Blogger Gets A $40 Million Dollar Payday

TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington recently sold his blog TechCrunch to AOL for a reported $40 million dollar sum. AOL states that the company only paid $25 million for the online site whereas CNBC reported that AOL ponied up $40 million dollars. Either way it’s a nice pay day for Arrington.

The site was only 5 years old and grew exponentially over the years. TechCrunch has 4.3 million readers and was voted the number one site in the technology news and analysis market. The sale of TechCrunch is important because I suspect that this is the dream of many a blogger. The hope is that one day your site will be noticed by a large corporation that offers to buy your site for millions of dollars. So, how can you make that happen?

Here are a few tips to help you build a successful blog.

1. Provide great content.

I am more convinced than ever that it takes great content to make a successful blogger. Your information has to be accurate, informative, entertaining, and factual if you want to keep your readers interested. A blog with good content has a chance of attracting larger media sites and publishers. Your posts may be published in national magazines, newspapers, and online sites. This increases your blog’s credibility and the traffic visiting your website. Advertising dollars are based on blog traffic.

2. Find your voice.

Finding your voice means finding the aspect that makes your blog unique. Too many bloggers blog about the exact same ideas and topics. You need to figure out what differentiates your blog from other blogs out there. What makes your blog special?  TechCrunch chose to focus on a neglected business area, small businesses and start-ups. There are so many areas that you can write about. Pick one that you are passionate about and are willing to devote time and energy towards.

3. Network, Network, Network.

Now that you are providing great content for your readers, it is time to network with other bloggers. Build relationships with similar like-minded bloggers. Join blog forums, networks, and article carnivals. Tell friends, family members, and everyone that you come across about your blog. It does you no good to publish great content if no one knows that your site exists. Sites like the Yakezie Network are great for networking.

4. Be patient.

Blogging can be a difficult endeavor initially. You fill as if you are toiling away writing post after post in anonymity.  It’s easy to become disinterested and get discouraged after a few months of blogging.  I call this bloggers fatigue. Many bloggers give up at this stage.  Don’t make the same mistake! Keep plugging away and turning out good content. Eventually your audience will come and the number of readers will increase. Remember it took 5 years before Arrington could sell his blog.

5. Blogging is a job.

If anyone tells you that blogging is not a job, then they have never tried it. Researching and writing content takes a large amount of time. It may not pay off monetarily right away but eventually it can. Think of every post that you write as an investment in your blogging business. You may not be getting paid today but you will get paid later on.

Final Wrap Up

Well that’s it! While I cannot guarantee that if your follow these rules that your site will receive a multimillion dollar offer ; I can say that you will improve your chances of making money off of your blog. Besides a six figure offer wouldn’t be that bad of a deal anyway! (For more information, read my post on How I Make Money Online)

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