Do you blog? In most cases a blog is an untapped source of revenue and you may not even realize it. If you don’t blog, you should. In a minute I’ll explain in a nutshell how I make money from blogging, even though I’m not that good at blogging.

But first…

I have a New Year’s resolution – to blog more! And I’m excited about it.

I have to admit I’m not the most consistent blogger. Why? Usually because I get an OCD kinda focus on new projects I’m doing, and don’t do anything else. But things are about to change. Not only am I going to cover strategies for membership sites, blogging, Internet marketing, etc., but I’m also going to cover other business and lifestyle topics.

How do I make money blogging? It’s not the conventional methods that most bloggers attempt – sponsored advertising. My blogs have generated 6 figure revenues, by following 3 critical rules. I try to follow these rules for every blog post I publish.

Rule #1: To serve your readers

Your blog should give readers results or insights on the subject matter. That’s the definition of quality content. It doesn’t matter if you’re not the greatest or most entertaining writer. Give people results and “ah ha” moments and you’ll develop a fan base. Other sites and blogs will link to you. You won’t even have to beg.

Rule #2: Become an “Authority Site”

An authority site is site people come to for information. In other words, an expert’s advice or opinions. Don’t worry about the “expert” status. All you have to do is know more than the average person. If you’re passionate about your topic, you probably already know more just from the reading and research you’ve done. If you’re following rule #1, your site will automatically become an authority site.

Rule #3: Build relationships

Building relationships will build readership traffic and reader loyalty like you wouldn’t believe. And it’s not that hard to do. All you have to do is share experiences. Just share experiences – including personal experiences. In other words let people get to know you. People want to know what other people (especially experts are doing).

You know, 2 of my highest hit blog posts (on two different blogs) hardly even gave any advice on the topic, it was just an insight into my every day life. The first one was “Lifestyle of a membership site publisher”, which showed some photos of a 3 month vacation I took several years ago traveling around selected spots in the US and Australia with my family. The second one was when I made my famous oat bran diet pancakes on a Monday morning.

Keep in mind that this only works if you are following rule #1 most of the time. In most cases you can’t just show your daily life, readers only want to hear about your daily life when they have respect for your other content. Therefore your “personal” posts should be peppered throughout your “authority content.”

How I monetize my blogs and the principle of “1,000 true fans!”

So if I’m not using sponsored ads, how do I monetize my blog? I’m glad you asked. Here’s how it works…

You only need 1000 fans to earn a full time income! Unfortunately this won’t work so well if you’re relying on income from sponsored advertising (you’ll probably need a lot more than 1000). This concept was formalized by author Kevin Kelly and his article “1000 True Fans“. Kelly sums it up best…

“A creator, such as an artist, musician, photographer, craftsperson, performer, animator, designer, videomaker, or author – in other words, anyone producing works of art – needs to acquire only 1,000 True Fans to make a living.

A True Fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce. They will drive 200 miles to see you sing. They will buy the super deluxe re-issued hi-res box set of your stuff even though they have the low-res version. They have a Google Alert set for your name. They bookmark the eBay page where your out-of-print editions show up. They come to your openings. They have you sign their copies. They buy the t-shirt, and the mug, and the hat. They can’t wait till you issue your next work. They are true fans.

[It's fair to say a] True Fan spends at $100 per year [on one of your products]. If you have 1,000 fans that sums up to $100,000 per year, which minus some modest expenses, is a living for most folks. One thousand is a feasible number. You could count to 1,000. If you added one fan a day, it would take only three years. True Fanship is ‘do-able’. Pleasing a True Fan is pleasurable, and invigorating.”

And there you have it! This is how I monetize my blogs and generate 6 figure revenues. You build a fan base, by honestly serving them and giving them results, their natural  inclination is to then want more results. You create a product to fill the void and offer it to your fan base. They’re happy and you’re happy.

Use your blog to create a fanship, and then offer valuable products. In other words your blog becomes your platform for other products. This doesn’t mean shameless self promotion and creating a blog that only sells products. If you follow rule #1, this will never happen to your blog.

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Afterthought: Just thought I’d mention that I’m not bashing sponsored advertising (like Adsense), I personally know and have interviewed people who make a lot of money from it. Heck, even I’ve made some money from it, but for most people the methods above will be easier to generate cash-flow. Not only that, but you can use these methods even if you decide to use sponsored advertising.