Archive for the 'How to' Category

With all of the hype about blogging, it?Äôs nice to see an article like the following put things back in perspective.

Seven myths about making money from a blog

Niche blogging tries to generate enough content and interest on a continual basis to get traffic

More and more business people are realizing that a blog can be a viable marketing tool in building readership, attracting traffic and prospects to their websites. But there is a simpler use for blogs: to build and manage standalone and content rich websites.

Marketers call them niche blogging – and using blogs in this way has become very popular in the last year. The business model and purpose behind this blogging application is quite different compared to other blogging applications. For instance, instead of supporting your product or service, you use a blog to generate enough content and interest on a continual basis to get traffic.

And the great thing is that of course, you can do anything you want with the traffic, including monetizing it.

And that’s where this article comes in as we look at Seven Myths regarding making money from a blog, and which will continue next week in an article on how to get started in niche blogging:

1. Blogging is the shortcut to website traffic

I can dump any content I wish to the blog and get some immediate traffic. Ok, I am exaggerating a bit here, but really, people are expecting a shortcut to website traffic as a result from blogging.

The fact is, building readership is a gradual process just like a conventional website. Blogging takes some aspects of them, like syndication, remote notification, interactivity into an easy or almost seamless process.

There are some advantages of using a blog — as we have covered in previous articles — but still the whole process takes time.

2. Making money from blogging is easy

This is another myth popularized by aggressive marketers. Usually they are trying to sell their product to a group of clueless individuals.

It?Äôs true, if you have a lot of time and own some knowledge about researching keywords, building link popularity, do joint venture, and other marketing stuff, you can use a blog to drive traffic to your blog faster, but still it takes some effort. This is true especially if you are building a long term business, not just a blog that will be banned by search engines because of low quality content (spamming).

3. Building a blog is fast

Fast, easy, simple, instant. All of them are strong words that can hypnotize you to buy a product. Don?Äôt expect your weblog to be an instant hit. Most popular blogs have been there actively building content for at least a year. Even those who get a lot buzz usually have a head start, either by the readership they?Äôve already owned or through some other marketing methods.

4. Blogging requires little to no work
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I received the following press release today. It looks like an event that is definitely worth attending. Would be perfect for the blogging newbie.

New Communications Forum to Take Place March 1-3, 2006 in Palo Alto, Calif.
Tuesday January 31, 11:30 am ET

PALO ALTO, Calif., Jan. 31 /PRNewswire/ --

Who:    Six keynote presenters, including:
* Rebecca Blood, author of The Weblog Handbook
* Shel Israel and Robert Scoble, co-authors, Naked Conversations
* Charlene Li, Principal Analyst, Forrester Research
* Jeremy Wright, author, Blog Marketing
* Jory Des Jardins, blogger, Pause and co-author, More Space

... and the world's most illustrious experts, including well-known
and respected journalists, media and communications experts,
bloggers and research fellows of the Society for New
Communications Research

What:   New Communications Forum (http://www.newcommforum.com )
An intensive conference designed to bring journalists and media,
marketing, PR and advertising professionals together to learn how
to use new media tools such as blogs, wikis, RSS feeds and
podcasting to enhance media communications, corporate branding,
marketing communications, public relations and employee
communications initiatives.

When:   March 1-3, 2006
3/1 -- Pre-conference Boot Camps:
Blogging 101, Podcasting 101, Videocasting 101, Wikis 101

3/2 & 3/3 - Full conference sessions
Tracks include:
* New Advertising Strategies
* New Approaches to Corporate Communications (sponsored by Ragan
Communications)
* The New Media & the New Face of Journalism
* The New World of Marketing

Where:  Sheraton Palo Alto
625 El Camino Real
Palo Alto, Calif.

For more information or to register, visit:
http://www.newcommforum.com or call +1 650-331-0083

About New Communications Forum:

New Communications Forum is one of the world’s leading conferences focusing on blogs, wikis, RSS, podcasts, videocasts and other emerging media and communications platforms. New Communications Forum is a focused conference specifically designed to teach PR, marketing, advertising and media professionals how to harness the power of new media tools for corporate branding and internal and external communications initiatives. The forum provides an in-depth, hands-on exploration of the future of communications. Presenters and instructors are senior professionals from around the world and journalists from leading media outlets, all of whom have pioneered the use of these new tools and technologies. They will share their in-the-trenches experiences as early adopters of these new tools. More information can be found at http://www.newcommforum.com.

New Communications Forum 2006 is sponsored by Eastwick Communications, Kontiki Lawrence Ragan Communications, ProfNet/PR Newswire, Qtags, Socialtext, Tekrati, Stormhoek Wine, Voce Communications and the Society for New Communications Research (SNCR).

ITConversations.com has a fantastic podcast on corporate blogging that provides great suplimental material to my ?ÄúGetting started?Äù post Here is a description of the show.

While customers today are exposed to almost constant marketing messages, many businesses struggle with keeping control of the corporate image. The current climate of the internet, the proliferation of content creators, and the ease with which a company’s customers can communicate with each other and with potential new customers have begun to limit the amount of control a company can exercise over the information the public can access about the company and its brands. In this climate some companies are taking steps to make sure that they are participants in this new level of discussion, and not just the subjects of it.

The speakers in this panel represent companies from small and non-technical to large and computer-related, from non-profit to for-profit, and they discuss aspects of business blogging from the corporate culture required to make business blogging successful to the various reasons that drive companies to blog successfully and the sorts of tools that can help make a business’s blog more successful. Along the way they cover issues of blog promotion, customer blogging, tracking blog subscription rates, and determining the value blogs and bloggers offer to a company.