This month Blog Tyrant celebrated its fifth birthday and all I really want to do is say thanks.
I can’t believe how quickly the time has gone!
It’s been such a crazy and happy adventure – making the decision to focus on one brand that I really love – and trying my best to produce content that is (even in a very small way) useful to people. It’s forced me to keep experimenting and learning about everything that goes along with blogging.
But more than anything I’ve loved the friendships and connections built as a result of this little blog.
It’s time for some shout outs.
*queue the Academy Awards long-speech music*
You’re all seriously amazing human beings…
The community on this blog never ceases to amaze me.
At the time of writing this post there have been 14,619 comments made by some truly awesome people.
Every week we have useful discussions made up of hundreds of comments – it’s wonderful to see. I learn so much from you guys, and I know a lot of new bloggers find the comments often more helpful than the posts!
And while I can’t thank everyone individually, there are a few people – mentors and readers – who have been around from the very beginning who I’d like to call out.
Mentors and special mentions
I have to start by thanking Darren Rowse. Without his blog I would never have started my first website all those years ago, and he also gave me my first guest posting opportunities which really kickstarted things around here. His blog and example has literally changed my life.
Then there’s Glen Allsopp who gave me a big opportunity and has always been encouraging and generous with my copious email questions. That’s been a huge gift.
People like Brian Clark, Sonia Simone, Jerod Morris, Chris Ducker, Rand Fishkin, Pat Flynn, Neil Patel and James Chartrand have also been huge sources of either encouragement, mentorship or just beacons of advice. I’m always really touched at how accessible they’ve made themselves.
My most important mentor, however, is my dear friend Justin who runs a successful online company that no one would ever know about. He’s tried to teach me to be less of a douchebag, and is always there when I have a business question and need an honest answer or just a shoulder to “cry” on.
Readers, colleagues and newly-formed friends
It might sound strange to people living in the offline world, but the readers of your blog often become genuine friends.
And while I am truly grateful to everyone who leaves a comment on Blog Tyrant, I really want to give a special mention to: Scott Kindred, Rachelle Berube, Chris Huff, Lewis LaLanne, Marcus Sortijas, Johanna Castro, Liz Lennon, Leon Noone (who recently passed away), David Iwanow, Steve Rendell, Bernie J Mitchell, Kirsten Oliphant, Corey Freeman, Slavko Desik, Shaun McCarthy, Chris Rice and Lisa who have been around for years and years commenting, sharing and just being incredible. Your presence is truly valued.
Also a special mention to Ian, Sarah and Tessa and all the staff at Bar9 that put up with me all day and let me pretend that their cafe is my office.
And to James Field for taking that photo of me on the couch – I think that made all the difference.
The most important thank you of all
The most important person in my life – someone who has been there through every single up and down – is my beautiful fiancée Peta. Even when we had no money she encouraged me and has always pushed me to be better, kinder and harder working. Without her I honestly don’t know where I’d be. It’s an incredible source of strength when your partner genuinely believes in you.
So how do we celebrate?
To celebrate you can all send me birthday presents. My address is… only kidding. Let’s give some stuff away.
I’d really like to learn about how I can improve Blog Tyrant for you over the next five years. Is there anything around here that really bothers you? Any topics that you’d really like to see me cover? Any ways I can make your time here more enjoyable?
Please leave a comment below and I’ll pick the three best suggestions and send you $250 via PayPal for you to spend on your blog. Hopefully it’ll help give you the kickstart that all of you have given me.
Top Photo: © Djem82 | Dreamstime.com.
[ Smiles ] A very happy fifth blogging anniversary to you!
Thanks mate!
happy birthday !
and thank you for all the great advice i love reading the newsletter 🙂
Thank you Dawn.
I just started writing about blogging and stuffs, similar to what you started five years ago. I only wish I beat you in the next five years!
Just kidding.
I hope to grow with Blog Tyrant, together!
Happy anniversary! Happy Happy anniversary (I’m literally singing)!
Ha ha. Thanks mate.
Congrats on completing your fifth. Now, where are my cookies?
Ha.
Thanks for the mention, I have to say I enjoy our Twitter chats – often in jest, but lots of value coming out of our conversations.
How would I improve Blog Tyrant, I would say adding a search bar is a must (:p) – but after that, I would love to see you run a paid mastermind group.
Keep it simple (just use a private Facebook group) and relatively inexpensive ($100 a month?) limited to 50 people. You’ll be swamped with new ideas what people are struggling with.
Peace out, and here’s to the next 5 years mate.
– Steve
Hate the search bar idea. 😉
LOVE the second idea. I had actually never even thought about that. Now the wheels are turning.
Thanks mate.
Why no search?
Why no categories or tags?
Why no dates on posts?
Hi Paul.
No search/visible categories because I like to attempt to “control” the way people flow around the site so I can get my best content in front of them.
Some posts are dated, but mostly I like to think that the content is “timeless” and sometimes dates can put people off when they’ve just found it in Google.
Hope that helps.
Totally agree with the mastermind group. That would be AMAZING.
Hey Ramsay! Congratulations and Happy Birthday BT!
I’ve been really digging your writing style and the way you tackle issues. I think it helps that you’re an Aussie with that same laid back attitude, also helps me relate more to what you’re saying.
I really liked your quick little podcasts, would love some more of those, maybe with interviews or something similar. So many podcasts these days are so chocked with fluff and filler I can’t be bothered listening.
I’d also love to see you do some videos.
Congrats again and keep up the good work!
Thanks Tristan. Really appreciate it.
Congratulations! Maybe you could have a forum or group for bloggers who want to help each other as guest bloggers?
Great idea, Maria!
Happy birthday to you and thank you for the information and courage you passed on to me. Without even knowing it you have been my mentor always giving me hope and faith that I too could start a blog. I did not realize how much work is involved and for beginners who are clueless like me it would be good to have a list of terms with simple definitions, where to find them and what you can do with them. Kind of like a reference page. When are you getting married?
Hey Cyndy-loo.
Thanks for the kind words. Actually, that is an idea I thought about a few years ago and never followed though. Maybe I should re-visit it? Very cool.
I pop in quietly on a regular basis. Thank you for always being clear, concise and extremely helpful. I use your ideas often and always appreciate the warm encouragement.
I would find it helpful to see some ‘case studies’ on specific Blogs. The before and after, outlining the tweaks and small changes that made a difference in engagement and readers. Sometimes it helps to see the ‘thinking process’ in action.
Congrats on building something of value.
Kimberly
Love it! Thank you so much.
Blog Tyrant has actually inspired me to start a blog and know in the back of my mind that it’s POSSIBLE to live off of it. Really gave me the kick I needed.
This will be a selfish suggestion for the next 5 years, but it will be awesome to hear more about blog specifics – I go and search around for blogs to tell me how to write great meta descriptions, focus keywords, little tricks we can use with our Analytics data to amplify our results.
You provide some amazing overview content, but I would love Blog Tyrant to be the one stop shop, even for the finer details!
But hey, it’s awesome now, so I equally recommend not changing anything either 🙂
Thanks mate. Excited to see where you are in the next five years.
Congrats!
This post was amazing and very humbling. It truly shows that it takes a village to raise a blogger 🙂
Question: I would like to see a post on how to make the transition from being just a “blogger” to a becoming motivational speaker or booking speaking engagements?
Oh that’s an interesting one. Might have to invite one of my friends over here to cover that one.
Happy Anniversary and Congrats!
I learned a lot from BlogTyrant over the last two years. Helped me build blogs for some of my online businesses.
There is nothing bothering me other than wanting more content posted like every day (Just playing).
I would like more topics on how to take your blog to the next level, the latest tools to use for your blog, and maybe some hacks for increasing your blog’s traffic.
Cheers!
Darius
Thanks Darius. Appreciate all your comments. I’ll try to get more content out there!
Congratulations Ramsay!
I didn’t know this blog was so old!
I’ve got a couple of suggestions:
1. I really love your straight-to-the-point mini podcasts.They’re nice, quick and easy to watch and I always learn something new. You could expand on these and start up a youtube channel to reach a larger audience and drive more traffic. I am going to be using a similar thing on my blog when it’s up and running!
2. I was hoping you could start to release some of your own products, maybe something about outreach and how you’ve grown blogtyrant (the different marketing strategies you used as your site grew) rather than the typical ‘post every week’ type of advice. Maybe you could turn it into a membership site with different tutorials on different topics?
Those are just my two cents 🙂
Cheers, Luca.
Great ideas! Thanks for jotting them down. Appreciate it.
Happy 5th birthday!!!!! Im really new to this but’ I’ve been reading as much as I can from you. So, thank you for the last 5 years, I cant wait for the next 5!!!!
Thank you Amber. I’m glad you’re enjoying it.
Congrats mate – well done on a fantastic 5 years!
Thanks so much Darren!
Yay happy 5th birthday!
I can’t think of a suggestion at the moment because your site has been one of my go-to sites about blogging and all that. Hasn’t failed me yet (true story). I’m really psyched to see you also have Tyrant Themes now, too. I play around with my blog theme a lot and I’ve visited Blog Tyrant more often than I can remember just to see how things are laid out, how big the text is, what font, etc. (I’m not kidding). So, yeah, thanks! 🙂
Glad it’s helping!
Congrats Ramsey for this awesome achievement. Although I did not met your 5 year back, but I wish I could follow you from the beginning.
Because, in last one year I have learned so many things about blogging from your style of blogging & writing. You are one of my favorite bloggers who really inspire me to consider blogging seriously.
Good luck for all your future plans. 🙂
Thanks so much!
Right on, Ramsay! How could it be five years already??
Your work, willingness to share and serious good-heartedness are unmatched. It has been a privilege to watch your progress, learn from you and develop a friendship all at the same time; from your tyrannical anonymity all the way to the couch in the forest – and everything in between!
This blog helps people. An honorable endeavor and accomplishment.
…I don’t have anything insightful or witty to say about your imagery choice for this post… It’s just cake. A hovering piece of cake 😉
Scott
Ha ha ha ha. Love the image explanation. Thanks mate.
I get a shout-out? WHAT. Seriously, thank YOU for all the great content and for taking the time to let me interview you that one time. I’m glad your blog is around. It makes the internet a better space. 🙂
Thanks so much. That means a lot.
Felicitaciones, Blogtyrant has definitely been my to-go source whenever I have question regarding my future as a professional writer and blogger. It is truly amazing how you take the time to answer and be helpful even though it’s in mail-conversations.
I believe I have saved a ton of time in the pre-work I’m doing and I feel confident stepping into the world of blogging soon.
One thing that you could improve is the accessibility for people that aren’t english speakers. My english isn’t the best but I’m lucky enough to be able to understand most of it – some of my friends can’t though and that creates a bit of a gap. Let me know if I can help you out in some way to reach a broader audience.
And thank YOU, seriously
Thank you for the kind words and being part of it all. I’ll give that suggestion some thought.
How can you improve Blog Tyrant? I mean how can someone improve an already perfect thing. Blog tyrant is already perfect. Congrats for completing your 5th year.
Happy anniversary!
Ha ha. Thanks mate.
Congratulations. Just keep the down to earth, common sense suggestions, that are not that common sensical to me, coming. I like your open writing style and the fact that I actually understand you. I like that you are not too technical and that you don’t condescend to us, who are hoping like hell to emulate your success. Keep it going
Paula you have know idea how much that means to me. I’ve tried really hard to figure out my “voice” and glad it’s somewhat coming through.
Happy birthday! 5 years is a milestone. I have learned a few tips and tricks from you–thank you!
Wishing you many more successful Blog Tyrant years.
Thanks Elena!
Hey, Happy 5th year, Ramsay and Team! I just want to say what a big help your blog has been to me, as a writer and blogger. You raise the bar too high! and we all have to push to achieve what you have done for the past 5 years. I have a long way to go but, with the help of blogs like Blog Tyrant, i’ll get the guidance and direction I need. So, thank you for that. Someday, maybe I could join your awesome classes and learn specific strategies.
I seriously can’t think of a new idea to suggest. You pretty much cover the essentials already and I haven’t even gone through them all! Maybe categorize the topics? Yeah, that would be helpful.
Enjoy and more power!
Thank you so much. That really means a lot and I’m glad we’ve been somewhat helpful.
Hey Ramsey,
Congrats on the blog’s fifth birthday! Great work and cool concept!
I’m admittedly a bit behind on reading, which led me to the idea I wanted to suggest. Heaps of bloggers are now focused on podcasting, and fewer are taking advantage of short-form videos these days.
I know you’ve done those in the past, and racked up a lot of views on your YouTube channel … but it’s been dormant for quite awhile. I’d say it’s a great time to revisit those: look at your analytics, review the content from the most (and least) popular videos, and fire them up again with a fresh eye and strategy. Maybe incorporate some audience input, such as an “Ask Me Anything” type of video that answers blog comments and FAQs, rather than posing an open-ended question in a video. And take advantage of the current YouTube subscription tools, features and integrations to keep growing your audience.
I know podcasting is the new black. Many bloggers are moving into podcasting, and depending on their content, it can be winning medium (still a bit early to tell about the long-term results). That said, you’ve got a head start on the video side, and reigniting/optimizing that ought to be faster and better to keep growing the blog audience.
Whatever you do, keep up the great work, and here’s to more years to come!
Cheers — Hunter
That’s a really great idea Hunter. Thanks for stopping by and thanks for all the support from you and your team over the years.
Ohhh Happy Birthday to youuuu! Congratulations! Seems like you’ve been around a lot longer than 5 years though. How lucky was I to discover your wisdom when I was just starting up as well and all due credit to you for the success you’ve become and the amount of people you’ve helped. I’m not really sure how you can become MORE helpful. I think being at the spearhead of all that’s going on in the online/blogging world is enough, keeping us troops aware of the changes, letting us into your failures and how you got over them, telling us about your wins and achievements and generally just being approachable. That’s enuff! Thank you for all the ways you’ve helped me, I know I asked a couple of daft questions way back when which you helped with, I know I won a prize (which I still have to prove I’ve used!) and I know you are very kind to never laugh when perhaps a comment made … is well … perhaps not quite on the mark 🙂 Thanks so much for the shout-out too 🙂 And here’s to the next 5 years!
It’s been a pleasure having you here. No stupid questions. Thanks for sticking around.
Happy 5th Birthday little boy! I hope you enjoy the backyard party, the pony ride, clowns and balloon animals, and lots of cake.
Thank you so much for giving us 5 years of guidance on blogging and building a business online. Blog Tyrant is certainly a site I reference when people ask me about blogging best practices.
You’ve written about nearly everything a blogger could want to know about. From the basics of getting started, to growing a following and monetizing a site. And I love the conversational style of your writing. It’s like we’re sitting across the table from you.
I wish I had some profound “do this thing for us” for the next 5 years, but I simply want you to continue doing what you’re doing. Educating, prodding, encouraging, and making us think about what we are doing. (Your recent ‘Don’t Build a Blog’ post was one of those jewels.)
Continued success Ramsay!
Awesome comment, Karl. Thanks so much for the encouragement. I’ll try to keep it going.
Happy Five Year Anniversary!!
I recently subscribed to your blog so I’m not exactly in a position to give recommendations. However, I could use the giveaway for my new blog! (:
Once again, happy 5 years! Cheers!
Thanks for stopping by Michelle.
Congratulations on your 5 years of accomplishments! I wish I were there to help you blow the silly candles. Question. How you call your blog Tyrant? Is it not and a too strong word? I have a suggestion for you.. keep it simple. Will you? Because I am a newbie at this… and already considering joinng the rank of one of your Troopers. But i need to apply for a Domain first. I am reading now about your suggestions. You Daah men! This blog of today is really, really and inspiration to continue about having goals. Thanks! And how can you you say Start a blog in 5 minutes? Tyrant!
Thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it.
Hi Ramsay, so your blog turned 5 years old and it is on top of the blogosphere. Congratulations dear on this 5th anniversary of your blog and also for the success ladder you have crossed in these 5 years.
I am a regular visitor of your posts and learned a lot of new thing and still learning from you.
Thanks for sharing this happy moment with all of us.
Mohinder Paul Verma
BloggingFunda – A Community of Bloggers
Thanks Mohinder. It’s a pleasure having you here.
Happy Birthday, Ramsay! It happens to be my daughter’s 5th birthday today too! As this day has come (as a mother) I look back at all the hiccups, blunders and growth and a sense of pride overwhelms me. You too, as a virtual papa, must be so proud. Good work and please keep it coming.
On another note, I recently have been hacked (my site is officially down…for the time being) and would love your take on the subject and any advice for a newbie blogger.
Hi Meadow. Happy birthday to your little one!
Security is a huge topic that can be really overwhelming. The best thing is to make sure you keep your site backed up in case anything goes wrong, and use a service like Sucuri to keep it secure.
Happy birthday and a huge congratulations mate, although there is no doubting why you have lasted the distance.
Really appreciate the shoutout and would love to see you offering a course or coaching – you have a lot to offer and people love the way you teach.
Shaun
Thanks Shaun. Hope you guys are enjoying the cold!
If there any advice I want to hear from blogtyrant is how to start blog when you have many info and resources however you afraid to take action because you think you’re not good enough.
I always think the first step is the most important and the most hard to do.
Thanks
Happy anniversary. Just being your blog follower recently. 🙂
That is a really hard one, Indera. Just start small and try to be as helpful as possible.
Happy birthday
Thanks!
It would be awesome if you created a new niche blog from scratch with minimal investment and showed us how to build up an audience and monetize it in real time. That, sir, would be awesome! Neil Patel has been doing something similar to what I just suggested over at QuickSprout.
That is a very cool idea.
After 50+ amazing suggestions all i can say is congratulations! 5 years blogging is no joke, i just started my own blog and its a lot of hard work something am glad you have talked about numerous times.
I just want to thank you for sharing your knowledge with us and giving us a platform of great knowledge when it comes to blogging.
Wishing you the very best.
Thanks Lilian. That means a lot.
Congratulations on 5th anniversary Ramsay
Thanks Abishek.
I’ve only been reading your blog for a few months, so forgive me if you’ve done this in the past. But I would like to see specific examples or case studies of non-marketing blogs. The one example I remember is your post about the fashion blog. I would like to see more examples from a variety of types of blogs. Answer questions like “What do you do when people in your niche aren’t really into guest blogging?” Or “What do you do when there aren’t a lot of influencers in your niche?”
Yeah very cool idea! Thank you.
Congratulations!
I’m a long time reader, first-time commenter – I wanted to let you know that your emails and blog has really saved me! Like most people, I’m sure, I was totally lost when I was starting out as a corporate blogger. Your posts have helped me cultivate my own growth and success as a blogger. I look forward to continuing my journey with you as I start my own blog. Thanks!
I’m so glad it’s helped somewhat, Emma. Thanks for sharing. I really appreciate it.
Thanks Ramsay for your helpful and amazing work! I think you inspire many people to move forward.
Congrats!!! I wish you never stop despite all the challenges on your way.
In your blog everything is fine, but I would like more Content Upgrade as pdf, spreadsheet, checklists, some bonuses. It would give a lot of new subscribers as you already know and older users might be interested in downloading these materials even just a pdf of the blog post with some bonuses.
Congratulations once again and a lot of happy moments to you!
Great idea. Thank you so much for the kind words.
Your blog is an amazing one.. I read every of your post with great zeal… I have a request to you please if you can provide us free beginners guide to learn on everything.
Hi Sidra. There are a few of those around here! Check the sidebar. 😉
You can start consulting on a regular basis. You can cover other things like Facebook/Twitter advertising, because I believe those are the things that help people kickstart their blog.
Lastly, you can also cover other topics like freelancing to support the growth of ones blog because lets be honest, no one keeps a $1000 aside for starting a blog. Most of us definitely end up spending some of it.
Congratulations mate. You’re an example that if we truly stick to our plans and do anything and everything it takes to achieve goals, you can achieve anything.
Love your blog.
P.S. I’m kind of an introvert and I only comment when I think that it’ll be a great addition to the blog post. Most of the time, you write everything that is in my mind, plus some more thing that are like little diamonds of value.
Great idea mate! Thanks for leaving a comment.
At first, Congratulations. I wish your success in upcoming years. I like your blog very much. I recommend this blog. You are an awesome writer. Carry on your journey.
Thanks friend!
Congratulations on your success and thank you for inspiring me to start blogging. I would love to see a post about the challenges you faced when you started blogging and how you overcome them so that newbies like me know how to overcome those chaalleges, if we face them. Besides a mastermind group would also be great.
Thank you! Great ideas.
Hi Ramsay, congrats on the 5th anniversary! I remember you did a deep dive into a fashion blog some time back. It would be great if you can do this for other types of industries (such as food blogs, etc) as a series. Keep up the good work!
Good a food one coming up next week!
First of all, Congrats for your five successful years. Right from the age of 16, you entered the online world. I still remember the post in which you told about your first 65$. For me, the success of your blog is not hidden only in these five years. From an early age, you were heading towards in this direction.
I still remember the day, when you accepted my request to visit my blog. I love the way you interact wit your readers. Your visit made me feel more special. The best thing I have learned about blogging: Every day is a new day with new opportunities.
Coming back to your question on improving your site in the next five years. As a friend, I’d like to suggest you five strategies
1) Ramsey Show: I am a big fan of Tim Ferris Show. He takes interview of big people in the industry. I am always blown away by his communication skills. As you have made a solid name in your field, you can easily contact the big players. It will be helpful for bloggers like us to understand the secrets
2) Ramsey’s Tyrant Job: Darren has created a wonderful platform for the job seekers and job providers. ProBlogger’s Job concentrates mainly on the freelancing writing jobs. But, you can expand the domain of freelancing (designers, developers, writers, and many more)
3) Ask Ramsay.com: Pat Flynn solves the doubt of the readers by recording their queries. You can also record the queries of your readers. As many people have same doubt, these clearing sessions will be helpful for all.
4) Ramsay’s Weekly Dose: Ana Hoffman for TrafficGenerationCafe provides a weekly marketing skinny newsletter to the subscribers. She covers all the marketing news of the whole week (Right from Google updates to any new marketing tool). You can start this type of newsletter, where you can shed light on new things weekly.
5) Ramsay’s forum: Harleena Singh from aha-now runs a successful forum. It is lovely community of helping members. Everyone is ready to help each other. You can start your forum. It will be wonderful place to interact and learn from different people.
Right now, you are doing an awesome job. I have learned a lot from you. And, will continue to learn more from you. Once again, congrats for your fifth anniversary.
Mate thank you so, so much. That is a wonderful comment and some great ideas.
Congrats for the five years my friend! You helped a lot of people, myself included, to not only develop successful online projects and businesses, but also find it easier to believe in what we do.
I have no doubt that there is much more success waiting ahead for you and this amazing site.
I remember reading Blog Tyrant back in the day, trying to figure out what is what, and looking back now, it made a huge difference. Writing to you now, still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I’m working from home, on my online biz, enjoying more freedom than I initially hoped for.
Thanks a lot for including me in this post, cannot tell you how much it means to me.
As for improvements- you just keep doing what you do. Maybe more articles about conversion, and content strategy and creation. There is also a cool site called Wait But Why, and they have these weekly dinner table discussions, where people gather to post comments around a single topic. Maybe you can do something similar- this niche lacks such a platform, and I know that readers will enjoy such an opportunity to share and ask questions, while learning from one another and your input as well.
Again, thanks for all the great advice shared so far, and all the e-mails you took the time to answer.
Guess what, I’m writing this from Paris, while on a vacation with my girlfriend. This is all thanks to my online work, and in a way has a lot to do with me reading this site years back. Glad to be one of the Tyrant troops 🙂
Thanks for stopping in while on holiday mate. Really appreciate all the support and love seeing your stuff flourish. Enjoy your trip! Make sure you visit the Australian coffee shop by the river – it’s the best in the city!
Happy Birthday, BT.
I wish you much success in the years to follow.
Thank you.
What, no shout out to your cat? Oh, your cat is so going to make you pay for that. 🙂
Thanks for all you’ve done. I’ve learned so much (and applied it with great success.) The posts are stellar and getting to know you (as much as possible online) has been great.
There’s only one thing you could write on to make this blog the absolute best…write a post about your wedding and include plenty of post-wedding photos. 😉
Ha ha. Maybe I should invite everyone to the wedding!
Thanks again mate. Always love your feedback and input.
…LOL – when I said post-wedding photos I meant “post up photos after the wedding.” And that’s today’s lesson on the importance of proof-reading your copy.
Ha ha ha ha.
Good onya, mate. Happy anniversary, Ramsay.
Gatesy
Oh how funny, I really have been around for years, sharing your posts, telling friends to look you up, knowing you have a genuine spirit and a true sense of sharing. I always know I am in good company when I pop in here for a chat or a catch up.
As a Mum of two, a renovator, an Aussie who moved country, a woman who chased a dream to renovate a village in Italy way back around the time I found you through Yaro, much has changed and here I am typing from said village in the Alps of Italy.
Thanks for all the advice, encouragement, and for sharing so brilliantly, oh and congrats on your engagement.
BRAVO to YOU !!!!
ciao ciao lisa x
PS my last name is Chiodo xx
Thanks so much for everything Lisa! I really appreciate it.
Great perseverance and the informative, warm, personal tone you have perfected will see you to another five easily.
I’d be interested to know your thoughts on migrating a successful mainstream social media like Face Book blog to a hosted wordpress blog. What are the successful methods and pitfalls on this potentially one chance saloon endeavour.
That’s really tricky one Colin. I’ll have to think about it. I’ve actually never heard about it being done.
Thanks for responding. If I come up with a solution I’ll share it.
Congratulations and happy fifth anniversary. Keep climbing
Thank you!
Hi Ramsay!
Congrats! I find your blog and advice super helpful. I’m new to this game and growing slowly, but am really enjoying learning through my mistakes and connecting with people online 😉
Kind of funny, I’m an Adelaide ex-pat blogging out of LA now, and when I was looking for blogging advice, I stumbled across you! It really is a small, small digitial world.
Anyway, I guess there a couple of topics that would really interest me – One is SEO simplified. I know you have written several blogs on the topic, and there is an abundance of information everywhere online on the topic, but in some ways, it can be information overload. I know I can outsource this task pretty easily, but I do enjoy the challenge of learning, understanding, growing and connecting with my own blog growth and driving traffic. I want to be the master of my own domain, so to speak. It is still an area I am really trying to understand and maximise, because when I completed my Marketing degree years ago, social media and online marketing were barely a footnote in my studies. Now, I suspect it is a very large portion of the topic.
Further to that, I think an article on future trends in advertising and social media would also be super useful. We are at a time when the dynamics are shifting in terms of how we consume our media. More and more power is going to bloggers instead of traditional advertising mediums. Younger generations are using different platforms/apps than we do. Netflix have revolutionized content for television. I think we are seeing some really interesting shifts and I am personally interested in being ahead of the curve on that one!
Cheers again, and keep up the great work!
Thanks so much for the kind words and those awesome suggestions. The future trends one is something sorely lacking around here.
Definitely, add a forum. This way you can help an exchange of knowledge as well, in addition to the amazing posts you write.
Cheers! And to 50 years more!
Not a bad idea!
Hey Ramsey!
Congratulations on your 5 year anniversary. You are truly unique in the blogging field, and i hope you’ll continue working on this site for years and years to come.
Your genuine voice absolutely shines through in all of your posts. We should all be thanking you instead.
What i would recommend for your blog is a back-end system with premium content like copyblogger, or a series of books with compressed knowledge like http://copyhackers.com/product-category/copywriting-ebooks/ – except on blogging.
These are the type of services and products that make me “itch” to buy.
Have a great week Ramsey!
– Jasper Oldersom
Hi Jasper. A few people have been asking for that for a while now. It’s a big task but might be worth it. Thank you.
I know it’s a big task Ramsey. But hey, you asked for something for the next 5 years ;-D
Its not a ‘creative’ idea, it’s just how i like to consume content.
The 5-day retreat idea by Cesar from below is super awesome by the way. It wouldn’t be cheap, but i bet some people would love this.
The Periscope app is the hot new IT thing. Because it is so new and unsaturated, it would be nice to learn some ninja tips for using it to best compliment/boost a blog. Thanks!!
I agree on this one. I hear about Periscope everywhere!
Me too!
Happy anniversary, Ramsay! I hope you’re celebrating properly because you deserve it! Thanks for all the wonderful advice you have shared so far and here’s to another five years. I’d comment with some topics I’d like to see covered but everyone else already beat me to it. 🙂
Thanks for the kind words Lisa.
Congratulations on the big milestone!!
How to improve Blog Tyrant?
How about planning and executing a 5-day retreat with the Blog Tyrant community with the purpose of deepening relationships with the community and learning more about the blogging industry?
If you need help with planning, let me know 🙂
Happy to help 🙂
Cheers and thanks for writing! 🙂
Wow. That could be really fun. Thanks for the idea.
I could use $250 today so I’ll give you my hints and tips lol.
1-Keep being awesome
2-Keep being Authentic
3-Keep drinking iced coffee
Seriously in one of my previous comments on your blog (and I can’t find it now) there was a link to setting up a writing plan that was very good. Just rounding things out is good
It’s actually hard to keep track of all the crap I have written over 5 years. Although there have been some unforgettable posts http://landlordrescue.ca/awesome-blog-tyrant the problem is adding new ideas and new solutions to new problems.
Frankly, it’s easy to coast so I guess the challenge is to stay hungry and excited and energetic.
Over and out ! Also love ya!
Classic Rachelle. Always up front! Thanks mate. Love you too.
That’s the thing about giving advice, sometimes when you think it up, it reminds you of what you need to do.
Hi Ramsay!
Happy Birthday and may I say that I think seeing you sitting on the couch was brilliant! It made me stick around and read.
If you were to go to my blog (onerealreader.blogspot.com) you would be absolutely blown away by how unprofessional it is, and this after a year of work. I just made the decision to go self-hosted and am working on my new WordPress blog hosted on Bluehost. What many people who are over 45 (I’m being generous here) is a grasp of technology equal to what most seven years old already have. I have just discovered a book at the library called WordPress, the Missing Manual by Matthew MacDonald. It is really helping. Do you know that there are people (I hear) who might think that a child theme means it is suitable for a blog about little kids? Crayons in the header? Something?
So, in a self-serving birthday tribute to those sort of older people who still have dreams too, maybe you could have a Technology for the Masses Gift where you find some plodding self-starter who could really be helped by a, say, $400 gift of a free blog design?
It would be kind of like a Make A Wish for those born during 1956.
People like you just dazzle me.
Congratulations, and many more!
That’s actually a really great idea. Keep at it Nancy!
Happy birthday! Love your posts! Always helpful. Looking forward to the next, every week. All your hard work has paid off in bucket loads with some really great followers a well. And your right they do have great tips too.
Thanks so much.
Ramsay,
Happy happy Blog Birthday! That’s very exciting!
It’s really good to see the shout out to all the people along the way who helped you towards this moment! I think more bloggers should do that!! And congrats on having a courageous, encouraging woman at your side!
I sincerely hope, 5 years from now, I will be a 1/10th as successful as you have been and get the chance to shout out to you in my 5-yr-thank-you speech!
As far as suggestions, I don’t believe I am the one to make any ref you doing something more or different here on Blog Tyrant. I am so new to the hands on process of blogging, although I’ve dabbled in it for many years.
So here’s my best suggestion: Keep doing what you’re doing. Keep moving forward and testing things out. Keep hanging in there with the trial and error that you happily share with all of us so we may avoid those potholes. Keep being a gentleman with the mix of all levels of experience that are your followers; a character trait of which I know I’m not the only one to appreciate.
Congratulations!
What a wonderful comment. Thanks so much.
Happy Birthday Blog !
Hmmm, Justin at 70km north of the city. He wouldn’t happen to be a wine lover would he 😉 Probably lives right next door to my friends .lol
Anyway, 5 years is a long time to predict the future, will blogs still be around?
I think a membership site idea is the next logical step. You have the community so go bring us all together. Perhaps a little like Fizzle. I think you have the charisma for it. What’s holding you back?
Oh, and a special mention for Peta, because those are qualities that everyman looks for in a woman. Women if you’re listening, men just need your belief in them.
OK, one final thing. We are all invited to the wedding aren’t we?
via live streaming at the very least 😉
Hey Hammo.
This Justin is up past Mt Barker – don’t think he drinks wine.
This is the third request for everyone to come to the wedding. Man that could be a lot of fun!
Oh! nice location, although a bit breezy this time of the year. Yep, looks like the wedding idea is a winner and think of the PRESS!
Now if you wanted to get a little fancy you could have a few of those remote telepresence robots hanging around so we could mingle 😉
Now the plan is starting to come together. Maybe I should be a Wedding Planner, NOT!
First of all, I have to apologize to you Ramsay.
Throughout the years of leaving comments here I see now that I’ve never truly appreciated your compliments of them at the level that they deserved.
I recognize this mistake today in seeing my name grace the list of people you’re thanking here today.
You get a massive number of comments on your posts and so of course you have to be short or else entire days of your week would be devoted to replying to comments.
I made the mistake of taking your short compliments as you being diplomatic; a nice guy. And as dumb as it may sound to you, being mentioned here today helps me see that I was wrong to take your compliments lightly.
I will not make that mistake again. Please accept my apology.
And I thank you for year-in, year-out, consistently giving me something worthy of commenting on as doing so is not something I take lightly and something that I do very selectively and scarcely as it is not a money-making activity in my business.
Now as to the question you have posed to us, I would like to know what do you want your life to look like? Does this site contribute to and fit into that vision, or not? If not, what would instead?
The last thing I’d want to do is suggest that you do anything that brings about an immediate, “Ick. Double ick.” response.
I want you to be in the flow when you’re working. I want time to fly by for you and for you to be beaming with pride with the results of the work sessions you’ve poured yourself into. I want you to be kind of shy when people are looking at what came out of these sessions and are raving about how incredible they are… while simultaneously feeling under the surface a little like, “Yeah. Of f*****g course it’s amazing. I’m a bad M********er.”
But I don’t know what activities that you do in life that leave you feeling this way.
If it is more of a specific activity you’re doing now, keep doing it.
If it is something that you’re hardly spending any time doing now, I would encourage to explore the idea of investing more of your life into that option. Even if doing this would leave you less and less time to work on this site.
Of course if devoting more time to this activity would mean seeing less of you, I would miss you, but I feel it’d be wrong to make you feel guilty for moving towards this “because I need my Ramsay fix.”
So I turn this around and ask you, what is it that you can do more of that has you feeling like “King Kong doesn’t have S**T on you!” for the majority of your working hours?
I have a couple of things that I do from time to time in my work hours that have me vibrating at this level of beast mode certainty. I don’t even necessarily need others’ confirmation that I’m good at doing them. I just KNOW in my soul as I’m doing them that this is an area of life that I’ve been blessed in and this feeling brings me immense satisfaction. The external confirmation of pay in the form of money and compliments from others is just icing on the cake.
What are doing now in your work day that leaves you feeling this way?
What are you doing now that DOESN’T leave you feeling like this?
The one thing I would ask you to do is less of anything that takes you away from activities that allow your soul to shine.
You do this, here or in whatever niche/space/vocation it applies, and both YOU and your audience will be extraordinarily grateful at the next highest level for your making the bold decision to devote more of your precious alert attention (what I believe to be our most valuable asset) towards it.
Lewis you have nothing to apologise for. I’d love to spend more time chatting around here – sometimes I don’t feel like I give the comments enough attention, but, like you say, sometimes it’s a good couple of hours a day reading and replying. I love reading yours – hence the mention.
Those are some profound questions, some of which I don’t have answers for. I’ve got to go away and figure out what those things are. Thanks for asking the questions – I have a feeling that will be more important than the answers…
Rams
I look forward to watching and indulging in these answers as they emerge in the form of brilliant work here.
I look forward to you knowing them just as surely as you know which of your punching combinations are personally your most lethal.
Thank you again Rams for the incredibly generous compliment. I very much look forward to complimenting the next best version of you that graces us with its presence here on this site, or on any next leg of your journey that takes you in a different direction. 🙂
tl;dr
See the credit line at the bottom of the site?
lol. What a great name 😀
Now I wonder what could have ever inspired you. Hmmmm.
Love the blog and not sure if I have a suggestion for improvement…well there is this one thing…take off your shirt! Yeah, that would work. tee hee
Congrats on the 5 year birthday milestone!
Hmm… not sure about that one. 🙂
Tim Ferriss not only took off his shirt but also held a cat in the pose just to get a little female attention when date hacking. I didn’t believe it until now.
BTW: I take off my shirt every night before bed so it’s no big deal, is it? lol
Please don’t make this a thing. HA.
I visit your blog regularly. It is awesome. Happy birthday to blogtyrant.
Your blogging skill is tremendous. I would like to suggest three things.
May be you can develop your own plugin and sell it.
You may sell PLR readymade sales funnel.
You may also start MLM website.
Dont take me seriously if I told anything that does not apply to you. Thank you.
Thank you for the kind words. Great suggestion!
Hi Ramsay. I have been following your blog quietly for a few years and you have been a tremendous inspiration. When I felt demotivated and bored, your e-mails pulled me towards your blog and your easy, personal way of writing made me feel like a friend was talking to me.
I would love to read your post more frequently.
Thank you.
Thank you so much. I really appreciate your support.
Ramsay, Thank you so much for all the hard work you have put into this blog and your online efforts. Your willingness to share what you have learned has made a great difference in how I work online.
When I started reading your blog I had been struggling along for over 5 years with less than one million total readers. Because of what I’ve learned from you (and a few others) I increased my traffic to over 10,000,000 readers a year.
I wish you all the best in the years to come and keep up the great work.
And yes, the money’s in the list..
Paul
A-MAZING!
Been traveling so I just read this.
I say keep doing what you are doing Ramsay! Your blog is one of the few that I am completely excited about every single week.
Thank you, thank you, thank you…
Jennifer
Thanks so much Jennifer. And thanks for your ongoing contributions.
Happy birthday and well done, Ramsay!
Thanks Trish!
Happy Birthday!
My Niece-in-law had been nagging me for almost a year to start a tea blog and I kept putting it off. Then I found your website and it all clicked. Thank you for all the wonderful advice! Even though we’ve never met, I consider you a mentor. You present the info in a way that’s very easy to understand even for someone as technologically challenged as I am.
Here’s to many more years of dispensing blog wisdom!
That means a lot Cheryl. I’m glad it helps in some small way.