It seems that everywhere you turn these days people are gushing about Jennifer Lawrence. How down to Earth she comes across, how refreshing she is and how we all want to be her BFF. And for once I can’t help but agree with them. I love her for so many reasons (not least of all because you know she’d be so fun to get drunk with) but I also think there are a huge number of things we, as small business owners, can learn from her too.

Stick with me here…

She flipped off the press

Now I’m not saying you should tell people to eff off at every opportunity, but not conforming to the perceived ’norms’ of an industry (in her case Hollywood, in ours the wedding industry) has made her a success. She’s not malicious about it, but she did what you know everybody else would want to if they had the balls. I mean, if I was a celebrity getting papped all day I’d want to give them the finger now and again too! Seeing her do this makes her memorable, funny and the voice of a generation.

Lesson:

Don’t ever be purposely or repeatedly malicious, but don’t be afraid to speak your mind now and again… People will love you for saying what everyone else is thinking and they’ll remember you for it.

She’s damn good at her job

She’s a truly fantastic actress. Her performance in The Hunger Games was refreshing and brilliant, and although I haven’t seen it yet, winning an Oscar for Silver Linings Playbook must mean she wasn’t too shabby in that either.

Continue reading

This is probably the question I get asked the most, either by nosy types who seem to think it’s perfectly acceptable to ask someone how much money they earn, or by newer bloggers wanting some advice. It’s also one of the biggest areas of The Blogcademy and certainly the section that garners the most discussion.

So today I’m sharing some ideas on how you might want to monetise your blog. But I’d caution you to just take these ideas as hard and fast rules. The great thing about being a blogger is that there are no rules or restrictions on what you can try to make an income. Blogging is all about forging your own path, coming up with your own ideas and going your own way. So think of this article as a jumping off point for starting to dream up your next light bulb moment.

Diversify your income streams

The most important thing to realise is that, as a blogger, it is imperative to diversify your income streams – the classic don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Having some form of advertising in place is usually the first port of call for anybody wanting to monetise a website, but what if businesses and brands decide that they don’t want to have blog ads any longer? If the bottom does fall out of digital advertising, you don’t want this to be the only way you pay your rent.

While I don’t think you should stretch yourself too thin or have too much going on (it can be difficult to keep up with and confusing for your readers) at least three or four revenue streams, in my opinion, would be advisable.

Direct advertising

This is how I handle all the adverts on Rock n Roll Bride. So basically if someone wants an advert on my site, they email me directly about it and we take it from there. The main reasons I do it this way and not through a third party like an ad network (see below) is because a) I can have complete control over who is represented on the site and b) I don’t have to give anyone else a cut of the profits!

Continue reading

I don’t know why… but sometimes you just wake up on the wrong side of the bed you know? So instead of sitting here in a strop, resisting the urge to post passive aggressive tweets all day, I’m going to log off, take Gareth for lunch and blow of some steam.

Continue reading