This is an excerpt from my new ebook, which includes my 20 page VERBATIM text transcript of Yaro Starak’s 29MB podcast – with headshots and time stamps.
Patrick Meninga achieved fame as a blogger by building a $2,000 a month adsense website while doing a full time job, and then selling it for $200,000. Between 6th and 7th March 2013, I spent over 12 hours typing out a 20 page verbatim transcript of Yaro’s 2012 interview for my personal use. Then it struck me that others could find it useful as well. So I’m distributing this free PDF eBook version, which begins with an article that discusses twenty-one (21) lessons I distilled from listening repeatedly (for a cumulative period of over 24 hours) to the interview. You can request a FREE copy of the new ebook by sending me email via tayo at tksola dot com. Please share it freely with others!
1. BEING NEW TO BLOGGING IS NOT A FATAL HANDICAP
Patrick explained that he had been using the web, but not to earn income. He made it clear that his journey involved a lot of trial and error – a “Hit and miss” approach. He stressed that he did not know what he was doing . But he persisted and learned. But you’re lucky. We all are! Patrick’s formula is reproducible, and now documented in various formats for us to consult. With diligence, your journey should take less effort, time, and yield faster rewards.
2. LACK OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP EXPERIENCE CANNOT STOP YOU
Patrick noted that he had never run a business prior to starting his blogging venture. But he had a deep hunger to make a success of the business. He wanted freedom from “needing” a day job. So as the blog showed more promise, his determination to make it work grew as well, and he soon became an entrepreneur! The fact that you’ve never done business before should not stop you from doing this.
3. A FULL TIME DAY JOB CANNOT STOP YOU
Many people work day jobs and after closing, spend the rest of the day “resting” or “relaxing”. Patrick made smart use of his after work hours. He locked himself in and consistently wrote new content for his site: for well over a year. Then when he saw real income earning potential, he redeemed his accumulated vacation time, and pushed himself to the limits – churning out 25 articles per day! I’ve NEVER done more than 6 articles in one day (at 600 to 1000 words each). Patrick’s achievement tells me I can do better. And so can you.
4. FIND A GOOD MOTIVE OR REASON
For many people, the reward of earning money is enough reason to start blogging. However, in Patrick’s case, his personal experience with drug addiction and how to beat it drove him. It kept him going even when income and traffic was not so encouraging. Find your own reason, and use it to challenge yourself to succeed.
5. GOOD WRITING AND TYPING SKILLS WILL GREATLY BOOST YOUR PRODUCTIVITY
To type 3,000 word articles in 2 to 3 hours like Patrick says he does, will definitely require above average typing and writing competence! So, check yourself. How well do you write? How fast can you type – without errors? Improve your writing and typing skills. Get self study materials, if you’re good at self-tutoring. Otherwise, enroll for classes. Or find a coach to help you with either or both. They are not the same by the way: You could be a good writer, and have poor typing skills. Get it?
6. FORGET WEB DESIGN: WORDPRESS WILL DO. IT’S YOUR CONTENT PEOPLE WANT!
The days when “pretty” websites with drab content reigned are long gone. Today, websites must offer useful content to get – and hold – the attention of search engines, and their click-happy visitors. WordPress is a powerful all-in-one Content Management System used by millions worldwide. It lets even a novice get a dynamic and database driven website up and running within minutes. And best of all, it allows you to focus on the most important tasks e.g. creating what Yaro calls “Pillar Content”. Patrick also calls it “Epic Content”.
7. YOU’LL HAVE TO DO THE WORK – NO OVERNIGHT SUCCESS STORY HERE
Patrick’s narration of his journey showed clearly that it would be unrealistic to expect quick success in blogging for passive income. You’ll have to do the work, monitor the results you get, tweak things here and there as necessary, until you start getting the kinds of results you want more consistently. But you’ll have to give it time – be patient. If you’re in a hurry to start seeing big money, this is probably not the kind of business you want to do!
8. MINE YOUR STAT LOGS FOR GOLD
Patrick talked about the data mining he did that led him to discover how people visiting his website were finding him. Not just that, but by forming a habit of reviewing his stats logs, he identified search strings and long tail keywords that were bringing his website up in search engine results pages. Patrick actually said he wasn’t even using Google analytics at the time, and that all he had was the “stats counter”. I found this quite interesting. It’s like a simplified version of keyword research, but effective. And I’ve resolved to begin checking mine and using what I learn from it, in addition to anything Google analytics gives me. I expect that just like Patrick, I should be able to find out what’s keyword strings are bringing me visitors, and use then to write new posts.
9. WRITE FROM YOUR OWN EXPERIENCES
I think this is really important. Most of my writing is experience based. And I’ve gotten great results for it. It’s actually easier, than when you try to write based on abstract concepts or ideas. Patrick said he “knew the material” and had many ideas that were not mainstream. Every human being is unique. That’s why writing from experience is the best way to stand out. “Boring” content drives visitors away!
10. BUILD LINKS PROFILE USING GUEST POSTING
Patrick built links to his website by doing guest posts on blogs he identified in his niche. He also did article marketing via Goarticles.com and Ezinearticles.com. Explore other options to boost the links profile – and ranking – of your website. However, you’ll probably get the best/ multiple returns for your time or effort by focusing on guest blogging in particular.
GET A FREE COPY OF THE FULL EBOOK!
To get your FREE copy of the FULL ebook titled “21 Valuable Lessons I Learnt About Blogging for Passive Income, from Yaro Starak’s 60 Minute Podcast Interview with Patrick Meninga”, (Includes my 20 page VERBATIM text transcript of Yaro Starak’s 29MB podcast – with time stamps.) – send email to me via tayo at tksola dot com with “FREE Transcipt PDF EBook” in the subject line.
