There are many examples of successful bloggers getting book publishing deals or making squillions from affiliate marketing. But there's another way to leverage your blog for commercial gain. And that's to build an active community around blog, and then use that as a kind of bargaining tool to get a regular gig in mainstream media.
Michael Smith News
Aussie blogger Michael Smith is an example of this approach. Sure, he was well known as a broadcaster a while back, hut he ended up losing his job as a result of his criticism of former PM Julia Gillard.
Rather than sit around feeling sorry for himself he started a blog. Michael Smith News soon became a must read for many Australians.
Quality and controversy
There's no denying that doing this was easier for him than most given his previous media profile. Still, he certainly built it up a lot by adding heaps of really interesting stuff. His blog looks awful in many ways, but he does a lot right. He breaks stories. He updates it regularly with fascinating material. He upsets the powerful and doesn't shy away from a stoush. He uses wit and humour. He uses different types of media including Youtube videos and voice recordings with Audioboo. He appreciates and thanks his contributors and shares what they offer. As a result the blog gets absolutely enormous traffic and heaps of social media shares.
Back into the mainstream media
From time to time he wrote about how he was keen to find mainstream employment again, but was having no luck because his reputation was so thoroughly trashed by Gillard. Just recently, however, he's scored a weekly spot on radio station 2GB. But he's certainly not ceasing the blog. He's vowed to keep that going.
Clearly, having the blog was instrumental in him getting this gig. He's built a huge and active community around it, a fair proportion of whom will listen to him on 2GB. So the station benefits commercially. And the mouthpiece he has there is obviously going to help the blog some more. So it's a win-win situation.
What he's done is very impressive. And there's a lot to be learned from his melding of blogosphere and mainstream media. Bloggers with skill, passion and expertise could certainly could do what Michael Smith did on a smaller scale -- for example writing for a big site, or becoming an expert commentator on a local radio station.
Michael Smith News
Aussie blogger Michael Smith is an example of this approach. Sure, he was well known as a broadcaster a while back, hut he ended up losing his job as a result of his criticism of former PM Julia Gillard.
Rather than sit around feeling sorry for himself he started a blog. Michael Smith News soon became a must read for many Australians.
Quality and controversy
There's no denying that doing this was easier for him than most given his previous media profile. Still, he certainly built it up a lot by adding heaps of really interesting stuff. His blog looks awful in many ways, but he does a lot right. He breaks stories. He updates it regularly with fascinating material. He upsets the powerful and doesn't shy away from a stoush. He uses wit and humour. He uses different types of media including Youtube videos and voice recordings with Audioboo. He appreciates and thanks his contributors and shares what they offer. As a result the blog gets absolutely enormous traffic and heaps of social media shares.
Back into the mainstream media
From time to time he wrote about how he was keen to find mainstream employment again, but was having no luck because his reputation was so thoroughly trashed by Gillard. Just recently, however, he's scored a weekly spot on radio station 2GB. But he's certainly not ceasing the blog. He's vowed to keep that going.
Clearly, having the blog was instrumental in him getting this gig. He's built a huge and active community around it, a fair proportion of whom will listen to him on 2GB. So the station benefits commercially. And the mouthpiece he has there is obviously going to help the blog some more. So it's a win-win situation.
What he's done is very impressive. And there's a lot to be learned from his melding of blogosphere and mainstream media. Bloggers with skill, passion and expertise could certainly could do what Michael Smith did on a smaller scale -- for example writing for a big site, or becoming an expert commentator on a local radio station.
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