7 Reasons Why You Should Listen to Me
Despite me not telling family and friends about it, recently a few friends in my social circle discovered my blog.
Hell broke loose. No, not really. But the reaction wasn’t exactly welcoming with a red carpet rolled out for me either. On the contrary, it was quite what I (and maybe you) would expect it to be.
I have written about not telling family and friends about your side gigs before. You can read it in a previous post here.
Back to my friends, the most common question I had to address is “why would someone go to your website when there are tons of others that offer the same thing?”
I am not sure there a “tons of others” that offer the same exact thing. We are all unique individuals and speak from our own knowledge and experiences. I don’t blame my friends, they don’t know everything I do and all that I am involved with. They simply can’t. There is too much and it spans across a variety of disciplines. Most people cannot fathom that thought.
“So, what do you do for a living?” has got to be one of the hardest questions I am repeatedly asked at social gatherings and interactions. Now how do I answer that? What I do is just not one thing.
So I told them that my response would take up an hour and bore them to death. Instead, I told them to tune into my blog the following week and I will have a well thought out response crafted for them. Doubt anyone of them will visit, but I am hoping that YOU may find something interesting instead.
Here are my more than two cents on why you should listen to what I have to say:
1) I started young, am still young and would be ecstatic to be the inspiration behind others who replicate what I have done and achieve the same kind of success if they are willing to put the time and effort it takes to get here.
A bulk of my readership is under the age of 35. I am sure that to them, direct and practical advice from someone in their age range is likely more effective (theory of relate-ivity or relate-ability).
There may be tons of others dishing out similar information; but I have been there, done that and therefore I am hoping that readers can better relate.
2) I speak from experience. I am not a big fan of flaunting check images on my blog, but I cannot disagree with the power (and necessity at times) of social proof. I therefore decided to include a handful of earning samples in the proof section of this blog. There is also plenty of “proof” in the free report I offer for signing up to my newsletter.
Many that post check / payment images utilize fake, Photoshop generated images. I have no problem sharing with you the check number so you can verify its validity. You can even see my name on them! Anyway, my goal is to share information, not to brag about the most recent paycheck I received from ClickBank. Although it may not be a bad idea to start a brand new section where I post copies of monthly checks received from everywhere. But many vendors pay me via PayPal and ACH so that too can be an issue.
3) I am not purely an Internet marketer – yet 🙂 No I don’t strictly design sales pages and e-products and then heavily market them using manipulative tricks to generate sales. I don’t post screenshots showing I made a million dollars one day. I don’t push useless stuff either.
None of my websites have less than 45 web pages of useful content. Each one of my websites is built with sound search engine optimization principles I have learned over the years, coupled with tried and tested internet marketing strategies that work.
4) I am not a programmer! Some readers are often intimidated by an author’s technical savvy. The use of technical terms and jargon can get anyone lost in the Internet jungle. That’s not me. I never took a computer course in school, and self taught myself very basic HTML just to get by. I speak plain English.
Heck even my English is not as complex. It can’t be. It is my fourth language. I don’t have complicated words in my dictionary. I think I speak and write in a clear, basic, easy to follow manner? You can correct me if I am wrong?
5) If you are going to make money online, or from a side business, or a full time business, or whatever else, then you better have enough financial savvy not to throw that money away.
My website is not only about making money, but you will also learn how to manage it and grow it over time. At the very least preserve it and not throw it away. I am a CPA, a Finance Charter-holder, a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and hold a few other certifications enough to build the great wall of China after my last name.
This was my profession in my past life and I do know what I am talking about – I think so at least. Most people have the same basic issues, whether rich or poor, and personal finance is one of them.
Disclaimer: You should not take any of my advice as legal or financial advice. I am not charging for any of the information I provide on this blog. I highly recommend you consult a professional who is actively practicing in the areas you are interested in exploring further. I’d be glad to recommend you a good one.
6) I am an entrepreneur first, and then a survey taker, website creator, advice giver or anything else after. I have done relatively well in the stock market, real estate investing, small business and Internet entrepreneurship. I have worked on many endeavors simultaneously and know how to manage time effectively.
What I speak or write about comes from a well rounded experience. I can promise you that you will never hear anything closed minded or too “narrow-focused” from me. Keeping the big picture in mind is critical in anything I do. I am not penny wise and pound foolish. Nor do I think all cows are purple.
7) I screen 99% of what I recommend. Whether I talk about a product, service, method, process or experience, I screen everything very carefully before I speak and write about it. You won’t find the overnight millionaire idea on my blog. You won’t find one thousand different money making opportunities either. I do not like garbage and I don’t recommend it either.
This post was not meant to brag and glorify me as the “Messiah”, or the next air conditioner, and I hope the discussion points in this post demonstrates the diversity and experience that backs-up the content on this blog. That IS the main purpose of this post.
I’d love to hear from you. Why does your audience read what you write? Why should they listen to YOU? What does any reader look for in a writer / blogger to read what they write?
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17 Responses to “7 Reasons Why You Should Listen to Me”
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I think you need to be a little daring and just say it how it is – if you’re not differentiated by what you cover or how you write, you’ll dissolve into the background. For example, I read your blog because I know it’s 100% honest information with no b**shit 🙂 I also recently recommended you as an author to follow on new site of mine as I know you can be trusted. Those are differentiating factors.
On another note, I can really relate to your reaction when family ask you what it is you do? To most people, I just say ‘website / computer stuff’…. although that does line me up for the next dreaded question:
“Oh, Uncle-ji wants a website created, can you make it?”
My thoughts: “I’m not a web developer goddammit and I know he would want it free anyway! – my time is precious!”
My actual reply: “Umm I’ll see what I can do” – secretly hoping ‘Uncle-ji continues to procrastinate
🙂
LOL – man you got my stomach aching. been nodding my head throughout. on a serious note – your point on the x factor is dead on. without differentiation, you give people no reason to consume your material over someone else. really appreciate the recommendation buddy.
Sunil – Followed you here from ProBlogger. I liked in particular the point where you say “I screen 99% of what I Recommend”. That sounds convincing for anyone to recommend your thoughts. Nice blog by the way.
Welcome Praveen. I try to. It’s hard to talk about something one doesn’t have first hand experience with, let alone recommend it.
Hi Sunil.
I read your post on Ana Hoffman’s site and wanted to see what else you had to say. After reading this post, you are a man after my own heart, say it like it is.
To many people want someone else to take responsibility for their failures.
Glad I came across your site. I certainly will be passing it on to my followers
As for me, like you, I teach people the value of their own voice and experience
Look forward getting to know you,
Jeff Faldalen
Welcome Sir – glad to see you here. There is no better way than saying it exactly how it is. Looking forward to the same Jeff. I absolutely love your tag line around attraction marketing. Absolutely genius – very powerful.
I actually remain pretty vague about what I do with my company. I couldn’t hide it since my sister-in-law and my best friend are working for me. However, people are just surprised I can afford to pay my sister-in-law a full-time job from my online business.
I never explain what I really do because I know that the reaction will be similar to what you have experienced. When people don’t get what you are doing, they ask tons of “negative” questions. They are more interested in knowing why it should not work than why it is actually working ;-).
so true. that is the herd mentality that I wrote about previously. unfortunately most humans revert to that by default. “why should YOU get ahead when I am not”, therefore . . . . x y z. it’s difficult to answer the question “so what do you do” at dinner parties and social gatherings. have you ever tried responding with something ultra rude or sarcastic? how do you answer / explain those questions?
this is why I always stay vague. I know that arguing with those people won’t lead to anything positive. I rather keep my relationships with my friends and family than debating for hours on something they will never understand anyway.
I always say: I run a few blogs and try to make money out of it. So far, so good. I’m enjoying what I do and take it while it is there ;-).
Love the way you disclosed yourself and try to come out honest in front of your readers. Well will try to follow you. 🙂
Hope you find good value. Look forward to getting to know you better.
Dear sunil
sutha again . just wondering how many niche sites you have. an approx figure ? in order to have a decent income how many niche sites we should have ideally. when we start niche how many sites we need to focus is it one or more . is there any formula u use to find the keywords . minimum searches globally for keywords , is there any number your are looking for competing sites . can you advice me the formula you are using so that i can use as my guide.
thanks again sunil for your wonderful work
I have over 20 Sutha. I suggest focus on one and then move to another once you have done all you can for the first. Read my article on “effective keyword research” to answer your question about keyword selection. Personally, if a main KW has over 5,000 searches and under 100k competitors, I feel I can rank it #1 relatively easily with my process, not that I can’t with more competitive KW, but the process takes more time and effort.
hi sunil
i’ve read a few posting from adam short , for keywords he use kw is at least 1000 searches and competitors is less then 10k . which one i should follow . a bit confuse now
not sure what you are asking?
Dear sunil,
i believe you know Adam Short. in one of his podcast from Yaro’s site he told abt Keywords. He said the minimum requirement to choose a keyword is minimum 1000 searches and competitors must be less than 10,000 sites but your method , you have mentioned the kw must be at least 5000 and competitors site must be less than 100k . i’m just wondering which i should follow.
hopefully this clarifies the doubt
sutha
when you are new Sutha, the higher the demand and the lower the competition the better. once you get more experience and have confidence to rank for more difficult (high competition) keywords, then you can increase your threshold. personally, I don’t find it difficult ranking for a kw with a competition of less than 100k