Table of Contents
Additional titles inEntrepreneursStartup Series
Start Your Own
Arts and Crafts Business
Automobile Detailing Business
Bar and Club
Bed and Breakfast
Blogging Business
Business on eBay
Car Wash
Child-Care Service
Cleaning Service
Clothing Store and More
Coaching Business
Coin-Operated Laundry
Construction and Contracting Business
Consulting Business
Day Spa and More
e-Business
Event Planning Business
Executive Recruiting Business
Fashion Accessories Business
Florist Shop and Other Floral Businesses
Food Truck Business
Freelance Writing Business and More
Freight Brokerage Business
Gift Basket Service
Grant-Writing Business
Graphic Design Business
Green Business
Hair Salon and Day Spa
Home Inspection Service
Import/Export Business
Information Marketing Business
Kid-Focused Business
Lawn Care or Landscaping Business
Mail Order Business
Medical Claims Billing Service
Net Services Business
Online Coupon or Daily Deal Business
Online Education Business
Personal Concierge Service
Personal Training Business
Pet Business and More
Pet-Sitting Business and More
Photography Business
Public Relations Business
Restaurant and More
Retail Business and More
Self-Publishing Business
Seminar Production Business
Senior Services Business
Travel Business and More
Tutoring and Test Prep Business
Vending Business
Wedding Consultant Business
Wholesale Distribution Business
Acknowledgments
Thanks to Ronald Young and Jillian McTigue at Entrepreneur Press, as well as Karen Billipp, for inviting me to work on this project.
Thanks also to all of the bloggers and blogging experts in the blogosphere who have inspired me to write this book, and who have shared their valuable experiences and vast knowledge with me as I was doing my research.
To visit my website, please point your web browser to www.JasonRich.com. If youre an Apple iPhone or iPad user, to access my blog, Jason Richs Featured App of the Month, visit www.FeaturedAppOfTheMonth.com. You can also find me on Twitter (@ JasonRich7).
Preface
Youve probably heard all about blogging, vlogging, tweeting, podcasting, and microblogging, but might have assumed that becoming a blogger (someone who writes a blog), vlogger (someone who hosts/produces a video-based blog), and/or a podcaster (someone who produces an audio podcast) is too time consuming, too expensive, and wouldnt benefit you in any way. Well, think again!
In the past, if you wanted to reach a mass audience, it was necessary to land a job as a reporter for a major newspaper or magazine, or become the host of a radio or TV show. Even if you managed to land one of these jobs, you still needed to adhere to the strict editorial guidelines of your bosses, and maintain a high level of journalistic integrity.
Thanks to blogging, however, anyone, from anywhere, has the ability to share their thoughts, ideas, knowledge, opinions, and/or expertise with a potentially vast worldwide audience, and the cost to do this is practically nothing (assuming you have access to the internet).
Using a blog, its possible to publish almost any type of content and make it available to the world within minutesnot hours, days, weeks, or months. Plus, thanks to the First Amendment, as a blogger, youre free to write or say just about anything, without having it edited or censored in any way. (Of course, slander, copyright infringement, and a few other laws still apply.) But, for the most part, as a blogger, cyberspace is your stage, soapbox, or pulpit, and the millions of web surfers in the world are your potential audience members.
Some people create, publish, and manage a blog just for funas a way to share information with or entertain immediate friends and family. However, millions of other people have discovered that blogging is an extremely powerful and cost-effective marketing, promotional, sales, and advertising tool, if used correctly.
Although blogging is still in its relative infancy as a communications medium, it has already changed media forever. Just a few years ago, blogging didnt exist. However, since the concept of blogging was created and started to catch on with the public, it has evolved quickly and continues to evolve at a staggering pace.
Most recently, in addition to traditional text-based blogs, services like YouTube, Vine (a mobile video service), and Vimeo have made vlogging a viable option for just about anyone. Plus, for people who dont want to create lots of entertaining, informative, and original content for a blog or vlog, theres now microblogging. Using a service like Twitter, anyone can create and share short blog entries that are just 140 characters in length. More about microblogging and its potential later.
One of the latest trends in blogging is mobile blogging, which means you can create and publish content from your smartphone, tablet, or wireless internet device, from virtually anywhere at any time. In fact, many blogging apps have been created for Apples iPhone and iPad, for example, which make full use of the built-in digital camera and video camera within these devices, as well as their ability to create and publish text and/or video and audio content while on the go.
Using the newest blogging technologies, you have the ability to create, publish, manage, and promote a blog, build a vast following, potentially generate revenue from your blog, plus use your blog as an extremely powerful marketing, sales, and advertising tool for yourself, or your product, company, or service. The possibilities and potential are limited only by your creativity and imagination.
Even if you have no company, or a product or service to sell, if you have information or content to share within a blog, theres also the potential to generate revenue from your online presence by building an audience and displaying ads (which you get paid to display) within your blog.
Best of all, creating, publishing, managing, and promoting a blog requires no programming or graphic design skills. You dont even need to know anything about designing web pages. If you can surf the net, chances are you already have the basic skills needed to become a blogger. What you will need is a great idea for a blog, a true understanding of its purpose and its intended audience, and the ability to create original and innovative content.
As youll discover, companies of all sizes and in all industries are currently using blogs, vlogs, and microblogs effectively in order to inexpensively communicate with their existing customers and clients, find new prospects, and build name or brand recognition.
Meanwhile, individuals are using blogs, vlogs, and microblogs to become famous online personalities; establish and promote themselves as experts in their field; share their knowledge, ideas, or expertise; and to meet new friends from their hometown, their home state, across the country, or around the world.