Blogging Archives – Page 5 of 22

Taking Your Blog to a New Level: A Fight between Passion and Money

Blogging gives you a chance to have your voice heard online. I’ve found blogs to be the right platform for conveying what you want to say. They also serve to establish your business, product or brand effectively. There are endless possibilities with a blog that you can make use of. There are millions of blogs at present, but not all of them are successful.

This has made me think of the key purpose of blogging and what makes it a success. While some think that being passionate is a vital necessity, there are others who suggest the money that you get out of blogging is what keeps more and more people drawn towards it. I’ve come up with some important points that touch upon the reason people take to blogging. And I hope this will help those of you who are starting out blogging afresh.

Why Passion is Necessary?

While most of the bloggers I meet accept that making money out of their blog is their goal, this is not however what they ultimately want out of the blog. The satisfaction and content feeling that you get when you have truly accomplished what you feel is right, is the ultimate result that many want.

But most of us are sidetracked easily by the process of making money. Though getting quick money is indeed gratifying, it can’t satisfy you in the long term and the gain will also not be substantial if you just think of the money alone.

Getting Involved

In blogging whatever concepts you write about have been dealt with already in some form or other. The main difference according to me is how different your approach is. Unique and exclusive ideas are welcomed by all.

This fresh perspective can be brought about only when you are truly passionate or interested in what you write about. I’ve seen many a content and quality suffer because of not being connected to the topics your blog features.

Making Money

Source:- FreeDigitalPhotos

Though I may sound hypocritical, blogging about topics that you are not connected with can take their toll on your blog, however profitable they are. Going along with the trend on taking shortcut methods may give you temporary satisfaction, but in the long term this will be counterproductive and cause your downfall. If you start your blog thinking that you can become successful overnight, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but this is not going to happen.

When you look at how the famous bloggers like Darren Rowse, Michael Dunlop, John Chow, Steve Pavlina, and others have become popular, you’ll find that they took many years to accomplish the feat.

So what is the solution?

If you want to make your blog a success, you need passion for the topic you’re blogging about, and also do it the right way. This will create the exposure you need and down the line you will start making money out of it too. Here are some tips I’ve put together that will kick start your blog and get it functional in a short period.

Quality always Triumphs

The Google algorithms and other stiff competition you face online can hamper your ranking in the search engine and also affect your exposure. By focusing on the content quality instead of relying on the quantity to attract traffic you can succeed better.

Powerful Content

What you write should not be a modified version of what can be found in other blogs. This can make viewers lose interest soon. The content should be unique, magnetic, and dynamic in nature, if you want it to be shared and make it a success.

Source:- FreeDigitalPhotos

Treat Your Visitors Royally

Instead of looking at how established your blog is, you need to value and cherish each and every visitor, even if they are only a few. I’ve found that long term and lasting relationships are a better way to reach your goal. A happy visitor or customer will definitely bring in success and profits. And what do you prefer- hundreds of random visitors who are not interested in your content, or a handful of paying clients? Make wise choices when it comes to engaging connections.

Conclusion

When you look at the successful bloggers, a majority will confirm that the passion for the work is the key factor that had made them persevere and they make a success and profit out of it. If you are taking first steps towards setting up your blog, the aspects I’ve touched upon will help you make a clear and better choice and propel you towards a total success.

3 Sets of Silly People Every Blogger Should Ignore For Engaged Readership

Wouldn’t it be more awesome if your blog readership triples within a short period of time?

These fans can’t seem to get enough of you and you love it.

If this is your goal as a blogger then I have to tell you this: you have to intentionally ignore and snub some people too.

Don’t get me wrong, we all want a large and huge readership but the honest truth is you can’t please everybody.

You have to make the choice now. …

3 Sets of Silly People Every Blogger Should Ignore For Engaged ReadershipRead More »

5 Compelling Reasons Your Offline Business Needs a Blog

By Rohan Ayyar / Blogging Tips

Think back to the last really great meal you had, dining out. Remember the name of the restaurant? Great! Now, go online and type in the restaurant name into Google (or your favorite search engine). Chances are, 9 times out of 10, you will get a Yelp, Yahoo Local, Google Places or Urbanspoon listing.

Now put yourself in the shoes of the owner of that great restaurant. Wouldn’t you want your customer to know a little more about your business than just its name, address and telephone number? To make matters worse, most of these sites include reviews by past customers, over which you have no control. While you’d certainly appreciate great reviews that reflect the efforts you put into customer services, would you want a terrible review given by that rare dissatisfied customer to prevent new customers from coming to your restaurant?

I’m sure you wouldn’t. ;)

Most offline businesses that are not online in some form or the other yet, face this problem. Their brand image is crafted by 3^rd party information that may or may not be to the best interests of the brand.

The reasons many offline businesses haven’t embraced the internet even today are usually the same: No money (for a website or online marketing). No time. No technical skills.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

What if I tell you that all these are but lame excuses? What if I tell you that the only way you can hope to grow your business in the future is by going online? The digital internet (comprising of the web and mobile) does not have to be this big scary place that costs a lot of money to be on. If you really care about your brand and its reputation in the online and offline worlds, you will go online.

And what is the easiest route to market if you want to achieve an online presence? A blog of course!

Allow me to walk you through the most important reasons why your offline business needs a blog pronto!

Be where your audience is

Even though you may be an offline business, your audience’s favorite hangout happens to be the internet. To ensure that your business stays relevant in today’s age, you’ve gotta be where your audience is. Take a look at the numbers from this infographic by Ignitespot:

77% of all internet users read blogs.
23% of all internet time is dedicated to blogs and social media.
And the clincher: 61% of US consumers made a purchase based on a blog post.

Do you still want to miss out on the power of a blog?

Easy to set up and long shelf life

The major roadblocks to going online, that we discussed at the beginning of this article, are addressed with a simple blog.

With free blogging platforms like Blogger, WordPress or even Tumblr, you don’t need to spend a fortune to take your brand online. You can even have a blog with a custom domain name at a really nominal cost (starting from about $10 per year).

Source: Wikimedia Commons

You don’t have to be a tech-geek to set up your blog. Most blogging platforms are extremely user friendly and intuitive to help users exactly like you to create blogs that look and feel like they’ve been created by an expert. You can choose from hundreds of professionally designed themes and templates as well as a range of free tools and plug-ins that add that extra zing to your online real estate.

Most marketing activities are time bound. A blog is not. Anything that you put up on your blog is there for life (or till you decide to take it down) and keeps continually contributing to promoting your brand on the internet.

Build a reputation as an expert

Give your potential customers a reason to believe that you really know what you’re talking about. Most big box retailers are plagued with disinterested employees who barely know the basics of the products they’re selling. An expert touch does not just translate to lots of people reading your blog, it can actually compel customers to ditch large retailers and favor your business instead.

Source: Hendrick Terbeck, Flickr

Write about topics that would interest your audience and are related to your business. If you own a restaurant, talk about the various world cuisines that inspire your dishes. Post a couple of simple recipes that will be popular among your customers. If you own a pet store, you could talk about the latest in pet fashion – designer collars, doggie grooming products, the works. Why, with a free shopping cart plugin like Ecwid on your blog, you could even sell items that you stock in your physical store to an online audience! And to keep your finances and inventory updated in such a case, there are advanced but easy-to-use electronic POS systems such as Shopify’s that automatically sync your online and offline stores.

Sell online and offline in one stroke!

Why & How To Build a Powerful Online Presence?

Now you might argue that you have a Facebook page or a Twitter account for your brand, and you think they are good enough to engage with your customers online.

You wouldn’t be more wrong.

An average post that you put up on Facebook is seen by barely 6% of your fans, thanks to Facebook’s new algorithms and the overcrowded timelines that most Facebook users suffer from.

On the other hand, a post that you put up on your blog is visible to 100% of your followers and subscribers. What’s more, any random visitor to your blog can consume your content even if they do not follow your blog. How’s that for awesome reach?

Another key aspect that a blog excels in is making a conversation personal. Social media platforms have evolved into broadcast mediums. A blog by those standards still maintains a personal touch. You can personally interact with people who comment on your blog, follow their blogs to know what makes them tick.

The only truly free medium to promote your brand

Marketing – whether offline or online – comes with a price tag. Television, newspapers, radio or billboards have astronomical costs attached to them, with very ROI very hard to measure. Social media, which started out as a free way to reach out to customers, now relies heavily on paid ads to gain new followers or even make posts visible to existing followers.

Your blog is your home on the internet that does not cost you a dime. There’s a world of ways that you can promote and grow your offline business absolutely free of cost, by simply using a branded blog.

Source: Pixabay

You could put up posts about upcoming events at your store or restaurant, blog about limited time promotions that you might be running, give out coupons that can be redeemed in your physical stores or even carry out contests on your brand blog. All of this without spending a penny!

You don’t need to be the next Mark Twain to create a readable blog. ;)

Just keep it simple and offer your customers value that your competitors cannot, and success will follow.

Discover Your Blogging Passion With These Three Easy Ways

By Uche / Blogging, Blogging Tips, Writing Tips

Are you tired of starting a blog today only to discover that you have no passion to keep up with that topic?

Thousand of bloggers have gone through the same process and are already giving up on this blogging stuff not because they don’t want to be a professional blogger but because most importantly they haven’t discovered their blogging passion yet.

We asked you why you started your blog and most of you responded because you have the passion and you want to help people.

So I am here to help you discover yours.

Passion is so vital in the blogosphere; you can’t become successful if you are not passionate about a topic.

It keeps you going even when you haven’t grown your blog likewise it empowers to keep on improving your content for your users.

How you can discover your blogging passion now?

Below are the three easy ways to discover your blogging passion so you can create a blog that you are truly passionate about now.

1.) Pick Up the Last Ten Books That Kept You Awake All Through the Night

The first way to determine your blogging passion is to pick up the last set of books you read.

Books you read of your own accord not just academic books that got your interest all through such that you don’t mind reading over again.

Your passion can be found in those books that you could spend your money and time voluntarily to read with undivided interest.

What intrigued you the most, the topics of the books, the authors of those books. All these questions if answered properly can lead you to discover your blogging passion.

Before I launched my blog I decided to take a good look at my library and I observed that they were all filled with financial, spiritual, motivational and business books which I bought with my cash and have read them voraciously.

The good thing about this way is that it also determines your level of expertise on a topic which would to a large extent determine the success of your blog.

What are you waiting for go through your libraries and discover what you have their.

2.) What Do Your Friends Know You For?

This is another quick way to discover your blogging passion. We all have friends that we talk to, share ideas with and obviously our future plans.

Take a moment and think, what is that my friends know me for?

While discussing with them what is that topic that you can stand up to anytime any day?

My friends know that I can talk about money well, wherever the topic of money is spoken I am easily attracted to it, as a result of this with the first option above I decided to pick the topic of my blog because I got the passion.

Yours may be blogging, link building, technology, football, politics, lifestyle, relationships, photography, cooking whatever it may be your friends can help you easily discover it.

You can also check the nicknames your friends call you.

Don’t be too shy not to talk with your friends either at home, school, and work. Learn to be free with others because they can help you discover your passion.

3.) That One Thing Your Parents Complained About You

While we were kids there were some things that got our parents attention which can also lead us to develop our blogging passion.

It may not be some worth hearing but you can turn it into something productive such as being a noise maker to become a motivational speaker.

That thing your parents consistently complained about while you were growing which you sometimes defied the and still pursuing.

I am not referring to interests which your parents stopped you from and you gave in, passion is totally different from interest.

It is up to you to discover that quality or skill that your parents talked about which you never gave up if you want to discover your blogging passion.

The Shocking Truth about Being a Successful Blogger.

All I have done is to show you three ways to discover your blogging passion but you may be asking but I don’t buy and read books, I also don’t have friends nor have my parents complained anything that I am passionate about.

Wait a minute; if that is what you are saying to yourself then you can’t be a successful blogger.

Those that shock you?

That’s the honest truth, if you don’t read and study how then would you teach others, a teacher ought to be greater than his student.

Secondly if you don’t have friends whom you express your ideas with how then can you properly do it online? You would only falter.

All top bloggers are intelligent, bright and smart because they are constantly learning and they also develop relationships with other bloggers.

I am not discouraging you.

Here is the deal: if you want to be a top blogger you must learn, study and cultivate productive relationships among people.

Don’t be worried, you can start from today to learn, study and also develop relationship not just online but also offline through which you can develop your blogging passion.

Now go and check your libraries and discover what your friends know you for, they can help you discover your blogging passion.

I do hope I have shown you how to discover your secret weapon in the blogosphere: passion.

Image Credit

5 More Ideas to Sell Your Own Product and Make Money Online

By Mi Muba / Blogging Tips, Make Money Online

[This is second part of ideas to sell your own product and make money.]

In blogging there are more than several ways to make money online. Its only requirement is to know the art of money making. It is wise to pick a few options from lengthy list and stick to it with a clear monetization strategy.

A little patience is must to get the result. From the day one it is not possible to make money online even with any best monetization option. You simply need to pick a few money making methods that confirm give you good results.

But the question is; how can you sell a product in large number that is already being sold by pro bloggers?

You can’t compete with John Chow or Zac Johnson in generating same amount of sales revenue.

Secondly why do your blog visitors buy your referred product and why they should skip the advice of other blogging pros?

There is no reason of preferring the advice of a newbie over the internet marketing icons’.

So your product must have least selling competition.

It means you need to sell a product that has zero selling competition.

Confused?

There is a product where you are the only seller and rests are your sales agent.

Yes you are right it is your own online product.

In my previous post “5 ideas to make online product and earn money easily” we discussed the basics of developing your own online product. It focused the primary aspects of your products; how it should be packaged and how should be its branding etc.

In this post I give you 5 proven strategies to make money online with your blog

Evergreen products make money online consistently

It depends upon niche of your blog and the nature of your audience what type of product you develop. An online product may be:

A tutorial
A guide
A video course
A solutions-based ebook
Blog templates
Blog widgets
Coaching for online money making
Offer to join a group and earn money easily
A tangible product like tea shirt or insignia

Whatever type of product you want to make it must be free from the need of frequent updates. After a quite a long time you can update it to keep it in the list of best products. But it should not need frequent updates or improvement.

So your product must be an evergreen product. You should focus to sell it more and more and don’t worry about its quality control once you make it. In this way you can earn money easily without spending time on its further development.

If you improve your product you need to send the updated version to all who already bought its old version. This exercise may annoy your old customer who might have already applied the trick and tips given in your product.

All in one package to make money online

A famous blogger recently released a complete guide to start a blog. He awesomely made the guide concise. But in his attempt to keep it concise he had to put several links for detail review of the subject. In this situation readers have to shuttle between base product and referral products if it happens. It is not good from benefits point of view.

Your product must be a complete package providing every necessary detail that your readers need. They need not move to other authority sites for further review of the topic to earn money easily.

Supplementary product to make money online

This is a good strategy to make money easily. Make a perfectly complete product but keep space for its advance level to sell another product to your customers who are fully convinced of the quality of your primary product.

But your base product must not be simply a promotional brochure of your advance product. You need to fulfill your customers’ product need completely and perfectly. If they need to grow more you can offer another advance product of same nature.

Minimum theoretical

Good writers start their tutorial with an advice to their readers to pick a pen or pencil and do the practical work after completing each chapter.

So your product should not require simply an act of reading or listening to remember it and then apply whatever is learnt to earn money easily. It must have practical aspect more with minimum theory. After every main point you must ask your readers to do an exercise before moving forward.

Free updates subsequently

Selling good product to your customers means developing long term relationship with them.

For this you need not to stay silent after selling one product. You should send them free updates related to your product as and when need arises.

In this way you will strengthen your relationship with buyers of your product. It means you have wide space to sell your next product to make money easily to your regular customers whom you are in contact. Even you can also ask them to refer your product to their friends if you manage to have good relations with them.

So these are five proven strategies to make money online with your blog. I am sure now you can start making your first online product and be less reliant on affiliate products. Do you still need more advice on this topic just drop a comment to let me reply you?

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