Turn your Blog into a Profitable Business…  

    

There are so many blogging tips out there that if followed, could turn your blog into a profitable business. This post reveals some of the top blogging tips including  those from such expert bloggers as John Chow and Ray Higdon and how following these tips can make your blog a profitable business.

1. Treat your blog like a business.

First and foremost, take your blog seriously.  Because of the minimal amount of money that it costs to start a blog, many people look at this traffic and sales generating strategy with an “easy in and easy out” attitude. “If you treat your business like a hobby, it will cost you like one. If you treat it like a business, it can pay you like one.” Here are specific tips that make your blog a business.

• Create a (Business)  Plan
• Be at the office every day
• Create deadlines and stick to them
• Set a publishing schedule
• Write your blog legalese
• Eliminate distractions
• Do your research
• Hire an Editor
• Monetize your blog
• Invest In your blog
• Market your blog
• Keep your books up to date

2. Brand Yourself – questions that you need to ask…

• Who are you?
• What is your blog about?
• What topics will it cover?
• Why does your blog exist?
• How does your blog work?
• Who is your audience?
• What makes your blog unique?
• Why should someone subscribe to your blog?
• What is your  blog’s theme?
• What is your blog’s  visual identity ?
• What is your blog’s writing style? 
• What is your blog’s personality?
• What is your blog’s voice?

3. Become an internet marketer, not just a blogger 

Authority bloggers write in-depth content in article-sized chunks, which they distribute on a weekly or even daily basis. Blogs can make great money, but it takes a while to get going since most bloggers choose only to monetize what they do with advertising.

Internet marketers are a clever bunch when it comes to making money. They look for the best profit models and go after the key variables straight away. They know profit comes from email lists with high conversion rates, followed up with back-end  product funnels. They look for 80/20 method of making money, they leverage their time and charge lots of money for what they give. Internet marketers can give quality information because they – A) Read all those books published by authors, and… B) Take massive action focused on maximizing profits.

These Internet marketers  sell weight loss products, real estate products, sports products, food and nutrition products, music products, education products, and the list goes…

These Internet marketers know how to get the most out of what they offer. They sell information products like ebooks, video courses, DVDs, home study courses, live events, audio downloads and loads more. They charge a range of prices and target very specific markets with very specific products. If you looked at the value per word they publish and sell, this group is the richest.

Blogger or Internet Marketer?

So the question that needs to be asked is “Can you make more money writing a blog  or selling things online as an Internet marketer? The answer is…  a combination of the two and a little more:

• The blogger needs to learn how to add Internet marketing to the mix so they can leverage more from what they already produce. It’s okay to sell some of your content and not give everything away for free. It’s smart to focus on more than just advertising as a monetization method and you should build an email list. Think about building a business and not just writing a blog as a job.
• Internet marketers need to be business builders too, and using credibility enhancing tools like a book and a blog gives you significant points of leverage to position yourself ahead of the competition, sell more product and charge more for what you do.

All of this takes time to develop and everyone begins from a different space. Your circumstances dictate where you start. Creating these assets is not something you do overnight.

Knowing what to do next is the first question to answer. Fill in the knowledge gaps you are missing. Education and creating awareness of what you need to know that you don’t know is the first step. After that you can begin the practical implementation steps using some of the internet marketing principles  discussed here to take you towards your goals.

What are you doing?

According to this article in Lateral Action — http://lateralaction.com/articles/artists-internet-marketing/     …these are a few of the things bloggers might be doing (or not doing) that are hurting their chances of making it on the Internet things related to the Internet itself, marketing, advertising, targeting . These “mistakes” include:

• Just not doing it – getting on the Internet –Bloggers have tons of excuses why not to try the internet including technical challenges, not knowing what to do, etc.
• Can’t just rely on your portfolio, have to provide content regularly and for free
• Not giving away the best of yourself for free
• Not hosting your own blog
• Not writing magnetic headlines that capture people’s attention (this is called marketing)
• Not building an email list of followers, fans, people interested in your work, product, service, etc.
• Not inviting people to subscribe and making it worth their while
• Not targeting their clients
• Making it hard to buy their products/services

So I feel pretty confident saying if you want to make money quickly, following an Internet marketing focused model is the answer.

4.  Ways to make money on a blog  (monetize your blog)

• Go with programs which are multi-niche based. These are affiliate networks that hold products in every niche and all that’s required from you is an account.
• Sell ad space on your blog
• Sell ad space through Google Adsense
• Advertise on various social media venues – e.g. Facebook, YouTube, etc.
• Sell products
• Sell coaching sessions
• Cost Per Action offers, etc.

5. Blogging Design Tips 

• Pick your blog’s name and tagline with care and make them strong
• Choose a memorable address/url
• Put opt in forms in strategic locations on the blog – e.g. on the side bar, below  content,  pop up offering free product/service (e-book, coaching)
• Have at least one give-a-way
• Consider post length
• Decide how blog posts and static pages will be formatted
• Have a sign up sheet on your home page for people to apply to work with you 
• Add your blog signature at the bottom of every page
• Add P.S. line that features something – a sales page, something to buy/promote 
• Have multiple calls to action in the content and in videos

Additional articles

• http://heidicohen.com/20-tips-to-brand-your-blog/
• http://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/branding-your-blog-for-success.html
• http://www.incomediary.com/expert-blog-design-tips-beginners
• http://www.heylovedesigns.com/2013/05/15/50-blogging-tips/
• https://blog.bufferapp.com/blogging-advice-for-beginners-from-16-experts
• http://www.johnchow.com/your-50-common-blogging-questions-answered-part-2/#comment-553096
• http://www.writersincharge.com/blog-like-a-business/
• http://lateralaction.com/articles/artists-internet-marketing/
• http://www.entrepreneurs-journey.com/1890/who-makes-more-money/

• http://www.problogger.net/archives/2009/07/22/how-to-treat-your-blog-like-a-business/ 

If this helped you and you got value, feel free to share with your teammates, on Facebook, and comment below.  

Sara Metzger’s Start an Online Business Blog
Skype: Sara.Metzger
Email: sarametzger@comcast.net
Facebook Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/sara26.metzger?fref=ts

Let me know if you want to become a blogger, an internet marketer or both.