In the last post, I wrote about -not only the the central message of this blog- how you should think of your blog like a religion.
Click here to read the original post.
Today I want to show you some of the basic architecture for taking that idea a bit further.
Below is a simple diagram of what most will recognize as a church, temple, meeting hall, any term works.
Let’s look at who makes up your blog-religion.
Back Row Readers On the back row of your church, sit the unconverted -those who have yet to hear your blog’s central message.
They are casual readers of your blog – the kind of one-time visitors we all get from time to time. But they remain unconverted and haven’t invested themselves in the blog.
New Converts The first conversion occurs when they subscribe to your blog feed via RSS or email or they subscribe to your newsletter.
At this point, they are believers in your opt-in offer if not your central message. They may be lukewarm, but they have a pulse and they voluntarily became a part of your blog-church. (Hallelujah)
Faithful Followers The second conversion happens when they decide to purchase a product or service via your recommendation.It’s much more than just a purchase or a commission from an affiliate link. It means they trust you. That is huge!
At this point, your new converts have taken an important step forward in their new-found faith – they become faithful followers – those that look forward to each new post and eagerly await a new service or product.
Zealous Evangelists Finally, a third conversion takes place when they invest their total thinking (around your niche) in your blog religion. They believe in your blog’s central message so much that they begin to mention it outside the ‘church.’
Maybe they refer others to your blog or write a post about your blog on theirs. Whatever they’re doing, these Zealous Evangelists are doing it voluntarily and (at least at first) without any other motivation save their trust and belief in your central message.
You, the Guru?
As we stated in the original post, every successful blog is like a religion in that there is a charismatic figure spearheading the effort of the organization.
Steve Job fulfills that role for Apple, Inc. Until recently, Bill Gates was the ‘soul’ of Microsoft; Warren Buffet – Berkshire Hathaway; Barack Obama – the free world; Rush Limbaugh (you know, the comedian) - the conservative political right in the US; Richard Branson – Virgin Atlantic, etc.
Because it’s your blog and your message, you’re the de facto Guru of your blog-religion. My mentor Yaro Starak is the life-force and personality behind Entrepreneurs-Journey.com and Blog Mastermind. Developing your blog’s personality is essential in leading your followers. That too, is another lengthy future post. 
Final Thoughts
Give some thought to how your blog’s central message is like the guiding philosophy behind a religion. Unless your blog has dedicated followers (who believe in who and what they’re following) it will go the way of the Druids on Salisbury Plain.
Give some thought to adapting your blog to the religion model and if you have questions or comments, I’d love to hear them.