Writers Unbound

The 2009 Blog Money Guide
The 2009 Blog Money Guide Page 9
Blogging Ideas for Different Industries and Niches
One of the most common questions I get is “How can a blog help with with my (interest,
current business)?”
Another common question is what usually follows “Can I make (some or more) money by
blogging in (some specific) niche market?”
I give you several examples below how blogging can drastically increase cash flow, gigs,
branding, traffic, search engine rankings, and lead to opportunities and connections you might
otherwise never dream of achieving.
Affiliates
Most bloggers make the most money from affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing is where you
sign up to become a registered affiliate of a product or service. When you send traffic to
recommended products or services through your affiliate link, the resulting sales earn you a
commission.
Affiliate marketing can be done in every market that has a significant base of interest from
web surfers. And it is the easiest way for people to get started making money with their blogs
with no product or their own and not enough traffic to attract big advertisers. (Yet!)
So if you don’t have a profession, service, or product of your own to promote, this will be how
you get started making money with your blog. I have a special section on affiliate marketing
with your blog in this guide, and a video you should watch that gets to the heart of exactly
how bloggers make the most money with affiliate programs.
Writers
The biggest reason most writers don’t get into blogging isn’t their fear of writing. It’s their
fear of the technology and a misunderstanding as to how easy blogging has gotten in the
last couple of years. Yet nothing is better suited to showcasing your writing talent online than
a blog.
If you are a writer looking for writing jobs, making connections with publishers, or simply
wanting to get paid for writing on your own terms (through advertising on your blog or several
other monetization methods) having a professional blog will put you in an entirely different
playing field.
For writers, a blog is an in depth resume, portfolio, and business card. It is where you
The 2009 Blog Money Guide
The 2009 Blog Money Guide Page 10
attract a following, generate buzz, and make it much harder for people to ignore you (such as
publishers, editors, or people looking for freelance writers).
Authors
Much the same as above. Authors are artists more than they are geeks. But needing to be
a geek is just the stigma attached to blogging rather than the reality. Many authors now use
blogs to keep in touch with their readers and further monetize their popularity.
It’s no secret most authors don’t get rich by writing a book and getting on Amazon and
Barnes and Noble bookshelves. Today, authors who blog are doing really creative things to
generate revenue for themselves out of the following they gain from their books.
Would-be authors have an easier time getting published if they can point to all their
followers and fans on their blog when pitching publishers.
Speakers
You need speaking gigs. The best thing you could do to increase your notoriety and value
as a speaker among the event coordinators in your market is to showcase your talent with a
blog. It really sets you apart from your competitors because most have not and will not take
the time and energy to put together such a presence online.
If you want event coordinators to really take notice of your skills, put together a blog with
some decent original content and any videos from previous speaking gigs to showcase your
talent. You will get more speaking jobs with a great blog!
Coaches/Consultants
You need an easy way to showcase your value as an expert in your field to attract new
clients. There isn’t an easier way to do this and land far more clients than with a blog.
You attract leads with your content, impress them with your deep well of knowledge in your
market, and groom your readers to become perfect clients. (We all know what its like to get
bad leads, and worse, take on problem clients who haven’t been fully vetted!)
Your blog lays out who you are, what you do, and sets the stage to attract the ideal clients
you’d like to work with.
Service Providers
Bob Parsons, owner of Godaddy.com, has a popular blog. There’s nothing more straight
forward than a domain registrar. So why blog? Because he attracts far more domain buyers
The….