As it becomes easier and easier to build a business online, there has never been a better time to ask about how to make money with a blog.
In fact, blogging is possibly the simplest and most inexpensive method to get started on the internet.
Not exactly sure what blogging is all about?
A blog, in its purest sense, is basically an online journal.
It’s a space to document, archive and comment on literally anything you desire, to share your passions and exchange ideas.
The power of a blog is that it allows a two-way conversation with each and every post; like this article for example, and you can leave a comment in the box below; think it’s a stinker, ditto.
It’s through these interactions that we are then able to foster a relationship with our audience… and relationships are good for business.
But why is this important?
Well, when all’s said and done, there are two factors that will determine your success when it comes to making money with a blog.
1. The size of your audience
2. Your ability to capture their attention
That’s because to make money with a blog, it’s traditionally a numbers game.
You provide great content first and then maybe pick up a few dollars later as your readers click on ads, buy through affiliate links for products you recommend or purchase products of your own.
But these things take time, unless of course, you can generate a big enough audience in which case they can accumulate into more substantial chunks of cash and many do precisely that, every single day. The principle is simple and it works.
“Its easier to get a dollar from a million men than a million dollars from one”
So how do you go about building your audience?
Well, on Day 1 your blog is going to be empty and you’ll need a certain level of discipline to populate your site with interesting content. But that’s ok, just take it day by day and start writing. Your efforts will compound over time.
Every article you write is a little piece of virtual real estate, and slowly but surely, as you post more content, the value of your estate will grow in size. You’re priming the pump so to speak. Keep going, don’t give up, you might not see the water rising yet but it is, and if you’re consistent, the water (and here you can read ‘leads’ and ‘profits’) will come gushing out and you’ll be glad you did not quit.
Now, If your blog is a journal in the traditional sense, then generating content is going to be simple enough, but if you really want to accelerate your potential, follow this simple principle utilised by those who know how to make money with a blog.
Blog on purpose & write articles that people are searching for
This might seem obvious, but just because something’s common sense, it doesn’t always follow that it’s common practice.
Think of search engines like a highway. Now imagine you’re cruising down that highway and your fuel gauge pings. We’ve all been there, you’re low on fuel and now you’re actively seeking out somewhere to buy gas. You pass a few junctions but there’s nothing signposted and as the miles clock by, your need grows a little more urgent.
Then suddenly, you see what you’ve been looking for. A sign showing a station 10 miles up ahead. You pull in, fill the tank, even if it is a bit overpriced, you might even grab a few snacks whilst you’re in there.
Now statistically speaking, you know there were probably great local services down each and every one of those junctions you passed earlier….. but the sad truth is, because they weren’t signposted off the highway, they’re as good as invisible as few will ever take the time to head off the beaten track to seek them out.
Now, imagine how it would transform the finances of those local businesses if, instead of hoping for someone to take a wrong turn, they put up a big neon sign just next to the junction so that everyone looking for petrol saw it. Do you think that would be good for business?
So how does this relate to the question of how to make money with a blog?
Well, you can do exactly that with every single article you post online and you start by doing some keyword research.
This can be done using free services such as Google Adwords’ Keyword tool. These simple online tools will give you an idea of how many searches are being conducted for your topic. Better yet, they can tell you exactly what phrases people are typing into their search bar.
We’ll get into the intricacies of this in another post, but understand that certain keywords may achieve huge volumes of traffic but in reality make up just 30% of all daily searches. The other 70% are comprised of millions of unique ‘longtail’ phrases which are easier to cater to.
For example, let’s say you owned an online skate shop.
You might think it was better to rank for the keyword “skateboards” as it gets 60+ thousand searches each month, but it would be fair to say that most searching for this loose term are probably just browsing and could in all reality be looking for a multitude of things, including ‘videos of cats on a skateboard’.
On the other hand, someone searching for the more specific longtail phrase “Discount Santa Cruz Skateboards” is more likely in a buying mindset and would, therefore, be a better person to get your message in front of.
In your niche, there will be hundreds of phrases like this and each could be worth a couple of hundred or a couple of thousand visits to your site. Don’t miss this opportunity.
Do your research
Find out what people are looking for and give it to them.
Blog on purpose.
Don’t leave it to chance.
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