The Entrepreneur’s Playbook: Blogging Chapter Bonus Material

I'm excited that you've purchased The Entrepreneur's Playbook and are interested in blogging as a way to build your business!

If you've read my blogging chapter, you know that I believe blogging is the best publishing platform to build your brand, boost your online presence, and even develop multiple streams of income.

I started to prepare an ebook to accompany the chapter,  but since we're discussing "blogging," I figure it's more appropriate for this content to actually be found on a blog. 🙂

There's a LOT covered in this bonus material.  

You'll find links, videos, and additional resources that you can use to launch and grow your blog.

Use the table of contents below to easily navigate the content and - Bookmark this page for easy reference...

 How to Start a Blog (in Under 30 minutes)...

You don't need to be a tech genius to start a blog. Nervous? We will walk through the process. 

With minimal computer skills, you can have your site up and running in under thirty minutes!

How to choose a blogging software...

A quick google search will show several free website building solutions such as WordPress.com or Tumblr, or Medium.com. Free is awesome, right? Not always.

WordPress.com for example, highly limits the look and functionality of your website. You're limited in themes, they don't allow plug-ins or any third party web analytics, and they even limit your monetization options.

If you want full control over your website (which you do), you'll build your site with WordPress.org. It's important to note that WordPress.Org and WordPress.Com are two very different platforms.

WordPress.Org is an open source free blogging platform. It's the most widely used blogging software in the world. In fact, 30% of all websites on the internet are powered by WordPress.org.

The only downside is that you will have to pay for your own domain name (YourName.Com) and web hosting. While hosting your own domain is not a "free" solution, it's worth the small fee to own and control your web presense!

Choose a Domain Name

Your first step is to choose a domain name for your blog. Your URL should make sense for your specific business, brand, or industry. If blogging for an established business, you may want the domain to match your company name.  If you plan on creating a personal blog for a variety of topics, then you might want to blog using your name (or a variation of it).

Once you have ideas, you’ll have to consider the domain extension. The  .com extension is usually the first choice, but a .net or .org are also good options.

Your domain name is important, so don't rush through the process.  If needed, here is a thorough article with tips for choosing the perfect domain name. 

There are several great domain registrars you can use to search for and purchase a domain. Most hosting providers also sell domain names.

For convenience, you may want to purchase both your name and hosting under the same provider.

Choose a Hosting Plan For Your Blog

Along with your domain, you will need a hosting provider. This is where your blog “lives” on the internet. 

WPX is my top recommended hosting provider. With WPX, you get free SSL, free CDN, automatic backups, one-click WordPress installation, excellent support, and more. In my opinion, they're the fastest and most reliable hosting company available.

You can't go wrong with WPX. If you already have a blog up and running and want to switch over to WPX, they'll even handle your site migration for you.

I recently moved a few websites over to WPX. I simply filled out a form and their support staff handled it all within 24 hours.

Their "Business" plan should be more than enough to host your blog. The only downside, they're not the most budget friendly hosting company out there...

Blogging On a Budget?

If you're looking for a lower cost solution, BlueHost may be an option to consider. 

BlueHost plans start as low as @ $3.95/month. They even include a free domain name with your hosting plan. You can explore domain names and hosting plans at BlueHost.com...

Review the options and choose a hosting plan that makes most sense for you.

Install WordPress 

You do not need to be tech savvy at all. Hosting providers have come such a long way that wordpress.org is now a "one-click" install. You'll also want to install your free SSL certificate (HTTPS) to add trust and security to your site.

All of this can be done in just a few minutes.  Challenged setting this up?

Most hosting companies have support agents available via chat. I've personally had a great experience with WPX support chat. Iif you get stuck on anything during installation, they will even go into your account and just do it for you!

Navigate WordPress and Customize Your Blog

Once you're up and running, log into your new website! Get familiar with the WordPress dashboard. This youtube video is a great quick walk-through of the wordpress dashboard.

Start browsing different themes to customize the appearance of your website. The video below is an excellent step-by-step tutorial with a walk-through of the wordpress dashboard.

9 Free (Must Have) Plugins For Your WordPress Blog

You will also want to install a few plugins to your new site.  The following are all free plugins you should consider installing.

Yoast SEO – This plugin helps you optimize each page or blog post for SEO so they’ll be ready to rank in the search engines.

Insert Headers and Footers – Want to insert code or text in the headers or footers of your website? You’ll want to add your facebook pixel and google analytics to your wordpress site. This plugin makes it easy...

Easy HTTPS (SSL) Redirection – This plugin will force all site visitors to https when visiting any form of your site.

WP Fastest Cache: Install this plugin to help your website load faster.

WP Smush: This free plugin compresses your images. This improves your site's load time.

Faster site speed not only improves the user experience on your website, it's also used in Google’s search ranking algorithm.

WPS Hide Login:  Keep hackers from accessing your login page.  This plugin that lets you easily and safely change the url of the login form page to anything you want.

Wordfence: Wordfence includes an endpoint firewall and malware scanner that were built from the ground up to protect WordPress. It's the most popular wordpress firewall and security scanner.

All-In-One WP Migration: This plugin exports your WordPress website including the database, media files, plugins and themes with no technical knowledge required. Upload your site to a different location with a drag and drop in to WordPress.

PrettyLinks: Manage all of your affiliate links with this plugin. PrettyLinks is my preferred URL shortener.

This is what my ClickFunnels affiliate link looks like when you copy and paste it from the affiliate dashboard:

• https://www.clickfunnels.com/?cf_affiliate_id=535240&affiliate_id=535240&aff_sub=afscs&aff_sub2=&nopopup=false&noautoplay=false&cookiepreview=false

With PrettyLinks, I can make the ClickFunnels affiliate link looks like this:

• https://freedomrep.com/clickfunnels-free-trial

Both links go to the same web destination, but the PrettyLink looks a lot more professional and is easier to share.

Install (and Master) Google Analytics

You will want to add google analytics to your new website... Google analytics is google's free web analytics service that allows you to analyze in-depth detail about the visitors of your website.

Visit analytics.google.com/ to get started...

This video below will walk you through the entire process.

Master Google Analytics:  Google wants you to get the most out of their analytics software.

Start with the Google Analytics for beginners course. This is a deep dive into Google Analytics - and it's 100% free to you.

Understand how google analytics works, learn how to create reports, basic campaign and conversion tracking, and more.

Additional (Free) Resources & Courses...

There are a lot of high ticket digital marketing courses available to really get in and master blogging...

BUT there's also a lot of really good FREE content out there.  Here are some free resources to check out:

5 Day Blogging Bootcamp: Sam Rexford at ChillReptile.com has created the ultimate 5 day blogging bootcamp to get your blog up and runnng ASAP. It's a great course - and costs zero dollars for you to get started.

My Favorite Affiliate Programs...

The fastest way to monetize your new blog and create passive income is with affiliate offers...

Simply put, affiliate programs are arrangements in which an online merchant website pays affiliate websites a commission to send them traffic and / or sales.

You'll be surprised how many companies have affiliate programs. As mentioned in the blogging chapter of The Entrepreneur's Playbook, everyone from Amazon.com to HomeDepot is willing to compensate you for sending them customers.

There are really no limits. Just about any niche you could create content for should have complimentary products or services you can promote.

I personally like to focus on promoting high ticket offers (products or services that pay commissions over $100). I also like affiliate programs that pay recurring monthly commissions.

The examples below are in a variety of industries. I don't know your passions or specific industry, but these affiliate programs should give you an example of what is possible.

Below are a few of my favorite affiliate programs:

Digital Marketing Products/Services

ClickFunnels

The category king of sales funnels has attracted many marketers to their lucrative affiliate program.

Earn up to 40% recurring monthly commissions for each new customer you introduce to their funnel software. This 40% commission breaks down tobetween $38-$118 recurring commissions for as long as they keep using the software.

Refer 100 members to ClickFunnels, and not only will they continue to send commissions every month, but ClickFunnels will even buy your dream car for you.

Check out the list of Dream Car winners here and you may even see a few Entrepreneur Playbook co-authors on the list!

In addition to the sales funnel software, ClickFunnels offers copywriting software, four best-selling books, and other digital marketing training programs to promote...

Apply to join the ClickFunnels Affiliate Program Here.

GrooveFunnels

GrooveFunnels is a competitor to ClickFunnels created by veteran internet marketer, Mike Filsaime. GrooveFunnels is more than just a funnel building software. It's an all-in-one marketing platform. The best part? They offer a a free account (free for life) that you can actually use and build up to three websites with. 

Refer people to create a free account - and if your referrals choose to upgrade to a paid membership, YOU get paid...

Click here to create a GrooveFunnels account and become an affiliate.

The Authority Site System

If building authority sites becomes your passion, you might want to invest in a full training course. Gael Breton and Mark Webster from AuthorityHacker.com have created what is (in my opinion) the best training that covers everything you'll ever need to know about building an authority blog. You can catch their webinar here.

If you'd like to also promote The Authority Site System (TASS), they also have a generous affiliate program. Click here to apply.

Financial Affiliate Programs

Some of the highest earning blogs are in the finance niche. I've created a site where I've niched down to focus on 'alternative assets' like cryptocurrencies and precious metals. Below are a few companies I personally like to promote.

Augusta Precious Metals

Augusta is a gold and silver IRA company located in Casper, Wyoming. They have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau - with zero complaints filed against them in the entire time they've been in business (10+ years)... 

Sign up as an affiliate for Augusta Precious Metals here.

GoldCo Precious Metals

Goldco is a precious metals firm out of Burbank, California that specializes in gold IRAs (adding gold and silver to retirement accounts)... The firm is highly rated across client review sites, making it easy to recommend to your audience. 

Best of all, they recently hired Chuck Norris as their spokesperson.

Don't make Chuck Norris mad. Sign up for their affiliate program here.

BitIRA

BitIRA is  one of my favorite affiliate programs in the cryptocurrency niche. The company specializes in helping Americans rollover or transfer retirement funds into bitcoin, ethereum, and other digital currencies. 

If you're excited about the rise of crypto and want to blog about it, BitIRA might be a great company to promote on your site...

You can sign up for BitIRA's affiliate program here.

If you apply for Augusta, Goldco, or BitIRA's affiliate program, reach out to me. I'll follow up with their affiliate manager to ensure you get approved (they don't approve everyone)...

The Entrepreneur's Playbook - Co-author Affiliate Programs

Are you loving The Entrepreneur's Playbook? Many of the co-authors in this book have affiliate programs for their own products and services. Here are just a small handful of products or services you can promote from my fellow Playbook co-authors.

Spencer Mecham

Spencer wrote The Entrepreneur's Playbook chapter on "Automation." His Affiliate Secrets 3.0 program teaches affiliate marketing and sells for $897. The course pays a 50% affiliate commission...  You can sign up for his affiliate program here...

Nate McCallister

You've likely already seen Nate's chapter on Amazon and Arbitrage.  In addition to Amazon, he's also a successful full-time blogger.

He has teamed up with Spencer Mecham and launched the 21 Day Blog Challenge. The course is designed for you to take action and get your blog moving fast.

As an affiliate, you can recommend this course to others, help people launch their own blog, and get paid to do it.  Sign up as a 21 Day Blog Challenge affiliate here.  

Kevin Steven Quinn

The maestro behind The Entrepreneur's Playbook is involved with several businesses...  He's an author, coach, and former affiliate manager to former monk turned social media star, Jay Shetty.

Quinn is currently the Chief Marketing Officer for Vital Elements, a CBD company out of Oregon. If you're interested in promoting CBD products, check out their site. Vital Elements products are high quality and competitively priced.

Coulton Woods

Coulton wrote the chapter on modern day network marketing...

Wait - MLM? 

I know... but before you throw your copy of The Entrepreneur's Playbook out the window, hear me out...

Coulton Woods and his business partner Steve Larsen show HOW to build an MLM in 2021 (online and without being sleazy or chasing uninterested friends)... 

Coulton Woods knows his stuff. I know this because I ended up joining his team. Russell Brunson (the CEO of ClickFunnels), Steve Larsen, Coulton Woods and I are all on the same downline. 

We're bringing the digital marketing crowd into direct sales, shaking up a business model that traditionally has been built face-to-face.  Russell Brunson helped launch our MLM company. He even wrote about it in Expert Secrets. Learn how to create a passive income stream working with  our direct sales team here.

You can also learn more about our MLM products - Keto supplements here.

Examples of Six-Figure Authority Sites

Operating a six-figure a year blog is NOT a pie-in-the-sky pipe dream. In fact, below are examples of sites that have reached seven-figures a year... 

Regular people have taken their businesses, expertise. or hobbies and scaled blogs to these heights.

Don't let these example sites overwhelm you. Keep in mind these bloggers have been publishing content for years. You won't start here, but with consistency, you can reach these levels...

Smart Business Trends

Interested in promoting the ClickFunnels software mentioned above?  Chris Fong's Smart Business Trends (SBT) is a great example of a blog that's successfully promoting the marketing software.

SBT combines helpful reviews, tutorials, and informative articles for online marketers. Chris Fong credits much of his affiliate marketing success to packaging irresistible "bonuses" to people for buying via his affiliate links... 

In 2019, Chris reached 100 active referrals, qualifying him for the ClickFunnels Dream Car.

Gold IRA Guide

Interested in promoting precious metals like the affiliate programs mentioned above? Gold IRA Guide (GIG) promotes several different companies in the alternative assets niche.

While GIG earns affiliate sales from multiple companies, the blog has generated upwards of $50,000 in commissions (in a single month) just from promoting Regal Assets alone.

Smart Passive Income

Pat Flynn started the Smart Passive Income (SPI) blog because he had to.  Pat graduated from college with an architecture degree, landed his dream job with a great firm, and was happy with his career.

Then in 2008, his industry was hit hard by the economic downturn and he lost his job...

Online marketing was his "Plan B." He turned to blogging and creating online courses from home. Pat's SPI blog teaches his strategies for running an online business for passive income.

For years, one of the most popular areas of Pat's blog was his monthly income reports. Pat earns an income from affiliate offers, podcast sponsors, his online courses, niche blogs, software, apps, and more. Today, Pat's business is doing more than two million dollars a year. The SPI blog is his authority site and the "hub" for his brand.

Health Ambition

This is an excellent example of a profitable authority site in the health and wellness niche. Gael Breton and Mark Webster (the guys behind the Authority Hacker) started and eventually sold this website for top dollar.

The two marketers openly share their wins and fails with building highly profitable authority websites.

Health Ambition was the most public blog in their portfolio with more than 25 million visitors since they launched...

Dollar Sprout

This personal finance site is pulling in roughly $200,000... a MONTH.  If you think an operation of this size is run out of a 3,000 sq. ft. workplace with 100+ employees, you're wrong.

It's literally two buddies sharing a small apartment in Blacksburg, Va. Ben Huber and Jeff Proctor handle the keyword research, SEO, and other areas they enjoy, and then outsource the article writing through freelance contributors.

Conclusion

I know that we covered a lot on this page!

Of course, you don't need to consume this all at once. Bookmark the page to return as needed on your journey.

If you're looking for a full training course that really goes in-depth on the subject, I can't recommend The Authority Site System enough. It's truly one of the best programs on this subject.

While there are many pieces to the digital marketing puzzle, (just look at the number of chapters in the Entrepreneur's Playbook!), your "blog" is a great content hub for your online brand.

Just know that blogging "results" do not appear overnight.

It will take time for a website to start ranking, getting traffic, and for people to take notice. It took roughly five months to start seeing my first affiliate sales with my first site back in 2014.

And many bloggers would consider that fast! It can take a year for a new site to start getting some traction...  

But the obstacle is the way. Your competitors will get discouraged and quit.

If you're willing to stay the course, you'll reap the benefits.

Let's Connect!

If you'd like to connect with other bloggers and entrepreneurs starting on their blogging journey, join us on facebook.  This is a new group I'd like to help us network and support each other.  

See you on the inside!