How to make money from your blog

44 replies
I say, "Don't worry about how you are going to make money from your blog!"

If you've been blogging for a while, you are probably wondering just how the heck do you make money from it! Or if you've just started or are considering blogging, you probably would want to know if money could be made from it - afterall, doing what you love and getting paid is no longer a JOB.

But first, let's be clear about something - making money from blogs or any type of website is going to be difficult, if not impossible, if you don't already have traffic, or human visitors to your blog.

I mean, think about it, one of the easiest way to make money from your blog is to get advertisers to pay you to put ads on your blog. However, no reasonable and logical advertiser or company is going to pay you if your blog doesn't get any visitors. Plain and simple!

So, before you even consider making money from blogs - you need to first create kick-ass content, and traffic will follow. Let me explain how that happens.

When you create kick-ass content, Google and other major search engines will love you for it. Now when people look for a particular type of information and they perform a search in the search engines, your blog or blog post will show up as one of the search results if it is related to what they are looking for.

Most people over-complicate this, especially those SEO people. Just create kick-ass content if you want traffic. That's it!

Now that you have traffic, you can then...

Read the rest of the blog post here:
How To Make Money From Your Blog
#blog #make #money
  • Profile picture of the author RGallowitz
    I agree.

    Ad space is the thing to make money on if you have a personal blog.
    I have people here in my city who own VERY popular blog. The one guy's ad space alone pays for his damn ferrari.

    Traffic and web real estate. That's what it comes down to.


    Cheers
    Reinhardt
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  • Profile picture of the author RGallowitz
    LOL, obviously you cannot just build a blog and leave it at that.
    You need to make it popular and your traffic stats will reveal that. Only then will reputable advertisers advertise on ones site.

    Reinhardt
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  • Profile picture of the author jollyjcb
    You need to work hard to get your blog popular
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  • Profile picture of the author yuanqu
    great article I learned
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  • Profile picture of the author babarapho
    You need lot of hard work and traffic to excel
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  • Profile picture of the author kevinfar
    great content + making it popular through having rankings in search engines will certainly get you the attention of the 'big' people who will visit your blog.. and it will really make the difference between earning little or earning big with ad spaces.
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    • Profile picture of the author awaxler
      I don't think great content alone will do it...

      You will still need to drive traffic to that site through social media, backlinking etc. I don't think seo needs to be over-complicated, but it is needed...

      However, without great content, you will not make it very far...or at least not make it very long.
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  • Profile picture of the author uclaboyz
    One of the absolute best SEO advice I've learned (especially if you are SEOing for Google) is to think of Google as not being there at all - but this is probably another discussion/debate
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    • Profile picture of the author awaxler
      think of Google as not being there at all
      wow...wish I could...that would be a relief as I sometimes feel as if google controls my life
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    • Profile picture of the author bgmacaw
      Originally Posted by uclaboyz View Post

      One of the absolute best SEO advice I've learned (especially if you are SEOing for Google) is to think of Google as not being there at all
      It would be nice if my competitors followed that advice.
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      • Profile picture of the author Mal Keenan
        I agree to an extent, blogging can be successful with persistent posting and plenty of backlinks - the more competitive the market the more both will need to be done.

        Obviously too, the content will need to be targeted. I do concentrate on the keywords Im using in my blog. I just don't overdo it.
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  • Profile picture of the author AceHazel
    Thanks for this article, it really would help. I learned from you guys. Great.
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    • Profile picture of the author H_Wilhelm
      while I agree that writing killer content is essential the success of a blog, here's where I somewhat disagree w r statement..

      You could love to write about underwater basket-weaving, and how you're the first certified instructor in your state to offer college courses for any and all current college students, but if no one wants to read that kick-ass, killer content about underwater basket-weaving, then no one is going to come to your blog.

      And to take it one step further, even if you're writing kick-ass content regarding a hobby of yours that you know has a market of buying customers, then wouldn't you still need to write that 'killer content' around specific keywords so your blog gets picked up by the SERP's w/in a reasonable amount of time? And wouldn't you still need to generate backlinks to that blog in order for it to become popular and thus, warrant some 3rd party advertiser to want to pay to advertise on it?

      Now, of course, as a complete...umm..what's the term I'm looking for...OH YEAH..."nOOb" to IM...these thoughts could be way off base! ;-)


      Howie
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      • Profile picture of the author uclaboyz
        Originally Posted by awaxler View Post

        wow...wish I could...that would be a relief as I sometimes feel as if google controls my life
        Originally Posted by bgmacaw View Post

        It would be nice if my competitors followed that advice.
        Hehe... I'm not suggesting to not do SEO or backlinks at all. What I'm trying to say is that... imagine Google never existed - how would you then promote your blog/website?

        Even better, what if no search engines exist today - how would one get traffic to his/her blog?

        Word of Mouth
        Blog commenting
        Guest blogging
        RSS syndication
        Getting your post published in ezines, article directories, or other websites with existing traffic
        ...etc...

        Funny that the above list of promotional activities (except Word of mouth) are all "SEO" activities.

        So, don't do it for Google, do it for your Blog! Google doesn't exist... haha
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  • Profile picture of the author qualitycontent
    Build a blog and update regularly blog with keywords optimized content ( at least 4 times a week) can lead you towards a successful blogger. Now connect it with adsense and enjoy the earnings.
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  • Profile picture of the author kishornayak
    The above article is true if you are in a niche where there is least competition. If you have competition then your new blog will not come up on SERPS, you will need lots of great content, and good SEO.
    If you have 1k visitors per day, then good ad revenue is possible.
    Blog or website, it takes lots of time and effort to make money!!
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  • Profile picture of the author drwhogoesthere
    I have to agree with believing that google never existed what would you do. While google is a wonderful tool not everything need to revolve around it. I think to many people rely on marketing alone to the internet crowd and not to the population in general.

    We all Know that there is a lot of people online to buy, but there are a hell of a lot more people off line that can buy as well. If your target is just your online market and what google brings in you are missing a a huge percentage of the over all market.

    MacDonalds and Coke are not popular because of online marketing. They are popular becuase of off line marketing. And of course they always ensure that they are meeting the customers needs, for a profit.

    I think to be truley successful you need to be bring people to your blog from every avenue you can. Sure some will be only seeking information. Thats why you give it to them. But other will be looking to buy. Plus it doesnt matter if they are a buyer or not. If they are happy with the service they will come back, and most likely bring a friend.

    Plus if some one is only seeking information, thats when you need to become a great sales person and lead them to buy. Its not easy but it can be done. All it means is that we, and that includes me, need to lift our game and try to sell smarter, not just easier. The happy the customer the more likely they will come back.
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    • Profile picture of the author bgmacaw
      Originally Posted by drwhogoesthere View Post

      I think to many people rely on marketing alone to the internet crowd and not to the population in general.
      Exactly, the general population uses search engines, mostly Google, search based advertising and non-Internet based advertising to find sites, not social referral like bloggers do. Only the very insular world of 'make money online blogging' is worried about blog commenting, guest blogging, RSS and other such nonsense.
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    • Profile picture of the author uclaboyz
      Originally Posted by H_Wilhelm View Post

      while I agree that writing killer content is essential the success of a blog, here's where I somewhat disagree w r statement..

      You could love to write about underwater basket-weaving, and how you're the first certified instructor in your state to offer college courses for any and all current college students, but if no one wants to read that kick-ass, killer content about underwater basket-weaving, then no one is going to come to your blog.

      And to take it one step further, even if you're writing kick-ass content regarding a hobby of yours that you know has a market of buying customers, then wouldn't you still need to write that 'killer content' around specific keywords so your blog gets picked up by the SERP's w/in a reasonable amount of time? And wouldn't you still need to generate backlinks to that blog in order for it to become popular and thus, warrant some 3rd party advertiser to want to pay to advertise on it?

      Now, of course, as a complete...umm..what's the term I'm looking for...OH YEAH..."nOOb" to IM...these thoughts could be way off base! ;-)


      Howie
      Originally Posted by drwhogoesthere View Post

      I have to agree with believing that google never existed what would you do. While google is a wonderful tool not everything need to revolve around it. I think to many people rely on marketing alone to the internet crowd and not to the population in general.

      We all Know that there is a lot of people online to buy, but there are a hell of a lot more people off line that can buy as well. If your target is just your online market and what google brings in you are missing a a huge percentage of the over all market.

      MacDonalds and Coke are not popular because of online marketing. They are popular becuase of off line marketing. And of course they always ensure that they are meeting the customers needs, for a profit.

      I think to be truley successful you need to be bring people to your blog from every avenue you can. Sure some will be only seeking information. Thats why you give it to them. But other will be looking to buy. Plus it doesnt matter if they are a buyer or not. If they are happy with the service they will come back, and most likely bring a friend.

      Plus if some one is only seeking information, thats when you need to become a great sales person and lead them to buy. Its not easy but it can be done. All it means is that we, and that includes me, need to lift our game and try to sell smarter, not just easier. The happy the customer the more likely they will come back.
      Good points - I have to agree that the market you are determines the potential amount of money you can make, but like drwhogoesthere suggests you are going to have to up your sales skills to convert non-buyers to customers, even if they are not in your market to start with.

      It is possible, from my experience, to sell "make money opportunities" offers to people who aren't in that state of mind. It's just like, don't know if you ever had one of those moments, where you go "oh, hey, this looks interesting, let me check it out" and down the rabbit hole you go. People get distracted ALL THE TIME when they are surfing the web.
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  • Profile picture of the author Wendy Krick
    Love the article. I don't focus so much on making money from my blogs. I focus on helping others and write for my readers....Then the money follows.
    ~Wendy
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    • Originally Posted by Wendy Krick View Post

      Love the article. I don't focus so much on making money from my blogs. I focus on helping others and write for my readers....Then the money follows.
      ~Wendy
      What she said.

      Blogging is like any other business in that you have to provide value. Do that -- and do it better than your competitors -- then assist the "market" in finding you. In real business, you don't do marketing before product development.

      Splogs are horrible. I hate them. Google hates them. Everybody hates them. Don't splog. If you don't have anything to say, don't say it.
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  • Profile picture of the author greff
    Chris Brogan said it took him 8 years to get ONE comment on his blog. I am sure he was overstating but not far from the truth.

    I think it is more difficult to make a living blogging than becoming a professional ball player.
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  • Profile picture of the author bloggers payback
    Great article! You made some really valid points. It's not as hard as some may think it is to make money blogging. It just takes a bit of time, dedication, and patience!
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  • Profile picture of the author WareTime
    google Grizzly Brears and read his mmo blog if you want to know
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  • Profile picture of the author kkvtta
    Banned
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    • Profile picture of the author MLD1985
      The road to being recognized and such all depends on your keywords that you are posting about. I've found yahoo answers to be a good place for buyers, especially if you have a blog for people with problems such as acne or man boobs. Those are two very profitable money makers, although pretty over saturated now. Building backlinks is essential, posting at least 3-4 times a week makes for good traffic as well, you can monetize with adsense and make some money from that. -Matt
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  • Profile picture of the author James Pateman
    There is plenty of info here in the WF about how to gets lots of traffic without the effort of posting original content (in case you're not into that). Lots of automated tools like WP-o-matic, or caffinated content for WP, etc.

    regards,
    James Pateman
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  • Profile picture of the author John Burton
    Nice post and I agree with large parts but must disagree with your statement -

    'Most people over-complicate this, especially those SEO people. Just create kick-ass content if you want traffic. That's it!'.

    I feel this may mislead newcomers to internet marketing. Searh engine optimization is VERY important to any blog or website. Good content alone will not give you a good page ranking.

    I have a free ebook on my site - in my signature - which gives the most important tips on giving your site/blog a good page ranking. Feel free to download it.

    John Burton
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    My site - free guide for starting and running your own online business.

    Boost your sales page conversion rate instantly.
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  • Profile picture of the author Peter Clarke
    Great bloggers have gone on to make money as media commentators, other have such a following that they get great revenue from advertising, other work as consultants. However, wherever you end up, as with everything webside, the secret is great content!
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    • Profile picture of the author Vaan
      Originally Posted by Peter Clarke View Post

      Great bloggers have gone on to make money as media commentators, other have such a following that they get great revenue from advertising, other work as consultants. However, wherever you end up, as with everything webside, the secret is great content!
      nowadays the growing of advertising network make every blogger started to monetize their site but with that condition, they sacrifice their quality content,

      Just keep your quality of content

      goodluck,
      vaan
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  • Profile picture of the author drwhogoesthere
    nowadays the growing of advertising network make every blogger started to monetize their site but with that condition, they sacrifice their quality content,

    Just keep your quality of content
    I agree with vaan. Too many people try to put too many adds on their blogs. It clutters the site and people feel like they are being pushed to buy. Have adds for sure but don't over do them. Less can be more. A good salesman does not push, they lead the customer to the sale and helps them to buy.
    Have good quality on your blog and you will win out
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  • Profile picture of the author clickkt
    Couldn't agree more Your article is really great!
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  • Profile picture of the author Jon Tees
    Targeted traffic and good-great content is key. You want repeat customers who keep coming back, and people looking for what you have to offer. What good is traffic that doesn't buy anything?
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  • Profile picture of the author Avdo
    Great article uclaboyz.. What I do to make money from my blog? Great content every day, if not every day then at least every other day..RSS syndication, commenting on related topic blogs, social bookmarking..don't give up, and traffic will increase daily, then put some advertisment( aff. products or sell advertisement space)..Be consistant and that's it
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    • Profile picture of the author uclaboyz
      Originally Posted by Jon Tees View Post

      Targeted traffic and good-great content is key. You want repeat customers who keep coming back, and people looking for what you have to offer. What good is traffic that doesn't buy anything?
      Originally Posted by Avdo View Post

      Great article uclaboyz.. What I do to make money from my blog? Great content every day, if not every day then at least every other day..RSS syndication, commenting on related topic blogs, social bookmarking..don't give up, and traffic will increase daily, then put some advertisment( aff. products or sell advertisement space)..Be consistant and that's it
      Great content is what I hear... I even beat John Reese to it... j/k

      The last page of his latest free report says it all:

      Internet Marketing 2010: The Road Ahead

      Thanks,
      Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author jhongren
    Originally Posted by uclaboyz View Post

    I say, "Don't worry about how you are going to make money from your blog!"

    If you've been blogging for a while, you are probably wondering just how the heck do you make money from it! Or if you've just started or are considering blogging, you probably would want to know if money could be made from it - afterall, doing what you love and getting paid is no longer a JOB.

    But first, let's be clear about something - making money from blogs or any type of website is going to be difficult, if not impossible, if you don't already have traffic, or human visitors to your blog.

    I mean, think about it, one of the easiest way to make money from your blog is to get advertisers to pay you to put ads on your blog. However, no reasonable and logical advertiser or company is going to pay you if your blog doesn't get any visitors. Plain and simple!

    So, before you even consider making money from blogs - you need to first create kick-ass content, and traffic will follow. Let me explain how that happens.

    When you create kick-ass content, Google and other major search engines will love you for it. Now when people look for a particular type of information and they perform a search in the search engines, your blog or blog post will show up as one of the search results if it is related to what they are looking for.

    Most people over-complicate this, especially those SEO people. Just create kick-ass content if you want traffic. That's it!

    Now that you have traffic, you can then...

    Read the rest of the blog post here:
    How To Make Money From Your Blog
    Blogs are just platforms for you to
    stretch your marketing potentials.

    You can use blogs to:
    1. do product reviews and put in your affiliate links.
    2. build relationship with your readers and get them to opt in
    so they can be in your product funnel.
    3. build your brand and share your knowledge
    4. exchange content with experts of your niche and leverage on other
    people's content...
    5. you can also organise contests, games and so on to make your readers stick...

    The potential is limitless...

    John
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    • Profile picture of the author JAIDEEP2959
      Firstly set up opt-in form giving free gift on the left side of your blog.

      Afterwards you can add content and drive traffic to it using the method suggested by other warriors.

      Without list building you can not make big money.
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      • Profile picture of the author achivement84
        I agree you that getting more traffic to your blog is the cornerstone for your profitability from it.

        The right contect ofcourse is the key factor for your blog success, we should work hard for Unique and high Quality content in order to attract visitors.

        B.Regards
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      • Profile picture of the author Vaan
        Originally Posted by JAIDEEP2959 View Post

        Firstly set up opt-in form giving free gift on the left side of your blog.

        Afterwards you can add content and drive traffic to it using the method suggested by other warriors.

        Without list building you can not make big money.
        BTW You can increase your optin rate by using plugin called fasterIM-optin wp plugin,

        Your Cool optin page will pop up everytime visitor coming to your blog,
        it will attract your visitor to give their email address in exchange of your offer.

        I have tested this on my blog and I have increased my optin rate by 40% so far

        Vaan
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  • Profile picture of the author MikeRogers
    Making money from your blog is easy...

    Build it based on good keyword research in a hot market, fill it with original content, get it on the first or second page of Google and then...

    SELL THAT SUCKER!!!

    Sorry for the outburst. I am working on that and all of the doctors say I'm getting better

    I'm afraid that I just don't have the patience to wait months, endlessly toiling away writing articles and fresh content on a subject that I have little interest in. I like to make my money a bit quicker.

    With the right domain name (.com) and keyword rich articles, its not hard to get a new blog ranked pretty high on Google within a month. Then you just find a well established site in the same niche that could use your new blog as a traffic driver, contact the owner and negotiate a price or, put it up for sale on a flipping site.

    At least that's my own unique take on it :p

    MikeRogers
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  • Profile picture of the author icyvas
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    • Profile picture of the author Jon Tees
      Be unique and whenever possible innovative to stand out from the competition. So many people offer the same exact things or at least similar things, so standing out from the pack is critical. Especially, if you are a network or affiliate marketer. Many of these programs use replicated websites,what's really so different about your replicated site vs someone else's? This is why you need your own website and/or blog to at least link to your replicated site as opposed to just sending people to your replicated site directly.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mo Faisal
    Content is definitely the king!!
    Nice Post!!
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