Ryan Stephens - Passionate Relationship Marketing
Contact: ryanstephensmarketing [at] gmail.com
Twitter: @ryanstephens
Websites: http://RyanStephensMarketing.com/blog
Career: Sports Media Analyst for Sports Media Challenge
Passions: “People, all things marketing (particularly relationship marketing, social media marketing, online marketing, etc.), entrepreneurship, sports, change, helping others, texas country music.”
I first met Ryan through Brazen Careerist. I think he was one of the first members in the community, and at the time I was reaching out to everyone trying to make a name for myself. For a while I confused Ryan with the other two founder of Brazen who were also named Ryan. Cmon guys, get an original name already…
You’re going to love this interview I did with Ryan. He is like a fireball, full of energy and charismatic when he speaks. I really appreciate the honest story he tells about how he started blogging. I know a lot of people started blogging to make money and are ashamed to admit it because it seems spammy, but Ryan talks about it like a man and reveals how he made the transition from a “make money now” blog to a relationship marketing blog that is meant to build community rather than just generate revenue.
He just staretd doing vlogs of his own, so you should definitely check out his site and watch them. If you play chess, challenge him to a game on Yahoo Chess. I’m going to challenge him next week and we’ll probably broadcast are trash talk live through Twitter.
He loves meeting new people and helping companies develop an effective marketing strategy. If you’re a company looking to develop a relationship marketing plan, shoot him an email and set up a strategy chat that is sure to put you on the right track.
Conversation Breakdown
1:45 - Tell me about your blogging origins
Ryan started blogging with get-paid-to programs. He learned that you can make money online, so he started a blog for the sole purpose of generating some side income. From that, he learned about the world of internet marketing and decided to blog about things that people actually care about and that would benefit his audience.
3:46 - What is relationship marketing?
Relationship marketing is building intimate business relationships with people so that you can focus on customer retention and the long-term value of a customer. It’s all about getting people to trust you.
4:40 - What motivated you to start vlogging?
Ryan is very animated and lively, and he felt the transition to vlogging would be very natural for him. He was inspired after watching show like Future Delivery TV and Rebecca Thorman at Modite.
5:26 - What has been one of your most popular posts that you have written?
The three things you should be afraid to tell your boss
Would you like a free consulting session?
7:06 - I have a theory that there is a “blogging blackhole.” What can we do to get out of the blackhole?
A great method would be to slowly aclomate our friends via Facebook. Everyone is on Facebook so you can link people to your blog and slowly introduce them to why they should join the conversation.
10:00 - What advice would you give people who are just about to start a blog?
Dive in feet first and go! There’s nothing more effective that to start writing right now. Even if your writing is garbage, you will get better and your audience will only get bigger.
11:09 - Do you have any blogging pet-peeves?
Ryan gets annoyed when people leave comments that attack the author. Look, we’re all different and we all are entitled to our opinions; we look forward to hearing your feedback, especially if you disagree, but you should never attack the author of a blog just because they don’t agree with the content.
13:18 - In 2009, what is in store for Ryan Stephens?
Much more vlogging and honing in on the relationship marketing niche. He thinks he’s going to beat me at chess, but unfortunately he’s going to be defeated.
What a great and flattering opportunity this was. I really enjoyed being interviewed (my first video interview ever). I think Awesome Bloggers is going to be absolutely awesome. It’s so fun to glean insight into all these people and what makes them tick.
I feel like I kind of know Jamie and Paugh and some of these people a LOT better solely because of these interviews. You’re doing an awesome thing Jun, and I know it’ll bring you the accolades you deserve. It’s about you “get it,” where so many others just don’t.
You’re bolstering your community, and highlighting tremendous bloggers and passionate people, your success will invariably be how well you showcase others; what a powerful opportunity.
Again, thanks for providing me the chance to say a few words, and sorry I missed you the other night. I’m still waiting to dominate you on the chess board. Glad you left a little bit of our verbal banter in there at the end!
R
Hey Ryan, how much money did you make with your first blogspot blog? I’m looking to generate some passive cash flow and would be interested in setting up something similar to what you did.
Is it easy to do? It seems like very low maintenance.
Jun, could you perhaps do a future episode where you teach how to make money with your blog?
I had gotten around $500 or so by the time I quit between all my different accounts. I still get a few bucks a month via referrals from Treasure Trooper and Cash Crate.
I invested a little time into my Treasure Trooper blog, but then started another stagnant blog that I never did much with. The TT blog did better b/c it was more frequently updated, and I had it has my signature on their forums.
Here are the blogs:
http://thetreasuretrooper.blogspot.com
http://thegptguru.blogspot.com
Something to remember: You CAN make money this way, but unless you have a ridiculous amount of referrals it won’t be very much money. Also, if you considered what you’re making per hour I personally think there’s better ways to spend your time. For it to become truly passive, you have to spend time obtaining all the referrals first.
Hope that helps.
R
Love the video interview! Jun - you crack me up, and always do such a great job. The conversation breakdown is great too
Ryan - fun to see you live and in person. Loved the stories, and what you said about commenters who attack the author (rather than the content) - so unnecessary.
Excellent work, guys!