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- Why Your Blog Isn't Making Money
This guest post is by Moon Hussain of Experiments In Passive Income.
This post comes from the bottom of my heart. After coming in like a cowgirl blogging newbie and failing with making money online with my blog, I have figured out what lead to my blog bringing in $0.00 most months. To think I came into the blogging world with a typical “make money online” blog and with the mindset that I'd blow everyone away with loads of affiliate income rolling in was foolish.
Pay close attention, because what I'm about to reveal here has the power to make you a full-time income. The stuff we both have been dreaming about. Make notes. I want you to walk away with a plan.
If you don't think that's such a bad thing, that's probably because you are a new blogger, probably less than six months into blogging. Let me tell you: after a year of providing good content and not making money, you will come to a stop.
Churning out quality content two to three times a week takes a lot of time. After plugging away for over a year, I can tell you providing quality content is not enough!
It's only one part of the equation.
If what you are reading right now is bringing you down or you think it's "too much work", then stop wasting your money on hosting fees and kill your blog now. If you want to make money with your blog, it's about to get good.
What phrase starts with "Busin" and ends with "lan"?
I hope you said business plan, I really do. Instead of lecturing you on how bad you have been by not having a business plan, I'm going to show you with a real, live case study: my own blog.
What was my business plan a year ago?
In the last year, I never had a business plan for my blog. Not a written one, anyway. Here was my thought process over the last year: "I'll build niche sites, blog about my experiences, I'll make money from these sites, people love to learn how to make money so they'll absolutely, feverishly flock to my site!"
Forget an internet entrepreneur … I'd be an internet rockstar!
In my mind, this was the ideal plan that was supposed to take place:
Seem familiar? Yeah? In all honesty, you should be scared.
That was my business plan. Officially one and a half years into blogging, I am in the process of formulating a much more concrete business plan. And now I cry looking at my old "business plan".
How to get specific with your business plan
Blogging about a topic, however passionate you are about the subject, does not make a business. It is a platform that can help spread your expertise. You can use it to connect with your ideal customers. Here are some key questions you need to ask yourself:
- How can I take my blog from "just a blog" to a blog that generates me business?
- What do I know about my blog's main topic? How can I showcase my expertise about this topic?
- Why are people reading my blog? (Is it entertainment, education, a particular solution they are looking for)?
- How can I take the answer from question #3 and answer it with my expertise (question #2)? (Result: a product or service you can serve your audience).
Before you jump the gun, before you can do much with any of the above, you need to figure out the missing pieces.
Let's backtrack a bit and work through the process…
What are your missing pieces?
For me, it happens to be my email list. I have a super-tiny email list. My goal is to increase the number of people on my email list and to help them resolve something that I have experience with.
Sure, they say it's not the amount of people on your email list but the type of people on your list (whether they convert or not) that matters. I agree. But no one can say that having a good number of quality people on your email list is a bad thing.
These people are the ones who want what you may have to offer. Your work, your services, your expertise, your products! I know this isn't a new revelation but stick with me. Trust me when I say this, I'm ahead of 90% of you…
In case you are one of those stubborn bloggers, read the next few lines carefully.
Name three big bloggers you know. I pick Darren as one. How about the other two big bloggers you have picked. Do they have an e-mail list? You bet your inexperienced butt they do! An email list is how Darren launches super profitable ebooks and courses and leverages his traffic.
If you haven't picked up on the importance of having your own email list, the rest of this post is useless.
We have backtracked one step. But we have more work to do. If all of this seems overwhelming, grab a piece of paper and pencil. I guarantee you will have a comprehensive plan before you leave this page!
How do we build our missing pieces?
The so-called "blogosphere" has evolved and people (smart ones, that is!) are no longer willing to give up their email addresses just because you asked. No sir! The only way you're about to get those email addresses is if you have something people want.
For example, if by the end of this post I have helped you by constructing a cohesive business plan for your blog, you'll want to read more of my content. Because I helped you. Because you liked what I had to say. Because you want more.
And if you haven't noticed, it's not just one guest post I'll be publishing to build my email list. You should be seeing me around. In other words, after you create a free report, you need to find big hubs where your ideal customers are hanging out!
Create a list of five big sites and blogs where your readers are. Expose yourself (*ahem* with your unique posts) multiple times.
I'm doing the exact same thing right now. I am exposing my content to new readers who don't know me. If you have "kind of seen me around", then the more I expose my work, the more chances I'll have of getting your attention.
It's how all of the big bloggers roll; you just weren't paying attention or think that your blog will surely take off after one of your posts "go viral". Hah!
What I'm discussing with you took me a year to figure out. Ignorance isn't bliss, apparently. Here I have my sexy, newly defined business plan:
You can bet my plan is even more specific than this. It may seem exhausting but this is precisely what you need. In fact, I have goals written down for how many people will join my list in June, July, and August, and how much money I expect to earn in each one of these months. I'm also in the process of designing my survey and constructing my consultation reports.
Before you leave, answer the following questions and construct at least a rough diagram of your business plan:
- Do you have an email list?
- Do you necessarily need to grow your email list? If so, how exactly will you do that? How many guest posts? Start writing down guest post ideas.
- What kind of service or product do you want to offer? What would you be excited to provide people with?
- Survey your growing email list.
- Can you come up with a service, membership site, or ebook that you have experience with?
Write down your answers. Get super specific. No one else can do this for you. If you don't do this, your blog is dead.
After you write down your answers, you need to create and stick with a plan. Remember, if you want to earn an income from your blog, you need to treat it like a business and must have some sort of business plan.
Reality check!
Would you rather create your own detailed business plan for your blog … or leave it to lady luck to make your content go viral? (By the way, in case you didn't know, viral traffic like Stumbleupon doesn't convert and sucks. Sure, it'll make you feel cool for a day or two but that's about it!)
I would love to hear your business plans in the comments section. Bring it!
Check out Moon Hussain's blog, Experiments In Passive Income, where she discusses details about how to build your own income generating niche sites and blogs. Download her free ebook, To the Moon & Back, in which she details all that she learned about niche sites over the course of a year.
Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger
Why Your Blog Isn't Making Money
Переслать - Ignore the A-list Bloggers
Okay, you must be thinking, I have a death wish for incurring the wrath of Darren Rowse and other A-list blogs like ProBlogger. But I believe I need to get the message out to all newbie bloggers. I struggled mightily myself when I first started. I almost quit blogging altogether.
If you want your blog to succeed, ignore A-list blogs at all costs!
Why ignore the A-list?
Income
Some A-list blogs do it more than others (show off how much money their blog brings in), but the result is the same. You will lose your focus and start obsessing over money. I guarantee it. I understand it's all about the money and they need to show their expertise and success through their income statements. But don't get entranced by the dollars. You will dilute your passion for writing and your own blog.
Metrics
Although their income is the measurement that stands out, don't get sucked into their other metrics as well. Hundreds of thousands of fans, followers, and subscribers shows that the A-lister knows how to grow a community. But nothing makes you feel more inadequate than when you take a look at your ten followers, fans, and subscribers. Add to that their out of this world PageRank, mozRank, Alexa, monthly page views and visitors, and you’ll be feeling more inadequate than a teenage boy coming out from a cold swim. Compare at your own risk!
Advertising
What's wrong with looking at their ads and banners? Nothing, but as you get more interested you will naturally find out what they charge for ad space. This ties with income and metrics and will fuel your inadequacy. You can't even give your ad space away for a dollar while A-list bloggers easily command 500 times that amount.
Ignore if you dare!
Okay, you found me out. Of course you shouldn't ignore A-list bloggers!
They all have been there and done that. They have many years of experience, a wealth of knowledge, and tons of great advice to help your blog succeed. However, if you obsess with their income, metrics, and advertising, you will get derailed and you can kiss your blog goodbye.
Content really is king
We've heard this mantra a million times before, but do you really know why? I came up with a few catchy corollaries, but they were too bland and generic. Luckily, I found Eric of Photography Bay and his guest post The Long Tail of Blogging: Why Content Is King. He presents a fascinating look at the Long Tail theory, how it pertains to your blog, backs it up with clear examples and graphs. After discovering why content really is king, I even learned a little about photography, too.
Community is queen
In my opinion, second behind content is community. After penning award-winning posts, what good is it if you don't have readers to interact with you? Rather than bore you with my drivel, check out Darren's 8 Tips For Building Community On Your Blog. I particularly enjoyed tips on accepting reader content, assigning reader jobs, and giving reader homework and plan to incorporate them into my own blog.
Develop your voice
There is only one of you and this fact makes your blog special. I thought I found my voice, but after reading Georgina's 5 Ways to Build Your Blog's Voice, I can improve this area as well. I was so focused on my content, I believed my voice was naturally flowing from my post. I neglected picturing my audience and watching my mood when I posted and unknowingly weakened my voice. Don’t let this happen to you.
Are you ignoring the A-list?
It does take time to gain blog success as this is not a get rich quick scheme. If this is what you are looking for, you’ve chosen the wrong path. But if you work hard and stick to your guns, before you know it, your income, metrics, and advertising will grow as well. Rather than envy A-List Blogs and their super-duper stats, heed their advice and apply it to your blog. Don't forget to thank me when you join the ranks of the A-list bloggers!
Buck Inspire is living a fulfilled life within his means while delving into personal finance sprinkled with dining, entertainment, pop culture, technology, and travel. If you like what you see here, please consider subscribing to his RSS feed or following him on Twitter.
Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger
Переслать - Why You Absolutely Need a Blogging System
This guest post is by Shaun Connell of Live Gold Prices.
People like things to be predictable. Formulas—or patterned systems—are all around us.
Many popular action movies have the same basic plot, every criminal trial is supposed to be run with the same basic principles, the planets follow the same basic paths, and billions of dollars are spent every day in stocks, futures, and currency trades using complex formulas. Long story short—formulas are important, and for a good reason.
Copyright totti - Fotolia.com
Formulas allow our world to be predictable, and then allow us to repeatedly get what we want out of the world by simply learning those systems.
In this post, we’ll be discussing what systems are, why you need some for your blog, and then discuss some ideas for systematic blogging in order to help you create a repeatable, actionable process for making multiple successful and profitable blogs.
Why you need a system
The world’s rich usually fall into at least one of the following two categories: lucky or systematic. If you inherit a billion dollars, then you’re lucky. If you have an investing strategy that works, like Warren Buffett does, then you’re systematic.
If you find yourself short on the luck scale, then the fact that systematic success is, well, systematically predictable should come as pleasant news. If you have the formula for success, then you’re able to take a one-time good thing and turn it into an effectually infinite number of good things.
This is why so many “investor” guides and tutorials try to focus on finding the holy grail of technical analysis—they know if they can find a predictable pattern, they can make a fortune trading on the basis of that pattern.
Of course, most of those patterns just don’t work anywhere near like they’re supposed to work and a lot of “technical analysis” is rubbish, but that’s another topic for another time.
An introduction to systematic blogging
While blogging is obviously more of an art than an exact science, the notion of systematic blogging also still usually works as well. If you look at most successful bloggers who manage more than one successful blog, you’ll usually see that they employ plenty of the same principles, methods, and systems that give them predictable, repeatable blogging success.
Let’s look at a few arenas where this should be evident:
- Staff writers. Hiring multiple freelance writers allows you to automate your blog. There’s a reason most of the biggest blogs on the Internet often have multiple writers—this allows the blog to be a little more manageable by the owner, while also allowing a new, fresh perspective to be added to the website’s content.
- Content patterns. The need for being systematic couldn’t be more powerful than when it comes to your content. Consistent posting, learning basic headlines that are powerful, keeping a repeatable style going, etc. Each of these both builds your brand, systematically keeps traffic coming back because they know what to expect, and lead to longer-term success.
- Social media building. Creativity is obviously absolutely critical to getting content to go viral. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be systematic as well. Strategically adding a Share or Like button is an obvious first step, but hard-wiring in a simple line asking for readers to spread the word so you can keep your content free can lead to an incredibly high response rate.
- Design principles. Web usability is something many bloggers completely forget to master. Having a professional looking web design is just step one. Having a functional web design that gets conversions and is easy to use is another matter entirely. There are entire blogs based on finding the most compelling way to build trust and relationships with different color schemes, textures, and other bits of design.
- Newsletter marketing. Mixing a great newsletter offer with strong conversion-usability is probably the best way to get systematic success. Newsletter readers are often highly responsive, and you can reach them directly in their email box whenever you need to. To say this is “powerful” is an understatement. Mixing high-quality blogging with a strong understanding of email marketing is pure systematic, repeatable income dynamite.
- Website usability. A pretty design is good, a usable design is better, and a beautiful and usable design is the best. Website usability is essentially the field of figuring out which little changes to a design/content get the most results. Using subtitles, figuring out where to put the sidebar, and knowing where to put ads can literally increase your traffic and earnings by 10 fold over time. I once spent some time buying smaller niche blogs, installing different designs, and then just updating them with content—it’s possible to double revenue with the same amount of traffic. That’s systematic success. This arena overlaps with design principles, but because of the nature of how usability is part of all of your content production, it includes a bit more than just the main theme of your blog.
As with everything worth doing in life, building a systematic, repeatable blogging model takes time, experience, and research. Learning how to do this correctly can thrust your blog into the realms of higher earnings, higher traffic, and even give you some extra free time without costing you a penny.
What are some ideas of systematic tactics that can make everything you do more efficient, more profitable, or more popular? Share your ideas in the comments below.
Shaun Connell has been a full-time professional blogger since 2008, and focuses his time at his newest blog Live Gold Prices, where he writes about investing in gold, predicting future gold prices, and finding financial security.
Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger
Why You Absolutely Need a Blogging System
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