Just imagine if you were able to develop one of the most popular blogs in your niche.  Think of how much money you could make selling your products or affiliate products if your blog was niche relevant, admired by all, and visited heavily by targeted niche prospects!

Imagine how big your list would be.  Think about what it would mean when you were ready to exit the business – imagine how much money you’d make selling your “authority” corner of the web.

All of this is within your reach – especially if you follow these 10 suggestions for becoming a better blogger:

1. Survey your readers to find out what they want

Adding a poll or short survey to your blog not only makes your blog interactive (which is a good thing), it also gives you an idea of what kind of content and solutions your readers want!  It helps you to target your paid products as real solutions to the desires of your subscribers.

2. Give your readers info that they’d gladly pay for

Just because your blog is free doesn’t mean you should post content that’s not worth anything.  On the contrary, you should post valuable, helpful, relevant content – the kind of solutions you’re market is already paying for – on your blog.  By doing this, you can build trust and establish yourself as an expert in your niche.  Great free content leads to increased sales of paid products.

3. Write about hot or controversial topics to spur discussion

When there’s a controversy going on in your niche, grab a side and blog about it.  Push a few emotional buttons.  Then create a call to action at the end of your post where you specifically ask your readers for their comments and feedback.  The more emotionally charged the post, the more likely it is that you’ll get comments – regardless of the stance you take.

4. Join the blogosphere discussions

Your blog is not an island.  Start visiting and commenting on other blogs in your niche and join the community discussions.  You can comment directly on their blogs or better yet, write a response on your blog using a trackback link.

5. Optimize your posts for the search engines

You don’t have to optimize every post you make.  But if you make a point to optimize at least one post per week, you’ll see a steady increase in traffic.  Often new bloggers don’t realize the SEO effect of simply publishing unique, authoritative, and relevant niche information as blog posts and comments.

Tip: Use a tool like WordTracker or the Google Adwords Keyword Suggestion Tool to uncover your niche keywords.  Often it pays to choose words that have low competition or that are long-tail and very descriptive.  Then include your keywords two or three times for every 100 words of content.  But don’t practice what some call “keyword stuffing” (adding too many keywords to the point that the narrative becomes unnatural and “spammy.”)

6. Arouse curiosity with password-protected posts

Your visitors can see that your blog has a lot of good content. But then they notice that you lock up your best content behind password protected posts (with the passwords only being available to your subscribers).  You can bet curiosity will get the best of many of your readers . . . and they’ll subscribe to unearth addition valuable content.

7. Learn to create killer headlines

People will decide whether to read your post or not based on your headline.  As such, use headlines that include words like how to, you, amazing, secrets and discover.  I like to keep a swipe file of my own headlines and those created by others that seem especially enticing.

8. Vary your posting style (some long, some short, etc)

Don’t always post a 400 word “how to” article.  Instead, mix things up by posting articles of different lengths and different styles.  I prefer most of my posts to be in the 700-1200 word range, but that’s not a “set-in-cement” standard.  I have found over the years that short 300 word posts that many bloggers use are simply a way for them to rush through this task of posting new content often.  Your posts need to be long enough to be able to give value and be at least somewhat detailed.  By the way, this post is 904 words long.

9. Interact with your readers by answering their comments

Your comment section isn’t just a place for your readers to talk amongst themselves – it’s also a great place for you to interact with your readers.  Since people buy from those they know, like and trust, this simple act of interacting will grow your income.  It will also set you apart from almost all of your niche competitors as it takes time to give individual attention to your prospects and customers.  However, I have found that it is time well spent and it pays dividends over the long term.

10. Make blogging a part of your daily routine

Add “write a blog post” to each and every daily to-do list until it becomes a habit.  If you write just one new and unique blog post per day, in a year you’ll have 365 posts – and a whole lot more readers, subscribers and income if you set things up correctly!

In summary, creating a big, popular blog isn’t a matter of doing one thing.  Instead, you can create a better blog (and become a better blogger) by consistently taking a series of small but purposeful steps.

To you online business success,

Steve Browne

www.SteveBrowneDirect.com

Networking sites and social media are  here to stay (and have been for some time).  Experts predict that this trend will only grow.  It means if you don’t start using social media now – today – you’ll be left behind.

Here then are twelve (12) ideas or tips for using social media to drive traffic to your web sites:

1. Complete your profile

When you first open your Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn or other social media site account, fill out your profile (including a picture).  Doing so makes it easier for people to get to know you and build relationships with you, which will make it more likely they’ll click through to your site.

2. Interact

Social sites are, by definition, social.  They’re two way streets (not monologues).  That’s why you shouldn’t just post content and move on.  Instead, spend a few minutes each day interacting and getting to know people in your network – it will prove to give you long term business credibility and exposure.

3. Include a link to your site on your profile page

This tip is simple but effective:  Give people a reason to click through from the social media site to your blog or squeeze page.  A promise of a free solution usually makes for a good enticement.

4. Ask your followers to “retweet” and repost or share your content

If you create a “buzzworthy” post (such as a post on a hot or even controversial niche topic), ask your Twitter followers to “retweet” it and ask your other social media networks to repost or share it.  You might also ask that they “like” or “clap” for your contribution.

5. Spend time each day growing your network

Commit to spending at least 10 minutes each day growing your network.  You’ll see big results by the end of the month.  You’ll be amazed at the size of your network in six months or a year from now.

6. Link your social site pages together

Link your Twitter account to your Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, HubPages and other social media pages . . . and vice versa.

7. Use your real name so that you’re easy to find

People who want to do business with you won’t respond well to working with “YankeeBaseballBoy72.”  Instead, build trust by using your real name.  Doing so also makes it easier for others to find you on Facebook and similar sites.

8. Post good quality and relevant content in the niche

Social media is not just about networking, it’s also about sharing information.  If you share some of your best information with your network, you’ll get respect, trust . . . and more sales.  Plus you’ll establish yourself as a niche expert.

9. Optimize some of your content

Some social sites (such as Yahoo! Answers and Quora) get crawled and indexed regularly by the search engines.  As such, you may consider optimizing some of your content for the search engines by including relevant (long-tail) keywords two or three times for every 100 words of your content.  But don’t overdo it!

10. Get the most benefit for your time

Instead of trying to interact and build relationships with thousands of prospects, consider building a relationship with a handful of partners. That’s because just one good partner can send you hundreds or thousands of prospects and customers.

11.  Visit the sites of other influencers in your niche

Subscribe to and visit the social media sites of other “influencers” in your niche.  You will learn a lot and know better the topics and issues that are important to those who have strong niche followings.  Often those influencers will see your contributions to their discussions and you will gain credibility with them and their followers.

12.  Put your social media links on your web site and in your content wherever possible

You prospects are more likely to investigate your business if you make it easy and intuitive for your customers and friends to share your content and ideas in the niche.  There are plugins and scripts that put “one click social media buttons” on your site and content which makes it simple and quick when a prospect wants to share your goodness!

Here’s the thing: social media is only expected to grow in the future – and now is the best time to get involved if you’d like to grow your business right along with it. You can start today by applying the twelve traffic-generating, relationship-building tips you just discovered!

To your online business success,

Steve Browne

www.SteveBrowneDirect.com

“What does it mean to ‘niche your way’ to online business success?”

I was asked by a lady subscriber that had decided to operate a home-based business, what it meant to “niche your way” to a business fortune.

I didn’t ask her where she picked up that phrase, but I have a good idea it was something said in an ad or a “how to” article somewhere online associated with running a business in today’s environment.

It’s a pretty trite expression these days, but the concept is still relevant and should be the basis of most every solo information business, in my opinion.

This subscriber’s question took me back a bit – I guess I just assumed that everyone knew what a niche business was and that it was pretty much a “given” for today’s highly segmented business market.

The fact that this soon-to-be new business owner didn’t understand the concept (or at least didn’t know what the phrase referred to) got me thinking that she really needed some help quick.

I asked her what her business was going to sell and how she was going to generate income.

She had a plan to sell some of her family favorite “hand me down” recipes and she figured she’d do that by marketing a cookbook (it sounded more like a simple recipe directory of instructions to me) on eBay and from her own web site.

She further confided that the recipes were so good it would be impossible for her book to not be a hit.

OK.  She didn’t ask for my continued help or advice, so I simply answered her question (at that point) about the term “niche business” and suggested she continue to visit this blog for further DIY help in her new business.

Now I don’t know what your reaction to this lady’s plan or product is, but mine was one of wonder. I wondered how she had decided to go into business in the first place, and how she would do in the very competitive and segmented “cooking” and recipe environment online.

One of the most difficult lessons to learn as an entrepreneur is that there are very few perfect customers for your business. This woman felt that “everyone” would want what she was offering.

I have noticed that some markets are difficult to monetize and recipe sales was one of them.  That’s not saying it can’t be done, but with all the social sharing and free sites handing out recipes right and left, it seemed to me she would have a real uphill battle to sell  her recipes for any significant income.  Maybe I’m wrong … it wouldn’t be the first time!

She had a “shotgun” mindset that she would just blast away without much thought of aiming at a very select or specific target group of customers.  Nor did she seem to go after any particular sub-category of recipes … a big mistake most likely.

Online, there is no greater flaw to a business approach than to try to sell something to everyone.

Very few entrepreneurs, in my experience, ever go deep enough in their niche to become really successful. There is a natural tendency to want to keep your prospect pool as large as possible.

But believe me, it is possible to make a good living on just a few loyal and passionate customers willing to pay a healthy amount for your products and/or services.  Additionally, most of us marketers underestimate the global reach of the Internet and the fact that new prospects are coming online every day.

By focusing on the narrowest of market segments, you increase your probability of success since you are:

• identifying very exactly whom you will best be able to match your products or services to,
• reducing the number of “tire kickers” and marginally interested prospects as you hone in on the “ready, willing, and able” buyers in your specific targeted market,
• providing a very specialized offering, one that is tailor-made for your prospective customers,
• reducing the amount of work you’ll have to do in keeping track of your prospects, answering customer questions, and following up on concerns. You will have more time available to do marketing and create new products if you spend less time on customer support since there are fewer customers to begin with and they are more apt to be satisfied with your product.
• focusing on the few places these perfect customers can be found online. The more specialized and targeted your audience, the easier it will be to locate them and subsequently make contact with them.
• confining your efforts to mostly unique and very specific products. You won’t have to satisfy everyone with a product offering, but can concentrate on developing something that is specific to just a certain narrow audience.

So my advice to any new entrepreneur is to get as specific and narrow in on your business niche as much as you possibly can. Considering the reach and global nature of the Internet, there will still be more than enough prospects for you to sell.

Here’s one more reason to drill down into a niche that many have not considered:  you will eliminate the “heavy hitters” in your marketplace that thrive of selling to the masses!  The Amazon’s and Walmart’s of the world won’t be your direct competition because you will have very specialized (and most likely “custom”) products that are very specific.  Solo entrepreneurs need to pick their battles and not try to compete with the heavy hitters who “stack it deep and sell it cheap!”

To your online business success,

Steve Browne

www.SteveBrowneDirect.com