Blogging to the Bank

If you are on a tight budget, but desperately want to get started with an online business, then Blogging to the Bank by Rob Benwell may be just the easy and no cost solution you are looking for.

Most people know about weblogs, also known as blogs. What most people don't know is that you can make a nice income with a free blog.

Rob Benwell's Blogging To The Bank 2.0 is a detailed breakdown and explanation of the techniques used by one of England's youngest and most commercially successful bloggers to create profitable blogs that draw in thousands of targeted visitors. Or so he says — so let's find out! After introducing himself and detailing his background and previous experience, Benwell sets the framework for his approach, stating, "The only way to have long term blogs that produce results for months to come is to follow the 5 blogging commandments".

So we're all working from the same perspective, here are the five commandments in full:

1) Imitate Nature: Don’t go stuffing keywords into posts or overdoing on page SEO. Google, Yahoo, and MSN are looking for quality sites by real people, not someone spitting out hundreds of blogs per month filled with keywords and ads. 2) Add Some Visitor Value: About every post you write should offer some value to your readers. Now this doesn't mean it has to change their life or anything but it needs to offer them value. Even posts about a related article with a link or a product review are good. Blogs filled with RSS vomit don’t offer value and won't last. 3) Make It Sticky: Your blog should have people coming back to it and reading it again and again. Make sure you include RSS reader buttons so visitors can subscribe to the feed. Also opt-in newsletters that offer more than just updates are a good idea but the number one way to get people to come back is to offer excellent likable content. 4) Don’t Let Your Blog Die: After testing I've seen huge differences in blogs that are kept updated and offers that don’t get new posts. You don't have to post every day or even every week but make sure you don't just set them up and forget about them because they will die off and lose traffic. 5) Market = Profit: If you are after making the most money you can from a blog them the most important decision you make will be the market you blog for so make sure you research it well first. From there we move on to his step-by-step blueprint, which I intend to follow precisely, so let's get started. Step one is market research and the first thing to decide is whether to target an affiliate product market or rely on Google AdSense or other advertising to generate money. The key to finding a viable market lies in identifying keyword phrases that get enough search engine results as to indicate there is enough demand to hope to generate enough traffic to make your efforts worthwhile and Benwell explains clearly how to conduct this fundamental research. To create your blog, Benwell strongly recommends using your own webhosting account and WordPress. He recommends Yahoo Small Business for their reliability and ease of use, though there are of course many other possibilities. Having set up a blog, the next concern is content. Remember the fourth blogging commandment? Don't let your blog die by failing to keep adding fresh content. This can of course be a real problem for some people who are either unable to write regularly. Fortunately there are several solutions to be found on the web. In addition to writing his own content, Benwell uses a subscription service called PLR Pro, which costs $97 a month for 440 articles in 11 different niche subjects, but there are cheaper options. Benwell lists a variety of sources for either paid freelance or entirely free of charge content and a quick search will turn up those exact same sites, too. Another crucial issue is optimizing your blog, which means making it look good, easy to read and navigate through, and keeping it search engine-friendly. There is a ton of good advice in Blogging To The Bank, from using distinctive, preferably unique, design to adding RSS Reader icons and, a key point, collecting reader email addresses. He also gives detailed explanations of how to tweak the WordPress code properly for maximum Search Engine Optimization (SEO) benefit and user friendliness, which I am going to duplicate on Blogger. Having got your site established, the next thing is to get your site noticed and Benwell details a broad variety of ways to do this, including pinging; article syndication, to facilitate which he includes a free software program with the e-Book which, though fairly basic and in need of an update, is a real time saver; link exchanges; press releases; forums; and getting free or paid links back to your site. Another related major chapter covers newer techniques, generally known as Web 2.0 promotion and traffic generation techniques. Benwell highlights his four top sites in useful "how to" detail, which are Squidoo, Digg, del.icio.us and Technorati. Obviously, really committing to Rob Benwell's Blogging To The Bank techniques is going to take an ongoing commitment of time and modest resources, more than I can give for review purposes here. He claims to be making a six figure income through persistent application and in his ninth and final step explains how and where he finds freelance writers and coders to outsource a lot of the grunt work, leaving him more time to manage his blog empire. He closes by detailing some extra techniques for maximising the income from your site, doing advanced SEO and also offers an affiliate opportunity to promote his e-Book. His last words are probably the most pertinent:

The worst thing you can do is put this e-book down and not do anything with the amazing information you've just learnt. So at least do a little research, make a plan of action for yourself over the next week or so and stick to it. Here's to your blogging success. If you are attracted to the idea of blogging your way to financial freedom, this e-book will serve as your guide.