Someone asked on Reddit today if it was still possible to earn money blogging in 2017... duh. Of course it is.
Here's my answer, and my rough plan for my blog, in 2017.
1. I take the site I'd previously ranked: FIMSpecialist.com.
This is a super niche site on a highly technical topic (Microsoft Identity Manager), that I have specialised on for almost a decade. I started the blog back in 2012 as a bit of an experiment to see if blogging principles could be applied in the corporate space, for companies targeting enterprise organisations.
How this site looked a few weeks ago
I'd just left the company I'd been working for at the time, and had previously suggested blogging as something they should do to own the niche market that they operated in, so half of why I did this was just to prove my point. But I also wanted to raise my global profile in that niche (which I succesfully did), and to try and get myself listed as a Microsoft MVP in that field (there were only a handful worldwide back then).
Ironically, once I got the MVP nomination, in 2013, I stopped working on the site, but I've recently been looking back at some of the things I was doing there and realised there are some pretty big opportunities, so am relaunching the site.
2. I give it a 2017 make-over, which includes:
- Identifying 6 core concepts I think people looking for information on the subject would want to know, and under each core concept break-down what the key elements of those concepts are, eg:
- Writing detailed content on the sub categories within those concepts, incorporating content that I think is relevant, useful and searchable - specifically making it more of a knowledge-based site with menu categories that reflect that. Since I launched the blog in 2012 there have been a few topics that have consistently generated more traffic - focus on building out more content around these.
The super duper important thing here is that I am not creating superficial top 5 listicle bullshit content for the purposes of ranking on Google. I'm creating in-depth technical content that people can constantly refer back to, and refer other people to.
Creating a landing page which is a "Start here" for anything you're looking for on the topic. Yet to do this, but I'm basically taking some of the concepts behind sites like StartupStash and MarketingStack in terms of category/topic display, and combining that with some of the ideas behind the original Unbounce Landing Page Course, as well as a bit of my own thinking
I was so mad when they put this behind an e-mail captureCreating a bunch of youtube content to reflect my highest trafficked articles. What's kinda cool is that in this space all of the corporate companies are producing content that is "voiced by the guy with the strongest accent and the worst microphone". At best we're getting recorded webinars that don't play to the strength of youtube.
Currently considering moving to mimspecialist.com since the product name has changed (though internal branding on the product has not, such a fail). Not sure if I can be bothered. Potential loss of SEO juice, pain in the ass of rebranding things... Anyone educated have thoughts on this?
3. Monetisation:
Create a better funnel for leads to drive business for my Microsoft Identity Manager consulting business (that site also needs makeover)
If there are leads I can't act on, sell these to other companies in my niche. I'm a very small, boutique cosultancy and have solid relationships with my larger counter-parts all around the world. Lifetime value of a customer is typically 50-200k, so the value of a lead is probably quite high. Previously I've had big-ass companies like Unilever contact me through the site asking me to pitch them.
Sell advertising space on the site to other companies servicing my niche, particularly ones who offer 3rd party software products (there are a bunch of these)
Give the opportunity for those companies to sponsor posts about their products.
Give the opportunity for those companies to sponsor youtube videos
Create a relationship with training providers to sell their training courses. Either as an affiliate or as a reseller
My current hypothesis with relation to creating content and a successful website in 2017 is that people are sick of top 10 listicles and shitty content where the "value" they give is completely superficial - if you want the good stuff, you have to hand over your e-mail or some cash to get the ebook/course. Nobody wants your content upgrades, lead magnets, free ebooks with e-mail opt-in, etc.
Give people in-depth guides on topics that are hard to master, that are always in demand. If I were to give an example, I would say that there is nowhere online that you can go to which has a step-by-step, freely available, all-topics-covered, well organised and laid out guide on Instagram, Kickstarter, PInterest, Youtube, or a ton of other topics that people are always looking for guidance on. It's all about the "pillar article" with a ton of SEO-friendly articles around it (lots of "top 5s"), linked to an online course or ebook sale.
If I was a social media consultant, I'd pick one of those platforms and dump everything I know into a fully comprehensive, freely-available, constantly updated guide. I'd make it the #1 source on the Internet that people would recommend when someone was looking for info on that topic. Then you find ways to monetise it that don't revolve around selling an info product.
Anyway, that's my blog plan for 2017. I guess if you wanted to create a lifestyle/travel blog where you earn money by posting photos of sunsets and food... well, there's always Steemit :D
Want to see how the rest of the FIMSpecialist re-launch progresses? Make sure you follow me