3 Questions to Move Your Blog from Good to Great

Recently, I was re-reading the best selling book Good to Great by Jim Collins. One of my favorite concepts in the book is what he calls the Hedgehog Concept. The idea is that there are 3 separate areas of equal importance that all need to work together to make the magic happen.

I think these concepts are also true about blogging. I am going to do my best to try to relate the Hedgehog Principle to the world of blogging. If you want to apply this principle to your blogging journey, then it requires you to ask 3 questions.

The Hedgehog Blogging Concept

1. What are you deeply passionate about (Passion)? There are many reasons as to why we teach that you should choose a topic your passionate about. For starters, you will need to enjoy what you do until you begin to make some income from your blog. Both Bob and I blogged for quite awhile before we saw some real viable money come in month after month.

Writing about your passion also gives you a deep well to draw from. It is what you read about in your spare time. It is what you can’t help but talk about in conversations with others. Choose a topic that you have a real interest in and you will never run out of ideas to write about.

2. What are your natural strengths (Skills & Abilities)? What can you be the best in the world at?  I realize that for many of you that question may intimidate you. If so, take a moment and read The Fear of Not Being Good Enough. What you have to come to realize is that you have strengths that the world is dying to see. You have knowledge, expertise, insight, and experience that others so badly want.

3. What drives your economic engine (Profitable Business Model)? I often say that passion left all by itself is dangerous. It is all over the place with no focus. It needs to be grounded from time to time. It needs to be pointed in a viable direction. This is how you take a hobby and turn it into a business. You learn, discover, and decide on a business model that works for you.

The good news is that just about any topic can be monetized these days. You still have to learn the model, stick with the model, and do the model every day. For example, Fraser Cain receives over 4 million visitors a month to his site Universe Today. The earnings from his site produce a full time income for him. He often says, “If I can make a living talking about space, anyone can make a living talking about their passion if done correctly.”

Even Fraser admits that some business models take longer than others to produce, but the point is learn the business model that is right for you and go for it! Fraser is also the co-founder of the Keyword Strategy Tool that we use to manage our blogs.

Where the Magic Happens

Just like the graphic above, the magic happens when you combine all three of these concepts. Getting all three of them going is how you move your blog from good to great.

Now it is your turn to evaluate yourself with the questions above.

Question: Which one of the above questions have you nailed down? Which one of the above questions still have you searching?