Every blog I have ever read has a purpose. The question you need to ask is, if the purpose of the blog you are reading is to make money? Just about every blog I have ever read serves some form of self-promotional purpose for the author or business producing the blog. Self-promotion, however, should not be confused with a blog that is a business. What’s the difference you ask?
A self-promotion blog
You’re reading one right now. I write here for the same reason as many bloggers. To raise awareness of my personal brand. Each post here increases my authority with both you and search engines like Google and Bing. As you return and read more you see the reliability and consistency of the daily posting schedule here. Not a post merely for the sake of posting but a post that shares what’s top of mind for me on that day.
If I’m doing this right you are gaining trust in me and what I have to say with each passing post. You are gaining trust because the reliably and consistency of my posts gives my voice authority. Other ways you may be gaining trust in me are because:
- The content I share here is real – it typically has to do with the projects I am working on at the moment.
- The content I share is is authentic – I don’t make things up. When I shared recently that I helped a partner business sell QIP.com for tens of thousands of dollars that was a fact I could backup with a receipt from Escrow.com.
- The content I share is sustainable – I’ve been posting here since July of 2005. Since July of 2010 I have posted every day. As long as I’m working and growing my business interests I’m not sure why I’d stop.
I did not start this blog to directly sell you anything or to directly make money. While I now utilize this blog to promote my growing public speaking activities it was started simply to share information about color and the graphic arts industry. Self-promoting from day one, but not an e-commerce site selling information products.
A blog that is a business
The moment I launched Qip.com as a blog earlier this year the intent was to make money and ultimately sell the domain. The design of the site, the name of the site, the choice of content and posts was all planned. The goal was to rank number one or two when searching for certain terms. Based upon that success I have purchased a domain and am working on duplicating that success. The model will be slightly different and we’ll be selling and promoting other people’s products from day one. I’ll keep you posted here as InformationProductsSelling.com moves closer to going live.
The content and products still have to be useful. The difference between a blog that is a business and a blog like this one is the focus of the content. Honestly, the content here can be a all over the map. That’s OK because my business activities and thinking can be all over the map. It’s a representation of who I am. InformationProductsSelling.com will have content focused on – well – the selling of information products. The goal will be a number one or two ranking when searching for Information Products Selling.
At least that’s my take on the difference between a blog like this one and one that is set-up and run as a potentially profitable venture from day one. What do you think? Have I gotten this right of do you see it differently?