So as you can imagine, I get this question a lot. Instead of reinventing the wheel with each email, I decided to throw it all on one page and link to it. Here we go…

Best of luck in your new venture!! Celebrity Gossip sites are very popular right now and the market is actually quite inflated. You can see the list of people on blogads:
http://web.blogads.com/advertise/gossip_blogs

and they accept about 20% of people who request to join. So there really are a TON of sites. BUT at the same time, it is the ONLY way to make real money having a blog because the content is always fresh and the readers are never satiated. A blog about ponies or favorite shoes really won’t have the kind of traffic that a celeb site would.

Unfortunately, I JUST made it in and that was two years ago. If I waited another 3 months I truly believe I wouldn’t be where I am today. It’s a lot about timing, luck and friendships. Never say never though…

I don’t want to start a celebrity gossip site.

I almost feel the same rules apply for any type of blog. Use this page as a start and then research what other blogs are out there in the topic you are most interested in. Does something like what you want to write already exist? How can you make it better?

So what if I want to go into a genre that is already fully populated.

My advice - write about something specific. For example, don’t write general gossip. Write about what books celebs are reading or what hotels they stay in. You get my point. Provide a reason why your blog is special.

What platform do you recommend?

I currently use Wordpress. I started on Blogger. But I am moving to Drupal. I know people that are quite happy on Type Pad. So choose what you feel is the best fit for you.

When I started, I got a wordpress.org account and a sever for about $9 bucks a month and started to promote my site like mad.

HOW?

Networking, blood, sweat, and tears.

—
I posted on picture boards like JJB and ONTD.
I emailed all my friends and begged them to spread the word.
I added my URL to my email signature.
I joined exchange sites like blogmad.net and blogexplosion.com and wished for the best.
I also made friends with other sites that were just starting up and began a daily link exchange with them. This really helped out with traffic because if we each had about 3,000 people visiting us a day, that meant some of those readers were exposed to all of our sites which increased traffic for all.
I linked to the big sites everyday in hopes that I would send them enough traffic that they would reciprocate.
I never asked for them to do so.
I worked hard and spent many months building up my traffic one day at a time.

You just have to keep on writing and try to take a different angle. Celeb sites are all very snarky. I happen to REALLY enjoy reading that and have my favorites that I visit daily. But I knew there was a market for people who didn’t. So I changed the way I wrote and kept it fresh and clean instead. This allowed me to get through work firewalls and made my readers feel comfortable to view my site at home with kids around.

I also tried my hardest to build a community (still working on that). Constantly asked questions, ran polls, wrote personal stuff about my family etc.

And did I mention luck and timing? That’s all it is in the end. I am very grateful for what’s happened to INO. But I know I can’t take credit for all of it.

Before I end this…

Where do I get my pictures from?
Flynet
WENN
Bauer Griffin

How much does it cost to buy pictures?
I pay about $3K a month.
But it is worth it to remain safe and out of the angry eyes of lawyers.

Where do you get your stories from?

Everywhere! I have about 50 sources that I check each day to get fresh content. That part is up to you to find.

How do you make money?

You can make money a few ways online. CPM and CPC are very popular. An advertising company will pay you for either how many page views you have or how many clicks come from those ads. Google Adsense is CPC while She Knows (my advertising agency) is CPM. Your rate depends on what you negotiate and what you have to offer.

Sponsored posts are also another alternative. You can charge smaller companies a fee for you to highlight a product on your site. Contests are yet another option. So are affiliation programs. It is endless.

Hope this helps and best of luck!!
Vera