Make Money With a Blog

An online presence is important these days for whatever enterprise you engage in. To connect with a wide variety of people there is no bigger forum than the Internet. If you are looking for a way to show off your expertise and also make a little money while doing it, consider starting a blog.

What is a Blog?

A blog is actually an online journal of sorts. With a blog you can upload daily posts about anything that you want. Some people create personal blogs as a way to keep in touch with family members. Pictures, videos and other information are uploaded so your loved ones are current with what is going on with you.

Here we are going to talk about business blogs. This is a blog that you begin to attract traffic in order to sell products or services. To be interesting to others, your blog will need to:

•    Have updated content for visitors
•    Be marketed to draw traffic
•    Register with search engines so it can be found in the rankings

How to Start

If you are new to blogging, use a free blogging platform to get your feet wet. Sites like Blogger.com, Wordpress.org, Blogspot.com and others offer free blogs to users. Depending on the site you choose, the themes and plug-ins (added features) will vary. Most will walk you through the process step by step so that you can be up and running in no time.

Before you start posting, decide what will be the theme, or niche of your blog. A jack-of-all-trades type of blog doesn’t do as well as one that is geared towards a certain niche. If you like crafts, that can be your niche. Create posts that talk about how to craft, what to craft, how to make crafting profitable and so on. Once you have decided on a path, it is time to create that great content.

How to Make Money

In order to make money with your blog, you need to have people visiting it. That is where marketing comes in. to draw traffic you have to get the word out about your blog. Tell all of your friends and family members that you are online with your blog for a start.

Any money-making venture will take place once you have built your readership with interesting posts. Then you can put into play a number of profitable additions:

•    Google AdSense
•    Selling Advertising
•    Affiliate Marketing
•    EBook Marketing

The simplest one to pursue is Google AdSense. You are using targeted advertisements to create revenue for your blog. You are paid per clicks on the ads.  There are other options where you can get paid when someone makes a sale on that website. That is more likely to happen when you join an affiliate program. Join affiliate program that work well with your website niche.

EBooks are short downloadable electronic books that you can create yourself and sell on your website. They can be on a variety of subjects but in order for them to sell, you must be able to offer new information to your customers.

Blogs can be used to build revenue. Start with your chosen niche and market your blog to find the traffic you need. Then, utilize these ideas to turn a profit.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

  • Share/Bookmark

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

  • Share/Bookmark

Quick and Easy Ways to Earn Extra Cash!

There are lots of ways to create money, but all of them will fall into the following:

* Earn cash – or basically work to earn money and in this case it means extra to what you are already doing.
* Save it – this means cutting down on your spending to allow yourself to have more money to spend on other things you think are more important
* Borrow it – this is money that you get from someone else which may mean getting it from a bank or from a friend or relative.

With the last option you may be temporarily creating more money but don’t forget you’ll have to pay it back at some time. This is only a short term fix and will leave you having to stick to a stricter budget later on.

Ways to earn more cash online and offline:

You could simply try earning money by getting people to pay for something you do as a hobby.  This may be fixing up vintage motorcycles in your spare time or teaching music to children.  Many people find a way to earn money from their hobbies and this can be a great way to supplement your income while doing something you really enjoy.

You can also start a business from home.  Many businesses cost virtually nothing to start and can eventually be profitable.  With this option you do have to be realistic and realize it could be some time before you start to earn extra cash.

Clearing our your attic and garage and selling these items on an online auction site is  also a great way to make quick extra money.  To learn about selling your treasures, click here.

Finally, saving money is something you should do now if you are not already doing it.  Spending money on things you don’t need or on items that are simply not worth it to you is a waste of money. Unless it is helping you out in some way, don’t waste your money on it.

Ways to save money:

Try getting things for free.  There are many free things out there that you don’t have to pay for.  Free books from a library, free coupons, free trials and so on.  If you see something free and it’s worth it then you should take advantage of it.  To learn more about Freebies, click here.

Cutting back on spending can be difficult and requires a lot of discipline.  You can start by seeing the value of what you are spending your money on.  Don’t waste it.  If you go into a supermarket and pay twice as much for named brands when you can easily choose the supermarket brand (which is usually the same quality) then you have to ask yourself is it worth it.  Paying for brands, labels or false quality can cost you unnecessary money.

From all of the above there are a few things you must remember.  None of them should lead to more money problems, particularly in the case of borrowing money that you have to repay.  If it will then you are better off avoiding it.  Once you obtain extra money you need to use the money wisely.  If you create more money from somewhere or something then you want to put this money to good use.  You can invest it in many different things from savings accounts to investing in yourself by paying for a course to obtain better skills.  Whatever you do with it, you will be better off if you put the money into something that will create more money in the future.

Click here to learn more ways to save money at our Partner site – The Frugal Buzz

You may also like:

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

  • Share/Bookmark

Big Mistakes to Avoid in Affiliate Marketing

If you are looking to make money online, or earn extra cash online you have heard of Affiliate Marketing.  If you are serious about making cash online, you owe it to yourself to check out Affiliate Marketing.

You build a site, throw up some banners and links to a bunch of products and eagerly wait for your affiliate sales to start rolling in.  A few days later still no sales and you think affiliate marketing doesn’t work and throw in the towel.

Make no mistake, when applied properly affiliate marketing most certainly works and it’s a fantastic way to make money online.  Here are a few tips to help you avoid those dreaded mistakes many beginners make in affiliate marketing.

Banner Central – Banners don’t often work as well as text links.  Of course, it does depend on your subject and you should test both individually to determine what works best but often times you’re better off sticking to text links rather than turning your website into banner central.

Unrelated Products – You’d be surprised at the number of people who do this.  Make sure all offers on your website are related to the context on your site.  For example if you have a site about pet care don’t offer baby care products.  Sometimes it’s tempting to promote other products but stick to what your target market is looking for.

Missing your Target Market – Before starting any business venture (including affiliate marketing) you should always know who your target market is.  To become a super affiliate you’ll need to build a website which speaks directly to the market you are trying to attract and you’ll need to understand the needs of that specific market.  So who’s your target market?

Hype, Hype, Hype – Avoid it all costs.  People can smell hype a mile away and will run quick with their credit card clutched tightly in their hands.  If you review products on your website makes sure those reviews are honest.  More importantly, try to take the time to actually use the product (or at least look into it) so that you can genuinely speak about its features and benefits; and don’t forget to add the not so good sides of the product too.  If the product is lacking in some way, say so.  People will appreciate your honesty and grow to trust you.

Not Tracking Sales – In order to know whether a program is worth you promoting or not, you’ll need to track how well it converts.  Try out different things in your promotions and track each one of them.

Check out these resources for more helpful information.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

  • Share/Bookmark

What is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing basically means selling other people’s products for a commission online.  Affiliate marketing is similar to offline sales where sales people earn a commission for selling a product; the difference is that all selling is conducted online.

As an affiliate marketer you will research and find products to promote on your website.  Each time you make a sale through your affiliate link you will earn a portion of that sale.  The commissions can vary from as low as 7% to a generous 50%.

The sales are tracked through your unique affiliate ID which is assigned to you at the time you sign up for a specific affiliate program.  Your unique affiliate ID is tracked and each time a sale is made through your link it is recorded.   A good affiliate program will give you plenty of tools for promoting their products as well as a comprehensive member’s area where you can track your affiliate sales and commissions.

Affiliate marketing is a good way to get started online.  You can be set up and ready to go within a few days and there is no need to spend any time creating your own products or purchasing inventory.  You are simply promoting other people’s products, which means the vendor is actually responsible for order fulfilment, customer service and anything else related to the sale – you simply refer the sale to them and get paid for doing so.

For example if you have a love of cooking, you can create a website around cooking related topics and include tips, recipes, and reviews of all your favorite cooking gadgets.  You can then find affiliate programs online and promote some of those products on your website.  You can find programs by doing a search under your chosen topic such as “cooking” and adding the words “affiliate program” to that term. You can also find affiliate programs at places like CJ.com.

Although affiliate marketing is an easy way to get started online, there is a little more to it than just throwing up a few links and banners and waiting for the affiliate check to arrive.  A good affiliate marketer knows it takes time and effort to make sales.

A good way to do this is by providing quality information on your website and only linking to affiliate products where appropriate.  Another good tip is to review the products you promote so that you can accurately describe all the features – good and bad.  Your customers will appreciate honest feedback and will be more likely to buy from you if you give them good quality information and honest reviews.

If you are looking to make money online, or earn extra cash online, you owe it to yourself to check out Affiliate Marketing.

Check out these great resources to learn more.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

  • Share/Bookmark