I’m French and crazy enough to launch a video blog on the U.S. market. I live in Lyon, France.
Uh, Ok! I’m not crazy. This is very thoughtful (at least, I’m trying to convince myself about it!)
My goal: show you how to earn money with a simple blog, even with a small audience. Trust me, I did it.
But before that, why the hell I’m talking about Internet Marketing?
Well let me tell you about my story. Maybe you’ll find something.
Let me tell you about a common life, a hurricane, and gems
This story begins in aerospace industry, after my master of international economics degree and my supply-chain management post master degree.
I started by working in a big company as an engineer, then as a manager. What was my work about? Improvement. You may be asking yourself, what’s the link with blogging. I’m coming to that. Just take 2 minutes.
Plants in rich countries have a problem: low-cost countries. To survive, plants have no choice than producing more efficiently and with higher quality. That was my job. This is called continuous improvement.
Continuous improvement is extremely simple. It’s an ongoing effort to improve products, services or processes, every day, a little bit. That’s it.
To make it short, I improved factories, earned my living as a normal guy, then I met a wonderful woman with who I founded a family. Commonplace.
But one idea never left my head.
A little voice kept telling me: “start your own business, be your own boss.”
I started being interested in blogging, so I created a blog about human resources. How to write a CV and get a job in the industry. Heavy traffic blog.
Then, I switched to networking. I set up a new blog. Heavy traffic blog, too.
Then I launch another blog about trap shooting (That’s my hobby). Small traffic.
I wanted to make living with blogging, but I always found myself a good reason for not doing that. You know: “You have a good wage. Why should you risk everything”.
This quiet (boring?) life will dramatically change, but I don’t know it yet.
A hurricane is coming.
Flashback! My son is 18 months old. There is something. He doesn’t look me in the eyes. He doesn’t speak. He seems to be deaf, but he is not. He is diagnosed with autism. Everything collapses.
I lose my job. What an abominable year. I need to work from home to take care of my kid. The more I wait, the more he lives in his bubble.
Unfortunately, very few autism care are reimbursed by the generous French Medical Care. I need money, a lot of money! I need a solution, and quick.
I decide to monetize my blogs. I start reading a book every 3 days about marketing. I read everything I find. From content creation to persuasion.
I started monetizing my HR website, but I wasn’t able to convert readers into leads. Fail.
I started monetizing my networking website and the same thing happened. Fail.
Why? Those website where too general. Heavy traffic, interested readers, but not engaged enough to BUY.
Lesson one: a blogger does not need traffic, but fans.
The pressure is on, I begin spending my savings.
I monetize my website about shooting sports. Wow, it works, my readers are buying! The niche was the key!
I improve my website by applying the principles of continuous improvement.
I find a system to grow my email list without any free eBook. It works two times better! My list grows fast.
I improve this system again, and it triples my conversion rate!
I test everything: how to work with Twitter, Facebook, comments, guest blogging, persuasion techniques, frames, structures, polemical content… Some things fail, some give insane results. I analyse the figures to understand why, and then I duplicate. And I improve a little, everyday.
Then I optimize my content creation process and my working strategies. The result is fantastic: the less I work, the more I sell.
I have created more than 25 digital products on shooting in less than a year, never felt like I was repeating myself. (One written product presentation – and a video one). I have also written thousands of promotional emails.
My readers are fans now.
They are buying my products, again and again. I make 80 % of my earnings with only 20 % of my visitors.
I make a good living with a SMALL AUDIENCE.
That’s how I have learned Internet marketing.
On my own. I have failed, tested, improved, again and again. I know what works. That’s why I blog a very uncommon way.
That’s also why I created WebmarketingSaga. I want to share with you this type of blogging and my methods.
Yes, a small blogging niche can earn you a lot of money if you do things smartly and differently. And I say that in English, to let the world know about it! It’s like basket-ball. When you play at it, your target is the NBA.
Lesson learned?
Never lose hope. We went through terrible moments. Learning that your child is disabled is really hard. Parenting a child with autism is exhausting, nerve-wracking and time-consuming,
Something positive will always appear.
Without the handicap of my son, I would probably still work for factories. Now I’m a professional blogger. I needed this ordeal to find the courage to launch my business. That’s why life is great.
Today, I decide what I do and when I do it. My wife too (she works also as an independent now).
It would be difficult for us now to work from 8 am to 6 pm in a “normal” company.
We are here for our son and he progresses.
I discovered that the real luxury is not money. I still live simply. The real luxury is time.
Money is a tool which buys time.
A blog is a machine which works for you day and night. It’s like a candy vending machine. It’s always opened.
Your job is to get more traffic, and to increase the conversion rate. Every day a little bit more.
I work 10 or 12 hours per week. But I think about improving strategies 20 hours per week. Well, a little more now, because I have to advertise WebmarketingSaga.
I live near the Alps. If I want to take two or three days to go skiing, I do it. When I miss the sun, I take my family to Corsica or Spain.
I only need my computer. All my business fits in a backpack. All my procedures are written and shared with my personal assistant and my accountant. I have a genius programmer. My blogs work for me.
What’s great with creating a digital product is that it takes the same time even if you plan to sell one or a thousand product. I’ll teach you how to sell a thousand.
Your turn.
Start now, and improve on that, just a little bit each day. A gem will appear.