FRIDAY, AUGUST 17, 2007

If you find a niche, expert says blogging can be a source of revenue

by Jeremy Schnitker

Garrett

On this site we've frequently discussed how valuable it is for freelancers to keep a career-oriented blog for business development and networking purposes. But with the rise in popularity of blogs as independent media outlets in and of themselves, it's become possible for people to make a profit from keeping one.

Many journalists have blogs which focus on politics, music, or celebrity gossip. It's perfect work for a freelancer because you can essentially write about whatever you want, whenever you want and at whatever pace you decide. Some blogs have 2-3 postings a week, while others have that many in a single day.

According to Chris Garrett, a professional blogger and internet marketing consultant, the first step in deciding if you want to be a blogger is to decide if it's for you.

"It is surprisingly hard to write every day," Garrett said. "And you want to decide how you want to make money: from ads and affiliate commissions or from building an audience and selling your own products and services. I would class freelance blogging in the latter category, as in most cases only bloggers who can demonstrate an ability will get writing work."

A blog can make money a couple different ways. You can sell advertising on your site/blog, sell other people's advertising by setting up a pay-per-click account, or solicit contributions.

Garrett says if you're interested in trying to make money for your blog, you need to make sure it's focused and serves a purpose for readers.

"A self-indulgent blog will not be as successful as writing what people want to read about," he said. "It's like traditional media; you have to target a market and give them what they want. Where there is an audience there is usually a revenue opportunity."

Then comes the task of getting traffic. Garrett says one of the best ways to attract people to your site is to talk with other bloggers.

"The best 'converting' traffic [ie. visitors who will subscribe] comes from fellow bloggers' recommendations," he said. "I advise bloggers to hang out where other bloggers are, for example my forum and also more targeted communities such as Flickr.com."

It also helps to have a blog which looks professional and has a unique Web address, Garrett said.

"Typepad, WordPress.com and Blogger.com blogs have been successful for some people, but they are an exception rather than a rule," he said. "In most cases you want to at least have your own domain and to not be held ransom by a service. There are a disturbing number of reported cases of bloggers having their blog deleted by free services with no explanation."

Garrett said many people build the sites themselves, have friends build them or pay a professional designer.

"It's like anything else; you get what you pay for," Garrett said.

He added that it's tough for somebody to make a profit from blogging, but if you can manage to create value, have quality content and manage it well, it's certainly possible to do so.

"So long as your writing is not annoyingly full of problems, then a conversational style backed by solid information is all you need."

---

Filed Under: Writing