Nathan Hangen

Saturday Project Update – Let’s Do Lunch

This is a very exciting time for bloggers like you and I. We’ve got IZEA rocking in Orlando, the Problogger community just opened, and Blogworld Expo is coming up in a little over a week. As a matter of fact, I’ll be there from Wednesday through Sunday and I would love to meet up with any of you that can make it. I’m staying at the Las Vegas Hilton and you’ll probably catch me at the bar meeting with David Risley, or at a pre-game Tweetup with Chris Brogan.

Quiet Lives of Desperation

Part of the process of leaving the Army is going through a series of classes and job fairs to help you transition from Soldier to civilian. Although some of it is useful, as a blogger and entrepreneur I feel that the process is a little dated and is meant for Soldiers that want to keep living in a box where everyone tells them what to do.

Anyway, as part of that pipeline, I attended a job fair today for no reason other than it seemed like the right thing to do. Before I joined the Army, I had the entrepreneurial spirit, but I didn’t have the dedication to pull it off. Having your freedom taken from you will change that, which is one of the reasons I’m thankful for my time in the service. Where was I going with this? Oh yeah, I was going to mention that in the past, when stuck in the 9-5 grind and a search for someone to tell me it was OK for them to pay me, I would attend a job fair and reek of desperation. Going to the job fair today reminded me of that past, and honestly it sickened me to be there.

Ideas that Change the Game – Tribal Author

Getting a book deal is one of those goals that many of us dream about, but few are able to achieve. It isn’t because we aren’t talented writers, but it is much easier to say that you are going to write a book than to actually go out and do it. Not only is the effort one that usually outweighs the monetary return, but the armies of gatekeepers that stand in the way of you getting that deal signed often intimidate authors into giving up.

Saturday Project Update – New Design Coming

I must say that I’m a tad excited for this update because I have so many things to, well…update! For starters, and probably the most important announcement, I’ve finally decided on a designer for my new website upgrade. I admit, a site re-design is long overdue and although I love my current theme, it just feels like I’ve outgrown it. Awesome Photoshop banner aside (my own work, thank you very much), this time I’ve decided to put my site in the hands of a professional, which brings me to an important point:
Your Website Says a LOT about You

In the beginning, having a generic blog theme was a good choice because I wasn’t sure how long I would be blogging. Well, over a year later I’ve written several hundred posts, have had thousands of visitors, and have managed a few guest posts on other blogs. My blog is growing in readership and activity, but it is sending a stale message to new visitors. It doesn’t capture what I’m trying to say, and as a result, an entire re-branding is in order.

I’ve surveyed several popular bloggers regarding their thoughts on personal branding and website design and all of them have said that upgrading their blog with a professional design is one of the best moves they ever made. Not only did it freshen things up a bit, but it no longer sent mixed messages to new readers. I want you to know what myself and this blog are about within seconds of arriving here. This is the precious task of my new designer…and I look forward to sharing it with you soon.

We’re in the process of branding and design at the moment, but as soon as we have a mockup and something tangible to show you, I’ll be sure to post it here. So with that being said, stay tuned for a new Webrepreneur Blog.
Go Beyond Blogging

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I’ve teamed up with Mike Cliffe Jones to flesh out a book idea that we like to call, Think and Grow Rich for bloggers. To date, we’ve interviewed a handful of A-List bloggers, prepared several case studies, and have written our own intros for the book opening. I don’t want to drop names, but let’s just say that him and I have a few great interviews lined up for this week as well.

The prospect of writing this book is exciting, because we’re not only creating a blueprint for blogging success, but we are also using this as a case study of its own. We’ll be getting this book printed and published on Amazon.com, but long-term we want to see it at your local bookstore. We’re going to be writing a book proposal and launching a series of published interviews, which we plan on chronicling here and at Mike’sLife.org.

I want to show you how to take an idea from concept, to execution, without having a lot of help from book publishers or media managers. Honestly, I can’t wait to share it with you.
The Webrepreneur’s Guide to Twitter

I’m also getting ready to release a new Webrepreneur’s Guide, called the Webrepreneur’s Guide to Twitter (working title). I’ve finished the manuscript, which runs about 55-60 pages, and am currently negotiating with a designer to set the layout and graphics for the final product. I’m hoping to have it ready by 1 October, but I’ll be sure to keep you updated via my newsletter.

I know you might be wondering what makes this book different from my Twitter Rockstar course, to which I reply…plenty! This guide is completely different in scope and focus, as it spends more time talking about how to become a Twitter maven than how to work behind the scenes to sell products. It is a great read on its own, but will also be a great supplement to my TwitterRockstar course.
Editorial Calendar

If you haven’t noticed already, I’m currently testing a variety of new editorial schedules for the Webrepreneur Blog. For the next few weeks, you can probably expect a new post every Monday and Thursday, with the Saturday Project Update and Ideas that Change the World columns being posted Saturday afternoon. I’ll make a final announcement when the new design is released…in fact, we’ll make a launch out of it.

Coming this Monday, I’ve got a video for you in which I talk about one of my favorite subjects…money. I think you’ll enjoy it.

Saturday Project Update

In today’s Saturday project update, rather than share information about my projects, I want to share some cool projects from other game changers I’ve met online. These guys and gals all create great products and have some very cool things happening for them right now. In my opinion, if you are going to learn how to create a business online, you need to treat it like an education. That means learning from as many professors as you can.

This list is certainly not all-inclusive, so if you think I missed someone’s cool project, let me know by submitting a comment.

1. Brian Clark – Teaching Sells. I admit that I haven’t bought into Teaching Sells yet, but that’s only because I missed the first launch. The good news is that Brian and crew are getting ready to launch a winter session to give a 2nd chance to those that missed out the first time. Starting Monday the 24th, they will be sending out some very cool free info to people that sign up. I’m looking forward to it.
2. Chris Guillebeau – The Unconvetional Guide to the Social Media Web. Chris is a great guy and his Art of Non-Conformity Project is one of the coolest things happening online. If you don’t want his guide, do yourself a favor and read his blog and watch him try to visit every country in the world (he’s well past 100 now). Talk about being remarkable, Chris is a true game changer.
3. Mike CJ – Mike’s Life. I met Mike recently via Twitter and I could instantly tell that this guy was a game changer. He’s published a very cool book about his life in Lanzarote and is constantly creating wonderful content on his blog. As much as I try to keep up with his ability to crank out great eBooks and blog posts, I’ve realized that I am no match for his energy and passion.
4. Jim Mahan – Let’s Get Training. I met Jim while I was deployed to Afghanistan after he bought my Twitter Rockstar course. We continued to talk via email and he told me about his combatives project. He’s also a veteran and is working hard to follow his dreams and passion. I’m cheering for this guy and if you live nearby, check out one of his great workshops.

These are just a few of the cool people I’ve met online and I promise to feature more of them as often as I can. If you aren’t on this list and want to be, use the comments form to tell me about your project. You can also send me an email at nathan at nathanhangen dot com.

Keep changing the game and don’t let anyone stop you.