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Whatever your business model, using a blog as a central hub for your business is a great idea. This is particularly the case with an information product business.

By Building a blog in your niche, you have the ability to easily start building an audience for whatever you have to offer. This is the best way to build the foundations of your business, and puts you in a much stronger position for when you start to make offers to your audience later (these offers can take the form of your own information products, affiliate products or advertising on your blog).

There are other reasons you should be building a blog in your niche as soon as possible:

• Build Your List – Your blog is a great way to start building a list in your niche. You can add an optin box on the sidebar of your site, (like you see on BusinessJolt), or use a lightbox script to display an optin box when your visitor enters or exits your site.
• Get Traffic/SEO – Although it’s not always necessary to write for the search engines, by using keywords in your posts, and using the right structure on your blog (more on this later), you will find some of your posts will start gaining traction in the search engines, which in turn can lead to more visitors to your site
• Attract Natural Links – By putting out great content, people will want to link to your blog. Really great content always rises to the top, and will get you noticed by others. By having others link to you this not only transfers some of their authority onto you, it builds your reputation in the niche and widns your audience.
• Build An Authority Presence – Having a blog makes it easier than ever to build an authority presence in your marketplace. If you put out great content and use social media effectively, you can quickly gain the attention of leaders in your market, and if you can get a few of these leaders to endorse your content you can really start to stand out on your own.
• Develop A Wider Audience – Blogs instantly give you a worldwide audience. Due to the social nature of a blog, content is naturally shared and linked to from many sources, and blogs also form a great place to send people to from other social media platforms, meaning your audience can grow very fast, and you can gain the attention of audiences you might otherwise have missed.
• Understand Your Audience – Enguaging with your audience on your blog through comments is a great way to gain a deeper understanding of your audience. You can leverage these interactions by gaininag a better understanding of your markets wants and needs, and this helps you develop better products for them.
• Find Potential Partners & Promoters – As I’ve already mentioned, having a blog can get you found by other influencers in your market. If you start interacting with these influencers through your blog and social media, you may be able to formulate partnerships or get them on board promoting your products or your content.
• Build Social Proof – Once you start to release content and products through your blog, you will find (if you’re putting out good stuff) that you will get testimonials and other social proof being posted on your blog. This is invaluable as you can leverage these testimonials for your own products, and it also serves to demostrate to others that you are worth listening to.

I’m sure you can see from the list above that having a blog is really a super valuable tool in your marketing aresenal and shouldn’t be missed! So now let’s get into the specifics of starting a blog…

Naming Your Blog

You need a central name for your blog. This is how you will be known in the niche, so it should be relevant to your niche, but also have an element of uniqueness.

I recommend that you try and have one of your main niche keywords in the name of your blog, as this will help with SEO (this step is not critical but it also helps when people refer to your blog as it’s more clear what it’s about).

You will probably want to add something descriptive to the end of your blog name – such as “news”, “tips”, “secrets”, “advice”, “blog”, “report” – you get the idea.

The most important element of choosing your name is establishing if the domain for it is available. I strongly advise where possible registering the .com domain. Not only for SEO benefit, but also because most people will naturally try the .com first if they know your blog name but don’t know the extension. I use Namecheap to register all my domains, so you can see if your domain is available by doing a quick search there.

You also need to decide on a tagline for your blog. The tagline should basically say what your site does, or what your business does. So for example for BusinessJolt, I have “Tips, Tutorials and Ideas for Online Business” – which makes it pretty clear what my message is all about.

Hosting & Setup Your Blog

If you haven’t already, you’re going to need to get a hosting account for your blog. I use Hostgator for all my hosting needs. As well as being reliable and having great support, there’s another advantage to using Hostgator.

They offer a control panel interface (intelligently called “cpanel”) and within this you have a feature called “Fantastico”. This makes it super easy to install a new blog on your domain with minimal hassle and no tech ability required. I use a platform called Wordpress for all of my blogs. Wordpress has many advantages and I won’t go into all that now, but it’s probably the most widely used blog platform in the world and Google loves blogs built with wordpress.

Follow these simple steps to installing wordpress on your host:

Step 1: Access your cpanel from the details you were sent by hostgator (if you didn’t use hostgator you need to see if your host also supports fantastico)

Step 2: Scroll towards the bottom of the page and you’ll see “Fantastico”

Step 3: Inside Fantastico you can see on the left the option to install Wordpress

Step 4: Follow the on-screen prompts to install your wordpress blog on your domain. I recommend leaving the blog on the root domain unless you are setting up a corporate blog on the back of a main business website.

Customize Your Blog

theme – you need a theme. I recommend woothemes or check out the other optinos below. you need a professional theme etcetc

	Prices From	Customizability	Recommended
WooThemes	$70		BusyBee Or Headlines
StudioPress	$79.96		Streamline
ThemeForest	$9		Infocus or Convergence
Thesis	$87		Thesis

It’s also worth getting a custom logo or header for your blog designed at this point. You want your blog to stand out more than just the original theme, so this is a create way to do it and to start creating your brand. There are a few options for this:

• Fiverr – This site allows you to find people who will do various tasks for you for $5. There are many people on there offering their services to design logos and other graphics for only $5.
• Digital Point Forums – This forum has many service providers who will create a custom logo for you for under $50. Check out the Buy, Sell and Trade section
• 99designs – If you want a real high end logo design, 99designs has thousands of designs who will compete on your project to give you the best result. Expect to pay $300+

Other Blog Customizations

You may also want to customize your blog further by adding different features and links to the sidebar. It’s up to you what features you add to the sidebar, but don’t overdo it and add lots of links that may confuse your visitors.

My Sidebar Optin Box

On BusinessJolt.com you will see the main customization I have is the optin box at the top of the sidebar. This is placed for optimal conversions as it is visible above the fold (this means it’s showing when the page is loaded with no scroll required). When you have your free gift or calling card ready and want to start building your list, I recommend you add a sidebar optin box.

When you add your optin box you should use some sort of image, icon or product ecover to encourage optins. Check out my EcoverCreator3D software if you want to create your own product covers with no photoshop. Arrows and other graphics also work well on the sidebar to encourage optins, but keep the styling within the theme of your blog.

I also recommend adding details of your social network profiles to your blog sidebar. This encourages people to network with you on sites like facebook and twitter, which gives you more opportunity to communicate with them and drive them back to your blog in the future.

Look on sites like IconFinder.net to find different icons you can use to draw attention to your social media links.

Plugins

One awesome benefit of Wordpress is the huge developer community who have created thousands of different plugins you can use on your blog. A plugin is basically a script you can install which adds additional features and functionality to your blog, but without you having to mess with any code.

There are loads of free plugins available, but I’ve condensed them down into those that I use and feel are necessary for your blog. I’ve also included a little explanation for each plugin so you can decide for yourself if you need it:

• Akismet – provides essential comment spam protection to save you time
• Contact Form 7 – add a simple contact form to your blog with this
• Platinum SEO Pack – provides valuable extra SEO features for each post and page on your blog
• XML Sitemaps – generates a search engine friendly XML sitemap you can submit to help your post get indexed
• Wordpress Database Backup – backing up your blog regularly is essential, this plugin helps you make regular backups

You don’t need to even mess around with HTML or FTP to install any of these plugins, just follow my guide here on how to install plugins directly from wordpress.

I also have just started using a paid plugin called RSS Bomber. This is a super-powerful plugin that creates individual RSS feeds for each of my posts. Normally wordpress doesn’t do this, so with these RSS feeds I can submit them to RSS feed directories and other sites and get lots of free backlinks.

Permalinks

Setting the right permalink structure for your blog is very important for SEO. This is basically how your pages and posts are named – by using the right permalink structure combined with well titled posts you’re a lot better prepared for the search engines.

You can set the permalink structure in your Wordpress admin panel by going to Settings > Permalinks

The structure I use for my blogs is:

/%category%/%postname%/

Copy and paste that into the custom box on the permalinks page and you’re all set.

Start Posting!

You should now be ready to start posting content to your blog. This is where things really get moving! Adding regular content to your blog is the best way to increase your audience and build a stronger following. Here are a few posting tips:

• Post Regularly – I recommend you aim to post at least once per week minimum but more regularly (daily) if possible.
• Target Keywords where possible – If you have an idea for a post, it’s always worth looking at related keywords you can target. Use the Google Keyword Tool (free) or Market Samurai to find keywords with less than 60,000 competing pages in Google and include a keyword phrase in your blog post title if you can. I don’t recommend letting SEO get in the way of writing great content, but if you can combine the two then great!
• Tag Posts – Make use of keywords from your research and tag your posts to boost SEO rankings. I’d use a maximum of 8 tags per post.

What To Write About?

Creating regular content is the key to your blogs’ success. I know some people find it hard to come up with ideas for new posts, so I’ve put together some of my favourite sources for content ideas you can use to start writing content for your own blog:

• Niche News – Look at what is in the news in your niche and write content relating to this. You can monitor news with tools like Google Alerts or by using RSS feeds (I discuss this strategy in more detail in my info business accelerator course)
• List Posts – List posts and top lists have long been a popular format for bloggers. They are fairly quick to put together and are very popular with readers. Here’s an example: “21 Rules For Social Media Engagement”
• Address Problems & Questions – Look on niche forums, social media and other platforms and see what questions people are asking, and answer these on your blog with a post.
• Ideas From Comments - Look at your blog comments and see if there are any trends or common questions that are coming up, and react to these. Or do a summary post where you answer many questions in one post
• Personal/Lifestyle Content – People love reading personal stories, so if you can relate personal experiences or events from your day-to-day life to your niche topic, this can make great content
• Interview Someone – Interviewing someone in your niche gives you an easy way to generate content and not have to do all the work. Ensure you get your audio interviews transcribed to add value to your content
• Comment on Controversial Topic – Controversy gets attention so if you comment on a controversial topic you are likely to get responses on your blog (perhaps not all good). You could also take a controversial/alternative stand to a common topic in your niche as another way to get noticed.
• Product & Service Reviews - Writing reviews can be a great way to create content and also build revenue on your blog (if you use affiliate links). It’s important to always be open and honest though, and I recommend only reviewing stuff you’ve tried yourself.
• Survey Your Blog – Once you’ve started to build up an audience, it’s a great idea to survey them on a regular basis. Ask them a question or ask them what they want to know more about, and you’ll have lots of new ideas for blog posts.
• Write About An Event – If you’ve attended any events related to your niche, posting a writeup of the event can make great content. You could also write about forthcoming events.
• Expand On Info Product Content – If you have an information product, take some ideas from the chapters or modules of your product and write about them on your blog. You can always refer back to your info product if people want more information (a nice way to get some extra sales).

Use Other Formats For Your Content

It’s a great idea to vary the format of your blog posts to attract more attention and cater for people who prefer different types of content. It’s easier than ever to create multimedia type content so consider these formats next time you’re creating a blog post:

• On Camera Video - Flip and mini-HD cameras are cheaper than ever, so take the time to create an on-camera video where you talk about a specific topic. You could also do this in front of a whiteboard or slideshow to add more value to your content.
• Screen Capture Video – Use software like screen recording software (see resources) to record your computer screen while you discuss something from your niche. You could demonstrate something on your computer or create a slideshow and record you going through this like an on-screen presentation
• Audio Content – I already touched on this earlier, but creating audio content can be a great way to add value to your blog. Record interviews via skype or record yourself talking about an issue to your computer.
• Step By Step Screenshot Tutorials – Some niches work well with step-by-step tutorials, and you can create these using a screen capture software like Snagit. Anything computer or tech related can work well with this type of format

Getting Traffic To Your Blog

Traffic is essential for any online business, and your blog is no exception. Thankfully, your blog is actually one of the easiest web properties to get traffic to, which is partly why I always recommend developing a blog as part of an information product business.

Here are some of my favourite strategies for getting traffic to your blog:

Create Great Content – I know I keep mentioning this, but creating great content is the key to making your blog a success. It’s also one of the best ways to get traffic. If you write great content, people will want to share it (through sites like twitter anf facebook) and they’ll also want to link to you from there blogs, which all means more traffic for you.

Social Media Profiles – You should update your social media profiles like twitter and facebook every time you make a new post. Sharing your content through these networks will drive any audience you have attracted on those sites back to your blog, where they can engage with more of your content – further building the relationship.

Submit RSS Feed to Directories & Aggregators – Submitting your blog RSS feed to feed directories like Feedage.com is a great way to generate backlinks for your blog. For best results, use a plugin like RSS Bomber to create individual optimized feeds for each post.

Use Forums – Forums are an amazing way to get targeted traffic to your blog. You can find forums for your niche by searching for “niche discussion” or “niche forum” in Google. Get involved in the forum by answering questions and helping others. This is the best way to get noticed. Add a link to your blog in your signature, and you will start getting a steady stream of traffic. Target questions and topics close to your blog topics for even better results and a better stick rate from those people who follow through to your blog.

Twitter – Twitter can be a fantastic source of traffic. Add your blog to your profile in twitter and start engaging in conversations in your niche. Use Search.Twitter.com to find people talking about your niche (search your keywords) and get involved/answer their questions. You also need to build up your follower numbers – you can do this by adding the followers of other influencers in your niche.

Blog Commenting – This can be a good way to get traffic to your blog, and also build relationships. If you comment on other influential blogs in your niche on a regular basis you’ll probably get noticed by their authors (they are usually the ones approving the comments) and they may link to your content in the future. You’ll also get people following your links if you post useful comments.

SEO Your Posts – As I mentioned earlier, it’s worth looking for keywords to include in your post titles or at least in your tags when posting. You should also try and build up backlinks to your posts using social bookmarking which will give you a boost in the search engines.

Drive People Back to Your Blog – if you have a list (see list building section if you’re not building a list yet) – you should be driving your visitors back to your best content on your blog. not only does this give you an easy way to leverage your blog content – you will also be providing value to your list – don’t assume they have seen all your content

Offline Collateral – Adding your blog URL to your offline materials like business cards, letterheads and any other business related materials is another good way to get traffic.

Next Steps…

Now that you have your blog setup and active, you should now be focusing on building your list and creating your first information product if you don’t already have one. Check out my guide on creating and selling your first info product, or signup for the info business accelerator course now for more in-depth video tutorials.

Tags: build blog, build my blog, create a blog, how to build your blog, how to start a blog, launch a blog