Nowadays, it seems
like just about everybody has a blog. Whether you’re a stay-at-home mom looking
to document your kids’ lives, a crafter creating the latest do-it-yourself
projects, or a business owner looking to market and make a name for your brand,
blogging could be the answer to doing what you love and making an income from
it.
That’s right, it’s possible (in fact, very possible) to make money simply
by blogging. All you need is a computer, the ability to accept credit cards
online, and a few tips, provided below.
Create a blog and stick with it
Most people don’t stick with
blogging long enough to make any money from it. Don’t expect results overnight.
Blogging takes work, hours upon hours of work, before you’ll ever see a dime.
The more work you put in, the more money you can eventually expect to make.
To help you stick with
it, blog about things you’re passionate about. If you blog about food but don’t
really enjoy cooking, chances are the blog will be forgotten about long before
it even has a shot at making money.
Gain followers
Once you start your
blog and know the direction you want it to go, it’s time to startgaining readers (or in blog terms, followers). To do
this, you must get involved with the blogging community. Find blogs that are
similar to your own – as far as their topic, age, and audience – and read what
they’re writing about. Leave comments on other blogs, send emails, respond to
emails, post your blogs on Facebook and Twitter, and network. The more people
that see your blog, the better you’ll be at gaining readers.
Be yourself
Always, always, always
be true to yourself. People will continue visiting your blog if they like who you are,
so don’t try to be someone you’re not. Eventually, either your true colors will
show or you’ll no longer enjoy blogging due to not being true to yourself, and
you’ll lose readers.
Advertise
Instead of billboards, people will
use your blog to advertise
Start advertising once
you’ve generated a decent amount of traffic to your blog. Google Adsense is a
great program to start out with, and it’s free! Youplace Google ads on your blog(you can determine the types of
ads you want to display and where they are placed) and get paid when people
click those ads.
Say you have a 1%
click rate, 1000 page views per day, and you get paid 25 cents per click. That
means you’ll make $2.50 per day off of ads. Though it doesn’t seem like much,
it does add up, and it doesn’t cost you a thing.
Affiliate advertising
Sign up as an
affiliate of a company, such as Amazon, to earn money off your blog. You earn
per click (like regular advertising), per sale, or per lead. The huge benefit
of this is once you place the ad on your blog, you’re essentially done. As long
as your blog’s generating traffic (remember, the more the better), the money
will come in.
Sponsors
This is where a
company pays you a flat rate to put their ad on your blog. Sometimes, companies
will contact you directly for this. Make sure people and businesses know you’re
accepting sponsors by putting that information directly on your blog. Advertise
the number of followers you have, how many monthly page views your blog gets,
and how much you want to charge per ad.
Sell something
If you’re crafty, use
your blog to market yourself or business to sell your product. If you have a
business on the side, such as selling candles or makeup, put it on your blog.
Allowing customers to buy your product directly from your blog will grow your
sales, business, and income.
Write reviews
Use your blog to write
a review on a product, service, or website and get paid. The company pays you
to write a review in hopes of selling their product to your readers. Typically,
each review needs to be about 200 words long. If you’re reviewing a product,
you will receive the product for free in addition to monetary compensation.
ReviewMe.com is a great place to start.
Once your blog is
large and has a steady following, the opportunities to make money are endless.
You can write an eBook, a regular print book, sell your guest posts, become a
professional blogger, and more. The key is being passionate about your blog,
consistently posting, and making your mark in the blogging world. It’s not
easy, but if you enjoy it, then it’s not really work!
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