The Three Essential Components to My Online Posting Business: Blogging, Social, and Email

As writers, we’re always under time pressure to complete more. Whether it’s delivering an item or engaging with customers on the new social networking, the blogger’s task list can appear overwhelming sometimes.

I believe a number of that overwhelm originates from the granularity that we tend to check out our work. While breaking large challenges lower into littler ones is a great way to tackle things, concentrating on the small odds and ends in our work can stop us seeing the problem, and also the natural connections between your individual things we’re doing.

Lately on #blogchat we'd attorney at law about where social networking suits blogging. Should you see that question on the really granular basis—”What will my next status update actually cover?”—then it can be hard to determine where social networking might or may not work nicely. But when you consider the problem, you’ll most likely be more prone to request, “Where doesn’t social networking squeeze into blogging?”

Obviously we want a little more direction than that to sort out the best way to invest our time as writers, so today I figured I’d explain a little about my method of connecting blogging, social networking, and email.

Image by Phillip C, licensed under Creative Commons

Blogging is in the centre of the items I actually do. My blog is my home base and is how I put the majority of my efforts. My blog is really a place that another company like Twitter, or Facebook or G can’t remove from me basically break their tos or maybe they alter their approach. It’s within my control and it is where I ultimately build my logo and community.

My blog is really a place where conversation and conversion certainly happens, but when I needed to title my primary focus in my blog it might be that it's a place that we use to create content that’s helpful to my visitors.

My hope is the fact that each day on my small blogs, I help solve problems large and small in my visitors with the content I produce there.

My blog is really a place that's frequently the very first reason for connection with people. It’s a location where I really hope I’m in a position to create an impact upon them which will bring them for connecting more meaningfully in some manner.

Social networking is really a place that we mainly use for conversation and community. While this stuff also happen around the blog in comments, I've found progressively that individuals wish to connect and converse off my blog.

I am inclined to concentrate on Twitter mainly, but Facebook has progressively be a place where my photography blog visitors go and G can also be growing for me personally in by doing this.

I actually do use social networking for other purposes—I utilize it to drive traffic towards my blog for instance, I from time to time produce content onto it (particularly on G where I frequently think aloud), and that i even promote my e-books onto it every so often too (although I've found it doesn’t convert anywhere near in addition to email—more with that in just a minute).

Each one of these things can be achieved on social networking, however for me it's more a spot for conversation and interaction.

I’ve discussed the significance of email many occasions on ProBlogger—it may be the best element I’ve put into my blogging since i have began out 10 years ago.

Email does a lot of things for me—it’s a terrific way to bring customers, it can benefit with building community and driving individuals to points of engagement, it can also be accustomed to deliver content. However for me its stand-out benefit has existed driving sales: conversion.

Read this graphic which shows where sales in our e-books originate from.

You can observe here that:

87% in our sales originate from email7% originate from our blog posts3% originate from social media3% originate from our affiliate marketers.

Since we began to write e-books, I’ve attempted many different ways to advertise them, however the top-transforming method each time I’ve examined continues to be email.

Blogging, social networking and email have  become vital facets of my company. I can’t imagine departing one of these simple elements out.

All of them is helpful in a number of ways—in fact, I frequently use each one of the elements to advertise others, when i find they work nicely to strengthen each other.

For instance, when someone subscribes to the e-newsletter on dPS they have an email soon after that informs them about our social networking accounts. Every so often on our social accounts we promote the e-mail e-newsletter, and that we regularly promote your blog posts we publish there, too.

In delivering people backwards and forwards towards the different aspects of what we should do, I've found they be built-into the city. The brand’s recognition develops among a larger audiences by doing this, but individuals’ connections using the brand deepen, too.

In using this discussion one step or two further, tomorrow’s publish examines some good situation good examples of the methods email and blogging could be integrated to aid a effective affiliate marketing, so I’ll have an interest to listen to that which you think about individuals approaches.

And then week, we’ll be taking an in-depth take a look at how writers are utilizing social media—specifically Pinterest—to support their blogging goals.

The mixing of social networking and email with blogging is a nice topical dilemma for several people, so let’s hear your sights within the comments.

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Preview of My New Video Blogging Setup

written by John Chow on February 20, 2013

Here are some preview photos and a video from my new video blogging setup. The system is made up of an Olympus OM-D E-M5 digital camera and a Panasonic LUMIX G 20mm f/1.7 Aspherical Pancake Lens.

The OM-D E-M5 does come with an Olympus 12-50mm f/3.5-6.3 lens but so far I haven’t had time to play with it. I’ve been having too much fun with the Panasonic lens. I love how the Panasonic lens can focus on the subject and blur the background.

The Olympus OM-D E-M5 ia a Micro 4/3 interchangeable lens camera. It offers all the advantages of a DSLR without the bulk. The OM-D E-M5 is about the size of the average digital compact camera. When outfitted with the pancake lens, it fits easily into a jacket pocket. However, the photo and video quality is beyond anything that can be produced with a normal digicam. Check out my photo samples, and make sure you watch the video in HD.

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The Perfect Blogging Output Level

This guest post is by Greg Narayan of DearBlogger.

It’s a sad truth: if you stop blogging, people will eventually forget about you.

Just like the actors in our favorite movies or athletes once they retire, we soon forget the big names and find new ones to idolize.

Even if your blog enjoys the spotlight now with revolutionary posts that go totally Justin -Beiber-viral the moment you hit Publish, it won’t last forever. That’s where your output comes in. Reach an appropriate, consistent level of output and you’ll get returning readers while keeping Google happy too.

But how do we reach a “good” level of output, and what amount is it? How much do you have to write to stay popular? Let’s take a look.

The one post a day model is pretty popular, probably because it’s easy to visualize. You wake up, brew the coffee, and sit down at the computer. As your heads spins with thoughts from the previous night and new ideas on the future, you write them down.

This might work very well if you run a “my thoughts on the world” type of blog, or are into self-improvement, or have a blog documenting your travels.

However, if you plan to blog seriously or blog for a living, I see a few problems with the one post a day model:

Short: Writing one blog a day inevitably produces short posts, unless you ramble on and on, which is never good. And after Panda, Google doesn’t exactly love brief posts. Unless you have the pull of Seth Godin, one short post after another might confuse your readers or make them think you’re…Cheap: Anyone can write one post a day. You just jot down some words that look like they make sense and hit publish. But the best posts require revisions, to make the points clear and the copy concise. This level of quality is difficult to achieve every single day on your blog.Too personal: If you are writing in your pajamas before beginning the day I’d bet that writing will get pretty personal. Your beliefs and biases will littler the copy in places they just shouldn’t. So unless you have a really, intensely interesting life like Kim Kardashian (ha!) I’d avoid being too personal in your blog posts. It can scare new readers away.

When I wrote on how I blog for money, one of the main messages was that you earn by giving lots of value to readers. If you find posting every day is the best way to give, that’s fine, but be careful you’re not posting every day just to drive more traffic and attention to your blog. You’ll receive just as much traffic in the long run by posting infrequently at first.

Note: For wholesome traffic-gen strategies, check out Ana Hoffman’s blog.

Now, how about we put a different spin on this model?

The “revamped” model will help you truly give, and also use your full creative potential.

The idea is to add guest posts, newsletters, even a super long Google+ post into the mix, and here’s why it works.

Readers like consistency, we know that, so set one post per week in that regime to be on your own blog. Make it personal, with a story from your own experiences. The tone should be different from posts away from your blog, to give readers a distinct feel to latch on to.

The great thing is that allowing yourself to write on places outside your blog really frees up your imagination. I can’t tell you how many people come to me saying they feel pressured to keep the content churning on their own blog, and it’s hurting their writing. Well, this is a solution.

You should know a couple things though before adapting this model. In order to write great guest posts you’ve gotta be immersed. Not in the TV in front of you on the magazine on the table, though you may find inspiration there. No, be immersed in the tone of the other blog. Read five or ten of their posts, catch their vibe, and see what readers want.

A lot of the time, what readers come back for on another blog is totally different from your own blog. To be a successful guest poster you’ll need to wise up to these little style cues on another blog.

This doesn’t just include guest posts. Every Tuesday morning, for example, I send out a newsletter to subscribers only. I’d be crazy to publish a post the same day because it would overwhelm people. Plus, I usually reference past posts in the newsletter, so the flow of traffic coming to my blog is taken care of. This is a great way of reusing content and getting folks to the blog.

So, you’re going with the one post a day model. Maybe you’ve tailored it a bit so you allow yourself two days off. Nothing wrong with that. Either way, you’ll be writing a serious amount.

Where do the ideas come from? It’s no secret good writing requires inspiration, and some of us just seem to have more of it than others. But where do we get it?

Here are a few places you can find inspiration to meet your desired output levels:

Conversations: Yes, they still exist off of Facebook. Go have a rich one.Old-fashioned books: Old classics (Gatsby is my fave) boast inspirational ideas well ahead of their time. Restaurants: Observe the menu. Neat words will pop out. Trust me, they will.Other blogs: Your favorite blog should be full of daily inspiration.Travel: Check out PickTheBrain soon for my post on how travel solves all your problems.

The honest truth is there are none. I know successful bloggers who rose to fame averaging only a few posts a month (read: Dererk Halpern).

Then there are those who furiously write, even when they can’t stand to anymore.

Forcing yourself to write can be a tremendous burden in the face of another job and even a family. If it’s not a creative outlet for you, either try to make it one, or just chill out. Put the laptop away for a while.

Often, inspiration creeps in when you’re not looking for it.

There isn’t one (lame punch-line, I know).

It’s all about what works best for you, given your daily restrictions to time, money, location, etc.

Personally, I enjoy posting once a week on my blog because my readers expect it, and it’s just enough of a schedule to keep me sane. I know that when I’m not posting I should subconsciously be looking for new ideas—new weird/crazy topics to interrelate—from my surroundings. Then I sprinkle in guest posts like this one or that one to keep folks on a never-ending hunt to find me when I’m not at the blog.

It’s quite fun, actually.

But, your output schedule could be totally different. The point kind of is, you should choose something. Thinking about your output levels will help you tailor a schedule, which I firmly believe is necessary to make blogging for a living actually work someday. And that’s the goal, right?

I’m quite aware the one post a day model is outdated and not for everyone. Honestly, I’m not even sure if I blog enough! So, what works for you? I really hope someone successful out there can chime in and help us all out.

Let me know in the comments.

The Blogger writes on everything blogging at DearBlogger. Get free updates from his email club for more, or find him on Google+.

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The Dos and Don’ts of Weight Loss Blogging for Beginners

This guest post is by Karol K.

There’s a popular trend on the internet these days among people who have taken upon themselves to lose some weight. I’m talking about starting a weight loss blog.

The idea in itself is perfect. You get a place to document your progress, talk about the things you’re doing, get additional motivation by interacting with other people through comments (also great for getting additional tips from them), and finally, you’re making your journey public, which is sure to improve your success rate all by itself.

There are some problems, though. The weight loss blogging space is really heavy on purely promotional sites, deceptive sales messages, or even scams desired solely to earn some quick money.

All this makes it really hard to build a credible brand that stands out from the crowd.

That’s why I decided to create this quick tutorial to show you some things you can and should do ASAP, as well as other practices that are better left alone—unless you want to be mistaken for a spammer.

Before I get to that, let me take a minute to list some people who do this the right way. Here’s the light side of the force (so to speak), just as an example on how weight loss blogging should be done.

MindBodyGreen.com: MindBodyGreen was founded by Jason Wachob, Carver Anderson, and Tim Glenister—all wellness experts and enthusiasts. Their team is one of the best in the business. From top yoga instructors to wellness gurus, and weight loss experts, there’s something for every interest and ability level on this blog.NowLoss.com: A very successful blog in the weight loss niche by Andrian Bryant. NowLoss.com now helps over 1.5 million monthly visitors look good naked by losing weight, getting curves, and/or building muscle. NowLoss.com is the #2 weight loss website in the world behind commercial giant Weight Watchers.WorkoutsForHome.com: In her blog, Susan invites us to join her in Operation Awesomeness and lose weight fast, right from home. She is here to teach you everything she knows about becoming awesome…Does This Blog Make Us Look Fat: A blog founded by Rebecca Regnier—an Emmy-winning television journalist and author of “Your Twitter Diet,” available on Amazon. The blog’s mission is to teach you how to lose weight in a way that’s suitable for you individually (whatever weight loss steps you take, Rebecca supports you).A Black Girl’s Guide to Weight Loss: A blog where you can join Erika in her journey from 330lbs to personal trainer. Everything she shares comes from her personal experience. An great blog with lots of personal touches.

Now, let’s focus on how you can join the ranks of these quality weight loss blogs.

These days people don’t have that much trust reserved for websites talking about weight loss. With so many poor affiliate blogs around—blogs publishing low quality content purely to promote other products through affiliate links—you never know who’s for real and who’s in it just for the quick buck.

One of the common things such marketers do is that they never use their real names. Instead, they showcase some lame brand name, like LoseWeightTacticsBlog, or something.

The easiest thing you can do to differentiate yourself from this crowd is to prove that you’re a human being by using your real name. Then, go one step further and display some actual photos of you (either taken by you or your friends; nothing too professional-looking).

When your audience sees your face on the blog, they will know that you are a real human being who genuinely cares about the content they publish.

Whenever you want to endorse something (a product or service) be careful about promising any kind of results. This is something spammers do every day. They publish loads of promises, great looking success stories, and even fake before-and-after pictures.

People are very careful now when it comes to believing any sort of promises. Whenever you say that something will bring massive results you’re immediately becoming suspect.

Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t endorse anything. But do it only when you are absolutely sure that the product is of great quality. You have to experience the results yourself, otherwise you won’t be believable.

This is about the name of your site.

Now, you can take one of two possible paths here:

Get a custom domain at godaddy.com (or some other registrar) and your own hosting account.Register your blog at wordpress.com and get a free subdomain.

Both approaches have their pros and cons. The first one is obviously more expensive. You have to spend $10 a year for the domain, and around $6 per month for hosting.

But what you get in exchange is better credibility and a more serious look from the get-go.

The second path is quick and cheap. You can set up a new blog within minutes, but its address will end with .wordpress.com.

This is up to you, but make sure to go with a good name. Whatever you do, don’t make it seem spammy. For instance, WeightLossTacticsBlog is spammy. MagicWeightLossToday is too. LosingWeightWithKaren is not. There’s no rule of thumb here. Always go with your gut feeling.

The consequences of getting this wrong can be serious. If people see your blog’s name as spamm—as a hidden marketing pitch of sorts—they won’t believe a thing you’re saying.

As I said before, trust is the rarest commodity in weight loss blogging. If people don’t trust you, they won’t listen to your advice, and might even find it hard to believe your stories.

There are some ways to boost your believability rate, so to speak, and your trust:

Use your real name and display pictures of yourself (already discussed).Try storytelling and sharing personal insights. This is where you get to describe genuine stories that are taking place in your life (related to weight loss, obviously). People love stories, and it’s the ultimate way to prove that you are real. If people can relate to what you’re saying, they will surely pay attention. Make every post you publish personal to some degree.Display trust elements. “Trust elements” sound fancy, but what I mean is quite simple. Whenever other website mentions you in one way or the other, put their logo in your sidebar and label it “Websites talking about me” or something similar. The point is to prove that other sites see you as a real, credible person. If you don’t have any of those yet then don’t worry, the day will come.

One of the main giveaways that we’re dealing with a weight loss marketer rather than a real person is the fact that each post only touches upon the positive side of things.

As in life, in weight loss, too, there are good and bad days. Good and bad products. Good and bad people.

You can create much additional credibility when you share a message that’s not that positive, but is still 100% real.

Only the strongest people are able to share a negative story and be confident about what they’re saying at the same time.

Advertising is the most intuitive way to monetize a website. Essentially, I’m not against advertising. If there is a possibility to earn a couple of bucks from your blog then I believe you should take it.

However, be careful not to make your blog overloaded with ads. Such situation will bring your credibility down very quickly. Just one block for AdSense ads (or any other provider) in the sidebar is really enough.

You can skip this if you’re not planning on publishing any reviews. If you are, keep reading…

The main problem with reviews online is that a big chunk of them is simply fake. Every day countless marketers publish reviews of crappy products without even having those products in their possession.

This is especially visible in the weight loss space where, as we all know, there are hundreds of products available … pills, diets, training programs, training equipment, DVDs, you name it.

That’s why if you’re going to write a review, you should remember a handful of things:

Always list the bad sides of the product (there surely are some).Provide pictures of the product taken by you (or better yet, pictures of you using the product if that’s possible).Get in depth to the core benefits the product delivers.Don’t quote any of the information from the product box or the official website.Give an honest final opinion.

Most of the time, spam-bloggers publish only simple 400-word blog posts providing no actual advice. You can differentiate yourself pretty easily by looking at the topic of blogging much more broadly.

Some examples, besides the traditional blog post:

Your progress update. If you’re on a weight loss program yourself then you can share your weekly progress updates. I guarantee that your readers will love those.“Meal of the week” or something like that. Provide a complete recipe.“Task of the week.” This is where you can set a goal for the week and update your audience on how well it went. For instance, your goal could be to exercise at least 20 minutes a day.Interviews. If you can have a talk with someone knowledgeable about a given weight loss-related topic, your audience will surely be glad you shared this.Reviews, as discussed above.Off-topic posts. This is where you get to connect with your audience more broadly, by sharing something that’s not related to weight loss, yet still relevant to you as a real person.“Ask the readers.” This is where you ask a question and your readers respond through comments. Then you can round up the most interesting answers and publish them in another blog post. You have to have a big enough audience to make this work, though.

Now it’s your turn. What do you think about using a blog as a way to document your weight loss story? Are you a weight loss blogger? What tips and advice can you share?

Karol K. teaches how to save on the popular Flex Belt, and discusses the basics of TRX training (learn more). He contributes articles on fitness training, working out, and losing weight in general. He also enjoys writing occasionally for WeightLossTriumph. He’s a fan of healthy living and being in shape no matter what. In his personal life, he proves that one doesn’t have to struggle to be healthy.

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John Chow dot Com 2012 Blogging Annual Report

written by John Chow on December 31, 2012

We’re at the end of 2012 and that means it’s time for the John Chow dot Com Blogging Annual Report. This is where I tell you all the cute stats and milestones the blog achieved in 2012. Thanks to WordPress, this job is actually quite easy because they have prepared the annual report for me in a nice infographic.

Some of the highlights from the annual report includes me getting more visitors than a small European country!

About 55,000 tourists visit Liechtenstein every year. This blog was viewed about 9,500,000 times in 2012. If it were Liechtenstein, it would take about 173 years for that many people to see it. Your blog had more visits than a small country in Europe!

In 2012, there were 430 new posts, growing the total archive of John Chow dot Com to 4,734 posts. The busiest day of the year was April 27th with 67,073 views.

I wish to acknowledge the 2012 most active commenters. You guys are awesome!

See The Full John Chow dot Com 2012 blogging Annual Report

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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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Blogging on the Bleeding Edge: Create Content that Gets Liked, Shared, and Talked About

This guest post is by Glen Andrews of Glen-Andrews.com.

There are two types of content…

Regurgitated content. This is content, or information, that’s been shared throughout a niche for years. It doesn’t really excite anyone anymore. It’s considered useful, but it’s “old hat.”

As an example, in the blogging niche (my niche) regurgitated content would be writing an article about hashtags, setting up a Facebook page, or discussing the importance of creating videos.

These are all worthwhile strategies to write about, especially if your blog is about social media. We all need to paint the full picture for those entering social media (our niche) for the first time. So discussing old strategies is always a smart thing to do.

However, regurgitated content won’t thrust you to the forefront of your market. Which brings me to our second type of content.

What’s happening now content. This is “bleeding edge” content that’s new to your market.

When Google rolled out its new algorithm (Panda/Penguin) the people aware of these “insider” updates were seen as the experts. Then, these so-called “insiders” created some of the first articles, posts, and videos about Google’s new algorithms.

These insiders are also the ones who receive masses of likes, shares, and tweets from their fan base. Which in turn, helps them build an even bigger fan base.

When you share breaking news, people want to be on your newsletter list, they want to read your blog, and they want to follow you on social media sites.

Here’s the good news. Anyone can become an insider, as I’m about to explain.

But first, here are four things that occur when we produce “what’s happening now” content.

We have the ability to help and inspire others.We’re viewed as experts on the “cutting edge” of our niche.Our content gets shared, liked, and talked about more often.We get an opportunity to earn an exceptional income online.

You might be saying, “Don’t most blogs get these benefits?”

No! Most blogs have good content, but not “what’s happening now” content, blogged from the bleeding edge.

Here’s how you can become an insider in your niche, and publish the best bleeding-edge content.

First, find out who the top three leaders are in your niche and follow their every move. Get their newsletters and RSS feeds sent to your email, and follow them on Twitter. This will immediately tip you off when something new is about to unfold in your niche.

When you find some killer bleeding-edge content, create an article, post, or video, and discuss the affects this news may have on your niche. Then of course, you’ll share it with your base.

So you’re probably wondering—where do I find these niche leaders?

You want to locate the people who make the rules. For example, in my niche, Google, Facebook, and Twitter are just a few of the “policy makers” I follow. These are the people who make the policies that affect everyone online.

It helps to get your information straight from the decision makers themselves. However, I could also follow Searchengineland.com for SEO. I could follow SocialMediaExaminer.com for all things social media.

You want your finger on the pulse of what’s happening next, and the only way to do that is to know the decision-makers in your market.

Have you identified the decision-makers in your market? Are you able to respond quickly when they report critical news? What are your strategies for creating great content that gets liked, shared and re-tweeted? Share your ideas in the comments.

Glen Andrews has created niche sites, ebooks, and info products that produce a steady reliable income. Glen is dedicated to helping entrepreneurs create and market a blog online that makes them money.

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Learn Tips How to Make Money Blogging Strategies With Step by Step Success

How You Can Start Blogging For Money and Generating Blog Traffic

As there's simply no manner I can write down each single superior blogging approach and trade secret technique I have about how to make money on-line and generate money with a blog (there's simply too many), I'll share simply the fundamentals as it is published primarily to function a name to motion for beginners. Right here is how one can get going if you want to begin getting critical about blogging as a strategy to exchange your existing full time job and so that you can start working for yourself. As entire blogs and books could be dedicated to the topic, the following is only a primary primer to help newbies get began on the highway to blogging for income. Please don't fall for those silly and utterly useless Shortcut To Web Thousands and thousands and associated eBay sort scams that promise plenty of money with no effort and no laptop know-how. Don't be misled - you will want to work very exhausting, for months or years, however making money on-line with a blog is possible. The next are the required steps I took to get began blogging:

1) Register A Domain Name and Purchase A Monthly Internet Hosting Service:

I like to recommend beginning out with a free Blogspot.com or WordPress.com account as a way to get your feet wet into the great world of blogging. Nonetheless, for long run model name and website setup functions, in the event you plan on making this whole blogging deal into a critical venture, I very strongly suggest registering for a proper domain name and choosing a paid web hosting service prior to later. After all, doesn't MoneyBlueBook.com appear rather more professional than say - moneybluebook.blogspot.com?

Get A Domain Name: Go with GoDaddy.com on your domain registration wants if you wish to go together with the service that most people are using on the moment. GoDaddy is a very fashionable registrar choice for bloggers simply starting out. I personally use Dreamhost.com for my domain name registrations - however that's solely as a result of they're the corporate I began out with and I want to stay consistent. Good luck finding a brief domain name nonetheless - it looks like all of the juicy domain names are all taken, especially the coveted "dot com" ones. Get A Reliable Web Hosting Provider: MoneyBlueBook.com is at present hosted on a dedicated LiquidWeb.com server. I pay about $one hundred fifty a month for wonderful and very reliable hosting, however that's as a result of this blog generates pretty first rate traffic. Liquidweb is dearer than other corporations, however I've discovered their service to be extremely dependable with a superb uptime observe record. Most start up blogs can most likely run sufficiently on a cheap shared server at the very least for a while with a hosting firm like BlueHost, GoDaddy, or DreamHost for about $10-20 a month. But in the end although, you get what you pay for. Low-cost hosting equals unreliable up time. It's not an enormous deal if you're simply starting out, nevertheless it'll kill your enterprise when your sites start producing serious traffic.

2) Set up and Study To Use WordPress:

WordPress is the most effective and most reliable blogging platform to date. Some common blogs on the market are nonetheless working off of different blogging programs like Blogger, but most are steadily migrating to WordPress. Most professional web host providers may also help you put in this very powerful and versatile free blogging software for you. It can take time for you to really grasp the ins and outs of WordPress blogging and learn how to absolutely make the most of all of the WordPress plugins and widgets available, but once you get the hold of the versatile blogging tools at your disposal, you'll find the free WordPress software program to be quite indispensable.

3) Start Running a blog On A Each day Basis and Tempo Yourself As A Writer:

The key to surviving as a blogger and building a sustainable future as a blogger able to making a living online by means of blogging - is to stay constant and never get overly burned out too soon. At the start, there is a natural euphoria of pleasure as you begin witnessing the blogging traffic fruits of your efforts, but don't let the preliminary excitement force you to over exert yourself. Similarly, throughout your blogging journey, at some time or another, you are doubtless going to get stricken with an affliction of what's popularly generally known as blogger's block (aka, author's block). But worry not - even seasoned bloggers experience this sense of laziness and lack of motivation on frequent occasion. Reduce in your blogging activities if you need to but don't give up.

While you first begin out, your readership will probably be pitifully few, however that's absolutely normal. Don't stop writing high quality content material as that's the solely method you will generate readership in the very long run. This feeling of blogging loneliness and frustration caused by lack of traffic may persist for many months, but if you are to succeed, you could give it time. It takes quite a lot of time to get accepted into the nice graces of the various search engines and for strangers to organically uncover your blog by the collection of tubes of cyberspace. From the time I personally began blogging with the intention of ultimately making money online, it took 12 months or so earlier than I lastly started to generate a substantial revenue from my blogging activities. Running a blog is simple to get started but troublesome to really master.

4) Learn To Monetize Your Blog Readership and Improve Your Blog Traffic:

Running a blog ought to at all times be a work in progress. You should at all times be adapting and discovering methods to do present issues better. Even after you've began to generate traffic and establish a cadre of readers, you have to be always making an attempt to figure out methods to increase that traffic and tweak the effectiveness of your promoting pitches. Strategic Google AdSense placement, targeted blog titles, and improved search engine marketing updates are methods to spice up your income and traffic.

Getting listed in search engine submissions, blog directory listings, exchanging blog rolls, swapping reciprocal text hyperlinks, taking part in blog carnivals by way of blogcarnival.com, visitor posting on different blogs, writing feedback in standard online forums, participating in widespread and associated blogs, article advertising and marketing, as well as participating in social media websites like StumbleUpon, Digg, Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter - are all legitimate methods to get traffic but you'll need to experiment with each one to find out what really works when it comes to improved monetization and what methods are simply methods to generate exciting blog traffic numbers, however that don't really convert into tangible sales. Tip: Social media advertising is vastly overrated for monetization purposes as social media readers aren't seeking to purchase or have their specific questions answered - thus targeted, natural search engine traffic is key. If you want to make money blogging, you had higher be praying to the good temple of Google and determining what the Google gods want in the best way of blog content and optimization.

5) By no means Stop Studying, Experimenting, and Inspecting Your Competitors:

You need to never be trying to re-invent the wheel. Probably the greatest methods to improve your individual blog and blogging approach is to learn from the methods of others. Take a peek at your competitor's blog or go to your favorite blogs to see how they monetize and how they construction their blog content for clues as to their success. Don't fear about feeling like a spy - in spite of everything, more likely than not, they're peeking right back at your website as well. That's what smart companies do - they examine their environment, be taught from the perfect, and consistently improve. In spite of everything, if you happen to owned a struggling ice cream shop, wouldn't you secretly go to competing ice cream shops that are extra successful than yours to figure out why and the way those shops are in a position to generate extra ice cream gross sales than yours?

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Make money blogging

"Make Money Blogging" is gaining popularly now a days. There are many ways that you can make money blogging articles, but here are the top 4 most effective ways to make money blogging articles.

Here are the lists of things you can do to make money blogging articles

1. Include PPC advertising ads on their Blogs

If you are not familiar with Pay Per Click (PPC), there are free systems like Google AdSense, which pays you to put your ads on your site. These ads are generated by Google and when someone clicks on ads you make money blogging content as he paid based on the number of clicks on ads

2. Make Money Blogging Tips on interest

Let tell you like playing baseball as a hobby, and you know everything about baseball. You can make money blogging about baseball articles and get paid. Recently released by the pay per post, they will pay you $ 5 to $ 50 for selected articles that you post from your blog.

Make sure that you have knowledge and experience in that interest to the blog, as people will start questioning her articles feel that their articles are not up to standard and that can cost people to leave your blog.

3. make money Blogging affiliate products

Don't have a product in mind? You can go to the search engine and search for top affiliate products, start writing articles on products and you can also make money blogging about the affiliate products.

All you need to do is write a review about the affiliate product or give free reports on products and people will have the products if you blog. We do not have subsidiary articles posting on every post of your blog.

The biggest mistake that you can do to make money blogging is hard to sell affiliate products to your visitors. Never do this on their blogs, what you want to do instead is to have respect for every 4 items of information have 1 article for promotion.

In this way, while you're trying to make money blogging, affiliate products, readers will not feel they are harshly sells for.

4. Make money blogging Blog other people

You can also earn money by offering comments on other people's blog. Basically, you can charge a fee of $ 60 to $ 250 to write comments on blogs. The concept is that, they will pay through ReviewMe.com and that will only be paid after doing a review for them.

Note When writing to make money blogging about other people's blog, you would like to have a mixture of both good and bad of the blog to show people that this review is true and honest review and don't give readers a concept that he is paid.

These are the main ways of 4 photo you can make money blogging about stories or articles. The main thing is Blogs are often seen as a marketing product for some. But the reality, the blogs are just a marketing tool to promote content and bring the traffic to their sites.

Alvin Phang is the owner of gather Success.com for more information on how you can Make money blogging and tips click here. If you want to do a joint venture with me feel free to contact me here [http://www.gathersuccess.com/about/].

How to Make Money Blogging With 3 Easy Tips

Blogging has become so popular recently that many people have been able to turn it into a full time job. Making money with blogging can be difficult and many people who try do not succeed in their initial attempts. This is not because it is a bad way to make extra money. People tend to fail to make money blogging because they do not approach it in the appropriate way. Blogging for money is a job. While you may work for yourself, just like any other job, it requires knowledge and hard work in order to succeed. I think we can say that about anything in life. For someone who is serious and wants to make money blogging in their spare time, or even making enough money to quit their day job, there are a few good tips that they need to follow.

First, picking a good topic for blogging can be a tough ordeal. Many people want to blog about their hobbies, but if the niche is too small, generating traffic can be difficult. It is important to find a topic which will draw in a good crowd, but it must also be a topic about which you are willing to write. A blog that lacks passion or insight will not retain visitors and will not give them the incentive to use the banner ads on the site, or click through on your affiliate product. This is the primary way most blogs generate revenue, so if the ads or sales fail, the blog may not make any money. Becoming an expert at your particular niche is key.

So how do you go about making the best of your blog? While most people who are considering blogging for money are already web savvy, it is important to be up to date with the latest internet publishing software and websites. An out of date blog, or one which does not take advantage of new methods for increasing traffic, may struggle against technically superior blogs. Blogs today take advantage of things such as RSS feeds and podcasts. By utilizing the latest technologies a blog can keep up with the rest and really stand out. Wordpress blogs are especially regraded for their use of ease and plethora of features.

One thing anyone who wants to blog for money needs to remember is that regular visitors will lose interest if the blog is not updated frequently. Updating the blog every day can result in a very high turnover for certain blogs, but may be too much for others. A blog about a rapidly changing medium, business for example, can thrive on daily updates. However, a blog about a hobby such as snowboarding, may be better served by information-rich weekly updates. A blog which is unnecessarily updated may come off as spam to some readers. Despite this, a blog with appropriate and well-written updates will keep readers coming back for more time and time again. Making sure the updates are on a schedule, rather than random, can also keep readers coming back.

Blogging for money does not have to be hard. Do not let the lack of success from others steer you away. Those who are unprepared or not serious about blogging for money will make room for those who want to turn real profit. By doing your research and approaching the blogosphere with a professional attitude, it is very possible to supplement an existing income or replace it all together. Make money blogging today with these 3 easy tips!

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Ideas For Making Money Blogging!

It's very popular to start a blog and try to make money from it. In this article I want to give you some ideas for making money blogging. First, you can read about how to set up your blog and then I tell you some ideas about how you can make money from it.

Start a blog

If you going to blog you need a blog, right? I suggest you to start a blog at WordPress. You have to pay for a domain name and a web hotel. It's a little investment but you get a nice looking blog and you can change every thing on your blog as you like. I recommend Go Daddy for signing up your domain name and Hostgator for your webhotel. It's big companies with good services and nice prices.

The Topic of your blog

The fist thing you need to think of is the topic of you blog. What are you going to write about? I suggest something that you like and have as a hobby. You will write with more passion if your write about something you love doing. If you just choose the topic that will bring more money, the chance is big your getting bored and stop blogging after a while. Some suggestions for topics are:

Gardening
Design
Dog training
Running
How to lose weight

When you're starting a blog with a money making idea, you have to fill peoples needs. You can't write about what you made for breakfast or how your day went. You need to have your readers needs in mind when your write.

Get traffic to you blog - Submit your blog to directories

Now you have a blog and a topic. When you have written some posts, you can start submit your blog to directories. The directories will then link to your blog. Your blog will be noticed by Google and get some traffic. Here is a list of some good directories that you can start with:

EzineArticles
Articlesbase
Buzzle
Searchwarp
GoArticles

Search engine optimization (SEO)

For more traffic to your blog you want to be loved by Google. You then have to use SEO on your blog. I can't tell you everything about SEO in this article. It's to much to cover. Search Google and you will find a lot of good articles to learn from.

Linking

Start linking to other good blogs and websites that you visit. Your readers like when you provide good information. Other site owners will notice you and maybe they'll link back. You also want to link inside your blog. Link to other posts that are relevant to what you're writing at the moment.

Make comments on other blogs

Start reading blogs that write about similar things as you do. When you have something good to say, write a comment. You can ad a link to your blog with the comment. Now, all the other readers will notice your blog and maybe they'll visit it.

Social networks

Are you using social networks like Facebook or Twitter? By adding links to your blogposts you can get more visitors.

Now - The ideas for making money on your blog!

1. Ideas for making money blogging - AdSense

One idea for making money on your blog is to put AdSense ads on it. You will make money when someone clicks on them. It's easy to start. Please read my article Easy Money Making Ideas - Google AdSense if you want to learn more about Google AdSense. In that article I will teach you how to start with AdSense, step by step.

2. Ideas for making money blogging - Write an e-book

A good idea for making money is to write an e-book. Write about something that your readers will be interested to read. If your blog is about weight loose, maybe you can write an e-book about low carb diets. Remember to choice a related topic for you e-book. If you write an e-book about gardening and the blog is about weight loss your readers will just get confused.That's not a good money making idea. When you've finished the e-book, you can sell it at your blog.

3. Ideas for making money blogging - Be an affiliate

Another great idea for making money is to be an affiliate. An affiliate promotes other peoples products. If your blog is about weight loss you can promote a weight loss product. When someone buys it though your link, you get paid.

4. Ideas for making money blogging-

Combine the first 3 ideas Why just stick to one idea for making money? If you combine the 3 ideas above you will make even more!

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How to Make Money Blogging on the Internet

If you want to make money blogging on the internet, you will need to realize that it is not as hard as most people think. Sure, it might take a bit of time to master, but that is with everything in life. The good thing is that it only takes most people days or weeks to start seeing immediate results through writing a blog, or twenty blogs if you want even more cash.

There are many, many people who make money blogging. They don't just make a little, there are bunches who tend to make enough to stay at home all day and work for themselves. While not everybody will become insanely rich while writing their blogs, you can very easily and quickly work your way up to a nice paycheck every week in no time at all. To do this, you will need a quick rundown of what to expect and the basics that will help you far into the future.

Here are some of the more critical ones....

First, you will need to know the best place to set up your blog if you really want to make money blogging. The best place that I have found for a multitude of reasons has been WordPress. They have everything on their websites, which makes it very easy for even the newest of newcomers to set up multiple blogs in minutes. You can make your blog look exactly like you want with minimal work. Not only that, but there is also something that will help you out even more.

The thing that helps you make money blogging with WordPress is the fact that they are loved by the search engines. This means that WordPress blog tend to pull up very high in the search results of Google and Yahoo when people search for your keywords/subject. You see, search engines will be a big part of your audience. A large percentage of people who find your blog will be from the search engines. You will want to pick a couple of main keyword for your niche, such as "fantasy football insider", and make sure it is prominent in your blogs title and the text in the main part of your blog.

Last but not least, you will need to promote products as an affiliate to make money blogging. To make money blogging on the web, there is not better way to do it than selling other people's products. Sure, you can set up Google AdSense ads (I am sure you have seen them everywhere), but that is something that you should leave for when you have mastered the industry. Promoting and advertising products on your blogs as an affiliate is easily the best way to make good cash. You can incorporate the products into your blogs where you see fit and you can also put some links on the sides of your blogs. You will also want to make sure the products you pick are something that the reader will want to try. If you need a huge list of the thousands of affiliate products out there to promote and make money blogging, just go to ClickBank or CJ.com.

These are the vital basics when you want to make money blogging on the internet, so you can have a strong foundation with which to build upon.

Would you like a simple, surefire, step-by-step guide to make money blogging? Keep Reading...

Blog For Money - Adam Woodham is the author of this article and lists the tips and tricks for creating and maintaining a Blog Income on his blog resource website, which features exactly what he used to watch his blog profits skyrocket. Making money blogging has never been easier.

5 Lessons of Blogging epic from parents of five Rowdy

This guest post is by Ruth Zive Ruth Zive Copywriting.

Most of my readers and clients know me as a freelance copywriter and content marketing strategist. But the truth is, I’m operating under cover; my real identity is SuperMom to a brood of five rowdy children (including one that is a wee bit chromosomally enhanced).

I’m actually not that “super,” but I’m most certainly Mom, first and foremost. It’s a busy, messy, loud, hectic, demanding, and unbelievably rewarding job. Each of my five children has taught me valuable lessons that have informed all aspects of my life. Because of my kids, I am a better human being—and definitely a more effective professional.

There is a lot of crossover in my life—my work blends into my mom-related duties, and vice versa. My children have taught me a lot about blogging, writing, social media, and content marketing strategy (albeit an inadvertent effort on their part).

Hopefully these five epic blogging lessons, learned from parenting five rowdy children, will help you to gain traction and grow your online presence.

Between dance lessons, basketball practice, speech therapy, school carpools, high school exams, doctor appointments, and parent-teacher interviews, it goes without saying that my head would explode if I didn’t stick to a schedule.

And forget about my sanity; my children thrive with a routine.

Takeaway

Similarly, you will create a sense of momentum with your blog if you settle into a routine—and you can incorporate this fundamental discipline in a variety of ways.  For instance, you’ll want to:

Map out an editorial calendar and write your posts predictably. Not only will you be more productive, your readers will come to appreciate your routine and will know when to visit your site for new content.Plan your blogging time strategically—make sure to budget time for writing, reading, commenting and social media.Work your blogging priorities into the rest of your daily schedule. Don’t forget to leave time for personal interests and priorities and other work-related responsibilities.

It took me a while to settle into a predictable routine (heck, life’s rarely predictable with five children).  But going through these motions helped me to be much more productive and focussed as a mom and a writer.

I often have to tailor my parenting style to the unique interests of the specific child I am addressing.

One of my kids will follow instructions only if we make eye contact and I resort to threats and bribery. My youngest daughter, on the other hand, needs a lot of handholding and coddling, no matter the circumstance. And the middle child will do pretty much anything as long as it involves chocolate.

Takeaway

Your blog readers will invariably share certain qualities and it’s important to know what those are; but remember that they also have unique interests. Segment your target market accordingly and be flexible in your style to accommodate their needs.

For instance, on my blog, I’m essentially appealing to three different target markets:

independent copywriters and bloggersc-level and marketing executivesindependent business owners and entrepreneurs.

All three groups are interested in learning more about content marketing strategy.

But I tweak my focus, depending on which group is on my radar.  When I’m speaking to the first group, I might write about landing copywriting clients, setting your fees and injecting personality into your writing.  But the second group, by contrast, is more interested in how to leverage the impact of social media to drive your content marketing campaign.

Same overarching intention, but a personalized and targeted approach based on the reader’s unique needs.

There is nothing my kids appreciate more than lively conversation around the dinner table, family game night, or a spontaneous adventure. The deeper the interaction, the more impactful. Mommy time trumps iPods, computer games, and the latest, must-have fashion accessory without fail.

And while my time is certainly limited, I seek out opportunities to engage with each child in a meaningful way.

Takeaway

You may have the most phenomenal content on your blog, but if you aren’t getting social, it’s a big fat waste of time!

Blogging is a big time suck, and it can be very hectic and overwhelming.  But starting now, every day, make sure that you:

take time to comment on other people’s blogscultivate relationships with prolific bloggers and industry expertsleverage the benefits of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

And most importantly, be authentic in your interaction.

I know what I’m talking about here.  Some of the best professional contacts that I’ve forged have been on Twitter.  It sounds ridiculous, but it’s 100% true. I was invited into a Mastermind group on Twitter; I was approached by someone on Twitter to edit an ebook; and I found a genius WordPress programmer on Twitter who solved some very troubling issues on my blog and saved me a small fortune. So don’t underestimate the importance of social.

Some days, I feel that my time is entirely consumed with meal preparation, laundry, housekeeping, carpooling—with some hysterics thrown in for good measure.

On those days, I have to remind myself that the time I invest in menial (and sometimes unpleasant) parenting tasks fuels the bigger picture payoff. Hopefully, because of my efforts, my children will emerge happy, secure, and confident with a sense that they can always rely on their Mom.

Takeaway

Blogging can be an exhausting, tedious, and slow process.

You have to do the grunt work if you’re going to reap the bigger picture benefits. Write often; read even more often; solicit feedback; invest in your blog’s design; learn how to optimize your site … do it all over again.

At first, it was hard for me to see the forest for the trees; my blogging experience seemed entirely mired in minutiae.  So I started to keep a journal—to track my progress from month to month, noting my higher level achievements so that I could have those in mind when I felt discouraged.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, try keeping a journal so that you can maintain better perspective and not lose sight of the bigger picture.

Sometimes, no matter how well organized I am, irrespective of how much I’ve considered my children’s unique needs, and even with a perfectly planned schedule and a bigger picture focus, the stars misalign and my efforts are in vain.

Woody Allen once joked that if you want to see God laugh, tell him your plans. Things are bound to go awry with children, and with blogging!

Takeaway

Keep an open mind. Blogging is a journey (much like any entrepreneurial pursuit) and you learn along the way.

Plans transform.Resources shrink or grow.Goals evolve.

You need to be flexible and adapt to changes.

I’ve encountered this reality first-hand in a dramatic way.  After six months of blogging, my readership and subscriber base had skyrocketed.

I had faithfully cultivated relationships with other bloggers and using social media. I had great traction. But Danny Iny, of Firepole Marketing, recommended that I redo my site and position myself differently, to align my offline business and my online brand. It was tough advice to hear, but I very seriously considered his point of view, and after some strategic thinking, my old blog is no longer.

Poof.

But my new blog rocks even more than my old one. And making this transition required a very open mind on my part.

So I suppose I owe my blogging success to my children. And now, maybe you will too.

What do you think? Have your children helped your blogging journey? What have your relationships taught you about content marketing and social media? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Ruth Zive is a freelance copywriter and content marketing strategist. Ruth works with B2B companies, across industries, to help them leverage their content to drive business results. Learn about my corporate workshops.

You Know you’ve Been Blogging too Long When… #BloggingTooLong

I posted this on my Google+ account and on Twitter earlier today:

You know you’ve been blogging too long when a family member asks for parenting advice and you write a 10 Point Answer, start brainstorming catchy titles and considering adding images and further reading.

The responses I got were pretty funny from others who had had similar experiences, so I thought it might be a fun one to open up here on the blog.

What have you found yourself doing that makes you think that perhaps you’ve been blogging a little too long?

Here’s a few more from my own experience:

You Know You’ve been blogging too long when… you have to pause a conversation with a friend to take notes for a blog post idea.

You Know You’ve been blogging too long when… you wake up your wife at 3am to tell her that you worked out a way to double your AdSense income.

You Know You’ve been blogging too long when… you are overheard sleep talking about Brian Clark and Chris Brogan.

Over to you… when did you know you’ve been blogging too long?

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Blogging Business Plans 101

This guest post is by Adarsh Thampy of ConversionChamp.com.

Do you know what the biggest mistake is when starting your own blog?

I’d argue that it’s probably lack of proper planning. At the starting point, you should consider writing a business plan for your blog.

“A business plan?” you might ask. “A blog is not necessarily a business!” I have guest posted over at branding personality about this topic. Blogging is a tool to promote your business or brand. So it’s essential that bloggers too have a business plan.

One of the successful entrepreneurs I respect the most, Neil Patel, is not a big fan of business plans, and he’s written about why you shouldn’t write a business plan in the first place. However, the plan I am talking about in this article is not based on any traditional models. Most people search the Internet to create a business plan and finally give up. It’s probably because they find it too difficult. I have to agree with this feeling: writing a business plan is no walk in the park.

But there is good news for people looking to start a blog, who want a plan that’ll help.

Unlike traditional business plans, the one you need to create for your blog is fairly simple. You don’t have to worry about structure, wording, or content. Your business plan will be short and easy to prepare.

All entrepreneurs know they need a business plan. But not many know why they actually need one. If I am talking on a high level, I can say that it is needed to acquire venture capital, optimize business operations, and so on, though I bet most bloggers never even remotely think of such things before they start a blog.

In layman’s terms, here’s why you need business plan:

It can give you an overall idea about your business (even before you start one). This makes sure that you approach blogging from a business perspective, and not just the mindset of content creation alone.You will have a better understanding of the requirements of your business. (Can you provide consulting through your blog? Or how is it that you are going to make money from it?)You’ll have a better overview about cash flow in your business. (Cashflow is nothing but how and when money comes in and goes out). How much are you going to invest in your blog, and how much do you expect it to make over a given period of time?It encourages you to take a more realistic approach towards your business.It helps you discover the challenges that lie ahead for your blog and the business associated with it.

Here comes the good part, and I must say that it’s actually fun too.

To create a blog, you’ll have to do research on your target market, figure out the operational and start-up costs, and so on. So why not document those things along the way, in a business plan that guides you, and provides a reference for the future?

In this section, you will have to note down what your business idea is. To make it more fun, write down how you actually zeroed down on your business idea. Make it short: don’t go over one page. In fact, try not to go over half a page.

Example: “My business idea is to start an online store which will sell superman merchandise to kids. I wanted to do this since my children love Superman toys and there isn’t any store that exclusively sells them online. I can entertain my kids as well as make some profit. I’ll use my blog to engage my customers and build a loyal following.”

What does your business or blog require to get started? What is the timeframe in which you expect each task to be completed? It’s good to make an Excel spreadsheet and paste it into your business plan so you have all the information in the same document.

Don’t include costs here. When it comes to the timeframes you’ll need to factor in, be realistic. Optimism is good, but your business decisions needs to be based on facts.

Example for small blog business: “My online store will be ready in approximately three months’ time. I’ll also need the help of some web designers and developers to build my online store. Then I need to get a decent hosting for my business website.

“I will spend three hours a day on this project, as I have a full-time job as well. For my blog, I’ll write the contents. I’ll also hire an editor to manage the content of this site (and occasionally contribute to it while I am busy with my main business).”

“Designing the site: 15 days (I am smart so I’ll use the StudioPress theme for my blog—the one that powers problogger.net)Coding for the site: 45 daysTweaks: 5 daysSetting up merchant account with Google Checkout: 5 daysGetting necessary stock: 10 daysPlanning for the launch: 1 dayHiring people to maintain my business: 10 days”

“So that makes it a total of around three months for the site to go live. I’ll also need to put some money aside for this. I think I have it in my savings account. If not, maybe I’ll ask my wife really nicely.”

See how I broke down the requirements into smaller requirements? This makes it easier to adjust your plan if something goes off track. Also, don’t try to be formal in the way you phrase things. Your business plan is for your reference, not for someone else.

There are many business models you can choose from. Normally for ecommerce stores, the business model is kind of traditional: you make a product, then customers pay for items they want. But in certain businesses, the model may be different. For your blog, your business model might be selling services, selling other peoples products for commission (affiliate marketing), or something else.

Whatever it is, make sure you have a very clear idea about how you are going to make money from your business. This is very important.

Example 1: “I’m going to use my online store to sell products. I will get product from for a nice discount if I buy in bulk. Then I will sell it for a slightly higher price.

“My payment processor will be Google checkout. I have set to receive weekly payments and they will pay straight to my bank account. I will also sell customized services through my blog.”

Example 2: “I have a blog on health and wellness where I post articles on health-related issues. So, my main income source would be Google AdSense. Whenever user clicks on an advertisement on my site, I will get paid. The payment threshold is $100 and I will receive checks via mail when I reach that threshold.”

You need to document this business model very clearly. This will ensure that you do not lose focus on your end goal.

In this section, you need to focus on the start-up costs as well as the running costs of your blog, and your business. Do some research and find out how much it will cost you to keep your online business going.

Again, this is very important as it will help you get an overview about business cash flow and profitability.

Example: “My online store will require the following to get started.

Domain: $30 (Registered for three years with Namecheap. Billing is every three years.)Hosting: $85 (Registered with Hostgator for a year. They will bill me yearly.)Design: $250 (Paid a freelancer for the excellent design. Was delivered in PSD format as well as JPEG.)Coding: $3000 (Will pay another freelancer with good reputation on Odesk. Work will be completed in 45 days from start of payment.)Miscellaneous costs: $250 (Includes a launch party for my friends.)

Total: $3615

Operational costs

Domain: $40 (Every three years)Hosting: $85 (Every year) [Note: I may need to upgrade to a more expensive plan as my site grows]Shipping costs: $5 (per shipment)Promotions and discounts: Vary from 2% to 10% discount depending on the market conditions”

This is just a small example. In some cases the finance required might be very small; in some cases it’ll be huge. If you want to factor in your time as well, then you can come up with an hourly rate that reflects your work, and put it in the operational cost section.

Also note that the running costs will vary over time. When your blog starts getting popular, you might need to move to better hosting, or you might need to develop more features, which will require a larger investment of money.

In this section, you need to set business goals. Make sure they are achievable. Relax your goals a bit. It’s better to achieve a small goal rather than fail to achieve a big goal.

Example 1:  “I need to break even in one years’ time. In another year, I will expand my collection to include more toys. After three years, I will launch my own brand of toys. My goal for profits is 0% the first year (that is, I’ll break even), another 5% the second year, and increase by 2% in the coming years.”

Example 2: “Right now I am going to start with just my blog and offer consultation services. Later on I will be adding informational products. So I expect to break even in one year, get a minimum of 1000 subscribers and land two or three consulting gigs. I also want to set a monthly traffic goal of 25,000 site visitors by the end of year one.”

You need to constantly refer to your business goals so that you do not lose focus.

You need to figure out how you’re going to run your business. Is it a one-man show? Are you going to hire employees to manage certain tasks?

Example:  “Here is how I plan to operate my blog and the business associated with it:

Work part-time for three hours a day during the first six months.Write content myself. My blogging schedule will be to post three articles each week.Quit my full-time job and work 12 hours a day for my site for the next six months.Allow guest posts from the sixth month onwards. Hire an editor to take care of managing the guest posts.Hire an accountant to maintain records so that I can easily file my tax returns.Hire marketing people to take care of site promotion, or do site promotion myself.Teach my wife how I run this business and ask her to take on some of the roles.”

Here you will define how you’ll market your business. Don’t go into depth while laying out your marketing strategy. Marketing strategies vary greatly over time. In the early 1900’s no one would have thought about marketing online. Yet, now online marketing is one of the best ways to get customers for your business.

Put in the main points and leave it at that—you can always revise the plans in more detail as you come to put them into practice. This will also help you evaluate how your previous marketing strategy helped you, and how the new one is doing.

Example:  “I am going to promote my online store in the following ways:

Use blogging as a powerful content marketing tool. Create awesome content and post it on my blog. This will attract a loyal audience.Hire a good SEO consultant/learn SEO myself.Ask friends to recommend my site to others.Buy a small ad in my local newspaper about my online store.Write articles on related sites for free, in exchange for a link to my site (guest posts).”

This is something not many entrepreneurs want to think about. An exit strategy is something you use when you want to close your business.

People don’t want to think about it because it spreads a negative vibe, and you don’t want anything negative in your business. However, you certainly need an exit plan.

Most entrepreneurs never make an exit strategy the first time, so if their business or blog isn’t as successfully as they’d hoped, they get disheartened and quit. If you have an exit strategy, you can save all the stress and exit gracefully. I have personally started around ten blogs and only few of them were successful. I lost several thousand dollars initially because I did not plan on a proper exit strategy.

Example:  “In the rare case that my business fails or I decide to quit my business, here is my plan:

I will try to sell my business online for what it is worth at the time.I will cancel all services associated with my business.Customers will be informed of the business’s sale well in advance.I have kept a reserve amount in my bank account should anything bad happen.I will take a break for one month before I venture into another business again.”

So there you have it: eight steps and you’re done. Now you have a well thought out, personal business plans for your internet business.

I highly recommend that each year you review your business plan and create a new, more specific one for the coming 12 months. The old one should be kept to provide a yardstick against which you can manage your business growth, chart the change in strategies, and so on over time.

Have you created a business plan for your blog? Let us know how it’s helped you in the comments.

Adarsh Thampy is a blogger, inbound marketing consultant for small business and a SEO guy. He writes about getting more customers for your business over at ConversionChamp.com. You can add conversionchamp to the Google plus circle.