Creating a blog is not one of those “build it and they will come” end games. Building it is just part of the equation that creates an effective and profitable blog. In fact, creating a successful blog that makes money has a very specific formula: Profitable Niche + Quality Keyword Rich Content + Strategic Monetization + Promotion = Profit. To that end, follow the steps below to create a highly profitable blog.
* Choose the right niche – Aside from passion and knowledge about the topic, study whether or not there is a way to actually make money from the niche. There are some great niches and wonderful topics that just aren’t easily monetized. If you can’t think of a way to make money from it, no matter how passionate you are, it’s the wrong niche.
* Buy a keyword-rich domain name – Once you’ve chosen your niche, the keyword quest starts in full force. Choose a domain name without hyphens in which keywords are used for the domain name. You can do it without a keyword name (look at Amazon.com and eBay.com) but it will be harder.
* Fill your blog with quality content – Shoot for about 300 pages of quality, keyword-rich content, then you can slow down and add content more slowly. Don’t panic – each blog post, whether short or long, is a page. The faster you get 300 pages of keyword-rich content into your blog, the better, but don’t do it all in one day. Spread it over at least 200 to 300 days. Use a variety of types of content from blog posts, to images with alt tags, to infographics, to video, and fill it with engaging, compelling, informative content.
* Build traffic through many methods – Leave no stone unturned to promote your blog. Facebook pages, article marketing, interviews, guest blogging, forum participation and more are all ways to build traffic. Promote through all legal and ethical channels that you can discover and keep on doing it, every single day while still filling your blog with content.
* Integrate social media – Include social media buttons right on your blog for easy sharing by your readers. Don’t forget to include every social media type that your target audience likes to use, even if you don’t have your own account yet. You can use the states to show you whether or not you need to create a profile on that type of social media.
* Engage with your audience – Interacting on your blog and on social media accounts is key to creating a fan base that will take your advice about purchases, including purchasing your own products and services. Don’t be a robot, answer questions, share other people’s information, and be generous with your time.
* Monetize the blog honestly – Choose only products you’ve tried for yourself, and used, and loved to promote. Additionally, you can create your own high-quality products and services to promote on your blog. By only recommending products and services that you can personally stand by and be proud of, you’ll develop a reputation of honesty and integrity.
Earning money from a blog is a long-term monetary strategy. It won’t happen overnight. But, if you plan it out right and follow the steps above, you will have a profitable blog within two years that you can be proud to promote.