A “blog” is a website that usually presents information in a list-type set of entries. These entries can be anything, including commentary, descriptions of events, photographs, or videos. They’re usually interactive, so that readers can leave comments or messages on the entries.A blog can focus on a wide range of subjects or a very narrow topic. The choice is up to you! Creating a blog to express yourself can be a lot of fun, but it’s also possible to make money from a blog
Consider popular blog genres. Blogs fall into various large categories, and considering some of these categories can help you narrow down your interests. Remember: for you to make money, people have to read your blog. Here are some popular blog genres:
- Personal blogs. Successful personal blogs almost give readers the impression that they know you. They can feel like a lunchtime chat with the blogger, or an insight into their daily life. If you are good at expressing your personality online, this could be a good genre for you.
- For a good example, see “The Bloggess,” a blog that provides a humorous and entertaining look into the daily life of a woman with social anxiety.
- Special Interest Blogs. These blogs can offer tips and tricks about your favorite hobby. They can share knowledge about a topic you’re passionate about. These work especially well if you have a unique perspective you can bring to your topic.
- For a good example, see “Curly Nikki,” a blog by a Black woman who is passionate about helping other women learn to love their natural hair.
- Another good example is the famous “Perez Hilton,” a phenomenally successful celebrity gossip blog focused on dishing the dirt about famous people.
- Industry Blogs. These are specialized to a particular field or industry. They’re a good choice if you’re already an expert on something and want to share that expertise. Because you have to constantly stay on top of new information and developments in that industry, you need to make sure you’re comfortable with researching and understanding your topic.
- For a good example, see “The Copybot,” a marketing blog by copywriter Damien Farnworth. He tackles how to write the best copy for online sites with lots of concrete examples and helpful lists.
- Political Blogs. If you have an informed perspective on politics you’d like to share, or you want to communicate your political views in an interesting, entertaining way, a political blog could be a good choice for you. Political blogs often take a particular “side,” but they don’t have to.
- For example, “PolitiFact.com” (a Pulitzer Prize-winning blog owned by the Tampa Bay Times) runs fact checks on important news stories of the day, assigning them a “truth meter” rating that helpfully breaks down inaccuracies in news reporting.
- Another example of a political blog is “Michelle Malkin,” a blog run by conservative pundit Michelle Malkin. This blog states the blogger’s personal political opinions in an engaging way
Choose your topic. The best blogs focus on topics that you, the blogger, are passionate about. This topic can be anything that you believe you have enough to say about to interest others. It works best if you can find a “niche” that is not being fully exploited.There are several important things to keep in mind when choosing your blog topic:
- Who is your audience? There are millions and millions of blogs in the world, so it’s crucial that you know exactly who your target audience is so you can draw them in.
- What does that audience want? For example, if you’ve decided your audience is “stay at home moms,” you’ll need to consider the possible interests and needs of that demographic. Make sure you don’t just make assumptions. Look at other blogs that cater to your audience to see what they’re delivering.
- How qualified are you? Good blogs convey a sense of familiarity and ease with the material. Excellent blogs usually have bloggers who are personally qualified to talk about their topics. If you can’t think of at least 25 separate posts off the top of your head about your topic, you may not have enough familiarity with the topic to keep your content going.
- How sustainable is the topic? Make sure that you choose a topic that is likely to stay relevant in the future. You also need to be able to come up with new items to blog about on a very frequent basis. For this reason, try to avoid a topic that’s toonarrow -- you’ll run out of things to say.
- How much competition do you have? Do some research to determine what already exists about your topic. “Celebrity gossip” is a hugely popular topic, but there’s also a lot of existing competition that could mean your blog gets lost.
- What is your ”spin”? To set yourself apart from the crowd, you’ll need to do something different and interesting with your content. Will you have an interactive focus? Focus on bizarre day-to-day news events instead of celebrity dish? Whatever you choose to blog about, make sure that you have ways to approach it creatively and that you can consistently offer new, exciting content.