Escaping the 9 to 5 with a Mother Ship Blog
Late last summer I started a blog called Escapingthe9to5.com because that’s what I wanted to do more than anything else in the world – escape the 9 to 5. I decided it would be my online diary of how I’d attempt to leave the rat race and start my own profitable business online. Over the last 9 months I’ve written 131 posts and counting, I’ve crawled from anonymity to an Alexa rank of 24,817 in the US (which isn’t shabby – at least not to me!) and gotten more work from my blog than I can handle.
Want to know the secrets to making your blog the mother ship from which you launch all of your money making enterprises while gaining boat loads of fulfillment from it? I’ll tell you but it’s not going to be what you expect…
1. I write for me and 1000 other people.
To some of you 1000 people seem like a lot, to others you may scoff & think “small potatoes” – regardless that single tactic has served me better than anything else. Why 1000? Well if you don’t know about Kevin Kelly’s ground breaking idea of 1000 true fans then definitely check it out.
The basic premise is that if you are an artist (and according to Seth Godin creative entrepreneurs, bloggers and change makers count as such) then you only need 1000 true fans to make a living off your art. I believe this wholeheartedly applies to blogging. If you are a blogger and you have 1000 true fans, who hang on your every word & who would buy anything you put out or suggested to them, then you can easily make a 6 figure living online.
So don’t write for search engines, don’t write to impress pro bloggers, instead only write for the 1000 people that matter most. Even if you currently have only 10 readers write for the 1000 true fans you will someday have. Define them in your mind down to the places they hang out, the beliefs they hold dear and the things that make them tick. Then share your story, your insights and your passions in a way that will resonate greatly with your 1000 true fans – this will grow your blog more productively than every other blogging tip you’ve heard combined.
2. I write from my own voice and it’s not always pretty.
I get several emails each week from awesome readers that alert me to spelling infractions I’ve made on my blog. These are always helpful and I quickly correct them but don’t really stress over the fact that I make them in the first place. I write from my own voice and that voice can be witty, silly, ridiculously hyper or incredibly deep all depending on the day and the mood I’m in.
People who resonate with my certain brand of ‘crazy’ love it and email me to say thanks because they’ve finally found another person who thinks like them. People who don’t appreciate it don’t come back. That’s just fine, I don’t want those who aren’t my 1000 true fans and they don’t want me – it’s a mutually beneficial non-relationship because I obviously have nothing to give them and vice versa.
So write from your heart and don’t stress the small stuff. The bigger picture is for you to get across great value to those who read your blog and who relate to your personal brand – not to attract everyone in the blogosphere. If you want to be the next About.com then you aren’t starting a blog you’re starting a business.
Businesses are profit driven, blogs are branding platforms. You can make a living on your blog, but not before you build up your personal brand and win over your 1000 true fans… this takes time, testing and most of all a true caring for those who read what you write.
3. I use my blog as a branding hub (i.e. the mother ship).
This means that whatever I’m involved with business wise (currently I have 7 active projects I’m working on) I document on my blog. This helps alert readers to what I’m up to and often I either gain customers or partners this way. I also make money via affiliate links (i.e. suggesting hosting, domain or email opt in packages) and through direct consulting with my readers who want to get my personal help on certain projects.
The awesome thing is that they come to me, as of today I don’t have any offers for ‘consulting’ on my blog (though I am working on a page for that now) but people still contact me and ask to pay me money to help them – which is truly amazing.
In conclusion…
So if you don’t have a blog, get one, whether your an entrepreneur, 9 to 5 worker or stay at home mother, nothing stops you from having a personal brand that is shared with the world. If you want to make money with your blog it is totally possible – it just takes hard work, dedication and a true love for whatever it is you blog about.
Remember you may set out thinking you’ll monetize with X but it turns out people want Y from you. Give them Y! Listen to your readers and customers and adapt your blog and your offerings as their needs change but always, always keep your personal brand consistent while doing so.
Thanks for the great post Maren! I’ve been an online business owner for 1 1/2 years now and decided to start blogging about my experiences not to long ago. It is something I’ve truly come to love and hope to someday soon make it my 9 to 5.
and I’ve gotten good responses from it already in a short time.
I also use my own voice…well frankly, it’s the only way I know how to be
Your are an true inspiration…I wish you much continued success!
I’m a great believer in the 1000 True Fans concept. It’s just important to give them good reasons to remain a fan by giving them inspiring, quality content.
Writing as you really are is the best way to brand and set yourself apart.
I write like I talk, so if you meet me, im no different then on my blog.
Nice tips.
Very nice job.
Thanks for the great post. I have a fairly new blog, around five months old. I have been concentrating on writing good content more than ever. I figure once people do come, at least there will be something good to read.
I am now starting to concentrate on getting more true fans, I know it is only a matter of time before I reach that 1000 number. Thanks for the inspiration! I am always happy to see people succeed at what I am striving for! It makes me feel like it is possible for me to do it too.
Great post. I have a few small mail lists, by small I mean 10 subscribers, I still send them info as if the list is 10,000. To the select few, they don’t know nor do they care how many others are getting the mail.
Same thing for blog posts. And one common thread among all the great stories here is “Write for the readers, not for the search engines” Maybe if you stuff enough keywords you’ll get some high ranking in the serps but when the searcher clicks you listing and arrives at the post, they will leave quickly (aka bounce) if the article reads like glue.
Writing from the heart is so much more interesting and holds much more value in my opinion. Thanks for sharing and reinforcing the facts! Best of everything to you!
English is my second language. I have been searching an explanation like this quite a long time. I do agree with all your points especially second point. Yes we should write with our heart with our own voice. Thanks for this. This article motivates me
Great post Maren. I’ve struggled with trying to make money online for longer than I care to admit. Although I have made a decent amount, I’ve yet to reach my goal of dumping the 9-5.
Especially after reading your post, I believe one of my biggest problems was not having a ‘Mother Ship’ blog. I’ve always had too many little projects spread out all over the place.
I’m going to start a regular blog as a hub for my different ventures.
Thanks
Awesome post Maren,
I think you hit the nail on the head. Don’t write for search engines, write for the people that are drawn to you.
Thanks for sharing,
Larry
Awesome post Maren, fancy meeting you here!
I agree, focusing on the few and giving what your readers want is definitely the way to grow. I definitely think folks either will love you or hate you no matter what you do, so why waste time trying to please the masses… please yourself, give value to the small army that loves you no matter what, and the rest can go about their merry way!
c
That was a great read, Maren. It’s not always about a niche to market SEO content. Passion can sometimes bring the same result.
Excellent! I really like the 1000 fans concept, it’s achievable and manageable. Also like the “mothership” idea where you announce to your readers how you’re doing in your other ventures.
Very inspirational. Many thanks.
This blog really hit home. It is possible that it changed my life. I blogged about it on my own site this morning and am using it to springboard out of my current writing situation where I fail to value my own expertise. I’ve been ghostwriting for decades and always grabbed the cheapest work going because of a number of internal decisions that I barely understand. Slogging away writing content articles for pennies is soul-crushing and even worse, it gets in the way of my social life.
And it is a bafflement to me that I even do it. I can write so much more and have. I have a huge technical background. I have a huge journalism background. So why am I cranking out SEO articles for pennies? If I love writing so much, why am I not writing ebooks? White papers?
One of the battles I have warring in my head is SEO vs. niche and this blog has confirmed my belief that passion is the right choice — for me anyway.