There are a few strategies to consider when blogging for profit. But if you are completely new to the idea of blogging and not even sure of what the term ‘blog’ means, this video is a simple and entertaining explanation worth watching first.
Monetizing your blog means everything you do on your blog will have a purpose to potentially lead to a sale – immediately or in the long term, directly or sublimely.
In order to do this, here are 2 key points needed to be considered prior to setting up you blog.
1. Content
Niche it to a topic you like to write about. If you like hand crafts, don’t just write about or be expected to know about ALL handcrafts – choose one handcraft and become the ‘go to expert’ in that craft. Your blog will be more likely found because it is how people search for information eg ‘making a beaded necklace’ ‘how to crochet a scarf’.
Make it interesting and informative. Provide solutions to people’s problems or links to further information on your topic because it is generally what they are searching for. The more information your blog provides the more likely they will follow you. The question of are you providing “value” to your customer can ultimately be a major factor in your success.
Build the content about the topic of your service or product – NOT content on your product or service. If your blog is post after post of advertising it can be seen as not providing valuable information to the reader and unless someone is searching for your specific product your blog is unlikely to be found. Instead, write about the topic your product or service could be used for and provide sentence with a link to your product or service within the content.
2. The Design or Layout Features
You may want to put advertisements on your blog. Such as down the sides, across the top or bottom. These spaces should be used to highlight and promote your own products, services or events. If you don’t have your own products or services then other people’s products related to your niche topic can be displayed in return for a commission on the sales you generate (this is called affiliate or referral marketing).
When choosing your blog theme, the design is important to know where you want these areas to be displayed. Especially if you want to just allow the space to hold Adsense ad codes and make a few cents from click-thrus.
Think also about the color of the theme of your blog. You want it to stand out – but correlate with your content’s message and be easy for user’s to read, eg dark backgrounds are harder to read on so be sure to contrast the text color well.
My recommendation is to choose a WordPress blog theme that has many different design and color options that you can switch easily. There are free templates as well as an array of purchased versions to give your blog a custom appearance without the high price. The main thing to consider when choosing a theme is to ensure you pick one from a company that provides any ongoing support you may require when the functions of the theme require upgrading.
If you want a blog set up quickly and hassle free for your business our company has a number of cost effective templates available for you to choose from. The package can be customed to include other pages to display your products/services, information about your business, custom emails, the graphics of your header and any other images needed in the setup – so essentially it’s your website. If you already have a website and want a blog added then we are more than happy to assist you picking a theme that is consistent with the appearance of your businesses website also. Just send us an email with a little detail of what you’re wanting and we’ll send you links to the featured templates we recommend would work best to feature your business.
About the Author:
Lee Ussher is the Social Media Strategist & Business Training Consultant at Buzz Web Media. She is also known for Speaking and Writing under the title of Social Media Babe and co-founder of DIY Custom Fan Pages. If you're new to Social Media, or would like to stay up to date by Lee, sign up to her FREE E-course and bonuses.