Why You Shouldn’t Start a Podcast or YouTube Channel (Seriously)

Jon Morrow 40 Comments Last Updated Sep 6, 2018

You’ve seen it for yourself. These days, there are a gazillion different ways to broadcast your thoughts online.

Blogging, podcasting, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat — the options are overwhelming. Are you supposed to do all of them? If not, which ones are most important? What if you are talented in one medium and terrible in another?

ARGH! It’s so confusing.

Well, here’s the good news:

In this post, I’ll do my best to answer those questions. Even better, I’ll give you answers that include taking things off your plate, not putting more things on.

In other words, everything is about to get a whole lot simpler. Let’s jump in.
More

Money/ Popular

How to Make Money Blogging: The $5.3 Million Case Study

Jon Morrow 349 Comments Last Updated Aug 21, 2018

There are lots of guides out there about how to make money blogging, but here’s what makes this one different:

I’ve taken three different blogs to over $1 million per year. In fact, the blog you’re reading right now has made a total of $5.3 million.

And in this post, I’m going to give you a step-by-step case study showing you exactly how I did it, starting from nothing.

Let’s jump in.
More

Standing Out

How to Write Blog Comments That Stand Out (Plus Examples!)

Kevin J. Duncan 426 Comments Last Updated Aug 2, 2018

You’ve heard the advice a million times.

Write great comments on popular blogs, and your blog will grow. Why, it’s so easy even a caveman can do it!

And it’s true — comments can be powerful. A great comment can land you on the radar of a popular blogger — the kind of super-connected influencer who can accelerate your success.

It sounds so simple.

The only problem?

Nobody tells you how to comment on blogs. You aren’t sure what a great comment looks like.

Is it a comment that shovels heaps of praise onto the author? Or one that argues a persuasive alternative view? Or one that simply thanks the blogger for their insights?

Because while many experts preach the virtues of strategic commenting, almost nobody tells you how to do it.

As a result, many well-intentioned bloggers are spending their precious time writing comments they think are great.

In reality?

Their comments usually suck.
More

WordPress

WordPress Hosting: A Brutally Honest Guide That’ll Save You Money

Jon Morrow 56 Comments Last Updated Aug 14, 2018

This is painful to say, but…

Most of what’s published out there about WordPress hosting is total BS.

Not just incomplete information. Not just half-truths.

I’m talking outright lies and boldfaced scams.

You can’t even get straightforward answers to basic questions like…

Should you go to the trouble of setting up a WordPress site or just start a blog for free on Medium?
Which company is good? Who can you trust?
What’s the difference between all the different options?

It’s infuriating, but listen…

I’ve helped build and run some of the most popular blogs in the world, scaling them from nothing to millions of visitors per month. During that process, I learned a lot of valuable lessons — often the hard way — about what makes a good WordPress host.

And today, I’m publishing the guide I wish somebody had given me.

It’s brutally honest. It’s full of technical details (that I do my best to explain). It’ll also save you tons of time and money.
More

Writing

Writer’s Block: 27 Techniques to Overcome It Forever

Henneke Duistermaat 165 Comments Last Updated Jul 5, 2018

Let me guess…

You’re staring at the blank screen. Your brain is fried. You can feel a headache coming on.

You know you should be writing, but…

You can’t do this anymore. Your muse is gone. Your well of inspiration is empty. Finished. Stone-dry.

You’re not just bored or tired. No, no. This is far worse:

Writer’s block.

You try to stop your mind wandering off. You try to stop being distracted by your long to-do-list. You try to write, but you feel like everything you do manage to jot down is… well… terrible.

You know you have to keep going, but how? How do you overcome writer’s block and get back into your writing groove?

The truth:

You need to have some fun.

Not take a break, not go for walk, not get some sleep. All of that is fine and good for a simple case of boredom, but the real cause of writer’s block is you’re holding on too tight.

You need to loosen up. You need to go a little crazy. You need to let the goofy side of you out for a little while and get your creative juices flowing again.
More