We’ve been hinting about the Beyond Blogging Project for some time. We’re really looking forward to starting work on it on March 1st.

The project was conceived thanks to readers of the book, who told us they wanted some way to apply the learning and information from the book to their own businesses. Several talked of some kind of mentor-ship or mastermind program, so that’s what the project is going to be.

There are only going to be 50 places, as it will be very interactive, and we’ve managed to secure lots of help and input for the program from some very special people.

Full details will roll out over the next few days, so get your name onto the list if you think this might be interesting for you. Visit Beyond Blogging Project.

Yesterday was a big day as we officially launched the paperback version of Beyond Blogging. Sadly, I don’t have a copy yet – one of the vagaries of living on a dessert island!

Nathan video’s unwrapping the first ever copy for me, and I’d like to share it with you. Here’s the link: Nathan unwrapping the first copy of Beyond Blogging in paperback

Just click “Add to cart” to get pricing on all the versions of Beyond Blogging.

We had the grand prize draw for your Twitter tweeting contest last night – live on Twitter – where else?

And here are the winners:

Signed copy of Crush it! to @goodnewstouse

Copies of Crush it! to @wordpressvideos @benspark @druplrevolution

Copies of Trust Agents to @goodnewstouse @tellac @druplrevolution

Signed copies of Beyond Blogging to @johnluffa @kimbrianm @unklebonehead @owengreaves

Worpress review plug in to @nikki_s

Beginner’s Guide to Blogging course to @billcobbsuccess @thisisspain @owengreaves

Problogger book to @wpthemetweets @tralucent @engagedmarriage

Twitter Rockstar to @bonnielandau

Gary Vaynerchuk wristband to @topgold

Twitter Manifesto to @maresjohan

Thanks for all your support and help and we hope you’ll enjoy your prizes!

Press Release

Beyond Blogging Launches to Internet Frenzy

The Electronic Book Beyond Blogging launched on the 28th of December, creating a massive post-Christmas buzz online.

The book features interviews and case studies with 15 of the world’s most successful bloggers, and then pulls together the learning into a road map for anyone considering entering the world of weblogs.

The subjects of the study command huge on line empires, generating millions in income, with audiences that would put most major newspapers to shame. They include:

Chris Brogan – the social media marketing expert and NYT best selling author
Gary Vaynerchuk – the famous “Wine guy” from Wine Library TV
Chris Guillebeau – Author of The Art of Non Conformity and currently on a quest to visit every country in the world
Penelope Trunk – Founder of Brazen Careerist and infamous Twitter user
Darren Rowse – Australian owner of blogging empire B5 media
Pete Cashmore – Forbes internet celebrity and founder of Mashable

Largely through the support of the featured bloggers, and utilising Twitter extensively, the launch flew around the internet, starting at midnight EST. Within hours the website for the book had reached the front page of Alexa’s “hot sites” listing, and downloads of the book peaked at 20 per minute.

The authors are an unlikely pair. Both bloggers themselves, they “met” online and have yet to have a face to face meeting, although that will change in January when they will attend a show in Las Vegas as part of the book promotion.

Nathan Hangen is currently serving in the US military and has completed a tour of duty in Afghanistan. He’s 31 years old and lives with his young family in North Carolina, where he enjoys training for triathlon and marathon events.

Mike Cliffe-Jones, 47 is an ex pat Brit who lives on the tiny paradise island of Lanzarote, just off the coast of Africa, where he enjoys scuba diving and sailing. His wife is also a full time blogger.

They started their writing journey in the middle of 2008, and set out to write the definitive blogger’s book:

Nathan told us: “We wanted to get the world’s most successful bloggers to help us to write this book, and we succeeded! It wasn’t easy getting their time, but we did it in the end. We’ve been blown away by the reaction and the success we’ve had so far, and I’d like to thank the whole blogging community around the world for their help and support.”

“I knew when we’d finished writing it that we’d created something a little bit special, but I didn’t in my wildest dreams imagine how it would take off straight away. To read things like “Beyond Blogging is probably going to become one of those standard products that everybody in the industry buys” written by Naomi Dunford from Ittybiz.com is just overwhelming” Added Mike.

Beyond Blogging is available exclusively through the website set up to handle sales at www.beyond-blogging.net and is priced at $47

ENDS

Nathan and Mike are available for interviews or more information. Contact details:

Nathan Hangen
(001) 727 386 8626
nhangen@gmail.com
Twitter: @nhangen

Mike Cliffe-Jones
(0034) 600 558 008
mike@mikeslife.org
Twitter: @mikecj

Nathan has had a really productive couple of weeks and is getting ahead of me! I’ll catch up!

Reading through the work we have both done this week has allowed me to start to draw some commonalities from our featured and case study bloggers.

They all worked really, really hard for the first couple of years. I know that may seem obvious, but there remains a strong belief that blogging for an online living is all about sitting on the beach while the money rolls in.

That might be possible after a few years, but to successfully launch a blog as a platform to earn money requires serious hard work for a sustained period, and some of the stories of churning out ten or twelve posts in a day, getting up at 4am to work before going to a normal job and simply burning the candle at both ends, have both inspired me and filled me with some awe.

These stories are exceptional, and I can’t wait to share them with you!

Are you on the email list yet? If not put your first name and email address into the box – you’ll get the chance to win some really good prizes and take advantage of some special offers. Do it now!

I wasn’t going to share this publicly, but I decided to give you a sneak peek of what you can expect when you join the Beyond Blogging pre-order list (sidebar on the right). This is a 20 second clip in which I ask Gary what the defining moment of his business was and when he knew he was going to be a success. Listen to hear his interesting answer.

I finished editing the section of the book on Chris Garrett the other day. One overwhelming thing that struck me was that here was a guy who was “in” on the internet back in 1994, when most of us had no idea what it was going to become, and yet he’s maintained his love and passion for the net through all those years.

Chris has interests all over the net, but let me give you a couple of examples of sites he’s involved in that you probably haven’t even heard of! I write for both of them:

F1 Fantasy

This one is pure fun! It’s for Formula One motor racing fans (like me) and it’s a simple fantasy league. We chose our teams at the start of the season and rack up points when our drivers and teams do. There’s nothing but fun in this site – no monetisation, nothing.

Five AM Traveller

A site for business travellers – those of us who inhabit departure lounges in the dark early hours, desperately trying to get some caffeine into our systems. Primarily a fun site, with some good give-aways, and one that might become a decent income source one day.

Chris’ enthusiasm for the net is infectious and is driven by his deep interest in the technology side of blogging, which makes him different to so many successful netizens. You’ll enjoy his section as much as I enjoyed writing it.

On a side note, Nathan was talking to Gary Vaynerchuk’s agent the other day, who told him that we need to have 6,000 to 7,000 names on our pre registration list to really make sure the book flies at launch. How can I put this? We’re a few short of that number? OK, we’re a lot short of that number! Help us out please – register now, you won’t regret it! Just put your name and email address into the form.

Beyond Blogging examines the story of over a dozen A-List bloggers, thanks to a series of interviews and case studies, to bring you the truth behind what it takes to become a successful blogger. Over the course of our 6 interviews, we’ll cover a variety of blogging tactics, including text and video, in order to bring you a complete strategy that you can implement based on your own interests and abilities.

Authored by Nathan Hangen and Mike CJ, Beyond Blogging will take you behind the scenes to cut out the fluff that prevails in many books and Internet Marketing products. With well over 200 pages of actionable content, Beyond Blogging is expected to be the biggest blogging book of this decade.

The book, which we’d like to refer to as Think and Grow Rich for bloggers, is due to print during the Christmas season and will be available via Amazon.com in both print and digital versions. However, if you grab a spot on the pre-order list below, you will be able to grab exclusive content unavailable to the public, such as audio from the Gary Vaynerchuk video, promotional materials, and sample chapters. Stay tuned for more details.

Possibly the most exciting portion of Beyond Blogging is the list of A-List bloggers joining us for our case studies and interviews section. We’re going to be giving in depth, nitty gritty details about the past failures and successes of these bloggers so that you can take what works and mold it for your own blogging business. Think of this as Think and Grow Rich for bloggers.

Gary Vaynerchuk

Gary is best known for his rise to fame as the host of Wine Library TV. He’s taken a family wine business and turned it into a million dollar empire in a matter of a few years. With his upcoming book Crush It due to hit bookstores in October, he’s living proof that you can be wildly successful by following your passions.

Chris Brogan

Chris is perhaps the most people-oriented blogger on the planet. Although you could call him a New Media expert, he is much more than that. He has provided inspiration and guidance to thousands, while still having time for his projects – Podcamp, and the New Marketing Labs, which also hosts the Inbound Marketers Summit.

Chris Garrett

Chris is the co-author of the book Problogger, with Darren Rowse and is an internet marketing consultant, among other things. He is perhaps one of the most successful and underrated blogging and new media consultants in the industry and has helped thousands of people with his advice and strategic planning sessions.

Chris Guillebeau

The other Chris G…Chris happens to have one of the coolest projects going online, which he calls The Art of Non-Conformity. He’s working to visit every country in the world and has been sharing the details of this amazing quest and others with thousands of readers through his blog, newspaper articles, and Unconventional Guides. Chris is the perfect example of a blogger finding a niche that serves both themselves and their readers, a goal that has captivated the minds of his audience.

Penelope Trunk

Penelope Trunk is the CEO of Brazen Careerist, a career management tool for next-generation professionals. Her blog is edgy, honest and often controversial, and is read by a huge audience, making it the number one career blog out there. Brazen Careerist is also the title of her best selling book on career guidance.

David Risley

David is the founder of PC Mech and DavidRisley.com, which are the blogs he used to create a 6 figure empire. David is an internet marketing expert and has proven that he not only knows how to create a blogging empire, but that he can help others do the same. He’s released a series of project designed to help bloggers get off the ground running and dump the life of the 9-5.

Blogging was once reserved for reporters and talking heads for newspapers and TV stations, but thanks to technology…man has been given the ability to create on his/her own. As a result, blogging has become a medium that allows every day people to become superstars by educating, inspiring, and informing people all across the world. Where once people had to meet in person to connect, blogging has created and renewed friendships and partnerships for people without ever having to leave their own home.

Beyond Blogging, a project inspired by the past, present, and future of blogging, examines this phenomenon in detail by taking you from your home office to the desks of some of the most prolific and popular bloggers of the 21st century. You’ll learn about bloggers that have taken their small blogs from nothing to being read by millions. These are the innovators and game changers that make blogging what it is today.

Beyond Blogging will share the secrets of success and of failures, while giving you actionable steps to helping you create your own internet empire. Learn how to turn your passions, your philosophies, and your skills into something that you can build your life around. This is the science of the blogging elite…of the new rich.