Blogging. Fatherhood. Business Building. It's all here.

Find Your Blogging Voice: End the Quest Today

January 6, 2010 By 19 Comments

If you are anything like me, writing with a voice did not come easy at all! During my beginning stages in blogging, I really struggled with writing with my voice instead of a bland, boring, research paper diction that was putting me to sleep as I was typing. Much of blogging and growing a successful blog is tuning your writing into who you really are and something that readers can connect with. In the blogging world, this is called your “blogging voice” as you have probably already heard referenced more than a thousand times.

So…how do we find our blogging voice that is going to connect with readers on such a personal level that they can not…not subscribe…comment and interact with our pages on the screen? For many new and experienced bloggers, this is a stressful question in the quest for bringing our personalities and thoughts out into words.

How To Find Your Blogging Voice

Blog…Blog and Blog Some More – Blogging is no different than any other discipline. By practicing blogging, you will get better at your craft over time. Do not let fear and anxiety keep you from publishing articles and experimenting with writing styles. As you continue to write, you are going to find that it becomes easier and easier to get the words out of your head and onto the screen. After awhile, you will start to notice a trend in your writing style without even really realizing it. It is a beautiful thing and it only comes through actually participating in the process…

Write As You Talk – You can always go back and edit, chop up or scrap a whole idea before hitting that publish button, so take your first draft as a mind dump. If you write as you talk, more of your personality will get out through your words and then you can go back and proofread to fix any glaring mistakes. You are not going to get crucified for several little mistakes here and there if you are connecting with readers by bringing your personality into your writing.

Stop Stressing About It! – Stressing about your writing will just make you lock up even further. Your best content is going to come at moments of happiness and when you are actually enjoying what you are doing. If you are sitting in front of a screen with the small dash blinking stressing about what you have to write that day, get up…walk around…have a cup of coffee (or any other preferred beverage, but I don’t recommend publishing articles while you are loaded) and come back…sit down…and write with a heart-rate that is considered normal. The more you try to push your voice and your writing…the more stressed and upset you are going to become and that will come out in your writing.

Self Reflection – When I first started taking blogging really seriously, I sat back for a second and thought about who I really am. I’m not going to lie…it was really weird. How often do we ever sit back, think about who we are and how we interact with people? Almost never right? Well…after spending some time looking inside, I found out more about myself than I thought I actually knew! It was crazy, but it also gave me some insight into how I wanted to write and how I wanted to interact with people on my blog. Sometimes, we get so caught in the rat race of the days events that we forget to look into our souls and learn about ourselves. It drastically changed how I blogged and for the better.

Do you see an underlying theme here? Basically, if you want to find your blogging voice, you need to practice and relax. The rest will fall into place and you will find yourself in a rhythm that you can call your own. Blogging is about that connection and no one wants to connect with a stressed out mess.

Filed Under: Blogging, Content, Tutorials/How To Tagged With: , , ,

The Truth On Posting Frequency – Blog Article Schedule

December 22, 2009 By 31 Comments

There is a lot of talk that goes around the net about blog article posting frequency and how many times a week you should keep your blog updated. In all seriousness, it is a real stress for beginning bloggers as they want to find success online and they are looking for input from other successful bloggers. It seems like the going rate around the blogging niche is expecting new bloggers (and experienced ones) to publish an article on a daily basis. At least that is what it seems like most bloggers are recommending these days…

The Truth On Blog Posting Frequency

While it is incredibly easy to throw out a stat like “post on your blog daily if you want to be a successful blogger”, it is actually more complicated than that, and – personally – I find that statement rather reckless. It puts an un-needed amount of stress on new bloggers as they feel they have to post on a daily basis or they are wasting their time blogging.

First and foremost…it is and always will be quality over quantity. If you are ever posting a subpar article just to satisfy some schedule you have set for yourself, you are missing the boat entirely. Blogging is about providing value online and connecting with people through your content…not about sticking to schedules and dropping in articles that could potentially put off visitors. If you are ever sacrificing the quality of the articles on your blog just to post something up that day…slowly step away from the keyboard…

Why Do Bloggers Say “Post Daily”?

Before we jump into how many times a week you should post articles on your blog, let’s take a look at why a lot of bloggers are telling you to post daily on your blog. In all reality, it is not bad advice for a number of reasons if you have the time and energy to make it work.

Even Your Most Dedicated Readers Do Not Read Every Article – It’s true…as much as you want to think that everyone that visits your blog is soaking up your content on a daily basis…they are not and never will be. You are in a constant dog fight for readers as you post your articles and potential visitors scan headlines to see what they want to read that day. That is why there is so much emphasis on attention grabbing titles in blogging. A lot of your readers might not even open their RSS feed reader that day (ever wonder why your rss feed count fluctuates…that is why)! When you post daily (about 5-7 times a week), you are increasing the chances of grabbing your readers attention. You are also more likely to hit on a subject they want to read. It is simply the law of numbers and the more quality content you have out there…the more it will get read.

More Content = More Search Engine Visitors = More Linked Content – This should be a pretty simple one to figure out…the more content you have out there, the easier it is to get found. You will be covering more subjects and releasing more search engine friendly articles. Just imagine if your blog had 5 articles hitting per day! Can you imagine the amount of growth you would see?! But…if that is all crap content, you are not going to retain any of those visitors…which should be your ultimate goal.

When You Say Post Daily, You Get Several Times A Week – When bloggers throw out advice like “post daily”, they know that only about 15% of the bloggers that read that line will actually follow through with it correctly. The rest will do something close with the excuse in their head that at least they are doing 75% of that. Blogging is nothing without action and a lot of times…throwing out a goal like posting daily gets a result of 3-4 times a week.

So…as you can see…there are real, valid reasons behind the advice of posting daily on your blog, but now we need to take a look at how you can determine how many times you should be publishing articles every week on your blog.

How Many Times Should I Be Posting A Week On My Blog?

The moment you have been waiting for…the secret to posting frequency that will bring you more blogging success than you could ever imagine. Ha! I wish it was that easy! But…here is what you need to look at on your blog to get the answer to this question.

Quality, Quality, Quality – If you can not post quality content (note: quality has nothing to do with length), then it is not worth publishing. You should only post as many times a week that you can publish quality content for your readers. Ideally, you want to accomplish this on a consistent basis every week. The idea is to give your readers something they can depend on (consistency) every week out of your content.

Prevent Blogger Burnout – Even if you are able to post quality content on a daily basis, are you going to be sick of it after 6 months and get to the point that you do not even want to blog anymore? The stress and effort that it takes you to blog on that schedule might not be worth the aftermath. You need to find a schedule that you can stick with and still enjoy blogging.

What Are Your Readers Telling You? – I am all about watching stats and seeing how different actions affect those blog statistics. If you change your blogging schedule, do you see more pageviews per article? There are documented cases where decreasing posting frequency actually increased the success of blogs (same is true of increasing), so you need to watch your stats carefully to determine what you readers want to digest on a weekly basis. If you are overloading them with content to the point they just leave and head somewhere else that is not so chaotic, then you are still not accomplishing your goal. Aim to please the needs of your readers, not other blogging about blogging bloggers.

Experiment With Post Length – As you experiment with post frequency, also experiment with post length. Your readers might do better with 400 word articles over 1,500 word essays. As always, you should only use the amount of words it takes to get the job done (ignore that word count in the bottom left of your draft screen), but…if you are finding that your readers are taking in shorter articles over longer ones, split the longer articles into a series for easier digestion. You will get more content and more of that content will actually get read. On the other hand, maybe your readers like 3 long articles a week over 6 shorter ones…it is all about testing the waters.

Final Words On Posting Frequency On Your Blog

As you can see by the info above, I consider a lot of factors when publishing articles to my blogs. Typically, I publish 5 articles a week because that is what I feel comfortable with given quality, frequency and statistical results. How many times you should publish articles on your blog is a factor you need to determine for yourself and the success of your blog. Before you just jump into hitting the publish button on a daily basis, take a good look at what will be the best for both your and your blogging in the long run. Just because someone else told you to write daily, that does not mean it is the best solution for your needs.

Image by Crashmaster007

Filed Under: Blogging, Content Tagged With: , , ,

Top 10 Ways To Lose Subscribers To Your Blog

December 17, 2009 By 24 Comments

Blogging is all about attraction. You have to attract readers to your content, make a great first impression and then hope that they subscribe to your blog. There is a lot of talk on the net about getting readers to hit that rss feed or newsletter subscription, but there is not as much discussion on how to keep those readers once the conversion process is done. Online…you only really get one chance. I don’t want to put a lot of unneeded pressure on you…but once you lose that rss or newsletter subscriber…it is incredibly hard to get them back for a 2nd round. So…in true “don’t do this at home” fashion, let’s take a look at the top 10 ways to lose subscribers to your blog and have them running away with no hope of coming back.

Top 10 Ways To Lose Subscribers To Your Blog

  1. Frequently Go Off-Topic – Going off topic every now and then to give your readers an insight into your life or interests is one thing, but frequently going off into unrelated topics on your blog with no rhyme or reason can kill your chances of retaining consistent subscribers. Readers subscribe to blogs for a number of reasons, but the #1 reason is to get relevant, up-to-date information on a given topic…even if that topic is the blogger (applies to personal blogs). Have a defined topic to your blog and stick to that subject matter. If you are going to ADD your blog into randomness…do not expect people to stick around. They will just find someone else that will.
  2. Inconsistent Content Quality – There is a lot of talk in the blogging world about posting frequency. For new bloggers, this puts a lot of pressure on them for a schedule, and – often times – I see new bloggers (and some experienced ones) sacrifice content quality for a schedule or the feeling that they have to post so many times a week. It is and always will be quality over quantity in blogging as it relates to content. Do not sacrifice the quality of your articles to satisfy some random post number or schedule. It is not worth it.
  3. Performing the Hard Sell – We all know you want to make at least some income from your blogging. Hell…these days it is pretty much expected! However, honesty and transparency still rule when it comes to quality blogging and no one wants a used car salesman in their face when they are trying to get real information online. I have seen bloggers lose a massive amount of subscribers by getting desperate for the almighty dollar, and…by doing that…they post up questionable reviews and content that are a vain attempt at converting content into dollars. Be patient…money comes with successful blogging and them more you push affiliate advertising on your readers…the less success you will have.
  4. Changing Topics Frequently – Throughout the course of your blogging, you are going to see or come up with more great blog topic ideas. Just like the blogger that frequently goes off topic, you also do not want to change the direction of your blog frequently or chase other ideas on other blogs. You have to give one blog a real run at it for at least 6 months before deciding to change topics or dropping it completely. There is no quick and easy way to get a ton of subscribers and traffic within the beginning stages (unless you already have a massive blog in a related field), so stick with it and try not to chase every “great idea” out there…you will lose the subscribers that brought you your beginning success.
  5. Changing Designs Frequently – There are a ton of WordPress designs being released every week. Every 6 months, there is some new, hot theme that everyone just has to have. This is not going to change. Especially if you do your own design work…you are going to be the most critical when the readers of your blog probably don’t even notice the aspects of your design that just get under your skin. If your design is performing as it should…leave it alone. Do not add every single new, hot plugin or theme as you will start putting off readers with clutter and ever changing environments. The key to successful blogging is consistency.
  6. Forgetting To Interact With Your Readers – Readers will subscribe to your blog to connect with you as the blogger (even the lurkers). You have a comments section and contact form for a reason. Connect with your readers by responding to comments and answering emails. This task will get more daunting with more success, but even the most successful bloggers answer their emails…so you can to. If you want to lose subscribers…show how much you really don’t appreciate their efforts to help promote your content by ignoring their emails and comments.
  7. Not Providing Value and Uniqueness – So you created one incredibly valuable blog article that is converting casual readers into subscribers…great! But…now you are getting lazy and your content is slipping. Instead of creating unique, valuable content, you are just regurgitating the content of others and posting up sub par crap that your readers just could get better somewhere else. You absolutely have to provide value with a unique angle to be successful in blogging. If you are expecting to copy the success of others, the few subscribers you do get will leave in search of the real thing.
  8. Too Many Ads – Just like the used car salesman, no one wants to be bombarded with a bunch of banner advertisements on your blog. Your readers will understand (and appreciate) well placed, relevant advertising, but they will not tolerate in your face ad placement. If you want to lose subscribers…and quickly…blind them with ads. It looks cheap and actually converts a lot lower than well placed, relevant ads due to “ad blindness” (so many ads that they do not look at any of them).
  9. Negativity and Ranting (online arguments) – No one wins online arguments…ever! Yes…you can reach a lot of people at once and tell them how much you hate someone else…but the reality is…if it is not related to your blogging topic…your readers don’t care! Public bashing for the pure reason to just show your ass will drop subscribers faster than you will be able to recuperate from it. Keep the ranting and online negativity to a minimum…especially if it has nothing to do with what you are blogging about. You know you hate that co-worker that does nothing but bitch all day, so why are you going to be that person online?
  10. Becoming Bigger Than Your Blog – You start to see success, things are going really well, you have made a little bit of money and…all of the sudden…your head has gotten so big that you can’t fit through the doorway. Online ego’s and the feeling that you are not better than your readers will drop subscribers like crazy. You are never bigger than a single one of your readers and if you start to grow that online ego, it will come through in your writing. Humbleness breeds success in blogging. Even if you have succeeded in positioning yourself as the expert in your niche, there will always be more that you can learn and you will never know everything. The day I know everything about blogging, cycling or coffee…will officially be the stupidest day of my life. Always be learning and always be humble.

There you have it! The top 10 ways to lose subscribers to your blog. If you want to keep and attract subscribers to your blog…do the opposite of every single one of these top 10 items.

Image by Pippybug

Filed Under: Blogging, Tutorials/How To Tagged With: , , ,

Why You Don't Have To Like Writing To Be A Great Blogger

December 8, 2009 By 13 Comments

On Sunday, Darren Rowse over at Problogger.net published a guest post I sent him on “How Getting An F On Your School Paper Makes You A Better Blogger” (you can check that guest post out by clicking here!) Throughout the article, I went into detail about how we are conditioned…for the most part…to become boring, research paper writers from the moment we put words on a page. Now…I know the teachers and professors were trying to teach us fundamentals that I am probably using as we speak, but I do believe that the strict structure and forced context really puts off a lot of students that would normally enjoy reading and writing.

The pure fact that I am sitting here as a blogger, publishing ebooks and writing over 2,000 words a day is mind blowing. I am that guy…the one that shouted to the heavens how much he hated reading and writing. If I could have gotten away with it, I wouldn’t have written another word for the rest of my life! Every time I sat down at the screen, I could physically feel the teeth being pulled. Any distraction was welcomed with open arms as I was looking for anything to whisk me away into another world away from words.

My economics senior thesis at the University of Georgia was actually one of the hardest things I have ever had to accomplish (professionally). Not because the content was hard…not because I wasn’t capable…it was because I actually had to sit down and write the longest piece (at that time) of literary work I ever had and get graded on it! It was terrible! I was dreading it from year 1!

So…how is it that I can sit down on a daily basis and crank out articles and actually enjoy it? What is so different now that I actually choose to accomplish the same tasks that once before would put me in an early grave?

Why You Don’t Have To Like Writing To Be A Great Blogger

First…I am not alone. There are a lot of bloggers that felt the same way I did and are now every successful all thanks to their words on a screen. Yes…there are those that have loved writing from day one and now blogging is there outlet to share those words with the world, but I was not one of those people.

An interesting thing happened several years ago that opened my eyes to show me that I could actually enjoy writing. I started writing on a subject that I was passionate about. Once I made the jump into blogging about cycling, I found that I actually enjoyed writing and sharing my thoughts with others. Bike198 was started on the premise that I wanted to be apart of the industry instead of just another rider spinning the pedals. By jumping in head first and sharing my opinions…I was able to accomplish this and grow a business at the same time.

There are bloggers out there that have been very successful on subjects they have zero passion or interest in. While I commend these bloggers for their success, this is not a road I would be able to take. Being a born again writer…I would have thrown in the towel without a second thought because of the pure nature of writing about a topic I in which I have zero interest. Could it be hugely profitable? Sure…but why spend your life making money at something you don’t even like? I might as well just sign up for a 9-5 if that is going to be the case.

Absolutely not! Part of the appeal to blogging is connecting with individuals who all have different styles and tastes. The conventional way of thinking as it relates to writing is typically thrown out the window in favor of personality.

Does this mean that you can get away with 34 typos per article and just throw everything out the window? Not at all…but it does mean that rigid sentence structure and references at the end of every article are not necessary. If you really want people to connect with you…and not how smart you think you are…the more personality you bring through in your writing, the more success you will see as a blogger.

My typical mode of operation as I draft up blog posts is to write as I talk. After all…you are soaking up what I have to say, so it might as well sound like me! After I have gone through and thrown down all of the content, I go back and edit through the entire article looking for the glaring mistakes. While it shows character and personality to write as you talk, it shows a lack of attention to detail and seriousness about your content if you let obvious errors slip through the cracks.

Do I have typos, misspellings and other formal writing automatic point deductions make it through to the publish stage from time to time? Of course…but I am pretty sure that you guys are aware that I am not an uptight novelist or literary scholar, so it goes excused as long as it is not in excess.

When I first started out…

…I had zero clue what I was doing. WordPress code might as well have been in Chinese…my writing was choppy and unorganized…luckily…there was no one reading my blog at that point in time because everything was a complete mess. But, there is something that began to happen the more I wrote and hit that publish button. I started to get better…and then started to grow an audience.

It is natural to think we should be great at blogging right away. We have been writing our entire lives, so what is different about blogging and getting people to actually read our words splashed up on the screen? Should be easy right? Like anything else in life, you are not going to be great at blogging right out of the gate even if you are a great or accomplished writer. Blogging is a skill and it takes practice to really get into your grove.

Some of you may be sitting in your grove right now and loving every second of it. Some of you might be struggling to find your rhythm and your voice that will connect with the masses. Either way…practice makes perfect and your writing will continue to evolve over time. You do not ever have to be a perfect writer and I would actually recommend that your goals should never include that bullet point. You want to be getting better with time without a ceiling.

I am not some fantastic writer…but I like to think of myself as a pretty good blogger that continues to practice and enjoy his skill. From one guy who used to hate writing…I can now say that it is my outlet for expression and I truly enjoy laying down my words. For those of you that were once in my shoes or are sitting in them right now, know that it gets easier with time and you too can enjoy a creative outlet that used to be a headache.

Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With: , , ,

My Blogging Revenue Is $0.00 – Details Inside

December 3, 2009 By 16 Comments

No…this is not some catchy headline to draw you into some unrelated article about blogging. My blogging revenue is really $0.00 with no hope of every growing past that point. What all of those critics say about making money by blogging is true. There is zero money to be made by blogging. With every word in every article, I have not once been paid to blog. Period. I guess it is time to throw in the hat right?! I should just give in to all of the critics and start working for hte man. That sounds like a good time right? Wrong.

Why My Blogging Revenue is $0.00

If you are looking to start writing on a blog and make money, about the only way you can actually make income by purely blogging is to generate content for someone else. You don’t own your own blog and all of your content gets published on another blog for another blogger’s benefit. You get a small fee for producing the content and you move on to the next article. That is making money by blogging.

I do not make money by blogging. All of my content gets published on my blogs for your viewing free of charge. I guess I could charge myself for my articles…but all of that time moving my own money around bank accounts for zero profit doesn’t sound like much fun. Blogging is a platform to leverage other revenue streams and that is the purpose of blogging as it relates to making money online.

Here is my hope. I hope that by helping people in my articles (applies to all of my blogs…not just this one), they feel compelled to download my free ebooks, purchase my premium ebooks, generate enough traffic to sell direct advertising spots or click on an affiliate link relevant to the information provided. On my cycling blog, I have had tremendous success with product reviews as an avenue to provide purchasing information for my readers. I do not get paid for those reviews directly (most of the time I do get to keep whatever I am reviewing), but by providing that service to my readers…I get a commission off of that sale.

As a blogger…you need to look for new and inventive ways that you can help your readers. Much of the content I publish has zero monetary value to me. All of the “how to” articles very rarely have any affiliate links or direct money making streams embedded in the content. In all reality, most of my articles are not for the sole purpose of generating income. My goal is to help as many readers as I can achieve some goal that is related to the niche I am blogging in. By helping these readers…they help me achieve my goals.

Take a look back at all of the massively successful blogs online. Are any of them actually making money by blogging? No…they are not. They are making money by providing helpful services that benefit their subscribers. In turn, they diversify their income streams to make money from multiple sources that all combine to make an incredibly valuable resource online.

Next time you think about making money blogging, you need to step back and take a strong look at your business model. Where is the income going to stem from? How can you generate content that helps people and compliments the income streams you have setup online? This equates to helping readers of your blog and having relevant ways to generate income through that service.

You are not going to make a dime blogging, but you can make a great income by providing a service and helping others.

Filed Under: Blogging, Generating Cash Tagged With: , , ,

Ramping It Up! Free 7 Week Ramped Blogging eCourse

November 16, 2009 By 8 Comments

I spent this past weekend racking my brain…how can I help bloggers achieve the same success I have online through my blogs? I created the Ramped Blogging eBook and gave it away for free…I showed you how to pick up over $100k in free review product through Ramped Reviews…what else can I put out there that would drastically help you guys improve (or start) your blogs?

Then it hit me…what normally happens with 99% of the eBooks that are download on the Internet…especially the free ones. You read through them once, pull out one or two great ideas and try to take action. But – inevitably – the eBook gets shelved and you go onto the next free or paid eBook that promises to make you the next top blogger.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With: , , ,

Do You Have Any Long-Term Assets In Your Blogging?

October 29, 2009 By 9 Comments

I do not believe anyone got into blogging as a business to be a slave everyday to your latest article. For this reason, it is essential to build up a portfolio of long-term blogging assets that continue to grow your blog and make you money over time. This way…you are not just as good as the last time you hit the publish button.

Any successful company (blogging or not) has tangible assets that drive the growth and sustainability of the business. The day to day operations support and promote those assets to insure long-term growth within a specific market. As you continue to look at ways to grow your blogging, you need to think outside of the box and start planning for the future. What are you adding to your blog today that is going to be a marketable asset in the long-term? Are you only worry about tomorrow’s article? [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With: , , ,

Ramped Blogging – The Ultimate Blogging Guide

October 26, 2009 By 28 Comments

THE RAMPED BLOGGING FREE ECOURSE AND EBOOK IS NOW CLOSED.

Ramped Blogging – The Ultimate Blogging Guide for Beginner and Advanced Bloggers – is officially released and ready for download! A lot of work has gone into bringing this free eBook to the public and I am extremely happy with the result.

When I set out to create an eBook for bloggers looking to build a business that generates income out of their blogging, I wanted to come to the table with something completely different. Basically, I wanted to write the eBook I didn’t have and wish I did. There are some great eBooks out there on blogging, making money online, making money by blogging and building a successful blog, but there was not one – that I could find – that brought this all together for the guy that has nothing to the advanced blogger that has a following. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blogging, How To Start A Blog Tagged With: , , ,

11 Reasons Why They Are A Successful Blogger And You Are Not

September 15, 2009 By 17 Comments

What makes a blogger successful? As you troll the web looking for content filter through your cranium, you run into bloggers who are making a really good run at the whole making a living online thing. As you struggle to get your following, you might start to wonder what makes those blogs successful when yours is not. You try to pump out quality content on a regular daily basis. You are following all of the tips and guidelines that the successful bloggers are throwing out there, but you are still struggling to make more than 10 bucks a month and get past 100 subscribers. Is there a secret society of successful bloggers that I am not apart of? Will I get an invite at some point in time where they will share their secrets like in the movie The Skulls? Maybe their is a secret scroll I need to find that will lead me to traffic and subscribers. What am I missing? What makes them so much different than me?

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With: , ,

Choosing The Right Niche Topic For Your Blog – How To Start A Blog

August 12, 2009 By 6 Comments

Choosing the Right Niche for You is the first article in the How To Start A Blog series.

Choosing the right niche topic to blog about is the first decision any beginning blogger needs to make. As much as we wish we could just shake up the Magic 8 Ball for the answer on the perfect blogging topic…that just isn’t an option. Unfortunately, many first time bloggers go through all of the trouble of setting up a domain name, WordPress and the design without the first idea of what they are going to write about. The problem with taking this route is that your url and design should reflect your topic…thus…your niche should be selected before these items…not after. So…as you venture onto your new blogging career, what are you going to write about that is going to shake the world up and change blogging forever?

Choosing the Right Niche – Blogging About a Specific Topic

Many failed blogs on the net failed because they had no purpose or direction. Many bloggers just wing it in the beginning hoping that something eventually sticks. Now…if you are just looking to have a personal blog that shows what you are doing throughout your life and you are not looking to make any income from your blogging, then having a blog without a direction is ok. You are just blogging for the sake of sharing your life and thoughts…not creating a business or income generation. When you are looking to generate income through your blogging and make money online that will hopefully replace that 9-5 that you love to hate, you need to have a direct purpose in your blogging with a defined subject matter.

Are you passionate about your blog topic?

This is the first question any beginning blogger should ask them self. Many blogs fail because the blogger chose a topic based on monetary potential with zero passion on the subject. You have to be able to churn out quality, informative blog articles on a daily basis, so to be successful with your blogging, you have to be passionate about your subject and blogging niche. Without that passion, your blog will eventually fade out due to the lack of true interest in generating more content on a topic that you really have no interest in. Ask yourself several questions during your quest for the perfect blogging topic for you.

  • What do you like to do?
  • What drives you to be better?
  • Is there a niche that you are involved with on a weekly basis…daily basis?
  • What do you do now that you would like to be better at with time?

The goal is to become an expert in your field (not necessary at startup), so as you go through the process of setting up your blog and generating content, you need to have a working knowledge of what you are writing about. Even better, you need to have a unique voice that goes along with that content to separate yourself from the other bloggers in your niche.

Hint: Don’t blog about making money online or blogging if you have not been successful in either category. At the same time, don’t blog about how to drive a race car if you have never been on a track…see my point?

Blogging…when it boils down to it…should be a fun activity that you enjoy. It should not be work that has to be completed everyday and by being passionate about your blog topic, you will be able to grow your blog during the years to come.

Are search engine readers searching for your blogging niche?

Once you have decided on a subject to blog about, you need to do some preliminary research into your “competition” and keyword search volume. If you are going to blog about gardening, here are the steps I would take to make sure you have a viable, potential readership that is worth writing for.

  • Go to Google and type in different series of keywords (ex. Gardening Blog, How to grow a garden, Successful Gardening, How to grow tomatoes, etc.) and see what the results are. Visit those blogs/websites and check out their subscriber count (if posted) and comment interaction on their articles. You can also find some background information through Alexa.com (not conclusive…especially for some niche’s) on those specific sites to get an idea on how much traffic that blog receives.
  • Next, I would go to the Google Keyword Tool and type in those same keywords. This Keyword Tool will give you an idea of the monthly search volume for that specific keyword combination as well as suggested related keywords. This will give you an idea about how many people are searching for your given blog topic.

If you are finding decent search volume with several related blogs, you have probably picked a niche topic that is worth writing about. If there is very low search volume and basically zero competition, you might need to look into expanding your blog topic or look for a completely different niche all together. There have been very successful blogs in small niches, but with a smaller audience to target, it will be much harder to be successful and generate traffic.

Narrowing Down Your Blogging Niche

Many times, you are going to pick a blog topic that has an extremely wide scope. I have found that it is best (especially in the beginning) to narrow down that niche into something that is more manageable. You will see better results in the beginning as you really focus on a sub-niche of your blogging topic. With the gardening example, if you are really good at growing vegetables, I would start a blog on how to grow a successful garden full of vegetables. Another option is narrowing down your topic geographically to get a better target audience that you can connect with (ex. Gardening in the southeast US). This does not mean that you can not expand your blog in the future to include a wider assortment of topics, but by narrowing your niche down in the beginning, you are increasing your success rate by focusing on a specific topic that readers will be able to relate to. By being spread to thin, you are increasing your chances for failure by taking on too big of a topic at once.

The key here is to narrow down your blogging niche topic into a manageable size that you can still write about on a daily basis. Do not pull your niche so far down that you are going to run out of content in the first 6 months. You have to be able to bring something unique and new to the table on a regular basis.

Proof: Check out this podcast on Entrepreneurs-Journey.com with Alborz Fallah (The Million Dollar Blogger) on how he narrowed down his car blog to a geographical area and saw rapid success.

Do you have your blog’s niche topic picked out?

Great! Now that you have done the research into what you are going to write about on your blog, you have increased the chances for success by doing a little bit of preliminary research. So what is next after figuring out this first key step? Now…we have to get everything setup and that starts with the domain name. Stay tuned as we continue down the path of starting up a successful blog that we can call are own.

Other Great Blogging Niche Articles

Magic 8 Ball Image by CRASH:candy

Filed Under: Blogging, How To Start A Blog Tagged With: , ,
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »