How Scalable is Your Blog?

Scalability, as it pertains to blogging, is a measure of a blog’s money-making potential. If your blog is scalable then it has the capability to not only be a marketing tool . . . but, a business platform. It’s important to note that simply having a blog does not make you money. It’s the value that you create from it that does. David Risley explains that concept further in his post, Reality Check: A Blog Is Not A Business. I highly recommend giving it a read when you get done with this one.

I first mentioned scalability in my presentation, 4 Pillars to Building a Successful Blog. Blog scalability can be broken down into three main categories; products, community, and branding. Let’s explore each area and in the process think of how each applies to your blog.

What Products or Services Can You Create from Your Blog?

Does your content have the potential to be turned into an e-book, e-course, magazine, an actual book, and etc.? One thing you’ll notice about professional bloggers such as Darren Rowse, David Risley, and others like them, is their ability to turn their content into products. How can you turn your content into a product or service? Here are a few suggestions;

• Re-purpose Your Content: Take your most popular articles (the one that got the most comments, tweets, and social shares) and use them for the basis for e-books, webinars, workshops, etc. My e-book,  The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Twitter Success was created as a result of the wild success of the article of the same name.Resources: Need some help creating your own e-book? Check out 7 Lessons Learned from a Successful E-Book Launch, 10 Steps to Success with E-Book Publishing, and 6 Ways You Can Make Money with E-Books .
• Define Your Delivery System – What delivery method would best serve your community who will transition into your customers? Would they rather have one-on-one coaching, a tele-seminar, or a tangible product?Keep in mind that no one delivery system is universal. It’s best to diversify the delivery or spread the product through different mediums if possible. For instance, If you wrote an awesome article on how to bake a cake, why not turn it into an e-book, video presentation, and workshop? Diversification not only gives your customers options but it multiplies your income as well.
• Ask for Feedback – I issued a 10 question survey to my blog community and social networks late last year. It was the best thing I’ve ever done when it comes to market research. The biggest break-through was the fact that people wanted products and services to help them solve their biggest entrepreneurial problems. What problems can you solve for your community? Get their feedback and let them tell you!Resources: As many of you know, I use Constant Contact (Aff link – if you sign-up you and I will both be given a $30 credit!) for my survey delivery system and I stand by their services 100%! You can also use the Polldaddy, WP Polls, or Surveys plugins if you have a self-hosted WordPress blog.

How Can You Increase the Value of Your Blog for Your Community?

The reason a business is able to capitalize from their blog is because of the community that thrives there. You see, the more eyeballs that you can attract to your blog and keep engaged while there, the more successful you’ll be. Feeding your community’s needs is only part of the process. Here are a few other tips that should help you increase the value of your blog;

• Post Consistently – Give readers a reason to come back!
• Use Comments in Your Posts – include reader thoughts in future posts!
• Set-Up a forum, message board, or social network – Give Buddypress for WordPress a try!
• Create Multi-Media Content – Use video and audio and engage readers on all new levels. That’s what I do for my Inside the Success radio show and recorded show.

What Other Mediums Can Your Blog’s Brand Take You Into?

The key to scalability is to think of your blog less as a blog and more as a media property. I explore this concept in greater detail in my presentation, Treat Your Blog Like A Magazine and Take it to the Next Level.

Where can your blog take you? Can you start a web show based on the popularity of your content? What about a magazine? Radio show? Here are some tips to help you in venturing into new territory;

• Narrow Your Niche – Your blog may be about a particular topic, but if you don’t get specific you’ll lose new fans.
• Expand Your Reach – Are you making strong connections on Linkedin, Facebook, or Twitter? Use them! Reach out to anyone that might be able to help you.
• Focus Your Content – When you produce a radio show or Television show you have to pump out highly focused content to keep audiences engaged.
• Seek Advisors – It’s always a good thing to have someone in your corner that you trust and will give you sound advice.
• Seek Sponsorships & Partners – Once you have a solid idea of where you want to take your blog bring your ideas to a negotiating table with partners that can make it happen. Remember to have them sign-off on confidentiality agreements before you spill all the beans.
• Launch a Pilot Program – Testing a new market is wise and will give you plenty of room to make mistakes and adjustments.

I hope, by now, you have an idea of how scalable your current blog is and you’ve got some ideas on scaling it to all new levels. There isn’t some magic formula to making a butt-load of money from a blog. The key is to work your butt off and create value that can scale it beyond web 2.0 and last. What are your thoughts? Given the criteria, is your blog scalable? What areas of your blog do you need to work on and how can I help you? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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