How to Plan A Profitable Blog

Profitable blogs are well-planned from the start. They are designed especially for making money. Here are some tips to plan a profitable blog.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• debit card or credit card for signing up with blogging host
• digital camera
• photoshop or equivalent
• printer
• computer with XP or Vista
• external hard drive

1. Decide on two or three topics that you want to blog about. Choose topics that you are knowledgeable about. Do not narrow the topic too much or you will run out of new information to write about. For example, a blog about children will have many more possibilities than a blog about newborn babies.

2. Research your topics to see which one will be the most lucrative. A popular topic without too much competition for readership will offer the best chance of earning money.

3. Research different affiliate programs for their requirements so that you can plan your blog to meet their specs. For example, some companies will not advertise on blogs that have profanity or a sexual theme.

4. Closely examine only the most profitable blogs and websites in your chosen niche. Look at the layout of their pages --- where the advertisements are placed, the colors used, the size of the font, where the text elements are placed in relation to the accompanying photos. Screen capture and print the blogs so you can see similarities side-by-side.

5. Find a blog theme that you like and that is similar to the most profitable blogs. They make money because they have good placement of their advertisements in addition to the informative and entertaining content. If you cannot afford to pay for a theme, then look for a very similar free one. There are many free blog themes with wordpress being one of the most popular.

6. 
    

   Write quality posts that are about 250-300 words each. Write enough posts for the first two weeks online.

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   Take digital photos to accompany your posts. Use either Photoshop or one of the free, open-source alternatives to make whatever changes are necessary.

8. Choose a web host and sign up for the one- or two-year package rather than month-to-month. This is because some advertisers do not want to invest their money in a short-term venture.

9. Upload your theme and the first two or three posts. Sign up for RSS feed but change the settings so only the first 3 or 4 lines of your post goes out to the reader. This will bring people to your blog to participate in the community and, hopefully, to click on the ads.

10. Start advertising your blog on places where it is free. If appropriate, then mention it in the forums.

11. After a few weeks, when you have developed a readership and 20-25 posts, then apply with your chosen affiliate program. You may want to have more than one affiliate program as many bloggers do.

12. Buy an external hard drive to back up your posts and photos. Sometimes the web host will crash, or even shut-down the site. And there is always the possibility that your computer may have a problem. An external hard drive will make life a lot easier should you need to restart from scratch.
    
    If you plan, research, and prepare before ever going online, then you will have a better chance of developing a profitable blog.

[vintage]

on 9/12/2009 great tips

[besesitos]

on 9/10/2009 Great Article! Good tips on blogging for profit! Thanks! Hugs