TylerCruz.com: An Internet Entrepreneur's JourneyThe journal of a web entrepreneur on his journey to wealth.

10 Things I Learned About Blogging from Tyler Cruz

This is a guest post written by Paul Piotrowski over at InspiredMoneyMaker.com who runs a Blog that focuses on teaching people how to make money doing what they love.

One very important self-improvement technique I learned in my 13+ year study of personal development is modeling successful people. When I began getting into Blogging back in April of 2006, I knew that in order to become successful in the Blogosphere I needed to learn from those who came before me and to apply what I learned to create my own success.

So over the last two years I have made it a regular practice to study and learn from some of the leading Bloggers on the Internet, such as Steve Pavlina, John Chow and Darren Rowse. However, one of the most important lessons I learned from being in business for over a decade is that you can often learn a lot more from people who are closer to your level of success, than those who are years ahead of you. Because of this, when I wanted to learn how to make money by Blogging, I didn’t just focus on the A-List Bloggers who were already ultra successful and making six-figure incomes from Blogging, I also began studying the soon to be six figure income Bloggers like Tyler Cruz who are just working on getting to the six-figure mark.

This is a listing of things I have learned from Tyler Cruz by following and studying his Blog.

(1) Distinguish Yourself in the Blogosphere With a Mascot and Blog Design.

Tyler’s mascot and Blog design stand out amongst so many other Blogs out there. Although I was already looking into getting a Mascot designed for my Blog; visiting Tyler’s site and seeing just how much more personable a Blog with a Mascot is, sealed the deal for me. My new Blog and Mascot design are in the works, and I can’t wait to unveil them to the world.

(2) It’s OK To Be A Bit Goofy.

You know those 1970’s educational movies they used to show in elementary school where the narrator speaks in a proper, monotone voice that makes you want to fall asleep? Well, if the tone of voice you write with in your Blog is like that, you’re going to put your readers to sleep.

When I first visited Tyler’s Blog, I instantly liked the mascot he had and some of the videos and pictures he posted clearly demonstrated that even though Blogging is a serious business with real income earning potential, it doesn’t mean you have to be a super serious Blogger. Just by reading some of Tyler’s posts, I can tell he – like myself – is a bit of a goof that doesn’t take life too seriously. It was great to see that I didn’t have to pretend to be someone else to succeed in the Blogging world.

(3) You Don’t Need to Have Twenty Thousand RSS Subscribers to Make Money Blogging.

With the A-List Bloggers posting their +$30,000/month earnings each month, it’s inspiring to dream of those kinds of numbers yourself, but when you’ve got 50 RSS subscribers growing by one or two per day and they have +25,000, the difference can be discouraging.

Reading Tyler’s Blog made it easier to believe in making at least some money Blogging, long before reaching tens of thousands of RSS readers. If you currently only have 50 RSS subscribers, just set a goal for 100, and then 250, and then 500, and then 1,000 etc. Don’t think that you have to wait until you reach 25,000 before you monetize your Blog either.

(4) Diversify Your Income.

There are a lot of ways to make money online, not just by Blogging. A lot of the things you learn about making money from Blogging can be applied to making money online in other ways, and vice versa. Tyler’s other income streams outside of his Blog remind me to keep my options open and look for other opportunities to help people make money doing what they love besides my Blog.

(5) Backup Your Stuff.

On a few occasions now, Tyler has written about server crashes, WordPress hackers and other things that can severely cripple your online business. I never really worried too much about stuff like that since I was just getting my Blog started, but after seeing what happened to Tyler, I realized that it can happen to anyone at any time, so it’s important to make sure you cover your butt with regular backups.

(7) John Chow Can Make You Look Like a Midget.

The first time I saw Tyler’s picture with John Chow, it looked like Tyler was really short. Obviously it’s not Tyler that’s short, but John that’s really tall. When I met John in person and got a picture with him, he also made me look like a midget. I think John Chow should change his identity from “Panda Killer” to “Midget Maker”.

(8) Leaderboard Banners Can Look Decent.

The Leaderboard banner on Tyler’s site is so well placed and fits in so nicely with the site design. It provides a great advertising opportunity and captures my attention every time I visit his site. It also doesn’t look like a horizontal banner that was just slapped up somewhere as an after thought.

(9) Paid Reviews Can Give You The Boost You Need

Having written dozens of paid reviews himself; Tyler has also invested in some paid reviews from popular Bloggers like John Chow to help promote his sites. If you’ve got some extra money laying around, getting a paid review can definitely give you the boost you need. Once my Blog re-design is done, I’ll definitely be thinking about getting some reviews done for my Blog as well.

(10) A Well Thought Out Competition Can Make You A Winner, Even If You Lose.

When Tyler ran his Tyler vs Gyutae competition, he ended up winning even when he lost. In fact, there were a lot of winners in the competition. Tyler won by getting a lot of back-links, Tyler’s voters each got 150 Entrecard credits and a plug, etc. A head to head competition like this can bring more life into both Blogs while also providing some good entertainment value for the readers.

Of course there are many other things I’ve learned from Tyler, but to learn those you might just have to pop by my blog or dig through his archives.