Jeff Jarvis points out some valuable lessons he learned from an entrepreneurial journalism course. Just like pitching any idea, you need to sell it. Even though you think your startup blog is a wonderful idea, doesn't mean those who will be potential funders will agree.
After you have your brilliant idea (preferably one that has yet to be covered, or a new spin on an old idea), you need think about your target audience. Who will be reading your blog? Will it be teens or will your blog be directed towards an older generation? If possible, it might be a good idea to do a little research because sometimes your target audience may not be all that interested in your idea and without them, you're nothing.
Next, you need to think about your marketing. How will you market your blog? Twitter may be the way to go if your blog is more for teenagers and the 20-somethings, but what about those over 60, how will you reach them? Once you find your target audience, you want to be sure you can reach them.
Now of course, you'll need to find some content for your blog and make sure it's different from what's already out there. There can only be so many blogs about cute puppies, so make yours different. Jarvis observed in his class that all the students proposed ideas for websites, but no one suggested a business. In the case of blogging as a career you need to have a business plan as well. Take time to research advertising because that will be part of your blog's income. Networking with other blogs will also help you to create relationships with other bloggers who were once like you, a startup. By linking to each other's sites you are giving and receiving free advertising, which can be a very good thing especially if your partners are big name bloggers.
In short, it doesn't take much for anyone to rant and rave online, but do you have what it takes to become the next big blog?
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