All marketing roads leads to your target audience.
So many people start a blog with the best of intentions and stop after 3 months. The fact is blog marketing is not for the faint of heart. It's not for those that want instant fam and money.
When it comes down to it, blog marketing is not for the faint of heart or lazy. Blogging seems like it’s one of the easiest jobs in the world to have. Just because you are the subject of the blog and the apple of your parent’s eye, you won’t instantly become the next internet sensation. If you are not dedicated, willing to work and able to stay consistent, blogging and blog marketing is not the choice for you.
The Skinny on Blog Marketing
Blog marketing is a term many people get confused. Just because you have a blog doesn’t automatically make you a professional. It doesn’t make you a blog marketer until you have something you are selling. Blog marketing happens when you promote or advertise something through your blog. Most people that are interested in blog marketing are interested because they want to make money doing it. Most businesses, small and large, are blog marketers because they are advertising their products and services. Millions of individuals start blogs with the intention of becoming a blog marketer and thousands succeed because they don’t forget 3 rules. Others that don’t know the definition of blog marketing and lose sight of their goal will leave their website lost in cyberspace.
When it comes to blogging, those that are interested in making money from it should not lose sight of that. The most important thing anyone can do is know what their goals are and work towards those goals. Blog marketing isn’t the easiest thing to do but when one keeps these 3 rules in mind, it will become easier and you will start to see an income.
3 Rules of Blog Marketing
As with life, there are rules to blog marketing. As soon as people realize that, most don’t think blogging is as romantic or as easy as they thought it would be. The most successful bloggers, business, independent and corporate, have stuck to these rules and met the goals they set for themselves. With these rules, there is nothing you won’t be able to do with your blog!
Rule Number 1: Find and Focus on a Niche
Sounds simple right? If you intend on starting a blog and using blog marketing as an income, you need to focus on your topic. Don’t have a topic? Find one. It’s great to have a vanity blog to talk about all the great things you’ve done, gone through and other stuff but let’s face it, the world isn’t always interested in it. That is why you need to find a niche.
With a niche, you have a greater chance of finding others that have the same interest and are actively looking for blogs to read and refer to and blog marketing isn’t as hard as it seemed. Also, with a niche, finding an active audience to write to, marketing to and grow isn’t as impossible as you thought it was. Vanity blogs have popped up everywhere and to be honest, it’s too saturated to break into with huge successes. Find a niche and go after that audience.
Rule Number 2: Find and Comment on Forums and Other Blogs Consistently
Now that you have a niche, it’s time to follow that niche to find the places your audiences hang out on the internet. Go to those forums that match the niche you are now blogging about. Yes, it seems a bit stalker-like but that’s what it takes in the world of marketing. When you’ve found a forum you actually enjoy, join and start to learn. Being among others that are interested in the same thing will allow you to learn more about it and bring more ideas on what to write about. As you start to learn or you see questions, comment and answer questions. Once you’ve started doing that, you will gain the attention and trust of your audience. This is what will help you establish yourself as an expert and help bring people back to your blog.
When you find another blog that has interesting, read it and follow it. Become a fan and start commenting. A fellow blogger will appreciate it and before long, they may go to your blog and return the favor.
As you are searching for forums and other niche websites to comment on and follow, don’t forget to put a hyperlink in your signature to your website so others can start to trickle other. When you refer to another website, don’t forget to do trackbacks and pingbacks so others know you’re talking about them. Also, don’t become a spammer because you will throw your blog marketing career away and ruin your name in a really competitive industry.
Rule Number 3: Blog Consistently No Matter the Size of Your Audience
When you start blogging, nobody except your friends and family will care. They may encourage you and never visit your site or leave a comment. That doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is that you keep blogging. That is all that you need to do. Blog marketing requires consistency and dedication. Remember the beginning of the article said blog marketing wasn’t for those that were lazy or for the faint of heart. If you are easily discouraged, this is not an endeavor for you. No matter how many posts you write, don’t give up. Keep going. Eventually you will gain traction and start earning an income.
Blog marketing has been romanticized and touted as the easiest thing to do for an extra income. Sorry to say it but someone lied! It’s not easy but it is worth every word you type if you are dedicated. Bloggers that find a niche, connect to others via forums and websites and blog consistently will find success. It’s not easy but blog marketing done right can be wildly profitable.