I’ve read a lot of case studies online. The best ones provide an index so readers can look back sequentially and understand the full history of choices and impacts. This is a master index of my Action Reports that document my k-12 content marketing project (scroll down for list). Bookmark this page to immediately see my most recent update.
What’s on Crunchle? How can it help you start your own content marketing business?
If you’ve read other articles on crunchle already– like my story of how I decided to start a content marketing biz, or what I think is involved in getting a content marketing website up and running— you already know that my goal is to: (1) launch a website that is in the K-12 educational niche; (2) grow the traffic; (3) monetize the content; and then (4) eventually– if I can live the dream– sell it for 25 to 30x six-month trailing earnings. My time-frame for this is around 24 months.
Will my plan work, or will I burn through a ton of time (and some cash) with nothing to show for it and the end of a year or two? I have no idea, but your invited to come along for the ride and watch it all unfold.
There is a lot of content on crunchle, and more added almost every day. In general, the articles fall into 4 main categories:
- HOW TO >>
- QUICK GUIDES >> Super in-depth user manuals on how to accomplish certain tasks (for example: hosting issues; keyword research; choosing a niche)
- LESSONS, TIPS, TRICKS>> Shorter articles on little lessons I’m learning as I go along.
- INSIGHTS+OBSERVATIONS>>
- Sometimes I write things that don’t fit neatly into any category. Thoughts on procrastination or emotional hurdles. Observations on the economy, or the business model in general.
- TOOLS, RESOURCES + REVIEWS>>
- To get up and running and to keep growing we’ll need some tools. In this section I summarize why I chose certain tools over others, and review my experience with various tools.
- CASE STUDY REPORTS + ACTION REPORTS>>
- CASE STUDY REPORTS>> Step-by step accounting of the work I do, including interesting data– money spent, money earned, hours worked.
- ACTION REPORTS>> Step-by step accounting of each step I take all along the way. If you want to launch your own content marketing business, you can just read (and do) these steps in order to follow along. (Note: sometimes I’ll talk about why a step I took was a mistake! In that case your millage may vary!)
This page offers a one-stop index for my Case Study Reports and my Action Reports. For those who are following along step-by-step, you can bookmark this page and get to the most relevant, content quickly.
One huge advantage of following along this way is that it provides structure and an antidote to procrastination if you are building your site along side of me.
If you just commit to finishing one thing during each of your own work sessions– just choose the next relevant Action Report from the list below and complete it– you will be able to launch the business that has been in your head way to long.Today is the day.
My biggest regret with this thing so far is that I didn’t start last August when I first considered doing it. If I had started then, I’d be eight months closer to my goal! Yeah, obvious, duh! But what really matters is that you start now.
There will never be a better time to start because there will always be reasons to not start.
There will always be conflicts, time constraints, annoyances, and roadblocks. The conflicts, time constraints, annoyances and roadblocks you have today might be a different set than the ones you have next year, but don’t think that when your current ones go away, new ones won’t just take their place That’s why just starting NOW is what really matters.
Click on ACTION REPORT #01, and get that done. Cool Did you check it off your list? Now do ACTION REPORT #02. And keep going. That’s it. One foot in front of the other, and no zero days! Awesome!
ACTION REPORTS
| ACTION REPORT # | TASK CATEGORY | TITLE | PROJECT TIME TO COMPLETE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Research | Action Report #1: Picking a Niche | Four to Six Hours |
CASE STUDY MONTHLY REPORTS
| CASE STUDY REPORT # | TASK CATEGORY | TITLE |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | April, 2020 | The first case study will be published at the end of April! |
Why do I care if you start? What’s it to me i you follow along? Well, I know the biggest failure risk factor for me is the lack of camaraderie of this mostly solo (and quarantined inspired) project. I am hoping if I can build a community of like minded people here, we can all stay on track. And yeah– of course– if you use my links on Crunchle for some things, I’ll get an affiliate commission.
While the affiliate commission is my primary motivation on my K-12 site, it’s not really #1 here. Crunchle is a labor of love to motivate my old friend, “Ms. N”., a family member (yeah, S, you!) and other friends I make along the way . Crunchle is also a touchstone to make sure I stay on task and have some accountability.Thanks for reading, and comments always appreciated!
