The Secret Sauce Of Blogging For Profit

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

The Secret Sauce Of Blogging For Profit

By Jon Symons

There are a lot of ingredients that go into successful blogging: site layout and design, domain name, search engine optimization, consistency of posting and quality of the writing, among others. But the one thing that stands above the rest is a passion for the topic.

It's really a great idea to start a blog in an effort to make money writing articles about a certain topic. However, many people make a big mistake before they even start. They search for a topic by looking in the wrong direction.

Most online gurus will tell you to use a keyword research tool to try and find a niche with high demand (meaning a lot of people searching for it), low competition and high paying ads. There are even websites where you can purchase lists of these so called premium or ripe niches.

There is one very large problem with this approach. Blogging, especially for profit blogging, is a long term commitment, not a get rich quick scheme. Ask yourself a question, do you really want to spend hours and hours researching, learning and writing about a topic that doesn't really interest you, just because the AdSense ads pay 10 cents more per click? That sounds a lot like a job to me and if you are trying to blog to make money why not make it something that is enjoyable AND profitable?

Look to your passions to find a topic for your site (tips on that in a second). Sure you'll want to check to make certain that there are some products or services being advertised that are related to your choice but even if there isn't you can still make money from your site; political blogs come to mind and they can do very well from selling links or by featuring only semi-related products.

In the end it is traffic that creates earning potential on the web and traffic is simply people drawn to your site's information. I've found that people are primarily drawn to two three things: sincerity, honesty and passion.

Many people have trouble or get lost when trying to identify their passions. Seeing passions as big and grandiose obsessions are a common misconceptions. What follows is my low key technique for discovering your passions.

Make a list of everything that you've done in the last 3 days (or more if you like). Just a simple list, nothing too complex, with as much or little detail as seems right.

Stop reading until you finish making your list.

Okay, now go through and beside each item on the list and score it on a 1 to 10 scale. 1 would be like getting a root canal done and 10 would be driving in the winning run in for your baseball team in the playoffs. Look at the scores and notice the trends. No real need to do in-depth analysis, but by picking out the pattern in the highest scoring items you should have a nice list of possible blog topics.

These are the topics that will give you an edge out in the blogosphere.

So what's the secret sauce of blogging for profit?

Passion; which leads to enjoyment.

Enjoying and having passion for your subject matter will help you constantly discover new story ideas because you'll be living your topic online and off line, not just writing about it.

Your readers will notice the difference and they will want to hear more of what you say and they will tell their friends and link to your stories from their sites. So forget keyword research and niches and look at your own life and interests to find the best topic for your new blog. In the long run this will be the most profitable approach.

About the Author: Jon J. Symons is a passionate blogger and online entrepreneur. Based on his technical background he has produced a series of instructional films to help Bloggers overcome the technical aspects of setting up a blog. Stop by his site at Create A Blog.

Source: www.isnare.com