Making Money Online: Blogging

Blogging is one of the simplest ways of making money on the Net. It is quite easy to do, rewarding and requires no upfront investment. Of course, you have to enjoy writing. If you need help getting started, read "Of Blogs and Bloggers".

There are millions of blogs, making competition fierce. Don't expect to earn a lot initially. First you have to attract an audience. Blog about something you feel passionate about, something different than what is already out there.

1.Advertising

Advertising is the primary way that bloggers generate income. To do this, you need your own blog. Ideally, it should have considerable traffic or a highly coveted demographic.

With online ads, you earn money in one of two ways: by delivering a certain number of ad impressions, called CPM (an advertiser might pay a few dollars per thousand impressions) or every time a prospective customer clicks an ad, called CPC (here the rate varies from a few cents to a few dollars per click).

Seek out businesses with related products and services that will benefit by advertising on your blog. Convince them to advertise with you.

2.Google Adsense

Google offers a service for publishers that serves ads to your site or blog, like the ones on the top and right side of this page. To get started, sign up for an Adsense account, and then place the ad code on your blog (this requires a bit of technical savvy).

Google serves contextual ads to your blog related to your content. When a reader clicks an ad, you get paid, similar to the CPC model outlined above. Google has a reporting service so you track how much money the ads generate. Payments are made at the end of the month.

3.Review writing

You can opt to write reviews for products, services and businesses in your niche at a fee agreed upon between you and the business. Most small business owners are preoccupied with running their businesses with little time to write reviews on their own.

While writing reviews, it is important that you write both the positive and negative sides of the product or service. Begin your post by highlighting the positive aspects of the product before mentioning the negative ones towards the end of your review.

A successful blog should establish your as an authority in your niche. Here are some tips to help you reach that goal.

1.Target your audience

What will interest your target audience? Put yourself in their shoes. Think about the kind of information you seek out. Get ideas by surfing the Net to see what other bloggers in your niche market are writing about. However, do not copy others' work. Figure out a new angle, a fresh observation that will make your blog unique.

2.Pictures this

Most of us are visual learners; we love pictures because they enliven the browsing experience. Use images that enhance your content and interest your readers. Lots of free images and videos (like the one in this article) are available online. If you have a digital camera, go out and take some of your own.

3.Give value

Stay focused on the topic of your blog. Provide engaging and useful information. People who derive value from your posts will come back.

Consider producing video posts. This is a very powerful way of informing your visitors.

4.Be concise

Most people spend less than a minute viewing a web page. Avoid long, rambling posts. Give your readers compelling content in 500 words or less.

5.Encourage interaction

Make sure that visitors can add comments and feedback. Most blogging software have this feature. When readers leave comments, be sure to respond. Create a dialog that engages your audience. Sometimes the stream of comments are more interesting than the initial post.

Finally, be sure to post to your blog regularly, at least a few times a week. Otherwise, little reason for people to return. Remember, content is king.

Last update: Oct 18, 2010