Tuesday, February 24, 2009

In the Interest of Making Money

Today I've been mainly focusing my efforts on getting this blog off the ground. Why? Because done right, it can bring in a pretty decent income. The last few days I've been searching what seems like every inch of the internet on how to make a successful blog (meaning one that earns me some much needed cash).

There's no simple answer on what makes a blog successful. You have to talk about something people want to read about. You have to know what you're talking about (or eventually people will find you out and lose interest), and I think you also have to enjoy doing it.

Once you have a topic and the knowledge to get going on it, you have to find where you want your blog. Obviously, I chose Blogger (http://www.blogger.com/) and so far I'm happy with my choice. There are plenty of free sites to publish on, and you get decent tools to build your page with.

Those first steps are certainly the easiest part. After you get going on your page, you can monetize your site with adsense. Google puts in ads that sponsor your site, and that's where you earn revenue. The only thing left is to get people to come. It's not as simple as sending out an email to all your friends and family, telling them to come see your site.

Before you get them to come though, you have to have something to keep them coming. It's a good idea to have your site ready before you open the floodgates to traffic. You have to have a friendly layout, good widgets and enough information to keep them reading. Here are some sites I found to help you on the gadgets needed for blogging http://www.bloggertipsandtricks.com/ and the know-how to make it profitable http://easycashrake.blogspot.com/.

The next step is you have to list with search engines. Some sites will do multiple listings (such as http://www.submitexpress.com/, http://www.selfpromotion.com/ and http://www.addme.com/). I found a lot of useful information about web marketing on http://www.philiphumbert.com/WebMarketing.htm.

Be sure, once your site is ready and listed, that you don't leave it at that. You still need to network. Find forums to discuss your blog. You can connect with other bloggers and get your site known. Here is a site giving you ideas on how to do that: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1388889/how_to_boost_your_blogs_popularity_.html?cat=59

None of this is really difficult to do, but it does take time. I think the hardest part for me was the fact that I do still have to perform my mommy duties while working on this. But once it gets going off the ground, it should be much easier to maintain.

The best part of all of this is that I get to make money doing two things I already love doing: researching and writing.

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for linking to my article on AC about how to boost your blog's popularity. For more tips on how to blog for money you should come and visit my blog at www.scatching-out-a-living.com and leave a comment or 2.

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  2. Thanks, Knowledge Lady, I'll be sure to check that out. :)

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