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No easy money

It never ceases to amaze me how many blog authors and website owners out there complain they are not making any money. It's almost like they expect to create a blog on Blogspot or Wordpress, then sit back and watch the money roll in. They are almost surprised when they don't become millionaires overnight! The fact that their blogs are often devoid of content and provide even less value seems to escape them.

There are others who proudly point to their "content" and then complain bitterly that they are only making a few bucks a month in AdSense revenue. They have failed to differentiate between content and value. Content and value are not the same thing. Content is just a way of potentially presenting value to the consumer.

Value is King!

It used to be said that "content is King!". To a certain extent that is true. But I would rather rephrase it "value is King!". It is possible to have a lot of content, that is of very little value. For example, some blogs have literally hundreds of posts about some trivia such as what the owner's cat had for breakfast or how much further they plunged into debt. For the vast majority of people these "triviality blogs" have very little real value. That isn't to say there isn't a market for pet-related blogs or debt management blogs, but it's important to remember there is a difference between content and value. Content may, or may not, have value, from the perspective of the reader rather than the writer.

If you want to make money from your blog you need to concentrate on creating value.

How to create value

So how do you create value? Well, here are the sorts of questions you can ask to determine value:

Does this information save the reader time?

Does this save the reader money?

Does this help the reader make money?

Does this give the reader a new insight into a particular thorny problem?

Does this give the reader a new skill?

Does this information entertain?

Does this information help the reader lead a fuller life?

Does this help the reader fulfill their dreams?

Does the content have spiritual meaning or enhance spirituality?

The point is the information should provide some measurable direct benefit to the reader. That can be measured in various ways such as in terms of convenience, entertainment value, skills and learning, financial, personal development, to name just a few - this is by no means an exhaustive list.

Me too?

Another question to ask yourself is this:

Can the content I provide be found elsewhere, possibly in a more convenient and better presented format?

Or this:

Can the content I provide be easily produced by someone else?

If the answer to either of these questions is "yes", then you probably aren't providing enough value.

If on the other hand you have created a blog about your cat that people find incredibly funny, then you have created something of value. Especially if that humour is unique and difficult for others to duplicate.

A blog is not value

A lot of people also get confused between the delivery platform and value. A blog is not value - it is a delivery platform. A website is not value. They are just methods of, potentially, delivering content that may or may not have value.

Today the barrier to entry in blogging has never been lower. Virtually anyone can set up as a blogger - often for free. It is possible to create a full-blown website, without any technical skills at all, in minutes. There are countless "half-baked" blogs and sites out there. But the question is, where is the content and, more importantly, where is the value in that content?

The profit is in the value

The main determinant as to whether your blog will be profitable or not is whether or not you provide true value. Value is something people will pay for, or it will attract them to your site (or blog) and that traffic can be monetized through systems such as AdSense.

If your blog or site is not delivering the financial rewards you expect it's time to stand back and ask yourself how much genuine value you provide.

Tony Bedford first started blogging in March 2000. Tony currently maintains a free guide to more profitable blogging at http://the-business-of-blogging.blogspot.com