Tag-Archive for ◊ Blog ◊

How To Choose A Profitable Niche For Your Blog
Tuesday, June 09th, 2009 | Author: Beamer

OK, let’s get down to business here.  I’ve told you why Niche Blogging, now it’s time to start on the HOW of Niche Blogging.

By now you’ve probably got all kinds of blog ideas running through your mind.  And that’s good!  Every idea is a good idea.  Don’t let anyone tell you any differently.  Even if there are already thousands of blogs out there on “Staying Sane While Your Kid Learns To Play The Tuba”,  if your blog is well written, full of lots of good information and you market it right, it could be the one at the top of the list when someone Googles “Tuba Trouble”!

Here are some things to consider when choosing your topic for your niche blog:

  • Is it a topic you’re interested in?
    • Something to think about – while your blog may start producing a small amount of income in a month or so, most successful blogs take a year or two to start producing regularly.  Is this a topic that you could write a lot about, for a long time?
  • Is the topic popular?
    • While you may be interested in Tuba Playing Children, how many others out there are?  If no one is interested in the topic you choose, you won’t get a lot of visitors.  No visitors = No sales.  Think about the topics that you search for on the web.  Or look at the TV news or the newspapers to see what people are discussing right now.
  • Is there a lot of competition?
    • If you think you’ve found a hot topic or niche, then chances are someone else has had the exact same idea.  If there’s too much competition, you may never be seen.  If you have the time and energy to devote to making your blog stand out from the crowd, then go for it.
    • And don’t let someone talk you out of this one, girls!  If you want to do a blog about knitting, then do it!  There are ways to successfully market your blog and shoot it to the top.  And even though there may be thousands of blogs on knitting, there are BILLIONS of people in the world looking for knitting advice.  You only need SOME of them to find you.  And if it’s something you feel passionate about, then knitting it is!
  • Can you provide something that your competition is NOT?
    • Look at some of those other knitting blogs out there and see what they’re missing.  YOU knit.  So you know what to look for.  Maybe they don’t show enough pictures of stitches.  Maybe their patterns are always missing a step.  Maybe they’re just plain boring and you think you could make yours a lot more attractive or entertaining.
    • Do you create your own patterns?  You could offer them to your visitors.  Do you have a sense of humor?  You could include daily “Purls of Wisdom”.
  • Can you make money with this topic?
    • Look at those other knitting blogs.  Do they have ads on them anywhere?  Is there a related product that you could sell?  Maybe you could sell those patterns you’ve created.
    • We’ll get into this later because it’s a whole category by itself, but there are Affiliate programs out there that want you to place ads on your blog.  Some of them sell eBooks on knitting!  (I haven’t looked to see if there are any eBooks on Teaching Your Child To Play The Tuba.)

To help you narrow your final choice down even further, think about what types of sites you go looking for.  What are you usually searching for on the web?  Is there one particular topic that you get excited about, that you just can’t stop talking about?  Is there one topic that your family and friends come to you for advice about?

In my next post, I’ll give you a couple of tools to help you make that final decision.

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What Is The Difference Between A Blog And A Website
Tuesday, June 09th, 2009 | Author: Beamer

So just what exactly IS a blog?

Very basically – a Blog is a particular type of website. That’s it in a nutshell. But a website is not always a Blog.

eBay is a website. blog.ezinearticles.com is a blog. When you look up car insurance on the internet, you’re going to a website. When you’re reading the ProBlogger.net site, you’re reading a blog.

A website, generally, presents information. It may have lots of pages of content, and you may be able to buy something, but they’re not actually communicating with you. They’ve just put a bunch of information on a page to sell you something.

When blogging first came about on the internet, it was a way for people to communicate with friends and family members. They would post holiday pictures and tell about their jobs and vacations.

So blogs are a more personal way of communicating. And they usually allow, in fact they invite, some type of interaction. For example, the comment section. And some bloggers like to include polls in their blogs, either for entertainment or to gauge their visitors’ reactions to a post.

Bloggers want you to leave a comment. That way they know you’ve been there and they know they influenced you enough for you to speak your mind about the topic. And then the next visitor will chime in and eventually, you have a whole group conversation going on.

Blogs are a lot more personal, too, than a website. When you go to Geico.com, sure, you’re going to be greeted by that cute little talking gecko. But he doesn’t really care that he’s talking to you. He’s just spouting marketing information. He doesn’t even really know that you’re sitting there.

But when you visit a blog, it’s like going to someone’s home. I may not be able to see you, but I care whether you’re comfortable and at ease. And I hope you DO talk to me and let me talk to you!

Blogs also usually have a lot more content, or articles, than a website. A website is a one shot deal. You put it up and forget about it. But a good blog is constantly growing, with new material, or posts, being added on a regular basis to keep your visitors interested and coming back for more.

Think about it – If you went to visit Mrs. Smith, next door, how long would you stay and how often would you return if all she said was, “Hello, welcome to my home” and then she just sat there?

Here are some more Blog vs. Website examples:

Websites

* HostGator.com
* Target.com
* The Shell Factory.com

Blogs

* Stumble Rumba.com
* Blogging Guy.com
* Waiter Rant.com

In my next post, I’ll explain about some of the different types of blogs and how people use them to make money.

Written by Beamer. Visit her blog, dedicated to helping beginning women bloggers at http://Paid2Blogg.com

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I Can’t Find Your Website
Tuesday, June 09th, 2009 | Author: Beamer

A lawncare provider left a business card on my door yesterday while I was out running errands.  Apparently, he thought my weed-laden garden needed some help.   Concerned about my withering Wisteria, I decided to contact him and see what he suggested.  Since it was after hours, I went to the website listed on his card to see what kind of work he did.  And lo and behold – I could not find his website!

This happens all the time.  How many business cards do you have on your desk right now?   Get the ones that list a website and then try to find that website.  Good luck!

It’s a sure sign of the times that business owners recognize the need for a website or blog today.  Gone are the days of telephones and yellow pages and information operators.  Now, everyone goes to the internet for their information.  It’s quicker, they get MORE information in less time, and they can access it from anywhere, anytime – home, the office, and even their mobile phones.

Most small business owners, though, know nothing about blogging and have no time to learn.  They’re busy concentrating on their business!  And that’s as it should be.  Spread yourself too thin and nothing gets accomplished.

Consequently, these business owners try to publish a quick blog or even a small website and it either gets lost in the ethernet or never makes it there at all.

Any small business or organization that has a product or image to promote will benefit from a blog:

  • Lawn Care Companies
  • Restaurants
  • Hair and Nail Salons
  • Builders and Contractors
  • Churches
  • Doctors and Dentists
  • Veterinarians
  • Pet Sitters and House Sitters
  • Animal Rescue Organizations
  • Child Care Providers
  • Schools
  • And on, and on…..

Imagine if that lawn care company did more than just say they had a website.  If Joe’s Complete Lawn and Garden Service really had an accessible blog, they could:

  • Show before and after pictures of the gardens they’ve rescued
    • What a great way to advertise your business – SHOW people that you do the job!  By posting regularly to your blog, your potential new customers will be able to see each successful job you do, not just the one that’s featured on your one page website.
  • Discuss and explain unique services that only they provide
    • Maybe you have a secret fertilizer formula or a special technique for trimming hedges.  Using a blog to convey this to your potential customers allows you to remind them IN EACH POST that you are the BEST!  It’s a proven fact in the marketing industry that your potential customer needs to see your information approximately 7 times before they will buy.  Your website will only show them one point of view.  But you can change your blog offering everyday if you’d like.
  • Give helpful tips on How To Make Your Garden Grow
    • One tip that successful bloggers use to attract more customers to their site is to provide a weekly feature post, for example Monday Morning Mowing Tips.  This quickly establishes your expertise in your field, not only bringing back existing customers every week, but attracting new ones as well.
  • Offer discounts or freebies to existing customers
    • Everybody likes to get something FREE!  With a blog, you can change that freebie everyday and let the whole world know about it.  And with a blog, you don’t even have to give them a free petunia!  You can offer free downloads of eBooks that have to do with gardening or lawncare.  When your existing customers recieve a freebie, you KNOW they’re going to tell their friends about it!
  • Reach an unlimited number of customers!
    • It’s a lot easier for Mrs. Smith to tell people that she was able to contact you at HowYourGardenGrows.com than it is for her to run in the house, find the phone book, find the page and then remember the name of your company out of all the other lawn care companies that are listed.  She can also send the link to your blog to all of her friends and family when she sends out her weekly email updates.
  • Enable your customers and potential customers to reach you day or night
    • Your customers will be able to see your excellent job results by reading the posts on your blog.  They’ll also be able to see all of your contact information and hours of operation.  Show them some of your basic rates, too, and then have an email box for them to contact you.

All of these features and sevices and more can be set up automatically within your blog.  Weekly newsletters via email and free downloadable eBooks can be set up so that you never have to touch them.  It’s all handled automatically.  Even the posting to your blog can be scheduled and automated so that you only have to post to your blog when YOU want to.

Now that you’ve seen how a blog could benefit your business, sign up below for even more information!

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