Mark did a great job yesterday of presenting a few of the different blogging business models. The fact is, you should be making money from all three models, but one of them should be your bread and butter. After reading Mark’s post I started thinking about this blog and what my long-term goals are.

It’s been almost exactly a year since I started this blog, but it’s been about three and a half years since I got heavily involved in internet marketing. During that time I’ve had the chance to make a lot of money online, and then watch some of those income streams dry up. I’ve also had the privilege of coaching hundreds of people one-one-one.

There is one huge lesson I’ve learned in the 12 months or so since I started posting on this blog. I want to share it with you. I know now that it’s the key to whether I’ll reach all my goals or not.

I’ll tell you guys that I’m not going to say anything earth shattering; plenty of people have said the same thing before, but now I can say I’ve experienced it. Write this down:

My ability to make lots and lots of money is directly tied to my ability to solve people’s problems.

That’s pretty much it. I attribute whatever success I’ve had with this site to the fact that I have found a way to help people solve a problem they have. The problem I’m solving is breaking down niche search engine optimization in a way that not many other people do, and so far it seems that people appreciate my way of explaining things.

It’s pretty simple. I used my experience and my enthusiasm for a topic, did my best to explain it in a way that would actually help people, and followed that plan day in and day out for a year. I’ve got a long way to go, but I’m happy with the direction of things.

Customers vs Clients

Here’s quote from Jay Abraham, one of the biggest names in marketing consulting out there:

Why do some entrepreneurs gain levels of success so much higher than others? Most often, it’s due to the fact that they have a better philosophical strategy.

They approach dealing with prospects and clients with a deep desire to really help and solve their problems.

They have an external focus of how they can serve and not an internal focus of what they can get.

Jay also makes a clear distinction between having a “customer” and a “client”:

Customer: A person who purchases a commodity or service.

Client: A person who is under the protection of another.

I feel it’s my responsibility to protect all of you from wasting time and making mistakes in your efforts at making money online.

That’s one of the main reasons I decided to offer one on one coaching a couple of months ago. I felt it was the best way for me to help my readers succeed. For me it’s the same win-win Steve Pavlina talked about - my readers get the help they need in building their income, and I get compensated, which allows me to keep providing value.

I just wanted to give you guys my two cents on how you should be thinking about your business. When it comes to making money your ultimate goal should be to become the premier provider of whatever products or services you create or just market. If you always look out for your clients 100%, money will never be a concern.

I’m counting on all of you to let me know if I ever get off-track.