I’ve had a blog for over seven years now, and each year it seems to be harder and harder to make money blogging. With the recent changes in the Google search algorithm, it’s harder than ever. Yet some bloggers are flourishing. They are using some slightly unconventional approaches that have helped them reach an ever increasing audience. Here are five top bloggers and their unique insights…
1. Focus On Your Audience: Michael Hyatt
You need to write for your audience, not at them. A great example of a blogger who has seen his traffic literally explode over the past few years from following this simple tip, is leadership expert and former CEO, Michael Hyatt. I’ve followed Michael since 2006 and in that time I’ve noticed a distinct change in his message and attitude. In the early days his tag line was …
Notice the emphasis on I and the focus on his life. As the years went along his blog became less corporate and less self focused. His pictures are a great example of this
In 2006 he looked somewhat unapproachable, with his arms folded. This morphed into a general corporate look in 2007, and over the past few years has become much more relaxed and friendly.
Back in 2011, Michael discovered some simple techniques that helped him take his blog to a new level where he saw an 80% increase in his blog traffic in just a month’s time..
He did four things…
- Increased Blogging Frequency
- Wrote shorter posts, paragraphs, and sentences
- Improved his SEO
- Became more engaged with his readers through commenting.
He basically opened the door and reached out to his visitors. He became more approachable, and his blog traffic literally exploded.
In his new book, Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World, he states…
There are few things more rewarding than having people comment on your post and engaging directly with your readers
Michael now routinely gets hundreds of comments on each blog post. The secret was focusing on his audience, responding to comments, and writing posts that match their unique needs! Check out how his traffic increased in 2011 with a different approach…
Michael has a great post entitled “Four actions you can take now to dramatically increase your blog traffic,” that highlights his four specific strategies that helped him see such tremendous growth.
2. Build a Tribe: Jeff Goins
Jeff Goins is a writer and blogs about improving your writing at Goinswriter.com. He has built an incredible following over the last year by following one simple technique..
The secret to gaining influence
Some people don’t want you know what I’m about to tell you. It’s a secret long-held by the social elite. It’s what builds dynasties and creates empires. And how even the humblest beginnings can lead to the strongest successes.
But this is important for you to hear. It could be the answer to getting your book published or launching a business. It could even mean landing that relationship that changes everything.
The secret to how I connect with really influential people is quite simple. And brilliantly effective.
I ASK THEM.
This simple influence technique has helped him get leaders like Seth Godin to endorse his e-book and has enabled him to do interviews with famous authors like Steven Pressfield and guest post on top blogs by Chris Brogan and Copyblogger.
Over the past week this influence has helped him create a following that helped launch his new book, “Wrecked,” to the top 50 on Amazon the first day it was out.
3. Leverage SEO: John Saddington
Getting a professional blog template and some good SEO plugins can make a world of difference in the web traffic that comes to your site. Professional blogger, John Saddington has a whole host of Search Engine Optimization tips on his blog at tentblogger.com. His main point is to optimize each post before publishing…
In fact, I spend a good deal of time on each of my blog posts simply optimizing the titles, content, links, and more to make sure that every single blog post that goes out has the potential to be #1. For example, if a blog post takes two hours to write I probably spend at least 30 minutes on just optimization alone! When was the last time you spent that much time on just optimizing your blog post before publishing?
John has a great series on SEO, be sure to check out his helpful SEO posts here.
4. Create Great Products: Chris Guillebeau
Now that you have built your tribe, optimized your SEO, and researched your customer’s needs, you need to build some products to meet their expectations. One of the best ways to do this is to pick up Chris Guillebeau’s new book, The $100 Startup. It is chock full of great ideas for starting your own business and creating amazing products and services.
The book will help you create products that your tribe wants and price them accordingly. Chris describes the book this way…
This isn’t a book about business, at least not as most people think about it. Instead, it’s a book about freedom. It’s for those who want to escape from corporate life, build something of their own to support their families, or just find a way to make more money.
This book is a life changer. It can help you take your ideas and make them into a business reality. I’ve read it through at least three times. As part of his book website he has a great product launch checklist that will help you see what you’ll need to create your own great products.
5. Diversify: Pat Flynn
If you really want to make money blogging, you need to meet Pat Flynn. He blogs at SmartPassiveIncome.com and is one of the most helpful people on the net.
I literally wake up in the morning and see new sales transactions in my inbox, because my businesses are working for me – not the other way around. It’s truly an amazing feeling and I’m so thankful to be living this way (I have to pinch myself sometimes), but I’m happy to give back for all of the fortunate things that have happened to me by helping others achieve the same.
Pat is very transparent and has income reports of how much money he makes each month online and exactly how he does it. If you learn by example, this site is for you. Pat can help you diversify into areas you may not of heard of to help you make passive income while you do other things.
He can help you branch into different areas to supplement your income.
His Welcome Video is the place to start.
Overall: Be sure to check out the sites above, if you have ever wanted to learn how to make money blogging. While it’s not easy, with some proper guidance from the people above you’ll have a new strategy to take your blog to the next level.
