Earning some extra money from a blog takes time but it can be done, even by a beginner.
Setting up a blog is very easy, even if you have never done anything like that before. First you need to get yourself organised and decide what you want to blog about and where you want to host your blog.
There are lots of options for hosting including Typepad, Wordpress and Blogger. I like Wordpress because it has more options and gadgets than the others, but it does not allow you to monetize your blog, so if you want to make money via your blog it is not the place to start.
The easiest place to start is Blogger. It is free and you get access to free software which will help you build your blog by simply pushing buttons. If you are a bit more advance in your knowledge of the internet you will be able to add html code and tweak things quite a lot, but if you can’t do this, it doesn’t matter.
Once you have decided on your blogging platform, you need a topic for your blog. Is there something that interests you? Do you have a favourite place to blog about? A sport? A hobby? Or even an idea?
Try to think of something that will give your blog its own identity.
You can add links to your writing, other blogs and other people’s websites. The more there is to attract visitors the better. You need to keep it interesting because the concentration span of the average internet surfer is very short. You want them to stay for at least a few minutes on your blog.
Okay, now you are ready to start. Go to Blogger.com and set up your blog. You will see lots of templates to choose from. Just select the one you like and you can make changes later if you want to. Once your blog is set up you need to start posting on it. Some bloggers say that you only need 100 words per post but others say you need longer pillar posts to give the search engines something to get hold of.
After all, it’s no use having a blog if you have no traffic. I tend to use a mixture of short posts and longer ones depending on how interesting I find the topic, or the time I have available.
Once you have half a dozen, or so posts, you can start thinking about getting yourself some readers. The easiest way to do this is to read other blogs, sign up to ‘follow’ them (a Blogger feature) and they will return the favour. Apply to join Blogcatalog and get involved in the community so that people will visit your blog. Don’t forget to tell everybody and add a link to your blog to your email.
Then you might consider joining something like Entrecard which will bring you visitors, or Linkreferral. I use these but I almost run Adgitize advertising which pays me a small monthly fee and I buy advertising on the Adgitize system. It is very cheap and brings lots of traffic. I get some new readers from this so it is well worth it.
There are lots of other ways to promote your blog but these are the things that have worked for me. Take a look and see what else brings in visitors and how it can all work No Way To Blog
If you want to monetize your blog you can use Adsense but it is very slow and the pennies only just tick over, even if you do have thirty thousand visitors a day. I would also recommend Adgitize because it pays out every month if you earn at least $10. Paid posts also earn money but your blog needs to be established before you will be offered these. Once you have a good solid blog with lots of posts, you should apply for your blog to be added by the various pay to post companies which you will find easily via Google.
You can also run private advertisements at a monthly fee but you need to get out there and ask for these. They do just come to you on occasion but it usually takes work to get them.
Once you have done all this you must keep posting and keep reading other people’s blogs and commenting, so that you are building your own blog all the time. It will eventually work if you keep going.
October 29th, 2009 at 10:56 am
thanks for sharing, will give a try
October 29th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
I have been thinking about doing this for some time, you make it sound so easy I am going to give it a try, thanks!
October 29th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
I also like Wordpress for the same reasons you’ve mentioned. Monetizing it is no problem since I host my own (and others) sites and blogs. Not an option for everyone, I know.
October 29th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
Thanks for the information with the well written article Jan.
I shall try this because my wife (Elaine) and I, have been talking earlier today about blogging.
Kind Regards
Tim
October 29th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Great advice Louie. I have always wanted to start one but never have gotten the time…
October 29th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
I use my WordPress blog to send readers to my Triond content. This works out pretty good.
October 29th, 2009 at 9:38 pm
Thank you so much for sharing this with us. I think this advice will help a lot of people who want to start blogging. I appreciate the way you explained how to build your own blog.
October 29th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
Some new helpful things to learn..Thanks
October 29th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
I just recently started using Blogger and I like it alot. Good article with some great advice.
October 29th, 2009 at 11:52 pm
Excellent advice, Louie! Thanks for the great article.
October 30th, 2009 at 1:35 am
Good advice. I’ve had my blog http://originalwavelength.blogspot.com
for some time. The Google Ad-Sense does bring in some money, but most importantly I’ve got to know many people from across the globe.
October 30th, 2009 at 2:14 am
Thanks for this piece of advice. This is very helpful especially for those who really need to earn. Thanks again Louie!
October 30th, 2009 at 4:45 am
Excellent advice for new bloggers!
October 30th, 2009 at 6:11 am
I ditto R J, this is excellent advice. I use blogger and earn a few $ per month, I have a good platform for my publishers to look at when the time arises.
October 30th, 2009 at 6:48 am
Very informative article
October 30th, 2009 at 7:44 am
Thanks for the great article.
October 30th, 2009 at 8:02 am
Great tips for those people who want to blog and earn.
October 30th, 2009 at 8:58 am
Very informative. Thank you.
October 30th, 2009 at 9:37 am
Great article! I started and then gave up on my blog. I think I should get back to it. Thanks for the motivation.lol
Adding you as a friend
October 30th, 2009 at 11:24 am
Really? AdSense is that slow? Ugh, I was looking forward to some big cash coming out of there even if I was only getting a couple thousand views per day
so what should i use?
October 30th, 2009 at 11:57 am
Very useful info, I think I’ll benefit a lot, thanks for sharing.
October 30th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
Thank you for the tips, good advice!
October 30th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
I am starving for blogging education new to it and totally ignorant to the concept. I love Triond so far, my community is so supportive. Have a website that just sits there because I do not know what to do with it. With articles like this the pieces are slowly coming together
Thnx
October 30th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
Thank you for sharing this
October 30th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
Really good advice. These will be very useful for me!
October 31st, 2009 at 5:42 pm
Great info! Blogging for money seems like a lot of work
Great advice
November 1st, 2009 at 10:46 am
Nice to see a range of advice all in one place. I’ve written a few articles on this subject but still have a lot to learn and a lot to share. Good work.
November 1st, 2009 at 3:07 pm
it’s always refreshing to read your candid advice on what works and what doesn’t , you are definitely my no.1 been there done it writing inspiration!
November 4th, 2009 at 3:27 am
Really verry useful article for me,Very Important Thank you
November 4th, 2009 at 10:18 am
Perseverance is key!!
January 17th, 2010 at 3:41 pm
Really useful to beginners.