include this report in training packages
or resources (free or paid), provided
you keep it intact as a complete
document. No permission from the
author is required.
Darren Rowse says…"
"
“Yaro Rocks! - What more can I say? !"
I've been watching Yaro's blogging profile
and expertise grow over the last few years
and have had the pleasure to meet and
work with him on a number of occasions. !"
Yaro knows what he's talking about and
has built his blog into an authority on the
topics that he writes about. Bloggers can
learn a lot from him!”!"
!
"
Pat Flynn says…""
“Yaro has made a huge impact on my life
and in my businesses. Before I got into
blogging and online entrepreneurship, it
was he and a handful of others who
inspired me to go down this path, not only
because of the incredible content he
provided, but because of the kind of
person I could tell he was.”!
""""
Brian Clark Says…""
“It’s nice to have everything neatly organized and
tied in directly with a strategy for making money
that goes well beyond just producing content and
AdSense”!""
"
Page 3Yaro StarakBlogMastermind.com
Blog Profits Blueprint
Table Of Contents"""
Welcome To The Blueprint" 6"
How I Discovered Blogging" 7"
Who Is Yaro Starak?" 8"
What Is A Blog And Why Are They So Popular?" 12"
How Blogs Create The Right Conditions For Profit" 16"
The Two Key Ingredients For Attracting Attention" 17"
The Blog Expert Model Vs The Blog Magazine Model " 18"
You Need Attention And The Right Business Model" 20"
How To Choose Your Blog Topic" 21"
It’s Not About The Subject, It’s About The People " 24"
The Three Mega-Niches" 28"
The Fourth Mega Niche: Irrational Passions" 29"
Content + Marketing = Traffic" 30"
What Is A Pillar?" 32"
How Do You Create Pillar Content?" 33"
The Money Comes From Subscribers: Your Email List" 39"
How To Turn Blog Visitors Into Email Subscribers" 40"
Communication Channels: The Pathways To Traffic" 43"
What Is New Or Counterintuitive Cuts Through Noise" 45"
Small Streams And Big Rivers " 46"
The Key To Your Growth: Leverage And Compounding" 48"
Compound Effects" 49"
How I Grew My Blog Traffic When I First Started" 50"
The Traffic Fundamentals That Work Year After Year" 52"
What Traffic Technique Do New Bloggers Use Today?" 53"
No Blogger Is An Island:
The Power Of Relationships" 55"
Your Message And Your Messengers" 64"
It’s Time To Make Money" 66"
How Exactly Do Blogs Make Money? " 67"
The Blog Sales Funnel" 70"
Page 4Yaro StarakBlogMastermind.com
"
What Is A “Sales Funnel”?" 72"
What Products Sell Best?" 75"
Why Most Blogs Fail" 77"
Do You Have Enough Information To Succeed?" 79"
Congratulations! – Now Get To Work" 81"
Would You Like Me To
Coach You?" 81"
Income Disclaimer (And Reality Check!)" 84"
Appendix" 84"
Guides Available From Yaro" 86"
Advanced Courses From Yaro" 87
Page 5Yaro StarakBlogMastermind.com
Blog Profits Blueprint
Welcome To The Blueprint"
"
Welcome to the brand new version of the ground-breaking Blog Profits
Blueprint."
"
When I first released this report in 2007 it went “viral”. People still come up to
me today and tell me how it started everything for them, that I helped put them on the path to a money making blog."
"
Of course a lot of things have changed since 2007, which is why I completely
re-wrote this entire document in 2014."
"
What you hold in your virtual hands is an up-to-date, comprehensive blueprint
for creating a profitable blog. I encourage you to carefully read it, page-by-
page, section-by-section, and re-read it and listen to the audio version too."
"
I’ve left nothing out. This is a complete overview of the system I used to make
over a million dollars thanks to my blog, and how many of my graduate
members have gone on to make thousands - and even millions of dollars -
from their blogs too."
"
I truly believe with help from this blueprint, you can kick-start your own
blogging career. One day soon I expect to receive an email from you telling
me how your blog has changed your life."
"
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. You must start at the beginning. It’s time
for you to learn the Blog Profits Blueprint…"
"
Here’s to your blogging success,"
"
How I Discovered Blogging
"
I began blogging in November 2004 as a means to market the internet
business I owned at the time. I was told blogs are good for search engine
traffic, but that is all I knew about them."
"
As I continued to publish my blog and began my journey in the blogosphere I
came to realize that blogs, while certainly fantastic for search engine traffic,
are much more than a mere search engine marketing tool."
"
Blogs are outlets for creativity. Blogs
influence people. Blogs are communication
devices, educational resources and sources
of entertainment. They connect people,
spread ideas, foster friendships, sway political
opinion and report news. "
"
Blogs can be almost anything you want them
to be, but what I came to experience as a
result of blogging, is a new way of life. "
"
Every day I indulge in a hobby and communicate with like-minded individuals,
and best of all, I get paid to do it."
"
How do I get paid? I monetize my blog. "
"
Monetization simply means implementing methods of making money from
the content you produce on your blog. "
"
This process can occur in many ways – and certainly how I do it today is
different to the many ways I have made money with my blog in the past."
"
What’s important is that the opportunity still exists today to jump on board the
blogging bandwagon and get paid for writing about what you love."
Blogging empowers
individuals with a tool that
generates income and
provides an outlet to
communicate with the rest
of the world. "
For many people, starting a
blog has completely
changed how they live their
lives – and for the better.
Blog Profits Blueprint
Blogging As A Business, Not A Job!"
When I say am paid to blog I don’t mean I am a paid writer. "
"
Professional blogging to me is not about looking for freelance writing gigs, it’s
about building a business, an online asset, and leveraging that asset for
cash-flow now, and long-term value in the future."
"
Blogging in my life is not a full-time occupation and it doesn’t have to be one
for you if you do not want it to be. "
"
I earn a consistent $10,000 USD to $30,000 USD per month from my blog
business. All I need to do to keep my blog working is write for one-to-two
hours every second or third day - sometimes just once a week."
"
I won’t lie to you, it’s not easy to get to the point where I am, but there is a
process you can follow. You do have to work consistently and, most
importantly, have the right mental fortitude and attitude to get you there.""
Who Is Yaro Starak?!""
You might already know me from my blog,
Entrepreneurs-Journey.com. "
"
Maybe you have heard me speak on a podcast or at
an event, watched one of my videos on YouTube, or
seen my name mentioned in another blog, email
newsletter or report."
"
I’ve made over a million dollars thanks to my blog.
While this is an impressive number, I’m more proud
of the fact that since 2007 my blog has been my full
time income source. It’s consistent, and reliable."
"
I started the Entrepreneurs-Journey blog in January 2005. Within six months I
was making money from advertising. Shortly after I promoted other people’s
products as an affiliate earning a commission when I made a sale. "
"
Within a year my blog was generating a full time income, although only just, I
wasn’t exactly “rich”."
"
In my second year of blogging I made two important changes -"
"
1. I started an email newsletter from my blog"
2. I began selling digital products I wrote myself"
"
These changes helped me to break the $100,000 a year mark from my blog
business (by now I was calling it a business). In my fourth year of blogging I
grossed over $500,000 and did the same again the year after."
"
The great majority of my income has come from selling my own digital
products and services. In this blueprint I focus on teaching you how to
create a blog that is specifically designed to sell products and services."
"
The blueprint has been downloaded over 100,000 times. Over 100,000
people signed up for my email newsletter, and each year my blog delivers
over 1.5 million pageviews (according to Google Analytics)."
"
I share these numbers with you to show that I am qualified to guide you, but I
don’t want you to feel like you need to match them. "
"
I’ve learned over the years that smaller audiences of people who really care
about your work are more important. "
Page 9Yaro StarakBlogMastermind.com
“It’s about quality of relationships, not
quantity of “hits” to your blog.”
(tweet this)
Blog Profits Blueprint
"
I’m also the founder of the first professional blogging course, Blog
Mastermind. "
"
I’m proud to say that my course has more graduates who went on to earn
$100,000 or more from their blogs than any other blogging program (as far
as I know of). I have even coached two people who today own million dollar
blogs!"
"
Here are some of my happy blogging graduates, all making money from their
blogs…"
You can listen to case study interviews of every blogger pictured above!
"
I’ve been featured on top blogs Problogger and Copyblogger, in publications
like Forbes and Entrepreneur magazine, been an expert guest on over 200
podcasts, including leading business podcasts like Entrepreneur On Fire and
The Eventual Millionaire."
L
I’ve spoken at events including the Problogger Conference, The Hive,
Networx, Elance, Web Strategy Summit, Women In Business, and many
more.
Thanks to my blog I’ve also had the
privilege of connecting with
multimillion dollar authors, bloggers
and internet marketers like Tim
Ferriss, Rich Schefren, John Carlton,
Ed Dale, Jeff Walker, Brian Clark,
Darren Rowse, Pat Flynn, Mike
Filsaime, Gideon Shalwick, James
Schramko, Eben Pagan, Katie
Freiling, Maria Andros, Chris Ducker,
David Jenyns, Pete Williams, Tom
Beal, Willie Crawford, Neil Patel, Matt
and Liz Raad, Andrew and Daryl
Grant, Noah Kagan, Leslie Samuel,
Chris Garret, Jon Morrow, Dan
Fagella, Andre Chaperon, Jaime
Tardy, Natalie Sisson, Lewis Howes,
John Lee Dumas, Natalie MacNeil and
many others.
I could continue to name-drop and
impress you (or perhaps not!) with all
kinds of claims, or throw testimonials
at you from the people I’ve helped with
blogging, but chances are none of this
matters to you.
What’s important is that I’m a blogger and make money from it, and you want
to do the same. I’m also the most qualified coach to teach you.
Watch How These Bloggers Make Money (Video)!"
I realize for many people who are new to blogging, just getting your head
around how exactly blogs make money is a puzzle."
"
With this video I’d like to answer that question for you. Let me show you
exactly how various bloggers, all graduates of my Blog Mastermind program,
currently make money from their blogs."
"
You can watch the full video tour here!
"
Now, it’s your turn. Let’s get to work, starting right at the beginning. "
"
This might be a basic question, but it’s an important one…"
""
What Is A Blog And Why Are
They So Popular?!
"
"
Blogs are websites with a few key differences, namely:
1. Blogs began as diaries, hence articles are listed in
chronological order with the newest article at the top
This is a very consistent element of every blog I have ever come across.
Articles are listed with a title followed by the body content, starting at the top
of the page with the most recently published article followed by the next most
recent, and so on.
This format is a legacy of the “journaling” aspect of blogging. The term blog is
derived from “weblog” which essentially means online diary or journal. Diaries
have entries made by date and that is how blog posts work too.
An important point to make, despite the diary style history, is that blogs today
are not all diaries and are not only about the personal lives of the authors.
"
Some blogs still are the thoughts of one author and can be very personal
(often the best are) – but blogs today must have focus.
"
You can talk about your cat or what you had for breakfast, but you have to tie
that into the main subject of your blog.
"
Blogs can be about any subject, written by one or many authors and certainly
are not all personal diaries. Personal reflection, opinion and tone all have a
place in blogs, but they must still meet the needs of their target audience.
2. Blogs make it easy to publish online
Traditional websites had one chronic problem that kept everyday people from
creating one – they were too technical. "
Even with sophisticated content management systems, website creation was
out of the reach of your average web surfer.
Blogs changed this. They provide a content publishing system so easy to
use that the average net surfer, with some practice, can become a blogger
and publish content to the World Wide Web.
When content publishing became as easy as writing email, the barriers to
entry were lowered enough for it to go mainstream. Hence we now have a
world filled with millions of blogs."
"
3. Blogs by their nature are updated frequently
Another major problem that plagued traditional websites is their static
nature.
Many websites never change and appear like a boring online brochure. One
of the key reasons for this is the previous point – it was too hard for the
average person to add content to a website.
Many popular sites were updated frequently before blogs came along, but
they had the backing of large organizations with technical staff and writers.
Until blogs became available it was hard for an individual with limited
technical ability to publish their ideas online.
With the publishing barriers lowered, not only could anyone become a content
producer, but you could do so as often as you like. As a result blogs quickly
became the most dynamic websites on the internet, with many bloggers
publishing multiple times per day. With so much fresh content, blogs became
incredibly popular.
A spin-off effect of this has been the rise of blogs in search engines. Search
engines like Google reward sites that publish valuable content on a consistent
basis. Blogs, by their nature, do this and so rise high in search engine
rankings.
4. Blogs allow people to leave comments, thus beginning
the social media revolution!"
Although it might seem ridiculously simple today, the addition of a comments
function - the ability to type into a form and reply to content published on a
website - was a huge shift in how the world wide web operated.
This enhancement turned websites from one-way “broadcast” devices, to
two-way communication tools. Readers can directly communicate with the
author of the content, carry on the conversation started by the article and
essentially turn a blog into a community.
While newsgroups and forums had allowed people to interact with each other,
it wasn’t until blog commenting was introduced that virtually every piece of
content on the internet became a potential conversation topic.
This last point is more powerful than you think, and here’s why…
5. People trust blogs (and bloggers) because blogging is a
conversation
If you combine all the elements above – the personal journal style of writing,
the ease of adding content, and the ability to interact with your readers - you
have a formula for a very natural communication tool.
Blogs, when written the right way, are considered trusted sources of
information. They foster authentic relationships between writer and reader.
As evidenced in countless blogs today, some bloggers are perceived as
respected experts, regardless of qualifications, based purely on the back of
their successful blogs.
This final point is the most significant, yet subtle element that distinguishes
blogs from normal websites. If people come to like and identify with you
thanks to your blog, then you have the two ingredients necessary to make
money
1. Trust!
2. Distribution!
When people trust you, they will buy from you. When you have a way to
reach people, you have a platform to build a business from.
This is why any person with a passion, a hobby, or a skill, and enough
motivation to produce content on a particular topic, can build an audience. "
"
Much of what I just explained won’t be new to some people, but it lays the
groundwork for the rest of this blueprint. "
If the concept of “blog” is still a bit blurry for you, head online, find some blogs
and seek examples of the five points I listed above so you understand the
opportunity that exists.
You can start with my blog, Entrepreneurs-Journey.com, as a classic example
of all the points I mentioned.
How Blogs Create The Right
Conditions For Profit!
The following is a simple 3-step summary of how blogs make money:"
1. A person (blogger) creates a website (blog) that contains value in
the form of content that solves problems or entertains."
"
2. A visitor finds the blog by following a link from another blog or
website, through a referral from friends or colleagues via email or in
conversation, in the results of a search-engine query, or as is common
today, via social media sharing.
"
3. A proportion of the blog audience is funneled into a mechanism
that creates revenue. It might be by guiding the visitor on to an email
list that sells a product or service, or directing them to click an
advertisement that is paid for on a monthly or per click basis, or by
Page 16Yaro StarakBlogMastermind.com
Blog Profits Blueprint
clicking an affiliate link that leads to a commission being generated as
a result of a product or service sale on another website."
"
"
The key variable here is “attention”. Attention is an engaged human being
who trusts what you say on your blog. It is this influence that gives you the
potential to make money from blogging. "
"
So how does a blogger attract attention?…""
The Two Key Ingredients For Attracting Attention!
The first part of creating attention (traffic) to a blog, is the age-old advice you
will have read over and over again if you study successful blogging:"
"
“Write good content”!
"
The foundation of a great blog is good content. Where people go wrong is
determining exactly what good content is given their goals, and assuming that
only good content is enough (it’s not)."
"
The other key ingredient is marketing. "
"
It’s through marketing that people find your good content. "
""
Page 17Yaro StarakBlogMastermind.com
Summary: The blogger works to attract attention and then sells that
attention to advertisers for a fee or uses the attention to profit from
their own product and/or service sales.
Blog Profits Blueprint
The Blog Expert Model Vs The
Blog Magazine Model !
"
In the past ten years I have made money from blogs using two distinct
business models. "
"
As far as I am concerned, these are the ONLY two different models for
making money with blogs today. They are -"
"
1. The Expert Model!
2. The Blog Magazine"
"
During the early days of blogging, the magazine model was the default
choice. Today I believe the expert model is a much better choice - and I’ll
explain why in a moment - but first let’s make sure you understand the
difference."
"
The Magazine Model!"
Print magazines make money by selling advertising. The larger their
circulation, the more influence they exert over people, and the demographics
of their readers, dictate how much money they make."
"
Blog magazines are essentially the same. The more traffic (circulation) they
have, the type and quality of that traffic (reader demographics) and the
influence they have over their audience, determines profitability."
"
This model relies heavily on large volumes of traffic, and thus large volumes
of content. You also have to be very good at breaking news stories in your
industry before anyone else."
"
It is VERY difficult for an individual to make this model work because of the
amount of effort required to stay on top of the latest news and produce so
many articles day after day."
Page 18Yaro StarakBlogMastermind.com
Blog Profits Blueprint
"
The other weakness of the magazine
model is the monetization method. "
"
Advertising is low leverage. You earn
pennies per visitor, hence you need
hundreds of thousands to millions of
visitors per month to make it a viable
full time income stream."
"
The Expert Model""
The Expert Model, sometimes called
“Authority Blogging” simply means you
use your blog as a platform to
demonstrate your expertise or passion
for a subject. "
"
You don’t have to produce mountains
of content with this model, nor are you
trying to break the latest news like a
magazine. You do need HIGH
QUALITY content, but you can publish
just once a week and earn a full time
income or more."
"
The reason why this works is the high leverage monetization strategy. You
don’t rely on advertising, instead you have a range of products and services
you sell directly to your audience. "
"
Using this model you can attract 100 customers per year who spend $1,000 a
year (that’s over an entire year, so not necessarily all in one purchase), and
you have a $100,000 business."
"
Page 19Yaro StarakBlogMastermind.com
Graduate Case Study: Mitch Wilson!""""""""""
Although most of my graduates
created expert blogs, I do have a few
who preferred to focus on magazine
style blogs. "
Mitch Wilson was my first ever big
success story case study, turning his
blog about college sports into a
million dollar blogging empire, with a
team of writers. "
You can hear Mitch talk about how his
blog got started in this interview I did
with him.
B
Blog Profits Blueprint
"
It’s much easier to find 100 paying customers in a year using a
very focused expert blog, than it is to attract ten thousand visitors
a day to your blog to make enough money from advertising.!
"
Here is a video I created that further explains the difference between the
magazine and expert model of blogging…"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
You Need Attention And The Right Business Model!
I’ve introduced you to the most important concepts you need to understand
before you begin the process of creating your blog."
"
• Attention: The fundamental force that allows you to make money from
a blog is attention. Trust, influence and the power to reach a critical
mass of people through online distribution, are how blogs are used to
build businesses.
"
• Content + Marketing: To capture attention you create high quality
content and then market it so people discover your work.
"
• The Model: The Expert Model of blogging is a better choice for you
today because you do not need incredible amounts of content or traffic
to make $100,000 or more. "
"
Your goal is to create a niche-focused, high quality blog, with a small but
highly engaged audience, whom you can sell products and services to,
earning high profit margins."
"
If all of this seems overwhelming, you
are concerned you are not an expert, or
you do not have any products or services
to sell, do not worry, all of these
concerns will be addressed later."
"
Now we move on to the next phase of
this blueprint. You’re going to start
putting together the pieces you need to
build your successful blog, beginning
with the first and most important decision
you have to make. !
"
What topic will you blog about…!
"
How To Choose Your Blog Topic!
"
During the early days of blogging you could start writing about what you care
about and people would naturally find you. It’s not that easy anymore."
"
Next experts began preaching the importance of keyword search volume.
You have to make sure there are enough people searching about your
subject, and not too much competition, before considering starting a blog on
that subject."
"
I don’t agree with this formula either."
"
Page 21Yaro StarakBlogMastermind.com
How Can Less Traffic Equal
More Money?!"
If you are not clear exactly how
small niche blogs with engaged
audiences can make $100,000 a
year or more, go through my
Blog Traffic Fundamentals free
email course. "
You can start here with part 1: "
The Myth Of “Being Everywhere”
And The Smarter Path To Traffic
Blog Profits Blueprint
The internet is too crowded today for you to just start writing and hope people
will care about your ideas. Keywords, while a useful tool, are far too limited a
resource to base your decision on."
"
Today, based on my experience having coached thousands of bloggers and
seeing who goes go on to make $100,000 or more, I have a good grasp of
what criteria matter when choosing a topic for your blog."
"
Topic selection has always been about finding the sweet spot, the
convergence between something that you care enough about to get really
good at AND other people spend money on."
Page 22Yaro StarakBlogMastermind.com
The Two Most Important Questions!"
Above everything else I see TWO QUESTIONS as the most important
when determining a good blog topic. They are -"
"
1. Is there money being made by people/businesses in your
niche? (The Money)
"
2. Can you see yourself years from now still interested in the
subject you are about to start a blog about? (Your Passion)!
Blog Profits Blueprint
Isn’t Competition Bad?!"
Don’t try to find a niche with no competition so you can be first to market. !
"
While being first in a popular subject is an advantage, the internet has
evolved to the point that it’s very rare to find a money-making subject that
doesn’t already have people in it."
"
That’s actually a good thing."
"
Competition is a sign of potential. When other people are operating in a
market and they are making good money that means you have the potential
to do the same."
"
What you need to do is find a popular, proven money-making subject, and
then be first with your unique methods and ideas about that subject. "
"
Find the slice, the segment within a market you can own. Go after hungry
audiences with a unique solution that only you can provide. "
"
Your solution doesn’t have to actually be truly original (original ideas are
rare), but you have to frame it as unique, to position it against everyone else
in the market. Your content is unique, your style and voice are unique - YOU
are unique - and that can be the unique aspect of your solution."
"
Competition Is A Traffic Source!"
Due to the open and collaborative nature of the internet, with articles shared
and syndicated, and everyone hungry for fresh content for their blogs and
websites, your “competition” is often your best source of traffic."
"
One of the key marketing techniques available to you, which I will cover later
in this blueprint, is to get your content published on other blogs and
websites. If no one else is succeeding in your industry that’s a bad thing, you
need their audience to help build your own."
"
Page 23Yaro StarakBlogMastermind.com
Blog Profits Blueprint
Today a niche that appears empty very likely means it’s not
actually a viable market. A ghost town is empty for a reason - no
one could make a living there.!
"
Mastery (And Wealth) Comes From The Long Term Play!"
The graduates of my coaching programs who have gone on to earn $100,000
or more showed two key characteristics…"
"
1. They were in it for the long term!
2. They were not blogging just for the money!
"
If you have read Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Outliers, you know about the
concept of 10,000 hours of practice leading to mastery of a subject."
"
It’s that level of long term immersion that leads to your subject becoming
second nature. It becomes a part of who you are as a person. "
"
You don’t have to be a master of your subject now, but you should care
enough about it to want to become one. "
"
People who build successful blogging businesses love what they are writing
about. Their driving motivation is NOT the money, it’s about sharing ideas and
interacting with other people about the subject they care about so much."
"
Needless to say, the closer you get to mastering your subject, the more
money you make. People pay the most money for the best ideas."
"
It’s Not About The Subject, It’s About The People !
There is a subtle change I want you to make in how you go about looking for
a profitable blog topic…"
"
Stop looking for “topics” and start looking at people.!
Page 24Yaro StarakBlogMastermind.com
Blog Profits Blueprint
"
In particular, start looking at the problems people have that are strong
enough for them to actively look for solutions."
"
You’re trying to identify motivations, the emotions that cause action, and the
characteristics that bring groups of people together."
"
Most people are motivated by solving their problems."
"
A profitable blog topic is about people trying to find solutions to
their problems and you presenting yourself as the best solution
for their unique conditions.!
"
Your job is to gain intimate knowledge about these conditions, emotions and
motivations."
"
You might already have some insight because you have “lived” your blog
subject. Maybe you overcame a disease, or excelled at a sport, or cook a
unique type of food, or lost an incredible amount of weight. "
"
Your experience gives you the knowledge of what your people want and how
they feel. "
"
You can’t know enough about people’s behavior. The better you genuinely
understand what is going on inside the head of your target audience, the
better you can meet their needs."
"
That’s Enough Psychology… Let’s Find Your Blog Topic!!"
You’re probably thinking all this insight into topic selection is great, but how
exactly can you translate these ideas into practical research to find your
topic."
"
There are two types of reactions people have when it comes to research into
a potential topic -"
Page 25Yaro StarakBlogMastermind.com
Blog Profits Blueprint
"
1. You know what subject you want to focus on, you’re just not
sure if there is money in it. How do you validate this?
"
2. You have no idea what subject to focus on at all, and you have
no clue how to even begin the research process to discover
one!!
"
If you fall into the first option you have one simple research step - see if you
can find anyone else or any existing businesses making money in the niche
you are considering. "
"
If a business is selling products and/or services and appears to have been
doing so for a while, then you can bet they are making money. Businesses
losing money do not stay in business for long."
"
You can also look for blogs that are succeeding, books about the subject that
are selling, magazines that are still in publication, TV programs about the
subject - any sign of commercial activity about your subject is a good sign."
"
If You Are Completely Lost!"
If you fall into option two and have no clue whatsoever about a potential topic,
then you have a two-step research process."
"
Your first step is a reflection and self assessment process. You have to
identify any experiences, studies or achievements you have that could be the
basis for your blog topic."
"
Review your hobbies, passions, things you do from week-to-week, things you
read, listen to, or watch. Account for any significant experiences you have
lived through, rewards you have won or qualifications you have gained."
"
• Have you traveled overseas? "
• Do you collect something?"
Page 26Yaro StarakBlogMastermind.com
Blog Profits Blueprint
• Or participate in a sport or club? "
• Have you worked in a particular area that you know really well? "
• Do you have a strong desire to learn something new, which can also
become the topic of your blog?"
"
If your initial “passion list” is not sufficient for topic ideas, you can branch out
and research online. "
"
Browse through online stores like Amazon.com, the auction site eBay.com
and the marketplace Alibaba.com and you can easily find what is currently
selling. Meetup.com and EventBrite.com can show you what topics are
bringing people together for events."
"
Spend some time at your local newsstand or library browsing magazines. The
magazine rack is a listing of all the different niches with significant audience
size, enough to at least support a magazine."
"
See what other bloggers are writing about
and enjoying success with and start a blog
that covers a sub-niche of their topic. "
"
For example, the topic of “travel” can
break down into specific countries, or
specific types of travel (skiing, historical
cities, tropical islands) or specific target
audiences (backpackers, retirees, luxury
travel)."
"
All markets break down into smaller
niches if there is enough demand, with
each new area catered to by a more
specialized provider. There’s no reason
why you can’t start a blog that is the best
on just one aspect of a topic. "
"
Page 27Yaro StarakBlogMastermind.com
Blog Profits Blueprint
• Instead of “Cars” you can cover “BMWs” or “Convertibles” !
• Instead of “Losing Weight” you cover “Fat Loss For Bodybuilders”!
• Instead of “Dating” you cover “Online Dating For The Over 50”!
"
Most topics can be broken down over and over into ever smaller niches (for
example, from “Fashion”, to “Shoes” to “Shoelaces”). Pick one aspect of a
topic and make the best blog there is about just that aspect. "
"
As an added benefit, it’s easier to monetize tightly focused blogs because you
get a very specific type of reader who is searching for a very specific type of
information."
"
There are literally hundreds of untapped blog topic ideas out there, you just
have to find them. "
"
The Three Mega-Niches!
Remember how I said one of the key indicators to look for are other people
making money? !
"
Almost all successful information businesses on this planet fall into one of the
three “mega-niches”. "
"
Eben Pagan, a multimillion dollar information marketer, came up with the
term mega-niches, which can be used as a very simple way to look for money
making topics for blogs."
"
The three mega niches are:"
"
1. Dating and Relationships!
2. Health and Wellness!
3. Money and Finance"
"
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Blog Profits Blueprint
If you are dealing with human beings - and we all are - then these are the
three areas in our lives that we spend most of our time, energy, and most
importantly when it comes to a business, our money on."
"
You will note that these three top level subject areas all relate to core human
needs. "
"
If you have studied Anthony
Robbins materials before, or
you went through Maslow’s
Hierarchy of Needs (inset
right) at school, you will know
doubt recognize them."
"
Our primary needs for health,
food, shelter, love and
recognition are all met within
these three mega-niches.
Hence, that is where there is
money to be made."
"
If you can help someone recover from a chronic injury or illness, attract the
opposite sex or get out of debt, you can make money online."
"
The Fourth Mega Niche: Irrational Passions"
There is also a fourth top level niche category to add to this list, affectionately
referred to as our “irrational passions”."
"
As society emerged beyond striving for survival to having excess resources
thanks to technology advancement, humans have become rabid consumers."
"
Today we spend a considerable amount of money on things we don’t need. "
"
Page 29Yaro StarakBlogMastermind.com
Blog Profits Blueprint
For example, money spent on
sports, fashion, cars, travel,
electronics and entertainment have
moved well beyond meeting our
needs to simply wants and desires."
"
Anything that people are irrationally
passionate about, from shoes to
the local football team to video
games and movies, are potentially
lucrative blog topics. People — a lot of people — spend a lot of money on
them."
"
Now Go Find Your Blog Topic!!"
I’ve provided more advice on blog topic selection than any other subject in
this blueprint because I want you to get this right. You have to, everything
else depends on it."
"
You have insight into this decision from all angles. You know the important
questions to ask yourself, what kind of research to do, and how to do it."
"
Next we move on to the foundations of what makes for a quality blog. I’m
going to teach you how to become a content and marketing master. "
"
"
Content + Marketing = Traffic!""
Once you have selected your topic the next step is to work on the two
foundation elements of a successful blog I introduced you to earlier – !
"
1. Content!
2. Marketing!
"
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Blog Profits Blueprint
I teach two core principles that are essentially all you need to know about to
build a successful blog – Pillar Content and Communication Channels."
"
Pillar Content, or
sometimes called Pillar
Articles, are the
foundation of a good
blog. This content is the
reason why people read
your blog in the first
place. Content is the
value you offer to the
public. It attracts attention
and engages an
audience."
"
Communication
Channels are what
bring people to your
pillar content."
"
Good marketing is
essentially good
communication.
Looking at marketing as
building communication
channels – pathways
and lures to bring
people to your blog – is
a simple way to
understand this idea."
"
The main reason the
majority of blogs never
build significant traffic
Page 31Yaro StarakBlogMastermind.com
Blog Profits Blueprint
and thus never make significant profit, is because most bloggers are poor
marketers. "
"
If you just follow the advice, “write good content”, you are not going to
succeed. You also need to learn how to market your work."
"
Now let’s look at how you can implement these two concepts to build a
successful blog. First, let’s look at content formats…""
What Is A Pillar?!
A pillar is blog content, usually an article, which does some very important
things:"
"
• It will bring in a rush of new readers and backlinks (other sites linking
to your blog)."
"
• It will continue to bring in more readers over time as you and other
people refer and share it, even though it may be buried in the archives
of your blog."
"
• Eventually it will bring in traffic from search engines (this is largely
because so many other web pages link to it)."
"
• You can list it in a separate area (like a start guide or articles page)
with all your other pillars so your best content can easily be accessed
and your value clearly demonstrated.
"
• It is good enough to be repurposed into other content, like a report
or email course, or even compiled together and turned into a product
you can sell."
"
• It is not time dependent - often called “evergreen” - so in a year from
now it will still be relevant."
"
Page 32Yaro StarakBlogMastermind.com
Blog Profits Blueprint
How Do You Create Pillar Content?!
There is no exact formula for producing an article that will become a pillar,
however there are definitely some key characteristics you can work on. "
"
You may be surprised when articles you write become pillars when you didn’t
expect it, or the reverse where you pour your heart into a great article and it
doesn’t do much for your traffic at all."
"
Here are typical pillar article concepts that you can post to your blog.
Generally speaking, these formats are more likely to lead to pillar content
outcomes."
"
If you prefer video, I also have a short 5-minute clip from a presentation I did
many years ago to introduce people to the “Pillar” concept. One word of
warning, I had long hair back when I did this talk!"
You can watch my 5-minute video introduction to Pillar Content!
"
1. The “How-To” Article ""
This is a staple pillar article concept. "
Page 33Yaro StarakBlogMastermind.com
This is a no
big you link
Blog Profits Blueprint
Think about your industry and write an article that teaches how to do
something in it. Only write how-to articles on topics you genuinely understand
how to do and have experience with."
"
Some examples: "
"
• If you blog about a certain type of dog breed, write about how to
choose the right dog food.
"
• If you help real estate agents get customers from the internet, write
how to use Facebook as a marketing tool especially for real estate
agents."
"
• If you blog about how to publish a fiction novel, produce a how-to
guide on approaching publishers."
"
• If you blog about how start dating again after a divorce, create a how-
to guide on where to meet people. "
"
• If you blog about how to make money on foreign exchange trading,
create a beginners how-to guide about online trading services."
"
It should be clear which how-to topics are popular and relevant to your
audience and which you feel capable of explaining well. Remember to tell a
story if you can!"
"
2. The List Article "
You have no doubt seen many list posts on blogs. The usual titles are “Top 7
Ways To…” or “10 Tips To Improve…” etc. They often spread like wildfire all
over the internet, and there is a good reason why…"
"
Lists are easily digested by human beings. It’s been tested and proven
that articles in the 300-700 word range with clear dot-point bulleted lists and a
compelling headline are good traffic pullers. In this case it’s all about
Page 34Yaro StarakBlogMastermind.com
Blog Profits Blueprint
simplicity of consumption for people with short attention spans – i.e. most
web surfers."
"
Bear in mind that while a 400 word article might equate to the average
attention span of the casual web surfer looking for procrastination
entertainment while bored at their job, if you are building an expert-based
authority blog, you can and should produce longer list articles. "
"
A “Top 50” list with plenty of pictures that you spend a little bit of extra time
putting together can do a whole lot more for your traffic than a short list post
with no substance."
"
3. The Definition Article!"
Many industries have key concepts which new readers won’t know. If a
concept is complicated, produce a pillar article that defines the concept,
clearly explaining what it means and how it can be implemented. "
"
It may seem simple and obvious to you, but remember you are an expert in
your field, so explain it to the beginners in simple terms and tell a story as an
example."
"
A glossary definition page is a good pillar article. If there are a handful of
key concepts in your industry, write an article that lists the concepts and
provides a one-paragraph definition for each. A resource page like this is
good as a reference piece and often referred back to by other bloggers and
websites."
"
You may say why bother doing this if most terms are already defined
elsewhere on the web at sites like Wikipedia? "
"
It’s okay to link to other websites for definitions, especially in the short term
when you are just getting things set up, but it’s a lot better if you write your
own definitions. "
"
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Creating your own definitions keeps readers on your blog, increases your
pageviews (the total number of pages of your blog readers view) and visitor
length (how long readers stay at your blog). You can describe a concept in
your own words, using your own unique story and voice. This helps to build
credibility, trust and cement your expertise."
"
It’s always smarter to include your own version of a definition if you are
capable of explaining a term or concept, rather than link to other sites and
drive traffic away from your blog."
"
4. A Technical Blueprint!"
A technical blueprint is similar to a how-to article, but is focused on the
technical aspects of a problem. Technology-focused bloggers are good at
blueprint pillar articles because they love to use graphs, spreadsheets and
images to demonstrate how to do something. "
"
A technical blueprint is a step-by-step, visually enhanced article
demonstrating exactly how to complete a task. Often the pictures tell the story
more than the words do. Designers and programmers use this style of blog
post to show how they code a website, design an image using Photoshop,
code software, or simpler activities like attach a file to an email. "
"
You can apply the principle to almost any industry that has common tasks
which may be complex to understand. In this case it’s more about the
imagery and less about the story. "
"
5. Present A Theory Or Argument (And A Strong Opinion)
"
If you blog about politics, current events, economics, philosophy, or any topic
that triggers healthy debate, use your blog as a platform for your theories. "
"
Strong opinion is a staple of good blogging. You don’t want to sit on the fence,
you need to tell people what you really think. Conflict spreads, so don’t be
afraid to be controversial, provided you can justify your theories."
"
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Blog Profits Blueprint
The important thing here is to present some unique thought. Give your
opinion on a major issue in your industry, or on a mainstream topic that your
readers take an interest in. "
"
Don’t be afraid to jump on the bandwagon of a popular subject. If a celebrity
just did something controversial that’s a hot topic, and you can relate it to
your blog, write an article."
"
6. Create A Significant Resource Or Article Series!"
This is one of my favorite pillar concepts. I recommend it to all my coaching
members as the first articles they publish to their blogs."
"
You start by planning a series of blog posts. They can be articles, audios, or
videos (or all three!), depending what content format you prefer. The key is
that each piece connects to the next in a series. You are creating a “super
how-to” resource. "
"
Your goal is to produce a free introductory A-to-Z guide on a core problem
your audience needs to solve. You might require five to ten articles to really
cover everything, but that’s a good thing, you shouldn’t hold back."
"
You can use those articles as a “start-guide” you list on your blog navigation
bar, or use it as an email course, sending people to each article in the series
after they sign up for your email list."
"
You can collect and collate the articles into one document and create a free
PDF report. If you add pictures, a table of contents and a nice cover graphic,
you have your first key significant resource, which again can be used as an
incentive for signing up to your email list."
"
Really good reports go viral. This blueprint you are reading right now is one
such example (go email it to your friends now, that’s an order!). You can
literally reach hundreds of thousands to even millions of people just because
you decided to write a series of high quality blog posts."
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7. Use Multimedia To Reach All Modalities Of Learning!"
All human beings have a dominant modality for learning. The four modalities
are -"
"
1. Visual (seeing)!
2. Auditory (listening)!
3. Tactile (touching)!
4. Kinesthetic (participating)!
"
When it comes to blog content, these four learning preferences break down
into people who like to read, who like to listen to audio, who like to watch an
instructional video and those who want to actively participate in a live
presentation."
"
Since every person has a dominant preference they are more likely to ignore
content not presented in it. Your best chance of satisfying a majority is to
provide content in all the formats you can…"
"
• written articles"
• podcast audios"
• video presentations"
• interactive webinars"
"
Blog posts that include pictures, graphics, infographs, charts, mindmaps and
drawings do better too."
"
In an ideal world every piece of content you publish would be available as an
article, a downloadable MP3 and a YouTube video they can watch. This is
difficult to achieve, especially if you want to maintain a high standard of
quality across all formats."
"
I recommend in every blog post you create always include at least one other
piece of multimedia content. Every article should have pictures. Every
podcast should have a PDF transcript so the readers can benefit too. If there
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Blog Profits Blueprint
is a relevant YouTube video you can embed in a post, do it, even if you
embed other people’s videos (which is completely legal)."
"
"
The Money Comes From
Subscribers: Your Email List!
"
Before we move on to traffic generation I need to point out a distinction you
must grasp if you are going to succeed as a profitable blogger."
"
You make the majority of your money from subscribers.!
"
Subscribers are people who have been exposed to your work and enjoyed it
so much that they have signed up for more. They say yes to your offers,
become customers, members, and raving fans willing to pay to be involved
with you."
"
Page 39Yaro StarakBlogMastermind.com
Action Step: Plan Your First Pillar Article!
I want you to stop for a moment, take a break from reading this blueprint,
get out a notepad or tablet, and plan your first pillar content."
"
Review the seven pillar content concepts I just revealed to you and apply
them to generate ideas for your first blog articles. "
"
It should be exciting to generate ideas for your blog. I’ve been doing it for
ten years and I still love to scribble down notes for articles to write."
"
Once you have your ideas down, it’s time to move on to the next phase. "
Blog Profits Blueprint
It might be older technology, but today email is still the dominant format to
keep in touch with subscribers. As long as we all pay attention to our
emails, this is not going to change."
"
Your email list is as important, if not more important than your blog. Together
they are the perfect tandem combination - "
"
• Your blog captures attention, builds trust and convinces people to
subscribe to your email list.
"
• Your email list is a direct line of communication to your
subscribers. You send a message and people pay attention to it, click
the links and buy your products."
"
To gauge the success of your marketing efforts you should look at how many
people visit your blog (visitors) AND more importantly, how many join your
email list (subscribers)."
""
How To Turn Blog Visitors Into
Email Subscribers!
"
Before you head out and promote your blog to build traffic, it is important you
set up what is called an email optin form. "
"
Here is the picture of my very first optin form on my blog back in 2006 -"
Page 40Yaro StarakBlogMastermind.com
Blog Profits Blueprint
An optin form is a sign up form on your blog where a visitor can enter their
email to sign up to your email list. You have no doubt seen many such email
optin forms on blogs and websites."
"
The biggest mistake I made with my own blog was waiting an entire year
before adding an email optin form to create an email list."
"
I can only imagine how many visitors came to my blog who never came back
during that first year. If they joined my email list, then I would have had a way
to stay in touch."
"
I don’t want you to make the same mistake I did. You must have an email
optin form on your blog from day one so any effort you put in to bring traffic to
your blog is not wasted."
"
How To Convince People To Sign Up For Your Email List!"
To convince a visitor to your blog to join your email list you have many
Aoptions. It’s easy to get confused, so to keep things straight forward I am
going to tell you the three most important factors…"
"
1. What You Offer As An Incentive To Join Your Email List!
"
A good optin form works because the offer made directly appeals to the
needs of your visitors. This is why it’s important to know what your audience
really wants."
"
If a woman wants to lose ten pounds in a month to look good on her wedding
day, then offer a free email course that gives her the eating plan and
exercises to do it."
"
2. How You Present That Offer In The Headline/Copy!
Not only do you have to know what your audience wants, you have to make
Page 41Yaro StarakBlogMastermind.com
Blog Profits Blueprint
sure you convey your offer in clear and compelling language. This is where
the headline on your optin form comes in."
"
3. Where You Place The Optin Form On Your Blog!
"
Your great offer with a powerful headline is presented in your optin form,
placed at the top of your blog. It can also be in your sidebar, in your blog
footer, and as a popup form. "
"
Here is an example of a popup optin form I ran on my blog to offer people this
blueprint you are now reading-"
"
In my experience, the top header area on my blog and a popup form attract
the most subscribers. "
"
Page 42Yaro StarakBlogMastermind.com
“How To Lose Ten Pounds In 30 Days To
Look Perfect On Your Wedding Day”!
"
Enter your email and I will send you a free 5-day email course with
specific eating and exercise plans for wives-to-be in the lead up to
the big day.
Blog Profits Blueprint
I don’t have the space in this blueprint to cover copywriting, or what makes for
good optin form design (I go into this in more depth inside my Blog
Mastermind coaching program)."
"
At this stage I suggest you keep things simple. Have some kind of optin form
on your blog, put it right at the top of your blog design and offer a free email
course, which can feature links to your best blog posts to begin with."
"
You could also offer a series of videos, or audios or a free report (or multiple
formats to connect with more people). The format isn’t nearly as important as
the three elements above (offer, headline, placement), so focus on them."
"
"""
Communication Channels: The
Pathways To Traffic!
"
Once you have pillar content on your blog and an email optin form with a
compelling offer and good headline, you can begin the next phase to attract
people and show them how amazing your content is. "
"
Tracy Raftl is a Canadian who suffered from acne.
Due to her experience clearing her own skin, she
felt she could help others, so she started a blog
about curing adult acne. "
Today she makes a full time income from her
blog, approximately $80,000 a year. You can hear
exactly how she makes money from her blog in this
case study interview you can listen to for free.
B
Blog Profits Blueprint
This is when marketing is crucial and, as I mentioned previously, blog
marketing is all about building communication channels."
"
A communication channel is a way of flagging the attention of a person (an
internet surfer) and convincing them to take action, usually clicking a link on
another website or in an email that leads to your blog. "
"
There are limitless tactics you can implement to build communication
channels, from the quick-and-easy to the complex and time consuming. "
"
Have you ever heard the phrase you get what you pay for? "
"
This phrase applies very well to blog marketing. Things that are easy to do
are not powerful. Things that take more time and effort, generally, are better
rewarded with more traffic."
"
Here’s a brief example:"
"
Traffic Tactic: Leave comments on other blogs.!
"
It’s well known that leaving comments on other blogs is a method of attracting
people to your blog. Each comment you leave has a link back to your blog. All
you need to do is spend a few seconds, write a sentence or two, and ta-da,
you have your first communication channel leading people back to your blog."
"
That’s an easy tactic and consequently a lot of people do it. Comments are
everywhere and while they are certainly an integral part of the blogging
phenomenon, the effectiveness of commenting as a marketing tool is
poor. They send a trickle of traffic at best."
"
Traffic Tactic: Write a 30-page free report and release it on your blog,
then email other bloggers to let them know about it.!
"
A powerful technique is to spend a week writing a comprehensive report,
release it on your blog and email a copy to several popular bloggers you have
a relationship with."
"
The results can vary, but if all goes well a lot of other blogs will link to your
blog to recommend the report, driving a surge of new readers. If your blog is
set up right, you will convert many first-time visitors into regular readers and
subscribers. Boom! An instant audience. "
"
"
If something takes longer to produce and requires a more
significant investment of resources, fewer people will do it and
your efforts will stand out.!
"
"
There’s a relationship between quality and effort. In most situations,
something you spend a week on will be better than something you spend a
day on. That’s obvious, but it’s important to make this point."
"
There’s also one other factor that can really make a difference to your
marketing…""
What Is New Or Counterintuitive Cuts Through Noise!
By now you’re thinking about a quality resource you could create, pour your
energy into and then use to market your blog and build traffic."
"
That’s great. "
"
Before you dive in though, I
want you to factor in one of the
most important concepts for
successful marketing."
"
"
Page 45Yaro StarakBlogMastermind.com
“What is new or counterintuitive
gets the most attention.”
(tweet this)
Blog Profits Blueprint
Content format or subjects that are already well covered or yesterday’s news
will not attract attention. "
"
When you create something amazing as a marketing piece for your blog,
make sure you are presenting new ideas, a new way of looking at things, a
new presentation format or a counterintuitive idea."
"
You might have a new way to solve a problem. Or you can present your ideas
in a format people have not seen before (for example, webinars are still new
for many industries)."
"
Counterintuitive means you go against accepted practice. "
"
Everyone says that eating less helps you lose weight. What if you said that
you had a way to eat more and lose weight? That’s going to grab attention."
"
New or counterintuitive ideas do not stay so for long. You have to strike first if
you want the big results. Bear in mind that what is established in one industry
might be new in yours. You just have to be first for the people you are trying
to reach."
"
Small Streams And Big Rivers !
"
Before I list the specific activities I have done to build traffic to my blog, you
need to understand the two categories I use to explain why some techniques
work well and others produce mediocre results. ""
As I said before, blog marketing is about communication channels and to
simplify things I categorize communication channels into two groups – little
and big, or the more visual labels, streams and rivers."
"
Examples of little communication channels are leaving comments on other
blogs, posting in forums, uploading articles to sites like EzineArticles.com,
sharing content on Facebook and sending Twitter tweets when you have not
spent time to build a following, or adding your blog link to free directories. "
All these techniques may result in some traffic, but on
average and for most people they never result in
anything significant. "
"
You can get results with these easy techniques by
working on them ceaselessly, day after day. This is like
adding 1+1+1 when you are trying to count to a million,
a slow and frustrating process."
"
When I first started my blog I built a foundation made up of little streams of
traffic. This process taught me a lot, but it was frustrating to see my traffic
statistics grow so slowly."
"
What really made me excited was when one of my little streams of traffic led
to a river, a flood of traffic coming in a short period when I opened up a big
communication channel."
"
Big traffic can come from events like when a popular blog features your
content, when someone with a large email newsletter shares your article, or
an influencer with a significant social media following shares your content
with their followers."
"
A flood of traffic can come when you are interviewed on a popular podcast or
your YouTube video goes viral, or when you gain coverage on a television
program or radio talk show."
"
These are much larger sources of
exposure – big communication
channels – the rivers."
"
The problem for most bloggers is
that they start off without access to
big communication channels. "
"
People with an existing celebrity
Page 47Yaro StarakBlogMastermind.com
Blog Profits Blueprint
status get access to big communication channels as soon as they start
blogging. Remember how I said “attention” is the force that powers blogs?
Celebrities in our culture get more attention than any other people. "
"
You can buy big communication channels by spending money on advertising
or publicity. There are smart ways to get publicity without spending big
(guerrilla marketing is all about doing just that) but it can be a hit-and-miss
activity. "
"
I’m going to assume you are not famous and don’t have cash to burn to get
traffic to your blog. That doesn’t mean you can’t tap into powerful sources of
traffic through big communication channels. "
"
You need to learn how to get some leverage…!"
The Key To Your Growth:
Leverage And Compounding!
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Let’s say you presently have 100 subscribers. When you publish a new blog
article, you can reach out and inform these people. "
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If you are lucky one of those 100 people owns a popular blog, or has an email
newsletter with 5,000 subscribers and decides to link to your amazing article,
then bam – you just hit a bigger communication channel and you grow your
readership significantly."
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Needless to say, that is not a likely outcome, especially with such a small
base of people to begin with."
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Once you have thousands of subscribers you have a better chance of hitting
a big communication channel since your existing leverage is greater. That’s
why the biggest blogs grow quickest – they have great leverage in the
