The Secrets to Long-Term Blogging Success [Part 4]

Here’s the fourth part of our series on blogging success.  Up to this point we’ve covered the following topics:

Part 1: How to develop a winning content strategy

Part 2: Different techniques for improving your blogging productivity

Part 3: Creating a Blog Business Plan Using a Mind Map

Before we move on to today’s lesson, I have to admit something.  This series has kinda gotten away from me.  Originally, I planned on listing a few basic tips.  But somehow it’s morphed into this lengthy series of posts.  I’ve already mapped out an additional 7+ articles, so it’s looking like this is going to be a really long course.

Here’s the bottom line…

I’ve come to recognize that I haven’t done an efficient job in making this a step-by-step process.  The good news is I plan on turning these posts into a free course that I offer anyone who comes to my site.

When all is said and done, you’ll be able to increase the success of your blog by following this blueprint.

Okay, with that out of the way, let’s talk about the next lesson in our blog success series:

#12- Focus on Your Most Wanted Response (MWR)

A few years back, I learned about the idea of the “Most Wanted Response (MWR).”  The concept is simple.  Whenever you design a website or blog, you structure things so they focus on the one response you want the reader to take.

The problem I see with many websites is they don’t understand the principle of the MWR.  A site like this is filled with dozens of product images, subscription boxes, pop-ups, multiple ‘follow me’ buttons, affiliate offers, etc, etc.

When looking at one of these blogs you can usually tell it’s not making money.  In all likelihood, the owner doesn’t have a clue what to focus on.  So they throw a bunch of crap against a wall and see what sticks.

Know this… If you’re blogging to make money, then you need to treat your site like a business.  And when it comes to a business, you need a plan of action.

A major goal for a business is to identify what’s the most important outcome you want and push the potential customer toward giving you this outcome.  To give you an idea of what I mean, here are a few different MWRs you can aim for:

#1- Readership MWR

If you look around this blog, you’ll see that my primary focus is to build up the levels of my readership.  I have a WordPress plugin which rewards top commentators.  There’s an opt-in form for my free ‘Life Mastery’ report.  And I’m currently outsourcing a few tools that’ll increase RSS feed subscribers, social media followers, and get people on my email list.

When it comes to the “Readership MWR” you want to do everything you can to increase your number of readers, while offering them lots of value.  The way you make money from this technique is by building a relationship through regular contact and then promoting a product that’ll make you money.

Overall, I believe this is the best long-strategy for a blog.  By helping your readers solve their problems, you’ll create a wave of loyal followers.  In turn, these people will reward you back by purchasing your product recommendations or doing whatever you want them to do.

#2- Affiliate Marketing MWR

This is a MWR that most blogs aim to achieve.  The problem that I see is a lot of people get this completely wrong.  Here’s what I mean…

Your average affiliate marketer will promote a course in a haphazard manner.  They might place an image or two, write a review page, and maybe discuss it in a blog post.  But, this really doesn’t do a proper job of promoting an affiliate product.

The reason is simple.  It’s a fierce competition to keep the attention of your readers.  When people are on your site, it’s very easy to distract them.

To put this in easier terms, if you want to make a sale, you need to bring people to a page where they have no other option but to click your affiliate link.  In terms of MWR, you don’t include a bunch of links to other articles, and you most certainly don’t link to any site outside the blog unless it increases the chances of making a sale.

The “Affiliate Marketing MWR” is about creating a basic HTML page that matches the look of your site.  Then use this as a mini-sales page where you make your affiliate recommendation.

To give you an idea of what this looks like, check out a promotional page I did for the Wealthy Affiliate program.

#3- Information Product MWR

If you own an information product, then I recommend that you follow the same steps that I just described.  That means creating a page that’s specifically designed to sell this product, without the competing ‘noise’ of the multiple links you normally see on a blog.

But, there’s one extra element that I recommend adding to the “Information Product MWR.”  One of the best ways to market your own material is to demonstrate your expertise.  By regularly showing your authority in a niche, it becomes much easier to make a sale.

To do this, I recommend dedicating a number of blog posts to problems in your niche.  Then offer your information product (on it’s own salespage) as a way to help the reader overcome this obstacle.

#4- Google Adsense MWR

I hesitate to talk about Google Adsense because I feel it’s not a great long-term business.  However, I know many people earn lots of money with this technique.

When it comes to the “Google Adsense MWR,” you want to maximize the layout and look of your advertising.  In other words, don’t slap a few blocks randomly on your site and expect this will make you any money.

I recommend doing careful research into the WordPress Themes that offer the best layout option for Google Adsense and test them like crazy!  By making a few small tweaks, you can skyrocket your click-thru ratio which will ultimately increase your online income.

Overall Recommendation

I know there’s a lot of overlap in these categories.  Some people want to build a list while earning a buck or two.  Others try to combine affiliate marketing and info product recommendations.

My point is this.  As you’re developing your blog, you want to identify the one outcome that’ll bring the best results and then structure almost all of your efforts towards achieving this goal.

Sure, you can add profit centers that go beyond your MWR.  But make sure they don’t detract from the main purpose of your blog.

Take Action. Get Results.