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If Your Blog Died Today…. What Would It Be Remembered For?

Posted: 17 Feb 2009 06:08 AM PST

If your blog were to die today - how would it be remembered?

Here’s a little 2 part exercise that might be fun (although slightly morbid) - and hopefully insightful. You’ll need half an hour or so to do it properly.

1. Write an obituary for your blog 10 years in the future

Project yourself forward 10 years, imagine that at that point you decide to end your blog having achieved everything that you want to achieve with it and write a short obituary about your blog as you’d like other people to have seen it to that point.

Keep in mind that your blog has been as successful as it can be and you’re ending it at the peak of its game.

What do you want people to say about your blog?
How do you hope it will have been perceived?
What will people miss about it the most?
What ground has it broken?
What has it achieved?
How has it helped people?

Take 10 minutes to write this obituary and dare to dream big.

2. Write an obituary for your blog as it stands today

OK - back to the present. Lets just say that you blog ended today. Perhaps it was hacked, perhaps you just decided to delete it or perhaps your server died and you didn’t have a backup - the reason doesn’t matter - the exercise remains the same.

Write an obituary for your blog as you think others see it now.

What would they say about it?
What would people miss about it?
What has it achieved?
How has it fulfilled a need or service in people’s lives.
What ground has it broken?

This exercise is one I did a few years back in another context and it was a powerful and motivating exercise. The key to it is to look at the two obituaries (the one you want people to write in the future and the one that people would write now - and to compare them and to sit with the differences.

The reality is that most of us have not yet achieved what we want to achieve with our blogs - however the question is, are we moving in the right direction to make our dreams a reality?

Many bloggers that I talk with have grand dreams and hopes - but their day to day blogging doesn’t take them closer to them.

Once you’ve compared your two obituaries - the next step is to start to put together some concrete steps that will enable you to move from the present reality to the dream for your future. These sorts of dreams don’t just happen - rather they are the result of taking daily steps towards your goals.

If you’d like to share your obituaries (or at least what you discovered in writing them) in comments below I’d be interested to see what you come up with.

Module 1: Analyzing the market for your ebook

Most internet marketers know the basics of researching a niche and ascertaining competition. Fortunately, the authors were aware of this and kept it short.

Put simply – the one purpose of this chapter is to give you the tools to ascertain whether there is a market willing to pay for your product. This point seems obvious, but is one that is often ignored. People get swept up in the excitement of product creation and don't bother questioning if there is even a demand for it.

Its unlikely established bloggers will discover new methods, but it did allow me to view the research in a different context.

Module 2: Finding and Wooing buyers.

This module contains two steps that would be second nature to many Problogger readers:

Make Your Blog Attract Your Target Audience
Drive New, Targeted Readers To Your Existing Blog

The emphasis is on creating relationships with your prospects "far in advance of your product going on sale."

The tips included:

Using twitter and social media
Prolifically commenting on other blogs within the niche
Guest posting on other blogs
Using forums.

I was disappointed in that they didn't provide any guidance in how these methods compliment each other. While it is beyond the scope of the ebook to provide comprehensive networking advice, I have found that repeated exposure to an audience – via all the methods listed above – is what converts the best.

If you find the information too basic, Dave and Naomi also included a section on how to leverage your existing blog.

Module 3: Setting Up Your Mailing List

This module alone was worth the $97. It showed me how to set up an email list that feels ethical. It is explained how to segment your list and create a positive audience that likes being sold to. Dave also gives the foundations of setting up the list so as to continue to woo the reader.

It was during this chapter that I really started getting excited about the possibilities available during aproduct launch.

Module 4: Writing Your Ebook

I've tried writing an ebook before. I gave up immediately because I had no plan, and no focus. This module made me realize the many ways I went wrong and gave a solid blueprint for successful product creation. I learned how to:

Create an killer ebook outline
Develop a work schedule you can stick to
Get others to help you out with the editing.

Naomi and Dave provided their own perspective when it came to creating a product. Some of it is conflicting, but it helped to show you that you have to develop your own style during the planning and writing stage.

Module 5: Launching Your Ebook

It's in this module that everything in the previous chapters comes together. Dave provides a complete framework for the entire launch process. He discusses:

How to make your first batch of money during the presale
How to build up the buzz around your product and increase your mailing list
How to organize the content for your mailing list
Ongoing ways of earning money after your launch.

The information is rock solid and much of it is also relevant to someone who is trying to launch a successful blog.

For instance, in the section on getting big names to review your book, he suggested that you "find out who their online friends are and focus some attention on building them up."

I have personal experience of this working. Recently, Darren hopped on twitter, asking his followers what they were blogging about. I replied instantly, raving about this awesome product I was about to review. It's that review your reading now. I turned from an impressed consumer to product evangelist just by the full attention Dave gave me in a couple of tweets.

Would I recommend it?

I was that impressed by this product that I immediately brought another of Dave's products – and have the intention of buying more from both him and Naomi.

I would recommend this book to anyone who plans to release an information product. New bloggers can learn how to optimize their blogs to woo potential customers. Established bloggers can discover a launch method that resonates with market savvy audiences

If your unsure, you can check out his information for free at his new blog, The Launch Coach. The information is top notch and is a clear example of how to effectively launch a new product.

In conclusion.

I tweeted Dave immediately after purchasing this product, thanking him for changing my perception of an entire industry. He replied by saying that he "wants to make ebooks fun again."

He did. You can do the same by reading the ebook.

Read more reviews and posts from Jade at her blog The Prolific Writer.