You Can Make Money Blogging
Written by admin on September 17th, 2009 in Blogging.
Social media come and go. MySpace was all the rage a year or two ago, then Facebook gained the spotlight, and now Twitter is the new hot thing. You may think that plain old blogging was dead and gone, but you’d be wrong. Blogging is still one of the top ways to make money online. If you’d like to try your hand at blogging, then start with the tips listed here.
The first thing to remember is to keep it simple. That means make a posting schedule. Once you develop a following, if they know that you post something new at noon every weekday, they’ll bookmark it and keep coming back if they like your content. But if you publish three things one day, then wait two weeks to post one thing, then post something the next two days, then wait another three weeks, they won’t know when to expect anything new and probably won’t bother coming back after awhile.
Also, write what you know. Your experiences may be the most valuable thing you have. Good content is still the be all and end all of good websites. Some bloggers have had good success by writing “how to” style blog posts. Write them casually, in first person, i.e. “I learned how to make coconut cake when I was growing up in South Carolina…” You’ll develop credibility, authority, and a relationship with your readers.
Choosing your niche is important. Choose it and stick to it. The more specific your blog is, the better your reader loyalty and following will be. Don’t just write about clothes you like. Write about where to find and how to alter vintage clothing for people with curvy figures. Keep the needs of your readership in mind.
Be part of the niche community. Comment on other popular blogs within your niche. Make your comments relevant. Answer comments on your blog posts. Don’t read a bunch of other blogs and leave comments with just a link to your site in them. That’s considered rude. Maybe they’ll ask you to one day, so wait until they do.
Write well. No, a blog post does not have to be perfect in the way that a scholarly article does. But don’t get too sloppy or you’ll lose respect. It’s hard to believe that someone really is an expert on the Italian Mannerist school of painting if they begin every other blog post with “Yo, ’sup, dude!”
You’re better off sticking with a clean blog design. Fussy designs detract from the info, so go easy on the sparkly, flashy blinky widgets. Every major blog platform offers a choice of nice looking, clean blog templates. If it’s a clean, beautiful design that is easy to navigate, you’re halfway there.
The kind of extras you should put on your blog includes things like plugins with links like “more posts on this subject,” or “recent posts.” They keep readers around longer, and the longer they hang out at your blog, the more likely they are to link to you from their site, buy something you’re selling, or put their own advertising on your site.
Search engine optimization isn’t some kind of mysterious handwaving. Have a keyword or two in each post. Include keywords naturally. Keyword stuffing is obvious to a sixth grader and a turnoff to everyone. Using a keyword twice in a way that sounds natural is better than using it four times with it seeming forced half the time.
Marketing your blog is not only acceptable, it’s encouraged. Use social bookmarking with sites like Digg and Technorati. Put up Tweets on Twitter. Use that MySpace page you set up. Get your friends to help you out with this as well.
Not to sound too much like your mom, but be yourself! Your blog should reflect you – your tastes, ideas, thoughts, and your unique expertise. Don’t try to ape someone else’s blog. Just be yoruself.
The final tip is also fairly mom-like: Don’t give up. It takes time, and it takes patience, and it takes work. Realize this up front and stick with it. “Stick with it” doesn’t mean a week or a month. It means months, years … a long time. Some of the best blogs have been around for a long time and are just now developing a significant following.
Blogging is for everyone who wants to do it. You are as qualified as anyone else to have a great blog.



