Advanced Blogging: How to Go Big With Your Blog

Do you have a blog for your business?

Are you ready to take your blogging to the next level?

To explore how to build your blog readership, I interview Darren Rowse for this episode of the Social Media Marketing podcast.
More About This Show

The Social Media Marketing podcast is a show from Social Media Examiner.

It's designed to help busy marketers and business owners discover what works with social media marketing.

The show format is on-demand talk radio (also known as podcasting).

In this episode, I interview Darren Rowse, the world's leading authority on blogging. He authored the book ProBlogger and founded two popular blogs: Digital Photography School and ProBlogger. Darren has been blogging since 2002 and his work has inspired millions of people.

Darren shares how he built a mega-blog with millions of monthly readers.

You'll discover how to attract more readers, engage your audience and monetize your blog.

Share your feedback, read the show notes and get the links mentioned in this episode below!
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Here are some of the things you'll discover in this show:
Advanced Blogging
How Darren started blogging

In 2002 Darren came across a blog for the first time and knew right away it was a medium he wanted to explore. Almost immediately, he started his first blog.

Darren explains that he had no background in technology or writing, just a fascination with community and communication.

He developed an audience for his personal blog over the next year and a half, writing about a variety of niche topics (photography, spirituality, movies, politics). When his audience "complained" that there was too much variety, Darren split the topics up into different blogs.

From there, Darren began to experiment with making money from blogging. It evolved from a hobby into a part-time job, then grew into a full-time business.

Listen to the show to hear how many blogs Darren launched over the years.

Why it's never too late to start blogging

When Darren first started blogging, he looked at the big bloggers and thought he was too late to start. At that point, the big names had only been blogging for a year or two. However, Darren says new bloggers are breaking through all the time.

More blogs mean greater opportunities to network and the ability to grow faster, especially if you can get on the radar of an influencer in your niche.

While there may be a ton of bloggers out there, Darren explains that there's nobody who has your exact set of experiences, opinions, stories, skills and perspectives, and that's what sets you apart. If you can harness your uniqueness, there's certainly a way to get noticed.

Listen to the show to hear how blogging in your niche will serve you well now and in the future.

Digital Photography School, then and now

Darren started Digital Photography School in 2006. It evolved from one of his previous blogs—a digital camera review blog. It was quite profitable, Darren explains, but not particularly satisfying. He wanted a blog about photography that he enjoyed writing—where he could build a relationship with his readers and answer common photography questions.

When the site launched, Darren wrote all of the blog content himself (two to three posts per week), focusing on evergreen content and throwing shareable content into the mix. It was on a free theme, boot strapped, and gradually began to rank in Google and develop a following. He monetized using AdSense and Amazon affiliate marketing.

A photography enthusiast, Darren says he's the guy in your circle of friends who people ask to photograph parties because they can't afford a real photographer. He's also the one everyone comes to before they buy a camera.

He started the site writing beginner-level content. As the site developed, he hired professional photographers to write for the more advanced audience.

Now,