Lots of ways to read that title, eh?
“What am I doing here?!”
That was my first thought today when I woke up to a cloudy, chilly morning in my boring-ass Maryland suburb. Just yesterday I savored a bright, hot day at a Jamaican resort halfway between Negril and Montego Bay. Expenses-paid and all-inclusive, no less. Way fun for the two days it lasted, I tell ya.
“What am I doing here?…”
And that was what I thought when I logged in to write today’s post. There’s lots I definitely want to be doing, like reading and learning and listening and helping and spreading the word about good stuff and swapping ideas and making a business out of it.
How best to do that has been a little grey… but now I have a simmering, slightly glimmering idea. And I have a question for you:
Have you read my Making a Million with 1000 True Fans series?
It’s a case study on an internet marketing business where I assessed her products and prices, and also her newsletter and teleseminar content going back a year or so.
I made some conservative assumptions and found that yeah, a large following is handy but it doesn’t even take 1000 true fans to make a hefty nut if you strategize well and price effectively. Not a new theory, of course, but seeing it in action was fascinating for all of us…lots of great comments on those posts.
And soooo…I’ve been thinking it may be cool to do more online business case studies. Maybe make this blog mostly case studies. Maybe even only case studies.
Because there are lots of people making money online—some make big dollars, some don’t…some have offline businesses, some don’t…some offer services, some sell products, some do both.
And really, at the core, in theory, there aren’t that many ways to do it: ebooks, affiliate sales, joint ventures, advertising, etc.
BUT!…
There’s mad variety to how real-live businesses combine those money-makers: folks tweak typical strategies to suit their niches and markets, they stand out by their unique clevernesses, and then they keep everything running with just a few perfect tools.
When I think about doing more case studies and putting them out here, I imagine there would be lots for us to learn and plenty to chew on…plenty for us to disagree on and ponder on, and on and on, and best of all: that you’ll discover something(s) that will work great for you and whatever it is that you’re doing.
So I have another question for you:
Would you like to see more online business case studies?
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Leave a comment below, or tweet me @bigbrightbulb or shoot me an email at crystal+at+bigbrightbulb+dot+com.
Big thanks,
I would love to see more case studies, especially as I’m just getting mine off the ground; the more examples I have to inspire me, the better off I am.
For what it’s worth, too, I really like the signature at the bottom of the post.
Fascinating! as Spock would say. Mr. Godin went on to say that we need only start with ten fans. That’s probably a good place to start. As I read these I become more intrigued and less comfortable in my own definition but I think case studies would be a good idea since there are so many marketers and very little understanding of their inner workings, unless of course you pay.
So I say, case study away!!
Hi guys! And thanks for the thumbs up. I’ll likely lose some folks if I focus on the case studies, and I’m glad it won’t be y’all
DO IT!! I would love if you came up with a case study blog. I myself have been online for a while and the number one reason for getting online has been to make money. In fact I picked the make money niche. I like what you said about tweeking a niche by comming up with a clever idea I decided to take a diffrent approach and just muscle my way to the top. So far it has been going so-so, but I think if I stay with it I will succeed. Anyway very enjoyable post.
What am I doing here? I want to be in the picture at the top of the page over looking the ocean. That looks like a great place to be.
Yes, case studies are awesome! They’re a great way to see all the ‘theory’ in action, and I’ve found they help me to relate to what I’m trying to learn. My biggest hurdle has been what size list I need, or how many clients will enable me to bring in a moderate income. One thing I’ve recently been put on to is being able to define what makes me unique and promoting that. It’s not as easy as it sounds! I guess that’s why when I see case studies of other people succeeding I can start to see what parts of ME I’d like to promote. As they say: “Like attracts like.”
Recent blog post from Darren: 3rd Copywriter’s USP Live Coaching Event
Yes more case studies with specific diagnostics would be good. I read everything and get ideas from everywhere. I have only just fund your site and its great.
Regards
Adrian
http://www.weddingphotoshot.com
Case studies are critical. You got to back up your theories with other scholarly theories. Its only logical like Darren said Like attracts like
Yes I want to see more. I’m actually in light negotiations with someone to do a case study on my biz. I jokingly tweeted that I needed a social media intern, and to my surprise, someone responded! He wants to assemble a team of interns to tackle every social media outlet at our disposal (Stumbleupon, Plurk, Friendfeed, MySpace – 4 examples of places I’m not touching right now). We’d then do a case study on its effectiveness (his idea, not mine). I’m excited!
I think it would be great to see more case studies. It would add a lot of value to your blog. I’m always interested in reading about different strategies that companies use. I wish you luck.
The more case studies the better. Its always easier if someone before us has drawn a map.
Brad Officer -
Jacksonville Real Estate Agent
Recent blog post from Jacksonville Real Estate Agent: Short Sale Help in Jacksonville
Sure. I would like to see more online business case studies.
Would you be analysing what are the most successful ways to make money online?
Would these be current online business or case studies on potential ways to make money in the future?