I spent some time yesterday manning the live chat interface we have running on the Become A Blogger Premium sales page.
The live chat is a little innovation Gideon and I came up with to help any person who is reviewing our sales page by making ourselves available to answer any questions live.
At any given point in time around 30 to 50 people are viewing our sales page during this week, while the program is open. Being available to answer questions live is a great way to help these people decide whether our program is right for them, but it also gives us valuable feedback on where people are “stuck” in their decision process.
We don’t man the chat 24/7, but whenever we are online and particularly just after we send an email about the program, we are there. When we’re not there, we just remove the chat interface.
I strongly recommend you consider some kind of live support during a launch campaign or even in general on any sales page. Demonstrating your commitment to your customers and showing your availability at the point of purchase, is a powerful persuasion tool.
What If You Don’t Know What To Blog About?
During the time I spent on the chat yesterday morning there was a common theme of questions.
The biggest “sticking point” people are facing when considering becoming a blogger is what topic to cover. The language used to describe the issue varied and included the following -
- I don’t know what topic to write about
- I’m not an expert at anything
- I don’t know whether my topic can be profitable
I really feel there is a strong insecurity and a general lack of understanding around what makes a profitable topic. This is a unique challenge for bloggers, because we don’t necessarily have a product to sell, especially when you first begin. In essence, your content is your product, and if you choose a product no one wants, then obviously you’re not going to make money.
The Subtle Elements Behind Choosing The Right Subject
I’ve long been a student of niche marketing and the initial choice of topic for a blog is the same as choosing a niche for any business. You’re choosing what market to enter with the hope of success, whatever that success is for you.
In most cases success includes some kind of monetary reward, but with blogging it’s a bit different, because for many bloggers, it’s just as much about creative expression, recognition and reputation as it is about raw dollars. You have to consider your potential to make money and whether you want to immerse yourself in that industry to potentially become an expert.
People don’t always look at blogging as the path to preeminence. Some just create a blog, stick some adsense on it, get some content created through outsourcers, then move on to the next blog. I’ve never been about this method because it lacks a soul. It’s purely about money and not about passion, and I don’t see that as something that will last long term.
It’s worth studying this method however because the people who use it are very good at figuring out where the money is, which unfortunately for those of us who focus on passion, often struggle the most with. There are plenty of struggling bloggers with a lot of passion and no dollars, so you owe it to yourself to use whatever resources you have available to make sure you’re not one of them.
The holy grail of blogging is a mix of what you love and what you can get paid for – and paid really well. Most book authors never make money from their work, yet with a blog you can put in as much effort as you would to write a book, and end up with a very cash positive asset. Best of all you can do this independently, from your home, without the need of distribution from a publishing company, who would take a large chunk of your profits.
I’m Going To Help You Find A Topic
Since I see the issue of topic selection such a major problem for people, especially those entering the blogging game for the first time, Gideon and I have decided to do something special for the new members of Become A Blogger Premium 2.0.
If you join before we close on Friday at midnight EST US time, you will qualify for a special live coaching session we’re going to do with this group if students to specifically address the challenge of topic selection.
The coaching will be live and we will do it next week once the program begins in earnest after we shut the doors to new members. This is ONLY for members, the public will not be invited and it will be focused 100% on the issue of topic selection. I hope we can also help some people live on the call by having a dialogue with anyone struggling to find a good topic.
There’s already resources in the program to help with topic selection, but I see this issue as something where you need as much help as you can get, including a chance to ask me and Gideon directly for help, so we’ve decided to put in the extra effort.
Once you have your topic, the rest of the blogging process can be quite straight forward. It takes work of course, but you will be comfortable because you will know what you stand for and who you are trying to talk to. That’s the magic of clearly understanding your audience and what you want to be to them.
If that sounds good to you, sign-up today so you qualify for the coaching session…
www.becomeablogger.com/signup/
I’ll speak to you soon,
Yaro Starak
Blog Mentor
PS. If you want to read more from me on the subject of niche selection, check out of my previous article – How To Simplify The Niche Selection Process
I have read all of these posts with great interest. Many of them resonated – especially those talking about finding a niche when one has multiple interests and passions. I have many experiences to draw on in my life – I’ve been around awhile (-; – and there are lots of things that I want to write about. My thought was to build a blog around those interests and create (as Michelle mentioned earlier) categories from her ideas and topics. I’ve been playing around with variations on that idea for awhile, but I read in many places that I need to find a niche to start with. And that’s what paralyzes me – I want to get going …
This approach sounds like it would work for me (I could then throw the categories against the wall and see what sticks – for me as well as for readers). I look forward to further discussion – the topic is big for many of us.
Ann (and everyone),
I once read that a so-so website (or blog) will attract more
visitors than no website at all. The best thing is to just try
out some ideas. I went through 5-6 blog ideas until I finally
found one that I love to write about everyday. And now the
traffic is coming!
-David
Yaro, your blog offers so much value, not least this blog post. I’ve downloaded all your MP3 interviews and are currently working through them on my ipod. I’ve recently launched a new internet marketing blog, Launchfinder.com, and I need all the help I can get. Thanks for everything.
I have been reading about blogging and am thinking about doing it. You hit the nail on the head. What do I blog about? I will not start a blog until I find the answer to this. That is why I did not join the Become a Blogger Premium 2.0 this time. I want to finish the RoadMap to Blogging and discover what I want to blog about. I also will decide if I even want to blog. I see it has to be a passion and a joy to do. It can not be about making money. I do look forward to the learning experience and hope I do find that niche that is so essential to a successful blog.
Thank you for your honesty in what you say. It is helping me decide how I want to proceed.
Great information. Quite inspirationL. Keep up the good work. You will make a blogger out of me yet.!
If you can’t think of anything to say/post, or you have nothing really to say, don’t bother. The web is awash with people who have blogs simply for the sake of having a blog, and they are easy to spot.
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If I dont know what to blog about, i just talk about recent events in the news
If I don’t know what to blog about, i just talk about recent events in the news.
I think the best thing to blog about is something you are interested in. If you try to blog about something you don’t know anything about it will come through in your writing.
Though I have already found my niche, this was a nice short read none the less.
I would definintly recommend doing something that you are passionate about. Blogging for the long run is difficult if it’s a topic that is not all that interesting to you and you are motivated by money or some other reason.
How do you decide what to write about when you have a topic. What do you do to keep fresh topics coming in each day. What should I do to have fresh material consistently.
Great post and focus on what is really important for beginning bloggers. The right niche coupled with passion will make content production an easier task.
You definitely want to chose your niche marketing with the biggest potential for success. Otherwise what is the point? Thanks for the post Yaro.
I’ve never really had problems with the picking of profitable topics that fit in with my passions, I think my biggest problem has always been maintaining quality while blogging consistently.
I would suggest picking a niche you really care about and love. Unless you are doing this full time, it is very difficult to maintain good content on a blog if your passions aren’t behind it.
Of course if all you want to do is make money, and THAT is your passion that drives you.. then the niche doesn’t necessarily have to be a topic you love.. but it will show in the quality of your content.
I would suggest to write something as per your passion. Thanks for giving great tips
My friend asked me about what niche topic he should choose for his blog. And then i said, if in 2 years you are not able anymord to produce an articke with such a passion and love, then it is not your niche topic.
Daniel Likin