WordPress is one of the most convenient free programs available to help you create an attractive, well-organized website. Most people use WordPress for blogging, with great results.
What a lot of people do not know, however, is that WordPress is more than just free blogging software. It is also a very robust content management system, with the content being whatever the site owner wishes it to be.
People can make money from a blog in a range of ways, from advertising and affiliate marketing, to selling products directly to clients and consumers. But you can also add functionality to your blog to make it bring in even more revenue easily.
Think about your favorite blogs online at the moment. What makes them special or interesting? What keep you going back every week, or even every day, to see what’s new. Take a moment to jot down a list of your three favorite blogs, and the features you like most about each.
Now look over your list. Chances are you have listed at least one of the following features:
functionality. Learn how to transform your blog into one or more of the following:
1-Article Directory
2-Auction Site
3-Attractive Storefront full of great items
4-Frequently Asked Questions or Question and Answer Portal
5-Forum/Discussion Board
Now think about your own site. Would any of these features help you make more money? Drive more traffic? Sign up more subscribers? In that case, you are ready to take your blog to the next level with new functionality. And best of all, you can do this in WordPress with free themes and plugins.
The most common mistake we see with our blogging clients is that they never really set any specific goals, just the idea that they want to make money. Well, most of us do. It pays the bills, after all. The question is how much money do they want to make, and what deadline do they have for making it. Is their measure of success going to be each month, or each year? Do they want to just earn a bit of extra cash, or do they want to replace lost income due to becoming unemployed, or because they want to give up their day job.
Answering these kinds of questions can make your goals a good deal clearer. Once you have set your goals, you can decide on the strategy and tactics that will help you achieve that goal.
Next, look at your blog statistics, the areas that are performing well in particular. Then look at this list above again. Would adding any of that functionality enhance your site and make it more interesting to your blog readers? Here is a hint-most likely yes. But in case you have any doubts, survey them and see. Then go beyond blogging to use WordPress to build a real small business with one or more steady streams of income.
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