Jayme Soulati, Author at soulati.com

Branding Versus Monetizing A Blog

09/25/2013 By Jayme Soulati

There’s a solid distinction between branding yourself via a blog and monetizing a blog. In various conversations of late, I’ve grown to understand that difference and would like to share here.

Before I do, let me also share that I’m a late blogger bloomer. There are many, many others doing this in their sleep and who may also have the privilege of surrounding themselves with a team of accomplished experts.

As a core public relations solo professional, my skill set is in earned media, owned media and shared media – not digital marketing. That, in HubSpot school, I’ve had to learn on my own.

It’s resonating.

The goal of any professional blogger is residual income; earning cash via a blog on a consistent basis until you become rich, rich, rich!

Monetization Is Elusive

And, this quest is so very elusive.

When you first jump in to blogging it is not and never can be about monetization.

For the first two solid years, all you’re doing is building a solid brand as an influencer. Perhaps it takes you three years to do that. The goal, even though you never stated it outright, is to earn a reputable brand as a professional blogger so that others pay attention, maybe hire you, and at the very least, they read your meat when you post.

Are you nodding your head? Hope so, because ultimately that brand you’ve powered up contributes to the methodology with which you will eventually monetize.

I’m working on a post I hope to turn into an infographic about what I just mentioned above. It paints the visual timeline of this progression, and sets some expectation (from my experience only) for those in the midst of professional blogging and wondering what’s next.

I’m going to use my friend Tim Bonner again as an example. He was so transparent to share how he has found a way to monetize online. No, I didn’t say he was monetizing his blog! Tim stated clearly that his blog has never made a single English pound. I concur!

My blog is set up to build a brand. Only this year in year three of blogging have calls to action and landing pages been added so peeps can purchase my first book, Writing with Verve on the Blogging Journey.

Back to Tim. As a stay-at-home daddy to two toddlers, Tim has found time to research the best way to earn cash. His first attempt failed, but his second is successful and on the uptick.

Niche Blogging/Specialty Sites

Tim built a niche site (his second) on a topic and product he selected from Click Bank. It’s oriented directly to toddlers about two-to-three years of age (both genders). It’s also a topic Tim has knowledge of and a passion for; thus, he could write about 10 blog posts on the topic and insert said product into the niche site and BAM! After a month of wondering whether this was a bust, traffic began to build and sales happened. Tim’s profit is about $400; nothing to sneeze at as hosting a website costs nothing near that, and Tim’s time is devoted to being a parent and building his online business.

Maybe your niche can be about selling popular movies, cell phone accessories or electronics.

I love Tim’s story, and I do want you to check Tim’s blog out here; he writes about tech and more cool topics – all things he’s learned since being confined to quarters as a dadpreneur.

Do you understand the differentiators here?

Your primary blog will not make money outright; that’s not what it’s for.

Your niche site will; that’s what it’s for. You select a product with which you have a connection and build, test, rebuild, sit back, earn a bit here and there, reset, and gain your stride.

Simple? NO! Nothing is simple.

Either of these avenues – branding and/or monetization take immense commitment. To be successful you need to pull it out from the depths of your toes and work it every single day. People will understand what’s happening because stars are born every day; you just don’t know it’s going to be you until it is!

7 Speaking Tips You Never Heard Before

09/23/2013 By Jayme Soulati

Jayme Soulati holds her new book prior to presenting at New South Digital Marketing Conference

When you build a solid brand via a book or writing a professional blog consistently for a long time, something really #RockHot™ happens.

You get invited to speak and present in front of really cool people. When you’re really accomplished you get to keynote, like Jay Baer who’s traveling the country talking about his new book, .

I have been speaking a lot in the last few years using a variety of mediums:

Podcasting with my dear friend and colleague Jon Buscall right , and about a variety of topics mainly small business marketing, my first book and social media leadership.

E-learning classes to the University of Tennessee Executive MBA Leadership class featuring a headset and microphone speaking to others on headsets in listen-only mode.

To tiny classrooms at local colleges to assist the adjunct professors who teach in their spare time for peanuts.

To groups of my peers in workshops and day conferences (where I recently presented on Savvier Social Media Across the Marketing Blend in Louisville right here).

7 Tips About Speaking to Consider

Find the Friendly. If you get an opportunity to meet folks in advance prior to your presentation and you can build a quick connection, invite them to sit toward the front of the room. You must zero in on a friendly face when you present. All speakers need a nod of encouragement or a grin at a lame joke to keep the pace and delivery going smoothly.

Embrace the Hecklers. Not only are hecklers fearsome for speakers, they are necessary and should sit right in the front row. The last two times I presented to larger crowds, a row of hecklers sat right in front and they laughed where they were supposed to, interjected a question or answer and listened intently. There were a few wise cracks, too; all in the name of support and positivity. (Want to know who the best hecklers are?and

Use One Liners to Advantage. Invariably, the audience will shoot something out in response to a speaker’s statement. If it’s someone who has been controlling every presentation, go ahead and shoot something snarky in return IF that’s the tone of your presentation. It can go both ways, so be confident you can pull it off as a presenter.

Go Off Script to Connect. Seasoned presenters know their decks by heart and often they talk on the same topic so the content has become second nature. Because many people travel to many conferences and they often get a chance to hear you present more than once, be sure to freshen your content with something new from the audience. That natural connectivity is so important to an audience; especially when you’re listening intently and reincorporating instant commentary into your presentation.

Listen to Others’ Presentations. Prior to your session, unless you’re on first, listen to what all the speakers are saying. Better yet, listen to the questions from the audience. You can insert these comments and subjects into your presentation at the last minute. It makes what you’re saying relevant and drills home a more personalized presentation.

Insert Tweets. Get the time of your presentation. Get the hashtag for the event. Write tweets and schedule them DURING your presentation so when the audience is ready to tweet something, they will be impressed that you already prepared tweets for them to retweet. (I did this for a recent presentation, and the tweets in response were complimentary.)

Put an Ad in the Deck. I invited Trackur to send me an advertisement for my presentation deck, and I built in a segue to that ad. There was a discount for this social media listening tool for attendees, and the ad remains in my deck posted on SlideShare. Smart, eh?

What say you?

Who’s Monetizing Online?

09/23/2013 By Jayme Soulati

Every day another someone from a really cool company, blog, blogging community, organization, or other network asks me to write for them, speak to them, brainstorm about the exchange of content, consider paying a fee to join a network, or hawk a product pitched from the far reaches of Russia and India.

And, I rarely say no because who knows what doors may open as a result of that opportunity?

What’s happening is my stretch is thinning dangerously. The offers are ubiquitous, and as a starter, I’m jazzed about what’s new and next. They say a sucker is born every minute; perhaps you’re reading one right now.

But, I can’t think like that. What I’m doing by accommodating most everyone’s requests is building a brand that appears to be #RockHot solid, so I’m told. It feels that way to me, as well. And, here’s the elusive question:

Who’s Monetizing?

The answer is…few.

My friend Tim Bonner, a UK stay-at-home dad, informed me recently he made $300 on his niche site. Not sure what he’s hawking, but I informed him in a tweet I was envious. I’ve also watched his meteoric rise from being a sometime daddy blogger to a snappy smart tech geek blogger who experiments with Google do-not-follow links and writes about it. Awesome.

I know my friend Jon Buscall, CEO of Jontus Media in Sweden, is an extraordinarily busy podcaster and dad to a gazillion Basset hounds. He has earned cash recommending podcasting equipment and selling it via an Amazon affiliate program.

In that same program, I made about $10 once, and I also was pitched to run a blog post on another blog for $75. My first book, Writing with Verve on the Blogging Journey (you can buy it on Kindle for $3.95), is a collection of blog posts about my favorite topic of blogging brought in $85 from the publisher (who took a cut after Amazon took a cut). That’s truly the extent of my monetization.

I know that SpinSucks Pro requires membership, and really good content is sold to folks on SpinSucks. People can register or buy into a webinar for $50 to hear professional speakers on professional topics. Good on them.

But, I want to know who’s truly monetizing huge?

All of the peeps above come from the content/traditional marketing and PR realm. The ability to monetize takes knowledge of API and back ends, building and programming of websites, addition of shopping carts and management of digital marketing calls to action, forms and landing pages.

Do you have all that knowledge under your hat?

Nope, didn’t think so.

The Conundrum of Monetization

That’s the conundrum of late. We who can develop the substance and slap a price tag on it need the techies to join the team and figure out the platform on which to sell the products. Recall I said Tim Bonner earned money on his “niche” site.

What that means is Tim found a specialty topic or product, developed a new site oriented to that product and began to sell. His earning potential is in its earliest stages; however, he’s found the methodology and hopefully the product to keep on with residual income.

Digital Marketing Is An Answer

I see many of these passive income bloggers who started way early building an email list. Their lists are massive of trusting individuals who came to their site for some reason or another. When another product is hawked, that list of trustworthy and hopefully loyal community members are more inclined to make a second purchase. All of a sudden, that network of thousands is buying everything hawked by that trusted figurehead.

To make this happen, you need knowledge of digital marketing; inbound marketing as HubSpot calls it. I’ve been in HubSpot school all year. As a solopreneur, the ability to do it all is daunting; the time and knowledge and effort it takes to learn new things is terribly exciting, however extremely fatal to making a living the traditional way – with a handshake and results-driven pure work on behalf of a client.

Monetization Requires A Team

I’ve come to realize I don’t have what it takes to monetize alone. I need to build a team with a tech pro who can help program a site (a simple WordPress site is all we need), a digital marketer who can manage and nurture the list, design the calls to action and add them as widgets in the sidebar of the site, write the landing pages, and consult on that back-end of the site.

The most critical part of the team is one who builds the products and content to bring in the cash. That’s me. If I could free myself up to truly concentrate on product development and trust my team was standing by to facilitate their ends of the triangle, we’d be golden.

So, who’s on board?

The Happy Friday Series: Disasters And Blessings

09/20/2013 By Jayme Soulati

Happy Friday!

The Happy Friday series is the brainchild of one of the brainiest chick I know, the #RockHot Jayme Soulati. I have been here a time or two, as have many others and we all speak to you (and each other) through our writing about being happy. What it really means, why you can be, should be, how to do it, how to get it back and how to live everyday just plain happy.

Are you happy?

I am. Yes! Now, many people, those who know me best, might read this (yeah, like if I twisted their arms, shoved their faces in front of the screen and threatened to take away their birthdays….) and say, “Huh? Who? You?! Happy? Pshaw.”

But it is true. I am very happy. (Hey! It is the face I was born with, quit pickin’ on me!)

Let’s be very serious for a moment because I want to impress upon you how important this is to understand.

This is “Cubby”. It blew up sitting on the ground. Cubby has been an Icon in Alaska for almost 30 years. It is also thought to be the lifeblood of Pioneer Outfitters. It’s jobs and responsibilities were enormous. A hero, Cubby has saved lives, numerous times. It could (and did) land anywhere in the remote wilderness of Alaska. Many times, Cubby was called upon to find lost people, lost aircraft and even lost horses or dogs in Alaska’s mountains.

RIP, Cubby, September 16, 2013.

Back to happy.

You may wonder how all of this strengthens my thoughts on happiness. It is very simple, really. Cubby, as valued and treasured as it was, was still just an airplane. A very special, experimental aircraft, but an inanimate object, just the same. Master Guide Terry Overly, known as the youngest old-timer in Alaska, was Cubby’s heartbeat. Master Guide Terry Overly, one of the last old-timers and mountain men of a largely gone era. Terry Overly, the only Father I have ever known and my children’s beloved Papa, was not in Cubby when it exploded into the flames that devoured it.

That is and always will be enough to enforce and enhance my happy.

Some of you may know me as the Manager at Pioneer Outfitters. Some of you may know of me through Social Media and all the different channels that I have frequented over the last few years, dealing with my own identity crisis, through Alaska Chick’s Blog and my first book titled, ironically, My Identity Crisis (Which by the way, the #RockHot Jayme Soulati actually named and helped me cure!).

As Alaska Chick, of Pioneer Outfitters Blog, I have most recently been sharing the trials, tribulations, wonders, blessings and dramas of the 7-week long 2013 International Horseback Adventure. I have also begun sharing the effects of that Adventure has had on Pioneer Outfitters 2013 Fall Big Game Hunting Season, and as the weeks to follow will come to show ~ it aint all been rainbows and unicorns here in the wilderness of Alaska.

Through it all however, one thing remains constant and prevalent: the blessings that surround us all, if we care to see them. The kindness in people, everywhere, towards strangers and friends alike and their own willingness to help as they can, anyone at all, because that is what people do. The beautiful world we live in and the moments that leave us in awe to witness are a blessing that surrounds us all.

What Cubby reminded us all at Pioneer Outfitters of, on the morning of September 16th, was that no matter how valuable, how needed something is or was, was that it was just a thing, a tool and something that could be replaced. Master Guide Terry Overly, a son, a brother, a Father and a Grandfather was so much more to us than a thing, a tool and something that could never be replaced.

As so many people have lost loved ones, and so many times our hearts break for ourselves and others for their loss, I wanted to share my own joy and yes, happiness, with each of you here, for the reminder of how simple happiness is. When everything else is taken away we all, each other and each of us, are what matters.

I wanted to share my happy with you all and I hope you have happy in your life today too.

About The Author (by Jayme)

Amber-Lee Dibble is one tough cookie and one of the most genuine wilderness women I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting. Reading her stories, listening to her free think in her blog posts, and her love of pink (my least fave color), make you want to squeeze her in a Midwest bear hug. Knowing that her excursions are more real than any of us can imagine makes me want to escape the continental U.S. and move to the outer reaches of Alaska where danger lies in frost bite and mosquito bites. Thanks, Amber-Lee for writing here a third time; you are welcome always. RIP Cubby and so sorry about your loss.

Service Experts Gets A+ For HVAC Customer Service

09/18/2013 By Jayme Soulati

We each are consumers of heating and air conditioning. Most every homeowner is subjected to the rigors of natural disasters that cause the electrical grid to weaken and shut down and bring the comfort of home environments to a standstill.

Who’d know there would be so many marketing lessons in a customer experience about heating and air conditioning? This story has oodles, and I have to share my experience with Service Experts Heating and Air Conditioning, a national HVAC company also known as Stevenson in Southwest Ohio.

About Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning

A well-done direct marketing letter arrived from Service Experts, a company I had not heard of in spite of the fact it has been around for 120+ years. The letter was touting the local high school football rivalry, a two-for-one special, and $50 off plumbing if I was one of the first 50 callers. So, I called within two days; do you think I was one of the first 50 callers? (I still don’t know after two weeks, although I asked every technician who came to my house over 10 days.)

When I called to schedule my maintenance and informed the scheduler about the offer, he had no idea about the price point in the letter and didn’t know what I was talking about. (Mistake #1)

Mistake #2 was that the first technician to the job had never seen the marketing letter either, so I showed it to him. I made a copy of the letter to ensure I got the price point advertised (and I’m still going after my $50 off coupon for plumbing when the time comes!) The technician promised he would take the letter to his morning meeting and inform marketing that frontline customer service has to know about new marketing programs.

We talked at length about that disconnect; from the new customer standpoint, the letter worked even though marketing did not inform frontline customer service or the call center about the direct marketing campaign.

There were about 22 touches I had with this company; 11 of them were in person, one was via correspondence and 10 were via phone. The in-person experiences ranged from heating and air conditioning maintenance, two sales guys, one plumbing inspection guy, two HVAC installers, one air conditioner technician, two thermostat installers, and one senior technician after installation about the thermostat and wiring. The air duct cleaning crew is scheduled this week, and today I saw the plumber.

22 Customer Touches in 10 Days

In a routine maintenance for my fall furnace inspection with Service Experts/Stevenson, my 17-year-old Lennox furnace was doing OK, but nearing its 20-year life span.

During this inspection, my 7-year-old thermostat was on the fritz, and I mentioned to the technician I wanted a Nest (the coolest product with the highest marketing budget ever). I was unaware that Service Experts sold an I Comfort thermostat that is higher quality and easier to use. Frontline customer service was not selling the company’s smaller products. Mistake #3

During this experience, Craig (a great technician) suggested I look into pricing a new HVAC unit although I wasn’t in the market. The sales guy came over and gave me prices of $10,000 to $14,000 (yikes). What I didn’t know was that Lennox sold a lower level HVAC unit at 93% efficiency instead of the 96% efficiency unit that was priced. The first sales guy gave a lackluster presentation and didn’t try to work within my budget at all; nor did he inform me there was a lower grade of equipment that would work equally well. (Mistake #3)

I bought my Nest and had the guys come back to install. I was lucky to get Craig again who was wonderful. During the time he spent with me that day, he suggested I look into a cheaper HVAC unit and would I be interested in speaking with Jim? Jim came by and we did the deal on a Friday afternoon within my budget parameter. The guys wanted to install the unit over the weekend, but I was traveling Monday and Tuesday; so we
scheduled it for Wednesday.

Over the weekend on Sunday night, my current air conditioner died. I called the company back and they sent a technician to see if he could repair the old unit just for 2 days. Nada. The temperatures were to be 93 degrees for four days, and it was. My kidlet had to stay at her grandparents and everything was disrupted (at least I had a clean house). The temperature soared to 95 upstairs in the house.

When I returned from travels, I drove directly to my folks to spend the night and returned to have the HVAC team arrive on Wednesday morning. The good news was they upgraded me to the higher efficiency unit for free. What an amazing surprise, and what amazing customer service.

The guys could not get my new Nest to work with the new HVAC unit; they installed a Honeywell thermostat (a basic model). My house cooled 1 degree in four hours. I called the company and the technicians were all on call; it was the hottest stretch of the summer. I collected kidlet and off we rolled to my folks house again to sleep, 25 minutes away.

The next day, Steve came over to check out my Nest. He called the company, and the company said we needed to plug the Nest into my computer and I searched high and low for the right connector tips. Luckily, I had it, but wasted time finding it. Once we plugged the Nest into both the iMac and the Windows laptop, nothing happened. Steve was in the house for hours trying everything. When he finally asked me about the house’s wiring, I told him it was a DIY house and the wiring was old and faulty. That’s when his light bulb went on; he said he wanted to rewire the thermostat and recommended Service Expert’s I Comfort instead of the Nest.

Steve is not a fan of the Nest although consumers haven’t a clue that the equipment isn’t the best technology. That’s the beauty of marketing; we see something cool and we want to buy it. Consumers have no concept of a thermostat and why it’s important to purchase a high-end product with features that address humidity, blower speed, outside temperatures, programs, holidays, filters, alarms, and maintenance.

Luckily, the temperatures outside cooled to 60 and 70 degrees (naturally) and we didn’t need to run the air conditioning. Steve returned with his crew of two within two days, and they fully rewired and programmed my new I Comfort thermostat and trained me at the same time.

Service Experts Customer Service

Within 10 days, I experienced every aspect of frontline touches and call center inbound and outbound scheduling that is possible in a company.

Today, the plumbing inspection guy came and reviewed water issues. Tomorrow the air duct cleaner guys are coming and will spend three to four hours cleaning all the ducts and vents.

The gentlemen who came into my home were:

Dressed in uniform
Professional with boot covers in and out
Personable, reliable, arrived on time, called before they were to arrive
Fixed what was broken, stood by their work, and ensured I was ultra-satisfied during my entire ordeal.

I don’t think I have ever had this much experience with a company the way I have with Service Experts/Stevenson. There’s absolutely no way I would change to any other company after investing so much time and financial investment in this company as a brand new customer.

Hire Jayme Soulati

I want to teach workshops to the frontline sales technicians.
I want to sit in front of marketing and inform that person his letter was great; I picked up the phone after one touch, but he didn’t inform his sales or service teams.
I want to reach out to the CEO of Service Experts and ask for work with his company.
I want to help them with content oriented to customer education about thermostats and how to buy a furnace and what size of house needs what size of air conditioner.
I want to be that female homeowner role model for Service Experts who doesn’t know anything but knows enough to make the right choice.
I want to help Service Experts become an authority in this sector and earn the trust of customers. Will you hire me Service Experts?

Satisfied Customer

I tell this story because every single homeowner is eventually going to purchase HVAC units for their aging equipment. I highly recommend Service Experts in your region, and I commend each technician and scheduler and for being professional and doing the job to the best of their knowledge and ability. Had everyone known about the wiring in the house being faulty, perhaps the process would’ve been more efficient, but there are lessons to learn in every experience we have.

Jayme Soulati is a highly satisfied customer, Service Experts. Your Net Promoter Score is 10.