Whether you have used your time at home this past year to become an expert of something or whether you need an additional incentive to become better at something, the good news is that you can actually make money from something you know well.

In other words, monetizing your expertise is not just possible; it is also quite doable.
Here are a few easy options for you:

This may sound quite intimidating, but it is actually easier than you may think.
First of all, you don’t have to look for a publisher.
These days, there are powerful self-publishing platforms.
Obviously, writing and publishing your own book is a vast undertaking, but here are four key steps:
Your first book doesn’t have to be perfect.
Unfortunately, too many writers never complete their books because there is an infinite number of ways to edit and improve them.
Consider publishing your first book as a learning opportunity.
Your next one will be better (and in many aspects easier), and your third one may be a perfect book.
Book publishing is also a powerful personal branding tactic.
Suddenly you’ll notice Google treat you as a brand and showing a Knowledge Graph for your name:

Google treats Rand Fishkin as a brand and shows a Knowledge Graph for his name.
It will take some time for Google to start doing it or your name, but it will help you look like the real deal and sell your other products as well.
Global lockdowns have had one interesting outcome: People have learned to do everything from home, from shopping to learning and even traveling.
The demand for online learning has grown dramatically, which means there’s a huge opportunity opening for niche experts who can now monetize their knowledge in a particular subject by developing online training and coaching services.
It is true that there are lots of online learning opportunities already, so it is quite a competitive niche, but it is still doable. And examples of successful coaching business models are numerous.

One recent example is the “Clients on Demand” coaching program. It has exponentially grown because it differentiated itself as an exclusive, success-oriented “high-performance” community that only accepts entrepreneurs who are ready to evolve.
A few important takeaways from the above example are:
To monetize your expertise through coaching, use Appointfix, which will allow your clients to book online personal training meetings with you and immediately pay.
The tool also makes it easy to manage your schedule and send reminders to your clients.

Appointfix allows your clients to book online personal training meetings with you and pay right away.
This option works well with the above steps: all you need is to figure out your course structure and record some online coaching meetings where you talk about how to solve a particular problem.
If you need help figuring out your video course structure, use question research to find out which questions are being searched online.
This will also help your course get found online. Text Optimizer is a cool tool to use here.
It uses semantic research to help you discover popular questions on a particular topic:

Use question research to find out which questions are being searched online.
Additionally, tools like Zoom make it extremely easy to record yourself talking about a particular topic, including clicking through slides or sharing your screen for a walkthrough.
This process took me minutes to figure out. And online video editing tools like InVideo enable you to create more entertaining videos, branded intros, and even professional listicles.

One video editing tool like InVideo enables you to create more entertaining videos and branded intros.
Once you have at least an hour of video content, you can start creating your course.
Platforms like Udemy handle the hosting, lead generation, and design.
You are unlikely to earn a lot of money from Udemy (because it’s incredibly limiting to content creators), but it is a good place to start.
From there, you can start working on your self-hosted course, which could be an advanced version of your course on Udemy.
As this pandemic colorfully demonstrated, when one door closes, another door opens.
Maxwell Hertan of Megaphone Marketing puts it, “the whopping 50% increase in Internet use” means a fast-growing demand for digital services and content.
This may be the best time to monetize your expertise!

While many sources of income are being eliminated during these dreadful times (think entertainment workers, brick and mortar business owners, etc.), other opportunities arise.
Remember, you don’t have to pick one monetization method.
You can use each of them to empower one another.
For example, use your free Udemy course to find clients for your coaching program.
You can repurpose content from one method (coaching) to build another asset (a video course).
And while it can take time to figure out additional income sources, it can be done. Good luck!
The post How to Monetize Your Expertise appeared first on Content Marketing Consulting and Social Media Strategy.
Source: convinceandconvert.com
Europe is breathing a sigh of comfort over Germany.
I’m willing to bet that many of you out there have was just thinking about writing a diary.
You may have even started scribbling down a few projects.
Perhaps it’s a myth work, the next 50 Shades of Grey, or perhaps you want to write the next tell-all exposure on the life and experiences of Donald Trump.

You are likely to consider writing the next enormous self-help book, akin to “The Secret” or “How to Constitute Pals and Influence People”.
According to a study done virtually two decades ago in 2002, 81% of Americans were of the view that they had a record in their own homes.
This has meant that nearly 260 million people want to write records in the US alone.
Approximately 600,000 volumes were released in the US each year, and many of those are self-published.
Few sell more than a few forgeries (the average is around 250 imitates exchanged).
Hitherto I’m here today to tell you to write that work that you’ve had on your attention and to dive into the realm of self-publishing.
Here are 10 reasons you should make that move and write a volume once:
When you first think about writing a diary, it may seem like a daunting exercise.
It is an agitating suggestion, sure, but the more you consider how to actually get started, the harder it becomes.
When you actually pick up the confine (or the laptop) and start typing, you will come to realize just what a elucidate outcome the writing process can have on your mind.

Writing may be one of the purest forms of ego construction and creativity available to humans.
We all learn to write from an early age, yet few of us cultivate the ability of self-expression through writing long past our early childhood.
Good bibles, nonfiction or myth, sounds into the reader’s minds by telling artistic fibs and tapping into mental personnel related to specific sensations.
The work you write is not necessary too dry or boring.
Think about how you are able to make it interesting and then lead full-steam ahead.

“The obstacle in the footpath grows the track. Never forget, within every deterrent is an opportunity to improve our condition.”- Ryan Holiday
Every November, nearly half a million people take on the challenge of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month).
The challenge is for writers of all ages, talents, and skills, and capacity to set aside time out of their busy planned to write like mad for the purposes of the month.
The goal is to reach a stupid number of words (50,000) in a few periods as is practicable.
Taking on a challenge of this magnitude, or simply naming a deadline for yourself in your front on a certain number of sheets to write in a certain sum of the period, can provide you with an incredible appreciation of purpose and drive.

Most people who write volumes don’t do so as part of their full-time profession.
They don’t have large betterments or big budgets to spend on market and PR.
Instead, they have to work on their writing, to foster and strategy around their once-busy lives.
Judging to write a book compels careful planning and attention to items.
It also pushes you to outline a plan for when to publicize your volume and when to start marketing.

Once you have an outline in place for your diary and a schedule for how many statements you need to finish each day (or how many slices of your diary you need to complete) you will be surprised by how motivated you become.

Just having a set of tasks to complete which align so closely with an artistic try is incredibly fulfilling, and will be very motivating over the course of your writing.
The creation of good habits is a positive byproduct of sketching, planning, and writing a bible.
By scheming out your activities, you develop a deeper expressed appreciation for the occasion and the time you spend on certain tasks.
You will make an effort to be more productive, to cut out things that are of less appraise to you, and to prioritize those circumstances which will help you achieve your next purpose or project.
All positive things lead to the development of good habits.

Don’t mistake the process of writing a volume with the process of revising a journal.
When you write on a schedule, you may not feel like writing, but the sheer personnel of will you employ to get the words out on a daily basis will be a strong motivating make.
Not merely that, the more you write, the most likely it becomes that you will develop new joinings, recalls, or notions that you’ve never had before.
As you write, something may become clear to you which has been shrouded in a puzzle for years or decades of your life.
By writing, you will uncover these new contacts and change your whole way of thinking.
“The three huge criticals to achieve anything profitable are: Hard part, Stick-to-itiveness, and Common sense.”- Thomas A. Edison

Writing a journal will see you more interesting.
Not exclusively will it give you something to talk about at parties, it will help you understand these new challenges that countless people face when it is necessary to motivate or challenges at work or in their personal lives.
By writing a book, I would argue that you will become both more empathetic and energetic in your interactions with others.

When you devote a significant quantity of time writing something, possibilities are that you are a dedicated and trustworthy mortal.
You are labeled a self-starter and someone who can be self-motivated to reach big destinations.
By telling parties you’ve written work, you will open doors you didn’t even know were entrances in the first place.
People will want to speak with you, have lunch with you, pick your ability, learn from you. The sky’s the limit.

Ultimately, writing a book allows you to develop a deeper understanding of yourself, of others, and of countries around the world around you. I would argue that writing a journal is both a selfless and a selfish act in that it allows you to run your body and soul into something which may benefit the world as a whole.

In 2002, a generator and prof at Northwestern University by the name of Joseph Epstein told books in an Op-Ed in the New York Times that they should never write that diary.
A spate has changed since 2002, and looking at countries around the world now I would indicate strongly for the opposite.
People should be investing more go thinking about, and writing the books they have buried inside.
Exclusively then will we be able to develop a truly terminated viewpoint of countries around the world and of humanity?
What journal is on your subconscious that you haven’t started yet? Comment below!
Source: addicted2success.com
We’re kicking off our Blogging Breakthroughs series, where a variety of bloggers share their stories of breakthroughs they’ve experienced over the years with their blogs. We received submissions from numerous bloggers. And today I want to introduce you to Andrea Vahl.

When Andrea started getting into social media, she realized nobody was teaching it in an entertaining way.
So she invented a character: ‘Grandma Mary: Social Media Edutainer’.
She’d even show up at events as Grandma Mary – a great way to stand out!
Andrea is also the co-author of Facebook Marketing All-in-One for Dummies and a public speaker.
She was a presenter at last year’s Success Incubator event.
In her blogging breakthrough story, she describes how she started her blog in 2009 and how she got her book deal.
Her first eBooks may not have sold many copies, but they got the attention of a publisher.
So she created more eBooks that were profitable and created opportunities for her to speak, consult and teach.
Much of what Andrea does today started as a simple blog.
She pushed herself out of her comfort zone to do some great things.

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Welcome to episode 256 of the ProBlogger Podcast, a kind of podcast.
My name is Darren Rowse and I’m the blogger behind problogger.com.
A blog, podcast, event, job board, and a series of eBooks, and courses are all designed to help you as a blogger to start an amazing blog.
Now, it’s going to help people, that’s going to give you an opportunity to make the world a better place in some way, and also that will hopefully build some profit for you as well, and give you an extra income stream.
You can learn more about ProBlogger and check out our courses and eBooks over at problogger.com.
Now, today we’re kicking off our blogging breakthroughs series where you’ll be hearing over the coming weeks from a variety of bloggers who are going to tell you their stories of breakthroughs that they’ve had over the years.
I put the call out a couple of episodes ago for this series, and we were inundated with amazing stories.
We can’t use them all, but we are going to use quite a few of them over the coming weeks.
We’re still working through those applications, to be honest, there are so many of them, but today I want to introduce you to the first of them, a friend of mine called Andrea Vahl.
I actually asked Andrea to submit her story while we went through all the other submissions.
Now, Andrea is someone I met many years ago now at a blogging conference, I think it was in Las Vegas of all places, but at the time of meeting her.
In fact, she wasn’t actually Andrea Vahl, she was Grandma Mary, which is a strange one, and I was a little bit freaked out when I first met her because she was obviously someone dressed up in costume.
Andrea is someone who had been doing improvisational comedy before she started getting into blogging.
As she started getting into social media, she realized that no one was teaching social media in an entertaining way.
She invented this character Grandma Mary to teach how to do social media via video.

There’s actually a photo in the show notes of her and me from one of those early conferences, so you could see what she looked like.
She would also show up at events as Grandma Mary, which was a great way to stand out.
I remember walking through these conference halls with thousands of people in them, and everyone would be of course looking at who this person was and she was a kind of a bit of an outrageous, funny kind of character and got a lot of attention, a really great way to stand out.
Anyway, Andrea has not only built Grandma Mary’s profile, but she also today is well known for herself.
She’s the co-author of A Dummies Book with Amy Porterfield and Phyllis Khare.
Facebook Marketing All-in-One for Dummies, I’ll link to it in today’s show notes, and she also does a lot of speaking.
In fact, last year she spoke at the Success Incubator event that I ran with some friends.
In today’s blogging breakthrough story, she could really tell a lot of stories, but today, she’s going to tell you the story of starting her blog back in 2009, so she has been doing it for a while now, and also how she got that book deal which is a great story.
She also shares some really good tips that I want to talk more about at the end of her story.
This story goes for about seven minutes, so in seven minutes’ time, I’ll come back on and I want to kind of just expand upon a few of the things that she said and give you a little bit of further listening if it piques your interest.
Today’s show notes including links to Andrea’s site at andreavahl.com, the show notes are at problogger.com/podcast/256.
Okay, here’s Andrea.

Hi, this is Andrea Vahl, co-author of Facebook Marketing All-in-One for Dummies and wig-wearing comedian.
I just want to thank Darren for having me on the ProBlogger Podcast, and I want to tell my blogging breakthrough story.
It really is about how I got the book deal to write Facebook Marketing All-in-One for Dummies through blogging and through my social media connections.
What happened is I started my blog as Grandma Mary, a social media edutainer because I saw that there weren’t a lot of really fun entertaining blogs out there, and I started it more as a video blog.
I used YouTube videos and also was blogging, adding some content with the YouTube videos, and I started blogging in about 2009.
I started a video blog mostly because I didn’t like writing that much.
It was a perfect combination for me to use my humor, and to create content quickly with a video blog, and I was initially putting out a lot of content, I was blogging maybe three times a week, it wasn’t super consistent as far as how many times I was blogging, but I knew I had to get a lot of content out there.
I also knew that I wanted to have some products.
I launched a product, and I launched some eBooks way before I was ready to do that.
I kind of forced myself to get those out there, and I launched my first product and eBook in the fall.
I started blogging in the summer and right away started just launching because I knew that I would just get better at doing that.
I was also at the same time making connections on social media, and showing up and doing regular things by commenting on people’s tutorials, commenting when people had maybe a live show going on, there were some live shows out there that were happening, and I was making those social media connections.
One of the people I got connected to was Phyllis Khare, and she was also watching one of the live shows with me and we started kind of chatting and connecting through that, and because my blog is a little unusual, a little different, it kind of grew in the fans that I had and grew the followers.
Therefore, it was really exciting and fun, and what happened was, a year after I had started my blog, it was totally unexpected and out of the blue, I was just starting to monetize it a little bit because my first few products and eBooks were not huge sales, but I knew that would change.
It’s hard to stay in the course sometimes though, and what happened was a year after I started blogging,
I got a call from Phyllis Khare, and she had a connection with Wiley who is the publisher of the Dummies series books, and they had seen my authority out there, seeing the fact that I created a lot of content.
I also saw the fact that I had written some eBooks, and the combination of all of those things helped me get the book deal to write coauthor for Facebook Marketing All-in-One for Dummies along with Amy Porterfield and Phyllis Khare. It was just a total shock to me that that would happen.
That wasn’t something I had on my radar was to write a book.
I actually didn’t really like writing that much because I started a video blog, so you really never know where those connections are going to lead, and what might happen out there in the world.
I kind of had the intention of starting my business as more of a part-time thing.
I had two young kids at home, and all I wanted to do was just earn some money on the side, I’ve been laid off from my job, but I wanted to stay home with my kids.
I thought, if I could just earn a little bit of money on the side, that would really help our family and it would just make things a little more comfortable for us, plus it kept me sane which was a huge benefit to all of that.

I ended up writing the book and I actually went on to write three editions of the book, and that experience has made me a much better writer.
Now, I do enjoy writing a lot because I think that experience of writing the Dummies book while it was sometimes challenging because they have such strict requirements over how you write.
it’s also helped me be a better blogger, it’s helped me be a better writer, and what it did for me is really transform my business into something that was part-time into something that is full-time.
Now, I get to travel all over the world, I’m speaking in places, I just was speaking in Aruba, I’m heading to Malaysia next week to go speak.
I’m going to be speaking in the Czech Republic, and then a lot of places in the US, and I really never thought all this was possible from a blog.
I also have much more successful products that’s one of the big ways I monetize my blog is through the products, the speaking is great as well.
But I focus a little bit more on the products since some of the other things I do like consulting as well, but the products are what really drives my business.
Now, the amazing thing is just not long ago my husband got laid off from his job, and really he doesn’t necessarily need to go find a new job, and that’s kind of an amazing thing is that we can flip things around now.
My business can be what carries our family, and he can kind of find what he might want to do either online, or virtual, or something that might be a better fit for him, too.
I am such a big believer in blogging, I think some of my key lessons are really to continue to show up consistently, and participate and make those connections because you really don’t know where those social media connections are going to lead
Then be open to where that journey might take you, and also don’t be afraid to monetize early, that was something that was really helpful in my journey because it takes a long time to get to a really profitable product.
It really took me about six years before things really started kicking off, maybe it was really more like five, but it really takes a while before you can see huge benefits.
It depends on how you work, but that was my experience and I know that I was doing a lot more things with my children as well.
That’s why I think blogging is an amazing business to be in.
Thanks, everyone, you can find me over at www.andreavahl.com.
Thanks so much.

Thanks very much to Andrea for sharing her story.
I appreciate you taking the time to do that with us today.
I’ve shared links to Andrea’s site and her books in today’s show notes, you’ll also see a couple of photos of her and myself including one of Grandma Mary from, I think, was a Copyblogger conference that we were at that one.
A few things that really stood out to me in Andrea’s story, I really love the way that she articulated the tip of being open to where your blog might take you.
When Andrea started her blog, she thought she was going to have one thing, a part-time business, she didn’t know what would come from it, she wasn’t aiming for a book deal, but she did start to experiment with monetization with those early eBooks.
As so often happens in these little experiments we do in the early days, things turn out different from what we expect.
She wasn’t to know that that early eBook was going to get her on the radar of a publisher.
I’m sure the eBook itself didn’t sell a lot of copies, but the book that followed then led to more opportunities.
It gave opportunities to speak. It gave her more confidence to write more eBooks which were profitable.
It built her audience.
It opened up opportunities to network with other people.
Today, she now has courses that she does as well as eBooks, she does consult, too.
She wasn’t to know that just starting the blog would lead to all of these other things.
She didn’t start with that plan in mind. She was just open to those possibilities and really, that is a story that I can relate to as well.
I remember my first book deal, and my book deal for the ProBlogger book came about because I had previously started writing an eBook.
When a publisher did approach me, I was able to show them the thing I was already working on, and I probably would have rejected a book deal to be honest if I hadn’t already started writing that eBook.
You never quite know where things are going to open up, and while still, I think it’s good, and it’s fine to start with a plan of where you might end up to kind of dream of some of those ideas, stay open to the opportunities, you might have some unexpected changes or pivots, I guess in direction.
What she started as a simple blog today really is so much more, and I guess the other tip that she gave there is that she showed up consistently, and that’s certainly another big part of Andrea, she’s not someone who just started a blog and then it all fell into place after that.
She’s someone who has shown up consistently and I really admire the way that she shows up to live events.
She puts herself out there as Grandma Mary, and she steps out of her comfort zone in those ways.
She’s also shown up consistently online as well.
She mentioned in her story the idea of networking, and I’m really glad she did this because it’s one of the things I’ve noticed about her from day one.
She’s always been very well connected, very relational. She’s put herself out there.
You might think someone that’s showing up as a Grandma to an event is a crazy out there kind of person, but if you meet Andrea in real life, while she has done some of those crazy things, she’s actually a very gentle person.
I would almost say she’s a little bit shy.
She’s obviously got some confidence, but she’s not what you might think she is. she’s pushed herself I suspect out of her comfort zone and as a result, some great things have happened, the last piece of advice that she gave I think was really interesting, to monetize early.
I know some people who teach blogging say, you shouldn’t monetize until you’ve got an audience.
I understand what they’re saying there, but I’ve been teaching for a while, that monetizing early is a good thing.
It might not make you a lot of money, but as Andrea said, it can lead to opportunities, but more importantly, it leads to learning.
No matter what way that you monetize early, whether it be with some AdSense Ads you’re going to then learn about ad positions, you’re going to learn about code and that type of thing, you’re going to learn about how to insert things into the template of your blog.
If you monetize with affiliate marketing, you’ll learn how to do a bit of marketing.
If you’re going to learn by creating a product, an eBook, you’re going to learn so much as well.
I particularly think having a product of your own, creating a product of your own is a very important thing.

What I would say is you don’t need to create a big product.
In fact, I don’t think you should create a big product until you’ve tested it with some little things first, and so an eBook is a great way to do that type of thing or some affiliate marketing of someone else’s product will teach you a lot as well.
Now, I have done a couple of previous episodes on creating products, so if you do want to dig into those, I encourage you to head over to episode 67, which is an episode where I explore why you should create a product, and I’ll give you some tips on creating your first products.
That was episode 67, and then a recent, episode 242 is on how to create a product library.
This is more building upon those first products as well.
That would be a couple that you might want to check out if you did want to begin to monetize.
That wraps up today’s show.
I will put the links to those previous episodes on Andrea’s site on the show notes.
The show notes are at problogger.com/podcast/256. I’ll also link to Andrea’s site, it’s andreavahl.com and I’ll also link to our Success Incubator event, which is happening again this year in Orlando, Florida in late September.
Andrea was one of our great speakers last year.
We’ve begun to announce speakers for this year’s event as well.
There’s also this year a lot of masterminding going on at the event.
If you are wanting a bit of good input, but more importantly, if you want a mastermind type experience where you get to throw ideas around from your blog, check out Success Incubator, and I’ll link to that in today’s show notes, too.
Thanks, everyone for listening.
I’ll be back next week with another blogging breakthrough story and if you do have a blogging breakthrough story, dig back a couple of episodes, and you’ll learn how you can submit your story, too.
We may not be able to use it straight away, but this is something that we do think we will continue to run from time to time, so you’re more than welcome to at least submit something there via the form that we have in that previous show episode, I think it was episode 254.
Thanks, everyone, chat next week.

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The post 256: How One Blogger Landed a Book Deal That Launched Her Career appeared first on ProBlogger.
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Prior to 2017 I had never read a single personal development book, attended a seminar, or made any conscious effort to work on myself. I worked a 9-5, watched a TON of TV, lived for weekends, and thought that type of content was a waste of time.
A year after reading my first book, Think and Grow Rich, and walking on fire with Tony Robbins, my life is unrecognizable.
Here are my four biggest personal development lessons from reading 40+ books, attending four seminars, and countless motivational videos.

After attending my first Tony Robbins seminar, Unleash the Power Within, I learned a ton of valuable lessons about what it takes to achieve massive success. One of my favorites lessons was his simple quote, “Success leaves clues.”
At the beginning of his career, Tony Robbins understood that whatever he wanted to achieve has already been done by someone else. Instead of reinventing the wheel of success, learn from them.
Read their book, attend their seminar or hire them as a coach. It’s so easy to overcomplicate your biggest goals and think it’s impossible because your target is so far from your current reality.
But in reality, it only takes a few small shifts. Find someone who has done what you want to do and learn from them.

Speed up your own success by following the clues! Reach out to people you admire, buy their course or attend their seminar.

The most successful people in the world are always learning. Bill Gates, despite being worth $80 billion dollars, engages in 30-60 minutes of learning each morning. While he exercises he is listening to new information from courses, articles, and books.
Make learning a daily habit. Spend 30-60 minutes to learn something new. It could be listening to a podcast on your commute to work or reading in the morning. Challenge your mind to keep growing and developing.

The most successful people in the world have the best habits — including a daily morning routine or set of rituals. From Tony Robbins’ ‘priming’ to others waking up at 4 am to exercise and others meditating.
The point is that every one of them has some sort of morning ritual. This is how they focus, get clarity, and go into each day with purpose.
Create your own morning routine. Whether it’s 10 minutes sipping coffee and observing your thoughts or a full hour meditating it doesn’t matter. The point is that you need to take ownership of your morning to win the day.

As Warren Buffett said, “The best investment you can make is in yourself.” As someone who has been in the stock market for over 60 years, you would think his best investment is in stocks.
But instead, he has said his best investment was a public speaking course from Dale Carnegie early on in his career. Warren was terrified of public speaking but knew he needed the skill to sell to his investors.

Don’t be afraid to spend money on yourself! Buy a course, attend a seminar or hire a coach to always be investing in yourself. The gains will be greater than you could ever begin to imagine!
Use these four personal development lessons to take your life to the next level. Your goals are closer than you realize.
Study successful people and copy their habits to create success in your own life. And always remember, you are the best investment. Don’t skimp on your own development!
The post How This One Personal Development Book Completely Changed My Life appeared first on Fearless Motivation – Motivational Videos & Music.
Source: fearlessmotivation.com