Writing a blog is a great way to make money and it's a
great way to build your list too. You can also sell your
own products and/or sell affiliate products from your blog. However,
for any of these things to actually work, you first need to get
traffic to your blog. Three ways to drive traffic to your blog are to write articles, digg your blog, and post on forums.
The first way to drive traffic to your blog is to write articles.
The best place to submit articles is ezinearticles.com. This site
is also the strictest so make sure you follow all their rules. It
will take just a few days to get your article approved but once you get 10 or more articles live on the site you'll become a "platinum"
member and then your articles should get accepted in about a day or so. What you want to do is write articles that are related to
your blog's information. Then put a link to your blog in the
signature box below the article.
The next way to get more readers to your blog is to digg it. This
means that you submit each blog you write to digg.com. This is a
very easy process. It takes you about 30 seconds to sign-up. Then
you complete the sign-up process by checking your email and
clicking the link that digg sends you. Then all you need to do is
click on "Submit New" at the top of the page. Then plug in the url
to the individual blog post and then you're all set.
The third way to drive more traffic to your blog is by participating in forums that are related to your blog. Now, there are a couple of different ways to promote your blog on these forums. The first way is to put a link to your blog in your signature. That way the link to your blog appears every single time you make a post. The second way to use forums to your blog is to read the posts and find an interesting topic or question. Then go back and write a post about that topic, then return to the forum and post a reply that you covered this exact topic on your blog. Then refer them to the link in your sig. or post the direct link in the reply.
These are just three of the ways to drive traffic to your blog. However you must insure that your blog is set up correctly so that it will attract the search engines that ultimately bring the traffic to your blog. I have bought a couple of products from Mike Paetzold, who for those that do not know him is in my opinion one of the leading experts on blogging!
For example I purchased his "7 tips to make your Wordpress Blog Search Engine Friendly" As a direct result taking action the traffic sent to this blog increased dramatically thus increasing my chances of making a sale.
Some time ago I read an article about the tremendous growth that blogging was experiencing and it really caught my attention. I feel like I have a lot to talk about and a blog seemed like a perfect venue to write some of the things I wanted to share. I took the plunge and created my own blog and I am very glad that I did. Maybe you are considering blogging as well. Here are some answers to the common questions about blogging.
Who Should Blog?
I think that everybody has something to say. If you have something to say then you should have a blog. You might be asking, "What would I write about" Good question. Here are some answers. What are your hobbies? What are you passionate about? What do you consider yourself an expert in? What do you find yourself talking about? Are you interested in politics? Can't get enough news talk radio or TV? Love football, basketball, baseball, hockey, NASCAR? Fascinated by celebrities? Love to cook? Love to travel? Raising kids? Watching movies?
What is a blog?
A blog (short for web log) is like an online journal. There is a lot of free software available that makes running and maintaining a blog very easy. A blog takes the articles you write (called posts) and organizes them by date and category so that people who visit your blog can easily find, read and enjoy them.
Why a blog?
A blog is not only a great way to talk about your ideas; there are also some very real possibilities of making money. There are programs like Google Adsense, Affiliate Programs, Click Banks, and opportunities to sell articles that you write. A blog is also a lot simpler and quicker to set up than a traditional web site.
When should I start?
There is no time like the present! If you are interested in blogging then I want to encourage you to go for it. There are plenty of available options when it comes to getting started. There are places where you can get a free blog site. There are places to get hosted blog sites. If you are planning on trying to make money from your blog than you should probably consider going with a web-hosting company where you pay a small monthly fee. With some of the free sites there are restrictions about the way you monetize (make money) from your site.
How do I get started?
The Internet is filled with information to help you learn all that you need to get your blog off the ground. Do a little research and then take your own plunge. I am sure you will be glad that you did.
Do you want to monetize your blog? If so, when you decide this is what you really want; (to make some money from your blog), keep in mind monetizing a blog can be like a balancing act. To really make money from blogging it’s important to be someone of a jack of all trades,someone that's been at it for awhile, experience definitly helps. And always remember the blogosphere changes rapidly, and change creates opportunity, and opportunity can create the kind of income your seeking.
I don’t want to insult anyone, but most people are clueless when it comes to making money from their blogs. You should think of your blog as a potential outlet for multiple streams of income. If your ready to take on the challenge of generating income from blogging, the most important thing you need to monetize your blog is traffic, and to be more specific, targeted traffic. When I first started blogging, I knew that traffic building was going to be my biggest challenge.
I don’t recommend using a hosted service like Blogger if you want to seriously make money from your blog. If you use a hosted blog, you’re at the mercy of the hosting service, and that puts the future of any income streams you create with them at risk.
As a blogger who wants to generate income, you should always be experimenting with new income streams. Every blog is different, so you need to test things for yourself to see what works for you. Pick a niche for your blog where you have some significant expertise, but make sure it’s a big enough niche that you can build a good amount of traffic. And by all means make it clear to your visitors what your blog is all about.
Take a moment to articulate a basic income-generating strategy for your site. If you aren’t good at strategy, then just come up with a general philosophy for how you’re going to generate income. You don’t need a full business plan, just a description of how you plan to get from $0 per month to whatever your income goal is.
However you decide to generate income, put your basic strategy down in writing. Although you may have multiple streams of income, decide which type of income will be your primary source, and design your site around that. If you learn about a new potential income stream, test it for a month or two, and measure the results for yourself. As a blogger who wants to generate income, you should always be experimenting with new income streams.
Think about what specific action you want your visitors to eventually take that will make money from your blog for you, and design your site accordingly. AS I've stated before, traffic is the primary fuel of online income generation. More visitors means more ad clicks, more product sales, more affiliate sales, more leads, and more of whatever else that generates income for you.
If your blog provides genuine value, you fully deserve to earn income from it. If you are very web savvy, or if you can learn to become very web savvy, then you have an excellent shot of making enough money from your blog to cover all your living expenses… and then some.