Most people celebrate on their birthdays, but blogging is such a fast paced field that I figure most blogs deserve at least two birthdays a year.  That means it’s time to celebrate! Get your party hats on and your kazoos out, people!

Nearly six months ago (September 12, 2010 for the curious), By Bloggers launched as a response to the void I saw between the knowledge that product-creating internet marketers were sharing and the overpopulation of button-pushing tutorial sites.  Then mission of By Bloggers has always  been to answer the question, “How do I create incredible products?” because I believe that world-changing businesses are built on outstanding products.

Six months flies by in a flash.  It’s been busy.

• 25,000 views.
• 750 Twitter followers.
• 60 blog posts published.
• Two niche-claiming e-books were launched: Epic E-Book Creation and the E-Book Creation Explorer’s Guide.
• Two incredible worksheets were freely shared with the Bootstrappers: The Annual Blog Planning Worksheet and the E-Book Planning Workbook.
• One premium course launched and run: The Customer Love Machine.
• Numerous newsletters sent, guest posts written, and clients served.

Six months ago this was a dream.  Today, it is a business built on a passion, clear vision strategic action.

As the six month mark draws near, I want to take a break from pure content creation and celebrate with you. Without you, the elbow (or should I say fingertip?) grease would be worthless.  This hasn’t been a journey through vacuum. We have been building a community together.

Today, it’s time to smile, laugh, look back, say thank you and share the best of the best of what’s happened.  At the end of it, there’s something better than cake.  Promise.

E-Book Creation

Who know there was so much to talk about regarding e-books?  While the long term vision for By Bloggers encompasses teaching how to create many types of products, e-books have been the first topic to be covered.  Here are the best of the best that have been covered:

1. E-Book Creation Planning: How to Win Before You Begin
2. Every Tool You’ll Ever Need to Create and Launch an E-Book
3. E-Book Landing Pages: First Things First
4. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective E-Book Creation
5. Going Pro with the 7 Step Product Creation Cycle
6. The Only Guide to Online Product Pricing You’ll Ever Need
7. Three Types of E-Books You Shouldn’t Write & The Four That You Should
8. What to Make When You Don’t Know What To Offer

Design

If I had a nickel for every time I stumbled across a poorly designed and produced “Special Report”, I would have at least four dollars and seventy five cents (times a thousand).  Quality content we have in abundance, but often poorly presented.  Quality design is the answer to the woes of many “low quality” products, yet many struggle with the basics.  There’s no excuse now If you missed out on the design series last month, here’s your chance to brush up on your chops.

1. Destroying E-Book Design Myths
2. The Modern, No-Nonsense Guide to the Principles of Design
3. Demystifying Typography for E-Book & Web Design
4. Mastering E-Book Design: Focusing on the Fundamentals
5. The 13 Core Components of E-Book Design

Blogging & Networking

In the process of building this blog, I have inevitably learned more about … building a blog.  Since selling digital products on your blog requires having a blog to sell from, it only made sense to talk about the best lessons I’ve learned.  These are a few gems that have helped make By Bloggers profitable, authoritative and friendly in a relatively short time span.  I hope you enjoy.

1. How to get on the 2012 ProBlogger List of Bloggers to Watch
2. A Brief Guide to Bootstrapping Your E-Products
3. Welcome to Blogging 3.0: Hang Your Digital Shingle
4. Building Your Blog with a Killer E-Product Strategy
5. The Ultimate Guide to Growing Your Network with Twitter & Skype

Business & Marketing

Shortly after I began blogging, I saw the statement, “Your blog is not your business.”  It fubared me for a little while.  It didn’t make sense – why was I spending so much time on it if it was not a business in fact? I realized eventually that to turn a blog into a business, there is a radical mindset shift that needs to occur.  In order to deliver value consistently over the long term (without having a “day job”), I needed to open up and be able to receive value for helping people.

Moving past my negative bias against marketing has an evolution as well.  Where I first viewed marketers as soulless money-grubbers, my eyes have been opened to the fact that you can market ethically.  Self-promotion is not a swear word.  Hopefully you can learn from my evolution and add to it in your own way.

1. 5 Mistakes That Are Killing Your Email List
2. How to Market Yourself and Still Keep Your Soul
3. How to Market Like a Jedi: Using The Force for Good
4. The Most Incredible Online Business Advice I’ve Ever Received
5. Are You Serving a Phantom Audience?

Inspiring

Inspiration is the jet fuel in our creative engines.  Without it, we’d spin our wheels in unfulfilling repetition.  Need some? Coming right up:

1. Why Are You Doing This? What Inspires You to Entrepreneurship?
2. It’s Not the Products You Make, It’s the Lives You Change
3. 31 Thoughts on Thought Leadership
4. Calling All Authentic Product Creators

The People That Have Made a Difference

Sam Spurlin

While Sam has been busy the last few months with a full time teaching gig and his role has moved from partner to contributor, he will always have a place of honor here at By Bloggers as a key component of what made it possible to launch this venture.  He regularly writes consistently about consciousness and lifestyle design over at The Simpler Life, be sure to get to know him well.

Visit The Simpler Life | Follow Sam on Twitter

LaVonne Ellis

LaVonne and I have forged an incredible partnership in the creation of the Customer Love Machine, but the way it started is quite the tale.  When By Bloggers was still a newborn, I had the guts to publicly (and politely – that’s important) disagree with the way she was doing things on her blog.

Was she angry?  Maybe irked at first, but she came around to my persuasive tactics and we started talking during the next Customer Love Challenge.  A month or two later, we were great friends and she was inviting me to co-lead the next Challenge.  The rest is history.

Visit Customer Love | Follow LaVonne on Twitter

Jade Craven

Way back when, before I had started my first blog, I ran onto Jade’s site.  It was probably her big ProBlogger post of who to watch in the next year that led me there.  I poked around and was totally inspired to start my own blog after haunting hers for a few weeks.

Fast forward nine months.  I started and ended one blog, just to start another.  I totally forget Jade. Then we run into each other in a uStream chat and get talking.  I see her site again and remember the inspiration she provided.

Today, we have a friendship based on nerdiness, musicals, film scores and brainstorming support.  Go say hi!

Visit Jade’s Website | Follow Jade on Twitter

David Crandall

Remember the story about how I met LaVonne?  I did the same thing to David (actually, at the same time because it was LaVonne & David’s project I was criticizing).  Turns out, David is just as awesome as LaVonne.

He’s a mix of coach, consultant, unicorn lover, business intelligence badass, family guy and one hell of a friend.  He’s helped me step it up here at By Bloggers more than a few times and he has certainly been a part of the site’s evolution.

As of late, his writing has been insanely powerful over at Heroic Destiny.  You’ll love it.

Visit Heroic Destiny | Follow David on Twitter

Sandi Faviell Amorim

Sandi is another friend that I have made through Customer Love.  She has not only been a friend, but an inspirational example of what true Customer Love looks like (she gave away $4000 worth of coaching last month).

If I look back at all of the times I have been interviewed, the one with Sandi had the most challenging questions to answer and was by far the most rewarding.

I am sincerely grateful to be palling around with Sandi on Twitter and look forward to working with her in the future.  Definitely check her out and say hello.

Visit Deva Coaching | Follow Sandi on Twitter

Adam Baker

Early on in By Bloggers history when the Showcase was more prevalent, I did a few reviews of Adam’s products.  He’s always gone above and beyond to deliver insane value, so it was a good match for my message.

He surprised me one day by turning a, “Hi, let’s meet on Skype,” call into coaching session for all of the support I’d given.  It was the single most insanely useful 45 minutes of coaching advice I’d ever received.

Visit Man Vs Debt | Follow Adam on Twitter

Francisco Rosales

Francisco is a recent addition to my circle of friendship and inspiration, but one of the most awesome.  After bumping into each other’s social circles on Twitter, we finally said hello and hit it off pretty fast over various social media channels.

Francisco regularly dispenses incredible advice on Social Mouths about best practices in social media. Not only does he cover theory, he covers exactly how to take action and implement what he talks about.

He also attracts insanely high quality guest posts (of which I’ve been privileged to contribute two) that you never want to miss.

Visit Social Mouths | Follow Francisco on Twitter

Mars Dorian

Mars Dorian is the most interesting inclusion in the list for me.  For a long time, I was put off by Mars’ often extreme style or writing and showing up in social media – but I was fascinated by the energy and intensity.

Fast forward a few months and now Mars and I are head to head in collaborative competition through the Create and Conquer challenge.  His message is always inspiring, challenging and visually entertaining.

Mars is pushing the envelope.  Go watch.

Visit Mars’ Website | Follow Mars on Twitter

Tyler Tervooren

Probably known best as the man that got 2,000 subscribers in 3 months, Tyler has always been an exciting presence in the blogosphere.  He’s also one of my favorite people to catch up with every month and trade ideas with.  It’s hard not to get excited about his passion and his mission.

If you’re looking for a mentor for getting going on blogging, check Tyler out.
Visit Advanced Riskology | Follow Tyler on Twitter

Srini Rao

Freshly moved to Costa Rica, Srini is one of the hardest working bloggers I know (which is saying something considering the caliber of folks on this list and how often he surfs).  He puts out one of the best podcasts on the net, which also happens to be one of the only ones I listen to.  If you like a little bit of awesome and a little bit of ocean in your day, take a look at his sites.

Visit Skool of Life | Visit BlogcastFM | Follow Srini on Twitter

Alexis Neely

If I have a mentor in business, it is Alexis Neely.  I had initially typecast Alexis as an, “Internet Marketer,” at a time in my business growth where internet marketers were a special brand of unethical villains.

In the opportunities I have had to work with Alexis, my perspective has turned 180 degrees. I now consider Alexis to be one of the leading business evolutionaries online.  Thanks to her, I feel that I have a clear strategy and plan for growing By Bloggers into an online business that will nourish my spirit and provide for my life.

Visit Alexis’ Website | Follow Alexis on Twitter

Jayson Gaddis

Minus the initial accusations of villainy, Jayson has been to my life and personal development what Alexis has been to my business.

Last year I went through a six month leadership and life training with Jayson and it rocked me to the core.  It changed how I did everything – from relationships, to money, to communication. This has carried over into the way I have built By Bloggers on a daily basis.

Visit Jayson’s Website | Follow Jayson on Twitter

A Massive Thank You

I said it before – without you, this blog would not be possible.  It be an echo chamber, and an unrewarding one at that. Thank you for such an incredible journey.  I am so excited to keep moving forward, keep serving and keep seeing what you create.

As a way to show my appreciation for you, I’m giving away three books who’s ideas are changing the world in a very concrete way: Poke the Box by Seth Godin, Evil Plans by Hugh MacLeod and The Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuk.  These books have dramatically shifted my perspectives over the last month, and I want you to have that same eye opening experience.

Totally better than cake, right?

How to Win

If you’d like to get your hands on any of these books, it only takes a second or two of your time to make it happen.  Here’s how you can win:

• Leave a comment saying which one you want and why.
• Leave a comment letting me know what your favorite post(s) have been this last six months (yes, you can do both of these in one comment and still get two entries).
• Tweet this post using the hashtag #bb6mo
• Like By Bloggers on Facebook or leave a comment on the page if you’re already a fan.

If you’d like, I’ll even draw a doodle (I was a fine artist before I ever did anything digital) inside the book cover before I ship it out.

Each action is one entry in the contest and you can enter once using every method.  My super duper Watson number crunching computer will do a random drawing from all entrants.

The winner will be announced in next Thursday’s (March 17th) post.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for being a part of this community.  This community inspires me to show up every day and gives me the opportunity to create and serve.  I am so grateful to you.

I look forward to celebrating with you!  Three cheers for the next six months being even more incredible than the last.