Money doesn’t grow on blog trees. Money does however, come from the fruit those blog trees produce.

Instead of me telling you where the money is to be found on the internet (which I have done before, but only a few heard what I was saying), I’m going to propose a bit of a project to get all our minds working.

After reading several of my favorite blogs this morning, I realized one thing, most everyone is telling how to make the money once you decide on your niche, but so few are telling you how to arrive at the profitable niche in the first place.

With so many blogs about blogging making their way onto the scene, I can only venture to guess that many think that’s where the money is made. If that’s what you’re thinking – STOP! Right now! It’s not where the money is made. In fact, my blogs about blogging generate less than 5% of my entire monthly revenue each month.

Go back to the drawing table, put together some ideas of what you think might be a profitable niche and share those ideas with us. In exchange, I’m hoping you’ll get enough feedback from myself and my readers, that you can establish a nice profitable niche for yourself.

Can you tell the difference between the people who are blogging for profit and those who are blogging for passion?

Perhaps there are some who are blogging for passion that happened to turn into profit?

So here’s a thought –

If money comes from the fruit that blogs produce, what kind of fruit will you be marketing?

Where do YOU think the profitable niches are?

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My Comment Commitment: If you leave an approved comment on any of my posts, I will visit your blog and “share it” in some way whether on StumbleUpon, Twitter or Facebook depending on if I can find a nice fit.

Originally posted 2009-10-12 00:33:46.

The fact that there are so many blogs and web sites about blogs on the internet, makes it tough to distinguish your blogging web site from all of the others. Whether you are starting up a new web site aimed at bloggers or whether you are looking to make your existing blogging site more distinctive, the key to building and maintaining a site that will capture the interest and attention of the blogging community is finding your unique niche. If you can fill a unique need in a way that no other web site does, you’ll be able to build a lasting readership among web surfers. Once you have discovered a niche, you will still have a lot to do, but finding your place in the blogosphere is the place to begin.

Every great blogging web site starts with a great idea, and you can’t build a successful site that will last without one. There are many great sites aimed at today’s bloggers, and competition for the attention of this growing demographic is fierce. To make your blogging web site stand out from the pack, you will need to offer something that no other site is currently offering, or you will need to do the same thing that an already popular site does but in a more impressive or valuable way.

One way to discover an ideal model for your blogging web site is to look at the sites that have successfully captured a blogging audience already to determine if you can appropriate some of their strategies to help realize your vision. Of course, you will also need to add your own unique flair in order to stand apart from your competition. Many people agree that the web sites that do the best in today’s market are the sites that have the most personality. The fiercely individual surfers who are bloggers are a demographic that responds especially strongly to personality, so consider how you can give your site a unique and attractive feeling by lending your own voice and sensibility to your site’s design and content.

Once you have a great idea for your site, have pinpointed a special niche that you are well equipped to fill, and have infused the site with personality, the next step is figuring out how to get the word out to bloggers. In the long run, a great idea just isn’t enough to propel your blogging web site to success. You will need to draft a smart and realistic marketing plan in order to draw readers to your site. Once you hook a blogger, your great content will keep them coming back, but it is vital to get that first glance or your site won’t have a chance to shine.

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My Comment Commitment: If you leave an approved comment on any of my posts, I will visit your blog and “share it” in some way whether on StumbleUpon, Twitter or Facebook depending on if I can find a nice fit.

Originally posted 2009-10-29 15:46:44.

In part two of my two-part project/series on maximizing niche topics we’re going to take the topic of Movies. That’s it! Simply Movies — or is it ’simply movies?’

Movies happens to be one of those topics that if you jump in, you better be serving up something super hot and super FRESH! Because the competition is broad GY-nor-mous!

The topic ‘movie’ alone generated well over 2 Million searches in a single month. So you can only imagine what your competition is going to be.

Some various sub-niche topics you could touch on might be:

* Reading ‘the book’ just before watching the movie and doing a comparison.

* Remakes versus originals

* Highlight actors starting in specific movies/roles

* Actor discussion – Bio’s, personal life versus movie life

* Movie Theater News – there are a ton of old old movie theaters in my area alone that are still open for business. It might be fun to explore movie theaters around the country/world.

* Movie Snacks and the companies who make them (I’d be happy to sample and review them for ya)

* Invite readers to submit photos of theaters near them – hold a contest

* New on DVD

* Feature Classic Movies and discuss

* Highlight memorabilia for sale on Amazon or eBay

* I heard a ‘blind’ critic the other day. It’s quite fascinating the take he has on movies versus the ’seeing’ critic. Heck of a niche to expand on.

* Movie Download

* Drive-in theaters

* Red Carpet Reviews

* Award Shows – Golden Globe, Emmy, Oscar, etc.

* Home Movie Equipment – New and Antique

* Home Video – YouTube – etc.

* On location – news from behind the scenes

I’m sure there’s much I’ve missed — so if you happen to have additional suggestions to throw in the ring, please do.

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My Comment Commitment: If you leave an approved comment on any of my posts, I will visit your blog and “share it” in some way whether on StumbleUpon, Twitter or Facebook depending on if I can find a nice fit.