The cool thing about blogging is that sharing other great resources on line helps you, the other blogger and the reader.

Here are the blogs that caught my attention this morning, enjoy!

5 Simple Ways To Find Out What People Are Dying To Read 

6 Ways To Hack Into Your Emotions And Become Infinitely More Creative 

Successful Blogging Needs More Thank Just Will Power 

Give Yourself A Break

Blog Like You Are Having A Conversation With A Good Friend

There is no other reason for you to watch this video than to stir up some real feel good emotion on this Wednesday.  I have blog guilt and have not followed my own good counsel on consistency.

I wrote a post yesterday and it will be posted soon, but more importantly I showed up here and picked the fastest and easiest thing to post so y’all know I am still out here!  Enjoy!

Like it or not, we live in a Google Ruled world.

When people consider hiring you for your business or service, 99 times out of 100 they are going to google you. If you have no data online that connects you with your expertise, they will pass you by.

Think about it. Let’s say you want to find a photographer for your wedding. You meet a photographer at a party and he seems nice. You go home and google him and there are several entries with examples of his work and testimonials, doesn’t that make you more likely to consider his service?

What if there was not one single website with his work posted. Would you hire him?

What do your prospects find when they google YOU? 

Blogs are priceless marketing tools but all blogs are not created equal. You have something to say about a topic you are passionate about and you want to make money online.  Yay!  So what style blogger do you fancy yourself to be?

Style of blogging?

Yes. You have to decide what you want your blog to accomplish. Here are your blog style choices:

1. Journaling Blog Style: This is the most common blogging style. In this style, the blogger opines about life from her perspective. The posts are random ramblings about what is going on in the writer’s life. The agenda for these blogs vary.

One friend of mine has an anonymous blog where she writes about her battles with obesity. She rants and raves and clears her mind. She doesn’t care if anyone sees it or responds. Because all blogs are connected through the internet, random readers find her blog and comment occasionally, but she doesn’t want to create a community.

2. Essay Blog Style: This is also a common blogging style. Historical, travel, political and social commentators frequently write in this academic style. These posts tend to be heady and sophisticated. Typically the blogger fancies himself a “true writer” and the rules of grammar and language usage dictate the blog content.

Essay bloggers love the instant publish capability of their blogs. Some are in the process of publishing their books in the “real world” and the interminable waiting of traditional publishing frustrates them to no end. Their blog is like an extension of their book and that satisfies them.

3. Shared Hobby Blog Style: We all love this style of blogging. Fashion blogs and cooking blogs are good examples of this style. The blogger is passionate about sharing their passion and that is what they do, some on a daily basis.

In the movie Julia and Julia, there is a classic example of this style. The author went on a cooking journey through Julia Child’s cookbook with the plan of reporting on her growth as a french chef. While the happily ever after of her blog leading to a book and then movie starring Meryl Streep was no doubt thrilling. Her original intent was just to share her hobby.

4. Promotional Blog Style: This is Your Blog Angel’s favorite. When a blogger wishes to promote a business idea, product or professional expertise, she is clear on her intention to create a blog that invite readers to join her and eventually purchase a product or service from her.

The promotional style is completely different than the other three styles. However, when a promo piece is well crafted, the reader doesn’t notice the difference. Promo blog writing is a fine art…balancing calls to action with real information with value.

5. The Zero Blog Style: Zero blog = zero online credibility = zero monetizing potential.

Many internet/blog newbies are so eager to monetize their blogs that they focus on selling before they focus on creating relationship with their readers/prospects.

This is a huge mistake. Your prospects must believe in you and your product before they buy from you. A carefully crafted promotional blog is the fastest way to build that relationship with your audience.

Let me use myself as an example. I own a website for single women who wish they weren’t. It is a Soul Mate Attraction Blog. If I meet someone who is interested in joining and give them my card, I hope they do google me.

My three years of blogging on the topic of breakup recovery and finding new love gives the social proof many need to give my services a try.

Promotional blogging is the answer. If you want to make money with your blog, here are the essential keys:

1. Set your Intention: What kind of blog are you creating? Review the blog styles and commit to learning all you can about how to write promotional material.

2. Create Credibility: Get 25 blog posts published that are descriptive of your expertise. A mix of facts, entertainment, resources and success stories will serve your readers as well as making them want to bookmark you and come back again and again.

3. The 80/20 rule: The biggest difference between promotional writing and the rest is the 80/20 rule. Savvy marketers are making money despite economic hard times for one reason only. When they write the focus of the blog is 80% about the reader and only 20% about themselves, their products and their services.

4. Problem/Solution Focus: The single most important thing that successful promotional bloggers do better than any other blogger is that they intimately understand the problem their prospect is trying to solve.

Your prospect is searching the internet for one thing and one thing only….an answer. The only way they can find you and hire you to solve their problem is if you write about it. And yet….I rarely read any copy that communicates that the author truly feels the pain of their prospect. Without this problem centered approach, money is left on the table…every time.

5. Ignorance is No Excuse: If this is all Greek to you but you want to monetize your blog, don’t give up….get educated!  In this case what you don’t know really is hurting you. If google doesn’t know who you are, your business/book/practice is going to languish. A first step? Google: How to blog.

Ready to monetize your blog? Get your Blog Marketing IQ and see how you measure up! http://whatisyourmq.com