Ylliks

In june of this year I wrote about my experiment in online income. The experiment is running now and one of the first things I learned is that I need to learn a lot. The experiment itself is a blog and it has been obvious from the start that just providing quality content isn’t enough to attract visitors. And it’s become clear to me now that I’m lacking in knowledge when it comes to attracting visitors.

I think the overall quality of the writing I’ve done so far is good and could be of value to my readers. But I’m lacking in both execution and knowledge when it comes to other subjects:

• SEO: or Search Engine Optimization. Since I’m using WordPress with a theme that has SEO build in, my on-site optimization is pretty good, but far from perfect. I also have to make sure that my content is optimal for both search engines and humans. Off site optimization is non-existent, except for some incoming links I’ve put up. I have a general understanding of the concept now and are applying some of its rules, but that needs to be better.
• Social Media Strategy: I’ve already have some strategy in place with an accompanying Twitter account to the blog, where, besides the posts on the blog, I share things related to its subject. This needs to be build upon further and I especially have to make sure that I use the different channels to their strength.
• Marketing/Promotion: when it comes to marketing/promoting the site there’s still a lot of work to do. Partly this is because I want to make sure that before I start with this I have quality content already up and partly because I still need to learn how to do this effectively.

There’s still a steep learning curve for me here and I know that. I’ve started to learn SEO now and will move to social media strategy after that. Marketing and promotion will be last on the list. I’ve chosen this order because I think it’s the order of most importance.

Since I want this experiment to work, I really don’t mind going about this. I have to admit it’s a bigger challenge then I first anticipated, but that makes it worth while.

In Holland there’s this expression that roughly translates to “You have a no, but you can get a yes”. This means there’s no harm in asking for anything. However Dutch parents often use another expression when children (who are bound to do this alot) ask for something: “Children who ask, will be passed over” (it sounds better in Dutch since it rhymes as well). This of course sends a mixed signal when you grow up so you’re often hesitant to ask for something you want. However it’s much better if you do.

Besides having a great holiday in september, I also did a small experiment: I asked for what I wanted. Whether it’s about some extra perks you can get in the hotel/hostel you’re staying, a more personalized dish in a restaurant or better seats on a flight. There are a lot of possibilities out there which are not willingly advertised, but are feasible nevertheless. And all you have to do is just ask.

It’s also a trick of wording your question just right. When booking a rafting trip I thought the price was a bit high. So I asked him if any type of discount was available. When the answer to that was no, I asked if there were any combination trips available which would lower my price. When it turned out that I could also book a personal driver for a day there, which would help me get from Sanur to Ubud AND look at some sights along the way, which would half the price of the rafting and get a 25% discount on the ride I booked immediately.

I did have one rule though: when the definite answer was no, I didn’t push further. I hate it when people nag about something not being possible (especially when you notice the person you ask is trying to help but just can’t) so it would be wrong for me to do it myself. When something just wasn’t possible I thanked them for trying and let it go.

Asking for what you want is a bit of a trick and for me a change in mindset. You often think that when it’s not advertised it’s not possible, but that proved to be a wrong assumption in some cases. As said, the wording of the question is important and if you do it right the benefits can be great. I know it helped me enjoy my holiday more than I already did.

Over the years I’ve read several stories about people making money with online ventures. Even I have dabbled a bit in that with writing articles on sites where ad revenue is shared (although that’s a single digit monthly payment). Over the last couple of months I’ve become more an more interested in this so I thought it would be a good idea to make it into an experiment. Usually I’ve already done the experiment when I talk about it here, but this post will be more of an announcement.

There are a couple of reasons why I want to try this. a) I’ve been toying with the idea of running a (professional) blog for a while now b) it would give me a chance to learn about running a business and branding c) I could do something with a subject I’m passionate about (travel) d) it seems like fun.

I’ve already done some research to see if there’s a chance of succeeding with the goals I’ve set myself (see those below) and it seems there is. So that’s a good thing. Although my strategy isn’t exactly set in stone right now, it will feature a blog that will be the central hub of it all. I’ve bought the domain name and a friend of mine is now tweaking the theme (my php-skills where just lacking too much). I have some ideas on how to monetize (there are several options like ads, sponsored posts, affiliate marketing, products etc. etc) and promote it (guest posts, article marketing, social media) and I want to have that strategy ready to go by launch date.

As with every experiment there should be some goals. I’m aiming for a August 1st launch and in half a years time (so that’s February 1st 2012) I would like to make 100 euro a month from it. Everything that’s above that is a bonus. Also I would like to create some form of community with people who feel as passionate about the subject as I do. I also want to see if there can be some opportunities that derive from me doing this.

As said, there are still some details to work out on how I’m going to go further with this, but luckily that’s what experimenting is all about. I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

Let’s just face it: I’m a large guy. Always have been really (if you don’t count the age 15-19 when I was very serious about basketball). I know that part of this is because of genes, but most because of bad eating habits. I seriously changed a lot of those habits and it shows. I’ve lost around 14 kg in 2 years, due to eating healthier and being more active. But I’ve stalled somewhat in the last couple of months when it comes to the weight loss and despite experimenting with foods it just didn’t feel right somehow.

Then some time ago I stumbled upon the site of Mark Sisson. A former pro marathon runner and triathlete, he wrote a book called The Primal Blueprint where he outlines a lifestyle that promises better health, loss of weight/weight management and a good eating experience. Sounded to good to be true at first to me, but the more I read his site, the more it made sense to me. So I ordered the book, read it cover to cover and decided to give it a month to see if it would stick.

If you want the elevator pitch to what primal living is, it’s this: eat what you want, as long as they are no sugars, corn/grain based foods, legumes or artificial. Move around a lot at a slow pace, do 2 weight-lifting (bodyweight) and one sprint session a week and enjoy. Sisson gets more detailed in his book of course (using his 10 laws) but that’s the gist of it. So how did I fare during this month?

The Good:

• The promise of weightloss was true: I lost 3.1 kg this month. The change in my diet was mostly cutting out the corn/grain based and sugary foods (but not entirely: more on that later) and keeping a food dairy. The latter helped me understand foods more and how you could fill your day with foods that would give you everything you needed.
• No hunger feeling.
• Great recipes for lunch and diner.
• Feeling better. This is of course very subjective, but I seem to sleep better, have more energy and just have that better overall feeling.
• I can still have my Meatless Mondays. Although eating meat is highly recommended due to its protein value, you can still go all veggie or vegetarian if you want to.
• The 80/20 rule. We’re all humans and despite you may strive for 100% success it’s certain you’re going to fall off the wagon at some point. Sissons solution for this is his view that you have to aim for perfect, but you need to get it right at least 80% of the time.

The Bad

• It seems I have the backbone of a sea horse when it comes to sweets and italian pastry, which are pretty much no-no’s in primal living. During this month, I’ve indulged myself in eating chocolate, chocolate covered “pepernoten” and pizza (although I’ve discovered there’s a primal alternative) on a pretty regular basis. If I didn’t I may have even better results, so I’ve taken it upon myself to better myself in this area.
• Social situations make living primal difficult. When you’re out and about with friends there’s often some kind of eating involved. Maybe that’s having a slice of pizza, grab a burger, eat some pasta. All of those are not at all considered primal. You quickly realize that eating primal in restaurants is a tough task. You also don’t want to be a hassle to your friends turning down every option they come up with. Luckily there’s the 80/20 rule, but it can be a bit of a problem
• Breakfast. Most of the breakfast recipes I came across are egg-related. I don’t  mind the occasional egg, but not every morning. Solution to this have been that I skip breakfast (if I’m not hungry that is) on most days I don’t have to work or eat fruit. But it would be nice to have some other form of breakfast.

Miscellaneous

• Part of the Primal Blueprint is the exercising part where you move alot at a slow pace, do 2 weight and 1 sprint session a week. I haven’t implemented that at all. These sessions are designed to take little time but high impact (max 20 minutes) and the book provides evidence that chronic cardio is not always benificial. The moving at a slow pace is highly implemented: cycling to work, going hiking, walking to stores etc, etc. The weight lifting part I’ve done maybe once or twice. The routines are straight forward enough and consist of body weight exercises but as with many weight exercises they just don’t excite me. The sprinting exercise for me is my weekly Spinning session. According to Sisson it’s part of the chronic cardio and should be done sparingly, but I enjoy that way too much to give it up. I do want to change my approach to this though and am planning to give that weight training a second change.
• Primal Community. There’s a large community when it comes to primal living and you can find all kinds of sites who give you tips and recipes for expanding/simplify your experience. This has been of great help.

Primal living goes against common knowledge on a various subjects of what is considered healthy living. This could scare people off. Although for me it still is a bit of a work in progress as you can conclude from my story above, I enjoy primal living extremely. The benefits for me greatly outweigh the downsides for which I think there are solutions I just haven’t found/thought of. I can see myself living this way for a long time.