Hi everyone,
This article is intended to assist any of you who are wanting to start a blog, but don't know how to go about it.
Lesson #1
There is a distinctive and definitive method to starting your first blog..or ANY blog, particularly if you're looking to monetize it in any way.
There are basically two ways to create a blog (simplistic perhaps..but this isn't a university course..just an explanation). One is something that I've tried..but can't get myself into much..and that's automated sites, where the primary objective is to make an optimized site with automatic PLR articles serving as the content, and set and forget type of advertising etc..
That kind of thing works for some people, and they make these blogs on a daily basis..flooding the internet with them (and in my opinion degrading the entire industry of blogging)
The other kind of blog is just the opposite. Actually there are two types here. One is a Hobby Blog, and the other is an Authority Blog (typically a money blog) Both are something a person needs to tend and nurture over time..developing original content, attracting readers from within the niche, and in the case of a money blog, being more particular about the SEO aspects and how to monetize the blog without it seeming to be crass commercialism. Bloggers don't tend to like this kind of commercial site.
With the hobby blog you just write about stuff because you love it. (in fact a great hobby blog can (and has) turned into a very good income generator, simply because you are giving people something they want. High quality content about something you all share an interest in. If it involves a LOT of people and you get a lot of traffic, then the advertising potential is definitely there..and you can expect people to take notice if you have a busy site. They will want access to your readers.
Starting with a list of possible topics is the first thing EVERYONE should do before putting in the time required to create a blog. This list should be about 10 -15 things, and start with the things you love the most, and what you know the most about.
Think about things that you LOVE to do, that you know a lot about, and that you can talk about until the sun comes up.
We all have such things..and I don't want you to leave anything out, no matter how trivial or silly you might think it is. The IMPORTANT thing is that it is YOU, and what you love and what you know.
My point here is that you will NEVER be able to keep up with the work and all the writing involved if you aren't motivated and you don't really know what you're writing about. You need a passion to be able to write to people in a convincing manner.
Once you have that list, you will then have to RESEARCH each and every one of the top 5 topics, using Google's free keyword suggestion tool and the free WordTracker keyword tool
First you determine main keywords in and related to your topic in the Google tool. Type in your main theme (example Model Boats) This tool will generate a host of keyword ideas for you..and indicate the general activity with each. The more green you see..the more activity. If there's LOTS of green in the Advertiser's Competition area..you know there's money in the niche. The higher search volume indicates there are a lot of people interested.
To get a better idea of how many people (not exact..but more definitive) is to then take that keyword (example - boat model ) and plug it into the wordtracker tool which will show you an indication of how many daily searches (x30 for monthly) there are for boat model.
There is a strong suggestion that if you intend to make any money from your blog at all, the niche should have at least 50,000 searches a month, (some people even say 75k to 100k). If you are way under that number you may have drilled too far down into the niche, example: hobby gets 384,000 searches, but is not specific enough, and model boat kits takes you way too far down into the niche at just over 1000 searches.
It also depends on what your focus is. You may want to do a "hobby site" that helps people with a wide variety of hobbies, but you will find with this keyword WAY too much competition for a little guy or a newbie to really compete effectively. Beginners are much better advised to be more specific, but still within a field where there is some competition. Where there is NO competition..you will likely also find NO money.
After the keyword research and ONLY AFTER this research should you be deciding on the niche, and then what the name of the site is going to be. That in itself is a whole other lesson, but one that has to be done carefully or you will be hampering your whole project.
Here are two blogs that have DEFINITELY followed the above requirements for listing and research (as well as all the other lessons)
All Sports On The Web BlogNet Awards
You can see both by the titles, the domain names, the content, and the structure..that these blogs look professional, and are well underway for definite success as blogs.
The following blog is not as well defined, the person probably didn't do the research required at the outset, and has done very little in content development.
http://larsdupree.successblognet.com/
This isn't to pick on him, but used as an example of what happens when you don't have a plan. It's simply too difficult to get into the mood of it..and to keep at it over an extended period of time.
The thing is.. he had an opportunity to LEARN about blogging, just as you are today, because we were willing to teach him.
Fortunately his efforts didn't cost him anything but a very little bit of time because he got that blog free from my website SuccessBlognet, and so can you!
We'll also show you how to make it a success like those other blogs above...
Stay tuned for Lesson #2
©Tim Southernwood - Sept/2008