EBA Starter Guide

Hey there, I’m Ruth!
A
nd just like you, I wear a lot of different
hats! By day, I’m an author, entrepreneur,
blogger, podcaster, product creator,
and the CEO of my company, Ruth Soukup
Omnimedia.
Since launching my first blog, Living Well Spending

Less®, in 2010, my business has grown into a multi-
million dollar company. I’ve become the New York
Times bestselling author of 7 books, launched a
top-rated podcast, and even given a TED talk.
But it didn’t start out that way!
You see, I started writing my blog Living Well Spending Less® in 2010 as a stay-at-
home mom of two toddlers, just struggling to hold it all together. The blog began as an
outlet—simply a way to document my own journey and hold myself accountable.
But over time, as I began to understand the potential, I began thinking about my blog
as my business and not my hobby. I began paying attention to what was working, and
quit spending time on the things that weren’t.
And now, years later, I have come to realize that there IS a system, a proven path to
building a successful online business through blogging. Whatever your big goals may
be, whether it’s leaving your current job to work full-time, or earning some additional
money for your family on the side, it’s hard to take action on those big things when it
feels like you don’t know what you are doing.
And that’s exactly what Elite Blog Academy® and our ACTIVATE coaching program
are all about.
It’s not a magic wand, but it IS probably the next best thing: we give you a clearly laid
out, step-by-step guide that will show you, in crystal clear detail, exactly what to do, in
what order, to get where you want to be.
XOXO,
Ruth
Copyright © 2022 Elite Blog Academy ® |2| DO NOT COPY OR SHARE ANY MATERIALS
LET ’S GET R E AL , S H AL L W E ?
There’s a very good chance that if you’re
thinking about starting a blog, you’re also
thinking about how you should use it to
make money online.
M
aybe you want to supplement your family’s income while you stay at home
with the kids. Maybe you want to leave a job that you hate. Maybe you’re
just ready for a change. And if you are already thinking about these things,
then it is VERY likely you might already be aware of just how much information is
already out there on starting a blog and earning money online.
SO much in fact, that it is possible that what may have stopped you from getting
started was not the lack of information out there, but that there is TOO much of it. From
too many people. Pulling you in too many directions and it is just impossible to know
where to start, so you just don’t.
But if you really want the cold hard truth, it’s this:
MOST BLOGGERS AND INFLUENCERS

ARE DOING IT ALL WRONG.
They spend hours and hours creating more content, optimizing for search and pinning
like crazy, all for the sake of more page views. They exhaust themselves trying to keep
up with social media, posting story after story because that’s the way they think it’s
supposed to be, wondering when all that “engagement” is going to turn into cold,
hard cash. They think blog income is supposed to come from ad networks and affiliate
links, because that’s all anyone ever really talks about. And they set themselves up for
long-term failure by focusing only on short-term gains.
MAYBE YOU CAN RELATE. OR MAYBE YOU’RE
SCARED OF MAKING THE SAME MISTAKES.
The reality is that having a clear, proven path to follow in your business—along with an
experienced guide to lead you—is a game changer, one that will not only give you
the clarity and confidence to know you’re moving in the right direction, but lead you
to more profit and predictability in less time than you ever thought possible.
The problem? Overwhelm, widespread misinformation, and a lack of support often

make growing a successful and sustainable online business far harder than it needs to
be.
But what if there was

a way to
you got it right?
WHAT EXACTLY IS THE CUSTOMER SUPERHERO PATH?
Y our Customer Superhero PathTM is the journey your customer—or potential

customer—will take through your business. Because if you have a business, your
ultimate goal is for every reader or subscriber to become a customer.

So at any point in your business you are either trying to lead a prospective customer
into becoming a customer, or you are delivering massive value to your actual custom-
er so that they hopefully become a repeat customer.
Your customer superhero path is the order in which your customers take those essential
steps from having a problem and not knowing the solution to experiencing the solution
and the transformation becoming a loyal customer that purchases from you again
and again, and in the process experiencing even more transformation.
...because it will change

the way you look at your
business and at everything
you do in your business.
Now you might not be thinking about the people you interact with as customers, at
least not yet, and you definitely might not be thinking of those customers as the super-
heroes of your business, but making this mindset shift is pretty important because it will
change the way you look at your business and at everything you do in your business.
That’s why your goal needs to be continually improving the performance of your cus-
tomer path so that you are doing a better and better job of turning prospects into
customers, and turning customers into brand evangelists that purchase from you again
and again.
WHERE TO BEGIN?
S o with that in mind, if you are just starting out, you will be focusing on the Attraction
phase.

The ATTRACTION phase is all about how your potential customers find you and how
they first become aware of you and your brand and what you have to offer. The
elements of the attraction phase include things like your business website and your
blog, your social media channels, your efforts with SEO and Pinterest search, and those
FB ads you are putting out to cold traffic. It’s all the ways that you get seen for the first
time.
IDENTIFY YOUR PURPOSE

When it comes to starting a successful blog or online business, the biggest, most
important question you’ll ever need to answer is this: WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF MY
BLOG OR BUSINESS?
And if you can’t answer that question clearly and succinctly, it’s unlikely you’ve nailed
down a viable blog or business idea.
Sorta sounds like a lot of pressure, doesn’t it?
The good news is that answering this question doesn’t have to be hard. It’s truly not
THAT complicated, and you DON’T need to overthink it. You just need to get clear
about three smaller questions that will together lead you to the answer for that one big
question. Answer the smaller questions and you’ll almost certainly answer the big one
in the process.
But here’s my advice: Do it fast. Because what you DON’T want to do is spend days
and weeks and months AGONIZING over the answer to this question, trying to come
up with the perfect right answer. The truth is that as a general rule, you’ll be able to
tell pretty quickly whether the answer you’ve come up with is a good one. More time
spent does not necessarily equate to a better, more fail-proof idea.
We’re not going to get stuck in analysis paralysis! You’re going to decide to decide.
The first question you’ll need to answer, then, is all about YOU.
The question is this:
Q WHA T ARE Y O UR O WN G RE ATE S T S KILLS ,

ST RENGT HS, AND P AS S IO NS ?
What do you love more than anything? What are you most passionate about? What
makes you want to jump out of bed in the morning, or gets you fired up to a point that
you just can’t stop talking about it? What is it that you are really good at? What do
others ask you about? What topics are you naturally drawn to? What is something you
think you could help people with?
A big part of your purpose will come from your own passion and energy about a topic.
Because if you don’t care about what you have to say, why would anyone else? But
I don’t want you to JUST think about what you’re passionate about. I also want you
to think about what you’re actually GOOD at. Knowing and understanding what you
are really good at should definitely come into play as you work to identify the main
purpose of your blog or business. You want to play to your strengths!
So that’s the first question I want you to answer—What are your own
greatest skills, strengths, and passions?
A
And before we move on, as you are thinking about what you are most passionate
about and what you’re best at, also be thinking about which of those ideas and topics
might also be the most marketable or the most interesting to other people. Contrary to
popular belief, there is not just one “type” of blog or niche that does well, or that has
strong potential for monetization.
On the contrary, I’ve seen my students at Elite Blog Academy® earn a full-time living
from a huge variety of niches, from the very broad to the very focused.
THESE INCLUDE:
• Health & Fitness • Natural living & homesteading

• Food & Recipes • Faith & Religion
• Marriage & relationships • Fashion & Lifestyle
• Pets & animals • Travel
• Business & Entrepreneurship • Parenting (including everything from
(including everything from getting handling a difficult pregnancy to
your dream job, to being a mom, to getting your baby to sleep, disciplining
starting your own business) your toddlers, to resources for school-
aged kids, to raising teenagers that
• Home & decor (including you like, and more)
everything from cleaning & organizing
to interior design, to DIY) • Personal growth & motivation
(including self-help, productivity, and
• Super niche topics (including a goal setting)
blog devoted to the care and love
of succulents, a blog about Monarch • Crafting (including sewing, knitting,
Butterflies, and a blog about female crocheting, paper crafts, and more)
hair loss—just to name a few)
The sky is LITERALLY the limit. And to narrow it down, you’ll need to answer the next
question, which is this:
Q WHO WILL YOU BE TALKING TO?
Who is your customer avatar? The one single person that represents your ideal custom-
er; the one and only person you will be thinking of every time you create a piece of
content. When it comes to creating a successful, profitable blog, there is nothing more
important than understanding exactly who you are writing to.
Because here’s the little-known secret that so many bloggers miss: The most successful
online businesses are the ones that actively seek to help their readers and customers.
Remember your
customer is the superhero
of your business.
The most successful online businesses—even when written from a personal point of
view—make it about the reader. And that means, before you do anything else, you
need to know who your audience is… what drives them, what scares them, what they
want most, their deepest struggles and frustrations, and how they think. Your audience
needs to be REAL to you.
Knowing, beyond a shadow of a doubt, who you’ll be writing to and trying to reach
through your blog or online business is essential, because otherwise you’ll be trying
to write to everyone. And when you’re writing to everyone, you’re really just writing
to no one. And again, it’s important to not overthink this. There are no right or wrong
answers—you get to choose your target audience.
Copyright © 2022 Elite Blog Academy ® | 10 | DO NOT COPY OR SHARE ANY MATERIALS
So what is the avatar that resonates with you, and that you really want to connect
with? That’s who you’ll be talking to.
And that’s question #2.
Who is your target customer?
A
But it’s the third question that will really help you drive home your purpose, which is
why it is the most important of them all.
The question is this:
Q W HA T I S T HE F E L T N E E D YO U ’L L B E
AD D R E SS I N G?
So what exactly IS a felt need? Well according to Psychology Today, a felt need is a
“need that is experienced consciously that may relate to a sense of deprivation or a
discrepancy with the affective ideal.” But in normal, everyday terms, a felt need is just
something that someone actually wants or feels a need for.
And when it comes to starting a blog or online business, you need to be crystal clear
that the blog or business that you are thinking of creating will be addressing an actual
FELT NEED. Now usually, if there are already successful blogs or online businesses doing
what you’d like to do, there IS probably already a clear felt need. But not always. And
that’s why you need to be clear about it. Like, CRYSTAL clear!
If you want your blog or business to become fail-proof, it has to address some kind
of felt need for your audience, because they need to have something that compels
them to take action. And while you might not have started thinking about prod-
ucts quite yet, you will eventually need to start thinking about them, which means
the clearer you can get right now about the felt need of your audience, the more
equipped for success you’ll be later on.
So what is the felt need of your avatar? What is the problem or problems you’ll be ad-
dressing or solving through your blog or business? How will it help improve your custom-
er’s life? Is the problem you think you are solving an ACTUAL problem? Will it be strong
enough to compel your audience to take action?
Answer this question and you’ll also be able to answer that BIG question that’s so
essential:
What is the PURPOSE of your blog or business?
Ultimately, your purpose

is leveraging your own skills,
strengths, and purpose to address
your avatar’s biggest felt needs.
So, for example, I started my blog Living Well Spending Less® because I was passion-
ate about trying to figure out how to live well on a budget, and also because I was re-
ally good at figuring out systems for getting organized and managing my home more
efficiently. Ultimately I realized that the person I was writing to—Julie—was someone a
lot like me. A busy mom who
felt like she had lost her sense
of purpose, but was also feel-
ing overwhelmed by all her
day to day responsibilities.
Her felt need was practical
solutions for managing her
life that would allow her to
spend less time on all those
things she HAD to do so that
there was more time for all
the stuff she really wanted to
do.
And THAT is the purpose of my blog Living Well Spending Less®—practical solutions for
everyday overwhelm.
See how it works?
STRENGTHS & PASSION + AVATAR + FELT NEED = PURPOSE
It’s that simple.
Okay, so now that you’re clear about how to determine the purpose of your blog or
business, the next step is understanding the path you’ll need to take.
With so much to do at any given time, how do you actually know what tasks are most
important? Hands down, learning how to focus on the right things in the right order
is the most important key to any successful blogger’s growth. If you can’t create a
formula for knowing exactly what to do next, then you’ll simply continue spinning your
wheels, never gaining any real traction.
STAY ON TRACK AND FOLLOW THE PATH
Understanding your customer path gives you a clear framework for what SHOULD
be happening in your business. At any point in time, you can look at these different
phases and go “am I doing this?” and more importantly, “is it working?”
If the answer to either of those questions is

no, then you know that’s where you need
to focus your efforts on improving.
Understanding your customer path also

gives you a clear ORDER in which to focus
your attention. Because if things aren’t
working in Phase 1, the ATTRACTION phase,
then it doesn’t really matter what’s hap-
pening in Phase 5, the ASCENSION phase.
No one is getting there. Later on in your
business you’ll have all 5 phases up and
running, and it will be a matter of tweaking
and improving, but in the beginning you’ll
need to focus on just making sure all the
elements of these phases are in place.
And that takes time.

But in the end, it means you’ll be reaching more people faster and earning more
money sooner.
Remember, our goal is to simplify the process. We don’t want the overwhelm right? We
want to distill that huge amount of information that’s out there down into an easy to
follow, step-by-step blueprint that will ensure success.
So let’s dive in, starting with the framework for creating a successful, profitable online
business.
You see, creating a blog that is set up for massive success does not happen by
accident. It doesn’t matter what subject you are writing about, or who you are writing
to; there are some universal truths that apply across the board.
But before I even explain those truths, I want to address a concern that I hear ALL THE
TIME, whenever I start talking about blogging, and that’s this:
DO PEOPLE STILL EVEN READ BLOGS? IS BLOGGING STILL A THING? AND

IS IT STILL POSSIBLE TO START A SUCCESSFUL BLOGGING BUSINESS?
I think what people are really asking is this: AM I TOO LATE TO THE PARTY? And after
more than ten years of blogging and seven years of coaching more than 15,000
students in 60 countries worldwide to grow their own successful, profitable online
businesses through Elite Blog Academy®, I can tell you with complete confidence, that
NO! You are not too late.
Not just that, I’d actually dare assert just the opposite—that there has never been a
better time to harness the power of content marketing to start or grow a successful,
profitable, and sustainable online business. One that allows you the freedom to craft
the life you want, one that allows you to authentically connect with your customers,
and one that makes money while you sleep.
And so before we go any further, I think I need to also explain something very, very
important:
YOUR BLOG IS NOT

YOUR BUSINESS.
The definition of blogging is this: “to produce & publish any form of content online for
the sake of establishing credibility, building rapport, and expanding your customer
base; also sometimes called content marketing. Can include written blog posts, vid-
eos, podcasts, social media, and email.”
And what that means is that your BLOG is not your business itself, but it is the most im-
portant marketing tool for your business.
It’s how you attract readers—your potential customers—and build a relationship with
them so they get to know and like and trust you. But your BUSINESS is the thing or things
that you actually SELL.
Just know that for now, if you want to have a business, you MUST sell something, be-
cause that is what a business does. Whether you are selling goods or services, intellec-
tual property, or advertising space on your website, you are exchanging something of
value that you have, for someone else’s money. You can’t have a business without the
exchange of money, and you won’t get any money without selling something.
And I know for some of you, that probably sounds a little scary.
But it’s only scary if you don’t have a good plan to follow.
You see, we don’t start with a product that the market may or may not want, and
then hope we can find customers to buy it.
We work first to refine our message, to figure out exactly who we are talking to, what
their felt needs are, and what we want to say. And while this does take an investment
of time, it doesn’t take a lot of cash. In fact, it’s almost risk-free, because if your
message isn’t resonating, you can change it, hone it, and refine it until it does.
And then, once we’ve got that down, we begin expanding our reach and growing
our audience, all while continuing to refine our message, develop trust, and an
authentic relationship. And once again, the risk here is minimal. It takes time, but not a
ton of cash.
...continuing to refine our

message, develop trust, and an
authentic relationship.
It is only then that we start adding in the monetization piece, but by this point, it
becomes easy. We understand our market. We’ve established trust and a real
relationship. We know what our audience is already asking for, and now we can give
it to them. When we create products, we don’t have to go out looking for customers
because we already have them.
And from there, we build our business. We

now have something we didn’t have before—
capital—and so we go back through the
cycle and can take slightly bigger risks as we
continue to refine, grow, and monetize. We
start looking at our blog as an asset of our
business, and we figure out how to create
sustainable, long term growth.
It’s a business model that works, and best of all, it is one that works without all the
pitfalls that cause most small business models to fail. If you have the grit to put in the
work on the front end, to put in the initial investment of time and energy, and to keep
going and not quit, you will eventually reap the rewards.
GET HELP
We determined in this free resource that you are likely working within the ATTRACTION
phase so you will be starting on LEVEL ONE.
ST EP ONE:
Enroll in Elite Blog Academy® Foundation.
By the end of Elite Blog Academy Foundation you’ll have:

Narrowed down to the right niche for faster results. We’ll show you how to merge
your own passion and interests with a topic that can actually be monetized in
order to make you more money faster.
Built a beautiful, organized, professional-looking website. Your website is the
face of your business, so it has to be good. We’ll help you make it great.
Mastered the art of creating content that resonates. We’ll not only help you know
exactly what to write about, we’ll give you a clear template for crafting content
that people pay attention to.
Nailed down your messaging. We’ll help you get crystal clear about your target
audience, their biggest pain point, and your solution for their pain, which will set
up your business for exponential growth.
Established a solid brand that stands out. From choosing your name & logo to
picking the right colors, fonts, and imagery, we’ll show you exactly how to put
together a cohesive brand guide that gets noticed.
Set up your email service provider in order to start growing your list. We’ll show
you how to leverage email to nurture a thriving community of people who know,
like, and trust you.
Learned how to drive traffic to your website through proven growth strategies.
We’ll show you exactly what tactics you’ll need to master in order to get more
eyes on your page and ensure you don’t waste time on the wrong things.
Created an efficient social media strategy. We’ll tell you exactly where your time
is best spent so you don’t waste precious energy trying to be everywhere all at
once.
Crafted a long-term business strategy for sustainable growth. In the end,
blogging is a marathon, not a sprint. We’ll show you how to build momentum
that keeps you going strong.
ST EP T WO:
Enroll in ACTIVATE Business Coaching
After 12 weeks in EBA® Foundation, you’ll be ready to enroll in our Level 2 curriculum,
Product Launch Playbook AcademyTM, only available in the ACTIVATE Coaching
ProgramTM. In PLPA, we will walk you, step-by-step, through the process of developing,
launching, and selling your Core Offer and monetizing your platform with predictable
and profitable sales funnels. You’ll create your lead magnet and entry offer (aka your
“tripwire”), as well as learn how to quickly grow your email list through paid traffic.
ST EP T HREE:
Advance to S.C.A.L.E Your Business
From there, you’ll advance to Level 3 in ACTIVATE Business Coaching and our S.C.A.L.E.
Your Business Curriculum, which is designed to help you continually scale your online
business in a predictable and profitable way. In Level 3 we not only focus on
more advanced sales & marketing tactics, but also on creating the systems and clarity
in your business that will allow you to grow, all the while helping you develop your skills
as a leader and C.E.O.
The main purpose of our programs is to support, guide, and push you as you
continually grow and scale your online business. We provide the tools to help you get
started, show you how to set the right goals for where you are in your business, and
how to actually follow through on achieving those goals, quarter after quarter.
READY TO GET STARTED?

JOIN THE WAITLIST!
Enrollment for Elite Blog Academy Foundation opens to the public once a year. By
joining the waitlist, we will make sure you don’t miss it!
When the doors open, you will be the first to know! You can join HERE!

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Hey there, I’m Ruth!

Since launching my first blog, Living Well Spending

But it didn’t start out that way!

MOST BLOGGERS AND INFLUENCERS

The problem? Overwhelm, widespread misinformation, and a lack of support often

But what if there was

Y our Customer Superhero PathTM is the journey your customer­­—or potential

...because it will change

IDENTIFY YOUR PURPOSE

Sorta sounds like a lot of pressure, doesn’t it?

Q WHA T ARE Y O UR O WN G RE ATE S T S KILLS ,

• Health & Fitness • Natural living & homesteading

And that’s question #2.

Who is your target customer?

The question is this:

What is the PURPOSE of your blog or business?

Ultimately, your purpose

See how it works?

STRENGTHS & PASSION + AVATAR + FELT NEED = PURPOSE

It’s that simple.

If the answer to either of those questions is

Understanding your customer path also

And that takes time.

DO PEOPLE STILL EVEN READ BLOGS? IS BLOGGING STILL A THING? AND

YOUR BLOG IS NOT

...continuing to refine our

And from there, we build our business. We

Enroll in Elite Blog Academy® Foundation.

By the end of Elite Blog Academy Foundation you’ll have:

Enroll in ACTIVATE Business Coaching

Advance to S.C.A.L.E Your Business

READY TO GET STARTED?

You might also like

Y our Customer Superhero PathTM is the journey your customer—or potential