Professional Blogging For Dummies

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!

Foreword xix

Introduction 1

Part I: Getting Started with the Business of Blogging 7

Chapter 1: Examining Blogging at the Professional Level 9

Chapter 2: Finding Your Niche in the Blogosphere 33

Chapter 3: Protecting Your Blog with Appropriate Business Policies and Practices 55

Part II: Making Money with Your Blog 79

Chapter 4: Monetizing Your Blog Strategy 81

Chapter 5: Selling Products or Services on Your Blog 97

Chapter 6: Making Money from Advertising 117

Chapter 7: Getting Paid for Your Words 151

Part III: Building Your Blog, Step by Step 169

Chapter 8: Choosing Your Blog Name, Platform, and Web Hosting 171

Chapter 9: Designing Your Blog 189

Chapter 10: Developing Your Blog Content 211

Part IV: Maximizing Your Blog’s Success 237

Chapter 11: Getting the Word Out about Your Blog 239

Chapter 12: Responding When Companies Come Calling 267

Chapter 13: Monitoring and Measuring: Why They Matter 283

Chapter 14: Keeping Your Blog Fresh 303

Part V: The Part of Tens 317

Chapter 15: Ten Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them 319

Chapter 16: Ten (Or More) Blogs You Can Learn from Simply by Reading 327

Chapter 17: Ten Tips for Jump-Starting Your Creativity 335

Index 343

Susan J. Getgood is the Principal of GetGood Strategic Marketing (www.getgood.com). She advises organizations on social media and marketing strategies that build brands and drive revenue. Her blog, Marketing Roadmaps, can be read at http://getgood.com/roadmaps/. Follow her on Twitter as @sgetgood. Turn a blog into real income! Here's how you build a blog-based business

If you want to blog like you mean business, this book is for you. Whether you own a small business or work solo from your kitchen table, this book helps you successfully use your blog as a business. How do you find a niche, plan a strategy, promote your blog, and monetize it? It's all here, and more, in this friendly guide.

• It's all in the approach — tackle things the way professionals do, by setting realistic goals and building a business plan

• Know who everybody is — understand your competition, define your audience, and find your own niche

• Get some people — do you need a lawyer? An accountant? Protect your business blog with trademarks, copyrights, and other important practices and policies

• Mind your money — learn how to monetize your blog, set up a budget, and get paid

• Build a blog that brings 'em in — choose a name and a Web host, and then see how to design a killer blog

• Get the word out — promote like crazy using search engines, social networking, traditional marketing, and PR

• Crunch the numbers — explore ways to measure and analyze your results with Google Alerts, Google Analytics, and FeedBurner

Open the book and find:

• What professional bloggers know

• How to turn a hobby blog into a business

• Different ways to monetize your blog

• Why promotion is the key to blogging success

• The pros and cons of selling in your online store or someone else's

• Design tips to make your blog unique

• Interviews with successful blog-preneurs

• Ten common mistakes and how to avoid them

Learn to:

• Find your niche to build a blog-basedbusiness

• Earn income from your blog

• Create content and a design thatattract readers

• Monitor and measure your success