5 Simple Ways Bloggers Can Learn From -- and Earn Like -- the Superstars

Are there bloggers you admire, who make a full-time living from their blog?

You may have wondered how they got where they are — and how you could join them in the favored ranks of those who have figured out how to make a living from anywhere in the world, armed with just a laptop and Internet access.

The good news is, you can do it. You can learn from the A-List bloggers and grow your own blog.

I know, because I did it.

Just like blacksmiths and wheelwrights used to be apprenticed to masters in their craft, you can create an apprenticeship program for yourself where you learn about blogging.

Here are five of the methods I used to learn the ways of top bloggers I admired:

1. Read your favorite bloggers like a textbook. Stop simply reading your favorites’ posts and going, “Wow, that’s superb!” Instead, start analyzing everything about the post. How is it formatted? What sort of headlines do they use? What is the first sentence? How does it end? Where does it link to? How simple or complicated is it? How many points do they cover? Once you see the elements that make it work, you can begin using some of those same techniques in your own posts.
2. Do a lot of guest posts. A lot of people may not know this about me, but early on in the history of this blog, I cranked out 60 guest posts in a single year for a blog which at the time had a similar, small audience to my own, WM Freelance Writers Connection. Why would I do such a crazy thing? I wanted to learn more about blogging for clients, and what it was like to write posts for a different audience than my own. I considered my guesting stint my own custom-designed blogging school. It laid the groundwork so that when I had a chance to guest post for Copyblogger — and when clients wanted to pay me $100+ a post to blog about their topics — I was ready.
3. Analyze the edits. Any time you submit an article or blog post, be sure to compare the published version to the one you submitted. If you can’t immediately see why the change makes the piece better, ask the editor why they changed it. I used to do this weekly when I wrote short news articles for the L.A. Reader, and it provided me with a free, ad-hoc course in how to write breaking news. With blog guest posts, I’ll still frequently sit and compare my draft line-for-line with the finished work to learn more about what top bloggers want.
4. Check out their products. What most big bloggers have that you may not is quality, big-ticket products they’ve created themselves. Consider their landing pages a class in how to write landing pages. Look at how they put their offering together, how they get people excited about it, and how they drive sales. What they’re doing works. Steal their marketing ideas and create your own product. Then, follow their road map to sell it.
5. Get a mentor. If you can take a course or do mentoring with a successful blogger whose work you like, you have a chance to gain priceless insights into the methods they used to be successful. You get the benefit of skipping all the trial-and-error they did coming up, as they give you their tips on how to grow your blog. This also gives you a chance to connect on a more personal level with that blogger, which might pay off in some useful introductions to other big bloggers in the future.

How do you learn about blogging? Leave a comment and tell us.

P.S. Speaking of mentors, today is the last day to sign up for the amazing Guest Blogging course taught by crack Copyblogger associate editor Jon Morrow, where he mentors only 100 students for three whole months. If you’d like a taste of what he offers, check out this 2-hour free Webinar — I’ve got it back up for today only.