Has this happened to you? You’re laying in bed at night and can’t sleep, and suddenly you have an idea for a site. It’s unique! It’s perfect! You jump up and buy the domain before someone else thinks of the idea… As tempting as it is to jump in with both feet, I’ve learned that no matter how good you think the idea is, it’s best to do some research first.

1. Keyword research – is anyone searching for what your site is going to offer? At a bare minimum do some basic keyword research to understand what kind of search volume you might expect.

2. Competition – are there other sites out there with the same idea?  How many other pages are there on the topic in the Google index? If there are a ton of awesome sites, it might be best to go back to the drawing board. Sometimes you find that there are lots of sites, but you know you could do it better and overcome the competition.

3. Reality check – ask people you respect if it’s a good idea. See if it still seems like a good idea after you sleep on it.  Trying writing some content for the site, especially if it’s blog oriented, and see if you still have lots of ideas and energy for the topic after you’ve spent some time writing.

Sometimes, after doing some research, you end up realizing it wasn’t such a good idea after all. Sometimes you adjust your concept just a bit before buying a domain name.

Make sure you have adequate time (and money) to devote to the site

You can only do so much, so you have to choose wisely where to put your resources of time and money. Sometimes it’s better to put resources into a site you already have, rather than start a new one. Remember that overloading oneself can create burnout and that just sucks all the fun out of it.

Consider monetization

If you’re going to invest time and money into a site, be sure you have a plan for getting a return on that investment.  Would it be a good Adsense site? Are you going to do affiliate marketing or try and get into an ad network? It’s never too early to monetize a site.

Be prepared for the long haul

There are plenty of sites that succeed in a relatively short amount of time, but for the most part, you should be prepared to allow at least a year for a site to be generating traffic and a decent income. Persistence pays off though, and as long as you continue to see growth, stick with it.

Be prepared to throw in the towel

Some ideas will fail. In some cases you’ll spend hours and hours building a site’s content, persist for months and get nowhere. Sometimes you have to cut your losses, move on and be glad for what you learned in the process. My first two sites were started about the same time. I put a LOT more time into one than I did the other, and finally after about 18 months I had to give up on the one I’d invested so much time into. It still makes a small income each month, just sitting there, but I stopped pouring resources into it and focused on the other site, which has become my leading money-maker.

Don’t be discouraged

If you really believe in your idea, go for it. Even if it fails you will have learned a lot and be more likely to be successful with the next idea. Every experienced entrepreneur will tell you that failure is just a part of the game, and a necessary stepping stone to eventual success.

Sources for free images:

StockXchng – free stock images. The quality here runs from great to just mediocre, but I always look here first and often find exactly what I’m looking for. Many of the images require no attribution at all, but be sure to check the terms of use.

EveryStockPhoto – indexes images from a wide variety of sources. They also index StockXchng, but it’s unclear whether everything that is there is also on EveryStockPhoto, so I check both.

Flickr – I use a great plugin for WordPress called PhotoDropper. It searches Flickr for images available under the Creative Commons license.

Once you’ve taken a look at the sources for free images, check out the many low cost stock photography sites. My favorites are:

Sources for low cost images:

iStockPhoto – They’ve got zillions of images and the small size is only about $1.50. They have a new, improved search engine called “Best Match” which is constantly learning from customer search behavior to provide increasingly improved results. They offer free photos every week and a free vector every month. If you really want to splurge, check out their new premium image collection called “Vetta”. Here are a couple of samples – nice huh?

Shutterstock – This site boasts over 7 million images and operates solely by subscription. Blog-sized images end up being about $4 depending on your subscription plan. They offer a free photo and vector each week as well. Here are a couple of examples of the selection available:

Crestock – These images are just a little pricier at $5 each, but they have a free photo each day. Here is an example of a daily free image:

One last thought: remember that if you claim income from your blog on your taxes, you can completely write off the cost of images!

I recently participated in an online conversation in which someone was asking about his personal brand. He was wondering, since he had the same qualifications and offered the same skill set as several others who had been around about the same amount of time, or less, why they seemed to be doing so much better than he was. Why were they more well known and experiencing more success than him? Any of us who have an internet presence must be concerned with our own personal brand and it can be productive and even motivational to compare ourselves with our peers.

What is a brand anyway?

We tend to think of a brand in terms of consumer products like Kraft, Apple, Nike, etc. but it’s broader than that:

A brand is a collection of experiences and associations connected with a service, a person or any other entity.
~ Wikipedia

A good brand provides the consumer something of predictable positive value. Things like:

1. Entertainment – great writing, interesting anecdotes, a great story, the latest gossip, a fun game
2. Education – helpful information, up to date news, enlightening thoughts, how-to guides, lists of resources
3. Experience – an easy to use product, products that make you feel good,

Let’s look at this in terms of blogging. Your readers are consumers of Brand You on your blog.

A good brand is predictable

Regular posting (note I did not say “frequent”) and consistency of quality are key. Readers have found quality at your site in the past and expect to find it with each post.

A good brand is positive

People who “consume” your brand come away with a positive feeling. They were entertained, educated, challenged, etc. and they will come back for more.

A good brand adds value

How are you making the lives of your readers better? How are you adding value to their lives?

Actions really do speak louder than words

Branding is not about defining yourself through words. It’s about defining yourself through actions. You will not build your brand much by telling all about yourself and what makes you so great. You build a great personal brand by doing great things. Obviously, you’ll want to engage in some self-promotion at times, but that’s not the main focus of your efforts. Even a blog like Dooce for example, which is by nature, all about herself and her family is a great brand because she provides consistent entertainment.

Adjust your focus

The reality is that people aren’t interested in you, your career, your passions, etc… They’re interested in themselves. For the most part, unless you just have some “fans” who follow you because they really do want to know everything about you, they’re asking, “what’s in it for me?” It’s the standard question people in marketing know that the consumer is asking every time they examine a brand. Focus on your readers, not yourself. Give stuff away for free. Ask, “how can I help you?” and  “what are you interested in?” Readers can tell very quickly whether you’re out to promote and build up yourself, or whether you’re out to promote and build up others. Think about that friend you have, who when you have a conversation, continually talks about himself. He rarely asks about you, and you can tell when you’re talking about something that he’s just waiting for you to finish so he can talk again. He’s not someone you want to hang around much, is he?

A holistic approach to branding

Because a brand is a “collection of experiences and associations,” all of your online activities play a role in the perception people have of you. This seems like a no brainer, but let’s say you have a great site with copy that talks about being interested in your readers, blah, blah, blah… and then when they follow you on Twitter, all your tweets are self-promotional (read my latest post, vote for me, look at this thing I did) and you rarely reply to anyone. Your brand intergrity doesn’t mean much because it’s clearly insincere.

Up for some more reading on personal branding?

Elements of a Personal Brand by Chris Brogan

The Brand Called You at Fast Company

1. ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income

Written by two professional bloggers, Darren Rowse (founder of ProBlogger.net) and Chris Garrett (writer and internet marketing consultant), ProBlogger aims to provide expert advice on how to create and run a successful blog. Useful for beginners and advanced bloggers alike, the book provides practical tuition on selecting a topic, analysing the market, making money directly and indirectly from blogs and optimizing advertising. The knowledge on all things blog related is extensive and best of all having being written by two professional bloggers, you can be assured that the advice is not purely theoretical but has been gained from practical experience.

2. Blog Marketing

Aimed at companies, Blog Marketing by author Jeremy Wright shows business owners and PR people how to fully utilize the power of blogs in order to raise the company’s profile, improve customer communication and transform the company’s image. It provides insight into blogging success stories achieved by companies including GM, The Disney Channel, Microsoft and Boeing. Blog Marketing is one of the best marketing resources currently on the market. It is comprehensive and while experienced bloggers may find it a little too basic, it is a great read for business executives new to blogging.

3. The Corporate Blogging Book: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know to Get It Right

This is one of the best books around for novice corporate bloggers. Written by Debbie Weil, the book is witty, entertaining and informative. The book is unpretentious and the advice delivered in a concise and focussed manner. It contains background information on blogs, tips on how to write an effective blog which will prompt responses from customers, advice on how to utilize the latest technology and tools and even provides guidelines on how to convince senior managers to enter the world of blogging.

4. The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly

Written by David Meerman Scott, The New Rules of Marketing and PR addresses the issues currently faced by many business – how to transform traditional marketing strategies into effective and profitable online strategies. Scott explains the most fundamental rules of defining an online marketing strategy such as targeting your demographic, using internet based tools and technologies such as blogging and podcasts to promote your business and drive traffic to your website and blog. It is written by a PR and marketing guru, for PR and marketing people.

5. Start Your Own Blogging Business (Startup)

A collaboration between Entrepreneur Press and author J.S. McDougall, this book provides sound advice to anyone wishing to start up their own blog and make money from it. It is insightful and easy to read, however it is aimed at the beginner and advanced users may find it too basic. It starts by explaining what a blog is, explains concepts like RSS feeds, SEO and other marketing techniques to raise the profile of your blog. It also describes how to generate income from advertisers, promotions or affiliation with merchants offering everything from (what were once lucrative) financial services such as credit reports to more mundane, but in-demand products such as food and utilities.

6. Secrets of Successful Blogging

Providing over 100 tips on how to create a successful blog and make money from blogging, author Ted Demopoulos provides clear and concise advice on how to drive traffic to your blog and to turn a profit from it. It is written for bloggers as opposed to professional marketing and PR people and is a great reference guide. More a booklet, than a book it is still worth having a read through especially if you are a novice blogger needing simple advice on how to promote your blog.

7. Blogging for Dummies

Written in the typical style of the ‘Dummies’ books, authors Susannah Gardner and Shane Birley disclose all you will ever need to know about running a successful blog. It is a very comprehensive guide and covers all aspects of blogging including tips on how to write a blog which is interesting and will result in repeat viewers, advice on choosing the right tools and blog applications to boost traffic and handle comments, generating revenue and how to protect your privacy. Like most ‘Dummies’ books it is aimed at the beginner and is not for corporate or professional bloggers.

8. Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers

Authors Robert Scoble and Shel Israel have taken a unique approach in its advice for corporate blogging. Unlike most marketing books which suggest the appropriate tools and tricks to use to promote blogs, Naked Conversations argues that there is much to be gained from not letting a business blog being vetted by the company’s Marketing and PR department. It is not a “how to” guide but rather provides best practice guidance to companies who are already blogging.

9. Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day

It is important to integrate your social media strategy with your overall company marketing plan. In Social Media Marketing, author Dave Evans discusses the basics for setting up a Social Media strategy including the use of blogs, RSS feeds and podcasts, as well as providing reference case studies and tutorials. It is informative and provides a sound guideline for anyone wishing to define a comprehensive online marketing strategy for their business. In addition to this, it also highlights how an online strategy differs from a traditional marketing strategy.

10. eBoot Camp: Internet Marketing Techniques to Grow Your Business

This book is aimed at small businesses and individuals who do not have extensive budgets for large marketing and advertising campaigns. In it, author Corey Perlman discusses the tools and techniques you can use to drive traffic to your website or blog including SEO, keyword research, press releases and e-newsletters. Tips include improving search engine rankings and traffic flow by utilizing social networking sites, affiliate links and much more. It is very comprehensive and a must read for all businesses wanting to improve their online presence.

Need to learn about marketing? You need this book.

If you’re a small business owner, one of the most important things you can do is to educate yourself about how to market your business. You’ve heard “you have to spend money to make money” right? How do you spend that money? Where do you put those marketing dollars so they’ll have the most impact? I have seen companies dump thousands of dollars into marketing efforts that produced no results and they have no idea why or what to do next. That’s why I’m recommending the Integral Marketing System by Corte Swearingen. This is a HUGE 339 page ebook that is an outstanding resource for anyone who wants to learn how to effectively market their business.  For $57 you get the book, including 16 marketing modules plus the lifetime eBook updates, and a FREE 30-minute consulting call with Corte.

In the book you’ll learn a systematic approach to attracting new customers, selling more to existing ones, and increasing your customer retention – all with easy-to-apply techniques that you can put to use immediately. Click here to visit SmallBiz Marketing Services website and learn more about the content of the book. You’ll also want to click on the homepage link at the top right as there are also many helpful articles about direct mail, database marketing and strategy to check out.

One of the reasons I’m recommending the book is that I know Corte personally. He’s one of the best people I worked with during my career in direct marketing. Besides being a marketing guru, he’s extremely helpful and just an all-around nice guy.

In the interest of full disclosure… the links above are affiliate links, but it’s sort of an afterthought. I’d be writing this post whether he had an affiliate program or not. If you’d like to sign up for the affiliate program, here’s the info.