Reinventing the Entrepreneur

MaryEllen Tribby is the founder and CEO of Met Edge Media. She is well known for launching iMags such as WorkingMomsOnly.com, the world's leading Inbox Magazine and website for the empowerment of the working mom as well as The CEO's Edge, where entrepreneurs learn how to build a stronger business. Prior to founding Met Edge Media, MaryEllen was publisher and CEO of Early To Rise where she was responsible for growing the business from $8 million in sales to $26 million in just 15 months. Before that, she served as president of Weiss Research where she led the company to $67 million in sales from $11 million in just 12 months. Earlier in her career, she ran divisions at Forbes, Times Mirror Magazines, and Crain's New York Business, where she learned from some of the best business mentors in the world. Today MaryEllen is a highly sought- after international business consultant, speaker, and author. She resides in South Florida with her husband of 17 years, their three beautiful children, and their nutty boxer, Coco. You can find out more about MaryEllen at MaryEllenTribby.com and ReinventingTheEntrepreneur.com

• Acknowledgments xiIntroduction: Turning Someday into Payday 1Part One: The Who and the WhyChapter 1 Idea Brainstorming: Fun, Fast, and Easy 7Discover the Three “P’s”: Passion, Purpose, and Profits 9Is It Sellable? 12Quick Start Summary 14Chapter 2 Markets versus Topics: Understand the Difference and Prosper 15Starting Small Is Better 18Chapter 3 Determining Market Size: Easy as the Three Bears—It’s Got to Be Just Right 21Where’s There’s a Good Question, There’s a Great Answer 23Chapter 4 Your Subscriber Avatar: Knowing Your Ideal Customer 27Birds of a Feather Flock Together 30Chapter 5 Competitive Analysis: The Direct and Indirect 33Two Is Better Than One 33Quick Start Summary 35Part Two: Anatomy of Your BusinessChapter 6 A Proven Business Model: If It Ain’t Broken 39The Pros and Cons of Each Business Model 41What’s a Guru? 45No Face—No Name 46Show Me the Money 47Chapter 7 Naming Your Inbox Magazine: It’s Got to Be Good! 51A Name Can Make You or Break You 51Give the People What They Want 56Give It a K.I.S.S. 58Chapter 8 Design and Frequency: It’s All about Engagement 61When, Oh When 63Plain Text or HTML—What? 64Let’s Push It! 65It Needs to Be Actionable and Useful 66Stick to Your Guns 67Your Panache 68Chapter 9 Software and Systems: Technology Made Easy 69The Bad You Need to Know 71You Want to Stay Single 71Websites Have Never Been Easier 72Opt Them In—Send It Out 73Chapter 10 Don’t Wait: Action You Can Take Right Now 75Action Step 1 75Action Step 2 76Action Step 3 77Action Step 4 78Action Step 5 79You Are on Your Way! 80Part Three: The Useful and the ActionableChapter 11 Building Your Panel: Content Is King 83Three Easy Steps for Putting Your Panel Together 86Step 1: Brainstorm a List of Potential Panelists 86“No” Won’t Be an Option 105Chapter 12 You, the Author: Article Writing Made Easy 107Alert Yourself 107Become a Dictator 108Take It to the Bank 110Creating the Perfect Article Structure Is Golden 111Creating Engaging Content 113Be Remarkable 116Chapter 13 Sourcing Compiled Content: Done for Your Filler 117Private Label Resale Content 117Article Sites 119Public Domain Content 120Meat, Vegetables, and Bread 124Chapter 14 Don’t Delay: Action You Should Take Right Now 125Reality Awaits 127Part Four: The Art and Brilliance of a CommunityChapter 15 Landing Pages: Land on It and Squeeze It, Baby 131Quantity Plus Quality Equals a Great List 131Long versus Short Squeeze Pages 140The Elements of a Squeeze Page 144Get Out of the Headlights 146Chapter 16 Lead Magnets: Your Ambassador 149Types of Lead Magnets 151The Reciprocal 151Not Peanut Butter and Jelly 152Be a Leader with Your Lead Magnet 156Chapter 17 Your First 1,000: It’s a Numbers Game 159Step 1: Social Media Marketing 160Step 2: Article Marketing 163Step 3: Active Content Syndication 172Step 4: Press Releases 174Step 5: Viral PDFs/Infographics 176Step 6: Ad and Resource Swaps 177Less Is More 178Low-Hanging Fruit Is Always the Way to Go 179Part Five: Finally, a Real Business of Your OwnChapter 18 Let’s Start Monetizing: The Smart Way 183Affiliate Promotions 183Nobody Likes Greedy 184Give Them What They Want 185The Proof Is in the Pudding 185Selling Advertising 187Rates and Data: It’s All in the Cards 193Evolution in Advertising 197Brokers and Managers 199Logical and Methodical 200Chapter 19 The Publisher’s Matrix: Your Content Empire 201Determine Your Needs 206Publisher Method 1: Joint Venture Partnerships 206Publisher Method 2: Buying and Licensing Content 210Publisher Method 3: Hiring Ghostwriters 214Publisher Method 4: Interviewing Experts 217Do One, Do All 222Part Six: Big or Small, Your ChoiceChapter 20 Measuring by the Numbers: The More You Know, the More You Grow 225Daily Key Metrics 225To Keep the Doors Open = Fixed Plus Variable Expenses 226Costs in Action 227Subscribers Are Your Lifeline 228You Can Improve Only if You Know Your Results 230Weekly Key Metrics 233Long-Term Metrics 239Successful Entrepreneurs Love Numbers 242Chapter 21 Building Your Team: It’s Good to Be Great! 243Who and When 244The Million-Dollar Mark 247Never, Never, Never Outsource 248Gross Revenue versus Profits 249A Good Problem to Have 252Chapter 22 Positioning for the Sale: Your Big Payday 253Getting Ready 254Good Things Come in Threes 259Start the Right Way 261Epilogue: Still Growing Strong and Damn Proud 263About the Author 265Index 267