by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

If you’re just now thinking of doing business on the internet, the best thing you can do is consider what platform you’re going to use. You have to start somewhere.

Even if you’re doing affiliate marketing, which does not require a website, eventually you’ll probably want to step up your efforts to make money online and have your own “place” on the internet to which you can direct people to buy your products, services, and the products of companies you’re promoting.

Having your own website is ideal. It’s a place to which you can direct anyone and do business.


So, where do you start with blogging?


You should immediately start building your list of possible contacts and build relationships with them.

You can do this with a blog and email marketing.

There are a few things you should do before you start blogging.

Read more…


Start Building Your List.

by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

Copywriting requires you to be skillful at crafting headlines. If you have a great headline there’s a better chance of getting what you’ve written read by more busy consumers. But, keeping your audiences engaged is easier said than done.

Below are 15 copywriting tips to capture the interest of busy consumers.


1. Important Information Is Bold Or Bulleted

People don’t really read. They just skim, reading only the headline and bolded or bulleted information.


2. Make Your Copy Professional And Persuasive

Don’t be too basic or mainstream. Be original and fun and give your reader a reason to engage.


3. Help Consumers Connect With Their Emotions

Make your audience feel something about themselves, not you. Their own emotions will induce them to take action.


4. Use A Short Introduction

Get straight to the point, because your readers want to learn something new that’s relevant to them.


5. Use Simplicity

Take a simple approach. Skip the banter and get to the point. Busy consumers want solutions to their problems, so give it to them and quickly offer a CTA.


6. Cover Your Point(s) Quickly

Grab people’s attention and quickly get to the point. Your audience is busy, so get your message to stand out and get to the point then deliver your CTA.


7. Delay Details

Start with the main topic and deliver details later. Busy people are not going to read a boring introduction. If the juicy part of your information is intriguing, they will read more.


8. Skip The Clever Buildup

Don’t waste a lot of time on a clever buildup. If you do, your reader may just move on before getting to the most important takeaway.


9. Know Your Audience

You must know your audience so that you can craft a message, that is immediately relevant.


10. State Exactly What You Want The Reader To Know

Start at the end and then build to support your value proposition by unpacking details a few seconds at a time, thus earning the attention of your audience.


11. Use Multiple Headlines Throughout Your Content

This makes your content skimmable and indicates what’s coming next. Limit detailed information by using links to detailed articles on the subject.


12. Ask Questions

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Asking questions, taking strong notes, and recording responses will help yield the best results in the shortest amount of time. Don’t try to be perfect. Get a draft out quickly and write with confidence.


13. Keep Your Message Short

You only have a few seconds to convince people to read what you have to say. So, keep your message as concise as possible.


14. Refine Your Core Message

For copywriting, start by using paragraph form, then cut that down to a statement of one or two sentences. Then whittle your core message down to a phrase.


15. Strike A Happy Medium

When dealing with busy consumers, you need to capture your audience’s attention while keeping the message straight and to the point.

By using these 15 copywriting tips to capture the interest of busy consumers, you can stay focused on your intent and better deliver your message to your audiences.

Source: Forbes.com



Your Autoresponder and More

by Rahimah Sultan

Content is your sales pitch, billboard, brochure, and portfolio all combined into one.

To have success at Internet marketing, you must have planned content.

As a blogger, social media strategist, or professional marketer you need well-organized content.

You have to master the engineering and architectural sides of good content development.

Your content needs to be well written, shareable, educational, and it should confirm your reputation as an authority.

You can read more here.

Get Your Business System With Autoresponder Here

by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

In part 1 of Beginner Blogger Mistakes to Avoid, we discussed 6 mistakes.

Following are the remaining mistakes to avoid:


7. Not tying specific posts into the larger picture.

Specific posts should relate to the broader picture and to your readers’ concerns.


Solution: Identify the problems and concerns they’re facing.

What will be the benefit for readers taking action?

What do they think are the consequences of not taking action?


8. Using stream-of-consciousness writing style.

You don’t want your writing to be a brain dump. People usually scan a blog post. So, it needs to be well organized.


Solution: Use a template, outline, and section headers.

Write an outline before you begin your post.

Make a list of the top things you want readers to get from your post. Then, pare those into larger section headers. Putting in a section header every few paragraphs. This makes your blog post more enjoyable and easier to read.


9. Relying on the conceptual rather than concrete.

Don’t rely on conceptional and vague ideas. Include actual, actionable steps to be taken for success.


Solution: Include actionable steps to achieve success.

Content creation should be useful. Your audience should be given something. It could be a “how-to” recommendation for a particular strategy or simply a suggestion for a tool or tactic to make a process easier.


10. Not using data as evidence.

When you make claims in your post, use data and research to back them up.


Solution: Use data to support your statements.

If you say that people prefer one social media platform over another, you need to show proof of your argument.

Some places to find great data include:

Hubspot Research

Pew Research Center

Marketing Sherpa

HubSpot’s State of Inbound Report


11. Not adding enough context.

Not using examples to back up that what you say is important.


Solution: Use visual aids and additional content to illustrate your ideas.

Saying that one product is a better bargain than another is fine. Don’t just make the statement and move on. Add more content to show why by actually comparing the two and showing the additional benefits of the one over the other. Write for the person who’s just learning about your topic.

For more specificity, you can hyperlink to other posts that relate to your current topic.


12. Borderline Plagiarizing

Don’t copy and paste content to your blog. Your post must be in your own words and in your style of writing.


Solution: Give proper credit.

If you quote someone’s content, you must cite the source.


13. Not Editing.

You’re not done when you finish writing the post.


Solution: You must take time to edit your writing.

Proofread your post. Check for typos, sentence structure, there/their type mistakes, format, and flow.


14. Trying to be perfect.

Don’t try to be perfect. It won’t work. You’ll always find one more thing to correct.


Solution: Publish. You can update later.

After you’ve put in about thirty minutes editing, just publish the post. You can always update it at a later time.


15. Not being consistent.

It’s important to be consistent for your sake and so your subscribers learn to know what to expect.


Solution: Use a calendar.

Before you start blogging, set up a planning strategy that includes how often to post, dates to post, when to do related duties to prepare for each post such as research, the actual writing, etc.

You can use Google Calendar, excel spreadsheets, other sources or just make your own when first starting to blog.


16. Concentrating on fast traffic.

Your focus should be on long-term traffic.


Solution: The ROI of your blog is the accumulation of organic traffic over time.

Publish content that has durable relevance on a consistent basis, to help drive traffic. This is known as “evergreen” content. It’s great quality and is relevant year after year with minimal attention required.


17. Not growing your subscription list.

To get traffic, leads, and eventual customers you need to get subscribers. You can add a call to action (CTA) to your blog to grow subscribers.


Solution: Set up a subscription CTA and email newsletter.

Use your email marketing tool to set up a welcome email for new subscribers and place a simple sign-up form at the top of your blog. You can also use PPC advertising, email, and dedicated landing pages for subscribers that direct people through channels like social media and other pages on your website.

Some other things you can do include offering incentives for signups, promoting on your “About Us” page, adding footers that act like CTAs to blog articles, and using SEO (search engine optimization) for each article you post.

These are beginner blogger mistakes to avoid.

Not making these mistakes and using the suggested solutions to avoid them should set you well on your way to productive blogging.


Your Autoresponder and More

by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

When you tell people that you blog for a living, they think it’s easy, that you just sit at home all day on the internet writing. They say anyone can do that!

But, when they actually try it, they realize it’s much harder than they thought. At first, they make many mistakes like any beginner.

The challenges are pretty easy to avoid if you know they’re coming.

Below are some common mistakes most beginners make and some tips for avoiding them.


What is a blog?

A blog is short for weblog, a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order, so that the most recent post appears first, at the top of the web page. — Wikipedia

Blogs can help you establish authority in your industry, drive traffic to your website, convert traffic into leads, and grow your business.


What are the most common blog post mistakes?

1. You think of ideas that only interest you.

No matter how great you think your post is, you’re writing for other people.


Solution: Blog posts should reflect your company’s or your site’s larger goals.

You’re blogging to offer solutions to your audience’s problems and to grow your business. All of your blog posts should be written with these goals in mind and have a natural tie-in to issues in your industry while addressing specific questions and concerns of your prospects.


2. You forget about your persona.

If you want your blog content to generate traffic, leads, and sales, it must resonate with your audience and make them take action. You have to have an idea of the person you’re trying to reach – age group, interests, male, female, income range, etc.


Solution: Understand your persona’s problems and frustrations and solve them.

You can bridge the gap with your content by defining your buyer persona and the things that are important to them.


3. Your writing is too rigid.


You should write like you talk, in a style that is effortless to read.


Solution: Write blogs that are personable.

So, relax your style of writing and be more conversational. Use contractions. Throw in a pun or two.


4. You think people care about you as a writer.

People care more about what you can teach them than they do about you and your experiences.


Solution: Show your personality without obscuring the subject.

You can introduce parts of your personality in your writing to make people feel at ease. Some people crack jokes, some reference pop culture, and others use vivid descriptions in their writing.

The choice is yours. Make your tone personal and engaging, as if you’re in a face-to-face conversation.


5. You digress

Although you’re encouraged to let your personality shine through when you’re writing, don’t abuse the privilege. Don’t bring up too many personal experiences that bury the point you’re trying to make.

Don’t digress into these personal anecdotes and analogies too much — your readers aren’t sitting in front of you, which means you can’t guarantee that you have their undivided attention. They may lose patience and bounce from your article.


Solution: Assert your argument repeatedly.

Restate your point in every section of the article, to prevent your writing from losing its audience. Commit to an overarching message and deliver it gradually, repeating it several times throughout the post.

State your main point upfront. Don’t spend several paragraphs telling a story of how you came to do a certain thing before getting to the main focus of your post.


6. Not narrowing your topic.

Don’t use topics like:

“Internet Marketing”

“How to do Social Media Marketing”

“Digital Marketing”

These topics are too broad. To get the most short-term and long-term benefits of your blogging, you need to be very specific.


Solution: Start with a clear, concise idea.

A working title isn’t final — it’s just a solid perspective to keep your writing on track. Once you get this stage right it’s much easier to write your posts.

This is a link to some sources to get ideas. (I get no commission)

https://coursemethod.com/blog-topic-generator-tool.html



Your Autoresponder and More

by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

What is burnout?

Burnout is the accumulation of work-related stress coupled with continued pressure to perform at an increased level over time without sufficient breaks and downtime.

What are the signs of stress?

1. Fight response

People who have a fight response to stress may have increased irritability and anger. They may have an urge to lash out, raise their voice, be accusatory toward others or the situation. This response can also show in their physical demeanor such as tightening of parts of the body and muscles, and high blood pressure.

2. Freeze response

The freeze response is manifested in an inability to concentrate, the mind freezing or locking up, brain fog, and forgetfulness. Those suffering this response may be avoiding certain situations and distancing themselves from others, and are becoming demotivated at work and in other parts of life.

3. Flight response

The flight response can cause people to become restless, fidgety, and unable to sleep. People suffering this response to stress may be having anxiety-like symptoms, such as a tight chest, affected breathing, stomach pains and excess sweating.




How do you manage stress?

If you notice any of these symptoms, it’s important to manage them as quickly as possible in order to avoid burnout and to keep your brain and body functioning in a healthy way.

Following are some things you can do to avoid burnout.

Sleep

Establish a consistent bedtime routine, so your body and brain know when to start winding down. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.

Do not exercise, use caffeine, nicotine or alcohol for a half hour before going to bed, and limit blue light exposure from mobile devices. This will improve sleep and good quality rest.

Exercise and movement

Aerobic exercise will pump endorphins through the body, reducing stress. And, physical activity leads to positive physical effects, such as improving cardiovascular, digestive and immune health and can protect the body.

Do not over-exercise. Exercising too much and too hard without adequate recovery can add to the burden on the nervous system. Those who like to do intense exercise might want to do less to give their nervous system more recovery time. Choosing other types of exercise like walking, yoga, and pilates instead of some of the more strenuous workouts during the week, can be beneficial.

Along with exercise, daily pick-me-ups such as spending 10 minutes in a park or the garden can be beneficial in minimizing stress. Fresh air and greenery are instant mood boosters that do not require putting time aside like a long, strenuous workout. These also provide the necessary regular breaks from work and help avoid burnout.

Journaling

Reflecting through writing is an effective way to manage stress, since it encourages you to explore the cause of your stress. It’s a good way to gain a deeper understanding of stress by putting it into words and then working to improve the root causes of negative stressors.

Reflecting will also provide the tools to mindfully treat stress triggers, rather than simply managing the symptoms of the stress. This will reduce overall stress as problems are solved and removed, leading to greater long-term confidence and avoiding burnout.

Take a break from technology

While on a morning walk before starting work or while attempting to wind down after dinner, we can be tempted to check messages and emails. Thus, the home office space becomes blended into the living space. This constant exposure to work-related technology can have psychological consequences and lead to an inability to switch off.

Social media can lead to distraction and prevent you from getting tasks done, and this can lead to work backlog, and ultimately contribute to burnout. Set clear parameters for work time.

Be conscious of how much time you spend on social media and look for ways to reduce this.

Maintaining Social Connections

Control what you can. Feeling like you have no control over your situation is another common burnout contributor.

It’s very powerful to accept that you cannot control certain things, and work on what you can.

Try some relaxation techniques, from breathing to mindfulness, which engage the parasympathetic nervous system.

And you can always share your concerns and fears with your trusted social connections.

Prioritize and plan

Regularly step back and look at what needs to be done in order of priority, and direct your energy accordingly. Do not let the small, less-important tasks overly absorb your limited energy.

Look at the big picture and make a plan. Then break the plan down into smaller tasks that you can direct your energy toward on a day-to-day, week-to-week basis, until you feel like you’ve got things under control.

At the beginning of the day write a to-do list. At the end of the workday look at what you achieved to remind yourself of how much you do and recognize what you can let go of.

Remain focused and don’t be afraid to say ‘no’ to things that distract from your plan.

When you have the tools to recognize and manage stress and burnout, you can take control and manage many of the variables that can contribute to this. Stress and burnout are something that we all experience at various stages in our lives, but we have inner resources such as adaptation skills and resilience.

So, the first step in avoiding burnout while working from home is recognition and then taking the necessary steps to alleviate it.



Your Autoresponder and More

by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

What is creativity?

This is in the dictionary:  1: the quality of being creative   2: the ability to create

A Google check shows this: the use of the imagination or original ideas, especially in the production of an artistic work.

These are just for starters. Of course, you can find many more definitions and even come up with some of your own.

Anyone can be creative. Creativity is not something that is bestowed upon a few seemingly extraordinary people.

Research shows, that once you get beyond the average I.Q. of about 100, intelligence and creativity are not at all related.

You still have the potential for great creativity when writing copy.



Why Are Some People, Seemingly, More Creative Than Others?

Seemingly is the operative word here.

You may not be striving to write a book. But, when it comes to writing copy for your online business endeavors, you’re trying to get prospective clients’ attention and to get them to take a specific action for a particular purpose.

It’s a matter of immediacy, a sense of urgency. 

You want to come up with different ways to get prospects attention and to engage them. It may be time for another blog article and you need new ideas.

In these situations creative thinking is crucial.

You may have tried what someone else has advised that didn’t seem to work for you, or you may have some mental blocks.

Imani Campbell of The Sage Neuroscience Center states “A mental block is your brain reaching a barrier in accessing creativity, motivation, or productivity.”



So, What to Do?

This inability to clearly think or process information can be caused by many things.

If you really care about the outcome of something, you can become very anxious. For instance, that article you need to write looms like a giant question mark. What ifs begin to creep into your thoughts – what if it’s not good enough, long enough, clever enough, etc.

Whoops! Here we go with the blockage.

People learn bad habits that are mental blocks to creative thinking. These seven things may be holding you back:


1. Using different types of thinking simultaneously

Creating is generating new ideas, picturing, looking forward, considering possibilities.

Evaluating is analyzing, judging, picking apart ideas, and categorizing them as good and bad, helpful or not.

You need to separate the two. Set down your ideas first, then go back and evaluate their worth.


2. Following advice without question

There are many gurus who tell you their success secrets. It’s fine to listen, but following advice without question could lead to stifled creativity. Many have found success doing what others said wouldn’t work.


3. Fear of failure

No one likes making mistakes or failing. However, trying too hard to avoid failure sets you up for avoiding success.


4. Lack of confidence

There’s some level of uncertainty in every creative undertaking. A little self-doubt is natural.

Just have confidence that you can create and effectively carry through with solutions to challenges.

You’re on your way to becoming more confident and more creative when you understand that ideas often seem ridiculous at first, that failure is a learning experience, and nothing is impossible.


5. Discouragement from others

Most people will not see things as you do.

You may be all excited about some new venture you’re considering and they say you need to be sensible or they subtly imply that it won’t work.

Ignore them and once you’re successful, they’ll have to reckon with you.


6. Information overload

Over analyzing and cramming so much information into your brain before actually starting a project can cause you to lose the ability to act. You have to know when to stop collecting information, for that article, and start writing.


7. False limitations

Don’t become trapped by false limitations, self-imposed products of your experience. Be open to new things.

Step outside your comfort zone and explore something unrelated to what you do. Consider how people in those areas do what they do. You may find something that seems impossible today doable in the future.



How do You Regain Creativity?

Now that you know what may be holding you back, there are several things you can do to free your natural creative abilities:


1. Establish routines

Plan your necessary daily activities so you can have free time for creative ideas to show up and proper space to develop them.


2. Rest your mind

Block out the noise in your brain with scheduled time for daydreaming.


3. Move around

To create space for mental clarity you can walk, jog, run, etc. each day.


4. Complete mini projects

For practice in completing goals that require long-term commitment, perform a small task each day so that at the end of the week you’ve finished a project.


5. Take steps that help you achieve your long-term goal

Break down your long-term goal into a list of manageable tasks for each day, and check off one daily no matter how small. Don’t do more.

This is about sticking with a large project, rather than doing a lot of tasks fast and suffering burnout or losing interest.

You want to get into the habit of taking steps that help you achieve your ultimate creative goal.


6. Relax

Do something every day that you love. Spend 10 minutes daily doing just that and focusing on the good feeling you get.

You’re more likely to get new ideas when you feel relaxed.


7. Play around with your thoughts

Don’t always accept thoughts as truth. Think of the opposite as being true. If you’re worried that a situation may not go as planned, see the possibility of it going smoothly. Envision how you want it to go.

Playing around with your thoughts allows more creative solutions to arise.


Remember, creativity is not something that is bestowed upon only a few individuals. People learn bad habits that are mental blocks to creative thinking, and there are ways to regain your creativity.

These are just a few suggestions to increase creativity in your writing.



Your Autoresponder and More

by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

While you’re using great copywriting skills to convince your readers to take a particular action, make sure your content is grammatically correct.

Be careful when using autocorrect while typing. It won’t catch grammar mistakes, because a word may be spelled right and be grammatically incorrect. For example:

Your my favorite dancer.
You’re my favorite dancer.

Both words are correctly spelled.


Here are some common writing mistakes that can weaken the sparkle and credibility of your message.


1. Incorrect subject verb-agreement

If the subject is singular, the verb must be singular.

Example: There is so many great ones.
Correct: There are so many great ones.

Example: Everyone was willing to participate. (This is correct.)



2. Missing commas

How you use commas in a list depends on the specific writing style you follow.

An Oxford, or serial, comma is the last comma in a list. It goes before the word “and.”

Example 1: When you go shopping, be sure to get eggs, milk, bread and peanut butter.
When you go shopping, be sure to get eggs, milk, bread, and peanut butter.

Although there are different schools of thought regarding the use of the Oxford comma, when you want to write a good sentence, it’s proper punctuation to always use commas to separate the multiple items you reference in a list.

Technically, it’s grammatically optional in American English.

Example 2: If the shop is closed when we get there we’ll have to wait until next week.
If the shop is closed when we get there, we’ll have to wait until next week.



3. Apostrophes

Apostrophes are generally used in two instances:

For contractions (I’m planning to go tomorrow, if it’s not raining)

To show possession (Susan’s computer means the computer belongs to Susan)

They’re also used to indicate missing numbers in a year, ’89 for 1989 and ’07 for 2007.



4. Hyphens

Example:

Wrong: my 90 year old grandmother
Right: my 90-year-old grandmother



5. Loose or lose

Loose means not firmly or tightly in place.

Example:

Your shoelace is loose.
He might lose the money.



6. Could of, would of, should of

These are incorrect uses of contractions for I could have, I would have, or I should have.

Correct Example:

I should have gone to the reception, and could have, if Tom had been on time.

Slurring in speech results in the common grammar mistake of substituting of for have.



7. Affect and effect

Affect and effect are often confused, although one is a verb and the other a noun.

Affect is a verb that describes something that causes or influences change. Effect is what happens as a result of the change.

“Here’s a mnemonic: A is for action. Verbs are about action. Affect starts with an A, so it’s a verb.”

Correct Examples:

Not getting enough sleep will adversely affect your health.
The effect of not getting enough sleep is bad health.



8. There, their, they’re

There is a location, their shows possession by more than one person, and they’re is a contraction for they are.

Examples:

We live here not there.
They work there but it’s not their shop.
They’re happy to be home.



9. Your and you’re

Wrong: Your my inspiration.
Correct: You’re my inspiration.

Your is the possessive of you.
You’re is the contraction for you are.



10. Then and than

Use then when referring to time.
Than is used when comparing things.

Example:

I’m going to the library then to the store.
That is better than this one.

You can use Grammarly.com (no compensation received here) to check your writing.

Of course, there are some exceptions, to these rules, that are not discussed here.

Always check and recheck your writing for mistakes.

This article only covers 10 common grammar mistakes to avoid in your writing.

Remember that autocorrected writing must be checked for correct grammar usage.

Your Autoresponder and More

by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

In my last article we covered what to do before you start blogging.


Now, you need to actually set up your blog.


How do you go about setting up a blog?



1. The first step to setting up a blog is picking the right topic.

For a personal blog you’re only concerned about enjoying the topic and having fun.

But, if you want to create income you need a winning blog topic.

Don’t try to be unique or clever. Pick a topic that has an existing audience and popular blogs already competing for the audience attention.

Who will link to you if there is no competition? Where will you get your audience? How will anyone find you?



2. The correct blogging platform is vital. To test the water you can start with a free blog at Medium.com and check ideas for viability. (A suggestion only. No compensation for me.)

When you’re ready to build an audience and make money online, use self-hosted WordPress.

That’s WordPress.org NOT WordPress.com

You can check out the difference here.



3. Now, decide on a domain name. Make a list of topics that interest you. These could be topics you think might be profitable, hobbies, or something random you’ve read about.

When your list is complete, check out these questions:

Do blogs on this topic have a Facebook page with more than 10k fans?
Do any blogs on this topic more than 50k followers on Twitter?
Does Amazon have any books with more than 30 reviews on this topic?
Are there any Google ads when you search for words and phrases related to this topic?
Do any words or phrases related to this topic have more than 100k searches in Google’s Keyword Planner tool?

If the answer to these questions is yes, you’re good to go.


Your domain name needs to represent your audience, a specific topic, and a benefit. For example:

Name the Audience.   TheBlogStarter.com

Name the Specific Topic.   TechRadar.com

Name the Benefit.   MakeALivingWriting.com


Once you’ve made a decision on your domain name, you need to check its availability and purchase it through a domain registrar. Any one of the following would be a good choice, and the fee is about $8 to $10 per year for a .com extension.

http://www.godaddy.com
http://www.namecheap.com
http://www.networksolutions.com
http://www.onlydomains.com



4. Purchase a web hosting plan. You need a place for your website on the Internet. You can pay a small fee to keep your website on the Internet, handle all your visitors, back up your website, provide customer support, manage the security of your website, and so on.

There are loads of WordPress hosts, but I recommend HostThenProfit.com (affiliate link).


Do not purchase anything else when you buy a domain name. The registrars will try to get you to do so, but don’t take the bait, as you’ll be setting everything up under your web hosting plan.

You’re now ready to roll.


So, how do you set up a blog?

By following these steps you can create your blog, grow an audience, and start earning a real, tangible income.

Don’t wait days, weeks, or months to get started. Start a blog today — right now.

Get Your System With Autoresponder Here

by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

If you’re just now thinking about setting up a blog, the first thing you need do is start building your list, on the first day.



Why Build a List First?

You need to start building your list ASAP! It’s absolutely necessary if you want to run successful email marketing campaigns and reach people who are truly interested in your business.

Despite the popularity of social media channels, email marketing remains one of the most used digital marketing techniques.

If you want a successful business, you need people to market to.



What is Email Marketing?

Email marketing as defined in Wikipedia, is the act of sending a commercial message, typically to a group of people, using email… Email marketing strategies commonly seek to achieve one or more of three primary objectives, to build loyalty, trust, or brand awareness.

An email is often the first step in a customer’s journey with you, the initial communication.



What is the Connection Between an Email and Your Blog?

You can think of your blog as your main base of operation, the place where you send people for your products/services or any related information. It’s a marketing tool.

It is also the place you can acquire their information in order to begin a relationship with them so they can get acquainted with you, and begin to like and trust you.

These are the people who will receive your emails. This is a part of your list building. Once your blog is set up, you can strategically place opt-in forms on it asking visitors to fill in their information – full name and email address – so you can contact them. Stick to the basics, name and email. Nobody wants to fill out much more than that.



How Do You Get People to Give up Their information?

1. Pick an email marketing service. I use Host Then Profit (affiliate link).

If you’re just starting out and your budget is tight, you can use a free service. You’ll need to check around and compare the pros and cons so you can choose one that best suits your purpose.

2. Place opt-in forms on your blog.

3. Give visitors a reason to give you their email address. Offer them an ethical bribe (subscriber bribes, lead magnets, opt-in bribes, free offers, free gifts, and content upgrade).


Most people won’t give you their email address out of the goodness of their heart, even if they like you.


Freebies are proven lead magnets.


Give them a free worthwhile gift.


Your subscriber’s bribe should be simple.

Don’t fall into to the trap of trying to get too large and creative with your lead magnet, which could end up in you not creating one at all.

You can educate your visitors by giving away free downloads filled with actionable tips and helpful tools they can use.


Some things you can give away:

Free blog articles
Emails with coupons
Videos
Tutorials and courses
Templates
E-Books


You can start with a one-page simple short PDF checklist offering tips on a particular subject.



To build an email list from nothing you need:

 1. To understand your audience

Decide who will be your audience — name, job title, work, demographics like age, gender, education, etc. In other words, create a persona.

You can find out a lot about people through social media channels.

2. A website

Your blog will, eventually, become your website.


In the meantime, you can use a landing page, a single-page website that contains your email opt-in form.


You can use any of the services below to create an opt-in form.


Some of them have free trial periods.

Landerapp.com
iContact.com
Hubspot.com
Leadpages.net
Wix.com


Note: Some advertising channels require that you have a multi-page website that includes pages such as Contact, Terms of Service, and Privacy Policies.


3. An email marketing service. I use Host Then Profit (affiliate link).


4. A great offer, a free worthwhile gift.


Now that you have some pointers on what to do before you start blogging, start building that list.

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