) It IS standard practice to give you a link... otherwise there's no payment for you at all.
You don't need an impressive background at all! But you will need to go out of your way to REALLY impress them. Also, just start on blogs that are easier to get published on ;)
Congrats Philip! There are always more specifics lol, I'd need to know more about your situation.
Hi Kyle, Thanks for the response. I won't have a product, actually. I'll have a free (very high quality) ebook as the bait, and about 1 year's worth of email sequence (to be mailed out once every few days), also full of useful info. Some of the emails will recommend products that if people purchase via my link, I will get affiliate commissions. I also plan on publishing new articles to the site regularly -- at least 3 to 5 new articles per week. Social media wise, the site will also have a presence in FB, YouTube, G+, Pinterest, and Twitter. For the launch stage, I've also planned to do guest posting/outreach, FB ads, solo ads, etc. I'll also experiment with 1 or 2 content recommendation engines and see how things go (basically it's all about knowing what to scale, and what to cut my losses on). And to increase conversions, I also plan on implementing the famous "skyscraper" and "content upgrade" techniques. And you mentioned about the advanced method, so I'm curious to know what it is ;). Cheers!
This sounds like a lot of work, Kyle! But, hey, no one got anywhere without putting in the time. Thanks for giving everyone a roadmap to make sure they don't get lost in the process.
Hey Kyle - Great post! Concise and easy to follow. I'm in the beginning stages of launching my business and am focusing on the guest blogging strategy. One thing that is giving me problems though is creating my free resource (email incentive). I have been thinking big, but your list of cheat sheets and shorter resources helps to narrow my focus. Much gratitude.
Am I the only one who doesn't get it? If I understood right your suggesting to make an ebook and a landing page first. Then do a few guest posts. And THEN START A BLOG? Will the blog have one post or already like 10? And after that we'd send links and stuff to those emails we got earlier, right? Is this what you're suggesting? I always thought. Blog->a lot of quality posts->ebook and emails
You understand the general concept. You're right, MOST people assume "Blog->a lot of quality posts->ebook and emails" and that is exactly what I'm suggesting you don't do. The details for running your blog aren't covered in this post--this is for the *launch*. I would probably launch with at least 5 *great* posts on your site.
That's great Scott! Yes, less is more when it comes to the freebie. Especially to start. Eventually you can create massive resource packages like Copy blogger if you want... but they still don't do THAT much for your conversions.
Hey Raymond! Of course it's a lot of work! I argue that it's still LESS work than it would if you were to go the default route of writing content for nobody.
Frank, you've got a lot on your plate! Once you begin to find what works you'll probably want to focus your attention there. If you don't have a product you want to launch immediately then this will probably be your better option. I'll give you a super condensed version of the advanced launch here: 1. Set up payment page for your product 2. Set up landing page for a webinar 3. Drive traffic to webinar (you can do this quickly via ads and increase exponentially once you know your conversion rates) 4. Give great webinar, cap it off with a sales pitch that drives people to your payment page Again, super simple outline, execution gets trickier ;)
Hey there Kyle! I am the founder and CEO of James Hyatt Marketing in Cape Coral Florida. Long story short, had a SEO company years back that sold massive links to other SEO firms...that went bye bye immediately after Google updated their algorithms obviously. I have a blog at http://fortmyersmarketingblog.com We have re-built a complete marketing firm and are ready to really push it and want to focus on local business marketing! I know the being an expert builds value in which people will pay high dollars for and to become a celebrity expert (think Tony Roberts) will get you all the work you can't handle. That's my goal! I want to focus on teaching local businesses to market themselves and ditch companies like me...I know you get my plan here because most won't want to do the leg work to do it and they will come to me to do the hard work. Do you have any suggestions? I have 5 Ebooks written about different aspects of marketing. Take a quick look and let me know what I could do better. I am interested in anything you have to offer for someone more advanced then the average Joe. Thanks! James
Hi Kyle, Awesome post. Going through this right now! Another tweak that I learned a while ago is to create something of high perceived value, like an ebook, and offer for bloggers to give it to their list for free, even without an opt in. You just have to make a custom page on your site for their readers. Once the readers get to your site, they will have the opportunity to opt in to your list if they want to. Here is my plan: 1. Create a short course and put it on Udemy, for like $27 2. Go to reddit, forums and other places to give away a limited number of free coupons to it (this will get you some good reviews, not to mention an audience on Udemy) 3. Comment on your target bloggers blog a few times to build a relationship 4. Email them and say that you'd like to give their readers your course that you're selling for $27 for free, with a link to it's Udemy page (with the good reviews and price tag) 5. Once you get a bite, make their custom thank you page on your site like "A Special gift to Startup Bros Readers" 6. Give them the course, and place an opt in form on your page like "Sign up for updates on this course" or "Sign up to get my next product" or have a secondary complimentary checklist for your original course 7. Have a subtle mention/CTA to your email list within the course. If all goes smoothly, the already successful blogger should love the chance to give their readers some value. What do you think?
Great job on this, Kyle. I'm looking at similar strategies going into talks of a partnership, tomorrow. Your article puts some much needed polish on the ideas I'm presenting. It will also have me taking a second look at my strategy for my own podcast, soon to launch. (You're on my Guest Invite List, btw). The shares, those are Facebook, Twitter, etc. that are shared by ppl clicking the share links on the blog's page, yes?
Thanks for sharing this Kyle! We're relaunching out product and this model will help us big time in building a buzz around our site. I appreciate the amount of detail you go into in this post.
I can't wait to see the launch :)
That's great Dave! I'm looking forward to the podcast :) I'm not sure exactly what you mean on the social point.
I LOVE this idea Travis!!! Definitely email me with details when you start this.
Hi Kyle Thank you for comment ..after reading this post i think a landing page may make a difference ; will try this ...Ian
Will do Kyle! Thanks
Hey Kyle, I enjoyed learning that part about how "cheat sheets outperform ebooks". I remember hearing it somewhere recently before... Nice to have it confirmed again. "The problem you’re solving doesn’t have to sound “world changing”. PewDiePie has 32.6 million subscribers on YouTube. His value proposition was Entertain people who like video games. " ---> Haha aint that the truth of the day!
Lol it baffles me, but it's what's happening
Thank you for the very helpful post Kyle! A lot of the different readings I have read on the subject of starting a blog have definitely told people to just jump in with little to no planning and just learn as you go. But as I've tried, I have to actually take frequent breaks to plan certain aspects and then build them up because I didn't originally plan them. So its nice to see, you actually break down the process, much appreciated!
Hi Kyle, Great Article! You and Will always have awesome stuff. I have been looking over the steps in post and wanted to know if think there is anything in it that might not apply to a rebranding or a relaunch of a stagnant blog or website?
Hi Jeff, Great to hear from you! This would absolutely work for a relaunch :D I'd love to hear more about what you're relaunching
I like the positive tone of your blog and actually am not surprised that you have so many subscribers; even a bit a surprised that you don't have more. The only reason for that may be that you are not actually cutting corners in the dream factory production line: the china import business for example actually involves risk and work! Would you be able to suggest something for someone who has multiple art activities: for example, music making, art making, 3d making, and who would find it difficult to specialise? Is specialisation essential? Thanks, Lawrence
I'm glad you see the difference between us and the others! I'm not sure what you mean. It depends on what your goal is. Specialization isn't always 100% necessary.
Kyle- Great step by step post. A couple of things I would add. One is to think about trying to establish a relationship with the blogs on which you want to guest post. The best way to do that is to be part of their community- comment and share their stuff. The second thing I would add is to think about and establish a schedule for your blog. It's helpful for readers to know if they will be hearing from you once a day, once a week, or once a month.
Great ideas Rob! Content strategy and outreach are a couple big things to tackle once you get up and running
Excellent post, once again Kyle! My blog has been up for nearly a year now but I have only written 7 posts. However I did write an ebook that I will be publishing shortly :) I don't mind too much as I have a full time day job where I work from home and have solid autonomy. This is primarily the reason for not posting bi-monthly or so on my blog. What most people fail to realize in any entrepreneurial endeavor is that it is NOT easy. There is a lot of work in pitching/writing guest posts, creating quality content/ebooks/videos and working day in and day out. The winners are relentless and I do not think that this can be understated. My day job is sales and the best sales folks work HARD and are conscientious. If one approaches their entrepreneurial venture with the same (or greater) tenacity - and hours one does a day job, they will generally be successful. After a while one can back off a bit but in building the empire, there is much work to do! My goal in 2015 is to continue to do well in my day job - but to create some income diversification via more traffic from aggressive posting on my blog and publishing my ebook. Thanks again Kyle!
Great point Steve! I'm excited to see you knock down your goal list :)
Aargh, where was this epic post last year?! I'll have to read between the lines and come up with an expert blog RE-launch. Almost every post I read places emphasis on email opt-ins and the important of growing a list (before, during and after launching anything). I wondered if you had any thoughts about a type of site where this was NOT the best approach. Or, is it possible that having a no-newsletter policy works well as a USP. Thanks for the great content. Bookmarked.
You could create a landing page with an optin that you send people to from around the web. It doesn't let you focus your attention as intensely but it's not a bad way to move forward. Everyone talks about email because it is, hands down, the most powerful way to contact your audience. When Facebook changed a little piece of code it took millions of eyes away from people who worked hard to create Facebook business pages. You can have 7% of your Facebook users see your content or 40% of your email readers open your email. Email is also more intimate--you're in THEIR inbox, not on a neutral platform. People can successfully build audiences on YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest... but if they're not funneling them into an email list they're making a massive mistake.
Hi, is it possible you mistakenly wrote a paragraph twice? Well, anyway, I'd look over this part: "Using a proper sequence will organize your energy so that each step builds on the next. A solid launch strategy will put you ahead of the majority of people blindly starting blogs because of some vague urge that they “really ought to”. proper sequence will organize your energy so that each step builds on the next. A solid launch strategy will put you ahead of the majority of people blindly starting blogs because of some vague urge that they “really ought to”."
It's more than possible, it's what happened! Thanks, fixed it. (The "more" tag messed it up.)
I' really appreciate what you guys are doing. I really want to build a blog around entrepreneurship and Lord knows we need more entrepreneurs because of the high unemployment rate. Great piece i must confess, i am interested in the advance method .thanks keep on the good work
Great! What is the product you want to sell with the advanced method? (If you don't want it public then feel free to email.)
Hey Kyle, Great post with so much actionable info! This post is perfect timing for me as I'm working on this exact thing. Per your advice, I'm gonna start working on creating my freebie list. Also, what software do you recommend for: 1. For the bait- PDF setup and delivery (do you just setup an auto responder with an attachment? or email ppl? 2. Selling digital goods- Down the line, when I do have a product to sell what's a good app to help facilitate this. (I'm on Wordpress) Thanks! Katrina
Hi Katrina, I'm glad you found this useful! 1. We send an email with a link to the file. The autoresponder is on Office Autopilot (soon to be Ontraport) 2. We use OptimizePress and GoToWebinar to deliver the course. If you're looking for something simpler to use you make find Kajabi or Rainmaker useful
Hi Kyle, Thank you! 1. Duh! Totally makes sense 2. Awesome I will check those apps out. Appreciate the help, Katrina
Sure thing Katrina. Thanks for helping us nerds communicate :)
I'd be fascinated to know if you guys find that Leadboxes convert better than a link to a Leadpage. Do you mind sharing?
Hi Kyle, Great post! Looking at your point at the end around guest blogs, the example already seems to have quite a significant following, however, it seems a bit like a circle, to get more people interested you need to guest blog, but to get published as a guest blogger you need a strong following. Is there any way to get that initial boost. I've started a couple of blogs unsuccessfully in the past, and now I have an idea which I would like to implement with the goal of not needing a job on graduation! So this new one I want to really get moving properly! Cheers.
The initial boost comes from writing for places that accept beginner authors. Smaller blogs and places like Thought Catalog are great for starting off. Each time you post something you can move up the ranks a bit. Remember that people REALLY want GREAT content. The problem most people have is they just suck at blogging. Once you get to be actually good you will be amazed by the people who are willing to publish your work.
Wow, Ludvig is the man. Just look at that effort. I applied to guest post here a while back but now I feel as though I'm not ready for your readers. I'll give it a few months. This is gold!
Thanks Kyle, that was an incredibly helpful post! I fell into the trap of 'must have a blog before I market it'. Now I understand how to collect email addresses, and I'm even a bit more confident as coming across as knowledgable in my niche - I know I am, but was struggling with how to convince others to listen to me! The way you've broken it down really simplifies it: just write the ebook, offer it, and pitch guest posts. If I write good quality, someone will want it. I have a couple of questions about the advanced method. I plan on launching a blog to help people improve their writing. My niche: how to use narrative tools like character arcs, plot devices and sensory descriptions, not just in fiction but blog posts and website copy as well. I'm struggling with just how to phrase my intent in guest posts: something like: 'I'm launching a blog about using narrative in everyday writing in November, if this sounds like something you're interested in click here to sign up to my newsletter and receive a free ebook'? I also have no real track record commenting on blogs, am not published and would have to pitch guest posts out of the blue - I fell into a ridiculous trap of 'I have no blog to promote yet, so I'll comment when I have something to add to the conversation' (such a twit!). Have you ever had anybody pitch a guest post to you that you've jumped to accept, even though they've not been published elsewhere before? How did they grab your attention? Thanks as always for the superb advice!
Hi Beth, I've definitely jumped at the opportunity to publish guest posts from people who haven't posted elsewhere before. It's hard to appreciate how rare GREAT writing is. Every outlet is looking desperately for something amazing to publish... but nobody delivers. If you DO, it doesn't matter who you are or where you've been published before!
Ah that's really encouraging to know! Thanks Kyle!
Thanks for sharing! Can't wait to implement these tips onto my first blog. I am working on my freebie and I had a question about the "cheat sheet" method that you mentioned. How exactly do I go about creating this? Is this literally ONE sheet that's jam packed with information? If possible, can you provide some examples? Thanks in advance!
Hey Nohely, yes a cheat sheet is typically a value packed sheet of information :) You can use sites like Canva, Snappa or find a freelancer on people per hour to create the cheat sheet. You just have to get the information together in one place and hopefully hand it off to someone.