Professional Blogging For Dummies E-Book

Susan J. Getgood

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 453

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2010

Beschreibung

Take your hobby to the next level and turn your blog into real income Anyone who blogs knows that it is a fun, creative way for sharing thoughts and opinions. Now imagine making money from that hobby! This practical, how-to guide shows you how you can get serious about using your blog and implement advertising, sponsorship, partnerships, and affiliate marketing options to turn your hobby into extra income, or even a full-time career. Helpful examples and featured articles with topic experts and bloggers who have built successful business demonstrate how to promote your business or build a blog-based business. * Discusses finding your niche, adhering to legal considerations, establishing your disclosure and privacy policies, and dealing responsibly with review requests * Introduces ideas for advertising and other monetization options and recommends promotional avenues to explore * Suggests creative ways to keep your blog fresh, unique, and interesting * Provides tips for monitoring and measuring your success Professional Blogging For Dummies opens the door to a world of money-making blogging possibilities!

Leseprobe

Professional Blogging For Dummies®

Table of Contents

Foreword

Introduction

About This Book

Foolish Assumptions

Conventions Used in This Book

How This Book Is Organized

Part I: Getting Started with the Business of Blogging

Part II: Making Money with Your Blog

Part III: Building Your Blog, Step by Step

Part IV: Maximizing Your Blog’s Success

Part V: The Part of Tens

Professional Blogging For Dummies survey

e-Cheat Sheet

Icons Used in This Book

Where to Go from Here

Part I: Getting Started with the Business of Blogging

Chapter 1: Examining Blogging at the Professional Level

Knowing What Professional Bloggers Do

Building Your Online Community: The Blogging Advantage

Simplifying Web site management with blogging software

Establishing trust

Extending networking opportunities with social media

Deciding Whether a Blog Is Right for You

You like to write or are willing to hire someone else to do it for you

You have a point of view you want to share

Your customers and prospects read blogs

Exploring the Blog and Business Connection

Using a blog to promote your business

Turning a hobby blog into a business

Developing a blog as a small business

Setting Your Professional Blogging Objectives

Narrowing your scope to find your niche

Articulating your monetization strategy

Evaluating your plan

Setting realistic expectations

Sketching Your Preliminary Plan

Chapter 2: Finding Your Niche in the Blogosphere

Building Your Blog-Analysis Toolbox

Defining Your Audience

Profiling your ideal readers

Understanding reader needs

Identifying the Competition

Getting ready to gather data

Finding your direct competitors

Uncovering your indirect competitors

Analyzing the Competition’s Strengths and Weaknesses

Theme and editorial mission

Posts

Comments

Inbound links

Participation on social networks

Promotions, products, discounts, and giveaways

Discovering Your Niche with a SWOT Analysis

Creating Your Editorial Mission

Chapter 3: Protecting Your Blog with Appropriate Business Policies and Practices

Setting Up the Business End of Things

Knowing why to establish a business entity

Deciding what type of business to set up

Hiring legal and financial advisors

Getting an Employer Identification Number

Considerations for an existing business when adding a blog

Understanding U.S. Laws That Impact Your Blog

Applying Trademark, Copyright, and Licensing Protections to Your Blogging Efforts

Examining the differences between trademark and copyright protections

Understanding the exceptions to trademark and copyright protections

Protecting your work

Respecting other people’s rights

Protecting Privacy

Complying with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act

Protecting your customers’ financial data

Blogging with other regulations in mind

Preparing a privacy policy

Keeping your e-mail marketing campaigns legal

Reviewing the FTC Guidelines for Endorsements and Testimonials

Looking at why the guidelines were extended to bloggers

Complying with the FTC disclosure requirements

Avoiding Libel

Part II: Making Money with Your Blog

Chapter 4: Monetizing Your Blog Strategy

Having Realistic Expectations

Understanding Your Monetization Options

Matching Monetization to Your Business Goals

Starting point: Your blog objectives

Identifying the opportunities

Deciding how hard you’re willing to work

Combining different strategies

Promoting your blog: The key to success

Recognizing How Monetization Can Impact Your Blog Design

Deciding what display advertising sizes you plan to offer

Selling products on the blog

Looking for a corporate sponsor

Creating a Financial Plan

The monthly revenue forecast

Expense budget

Cash flow projection

Deciding Whether to Stay or Sell

Getting Paid

Chapter 5: Selling Products or Services on Your Blog

Selling Products and Services

Selling one or two products or an e-book

Selling many products: eBay, Etsy, Amazon, and e-commerce

Adding an affiliate store

Integrating Sales Authentically

Measuring Sales Results

Becoming a Thought Leader

Understanding thought leadership

Promoting your book

Chapter 6: Making Money from Advertising

Gaining Perspective on Blogging for Money

Getting a Sponsor

Crafting a pitch

Be creative

Selling Ads

Participating in an Ad Network

Pay-per-click

Impression or ad view-based models

Choosing the Right Advertising Network

Understanding Affiliate Marketing

Building Your Affiliate Marketing Program

Chapter 7: Getting Paid for Your Words

Discovering the Ways to Be Paid for Writing

Making Money via Pay-Per-Post

Writing for Other Blogs

Finding freelance blogging opportunities

Positioning yourself for freelance blogging opportunities

Weighing the ghostwriting option

Querying for contributor opportunities

Getting a Traditional Media Gig

Writing a Book

Part III: Building Your Blog, Step by Step

Chapter 8: Choosing Your Blog Name, Platform, and Web Hosting

Naming Your Blog

Coming up with a great blog name

Further advice to help in your quest for the perfect blog name

Creating and Registering Your Domain Name

Determining your domain name

Registering your domain name

Linking your blog to an existing domain name

Choosing a Blog Platform and Hosting

Choosing a hosted service

Hosting your blog yourself

Chapter 9: Designing Your Blog

Discovering How Blogging Software Incorporates Design

Understanding Your Design Options

Deciding Whether to Do It Yourself or Hire a Designer

Design elements a pro can help with

Working with a professional

Pulling Together the Design Elements

Knowing that you need blog specifications

Deciding on a basic blog format

Creating your masthead

Organizing your navigation and sidebars

Sorting buttons, badges, widgets, and feeds

Adding additional functionality

Incorporating advertising

Chapter 10: Developing Your Blog Content

Putting the Final Touches on Your Strategy

Finding Your Voice

Setting appropriate boundaries

Coordinating voice for a multiple-author blog

Creating the Editorial Calendar

Wading through the creation process

Mixing it up without mixing up your readers

Building a Blogroll

Deciding on links to include in your blogroll

Organizing links to help readers navigate

Setting Your Editorial Policies

Establishing a general editorial policy

Creating your comments policy

Grabbing and Holding Readers’ Attention

Making good use of your headline

Keeping readers after you catch them

Using categories and tags

Showing while telling: Using pictures and multimedia on your blog

Part IV: Maximizing Your Blog’s Success

Chapter 11: Getting the Word Out about Your Blog

Telling Your Friends, Family, and Business Contacts

Sending an e-mail

Promoting your blog on your Web site

Using the traditional marketing toolkit

Informing the local press

Making New Friends

Building your blogroll for maximum exposure

Writing posts with links

Trackbacks

Commenting

Contests and giveaways

Getting the Most Out of Your Social Networks

Promoting your blog with your personal accounts

Facebook for marketers

Taking Full Advantage of Search Engines

Search engine optimization

Paid search engine advertising

Chapter 12: Responding When Companies Come Calling

Understanding Public Relations and Blogger Relations

Telling a good pitch from a bad pitch

Doing blogger outreach that works

Developing Best Practices for Working with Marketers and PR Reps

Positioning yourself to get offers

Being aware of red flags that mark you as trouble

Saying no without saying never

Understanding and meeting your obligations

Approaching companies you want to work with

Avoiding Burnout and Staying Focused on Your Objectives

Chapter 13: Monitoring and Measuring: Why They Matter

Monitoring and Measuring Your Blog Activity

Monitoring

Measuring

Understanding Your Readership by Using Analytics

Figuring out how many people read your blog

Discovering how engaged readers are with your blog

Figuring out how people find your site

Discovering which are your most popular posts

Using Analytics Data to Improve Your Results

Making Sense of Advertising and Affiliate Marketing Reports

Using the Reports to Maximize Your Revenue

Using Analytics and Reporting to Forecast

Putting Metrics in Perspective

Chapter 14: Keeping Your Blog Fresh

Jump-Starting Your Muse

Don’t panic!

Mix things up a bit

Open your notebook

Taking a Vacation

Keeping Your Community Engaged

Comments: The currency of engagement

Encouraging comments

Dealing with negative comments

Eyes to the Future: Growing Your Blog

Changing your focus

Adding authors

Finding new ways to make money

Part V: The Part of Tens

Chapter 15: Ten Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail

Succumbing to Shiny Object Syndrome

Overcrowded Sidebars

Buried Contact Information

Forgetting to Check Your Design in Multiple Browsers, on Different Operating Systems

Neglecting to Add an RSS Feed

Not Knowing Your Subscribers

It’s All about Me!

If I Build It, They Will Come

Forgetting to Update Your Copyright Date

Poor or NonExistent Recordkeeping

Chapter 16: Ten (Or More) Blogs You Can Learn from Simply by Reading

ProBlogger

Common Craft

Want Not

Copyblogger

AlmostFearless.com

Duct Tape Marketing

Cake Wrecks

Lip-sticking

Mom-101

GlobalVoices

Bonus Sites

Chapter 17: Ten Tips for Jump-Starting Your Creativity

Capture Ideas in a Notebook

Read the Paper

Reread Your Favorite Posts

Read Blogs

Surf the ’Net Aimlessly

Spend an Hour on Your Hobby

Play a Game

Look Up Childhood Friends on Facebook

Take a Walk

Move to a “Different Window”

Professional Blogging For Dummies®

by Susan Getgood

Foreword by Elisa Camahort Page, Co-founder and COO, BlogHer, Inc.

Professional Blogging For Dummies®

Published byWiley Publishing, Inc.111 River St.Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2010930958

ISBN: 978-0-470-60179-2

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

About the Author

Susan Getgood has been involved in online marketing since the early ’90s, and watched the Web evolve from the first browsers to the interactivecommunities people participate in today. Since 2004, she has helped organizations integrate social media into their marketing strategies to meet their customers online, build their brands, and drive revenue.

Prior to founding her consulting practice, Susan held a variety of corporate marketing and management roles including Senior Vice President of Marketing at Internet software company SurfControl, General Manager of Cyber Patrol, and Director of Corporate Communications at The Learning Company.

Her professional marketing blog, where she writes about blogger outreach, social media, and marketing strategy, is Marketing Roadmaps (http://getgood.com/roadmaps). She also writes a personal blog, Snapshot Chronicles (http://snapshotchronicles.com), and a family travel blog, Snapshot Chronicles Roadtrip (http://snapshotchronicles.com/roadtrip).

Susan was named a Fellow of the Society for New Communications Research in 2008, and speaks regularly at social media conferences like BlogHer, Mom 2.0, and New Comm Forum. She is a co-founder of blog ethics and education initiative, Blog with Integrity (www.blogwithintegrity.com), and was a contributing editor for BlogHer’s Fall 2009/Winter 2010 Digital Parenting/Family Connections project.

She lives in a suburban setting that includes a big backyard full of birds, including two Downy Woodpeckers who are extremely possessive about their territory and have been known to chase off much larger birds. She has two cats who are very interested in making the acquaintance of the birds and spend much of the day plotting, a ten-year-old son whose role model is Chuck Bartowski, and several Scottish Terriers who are determined to trap a skunk of their very own under the deck, so they can play with it any time they want.

Susan loves to talk about blogging and social media, and looks forward to hearing from the readers of Professional Blogging For Dummies.You can contact her at [email protected] or on Twitter at @sgetgood. More information about her consulting and speaking services is available at http://getgood.com.

Dedication

To my mother Sandra and my son Douglas. Mum, because she’s been my first reader my entire life. And Douglas, because he’s the most important one.

Author’s Acknowledgments

Thank you to everyone I know. Seriously, somehow, you had a part in the final product that is this book.

Particular thanks to my friends and colleagues who shared their expertise and experiences with me for the book:

Many thanks to Acquisitions Editor Amy Fandrei, Project Editor Kim Darosett, and the entire Wiley team for all your work in making this book happen, to Ellen Gerstein for introducing me to Amy at BlogHer ’09, and to Yvonne DiVita, for your advice and feedback on the initial proposal. I wouldn’t be the author of this book without all of you.

Finally, thank you to my family for your love and support. It means everything.

Throughout this book, I used real examples and case studies. Some stories became case studies, other information was used as background, but everyone’s contribution was important:

Rita Arens: Surrender, Dorothy (surrenderdorothy.typepad.com)

Joanne Bamberger: PunditMom (punditmom.com)

Carla Birnberg: MizFitOnline (mizfitonline.com)

Janice Newell Bissex and Liz Weiss: Meal Makeover Moms (mealmakeovermoms.com/kitchen)

Beth Blecherman: TechMamas (techmamas.com)

Ciaran Blumenfeld: Momfluential (momfluential.net)

Kristin Brandt: Manic Mommies (manicmommies.com)

Stefania Pomponi Butler: CityMama (citymama.typepad.com)

Megan Garnhum Capone: A Girl Must Shop (agirlmustshop.com)

Sarah Caron: Sarah’s Cucina Bella (sarahscucinabella.com)

Kristen Chase: Motherhood Uncensored (motherhooduncensored.net)

Marie Cloutier: Boston Bibliophile (bostonbibliophile.com)

Kimberly Coleman: Mom in the City (mominthecity.com)

Allison Czarnecki: Petit Elefant (petitelefant.com)

Kevin Dugan: Bad Pitch Blog (badpitch.blogspot.com)

Danielle Friedland: That Danielle (daniellefriedland.com)

Tracey Gaughran-Perez: MamaPop (mamapop.com)

Jodi Grundig: Mom’s Favorite Stuff (momsfavoritestuff.com)

Jaden Hair: Steamy Kitchen (steamykitchen.com)

Edward Hasbrouck: The Practical Nomad (www.hasbrouck.org/blog)

Chris Hogan: Off the Cuff (offthecuffdc.com)

Megan Jordan: Velveteen Mind (velveteenmind.com)

Mir Kamin: Want Not (wantnot.net)

Matt Kepnes: Nomadic Matt’s Travel Site (nomadicmatt.com)

Christine Koh: Boston Mamas (bostonmamas.com)

Preston Koerner: Jetson Green (jetsongreen.com)

Debbie Lawrence: Lagniappe Marketing (lagniappemarketing.net)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg: Sustainablog (sustainablog.org)

Jill Notkin: The Daily Grind of a Work at Home Mom (workathomemom.typepad.com/the_daily_grind_of_a_work)

Sherry and John Petersik: Young House Love (younghouselove.com)

Florinda Pendley Vasquez: The 3 R’s Blog (3rsblog.com)

Kyran Pittman: Notes to Self (notestoself.us)

Devra Renner: Parentopia (parentopia.net/blog)

Debra Roby: A Stitch in Time (astitchintime.blogspot.com)

I’m also grateful to my professional colleagues who were gracious enough to share their expertise on specific topics:

Liza Barry-Kessler: Privacy Counsel LLC (privacycounsel.net) and Liza Was Here (lizawashere.com) (Chapter 3)

Chris Baskind: chrisbaskind.com (Chapter 9)

Toby Bloomberg: Diva Marketing (divamarketingblog.com) (Chapter 12)

Todd Defren: SHIFT Public Relations and blog PR-Squared (pr-squared.com) (Chapter 12)

Yvonne DiVita: Windsor Media Enterprises (wmebooks.com) and Lip-sticking (lipsticking.com) (Chapters 5 and 7)

Liz Gumbinner: Cool Mom Picks (coolmompicks.com) and Mom-101 (mom-101.com) (Chapter 6)

David Herrington: Active Oak, LLC (activeoak.com) (Chapters 4, 5, and 8)

Kami Watson Huyse: Communication Overtones (overtonecomm.blogspot.com) and Zoetica (zoeticamedia.com) (Chapter 12)

Jaelithe Judy: jaejudy.com (Chapter 11)

Kim Kramer: Berluti & McLaughlin, LLC (bermac-law.com) (Chapter 3)

Julie Marsh: Cool Mom Picks (coolmompicks.com) (Chapter 6)

Elisa Camahort Page: BlogHer (blogher.com) (Chapter 6)

Ike Pigott: Occam’s Razr (occamsrazr.com) (Chapter 12)

Jim Prather: YouData (youdata.com) (Chapter 6)

Laura Tomasetti: 360 Public Relations (360prblog.com) (Chapter 12)

David Wescott: APCO Worldwide and blog It’s Not a Lecture (itsnotalecture.blogspot.com) (Chapter 12)

Publisher’s Acknowledgments

We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/.

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development

Project Editor: Kim Darosett

Acquisitions Editor: Amy Fandrei

Copy Editor: Jennifer Riggs

Technical Editor: Renee Wilmeth

Editorial Manager: Leah Cameron

Editorial Assistant: Amanda Graham

Sr. Editorial Assistant: Cherie Case

Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com)

Composition Services

Project Coordinator: Lynsey Stanford

Layout and Graphics: Tim Detrick

Proofreader: John Greenough, Lauren Mandelbaum, Bonnie Mikkelson

Indexer: Sherry Massey

Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies

Richard Swadley, Vice President and Executive Group Publisher

Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher

Mary Bednarek, Executive Acquisitions Director

Mary C. Corder, Editorial Director

Publishing for Consumer Dummies

Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher

Composition Services

Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services

Foreword

Over five years ago when I first met Susan Getgood, the term professional blogging might have seemed almost oxymoronic. Sure, there were a handful of bloggers who had been hired by forward-thinking companies to write nascent “corporate” blogs. There were a couple of blog networks that hired bloggers to churn out regular content. There were a couple of advertising and affiliate marketing options out there (most of them low-paying) through which a handful of very large individual bloggers made some actual money.

But the average blogger wasn’t motivated by monetization. The average company wasn’t thinking about how to engage with bloggers. And the average reader didn’t consider their favorite bloggers to be professionals, let alone brands.

A lot has changed in five years.

Today, the vast majority of the largest businesses are active in some way with social media. They have blogs, Twitter accounts, and Facebook fan pages. They advertise on blogs and hire PR firms to conduct blogger relations.

Today, blogging and social media savvy is a highly sought-after job skill.

Today, the opportunities for bloggers have exploded.

What hasn’t changed in these last five years is the fact that most bloggers are still motivated by passion and commitment. And the best professional bloggers have as much passion and commitment as the ardent hobbyist.

So, driven by passion and commitment, and presented with numerous, sometimes competing opportunities . . . how can bloggers make the most of their opportunities in the most sustainable, professional way possible?

Whether you’re newly drawn to the blogosphere and its opportunities, or wanting to take your blogging to the next level, this book is a comprehensive guide to how to do just that.

A lot has changed in five years. These are exciting times, and I can’t think of anyone better to give you great advice on joining the ranks of professional bloggers than Susan Getgood . . . a veteran marketer, long-time blogger, and leading voice on best practices for businesses and bloggers alike.

Elisa Camahort Page, co-founder and COO, BlogHer, Inc.

Introduction

According to the Pew Research Center Internet & American Life Project, nearly 80 percent of U.S. adults use the Internet. These people use search engines to find information, consult review sites for product recommendations, make travel arrangements, and read blogs. With numbers as large as these, big business has embraced online marketing through blogs and social networks in a big way: More than 90 percent of the Fortune 500 companies use social media in some fashion and nearly 16 percent publish blogs.

On the other hand, small businesses and individuals have had difficulty tapping into this mother lode. Small businesses typically don’t have big budgets to devote to experimental marketing programs. Every dollar matters, and the new online forms are largely unproven.