This week I’ll be a guest on the Hot Seminar Series to discuss taking a blog to max profit potential – including my strategies for getting the most out of every post.

Kelly McCausey is the host of the summer series, and she has been digging into my blog archives to check things out before the interview on Wednesday.

In a recent post she asked me about my objective – and whether I started my blog with a specific plan in mind:

So many people start blogging on a whim and end up fizzling out after a little while. According to the archives on your blog, you started blogging in the spring of 2006 and you definitely never fizzled. I have a feeling that starting a blog was not a decision that you made lightly, right?

Did you have a plan for your blog from the beginning and have you pretty well stuck to it?

Looking forward to your reply,

Kelly

Hi Kelly

I actually started blogging in August 2004, so this month marks 6 years that I’ve been blogging full time. I started out on blogger.com – then moved over to WordPress, and the domain ClickNewz.com, in March 2006.

My original objective was simply to share what I was doing, and what was working, in my online business. It was very much like a personal business journal in the beginning. I didn’t optimize my posts with a keyword phrase, didn’t monetize the posts or the blog in any way, etc.

It wasn’t until later, and with the rising popularity of blogging for profit, that I began testing and talking about those things ON that platform. Even still, my blog remains a personal biz journal. I continue to share what I am learning, what I’m using, the books I read, the challenges I face and the solutions I find.

While it wasn’t my original objective to monetize my blog, meaning I didn’t start a blog with the intention of making money at it, it has become a consistent revenue source. This is a natural result of testing ways to make money online, creating live examples and then sharing the results with my readers. Which is what I do.

If you read through my years of archives, you’ll see as much personal history of my business growth as you will “internet marketing tips”. Almost all of the tips & reviews are intertwined with my thoughts and personal experience – because it started out as, and still is, a business journal.

Intentional or not, it obviously works – and works well. Which is another lesson I learned and then shared along the way. And one I continue to implement on new niche blogs outside of the internet marketing space.

Had I started a blog with the sole purpose of making money, I may have “fizzled out” myself. Blogging is a lot more work than some other methods I’ve used to make money online – such as affiliate marketing.

Blogging meaning writing conversationally and continuously.

I do use WordPress as a platform for Affiliate Sites now (versus HTML or traditional static websites), but using WordPress doesn’t mean you’re “blogging” – it can also be used to create pages that look just like the traditional websites.

If you’re going to blog it pays to choose a topic you’ll never tire of writing or talking about. I’ve started many blogs over the last 6 years. Several of them did fizzle out. Those that stuck were the blogs that had to do with my deepest personal interests – such as this one about my online business that you’re reading now.

Best,

p.s. Even though I write my blog in much the same way as I keep my private business journal, I do have a strategy. I shared that in detail, giving the 7 elements I include, here: How to Write a Blog Post. What to write and how to write it are the two biggest questions I hear – followed by how to increase blog traffic. < That link will give you my favorite method of getting high quality visitors to your blog.

@khairole asks: can you show me the best place to learn how to do affiliate marketing?

Sure! There are tons of resources, but it can be difficult to decide where to start and which is best to study.

It’s worth mentioning too that it’s an ongoing learning process, as the industry is constantly evolving.

I have been an affiliate for more than 10 years, but am still learning and testing new things every single week. I can give you some specific starting points, and also share places you can stay on top of changes and new ideas…

The Handbook

First, you’re going to need a guide to study that gives you all the necessary basic info about affiliate marketing. Something that walks you through the options, the steps, and gives you examples and resources so that you can create your first affiliate site (or first profitable affiliate site).

While there are a lot of reports and ebooks out there on the topic, many of them teach you one very specific method but leave a lot of basic questions unanswered.

I have one affiliate marketing guide that I study and also recommend: The Super Affiliate Handbook by Rosalind Gardner. I continue to study it myself even though I originally read it about 6 years ago, as Rosalind is constantly providing updated editions to her readers. You can log in anytime and download the new updates – there have been 2 in the last 6 months months alone.

It is very newbie friendly, detailing everything you need to know to get into affiliate marketing – but also chock full of resources, ideas and examples for those of us that are seasoned affiliate marketers. To get an idea what to expect, see my detailed Super Affiliate Handbook Overview.

I actually waffled over spending the $47 on the Super Affiliate Handbook way back when. And yes – that’s comical now, considering what an incredible investment that was in myself and my business. I was able to completely change my business model and ultimately my lifestyle over what seemed like an “expense” at the time.

Getting Your Questions Answered

You will no doubt have questions along the way as you get started in affiliate marketing, or work on revising your affiliate sites for higher traffic & sales.

You’ll need a source where you can ask those questions, and feel confident you’ll get a timely and accurate response. Everyone seems to have advice and opinions, and some will defend them to their death – even if they are wrong.

I have a discussion forum you will find friendly and resourceful. The main forum is public and free, and also includes a Job Board if you need freelance work or if you need to outsource certain tasks to complete your affiliate site.

Here is the link to register & join us:
http://www.selfstartersweeklytips.com/members/

I moderate the SSWT Forum personally. Wrong answers get corrected and discussed, so you don’t have to worry about being mislead or sent down a rabbit trail. My Elite Members are also active in the main forum, and are very quick to share resources and help out the newer members who are just getting started.

Elite Members are part of my own Private Brainstorming Group. It’s a very active community, and we work together on each of their individual business models and projects. They have access to a private section on the SSWT Forum where we discuss things in greater detail, have ongoing case studies and monthly challenges, and weekly brainstorming & accountability meetings.

If you’re interested in joining our group, you’ll find details here.

Free Topic-Specific Tutorials

I have several tutorials here on ClickNewz that teach different aspects of affiliate marketing in detail. This Affiliate Marketing Tips series is a great starting point:

• Getting Started in Affiliate Marketing
• Choosing Niches for Affiliate Sites
• Types of Affiliate Sites
• More on Affiliate Site Development
• Using Pen Names on Niche Affiliate Sites
• Getting Traffic & Making Sales

There are a lot of other great tutorials here at ClickNewz that will prove helpful as you create your affiliate sites including a tutorial on choosing keywords & phrases, an outline for how to write a blog that gets traffic & makes sales, a tutorial for writing product reviews, a web page optimization checklist, ways to optimize online store type sites, the best placement for affiliate links for highest conversions…

This list is by no means exhaustive, or even complete, but a great starting point for learning affiliate marketing and getting the specific help you’ll need along the way.

If you need help, or you’re looking for a specific resource, just ask!

Best,

p.s. I do hope you’ll join us at the SSWT Forum if you haven’t already. It’s a super friendly and very resourceful community, and a great place to get your site reviewed or to get specific questions answered. Make sure you post and say Hello once you get registered