What can a well-run shoe store teach you about your own online business? Well, everything. If you've ever bought anything from the mega online shoe store Zappos, or if you've so much as heard them mentioned, the word that comes to mind is probably service . But there's more to the Zappo's secret sauce than free shipping and some nice people on the phone. They embody three important lessons that any blogger, online marketer,

Why do some bloggers succeed while others fail? Why do mediocre writers sometimes beat out the really gifted ones? Why does talent ultimately not win? You see it all the time, certain authors get published while others wait years without any luck. Superior businesses struggle, while sub-par ventures take off. These days, it's not enough to be a good writer . In fact, it never was. You need more. So what's the answer? The answer is marketing.

I've been blogging for six years now, and in that time I've noticed something " anyone can do it. At first, I thought that this was a good thing. But then I realized that every good thing has a shadow side. So here's the downside of the accessibility of blogging: It makes the already-terrible writers much, much louder . There are too many bloggers out there. How can this be a good thing for you? For too long,