The Three "P's" of Choosing a Profitable Blog Topic

It seems these days that everyone has a blog.  People write about their pets, their children, their love of chocolate, their rotten boss and whatever else happens to be top of their mind.  Of course, blogging simply for the pleasure of giving life to your thoughts is fine.  But if you're eager to create a blog that has the potential to generate income, you'll want to give serious consideration to choosing the right focus for your site.  Here are three important elements to consider:

1) PASSION: Pick a topic that excites you.  Okay, I realize that sounds painfully obvious, but you'd be amazed at the number of people who chose to write about something simply because they think it will make them rich. The allure of "easy income" might be sufficient fuel for a quick sprint into blogging, but if you plan to hang-in for the long-haul, you're going to lose steam quickly if you don't go with a topic that you really care about.  Successful bloggers post week after week, month after month, year after year.   It's hard work.  If you can't picture yourself writing about this same topic three years from now, find something else to blog about.

2) PROBLEMS: People read blogs for information, advice and entertainment.  But they PAY bloggers to solve their problems.  Offer innovative solutions to your reader's problems and they will reward you with sales and loyalty.  Once people view you as a trusted resource, you'll be in a better position to monetize your site through the sale of coaching and consulting services, how-to guides and training programs that help your readers achieve more success with less stress.

3) PAIN: People with problems want solutions.  But people in pain NEED solutions.  If you develop products and services that relieve pain quickly and effectively, you will have a much easier time generating sales. What type of pain can you help alleviate?  Here are three examples:

• The pain of not having enough money: Money troubles keeps a lot of people up at night. SItes that teach people, particularly struggling entrepreneurs, how to make more money are among the most profitable of blogs.  If you can teach others how to create new income streams, attract more clients or run a business more efficiently, you can cash in on this blog niche.  
• The pain of not feeling loved: There is a reason why dating and dieting sites are so profitable.  People want to be loved, needed and appreciated.  Blogs that help people feel better about themselves; whether it is by offering beauty advice, weight-loss strategies or self-help tips, can be money-making engines.
• The pain experienced by a child:  Any parent will tell you that their happiness is directly linked to the happiness of their child(ren).  When a child is suffering, whether it is a result of bullying or a learning disability or the fear of being rejected from colleges, parents spring into action. Parents happily pay good money for advice or products or coaching that helps their child out of pain.

Remember, if you just want to blog as a means of expression, blog away.  But if you eventually want to earn income from your writing, build a blog that features a mix of the three "P's"; passion, problems and pain, to create a strong foundation for earning profits as your readership grows.

Comments

[Wayne Tarken]

Nancy - I agreed with your post on blogging especially the need for passion. I tried to focus on things with which I had not passion but it's hard to sustain this for the long-haul which is a requirement of a successful blogger. Without passion it's hard to come up with interesting content that people will want to read on an onging basis