Blogging Tips From Don Purdum From Unveil The Web

Please welcome Don Purdum from Unveil The Web today on the blog.  Don is one of those bloggers who just loves to connect, and you will find him commenting everywhere!  Not only does he provide awesome advice on his site, but he practices what he preaches.  

Don has a huge passion for helping other bloggers reach their potential and this is evident in his blog posts, his comments and of course the services that he offers.

I am thrilled that Don is sharing his vast experience with us today.  Please enjoy, and connect at the end of the post.

1. Tell us about yourself and your site at Unveil The Web

Thank you for the opportunity Catherine. I am a ten year entrepreneur who has owned several business during that time. My first business was an online community website that would later evolve into an online newspaper. After being bored with that I sold my partnership stake and started a web design / development company. During the entire time I did websites on the side form 2005 – 2009.

For about six months I freelanced it until I had enough resources to hire a sales person and a few months later a web developer. At one point I had a staff of seven and we were growing like crazy. It was an awesome experience.

After a successful run that had its own challenges mixed in there, I sold it and started an online networking company. When it got to the farthest point I could take it I left that company as my wife and I began a new company to work with business and their spouses. However, we had a hard time making money and we’ve put that on the shelves so that we can offer it as a free service down the road. Helping marriages stay together is a big passion of ours. We’ve been married over twenty years and my marriage has been the best thing in the world for me!!!!!

It was a year ago I decided to go back into web design and launched Unveil the Web. Knowing what I knew after building websites for so long I created a unique process to help my clients understand why they were struggling online with getting website visitors, conversions and sales.

The name really says it all… Unveil the Web… we are working to help businesses that are both online and offline understand how they can use this tool called the internet to help them advance their business goals, sales and profits.

But the problem is you cannot do that until you understand what business you are “really” in, what problems you “really” solve, and who you “specifically” solve them for.

Today, I consult and coach companies on how to answer these questions through their prospects and customers point of view, not their own. It’s a lot harder than it seems and it requires a lot of work to discover the answers that will ultimately change the way a business interacts with the public.

In addition, Unviel the Web also coaches web design and development companies, social media companies, graphic designers and social media companies on how to build a six figure business and beyond.

2. What made you start blogging?

I started blogging as way to network and meet my prospects and engage with people who want to learn how to improve their business. It’s a great way to demonstrate my competency, skill set and to genuinely help people. It’s my philosophy that if you come to my blog and you walk away without learning at least one thing you can take and use in your business now I have failed both you and me.

I love when I see comments come pouring in and people telling me what they’ve learned. Of course I love it even more when they contact me for a free consultation.

Between videos and video in a blog, there is really no better way to get my message across and do it in my own unique style and voice. I wanted a platform that screams something unique, compelling, relevant, helpful and interesting.

That’s why I blog!

3. What do you enjoy most about blogging?  On the other hand, what frustrates you most?

I enjoy a couple of things. First, I enjoy the research that goes into each article. I work hard to bring something different to the table with each article that many in my audience may never read or thought of before. It’s a goal anyway…

Second, I really, really enjoy the interaction. Nothing gets me more excited than to see a big, massive blog like comment.

Third and most importantly; I enjoy the networking. I read a lot of blogs and engage in a lot of different places so it’s really exciting when I see a new relationship start to develop.

 4. On average, how much time do you dedicate each day/week to your blogging?  How do you keep track of what you are doing?

On average I dedicate at least four hours a day. I write three articles per week that is between 2,000 – 2,500 words, or more. And, I spend a lot of time marketing and promoting my articles. This is the major way I do my marketing next to public speaking.

I track all my comments through DISQUS and I have a system I’ve developed that’s just for me to track where and when I comment or engage on social media. A lot of it now has just become habit from repetition.

5. If you could go back in time and tell yourself ONE thing when you started blogging, what would it be?

The one thing I would tell myself is if someone only writes a thank you comment (which I don’t get anymore) then they get a thank you reply. You cannot spend a lot of time just answering thank you, single line comments. It’s too much time that’s gone, so just don’t allow them and have a commenting policy in place.

6. What would you say has been your most successful way of making money online to date?

This is where I may be different than many. My online presence is meant to sell my offline clients many times. Now, in the last month I’ve been blessed to earn a few clients who’ve read my blog and decided they wanted to buy me. The most successful way is that I make sure my products and services page say it all. I don’t hold back on what a client gets or what they can expect. My online prospects are just now starting to come up and I’m developing my training system on video and eBook / Workbooks so that business owners and marketers will be able to buy those after the first of the year.

7. As well as blogging, do you have another full/part time job or parenting responsibilities?  How do you juggle these demands?

Fortunately, next consulting, coaching and building websites this is my marketing, and I love it! I typically start around 6:00 am every morning and I try to stop at 6:00 pm to spend time with my family. I am very family oriented and that is a priority for me. It probably doesn’t hurt that my oldest son is nineteen and my youngest is thirteen. It’s nice to be past the little guy stages, lol…

8.  What would you say is your favourite social media platform and why? 

I’m not sure because I’ve grown to love them all for different reasons. If pinned down though I will have to say Google Plus because it’s where I share the most articles from other bloggers with that audience and it’s growing the fastest. It also seems to be where the most engagement is at compared to other social sites.

9. What has been the biggest hurdle that you have come across in your blogging career to date?  How did you overcome this?

Just this last weekend I made a big mistake and modelled a post after another bloggers post that I deeply respect and admire. My content was all me and original but I just like the flow of this other bloggers specific post. So, I played with it and incorporated it into my article and didn’t get permission. It made this blogger a little upset and I can understand why.

I resolved it by just being honest, making a public apology and a more deeply private apology after I changed the layout of the post. I didn’t mean any harm so it was easy and fast to correct.

The key is if you make a bad decision own it quickly and fix it even faster. The internet can be a very unforgiving place if you are not willing to admit your mistakes and fix them.

10.  How do you drive traffic to your blog and grow your readership?

For me it seems it has happened really fast, but I know it’s because I created strategies, goals and objectives and I executed.

I started in April by creating really content heavy blogs. I networked for a while on social media groups and then I found a couple of blog directories that are just awesome. It really increased my readership significantly.

I started implementing the offline rules of networking online and before I knew it I was networking with a few influential bloggers. I left them the best comments I possibly could, I shared their posts out on social media, and I included links to their articles in my blog articles as it was appropriate to the topics.

They started sharing my blogs and we haven’t looked back since.

11. What is the most important piece of advice you could give to a new blogger?

Write great content, but do it in context. Meaning, know what business you’re “really” in, what problems you “really” solve, who you specifically “solve” them for and understand how your products and services are a part of the solution. Always write from the readers point of view, not yours. They will connect with you if you do this.

Second, don’t be afraid to network with people whom you think are blog celebrities. If you are blessed enough to get their attention they will help you, but not if you haven’t done the work up front. Remember, they’ve spent years building their audiences and they are not just going to introduce you to them if you haven’t earned it.

I’d like to say a huge thank you to Don for sharing with us today.  If you would like to connect further with him, you can do so at his social media profiles.

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