With the Web 2.0 boom in recent years and the advent of social media, it is easier than ever today to start a business. And it is also possible to extend the marketing scope of your business to reach thousands, even millions of people each month. An important strategy that you cannot ignore is blogging.
Marketing through social media is pretty much the trend right now. It builds businesses, branding and traffic while keeping the costs at minimum.
A blog allows one to build a platform for interaction with customers, increasing brand awareness and ultimately, increasing the bottom line through sales to satisfied customers. Therefore, a blog is a must have in every business.
So where do you start looking for a great way to make money with blogging?
- Research Industry Blogs
No matter what industry you go into, a plethora of blogs will be available. Start your search at Blogcatalog and Technorati, then expand by checking out blogrolls of related sites.
- Buy an E-book
Many blogs will offer to sell you an e-book on how to get started in the industry. While many of these are overpriced to worthless, some offer invaluable information on starting your business. Do a Google search for reviews to see which one to buy.
- Build Your Website and Blog
Companies today should have blogs! Maybe your business is your blog and you’re monetizing with advertising or affiliate links. Or perhaps your business is an online retailer. Either way, a blog is a tangible way that your customers can connect to your business. Blog about industry trends, what’s going on at the office, your goals etc. For more detailed steps to start a blog that earns money, you can refer to Neil Patel’s “The Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Money-Making Blog in 1 Hour”, which is a comprehensive starting up guide.
- Social Media
The two most essential social media platforms for the time-being are Facebook and Twitter. Take some time and get acquainted with both of these services. Make a fan-page on Facebook and invite all of your friends. Make a Twitter profile and start connecting to people in your industry. The sky is the limit on the exposure you can achieve with just these two services alone. The key is customization. Make sure to customize your profiles for each to fit the feel of your brand. See Mashable for more tips on social media.
- Optimize, Optimize, Optimize
Start trying to get your site to rank on the major search engines. Whole books have been written on this subject alone but here are a few tips:
- Focus on your internal structure. Make sure every page is crawl-able, you have a clean and navigable site map, and that you’re linking internally using embedded text and not meaningless phrases like “click here” or “see this article”.
- Make sure you know the keywords you’re targeting.
- Start the link-building process. Reach out to fellow bloggers on related sites and offer to write guest posts. Many bloggers will often let you link your site in exchange for free content.
Successful Blog Factors
There are three critical success factors that each money making blog should have:
- Great content: Content is king in today’s economy. As customers increasingly exposed to social media, knowledge is paramount in all business and how the blog is conveys the intended message across to customers and build traffic.
- Monetizing through traffic: Can one’s blog make money? The answer is a resounding yes. However, the focus should be on how one can generate a list of ideas to monetize one’s blog and at the same time, creating value to customers.
- Happy customers: All in all, the ultimate aim in all business is to create happy customers. Happy customers through the word of mouth will amplify your businesses. Focus on how to create that satisfaction within customers such that they can rave to their friends and relatives about your products, your blog or your services. With such, success is near.
Conclusion
Starting an online business and money-making blog is time-consuming, make no doubt about it. But it is a relatively easy way to break into the world of entrepreneurship and small business and blogging. If you’ve ever had the urge to start your own blog, this is a great opportunity for you. Once you earn your first dollar via your blog, it will all be worth your time.