Pandawa Beach, Bali.
(Updated 5/20/2022)
Blogging to make money seems like the end goal for all aspiring bloggers.
Why do most bloggers struggle to profit?
You may not realize the gateway activities that go into becoming a full time blogger. Working diligently leads to profits.
Before we proceed I want to share one of my travel experiences to drill home a fitting analogy.
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.
Blogging to Make Money
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.
Share your thoughts for free on platforms driving heavy blog traffic. Add valuable comments. Make a seismic impact. Comment to help fellow bloggers. Comment to add content to the blog post.
ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge, South Carolina
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. Blogging to make money involves shining the spotlight on other bloggers to build strong relationships.
Many of these bloggers will promote you in return on various social channels.
Make friends. Build bonds. Connect with blogging buddies.
Friends hire you. Friends buy your premium offerings. Friends endorse you, helping you make inroads into their readerships.
Beware; do not use social media alone to build your business.
Check out this video to see why:
The Dangers of Using Social Media Alone to Build Your Business Online
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.
Mention bloggers often. Be persistently generous. Bloggers who deeply appreciate you mentioning them frequently bond strongly with you. This gateway activity boosts blogging profits because blogging buddies love receiving increased exposure through your blog and will freely help you grow your business as a token of their appreciation.
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.
Check out this guide to guest post effectively:
How to Submit a Guest Post in 12 Simple Steps
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.
Answer questions in great detail. In-depth answers jam-packed with practical tips seem to generate the most interest.
6: Answer Questions on the Warrior Forum
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.
Note; after updating this post it seems Warrior is less popular these days. Give the network an honest effort for a few days. Perhaps you will drive traffic through the platform or you may just move on and cut your losses.
7: Create Live Videos
Publish your first live video today.
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.
Live videos add a human touch to your blogging campaign. Broadcasting live also pushes you outside of your comfort zone. Credible bloggers who dance on the razor’s edge of their comfort zone tend to profit.
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.
Why Do You Need to Practice Writing to Make Money Blogging?
Ultimately, most bloggers lack writing confidence and clarity.
Practicing your writing on a daily basis gives you greater confidence in monetizing your blog.
Clear, confident writers tend to profit handsomely because their readers grow to know, like and trust these skilled bloggers.
9: Publish a Podcast
Publish a podcast. Reach a huge, targeted audience through iTunes and Soundcloud.
Pantai Pandawa.
Podcasting continues to gain in popularity as more folks prefer listening to content versus reading content. Capitalize on this ever-expanding trend. Publish a podcast to share value and to profit.
Podcasting Resource
7 Tips for a Successful Podcast
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.
Example
Follow the #blogging hashtag on LinkedIn.
Read updates. Publish genuine comments in response to blogging themed updates.
Meet fellow bloggers. Build relationships. Increase blog traffic. Position yourself to profit through these blogging relationships.
Some bloggers may hire you or purchase your premium offerings based on simple, genuine, helpful comments you publish on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
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.
BFP 516: What Is the Quickest Way to Learn Blogging?
What Are Common Blogging Income Channels?
At the end of the day, successful bloggers receive money through specific income channels.
Working gateway activities positions you to profit but opening income streams allows you to receive money.
Explore these income channels:
- write and self-publish eBooks
- self-publish audio books
- self-publish paperbacks
- offer freelance writing services
- coach
- consult
- sell ad space
- sell sponsored posts
- engage in affiliate marketing
Open one income stream. Learn the basics of that channel. Experiment with the stream. Patiently prosper by engaging persistently in the above gateway activities which lead to blogging profits.
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)
