Now that you have Wordpress installed and you have selected a nice theme for your site you will obviously have to start posting.  Let’s get this straight.  The only way that you can make money blogging is to generate traffic,  building an audience that comes back to your blog by posting regularly, provide subscription options (more on this in a later post) and being personal.  By personal I mean, be yourself.

Select Your Niche and Generate Traffic

If you have followed our suggestion and have started in a niche that you have a passionate about, all this will flow out naturally.  The passion drives the knowledge and desire to communicate and your passion will come across in the way that you write.  You will find your natural voice.

But how much should I post?  This is a question that I get often, but there is no ONE answer, post as often as you feel you have something you would like to communicate.  This also depends on your niche.  One of my niches is about a particular horse race that is only on once a year, in November - The Melbourne Cup, so December to about August there is not a lot of activity for me but September - November things really start to pick up and I can be posting 3-4 times a day as news on horses, odds, form, jockeys, trainers etc come to hand.  In short you should be posting a least, absolute minimum, once a week, any less then this, you really need to think about if you are going to have the longevity to ensure your success.  Personally I post a least once a day, to one of  blog site, minimum.  But as mentioned it all depends on what is happening in that niche.

I always like to work through an example.  So lets say you have just started a blog on your favourite niche Dogs, specifically Border Collies.  What I would do right at the start is sit down and complete a full list (brainstorm) of all the possible articles and postings that you could possibly make about Border Collies. Example:

• Selecting your Border Collie Puppy
• Which Color is right for you?  Does it matter?
• Pro’s and Con’s of a Border Collie (i.e you need to give them a lot of exercise)
• What you need in a Show Dog (write an article from a Show judging point of view)
• How to train your Border Collie for Agility Competitions
• How to train your Border Collie for Fly Ball racing
• Complete history of the Border Collie
• Famous Border Collies through history

There are plenty more that I am sure you could think of, especially if this was a topic of interest.  Now you have a good start on the next 8 days, or at least 8 weeks of blog posts. You could also break these down into parts so that each topic has two posts etc which would spread out your blogging.

Just ensure you keep posting.

Also, be creative.  Blogging is not just about doing some research and sitting down and writing post after post after post.  Remember this is something that you are passionate about.  So in our example, perhaps you go to Dog Shows, perhaps you show your own Border Collies.  Take photos and video of the show, post them online, write a report.  Perhaps there is a National Show or State Show that you could go to and complete a live update and post to your blog with photo’s.  With services and sites like Twitter and Cover It Live you can be very creative and offer an immense amount of value to your readers.

So get those creative and blogging juices flowing.  But remember blog posts +traffic = income.  Keep doing the first one and the rest will come naturally.

Speaking of income, this post was, and is, about how to make money blogging.  So Ian, where does the money come from?  I’ve done the right thing and have posted regularly for about one month on Border Collies and have generated a nice amount of traffic about 1000 visitors a month, people are being interactive posting comments and asking questions, which has provided even more ideas for future posts.  Things are going well.  So where does the money come from?

Income Streams for Bloggers

Advertising Programs

The most obvious place to start is with Advertising Programs.  The most common and easiest way for a blogger to earn money online is via contextual ad programs, with the market leader being Google’s Adsense which I am sure you are already aware of.  There will be an article down the track on maximising revenue with Adsense so stay tuned.  There are however a few new players in this space which many bloggers are using successfully Chitika’s eMiniMalls, Widgetbucks and Text Link Ads.  We also have two other majors in Microsoft’s MSN Adcenter and Yahoo’s YPN

Then we can get into a whole host of smaller players Azoogle Ads, Intelli Txt, DoubleClick, Tribal Fusion, Adbrite, Clicksor, AdHearUs, Kanoodle, Pheedo, TextAds, Bidvertiser, Fastclick and Value Click.

My advice here is to select one or two that you are comfortable with that so that you can roll out across all your blog sites which will assist you in agreegating your revenue into one place.  The worst thing to do would be to sign up for all these programs, you will simply lose track of it all and allow it to become an administrative nightmare.  Personally I use Google Adsense and Text Link Ads.

Affiliate Programs

This is I think the best way to make money blogging.  Why?  Because the affiliate programs that you allow in are specific to your niche, you get to decide and the payouts are much higher then that of simple contextual ads.  This is important, especially for small niches.  If in our example we get no more then 2000 visitors a month, which is not that hard to obtain, we want to ensure that we maximise the revenue from those readers.

If we get 40 affiliate sales from these customers (2% of 2000) at $30 in commission we’d generate $1,200 for the month.  Compare this to contextual links from Google.  Lets say we are only getting $0.50 - $0.75 per click through, our click through rate might be higher then our 2% conversion, let’s say we have done well in the way to position our text ads and in our niche we are getting 5% click through, we’d only end up with $50 - $75 for the month.  We are letting money slip through our fingers, as those customers while clicked on the Google ad on your site, probably went off and purchased another product.

Go back to our affiliate sales example, let’s say we’ve been doing this for about 1 year and now we have 5 specific niche blogs that we are running, blogging regularly and are simply a reflection of things you are interested in.  Border Collies, Car Restoration, Fly Fishing, Mountain Bike riding and Baseball.  Five very specific niches, if they are each doing 40 sales a month you could be generating $6,000 per month.  This type of scenario is very achievable and now you can live the life you want.

There are large affiliate partners like Amazon, ClickBank, LinkShare and Commission Junction down to literally thousands of smaller partners.  I’d stick with the major ones and personally I’d start with Clickbank as there are no entry requirements and no minimum sales quota’s and hundreds of options  Then I’d start to look at Commission Junction and Linkshare where you can start earning commission on household brands like Macy’s, Footlocker etc.

Digital Assets

What does this mean?  Well this is a fancy way to say, if you cannot find an affiliate product to sell or do not like what is on offer then create your own.  There is an ever increasing number of bloggers that promote their own, ebook, audio or video program, course or tele-seminar.  You can to.  Perhaps you have very specific information that you have collected over the years and there is little assistance online, you may have just found the Goose to lay your Golden Eggs.  Create your own product and start to sell it online, you get 100% of the money earned.  Even better, if you have a great selling product you can use Affiliate programs in Clickbank to get other people to sell for you.  Now you will start to leverage the work of other people and increase you income dramatically.

Lets go back to our example on Border Collies.  You decide that you want to start to offer your own complete “Border Collie Training Manual”  You create a 56 page ebook with everything from selecting your puppy, considerations, toilet training, grooming, fun activities to do etc.  You also include 12 video tutorials on things like obedience, toilet training, the same things that were in your ebook but with video and finally a 30 minute tele-seminar recording of your interview with a Border Collie breeder.

Previously you were getting $30 per sale at 50% commission, now you sell your own program for $60 and get the same results, you have just doubled your income!  But that is not all, you have learnt a lot over the last 12 months about Blogging and how to market online, and you include a once-only offer that has additional course material.  Such as, How to Train your Border Collie for Fly Ball, How to Train Your Border Collie for Agility events and How to get started Breeding Border Collies etc.  This upsell is an additional say $24 and you get 20% uptake on this back end offer. You just added another $192 in sales.  You also have these individual modules available for sale on your site at $19 each and also get unique sales just on these items.

I hope that you are starting to get the picture on just how massive a simple niche like Border Collies could be all from a minimal reader base.  This is specifically how people are making $10,000+ a month online, starting with their passions, learning the methods, being creative and building their future and the great news is that you can start today.

But we are not quite finished with our How To Make Money Blogging and Income streams just yet.  Let’s now have a look at:

Blog Network Communities

As blogging has become more and more numerous so have the opportunities for bloggers to earn an income from their blogging activities simply by writing for and with others.  There are many blogging networks out there, simply Google Blogging Networks, which will pay bloggers to contribute to other sites.  Note this can also be a way that you can get content onto your site while you are away enjoying your overseas holiday.  I’d view this simply as a last resort myself, I’d prefer to spend time writing on my own blogs, knowing that at the end of the day I am contributing to my own success, not assisting another blogger or network to get all the rewards.  It is however another revenue stream and lets face it in today’s economy might be a great option to keep things ticking over.

Donations

Hey, it works.  Simply having a donation box or tip jar on your site can allow people to donate money to ensure that the content they have come to love continues to get produced.  This is particularly so if you have managed to build a connection with your readers, they are personally and emotionally attached and want to ensure that you continue to do well.  This of course would absolutely depend on the site you have.  I could not in good conscience have an affiliate program where I knew I was making $1,000 a month in sales AND a donation option.

I would perhaps use the donation option if you were blogging about the plight of youth homeless, reporting on displaced children in war zones.  Something were a percentage of funds donated went to XYZ charity.  You could also just have a general all encompassing blog and build a great readership in the tens of thousands, and simply ask for support to continue their enjoyment.  One of the best known bloggers who used donations to get full time was Jason Kottke of kottke.org who through the generosity of his readership was able to quit his job and become a full time blogger.

Blog Flipping

Essentially the process of selling blogs.  There are resources like Site Point Market place that allow people to sell blogs and other sites.  Many of these sites are in the early stages of their life.  Some people can make good money taking a site that is essentially a shell, adding the right ingredients to it, traffic, getter SEO etc, some affiliate programs and then re-sell it down the track for 10-100x the initial purchase price. Think of real estate flipping, buy a property, fix the bathroom and add some landscape gardens and re-sell.

I would not recommend for a first time or novice Blogger, best to learn and ensure you know how to do these things yourself before taking on such projects.  It can however be a lot of fun.  You can also find a lot of ideas for your own blogs and potential niches by simply searching through the various listings, sometimes I jump on there and get a “I never thought of selling that before” type of moment.

So there you have it, lots of great material to get you started to turn you blog into a money making machine.  This of course is just the start, I am sure as things develop and time goes on we’ll see new and unique ways for bloggers to make money from their passions.  Things like Twitter are just starting to take off and I am sure we have not seen or heard the end of this new phenomenon.  But that is no excuse not to start today.

Looking to make your own profitable blogging Niche?

Blogging To The Bank is the #1 How To Blogging Guide on the Market Today and is the perfect palce for you to Start Your Own Blogging Empire.

Most people use blogs to record their thoughts and lives, while the select few use them as a free way to make a fortune as outlined above.

One guy who uses this to his advantage is Rob Benwell. In 2006 he dished the dirt on the tips and tricks to making a fortune using blogging. Rob has unleashed his brand new, fresh off the press Blogging to the Bank 3.0

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Rob Benwell and Blogging to the Bank Review

“Rob Benwell has created in Blogging to the Bank a step-by-step blueprint to make money online.”

Reviewer: Ian Kelly
Rating:
Website Reviewed: Blogging To The Bank

Rob Benwell is perhaps the most successful blogger on the internet today.  The proof is that Blogging to the Bank is up to it’s 3rd version in only two years.  Rob really does update his information to ensure his customers are getting the latest techniques to make money online.

The great aspect of Blogging to the Bank is that it is for everyone.  If you already have blogs that are struggling to earn even a few dollars a month, or if you are just starting out you can pick up Rob Benwell’s program and fast track your way to generating traffic and income.

The guide contains perhaps the most comprehensive techniques to specifically generate traffic to your site.  But that is just the start Rob goes through the complete road map and calls it “The BluePrint of a Blogging Millionaire.”

Perhaps the best aspect I liked about this guide is that Rob not only shows you how to make ongoing money with a blog, but importantly shows you once you have a successful blog up and running that you also have the option to SELL the blog for six figures or more!  A lot of other guides I have reviewed missed this aspect.

Selling your blog is a fantastic way to make money.  Some people do not always like the aspect of having to constantly update their blog sites.  But are experts in setting up blogs to ensure maximum revenue and traffic.  While not a comprehensive guide Rob has specific detail about this little known technique of ’site flipping’.

Click here to visit Blogging to the Bank by Rob Benwell

Think of it as building a basic a house and reselling.  You create the site and sell it for huge profits.  You can even purchase other people’s blogs that have done a poor job, fix them with the techniques you learn in this guide and re-sell for massive profits!  You need to think of you blog as an online asset.

Another aspect that is missed by blogging guides is the importance of email list building.  Most guides fail to understand why list building is still a key aspect to make money EVEN when you have a blog.  Most people assume that since I have a blog site and update regularly and has an RSS feed I do not need to have an opt-in strategy.  Blogging to the Bank goes into detail as to why this is important and a key source of your income.

What about if you do not have a blog and don’t know where to get started?  Don’t worry, Blogging to the Bank really caters to the novice with specific strategies on selecting the correct niche that will ensure you can make money.  It is important however to understand that you need a niche that YOU are interested in.  I think that is one aspect Rob misses in this guide.

If you have no interest in the niche that you are blogging about it is going to eventually turn into a grind and this will come across in the content that you produce.  This aspect of blogging can be a whole topic in itself, perhaps Rob will update it in Blogging to the Bank 4!  It is important to have a passion about your blogs topic.  As someone that has followed Rob Benwell’s techniques, where I have had a personal interest in that niche my income has been 2-3 times greater.  Simply because I did more, created more content, worked harder to get traffic and generally enjoyed blogging more.

Result, I got greater rewards.  It is not just about selecting profitable niches.  The key is a niche that is profitable AND you have an interest in.

For people that are also new, or even for those that already have blogs, Rob goes into specific SEO (Search Engine Optimization) techniques to generate traffic and ensure you have high rankings in search engines.  Updated for version 3, Rob explores specific Web 2.0 traffic generating techniques.  I had not really thought much of social bookmarking and social sites as a method of generating traffic and stuck mainly to article marketing.

But Rob really opened my eyes to what I was missing out on.  Think more then MySpace or Facebook here.  I came across sites that I had never heard of that now generate 100’s of visitors to my blogs AND have implemented the techniques to many other standard websites.

The basics of creating your blog.  While this seems like a trivial point, it is perhaps one of the keys to ensuring your success.  Sites such as Blogger and Typepad are great platforms and allow novice users that simply want a personal blog to get up and running very quickly.

But if you want to make money blogging, Rob goes into the specifics why owning your blog with your OWN domain name is a key to success.  Rob even walks through the basics of how to register a domain and select a host provider.  It is much easier then you think and only takes a few minutes to set-up.

These are the main points that I personally appreciated from Blogging to the Bank, Rob Benwell is thanked on a daily basis for the assistance and techniques he teaches people on how to make money online.  If this is something you have struggled with or are looking to start a blog then Blogging to the Bank is a complete comprehensive guide.

Click here to visit Blogging to the Bank by Rob Benwell

John Yeo’s Bloggers Paycheck Review

“John Yeo is an ordinary guy who’s dreams came true by following his passion to make money online with blogs.  John wants to show you how to make your dreams come true.”

Reviewer: Ian Kelly

Rating:

Website Reviewed: Bloggers Paycheck

I was very surprised when the Master Blog Profits subscribers voted Bloggers Paycheck their number one choice as best overall blogging guide for making money.  Bloggers Paycheck is by no means the most well known guide out on the market today so what makes John Yeo’s guide the best?

The answer quite simply is that this is perhaps the most down to earth yet detailed guide on how to turn your blogsite into one that generates multiple streams of income.  John Yeo’s story is one that we can all relate to.  John is a newly-web social worker from Singapore, who helps kids find hope and happiness in their lives.  He also blogged part time.  What happened is that John learnt specific steps that anyone can take to turn their passion into money.

One of the reasons we love Bloggers Paycheck so much is that fundamentally John holds the same philisophy that we do, find out your passions, blog and write about those and success will follow.  You just need to learn some basic and key concepts around driving traffic to your blog and the correct way to monetize.

Click Here to Visit John Yeo’s Bloggers Paycheck

John’s own blog was specifically about his planning for his wedding day.  You can visit John’s blog that started it all at: www.romance-fire.com.  As you can see he has a lot of information, has a specific niche, advertising income and updates regularly, he truly has a passion and he has been well rewarded.

The Bloggers Paycheck consists of five (5) comprehensive volumes that will teach you set-by-step the methods that John has followed to make $1,000’s.  The great aspect of having these five volumes is that if you are already confident in one area you can just simpy jump into the aspect that is going to give you the best return.

The Five Volumes are:

Volume 1 - Foundation and Setting Up

Volume 2- Traffic Mastery

Volume 3 - Maketing Online

Volume 4 - Profit and Monetixation Models

Volume 5 - 6 Figures Earner’s Mindset

At the moment John is even offering for a limited time a free offer for instant access to The Secretbloggers Cheatsheet that shows you how to start making money online from scratch.

Bloggers paycheck is very much a ‘take action’ kind of ebook, through the examples and many pictures John Yeo takes you on a journey to ensure that you have all the information to get start quickly making money.

The key again for us is that John takes the time to go through the importance of picking the right niche for you as a person and is not just about making money.  In fact even if you have zero plans on making money and just want to look at ways you can improve you blog then you will get a lot from Bloggers Paycheck.

Thank you to John Yeo for a great guide.

Click Here to Visit John Yeo’s Bloggers Paycheck

I like you, was struggling to make money online. I had launched a lot of campaigns through PPC. In fact my very first PPC campaign with Google cost me $200, in one day. That is not the scary part. I made one, $24 sale. To be honest I was more impressed that I made a sale then what it cost me!

As I had not read or purchased any product that told me the right way to set up PPC campaigns, I just did it. For reference it was unlocking the iPhone. Every time I uploaded a campaign, Google would block it due to headline issues. I am 100% surprised my account was not banned.

But that one sale got me excited. If I can do it once with zero understanding of how to correctly setup PPC campaigns, what would happen if I took the time to learn how to harness my passion.

I decided that if I was willing to spend $200 on a Google Adwords campaign then a $67 course on how to make money blogging was well worth the money. Lucky for me the very first course was Blogging to the Bank.

It showed me how to setup a blog correctly, how to find a niche that was profitable, but I still missed the golden rule, finding niches that you are also passionate about. If you have no interest in ballroom dancing for instance, then it is going to be constant chore to write about it and produce great content that will keep people coming back to your site. I didn’t understand this secret until much later.

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“Master Blog Profits” - Making Money Online with Blogs”

“Have you ever wanted to turn your passions and hobbies into a full-time income?  We now you can easily with blogging.”

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to Master Blog Profits, the website that is dedicated to showing you how to make money online and more specifically how to make money blogging.

You may already have a blog and want to know how to make it profitable, or you might be just starting out and need to know the keys to turn an idea into one that generates a full time income.

Where do you start?  What do you do?  Well, we provide the answers and if you cannot find them here, simply drop us an e-mail via the Contact page and we’ll answer it for you.

You should start by taking our FREE 6 part mini course, just sign up through the form on the left hand side.  You will also get the latest information on blogging after the 6 part mini-course has completed to ensure your blog grows and grows.

Let me start by saying, if you do not have a passion for what you are going to blog about then it is going to be a tough struggle.  I have seen a lot of bloggers, some of them close friends, start a blog with the intentions of making money online and giving up their normal jobs, only to get frustrated and throw it away when they are just about to see the results come through.  It may be cliche, but quiters never win and winners, never quite.

If this sounds like you, then I 100% know what you are going through.

Read the full story