This document discusses how to build a successful publishing empire beyond just blogging. It recommends expanding into multiple websites and revenue streams to diversify income sources and protect against external factors. Specific strategies include monetizing blogs through advertising, selling products/services, publishing books, and doing freelance work. The key is to test ideas, leverage automation and outsourcing to scale efficiently, focus on high-potential niches and audiences, and develop valuable relationships. With the right multi-pronged approach, it is possible to create a sustainable publishing business without working endless hours.
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4. From Blog to Sustainable Business
Why expand beyond one website or one business?
How do we spot opportunities and build revenue streams?
How do we do it without losing our free time and our minds?
5. The grim reality of relying on others for your
employment:
- Unemployment in Canada is 7%, the USA and UK is 8%, Portugal 17%, Spain 27%, Greece 27%
- For those aged 16-24 it’s 14% Canada, 17% USA, 21% UK, 38% Portugal, 52% Spain, 60%
Greece. Only Germany below 10% in developed world.
- “More than half of America's recent college graduates are either unemployed or working in a
job that doesn't require a bachelor's degree.” (Associated Press)
- 25 percent of retail sales clerks in the USA have bachelor’s degrees. (USA Today)
- As of April, “Only 56% of the law school graduates of 2012 [in the USA] had found a stable, full-
time job in the legal profession.” (The Atlantic)
7. How is real wealth created?
• Selling something of value repeatedly, with a sizeable margin
• Saving & investing income from a high-value service performed repeatedly
• Building businesses that generate income and can be sold
8. Wealth should be created by investing to create more wealth. Income is the fruit of wealth.
10. “Sometimes we are called to wait and it can
be a good thing, but other times I really
believe that we need to make things happen,
and pursue our dreams with reckless
abandon.”
11. “Don’t be put off by failure. Work really hard to make your idea
succeed. If it doesn’t, bow out gracefully and try again.”
12. It is impossible to live without failing at
something, unless you live so cautiously that
you might has well not have lived at all, in
which case you have failed by default.
13. “Putting all your eggs in one basket and watching the
basket really carefully isn't nearly as effective as the
other alternatives. Not when the world gets crazy.”
- Seth Godin
14. Tim Leffel’s Media Holdings
PLUS MULTIPLE BOOKS GENERATING ROYALTIES
PLUS FREELANCE INCOME
15. Luxury Latin America
Practical Travel Gear
Cheapest Destinations
Book royalties
Freelance writing
Perceptive Travel
EARNINGS SPLIT
16. The benefits of multiple sites, $
streams
A buffer against factors beyond your control
Increased inventory for advertising
Cross-promotion opportunities
Increased outlet/content/travel opportunities
Increased affiliate sale opportunities
Increased tax write-off opportunities
Increased media/marketing opportunities
Multiple streams of income – earning diversity
19. Test and Experiment; Fail or
Succeed
Start-up costs are the lowest in history
Data measurement tools are cheap or free
Finding your audience is easier than ever
Web publishing is a no-overhead business
Publishing books is cheaper than ever
Joblets can be farmed out as needed
20. Publishing paths to profitability
FAST BUT WITH LESS POTENTIAL
1-writer blog or content site (6 – 9 months)
Short e-book (3 - 6 months)
Freelance writing (1 - 6 months per article)
SLOW BUT WITH MORE POTENTIAL
Multi-contributor blog/content site (1-2 years)
Full length book POD (3 - 9 months), Full
length book traditional (1.5 - 3 years)
21. Where are the future opportunities?
Owning a specific niche
Serving an underserved market
Being first to a category
Being completely different
Building a tribe of followers
Being better, stronger, faster
24. Do readers care…
enough to come back?
enough to subscribe without a pop-up ad in their face?
enough to follow you where you ask them to go?
enough to tell you what they like/don’t like/care about?
enough to spend money on something?
25. I’m trying to find a website with…
Adventure spas for guys Kayaking routes in Florida
Cheap travel advice for Guatemala
Reviews of wine biking tours
Every ship sailing the Galapagos Surf lodges under $40 per night
Hotels in ______ that aren’t on Expedia
All the safari operators in Kenya A directory of 1-day cooking classes
Hiking trails in Mexico Lift ticket discounts
Non-hostel cheap hotels in Bolivia
Travel information on Zacatecas Windows RT apps for travel
26. Where to look for ideas
Magazines (Wired, Inc., The Week, Mental Floss, Economist…)
Conferences (esp. non-writing)
Good TV (in moderation)
Conversations with infrequent travelers
Biographies
Good history books
Good films
In nature
Reader comments
27. Go where the money is
LOW INCOME POTENTIAL (UNLESS YOU’RE TOPS)
Long-term backpacking
Budget travel
Destinations with few visitors
Unpopular activities
Narrative travel writing
Responsible travel
Volunteering
HIGH INCOME POTENTIAL
Luxury travel
Hotels & resorts
Popular destinations
Popular activities
Travel products and gadgets
Adventure & tours
Vacation ideas
28. What advertisers care about
NOT IMPORTANT
How often you post
How much time you spend on Facebook
Your three weeks in Moldova
What you ate for lunch
How many countries you’ve been to
Your history in the Peace Corps
How you pay your bills
VERY IMPORTANT
Their sales
Click-through rates
Number of readers OR focused audience
Engagement
Strength of brand, following
Clearness of message/slant
Influence
29. Non-advertising revenue options
Ongoing sponsorships
Book royalties
E-book sales
Courses
Consulting
Leading tours
Freelance writing
Speaking for companies/brand
30. Relationships and visibility better your
odds
“All things being equal, people would rather work with people they like.”
Who knows you?
Who likes you?
Who trusts you?
Whom can you help?
Who should know you?
Who should trust you?
32. What I accomplish each month
26 blog posts
2-8 freelance articles
Social media promotion for 6 websites
Travel 7-10 days
Have fun on the weekends
Manage 21 bloggers and assistants
Publish Perceptive Travel webzine
Edit 6-12 feature articles
Interface with 10-20 advertisers
Sleep
33. Do the real work, but farm out the
rest
Elance, Sologig, Odesk, Guru.com
Craigslist, Taskrabbit
PA services like VirtualStaffFinder.com
Network for writers
Look abroad to lower expenses
Automate when it makes sense
Have a predictable schedule
Don’t overextend on $ or time
34. How to do the work of many people
Limit social media time to x minutes per day
Have a weekly entertainment time budget
Spend 80% of time on creation, revenue
Set weekly goals, not a long daily task list
Use the phone to get more done faster
Know what your time is worth and leverage it
NOT Leverage
36. Big ideas require thinking time
“People who work 50 or 60 hours rarely get more done than people who work 40 hours”
- What the Most Successful People Do on the Weekends
37. And don’t forget…
1. Do work that you’re proud of.
2. Do work that will last.
3. Create publications that will take on a life of their own.
38. Beyond Blogging: Building a
Publishing Empire
Tim Leffel – www.TimLeffel.com
Get the materials - travelwriting2.com/empire/