Make Your Blog As Money Maker

BUILDING YOUR BLOG EMPIRE

Deciding What Type of Empire You’ll Build

So you want to build an empire. Unlike historical empires that relied on unique military
tactics, advanced technology, and slave labor, your empire will rely on a single person:
you. You’ll design it, you’ll build it, and you’ll people it with readers who return to it day
after day, becoming in a small sense virtual citizens of your Blog Empire and eventually
your happy customers. You’ll use the same tactics as others, but you’ll use them more
efficiently. You’ll use the same infrastructure as others, but you’ll use it more effectively.
You’ll compete with other empires for your readers’ time, and you’ll do so successfully.
A Blog Empire is an empire of customer service and you will not only be its ruler, you
will be the servant of all who enter it. Sound like fun? It can be, if you design your
empire with one person in mind: you.

It seems a dichotomy to say that a Blog Empire should be built around the provider
rather than the customer, but there’s a simple reason for it: it will be you who updates it
day after day. You will be the editor, the designer, and the main focus of the site. Your
expertise, your hobby, or your insight will provide the service that the citizens of your
Blog Empire want. You can’t sell from an empty cart and you’ve got to be in it for the
long haul. That means you’ve got to provide content that features what you know and
what you love. You will be the key, and every part of your Blog Empire will be designed
with that in mind.

However, before you can lay the foundations, we need to review a few options. Let’s
take a look at a few successful blogs and generate some ideas. Then we’ll come back
for a good look at the one who can make it all work: you.

The Makings of Empire: Choosing Content That Provides Value

Unless you are a successful newspaper columnist or a famous actress who is able to
draw hordes of readers by your reputation alone, your blog is going to need a theme. It
may be a narrow one, like “Libertarian politics in the Massachusetts Governor’s race.” It
may be a broad one, like, “art focusing on life and love.” But whatever your theme, your
blog is going to keep readers by presenting them with the valuable content they expect.
Not coincidentally, it’s also going to be a theme you love and will not be tempted to stray
far from.

Because there are literally millions of blogs available, successful blogs reach one kind
of reader, and they do it well. The reason is obvious: a reader who might share your
interest in model trains may not share your love of fine wines. He may not care about
your vacation in Paris. Unless he’s a personal friend, he may not care about your new
car. That means you’re going to have to pick a subject and stick with it. A good starting
place is the following list of popular blog categories: political, spiritual, society/culture,
rant, business, hobby, technology, art, news, reference.

Of the most popular blogs, measured by Technorati.com, a popular blog search engine,
a significant percentage are political blogs. This should not be surprising: with the
exception of religious opinions, opinions on politics are some of the most fiercely held
and vociferously debated. Political opinions make great blog fodder. But there’s a
catch: everyone has an opinion, but not everyone has one that millions of readers will
take time to read. Successful political blogs, whether the liberal Daily Kos, the
conservative Red State, or the law-oriented Volokh Conspiracy, all have one thing in
common: they have important and timely information (not just opinions) that can be
relied upon by serious political junkies. They have high-level political connections,
access to rumors, or expertise to share. If you are connected in politics or law and have
serious light to shed on the issues of the day, a political blog may be your Blog Empire.
The same case holds for spiritual blogs, hobby blogs, and technology blogs: the
successful blogs are those run by experts (that is, of course, why we’re going to build
your empire on your own expertise) who can tell readers what they don’t know and want
to know.

There are, however, successful blogs that are not run by experts; they are run, in fact,
by someone who had a brilliant idea. As of this writing, the third most popular blog on
Technorati, linked by more than 25,000 other blogs, is Post Secret. On Post Secret, the
readers do all the work, creating a picture that represents a secret the contributor wants
to anonymously reveal to the world. The secrets may be “I once made a student repeat
a grade so I could flirt with his father for another year,” or it may be “I find it amusing
when my blind dog crashes into furniture.” In every case, the entries chosen are
skillfully presented (the blogger IS an expert in picking interesting content) and readers
laugh, they cry, and they relate. But most importantly, they return again and again.

Post Secret illustrates that all you need is a well-presented good idea to build a blog
empire.

News, link, and reference blogs require an abiding interest in one subject and the
tenacity to find relevant, timely information. Successful ones cover their subject so well
that they are considered valuable references by serious news hounds. A good example
of this type of blog is Zero Intelligence. Zero Intelligence gathers every relevant story
about “zero tolerance” drug and weapons policies in public and private schools and
presents them with commentary. It follows stories through the press cycle to resolution
or disappearance and serves as a trusted clearing house for relevant information.
Another reference blog is “Literally, a Weblog,” which documents the popular press’
misuse of the word “literally.” If a writer needs an example to make a point about the
use or misuse of “literally” in the arts or media, “Literally, a Weblog” can provide a fitting
example for any story.

No idea is too small, too silly, or too pretentious so long as you present your content in a
manner that makes your blog a valuable reference. If you have an abiding interest in a
specific subject more than any other, then a news, link, or reference blog may be may
be the place to start.

The final category is, alas, the largest category of blogs and the one that makes up the
smallest percentage of professional blogs: the rant blog. Rant blogs are generally
“brain dump” blogs, where the blogger simply writes what’s on her mind, tells about her
day, or whines about her boss. It is a cathartic project, designed for the blogger’s
mental health, and while it may be interesting - at least to the author - it will seldom
draw much of a crowd. Unless your life is interesting enough to write a book about, the
rant blog is to be avoided. If your life IS interesting enough to write a book about, it’s
probably best to write the book.