• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • The Famous Blog
    • Blogging
    • Social Media
    • SEO
    • Marketing
    • Design

Famous Bloggers

How To Blog and Start a Business

  • Contribute
    • Submit News
  • Login

Home » The Famous Blog » Blogging for Money: What Makes YOU Any Different?

Blogging for Money: What Makes YOU Any Different?

October 12, 2010 - Last Modified: April 1, 2014 by Rick LaPoint

Blogging For Money

Everybody’s blogging these days

That sounds like a 1950’s Teen Dance Craze perpetuated by savvy adults to make money off the unsuspecting children, who in turn think they are “with it” and “cool.” When MTV first hit the airwaves, kids didn’t realize this symbol of Teen Rebellion was owned by a multi-national corporation and marketed by a top Madison Avenue advertising firm, running a campaign created by a man born in 1931.

So what does that have to do with blogging? For one thing, it illustrates that Experience creates Authority. But there is more.

Music videos had already been around for a long time and always had a ready audience. But according to Advertising legend, George Lois, MTV was a failure until he convinced Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger to scream,

“I want my MTV.”

Did you catch the significance of that? Mick Jagger, snarling symbol of Rebellion, and certainly an Authority figure in the music business, sold out and made a TV commercial for a corporate monolith. Now that was different! Suddenly an idea everyone thought was crazy became an international sensation. And every imitator has fallen flat on their faces. The only competition to MTV is VH-1, which is owned by the same company.

Now then, about your blog…

Conventional wisdom seems to have quickly moved us away from

“a Business Needs a Blog”

to

“a Blog IS Your Business.”

Are you still working to make money online with an Internet Business?

Or are you now a Hobby Blogger who began as a Business Blogger?

Have you invested a great deal of time and effort in a blog with the intention of making money, only to become discouraged over time as things didn’t work out so well?

Nowadays you may be telling yourself that your goal is to “add value” or “build relationships” so your visitors will “trust you” enough to buy from you at some vague date later on down the road.

If you want to sell products and make money, there are specific things you must do.

Selling products successfully

  1. You must own or control marketing rights to a unique product no one else is offering.
  2. There must be a reasonably high demand for your product that is for the most part, unsatisfied.
  3. You must have systems in place for both production and distribution.
  4. You must have a system for acquiring a large pool of prospects from which to convert into clients.

The biggest profits come from selling your own product, or a product owned by someone else who gives you the exclusive rights to sell. That way, anyone else who wants to sell that product must pay you a royalty to do so. In the early 1960’s E. Joseph Cossman made millions by marketing other people’s products. But he always insisted on having exclusive rights to sell them, otherwise he would walk away and find something else.

If you are selling a product that you do not control you are at a tremendous disadvantage because you are not only competing for the privilege of providing a solution, but you are selling the very same solution as everyone else. This is the common model used in the blogging world utilizing Affiliate products as the profit vehicle. It can be done, but it’s much more difficult.

  1. You must acquire more prospects and clients than your competitors. The more competitors you have, and the larger and better funded they are compared to you, the greater impact each will have on your ability to generate an adequate profit. It’s likely that out of all your many competitors, only a few are major players. Those are the ones you must build your strategies against.
  2. You must prove you are “better” than your competitors. If all of you are selling the very same brands of soap, you must make up for that “sameness” with a higher quality of service, price, convenience, bonuses, etc. And you must convince a large segment of the market that you possess these qualities to a greater extent than your competitors. If you are adding value, you must add more and more value in direct relationship to the strength and market position of your competition.

The business model is flawed

  • Authority – Many bloggers write the same articles as their competitors, and sell the same affiliate products for the same prices. That is not an affective business model. Income-level Success with this model requires a very large base of visitors who truly consider you an Authority. Authority means Leadership. You will never have Authority as a copycat. You must distinguish yourself as being way above the herd.
  • Content – Attracting people to your Information is like a magazine selling advertising. The common blog model is to use Information as the draw, and hope that once people have arrived they will decide to buy something. Most blogs are using the same business model that one the most knowledgeable, experienced (and richest) media moguls in the world has declared to be unworkable. Rupert Murdoch, who owns the Wall Street Journal, Fox News, and many others, has declared that he is tired of losing money from giving away free Information. His advertising revenues are not covering his costs, let alone producing a profit. He’s moving all of his online publications to a fee-based model.
  • Purpose – People who come to your blog for the free Information may not care about your Products. In contrast, websites that attract people to the Product first, and also provide free Information centering on that Product in some way, have a much higher probability of making money. Think about Amazon. Amazon is a store, pure and simple. When you go to Amazon you know right up front you are going there to buy something, or at the very least, research a purchase for later. If you want to know more about their products, you’ll find oodles of Information waiting for you. The Information is added value, but it’s not what draws visitors there to begin with.

A working model

A better model is to draw visitors with your Product. Your blog is used to convince them they made the right choice by coming to YOU for that product. That’s the real Niche Marketing model. The blog is the added value.

That brings us back again to the premise of this article. You must have a product or marketing campaign unique enough to draw a significant number of prospects. And then your Information must be unique enough to convince them to buy once they are there.

If your product is not unique, then your Marketing absolutely must be strong enough to overcome the weakness of selling a duplicate or commodity Product. You cannot get away with writing the same things in the same ways as everyone else, because you will NEVER be known as an Authority.

Ask for the order with Authority

Don’t be shy. If you are selling a dynamite product that you believe in and know will be helpful to your visitors, tell them so. Be the Expert about the Product itself, not merely the Subject matter. Then you will have the confidence to boldly ask for the order. Some bloggers are fearful of offending their visitors. They think people will be “turned off” by a sales pitch. If that’s the way you feel, you may as well remove your advertising.

It’s like the salesman who invests valuable time and money in finding prospects, then drives for an hour to see the prospect. After another hour presenting the product, the moment of truth arrives. The salesman asks the Closing Question:

“You don’t really want to buy my product, do you?”

Oh yeah. That’s motivating!

No. The salesman hands the prospect the order form and the pen and shows the prospect where to sign. The prospect becomes a customer.

If your goal is to make money, then be very up-front about it. No one is offended by honesty. Your Content should add value to the selling process. Don’t allow it become an end unto itself.

You are the solution

There are many facets to this subject, and we have only scratched the surface. But I will leave you with this:

People buy when they have a need. Do your best to attract people who are actively looking for that special solution only you can provide. If you are standing in line to sell the same solution everyone else is selling, there are many others out there with a lot more History and Authority than you have, and no amount of SEO will enable you to pass them in Google. But if you must stand in that line, be the blogger who’s writing is so powerful, so unique, so inspiring, you won’t need Google at all, because Word-of-Mouth will bring people to you.

Well, my time is up. This article is already twice as long as most attention spans can handle. That’s why they call this, “The MTV Generation.” 🙂

I can almost hear Mick Jagger screaming now…

Image: Original MTV Advertising by George Lois

ShareTweet

Filed Under: Blogging, Marketing, Money

About Rick LaPoint

Follow @Rick_LaPoint

RickLaPoint has years of experience with Inside and Outside Sales & Marketing. He has developed software products with C++ for anticipating turning points for stocks, forex, and futures, and has given many live presentations teaching technical analysis skills. For more of Rick's Online Business Ideas visit his website.

Reader Interactions

Related Posts

  • Blogging Limiting Beliefs about Money5 Blogging Limiting Beliefs about Money that You Need to Release
  • What’s Up Bloggers! Roundup #8 with Don Sturgill
  • What is Keeping Your Blog from Making Money?What is Keeping Your Blog from Making Money?
  • Start new blog post10 Techniques how to Start a Blog Post to Engage Readers to Stay on Page

{ 49 Responses }

  1. Mani Viswanathan says:
    A Blogger should first conc on providing unique & useful to his readers & then start thinking about monetizing his blog.
  2. Isabel Rodrigues - Pro Blogger Journey says:
    Yes agreed most of us want to earn from our blogs. However its important to first ensure we give the best to our readers.
  3. John says:
    You make some great points here. The key to having a successful business is to find a need and fill it. If you are able to provide a service or product that people need, you can't fail.
  4. satrap says:
    I think most people who want to make money with a blog dont really realize how much time and effort they have to put into it. I mean, before you get started, it seems easy and fun. But when you actually get in the game you realize its a lot of hard work, work that unlike a static website (at least from content point of view), never ends. I juts wish more bloggers would actually add some value when promoting a product or what have you. It seems like a lot of bloggers just want to get their affiliate links up as soon as possible and make money without contributing to the internet community. Thanks for an eye opening post Rick.
    • Rick LaPoint says:
      Hi satrap, The type of affiliate blog you refer to seems to me more like it IS a static web site. It may be a blog format, but as you suggest, is not a real blog. Maintaining a real blog is, indeed, a lot of work. It's like writing a daily newspaper column, and should be approached with that level of work ethic and professionalism. It really boils down to what you want to accomplish. Maybe the blog format isn't the best method. I know affiliates who throw up 4-5 support articles and then it pretty much sits static for years. The goal is not 'community' at all. Nothing wrong with that at all. If someone *does* want the community aspect of a real blog, that's an entirely different issue, with a different set of dynamics altogether. The thing about the blog format, which yours exemplifies well, is that each new article is an additional opportunity to state your case, sell your product, etc. Rick
  5. Ashlie says:
    I think you are right that people are here to make money through their blogs. But for a person just starting out they have to use different tactics to drive in customers. No one starts off as Amazon. Your article is full of examples that are big names. Sure, everyone wants to be a big name but you don't get there over night. Amazon might not need SEO or other marketing strategies because everyone does know about Amazon. SEO is not for Amazon, it is for us bloggers to drive traffic to our website. Once we grow and become popular, we can advertise though word of mouth. Even Ebay and Amazon started with someone and it was with someone searching on Google and finding their website.
    • Rick LaPoint says:
      Hi Ashlie, My point about SEO is that if you are in a crowded market, the bigger, established site will get the top spot in Google. There is no way the little guy can compete on that playing field. That's why you need something that makes you unique enough to get attention another way. A little blogger saying the same things as everyone else, in the same ways as everyone else, and selling the same products as everyone else will simply blend in with the scenery Rick.
  6. Chadrack says:
    Wow Rick, You got my full attention as I could see reason with every of your points. I've really been brainstorming about this subject for sometime now - that is, building a business with a blog. I must say your post has made a lot of things clearer for me. Thanks so much dear friend!
    • Rick LaPoint says:
      Hi Chadrack, Nice to see you again. We never stop learning and experimenting. If you have a good idea, find a way to try it out without spending much money. If it shows promise, take it to the next level and analyze the results. Rick
  7. Tinh says:
    Your model seems ideal but I can conclude that it makes me different since getting my first check from Google long time ago. I thought that my work was fairly rewarded but now, it seems harder and traffic, I mean the targeted ones will make a difference. However, it is not all what we want while blogging. Relationship and authority is rather important too :-)
    • Rick LaPoint says:
      Hi Tinh, I have been to your website. According to Alexa, your demographic is young men specifically looking for ways to make money online. You seem to be exactly what I'm talking about. Your content is the added value to all the products you advertise and review. Rick
  8. Andreas says:
    Blogging for money can still mean that you care about your readers. Professional bloggers know how to can earn money and care about their visitors at the same time, this is what distinguishes them from many other marketers who are just in there for the money.
    • Rick LaPoint says:
      Hi Andreas, You are right, blogging for money means you must truly care about your readers. Many people have the wacky idea that profit is evil, or the way to make money is to cheat your customers. No one stays in business long if they treat their customers as nothing more than a money tree. When selling my stock market calculator, at times I would give a customer a refund because they were asking me questions that indicated to me that they didn't have enough knowledge or experience to use it. They didn't ask for a refund, and I could have kept their money -- even though I knew they would lose their shirts in the markets. But I didn't want to be a part of that. Many people have written to me expressing almost disbelief in how fast I responded to questions or problems, and word-of-mouth spread because of my absolute belief that the customer deserves all the care I can give. All I have been saying is simply that if your goal is to make money, then don't be shy about. Make money :-) Rick
  9. Rose says:
    Hi Rick Thank you for this great post. I am another one who is trying to monetize my painting business, using blog as a great tool. However, I am just a newbie blogger, there's still a big room for improvement. Your post give me a great help.
    • Rick LaPoint says:
      Hi Rose, I've been to your website [blush]. Your business is perfect for a blog, as you have the opportunity to educate prospects and customers about art, various artists, technique, etc. I don't know if you have been to Alyson Stanfield's ArtBizBlog.com; if not, check it out for lot's of interesting ideas. Good luck!
      • Rose says:
        Hi Rick, Thank you. Yes, I have visit Alyson's blog some time before and thinking to visit more often to get the idea. Hehe. ;-)
  10. Biodun says:
    Money can be made from blogging but when you start it all, it shouldn't be your first priority, advertising can work on some content web sites, but it usually works best when the reader is coming to the site to figure out a solution to a problem. If you don’t offer customers something they dearly want, you’re not going to make any money. Good advise :)
    • Rick LaPoint says:
      Hi Biodun, There is no reason why you can't start a blog for the specific purpose of making money. Yes, profit can be your first priority. But that encompasses many things. You must give your customers the very best products you can. You must be ruthless about customer care. You are correct, you must offer what the prospect is looking for. If not, you are simply not the right "fit" for their particular problem. Nothing personal, it's just business. Rick
  11. Pritam says:
    Yes, everyone is blogging now a days to make money but they never know what to do. They used to write posts after posts with making any proper strategy. Most of the bloggers think its only the writing contents and getting comments to become an authority. Everybody try to work for 3-4 months and after getting no results, juts left writing. This article will help such bloggers in some way.
    • Rick LaPoint says:
      Hi Pritam, It's important to understand what you're getting yourself into when beginning a blog. The reason Why is as important as the How. If the goal is to make money, then there must be a goodly amount of business knowledge. The vast majority of new businesses fail. A new blog established for profit is a business, or part of one. All the Rules of business apply. At least with a blog, the start-ups costs are low, and a blogger potentially has time to learn more about business. If they don't, then they will surely fail. Rick
  12. Alex says:
    Rick, I totally agree with you that many online marketers sell the same affiliate products at the same price as everybody else. New internet entrepreneurs enter niches within the online industry that are already highly competitive. For example, some online entrepreneurs start by promoting outdated traffic solutions when everybody else is doing do. Being an authority in what you sell is important.
    • Rick LaPoint says:
      Hi Alex, That's why we see so many domains with the word, "review" in them. Many affiliates who are there simply to sell understand they need to demonstrate the product with first-hand experience in order to have any chance of success. Go to YouTube and you can see all these guys selling the very same product. But at least they are giving their own unique spin.
  13. Alex says:
    Rick, I totally agree with you that many online marketers sell the same affiliate products at the same price as everybody else. New internet entrepreneurs enter niches within the online industry that are already highly competitive. For example, some online entrepreneurs start by promoting outdated traffic solutions when everybody else is doing do. Being an authority in what you sell is important.
    • Milind Bawankar says:
      Same copy paste job..... Nowadays people do anything.
      • Alex says:
        My apologies, the above was my error and it was due to the fact that I am very new to this keyword luv concept. It was not intentional and I will do my best not to repeat. Apologies again to the community.
  14. Keith says:
    You make a very valid point that many people who are new to marketing do not understand the concept of the USP. Various affiliate marketers seem to think that by pacing re-used adverts on their pages then they will make sales, they do not grasp the fact that they have to sell the products. The manufacturers seem not to care either and just allow as many people as possible to bcome affiliate marketers, it's like the old saying, "throw enough mud at a wall and some of it will stick."
    • Rick LaPoint says:
      Hi Keith, Yep. It's better to be the manufacturer, rather than the mud. If you choose a product on clickbank, it's often up to you to find the actual affiliate tools the company offers. And you can click repeatedly to get a new set of codes -- another indication that there is no real control over affiliates. You're right, the only sales method that has a chance is the affiliate's own original content regarding the product. As a general rule, your visitors have already read the company material elsewhere and will recognize a copy and paste job. Rick
  15. The Bad Blogger says:
    This is probably the most straight forward type of content that might wake up those blogger who think having everyday content posting and tons of comment will get them into some sort of authority.... in the niche they are in. Well... I admit I was one of them too... but... after I found my way into playing around with PPC and started making money through PPC using Frank Kern's "Screw Google" technique...my dream of becoming make money blogging die out, although I still blog but, as you had said, it's only adding as a value provider but not the actual business itself. I really doesn't know where blogging will end up in the future but, I dare say.... given the great numbers of blog added everyday.... do you think blogging can really become a business now? I doubt so... because blogging is only a "tools" for your business... the real business is "selling"... not "giving"....
    • Rick LaPoint says:
      You're right, there is a LOT of competition out there in Blogger Land. I have never thought Blogging itself could become a business. The advise out there has always been to *add* a blog to your business. This gives your customers a friendly face they can relate to and interact with. Now let me clarity my babbling a bit. A blog that discusses whatever subject and then hopes to make money with advertised affiliate products in the sidebar probably won't do too well. But a blog that is all about the products and the things the products are related to is probably has a much higher probability of making money. A blog about lavender that just happens to have lavender product in the sidebar won't be as profitable as the same site that rolls up its sleeves and uses and demonstrates those same products in articles. The products are provided as *Solutions* to common problems the readers are already dealing with, so readers become much more receptive to purchasing. Obviously, not every article must be product-centered, especially for a blog owner who is passionate about the subject. But to make money a blog must be Problem-Solution oriented. Rick
  16. Patricia says:
    Hi Rick As a newbie blogger who is about to monetize my blog; this post is timely. Some great content to absorb so thanks. I will be doing product reviews and as my readers have actually been asking when I will be offering products; hopefully I already have some customers waiting to buy :-) There will be a shopfront, products and product reviews as well as my weekly posts so I reckon I will be upfront enought for my blog eh. Patricia Perth Australia
    • The Bad Blogger says:
      Well... asking and buying is two big different meaning... when people ask they might not have the mind set of buying, and when people buy... sometime they don't even ask... I'm not bringing your mood down, just giving some advice so that you can understand you should put yourself as the customer rather then thinking about "hopefully" because planning ahead of your marketing campaign of selling your product will make a very big different in just thinking about "hopefully"....
    • Rick LaPoint says:
      Hi Patricia, It sounds as if you have the perfect situation: a ready group of passionate hobbyists who were just waiting for someone like you to come along. I've been to your site, and you have a very nice community there. People will follow -- and purchase from -- someone with knowledge and leadership. They would never dream of doing the work, or taking the risk, of opening a store themselves. My wife has some humongous lavender plants and a couple years ago had difficulty finding quality information about turning the flowers into oil, so I know first-hand you just might have a winner. You'll never really know until you put yourself out there with your store. I would advise to be ruthless about keeping your cost low and test the waters as much as possible before investing in large inventory. Find out what is "wanted" the most and see how well it actually sells. That can then help guide you regarding how deep to jump in from there. Good luck! Rick
    • Rick LaPoint says:
      Oops, had the wrong avatar there, Patricia. I'm still working on my first cup of coffee :-)
  17. TJ McDowell says:
    What you're saying is true in the business world, so why not the blogging world? If your blog isn't unique, why would people visit? Or I think to be more accurate, you have to provide content that people don't know another better place to get the same information. In other words, even if you provide the same content as someone else, if they're not marketing their stuff the right way, you could still stand a chance. Don't you think?
    • Rick LaPoint says:
      Hi TJ, There's an old TV movie about Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. Jobs said, "Ours is better." Gates replied, "It doesn't matter." History proved Microsoft the better marketer. You are absolutely correct. I've been to your website, and read what you said about all the business you take away from other photographers who aren't willing to work the hours you do. Even if they were the better photographers--they're not of course :-) -- it doesn't matter. You're the better marketer. Rick
      • TJ McDowell says:
        Rick - thanks man! Appreciate the great article here and also appreciate the visit to my blog! Talk to you soon.
  18. Murlu says:
    This is absolutely ace Rick - love your style. It's funny because you hear it time and time again "just keep creating content" while you watch others maybe release one or two posts and then do these huge product launches. You know what it is? Market selection and having the balls to sell a product up-front. I look at a few of my blogs and think: at what point do I turn this into an actual business, how much do I give away while being annoyed that others end up selling the same content I give away for free - there's a line you have to cross (a comfort zone) that puts you in the real of just another blogger and someone kicking ass, making some profits, helping others and building authority - just need to take that step, ya know?
    • Rick LaPoint says:
      Hi Murray, I knew you'd get it. All of us have seen those aggressive high-pressure one page mini-sites, and most of us don't want to be that. On the other hand, I think many bloggers go too far in the opposite direction and are way too timid. Putting yourself out there and doing real selling *does* take courage. But like anything else, sometimes you just have to close your eyes, plug your nose, and jump in. Do what you fear and the next thing you know it's not so bad after all. Thanks for the comment. Rick
  19. Richard says:
    i like this post a lot. It turns conventional blogging wisdom on it's head. But you totally make sense. We should think more about what service our blogs give to our audience that's unique.
    • Rick LaPoint says:
      Hi Richard, I think a certain percentage of bloggers get into it without fully appreciating what's involved. If someone blogs for fun and throws up some ads, that's one thing. But if blogging is a business decision than it needs to be a business. And business means selling. As this old country music producer once told me, "you got a nice tune there son, but it's gotta sell." Rick
  20. Blazing Minds says:
    I've got "money for nothing" racing around in my head now :lol: Great advice for fellow bloggers, but is money everything .... Erm yeah ;) :lol:
    • Rick LaPoint says:
      You know, I was tempted to include a few of those lyrics. They say money can't buy happiness, but it does seem to ease the pain a bit. And I would be willing to experiment with that whole, "happiness" thing just to test the adage... Rick
  21. Dave Doolin says:
    That's good advice about being the expert on the product as well as the subject. I guess that makes me a Blog Post Engineer, for real. I can live with that.
    • Rick LaPoint says:
      Hi Dave, I've been a visitor to your website; you certainly seem like an engineer to me. For real :-) Rick

Primary Sidebar

Our Newsletter

Our Newsletter

Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our blog.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Popular Articles

  1. Top 10 Sites Where You Can Get Paid to Write 115,653 views
  2. How to Get Targeted Twitter Followers Fast 92,036 views
  3. How to Set Half Rating Scale 1-5 (Poor to Excellent) by Words 86,855 views
  4. 66 Awesome Social Media Quotes 78,368 views
  5. 50 Traffic Sources You Should Milk Like Crazy 75,081 views
Schema Structured Data for wordPress
  • Blog
  • Contribute
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Disclosure Policy

Copyright ©2020 · FamousBloggers - All Rights Are Reserved · Powered by Genesis Framework

  • Login
Forgot Password?
Lost your password? Please enter your username or email address. You will receive a link to create a new password via email.
Go to mobile version