100k Job Trading From Home

Blogs may have originated as a means of online journal writing and community building, but the use of this model won’t accomplish much for the online entrepreneur.  Unless your cats are far cuter than every other bloggers’ or unless you are an amazingly interesting person with some tremendous writing talents, your personal blog will get lost in the chorus of voices that crowd the world of blogs.  In order to making blogging profitable, one must select a good topic upon which to focus.

Topic selection is at the very root of blogging success.  The idea is to choose a topic area in which you can be competitive.  Optimally, you can find a blogging niche that is underserved yet has a high level of interest.  This will allow you to attract a great deal of visitors more easily which, of course, translates into higher profit levels.

There are a few factors to consider when choosing the subject area for a “money blog.”  First, one may want to attempt to find a subject area in which they have a personal interest, especially if they plan on writing their own content.  This is because successful blogs require regular updates and it can become difficult to regularly produce quality information if one has no real interest in a topic.  If someone opts to hire a writer to produce their blog posts, however, this is a far less important factor.

Second, one should strive to find a topic area in which interest is at least relatively high.  You may be able to rule the search engines on the topic of “17th century wooden paperweights,” but there are so few, if any, people with an interest in the subject.  Thus, that number one ranking in Google will not produce the kind of traffic stream you will need to turn a healthy profit.  It may be more difficult to enter a more competitive marketplace, but the potential rewards are far greater, too.  The key to this element of topic selection, however, is not just writing a blog on a hot topic.  It is finding a field from which a healthy number of visitors can be culled.

Third, one will want to find a market that is underserved.  Basically, you are looking for a strong disparity in the number of interested parties and the amount of readily available information.  If you can find a topic in which many people are interested but that is not well-covered online, you will be sitting upon a potential blogging gold mine.  It is perfectly acceptable to build a wonderful blog and to expend the effort to compete in a more crowded area, but this does require much more work.  Finding an underserved niche and filling a hole in the marketplace is a much easier way to produce blogging revenue.

Choosing a topic for your moneymaking blog can be a challenging process.  This first step, however, is probably one of the most important.  The choice of a topic not only establishes the nature of the blog, it also (in large measure) determines its potential for success.

If you’ve just entered the world of blogging or if you’ve been blogging for a short time and find that things are not working out as you expected, it will be worth your while to spend some time understanding the common mistakes that bloggers make, mistakes that make it hard to enjoy what should be an enjoyable, satisfying experience: Blogging!

The five most common new blogger mistakes are:

Diving in!(rather than wading in)
Many bloggers are so anxious to get started that they dive in rather than wading in slowly — its a mistake in an unfamiliar swimming pool or pond and its a mistake when entering a new arena such as the ‘blogosphere.’ Consider these things before you start your Blog:

Take the time to read dozens of different blogs: note the colors, graphics and layouts to get an idea of what appeals to you. Also note that some bloggers are long-winded and others are brief and to the point . . . others are just chatty and entertaining and have no particular point to make . . . this too is a personal style you get to choose.

You need a host for your blog, some are free, some charge a small amount per month for their service, some are simple to use and some require more technical knowledge, some have more features than others; choose carefully, once you’ve established your blog and have a few regular readers you may not want to change your address (your URL).

Unrealistic expectations!
If you come to blogging expecting instant results: a large readership and many complimentary comments, you may be disappointed. There are tens of thousands of blogs online vying for the same audience. Patience and tenacity are essential on your part. If you write well, find a unique niche to fill, have appealing titles for your posts and tirelessly promote your blog the readership and comments (some of which will be complimentary) will come.

Losing focus!
When you started your blog you had a particular reason for doing so; it might have been to express your views on a topic or it might have been to just communicate with a close circle of friends about your daily activities. Readers will come to your blog for the first time and either be interested in your subject matter or not, will either like your style or not and, if they like your subject and style they may comment and then come back later. Once you’ve established a topic and tone for your blog you’re free to change it but to do so you’re basically starting all over.

Plagiarizing!
There are some great bloggers out there and as you surf through blogs you might find one who said something really well, something that resonated with you and something you want to put in your blog. DON’T just copy and paste someone’s words in your blog without giving them credit, making it look to the world like the words are yours. If you write it, write it in your own words and write it better, adding your own thoughts and feelings and then be gracious, mention where you got the idea and provide a link.

Ignoring the reader!
Some of the people who read your blog will leave comments; some readers will agree with you and some readers may even praise your insights but most will pick a point you’ve made and criticize it. People leave comments on others blogs for the same reason they themselves blog, to exchange ideas and express their points of view. Always respond to your readers comments; thank them for reading and taking the time to comment (even the severe critics) and then respond, as appropriate, to their comment. If you ignore your comments your readers may end up ignoring your blog.