Rick Whittington Consulting

Ok, I’ll start by saying that this isn’t easy. It’s not for the lazy. It’s not easy money. It takes a lot of effort, but you can do it. It’s making money from a blog. So how is it done?

Here’s a quick primer on how an individual can make money from a blog (note that if you’ve got a company, you’re probably wanting to generate leads, which requires a slightly different formula).

Step 1: Pick a topic to blog about

When thinking about ideas for a blog site, think no further than your interests. If you’re a mom, you may want to blog about the trials and tribulations of having kids. If you like to manage the family finances, maybe you write about how to buy things “on the cheap.”

The key here is to pick something you’re passionate about. When I write this blog about internet marketing issues, I write about something I’m passionate about, so I never run out of ideas and never sour on the thought of having to write something. If you think there’s easy money in a blog, you’re wrong, and you’ll need dedication. It helps to really enjoy what you’ll be writing about, and either be very knowledgeable about the topic or willing to research it and share your findings.

Step 2: Create your blog.

While you can sign up for a WordPress or Blogger blog for free, more computer-savvy users will want to purchase a hosting account and a domain name. I recommend Hostican for hosting because they give you an easy program called Fantastico that installs a WordPress blog on your web site in just a few clicks. You can literally be writing on your blog 10 minutes after buying your hosting account.

Since you’re looking to make some cash, the hosted option is better because you have the flexibility down the road to hire someone to customize the blog for maximum revenue (or you can learn how to do this yourself if so inclined).

Step 3: Write.

Write, write, write. You need to generate some content on the blog. Jot down on a piece of paper at least 20 blog post ideas, then schedule them out so you’re posting 1-3 times per week. After about 3-4 months, you’ll have enough content to start making some money.

Step 4: Offer an e-mail newsletter.

Start building an e-mail list of loyal readers so you can market to them later. Place an e-mail signup box on your web site so if people like your blog, they can sign up. Send them posts by e-mail (see Feedburner) at first, and later you’ll use this list to blast money-making offers with the posts.

Step 5: Join affiliate programs.

Online retailers offer affiliate programs that let you put their advertising on your web site and you get a commission when people click and buy from the merchant. You can’t just sign up for any affiliate program, you need to apply to programs that closely pertain to the content on your web site.

You can join these affiliate networks for free for access to thousands of merchants:

Commission Junction
Linkshare
ShareASale.com

When you have a stable of merchants to advertise, don’t just put their ad banners on your web site. Find interesting ways to work their products into your blog posts, and link the products to their web sites with your affiliate link. You can even review products on your blog and link to them with your affiliate link, or just get paid to review products (see ReviewMe.com). Just remember it’s not all about making money, you also want to provide good, interesting content about your topic. A good application of this is the See Jack Shop blog, which discusses men’s fashion trends.

Step 6: Offer private ad sales on your blog.

Add a link to your blog called “Advertise” where you put information on how companies can advertise on your blog. Since these aren’t affiliate relationships, you set the price for advertising. Be reasonable. You may not want to mention rates on your site — you may instead want to offer a contact form so you can have a conversation with prospective advertisers. Speaking to advertisers over the phone is a lot better than over email because you can negotiate a rate. This also gives your advertisers an opportunity to offer suggestions for your blog. Charge a monthly fee, and if you start a Paypal Pro account, you can accept recurring payments from advertisers.

Step 7: Build traffic.

As you continue to generate solid, helpful content, you’ll naturally move up the search engine rankings for your topic. You’ll then need to familiarize yourself with social networks.

If you’re not on Facebook, start a profile and add the Simplaris Blogcast application to your profile so you can publish your blog posts on Facebook. The more “friends” you have, the more traffic you’ll get from Facebook. If your blog is relevant to the 18-35 age group, you might want to consider paying to advertise on Facebook. Put a Facebook badge on every page of your blog so readers can “friend” you. Yes, folks, “friend” is now a verb.

Next, start a Twitter account.Each time you post a new blog post, post it on Twitter (“tweet it” — yes, I know). You can also add the Twitter app to Facebook so your tweet automatically appears in your Facebook status. Put a Twitter badge on every page of your blog so people can “follow” you on Twitter, and reciprocate by “following” them.

There are many more niche social networks out there, and more than I could talk about here, but do the research and be active. The more effort you expend about learning how to use these media to your advantage, the more traffic your blog will get.

Don’t forget to network with other bloggers that write about similar topics. E-mail them and ask to post a “guest post” on their blog and offer them the opportunity to do that on your site. This cross-pollination will help you get traffic to your blog (as long as you have a brief bio and link to your blog in the guest post).

# # #

Have I scared you away from making money blogging? I hope not. If you can survive these seven steps, there’s a good chance that you’ll be making some significant cash. Maybe not $10k per month, yet, but prolonged blogging and networking can lead to speaking engagements, PR opportunities and more. Maybe you’ll even have time to write a book about the process. The sky’s the limit. Now go do it.