Mark Manson, Postmasculine.com

Mark Manson, Postmasculine.com

Mark Manson

Medellin, AT

Male, 28

I am a professional blogger, internet entrepreneur, and world traveler. I've been to over 40 countries and am currently working on my second book about long-term travel and how to work/live abroad. On my blog I write about self development and creating a unique lifestyle for yourself. Feel free to ask me anything.

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Last Answer on October 05, 2012

Best Rated

Mark, thanks for asking my first question, I agree with you. Content rules. That being said, I am having a little trouble figuring out exactly how to effectively market my blog. Any quick tips for a beginner?

Asked by Legendary almost 13 years ago

Best ways to get the word out about your blog: 1. Guest posts on other blogs. I recommend emailing other bloggers with an article ALREADY written. Make sure it's good. You basically want to make it as easy as possible for them to say yes. Aim for bloggers who are in your league. A big blog that gets 10k hits a day likely gets asked for guest posts daily and is only going to be interested in promoting someone who has a platform to promote them back. Look for blogs of people who are similar but slightly larger than you. So if you get 20 hits a day, look for someone who gets maybe 50 or 100 hits. If you get 100 hits, look for someone who gets 400 hits. Work your way up. 2. Forums. Either pop your blog in your signature and post a lot of good, quality posts. Or find HIGHLY RELEVANT threads and drop a link to your site in your reply. It is very, very, very, very important to make sure you're adding real value when you post on forums, lest you be considered a spammer. The moment people think you're a spammer, no one will take you or your site seriously. 3. Blog comments. See above, although these are a bit easier and people are a lot more lenient about you linking. But again, make sure your comment is great. 4. Interview people. Interview other bloggers and then hope they link to your interview. Same rule applies about finding bloggers of similar but slightly larger size. I get interviewed multiple times a week, and I simply can't be bothered to link my readers to every place I'm interviewed, especially if it was by a tiny site. Don't worry about social media until you've gotten a bit of a following. Until then, it's just a waste of time.

If you had to pick one, which of the countries that you've lived in was the most surprisingly great?

Asked by elias almost 13 years ago

You mean the one that exceeded my expectations the most? I would say either China or Russia. I really did not expect to like China. I was going there to do the tourist stuff and because it was a cheaper connection back home to the States for the holidays. I ended up really, really liking it there and wanting to go back for an extended period of time. Another one is Russia. Before I even got there I had dropped a small fortune on visas, language lessons, and an apartment in the center of St. Petersburg. When I got there, my immediate thought was "What have I done?" Nothing worked, everything was dirty, everyone was rude, no one spoke English, the food was horrible, the weather was horrible. I thought I was in for a very long month. I ended up loving it and actually if I didn't have a girlfriend in Brazil I'd probably go back to Russia ASAP.

Hey, Mark. What are your thoughts about the seduction community now that you're not as involved with it as you once were?

Asked by ap1 almost 13 years ago

I have mixed feelings for it. I think on the one hand, it does a lot of good and has some admirable goals -- self improvement, increasing self awareness and self respect in men, helping anti-social men become more social and confident, a support group for men's issues and insecurities. These are all great things. I think some aspects of it are quite toxic as well -- the singular focus and obsession on sex, the objectification of women and occasional misogyny, the narcissistic tendencies some companies teach men to have, and the weird cult mentality many men develop as a result. The major thing that inspired my current site was creating a positive and healthy alternative to the seduction community for men.

Dogs or Cats?

Asked by Gus almost 13 years ago

Cats. You don't have to pick up their poop and they have much funnier Youtube videos. And cuter too.

Who do you see as your primary competitors? Do you monitor them closely, or just kinda do your own thing?

Asked by Friar Buck almost 13 years ago

Before when I was primarily a pick up and dating site, my competitors were obvious: the other pick up businesses and coaches. Now that I've branched out into more self development and lifestyle and focused much more on my personal brand rather than specific advice, my competition and market has become more ephemeral. I think my biggest competition are the modern men's sites: AskMen.com, ArtofManliness.com, Men's Health, etc. But I think they are competition less in what they sell, and more in the space they occupy in pop culture and in men's perceptions of themselves. Ultimately, the goal of my site is to redefine what masculinity is and how a new generation of men perceive themselves. So while some sites or businesses may compete directly with my style product or my dating product, ultimately I'm competing for a space in the mind's of men at large. It's a lofty goal, but hey, dream big, right?

Were you an entrepreneur from the moment you stepped out of college, or did you work any regular jobs before "seeing the light?"

Asked by micah_88 almost 13 years ago

I worked in a bank for a short period of time, maybe 2-3 months before quitting. My entrepreneurialism was unplanned and a bit serendipitous. I wrote about it on my site here: http://postmasculine.com/kill-your-day-job

Do you eventually want to settle down with one woman? Would it have to be a woman who's willing to country-hop with you indefinitely?

Asked by Sumeet almost 13 years ago

Yes, I do. And although she wouldn't need to be willing to country hop, she would have to be passionate about travel and different cultures.