Blogging - The New Home Business Model

Blogging, a form of online journaling, has become one of the most common activities for internet users in the 21st century. In fact, more people publish or read a blog each day than read a newspaper. It's only natural that there would be an increase in the number of people using blogging to make an income. With companies like Blogger and BlogToolKit, almost anyone can publish their own blog in minutes and start making money online.

But how does a blogger go from making 10 or 20 cents a month in ad clicks to over 6 figures a year? Is there something special that millionaire bloggers have that most people do not?

Simply put, the answer is yes. Profitable Bloggers have something that most other people do not. In order for a blogger to make any money at all they need:

1. to get noticed.
2. provide something interesting to read
3. provide an incentive for the reader to come back

When looked at it from this point of view, a successful blog has the same qualities as a successful website. In fact, the only difference is that a website usually has a product that they are trying to sell, whereas a blog simply provides something interesting to read.

Let's take a look at each of the requirements for a successful blog.

Standing out among millions:
Getting a blog noticed is not all that difficult. There are hundreds of ways to spread the word about your blog and attract readers, the simplest of which is telling friends and families about it.

Think back to a recent email that a friend or family member sent you that had a funny story or link to a popular short video. The person that sent it to you found it interesting enough to forward it to you. Chances are that you found it interesting and shared it with your friends as well. We all get emails like this and we all share them. It's called viral marketing and if you can master it, you will be rich!

The first step is to share your blog. Send an email to all of your friends and family with a link to your blog imbedded in the email. Ask them to check it out, add it to their favorite's folder or homepage, and share it with their friends and family.

Don't bore your readers:
Much like the uncle or grandfather that goes on and on about something only they are interested in, no one else wants to read you going on and on about irrelevant things in your life. No one wants to hear what you ate for breakfast or that your imbedded toenail infection is starting to clear up. Write about something specific and something interesting.

There are literally millions of topics that you can choose from. The more unique and on-topic your blog is, the more popular it will become. Let's look at a blog on pets as an example. You can easily start a blog on your favorite type of pet. Anyone could do it and it's easy to include links or news stories about pets that would attract readers. But, ask yourself this; is anyone passionate about pets? More often than not, a reader will be passionate and interested about a specific topic and if your blog is generic you will never make a dime. Now, what if the same blog was about German Shepherd dogs. It's much more targeted and interesting to the reader that likes that breed of dog. The more interested that your reader is, the better chance you have that they will come back and share your blog with others.

Keep them hanging:
Attracting readers and providing something interesting to read is all well and good. But, the big bucks will not happen unless you get your readers to come back again and again. Writing a cliffhanger or some subtle foreshadowing will ensure that your readers bookmark your blog and come back. If you make sure that you update your blog daily and give an incentive for the reader to come back you cannot fail. As your repeat readers increase, so does the likelihood that they will click on an ad, thus increasing your profits.

About The Author-- Joshua Watson has co-authored Make Money Online , How To Guides and Creating Good Portfolio Sites.

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