The Sounding Board

I haven’t posted an ethics-related post in quite some time. Quite honestly? I haven’t had any ethics-related inspiration for a post lately. Not until recently, that is.

There’s alot of talk in the blogosphere about monetizing blogs - making your blog earn money. Blogging to the Bank, Problogger, John Chow, etc., there are blog posts galore out there about how to turn a buck with your blog. I have to be honest…most of that stuff makes me want to gag. It sends that same ‘used car salesman in a bad suit’ shiver down my spine as alot of these ‘experts’ out there who self-proclaim to be ’industry leaders’ when they’re barely more than just a good copywriter.

Personally? I’m of the opinion that ‘monetizing’ is not something appropriate for a business blog. It has too much of an ‘ick factor’ for me. Business blogs are meant to facilitate building a relationship with potential customers and/or clients. They are a means to let those buyers-in-waiting get to know a little more about you, hopefully come to like you, and eventually trust you enough to do business with you.

However, is there a way to have a business blog ‘earn its keep,’ so to speak…without compromising those ethics? With all the information out there about passive income streams for solo professionals, is it ethical to have one of those passive income streams be earning money from your business blog? There’s a fine line between creating passive income and the icky underbelly impression of a ‘monetized’ business blog. A very fine line.

Here’s my take on the matter. (Feel free to express your take by posting your comments below.) IF…and we all know “if” is a pretty big word…if the business blogger in question adheres to a strict policy of only allowing or accepting compensation for the promotion or endorsement of products, services, or events he/she would already be willing to do for free AND they fully disclose the practice of paid reviews/endorsements/affiliations to readers, then I do not see an ethical dilemma. By maintaining a strict policy of only promoting what you truly believe in yourself and being honest about it, you give your blog readers the information they need in order to make a judgement call about why you’re recommending something to them.

I myself have developed a passive income for The Sounding Board via compensation for some of my reviews and recommendations. I disclose that information site-wide via my disclosure page so that readers may determine for themselves how much weight they want to put into what I have to say. I only accept compensation for reviews or recommendations that I would have done otherwise without any compensation.

For example, let’s say hypothetically that I use ABC Webhosting to host one of my sites. I’ve been thoroughly impressed with the service I received from ABC and want to share that with readers. I do that just because I want to share my own experience and a good resource that might be of benefit to readers. ABC offers to compensate me for posting my recommendation. Provided I let readers and visitors know that I entertain such offers, is there anything wrong or unethical in accepting the offer? I don’t think so.

On the other hand, let’s say that I’ve never done business with ABC, or even heard of them for that matter. I receive an offer for compensation in order to post a positive review of their hosting services. Hmm. That would be unethical, in my opinion. I would be blatantly lying for my own financial gain to post that I’m impressed with their service if I’ve never experienced it before.

What’s your opinion? Is one scenario a more ethical practice than the other? Are they both unethical? Do you have a similar story to share about the fine line between passive income and marketing puffery? Post your comments here or send me an email - sandi at virtually yours llc dot com.

Yesterday we talked about 3 things you can start doing right NOW to build a solid web presence. Change the way you’re thinking - building a network takes time. Get your friends, colleagues, and past work place contacts to help you build an online network. And finally, take advantage of social media to start building grass-roots buzz about your business. Those are your building blocks. Now, let’s talk about the actual tools you’ll need to build your online presence.

Do you really need to know html, or css, or php? Do you have to have some fancy-schmancy editing program or graphic design software? Do you need advanced knowledge of SEO? Spend a fortune on pay-per-click advertising? Wait months to show up in the search engines? In one answer, no. You don’t have to have any of these things. What you do have to have is passion, the drive to put your absolute best foot forward, endure more than one night of headaches and frustration, and most of all - the honest belief in yourself and your ability to build a good, sound business.

Seriously - that’s more important than anything else. You have to believe in yourself and be willing to invest the time in convincing others that they should believe in you too. (You also have to be willing to put the extra time and effort into creating a professional-looking online appearance.)

As for actual tools you’ll need in order to actually carve out a home for you and your business in the great big world of the Web? Here’s the short list:

1) A domain of your own. There are millions of options out there for web hosting. I’ve had the most positive experiences with Lunarpages and Network Solutions. I’ve also had experience with HostGator and Yahoo, although neither really amazed me with their ease of use or customer service. Whatever host you decide to work with, your best bet is going to be a host who uses cPanel with Fantastico. You’ll understand why I say that as we discuss the next tool.

2) Wordpress. Hands down, the best option for the novice web-based solo professional. With Wordpress, you don’t need an html editor like Frontpage (which is obsolete now anyway,) Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Photoshop, or any of those other expensive programs that add to your learning curve. If you choose a web host who utilitizes cPanel with Fantastico, you can install a Wordpress blog platform on your own domain in just minutes. It’s not hard at all. You can then use Wordpress themes to create static pages just like a regular website & additional pages for blog posts. You can create an entire site with sales pages, about pages, navigation buttons, and a blog - all without any additional software. (Wordpress has an html editor right there in your dashboard that allows you to edit your pages and customize your site.)

3) Photo/image editing software. No, you don’t need to invest in expensive software here either. If you have Office 2003 or 2007, you have a picture editor already included. If you have Publisher, you have a means to create some basic graphics. (You can also use Paint, Open Office options, or a host of other programs you already have to create graphics.) You can also look into things like iStockPhoto.com for photos and other elements that can help you build really professional looking graphics, banners, and call-outs for your site.

4) A reference book. There are going to be times that you do need to know a little html so that you can include scripts for StumbleUpon, Digg, site statistic programs like Site Meter, etc. You’ll want to find a good reference book that you can keep on-hand to help you learn little snippets of html code that can help you figure out what little tweaks you need to do in order to have elements of your site look good.

My suggestion would be Build Your Own Website the Right Way (Using HTML and CSS)by Ian Lloyd. It’s a great reference for building a site from a layman’s standpoint. Need to know how to get that little StumbleUpon icon nudged down just a line or two from where it is now? You’ll learn easy little things like that in just the first few pages of the book. You’ll also learn enough just in the first chapter to be able to look at the code on your Wordpress theme and figure out how to duplicate code that’s already there to create another ’section’ on your sidebar, etc.

5) A place to ask questions. Wordpress has forums full of helpful, knowledgeable bloggers who can help you resolve glitches you find along the way. You can also pay attention to things like the ‘read me’ files included with themes, plug-ins, and widgets. You’ll often find contact information for the person who wrote the original. I’ve emailed numerous authors of themes and plug-ins and found that many, if not most of them will help you work out any glitches you stumble upon or point you in the direction of resources to resolve your issue. You don’t have to go it alone just because you’re a DIYer. Just look around and ask questions. There are tons upon tons of other business owners just like you who are willing to help out and share their experience.

6) An FTP client. What is an FTP client? It’s a program that helps you upload files from your computer to your website. There are lots of free options for FTP clients. Personally, I use CoreFTP. It’s rather easy to get your site information set up in Core and once you do, you’ll be able to upload graphics and otherwise work with the actual files stored on your host’s server. (One of the things we’ll cover in the actual Business 101 Series is the step-by-step instructions for setting your site up in CoreFTP.)

7) An autoresponder/email marketing service. Email lists are a solo professionals best friend. There’s alot of information out there about building a marketing funnel for your business and creating passive income streams. One of the anchors of these concepts is the email marketing list. Whether you plan to publish a newsletter, offer free reports, teleseminars, or an e-course, you’ll need a service like Aweber, Constant Contact, iContact, or Stream Send. (We’ll get more in-depth about these services and how to use them in the Business 101 Series.)

A means to burn your blog’s RSS feed. I use Feedburnerto manage the feeds for The Sounding Board. I also use Aweber for subscribers who would also like to get ’special’ communications just for Sounding Board feed readers. Whatever feed management option you choose (Wordpress has a plug-in that will display subscription icons for all the popular feed readers and allow readers to add your feed to whatever feed reader they choose.) RSS feeds help readers get notification of new posts to your blog or website so you don’t have to rely solely on visitors remembering to check back often for updates and posts.

That’s it! That’s really all you need to get started. The cost is minimal. For my current set up my hosting costs less than $10 a month, Aweber is roughly $20 a month, and Ian Lloyd’s book was less than $25. All the other tools I use are open source and therefore don’t cost a dime or are offered freely to anyone in forums or other avenues. I do have other expenses I have chosen to incur (I have a contract with another VA to manage my main site updates for me, for example.) However, they aren’t absolutely necessary. I’ve chosen to incur those costs because it frees up my time to focus on other things and the relatively small expense is by far outweighed by the benefit of more time for me. However, those additional costs are not necessary unless you so choose.

Stay tuned tomorrow as we talk about some of the nitty-gritty how-to’s of getting started.

As many of my friends, colleagues, and readers know…one of my favorite all-time activities (short of jet skiing) is horseback riding. I’ve owned a horse or two of my own over the years & have a strong affection for Quarter Horses…especially Paints. (Think old Westerns - those spotted horses they always put the Indians on…for those who don’t know what a Painted Quarter Horse looks like.) In my personal opinion, there’s just no other horse built quite like a QH…and none so pretty as a Paint.

It’s not just a strong affection for horses that I enjoy. I love everything about them…the barn smell, the feel of a good set of braided leather reins, the creak of my saddle, the lazy pace of a leisurely afternoon trail ride, hearing that knicker as I come around the barn that lets me know my favorite gelding hears me coming, watching him run full-speed across the field to join up with the rest of the herd. It’s a package deal, for me. I just love it. There’s nothing else like it in the world. Which is why I also enjoy horse-related events.

I try to steal away time every year to go to the Futurity here in Augusta, GA. They hold it every year around Halloween. It’s fun to go and see all the horses ‘dressed up’ in costume. The best part though, is watching the barrel racing. This is where I get to see my favorite breed doing what they were built to do best. The tight turns, the breakneck speed, the thrill in both horse and rider’s eyes. It’s a wondrous thing to see an be able to appreciate.

However, there’s another event every year that’s even better & I long for the opportunity to see it live. It’s the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, but most commonly it’s referred to as the National Finals or “the super bowl of rodeos.” (You can get Wrangler National Finals Rodeo ticketshere, if you’re interested in going.) It’s organized by the PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association) and held in Las Vegas, NV for 10 days every year. Ten whole days of cowboys, horses, dirt & dust (they actually use special dirt just for the rodeo & keep it stored at the UNLV campus,) and lots of great competition. They too host a barrel racing competition, but this one exclusive to women. (Yeah guys - us girls can run with the best of you…and we look cuter in spurs! )

I’ve always wanted to go. I’ve always wanted to see the best of the best in horsemanship. (The National Finals is where all the top cowboys in the world compete for eight crowns.) So, here’s my goal - I’m going next year if it kills me. I’m setting that goal right here on my blog, for all the world to read and hold me accountable for reaching it. I’ve always said ‘one of these days, I’ll get to go” and then never committed to making it happen. So rather than just say ’someday,’ today I’m saying the 2009 National Finals will have me as a guest. Period. No ‘maybe’s.’ No ‘one of these days.’ It’s going to be the 2009 competition & that’s final! (No pun intended.)

What goals have you set for your personal time? Are you willing to set those goals and make them public? I dare you to post your goal here for everyone to see and hold you accountable. Go on…I dare you!