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Can you really make money, let alone big money, with a blog? I’ve recently ran across two eye opening stories I want to share with you that could get you thinking in new ways about blogging.

First, let me mention that there is a lot of ignorance in the world regarding blogs and blogging. I think blogs and blogging are very much misunderstood in the same manner that marketing with the internet and the use of cutting edge technology is. Blogging is not just journaling any more. Communication and quality information is found increasingly on blogs. The software being used for blogging is becoming the most powerful interface for websites and sharing information. New websites now can be designed very effectively with a blog platform such as WordPress and for a fraction of the cost.

Yet, there are many still, especially those in the old guard, academia, and simply uninformed that continue to respond to the subject of blogging as if it were damaged goods, untrustworthy, and a plain joke. How foolish.

I read recently in the New York Times about the founder of MacRumors.com deciding this month to go into being a full time blogger. He, by the way, was an M.D. What began eight years ago as his hobby, is now a full blown six-figure a year business and a blog valued well into seven figures. His story contains some great pointers for those of us studying the how to of this medium and creating an income from it.

Don’t miss this next one. Yaro Starak posted an interview just the other day on his blog, Entrepreneurs-Journey, (click this link to read it). It is about this guy who just under two years ago started out writing about his passion and today is one of the top sites for his niche. I read the PDF transcript and will follow-up listening to the MP3 of it as I think it is that good. There is a sense of unpretentiousness in the information. Often, what you find is just hype. In this report, there was very specific information.

I encourage you to take a look at these articles. While they seem to be the example of the needle in the haystack, what might happen if more actually did it their way? I find the similarities of these two success stories very basic. Here’s my summary:

  • They focused on a personal interest that was also an interest to a large audience. This is very important. Traffic, the bottom line to a blog’s marketability, will never develop from a small source.
  • There was a DAILY commitment to their subject. This kept the information relevant and timely.
  • The big secret to relevant search engine traffic was the wording of the post’s Title and then including some kind of originality (opinion) in the post. Interestingly, this is not the first time I have read this. This is a great future topic/discussion to have.
  • Initial design was NOT important. The sites were not really attractive when they got started. It seems that the information found there was the draw. Information that was honest and opinion based.

Read them for yourselves. I would be interested in your thoughts.