Julianne Wish, Member Contributions
As has been mentioned before on this blog, it’s important that you choose a niche for your blog. What is a niche? It’s a specialized or highly focused topic. The example from a previous blog post had to do with exotic pets…instead of a blog on exotic pets, one could have a blog on sugar gliders…that is a niche blog. There are several reasons why niche blogs are successful.
#1 Loyal Readers
If you choose a niche it will be easier for you to find loyal readers. When people do an online search, they are often searching for very specific information. If you provide that specific information you could be on the top of their list. It is highly likely that they will subscribe to your blog which gives you regular access into their homes and lives. This loyalty provides you with an abundance of opportunity to profit.
#2 More Profits
Niches are more profitable. As a blogger, it is easier in a niche for you to establish some of the key triggers that get people to buy. The most notable triggers are credibility and authority. When you blog about a specific niche, you are establishing yourself as a subject matter expert. You will earn the trust of your readers which means they will be more likely to buy from you or trust your recommendations. This results in profits.
With a niche blog, you will be able to draw very focused traffic. This means you will have a special appeal for targeted advertisers. Back to the sugar glider example…sugar glider advertisers will know that your audience is their target audience and they will pay you so they can advertise on your blog.
#3 More Traffic
It is much easier to compete in the search engines when you have a niche topic. For example entering exotic pets in Bing yields 24,400,000 results! Entering sugar glider yields one tenth of that number…a much smaller field of results! If there is a big demand for your niche topic, you will have much fewer competitors. This means that whenver someone searches for your niche topic, they are more likely to find you easier. The result is more traffic!
Choosing a niche topic also makes it much easier for you to provide value to your readers. More value means more repeat visitors. It also means more inbound links as people will want to share your blog and the information it offers with others. This in turn helps to increase traffic to your blog and raise awareness about your blog. In short, a niche blog makes it easier to market and grow your blog.
Choosing a niche topic means you’ll be able to reach your audience faster. You’ll be able to keep them coming back to your blog and will grow your subscribers more quickly. Ultimately this can lead to more profits from your blog.
Before you choose a niche, be sure there are good numbers behind it…this means be sure there is a good demand and low supply for your niche topic.
When the numbers support it, niche blogs prosper. Choose your niche today and start profiting from your blog!
Julianne Alvarez-Wish is a military wife, mother, business owner, professional writer, blogger and legislative advocate. She is the Director of Communications for Our Milk Money, the Colorado State Leader for the National Association for Moms in Business and the owner of Buy By Mom and Buy By Mom Blog. She is the Colorado Springs Stay-at-Home Mom Examiner for Examiner.com. She also blogs at A Wishful Thought. Her passion, purpose and goal is to help parents work from home so they can be home with their children.
Julianne Wish, Member Contributions
Blogging is fun and also pretty easy. It can be equally easy to make mistakes. No worries, though. Here is a list of common blogging mistakes so you can easily avoid them.
- Not being original. Many bloggers are hesitant to be themselves online. However, your personality is what will attract readers and attention. Don’t hesitate to be yourself…whether it’s funky, serious, controversial, etc.
- Not giving credit where credit is due. If you borrow ideas from another blogger, writer or anyone else, make sure you give them the credit. It will not weaken your own credibility. On the contrary…your credibility will be enhanced. If you do not give the proper credit, you can also get in trouble legally.
- Not responding to comments. If you set up your blog so your readers can leave comments, you should be social and respond to them. It helps to create a sense of community on your blog and your readers get to interact with you. Not only is it the right and friendly thing to do, it motivates more comments.
- Giving up too early. Blogs do not achieve success overnight. By blogging about a subject you are passionate about, you will stay motivated to write and post and stick with it. Blogs require a commitment if they are to be successful. With consistent care and attention to your blog, your readers will grow.
- Not posting enough. Many bloggers think you have to post daily. In the very early stages of building your blog this is a good idea. Once you have established a consistent readership, you can post less often. At least weekly, or two to three times per week, is a good idea. If you do not post for a week or two, you are very likely to lose readers.
- Not having a well defined topic. Make sure your topic is obvious. The more specific your niche, the easier it will be to attract a following. For example, instead of blogging about exotic pets, narrow it to blogging about sugar gliders.
- Not choosing a topic you can sustain. By choosing a topic you are passionate about, you can write consistently and maintain your motivation. If you choose a topic that you are not very interested in, you will be fortunate if you can come up with a post per month.
- Having too many ads. Make sure your blog is content heavy. If your blog is more focused on ads than content, you will not be able to attract a loyal following.
- Forgetting value. Make sure your posts offer something of value to your readers. Readers are looking to be entertained, gain information or be educated. Your posts should accomplish that. If they do, you will attract readers.
- Not promoting your blog. You must promote your blog! How else are readers going to find you? Comment on other blogs and leave the url to your blog when you do. Participate in social networking. Become a guest blogger. When you write as a guest blogger, be sure to include your bio along with links to your blog, facebook page and twitter.
Blogging is fun, a great way to connect with people online, a great way to grow a business and even a way to earn money. Avoid these ten common blogging mistakes and you can achieve blogging success quicker and easier!
To your success!
Julianne Alvarez-Wish is a military wife, mother, business owner, professional writer, blogger and legislative advocate. She is the Director of Communications for Our Milk Money, the Colorado State Leader for the National Association for Moms in Business and the owner of Buy By Mom and Buy By Mom Blog. She is the Colorado Springs Stay-at-Home Mom Examiner for Examiner.com. She also blogs at A Wishful Thought. Her passion, purpose and goal is to help parents work from home so they can be home with their children.
Julianne Wish, Member Contributions
Have you ever wondered WHY so many people blog? It seems like there is a blog per person! What’s the big deal? Here are six benefits of blogging:
- Blogging is easy. One of the reasons so many people blog is because it’s really easy to get online. With all of the tools available, you can have a really professional looking blog in just a few hours. There are thousands of blog templates that are well designed and many can be modified with just a few clicks. You can also add plug-ins to help create a blog that will do just about anything you’d like it to.
- Blogging is inexpensive. You can easily spend several hundred dollars on a website that is very basic. A really professional looking blog can cost you less than twenty-five dollars and that includes the domain name and the hosting.
- Blogging is profitalbe. You can make good money with a blog. Many people who began blogging about their passions for personal reasons soon found themselves in the limelight. They also found themselves making some good money from their blogs. For example, the movie Julie & Julia was about a real blogger who cooked her way through Julia Child’s cookbook. The blog ‘*&^@ my Dad Says turned into a television program starring William Shatner. Your blog may not get you in a movie, but you can still make good money from it. You can promote products you love and earn affiliate income…you can promote your own products or services…you can earn money from advertising revenue. Blogs with a lot of subscribers can demand high rates for ad space.
- Blogging connects. Blogging is a way to connect to other like minded people. You can get online and share your passions and by doing so attract and connect with people who are interested in the same topic. Blogging is a great way to ‘meet’ people all over the world. You can share, learn and grow.
- Blogging can build your career. You can use your blog to promote yourself. For example, if you are a sales person you might create a blog about sales strategies. You can then use your blog to establish yourself as a subject matter expert. It can help you move up in the company, land your dream job or gain further exposure for your own business.
- Blogging builds business. Many businesses use blogging as a means to market, grow and profit. If y
- ou have thought about starting a business online, you could launch it with a blog.
Blogging is popular for many reasons. It’s easy. It’s inexpensive. It can be profitable and it’s quite fun! Start your own blog today!
Julianne Alvarez-Wish is a military wife, mother, business owner, professional writer, blogger and legislative advocate. She is the Director of Communications for Our Milk Money, the Colorado State Leader for the National Association for Moms in Business and the owner of Buy By Mom and Buy By Mom Blog. She is the Colorado Springs Stay-at-Home Mom Examiner for Examiner.com. She also blogs at A Wishful Thought. Her passion, purpose and goal is to help parents work from home so they can be home with their children.
Julianne Wish
This installment of the series focuses on ways that a blog can help your business.
There are many ways that blogging can help you build your business. Here are some of them:
- Networking – Blogging gives you a great opportunity for networking. You should leave the comments function on/open. This gives you an opportunity to interact with your readers. They can leave comments and you can reply to them. Always reply to comments! You can then also visit their blog and leave comments. This builds a base of readers for your blog that will stop by frequently.
- Presence on the Internet. Having a blog gives you a presence online. You can get a URL for your blog if you’d like…the URL can contain some or all of your business name. This gives people two ways to find you.
- Services. When you have a business blog, you can have a separate page about you and your business where you can describe what your business has to offer and how to contact you. You can link to this page when you send out proposals to prospective clients, send out newsletters and e-mails. It is important that you keep this page up to date.
- Portfolio. If you have a portfolio, your blog is a great place to display it. Again, you should set up a separate page for this. Clients can get a good sense of your skills and work. Remember to also keep this page up to date.
- Subject Matter Expert. While you are letting people get to know you, networking and establishing relationships, you are also establishing yourself as a subject matter expert. By writing about your business you are establishing yourself as an expert in your field. However, it is important to remember that you should keep your posts professional. If you get too personal, it will hurt, not help, your business.
The next installment in the series will provide you with the information you need to get started on your own blog!
Julianne Alvarez-Wish is a military wife, mother, business owner, professional writer, blogger and legislative advocate. She is the Director of Communications for Our Milk Money, the Colorado State Leader for the National Association for Moms in Business and the owner of Buy By Mom and Buy By Mom Blog. She is the Colorado Springs Stay-at-Home Mom Examiner for Examiner.com. She also blogs at A Wishful Thought. Her passion, purpose and goal is to help parents work from home so they can be home with their children.
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