Lesson 3 of The Branding Challenge involves providing your reader with not just your opinion but other people’s opinion.  People will visit your blog because they are interested to find out your slant on a particular subject but this lesson explains how we should be open to looking at how other people read a certain situation.

Tiffany gives some great examples of how we can share information and still provide our own opinion on that information, whether we agree or disagree.

When Tiffany created the first version of this lesson, it was really difficult to understand because she concentrated on the Internet Marketing angle, which can sometimes be a little dry, technical and, well, boring.

After receiving feedback from people following this challenge, she was able to go back and actually rewrote the whole lesson so that it included non marketing examples  and non marketing terms so that everyone could understand exactly what she was trying to convey.

The Crux of The Lesson

Whatever topic you are talking about, give people a balanced argument so that they can decide for themselves what point of view they prefer.  Don’t be afraid to link to other sites or to include quotes from these other sites. My own personal example is if I am interested in reading a book or seeing a film but I don’t know much about it, I will ask friends for their opinion, I will read a few reviews from different sources then I make my decision.

We have a film review programme on the BBC which used to be presented by a guy called Barry Norman.  He was a great presenter and always gave great reviews of the up and coming films.  It used to be a running joke that if Barry liked it then that film was worth seeing. No surname necessary; you talked about a film and someone would say “What does Barry Think?”

The other important point that Tiffany makes is that when people are looking for information, there are different ways in which they absorb data, so if you can you should provide information in a variety of ways, such as text, pictures and video.

At first I felt that this was a little too heavy for the sort of things that I like to write about but sharing information can be about light hearted things such as your opinion on a particular book or it can go deeper. It all depends how you see the world and what affects you.

This has given me some great ideas for future articles for each of my sites.

It’s funny, Tiffany mentions that the task that she has set may seem tedious and a lot of work, which it is, but when you are writing about a topic that you are passionate about, it shouldn’t seem like a drag at all because you are sharing information that you normally read anyway.

Roll on the next lesson.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Branding Challenge – Catch Up
• Branding Challenge – Day 2
• 30 Day Branding Challenge – Day 1
• 30 Day Branding Challenge – Intro

If you want to develop the right type of brand for what it is that you represent, you really do need to take time so that you can figure out what makes you tick and what makes you happy.

What I Have Learned About Myself So Far

I took some time out to re-read the previous branding challenge chapters in order to make sure that I was still on the right track. One of the most important questions posed is:

What is Your Purpose & Passion?

Tiffany states that once you can answer this, you will be able to create and develop a satisfying career.  Forget about traffic and profit unless this is your passion.

Light Bulb Moment!

I have created quite a few niche websites but the most successful ones have been the ones based on my own passions and interests?  Why? Because each time I had to add to them, it didn’t feel like work whereas the other sites felt like a bit of a burden.  I wish I could be one of those people who are motivated to carry on working on niche sites, knowing that the profits are on their way but it just isn’t me.

I enjoy writing about stuff that interests me and therefore I am going to concentrate my energies on these areas. The funny thing is that just because you are passionate about something, doesn’t mean you can’t make money from it. It might take a while longer to figure out the monetary angle and it may take a while longer to make a decent profit but I am in it for the long haul so that’s ok.

Back To The Challenge

This challenge provided us with the option of working on an individual site or trying to develop a brand that encompasses a range of sites.  I will be working on branding individual sites and then try and figure out how they can all come together under my personal blog, My Daily Cuppa.

So I need to go and make sure that I have done all the tasks for each site.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Branding Challenge – Lesson 3
• Branding Challenge – Day 2
• 30 Day Branding Challenge – Day 1
• 30 Day Branding Challenge – Intro

Adsense – Nothing was added to my adsense sites or web 2.0 properties.  This would therefore make this month’s earnings completely passive, which is a couple of quid less than last month.

Amazon – As a result of the Halloween season, I am very happy with the increase in earnings for October.

Clickbank – One sale made via this affiliate source. I was very happy to receive a cheque in the post as I didn’t expect to reach the payout threshold with only one sale this month.

Commission Junction – This is the second month that I have earned something through this affiliate.  It was a Halloween product so if I need to work on promoting another product otherwise I will not get the payout.

The PLR Boutique – This month was quieter than I had expected.  I held a WSO but it didn’t do as well as I had expected (boo hoo).

Here is the breakdown of my earnings for October 2011:

Earnings from Adsense = £124.13 Last Month = £129.73

Earnings from Amazon USA = £589.90 Last Month = £451.13

Earnings from Amazon UK = £7.00 Last Month = £1.80

Earnings from The PLR Boutique = £101.97 Last Month = £266.03

Earnings from Commission Junction = £27.83 Last Month = £18.14

Earnings from Clickbank = £6.99 Last Month = £6.99

TOTAL EARNINGS FOR OCTOBER 2011

= £857.82 Last Month = £873.82

Goals For November

My PLR Site

I will continue to write articles for new PLR packs for The PLR Boutique. Hopefully I will manage at least 2 packs this month.

Writer for Hire

I need to make some more cash so I will place a “Warrior for Hire” ad on the Warrior Forum in order to generate some more instant revenue.

The most important things that I need to work on this month is to figure out exactly what it is that I want to do online.  Once I have it straight in my own head, then I can make proper decisions and focus.

I hope your October was successful and I wish you good luck for November.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Earnings For July 2011
• Earnings For January 2011
• Earnings For October 2010
• Earnings For September 2010
• Earnings For July 2010

You need to share information about yourself, your passions and your reason for creating your blog or online business. One of the ways that this can be achieved is to write a fitting About Me page.

My Initial Thoughts on the About Me Page

When I first started writing online I didn’t really want to add that much information about myself. I wanted to remain anonymous and I didn’t really think that anyone would be that interested. The thing that makes me chuckle is that whenever I visit other people’s websites I head straight over to their About Page because, quite frankly, I am nosey. I love reading about where people come from, the reason why they started a blog and why I should accept their opinion on whatever the subject matter is that first brought me to their site.

I am using my personal blog for this challenge so to check out the revamped About Me Page Click Right Here  and you will find out a little more about, well, me. If you like it, please leave a comment. If you don’t like it, still feel free to leave a comment.

Day 2’s Branding Challenge PDF report was short but got to the heart of the matter very quickly. I am loving the way that this is changing the way I think about writing online. I have a feeling that by the end of the month, quite a few things will change including what I write about and the type of people that I will interact with.

Roll on Day 2.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Branding Challenge – Lesson 3
• Branding Challenge – Catch Up
• 30 Day Branding Challenge – Day 1
• 30 Day Branding Challenge – Intro

In her PDF report Tiffany has identified four different ways in which people earn their money online. I think that I am a mixture of three out of the four ways. I provide a service by offering quality PLR articles at The PLR Boutique, I earn commissions through a range of small websites and I earn money with adsense commissions from a selection of articles on different web 2.0 platforms.

Once you know how you earn your online income or how you would like to earn your online income, you need to decide whether to brand yourself, your collection of websites as one entity or to separate everything out.

I think I am aiming to create, or rather develop, an umbrella brand to encompass the different arenas that I operate in.

My Thoughts On The Challenge Report

At first glance I didn’t really like the style of the PDF. I am the sort of person who likes to be taken by the hand and told what to do. Step one, do this, Step two do that etc. However, after reading through the lesson again, I realised that there are lots of questions being asked. It is just that they are not prefaced with a number or a bullet point. This time through I actually made notes in the form of questions I needed to ask myself.

The information that I need to discover is the following:

• What subjects am I interested in?
• What websites or forums are out there that cover these subjects?
• What do they do well?
• What do they do less well?
• What is missing from their websites?
• What questions are people asking in these topic areas on forums or Yahoo Answers etc?
• What could I add or how could I improve on what is already available?

There were quite a few questions/statements above that I feel I can’t really answer yet as I haven’t done enough in order to evaluate or sum up my thoughts.

Light Bulb / Aha Moment!

When I took a look at My Google Reader to see what type of sites I like to keep up with, I noticed one, now glaringly obvious, thing about almost 99% of the blogs on my list. They are all written in the first person and are about people actually sharing their lives and experiences with their readers! They are all about the topics that I want to write about such as travel, books, films, making money online, finding great bargains and living out the life that I really want.

Here I am a little scared to put myself out there but I am happy enough to read all about these different people. It made me chuckle. This is something that I vow to change by the end of this challenge. First things first:

Hello My Name Is Victoria and This Is My Website!

(and breathe)

Strive To Be The Best – What Are Your Strengths?

This is something that I think many people will struggle with, myself included. If you are relatively new to a particular niche or topic area it is hard to even whisper such a bold statement and actually believe it. Even in real life, people find it difficult to verbalise what they are good at. I am sure you can remember job interviews where you were asked to state 3 things you are good at etc. This was a real stumbling block for most, me included.

I am reminded of the great athletes who all strive to get that gold medal. They must have some real belief that they can achieve it otherwise they wouldn’t bother. But they really put their heart, body and soul into their training so that they can win that Gold medal.

This is the mind set that we mere mortals have to instil in our own lives. If we strive to be the best, we can also get to the top. (Wow – this has turned into a mini motivational session for myself LOL).

Do You Know Your Strengths?

I am still trying to figure out what my strengths are. At the moment I think that I am:

• Organised
• Funny
• A good writer
• Honest
• Open minded
• Fearless
• Independent
• Determined
• Lazy/unmotivated sometimes (not a strength but it is something that I can’t ignore about myself).

I will revisit this list later on in the challenge to see if anything needs to be added or taken away. That will be really interesting.

Tiffany wrote the following quote from a branding book:

Brands are promises – so what’s yours?

I love how personal this sentence is. This is perfect for people who want make sure that they are on the right path and are connecting with their readers in the way that they want.

At the moment I can’t answer that question because, quite frankly I am not sure exactly what it is I want to provide.

What Do I Promise?

The site that I am working on is My personal blog, My Daily Cuppa.  The promise has something to do with providing people with information that will help them see how easy or challenging it is to live the life that you truly want to live. I hope to learn from my own experiences and be able to pass this on in an intelligent, informative and interesting way. That’s sounds so airy fairy / marketing speak / jargony. Short and sweet – I want to enjoy my life and share the experience with others!

Still lots of work to do on part one but, bring on Day Two.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Branding Challenge – Lesson 3
• Branding Challenge – Catch Up
• Branding Challenge – Day 2
• 30 Day Branding Challenge – Intro