Category: Blogging

Posted on

Write About Your Passion to Offset the Lack of Profit

With the appearance of bloggers like Darren Rowse and John Chow, we bloggers all feel that we can be as fortunate as them to make a ton of money every single month from our blog(s). Unfortunately, that is not exactly the case. With thousands of blogs being started every day, the question you need to ask is: can mine be one of the few that really makes a ton of money? If you answer yes to that question, then continue reading because what I am going to tell you is incredibly important.

The real truth about blogging is that it will take a considerable amount of time to make money on your blog. As much as you’d like to be able to retire from your job after the first few blog posts, the truth of the matter is that it will take a very long time. The common mistake people make is they jump into a blog thinking that it is going to make them a boatload of cash and they are going to live the life.

Now I am not saying that you can’t make a ton of money off of your blog. There are always people out there that will read your content if you can find them and they are going to help you make money. That is very true. The only problem is that it is not going to make money for a while. Before it is making money, unless the topic you write about is one that you truly love, you’re going to find yourself beginning to deteriorate and be unable to continue updating it.

I am a Biology major and when I am not studying and learning about different microbes, I come online to make money. So, science is an interest of mine. If I were to make a biology website, it would take a long time for it to rank in the search engines and then bring in sufficient traffic to make money. The good news is that I have a passion about the topic so I would be able to continue writing about it because I like the topic. If I hated the topic, how would I find the dedication to writing on the blog? It would become harder and harder.

If I were to write about a topic that I don’t really find interesting, such as dogs or something like that, I would be able to…For a few blog posts. And as time went on, the interest would begin to die and as that interest died, I would turn to something else for inspiration: profit. But, like most blogs, it wouldn’t be making much money at the start. Sure, it might be bringing in a little money, but would it be enough to keep me going? Probably not.

My point in this very long article is that you need to write on a topic that you have interest in. If you’re going to get your blog to a profitable level, you’re going to need to be patience. A lot of people lack the patience to continue writing about a topic that they are not overly interested in unless it is making money.

Find that niche that really interests you. Find one that excites you and one that you can write on for weeks and months without worrying about money. For me, that topic is Biology and Politics. For others, the topic might be cute little dogs. Find the one you like. With that passion, profit will come. That much is for sure.

Jacob is an avid guitar player as well as a biology major in college with hopes of becoming a professor. When not blogging on The Webmaster Blog, he is over at his political opinion blog.

Posted on

Getting the Authority Bloggers to Comment on Your Content

When you have first started your blog, chances are, you’re going to be writing really exciting content that is going to really entice the readers and excite them. The reason for this is because you are passionate about the topic and that means that you are going to write about all of your passions. This passion-based writing ensures that the contest is fantastic. However, once you’ve written the content, how do you get people to your site to read the content?

In my recent post about building backlinks, I talked about how you could send e-mails to the authorities in your niche with the topics of your most recent article with hopes of getting them to write something about your latest ‘craze.’ But, I wanted to go into a little more detail and tell you a few things that you want to do when you’re doing that.

Because there are times when we just don’t know what to write about, getting an e-mail from a smaller blogger who had an idea can actually help the authority blogger write something new. I can tell you that I have had a hard time figuring out what to write about and then I had a user e-mail me. However, the thing to remember is that you are e-mailing them telling them that you wrote a really awesome article and that you wanted to know their opinion. They’re going to post their opinion on their blog and hopefully link to you.

The first thing that you want to do when you’re e-mailing an authority blogger is ensure that you have the e-mail correct. Obviously, if it’s not correct, you’re not going to get anything done. Once that is done, send them the e-mail. Rather than going into this huge, detailed letter about who you are, what you want to do, blah blah blah, just write them a short note telling them who you are, that you wrote an article about (fill in the topic) and that if they want to get a better idea about who you are, to check out your about page. Here is an example:

Dear Blogger,

My name is Jacob. I recently wrote a blog post about good web designs on my blog. I was wondering if you might take the time to read it and perhaps give me your opinion about it. To get to know me more, check out my about page.

Thanks,

Jacob

By doing the above, you are not wasting their time, you’re telling them what you are offering, and you are keeping it nice and simple. Include a link to your post and your homepage as well as to your about page. Send it off and call it a day.

The one thing to remember is not to pester them. If they are going to write about your post, they will when they do. If they are not, they are not going to write about it. Pestering them is only going to make things worse. It’s only going to make them get frustrated with you and, if they are spiteful, just forget you even more.

Before you are a big time blogger, you need to get the big time bloggers to know you. Networking is key. By sending e-mails out to the big bloggers telling them about what you do and your most recent work, you’re increasing the chances of getting them to write about you. It’s not going guarantee anything, but it is going to increase your chances. And remember…Even if they don’t snag on this one, the next time you e-mail them, they’ll remember you even more. Networking really IS key.