The first day on the job my task list had highlighted on it, create blog- discretion yours. By the end of the day, after the rest of my task list was completed the Las Vegas Intern blog had been created (pricefallsllc.wordpress.com). I am not completly sure how I am going to use it to drive traffic to the site but I’m only 11 posts in, I’m hoping I’ll find my lightbulb idea like you have.

I really loved reading your post and just this post itself has made me a frequent visitor to weblogbetter.com. Welcome to my favorites tab!

Thank you for all of your insight and knowledge.

Josh

Of course that didn’t work out so well. But I kept blogging anyway, and soon realised that I start blogs about topics that I like, so that I can help other people by turning the complex into the simple.

In fact that is now the basis of my business.
.-= Paul Cunningham´s last blog ..The Blogger’s Guide to Eating Elephants =-.

I opened my first web site in 1994. It was an online catalog to accompany my mail order catalog of educational products mostly targeted at homeschoolers.

My first blog opened on January 1, 2003 and it’s still going as a large group blog that I manage and, occasionally, write for. It started because two other women and I were writing a Q&A column for a large online magazine and, frankly, got tired of the lack of autonomy. :)

I started an affiliate marketing blog. I researched as much as I could; I wanted to promote products that taught people how to get into affiliate marketing because those seemed to be the ones that were paying the most money.

Honestly, I think this is one of the problems we face on the internet. When we look for a blog that will make money, it’s often not based on real expertise. One of the reasons I like Darren Rowse is that he made money online before he started telling people how to make money online.

I found the same thing in the homeschool community. About 10-12 years ago, when homeschooling kind of exploded and became much more universally accepted, big companies (including those formed by public school teachers) jumped in to “serve the homeschool market.” They could see the income potential and wanted a piece. But since they didn’t homeschool themselves and hadn’t successfully navigated through the issues, most of their efforts (thought not all) fell totally flat. They had no credibility. They didn’t understand the paradigm or even the lingo. Sometimes they said really idiotic stuff and sometimes (as with the public school group who thought we needed their expertise in something utterly irrelevant to homeschooling) they were offensive.

When we look for something to blog about, my suggestion is to look for only two things (1) something in which we have experience and expertise and passion (2) something other people are interested in. With that combination, a blog is on a really productive path. :)
.-= Alison Moore Smith´s last blog ..Introduction to Affiliate Marketing =-.