Stop Thinking Like A Blogger In Order To Make Money

The blogger mindset is one which I like to affectionately call “the blogger hamster wheel”. It goes something like this…
Write some stuff. Then write some more stuff. Check your traffic. Send some tweets. Write more stuff. Read some other blogs and post comments. Figure out what the heck you’re gonna write. Write it. Maybe.
[sigh]
One thing you notice in there (hopefully) is this: NOWHERE in there is any money being made.
You might think the golden ticket is found simply by writing more and increasing volume, but it isn’t. The problem is compounded, too, because all those OTHER bloggers out there think the same thing. Which means there is an insane amount of written content being produced out in the blogosphere. And, in case you hadn’t noticed, it is harder than ever to get noticed.
So, what’s a blogger to do?
The “trick”, if you want to call it that, is to stop thinking like a blogger. Broaden your paradigm and start doing things that most bloggers either don’t want to do, are too lazy to do, or have some other weird reason why they won’t.
The Business Reality of Blogging

Blogging doesn’t make money. But, you know what does? BUSINESS.
Businesses sell things. They have things to sell. They don’t just talk about it… they DO it.
So, what are YOU selling? The answer better be something along the line of info products related to your niche or affiliate marketing. It can be your own product (best) or it can be somebody else’s (almost as good). Either way, you should be selling something on your blog. And your content should be designed to attract the attention of targeted prospects and then route them into those things that you sell.
In other words, your blog is a marketing platform. Nothing more.
How To Break The Mold

Now that you’re going to be in the business of selling things related to your niche, it is time to figure out a more efficient way to get and hold people’s attention rather than just more written blog posts.
One think you may notice is that many of the successful guys out there don’t stay in a mold. They produce content, just not always written content.
So, consider the following things that most bloggers just don’t do:
Videos. This is somewhat common, but I find a lot of bloggers are scared of doing it for some reason. Why? Youtube gets some MAJOR traffic. Plus, a video holds attention better than written text.
Webinars. I can’t even BEGIN to overstate just how awesome webinars are. If you’re delivering good content, you’ve got people paying attention to your stuff for an hour or so. Beats the CRAP out of a written blog post. Not to mention you can sell things on a webinar (even affiliate products) and it typically converts seriously well.
Live Video. Engage your audience using something like UStream.tv.
Email. Many of us say “build a list”, but the truth is a lot of people don’t do it. Why, I have no idea. Its STUPID not to have a mailing list.
You might be noticing a trend there on how to break the mold.
Get out of your shell, stop focusing on written stuff all the time, get on camera, deliver awesome value, and sell things.
What Now?

I would ask you not to simply read this post and move on – doing nothing. We all know that’s what you usually do.
If you’re serious about making money with your blog, then what I just wrote in this post is a huge part of the way forward. So, stop and figure out your next move to put this stuff into action. Make a video. Find some things to sell and sell them.
Oh, and stop by the monetization track at Blogworld Expo in LA. I’ve lined up some great speakers who “get it”. If you want to engage in REAL online business, pay attention to the awesome folks in LA. You’re gonna dig it.