Cha-ching! Last month my blogs earned more than $4,500. Everyone
asks how I make money blogging, and I’m happy to share the do’s and
don’ts of blogging.
Before the tips, a quip:
“If you decide to generate income from your blog, then don’t be shy
about it,” says successful blogger Steve Pavlina. “If you’re going to
put up ads, then really put up ads. Don’t just stick a puny little ad
square in a remote corner somewhere.”
Puny little ads don’t earn money, and big fat ads in the middle of
your blog posts look terrible! But if you want to make money as a
blogger, you need to make sacrifices.
In
75 Ways to Make Money Blogging,
I describe what I learned over the past three years as a blogger. I’ve
read dozens of blogging books, websites, blog posts, and other resources
— and interviewed several professional bloggers about earning money
online.
Here are eight of those tips for making money blogging…
8 Ways Bloggers Make Money
The most important thing to remember is that it takes time and
sustained effort to make money blogging. There are no fast, easy
secrets to earning a living as a blogger!
Like any small business, you have to work hard on your blogs.
Successful bloggers are entrepreneurs who know that “get rich quick”
schemes will fail every time.
Most bloggers experiment until they find what works for them
Don’t just blindly copy the “Quips and Tips” blog
style, the “Problogger” style, or Steve Pavlina’s blog style. It’s not
only irritating to the original blogger, it doesn’t work! Successful
bloggers – like all successful entrepreneurs – have two jobs: 1) To
learn as much as they can about earning an online income; 2) To try
different things until they find what works for their blog.
For instance, I find the most common
ways bloggers earn money extremely
time-consuming and labor-intensive. I tried them all: blog carnivals,
posting comments on forums, commenting on other blogs, participating in
link exchanges, and writing guest posts. But, these activities work for
some bloggers — and all bloggers have to learn what works for
them.
All bloggers remember the concept of “compound interest”
Writing Help - From Firing Up the Muse to Making Money Blogging
Plant seeds now; they’ll yield acorns and trees
later! Some of my most popular blog posts – and highest sources of
income – are articles I wrote a couple years ago. Making money blogging
is a labor of love for the first two or three years. It helps if you
have another source of income or a wealthy spouse to pick up the
financial slack. I worked part-time as a freelance writer while creating
my “Quips and Tips” blog series, and took the full-time plunge about a
year ago. Like any small business or seedling, a blog needs time and
energy.
Nurture your blog from the ground up, and you’ll make money blogging.
Most bloggers entertain, educate, or somehow edify their readers
Find a topic or niche that interests you, learn about it, and share
what you learn in a unique, creative way. Solve problems, using your
writer’s voice! Build your own blog with a theme and content you can’t
wait to wake up to every morning! And keep reminding yourself that
earning an income online – like anything worthwhile – is a
long-term process.
All bloggers incorporate ads or products that fill readers’ needs
On
Quips and Tips for Couples Coping With Infertility,
I advertise all manner ‘o things about getting pregnant and coping with
fertility issues. Most bloggers make money by closely aligning their
advertisements with their blog content, because readers are more likely
to clicky-clicky on ads that solve their problems and meet their needs.
Many bloggers pay attention to readers’ search terms
My readers often find Quips and Tips for Successful Writers by
searching for “freelance writing tips”, “feature article ideas”, “make
money blogging tips”, and “magazine writing tips.” Knowing how people
find my blog helps me choose the ads that both meet their needs and
increase my online income. I also feature books, books, and more books
because I love books! Plus, I like being an Amazon affiliate.
For Amazon-specific advertising tips, read
5 Tips for Advertising Amazon Products.
Most bloggers earn money by exploring affiliate advertising networks
The best way to earn an income online is to
experiment with different affiliate advertising networks. I’ve tried
Commission Junction, LinkShare, AdBrite, Chikita, Google Affiliate
Network, Kontera, ClickBank, and more — I list them all in
75 Ways to Make Money Blogging. Don’t just copy what works for other bloggers! Take time to figure out what the best ads are for
your blog.
Many bloggers occasionally change ad placement on their blogs
The Google Adsense gurus say the most profitable ads are within the
blog post and “above the fold.” Does that work for your blog? Try it and
see! I don’t advertise above the fold because I think it’s too much —
it’s bad enough that I have ads smack in the middle of my posts. To
earn an income online, find a balance between making your ads obvious but not
too
distracting or annoying. Experiment with ad placement — try ads at the
end of your blog posts, along the sides, and in the footer.
Many bloggers make money by play with types and sizes of ads
There are so many ads to choose from! Banner ads,
product images, text ads, in-text link ads, pixel/favicon ads,
contextual links, eBook ads, exit ads, lions and tigers and bears, oh
my. Incorporate the ad types and sizes that you dislike the least, let
them run for a couple of months, and see if you make money. Remember
that you may need over 1,000 page views a day before you make $100 or
even $50 a day with your blog, depending on your niche and products.
If you want to make money blogging but have trouble coming up with ideas, read
Mommy Bloggers – 10 Ways to Find Topics to Write About. It’s not just for mommy blogs — Prerna’s ideas work for all types of bloggers.
But, bloggers can’t make money without traffic! If you need to attract more readers, read
How to Increase Blog Traffic.