Bloggers face an issue when they transition their hobby blog to a business. Bloggers get tunnel vision - letting their one blog be their only money making source in their strategic "business" plan. I put that in quotes because most bloggers do not have a written business plan.
Heck, most internet marketers don't have a business plan. A lot of this business seems to be a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants or you own a huge whiteboard to keep track of link strategies (the whiteboard is my next purchase).
However, there comes a time when most realize that a few pennies or a few hundred dollars made by Google Adsense is not going support their lifestyle. Then does one realize its time to come up with a strategic business plan. A plan that will support the desired lifestyle.
(Mine is to make $12,000/month. What's yours?)
Some bloggers do well by making money with one blog. But for most, they need to focus on several sources bringing in revenue.
Even "A" List Bloggers do more than just Blog
I spend a lot of time looking at how people run their businesses online. How they run them. What else they do. Seek out patterns. Even "A" list bloggers do more than just blog. Here are a few examples:
John Chow, www.johnchow.com, is Master of his blog, The TechZone, and TTZ Media Network. I enjoy John's blog because while he runs a lot of affiliate information on his site, it doesn't look spammy. Sign up for his ebook to find out how he does it. BTW, you might get a kick out of his disclosure policy (thank you Nathan Hangen and Mike Jones for that lead).
Darren Rowse, www.problogger.net, runs three additional blogs besides ProBlogger. There is Digital Photography School, TwiTip, and FeelGooder. But he is also co-founder of b5media, co-founder of sixfigureblogging.com and the author of the book, ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income. He is also a consultant and speaker. (Where does he find the time to do it all?)
Pat Flynn, www.smartpassiveincome.com, does a great job with his blog. But he also does product sales at GreenExamAcademy.com, runs a successful niche site, has done article writing with eHow, is heightening his success with iPhone applications and possibly wordpress plugins. Oh ya, I might add speaker, too. He will be speaking at FINCON11 - the PF Blogger's Conference.
(Sorry for not including the ladies. My reasoning, I think we approach the online world differently. And are not seen as 'bloggers' on the fore front of our business.)
A Look into the strategic business plan
When I wrote my March 2011 - Income Report I came to the conclusion, that even though this is a relatively new blog, I was in need to expand my resources if I wanted to quickly make the desired lifestyle.
BTW, the income report was available as an RSS Member's Only feed. And was picked up by the high authority German blog, SelbstandigImNetz.
It had me thinking about my strategic business plan. Here is the before and after:
As you can see the blog was the my only business idea at the time. Of course with intentions to write an eBook, expand my course offerings, and more. But I thought about kicking up a notch. Since I have the time to implement the plan. This is how I am doing it.
- Affordable Web Design
- A Local SEO Company
- Article Writing
- Blogging at Christine.Biz
(Would love some feedback on all this)
What is your Strategic Business Plan?
Even a blogger needs to make a strategic business plan that will map a plan for reaching monetary and personal goals.
Monetary: I want to make ______ by the end of the year.
Personal: I want to spend more time with my family. Or I want to become a nomadic traveler.
Whether it be speaking, consulting, or designing courses. Consider what your goals are for this month, this year, in five years and so forth. What is your strategic business plan in addition to blogging?
