Many people ask what you need to get started in order to make a profitable blog. The answer is nothing, provided that your only goal is to spend no money at all. Now, if you want higher returns and if you have the money to spend, the answer to "what you need to get started" might several hundred dollars to invest in tools that could make your climb to the top faster and smoother.

One of the most important things you will need to get started is some form of keyword research tool or database. Currently, there are dozens of these products on the market, which range in price from free to around $500. The most popular tool on the market is probably WordTracker, which offers a limited trial version for free-or a fully-functional version for $7.50/day or $45/mo. This will allow you to find out which keywords are most profitable and have a reasonable demand (aggregate search)/supply (aggregate site) rating.

Other than a keyphrase tool, the answers to the "what you need to get started" question will usually depend on the project. For instance, if you're hosting a blog and you want to monetize it with Adsense, you may want to add a thumnail generator to your "what you need to get started" list. A thumnail generator will create code that, when inserted in your blog, will generate scraped-thumnail pictures from related searches on Google images-and will place them next to your contextual ads, increasing the click-thru rate.

In contrast, if you're planning to sell your own products, you may want to add an autoresponder to your "what you need to get started" list. An autoresponder will allow you to greatly improve your conversion rate by allow you to put all follow-up emails on autopilot, rather than doing them personally or strictly using your salespage.

So what exactly do you need to to get started? Nothing. You can create a profitable blog without paying a cent, but if you want to take advantage of automating tools to further improve your profitability and efficiency, you will have to purchase at least a few tools.

Look at the next best selling ebooks to launch, and you'll notice just how many people get behind the promotion activities in the first week of release.

Think that happened overnight? No way. These partners were contacted by the author or the marketing specialists several weeks, if not months in advance. They were given review copies of the early drafts. They were invited to offer suggestions or additions.

By getting partners to commit to the development of an ebook, the author has invoked a powerful principle that makes the partner feel like a part-owner - so when it comes time to help promote it, there is little resistance to helping it reach best selling ebooks status.

Best Selling Ebooks Leverage Relationships

No single author can have the kind of connections and trusting relationships available to a big group of partners. And smart best selling ebooks authors tap into this network of contacts, and leverage the relationships each individual partner has developed - with his or her own list.

The payoff to the partner comes in many ways. Association with a high profile launch, the ability to offer bonuses which collect contact details, the potential for future joint ventures with the successful ebook author or just added income from affiliate sales would motivate many people to hop aboard once the momentum reaches critical levels.

Best Selling Ebooks Sustain Speed

Unless properly co-ordinated and handled, such massive campaigns can quickly run out of steam soon after launch. The really successful best selling ebooks are those which can sustain the momentum gained during the launch process, and use that to attract new partners, reach new audiences and sell more copies.

For instance, an ebook sold through Clickbank will suddenly get extra exposure to a network of 100,000 affiliates if it rises through the ranks to get a top 10 position on the best selling ebooks list.

So the next time you think about envying an author of best selling ebooks, understand it isn't just sheer luck that brought those results. There was a ton of hard work behind it - and the good news is, you can enjoy the same results by taking massive action too.