Mario Armstrong: From Free to Fee (Blogalicious Conference 2012)

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From Free to FeeTurning Your Passion into a Business

21 day challenge to more revenue

Mario Armstrong

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Mario ArmstrongDigital Lifestyle Expert

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STARTING RIGHT NOW,YOU'RE NOT JUST A BLOGGER.

Let's get one thing straight:

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You're a media company.

By the end of this hour,

you'll know exactly what I mean.

Tell YOUR why, not the what

START THINKING OF YOURSELF AS A MEDIA COMPANY

Telling me you are a fashion blogger or cover entrepreneurship doesn’t say anything about WHY – and I don’t know what YOU bring to the table.

I tell people “I’m all about inspiring people to better their lives by showing them how technology can help them achieve their goals

I wouldn’t say “I blog about tech”

If CONTENT is KING

then

SPONSORSHIPS sustain the kingdom!

Great content is expected but not automatically financially rewarded!

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FIRST, I WANT TO ASK YOU A QUESTION!

What's the #1 problem you face in running your blog?

- Traffic- Monetization- Technical challenges- Time (I need more hours in the day)

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16 ways to generate revenue

E-books Public SpeakingConsultingSMT’sTwitter ChatsBooks (e-books & paperbk)Video bloggingDevelop products in your

niche (i.e. MAM patent)

Online Events (webinars, live streaming)

Offline EventsSponsored meetups, conferences

Liveblogging specialsPaid TV/Radio contributorBlog contributor BlogTalk RadioAdwordsWebinars

Today we're going to walk through the kinds of things your plan should include, plus some examples from my

life and my business.

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Your plan will take you to the next level:the media company

My StoryJust a few years ago I was like many of

you. I knew my passion, what I wanted to spend my days doing.

“You Work 9a-5p -- You make history

from 5p-9am” Mario Armstrong

1999 Radio Show Idea

1999-2007Full Time job, working passion on side

Chasing passion by working for FREE (5am winter mornings on ABC2, WEAA etc.)

2007-currentBoth full time on the business

AOL $250K was supposed to be a shoe-in, we spent $ on legal fees & signed it, but on the way to the mtng where they were going to sign. They called & said no go, there was change in Mgt.

To make it worse the Recession hits

2005-2007Nicole quit to start building the business, develop pricing models, infrastructure, started generating very small revenue

Current

Still playing recession catchup

TAXES!!!! Ohh yeah & a $52,000 payment – WAKE UP CALL

Grown to 8 staff members

AND WE’VE BEEN THERE:Maxed credit cards, had a 2 year old son to take care of and we were flat broke!This was the defining moment - keep going or quit! Many tears and a lot of pain!

S&%T GOT REAL!When I was collecting change to scrape up enough to buy gas, it was a very real bottom for us!

That’s proof that a huge part of your plan needs to be around how to make money.

But generating revenue goes hand-in-hand with increasing your audience and exposure. So we’re going to talk about both, and you’ll see why.

It's harder than you thinkYou'll want to give upIt's going to take timeInner Demons await – Beware the DREAMKILLERYou have to SELL. (But really, selling is helping other people improve their lives - with what YOU have to offer)

WHAT THEY DON’T TELL YOU ABOUT FOLLOWING YOUR PASSION:

Let’s make money $$$$

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16 ways to generate revenue

E-books Public SpeakingConsultingSMT’sTwitter ChatsBooks (e-books & paperbk)Video bloggingDevelop products in your

niche (i.e. MAM patent)

Online Events (webinars, live streaming)

Offline EventsSponsored meetups, conferences

Liveblogging specialsPaid TV/Radio contributorBlog contributor BlogTalk RadioAdwordsWebinars

Public $peaking

Great way to generate a buzz

After buzz building – start charging

Don’t be shy with your fees

Starting out ask for $1000-$2000

We went from $500 to $2000 to $5000 to $8000 to now $10,000

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Online Events – Live streaming

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stats

997,621 minutes watched

75,931 unique views

22 sites and blogs carried the LivestreamHuff Post, The Root, Politic365, SocialWayne, BlackPlanet

etc…

Online Events – Live streaming

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Give your content away for free to top tier sites

Charge sponsors for the COMBINED reach

Not just your reach, which enables you to sell big

Online Events – Live streaming

WEBINARS

1. Free:Do for Freeto build credibility

2. Charge:Work with a sponsor, who pays for yourtime

TWITTER CHATS

Use your expertise,not selling theirwares

They pay for your time and reach

Real-time Publishing sponsoredLive Blog!

Take advantage of a live event that has an audience to provide your take: news, a TV show, festival, conference, whatever. There are tons of possibilities. Most people pre-write a post or talk about it after the fact - don't be most people!

After all, why just live tweet your thoughts for Twitter's sake? You're just sending that money (traffic) to Twitter. Live blog and tweet thoughts w/links to your site so you can take advantage and build your network at the same time!

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TV Contributor

Identify local networks

Pitch topics that are timely i.e. Back to School, Holidays, News Eventsno product placement or pitching brands

that pay you $ for other work

Start as a guest (learn, learn, learn)

Grow from there

Blog for a brand!

Identify the brand!

Research for the unique opening!

Find a contact (use social graph)

Begin dialogue

Paid Blogger

It's time to get creative!

Make sure to cut through all the clutter so they hear you.

Mobile Video… Socialcam app

Mobile Video

Use video to augment blog posts

Don’t tell me SHOW me

Build community of followers, share to all social

Embed on your blog

Use their API to curate & post on your site

What I learned from my #Socamshow

12k on twitter BUT 1.5m on Socialcam (find ur home)

Analytics too!

This kind of diversification is hugeRemember, you're a media company.

Because when it comes time to pitch a sponsor, you want to give them everything you've got!

The more assets you have, the more places you can include them.

We have the tech for lots of things.

But not for you to clone yourself.

I don't think?

So how do you scale YOU?

Play to your strengths

Outsource your weaknesses

& & reinvest $ in the biz

21 DAY CHALLENGE -

Start with a healthy breakfast

21 DAY CHALLENGE5 steps:

1. Write down 3 most repetitive tasks (life or biz) then figure out how to outsource, automate, consolidate

2. List at least 5 new ways to generate revenue

3. List 3 new ways to expand your audience reach

4. Develop a list of at least 15 brands you’d like to work with

5. Develop a 90-day plan w/specific deliverables

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Find YOUR inner-kid

Trampoline YOUR DREAMS

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Thank you

@MarioArmstrong

Web: www.MarioArmstrong.com

@MarioArmstrong

/MarioArmstrong