by Vince Rogers
It is often said that content is king when it comes to building an online presence for your brand. One of the most cost effective and high impact ways to generate and distribute the high quality content that you produce is through publishing a blog. As a subject matter expert in your field, it should not be very difficult to regularly produce high-quality content in order to generate a very informative, well followed blog. The content that you generate and a place to publish it are all that you need to get started on the easy road to “Infopreneurship”.
If you are not already blogging, the process for getting started is fairly simple. There are quite a few popular blog publishing services that can be used to create your own high quality blog. Some of the more popular outlets are TypePad, Blogger (which is owned by Google.com) and WordPress. You can easily determine which of these (or the many other) sites will fit your particular needs. The most common approach to making that decision is through either utilizing trial and error, researching comparisons online or by soliciting referrals from other bloggers.
Personally, I use the Blogger platform to publish my highly popular blog Disguised Limits (www.disguisedlimits.blogspot.com) Disguised Limits provides readers with useful articles and special updates about local networking opportunities, offers and discounts, business and sales leads, plus an abundance of other useful business and life enhancing information. When I started to blog, going with the service that had the word blog in the name just made sense to me. You might choose to go with a more scientific approach.
Disguised Limits is the #2 blog in the Opportunities category on NetwokedBlogs.com. NetworkedBlogs.com is a blog directory that is maintained by Facebook.com. Blog directories are services that list popular blogs, much like an on-line index or card catalog to assist blog followers. Using blog directories enables your blog to gain greater exposure to a wider audience than just relying on being followed by random users of your chosen blog publishing service.
There are also local blogging professionals that can provide you with their expertise to help you build your dynamic blog-based branding machine. Atlanta social media maven Judi Knight of New Tricks (www.newtricks.me) is one of the most sought after and well respected website and blog design experts around town. Knight is a passionate proponent of using social media along with blogging to empower entrepreneurs to “….capture their “essence” in order to build their brand and grow their businesses….”
The most well designed and highly informative blog on the internet is nothing without followers. I cannot emphasize strongly enough that the best way to gain a large captive audience of loyal followers is by regularly generating high quality content that is relevant to your target audience. To promote this content and increase their blog’s following; most bloggers utilize their existing networks on the most popular social media platforms Twitter, FaceBook, LinkedIn etc. Some other useful tips to growing your blog’s readership and fan base are to:
1) Use the blog traffic analytics provided by your blog publishing service to determine the readership patterns of your existing followers.
2) Make widgets or gadgets (apps that link your blog to other websites) available for readers to place on their social media pages, personal websites and personal blogs.
3) Interact with your blog followers by being responsive to their comments on your blog.
4) Follow as many other blogs as you can and regularly interact with other bloggers.
Now that you’re the publisher of a successful blog with an avid following, what’s next? You are the owner of your blog content and therefore free to publish your articles in any other online and print publications. For most bloggers utilizing their blog to grow their business is more than enough payoff for their effort and ingenuity. However, some savvy bloggers may want to take it a step further by using their blog content to enter the realm of information marketing.
Information marketing is the business of selling Books, e-Books, CDs, DVDs, Webinars Podcasts, etc. to consumers seeking essential knowledge that they can use to enhance their business or professional lives. The most fundamental information products are “inspirational“ “motivational” “self-help” or “how-to” books. Turning your blog content into a book provides you with the perfect opportunity to enter the domain of legendary “Infopreneurs” such as Robert Kyosaki, Jim Rohn, Les Brown and Atlanta resident Dennis Kimbro.
The traditional route to getting a book publishing deal is one that you might consider. However, self publishing is the easiest route to bringing your book and or e-book to the public. As with the process of publishing your blog, several easy to use print-on-demand, self publishing sites exist on the internet. Some of the notable names in the game are Lulu, AuthorHouse, xLibris and iUniverse. These sites provide users with easy to use tools that allow authors to download simple text documents and images from their own computers to create actual hardcover or paperback books. Within a matter of minutes, you can produce a bookstore quality publication or e-Book that customers can purchase or download from their own computer.
I recently made the great leap into the information marketing space by turning my own blog into a book. "The Very Best of Disguised Limits" book is now available to buy or download free at www.lulu.com To market and promote your book; you will utilize many of the same tools that are used to market and promote your blog. The book has allowed me to create new business opportunities, expand my number of blog followers and make a few dollars from selling the book as well. The positive response to the book has been more than I ever expected. By following the steps I have outlined, I am sure that in no time flat you can also make the successful conversion from mere mortal blogger to successful Infopreneur “rock star” as well.
