CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-05-15 01:06:45 (9 comments, 10 reshares, 16 +1s)

I'm regularly asked 'How Many Posts Should I Write?'.

Here are some of my thoughts - I'd love to hear yours too!

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2013/05/14/how-many-posts-should-a-blogger-post-pros-and-cons-of-daily-posting/

2013-05-15 00:42:35 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 22 +1s)

Love this image collection (as a freckle owner)!

http://digital-photography-school.com/15-fantastic-freckle-photos

2013-05-10 10:39:18 (24 comments, 0 reshares, 14 +1s)

The big image at the top of our pages here on G+ is too big - is there a way to shrink these? For me on my 11 inch Mac it takes the whole screen leaving nothing except the image. Am I missing a setting to not see them?

2013-05-10 10:05:36 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 8 +1s)

Check out this Free Podcast I recorded with +Chris C. Ducker  on Mastering Blogging for Business - http://problo.gr/11XBleo  (enjoyed recording this a lot)

2013-05-10 04:02:06 (8 comments, 44 reshares, 74 +1s)

Well worth the watch!

THIS IS WATER

2013-05-10 02:02:44 (15 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

Have been asked to present a 'big idea' on the topic of:

the role of digital in the future and how we should navigate that

Hmmm - I need another coffee. 

How would you talk to that for 5 minutes?

2013-05-09 00:07:34 (11 comments, 5 reshares, 19 +1s)

Learn how to make a great video like this one on a shoestring at our PBEVENT in September.

The video is well worth a look even if you can't come!

http://vimeo.com/65097808

2013-05-08 22:43:47 (3 comments, 10 reshares, 23 +1s)

As promised yesterday - here's my post on how I added 12 income streams to my blog over the last 10 years.

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2013/05/09/12-blogging-income-streams 

2013-05-08 02:46:53 (15 comments, 13 reshares, 59 +1s)

I just wrote a post that talks about my journey with these 12 blogging income streams. 

It came from a conversation with a blogger today who was feeling quite overwhelmed with monetizing her blog - she looked at blogs with lots of exciting income streams and felt she could never do that.... but in doing so forgot that they all started at the same place as here - with a blog that didn't yet have any income.

For me it didn't start with 12 income streams - it came with fairly unspectacular experiments with 1 or 2.

Will publish the post tomorrow.

2013-05-07 03:47:08 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 7 +1s)

Go! Final round of ProBlogger Training Event 2013 Tickets are now on sale at http://problo.gr/11Pgz0H

2013-05-06 23:16:07 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 9 +1s)

The final round of tickets for our 2013 event go on sale today at 1.30pm. 

Oh... and we added 9 more speakers yesterday!

Details at: http://probloggerevents.com/announcing-9-more-speakers-for-pbevent-2013-and-info-on-the-final-ticket-release/

Who will have their fingers at the ready this afternoon?

2013-05-03 06:28:42 (8 comments, 12 reshares, 52 +1s)

working on a slide on 'finding readers' for your blog. It's very much skimming the surface of a topic that you could spend hours unpacking but interested in your feedback. You'll need to view it large to see.

2013-05-02 00:01:21 (6 comments, 2 reshares, 7 +1s)

We're looking for a few quality guest contributions/tutorials for the dPS blog - check out our how at -> http://digital-photography-school.com/write-for-digital-photography-school 

2013-04-30 03:07:36 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

Excited to have Hailey join us for PBEVENT. The final release of tickets go on sale in 7 days!

http://probloggerevents.com/announcing-hailey-bartholomew-as-a-pbevent-workshop-speaker/ 

2013-04-30 00:03:26 (14 comments, 5 reshares, 29 +1s)

Have been excited to watch +John O'Nolan's kickstarter get funding today in 12 hours!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/johnonolan/ghost-just-a-blogging-platform 

2013-04-26 01:35:54 (6 comments, 4 reshares, 38 +1s)

Last week I asked my followers to nominate their biggest challenges as bloggers. The #1 was - LACK OF TIME TO BLOG.

This got me writing and over the last few days I have published two posts on ProBlogger to help tackle the problem:

7 of my Own Tips on Finding Time to Blog - http://www.problogger.net/archives/2013/04/25/finding-time-to-blog/

14 Bloggers Sharing their tips on what their blogging routine is like - http://www.problogger.net/archives/2013/04/26/bloggers-routines/ (featuring +Chris Garrett +Tsh Oxenreider +Crystal Paine +Chris Brogan +Trey Ratcliff +Christina Butcher +Leo Babauta +Nicole Avery +Rand Fishkin +tina roth eisenberg +Neil Patel  +Chris Guillebeau +Jonathan Fields and Sarah Wilson 

2013-04-23 23:45:41 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 6 +1s)

Here's a quick updated speaking schedule for me for the coming months:

15-17 May (Keynote, Panel, Workshop) - Connect Christian Media Conference Conference - Gold Coast - http://cmaconference.org.au/

24 May - ProBlogger Email Marketing Training Day - Melbourne - http://emailforbloggers.eventbrite.com/

29-31 May - InternetConference - Gold Coast -  http://www.internetconference.com.au/
(note: this includes a special half day workshop with just me - see http://www.internetconference.com.au/stream-c.html for details)

5-7 July (Keynote) - World Domination Summit - Portland (only US gig this year) http://worlddominationsummit.com/

13-14 September (multiple sessions) - ProBlogger Training Event - Gold Coast - http://www.probloggerevents.com

2013-04-23 22:41:25 (11 comments, 18 reshares, 49 +1s)

Many bloggers write the Amazon Affiliate Program off as an income stream. I've stuck with it for 10 years and am glad I did.

Today I published a post that tells why I'm an Amazon affiliate and that gives 30 tips on how to use it.

I also share how much I've earned from the program in those 10 years.

Check out the post at:

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2013/04/24/the-ultimate-guide-to-making-money-with-the-amazon-affiliate-program/

2013-04-23 05:26:03 (6 comments, 1 reshares, 13 +1s)

NEWS: we're running a training day in Melbourne on 24 May that is going to teach you how to use EMAIL marketing to grow the traffic and profitability of your blog.

Tickets are limited to a small group - more details at:

http://emailforbloggers.eventbrite.com/

2013-04-23 00:46:24 (19 comments, 6 reshares, 28 +1s)

I found this post really worth the read:

http://www.ytravelblog.com/i-want-to-know-your-secret/

I am also often asked 'what is your secret' and while my story is very different to what +Craig Makepeace's story is (and Craigs is pretty amazing) its a reminder that there's usually a lot more to someone's life that what you might see on the surface.

Grab a drink and sit down to read Craig's story - it's well worthwhile.

2013-04-22 01:12:40 (15 comments, 9 reshares, 40 +1s)

3 great questions to ask to work out what your blog's purpose is:

- who are your readers?
- what do they need?
- how will they change as a result of reading your blog?

2013-04-21 04:09:18 (13 comments, 0 reshares, 34 +1s)

The boys yesterday. Shots need a little editing but was a fun little shoot. 

2013-04-19 02:32:14 (19 comments, 4 reshares, 43 +1s)

Today I noticed a 'notification' come through on my Facebook App on my iPhone. I log in to find out who has messaged me or which of my family had updated (the only notifications I have coming through to my phone) only to find the notification was from Facebook 'suggesting' a game for me. 

I have no problem with ads on Facebook (although they've certainly begun to intrude more and more) - it's a free service and they need to monetize somehow - however this is intrusive. I specifically set up my notifications to be told when I'm messaged by a friend or when a family member updates (3 people) - not to get ads.

I'm loving G+ more and more every day (although wonder when we'll begin to see the ads here and how intrusive they'll get too).

PS: I checked my Facebook settings on my iPhone and see no option to turn off notifications of ads or... more »

2013-04-18 11:14:57 (5 comments, 9 reshares, 16 +1s)

This post was written by an online friend - it's an important message that we'd appreciate you considering sharing.

http://cybersmartonline.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/a-family-nightmare-what-you-should-know.html?view=classic

2013-04-18 04:36:20 (0 comments, 7 reshares, 20 +1s)

Excited to publish this amazing guide to Podcasting for bloggers today on ProBlogger:

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2013/04/18/the-definitive-guide-to-setting-up-and-marketing-a-podcast-to-help-grow-your-blog/

Thanks to +Chris C. Ducker  for putting it together!

2013-04-16 05:22:10 (20 comments, 2 reshares, 10 +1s)

what are you working on today? Feel free to share links if you have them!

2013-04-15 23:52:40 (4 comments, 2 reshares, 20 +1s)

Late last week we mistakenly sent an email meant for several thousand people... to almost a million people.

Here's the story and how we handled it.

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2013/04/16/how-not-to-send-an-email-a-day-wed-rather-forget-but-a-story-we-need-to-tell/

2013-04-15 22:50:23 (8 comments, 3 reshares, 34 +1s)

I am much more likely to be successful when I am happy than I am to find happiness through being successful.

#ThingsIAmLearning #DISCUSS

2013-04-12 05:10:21 (15 comments, 5 reshares, 21 +1s)

A common question that I get is 'how early should I begin to monetize my blog'. 

I understand the concern behind the question - but have always believed that if you intend to monetize your blog one day you should probably do it in some way from early on.

I've never heard a shop owner ask - 'how early should I monetize?'

It's never too early in my opinion. 

Thoughts?

2013-04-11 10:59:40 (2 comments, 8 reshares, 27 +1s)

Good tips from a busy blogger - Sarah Wilson - on being productive!

http://www.sarahwilson.com.au/2013/04/my-best-productivity-tips/

2013-04-10 10:55:47 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 14 +1s)

Apologies to ProBlogger email subscribers who just got a photography related email! An honest mistake - so sorry!

2013-03-30 01:49:04 (10 comments, 1 reshares, 34 +1s)

Had friends over and had a bit of an Easter Egg hunt in the back yard for the kids #EasterSaturday  

2013-03-28 04:32:05 (2 comments, 13 reshares, 30 +1s)

wow - check out this out... lots of INSPIRATION BOMBS in this video by +Kemi Nekvapil and the team at Big Hearted Business - BHB Inspiration Bomb - Kemi Nekvapil!

2013-03-28 01:07:43 (3 comments, 5 reshares, 32 +1s)

Today we continue our series of posts on 'creating community on your blog' with a mega-tutorial post with 7 techniques for building community:

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2013/03/28/7-strategies-for-growing-community-on-your-blog/ 

Hope you find it helpful!

2013-03-27 23:18:56 (10 comments, 3 reshares, 9 +1s)

I'm really excited to announce that we've been lucky enough to have the amazing +Trey Ratcliff agree to come and keynote for us at this year's ProBlogger Training Event on the Gold Coast in September.

Full details at http://probloggerevents.com/announcing-trey-ratcliff-as-pbevent-keynote/

Also speaking this year are +Jonathan Fields +Amy Porterfield +Tsh Oxenreider Clare Bowditch +Justine Bloome +Shayne Tilley +Bernadette Jiwa and myself. Lots more speaker announcements still to come.

200 early bird tickets were snapped up a couple of weeks ago so signup for notification of the final release of tickets in the post linked to above.

2013-03-27 22:32:10 (19 comments, 14 reshares, 42 +1s)

A KEY trait of Successful Online Personal Brands

Last night I was part of a panel to launch a new book by +Trevor Young called 'Micro Domination' (more info on the book here - http://www.microdomination.com/)

In the book Trevor identifies a number of what he calls Micro Mavens - including people like +Chris Brogan +Jonathan Fields +Marie Forleo +Chris Guillebeau +Trey Ratcliff +Pamela Slim  +Gary Vaynerchuk (and he generously includes me too) and goes onto describe their characteristics and how they've built businesses around their personal brands.

The book is a good read - particularly for those starting out and wanting to get their head around the idea of building an online personal brand.

As I read through the list of Micro Mavens that Trevor identified it struck me that he's actually put together a group of people who have anumber o... more »

2013-03-26 22:56:46 (6 comments, 9 reshares, 33 +1s)

Today we published the 2nd post in a series we're running on ProBlogger on the topic of 'Building Community on a Blog'.

In this case study post I look at the 5 stages of building a community on Digital Photography School:

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2013/03/27/the-5-stages-of-building-a-culture-of-community-on-a-blog/

Tomorrow we'll move onto some more definitive strategies for building community.

2013-03-26 05:12:00 (28 comments, 8 reshares, 31 +1s)

Is it always possible to follow the advice - 'do what you're passionate about?'

I hear this advice given over and over again but wonder about the wisdom of it.

Don't get me wrong - I think it is good to do what you're passionate about - but I wonder whether our society is so obsessed with this kind of advice that we're setting ourselves up for trouble by having expectations that are not always achievable. 

The 'dream' we're sold is that the ultimate life is one where we just do what we're passionate about... but....

The reality is that many people don't have the luxury of being able to do what they're passionate about... either because of their life circumstances, life stage, their resources, education... or just because it's not realistic for them (I'm passionate about my football team... and often... more »

2013-03-25 21:49:37 (1 comments, 6 reshares, 21 +1s)

This week on ProBlogger the topic we're delving into is that of building a culture of community on your blog.

For me building community, deepening engagement and increasing interaction with readers is one of the most powerful activities you can do on a blog. It is right up there with creating useful content in my mind!

Here's 9 reasons building community is so important (and 3 costs of building community):

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2013/03/26/9-benefits-and-3-costs-of-building-community-on-your-blog/

Tomorrow I'm going to be running through the 5 stages I saw in growing the community at dPS and the following days I'll share some techniques, tips and strategies for building community on a blog.

2013-03-22 03:26:43 (10 comments, 5 reshares, 22 +1s)

One of the things I hear from a lot of PREbloggers is that they don't feel technical enough to be bloggers.

I fit right into that camp when I started blogging - I knew nothing and didn't use the web for a lot more than email. 

When I started my first blog it took me ages to work out how to make text bold!

Here's a post I wrote on the topic for those who don't feel technical enough.

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2013/03/22/im-not-technical-enough-to-blog-misconceptions-new-bloggers-have-4/

2013-03-21 23:16:52 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 11 +1s)

Aussies: We're running a full day of training on how to take portraits in Melbourne - tickets are limited. 

The teacher is Gina Milicia. Check out how one student found her mentoring at http://wonderwebby.com/index.php/2012/12/07/a-lesson-in-portrait-photography-and-pursuing-creative-goals/

Get your ticket for this great day of training at http://problo.gr/ZEbRUA

2013-03-19 19:59:45 (2 comments, 11 reshares, 41 +1s)

after a lot of requests for 'writing tips' in our recent ProBlogger census I sat down and wrote this post:

7 Simple Tips to Writing Great ‘How To’ Content on Your Blog 

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2013/03/20/7-simple-steps-to-writing-great-how-to-content-on-your-blog/ 

2013-03-14 05:04:59 (21 comments, 14 reshares, 39 +1s)

Google is killing Google Reader - while I find this mildly annoying as its the feed reader I use - I wonder what impact it'll have on bloggers traffic. I surveyed my readers recently and Google Reader was their #1 RSS reader.

Annoyed? Angry? Sign this petition:

https://www.change.org/petitions/google-keep-google-reader-running

2013-03-13 04:10:44 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

Early Bird Tickets are On Sale for this year's ProBlogger Training Event - but be QUICK!

http://pbevent2013.eventbrite.com/

2013-03-12 22:36:30 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

One of our family's favorite artists is speaking at #PBEVENT:

http://probloggerevents.com/announcing-pbevent-keynote-clare-bowditch/

2013-03-10 11:47:41 (8 comments, 0 reshares, 37 +1s)

2013-03-05 22:14:12 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 13 +1s)

Time to introduce another PBEVENT speaker! Flying into the Gold Coast Queensland all the way from New York City... Mr +Jonathan Fields! 

Details at http://probloggerevents.com/pbevent-keynote-announcement-jonathan-fields/

2013-03-05 11:30:01 (20 comments, 24 reshares, 58 +1s)

Earlier today we published a great guide to #Pinterest for bloggers.

Check it out at:

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2013/03/05/heavyweight-help-the-complete-guide-to-getting-started-on-pinterest/

2013-03-05 01:54:50 (4 comments, 5 reshares, 19 +1s)

We just announced the first of our international speakers for this year's event - +Amy Porterfield 

http://probloggerevents.com/pbevent-speaker-announcement-amy-porterfield/

Amy is an amazing speaker who you'll get a lot of great information from.... but she's just the beginning. 

There are 2-3 more internationals plus some amazing local speakers to be announced in the coming days and weeks!

2013-03-04 11:57:19 (27 comments, 18 reshares, 47 +1s)

How to Have Serendipitous Success

A question that I'm quite obsessed with asking successul entrepreneurs these days is:

"Has your success been more about Serendipity or Strategy?'

The responses have been fascinating:

I'd estimate that 90% of the people I've asked have said that Serendipity was a bigger part of their initial success than Strategy.

The definition of Serendipity : The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way: "a fortunate stroke of serendipity". Often referred to as a 'happy accident'.

Now this result could be skewed by the type of people I find around me - but I suspect it represents the experience of many successful people.

I'm not saying Strategy never plays a part - but normally when I hear people answer this they say... more »