Recently I offered up some advice on how to use a blog to demonstrate expertise in a particular field. However, there’s another side to blogging that I neglected to mention because I do not do it personally. However, it is entirely possible to use your blog to make money.
I set up Heroic Technical Writing as a place to demonstrate and share my general expertise as a technical writer. My personal blog (bartleahy.com) is there just to share random things that interest me–books, space exploration, politics, science fiction, whatever. My LinkedIn profile is there to keep the resume up to date. However, because I’m mostly a contractor rather than a full-fledged business owner, I have not established a site for the purposes of making money. It can be done, that’s just not a priority right now because I’m serving the clients I have now.
But it can be done.
If you’re setting up a blog/website for the purposes of making money, you need to include a few basics:
- Description of yourself/your company
- Description of your products/services
- Rate/pricing information – not always necessary, and sometimes counterproductive if your rates vary with the situation
- Contact information so someone can hire you
- Blog content that demonstrates expertise or provides value in a particular field with the goal of attracting a particular type of customer
- An engaging style
Blogging in this type of environment is usually briefer than what I write here (again, wise man/wise guy pontificating, not necessarily doing business). You don’t share ALL that you know, but share enough intriguing insights so that your reader/potential customer will want to know more. Such blogs also include a call to action, maybe something like: “Want to know more or interested in hiring me? Email me at blahblahblah at soandso.com.”
If you are interested solely in sharing your thoughts, just blog away to your heart’s content. Just don’t be surprised if you don’t get a lot of business from it.