I’ll go straight ahead to share with you one blogging concept that will ‘almost’ guarantee you’ll succeed at blogging for passive income (through product creation, affiliate programs direct or contextual advertising, like Google Adsense). Most of us started blogging with the hope that someday, we’ll earn income passively doing what we do. But I think there’s something new and not-so new bloggers need to consider about building a blog to generate passive income. This idea MAY be optional if you already have a service, product or company and only want to promote your existing business with your blog.
It’s OK if you’re blogging for the love of expression and not interested in your blog becoming a tangible source of income. In which case, you can ignore this approach.
Blogging Project Under Construction
A lot of factors contribute to the success of a blog and the blogger; your promotion strategies, your voice, your philosophies, your motivation, your design, your call to action etc. While these factors contribute immensely to a successful business, one factor that would almost guarantee your blogs success is seeing your blog as an achievable project and working toward it with every bit of action. You can call it ‘Building a Resource blog’, you’ll be right. Thinking of your blog as a commitment to serve a particular audience and solve a problem for them will help you focus on creating a blog that meet needs.
In an insightful guest post by Jim Nelson on Problogger.net, Jim of Tripawd.com shared his story on “How he built a successful community for his Niche blog about Three-Legged dogs”. You really need to click here and read the story. Do you notice the long term commitment to his blogging project for Three-Legged dog owners?
Problogger.net is a blogging advice service for bloggers with daily information on How to make money blogging. If you’ve been following this blog, you’ll notice a Cause that has evolved over time.
Same goes to StevePavlina.com, a blog resource for insightful contents on personal development. Even though I don’t always agree to Steve’s content, I’ve read a lot of life changing articles from his archive.
These bloggers, and a lot other like them, have succeeded in building a Project blog that will keeps serving their audience for decades with minimal work (less maintenance) on their part.
Let’s bring this a bit closer
Take a look at your blog. Really imagine your blog for a moment. Sum up all the posts you have published. Does it look like you are building a future resource for your potential audience or just a collection of tips? Fast forward one or two years from now, what do you hope to have achieved on your blog? This is not about how much money the blog will be making by then but how much of a useful Resource your blog would have become.
It’s OK if you are not clear on the purpose of your blog at the beginning. The important thing is that your blog evolve along with you. You can shift focus at any point as long as it’s in the name of clearly defining your blogs objective. There is not point conforming to your blog, rather you blog should conform to your ideas.
What do you have to serve you readers? Who do you want to serve and how do you want to serve them? What value are you trying to provide for your readers and how do you intend to offer them over time?
How to know if you’re Blogging a Project
Questions to ask:
- Do your current readers look up to your next blog posts?
- Do new readers dig into your archive on their first visit?
- What’s your ‘Direct Visitors’ rate on Google Analytic?
- How is your bounce rate doing?
- Am I likely to feel excited on discovering your blog?
Of course there’s more indication but you can start from here to diagnose your blogging plan/strategy to see how well you are fairing. Successfully building a passive income stream is the better way to prosper. But we’ve got to work.
Do you see you blog like a project?
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Hi Iyke:
You absoluletly hit the nail on the head – it’s all about your ideal audience. Readers are the customers of any blog and when a blogger realizes that traffic and re-tweets and readers loyalty will come only when they “think about what the target reader really wants to read next”.
However, it starts with trying not to be everything for everyone BUT focusing to serve a distinct audience (for example, that blogger you mentioned did not focus on every kind of dog but “three legged dogs” BUT that became a profitable audience).
Usually, new entrepreneurs are afraid of targeting narrowly but the truth is that buyers are looking for specificity.
Thanks for this post and Sorry for my “blog-post-like, longish comment:)
Hi Stella,
Thanks for the brilliant input.
Focus to serve a distinct audience is the key, as you pointed out, but there’s often the fear among new entrepreneurs to toll this part. They kind of feel like it’s limiting to stick with a small niche. In such cases, it’s only a matter of them trying and learning from experience.
Nothing to apologize about, I enjoyed reading your comment.
Thanks for coming by.
You’re right about how newbies want to target very wide niches. Hopefully, blogs like yours will get the message out to more people about their ideal customers being in narrower niches.
Excellent post Iyke, you’ve described exactly the process I’ve been moving through myself with my own blog.
Serving a niche is a true key to any kind of business success, and knowing that niche is the key within that key.
It’s an important point you raised about the market and niche evolving (and of course, the need for blog or business to evolve with it). Over time, the community and followers of a blog may well evolve their needs and values, not to mention trends, technology and other factors moving forward.
Great description and understanding of this strategy for long term blogging success – thanks for sharing mate
Hi Jym,
Thanks for pointing out the part of knowing the niche as the “key within the Key”. I totally agree to that.
The part of evolving is well described by the quote, “Imagination is more important than knowledge…”. What we know today may not be as relevant tomorrow, and it helps to have that in mind (though basic principles will almost always remain the same). In that case, We can always go back to update old ideas if need be or just share a fresh concept.
Thanks coming by and sharing your insight mate..
I agree… many bloggers are doing it as a full time job now. I too plan to leave my regular day job and join blogging 🙂
You’re welcome to join us Ritesh. I wish you the best with that.
Hi Lyke,
I have to agree with you here on building our blog as a resource for our readers. I basically have set out to create posts that would help someone with personal growth issues.
I make my posts average about 800 words which to me is not too long or short and my bounce rate is at about 65% which is pretty good.
Nice to know you’re already taking this idea into consideration. Blogging for long term purposes sure beats haphazard blogging. Your bounce rate is good too but can be improved upon.
Thanks for coming by Justin.
I basically have set out to create posts that would help someone with personal growth issues. Typically the new entrepreneurs are afraid of targeting narrowly but the truth is that buyers are looking for specificity.
i agree with you that blogging are now a days a full time job for every one and i am also going with full time job with blogging. one thing that i wants to point out is that new bloggers are going with lot of niches and can succeed multiple niches is the main reason for their failure if they go with a single blogging niche than i am sure they will succeed in blogging and can easily bring bring their site up to first places in search engine and earn a lot of prices,
Thanks for sharing your insight Reeha.
thanks to you because i gain all these things from your blogs. keep up the right and great work.
You’re right about a blog being about the readers. Your content should be focused on creating value for them. And as a resource that is useful, you can really package your content, whatever line you should to follow, to make sure that your readers get the best from the blog.
Hey Chadrack,
It’s always about our readers.
Thanks for joining the discussion.
hello,
i want to start a blog on inspiration/personal development. A personal blog where i will write an=bout things i am intersted in and market my freelancing services. i am intersted in personal development and also a writer, so i want to blog about personal developmnt,inspirre people and selll myself tooT
pls am a fresher in this area ,pls what is bloging and how do i start it.i need a guid on how to become a blogger