blogger tools

Beginner Tip #1 – Blog About Something Your Passionate About

If you are not passionate about your topic, you are not going to stick to it. The best way to pick what to blog about is to ask yourself, “Would I do this for free?” If the answer is yes, then you have found your topic. People who blog only for money seldom succeed.

Beginner Tip #2 – Get Your Own Domain Name

While it certainly is possible to start a blog for nothing by using a free service like Blogger.com or Wordpress.com, I recommend every blogger beginning out to get their own domain name. The cost is next to nothing & you can still host it for free if you need (Blogger allows that).

If you do not wish to use the Blogger platform, you’ll must pony up for web hosting but that’s damn cheap as well. BlueFur (they host this blog) has hosting solutions beginning at $5 per month & they’ll give you 15% off if you enter JohnChowRocks in the coupon code.

Having your own domain makes you look more professional. While it may not make you a pro-blogger, the ad networks will take you a lot more seriously. Some ad networks won't accept a site unless it's its own domain name. If you do it right, having your own domain & web hosting won’t cost you anything because the income the blog generates will over offset the cost.

It’s better to get the domain name at the start than down the road. The last thing you need to do is build up a blog with Blogspot, get a ton of backlinks, PageRank, Alexa & Technorati rankings, & then must move it to its own domain & start over. I’m sure Kumiko can relate. 

Beginner Tip #3 – Update The Blog Often

A non-updated blog is a dead blog. If you cannot commit to a consistent blogging schedule, then it’s best not to blog until you can. This is where blogging about your passion comes in. If you’re passionate about the topic, then chances are you’ll keep blogging about it. Ideally, you ought to update the blog everyday.

Beginner Tip #4 – Get To Know Your Readers

Blogging is a two-way street. You cannot exist without readers (well you can, but what’s the point?), & readers don’t exist unless they have something to read. Blogging is about forming relationships. There’s the relationship between you & the readers & relationship between you & other blogs in your niche. It is up to you to get to know them & form this relationship. Lots of readers have stated that when they’re reading my blog, it’s like a one-on-one conversion. That was not done by accident. It’s all part of relationship blogging.

Beginner Tip #5 – Monetize The Blog With Multiple Sources

When the time comes to monetize your blog, don’t stick with Google AdSense. There's now tons of ways to make money from blogging. Check out my recommended moneymaker list. If I were to use only Google AdSense, there is no way I would have been able to pull down $12,000 last month. Google accounted for less than 10% of April blog income. Do not put all your eggs there.

I use six different methods to make money online. Only one of them are banner ads. During the Lab interview, Leo pointed that my blog doesn’t looks it's that much marketing at all. When they caught out how lots of different marketing models I used, they was shocked. The key to monetizing a blog is to run as lots of marketing products as you can get away with while still providing a lovely user experience.