Think of your blog as a hub for your online traffic. Just as airlines have hubs in major cities to expedite their flight traffic, you need a hub on the Internet to expedite your online traffic.



A blog is perfect for your "hub" because it's the easiest type of site to drive traffic to. And if you have it set up the right way, you can direct this influx of traffic to the sites designed to put cash in your pocket.

Before you can create this hub, though, you need to know what a blog is. Put simply, it's a website with unique formatting software. Thanks to this software, anyone can create and maintain a blog. Even people with zero technical knowledge. Which is why nearly 80 million blogs are in existence today.

Five major elements distinguish a blog from other types of websites. These elements are:

One: Time-stamped entries. Every time you add content to your blog, the date and time are automatically added as well.

Two: Entries posted in reverse chronological order. Your most recent post is always listed first.

Three: Archives. All your posts are eventually saved in the archives in an easy-to-search format for your readers.

Four: Comments from readers. Most blogs are interactive and thus allow readers to post their comments to your entries.

Five: Bio of blogger. This is an important feature because it personalizes the blog. When readers meet the person behind the words, they are more likely to trust you, visit your blog often and tell others about you.

Blogging brings the power of the press to you by allowing you to easily publish your ideas. Millions of people can then read and respond. In essence, blogs create open conversations between you and your audience.

Although some people use blogs as an online diary, this is not the type of blog you want to create. When you only write about the everyday events in your life, you're only writing for you. In other words, you won't generate much traffic.

The kind of blog you want is a viral blog. Although you can and should share some personal anecdotes to personalize the site, you want to focus on posting content related to your niche.

The goal is to be both personal and influential. When you create such a balance, people start talking and spreading the news about your blog like a virus across the Internet. When news about you is spreading like a virus, traffic comes to you.