How You Can Make a Career Out of Blogging

this are the things a blogger should concentrate on

Another concept is to offer information that changes perception on something people thought they knew (i.e. Black Magic Woman was not written by Carlos Santana; it was writen by Carlos' and many other guitar players favorite, Peter Green of the original or first generation of the band, Fleetwood Mac). You can also supply background information on icons (i.e. I'm old enough to know the history of 3 members of Foreigner).

There is some great information here, some gives me new ideas while others confirm what I am doing (affilitate programs and as soon as I have enough songs preped, I will open a store on my myspace to sell them). I deifinitely will be coming back to make certain I am taking advantage of this great information.

passion is all well and good but that just usually gets you started (or sends you to the clinic with a mysterious rash). you need consistency which, in my opinion, comes more from the heart and brain than from the gut and testes/ovaries. the "long slow burn" kinda drive that is motivated by a need, a basic need that MUST be fulfilled. eating, sleeping, breathing. of course if you happen to have an aptitude for this sort of thing, and can crank out all sorts of provocative "crap" (i say that in the best possible way). crap that pushes peoples buttons in both positive and negative ways. if it comes easy to you...then you have it made. you will make money -playing- having fun- and that's the realization of the ultimate dream.

thats the thing that i want.

i’m getting a hard time earning by advertisements/ads on my site, i guess i have to learn more on how to gain more traffic, i do paid posts instead and is earning well through it…

http://earnforaliving.blogspot.com/

This post has been done so many times I'm surprised JC even approved it, despite his belief that re-hashing old content is a good strategy for blogs with lots of posts that most readers never see in their entirety. Everyone is talking about keeping stuff fresh...and they're talking about TEXT. How lame.

They've failed in their thinking. Their thinking is sound, but the conclusions they draw will be false.

My current thinking on this point is to STOP TYPING and start TAPING yourself.

People are tired of reading. They want REAL people. To WATCH. Get a web cam and get honest with your self and with others and your readers. But do it in HIGH quality. Both in production and in content.

Don't ramble. Talk about what's passionate to YOU like you mean it. People will follow if you're passionate about ANYTHING. It's the reason that the self help guru's are all multi millionaires. They are INTO their topics. If you don't believe me, do a search on Gary Vaynerchuk RIGHT NOW (before reading the rest of my comment) and I PROMISE you will start drinking wine after watch a few of his WINE TV video posts.

You WILL become a Vayniak!

I am willing to bet that if John Chow were drop shipped into the blogosphere today, with no prior experience, that he WOULD NOT be anywhere near as popular as he is. I will give him one thing - and this is that he was way ahead of the curve with "make money blogging" angle.

But he sure as heck wouldn't be cranking out 30K+ a month. He'd be lucky to pay his bills, he would be flying out to hang with the likes of Monica, Shoe and the crew in Florida and Market Leverage.

Video is the future and it is going separate the loser, copy-cat bloggers from the AUTHENTIC, transparent REAL people like Darren Rowse, Yaro Starak and a few other's I've been following who aren't afraid to push that medium and are doing it PROPERLY.

On second thought....I do owe John a second, full, point - he HAS taken advantage of this medium, but he HAS not got a transparent, candid video of himself on the front page of this blog...one that is real, honest, funny, sexy and edgy...capturing all the salient points of the JC brand. It should be accesible on everypage. This is where you've failed JC......

You've missed the opportunity to connect with REAL people like you who want to be alone in a park in the middle of the day pushing their kid(s) around in a stroller...BECAUSE THEY CAN... because they're earned that right through blogging.

You're a person, but you're also a pro now. And you need to show the world this. The simple person vids like the Dot Com Pho's, etc. are all fine within the posts, but your home page HAS TO BE THE MOST VISITED AND EXITED page on the whole site if you're like every other blog, so why not BETTER CONNECT WITH THOSE who are about to abandon...with a REAL vid of you!

With this and your great current readership, you could probably be doing 40k a month or more...much more....people want to FEEL that they know you personally. That you are always there for them...and being able to watch a vid like that will close that gap...push people off the fence...come back to your site more often...and convert at higher percentages. Do you the math. Check the stats. REAL vids like this convert 2x to 5x better than text or the BEST WP theme EVER.

I bet that it would endear your further to your traffic and convert even MORE traffic, whatever conversions mean to you these days.....

In fact, I'm willing to put my money where my mouth is - JOHN ...ARE YOU LISTENING??? I will come to Vancouver and shoot a pro vid for you to put on your pages that is properly edited and funky which showcases YOU and your unique style.

We'll laugh, we'll cry...we'll be serious...but one thing is for sure...you'll be proud of the finished product and it will further your brand and your readership will enjoy it.

We will extract some of the key elements of this 'make money' vision you're selling and distill the critical points out of your book (which I've read by the way and is pretty good - too bad dozens of other have copied it online, diluting the value of it)

I have all the pro gear for a portable studio (lighting, mics, cameras, etc.) and have a background in film (Stargate SG-1), TV (was an extra with Will Smith in i-Robot) and stage (co-produced and acted in my own production called P.S. Your Cat is Dead at the Havana Theatre on Commercial Drive with Sonja Bennett of Cold Squad fame, directed by Mel Tuck who launched Eric McCormack's career). Don't believe me? Come to my site for the proof...

In addition, I know how to interview and ask questions like Barbara Walters to elicit responses from you that few others know how to do (or have done at the blog expo's you've been to - I think I've seen them all on your site).

I'll deliver it in Flash and optimize it for the web. This is the single most important thing that was missing from your theme re-do in my humble opinion. It is the reason why my blog (and most others) totally suck - text and images are dead.

People want INFO TAINMENT! ...and I think that you can give it to the masses.

You'd be better off doing this AND the annoying list building pop up that you have when visitors first come to you site, than just the annoying pop up routine.

I'm game if you are JC...let me know.

ping me here:

brooks@brooksvannorman.com.

I am giving it a try and lets see how stuff works out....

This is good advice - I think after reading thousands of comments more people need to jump in take a risk and just do it. Decide on a niche and blog daily for 2 years, gain 30 blogrolll exchanges and get links from 4,000 different websites - if you choose a specific niche you will raise to the top and start getting consistent consulting offers and advertisers asking how to use your site to get new business. I've done this within many niches and know it works.. The secret is hard work and tenacity. Less time looking for shortcuts and more time working hard is what has worked for me.

- Richard
Richard Wilson
http://richard-wilson.blogspot.com

Is it common for the comments to be a better place for information than the actual post? Kinda seems that way...

Well said Jim! Could not have said it better myself!

The writer has summed up the topic very well and i appreciate the simple style of presentation. I have seen blogs that can be categorised as static or stalled as no posts are being written now. Blogs are not play thing as like plant there are also nurtured with personal care. Consistency is the key to keep the interest of the visitors on a particular blog. Further there should be effort to keep them in good humor as visitors of unique and loyal type is one more key to successful blogging. Furthermore a blogger should also live with his network. But network should be of same niche other wise the loyalty is not that loyal and sincere. Thanks to the guest blogger.

thanks for such a useful information
i think now i can be better blogger...;)

great info thanks a lot for sharing....

true that, that's very educational.. thanks for sharing.

If youre gonna make a numbered post might aswell title it "x ways to make a career out of blogging", those kinda titles are more catchy, but im sure you know :p

I guess it is time to add a forum to your blog John

I agree that this post has been said before but much of it needs to be said again and again. I am particularly a fan of tip #2- keeping it fresh. How many blogs have died within two months? Maybe after people ran out of tip #1- passion.

John Chow has spoken often about staying consistent, and I take it as gospel when he says he does not know anyone who is not successful after staying consistent over a year.

Well, the best part of a successful blogger is that - he would be able to provide fresh content on a daily basis. Also, he would be having some sort of inborn talent in writing by which he attracts readers - so that they come again and again at his blogs.

And i don't think its that difficult to become a pro blogger - or a successful blogger - Here is my tips :- Start a blog on a topic that is related to your profession - and if you are a student then it is better to write about your favorite hobbies or interests like programming, designing , or even blogging - this way what are actually doing is - you are actually writing things in your blog about things that you did each day - like if you are a student who is brilliant at programming and suppose if you had a chance to learn a new programming language - then you may describe about it in your own words (that the best part - rather than copy pasting ) - and most probably you would be getting good ranks in search engines as well .... And search engine considers Unique content - and things that happens in our life are mostly unique to us right ?

Passion will go a long way ....

Great tips, Jim. Not enough can be sad for being a professional blogger. Anyone who really focuses on great content, and builds a community has their opportunity to be a writer! I enjoyed reading this because I know you are someone who is personally making this happen. Thanks for posting!

Know Your Passion and Use It! Yes! A lot of blogs are nothing but a rehash of the same old stuff. Gotta be passionate about what you do.

Here he should be an good content writer too.

well, its kinda hard for new bloggers though especially when looking for advertiser on their blog. Apart from that, SEO technique had to be learn. But paid post are much easier though.

Some nice guide lines there..Everyone wants to make a career out of blogging but not many made it I believe..

It really isn't easy to make a career out of blogging now...especially when everyone is writing about the same thing. It's like saying "you snooze, you lose".

-Mike

blah blah blah, read this post in many versions for years.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Blogs are the worst way to try and make money for 99.9 % who try.

If you have a blog that is about the topic you are crazy about :) then there is no scarcity of unique content.

It's been hard for me because I am passionate about so many things. It's hard to write a blog based around politics, martial arts, video games, and all of the dumb funny stuff that has happened to me. Finally, I just accepted that my blog is varied, and to market my persona through my writing, rather than trying to be a promotional writer. As John Chow said, don't have a niche.

If you're passionate about the things you write and you have certain level of expertise in the field, there shouldn't be problems with ideas for posts. With every new post idea you're "opening a whole new can of worms" - it never stops

The problem, in my opinion, is when people pick a niche that they think is hot, instead of the one they're passionate about.

Just my two cents

dan

That's all interesting, but you are forgetting that most people have to start somehow, and starting with content blog this days is a hell of a business :/

Keeping your content fresh isn't really all that hard depending on the kind of blog you have.

Well, it's hard in China. We have a very low payment on Google Adsense.

I'm purposely not making a career out of blogging - it's just a side thing, so i have a blog as my "playground" and I also offer blog-copywriting on certain subjects. It may be good to have both in place since one feeds the other. What I discover working on my own blog expands what I can offer clients, and visa versa.

It's good to review the basics, even if it does get repetitive at times!
Thanks!

Some folks might think you're blowing smoke, but you're dead on! I built up my authority over the last few years with the success of my own blog. Now I'm the VP of Blogging Evangelism with Compendium Blogware.

i must say im tired of reading the same topic's on certain blogging topics over and over
The last one you post with the guy from wine library tv was the only one i enjoyed it meant something to me it was so good i blogged about it on my blog