How to Make Money Blogging on the Social Web “Turning your Hobby, Pas…

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It was in 1439 a professional goldsmith created an agent for worldwide change. This invention facilitated enormous evolution to society in Europe and globally. The machine he created called the “printing press” provided for the first time, the means for the mass production of books.His name was Johannes Gutenberg and he was German.Over 3,600 pages a day could be printed compared to the forty that could be produced by hand printing. This was an increase in production of over 9,000 percent!This machine changed everything.Francis Bacon, the English philosopher said in 1620 that printing was one of three things that “changed the whole face and state of things throughout the world”. It introduced the era of mass communication which changed forever the structure of society and culture.Ideas Crossed BordersAuthors such as Luther and Erasmus became best selling authors and their thoughts and writing allowed the blossoming of the middle class. The status of the elite was challenged. Literacy rose sharply. The monopoly and power of the religious and political leaders was threatened.It led to the unrestricted circulation of information and perceived radical ideas that now crossed borders quickly and efficiently.Read more at http://www.jeffbullas.com/2012/11/13/10-simple-tips-to-becoming-a-better-blogger/#Ev22XutX5k5OpPUw.99

In the 1990′s people started expressing themselves with online diaries. According to Wikipedia, Justin Hall was one of the earliest bloggers who began eleven years of personal blogging in 1994 as the Web started to become widespread.The phrase was coined “web log“, which has through the wonderful world of language, been transformed into the term “we blog” and hence “blogging“.The tools for blogging have evolved to the point that the less technical of the population can now publish text, video and images simply and easily without understanding a single line of coding or computer programming. Tools such as WordPress has broken the technical tyranny of the geeks.WordPress was launched in May 27,2003 and is used by over 14.7% of Alexa Internet's "top 1 million" websites,[when?] and as of August 2011 manages 22% of all new websites.[6] WordPress is currently the most popular blogging system in use on the Web,[citation needed] powering over 60 million websites worldwide.[7][8][9]Self expression and creativity has exploded online and allowed anyone with enough passion and discipline to publish their ideas via rich digital multimedia.

In 2005 a Greek American woman started a political blog. As the traffic grew more funding was required. This meant that in August 2006 the venture fund SoftBank Capital was called upon to invest $5 million into the site to hire more staff and to provide the resources needed to make the updates to feed the news cycle 24/7 as the site grew in popularity.Two years later in November 2008, another $15 million was raised to maintain the momentum as the blog added more journalism resources and local reporting was ramped up across the USA.The power of celebrity was embraced with politicians, academics and famous power brokers in all areas of business and industry contributing articles to the blog.It was in June 2011 that the blog’s website traffic passed the doyen of traditional media, the “New York Times” for the first time.“In just six years new media had disrupted 100 years of traditional media”Seven years after the first post was published, it was sold to AOL for $315 million to add to its other online blog assets including Engadget, TechCrunch and MovieFone.Today it’s website traffic is measured at over 77 million visitors per month.That blog is Huffington Post.Read more at http://www.jeffbullas.com/2013/05/14/how-to-make-money-from-your-blog-11-powerful-case-studies/#rEpu8GXIw8qC1oIg.99

We have a fast changing world but the challenge is that humans are slow to change and our thinking and habits are still trapped in traditional habitual thinking and customs. A lot of senior managers are still acting as if we are in a industrial and traditional mass media economy,The “Big Gap” between how we read and consume our information and the way we market and advertise. Radio took 38 years to reach 50 million usersTV took 13 yearsInternet took 4 yearsiPod took 3 yearsFacebook added over 200 million users in less than one

In a world that often seems local to most of us the opportunity is global as social media, ecommerce and a mobile web gives us world reach Patrick Story – Car suspension part shipped from London to Sydney saving 40%Your competition is not just in your suburb, city or country. They are in Germany, Japan or China

How does your Business stand out in a Crowded Digital Ocean of 500 million plus websites?This digital economy also raises some questions.

The biggest challenge for any blogger, social media marketer, content creator and publisher is to “start”Many of us wait to be perfect before publishing or hitting that “go” button. Others are afraid that what they create will be judged as more of the same or they have nothing that will be seen as meaningful or insightful.That presents a problem.You will never get it just right and yes, you may be judged as being redundant, even superficial and even a copycat. You are not alone, I hear that conversation all the time.What is stopping you? Is it the fear, is it that you have so many passions and interests that you don’t know which one to choose. Time to pick one?Maybe it is time to step up and step out into the light.Light that flame.

Just to show that the Huffington Post is not a one off, there are many blogs that generate significant revenue in then millions. One of those is Mashable. Mashable’s model is based almost exclusively on building huge amounts of traffic that makes it an attractive platform for advertising. Current page views per month total approximately 50 million. This also means producing a lot of content. To put that in perspective Mashable publishes dozens of articles a day to feed the content beast.They work hard at optimizing their advertising and have developed technology for:Infinite ad scrollingStory telling ads unitContent velocity algorithmThis blogging business model is becoming harder as advertising rates fall. But the rewards can be great with some reports that Peter Cashmore is worth nearly $100 Million US and the blog has been valued at over $200 million.

Suzi Dafnis is the clever business brain behind a very successful blog that targets business women in Australia. It is called the Australian Business Women’s Network. She must be doing something right! It has just won “Best Australian Blogs Competition” in the business Category. Sponsorship is the main revenue source with sponsors including American Express, Optus and GoToWebinar.

Social Media Examiner was only started 4 years ago by Mike Stelzner and made its first million dollars within 12 months through paid online webinars. Mike (who by the way is one of the true gentlemen of the blogging world) has used his attention to detail, process and savvy business acumen to create a blog that is now ranked in the top 60 blogs in the world in just 48 months.Mike knows how to shine the spotlight on others and hence they have returned the favour. Prior to starting the Social Media Examiner blog Mike had run other blogs and businesses including one on how to “Write White Papers”. Mike has moved into producing conferences, with the recent success of the inaugural “Social Media Marketing World” in San Diego.If you want an insight into how he made his blog such a success I would recommend you read his book “Launch – How to Quickly Propel Your Business Beyond the Competition”

4. SpeakingBlogs can be the platform that makes you visible. This includes being invited to speak at conferences, workshops and seminars. Guy Kawasaki uses his blog as an online platform to promote his speaking and his books. Guy understands the importance of an online platform for building credibility and marketing his personal brand. He also understands the power of social media and has nearly 1.3 million Twitter followers

5. BooksTim Ferriss is the author of the New York Times best seller “The Four Hour Work Week”, which was about creating a success lifestyle in a web world. He has used his blog to launch not just one but three books after the huge success of his first book. Tim uses his blog as his promotion platform for his books and for engaging and sharing his inspiration for experiments in lifestyle design.

6. AffiliateAffiliate marketing is the art of either selling other people’s products on your blog or getting affiliates to sell your products. Brendon Burchard is one of many who have perfected this art and science. One of the the key secrets to succeeding in this is building promotional partnerships with powerful online influencers and other bloggers who have significant followings online. Some of the pioneers in this space include Frank Kerns and Jeff Walker.It can supercharge your revenue. For a further insight into how Brendon achieved success his book “Millionaire Messenger” is worth a read.Another blogger and podcaster that understands how to use affiliate marketing to create revenue and is worth checking out is Pat Flynn, who is the force behind the blog “Smart Passive Income”

7. ConsultingMark Schaefer is the force behind the awesome blog “Grow“. He uses his blog as his front door and shingle to his consulting, educating and training business that helps businesses grow by tapping into the marketing power of social media. He is also the author of several books including ”Return on Influence” and “The Tao of Twitter”

8. Online CoursesAmy Porterfield is a blogger and a professional Facebook expert who has created and developed online training which is her main revenue stream. Her flagship course is Facebook Training 101 – FB Influence. She understood the importance of her blog as the online portal to her online courses.

9. eBooksDarren Rowse is the genius behind Problogger. Not only has he made that blog a business success but also started a Photography Blog called “Digital Photography School” with over 1 million subscribers . His eBooks on “blogging” and “photography” hve become his main source of income Darren makes money from his blog in 12 different ways. So making money from your blog is not just limited to one revenue stream. The challenge is working out how you can monetize with multiple channel sources

10. Premium content – Paid MembershipTimothy Sykes blog is about how to make money on the stock market and his main source of revenue is by selling premium content which is accessed through paying to be a member on his site. Premium content that is only accessible via monthly membership is a proven model and another one worth checking out is Psd.Tutsplus.com which is a resource and learning site for those who want to learn photoshop.

11. Sell ProductsSocial Media success stories and case studies are important in that they give us an insight into best practices. Today we look at how Gary Vaynerchuk took his families wine business from $4 Million a year to $45 Million a year in just 3 years using social media marketing primarily through online video.He promoted his online wine store through his online TV show winelibrary.tv. By educating people about his product, he could gain their trust and therefore their business. He promoted the show and his store through tools like Twitter and Facebook as well. With a lot of hard work and dedication, Gary gained a following around the world and is considered an expert both in his field of wine as well as the use of social media in business.

Being paid for your time is great and can be included in your plans. If you want to create passive income then you need to tap into other sources of monetisation that makes money when you are not there or sleeping.

Packaging up your knowledge and even selling other people’s knowledge can be a highly leveraged business model that is often termed “passive income”Ther are many ways to do this.

1. FocusMany people start a blog because they are passionate about photography, sales or leadership. This focus normally happens because of two factors.Passion for the topicInnate abilityOthers start with an analytical eye on an opportunity. A topic that is trending and a business category that is growing. These can be identified around topics such asHealth Making moneySuccessAvoiding painYou can then choose a business focus that is growing using tools such as Google Trends or Facebook ads to see if the market is growing or shrinking.Both approaches can be successful, but for me I find the passion approach provides a stronger and more sustainable foundation.

2. BrandingBranding is part science and part art. In its simplest form it involves two key elements.Your visual design that resonates with your chosen category. This includes logo and colours Your messaging and voice which will carry into what you write and how you communicate across a range of multimediaBeing memorable and sticky within your category so that you stand out is key. If your competitors are zigging maybe you should be zagging.

3. Select a PlatformThere are so many platforms to build a brand online. It can be confusing and it will make your head spin. Let me keep it simple.In essence you have two choices:Rent a pre-built platform such as Blogger or Tumblr. Advantages?…… It is fast and cheapDesign and build on your own platform using a WordPress Template. Advantages?…..You own it and have flexibility.In the end it comes down to fast and cheap is more for those who are just playing and messing around.If you want big foundations that mean business then build it on the WordPress platform using your own domain name.Then you own it.

4. Design & DevelopmentDesign is what consumes most of people’s time. For many, it is how it looks. Yes…looks are very important… but design goes much deeper than that.It is also how it works.Design that matters and manages the tension between form and function can be beautiful to behold.Steve Jobs knew and understood that.So hire a designer that understands that it isn’t just about having a beautiful face but powerful and essential functions.

5. HostingEver been to site that is so slow to load that you click away. That can sometimes be put down to having a slow internet connection. Often though it is because you are sharing a hosting computer with hundreds of other domains.It has become vital with Google’s new attention to user experience that your site loads quickly. if it doesn’t then you will find that it will affect your sites search engine results as Google gives your site a small black cross.This little rule is now written into Google’s algorithms.Fast is good.The other key here is having a site that is online 24/7. You may pay a little more but in the end you will be thankful. especially when you are building a blog that means businessI have found that my hosting supplier WebHostingBuzz provides robust and cost effective blog and website hosting with great support.

6. ContentSo you have a great design and you are hosting your new blog on a solid foundation. What’s next?You need content.This comes back to your focus. Create content that meets the needs of your target audience. This will mean creating content that solves their problems.Content can be put into four categories that may help you in your content creation.Content that:EducatesEntertainsInforms InspiresThat is the “what”… but “how” do you do it? There are three ways to approach content creation.In house …You!Outsource… external writersCombination You may have to start with creating all your own content from day one but you may find that the mixed model or outsourcing is where you end up.One one powerful tip here. Create the best content you possibly can. It will surprise you how far and fast great content will flow across a social web. So now its time to look at the 4 important marketing strategies to build that blog.

7. Grow your social networksQuite often people wait to design and, develop and launch their blog before growing their followers on social networks. I would recommend that you don’t delay this.Build your social networks as fast as possible. The two big social media networks to focus on are Facebook and Twitter. Other social media networks should also be in the mix such as Google+ (which continues to gather momentum), LinkedIn and Pinterest. The amount of attention you pay to these will be driven by your blogs target audience interests and genderI often find that many blogs and businesses build networks on Facebook and chase “likes” and forget about Twitter.Hint…don’t forget Twitter.Its ability for powerful networking , follower engagement and for driving traffic is often underestimated. This blog receives over 60% of its social networking traffic from Twitter.

8. Optimise for search enginesDespite social media being an attractive and shiny new toy for marketing, search engines should be in your marketing mix. In some industries over 90% of buying decisions start with an online search.Today over 50% of my blog traffic comes from people performing a search and then clicking on the link to my blog.It will take time to build this up, but the persistence will pay off as you build authority online in your niche.Here are some key tips to building a search friendly blogCreate the best content that you possibly can. Google loves unique fresh content that is popular and is linked to by other bloggers.Use keywords in your headline where possibleWrite an enticing description with keywords that people will want to click on when it turns up on the Google search result page.Include relevant categories when finalizing your article before publishingPut in the key words and phrases into the relevant “tag” section in WordPress before hitting the publish button that people would want to use to find information on that topicUse some free plugin tools such as “All in One SEO” or “Yoast” that assist you with some of the tasks I have mentioned One last point.Optimising and working at your SEO (Search engine Optimisation) is important for one big reason.Receiving traffic from Google is free (unless you are paying for Google AdWords) and free is always good.

9. Building Powerful Networks with Promotional PartnershipsThe trick to building traffic fast is to get help. Now I don’t mean sending an email or a tweet to a blogger of influence and beg for some attention with a “please share my post” or “watch my awesome video on YouTube”The secret is helping them out. Offer to write a guest post or share their content. Write an article about the top bloggers in your category and shine the spotlight on them.Help others first and then they will help you.If you get this right and are strategic then you will accelerate the traffic and the building of brand awareness. Affiliate marketing is built on this concept.This powerful tactic starts with “how can I help you” rather than “what can I get from you“.

10. Grow your email listSo we have enlisted the power of social networks to market your blog, we have also understood that Google is a bloggers friend and we need partnerships. There is one key marketing tactic to include.Email….Why? Because you own that list. Ownership is better than renting a “like’ list.If there is one thing you should do from day one is to start building an email list.This is called “list building.” Where do you start?Set up an account with one of the popular email platforms such as Aweber or MailChimp so that you can start building a list. They have all the metrics and tools to make your email marketing fly. Don’t ignore this.It is vital.An email list is yours and you own it and it gives you control to market to your subscribers when and how you like.Just relying on Facebook likes and Twitter followers to spread your content is putting the control of marketing to those social networks.You never know when they will cease to exist. Nothing is forever…remember MySpace? Offer an incentiveThe best strategy to build a “list” fast is to offer a free eBook or video that offers something of value in exchange for their email address.This should be prominent and either in the banner or the top right corner of your blog.Another way to add more power to this tactic is to offer a pop up that hovers over the screen and dims your homepage whenever someone turns up to your blog and offers that free eBook or premium content such a s video tutorial.You can create settings so that it only does this every 7, 14 or 30 days depending on your settings. You should also offer this on your Facebook page via a custom Tab. Make it easy for people to subscribe to your blog by offering an incentive. It will increase and accelerate your signups by 300 – 400%

This is not easy streetThese models are not a quick way to make money but they can accelerate your potential revenue streams. Focus, Plan, Publish Promote and Persist and it will happen

You will need Persistence in building, maintaining and marketing your digital assets to Win a Digital economy.The challenges are there but the opportunities are global.Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not,…Genius will not, Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. – Calvin Coolidge US President

Buy the book “Blogging the Smart Way” here:http://www.amazon.com/Blogging-Smart-Way-Create-ebook/dp/B008UGCTMS/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1344483065&sr=1-1&keywords=blogging+the+smart+way

How to Make Money Blogging on the Social Web “Turning your Hobby, Passion and Knowledge into Cash”

Jeff Bullas

How to Make Money Blogging on the Social Web “Turning your Hobby, Passion and Knowledge into Cash”