Today I had the honor of interviewing a blogging buddy that goes way back. This guy is simply amazing. He’s always juggling 19 dozen things at once and still knows how to have fun. I’m talking about Extreme John from ExtremeJohn.com. This is one blogger that has a wealth of information to share. I encourage you to subscribe to his RSS feed and get his eBook – How to Succeed with Social Media today. I’ve already started reading it and I’m very impressed.
Q: How long have you been blogging and how did you get started?
Before I get started I just want to say thanks for giving me the opportunity Brian. The internet has been my playground for a little over 10 years now; the blogging addiction didn’t kick in until 2007 when an internet business I acquired introduced me to two blogging maniacs, Mike and Shage. Mike still works for me now in my brick and mortar business, Extreme Tan and Smoothies. Anyway, it wasn’t long before they convinced me to turn my old HTML pain in the a$$ to update and edit page, in to a WordPress blog. It’s history from there, I’ve been an addict ever since. Actually, I think I’ll be nailing down my 2000th article here soon.
Q: You have been able to combine business, social, blogging tips and your personal life on ExtremeJohn.com. Most blogs would suffer from such a mixture and your blog seems to thrive on it. Do you have any advice for other bloggers on keeping a balanced blog?
Q: Anyone that has visited your blog more than a few times knows they’re experiencing the real you. You don’t seem to hold back on your blog and allow the “real you” to come out in every post. Do you think this is part of your success and does this just come natural to you?
Q: Here’s something I’ve been amazed at for years, you have enough on your plate with your Indoor Tanning Salon business, your Insane limousine Service and your Extreme spray tanning business to overwhelm a corporate CEO. How do you keep your sanity and how do you manage to keep everything together and still maintain a successful blog?
Q: To conclude the interview, what tips or advice do you have for new bloggers wanting to get started and make an impact with their blogs?
About Brian D. Hawkins
I am following Extreme John from last few months and according to me is one of the great writer his blog rocks. And his interview answered some of my query about mixed blogging pattern. Thinks for sharing this.
Well you found a good one to follow, stay subscribed. There’s nothing boring on ExtremeJohn.com.
ya i admire it that’s a great place to hangout
Hi Brian, first I want to say a quick thank you for all the twitter messages lately with regards to the blog engage issues. I truly appreciate the feedback and from you messages the issues have been fixed. I know many people donât bother and figure it will be fixed. To be honest I didnât even know about until you tweeted me so thanks.
John and I go way back, I mean since 2007 John and I knew one another. Ifs rather ironic but I think he even started blogging before I did. In fact he was someone I liked up to when I first started and I engaged with his blog a lot.
I have a lot of respect for John as a person, business owner and avid blogger. Heâs been a proud member of the Blog Engage community now for over 4 years and was in fact one of the first to join up and start using it.
Great Interview of a successful online marketing and social media genius⦠like myself hehe!
Hi Brian, I remember, I was running Extreme Ezine back then. You might not remember me, I stepped away for niche site building and niche blogs for a bit.
John has had a lot of influence on all of us. I actually joined Blog Engage (ExtremeEzine) shortly after John mainly because he became a member. I doubt John even realizes the effect he has on other bloggers.
BTW, I still get errors when trying to change the Avatar on profile modification.
First of all, great interview Brian and John. I’ve been following John’s blog for a couple of years (though I will point out, I took a year break from blogging and just recently started again). He knows his stuff, inside out.
“I think itâs important for bloggers to understand that in the same way REAL people get bored with the same old day-in-day-out, so do REAL readers”
That answer above by John, and the rest of that paragraph, can only be described with one word; amazing. I cannot stress how important it is to build a personal relationship with your readers. There are some blogs I visit, and I never want to go back again, cause I can tell they just want to make money off of me. Now, I’m not against buying through a bloggers affiliate link. But I am against having a website where someone provides no value, and wants to make a killing online in return.
I always like to take a break from the internet marketing blog posts and write about something like movies, sports, my life, etc.. It worked wonders for me in the past.
Good job again guys!
Hi Ben, I’m glad you pointed that out because I thought the same thing from John’s response. That simple statement shows an incredible amount of insight.
Hello Brian!
This was really an interesting post to go through Extreme John’s experience. I am going through his blog on regular basis and the most effective thing of his i found is that he reply to every single query of his readers.
I’ve noticed that too Pearl, he’s very gracious to site visitors.
I am regular visitor of John blog. I have learn a lot from his blog.He has very strong grip on Social Networks.On his blog fresh article about Google + is amazing.I think he is coming back towards facebook.
Hi Brian, thanks for sharing this master piece from Extreme John with us. and even for the time you spent to bring this to us.
More grease to your elbow 🙂
Thanks Olawale, I’m glad you liked it.
Today I have got chance to read John blog again.I have found in his fresh post he has mentioned about the above post.john has really managed this interview very frankly and nicely just as he reply to his readers.
Great stuff here. I love John’s blog, but some of these guys won’t own up to the eye candy appeal here and there on the sidebar. lol Honest and forthright; can’t get better than that, and on a consistent level as well.
Hi Mitch, It’s true, John has some very nice pictures. I love those pool party pics. Have you noticed that the eye candy has slipped out of the main view lately? I’m not sure if that was intentional or if he just needed the space for business but the sidebar has been cleanup. No worries, I have the keys to the backdoor. LOL
You’ll have to ask him when he comes back to see who said nice things about him. lol
Absolutely correct! People would judge you on the basis of your blog. If you want real readers to your blog, never just be informative. You have to include yourself at times so that the readers find something new and interesting to read. Also if you offer the same info that the other blogs and sites offer then there would be no uniqueness in your blog. Being creative and friendly in the eyes of your reader would be beneficial to you.
It was really great to know Extreme John’s experience. I have also seen that he responds to almost all the comments on his blogs. By this people will begin to see your blog as a conversation, a friendly destination where they can get a little personal attention and they will keep coming back.
Today I was exploring John blog and read there he has held interview on this blog.I decided to move this blog and read a good question answer session.
Good interview Brian. It’s always nice to pick up a tip or two in this business of ours from other successful people. I must say that blogging seems to be a starting point for a lot of us leading to other things we may eventually focus on. Looks like you and I have something in common as I’m focused a lot on niche blogs and niche site building.
I’ve just discovered Extreme John a couple of weeks ago (yes, I’m guilty), and while I read his posts I see some things that are stated in this interview. First of them being – he is really authentic! His personality shines through his words in just the right amount and you really have the feeling of honesty and real value. I’m a subscriber.
I really like interviews. If you’re observant enough, you would learn a lot of things from it. It seems like Brian is a legit and successful internet marketer. From now on, i will visit his sites.
John is one of the bloggers that I truly admire. He is very cool and share a lot of valuable information in his blog. He have this charisma that makes readers keep on coming back to his blog.