Nowadays, when we are all trying to get the biggest bang for our money, it’s a good idea to compare products and services. One such service would be cheap broadband Internet, and a website such as Broadband-Expert.co.uk offers good tools and advice on selecting the optimal Internet access for you.

The website offers comparison of home as well as mobile broadband deals. These services are offered by major Internet providers and are updated on a day to day basis. Each broadband provider is described in detail, including hidden costs. There are also some bargains mentioned, such as mobile broadband with free laptop. The comparison is divided into download limits, speeds, the set up fee, the cost for the first year, service ratings, and minimum contract duration.

The site also offers a broadband speed test for both your upload and download speeds, which only requires the entry of your current broadband package details. If the speed result is lower than what you were quoted by your current Internet service provider or you are ready to upgrade to a higher speed, you can definitely check the other relevant promotions.

Broadband Expert also offers visitors a news section, consumer guide, and a forum for helping users with their research and choosing the right broadband provider.

The blog’s author is Mark Aucamp, who has worked in Africa, Asia, and Europe, and is experienced as the owner of a debt management business  and as a mortgage consultant running his own company.

Some of the informative blog articles include the “Buy to Let Landlords“, “money saving tips – free enterprise”, and “Credit Cards Debts Cleared Legally“.

There is also a forum section within the blog that is divided into sections of: The Mortgage Market, The Credit Crunch, Money Saving Tips, Unenforceable Finance Contracts, and Debt Management.

The site itself is slick looking and easy to navigate. It also isn’t bombarded with ads, just a couple of banners and some Google Adsense ads, which make for an unobtrusive reading.

Overall, the site shows good potential, as it was launched in early July and already contains many extensive posts and relevant comments relating to the current economic crisis.

Well, I have to fess up. It was a trick question.

I don’t think we need to coin a new buzzword to describe successful bloggers. You could argue that Darren Rowse did that years ago by coining “problogger.”

What we need is a different way of looking at blogs.

We need a distinction that allows us to better understand what it takes to be successful. We need to realize that, while blogs are certainly new, they operate by the same old rules. We need to take blogging out from under the “Web” category and shift it into another, more useful one.

Because, for some of us, a blog isn’t a blog at all. It’s just business.

Why Do You Blog?

Some people would argue that blogs are just a means of self-expression. And that’s fine. If you find happiness from writing down your thoughts and posting them to the Internet, regardless of whether anyone reads them, then stop reading this post. You don’t need it.

On the other hand, the moment you direct your posts toward an audience, try to build traffic, or brainstorm ways to monetize your blog, then you’ve become a different type of blogger entirely. You’re setting objectives that involve personal gain, and that makes you much more like something else:

A business.

The Business of Blogging

The defining characteristic of a business is that it has an objective. Usually, that objective involves trying to make a profit, although that’s not necessarily the primary aim.

Bloggers do the same thing. Do any of these objectives ring a bell?

• Recurring advertising revenue through adsense, text links, sponsorships, and/or affiliate programs
• Spreading your ideas, so you become a “thought leader” and get lots of paid speaking and consulting gigs
• Building your subscriber base so you can sell a book or other product

Those are all business models, and if you’re following a business model, then you’re running a business, at least at some level.

Am I saying bloggers are businesspeople? Many of them, yes. And if you are a businessperson, you’re only going to become successful by acting like one.

Blogging Principles Vs. Business Principles

Lots of bloggers get caught up in things like getting traffic from social media, search engine optimization, and developing their flagship content. All of those things are important, but it’s impossible to do them effectively without first understanding the underlying business principles.

For instance:

• Social Media = Marketing
• Popular Blog Topic = Customer Targeting
• Flagship Content = Valuable Product

Each are core parts of doing business, regardless of whether you’re blogging or running your own McDonald’s franchise. The bloggers that build a huge subscriber base or make thousands of dollars a month are the ones that have the best understanding of those principles and apply them the most effectively.

• A nobody that always wanted to write and thinks people will finally notice their talent online
• A lonely geek looking for attention
• A marketer that publishes promotional fluff as an attraction strategy for a product
• A depressed 9-to-5er that desperately wants to quit and work from home
• A Darren Rowse or Steve Pavlina wannabe
• A get-rich-quick schemer that thinks blogging is the key to making millions online
• A lazy homebody looking for a source of passive income so they never have to work again
• An author that can’t get published
• A CEO that wants the board to think he’s on the cutting edge
• A techy tag along that starts a blog because everyone else has one
• A tiny voice amongst millions that doesn’t have a prayer of getting noticed or making any money

But… but… but…

Doesn’t the word “blogger” just refer to someone that “keeps a web log (blog)?” After all, that’s what the dictionary says.

Not anymore.

Over time, the connotation of a word changes, and its meaning expands. In the case of blogging, it’s taking on an air of failure, almost like being called a musician or actor.

In those fields though, we’ve developed separate terms. We call successful musicians rock stars or pop stars. We call successful actors movie stars.

So what do we call someone who runs a profitable blog? And more importantly, how do you become one?

Post a comment, telling me what you think. I’ll give you my take tomorrow.

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