If I told you that just by visiting his blog, you could get (a ton of) new content ideas for your upcoming blog posts, would you believe me?
Hint – you don’t even have to have a “blogging” blog. This works for all the blogs in the blogosphere
If I told you that this little trick is something that 99% of all the bloggers out there are not using it, would you want to hear more about how you could use it for your own blog?
Let’s start:
This new content idea is simple to apply. All you have to do is this:
Get personal with your blog readers, the easy way.
You probably did not think to share a little about yourself with them. Now it’s about time.
Just by reading his own mini-page, Darren could come up with new content ideas for upcoming blog posts.
Here’s how:
by creating a new post about whatever topic, tip, or link he shared on that particular page.
by talking about his blog network.
by sharing ideas about becoming a pro blogger
Sky’s the limit.
Now it’s your turn to create a similar page. This is where you share your offline story. Or something unique about your online venture. It does not really matter, for as long as it’s your own personal story.
Then add a link to it at the top of your blog.
The next move is to come up with new blog posting ideas and tips from that “about page”.
It’s easy – try it for yourself and share with us how it went.
Believe it or not, your blog can make you a fortune online if you know how to use it.
I had the pleasure and opportunity to interview the pro blogger guy, Darren Rowse, his blog currently shows 66,740 RSS readers.
If you haven’t managed to get that many folks reading your blog yet, you have to listen to what Darren has to teach you about blogging. He gets the “lucky” chance to mail his blog readers every day…
If you had the opportunity to write for 66k people, do you think you could make at least $10,000? You bet! I suspect Darren makes a lot more…
Because he was too busy already and almost declined the interview, I decided to just ask him 8 easy questions
I’m a 36 year old guy living in suburban MelbourneAustralia with my wife and two boys (they are 4 months old and 2 years old). After high school I studied Marketing for a while and then switched to Theology (a strange mix I know).
I’ve worked in a number of jobs over the years but most have centered around working in churches as a minister. I’m also a keen photographer and avid reader (although both have suffered since having a family I’m afraid).
2. When did you get started blogging, and why?
I began blogging in November of 2002 on a personal blog which covered a lot of topics – everything from culture, spirituality, politics, movies, church and a lot more.
I originally got into blogging as a result of being sucked into and intrigued by a number of other blogs (particularly those talking about emerging forms of church). I was fascinated by the way that they gave people a voice and amplified that voice globally while also helping the blogger to form community around the topics that they wrote. I started a blog the very day that I stumbled upon these blogs.
Over the years I expanded that first blog into a number of more commercial or entrepreneurial blogs including Digital Photography School(a blog on digital photography) and ProBlogger (a blog with blog tips).
I’ve been lucky enough in the last few years to build these blogs into a full time income – blogging progressed from a hobby, to a part time job to a full time thing. I also started (with two other bloggers) a blog network called b5media.
3. What’s the biggest mistake you
made getting started with this?
My mistakes happen on a daily basis – the key is to learn from them and to use those lessons so that you improve what you do.
One mistake that I made was to start ProBlogger with ProBlogger.net instead of ProBlogger.com. The .com version was not available in the early days but I could have bought it for a lot less than I eventually paid for it.
Similarly Digital Photography School is a URL with hyphens in it – something I wish I’d not done. However even mistakes like these don’t mean you’re doomed – I managed to build successful blogs, even on dodgy domains (phew!).
4. How did you come up with the
idea of launching your blog?
With ProBlogger the idea simply came about because I myself wanted to find information on how to improve my blog and make money from it – however I couldn’t find that kind of information anywhere – so I started my own to document my journey and in the hope of connecting with others doing similar things to me (ie to learn from others).
With DigitalPhotographySchool the idea came out of another blog which I was running that was aggregating digital camera reviews from around the web. I got a lot of emails from readers who appreciated the reviews but wanted to know how to use the cameras that they bought.
The logical response was to start writing tips on that topic – a new blog was born.
5. How often do you publish and
how do you get content ideas?
On ProBlogger I attempt to publish two posts each weekday and one per day on the weekend. On Digital Photography School I aim to post once per day.
Content ideas come from a range of places including reader questions, extending ideas I’ve previously written about, building on ideas I get in ‘real life’, from interacting with people on social media sites like Twitter, offline sources (like magazines) etc.
I find that the longer I’ve blogged the more open I am to getting ideas in the day to day of life. It’s about looking out for these ideas and having ways to capture them.
6. How do you mainly receive (or generate)
traffic to your blog?
Ultimately it comes down to writing quality content over the long term and letting traffic grow naturally through readers sharing it with their friends, other bloggers linking to you, readers submitting content to social media sites etc. I’ve never really advertised my blog or begged for links from anyone – I spend the bulk of my time concentrating on writing the best content that I can.
Having said that – I learned a little about search engine optimization and am also actively participating on social media site – learning these skills can definitely help to get your site out there.
7. What is your most closely-guarded
secret about blogging for money?
I don’t really have any secrets – I write everything I know about blogging for money on ProBlogger. If there’s a ‘secret’ it is simply that it takes a lot of work and a long term view. It’s not really a ‘secret’ but many times people skip over the fact that it takes a long time and a lot of work – they think it’s possible to get rich quick blogging. The reality is that it’s not (unless you get extremely lucky).
8. What plans do you have for
the future with your blog?
My main plans are to continue to expand my blogs. I’m not really in a position to talk more about these expansion plans yet but hopefully by the end of the year there will be some news to share.
We wish Dareen success in the future and thank you very much for sharing your BLOGGING tips, tricks & secrets with us all!
If you want to get further into blogging, check out these resources:
Hey, my name is Jim and I am the author of www.theNetFool.com, a popular blog run through my conglomerate of online media, JRR Enterprises LLC.
I am a 19 year old student, a lead manager of a $5 million mutual fund and an online entrepreneur of sorts. I typically blog about how to make money online, so stop on by if you are interested in getting a second income through the internet.
2. When did you get started blogging, and why?
I got started blogging because I was looking for a resume booster. Sad but true, eh? Eventually this developed into an obsession with making money on the internet… so I shifted focus toward the entrepreneur aspect of things and started to help people make a living on their own.
3. What’s the biggest mistake you
made getting started with this?
Refusing to put money into the project! Seriously, I wasted about 4 months of writing day in and day out with no yield because I had a crappy design and an underfinanced marketing scheme. You don’t need much to get started, but I do recommend investing in a premium theme from the get-go. In terms of marketing, the beginning is always the most painful. Once you get off the ground, you can really sustain yourself off of traffic from referred users.
4. How did you come up with the
idea of launching your blog?
There are too many people that preach themselves as the “next best thing.”
So I though, hey, I’m just a fool like everyone else, eh? I can make money online… believe me. But the fact is that I’m not an expert, I’m just an average guy who works hard and will tell you what is right and what is wrong. Sometimes learning from your peers is a lot more effective that learning from one of the big guys.
5. How often do you publish and
how do you get content ideas?
I try to publish every day. Unfortunately, as of late I am trying to do too much and it’s really taking a toll on my sleep habits! As a full time student and fund manager, I have to be aware of the markets and my studies.
Blogging comes third, sorry guys. However, I do take the time to write effective content and won’t clog your inbox with garbage. I mostly get my content ideas just from being there. I do a lot of things that my readers are interested in mirroring… so I’m going to give you all the tools to do exactly as I do, no strings attached.
6. How do you mainly receive (or generate)
traffic to your blog?
They come to me. Seriously, it’s like magic!
Since I have ~700 RSS readers, these guys will show up if I write something on that day. I see about 2x the traffic when I write… so that’s definitely an encouragement to write. In addition, if I write something sleek I typically get featured on other blogs. In the initial phase, you should try out social media websites like StumbleUpon and Digg. However, you are going to have to be self-sustaining after awhile… so get your RSS readers interested and you’ll see traffic spike.
7. What is your most closely-guarded
secret about blogging for money?
That’s kind of an odd question isn’t it? If something is my most closely-guarded secret, I would probably be pretty weak-willed to let it go as soon as someone asks. On the other hand, if I tell you that I don’t have one… you’d probably suspect me of lying.
Hmm…
Let’s just say that you can pick up on everything I’m doing to make money by subscribing to my RSS feed. Yes, I’m going to make you read through my antics to find out the more profitable techniques.
8. What differentiates your blog among
all the others in your niche field?
Are you kidding me? I’m the Net Fool! You definitely can’t top that. The other jokers out there have smaller blogs… whereas I’m one of the few that has been able to creep up toward 1,000 readers without conforming to the standard tactics and repetition. Give me one reason X blogger is better than me and I will either offer up 2 rebuttals or resign from office.
9.If you had to get a boost in comments
from your blog readers, how would you do it?
That’s easy! Write something controversial. Many people think controversial means writing “Google is Bad” but that won’t cut it. I have found that you can either A. comprise a huge list where you link to 20+ other blogs to essentially beg for comments and traffic. Or you can B. take a successful blogger and cut him down a few notches in public. Don’t be rude, just be effective. We don’t want a lawsuit on our hands, and you can always go at someone without actually offending them on paper… think about that!
10.Which are the blogs you visit frequently and why?
I’d rather not list my entire RSS feed, because I like to spread the wealth around and don’t really focus in on one or two specific bloggers. I usually check in and support the smaller bloggers more than I read bigger blogs, basically because I like to see what the up and comers are thinking. www.IMWithJoe.com is one of my favorites in that category. Mid-cap blogs I like are www.JohnCow.com and www.TylerCruz.com. I like to frequent stock market blogs like Between the Hedges and Bullish Bankers as well for my daily market reads.
11.Which are your favorite bloggers and why?
My favorite bloggers are the cow himself, Jason Katzenback, the family man Gary Conn, ShoeMoney’s Jeremy Schoemaker, IMWithJoe’s Normal Joe, MoneyBites’s “madman” Max and The University Kid’s Jason Pereira. These guys are generally industry names, and great people to work with.
12. Which plugins you can’t live without and why?
My favorite plugin is All In One SEO because it makes WordPress a lot more viable as a Google-rankable product. If you are using standalone WordPress, you are in a world of hurt!
I’m also a big proponent of CommentLuv to get people some commenting motivation, OIO Publisher for advertising (best option by far) and Top Commentators for getting people talking.
One of my secret tools is the stock market plugin that I use to generate in-text stock quotes from companies that are updated in real time with the American markets. You can see an example of this in almost any post on BullishBankers.com
13. What is the most important thing you learned about blogging that you could share with your best friend?
“Bloggingwon’t make you any money, having a blog will.”
Yes, it sounds counter-intuitive… but I actually make next to nothing from my blog. This is pretty standard (unless you are ripping off your advertisers or are using your blog as a spam service), and I really believe that the true power of being a blogger is from your networking. If you can build a strong network of users to interact with you and play along with what you are trying to do, you can leverage this to build up big incomes every month. When you have people that follow what you do, this will usually lead you to great commissions from everyone working with you!
14. What plans do you have for
the future with your blog?
I’m definitely going to try to pass 1,000 subscribers before year end. I’ll probably at least get close, eh? There are certain plateaus to blogging I believe, and I am currently in one. I literally exploded from around 200 to 600 and am now sitting steady around 700 for awhile. This is totally natural and as long as I put out good content I will get the subscriber base before long.
To me, I really only care about increasing my influence on the Internet… the more people I can help out, the happier I am. I’m in the business of under-cutting the profits of the “big boys” out there… and I am going to continue serving the public until I feel like the blog has reached its tipping point. It’s really a lucrative business, and I believe strongly that I can keep building and growing for quite a while. J
Stay Bullish on the Net!
-The Net Fool
We wish Jim success in the future and thank you very much for sharing your BLOGGING tips, tricks & secrets with us all!
If you want to get further into blogging, check out these resources:
