1. Competition is Dead
How to Have a Rockstar Blog by Collaborating,
Sharing,
and Working with Your Competitors

2. Who is this
chick,
anyway?
•
Founder of former Gen Y
blog, Grad Meets World.
•
Business and lifestyle coach
for creative and soulful
entrepreneurs at
AmandaAbella.com
•
Teach people that work and
fun don’t have to be
mutually exclusive

3. Newbie Blogger Problems
•
How am I supposed to find my unique voice
in such a big blogospshere?
•
Who’s going to listen to me? There are
already so many people already talking
about my niche!
•
Twitter followers, Facebook fans, and email
subscribers- oh my!
•
How can I get more traffic and increase my
Google ranking?
•
•
How can I find my tribe?
How can I make money if other people out
there are offering similar things?
Source: http://jensirois.typepad.com

4. com·pe·ti·tion
What is competition and how is it affecting our ability
to create and grow our blogs?
ˌkämpəˈtiSHən/
noun
the activity or condition of competing.
"there is fierce competition between banks"
synonyms: rivalry, competitiveness, vying; conflict, feuding, fighting;
•
We live in a society that is very driven by competition - this has a good side
and a bad side.
•
Bad side: We have feelings of inadequacy, lack, and like there are limited
resources. Limited readers, limited clients, limited subscribers, etc. etc. etc.
Lack mentality causes us to either not act at all or do scammy things.
•
We get very hung up on technicalities - google rankings, traffic numbers,
subscribers, Twitter followers - all important, all very useful, but not the
point of your blog.
•
We forget about the two most important aspects of building a successful
blog and business: authenticity and relationships.

5. not work for the global economy, what
makes you think it’ll work for your blog?
If an extreme competition mindset did
not work for the global economy, what
makes you think it’ll work for your blog?
If an extreme competition mindset did
not work for the global economy, what
makes you think it’ll work for your blog?
If an extreme competition mindset did
not work for the global economy, what
makes you think it’ll work for your blog?
If an extreme competition mindset did
not work for the global economy, what

6. What is collaboration and how can it
help you and your blog?
col·lab·o·ra·tion
kəˌlabəˈrāSHən/
noun
the action of working with someone to produce or create something.
•
You don’t have to do everything by yourself. Let others help you build your
blog!
•
You can learn from others to help mold your own unique point of view you begin to realize different people like different flavors.
•
You scratch their back, they’ll scratch yours - referrals, traffic, mentors,
Google rankings, followers, you name it!
•
You make new friends that understand your vision and will support you
every step of the way.
•
Coming from a place of collaboration causes less stress than constantly
worrying about formalities.

7. Finding Your Unique Voice
•
What is your story? Why did you even start this
venture? What’s the “why” behind all of this? How
do you relate to this?
•
Who the heck are you talking to, anyway? (Target
Market.)
•
What problem(s) are you solving for them?
What’s the angst they are feeling? (Market
Research)
•
•
How are you solving their problems?
What can you share with them? What value are
you providing for your audience?

8. Here’s what to do if you’re not sure...
•
Ask the subscribers you already have. How would they describe you and your
brand? What draws them to you? Extra: You can also ask them, what’s NOT
working for them. This will help you tailor your voice.
•
Build relationships with other bloggers in your niche. Take notes on what you
dig about them and what you don’t. Build your own version from there.
(Remember, different people like different things. Some people like vanilla ice
cream and some like chocolate, but at the end of the day it’s still ice cream.)
•
Pick the brains of members of your target market. Let them help you! Go out
for coffee, set up Skype calls, have lunch! Ask them what they are dealing with
and how you can serve them. Notice patterns or similarities among them. (This
is especially helpful to those who may just have a fuzzy idea of who their
audience is.)

9. Sharing Other People’s Stuff
•
•
•
Real talk: People hate it when you’re just promoting your own things.
•
Have a list of bloggers you can refer people to. Let’s face it, you don’t have
the answers to everything!
•
Affiliate Marketing: Only share products you have used yourself! This builds
trust with your audience, you help out a fellow blogger (who will in turn
help you when you need it), and you can make some cash.
•
Also a great way to build relationships with bloggers who may be further
along than you.
Find stuff that is relevant to your audience and share it with them.
Link to other blogs within blog posts, email bloggers you referenced and
thank them for their work, etc.

10. Great Example: Leaving Work Behind by
Tom Ewer

11. How to Collaborate With Other
Bloggers (And How it Can Increase Your
Numbers/Sales)
•
Exchanging guest posts: you share your posts, they share theirs, you both get
traffic from new sources. (Extra tip: Guest posting on bigger sites also helps
with your Google ranking!)
•
Teaming up to provide something for your audiences. This could be webinars,
infoproducts, free offerings, teleclasses - you name it! They share their audience
with you, you share your audience with them. Win Win.
•
•
Affiliates - helping each other make sales.
If you were doing these things all by yourself it would take you A LOT longer
to get your blog off the ground.

12. Where do you find these other bloggers
& how do you connect?
Where to find
bloggers?
• Facebook groups
•Blogs you already
follow
• Twitter
•Ning Groups
Ways to connect
•Direct emails
•Tweets
•Comments
•Facebook
Comments

13. Final Points
•
Competition is dead: there is nothing new under the sun and there is
PLENTY to go around.
•
Your unique experience and constant feedback from readers will help you
craft your voice.
•
•
No need to reinvent the wheel or try to do everything by yourself.
Bloggers are some of the most laid back people around - reach out to them,
collaborate, and help each other out!

14. Website: www.amandaabella.com
Twitter: @amandaabella
Facebook: @coachamandaabella