1 Pick Your Host
The first thing you need to do before you can start blogging for money is decide which site you will use to host your blog. There are several sites available and a quick web search will yield several options but there are a few that really stand out. Some of the most common sites include www.blogger.com, www.wordpress.com, and www.wordpress.org. Each of these sites has its own advantages and disadvantages and you will have to pick one that you think will work best for you. Here are some of the differences:
Blogger:
Blogger is free and very easy to set up so if you are completely new to blogging I would recommend this site. All you need to get started is an e-mail address. It is also very easy to monetize blogger using Google adsense. One of the major disadvantages of using blogger is that there are no categories, which makes finding related blogs very difficult.
Wordpress.com:
Wordpress.com is also free and many people believe that wordpress blogs are better. One advantage is that wordpress allows users to “tag” their blogs and sort them into categories so that it is much easier to find related blogs. The major drawback with wordpress.com is that you are not allowed to post ads on your blog. This is a problem if you plan to make money from your blog.
Wordpress.org:
Wordpress.org offers users greater flexibility and control over the content of their blog but requires greater technical knowledge. One of the major advantages that wordpress.org has over wordpress.com is that you can place ads on your blog. The disadvantage though is that you will have to purchase your own domain name.
2. Pick Your Topic
Your next step in blogging for money is to decide what it is you are going to write about. The topic that you select should be one that interests you. You could write about your world travels or share some special knowledge that you have. The important thing is to write about something unique. Choosing your topic is a very important step because it gives your blog focus. One exercise that you may find helpful is to write a mission statement. It doesn’t have to be anything special; in fact, no one else even has to see it the point is to just think about what your focus is going to be.
3. Start Writing
Now that you set up your new blog and you know what you want to write about it’s time to start writing. When you first start writing you want to try to write at least two posts per week. For some people this may be too much and that’s ok, it’s quality not quantity that’s important. The only way to establish a following and develop a lot of traffic is to write quality content. This is where you are going to have to spend a good deal of your time and you may even have to do some research before you begin but don’t worry, your hard work will pay off. An important thing to remember while you are writing is to try to give your readers something different. Be creative, use pictures or illustrations to help make your topic more interesting. You could also provide links to related materials; make your blog an interesting source of all kinds of information. If you write quality content and provide something extra to your readers not only will they will keep coming back but the will bring others with them.
4. Traffic
If you want to start making money you are going to have to get people to actually read your blog. This is the part that most people have trouble with. They expect that if they write quality content people will just magically appear and start reading their blog. The truth is that if you want to make any money you have to get traffic to your blog. The first thing you can do to get traffic to your blog is to tell everyone you know about it. But who do you tell? Well you know those 250 facebook friends that you have, why don’t you start with them. Social networking is a great way to get traffic to your blog but don’t overdo it. Once you’ve told everyone you know about you new blog the next thing you need to do is make sure search engines “see” you. Most search engines will find you blog on their own, but if they don’t, you can submit your blog to them. Submitting your blog is easy to do, just click on the following links:
Another trick that you can use to get more traffic to your site is to use google insights to determine what people are searching for and what terms they use. The best way to use this tool is to type in search terms you thing someone would use to find your blog and then see which terms appear more frequently. The words that people use most frequently will be your “key words.” Use your key words in your title and throughout your post.
Finally, if you want to stir up some traffic to your blog you need to make yourself know in the blogging community. You can do this by commenting on other blogs. This will help you develop your reputation as a source of information and will introduce you to people who are already interested in your topic. Just be sure that your comments actually add to the conversation. Avoid generic sounding comments because they will only be annoying. If you don’t have time to leave a comment you can at least “like” it. If you do leave a comment don’t spam, ask before posting a link back to your own blog. If your comments are interesting people will check out your blog on their own.
5 Monetize
Now comes the part that you’ve been waiting for, actually making money! Surprisingly this is actually the easy part. The first thing you need to do is set up a google adsense account. All you have to do is click on the link and follow the directions. Once you have set up your account you will have to verify that you are the owner of the site. This is usually done by placing a piece of text in your site. After you have done this you will be able to select where ads will appear on your page. The best place is usually off to the right hand side. Don’t overdo the ads, more isn’t better. At first you will see generic ads but after a while more targeted ads will appear. That’s it, now just keep blogging and as more people visit your site you will start to see more money coming in.
