Changes to My Blog and Business Model

If this is not your first visit to my blog, you might have noticed some changes:

1. The blog has been renamed from "My Simple Trading System" to Praveen Puri (my name).

2. There are fewer links and no Adsense.

3. I've adopted a one column, minimalist design.

4. There is tighter coupling with my simplicity blog and Stock Trading Riches website.

These blog changes coincide with a change to my business model.

Originally, I started my unix and trading blogs as a hobby/micro business, monetized through Adsense. I then started adding affiliate offers and sponsored ads and posts. I starting making good money.

Then, I thought I would "rinse and repeat" to scale my business - creating more sites monetized by Adsense and affiliate products.

However, I found that doing this did not fulfilled me. It felt like an internet marketing "commodity" business.

Instead, I saw that my readers were really responding to my messages on success (business, personal, financial) through Taoist principles, simplicity and minimalism.

I eventually wrote my Stock Trading Riches book, which describes the successful investment system I built around my values.

Readers really responded to it. Even though my Adsense and affiliate earnings had increased since I first started blogging, I found my book royalties greatly exceeding them.

I realized that, not only did my book make more money, I felt more satisfaction from this income source. It felt like I was making a unique, value-added contribution - rather than simply competing with other info marketers to sell the same products.

So, I have decided, at least for now, to turn away from Adsense and most affiliate products.

Instead, I want to build a real personally branded, internet-based business around my writings and experiences with success and happiness through Taoism, minimalism, and simplicity.

I plan to create more products about achieving success through my simplicity and minimalist philosophy.

Of course, I feel uneasy about switching models, because I'm going outside my comfort zone. But, I feel like I'm making the right decision.