Anthony Gaenzle Talks about Blogging as a Revenue Source
In the Bloggers Interviews series on TechnoVans, we would like to introduce you to Anthony Gaenzle who helps individuals boost their personal brands and become influencers. In this interview, he talks about how you can earn money from your blog, how you can become a full-time blogger, and some important blogging tips to become a successful blogger.
Interview with Anthony Gaenzle
Can you please tell our readers about yourself?
My name is Anthony Gaenzle. I run a marketing agency as well as a company that offers influencer and personal branding services. I’m based out of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, but I work with clients, mostly SMBs and startups, across the US.
As far as education, most recently, I earned my MBA from Clemson University, Go Tigers.
I bring over 15 years of experience in the multimedia and marketing fields to working with my clients.
How will you introduce yourself in three words?
Collaborative. Strategic. Creative.
Can you please tell us more about your book Blogging for Business? What is the main purpose of this book?
I wrote Blogging for Business to help aspiring bloggers grow their blogs and achieve freedom from the 9-5 life, as well as for marketers looking for ways to leverage the power of blogging to boost their business websites. Blogging is such a powerful tool, and this book essentially lays out 8 things you need to do to launch and grow a blog that really drives results.
You help small businesses and startups with marketing, how exactly do you conduct this process and how do you turn your efforts into success for the businesses?
There’s a lot that goes into it, but one of the most important things I do is work with my clients to help them truly understand their audience and craft messaging that clearly conveys the value the brand brings to the market.
I also help them uncover areas where their competition isn’t satisfying the market need to determine ways to help my client’s brands stand out and fill the gaps in the market to really achieve growth.
A lot of people think that blogging is an easy way to make money online. Do you have some tips for those people who are interested in making money from the blog?
Blogging success is not easy. That’s a myth that needs to be dispelled immediately. That said, if you are passionate about your subject and you go into blogging with an understanding of the time and dedication required, you can be wildly successful.
Blogging success requires consistency. You can’t just post a piece now and then and walk away and watch the money roll in. You need a strategy, and you need to approach your blog like a business. Get into the mindset of an entrepreneur.
There are many ways to monetize your blog:
- Affiliating marketing.
- Selling courses or digital products.
- Link building and sponsored posts.
- Ad networks.
- Influencer marketing.
There are a ton of ways to monetize your blog. But you have to approach each one with care and make sure you don’t overdo it. For example, you can turn your site visitors away if you push too many affiliate links on your blog. And you can kill your site if it’s bogged down with ads. Understand your audience and your niche and plan accordingly.
Related Post – How to Make Money Using Blogging
Some bloggers say, earning money through Google AdSense is difficult. What are your thoughts on this?
Earning money through Google AdSense isn’t difficult per say. Once you have it set up, Google will serve up relevant ads to your visitors. You just have to create content and bring the traffic. The problem is, you need a ton of traffic to really gain any value. And if you don’t have that traffic, the tradeoff between the money you bring in and the annoyance level the ads create for your visitors may not be worth it.
I think there are a lot of other great ways that can help you monetize your blog more quickly and more effectively than Google Adsense.
What do you think is the best strategy that worked well for you to get more traffic to your blog?
Relationship building is key. I’ve built a large network of other marketers and bloggers, and it’s really helped me spread the word about my blog, while also giving me an outlet to help others grow their own blogs. Collaboration is key. Focus on adding value for others and helping them grow. Answer questions.
Make connections Help with link building. Open up opportunities for guest posts. Just look for ways to help others, and success will naturally flow from there. The relationships you build, as long as they are genuine and you give a ton back, will open up so many doors to help you grow your blog and boost traffic (and other stats).
Related Post – Tips to get more traffic to your blog
What tips you would like to give to bloggers who want to become full-time bloggers?
Pick your niche based on a subject you love and one you’re knowledgeable about. Your passion for the subject will get you through the hard times. And there will be hard times. Also, if you aren’t knowledgeable about your subject, you’ll be called out quickly and your readership will never grow. It’s tempting to pick a niche just because you think you can earn a ton of money, but trust me, you’ll earn more, no matter your niche if you pick something you love and something you have tons of experience with.
The last question, you are more active on Twitter and you also got a blue tick by Twitter. Can you please explain how Twitter is helpful for bloggers? What are some tips for using Twitter?
Twitter, for me, has been a great resource for connecting with others and for sharing my content. There’s a lot of engagement on Twitter. Other channels don’t always exhibit that same level of engagement. That said, I highly recommend first determining where your audience hangs out online. If your audience isn’t on Twitter, you may not want to be there. That said, there are bloggers of all niches who are very active on Twitter, so even if your audience isn’t there, you can still use the platform to build relationships. Then use other channels where your target audience is more active to do actual promotions.
If you choose to be active on Twitter, you need to be dedicated and present. You need to start and join conversations and be active if you want to get any value. That’s how I got Twitter verified and earned my blue check.
Follow Anthony Gaenzle on Twitter.
Also Read –
1. Blogger Interview – Lomash Kumar, Indian Tech Blogger
2. Meet Britt Kascjak and get some important blogging tips
3. 6 Motivational Quotes for Bloggers from Bloggers
