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After starting a blog with a small number of daily readers, Timothy Sykes scaled it to generate $3.3 million in revenue in 2011. It was all done with profitable blogging tactics, so we invited him to teach you how to do it.

Tim is a blogger and founder of TimothySykes.com.

Here are some of the actionable highlights from the course.

1. Mix up your content to hook your readers

Tim wrote a post that incorporated facts about Facebook’s initial public offering, spicy language, and intriguing questions about the growth of the Internet.

Action Step
Write blog posts that combine entertainment, information, and thought-provoking questions.

2. Grab email addresses to contact readers later

Tim offers seven free video lessons to first-time visitors who sign up with their email addresses.

Action Step
Give first-time visitors additional content in exchange for their email addresses.

3. Know your audience to create content that appeals to them

Tim lost 20 subscribers after he commented on Sarah Palin, and he realized he shouldn’t write about politics.

Action Step
Use informal polls to learn about your readers, and watch how they respond to your writing.

4. Experiment with formats to see which ones get people to buy

Tim found that his audience liked blog posts and video lessons, but not podcasts or DVDs.

Action Step
Present your content in audio, video, and text form, and use different social media sites.

5. Tell readers about yourself to prove you’re credible

Tim’s “about me” page says that he invested his $12,415 bar mitzvah gift and made $1.65 million within three years.

Action Step
Write about how you started your business and share a success story.

6. Spread your content to attract more readers

When Tim writes a detailed post exposing a scam, he promotes it on stock market chat rooms and forums.

Action Step
Mention your best blog posts on relevant message boards and chat rooms, and share them on Facebook and Twitter.

7. Get testimonials to convince people to trust you and buy from you

Tim wrote a blog post featuring a testimonial from a customer who made $100,000 short selling stocks.

Action Step
Ask readers to submit feedback, and use their stories as advertisements.

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Written by Sarah Brodsky, based on production notes by Jeremy Weisz