One essential element to a successful blog is to know your audience.  Knowing what your readers want and even why they want it equips you to profit as a provider (or referrer) of the products they desire.

Also known as a persona,  a blog reader profile is simply a composite of your ideal reader.

• How old is she?
• Is she married?
• Does she have children?
• What’s her annual income?

By identifying these unique characteristics,  you can customize your content just for her.

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This is my last week blogging for Profitable Mommy Blogging.  Since I’ll be gone when September 24th rolls around, I wanted to give you a heads up about International Freelancers Day.

On September 24-25, a FREE virtual event will be held to celebrate (and elevate) solo professionals.  Expect great content from 25 thought leaders like Brian Clark, Liz Straus, and Mari Smith to name a few.  It’s a great opportunity to get guidance on how to position yourself for the move to a freelance economy.

Register today to learn from successful freelance experts about what’s working now!

photo credit: RambergMediaImages

As I reflected over this past week’s blog posts, one thought kept coming to mind – accountability made the difference. The past nine weeks in the Smart Blogging Skills training have expanded my mindset and belief in my potential to develop an online business.  I look back over the number of posts I’ve written and I’m amazed.  I’ve never been this consistent with any of my web projects in the past two years.

Yes, I’ve been trying (at least that’s what I told myself) for that long to make it online.    I asked myself what was so special about the program that enabled me to succeed where I failed on my own.  Accountability – plain and simple.

Before I would start projects and never finish.  The web is littered with my feeble attempts-blogs, domains, squidoo lenses and articles.   But no one knew, so it was okay.  I rationalized to myself that “at least” I was doing something.  And if I just kept doing something, it would all come together.  Not!

After two years of tinkering, I just got sick and tired of not having anything meaningful to show for my time.  I grew tired of chasing the next big shiny object promising the internet lifestyle with the push of a button.  You often hear lifestyle gurus pushing how making a public declaration of goals energizes you more to accomplish the goal.  It’s true. 

When you run the risk of failing, being wrong and quitting while the world is watching, you’re more likely to push through one more time. Before you know it, you’ve pushed through enough to have reached your goal!

Much of the content I’ve written about blogging deals with the creative and marketing sides of blogging.  But for many of you blogging is an actual job you perform for others (or would like to).  So to all my staff bloggers and blog project managers, I thought I’d show you some love with these resources to read over the weekend!

How to Get Hired on the ProBlogger Job Board

5 Ways to Motivate Virtual Teams

How to Suck at Writing, and Then Write for the Biggest Blogs in the World

How to Outsource Your Blog…Or Part of It

photo credit: TheTruthAbout…

Do earnings of $50 qualify your blog as a business?  Well Philadelphia thinks so-to the tune of $300.

Social media sites are buzzing about an article published in the Philadelphia City Paper featuring a story of Marilyn Bess who blogs at Ms Philly Organic.  The irony of the situation is that all this press will bring plenty of traffic which could generate more revenue for the blog. Interesting predicament to be in…

On one hand, I agree with the charge.  A business is a business whether it’s online or offline.  If you expect benefits of a business, mainly being paid money, then you have to take the responsibilities of owning a business-paying taxes.  The part that’s a little touchy for me is that such small amounts($50 and even $11!) in earnings classifies you as a business.  As Andrea Mannio of the Philadelphia Department of Revenue puts it, just making the choice to possibly earn revenue from ads (aka Adsense), regardless of the amount earned, means you have identified your blog as a business.

What do you think?  Share in the comments below.

photo credit: rychlepozicky.com

One of my all-time favorite books, “Work the System” by Sam Carpenter,  is available as a free download for
the next 7 days. If someone were to ask me what are the top 10 books that have influenced me the most, this book would definitely be on the list.

Sam brilliantly reveals a new paradigm of managing business and every area of life- and I do mean EVERY area- by approaching them through the age-old tool of systems. I know, I know…it sounds boring, technical and you’ve heard it before.  But how many times have you also heard that the answers to moving out of our  problems are usually right in front of us…it just takes an adjustment in perspective.

You’ll discover how he went from a severely ill and depressed, nearly bankrupt, single parent of two children living in his office building to become the thriving husband, father, business owner, and author he is today-all by working the systems in his life.

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