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Garden City's Vera Sweeney runs thriving celeb blog

Vera Sweeney operates a very successful celebrity gossip Web site, www.imnotobsessed.com from her laptop while seated on her living room sofa. (Ari Mintz / Newsday / March 26, 2008)

BY STEPHEN WILLIAMS | steve.williams@newsday.com

March 26, 2008

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As a stay-at-home mom living in Garden City with two babies, Vera Sweeney needed an outlet, a place to pour her creative energy, a place to indulge her obsession with celebrity gossip.

She might've been perfectly satisfied reading about Britney and Paris and Lindsay and BCBG and fitted jeans on somebody's Web site.

Instead, she created her own.

"I'm Not Obsessed" (imnotobsessed.com) says it all. "If you're reading it, you are obsessed," claims Sweeney, who, at 30, has found a calling - and a substantial income - dishing out various degrees of dirt.

Those hungry for chat, photos and matters of the fashionistas will find the usual suspects at "Obsessed." Milla Jovovich out shopping was a recent lead story; Lindsay and Paris were on hand, of course, and there was a link as well to the Wu Yi Source Chinese diet page ("If you can lend me just 11 minutes of your time, then I'm about to show you exactly what has been kept a POWERFUL weight loss 'secret' by the people of China for over 400 years ... ").

Talk about instant networking: Sweeney, who started the site just about two years ago, said she scours dozens of sources daily for her various tidbits, and maintains a stable of 12 writers, who get paid based on the number of views, or "hits," their stories receive on the site.

"As a child, there were a lot of Teen Beats and Tiger Beats in my room that my mom got for me," said Sweeney, who grew up in Queens. "I was always fascinated by that sort of stuff, unfortunately. ... I just took it to the next level as an adult."

Sweeney researched many Web blogs and gossip sites, and decided that establishing the mechanics to do her own thing online was workable. What she didn't borrow from the existing gossip models was attitude.

"Most celebrity gossip blogs have this formula, snarky and mean-spirited," she said. "When I started, I had tried to be nasty, but then I felt like there was a market for people who just wanted the information. It seems to me that we're becoming more invasive. I try not to publish peering-into-windows stuff."

Attracting advertisers was a concern as well, she said. But her ad base has grown - American Express and Revlon are among those companies onboard, and she says the site now receives more than 6 million page views a month. Sweeney added shopping and fashion components to the site recently to draw in more revenue, and she has signed with Gorrilla Nation, a major online ad sales agency.

A former business consultant, Sweeney's optimistic about her own site's success, even as others join in the market. "I have a ton of competition," she says, "but I've got my own angle. And I feel like I jumped into the gossip game just in time."

Making BLOGS PAY

The majority of bloggers who populate the Web are there to vent or share an opinion or impart advice. But there are plenty seeking to realize cash from their online ventures.

Vera Sweeney is among the latter. With her background in business consulting, Sweeney had a plan in place to make money with her blog. And she was convinced that focusing on celebrity gossip was the way to go.

Internet entrepreneurs are divided about the possibilities of making money off a blog, unless it is expanded into a "blog network." A good example is Weblogs Inc., which was sold to AOL for big bucks.

Writing for the Microsoft Small Business Center, blogger Jeff Wuorio has these suggestions for those aspiring to blog and earn:

Sell advertising. The most common way to generate income. For those starting up, services such as Google's AdSense and BlogAds enable bloggers to establish ad programs. AdSense - which lets you select several ads that are consistent with the content of your blog - pays you based on how many readers click on the ads for further information. And it's free.

Help sell others' products. Affiliate programs enable a blog to serve as a conduit between readers and online sites offering various goods and services. One popular choice is Amazon.com. If, for instance, you offer book reviews or just mention a book, an affiliate program provides a means for your readers to click directly from your blog to Amazon.

Solicit contributions. If your blog supports a cause or issue, ask for reader support. Even if you've attracted a group of regular followers who simply enjoy reading what you have to say, they may be willing to underwrite their loyalty with a little financial help.

Market services in your blog. Many people associate blogs exclusively with a cyberspace-based soapbox. But don't overlook their capacity to generate new business as well. When appropriate, work in references to what you do and, in turn, what you may be able to offer any would-be client or customer who may be reading your blog.

-- Stephen Williams