Big Business In Blogging

If you don't know it by now you better do some research as blogging is a big business opportunity you are missing out on.

By committing yourself to an online business blog you are opening up a whole new world of creating your own success. The secret is to be motivated enough to take your online business idea all the way.

Why do people start a business blog?
What does it take to run a business blog?
Can I make money with a business blog?
What does it take to build a successful online business?
How does a business blog make money?
Big business in blogging - Summary

Why do people start a business blog?

Most bloggers start blogging for the fun of it but sooner or later get caught up in the hype of how others are making it big with their blogs. For a guy like me, the figures they throw around are huge and nobody can resist trying them.

I have learned to stop chasing and focus on creating content instead. Sharing useful content is the original reason why most people start a blog.

I feel that all comes to those who are patient and sooner or later your efforts will kick in and that is when you start looking at making some money.

The times are changing and the 9 to 5 work environment is becoming more and more unreliable. Technology changes have also made it easier for anyone with drive and passion to have a crack at breaking free from corporate slavery.

No longer is worldwide trading only limited to the few selected corporate companies. The freedom to explore worldwide audiences for business opportunities is now in the hands of any individual.

The world has really become your oyster.

What does it take to run a business blog?

After reading many articles about blogging and how others made it big I realized one thing and that is that everybody who made it big is in the business of telling others how to get rich blogging.

What you seldom see is that there are millions more who are making zero from blogging. Or let's say it is not a favourite topic. Who wants to go out there and tell a bunch of motivated bloggers that they are wasting their time?

Well, maybe my statement is a bit overboard but not untrue at all. All I am trying to say is that it is like anything else in life, some make it and some just don't.

The message I am trying to get across is that unless you try it you will never find out. Life is all about experiences and blogging can become one of yours. I get my satisfaction from writing and getting my ideas out there.

Blogging as a business is no different than any other business you will start up. It requires the same amount of energy and effort to turn out successful over the long run.

That is also why you must approach and treat it as a real business start-up.

Can I make money with a business blog?

So is there still room to make some money with a blog? With the research I have done I can say with confidence, that yes you can. I am sharing with you what I have learned through my research and hopefully save you some time.

Asking if you can still make money from a blog is like asking if you can make money from a coffee shop. It works the same as all involve planning, target audiences, and delivering a quality product.

People do not stop opening coffee shops because there are so many already. You open your shop and put the effort in to create happy customers by delivering what they need.

The world is a big place with a lot of people and they all have different tastes. This is where the opportunity comes from and true entrepreneurship will make use of it.

I have found some common factors among many successful blog writers.

They are all highly motivated individuals.
They deal with failure positively.
Has excellent marketing skills.
Are persistent in what they do.
Has been doing it for a long time before making it big.
They are professional and knowledgeable in their niche.
Tried and failed many times before.
Mostly comes from areas where population numbers are high.

ProWriting Aide - For better article writing

What does it take to build a successful online business?

The main question is do you have what it takes to make some money? Relating to the above factors you can if you have the characteristics that make a successful blogger. If not practice it while writing and one day you will be making money.

You must be energetic as maintaining a blog is a 24-hour job.
Be thick-skinned and don't get distracted by negativity.
Market relentlessly everywhere and every second of the day.
Never stop believing that you are doing great.
Learn new things every day and try it all until you make it big.
Make sure you become a recognized expert in what you do.
See failure as an opportunity to try something different.
Create your own audience by connecting to the world.

At the end of the day, blogging is very hard work but it is yours and you are in charge of the decision-making. Like any other career, you followed you will reap the rewards when the time is right.

How does a business blog make money?

There are many ways that a blog can be monetized to provide you with a consistent income stream. The difference in how you are going to do it will depend on the effort you want to put into it.

Monetization is not an easy task and takes time but the sooner you start the sooner you will start seeing results. Most people are afraid of the hard work it takes and will give up too quickly before they see results.

Below we will have a look at some of the popular monetization choices most beginners will try their hand at.

Selling a physical product
Bring an existing business online
Selling digital products
Affiliate marketing
Print on demand
Dropshipping

Selling a physical product

Most people selling physical products will turn a hobby into an online business and market their final products for sale to the following they create through marketing strategies.

Not only will this market include hobbyists, artists, and other creative individuals but also entrepreneurs who source products at a cheap price and resell them for profit. Many collectors will go around craft markets, garages, and boot sales to stock up on products related to their niche.

A lot of people do resell through platforms such as eBay, Gumtree, and other classified pages. The income they make from this adds to the excitement of sourcing the right products and running it as a serious business can provide a nice income.

The difference between this and dropshipping is that you are responsible for the product from source to customer service.

Bring an existing business online

In the case of already having a brick-and-mortar store with a product, it is ideal to start a blog as a jumping stone to the wide world out there. Doing this you immediately increase your potential customer base as more and more people are shopping online today.

It just adds another dimension to your existing business and provides you with a growth opportunity that might have taken you years to achieve.

Selling digital products

Maybe one of the easiest businesses to start online is to use your creativity and start a blog selling digital products. There are basically thousands of products you can offer as there is a huge market out there.

With a growing web, there are millions of creators looking for material to use. These creators are relying on time and do not have the excess time to create their own digital products. This is where you can step in and make a difference.

Here are some examples of digital products that will always be in demand:

Web graphics such as banners, buttons, icons, and other web images used to enhance their creations
Web templates are another favourite as not everybody has the skill to develop websites
eBooks take time and many creators would jump for a good ebook as an addition to their offerings
Spreadsheets are used by many and can get too complicated for a beginner to bother with
Article writing is another way of getting into the content creation market. Everybody is always looking for good web content to fill their websites
Low Content books such as printable notebooks and journals
Educational printables are also becoming more popular as people are looking for innovative ways to teach
Graphic design is most popular as your designs can be sold to individuals and corporates alike
Photoshop and other graphic design templates are popular as it makes life so much easier for designers short on time

As I said these are only a fraction of what you can target with digital products. Once you get the idea and browse the web you will come across thousands of other ideas. Basically, everything you see can be offered as a template or finished product.

Affiliate marketing

Maybe the most popular but the hardest to get going as it requires patience and a lot of work.

Affiliate marketing is a service you provide to online businesses where you do the promotion of their product and get paid a commission for every sale made. Your blog can be the starting point for visitors to find out more about the product before being directed to the sale.

That is why review sites and step-by-step tutorials on products are the best way to create interest and possibly make a sale. I see it as a vacuum salesperson going door to door to give demonstrations that are so impressive that the buyer will continue and make the purchase.

There are many free tutorials online that will teach you the game of affiliate marketing but make sure you do not get sold a get-rich-quick scheme because that is not what affiliate marketing is.

Print on demand

Totally free and very easy to start is a print-on-demand business but it takes a bit of work to integrate it with your own blog.

With print on demand, you create the design only, and if somebody wants it on a product they forward the design to the service provider who will do everything else for you.

Print, delivery, and customer care will leave you with small profit margins. Selling volumes can make up for this if you focus on good designs and marketing.

You can visit my POD store on Teepublic to see an example.

Dropshipping

Dropshipping is the most profitable but not for the faint-hearted as it requires financial input and continuous focus that can be out of reach for most beginners.

With drop shipping you find a product supplier to work with in order to create a full-blown online business. You drive visitors to your store or blog from where you take orders and payments. You take your markup and pay for goods to be supplied with the rest.

From here the order is placed with the supplier who manufactures and supplies the product directly to the customer who placed the order. As the owner of the business, you are responsible for everything except manufacture and supply.