Blog for Cash-How to Make Money Online
By Chatkath
A Little Blog History
I remember when blogs first came about in my world, I was attending my first night of a Public Relations Class, and the assignment was to find out what the heck a Blog was. I truly did NOT know, some of my team members thought it was like an interactive website where readers can leave comments. Of course everyone ran home and researched, only to find out that a blog was and still is defined as the evolution of an online diary. But what does this really mean? This was the summer of 2001, in San Jose - the heart of Silicon valley and there were, without a doubt, ambiguous reactions to the term "Blog" and exactly how this new trend would impact the Internet.
The short form, "blog," was coined by Peter Merholz, who jokingly introduced the term weblog into the phrase we blog in the sidebar of his blog Peterme.com in April or May 1999. By 2001, the importance of blogging began to take hold, everyone wanted to understand this new phenomena and what part it would play in their life. Since 2002, blogs have rapidly gained notice and coverage for their role in breaking, shaping, and even spinning stories. Acceptance by the mass media, both as a news source and opinion has become a part of life, with blogging at the top of online business tactics.
So let's get Blogging
So how does this weblog affect you in 2011? To say that blogging has come a long way is a gross understatement! Most companies, big and small, have one or more blogs, in addition to their obligatory website. If you are looking for a way to make a living as a blogger, there are indeed many resources out there for you. The first thing that you want to do is to create a blog for yourself, just to get a feel for how it works and because it is obviously a must-have for most of the blogging for cash options. I suggest centering it around a common theme, whether it is a business blog or a personal blog, it is extremely important to write about something that you know and something that interests you, your expertise and your passion. Remember that you are going to have to post new and exciting content to this blog on a daily basis if you really want to attract and keep a steady stream of traffic.
The next step is to choose ablog platform, so you will want to shop around for a blog platform that fits you needs. A few very popular and free choices are Blogger and Wordpress. They are both easy to set up and once you choose which one is right for you, you can be blogging in no time.
Blogger- Straightforward, easy to use
Wordpress - Best for those who plan on hosting their own blogs
Once you have decided on your platform, and have some great topics in mind that will capture your target audience's attention, select a template design and most importantly a permanent blog title and url. Choose this with the utmost care and stick with it! Confusing your readers by changing the url, so they can not find you is never good for business and irritating google after your url has been indexed can cause numerous problems, none of which will improve your ranking or your popularity.
With some of the sponsered blogging for cash methods below, your page rank will not matter as much but for some of the others where you are getting paid for the number of clicks the ad receives, you obviously want your blog to be rated high, which will take time and effort -of course. The higher your page rank, the more money you will receive for your post because it will likely get more traffic-clicks-sales for the advertiser.
There are numerous sites now that will pay you to write blog posts. I have listed a few of the ones that I have either used or know of below. It is a relatively quick way to earn money, especially once you get the hang of it. If you enjoy writing, blogging and the world wide web, this just might be a new career, or at the very least, a way to make some extra cash.
Sponsered Posts Links
- LoudLaunch - Online Advertising and Promotion Campaigns
LoudLaunch offers internet advertising services that build inbound links for that coveted first page position with search engines, promotion of your products and services, and drive higher conversion rates. Discover the power of online marketing. - Get Paid To Blog at Payu2blog Blog Advertising
Bloggers in their network blog about a variety of topics, making money while blogging. - Paid Posts from 30,000+ bloggers, Blog Advertising Network
SponsoredReviews.com is a blog review service that connects advertisers with bloggers willing to write paid posts about their services and products. - Blog Advertising network - Advertise on Thousands of Blogs | Get Paid for Blogging
Advertise on Blogs to build inbound links to your website from unique content. Get paid for blogging writing your opinions. - Blogitive - Get Paid to Blog - Make Money Blogging
They offer Cost Per Post Advertising, Ghost Blogging, Paid RSS through NewsNerve, and comment moderation. - Blogsvertise
Blogsvertise pays you via paypal per task or blog entry, for writing or talking about advertisor's website in your blog!
Blogging for Cash
So now that you have your blog set up, it is a good idea to post quality content daily if possible to keep your readers interested and to attract new traffic. Once you have established a series of engaging posts, comprising an incredibly interesting new blog on the block, you will want to share all of this hard work with the world. This is where social networking comes in. Use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and any other social networking sites that will undoubtedly spread your blogging word. Be prepared to spend some time researching, reading, sharing, posting on other sites to potentially harvest some quality back-links and learning everything you can about new technologies that will improve the functionality of your blog. The more traffic you are getting the more that you can make blogging for cash.
Paid Blogger
There are now many ways to make money using your blogging and writing skills. Because so many businesses now have a blog, they typically outsource the blog maintenance to bloggers and freelance writers. ProBlogger and EHow are a few good ones, but you can also search for blogger jobs on most job boards and find results. They will typically want to see samples of your writing skills so be prepared to submit. For those of you who always wanted to be a news reporter check out Examiner.com. From what I hear, they pay well if you are willing to get out there and get the goods before anyone else. Being nosy and aggressive pays best!
Blogging Networks
As some Hubbers may know, it is not easy to get the volume of traffic you need at first to make money from your own blog. That's where blogging networks come in, like HubPages, BlogParty and Blogit to name a few. They have much more traffic because of their notoriety, PR and because there is always fresh content being added which search engines crave. The networks are monetized by agencies like AdSense, Amazon, Kontera and Ebay. Even though you can usually use these same advertisers to monetize your own blog, you will not get the traffic and clicks that a blogging network does, so many prefer to post their content to a network. In addition, when writing for a blog network, you can use the support and guidance of the staff and other writers to boost confidence and share stories of success as a writer or blogger.
Another momey making site that seems to be making quite a name for itself recently is RedGage. It is a first-of-its-kind web site that pays people for their online content and monetizes their social activity. You can actually import your existing online content from your Blogs and Social Media Accounts with the click of a mouse. Sign up now: RedGage.com. Refer your friends, increase your earnings!
Affiliate Marketing
Another way to make money blogging is Affiliate Marketing. Once you have had your blog for awhile or you have a blog with a high volume of traffic then Affiliate Marketing may be a good option for you. Advertisors pay you to post a banner or link advertising their product or service and then you are paid a commision for each click through or other action as specified in the agreement. One thing to remember with Affiliate Marketing is that you will want to stick with products that fit well into the theme of your blog. If your blog is about natural products then you would probably do well placing a banner for organic bedding on your blog's home page.
Sponsored Posts
Finally, Sponsored Posts are possibly the most widespread way to make money blogging these days. After you set up your account and enter your blog's title, url address and the main topic of the blog for approval, the site will typically email you with an advertisers requested action, for example: "Use 3 of the following keywords with these corresponding links to write a 2-3 paragraph post". You have the option of accepting or rejecting the task, you can even request a higher pay-out amount if you feel that it is warranted. Many of these sites pay you with PayPal so if you don't already have a PayPal account, it might be a good idea to set one up.
Getting Paid to Blog
Be a Better Blogger
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Comments
Thanks Dee, I am glad you will stay in touch because I am still learning too, with all the recent google changes I think everyone is kind of on edge, waiting to see what will happen next and how much they can make! I have definitely learned to not quit the day job for awhile! You've got that one right! ;-)
Writing here is very different in terms of how you get paid, etc. I still do the other because getting paid is quite straight forward. Your proposal is accepted (or not), you sign the contract, do the work, get paid. Sometimes you even get a portion of the pay upfront. I really want to make this work because it is something very dear to my heart (this type of writing). I will, I have no doubt, but there is a lot to learn and I'm willing to put in the "learning" time. Thanks so much for the inspiration...I will continute to read and will refer back to this hub for strength.
Hi Dee, I don't think people realize how long it takes to get the blogs and all the connections going, establishing your niche, target, etc. Luckily it sounds you have some background in writing professionally which will help I am sure...best of luck to you, I have really been lagging lately - I guess I should be following my own advice!? Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving such inspiring thoughts!
I am still struggling with how to do all the things to get to getting paid, building readership, all the things that makes one a successful blogger, hubbers, etc. I have done technical writing in the private sector...writing business plans, strategic plans, fund raising information, board development, etc. Your hub gave me some valuable assistance. Thank You.
Thank you kindly Under the Lamp! A very thoughtful and quite creative bit of feedback! I appreciate all of your suggestions. I especially value comments from those with fresh eyes. I will be sure to share your ideas, makes sense! Keep writing! Let's Talk soon!
"Find your niche. Blog about what you enjoy. Don't forget to write." -I just giggled.
It has been twenty-four hours since I've read a blog hub. Since then, I have viewed Craig's List and found many opportunities for blog writers. Some established companies are seeking established blog writers. Beginning blog writers have that and many more offerings to work up to.
I think this hub is free-flowing, freelance fun. It is the second blog hub I've read. The first, by Reynolds_Writing, was awesome too! I'm glad Hub Pages attracts so many talented personalities.
Speaking of which, Epigram Man, I have just glanced at a few of your hubs - artful poems. I'd suggest creating a picture or two encompassing the tone, thoughts, and/or evolution of each piece. This way, new hub-readers like yours truly, can visualize each hub before clicking. That may help you.
To you, Chat Kath, my thanks. You are a welcomed inspiration. Their may be days when blog writing puts sand in your sandals. Shake it into a mold and enjoy a "charming" keepsake to flaunt the next day.
Success is just a beginning piece of your rewarding connection with readers. Cheers.
Thanks for commenting HennieN, so true, I think if one really wants to make money then they have to look at blogging as a job. You will get out only as much as you put in....
Very good hub. Just funny that so few take this advice seriously.
The shorter answer to this is-
If you bought your domain name from Blogger, you won't need to create a CNAME record.
If your domain is registered with another company, you'll need to follow company-specific instructions.
The only hosting service that I ever used was godaddy.com and it was relatively easy however each hosting service has slightly different ways to create CNAME records. Guidelines for goDaddy-
Log in to your account at www.godaddy.com.
Open the Domains tab and select My Domain Names. You'll be directed to the Domain Manager page.
Click the domain that you'd like to use with your blog.
Click the Total DNS Control And MX Records link at the bottom of the section entitled Total DNS.
Click Add New CNAME Record in the box labelled CNAMES (aliases). If you've already created a CNAME record for your blog's address, click the pencil icon next to the existing CNAME record.
For the Name, enter only the subdomain of the address you want to use for your blog. For example, if you picked www.mydomain.com as your address, enter www here.
Enter ghs.google.com as the Host Name. Specify a TTL or use the default setting of 1 hour.
Click OK, and then click OK again.
When in doubt, check with the particular hosting company you're using for additional help or instructions. Not sure if this is what you meant but I do hope it helps...
i need help to create my "CMAME" record for my googleblog - any idea thanks
Thank you Treasuresofheaven - too bad it takes so much time, because it really can be fun and eventually profitable but those hours really creep buy quickly!;-o
I am glad you stopped by to comment!
Great information and good information on Blogging! Thanks for the useful information. You explained blogging very nicely!
Hi vocalcoach, Yep, I love the Bay Area, I am living right outside Modesto right now which I hate because it gets so hot, I can't wait to get back to the cooler Bay breeze! Soon I hope. Blogging has become such a complicated thing these days, who knew? I am glad you had a chance to check it out. Take care, and let me know if you ever want to know any specifics about setting up a blog, etc. (as long as it's basic-my knowledge is now pretty limited LOL)
What a fantastic hub, Chatkath. Now, I totally understand just what a blog is. The term is used so loosely on the internet. Thanks for clarification and all the insightful information on how to make money. BTW - I am from the Bay Area and miss it. :)vocalcoach
Thanks Katie, I appreciate your feedback on this, hard to know if it makes sense! Morgan Hill is just around the bend:) Not far at all!
Very well done and spoken plain and simple so there is not to be anymore confusion as to what exactly a blog is as many are still unsure. I love the way you detailed and brought to light the simple facts.
My brother lives in Morgan Hill. :) Katie
Chatkath,
Wonderful blog I learned a lot....
Many blessing
Joe Torculas
Thank you Catgypsy, good luck to you, it is never as easy as they say in the ads but if you are very committed & have patience I believe that you can do well.
Wow, great advice here. I have to make some money at this, and unfortunaltely I'm very new at all of this and not too computer savvy, so this helped a lot! Thanks for the info.
You would be laughing at me, but I always think about Vincent Van Gogh - he never made a dime and was considered insane, which he was.
I might share his insanity, but not his talent for vivid art, but just like any human I need cash to feed my family. I am quite ready to cross the line and be compensated yet I cannot write the content that is in high demand. I have my limitations.
Suffice it to say, I haven't figured out the way, but you are right, that is not the reason to stop trying.
I think that is why I appreciate your writing so much kallini, you are not willing to cross that commercial line. Many of the most talented writers have never made or kept a dime, interesting correlation.
Thank you for commenting! Don't put that pen down! :)
I don't think that I would ever be able to make money online. I am like mercury drops, money and I don't stick together...
Thank you for stopping by shangrilajade, appreciate the comments!
Thanks for popping in Top-bannana! Personally, No, not really, because I don't practice what I preach! On the sponsered post sites I listed, it is more clear cut so if you write a post you know in advance what you will be paid. I do believe that if you were able to devote about 4-6 hours a day at first - to building up the blogs and posting quality content daily, I believe you could earn a decent living at it eventually. Not easy, but I think you get what you give...There are people on HubPages that earn quite a bit, (or so I hear) but it is really a challenge to find the time, always so many other things to do at home right? Best of luck to you, I would like to hear how it goes?! Keep me in the loop?
great hub and some really good info, so are you making money from blogging if so is it enough to give up your job?
cheers
awsome guys and girls
shangrilajade.com
Thanks Neon Letters, kind of reminds me that I need to get busy with mine too, I am lucky to post every week LOL. Thanks for stopping by.
Sounds tempting to start out a blog. very useful information!
...although if you 'Google' me - lol lol lol - I am the only 'epigramman' in the entire cyber universe ...... and as far as I'm concerned there is only one of you - so you are a true original too ........and our buddy Darlene too!
Colin- You ARE HubPages, how can you, with all of your talent, fans, and words of wisdom not be making money? Now I am so distraught, although I know that couldn't be why you write, it is unfortunately the way of our world, everyone should be compensated ($) for their time and efforts. You have helped me immensely & I know you have assisted others as well, I guess you are just too valuable and even google can't afford your brilliance.:-(
Thank you Susan, Wow 12!? I wish I had the time and energy to get that many going - I know you can make money once you get them all set up & regularly post content, which I am not very consistant about! Thank you for commenting!:-)
...well I don't make any money here at the Hub - but I gotta find a way to supplement my income - somehow - Kathy - at least I am rich in terms of fans, friends and followers - and in my own creative mind - and I have truly been blessed by meeting hub superstars like you and Darlene and Just ask Susan - it dosen't get any better than that ....
....and I really love how you research and put together your hubs so well ... so thoroughly - just like a labor of love - you are a true professional and it shows/it shines in every one of your hubs .........and you are always helping/aiding people to become better - to reach greater heights - good for you - and lucky us to be able to follow you .......
Great Hub Chatkath! Very good information here. My sister in law is up to I think about 12 blog sites now and she makes a good living at it. She started about 4 years ago. Voted up great hub oops already said that :)
Blogging is fun and done right can be very rewarding. I started blogging for our soap business using Wordpress, and posted an average of 5 post a week for about six months and got ranked #1 on both yahoo and Google. I now have two blogs and keeping up here in hubland I have not been able to continue with the blogging and am no longer ranked high, but it does work, just lots of work. I plan on building my gardening blog this summer, and will start looking for affiliate programs. Great hub!
You are so sweet Darlene-I was looking at your blog just the other day - very creative & set up like a pro! I am so impressed! I even borrowed your animal rescue link - I love that just a click helps an animal !!!
I am so glad you are feeling better and back to yourself!
Thanks so much for commenting!
Your friend;
Kathy
Wow girlfriend, fantastic hub, I LOVE it, now you must let me know how I am doing on the blog front? You imput is welcomed...anyway this has give me some great ideas, and I don't even need to bookmark it as it's already on my blog...lol wtg rate this way up up love & peace darski
kittythedreamer 9 months ago
Chatkath - Wonderfully informative hub for those who need more info on blogging. Voted up and useful. And you're doing a wonderful job by the way!