Blogging should not be a chore.
Unlike a website, you have to update your blog regularly (and not just a few words here and there). Most blogs will take about 4-6 months before they start to show a profit. If you post 2 times a week, that means you will need to blog about your topic somewhere between 30 and 50 times before you see any income.
Read that again - 30 to 50 blog articles before you would expect to see one dime!
So what is the bottom line - before you start typing, pick your topic. Make sure that the topic you choose is something that interests you. Forget keyword positioning, Adsense revenue and Affiliate products (for now) and blog about something you are passionate about.
For example, I blog about fitness and Mixed Martial Arts on 2 other blogs. Combined these 2 blogs get about 500-1000 hits per day (it can vary - I had 2500 hits on my MMA blog after the last UFC) and earn between 25-50 dollars a day. It's not a fortune, but I am still starting out (a mature blog is about 2-3 years old with 1000s of posts).
So if you are considering blogging for a living, start today by brainstorming 1 blog topic and your first 20 articles. You don't have to write them out in full yet (I prefer to work from an outline and let the words flow naturally), but you should know what you want to say and have ideas that flow naturally from one to another.
Next post - how to structure each blog post.
Of course if you can't wait, sign up for Rob Benwell's Blogging to the Bank 2.0 free newsletter.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Why a Blog???
To begin, this is not my first blog.
I became involved in blogging about 6 months ago after a big drop off in Adsense and Affiliate Sales revenue from my other ventures. Why the drop off? Honestly, Google.
It is not my style to blame others for my problems, but Google's Ranking Algorithm combined with changes to Adsense and Adwords rules has made it really hard for Affiliates to earn income from those sources.
Case in point? Have you noticed the number of former Affiliates who are selling books and ideas to new Affiliates? That is because they, like me, know that it has become almost impossible to get an Affiliate site in Google ... and even if you do diligent SEO and secure hundreds of one-way links, the Google Sandbox still prevents you from showing up in Google searches for any terms other than your URL or site/company name.
So why blogging? Well, it is a big harder than website design to come up with new material almost daily, BUT Google will index and list you in searches. Also, with RSS feeds your blog can show up in numerous places, and it's easy to submit a RSS feed to dozens of listing engines.
Since this is my fist post on this blog, I will be honest - this is an income generating blog. Don't write to me, or comment complaining about ads and Affiliate links. I will make this promise though - I will not "promote" any product I do not use, or believe in.
Since you are here, you are obviously interested in monetizing and promoting your own blog. Check back regularly. Every couple of days I will comment on some aspect of blogging for cash and monetizing your blog. If you can't wait that long, buy Rob Benwell's Blogging to the Bank - 2.0 - the top clickbank product of it's kind about blogging.
Next time - choosing your blog topic.
I became involved in blogging about 6 months ago after a big drop off in Adsense and Affiliate Sales revenue from my other ventures. Why the drop off? Honestly, Google.
It is not my style to blame others for my problems, but Google's Ranking Algorithm combined with changes to Adsense and Adwords rules has made it really hard for Affiliates to earn income from those sources.
Case in point? Have you noticed the number of former Affiliates who are selling books and ideas to new Affiliates? That is because they, like me, know that it has become almost impossible to get an Affiliate site in Google ... and even if you do diligent SEO and secure hundreds of one-way links, the Google Sandbox still prevents you from showing up in Google searches for any terms other than your URL or site/company name.
So why blogging? Well, it is a big harder than website design to come up with new material almost daily, BUT Google will index and list you in searches. Also, with RSS feeds your blog can show up in numerous places, and it's easy to submit a RSS feed to dozens of listing engines.
Since this is my fist post on this blog, I will be honest - this is an income generating blog. Don't write to me, or comment complaining about ads and Affiliate links. I will make this promise though - I will not "promote" any product I do not use, or believe in.
Since you are here, you are obviously interested in monetizing and promoting your own blog. Check back regularly. Every couple of days I will comment on some aspect of blogging for cash and monetizing your blog. If you can't wait that long, buy Rob Benwell's Blogging to the Bank - 2.0 - the top clickbank product of it's kind about blogging.
Next time - choosing your blog topic.
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