Someone Who Blogs for Cash

I heard about this story in USA Today about a photographer from The Baltimore Sun who is taking a year off work to see if he can make more money doing that than he got from his full time job. So far, the money has been better, as he's grossed over six figures with virtually no expense. His income is from advertising, and he has "200,000 mostly amateur photographers as devoted readers." On reading, I noticed a few things that jumped out:

• He was an expert in something.


• A large number of people wanted to learn what he knew.


• He started this on the side over two years ago.


• It seems to have spread by word of mouth.


• The topic is one he can keep returning to, analyzing new shots to extend the underlying principles.


• There is a companion spot on Flickr that allows people to upload their own photos, making the site interactive.


• He's broken out some posts, like his Lighting 101, so they can be easily found.

There's no reason that any one of us couldn't apply some of these principles to our own online ventures. But notice the big one: he was an expert. This shows that platform without expertise may not go far, because you really need to have something solid to offer an audience.