Blogging has moved from being something individuals did in their spare time to a multi-million dollar business in its own right. Big name professional bloggers are turning a good penny or two, either through product placements, advertising and donations, or through being paid to blog by businesses who want to build the one thing blogging is perfect for.

And what is that?

A blogger attracts loyal readers. A blogger should become a respected, authoritative voice on their chosen subject. The blogs should offer valuable content to pull readers back, over and over again.

Once that loyal fanbase is established, the blogger becomes gold. Products they recommend are swiftly purchased. Companies they compliment get a boost of credibility. In short, they become that advertisers dream: someone you trust.

There is nothing new about using 'experts' to promote goods. When Delia Smith suggested a recipe that involved cranberries, cranberries got bought up faster than you could blink. When she recommended a particular frying-pan, the sales skyrocketed for six months. In short, trust is a goldmine.

Unfortunately, trust is also hard to get. And, once broken, impossible to regain. Quality content is key to building the user base. Offering valuable information, written in an accessible format, will be the first step. Trying to start by selling is a recipe for getting nowhere. Building a blog is a time-intensive process, with the benefit that eventually - ideally - you will get a good degree of trust.

Once you have subscribers, regular readers, and a good page rank, you should start to introduce your company name. Recommend some quality products, that your readers will genuinely find relevant and useful. Overtime, you will find this blog becomes one of your best promotional tools - but never lose sight of the blogger maxim: content, content, content.

Learn more about this author, Suzanne Fleming.
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