Looking to 2013: A Commitment to Blogging Smarter … With a Little Help

Feeling a little run down? At this time of year, many of us are. It’s been a big 12 months, and I think most bloggers are looking forward to some down time over the coming weeks.

If you’re like me, you might be thinking of using this time not just to recharge the batteries, but to give a little thought to the year ahead, and how you want to handle it. Perhaps you’ll make some blogging resolutions for the new year, in addition to those resolutions you might be making in other areas of your life.

If there’s one resolution I could encourage any blogger to make for 2013, it’s to work smarter.

There’s always more to do on a blog—the work never ends!—and as many readers mentioned on our recent post about social media mistakes, time is a critical issue. Working longer hours can’t be the solution.

For me, one of the keys to working smarter has been delegation. I’ve got help with blogging, which has given me more time to focus on the things that really need my attention.

Looking back, I’m sorry I didn’t delegate more earlier in my blogging career.

You don’t have to be on a five- or six-figure income to make the most of someone else’s expertise, and give your blog a boost. Nor does it have to be a long-term arrangement.

Over the last few months, we’ve published a few guides to outsourcing different functions on your site. If you haven’t seen them already, have a look. They might just give you some food for thought over the holiday period.

How to choose the right WordPress contractor for your blog, by John Bonello.

If you’re on WordPress, and your blog’s not performing at the level you’d like, it might be time to call in the pros. A good WordPress expert will be able to implement new designs, apply plugins and patches, take care of your backups, and more.

For those who aren’t technical, getting a WordPress contractor to do piecemeal work—or look after your blog on a continuing basis—could be a good way to go.

This post is also worth reading if you have a blog on another platform, as it’ll help you assess any blog platform developer you’re considering working with.

How to work with technical contractors, by Neil Matthews.

Whatever your blog needs, it seems there’s a developer for every occasion! In this post, you’ll learn what’s needed to find a good developer to implement all kinds of changes on your blog, including things like:

adding forums, communities, gamification, social integration, and so oncustomised backend features that give your blog a competitive advantage or point of differenceonline store and shopping cart integrationspecialized tracking or researchmigration of blogs, mailing lists, etc.security and privacy-related work to protect your blog’s and your customers’ details.

Most of us need help with these kinds of tasks—especially if we’re going to apply them to to our blogs with some degree of depth and reliability. A pro developer may well be the answer.

How to work with designers to design your blog, by Rob Cubbon.

Plenty of blogs use off-the-shelf themes, but those that stand out usually entail some kind of customization, or perhaps have their own unique design.

Of course, you don’t need to be undertaking a complete redesign of your blog to be able to use the expertise of a quality designer. They can also help you with:

campaign- or launch-related communicationsdesigning the visuals for products, like the cover of an ebook, or an eye-catching branded intro for your video seriesdesigning newsletters, ads and other communications like infographics that you’re hoping will go viralillustrating your posts, and more.

Over the last year, we’ve published a few other posts in this area, which I’ve listed here:

Outsourcing aspects of your blogging—even as one-off projects—can be expensive. While the resources above should help you avoid being ripped off, many bloggers will be asking how they can justify the expense in the first place?

I think the answer to that question is to adopt the mindset that the work you outsource will need to pay for itself somehow.

That might mean you set a conversion goal for the new online store you’re having developed. Or it might mean that you spend the time you’re not having to dedicate to redesigning your site on creating and launching a new product, or boosting conversions through your email subscriber list. Whatever you outsource, plan to recoup the costs through the time that’s freed up. Make either the work itself, or the extra time you have, pay for the outsourcing fees.

Put a monetary goal on your work, and a timeframe by which you want to have recouped the cost. This is a great way to make sure you’re not just throwing money at your blog—instead, you’ll be investing it, and you’ll be able to track your return on that investment over time.

How does that sound for a new year’s blogging resolution? And what others do you have in mind? Let us know in the comments.

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Monetisation content ideas for the Little guy

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Earlier in this series, we talked about treat the content as an asset when reality, content can be an asset for a number of reasons: because it is evergreen and can be reassigned to other shapes; because it is time critical and extremely viral, sparks conversation and attract new users; because it is unique and can only be found on your blog... the list continues.

We all know means standard site of monetising blog content: through the advertising programs, affiliate programs, etc. - Darren wrote to their subject in détail.Ici, I would like to look at a few other ways you can get more from your existing - and evolving: inventory of content.

When we discussed strategy content previously in this series, we talked about the importance of having a grip on your content inventory so you can get the best possible return on your investment in content.

How what you can achieve this ROI? there are many options.In fact, as we shall see, be creative on your monetisation strategy really can repay.

To help you in the atmosphere, look at the blog of illustrator and artist James Jean.Check his store to see some innovative approaches to the notion of "contained monetisation".

White papers, reports and ebooks are established means to convey content, you published on your blog in new formats, rentables.Mais remember physical products, either: he works for James Jean, and it could work for you, too.

Before begin, consider the existing competition in space - if leaders in your field of liberation find quality or free insight, you will have to do something different and this, if your audience is going to pay for your republishing offre.Simplement a selection of current blog content as an ebook does not cut.Only the content, as a base from which you can provide a range of enriching, value-add tools and philosophies, perhaps platform.

If you are constantly immersed in your area of interest, you're likely to encounter information that, while makes for good blogs, also populates your lamp créative.Il can start innovate you and exploring, and resulting ideas and experiences can generate new opportunities or contained that can complement and extend your existing content in other formats.

These products are generally more successful if you can provide a solid practical value, unique ideas and convincing evidence.Do not overlook give your customers a way to evaluate the information for their own, independently, and under your direction.Interpréter results of your search in a paid report, by all means, but provide the raw data to allow users to conduct their own analyses, too.

We have all heard of News Corp. decision to charge for access to its sites news - a plan that will now coming to the UK and the USA.Although opinion is divided on the pricing of web news, many blogs offer premium subscriptions that allow access to content value added such as research and interpretation, or deep understanding and avis.Le GigaOm free network for this with its GigaOm Pro subscription service suites.Subscription services can also take in alternate media such as videos or podcasts, which are not available through the free zone blog formats.

Subscriptions do not work for any blog: expert content on organizations and academic topics appears to be an area where paywalls proved successful, but the hobby blogger average may have trouble justifying this tactic to an audience that can obtain content parallel for free elsewhere.If go you ahead with a paywall, you will have to consider how you will communicate the value of a subscription to your readers: you offer a free trial version?A demo? you will enable users pay on a weekly or monthly basis or to buy a longer period of time, perhaps at a discount?

Users are already paywalls skeptics and subscriptions.They may work, but usually they are best left to the major players who can afford to take such risks.

An interesting alternative approaches paywall news online has been developed by Guardian new organization Britannique.Le Guardian launches a service that allows other users to syndicated Guardian free stories - with the caution that content should appear as expected, and that includes an advertisement.

Automatically included in your blog with ads online content syndication can be an encore.Mais option are there other forms of "syndication", you can use? can organize you republish regularly selected positions in another publication industry - perhaps to printing - for payment?

Resale of tickets can be difficult, given that you want to not dilute your brand or its lectorat.De even, a well thought-out strategy can be used to build your audience and your revenu.Vous can, for example, critical to other publications for a payment, content syndication, but publish timeless content, evergreen, positions who design and commitment to community and articles that provide high educational value, exclusively on your own blog.

Find opportunities that will pay to republish your posts can be a challenge, especially while you're always dial your foot in your chosen area, but as income Problogger nodes split prove, small steps - and approaches to group a set of sources of income - really add.

What techniques were used to monetise your content?

At about of the author: Georgina has over ten years experience writing and editing for the web, print and the voix.Elle has now blogs for WebWorkerDaily and SitePoint and consults on content to a variety other clients.

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