Want to make a million dollars blogging? Sure, we all do but did you know that it is actually possible? It is and I’m going to tell you how to do it. You won’t that million dollars all at once but if you plan ahead and commit to a sound strategy like I’m going to describe here, your blog could make you that million dollars over its long and productive life. Remember, the benefits of websites in general, and blogs are websites, is that they work 24-7 while you’re kicking back at the beach or wherever you please. All you need is a commitment of 180 days, plenty of motivation and some knowledge. These are the basic skills you must know – Blogging 101. Get your note pads out and bookmark this page because you’ll want to refer back later, I promise you.
1. Format – Many blogs skip this step and do not put any thought into their format – the result is that they flounder. When you’re setting up your blog or if you have an existing blog that is not working, you need to concentrate your format into a niche that concentrates on a few keywords. Think darts here instead of shot gun. You’re better aiming with precision than spreading around a bunch of non-related keywords. Lay some groundwork about the theme of the blog and this could be said about starting any type of business. A blog is a business that just happens to be inexpensive to start, can be run from home, on your own time, but a blog is a business nonetheless. When you’re starting any business, the first critical idea is to have a mission statement – “I want to sell stuff” isn’t a very clear mission statement. “I want to sell website design and WordPress customization,” is a lot more concise. Your blog should be about something and you should make that clear in the title, description and in your about page. Take some time to carefully craft these as they are set the stage for what you’ll later post. At this stage in the game, you should make a decision about how you plan to earn money with your blog, are you going to sell a service, a product or advertising. You can choose any format that interests you but it must be something you can create content about consistently which brings us to the next step.
2. Content – With your format prepared, you should concentrate your efforts on creating 20-80 posts, saturating your content with the keywords that are contained within your niche. Make it clear to anyone arriving about your site that you are blogging about “x” – whatever that “x” is. In creating your format, necessarily, several keywords will have come to the surface. For instance, my blog is about web design. I’m a web designer – I sell web design service and obviously web design is a keyword my blog targets. It also targets WordPress, themes, layouts, etc. Your articles should naturally contain these keywords and give layer and dimension to your content. If you have a hard time creating content, pay to have it created for you. Great content will bring readers and readers are what give a blog the ability to succeed. Google is like the Magic 8 ball but instead of 8 options, it returns millions. Your keywords give relevance to your pages and if they’re not there, Google doesn’t reward you and you don’t get traffic. Your content should be unique, contain a personal perspective and you must be willing to put on the show. Let me say this another way – you must be “willing to embrace the whore within.” What do I mean by this outrageous statement? Look, people can get recipes on how to do anything on the internet. What makes you unique is the crazy and random shit that happens in your life and people are fascinated with this. This is why the reality tv format is so successful and blogs are a similar format. Blast your keywords but tell them how your dog ate your wallet and you had to pull it from his butt with a pair of tongs, for example. The fastest way to build an audience, affiliates, a community and a following is by giving the details. Leave out the details and you’re just a boring blog that is like ten million other blogs out there. Give it personality and you’re on the way to the million bucks.
3. Monetize – Many blogs monetize by placing random ads on all over the page. The idea with monetizing a blog is to appeal to the reader’s desire to gain something. That means your ads, the service or the product must be relevant to what they’re reading and you need to be the authority on the topic. Why do people buy anything when they’re random web surfing? They only buy if they believe that they must have what is being sold. If you just wrote the best article on why someone should use WordPress and have an affiliate ad for WordPress templates next to it, you’ve got a chance. If you just wrote an article about the latest and greatest WordPress theme and have a pet food ad next to it, you missed your chance. The ads, services and products you choose to display must be carefully chosen to be related to the theme of your blog.
4. Why 180 days? Well, it’s simple – you can remember and keep track of this number. Consistency is the issue here. Post relevant, useful and personality filled content for 180 days and you’ve created something that Google can spider and give legitimacy to. This is the foundation upon which you can build a successful website. Then you can go out to other blogs, comment bring new readers, advertise on other sites and whatever other advanced strategies you choose to bring new traffic to your blog but you have something – a legitimate site rather than a fish out of water. This will bring you the blogging success that you are looking for.
Want to see how I have done with my blog? See my results here
