Imagine brilliant turquoise waters.
Crystal clear by the beach.
Fading to the most delicious tone of turquoise as you scan toward the shallows, then, toward the horizon.
I spent hours laying on my back like a drunken, slightly less furry sea otter, doing the dead man’s float at gorgeous Pandawa Beach in Bali.
Pantai Pandawa (Bahasa Indonesia?) is stunningly beautiful, being nestled in a serene, peaceful setting.
But you need to ride the motorbike through a large gateway area, dominated by harsh-looking rocky cliffs, the road being carved through a quarry, in order to reach the sweet-looking, pretty beach.
Monetizing your blog offers a similar experience.
The legions of bloggers asking the same old “How do I make money blogging quickly?” question on Quora, the Warrior Forum and through social media greedily, lazily or flat out desperately want to teleport to the postcard perfect beach instantaneously,
Unless you have access to Jetsons-like technology – alert me if you do – it ain’t gonna happen.
This crowd fails to realize that to get to the beach you need to ride through the desolate, stark, rough-looking gateway area. No way around it. And to make money blogging you need to engage in gateway activities before raking in that sweet blogging chedda.
The ride in and out of Pantai Pandawa gets bumpy as hell sometimes. I almost broke a motorbike axel once or twice.
Ditto for gateway blogging activities.
But a neat thing happens over time; by spending significant time engaging in these actions, honing your skills, bumpy roads become smooth, the journey gets easier and your motorbike trip to the beach becomes more effortless and enjoyable. Just like how it’ll become easier and more pleasurable to work these strategies and profit through your blog.
These actions are the work aka play aka skills you will practice, and develop, to make money through your blog.
Income streams in and of themselves are worthless. The blogger who does these things, primarily for fun, over the course of months and years (5-6 days a week) eventually kills it with their blog. In a good way. Profit-wise. (Just in case you thought I was advocating murder.)
Let’s dive into these 11 gateway activities to make money blogging.
1: Comment on Top Blogs from Your Niche
Blog commenting is the best gateway activity for new bloggers, or for bloggers who need to get their mojo going.
You share your thoughts. For free. On huge platforms.
Effective blog commenting – strategies shared in this eBook – exposes you to big, targeted readerships, helps you build bonds and lays the foundation for an effective blog monetizing campaign.
2: Promote Bloggers through Social Media
Promote bloggers through Twitter, Facebook and other social platforms.
Many of these bloggers will promote you in return on various social channels.
Friendships made.
Friendships are prospering.
Friends hire you. Friends buy your premium offerings. Friends endorse you, helping you make inroads into their readerships.
3: Feature Bloggers on Your Blog
Feature bloggers on your blog through:
- Quick mentions
- Interviews
- Podcast interviews
- Opening your blog to guest posting
These bloggers become good friends, promote you, endorse you and expand your reach, boosting your traffic and profits.
4: Guest Post on Top Blogs from Your Niche
Guest posting on top blogs is one of the ultimate gateway activities.
Think leveraging. Reach large, targeted audiences through this helpful strategy.
GP to see PG. Guest post to see profit gains.
I have tripled my subscriber base in 4 months by diving heavily into guest posting among other strategies.
Tripling my subs has helped increase my blogging profits.
5: Answer Questions on Quora
Quora is a global Q and A network.
If you answer questions on Quora you betcha folks will watch, take note and visit your blog, Amazon author page and services page.
I currently have over 120,000 views on my Quora answers. That’s a lot of meat suits peeping my practical blogging tips and blog.
6: Answer Questions on Warrior
I receive emails from Warrior Forum members who join my list.
Isn’t that reason enough to answer questions on the forum?
This tip applies to anybody in the internet marketing niche. Help folks for free on this massively monstrous forum. Some Warriors will dive into your premium offerings. Or maybe they will join your list or bookmark your blog.
Helping folks on a popular, active forum related to your niche is a good idea for boosting present and future blogging earnings.
7: Create Live Videos
Creating live videos helped me make more money through my blog.
On a few levels.
- I developed blogging balls by opening up a 2 way street in a live setting, being forced to think on my feet and respond to all manner of folks on Periscope, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram (“all manner of” code for, mostly loving folks and some odd birds), said titanic cajones adding confidence and clarity to my monetizing campaign
- I sold more eBooks and inspired more clients to hire me through live videos
Publish your first live video today. Or your 100th.
Video is the wave of the blogging present and the blogging future. Hop on board. Connect with your audience on a deeper level, establishing prospering bonds between you and your readers.
8: Write 1000 Words Daily in a Word Document for Practice
I have spied a cyber head exploding – or 2 – when I tell bloggers how writing 1000 words daily in a Word document just for practice is perhaps the #1 monetizing skill.
Desperate bloggers believe a helpful blog post is the money maker.
Wrong.
Skilled writers are the money makers, because skillz pay da billz, and writing 1000 words daily for practice will get your blogging skills in order like few practices.
Unless you are a full on v-blogger, writing is the most important skill in your arsenal, making you stand out, helping you find your blogging voice, and aiding you in building an authentic brand you can monetize effectively.
9: Publish a Podcast
I recall David Boozer listening to a few of my podcasts.
He summarily purchased all of my blogging themed eBooks.
That’s many eBooks. Here’s the link to all of my eBooks. Do the math.
Publish a podcast. Reach a huge, targeted audience through iTunes and Soundcloud.
A buying audience, mind you, as many Apple nuts gobble up iTunes store audio books like I gorge on Thai sweet treats. Confectionaries guys. Blog is still PG-rated. Mostly.
10: Answer Blogging Questions on Social Media
Ask Twitter followers, Facebook friends and buds from various social media networks how you can help them with their blogs.
Folks who dig your answers tend to join your list, become regular readers and some hire you to coach them or buy your courses or eBooks.
Help readers for freemium on social media and allow them to become premium customers or clients.
11: Be a Student of Blogging
Admit it; when it comes to being a blogging student, most bloggers look like dingbats in the corner of the classroom, wearing oversized dunce caps.
Few bloggers are students of blogging. Even fewer study blogging diligently.
Ummm….how in the hell do you expect to make money blogging unless you read, take notes, learn and study these gateway activities inside out?
I’m a blogging nerd. Learning, studying, observing, being a freaking sponge sopping up as much blogging knowledge as humanly possible has been the foundation of my online success.
You develop the skill of blogging by being a student of blogging, applying what you learned (through gateway activities) and then you earn that scrumptious scrilla.
Your Turn
Are you engaging in these 11 gateway activities to make money blogging? Or are you maybe a little too dependent on blogging income streams themselves, maybe getting a little lazy when it comes to putting in word?
How are you profiting through your blog? What gateway activities can you add to this list?
11 Fundamentals of Successful Blogging (Plus a Bonus Course)
I created an audio course – plus a bonus audio course where I answer 10 common blogging questions to cut your learning curve by years – to help you build a successful blog based on 11 fundamentals.
This is a step by step blueprint for creating a rocking blog from the inside out, energizing you to have fun while you boost your blogging traffic and profits.
Learn more about the course here:
11 Fundamentals of Successful Blogging Audio Course (Plus a Bonus Course)
Ryan Biddulph
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33 Comments
All 3 are huge gateway activities for me Jolie.
Unplugging is a huge part of how I do what I do Sue. Smart move 😉 I see your comments everywhere and your guest posts are popping up regularly too. I have been a wee less active on Quora because I am pretty busy writing but pop in for 5-10 minutes a day at least. You too 🙂
Hi Ryan,
Great tips, I always learn a lot when I stop by and read your blog posts. I love commenting on blogs and actually learned a lot just by reading your book.
I don’t really spend any time on Quora. I do make it a point to submit some guest posts per month. So far, I’ve been doing about 2-3 per month. I know it’s nowhere near the amount you write.
However, with my freelancing gig, it makes it challenging to do more.
I just got back from vacation. I need to get back into the habit of writing every day again, I unplugged while at the beach 🙂
Thanks for sharing these tips that will help us grow our blog and make money.
Have a great day 🙂
Susan
I like blog commenting and also so much informative especially Quora and warrior commenting sites.
Awesome article sir.
Cool Mahesh. Keep at it. Your blog looks great!
Ryan..Thnx for this helpful article.I am looking for ways to have a good traffic to my blog. Few of the things I am already doing for example Quora & social engagement etc. But I was missing blog comments & Warrior forum. Now, I will surely try these two stuff also along with others. Anyways, hope one day I could also travel like you..Congratz 🙂
Adeel you are committing to succeed no matter what. Even though you are busy with a full time online job you are still trying, working, helping, practicing and connecting. Well done!
Hello, Ryan!
One best post, buddy! One best!
I am still bad at writing daily… You know I have a full-time job (which is also online) and that’s too different than the blogging.
That’s the main aspect that’s holding me back most of the time.
But still, I am trying. And you know ‘try’ is the best than ‘not doing at all.’ 🙂
I hope to make it my good daily habit soon.
Except that, I am ‘trying’ to do all of these.
And blog commenting is my favorite.
Might not go this far without the help of commenting than any other thing.
It is still the best and will remain best in the blogosphere, right? 🙂
And Quora is totally a FUN!
I know it is best working for you! 🙂
I have still to get into the game of guest posting, going live, and with the podcasting.
These are the new avenues for me as I still haven’t gotten into.
Oh… I am the big fan of podcasts of John Lee Dumas, Pat Flynn, and Gary Vee! 🙂
Thanks for the best one, brother! 🙂
I will follow them by heart!
~ Adeel
Thanks Mario! I am glad you enjoyed the eBooks. I loved writing the online commenting read because it was fun to spill the beach on this underutilized bond-building strategy.
Hi Ryan,
This is a very concise article. All this information in a single blog post? Amazing, thanks!
I loved your books, especially “How to Build An Online Empire through Blog Commenting”. I think that every blogger should read it.
Thanks again!
Awesome Leanne. I dig that you are on the right track.
Excellent Prince. Engaging is at the core of what I do. Helping folks 1 to 1 is highly enjoyable and quite enlightening, really, because it feels so good to chat with people and help and serve. I feel it’s why we are here. On planet earth 🙂
I just resumed from the break I took, Ryan.
Hitherto, I just landed on this. Your storytelling strategies to compell your message is one of the things I like.
For you to say there’s a gate means, there is a way which probably leads to many roads.
I can see the gate from the gateway activities here; even the roads to make money blogging. It is one thing to read and another thing to practice.
I believe that after I might have engaged this post and never practice the engagement is not yet complete.
Off to practice!
Finally someone makes some awesome pointers! Thankfully I’ve been already practicing most of these. It’s great to have some validation that what I’m doing is taking me in the right direction!
I look forward to the live debut Sue 😉 It seems like folks who follow my live videos form a deeper bond with me and the deeper connection has boosted my sales. So I’d say, more of folks acting on my advice because they dig the videos I churn out on a daily basis.
Same here Joy. I actually recall it now only after you sharing. Perhaps my subconscious buried the WordPress terror LOL. It was tough. Really tough. Because I was and still am tech allergic. Which probably drives my develop Phillip Dews mad. But over time, I fell in love with blogging and got comfy with WordPress.
Thanks for sharing your view on the widgets and for enjoying the eBooks too. Amazon does a fine job designing advertisements so I figure, may as well use them. And I just saw another monthly Amazon Associates report, which means commission payment coming soon woohoo!
Hi Ryan,
For me learning WordPress was that that bumpy road to the coast. At first I found it hard to get going and I “fell off” the bike so many times. Finally, with practice, I got the hang of it (and I have seen the platform evolve too). Now blogging is the enjoyable part of my day.
I think it’s a good idea have the book widgets easily accessible. I have learned a lot from reading them.
Joy Healey – Blogging After Dark
Great comparison between the motorbike ride and making money blogging Ryan.Really frames it well. I’m interested in the live video suggestion.Is that working because you are getting people for that moment in time when they are ready to purchase? Or to take your advice and act on it? I do a fair amount of video on Facebook and it gets some of the best engagement we have anywhere. You never know you may have me inching toward a live debut. 🙂
An amazing adventure indeed Donna. You know how it goes. We have fun, embrace the resistance, create, connect, rinse, wash and repeat, and success flows our way. Ditto on Quora. I need to spend more time on there myself these days.
Bingo Secky. Those are dead on ways to monetize. It is the energy behind the actions that we move into – actions between ourselves and the actual income streams – that yield the profits.
Brilliant Comment Benjamin 😉
Writing regularly helped me write with greater ease which led to the eBooks and freelance writing and more blog posts and guest posts and comments and so on…..all while I found my writing voice, helping me to stand out from the cyber crowd. Keep writing guys!
Every single point is a good one on this post. I wanted to add to the 1,000 words per day, as it’s something I have been doing (well far more than 1,000 words) for about a decade now.
When I first started freelance writing for clients, I decided I would time myself so that I knew how many words I could write in an hour. Back then (about 10 years ago) I could do about 1,800 words an hour, but it wasn’t huge on the quality. Remember back then when you just had to insert the keyword phrase in the title, first paragraph, a couple headers and the last paragraph of a 300 – 400 word post?
That was my job and I banged those out like crazy! I can remember doing as many as 100 in a week.
Over time, since I was writing daily, my writing speed and quality became far better. Today, I can do about 2,000 words of high quality content for clients in an hour or about 3,000 for my own ebooks.
This is the money maker for sure because the more you write, the faster you get and the better you will become at writing.
I also wanted to add that blog commenting is amazing and a great way to connect. I have had full-blown conversations in the comments with bloggers on their blogs and ended up with them following me, joining me on Tribber and connecting on other channels.
Awesome post, as always Ryan!
These are great tips Ryan!
Having the right ways to monetize include you spend good time commenting on Top Blogs, build relationship with them via sharing, tweeting their posts etc..
Thanks For sharing
Hi Ryan,
I’m doing most of them. I do have to get my act together on Quora, making it a daily thing. I’m up and down with it and I know it is not the smart way lol. I love the way you wrote this because I can just imagine going through a rough road to get to a calm beach. You hit the nail on the head my friend because that is the way blogging is. We do have to jump many hoops to get it all done. But like you always mention, if you are having fun doing it, it is not work at all. It’s an amazing adventure.
-Donna
Your blog commenting campaign is prolific Shantanu. I see you on every top blogging tips blog. Well done 🙂 Hop on Quora and give it a whirl. Trick people into believing you are an omni-present god LOL….by being everywhere.
I see you everywhere Vishwajeet! Wherever I am, you are LOL. Quora, Warrior, blog comment fields. Keep up the inspired work bro.
Hello Ryan,
Great Points here. Well Blog commenting is one of my best way to make friends online. I regularly making comments on blog and like and share others post in social networks. It is so lucrative. I am also very active in Quora and warriorforum and have joined them 5 years ago. These are really some proven tips which helps me to grow my blog and make the most out of it. Thanks for sharing this beautiful post with us.
Enjoy your day 🙂
Vishwajeet
Hello Ryan,
Another some savage tips over here to make our blog blow big 🙂
Blog commenting is something I always preferred to go with, commenting on top bloggers, blog and sharing their content over
social media platform really help us to establish healthy relation and we can be seen in the crowd easily, yeah it takes
time, so we just need to sit back and keep on doing our work, things will sparkle up.
I haven’t tried Quora, I am looking forward to get going with this one in the coming month, I am doing some study and
research so that I can learn the basic of this platform
Thanks for the share.
Have a great week ahead.
Shantanu.
The return point you make is so rewarding, right Prosper? We comment and network for fun. Then we experience the icing on the cake when our persistent work yields fabulous results. What a blessing, doing this blogging bit 🙂
These are great tips Ryan!
Having the right ways to monetize include you spend good time commenting on Top Blogs, build relationship with them via sharing, tweeting their posts etc..
This way you help promote their blogs and in return get potential readers as well!
Win Win
Great Tips once more.
This is the exact journey I took Nate and continue to walk this path daily. Help bloggers, comment on their blogs, promote them and learn from them. Awesome way to slowly and steadily promote your blogging success, until the tipping point is met. Then success flows in more swiftly. Thank you 🙂
I like these fundamentals. Especially commenting on blogs and sharing the content and showing love to other bloggers. For me they are paving the way for me to be successful so of course I need to pay my dues, show them love, and learn all I can.
As a new blogger there is so much to learn and each day I am picking up something from an experienced blogger.
Writing 1,000 words daily for practice is a really good idea. I have to implement that so I get better and better. Thanks for sharing.
I left a thought.
On a side note, I have a question for ya: are you digging the Amazon eBook/audio book widgets in the middle of each post?
I added a few recently for easier browsing and shopping.
I’ll also begin linking to my audio course more frequently at post’s end. Not just because I like to hear myself talk 🙂
Thanks guys for rocking!