Money was probably the last thing on my mind when I first started blogging back in 2004 ;)
I blogged simply for the joy of sharing travel stories and new discoveries with the people around me.
At that time, I was a Journalism & Political Science sophomore at Monash University (Gippsland, Australia), far away from family - and was having a wonderful cultural exchange experience that I wanted to share with my folks back home.
But over time, my blogging frenzy became a series of experiments that have somehow turned out well :)
I have yet to make a million bucks like Anthony Robbins or Dr Patrick Dixon, but my blog became a launch pad for occasional freelance work & well, ...free goodies ;)
The top question that you'd most probably have at the back of your mind is
- How do you make money through blogs?
Tip no. 1: Use your blog as a canvas to display your talents -
a) share your cooking skills and recipes - eg, like my favourite recipe queen Chanit
b) be generous with your knowledge - like Dr Patrick Dixon, CEO of Global Change
c) be the ultimate comedian, like Kenny Sia of Sarawak
The top question that you'd most probably have at the back of your mind is
- How do you make money through blogs?
Tip no. 1: Use your blog as a canvas to display your talents -
a) share your cooking skills and recipes - eg, like my favourite recipe queen Chanit
b) be generous with your knowledge - like Dr Patrick Dixon, CEO of Global Change
c) be the ultimate comedian, like Kenny Sia of Sarawak
In my case,... I'm pretty much a guinea-pig who experiments with just about anything when it comes to food, consumer products, services, online tools...
and GADGETS, of course! :)
Though I wasn't a tech student, I was very curious and experimented with Ruby on Rails, Open Source tools, photography, Joomla, Adobe Illustrator & Photoshop, and all-things-Web2.0 :)
Tip no. 2: Be different :)
My initial foray into the tech world was fraught with difficulties as most online information were heavily infused with Silicon Valley jargons.
Realising the need for more reader-friendly tech writings, I began writing stuff that both the tech geniuses and the non-geeks can relate to, ...and got noticed ;)
Tip no. 3: Go global ;)
Yes - go global!
Join Craigslist, Entrepreneurs Econnect - interact with bloggers, entrepreneurs & readers from all over the world - not merely with individuals of close geographical proximity.
With VOIP, WWW and air travel, virtual work teams can be established anytime, anywhere :)
Take a moment and reflect on this : -
Why does Stephen King go Bollywood? Why does Shah Rukh Khan go Hollywood? The reason is to leverage on each other's geographical markets.
Similarly, a start-up team consisting of members from the US, Europe, Asia and the Middle East will be much more well equipped to build a business empire compared to an all-American or all-Asian group.
But on the other hand, entrepreneurs can't just get any Tom, Dick or Harry to be their biz partners - because that would be tantamount to a business suicide! Hence, there is a great deal of opportunities out there for freelancers around the world - as more and more entrepreneurs look toward bridging the "skills" gap within their own team :)
The great news is - with language translation software, you can communicate with anyone without the need for a common language:)
Some of the most satisfying projects I've ever had were the translation of German, Japanese, Chinese, Korean & French web content into English ;)
- you get to learn new languages in the process!
How to be a good viral marketer
1) Take time to understand the products/services that you promote
2) Build your reputation via personal branding (like Seth Godin)
By the way, I wasn't suggesting that you copy his looks...
About Charmaine Chen
Tip no. 2: Be different :)
My initial foray into the tech world was fraught with difficulties as most online information were heavily infused with Silicon Valley jargons.
Realising the need for more reader-friendly tech writings, I began writing stuff that both the tech geniuses and the non-geeks can relate to, ...and got noticed ;)
Tip no. 3: Go global ;)
Yes - go global!
Join Craigslist, Entrepreneurs Econnect - interact with bloggers, entrepreneurs & readers from all over the world - not merely with individuals of close geographical proximity.
With VOIP, WWW and air travel, virtual work teams can be established anytime, anywhere :)
Take a moment and reflect on this : -
Why does Stephen King go Bollywood? Why does Shah Rukh Khan go Hollywood? The reason is to leverage on each other's geographical markets.
Similarly, a start-up team consisting of members from the US, Europe, Asia and the Middle East will be much more well equipped to build a business empire compared to an all-American or all-Asian group.
But on the other hand, entrepreneurs can't just get any Tom, Dick or Harry to be their biz partners - because that would be tantamount to a business suicide! Hence, there is a great deal of opportunities out there for freelancers around the world - as more and more entrepreneurs look toward bridging the "skills" gap within their own team :)
The great news is - with language translation software, you can communicate with anyone without the need for a common language:)
Some of the most satisfying projects I've ever had were the translation of German, Japanese, Chinese, Korean & French web content into English ;)
- you get to learn new languages in the process!
How to be a good viral marketer
1) Take time to understand the products/services that you promote
2) Build your reputation via personal branding (like Seth Godin)
About Charmaine Chen
- An innovative viral marketing strategist who introduces products/services & build brand reputations via Google Groups, high-traffic blogs, social networks - and every nook and corner of the WWW
- A brilliant writer who can effortlessly "dumbs down" or "talks up" to suit your target readers' need;) My literature diet ranges across the intellectual WSJ, National Geographics, The Economist & the bimbotic stuff like "How to Lose 10 Pounds in 5 Seconds"
- An articulate Gen Y-er with 5 yrs experience in Sales/PR /Marketing/Event Management
Pic: Ellie and I at a Crime Prevention Campaign organised by the Royal Malaysian Police Force
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