OK, while Carrie Ann Moss might be my idea of a futuristic goddess, she’s not part of the Holy Trinity I’m talking about.

What I’m talking about forms the crucial foundations for truly successful blog-religions.

In this post, we’ll examine the three elements every blog-religion must incorporate into it’s structure in order to attract followers, convert them into believers and ultimately produce an army of evangelists.

The Holy Trinity form a strategy. But the strategy, when put into practice, is expressed in three different forms of business that can skyrocket your income and your satisfaction with your blogging business.

These include…

1. Consulting – time spent working with clients in a one-on-one fashion.
2. Training – time spent working with groups of clients in a training session.
3. Leverage - selling products you’ve created or those created by others (usually through an affiliate program).

Let’s look at these individually.

Consulting - Anytime you call a friend, you’re consulting.  Meeting a friend for coffee later in the week? That, too, is consulting. Many businesses are constructed on this foundational element alone.

When I’m seen by my dentist, dermatologist or chiropractor, I’m spending time with an expert who’s consulting with me.  I’m paying him or her a fee in exchange for their time and experiential knowledge.

• That’s the definition of consulting; when you’re paying someone a fee in exchange for their time. Hopefully, you gain your money’s worth.

Bloggers consult also – although it’s more commonly referred to as ‘coaching’ in today’s vernacular.

Examples of blog consultants are Chris Garrett and Michael Martine among others. Both coach clients on how to create and sustain a blog, increase your traffic, increase your social media awareness, etc. While I’m a subscriber to both blogs and I’ve communicated with both of these fine gentlemen -and have a more friendly relationship with Chris via his Authority Blogging Forum-  I haven’t been a paid client of their consulting model.

What if your blog is not focused on blogging? What then?  Consulting comes down to trading your time and talent for money, plain and simple.

Your consulting model is going to be different.  If you’re in the coaching business, coaching per hour, per day, per month is your one-one-one consulting.

If you’re in some other field, your consulting model is simply going to be trading your specific expertise for money with those who want it.

The Consulting Problem – There is a downside to consulting. If you fill all your billable hours with consulting, you’ll likely not have time to expand your business or take a holiday or vacation without your income stream ceasing.

The exception to this is a monthly retainer paid by clients for your time as agreed upon in advance.  If you operate in this consulting model, you’re more likely to be able to take time off.

But there is another issue with the all-consulting model: Limited income

If you fill your week with billable client hours, the only way you’ll raise your income level is to raise your fees.  This might result in client attrition. For most consultant, raising their fees is a delicate dance.

You can solve this problem by adopting the second element on the Holy Trinity of Blog Religions…

Training – I once attended a Welcome New Patients Open House held by a chiropractor.  The open house consisted of him making a presentation to new patients about his practice, his approach to chiropractic health maintenance and the role the patient plays in the process.

The chief benefit of doing this? He was able to give the presentation once and have multiple attendees gain the benefit of his expertise.

Training allows you to give your presentation, slide show, tele-class, etc., to multiple parties at the same time.  Think of training as group consulting.  Each member of the group is paying you a fee and you’re giving out the information one time only.

Think of training as one-on-many consulting.  You are still providing your expertise in exchange for money, but if 10 people attend your training session you’ve multiplied your income ten-fold.

The Problem with Training – It takes time to construct a good training model.  But it can be done very easily.

Training doesn’t have to require a room or physical attendance at a seminar (although, you can charge a lot more if you do).  It can be as simple as a group call on a free conference service that you record.

The positive benefits of holding training sessions in that you multiply your income without filling your week with consulting hours.  That doesn’t mean you can still consult, but it does mean you might want to decrease your consulting hours to make room for training.

Training also further establishes your leadership role in your blog-religion.  It reinforces your perception as an expert in your field.  It also generously floods you with material to leverage into products.

Consulting and training make a good mix, but there is a third element that will really help sustain your blog-religion.

Leverage – The third element of the Holy Trinity is leveraging your training sessions, books, eBooks, seminar videos, or products authored by others that you promote through an affiliate relationship.

I use leverage on this site: I sell two books I created and recommend the products others have created (see the sidebar) through an affiliate relationship.

Leverage offers you freedom from the time-for-cash income trap because your blog can sell these products for you 24-7.

Total automation of selling your product online – making your offer, collecting money and getting paid, and delivering the product to your customer – all are possible without much work from you.

Successful Blog Religions are Built on the Holy Trinity – David Allen of Getting Things Done, Stephen Covey of The Seven Habits, Sean D’Souza of Psychotactics, Mark Silver of Heart of Business: All use the three elements of the Holy Trinity of Blog Religions. Even traditional businesses like Harley-Davidson and Elvis Presley Enterprises use the Holy Trinity.

Where to Get Started

Consulting - Begin to look at why your readers seek out your blog or business.  What it is exactly that you’re giving them.  Could you perform this as a one-on-one service? Many readers would love to hire a expert to do what they lack the confidence or time themselves.

Training – Evaluate your consulting model for ways you could present this information to a small group and earn your consulting fee time 10!  There may be other areas of your business that you’ve wanted to bring to your clients but lacked the time. Training represents a great way to introduce a new service.

Leverage – Recording one of your audio training calls is the easiest way to produce your first product.  Hold the training session, record the call and offer it as a product on your blog.  Of course there are many more steps involved, but can you see how doable this is?

Getting the Holy Trinity of Blog Religions working for you take a bit of time, but the benefits are incredible:

• More free time in your schedule.
• The potential for diversity in income streams.
• More money.
• Freedom from the time-for-cash income trap.

What About You?

How do you see the Holy Trinity fitting into your business?  Do you already diversify your income streams in ways that fit this model? Please leave your comments below and share with us your success or your questions.