Confessions of a Six Figure Professional Blogger

The 3 Different Approaches To Blogging

October 12, 2009 | Blogging

A blog is a pretty flexible medium. What you choose to do with your blog is completely up to you. Obviously, my approach to blogging is as a business. However, there are others.

Let me get right to the point and outline what I see as the three main sub-divisions of blogging.

Hobby Blogging

The vast majority of blogs out there are hobby blogs. A hobby blog is one where the blogger simply blogs about whatever is most interesting to him/her.

The thing to understand is that hobby blogs don’t necessarily make good businesses. The entire step of market evaluation is left out, instead going with what the blogger finds interesting. For this reason, most hobby blogs don’t make any money.

Promotional Blogging

A promotional blog is one where the blog is designed primarily as a promotional or informational device for a business.

For example, if you are a consultant, you might want to operate a promotional blog in order to provide information relevant to your expertise. The blog is not monetized directly, but you do so indirectly by using the blog to refer new clients into your consulting business.

Perhaps you make money as a paid speaker. In this case, your blog is, again, designed to promote yourself and your expertise. You monetize the blog by making it abundantly clear how people can contact you and hire you as a speaker.

Even offline businesses should explore a promotional blog.

Professional Blogging

When you blog as a professional blogger, then you are running an online business where the blog forms the crux of your lead generation strategy. You monetize through ads, affiliate marketing, and/or selling your own products.

In this case, the blog is the face of the business. The blog forms the hub of an online empire.

This is the approach that I take.

As a pro blogger, we are not interested in promoting an offline business. Secondly, a pro blogger specifically targets a market and does not blog about anything he finds interesting. A pro blogger has to stay on topic. A pro blogger often releases content in a strategic fashion so as to promote a particular product, and the methods of doing so is an entire subject otherwise known as marketing.

Being a problogger is demanding. It requires a combination of writing skills and marketing skills. It can also be very lucrative if you are in the right market and are adept at the two above skills.

So, there you have it. That’s a bird’s eye view of the different approaches to blogging.

Which do you fall in? And do you wish to make a change? What are your goals with your blog?

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  • A good article indeed. Mine is the problogger's approach. And I must say, amongst the three, it's the most demanding because you have to provide what your target niche wants and not just what you fancy. It is demanding but also rewarding!
  • A good article indeed. Mine is the problogger's approach. And I must say, amongst the three, it's the most demanding because you have to provide what your target niche wants and not just what you fancy. It is demanding but also rewarding!
  • I agree - a problogger has to stay on topic and be strategic. You have to constantly think about how the content will be received by the reader.

    Personal opinion and soapboxing can ruin a problog. This is fairly true with promotional blogging as well. On the other hand, political, journalistic blogs and those that publicize a charitable cause by nature include more opinion/editorial.
  • Richard60
    Perfect article for you debut on the Boomerblogger reader, a blog alliance. Film at 11!
  • I do consider myself as promotional blogger and also hobby at the same time because i really do enjoying it
  • This is a fabulous post. I do many of these things already, but look forward to implementing the others.
  • I do not consider myself a problogger, although I do make money with my blog.

    I use my blog to communicate with my subsribers and to drive more people to my main website and product.

    Is this considered as a problogger?

    I put myself in a fourth category called marketer blogger.

    Franck
    the Body Guard marketer
  • Let me ask you a question. Are there any professional blogs that aren't about how to blog/SEO/internet marketing? I'm not trying to be rude.It just seems that anyone who is able to make blogging a paying career isn't blogging about anything else. Heather Armstrong is the only person that comes to mind.
  • Hobby blogs are all over and can be fun to read. Although the professional sites are where you go for the real information 9 times out of 10.
  • David,

    My blog is just a baby at two weeks old, and I am trying to settle into my niche. The reason I started my blog was both to to monetize it and also to utilize it as a promotional platform for other businesses and consulting.

    It is interesting that you made these into two categories. Given that you have vastly more knowledge on blogging than I do, is it not possible to do both? Have you found that both of these activites do not mesh well? Or are you saying that the posts on a promotional blog would just be centered around the promoted item or person?

    Thanks,

    Brad
  • clutterbells
    I am definitely in category one. I will leave it to my employer to deposit money on a fortnightly basis. Curious how many people can realistically make a liveable income from just blogging, far less a six figure income. I definitely think Make Money Blogging Blogs are a lost cause.
  • Hobby - Coaching - Training - Learning - Educational - Information blogging is part my preparation phase towards both Promotional and Professional blogging.

    I think it is wise to think about the different stages of blogging, and spend some time to identify where you are at the moment, and in what directions you see yourself going.

    But I see that paying attention to blog like yours, and other blogs that is related to my interest of learning is starting to give a lot of positive effect. And that's why I keep coming back here..

    Cheers.. Are
  • gregellison
    I am a Hobby blogger and talk about a wide range of topics. Thanks Greg Ellison
  • Great Post.

    I think most bloggers who start blogging as a hobby eventually start earning some good money, while i think bloggers that only blog for money and don't enjoy eventually fail. I think you can do all 3 as long as you keep a good balance.

    Uhmm I think im in the hobby category
  • Problogging is why i'm in the game. You have to work through the progressions and find your stride, which takes time, but having a long-term goal and a plan to get there will eventually elevate your level of success. This is purely a business model and like all businesses, you must grow them and be patient.
  • Great blog David! I recently came across it and enjoy all of your post.

    I'm not really a blogger, however with the system that I use to build and host my site a blog is automatically built, updated and pinged as I add content. So, I guess more on the promotional side for me.
  • I fall into the hobby and promotional blogging. With more time and experience, I will certainly be in the promotional blogging stage.
  • I like to view that as a progression. I started as a hobby blogger, but slowly worked my way into the latter categories. Problogger is where it's at, but I am also interested in building businesses, so I find myself working both sides of the coin.

    I like to view my blog as a springboard for the rest of my ideas, but then again I wasn't smart enough to create a site like PCMech early on!
  • I have one of each ;)
    The first one , Hobby Blog, my wife actually keeps up. Its all about our family
    The second one, Promotional Blog, I maintain that for our yacht company and generate leads.
    The third one, Professional Blog, that's my blog where I discuss ideas for entrepreneurs, with a focus on digital marketing and new media.
  • I fall into to the professional blogger category. However, not very professional if you look at my income.
  • I fall in the Promotional Blogging category, but am now moving towards a hybrid that adds Professional Blogging.

    I believe these categories can be fluid. Hobby Blogging might morph into the other two depending on the hobby and one's passion for it.
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