However, if you don’t want to go through the hassle of submitted to the official chrome extension store, you can just side load it locally.

Here’s how to do it.

how to install chrome extension locally

First go to chrome://extensions/

This will open up your Chrome extensions menu. Chances are your Developer mode is disabled, toggle this button so it is enabled

Next, click the Load Unpacked button

Assuming you’re done coding your own solution or downloaded someone else’s code, you’ll need to first find the folder, click on the folder in your finder or explorer and then click Select (for Macs)

You should now have a local Chrome extension loaded. Click the Extension icon, find your extension in your list and pin it if you want to see it on the main extension tool bar

Back in the extension menu, there are a couple helpful options

1. Make sure this is enabled (by default it should be), if this is disabled, the extension won’t be visible in the list
2. If you are developing locally, clicking this Refresh button will reload the extension assuming it is in the same folder directory, this saves you time from having to side load it multiple times.
3. Remove button uninstalls the extension
4. Details button is helpful if you want to enable things like showing your extension in incognito windows etc.

Note that this extension is ONLY loaded locally. If you move workstations you won’t have this option, it does not sync with your Google profile like other production level extensions so you’ll need to save these files somewhere accessible or submit to the Google Chrome Extension store.

Happy coding.

This is the most common challenge for small business owners. The web hosting industry is incredibly competitive and they will do anything to get your attention.

Don’t get tricked into their traps (I see you – 3 year lock in plan Bluehost!). In my guide, I’ll walk you through the things you need to consider when choosing a web hosting service as a small business.

Your Business Objective

By far, the most important factor in selecting a host is first identifying what the purpose of your website will be.

Will you be optimizing for keywords and SEO traffic or will the website be generating leads for a local service? These decisions upfront will help you narrow down your choices.

For example, if you are writing for traffic, it doesn’t make sense to get Siteground’s “StartUp” tier that caps at 10k visitors per month. Once you hit this limit, your website will no longer be able to receive traffic.

Instead, look for hosts that will keep your website active even after the limit has been hit. You can find out by emailing their customer service.

Another example. If it is business critical that your website never goes offline for even a few minutes, you’ll want to look for features like “99% uptime” – this is code for, we have backups of backups to make sure they kick in when the power goes out.

Now that you know your objective let’s get into the types of hosting

• Shared Hosting – this is the most common for smaller businesses. It’s like sharing an apartment building with other tenants. You’re all on the same server or set of servers and the bandwidth is shared.
• Dedicated hosting – this is like owning your own home. You have full control, but of course, it is more expensive.
• VPS hosting – this is like the best of both worlds where you share some resources, but have some flexibility.

Hosting Types

Here’s a table breakdown

Customer Support

When it comes to hosting, nothing beats a good technical customer support team. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve created a helpdesk ticket only to come back and see the host actually just did the work for me.

However, not all hosting brands are created equal. If you just go with the least expensive host, you are giving up this level of service most likely.

Unfortunately, there is no easy way to know if customer support is good without actually using the service or asking for help. It is a bit of trial and error or you can consider posting on Reddit to get a sense from other users.

Which leads me to the next tip..

Don’t purchase multi-year plans

This is the mistake I see happening over and over where businesses will purchase 36 months of web hosting because the per-month cost is so attractive (read: dirt cheap).

This is a trick! Don’t fall for it.

While moving hosting can be a pain, it isn’t worse than abandoning a host that you paid hundreds of dollars for upfront and can no longer use after 6 months because your business needs change.

To avoid this, never purchase hosting for more than 12 months at a time. This also lets you take advantage of annual deal seasons.

Black Friday Deals

We all know Black Friday is an incredible time for computer deals and furniture you’ve been eyeing all year, but did you know Web Hosts also get in on the deal action?

Saving 25% off on the first year for a good host can go a long way. It makes it easier on the budget and 12 months is enough time for me to see if WPX is a good host or not.

So if you can wait until November each year, this might be a good plan to save some money.

Site Speed

You’ll want to consider site speed if your website needs to load fast. While technically we all want our sites to load fast, it is especially important if most of your revenue comes from website leads.

For example, if you are running ads on your website, you need each page to load fast so visitors will stay on as long as possible.

Running site speed tests is incredibly time-consuming so luckily the folks at Theme Isle have already done a comprehensive test that you can review for the fastest web hosting companies. (heads up, their report is full of affiliate links).

Auto Backup Services

You don’t need to have the web host do this for you, but it sure is nice when they can do weekly or even daily backups as part of the hosting plan. I would say this is a nice to have.

You can also install your own backup plugins (all in one migration or updraft are two good options).

Having at least a regular backup plan can relieve a lot of stress while running a business. At least you know you can always roll back if something catastrophic happens.

Pricing

The right price is the one that checks all your business objective boxes and still fits within budget.

If you can opt for the annual deal, go for it, but otherwise, go monthly.

On average, you can expect to pay $2.50 to $30 per month depending on the features you need. Anything above that is likely overkill at this time until your business scales.

That’s it

That’s it? Don’t I need to worry about this and that..

No, this is it.

For the vast majority of new websites, you don’t need to worry about anything else.

Best of luck. You can chat with me here in Discord username dlinyvr if you have questions.

While most of the use cases and chatter about ChatGPT has been about creating blog articles and idea generation, you can actually use the tool to improve your efficiency at work.

You can even leverage it to generate sales leads (more on this below).

In this article, I’ll go over how to quickly sign up for the Openai service and then dive into each of the ways I use it right now at work to get my work done fast (work smarter, not harder, right?)

Key Takeaways

• How to Create an OpenAI account, setup API keys
• Understand the OpenAI pricing models
• 7 unique ways to use it at work or in your business to improve efficiency

Click here to skip right to the 7 ways, if you’re already familiar with Chat GPT.

what is chat GPT

Chat GPT is an artificial intelligence language model that was created by OpenAI. Though there were previous versions, the most popular version was the GPT-3 model that was released on November 30, 2022 with GPT-4 being the current model.

Since then, the software has taken the world by storm and dominated the news cycle for the entirety of 2023, shattering records of user adoption along the way.

What makes the tool particularly useful is simply the way you can converse with it in natural language.

How To Sign Up to Chat GPT (OpenAI account)

To sign up to an Open AI account just follow these steps

1. Go to: https://chat.openai.com/auth/login
2. Click Sign Up and enter your email address or use one of the single sign on options (Google, Microsoft, Apple) and click Continue.
3. Select a strong password and click Continue.
4. After you verify your email, you will see a confirmation

5. After the onboarding screens, you should be at the main chat interface.

Understanding ChatGPT (OpenAI) billing models

There are two main types of billing

• ChatGPT Plus, aka subscription at $20 per month recurring
  • This gives you access to ChatGPT 3.5 and 4.0 plus Dall-E and a host of other features at time of this writing
• Pay as you go – only pay what you use; here is the per-use pricing page

You may be wondering what your costs will be like. I would consider myself a “light” user. I use it a few times a day and don’t use it to write long form (over 2k words) blog posts. You can see my highest month was $11.09 which is far from the usual $20 per month if you decide to go the subscription route. I would recommend starting with pay as you go and then keeping an eye on your usage rates regularly so you don’t go over.

Many of the 3rd party tools that will be discussed will use the pay as you go model, meaning you need to add your credit card to the billing page and then create an API key from your OpenAI account in order to use the tools – discussed in the next section.

The Subscription model provides access to the easy to use User Interface that OpenAI has created for their ChatGPT product.

You can read more about the subscription here.

Setting up Pay as you Go billing and Creating API keys

After you’ve signed up to an OpenAI (chatGPT) account, go to the billing page. Add a payment method if one doesn’t already exist.

Next go to the API key page and Create a new secret key. It’s also helpful to name it something useful, usually the name of the 3rd party app you will use that particular key for.

You could use the same key for multiple apps, but if you want to stay more organized, just make separate keys.

Now you will be ready to use these methods discussed below.

7 ways to effectively use chat GPT at work or for your business

1. read contracts like a lawyer

Requirements: Free ChatGPT or higher

Depending on the industry you work in, you may have a need to read through several contracts on a regular basis.

Luckily for you, if you don’t have an in house counsel, you can take advantage of Chat GPT’s brain.

Before you begin, I find it helps to prime it with context. You can use this prompt:

I need your help reading a series of contracts for my project.
This project consists of video editors, script writers and producers.
I will paste the contents of their contracts into the next chat and I want you to read and understand the contract. Afterward I will ask specific questions.

Do you understand?

You should get a response like the one below:

Yes, I understand. I can help you with reading and understanding the contents of the contracts related to your project involving video editors, script writers, and producers. Once you paste the contents of the contracts, I'll review them and then you can ask specific questions about them. Please go ahead and paste the text of the contracts.

Next, simply follow through with the directions you gave it. Give it context of the contract. There are a couple of options for this step:

• You can copy and paste text directly from a PDF
• or you can convert your PDF to word and then copy it
• If you have the subscription version of GPT you can upload the entire PDF directly without having to convert the PDF or copy and paste text, but it is not required to have the subscription to execute this method.

Next, you can ask Chat GPT specific questions about your contract like:

• List the Deliverables and Responsibilities in a table for this contract such that this person would have an easy-to-follow timeline for project management purposes
• What are the payment terms for this contract along with payment deadlines? List any milestones associated with payment dates if applicable and include any rates
• Who owns the intellectual property rights after the work has completed? If there isn’t a clause covering this, please write me one that I can use as a baseline for the contract
• What are the confidentiality and non disclosure clauses
• What happens if either party terminates the contract
• What other questions have I not asked yet that might be important as a production manager?

This last question is particularly powerful because it allows you to open a loop of more critical questions that you can then feed back into this same chat session sure your contract is air tight.

2. Tag / Categorize rows in Google Sheets or Microsft Excel

Requirements: Pay as you go billing setup for OpenAI with API key

Sometimes, in my workflow, I need to categorize expense items quickly. I can quickly do this manually when I have 10-20 rows.

But what happens when you have hundreds of expense items you need to categorize for your accountant?

That’s where using Chat GPT within Google Sheets comes in handy.

First, watch this video below so you can see what the outcome looks like. In Column D, I have 30 expense categories. And in Column A, I have 115 expense line items.

I want Chat GPT to match the Category in Column D with the expense line in Column A and output the ideal category into Column B.

Click below to watch a quick demo.

To get set up:

• First go here for a getting started guide by the developer (Microsoft Excel users can use this doc)
• Make sure you set up your API key for the plugin (remember that API key you created earlier? This is the time to use it)
• You can see the full list of features and functions along with the syntax

You can download a copy of my google sheet (you’ll need a google email) if you want sample data to practice on, but the developer also provides his own.

Edit: Here is formula from my specific google sheet (there was a small mistake in the video above)

=GPT_CLASSIFY(A2,D$2:D$31)

3. Create Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel Formulas

I used to spend hours trying to get formulas correct for google sheets. This is a problem of the past with ChatGPT.

Let’s say you have a list of dates and times in this ISO date, and time format listed below, but you want to label them by Month (ie, November) instead.

2023-05-12 9:22:45
2023-08-21 14:57:30
2023-03-04 21:10:15
2023-09-18 8:36:52
2023-06-27 16:48:20
2023-01-09 12:25:37
2023-12-15 19:04:11
2023-07-08 3:14:59
2023-02-23 11:33:42
2023-10-06 22:07:05
2023-04-17 7:55:28
2023-11-30 13:40:18
2023-08-02 18:29:54
2023-05-24 5:16:37
2023-01-28 23:49:03

Use this prompt here, and ChatGPT should give you the correct formula.

I want you to help me create a google sheets formula
In cell B1 I want you to look at A1
the format will be like this: 2023-11-29 17:40:02
this is november 29 2023. 
I want B1 to return just the month "November"

Paste that newly discovered formula into Sheets or Excel and watch the magic happen. Here is a screenshot of what the worksheet looks like for reference.

Just double-check that the results are correct with a few spot checks. Revise your prompt if you’re not getting the output you were looking for. Then, you can save this chat session later by naming it something useful so you can find it later.

4. Check for Malicious Code

Let’s say you’re an amateur web developer like myself and you need some custom code and you’re not a programmer. How do you know the code a random stranger has on the internet is legit?

While it is difficult to know without being a bonified coder, you can at least get a quick sense check by asking ChatGPT.

Here’s the prompt

Please check if this code is malicious in any way.
Here's the code:

5. Personal Copywriter for any Document

If your business or work requires you to write copy regularly, ChatGPT is a wonderful writing assistant. Not only can it check for grammar, help with expanding and contracting paragraphs, but it can help with SEO bits as well.

Here’s a prompt I use mainly to help me create ideas for meta data for my blogs, but it also provides an alternative intro and conclusion.

Here’s the prompt.

I want you to help me write some parts of a blog post.  I will provide the copy from an entire blog post for you to provide the following to me:

Part 1 - Provide a conclusion that summarizes the main findings and their implications of the article.
Part 2 - Using the output from Part 1, create a compelling introduction paragraph that will hook the reader in a few short sentences
Part 3 - Using the output from Part 1, create a meta description that is SEO optimized to entice the reader to read the article.
part 4 - using the output from Part 1, create another introduction but using the AIDA framework to hook in the reader.

From this point on, I can decide if I want to revise my introduction and conclusion and then create my final meta description. Note that this prompt is far from optimized, but it does the job for me. The meta is almost always too long, but you shouldn’t copy and paste output anyway.

Instead, just use the output to avoid writer’s block.

6. Customer Support Assistant

A while back, I wrote a review on Chat Base, an AI assistant built on ChatGPT. What I was able to do with this software was create a custom virtual assistant that could answer the most frequently asked questions for the company that I work for.

After it was implemented, not only did we get more insight into what customers were having challenges with, but we were also able to create better documentation for customers.

One of the most common problems not obvious to our team, was that customers couldn’t figure out how to log into the app.

But don’t worry, even if you don’t have a need for a custom GPT, you can still use the regular ChatGPT to help with customer service by:

• asking it how to revise answers in a more formal (or other tone) way
• help with basic translations if your customer base is global
• provide research on technical topics if they are out of scope for your current job
• helping with data analysis
• and many more other ways!

7. Lead Generation Assistant

Unless you employ sales reps on both halves of the world, at some point, your sales team will need to rest.

But with a custom GPT, this is a problem of the past.

Simply setup your custom GPT (they have a free tier) and feed it all the sales documentation you have. Before you know it, you’ll have a 24/7 sales focused, customer service answering machine.

Be sure to test out the results and revise the chat bot’s answers before going live and turn on lead capture so you can collect those emails.

Wrap Up

I hope I was able to demonstrate some creative and useful ways to incorporate chatGPT (free or paid) into your work flow. By using it, I can easily say it has saved me 2–5 hours a week depending on what I’m working on.

Like with any tool, getting started can be a bit of a challenge, especially with a new tool like this. You may feel the outputs aren’t quite what you expected, but hopefully my prompts (and several more on YouTube) help get you started on the right foot.

Happy Chatting!

In 2023, I went through my 3rd blogging course and decided to go at this online blogging business one last time. I’m glad I did because this time, it finally clicked, and I made over $17,000 in 2023.

But it it was far from easy. Trying to make money blogging (and, more specifically, learning SEO) is probably the hardest skill I’ve had to learn in my entire career so far. What attracted me to it, however, was that anyone could learn it – take it from a C-average student from college.

In this article, I’ll share the nitty-gritty details of what I did on my own blog and how I will adjust my strategies in 2024 to set you up for success should you choose this business model.

Before we continue, this post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you purchase something through the links at no extra cost to you. This helps me run my business for free to my readers.

Revenue – My Income Streams from Blogging in 2023

Affiliate Revenue – 2023 Earnings: $400

This revenue stream is the quickest to setup and complements a well ranking blog post. When you rank keywords related to a product or service and you apply for their affiliate program you can quickly make your first internet dollar.

I only promoted 2-3 products that paid out, and while this method has potential, I just didn’t have time to develop it fully in 2023 because I went straight to client services. I may focus about 20% of my time in 2024 on this.

Here are a couple receipts from 2023.

This blog that made commission was one of the earliest ones I posted, and I didn’t think much of it, but it did make almost $100 to date – modest beginnings.

I also dabbled in the Amazon Affiliate Program, and it also made some commissions, but certainly nothing to write home about. It seems to require a lot of traffic to scale this.

SEO Services – 2023 Earnings: $13,000 in revenue

The majority of my revenue came from SEO writing services. I’ll create more guides around this in the future on how to execute this in detail and make videos about it on YouTube.

I’ve written in all sorts of niches ranging from tech, finance, and agriculture – you name it. Here are the stripe payments from a different client.

I promise I’m not trying to brag, but it’s important to show this is possible and a skill someone can learn in 6-12 months of focus.

My service offering typically includes keyword research, writing articles, and publishing them for the clients if required. I do all the on-page SEO for them and advise on strategy occasionally.

Ad Revenue – 2023 Earnings: $4,000 in revenue

This revenue stream started for me only in the last two months of 2023 and will be my primary focus for 2024. Ad Revenue gets a bad name, but for the right brand, it is one of the easiest ways to monetize for sites that can get a lot of traffic.

No need to sell any services, just needs a lot of clicks.

Due to the ad network’s guidelines, I cannot show screenshots of my revenue dashboard, but I have a way around this in a future update.

Now, I will break down each income stream and how I set them up.

How to Leverage Affiliate Marketing for Bloggers

The advantage of affiliate marketing is it allows you to generate revenue quickly. I’ve seen bloggers generate them on their first blog post, and others like me took several months before I saw a single dollar.

Either way, this method of income generation is a must for your beginner bloggers. Heck, if the New York Times can promote Amazon affiliate links, why shouldn’t you?

Understanding Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is where you (the affiliate) recommend products in your blog articles related to the topic you are writing about. In essence, it’s a middle man play.

It’s a profitable partnership between a blogger and a company offering a product or service. You, the blogger, earn a percentage commission each time a person completes a purchase through your unique affiliate link.

This symbiotic relationship opens up income streams while allowing you to retain your authenticity. Your links act as little salespeople who are always working 24/7.

Your audience continues to benefit from your high-quality, honest content, and you enjoy an added paycheck. 

It’s a no-lose scenario – companies reach larger audiences and gain customer trust, and bloggers, in turn, monetize their blogs effectively.

Affiliate marketing can provide decent recurring income. It doesn’t require a substantial upfront investment, making it suitable for bloggers at all stages.

Choosing the Right Affiliate Programs

While selecting the right affiliate program is important, I wouldn’t worry about this for your first 6 months. This best plan is to ONLY apply for programs you have experience with.

After you start making revenue, you can be more strict in finding the right affiliate program depending on these factors:

1. Relevance: Choose products that mirrors the niche you are writing for and that resonate with your target audience. Promoting mismatching products can harm your credibility.
2. Commission: Investigate the commission structure. High commissions are tempting, but ensure they aren’t a mask for low-quality products.
3. Payment terms: At the beginning, this isn’t a huge deal, but you ideally want to get paid in higher frequencies (at least monthly) but some payment terms are 60 days meaning what you generate today, you won’t see in your bank account for at least 2 months.
4. Quality: Prioritize programs that offer top-tier products/services. These will bring you repeat commissions and improve your blog’s reputation.
5. Support: Opt for affiliate programs that offer excellent support and resources, making your promotion job simpler. For example, do they offer affiliate marketing collateral?

Promoting Affiliate Products Effectively

When you’ve landed the first affiliate product, the real game begins. 

Effective promotion is an art and a science. It requires an understanding of your audience’s needs, strategic positioning, persuasive copywriting, and thorough tracking of your results.

Connect the power of the written word and compelling visuals to build an appealing narrative around the affiliate products. Integrate your affiliate links naturally within your content. Avoid stuffing your posts with affiliate links – it’s a turn-off for readers and search engines alike.

Track your promotional tactics’ performance. This real-time feedback allows you to fine-tune your strategy and maximize your earnings from affiliate marketing.

For example, if your article does not rank for any keywords after a few months, then it has nothing to do with the product. This means the article needs rework.

If you are getting clicks to the article, but no one is buying, either the article is ranking too low (and therefore doesn’t have enough traffic to convert), or your copywriting needs work.

Be careful not to spend all your time just looking at dashboards – this is a total momentum killer and made me prone to distraction.

Monetizing With SEO Services

Now that you understand the basics of affiliate revenue let’s talk about how you can provide SEO content writing as a service. Of course, you’ll need to learn the skill before offering a service. Let’s dive in.

Quick overview of SEO

SEO (search engine optimization) is all about writing content that humans find value in and that follows proper formatting guidelines (on-page SEO). More specifically, you need to:

• Understand keyword research – finding out what you should write about, or put another way, find out what people are searching for.
• Understand search intent – why do people google the terms they do, are they looking to purchase or are they just looking for information or is it trivia night and they need to confirm an answer?
• Create good enough content – Give actual valuable information to the reader. Bad news: AI writing isn’t going to cut it, but it will improve your production time.

Step 1: Find What You Enjoy Writing About

Some bloggers call this “picking a niche,” but it’s more than deciding what to write about. To make this venture less painful, pick something you enjoy writing about.

For example, I enjoy researching and trying out different tools in the marketing space, so it made sense for me to write about anything related to blogging, as it is a natural fit. It doesn’t require much extra effort as I already have experience in this field.

Another topic I could have written about was project management. I have PM-ed for over 20 years now, but this is not something I want to write about every week. It was an incredibly boring part of my career, and I’d rather just leave it behind me.

Beginner bloggers (like me last year) get stuck here because they don’t want to blog about their 9-5 career as it may not be their passion, so it is worth spending some time on what you would like to create content about for the next 3-5-10 years.

It is worth noting, most profitable niches like health, wealth and relationships are highly competitive and therefore, your expectation on the time to monetization needs to match. Highly competitive niches take longer to monetize, but are still profitable nonetheless.

For example, a blog I write for in the finance niche (trading stocks specifically) and I’ve written probably 10 blogs now for it and it has yet to rank for anything meaningful. The time horizon to break into finance is just much higher than agriculture which took me maybe 3 articles to find meaning traction (clicks to website).

Step 2: Setup a blog with WordPress.org

You can technically use any platform you want (squarespace, shopify, wix among a dozen others) but WordPress is still king for bogging and allows for the most flexibility while keeping costs low. Just understand the difference between the two – hint: .org is the one you want.

If you are a programmer, you get a few more options, but most of us (including myself) are not coders. Even if you are a programmer, I recommend WordPress because you can always move your Content Management System around later. 

If you do choose WordPress, you will need to purchase hosting. Hosting can start at under $3 a month for the first year and will be over a hundred dollars a year to maintain after that for a decent host (fast loading etc).

Step 3: Learn how to keyword research

Keyword research is a method that lets you search for the terms that others are searching for. A very easy way to achieve this is through Google’s autocomplete feature.

Start typing a term, and Google will attempt to fill in the most common terms. If it appears in this list, there is at least some demand for that search term.

The challenge with this method is that you can’t see the monthly search volume, so you could spend time writing about something that only gets a few searches a month.

You can also use trend data to see if a topic is worth covering. 

With tools like ahrefs and SEM Rush, keyword research is much faster. If you’re on a tight budget, I recommend Keysearch.io.

Because this step is important, there will be a future blog post about this, which I will link when available.

Step 4: Understanding Search Intent

Have you tried googling “lemon?” You’ll see that you get a very wide range of results. This is because Google doesn’t know what your search intent is.

When you look at the SERP (Search Engine Results Page) image below, it is clear, “lemon” is not enough words to tell google what the searcher actually wants. As a result, Google will serve up a couple of options. Too many options mean it is not a good keyword to go after.

However, if you google “padded socks,” you’ll most certainly get ecommerce store product pages. This is because the search intent of padded socks is that you, the searcher, are looking to purchase padded socks.

Search intent is simply understanding what the searcher wants when they enter the terms into a search engine. This is the same concept for other engines like Bing and Yahoo etc.

When you can quickly identify the intent, you can start to make content that aligns with it, which gives you a higher probability of ranking in search results.

Step 5: Create Valuable Content

Notice I didn’t say “good content.” Valuable is what we are going for and value means you are solving a problem. Value equates to high-quality, engaging blog post ideas that solve the searcher’s problem.

Your job? To ensure every blog post you produce solves a problem.

Hopefully, this blog you’re reading solves your question, “How to make a profit with a blog.” At least, that is what I believe the intention is when you land on it.

Making engaging content doesn’t require a magic formula. It does require a mix of patience and understanding of what your targeted readers want. What are their burning questions? Can you predict what they will ask next? What are their unfulfilled needs? 

Answer these in your blogs. Remember, quality trumps quantity. Invest your resources into producing excellent content rather than churning out mediocre posts.

Google even gives you a hint in their People Also Ask section. For example, if I were to write an article around “padded socks,” I would maybe want to include a section about “cushioned socks” as they are closely related.

Step 6: Build lasting relationships with other bloggers

Start meeting other bloggers because they will become your best allies in building your business.

Here are 6 practical ways to build relationships, all of which I did in some capacity this past year.

Join Blogging Communities Online: Websites like Reddit, LinkedIn, and specific blogging forums are platforms where bloggers share their experiences, ask questions, and connect. Most courses also have their communities, this is how I found 95% of the folks in my blogging networks.

Participate in Social Media Groups: Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social media platforms have groups dedicated to blogging where members can interact, share content, and support each other. This was the method I used before joining a paid course. I made a few connections through Facebook that I still connect with today.

Guest Blogging: Offering to write guest posts for other blogs or accepting guest posts on your blog can be a great way to build relationships. Some of these guest bloggers will also go on to build huge businesses of their own, and you can cross-collaborate with them later when you’ve built up your blog.

Collaborate on Projects: Collaborating on side projects can help you connect with fellow entrepreneurs as you journey through this together.

Attend Local Meetups and Workshops: Look for local blogger meetups, workshops, or networking events in your local area.

Use Direct Messages on Social Media platforms to Reach Out: Don’t hesitate to reach out to founders you admire on platforms like Twitter/X or Instagram. A simple message expressing your interest in their work can start a conversation. I’ve met founder in private slack groups that are some of my favorite online friends to date through this method.

Step 7: Focus on inputs and not results

This one is tough to wrap my head around because I’ve been taught since college to set goals. Goals are useless without proper inputs.

Instead of having a goal to make $10,000 blogging (results), make the goal to publish 2 highly valuable blog posts for your own blog per month (inputs). The money will be a byproduct of the inputs if you are doing proper SEO research and allow enough time for the search engines to pick it up.

Step 8: Find someone to be accountable to

I am terrible at staying accountable. What I found helpful was to join a community of like minded bloggers so I could see their wins and challenges to remind myself why I was doing all this work. These short messages can help boost your confidence each day and keep you going.

When I first started, I had no one to talk to about making money blogging. I felt weird trying to learn this skill that none of my in-person friends were doing, so I never really shared what I was doing.

This all changed when I purchased a course and decided to blog as a real business. I was able to meet lots of like minded people and go on this journey together.

With that, I’d like to invite you to…

When to offer SEO services

To know when to start offering SEO services, you have to ask yourself if you are confident in delivering results.

You can gain confidence by writing more articles and checking if they are fetching keywords to rank. Once you can successfully rank 2-5 articles on page one of Google, you are likely ready to find your first client.

I’ll be honest: if you’re not used to selling done-for-you services, this first time will put you out of your comfort zone.

To help with this, you can potentially direct message a founder of a small startup – usually a single founder and ask if they would be ok to publish your content and let them know, in exchange, you want a testimonial for your work (assuming it nets results).

You only need a single testimonial, but continue providing articles for other brands for free until you are confident you can get results. You can always offer a money-back guarantee if you don’t rank anything in 6 months.

Action: What to do next?

With that said, to put this last section into action and start putting in your reps to learn how to write SEO content, start by:

1. Purchasing hosting for your website
2. Setup your WordPress website
3. Setup your About page
4. Publish 1 blog
5. Find an accountability partner

I will create how to guides for all of steps above in the near future (my inputs!). If you can’t figure out these 5 steps above on your own, try to use YouTube – This was what I did in year 1. Find someone you can learn from and teach in a style you resonate with.

Generating Ad Revenue from Your Blog

After you’ve written between 10-20 blog articles, you’ll start getting into a rhythm of blogging and better understand what works and what doesn’t.

At this point, you’ll want to learn what it takes to apply to receive ad revenue.

Understanding Ad Revenue

Ad revenue is the income earned from advertisement placements. Be it display ads or sponsored posts. Each has its role and benefits to your blog’s income. The beauty lies in the scalability of ad revenue. As your blog’s readership grows, so does your income potential, even without requiring you to develop or maintain products on your own.

If you google “Mediavine commission” and click Images, you’ll see that some bloggers have posted their commissions which ranges from$50-$4000+ per month. Due to Mediavine’s guidelines, I cannot show you my commission dashboard.

The key challenge? You typically need to accrue significant, consistent traffic. More eyeballs equate to more ad impressions and potential click-throughs, further translating into higher ad revenue.

For example, the Mediavine network typically requires 50,000 monthly sessions before you can be considered for their network. This means you will need 50k clicks (not just impressions).

Choosing the Right Ad Networks

The choice of ad network can significantly impact your blog’s ad revenue. Consider payment terms, ad types, and minimum traffic requirements. 

For example, Google AdSense might be a natural choice for beginners due to its easy setup and widespread use. However, it’s worth exploring other platforms like Mediavine or Infolinks, which might provide a better revenue share or more suitable ad types for your audience demographics.

I’ve only ever tried and used Mediavine, and I would recommend them if you decide to monetize your blog with ads. They allow auto insertion into your blog posts (you don’t need to place the ads yourself), and their dashboard is easy to use and understand.

Optimizing Your Blog for Ad Revenue

Once accepted into an ad network, it’s time to find out where to put ads on your site. You could start with the highest-traffic blog pages, which would almost instantly generate revenue.

Additionally, consider a mobile-friendly layout. I’ve seen stats as high as 90% that use mobile as their internet browsing device.

Balancing ad placement with an excellent user experience should be the aim. Check your Google search console to see if there are impacts on click-through rates when ads are inserted.

Remember, experimenting is key. Keep assessing what works best for your blog, continually tweaking for the best results.

Brand Impact of Ads

Inserting dynamic ads does require you to consider your brand. Inserting ads typically will degrade the user experience in some form. Many ad networks let you control which pages to insert ads on. You may want to turn off ads on landing pages, for example.

If you’ve ever been on websites littered with ads and don’t want the same experience for your readers, stick with affiliate marketing or offering SEO services. It is a much more subtle way to make your blog profitable.

Just know you’ll leave some money on the table if you have high traffic and no ad placements. It is a balancing act; only you can decide the right balance for you and your brand.

Making Money through Sponsored Blog Content

Full disclosure: I haven’t personally been approached or approached by brands for sponsorship. I’m improving this in 2024, but this is how I would do it.

Understanding Sponsored Content

Much like a sponsored Instagram post, sponsored blog content refers to blog articles or posts paid for by a sponsor who wants to promote their product or service. It is an attractive route for making money because it combines income generation with strengthening brand awareness.

Why sponsored content? It’s a two-tier benefit. Firstly, sponsors pay directly for the visibility and promotion. Secondly, well-curated sponsored blogs can amplify your brand and attract more traffic, increasing the likelihood of future sponsorships.

Finding and Pitching to Potential Sponsors

Finding a sponsor begins with isolating a list of companies whose products or services align with your blog theme. 

The next phase is your pitch. Communicating your blog’s value effectively to the potential sponsor can clinch the deal. An impactful pitch should highlight your blog’s metrics, audience demographics, past collaborations, and, most importantly, how sponsorship can be mutually beneficial.

Always remember pitching is a dynamic process. Be open to tweaking your approach based on feedback or even sponsor preferences.

It’s also important to decide up front how much you’re willing to give up for a sponsor. Some sponsors are quite particular about the terms, and even though they may provide a nice paycheck, it might not be worth the hassle. 

This is dependent on which phase your business is in. You always want to put your blog in a place of leverage and not seem desperate to get the sponsor so you can negotiate better terms.

Creating Engaging Sponsored Content

Sponsored blog content is not just about mindless promotion. It is about creating valuable, engaging content that syncs with your sponsor’s brand while resonating with your audience.

Here are some best practices:

1. Understand your audience: Ensure your sponsored content aligns with their interests, preferences, and needs. Research can come in handy here. You can provide surveys if you have an audience already or just show your work in progress in blog forums to get feedback.
2. Align with your brand: Don’t alienate your audience by promoting something they’d never expect to see on your blog. An apparel brand promoting travel insurance might make sense (you need clothes to travel, after all), but a supplement brand promoting Bluetooth keyboards is clearly off-brand.
3. Transparency: Clearly mention that the content is sponsored. Ethical practices always yield long-term relationships. It can also be against regulations not to disclose this relationship in many countries.
4. Content Quality: Your sponsored blog posts should match, if not exceed, the quality of your regular posts.

Navigating through affiliate marketing to sponsored content might seem like a leap. However, it can be a smooth ride with a planned approach to finding sponsors and creating engaging content.

Selling Digital Products on Your Blog

Types of Digital Products You Can Sell

Any blog can become a marketplace, showcasing an array of digital products. Digital products are cost-effective and have infinite scalability, allowing customers instant access to their purchases, no matter their location.

Here are just a few ideas of what you can sell online. With tools like ai writers, executing these strategies is much easier than ever before.

1. E-books: Transform your expert knowledge into an enriching E-book. They’re inexpensive to produce and can cover many subjects, from professional advice to personal experiences.
2. Online Courses: Share your expertise with eager learners by creating online courses. With options for videos, quizzes, and interactive forums, these can offer in-depth knowledge in an engaging format.
3. Subscription Services: Offer premium content, early access, or exclusive features to those willing to pay a monthly fee. This approach ensures a regular income stream.
4. Webinars/Workshops: Impart knowledge to a live audience. These interactive sessions offer real-time engagement and can be repurposed later.
5. Software or Apps: If you’re a programmer, custom-made software, apps or tools catered to your blogger niche can prove profitable.
6. Sell Consulting Services: After you have gained enough experience and have case studies of your results, you can start charging for your time. It’s important always to make each exchange valuable regardless if anyone becomes your customer. This is the primary revenue stream in my business right now.

Creating Your Own Digital Products

Creating a digital product requires some groundwork. Begin with understanding your audience, their needs, and their preferences. Once their demand is analyzed, devise a strategy that aligns with your blog’s brand and purpose.

Deciding on a Product: Base your product decision not just on your expertise but also by reflecting on your audience’s demands, interests, and willingness to pay. Again, see if you can collect some information in the form of a survey or even just chatting in the communities.

Align with your Skillset: If you are more comfortable over video, consider creating a short course. If you prefer less facetime, consider a paid community where you offer your time as part of the package.

Creating the Product: Invest your time and energy into creating a high-quality product, whether it’s an e-book, online course, or software. Again, always prioritize value as we’re trying to solve someone’s problems with our solutions.

Pricing Your Product: Pricing can be tricky. Too high, and you might deter potential buyers; too low, and your efforts may not deliver the desired profit—research similar offerings on the market to strike a balance.

Promoting and Selling Digital Products

Success in selling digital products depends on strategic promotion. Following are some actionable steps to ensure your digital products reach the right audience and fetch anticipated returns.

Leverage Your Existing Audience: Your blog readers are your primary potential customers. Announce your product on your blog, social media channels, and newsletters.

Offer Discounts or Bundle Deals: An initial discount or interesting bundle deal can help trigger initial sales and generate customer reviews. Grandfather in these early adopters as they will become your best advocates and future affiliates.

Affiliate Marketing: Collaborating with industry influencers and offering them a commission for every referral can expand your reach substantially.

Customer Reviews and Testimonials: Positive reviews and testimonials instill confidence in potential buyers. Encourage your customers to leave feedback after their purchase. Be creative here. You can offer discounts to the first 5 people who give you testimonials.

Frequently Asked Questions about Making Money Blogging

How many articles do I need to write to make money

This will vary based on the niche you select, how quickly you can learn SEO fundamentals and how often you publish a blog online. But that isn’t the answer you are looking for so here is an example to help.

A reasonable timeframe to expect is 6 months of consistent blogging where you write 4 articles a month that are high quality and well keyword researched. At this publishing velocity, you can reasonably get first affiliate revenue and then put yourself in a good position to apply to ad networks or at least build a small email list for future projects.

Here’s my personal experience with why I believe the above is the ideal time frame.

I published 32 articles on an established website that was 2 years old. That website now generates $2,000 a month in just ad revenue (not to mention the service also generates revenue).

The website intitially had less than 15 clicks per month before I started. It took me 6 months to publish all the articles starting from around Janurary 2023 and it took almost a full 12 months before there was enough traffic to be accepted into Mediavine. There was zero backlink building, not because I don’t believe in it but because I was focused on publishing content first. Ideally I would have done both.

How Much Money Can You Make from Blogging?

From personal experience and what I’ve seen others do, my best estimate is $2,000 per month by the end of year 1, $10,000 per month by the end of year 3, and then from there it varies depending on what you offer, and if you go digital product route or just stick with affiliate marketing.

Earning potential depends on factors such as your niche, your audience size, and how you monetize your blog. Some bloggers manage to make a full-time income, while others earn enough to supplement their main income (like me). Others may only make a small amount, but the key point is this: Being consistent creates successful bloggers if done right.

When deciding how to monetize your blog, research different methods and decide which ones are most likely to resonate with your audience and your writing style.

How Long Does It Take to Make Money from Blogging?

A reasonable timeframe to shoot for is 6 to 12 months from publishing your first post. I’ve seen people make $10,000 in affiliate marketing with an absolutely terrible blog website design, but they were consistent in making well-researched content. So the main factor, more than anything else, is your consistency.

This variability is because blogging is not a get-rich-quick scheme. It needs patience, commitment, and a lot of hard work.

Being consistent in creating quality content, promoting your blog effectively, and engaging with your audience are some ways to expedite this process. But remember, long-term success is always preferred over short-term gains.

Can You Make Money Blogging Without a Large Audience?

100% Yes. Contrary to popular belief, making money blogging does not always require a large audience. Quality often outweighs quantity. 

Having a smaller audience that is highly engaged and trusts your opinion can be just as profitable. In fact, some bloggers with smaller, loyal audiences make money online through affiliate marketing, sponsored posts, and selling their products or services.

The key is understanding your audience’s problems and providing a relevant solution. If your audience values your content and sees it as a reliable resource, they’re more likely to convert into paying customers.

What Are the Most Profitable Niches for Blogging?

Certain blogging niches do tend to be more profitable than others, but this doesn’t guarantee monetary success. Personal finance, health and wellness, tech and lifestyle are popular, profitable niches due to their broad appeal and multiple monetization opportunities.

Still, the most profitable niche for you is likely to be one that you’re passionate and knowledgeable about. This passion and expertise will enable you to create unique, high-quality content that engages your audience and leads to financial success.

All in all, making money from blogging requires a mix of strategic monetization, consistency, quality content, and patience. Profitability is possible, no matter the size of your audience or your chosen niche.

Wrapping it Up 

Ok we’ve covered a lot. I hope that I have inspired you to at least consider this blogging journey. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very grateful to be employed, but I can’t always assume my job will be there and I wanted to build an asset that would serve me in the future.

Successful blogging isn’t magic—it’s strategy, consistency, and (at least for me) finding accountability. These are the things you should keep in sight. And remember, there’s no hidden catch, and there’s no overnight success in this game.

The next step is action! Create a profitable blog by crafting your content, publishing regularly, and staying dedicated—each blog post brings you closer to your goals. It will feel like you’re just talking to no one initially, but this will change over time. Best of luck.

Remember, if you’re still feeling stuck, just come on over and chat with me in Slack. I’ll get you unblocked.

WordPress is still the most popular content management system (CMS) on the web today. It’s easy to use, free, and has an active community of developers who are always adding new features and fixing bugs. If you want to learn how to create a site using WordPress, then these tips will help you get started quickly. Let’s dig in.

Purchase A Domain

There are several options available when buying a domain name. Some domains cost less than $10 per year, while others can run upwards into the thousands or more. The price also depends on how long you plan to keep the domain name.

A domain registrar is where you will purchase a domain from. There are lots of options for registrars. Some registrars also sell hosting packages, but I always recommend purchasing hosting and your domain name separately.

A recommended registrar I have always used is Namecheap.com. I’ve been with them for nearly a decade at this point and they’ve never let me down. If you need help stepping through the purchase flow, just follow my guide here.

Pick A Hosting Plan

There are many different types of hosting plans available. Each type offers different benefits and drawbacks. You’ll need to decide which one best suits your needs.

A shared hosting plan is ideal for those starting out. This plan allows multiple sites to run off the same server. However, it does require some technical knowledge. If you don’t know how to set up a site, you might end up spending hours trying to figure things out.

The other option is a dedicated server via their VPS hosting plans. With this type of plan, you’ll usually get more bandwidth so this type of solution is more suitable if you are already running high-traffic websites. If you’re looking for reliable up times, this might be the solution for you.

Choosing the right plan and host is vital. Slow load times, crashes, and downtime can happen if you don’t choose a reputable host, so make sure you do your research.

Hosting Recommendations

Siteground is ideal for shared hosting plans if you’re just getting started. Their service has improved over the years and their website is easier to navigate than ever before.

The other service I’ve used before and would recommend is Pressable hosting. Their customer service is second to none and you can basically live chat your way to having them fix your issues. It’s as if you had a dedicated IT team on your side. Their turnaround is faster than Siteground, but it comes at a slightly higher per month cost.

Pick An SEO-Friendly Theme

Every theme will have its own customization options, but I would recommend going with lightweight themes to speed up your website and using a page builder to do the heavy lifting for design.

Consider going with the Kadence theme as it is lightweight and fast and works perfectly with their builder.

Responsive Design

When choosing and testing your theme you also want to make sure it has a responsive web design that allows you to optimize your site for mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and desktops. This is the only way to make sure that your site looks good across multiple platforms.

Google’s Mobile Friendly Test Tool is one of the easiest ways to check whether your site is responsive. Simply enter your URL into the tool and see how well it performs. If there are issues, you’ll receive some tips on what needs to change.

Get An SSL Security Certificate

SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer and it provides an encrypted connection between your visitors’ browsers and your website. By having this certificate installed, it shows Google and your visitors that you have an added layer of security.

Many hosts like Siteground will include an SSL certificate for free as part of their hosting package. Be sure to check with your hosting service.

Select Permalink Setting

WordPress comes with a built-in feature that lets you change the format of how the URL of your post looks.

That’s where permalink settings come in handy. There are two common permalink options: Post Name and Custom Structure.

Post Name will simply take the URL slug and append it to the back of your domain name.

Custom Structure allows you to customize exactly how you want the URL structure to look. In this example, the trailing backslash has been removed as my custom structure.

Disable Comments

WordPress comments can be a double-edged sword. Enabling the ability for your readers to comment allows for some back and forth dialogue, but the downside is anyone can leave comments.

This then requires you to actively monitor what is being said. There are scripts that will search for blogs and auto-post comments which leaves a lot of spam on your pages.

I recommend turning them off until you have a large enough team to be able to monitor them.

To turn off comments on an entire blog, navigate to Settings > Discussion in your WordPress dashboard.

Then uncheck Allow people to submit comments on new posts.

To turn off comments for a specific post, navigate to the post you want to disable comments for, then on the right panel, make sure you are in the Post tab, then open the Discussion options and uncheck Allow comments option.

Optimize Your Images

Images are one of the most important parts of your website. They help convey information about products, services, brands, and companies and your articles. But too many images can slow down load times, make your site look cluttered, and reduce the overall quality of the experience.

To speed up your website, you must optimize your images. The easiest way to achieve this is by installing plugins like ShortPixel Image Optimizer.

ShortPixel gives you options to select different quality levels of compression so you can balance quality and performance. If you run a photography business, you can optimize for quality. If your images don’t need to be high fidelity, you can optimize for performance.

Back Up Your Website Regularly

If you don’t regularly back up your WordPress site, you could lose everything if your site gets attacked by malware.

A recent report from Statista reported that just in the first half of 2022 alone, malware attacks had reached 2.8 billion.

The good news is there is a simple way to back them up thanks to the handy plugin All In One WP Migration.

This plugin will let you download a zipped-up file of your entire website in just a few clicks, giving you peace of mind for when the next attack arrives.

The number of times you should back should be similar to how often you update your site. If you’re updating weekly, I would recommend backing up weekly or every other week.

If your website is more static like a portfolio, quarterly or a couple of times a year should be sufficient.

Start Writing Content

Writing content is the lifeblood of any online business. It’s how you get traffic, it’s how you build trust with your audience, and it’s how your brand becomes known.

But staying consistent could pose a challenge when you’re first starting out. You might not know where to start or what to write about.

Here are some quick tips to get started with writing:

1. Write regularly

It’s more important to stay consistent and write smaller articles than it is to write large articles that you might not finish.

Start with a schedule that works with your current schedule and you can scale up and down as you go, but don’t stop writing.

2. Start small

If you’ve got a family and a 9-5 job, consider writing once a month to start off. As your schedule opens up, try to write 2 articles a month.

The goal should be to make this time enjoyable and not another job you have to get it.

3. Focus on consistency rather than quantity or quality

I know this sounds counterintuitive, after all, who doesn’t want to write quality content?

The reality is unless you are already an experienced writer, your first several articles aren’t going to be great.

If you try to go for the gold star of writing right at the beginning, you’re going to spend hours writing and risk quitting right at the start.

To avoid this pitfall, simply write what you know about. Don’t start writing about subjects that you have no interest in and you’ll set yourself up to finish your first article.

4. Don’t worry about perfection

Don’t even use any SEO tools to start your first few blog posts. Just write about something you could draft out in under an hour.

Usually, this is will be a topic you enjoy and read about in your free time or something you have work experience in.

Write a simple draft, fill out the article to around 800 words, and check for general spelling and grammar and hit the publish button.

5. Find inspiration everywhere

Invest in a physical or digital notebook. Create a space where you can add ideas because you will find that the more you read and write, the more ideas you will have for content.

6. Read widely

Always be reading. As you start writing articles, the way you read will change. 

You will start looking at how introductions are crafted, and transitions are integrated into writing.

Reading other people’s work will help you become a better writer, but only if you pair it with consistently writing yourself.

7. Keep learning

Along with improving the craft of writing, you can also improve more technical aspects of your business. 

Even if you don’t want to execute the technical bits yourself if you don’t know how to manage the simple technical tasks, you will have a hard time outsourcing the work.

Learn it yourself first.

8. Always keep your eyes open for opportunities

Opportunities are hiding in plain sight all of the time. If no one is knocking on your door to give you writing opportunities, consider pitching other blogs and writers.

Writing cold emails will be one of the best skills you can learn as a business owner.

9. Give yourself permission to fail

Failing has such a bad connotation to it. To improve is to fail and reflect. Failing just means you didn’t achieve your goal this time. It doesn’t mean you are destined to never achieve it. Just not right now.

Don’t write to “win.” Instead, write to know you are moving toward your future, better self.

10. Be patient

 I struggle with this daily. Almost every successful person was a 10-year “overnight success.” I have learned not to attach myself to the outcome, but instead, to focus on the activity which is, just keep writing.

What Will You Do?

You are about to start on a long journey that will teach you important skills you can keep to improve your own business or even into your next job.

To make it is to get started, but start small and stay consistent. Use the practical set up tips to get your blog stood up, and then the writing tips to get going.

I can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Meetings notes are typically informal records of decisions, key ideas, and actions. You typically want to take meeting notes as they provide an official record for the attendees that may have missed the meeting and are an effective way to recall what happened during the meeting without having to review entire meeting recordings.

Not to be confused with meeting minutes which are more formal meetings for note-taking usually reserved for events like annual meetings with shareholders.

Why Are Meeting Notes Important

Writing meeting notes allows you to capture ideas and thought processes that would otherwise go unrecorded.

When decisions are made during meetings, you want these documented for a few reasons. This can be used as an official record during discussions of scope and deliverables.

In project retrospectives, you can refer back to the decision-making thought line and identify where “things went wrong” in the project if you have a record of it.

Typically after a meeting, you will be left with a list of your action items, but what about the actions of your colleagues? This is where the action items section of your meeting notes becomes helpful, especially if your action has a dependency on someone else.

Preparing for Meetings

Without preparing for meetings, you’ll likely waste time at the meeting. Here are some tips for taking effective meeting notes.

Know The Meeting Participants

The first step is to know who is going to attend the meeting. Knowing this information helps you determine how much preparation time you need.

If the CEO is attending your meeting or the problem is complex, you might want to spend extra time preparing.

Know The Objective

Before attending a meeting, it helps to know what type of meeting it will be. What decision needs to be made? Who else needs to be involved? Do you just want to listen? Or do you want to contribute ideas? Knowing your purpose ahead of time will help you focus on the best outcome.

Set The Meeting Agenda

When preparing for a meeting, set a clear meeting agenda. If you don’t have formal agenda items, write down key points or ideas you’d like to cover. This way, everyone knows where things stand before the meeting begins.

Using Templates

If you’re taking notes digitally, you can always select from a gallery of meeting note templates. Most modern apps will have an array of templates for you to choose from and using these can save you a lot of time, especially for repetitive tasks.

What to do During the Meeting

It’s team meeting time. Here’s how to make sure you take effective notes during the meeting. 

Laptop Versus Pen and Paper

A laptop can be distracting because it requires our attention. If you’re writing notes on the computer, you might be distracted by email notifications or social media posts. The upside is you will type faster than you can write.

Pen and paper are good alternatives to laptops. You don’t have to worry about losing your place in a document or having to switch apps. Plus, you can use pen and paper anywhere without dealing with chargers.

A study published in Science Daily also found that people taking handwritten notes had improved memory. 

Choose A Note-Taking Method That Works For You

Chances are by now you have a routine for how you take notes. I switch back and forth between handwriting and laptop depending on what I’m taking notes about. For actions, I like to write them down in a notebook because there is nothing more satisfying than crossing something off my list.

For everything else, I will write it in a digital organizer like Notion.

Decide on a routine that works for you and stick with it before trying to optimize anything.

Should You Record the Meeting?

You may want to record the meeting if you don’t miss anything important. Or maybe you just want more context to the conversation.

Whatever the reason, recording meetings helps you better understand what happened during the discussion in more detail. Make sure to ask permission before you start recording to give everyone a warning.

When meetings are technical in nature or are simply outside of your expertise, you may want to decide to record the meeting.

As a non-technical project manager myself, I found recording meetings allowed me to communicate better with my colleagues.

Don’t Write A Transcription Of The Meeting

You’ve probably been in meetings where someone takes detailed notes. And while it might seem helpful to review those notes later, there are some things that just aren’t worth writing down. Here are three ways to make sure you don’t forget anything important during a meeting.

Take Notes During the Meeting

The best way to ensure you’ll remember everything discussed during a meeting is to write it down in real time. Unless you have an iron-clad memory, trying to remember something from the beginning of a meeting immediately after will prove difficult.

Ask Clarifying Questions

Another great way to ensure you’ll never forget anything important is to ask questions throughout the meeting. As an active participant, this helps you recall what was covered and makes it easier to follow up on topics later.

Record Keywords or Phrases

If you really want to ensure you’ll remember every detail of the meeting, use keywords and phrases to mark sections of text. For example, if you wanted to record a section of a meeting about how to build a website, you’d type “website building.” Then, whenever you come across that phrase again, you’ll instantly recall why you wrote it down.

Create Sections for Notes, Decisions, and Actions

Outline three main sections for notes, decisions, and actions. Sometimes, I place “actions” at the top for quick recall.

Jot down the majority of your topics and shorthand notes in the “notes” section. Make sure to use bullets where they make sense and for quick formatting if you are typing in your notes.

Indent if there are subtopical notes that are related to the main topic being discussed. Try not to use acronyms when possible or at least expand on the acronym during the post-meeting clean-up phase.

As meetings transition from topic to topic, leave some room between your notes just as you would if you were writing an article. 

The “decisions” section helps your team move past a particular problem at that point in the project. You only want to add to this section if it’s a deliberate decision and not just a general topical conversation. As the note taker, you can confirm this with “to confirm, we are making the decision to do XYZ.” You will receive a yes or no with some additional commentary.

Even if the decision is clearly a “no,” you’ll want to add this to the decision section. It’s just as important to document what is moving forward as what is not in a decision.

As for the “actions” section, ensure you are taking actions during the meeting and not at the end. Often by the end, you will have forgotten what happened earlier in the meeting.

Repeat the Actions

The most important aspect of a meeting is making sure the room understands what needs to happen next.

Before the meeting ends, repeat the actions that are in the actions section. Confirm with everyone that they are indeed actions, if not, this is the time to cross them out.

If time permits, you’ll want to also assign the actions to someone. You have to do this later anyway, so it’s ideal to take this time while you’re all together already (the cost of the meeting is already sunk) and assign those tasks.

You may find that the action gets passed around because someone assumed it was someone else’s responsibility. This is why it is helpful to assign them during the meeting so that it gets assigned correctly.

What To Do After The Meeting

At this point, only the actions may have been assigned. You now want to review the meeting notes after the meetings.

This includes cleaning up your notes, shorthand, and rewriting the notes so they are presentable to an audience. Ask yourself “if I come back tomorrow, will these notes make sense to another person in the meeting?” If the answer is no, continue to clarify the notes.

This is also a good time to move your notes to a digital note-taking app so that it gets archived and is accessible to all meeting attendees.

Share The Meeting Notes

As the meeting organizer, it’s now time to share the meeting recap with all the attendees and file them in a shared place where they can be publically accessed. You may also want to copy in other stakeholders that weren’t present at the meeting, so they can view the key takeaways and action items.

Follow up with a quick recap of the actions either through email or your team’s regular instant communication channel like Slack and link the rest of the notes. You don’t want to paste all of the notes into the communication channel as this could get overwhelming.  Not everyone needs the notes, but everyone needs the execute the actions. 

Be mindful of the content in the notes as well. Many note and communication apps allow for private and public publishing of information. If the meeting was about sensitive topics related to HR, you want to be extra careful about who has access to them and who shouldn’t.

Make Notes Searchable

Apps like Notion have incredible search capabilities. You can search and filter by parameters like Date, Assignee, Title, and so on.

In order to take advantage of these features, you want to add keywords to the titles of your notes if you took or move them to the digital space.

If you use acronyms, make sure to also spell out the entire word so as to capture both search queries in the future.

Instead of naming it Meeting Notes [Date], name it Meeting Notes about Website Concept.

This gives it a bit more context as to what the meeting was about without even having to read it, but more importantly, it will show up in search in tools and apps.

Wrapping It Up

We all want to run productive meetings.

To recap, you’ll want to make sure you take the proper pre-planning tips so you start the meeting off with an agenda.

Then you’ll want to ensure you record the decisions, actions, and key topics of the meeting.

Finally, clean up the notes and share them with all the attendees and make them accessible to everyone in a shared space.

I hope that this article has provided a quick reference for managing your notes for your next important meeting.

Benefits of Google Tag Manager

Tag Manager gives a consistent user interface to fine-tune how you want to track code snippets and tags on your website.

Say you hired a marketer to help you start running ads on your website. Likely the ad platform would give them a code snippet (or tag) to add to your website.

Before Tag Manager, each time a snippet needed to be added, you would have to ask your developer to do it.

Now with Tag Manager, you will just need to share access to your Tag Manager account and they can add as many tags as they need on their own.

Installing Google Tag Manager

Start by going to tagmanager.google.com.

Sign into an existing Google account or sign up for a new one.

You will arrive at this screen where you need to create a tag manager account.

Click Create Account button to get started.

Account Name – Type in any account name. A brand name will be fine here.

Container Name – Type your domain here and select “Web” as the “Target platform” meaning you want to track your website.

Click Create button.

On the Terms and Conditions page, check the checkbox at the bottom and click Yes to agree to the terms.

You will be presented with two code snippets, one for the <head> and one for the <body>

If you have a software developer on your team, you can pass these to them and they will know what to do with them.

Otherwise, install a code snippet manager, then paste the two snippet codes and continue below.

After you press OK, you will advance to the Google Tag Manager Dashboard.

Click the Preview button

You will be shown a Tag Manager Preview Mode pop-up (make sure your pop-up blocker is disabled to see it)

Type your domain into the “Your website’s URL” field and click Connect button

Another pop-up will appear which shows your website and if everything is working you should see the words “Connected” and “Tag Assistant Connected.”

Connecting Google Analytics 4 to Tag Manager

These instructions presume you already have Google Analytics 4 setup and therefore have a Data Stream measurement ID.

Finding your Google Analytics 4 Measurement ID

In your Google Analytics dashboard, click Admin in the bottom left corner, then find Data Streams under the Property column.

Select the Stream you setup previously for Web Streams. When you open it, look for the Measurement ID. Leave this tab open as you’ll need this ID later in this guide.

Creating a Google Analytic Tag in Tag Manager

Back in Tag Manager

• Click Tags on the left-hand side
• Then click New (not pictured)
• Then click the tag icon in the middle under Tag Configuration section

This will bring you to an overlay where you can select tags. Select Google Analytics: GA4 Configuration

• Back in Google Analytics, copy the Measurement ID from the previous step
• In Tag Manager paste the ID in the Measurement ID field (see below)
• Toggle open the Fields to Set option in the same window
  • Set the Field Name to “debug_mode” and the Value to “True“
  • This will allow debug mode to pick up the events right away so you can test that this tag is working correctly
• Save your changes

Next, scroll to the bottom and click the icon in the Triggering section. You need to tell Tag Manager when to enable (or “fire”) this tag.

Select All Pages as the trigger and then Save this tag.

Testing the Tag

On the Tag Manager dashboard, click the Preview button and then Connect button if prompted to in the next screen.

This will load another window with the website you are testing.

Next, back in Google Analytics, go to Configure > Debug View.

In the other window where the website popped up, navigate to a different page on the website.

If everything is set up correctly you should see events firing in the Google Analytics Configure > Debug View window.

Check the Top Events column for a summary of the session (pictured below)

If the events are firing, then you can move on to the publishing step.

Publishing a Tag

Back in the Tag manager dashboard, click the Submit button.

Then give it a Version Name like “Google Analytics 4 Install” and click the Publish button in the top right corner.

Congratulations! You have successfully configured Google Analytics with Google Tag Manager.

From this point forward, you can come back to check your analytics in the Google Analytics platform.

A code snippet manager is a simple way to organize small snippets of code like this:

It use to be that you needed to do this manually through the code, but now there are plugins to help you insert these small bits of code without knowing how to code.

Installing any 3rd party tool that requires you to communicate back to it usually requires a code snippet (for example the Facebook Pixel).

A very common use case for websites is Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager.

Installing a Code Snippet Plugin

As much as I try not to install plugins on my WordPress site, this one is really helpful in managing code since I’m a non-coder myself.

To get started, log into your WordPress dashboard and go to Plugins > Add New which will take you to the Add Plugins search area in WordPress

In the search box, type in “header footer” and look for the plugin by WPCode

Click the Install Now button

After the plugin installs, click the Activate button.

Once you see “Code Snippets” on the left sidebar of your WordPress dashboard you have installed it correctly.

Installing Snippets

On the left sidebar, hover over Code Snippets and select the Header & Footer option

You will now be on the Global Header and Footer page.

To install a snippet, simply copy and paste the snippet either into the header, body or footer depending on the instructions given to you by the tool you are trying to install.

Below is an example of installing the Google Tag Manager snippets using this plugin.

The red <head> code, highlighted in red below, would be pasted into the “Header” part of the plugin whereas the <body> code in green would be pasted into the “Body” part of the plugin.

Note that most plugins only require a single paste, but this specific tool (Google Tag Manager) requires two parts.

Once you’re done click the Save Changes button in the top right corner.

If you have multiple Header, Body or Footer snippets, just paste them below one another and the page will load them all.

Review the Features and Pricing

First, go to the pricing page and review and select the package that fits your needs. I’ve never needed more than the Business Starter package as it already includes more than enough storage space to get started.

Note that this is a recurring expense each month or year depending on how you decide to pay.

Every plan includes your main google apps: Gmail, Drive, Calendar, etc. If you are looking for an app and it is not listed there, then it may be an additional add-on, however, the apps that come with the main plan should cover 99% of your use cases if you’re just starting out.

Note these prices on the screen below are in Canadian Dollars so the US Dollars will have their own pricing (or whichever country you are purchasing this from).

How to Sign Up for a Professional Email

When you’ve decided on a package, click the blue Get Started button on the appropriate package.

Next, fill in all the business information (Business name, etc.).

Here are some tips on specific parts of the form

• Business Name – If you have a registered business name with your state or province, you could use this name here.
• Current email address – this should be a personal email address and helps with account recovery if you ever lose the password. Make sure to use a real email address here, it will not be shown to the public. Do not enter the email you are trying to purchase in this field.
• Does your business have a domain – this step is important. If you already purchased a domain (URL) then make sure you click “Yes, I have one I can use” and follow the prompts after.

If you haven’t purchased a domain yet then follow these instructions here and then come back and finish this step.

After you purchase your domain fill in the domain field. In my case it’s https://hellodavelin.com

In the next step, fill out the username and password. This is what you will use to sign in. If you had a Gmail account before, the sign-in process will be the same except with your new email.

For example, if I wanted to purchase the exact email “hello@hellodavelin.com” this is what I would type in the Username field (see below). This email cannot change without purchasing another email so do be certain of the username.

Check the captcha box and Agree and Continue button to proceed.

You’ll be prompted to select a plan. By default, you will not be presented with the Business Starter option. Instead, you need to start at least on the Business Standard plan or higher to complete the checkout process.

I’ll go over how to downgrade to the lowest tier later in this article. For now, pick the Business Standard and choose whether you want a monthly recurring payment or annual recurring payment, and click Next.

Note, on the lowest tier (Business Starter), there is no discount for selecting an annual payment plan. I would recommend going monthly so you can cancel at any time.

On the checkout page, fill out the Name and address, Contact, and Payment method fields.

If Google is running a promotion, you won’t be charged until the promotional time is over. For example, if they have a 14-day promotion, your credit card won’t be charged until the day the promotion ends.

Be sure to cancel before the end of the promotional period if you change your mind and don’t want the professional email.

After you check out you can click Continue to setup and login using the username and password you gave during the setup.

After signing in, you will arrive at the Admin Dashboard.

During the first sign-in, it may ask you for a phone number. This also helps with account recovery in case you lose your password. It is recommended you provide a phone number if you have one available that can accept text messages.

After you get through the initial tour of the admin dashboard you will be presented with three steps:

1. Protect [your domain]
2. Create new users
3. Activate Gmail for [your domain]

At this time you don’t need to learn how to use the admin dashboard. You just need to finish the setup and then you’ll use your email like any other Gmail account.

Step 1 – Confirming your domain

In this step, you need to add a TXT (text) record to prove you own the domain.

Start by clicking the blue Protect link under step 1.

Then click I’m ready to protect my domain.

At this point, depending on where you purchased your domain, Google will supply the corresponding instructions on how to add a DNS record (where the TXT record lives).

The Google instructions will tell you to make this change where you purchased your domain (in my case Namecheap).

But if you have a host already (for example, your website is already online) then you want to make this change where your hosting is at (i.e., Siteground or Bluehost).

Click the Next: Go to Step 2 on the bottom right of this screen to advance to the next section

Google will provide you with a TXT record and it will look something like this below.

google-site-verification=abcdefg… where “abcdefg” is a unique code for your website.

Do not share this verification code with anyone.

Next, log into your host. For this example, I log into Siteground.com because that is where my website is hosted.

If you’re using another host, the steps will be similar, but the screen options will look slightly different from host to host. Also, each host should have a way to live chat with their customer service. You can often ask them to help you with this step if you get stuck.

Find the section of the host dashboard where the DNS configuration can be updated. You might need to google search a bit if you are not using Siteground.

To complete this step:

• go to your DNS Zone Editor
• make sure you are on the TXT tab under the “Create New Record” section of the DNS Zone Editor page.
• add the verification code under the Value field
• leave the Name field empty
• Click the Create button

This will add the verification record to your host. Now go back to your Google admin panel and refresh the page to start Step 2.

Step 1 may take 5-10 minutes to refresh.

Step 2 – Creating new users

Do not complete this step unless you want to purchase additional emails at an additional cost per email.

If you’re just getting started online for the first time you can skip this.

Step 3 – Activate Gmail for Your Domain

In this step, you will add what’s called MX records or a Mail Exchange record. This tells your host where your email files are and to associate your domain properly with the new email you just purchased.

Click Activate and then I’m ready to activate Gmail to get started on this step.

You’ll be at the instruction screen similar to Step 1 above. Again, assuming you already have a website running, just click Next: Go to Step 2

Stay on this Step 2 screen where it has the Activate Gmail button in the bottom right-hand corner. Do not follow these instructions. Instead, open a new tab and log into your website host dashboard.

For my hosting, I’ll go back to my Siteground DNS page.

• Select the MX Tab
• Click Switch to Google MX records option – this will preconfigure the Gmail MX records automatically for you.
• Click the Create button to finalize this step

Note that after completing these steps below you will switch all of the emails going to @yourdomain name to this new Gmail email.

Wait for about 5 minutes and then return back to the other tab we left open in the Google admin dashboard and click Activate Gmail on the bottom right

Google will check for those new MX records you created and if everything was set up correctly, you’ll get this confirmation screen.

Congratulations! You’ve just set up your first professional email!

Back at the Admin Dashboard, just click Skip for Now since we are skipping the “Create new users” step.

On the next page, send yourself a test email and check your Gmail inbox to make sure it arrived. If it doesn’t arrive, try it in a few minutes and if it still does not work, you’ll need to contact your host customer service and have them walk you through the steps above.

Updating to Business Starter Subscription

At this time you’ll want to downgrade to Business Starter if you want to be on the least expensive plan, otherwise, when the promotion is over, you’ll be billed at the next tier up.

• Go to Admin Dashboard and login with the account you have just purchased
• Navigate to Billing > Subscriptions
• Select your subscription

Click the Upgrade or Downgrade option.

Then select and confirm the subscription tier Google Workspace Business Starter and click the Switch button.

Reconfirm the checkout information on the updated plan and click the Checkout followed by the Finalize button to complete this change.

That concludes this walkthrough. You now have a new professional email that is verified with your website domain.

Congrats!

Sign up for a Free Namecheap Account

Start by going to this page and signing up for an account at Namecheap. Sign-up is free. You’ll only ever pay for the domains that you purchase.

Namecheap accounts provide you with a single dashboard for all of your domains if you decide to purchase multiple domain URLs.

Start by filling out the fields of the signup form.

After you click Create Account and Continue button, you will go to the Dashboard

Search for your Domain

In the middle of the dashboard where it says “Search for your next domain” type the web address you want to check the availability.

In this example, I am searching for “hellodavelin.xyz” as a domain since I own the .com already. It turns out .xyz is also available for $2.75/ year. Note that this amount is always the promotional rate and usually lasts a year.

Below that amount, you’ll see the “Retail $16.47/yr” which is what the renewal amount will be 12 months from the date of purchase.

You can pre-purchase multiple years in advance (more on this later) if you don’t want to renew every year, but make sure to check if there are any additional discounts otherwise just keep the renewal to once per year.

Below the search results are other domains just for comparison or in case the domain you searched for wasn’t available.

Once you’ve decided on a domain, click Add to Cart and then click the Checkout button. You do not need any of the add-ons at this time.

Confirm the order details on the next screen. See the notes about each section below.

Domain Registration

Select the year drop-down for when you want to renew. By default, it’s 1 year. Paying multiple years upfront doesn’t always guarantee a discount so just make sure to do the math for the different years based on your budget.

Keep the auto-renew toggled on. This makes sure that the domain is automatically paid for each year. If you disable this option, your website will go offline if you forget to renew before the renewal period you set.

Domain Privacy

This helps keep your personal information private such as who registered this domain. By default, they give this to you for free and auto-renew it for free so leave it toggled on though this could change at any time so read the details carefully.

PremiumDNS

If you’re just starting out, you won’t need this additional security option so leave it disabled. This is reserved for high-traffic websites that need additional protection from outside hacks.

When ready, click the Confirm Order button to proceed.

Checkout

If it’s your first time checking out a domain, you’ll need to fill in the Account Contact Information page.

Fill out these fields about your business if applicable and click the Continue button to go to the Whois Contact Information page.

On this page, confirm that the Name, Business name, Address, and other contact information is correct, and then click the Continue button.

On the Payment Method page, add a credit card. You may need to toggle the Card Business Address and billing addresses dropdown to “Add new contact” if your credit card address is different than your business address.

On the same page at the bottom, review the Renewal Settings for Your Purchase section. I just leave these options as default.

Basically saying, only renew the services that I’m signing up for today.

Click the Continue button on the right.

This is the final screen before the credit card is processed. Confirm all of the information and when ready, click Pay Now to complete the purchase.

Once the transaction goes through you can see the confirmation page.

Next Steps

After you purchase your domain, you’ll want to configure the namecheap domain you just purchased to point to your web host (i.e., Siteground, Bluehost).

Why Use Namecheap

While you could purchase your domain from any number of domain registrars (that’s the fancy name for domain provider) I’ve used Namecheap for over a decade and they have never failed me.

Their customer service is prompt and it provides a fairly easy-to-use user interface as well as all of the features I need under one dashboard.

The ability to share permissions is also included with this service so if you need a developer to help with the website you can provide just the permission to specific web addresses as needed.