You know her as Cath Lawson, business woman and blog author with an avatar that dons purple hair and who writes with such honesty and humor, you can’t help but read her every word.
I know her as Catherine, my first and best blogosphere friend who has always been there for me, faithfully commenting on my blog posts whether they were good or not, and emailing me with words of support on those days I didn’t feel motivated.
Today Catherine shares more about herself, how she started blogging, what her plans are for the future, and how she hopes to help others.
Pull up a chair, grab a beverage and let’s listen to Catherine as she takes the “hot seat”.
Welcome To Blogging Without A Blog, Catherine.
1) Can you tell us a little more about yourself and why you decided to start blogging?
I guess I’m what you might call an “accidental business person”. When I started my first business, I didn’t know much about business at all. It was the writing that I really enjoyed.
In 2006, before I sold my fire and flood restoration business, I began blogging. At first it was just a bit of fun and I didn’t blog often, as I was always so busy in my business. I didn’t have any huge ambitions for my blog back then, I just thought it would be nice to share my business mistakes and successes with others.
My posts were infrequent, as I didn’t have a lot of time and I used a blogspot domain. Looking back, those first posts were terrible. I didn’t really have a clue how to blog at all.
2) Why did you name your blog what you did, and how did you pick your tag line?
In May 2007, I started writing on CathLawson.com. I already had a website on there but no blog. I intended to change the domain once I’d found a suitable one. I eventually bought the domain “Success Passcode”. But I went off that idea and decided to keep my own name.
When Men With Pens did a new design for me earlier this year, they came up with a temporary tagline, because I couldn’t think of one. It was “Bold Advice For Business Success”. Recently I changed it to “Tips for Success In Business And Life” but I’m still hoping to come up with something better.
3) With a blog on the rise, what makes you keep blogging and what advice can you offer to new bloggers when they feel like giving up?
When things get too much, consider taking a break. I had a month off this year and a month of last year due to ill health. It does slow your progress down a little but your blog will still be there when you come back.
Keeping going is easy, once you’ve been blogging for a while. You get so used to writing every day, so you may as well be writing for an audience, instead of keeping your work to yourself.
Also, blogging is an investment. It can take a good while to build up a decent amount of regular traffic, but you will get there if you keep writing. And you will reach a point where you’ve invested too much to give up. I have almost 500 posts on my blog now, so it’s the length of two full-length books.
4) What was the turning/tipping point when you realized your blog was making a difference in the lives of others?
Mostly, it was from comments I’d received on social networks and on my blog. Also, I found people recommending some of my posts on places like Facebook and MySpace which was exciting. I get emails from people asking for business advice too and it feels great that they trust me enough to ask.
5) When you blog, what gives you the greatest joy? By that, I mean, is it the writing process, the comments you receive, the interaction with your readers, or something else. Feel free to elaborate.
It’s a combination of everything really. I love the writing process and I also enjoy watching an interesting discussion going on in the comments section. Also, I’ll sometimes write posts that I call “common sense” posts.
They’re usually things that I’ve been doing for so long, they become second nature. But when I see them become popular on social networks and read the comments, it’s a good feeling to know that they’re actually helping folk who are just learning about business.
Also, I like getting to know people I’ve met through blogging and other forms of social media.
6) After we’ve been blogging for a specific length of time, we get to a point where we decide to take our blogs in a new direction; where do you see your blog headed and how do you plan to accomplish that?
I’m gradually getting rid of pages from my old website and turning my blog into a complete site, with additional pages as well as blog posts. And my next plan is to introduce my own products.
I want to help new business owners but keep it affordable for them at the same time. There are a lot of so called business coaches online, who charge a small fortune, yet they’ve never owned a business before they began charging for their services. To me, they’re just scammers. It’s like paying someone to teach you to be a pilot, when they’ve never flown a plane.
Most new business owners are boot-strapping. They simply can’t afford to pay hundreds of dollars an hour for advice they could have got from a text book. So, I’m planning to help them in a way that doesn’t cost the earth, which will increase their bottom line at the same time.
7) On those days when you just don’t feel like blogging, how do you motivate yourself to sit at the keyboard and produce a blog post?
If I already have a long post on my blog that’s attracting a lot of readers, I may not write at all. Other times, I’ll drag something out of drafts and complete it. I tend to get a heap of ideas in spurts, so there’s always around 100 partly written posts for me to work on.
8.) Where do you see yourself and your blog a year from now? 5 years from now?
A year from now, I aim for the business I’m planning to build from my blog, to be profitable.
In five years time, I plan to be helping thousands of people change their lives. And I hope to be more famous than Seth Godin – with more hair. 😆
Reflecting On The Interview
Catherine, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule and answering my questions. I truly appreciate it.
Knowing Catherine and reviewing her answers, it’s obvious she is on a path to success. She knows when to dive in but also knows when to step back, regroup and/or relax. She’s not in it to get rich quick, but is building her new business venture on helping others to succeed. With her kind heart and concern for others, it’s inevitable she will be a star. Seth Godin, move over, Cath Lawson is on her way. 🙂
Catherine has agreed to take questions from the BWAB readers. Feel free to leave your questions in the comment section and as time permits she’ll come by and provide answers. Keep in mind, she is in the UK and for us in the States, we’re dealing with a large time difference.
Again Catherine, I thank you!
.
Don’t forget to visit Catherine at CathLawson.com. Dig through her archives and find the many treasures she has shared. Don’t forget to subscribe to her blog so you can stay abreast on her writings and be there when she releases her next product.
Hi Cath (and thank you for the chance to find out more about Cath, Barbara)
I apologise that I’ve not been over for a while… I’m currently doing all the ‘boiler room’ stuff for the launch of my own blog- and I’ve not been doing as much blog visiting as before.
I do enjoy reading your honest and practical articles- you’ve been there and done it and this comes across brilliantly.
I’d like to ask you a question about blogging in the UK (where we are both located).
I realise that blogging is not restricted geographically…
However, I think that the blogosphere is very US-centred as that is where the majority of (English-speaking) blog readers are based.
For example, most bloggers publish during the night when Europeans are still asleep- except for Barbara who publishes nicely in time for breakfast 😉
Can I ask you, from your experience Cath, what you think the future for blogging in the UK is going to be?
What are some of the trends you see for British blogs and bloggers over the next few years?
I look forward to hearing your unique perspective.
Good morning Barbara and good afternoon Cath! It’s great to get to know Cath better – I’ve been a regular reader, and this just really provides more insight into the lady behind the writing! What I really like, Cath – is that you tell it like it is. Anyway, much continued success to you in this world of blogging!
Lance´s last blog post..Believe In Yourself
morning barbara and catherine, this was a nice interview to read. i have to agree with you that cath is very supportive and has always been to me. her blog is bold and it’s fun, some of the things she comes up with makes me laugh and think.
Insightful, thanks for sharing and of course, I’ll be over Cath.
Natural´s last blog post..Oh, Sense Less One
Hey Cath,
Now why did I think you lived in the States? 😀 I really enjoyed reading this interview with you (been reading your blog for awhile now so it was great to get a little more insight into how your blog came to be).
Here’s a question… You participate in affiliate programs. I was unsure about using them myself since what I’m trying to promote is my own work. But I think that they would be helpful nonetheless. Thoughts? Can you share your experience as far as the benefits of participating in affiliate programs? Can we participate without detracting from the business that we’re trying to promote for ourselves?
Hi Barbara and Cath – what a treat on a dreary morning to see two of my favorite folks in one space! It’s nice to hear the story and know there are exciting plans down the road for you, Cath. I don’t have a particular question at the moment, so I’ll look forward to reading the conversation that I know will ensue from this post. Thanks!
Betsy´s last blog post..STAND UP AND TRUST YOURSELF
Good choice for an interview, Barbara! Cath and I have been exchanging comments since sometime in 2007.
Mike Goad´s last blog post..Eyes of the Great Depression 005
Hi Scott – Thanks. I’m excited about the launch of your blog, as you’ve built up a presence in the blogosphere & social network sites before launching. And I think your blog will take off quickly as a result.
I don’t think being in the UK makes a lot of difference. Shoemoney said it would be harder for UK folk to get advertisers. But if most of your traffic is from the US, I doubt whether that’s true. Folk like Al Carlton have proved that bloggers from the UK can succeed. He has folk blogging for him and he’s on target to turnover 7 figures this year.
There’s still few popular bloggers from the UK. And I think anyone who wanted to target mostly the uk market will do well. I read a survey that showed uk advertisers actually pay more on average.
Not just in the UK, but globally I can see blogs changing a lot. A blog platform really is the new website. I expect them to become more interactive and we’ll see more blog networks in the future.
Re: The time difference – you can set your posts to go live whenever you want, so it’s not such a big issue.
Hi Lance – thank you. I prefer to do that. A lot of folk are duped into believing they’ll become a millionaire overnight. I know these “gurus” sell heaps more products be exaggerating about money but they’re not doing people any favours.
Hi Valerie – thank you. You make me laugh too. Your adventure in the gym was priceless. And I’m glad you enjoy my blog. I’d love to see people like you setting yourself up as a full time freelancer.
Hi Ricardo – I didn’t realise you thought I was from the States. Mind you, I’ve picked up a lot of American words from the Internet.
When you’re promoting your own product, you can still promote other people’s. A good way to do it is through a newsletter. I used to have one and it was actually easier to sell more with a newsletter and less traffic.
You can promote your own service first then offer affiliate products to folk who’ve already bought from you. Just think carefully about which ones you really want to join. Initially I joined too many which is not a good idea, as lots of them have minimum payouts.
Hi Betsy – thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed it. I’m looking forward to answering more questions when the UK wakes up.
Cath Lawson´s last blog post..Barrack Obama – A Leader In Twitter Use
Hi Cath, Hi Barbara,
It was nice to hear these answers! Being a regular reader of your site I wasn’t too surprised at many of the answers, but I did wonder why you chose to walk away from the word *Bold* in your tag-line, as it suits you so well. You are bold and couragous and I think that is one of the reasons people like to follow you! You are never afraid to speak your own authentic truth, whatever you think it might be. I like that about you.
You could merge it altogether and say “Bold Advice for Business and Life”
Wendi Kelly-Life’s Little Inspirations´s last blog post..Are you Planning for the Fog?
Hi Cath,
It was great to read more about you. There is a definite honesty in your writing that can’t be argued. 500 posts. Whistle. I’m just shy of a hundred. I can’t even imagine five times that. I need a nap just thinking about it.
Writer Dad´s last blog post..Bright Ideas
Great information. I have noticed that you have put your advertising on a page by itself and not on the home page. How is this working for you? Also, is your blog being fruitful for you?
I have been trying out different things without getting any results ….
Linda´s last blog post..CFCs and Fossil Fuels
Hi Cath!
It was good to get to know you a little. I’ve always admired your blog and your prolific pace. Now I know more about what to emulate. 😉
ari
Ari Koinuma´s last blog post..The 7 Keys to Breaking Bad Habits
Hi Mike – thank you. The time is going so fast isn’t it?
Hi Wendi – Thanks. I don’t know why I changed it. I do recall a SU reviewer saying my blog title was misleading as the article he was reviewing was good but not bold 🙂
I like your tagline idea though – thanks. I may change it again.
Hi Writer Dad – thanks. The posts do gradually mount up. I did delete some last night because they linked to what Google considers “bad domains” and I think my PageRank is suffering because of it.
Hi Linda – I haven’t really pushed my advertising too much yet. Maybe it would be better on the homepage. Re: fruitfullness, I’m guessing you mean profitable.
My blog is beginning to become more profitable – but I never aimed to make a profit initially – just to build a readership first. I’m betting most people could make more cash faster if they wanted to.
In past ventures, I’ve focused on fast growth and achieved targets like – trebling my yearly sales. But all that is exhausting and not always the best way to grow a business. So, I’ve been taking the slow approach this time.
Have you tried an opt in mailing list yet? I’m just setting up a new one, as I’ve found they bring in the best results. Aweber seems to be the best place to set one up.
Cath Lawson´s last blog post..Barrack Obama – A Leader In Twitter Use
Hi Everyone – I’m happy to see you’re enjoying the interview with Catherine.
One thing I forgot to ask you Catherine, how much time do you spend each day on your blog activities? And now that you’re working on other products, how much time do you spend on those?
“more famous than Seth Godin – with more hair” – I like that. 🙂
I agree: Cath is on the path to success. It’s her winning combination of intelligence, talent, personality and self-discipline.
Hi Cath,
I started reading your blog recently but you have lots of useful information out there. It is amazing that you have enough posts for 2 full length books – and you have a 100 unfinished posts??
Wow!
I look forward to reading more of your blog. And yes, the discussions in your comments are indeed very smart and enlightening!
Barbara, Thank you for interviewing Cath!
Maya´s last blog post..Are you a storyteller? What is your story?
Hi Vered – thank you. What nice things to say. Also, you people who contribute the to comments section help improve the reader experience.
Hi Maya – thank you. It’s easier to keep writing blog posts. If I’d actually had to sit down and write two books, I’d have struggled.
Cath Lawson´s last blog post..Barrack Obama – A Leader In Twitter Use
Hi Barbara. Hi Cath.
I had to give my head a shake *smile* when I clicked on your blog in my reader and saw Cath’s avatar. I thought I was at the “wrong” blog. Great interview!
Bold and authentic are 2 words I would use to describe Catherine. She has been very supportive to me in my business development efforts and I can’t offer enough thanks for that!
I have to agree with Wendi Kelly that the word Bold would work nicely in your tagline Cath… and Authentic has a nice ring to it too.
No questions today… just appreciation 🙂
Davina´s last blog post..Video — Preparation Inspires Self-Confidence
Hi Barbara: I always learn something new when I visit Cath’s blog, and it’s entertaining as well, which is a difficult combination to achieve.
My question for Cath is: what would you have done differently on your blog if you knew what you know now when you were getting started?
Marelisa´s last blog post..Solve Everyday Problems Creatively
An interesting interview. I love the goal – Seth Godin with more hair!
What products do you intend to add?
John´s last blog post..Marketing With Lawn Signs
Barbara,
Thanks for the great interview and chance to learn more about Cath.
Cath,
I’m a fan of your blog, but even more I appreciate the authentic, generous person you are that shines through in all you say and do.
Your comment that you’ve written enough to fill two complete books reminds me of a discussion on another blog. I was asked if I thought aspiring writers should have a blog before they were published. I said they should for two reasons: 1) to start building an audience for their work, and 2) to hone their craft.
It has been said that a writer must write a million words before she can craft a publishable book. It doesn’t matter whether you write those words in a blog or in a book—your writing is getting better either way. I know you have started a novel, and I encourage you to continue with it. You’re an excellent writer.
Lillie Ammann´s last blog post..Guest Post at Straight from Hel: How Things Change
Hi Barbara & Cath,
I enjoyed this interview it’s always enlightening to see where folks are headed. Cath it’s very heartening to see you give this advice. “When things get too much, consider taking a break.”
I think it’s very wise to step back every once and awhile and reflect on blog purpose and how that fits with your life and business.
My question – What was your biggest realization the last time you took a break?
Tom Volkar / Delightful Work´s last blog post..Does a Business Startup Have To Be Hard?
Hi Ari – Thank you. And by the way – I know I owe you an email. Speak to you tomorrow. Your question wasn’t as straight forward as it might seem.
Hi Barbara – Thank you for asking me to do this interview. I get a bit of stage fright when it comes to interviews, but this has been fun.
That’s a difficult question. And I know why you asked as I know you’re also running another business and you know how much time it takes up.
As you probably guessed I’m spending a lot more time on those activities now, since I wound up my last business. I’m not sure of the exact time spent. But I’m guessing maybe around 60 hours a week max. That’s pretty good for me, as I used to do 80 plus.
This week has been my PMT week so I don’t write much then – I concentrate more on doing things like SEO and the more mundane tasks. I dropped from 1st position to 3rd on Google for one of my main keyphrases last week and the traffic from that phrase has more than halved. So, I’ve been doing my best to get that position back.
I have a lot of bad outbound links that I’m trying to detect and kill, because they’re hurting my PR. John Chow is a nice guy but, since Google slapped him, it has also harmed folk linking to him.
Now, if only all women could have that bad week off every month, life would be great.
Hi Davina – thank you so much. I hadn’t thought about it but I love the idea of including the word authentic.
I knew from the minute I met you that you had what it takes to do well in your life coaching business and I’m excited about watching you succeed.
Hi Mare – Definitely, I would have had my own theme straight away. But I hadn’t got a clue about wordpress and for many years, I’ve sucked at normal websites, so I was a little wary because I didn’t really know what to ask for.
There’s so many fab themes available that I would just recommend getting a good one and having it customised. The revolution and thesis themes are great ones to try. Or customise yourself if you have good design skills.
Another thing is to try to get a mixture of traffic – social networks, commenting, seo – they all make a diiference. When I started out, I’d had websites but I didn’t have a clue about blogging and I’m not so technical. I didn’t use seo on my blog because many A listers were saying content is more important.
That misleads a lot of people. The truth is, Google wants to see relevant content, not amazing writing. So take the time to learn a bit of SEO – that will help attract folk who are looking for what you offer.
Also, silly things like make sure you have an RSS feed. It took me an age to understand what one was and I must have blogged for about 7 months before I got one. I know this sounds really dumb but I’m truly technologically challenged.
Hi John – I’m working on them. I’ll email you with a bit more detail. Now I wish we could go into partnership and add an amazing social network and blog host combined – but I’m guessing it isn’t as easy as it sounds.
Hi Lillie – thank you. You have made my day. Writing definitely involves so much practise. But in fiction, I really do write down the bones. And I get discouraged when others are reading out their work and their first draft sounds so amazing.
Stuart is still sitting here laughing because I misunderstood your virtual tour and thought you were coming over to stay here. When you do want to come over the England the offer is still open.
Hi Tom – you always have those great questions. Last time I took a break was June, for about a month, due to ill health. It probably wasn’t a great time, as my traffic was at an all time high.
It certainly dipped a bit following that but folk kept in touch – Barbara probably more than anyone else, so I didn’t feel forgotten. And people still came back when I began writing again.
Your health really is far more important than anything else – and if taking a little break means losing traffic for a while, it’s worth it.
Cath Lawson´s last blog post..Barrack Obama – A Leader In Twitter Use
Cath,
Tell Stuart I hope to take you up on your offer someday. If I sell enough books, I can afford to make the trip.
Lillie Ammann´s last blog post..Guest Post at Straight from Hel: How Things Change
Barb,
I will always be grateful to Cath for introducing you to me. I think she has a lot to offer and this interview is no exception. It couldn’t have come at a better time for me, too. Many of her answers seemed to be speaking to me, personally. I’m glad I got a chance to learn a little more about Cath. Thanks to both of you and Cath for the interview.
Debbie Yost´s last blog post..Soul Searching
Cath, it’s great reading the interview about you!! I sure like your plan to change the lives of thousands within 5 years!! May your dreams come true!
Evelyn Lim´s last blog post..The Lipstick Indicator To Great Wealth
Hi Debbie – Like you, I am also grateful for Catherine introducing us. That’s what’s so wonderful about blogging; we become a big circle of cyber friends.
This has been a really interesting thread. Thanks Barbara for featuring Cath.
My question: Do you ever have moments when you hesitate to go all out to achieve a career goal because of what it might mean for its time demands on you and thus time away from the family? Do you recommend just going full steam ahead anyway?
Pink Ink´s last blog post..Dress Up Or Not?
Hi! I’m really newbie. Its really important to me to know who are in the top in this kind of business. I love reading tips and advice that will surely help me. Keep it up.
Thank you
Diana Rupert´s last blog post..5 Best Method to Lose Weight
Hi Lillie – that would be great.
Hi Debbie – thank you. I’d forgotten – I introduced you to Barbara after you’d guest posted on Joanna Young’s blog, if I remember rightly.
Hi Evelyn – thank you.
Hi Pink Ink – that’s a tough question and it depends on you. In the past, I have worked a lot of hours, as opposed to spending more time with my family. And I have to say, I do regret not spending as much time with my kids when they were younger.
I would say, try to aim for a balance. Work hard and aim for your goals – but don’t get to the point where all you are doing is working and not spending enough time with your family.
Hi Diana – thank you. I hope the tips on this blog and mine will help you get a head start.
Cath Lawson´s last blog post..Barrack Obama – A Leader In Twitter Use
I don’t really have a question for Cath but I’d I like to say her reply to my comment on her “Twitter & Stupid Internet Marketing Gurus” post the other day is some very powerful advice on how to make my blog more successful.
Thak you both, Ladies.
And it’s nice to hear about your long-standing relationship.
Jannie´s last blog post..Why Thursdays rule
Hi Jannie – Thank you. I’m glad it helped and I’m going to be posting on similar topics that will be helpful in the future.
Cath Lawson´s last blog post..Barrack Obama – A Leader In Twitter Use
Great interview Cath and Barbara. I’ve always admired Cath and her business sense. It’s obvious that she knows what she’s talking about. I think that’s why she’s successful. She knows where she’s going and she knows what she’s doing. I like her honesty and how she tells it like it is. I look forward to seeing where she is going. Much success to her! (as if she needs any luck or anything. 🙂 )
Jennifer´s last blog post..A Source of Huge Frustration
I’m surprised that I haven’t get to see Cath’s blog yet. Gonna go check her site now. 🙂
Daniel Richard´s last blog post..My Goal Is To Create A Totally Awesome Blog Without An About Me Page!
Barbara thank you for the interview and giving us more info about Cath and a huge gratitude to Cath for all her suggestions to this techno – business challenged blogger.
I got a 100 posts done for my birthday in the fall…good for me!
And I am taking the SU tutorial you suggested and finally got on and have completed my second lesson – have 2 friends there…thank you for persisting.
I am indebted to you for all your suggestions and offerings, I just have to keep going back to the archives because I am so slow at this stuff…glad it is still there and that you are too!
Patricia´s last blog post..Factoid Friday: A Thank You Note to Lambie
Hi Cath (and Barbara). It’s always nice to get to know the people I converse with online a little better. Thank you for the interview Barbara and Cath. I enjoyed learning a little more about you.
In reference to something you mentioned to Scott about how being in the UK doesn’t really hurt you as far as being more visible in the US and attracting US-Based advertisers, however, I would think if you chose a TLD (domain name ending like .com or .net) local to your country this could be an issue (geez, that was all one sentence!).
For example, if you chose cathlawson.uk you probably wouldn’t have nearly as much Google love as cathlawson.com because your site wouldn’t show up in as many searches here in the US.
Here’s a question for you. Don’t you feel a newsletter (like one using Aweber) is just another form of a blog? I mean, people can subscribe to your blog via email. I’m trying to figure what real advantage a newsletter can have if you author a blog at the same time other than possibly giving out some exclusive offers. At least with a blog you can converse and if you don’t want to converse, you could turn off comments.
Any thoughts?
John Hoff – eVentureBiz´s last blog post..Open Discussion: What Would Make For A Great WordPress Hosting Company?
Hey Barbara, another great interview; very “enlightening”!
I’ve crossed over and plan to subscribe to her as well. 🙂
Dennis Edell´s last blog post..We Will Stay Do-Follow, But…
Hi Barbara and Cath – I really enjoyed reading that – thanks to you both.
Cath has been very helpful to me as a blogger, with her support and encouragement, which I really, really appreciate – and I love the way she writes. I hope all her dreams come true!
Robin´s last blog post..Bloggers’ Recording Project
@ all Sorry – I didn’t realise there was still questions on here that I’d missed.
@ Jennifer – Thank you very much. And I always welcome any luck folk send me.
@ Daniel – Thank you.
@ Patricia – Thank you very much. I’m glad you’ve been finding my blog useful and that you’re persisting with SU.
@ John – You have a point. I guess it’s always better to get the .com domain, if you can. But I suppose it would depend who your target market is. When the exchange rate was $2 to the pound, it just wasn’t profitable at all for folk from the uk, to sell to people in the US.
It can be tough trying to write a newsletter and a blog at the same time. Before I discontinued my newsletter though, I found that it was bringing me more cash per visitor than the blog alone, which is why I’m reintroducing it.
Plus, a newsletter is a great way to remind folk that your blog is there. If you were thinking of starting one, I would write a few posts in advance and only publish your newsletter once a week. And try not to promote a product in more than one in three newsletters.
Hi Dennis – thank you.
Hi Robin – thank you very much. I love reading your stuff too – it really has opened up a whole world that I hadn’t even considered.