There is a great article in BusinessWeek about blogging, how to make money from your blog, and of course, a list of some of the best. If you are looking for a way to get motivated, this is the article for you.
The thing that I liked most about this article was the wide range of blogs that they detailed. Most articles like this only talk about the biggest blogs that make the most money. And this one does a bit of that as well. For instance, boingboing.net is featured, and they earn more than $1 million/year through ad sales. But on the other side of things, blogs such as icanhascheezburger.com are discussed, and they earn a more attainable $5,600/month.
If you get the chance, check out this article. It is not long, and there is also a short slideshow that features 13 blogs.
If nothing else, it will definitely get you motivated!
As you continue to grow your blog, you will hopefully begin to receive comments on each post that you make. After all, what would a blog be if you were not getting other people involved? Everyday I read five to ten blogs, and some of them have in upwards of 100 comments on each post. Of course, this is not a goal that you will be able to reach in a few days, but definitely something to strive for in the long run.
Another great thing about comments is that you can make a lot of acquaintances this way. Although my blog has only been around for a month or so, I have come to take notice that those who comment really know what they are talking about.
You may have noticed that Danielle from http://www.msdanielle.com/ will leave insightful comments from time to time. And of course, I do my best to head over to her blog and do the same. Her content is quite similar to mine, and this alone has gone a long way in helping me to expand and develop my blog.
Another person who makes regular comments on this blog is V. Neely from http://nutshelljournal.com/. Once again, the depth and nature of her comments are always welcome, and have gone a long way in getting some good conversations started. If you are looking for information on blogging and website development, her blog is a good place to start.
Now can you see why comments are so important to blogs? It is always nice to have people respond to your posts, and anytime you get the chance, you should take the time to return the favor. Remember, blogging would not be the same if your readers were not taking the time to interact with you!Â
Over the past few hours I have found out that planning a blog contest is not an easy task. In fact, it is downright difficult to say the least. I have been slaving over every last detail this afternoon, and to be truthful, I have yet to make any progress. Sure, I have some ideas floating around in my head, but no definite direction has separated from the pack as of yet.
So what troubles have I run into thus far? Here are two of the biggest:
1. As you can imagine, for a blog contest to be successful you need to give away something that readers will want. Should I offer a hot item such as a Nintendo Wii? Or should I stick to a service that will not cost me any money? Right now, I am leaning towards a tangible object; something that readers will crave.
2. What should the entrance requirements look like? It would be easy enough to allow readers to enter by leaving a comment, but at the same time it could be more beneficial to require a backlink or something of the sort. Obviously, asking for something like a backlink could scare some people away.
So for now, I have yet to come up with the final details of my first blog contest. But if all goes well, it is on its way soon enough. Stay posted, and maybe you will be the big winner; no matter what prize I decide on!
