One of my favorite quotes is by Tony Robbins, “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.” That is so true. So I made some changes in July and August of this year. It all started with the book “The 4 Hour Workweek.”

My take on the book can be summed up like this: 1) Don’t let e-mail run your life. 2) Automate as much as you can. 3) Outsource as much as you can. 4) Use the internet to Succeed. 5) Travel now! You don’t have to be rich to do it. 6) Don’t put your life off until retirement. Live NOW! So…How did I change things or expand on what I was already doing?

1) Don’t let e-mail run your life: You all know the person who now manages most of my business e-mail: CHRISTINE. I have also worked with Christine on not being a SLAVE to her e-mail. She says that managing my e-mail has helped her manage her own. Ask her about it in the comments section.

2) Automate as much as you can: Fred and I launched a new website UWSTravel.com. It’s fully automated, powered by Travelocity and works for us 24/7 on autopilot. We are booking travel for numerous people that we don’t even know. Oh, let me correct that. We are not booking travel. The customer is doing it and we are getting paid commissions.

3) Outsource as much as you can: We already had alliances with numerous people and have created a solid foundation for outsourcing. If you are not outsourcing, you need to consider what pieces of your business you can outsource. We have a 24 hour live person answering service that we pay less than $100 per month for. They know how to either track us down when needed or put the person into voice mail. When considering outsourcing, ask yourself “What else could I be doing with my time?” For example, I’m the closer of most sales for our company and can get that done because of outsourcing. I also have a lot more FREE time than I would not otherwise have. I’m 40 and learned a long time ago that I cannot do it all.

4) Use the internet to Succeed: We have multiple websites and just launched two new blogs which we’ll let you know about soon. I also maximize the internet by teaching others in live workshops how to tap into it and through Webinars.

5) Travel now! You don’t have to be rich to do it: This is one that you just have to make yourself do. You need a vacation. You need a break. You could take mini-vacations by going away once per month for the weekend. If you like to travel, DO NOT put it off. Do it while you can.

6) Don’t put your life off until retirement. Live NOW! Stay away from the old school mentality of when I retire… I will… I will… I just cannot wait 25 more years, 15 more years, 5 more years until I retire because then I will… Do you know people like this? Do you know people that hate their job… longing for the day when they can retire? I know several people who still work in their retirement years. I have also heard many stories of people dying shortly after retirement. Oh, it’s true that this is not always the case, but my point is LIVE NOW!

In closing, remember…”If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.” CHANGE NOW…TODAY!

AdSense, sponsor ads, and reviews are one way to make money as a blogger, but there’s a huge market out there for bloggers who really understand the blogosphere. I’m a freelancer for a few different internet marketing companies and let me tell you, there are LOTS of companies out there that want to or think they want to get into blogging but don’t have the slightest idea about how to do it.

The Market

Sometimes just knowing that an opportunity exists is all you need to spark an idea. I can tell you first hand that there are companies out there that are willing to pay good money to have someone launch their blog and learn how to build it effectively.

You’re probably not going to find these opportunities in your local blog hangouts like MyBlogLog and BlogCatalog. You probably won’t find them commenting on posts around the blogosphere. You may not even find them posting requests for someone to help them build a blog on freelancer sites.

The ideal client is a small to midsized company that knows that they want more internet traffic and more engagement with their customers, but may not necessarily know how to go about this. There are lots of them out there.

What You As an Experienced Blogger Can Provide

There are companies willing to pay you money for your knowledge of blogging and the application of your knowledge. If you’re already blogging, many of the things you consider now to be common knowledge are definitely not to others. Some of the things we cover with clients who want to get into blogging are:

• Setting goals for the blog (engaging with potential clients, building brand, meeting and communicating with others in their industry)
• Formulating an overall plan
• Choosing a FOCUS
• The importance of posting regularly
• Understanding the commitment
• Finding qualified people to help write posts and manage the blog if they themselves can’t handle the time commitment
• The language and tone of blogging (most businesses tend to start out with posts that are too impersonal)
• The importance of and gaining RSS subscribers
• The importance of and ways to generate comments
• Blogging ‘etiquette’ (replying to comments, linking out, giving credit to other bloggers)
• Setting up a blog and installing plugins
• Choosing a domain name
• Designing/implementing the look and feel

If you feel like you’ve got a good understanding of these concepts, then you are worth a great deal to many companies out there.

Parts Two & Three

In upcoming posts, I’ll talk about some ways that you can connect with potential clients and package your services to increase the dollar value of your offering.

Share Your Experience

Have you acted as a consultant to help someone set up a blog? If not, is this something you consider trying? What have your experiences been helping others to realize the potential of blogging?

Feeling sorry for yourself, and your present condition, is not only a waste of energy but the worst habit you could possibly have.  Dale Carnegie

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