Big Foot Web Marketing

You have figured out what you are going to write about, sort of. One thing to hone in on is your niche. A specialized area of something and not make your site too broad. For OUR purposes, the broader you go the harder it is to make money from advertisers and to rank for keywords. Throwing out a wide net on a particular subject will garner you more long tail search results. This doesn’t mean write a little bit about a lot of things- its the reverse. Write a lot about a specific topic- your niche.

Don’t worry if its too niche- you can ways broaden it out later.

Lets say you have chosen to do a candle making site- good- excellent in fact. A site JUST about soy candles made with essential oils might to too specific- but you can always give it a try. I did a site once on VERY obscure paper craft and did very well with it – no one else was doing.

To Make Money Blogging- Don’t Have Too Broad A Subject for Your Blog

The one thing to avoid is something that is TOO broad. When I first started out blogging for a profit I figured I would do a “Home and Garden Lifestyle” type site. I could cast a REALLY wide net. I would have kinds of ads and make tons of money.
I could write about latest trend in tulip bulbs, my favourite recipes, kids clothing, where to get a good deal on linens, etc. Wow, was I wrong. I did okay in terms of traffic. I made next to no money. I have very little return on my time and effort or little ROI ( Return On Investment)

Context, Context, Context

One reason to specialize is because of advertising. You will be setting up a Google Adsense Account. In fact that will be one of the first things you do once your site is up and running. Google Adsense works by scanning your site/page/post and looking for CONTEXT. It’s called contextual advertising. Google will look at your posts and overall blog and decide what ads are the best fit for your site.

Staying on Topic Will Make You More Money On Your Blog

When you write on your blog whatever you write about should have your voice or spin on things. On a political blog writing about a hurricane might be different than writing about the same hurricane on a science blog. Staying under the “umbrella” of your sites theme or point of view will help your rankings- and keep your Google AdSense en pointe. When your ads consistently reflect what you write about- the greater the chance reader will click on them and visit the sites. You are aiming for a higher CTR ( click thru rate) . Having a blog with relevant ads on it will always give you a higher CTR than one that doesn’t -ALWAYS.
My blogs typically have a CTR of 10-12%. ( Note these number have gone down since mid-November when Google changed the way their adsense blocks were clicked The number is about 20-30% less for most of my blogs). Work SMARTER not harder!

Remember – when a reader clicks on an ad- that is money in your pocket. Everybody wins- the advertiser get people visiting his site that are interested in his products , you make a little money and reader may find a new resource.

With my Home and Lifestyle site I had posts on bedding one day, then how to get rid of chipmunks the next. my favorite fudge recipe, etc. And the ads reflected what I posted. So just under my fudge post appeared an ad for rodent extermination. Yikes.

You want people to click on those ads. In order for them to do that- the ads that appear need to be something they are looking for. If you have a candle web site and all you right about are candles and candle related ideas then your ads will reflect that. You might get ads from candle supply companies, packaging companies, etc .

I should say at this point that you are not writing FOR ads. You are writing for your readers and yourself. The best way to make money on your site is to give them quality. Offer great content. Give them helpful suggestions, point them to other quality sites, LINK TO OTHER SITES and share your ideas and experiences. Speak the truth. If you try to “fake it” it will show. Remember this above all:

If You Build It, They will Come

This is your mantra.

Another friend of mine has an excellent blog. A HUGE readership. It is is “hobby” and he he does it purely for fun and experiments with different ideas. The site makes very little money. And that’s okay. He doesn’t do it for the money. He has other sites that make him money. He makes a zillion dollars doing other things- part and parcel because he is always experimenting and even learning what doesn’t work is a great lesson. The reason his site doesn’t make money? His site is too broad. It is a news site. Every day he posts different news items from around the world that interests him. He makes some income from the site because of the large amount of traffic- which is another way to make money from a site but what makes it interesting and relevant for this series- which is about making money from a blog- is that it has such large readership and generates small revenue from contextualized ads. By all means- start a blog that has not particulat point of view if you want to wait a whilel to establish loyal readership and you think you can generate enogh traffic. My adivce is to start simple and learn before you move on to more competive areas.

To sum it up- go niche but go broad but not TOO broad.

e.g.
niche: scrapbooking
broad: Crafts
Too broad: Hobbies

eg.
niche: Training Dogs
Broad: Dogs
Too Broad: Animals

niche: Living in an RV
broad: RV’s and Trailers
Too Broad: Travel

If you have an idea and not sure where to go with it- I am happy to help. You can either post here in comments section or email me.
Next Topic: Come up with a name and choose a domain and blogging platform

Tags: Blog for Money 101 Series, Google Adsense by Lisa Stewart
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You need to understand what a blog is and find out what makes your juices flow.

What exactly is a blog? If you ask most people at a dinner party they will probably say something like a diary or online journal. They are only partly right.
You need to look as your blog as a Content Management System. (CMS) . Blog is just a hipper way of saying CMS. It is an EASY, fast, use friendly, convenient and effective way to manage and publish content on a website. Don’t think of it so much as a journal but as a way to publish (put online) your ideas, information, pictures, instructions, etc onto the Internet and onto a website with next to no knowledge of code. It will also organize it for you in way that is EASY. Easy for you and easy for your readers. The format is also liked by search engines. This will be important to you at some point but for now don’t worry about it.

You will use a CMS to get your ideas out on the Internet and get people who are interested in what you have to say to visit your site. You will make money because people will pay you for access for that targeted group. You will have your first advertiser in your first week, using Google Adsense.

What is The BEST Blog Subject to Write About? Write What You Know

One of the first step to starting up your blog is to figure out what you want to write about. Everyone has an area of expertise or passion. When you are on the Internet what do you spend your time looking for or reading? What are your hobbies? When you are with your friends what do you talk about? What INTERESTS you? What are you good at? What do you want to be good at? What do your friends and family call you to ask your advice on?

What you are an “expert” in. You are BRANDING yourself as an expert. This is what you should blog about. You will be writing about this topic at least twice a week so it better be something you like. You will become an EXPERT and spread your expertise out into the world.
Don’t necessarily write about what you THINK will make you money. I think if I wrote about how to win at blackjack then I might make some cash- however I have no idea how to win at blackjack; I have no desire to know and certainly don’t want to write about it. I do like origami however – and I could write about it at length

If you love to scrapbook write about that. You can share your favourite scrapbooking sites, your latest project, pictures of your Memorial Day pages, write about latest scrapbook magazine layouts, review a new tool. Your advertisers would be scrapbook supply stores, hobby shops, photo processing sites, etc.

A friend of mine was asking me about about what she could blog about. She said she didn’t have time to pursue any hobbies or didn’t really have much to offer that anyone would be interested in. My friend homeschools her EIGHT children. She could write about managing a large family, how to cook for a big family, she knows about raising kids, she knows about homeschooling, she live in the country and grows organic vegetables, she has TONS of funny stories- and lots of sad ones. She has home birthed and breastfed her kids.. she has lots of information that people are interested in.

Have another friend who wanted to start a bog buy no clue what to write about.. She is a professional writer. She is a mom to 2 boys with Asperger’s Syndrome, She is Divorced. She recently discovered she is a Lesbian. She is a Musician. She has tons of stuff to share. She could blog about being a mom to kids with Autism and share resources and ideas. She could right about coming out late in life. She could write about being a Published Writer and how she got there.

My 10 year old daughter has a blog. It is for family only- you will soon understand that I am very careful about giving out too much personal information- and will suggest you do the same. Her blog is about what she loves- fashion. She writes about what trends she likes, what outfits I should be wearing and how to dress a Webkin.

My husband has a motorcycle blog. He writes about his favorite bike, the bike he owns now and the bike he wishes he had. When he changes the oil he write about how to do it- and what not to do. His advertisers are auto insurance companies, guy stuff like audio and stereo equipment, magazines, etc .

Spend the next few days thinking about this. Write down some ideas.
If you are TOTALLY stuck post here and I will offer you some suggestions.

Tags: Blog Start Up, Blog for Money 101 Series by Lisa Stewart
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Third part of this series went up on Search Engine Guide Blog

Secrets of a Professional Link Builder Part 3: Content, Content, Content
Posted by Lisa Stewart November 2, 2006

We hear this over and over again from SEO experts. Content is king. Never has it been more important. Content not only give visitors a reason to come- and stay on your site and gives others a legitimate reason to link to you but it also will increase you chances in appearing high on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).

It used to be called niche searches but it in the last couple of years the more formulaic “long tail search” term has emerged. The basic principle is that you have bulk of businesses that all are competing over the same phrases. Let’s say 80 percent of related sites are all going after the terms “widgets” and “buy widgets” and maybe 20 other similar keyword phrases. In a market where you may have hundreds or thousands competitors being able to rank for handful of top keywords will take a lot of money and a lot of time.

Why spend all your money and time on 20 terms you may NEVER rank for when you can cast a wide net and go after HUNDREDS of terms you most certainly will rank for with success. Think of it as promoting more of lots of things (in this case keyword phrases) and less of a handful of things. “Sell” lots and lots of combinations of words rather than trying to sell the same 20 words everyone else is selling.

It’s why page rank (as in Google Toolbar page rank) really means very little. With right terms you can make any site rank in search results. You may not rank for highly competitive terms, like “widgets” but most certainly will with combinations of words using “widgets” like “buy widgets in Wichita” or “widgets made of wool”

The easiest way to “sell” or promote lots of phrases is to cast a wide net. Do this with content- lots of content. Pages and pages of well optimized content. I recommend to all my clients that the first thing should do is start a blog. Not only will it brand themselves as an expert on “widgets” but it will create pages of content with all kinds of keyword phrases. A blog the easiest way to publish SEO friendly pages onto your site. No ongoing ftp-ing and no extensive html knowledge required. If you can write an email you can publish a blog.

If you have ever looked at your web starts or analytics you may have been surprised at the way some one found your site. I have an AdSense blog and a while ago I noticed that one word popped up a couple times in my stats- was a craft project I was working on. I experimented a little and worked this word into a series of posts . Within a few DAYS , not only was there a permanent spike in traffic but my AdSense income went up. Using that information on a small hobby site and applying it to other blogs took my earnings from a cheque every couple of months and enough for a night out at the movies with the kids to a cheque each month that pays for a new minivan. ( Yes, I admit it- I drive a minivan! Gulp.)

Write about what you know. Write about your passion. If your work or business is not something you know about or even feel passionate about then work at becoming an expert or find a business venture you do feel passionate about.

When writing content or writing for your blog write about your passion or your business or service. Write about how daily events affect your business. Write about anything new or in the news that can relate to your product or service. Offer advice and tips that can’t be found elsewhere or in one place.

If you are a real estate agent, this time of year you can write about how the winter weather forecast affects housing prices, is Christmas a bad time of year to sell? Why do mortgage rates go down in an election year? Curb appeal and Christmas decorations, etc. Tips for moving in Winter, etc.

Are you making and selling your own bath and body products? Write about the ingredients and where they come from, what their properties are. Offer a free recipe for a home made “something” that kids can do for Christmas gifts, creative ideas for wrapping presents, ways (and products) that help cope with holiday stress.

All of these pages of content will contain potential keywords. Keeping it topical will increase your chances of people finding you (will also be easier to write) and coming back.

I will often see sites with outbound links to other sites that offer information that relate to their products. For example- an online florist that links to a wedding planners site for advice on planning a wedding. This is a missed opportunity. Provide this information yourself. With my own blogs I use MyBlogLog to see where people are clicking OFF the site. I can look for patterns and provide that information myself. If people are looking for it- provide it. Why send them somewhere else?

If creating original and valuable content on your site will increase your ability to be found in search engines, give people a reason to link to you, brand yourself as an expert and drive more targeted traffic to your site. What are you waiting for?

Recommended Blog Software: Wordpress
More information on long tail search and its marketing applications: Wired.com

Other Parts in this Series
Secrets of a Professional Link Builder Part 1: It’s the Keywords, stupid

Secrets of a Professional Link Builder, Part 2: Anchor Text Away!

Tags: Blog for Money 101 Series, Blogs and Blogging, Internet Marketing and Blogs, Web Site Marketing by Lisa Stewart
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