Blogging For Bucks - Back To Basics

Written by Susan on February 17th, 2009

You know that blogging is a great way to make money. It isn’t always easy, and it doesn’t happen overnight, but you really can make an income from your blog, if you take the trouble to go about it the right way, stay focused, and remain persistent. But the best laid plans gang aft agley when you neglect to pay attention to the details. I’ve lost count of how many blogs I’ve visited, only to make a beeline for the exit moments after arriving because of the terrible things it was doing to my head.

Your blog is your Online Presence. Think about what that means, exactly. It’s not just your place of business, your virtual home to which you are inviting everyone in the world. Just like the décor (or lack of it) that you have in your home, your blog will tell your visitors volumes about your character and personality. If the first thing they encounter is clutter, pointless rambling, and nothing good to eat, they will close their purses and wallets and leave, never to return.

Following are some tips to help you make your blog worth a return visit.

Tip #1: Choose a Niche. This follows on what I was saying in my last post. You can’t be all things to all people. Find a group who needs a leader and make your blog THE go-to spot that addresses their needs and wants. Stick to that plan and the money will follow.

Tip #2: Create a Posting Schedule. Alright, before you say it, I know I’ve been remiss! But I’m getting better. Having a regularly scheduled post makes it easier for your readers to follow you. They will even come to look forward to it! Erratic, infrequent posting loses your visitor’s interest and building a loyal following will take much longer - if you ever manage it at all. How often should you post? At least once a week - more often if you can.

Tip #3: Write from Personal Experience. Share your experience with your readers by writing in the first person. Don’t be afraid to let your personality out for a public viewing. You’ll be creating a personal bond with your reader, and they will soon come to feel they know you - and trust, loyalty, and a willingness to buy will follow apace. If you sound like a credible (and likeable) authority on your topic, they will believe that you are.

Tip #4: Interact with Other, Similar Blogs. Get out there and visit other popular blogs that discuss the topic you’re writing about. Leave comments, join the forums. But don’t just toss out remarks for the sake of linkbacks - everybody hates the Mindless Bloghopper - make your comments useful, relevant and helpful. People know the difference between feedback and fishing.

Tip #5: Grammar and Spelling. I don’t care what you’ve been told about not worrying about perfection; the fact remains that if you cannot compose a decent, thoughtful, and grammatically correct sentence in your own native language, then you sound like an idjit. Others who are equally language impaired may not notice - but why alienate those to whom a well articulated point goes a long way toward convincing them to buy from you? It’s ok to write like you speak - end a sentence with “from” if you want - but if you speak like a 4th grade dropout who learned the use of adjectives from longshoremen, you might want to consider hiring a copy polisher. It just makes sense to run your post under the eyes of someone you know will be able to spot the mistakes and smarten it up a bit. It’s an image thing - and in the end, that’s what counts in the anonymous medium of the ‘net.

Tip #6: De-clutter. Your blog should be about the information you’re trying to get out. I’ve visited blogs and websites where, the moment I passed their portals, I was nearly done to death by a barrage of sales artillery. Animated affiliate banners, pop-ups, pop-unders, pop-arounds, pop-between the eyes, screeching mp3’s and videos with no visible off switch, mystery meat navigation, and floating ads that follow me after I’ve beaten a hasty retreat, begging me to reconsider leaving. And then the dreaded back button that loops me right back into the hell I thought I’d just saved myself from. NOBODY LIKES THAT GUY. Don’t be him.

Tip #7: Useful Plugins. At a minimum, you should have the kind of plugins that show off your most popular, recent, and relevant posts. This encourages your visitor to hang around a little longer, exploring the topics of interest to them, which your thoughtfully arranged design makes a breeze for them to find. The longer they stay, the more likely they’ll end up purchasing something.

Tip #8: Marketing Your Blog. Social marketing is the hot trend these days, but bear in mind that it’s a very time consuming method of marketing. Just be prepared to spend a lot of hours here, as you must become known as someone other people will want to interact with and get to know. But when budget is a consideration, there’s no cheaper price than free to market yourself, and places like Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, StumbleUpon, etc. are certainly ways to get your name out there. You can get your latest blog post to show up on Twitter automatically using the TweetMyBlog plugin, a very popular method for getting noticed.

Tip #9: Tech Troubles. Your blog can be a great springboard for your business, but things don’t always go as smoothly as you’d like. Sometimes it can be a frustrating arena for grappling with glitches. So be realistic about your limits when it comes to troubleshooting your blog. Weigh the cost in terms of the time it will take to fix it yourself by scouring the web for advice, versus biting the bullet and getting an expert to solve the problem for you. If you’re looking for some Wordpress consulting, this link will take you to Tom Johnson, my recommended go-to guy for the stuff I just don’t have the know-how to tackle myself. His response time is faster than a speeding bullet, he knows his stuff, he doesn’t charge an arm and a leg, and he over-the-top delivers.

Keep your eye on the prize, never stop learning, and don’t give up. Hard work and persistence will get you where you want to be, riding a well organized, well written, intelligently monetized blog all the way to the bank!