"But, what should I write a blog about?" You might wonder. It's a good question, since blogs number in the millions, and if you want your blog to stand out you need it to be unique enough for people to want to come back over and over again to read its content.
Start by writing a list of all the things you love: hobbies, jobs (dream jobs you wish you had, or your current job - which is also your expertise), etc. Then, try to come up with unique ideas that could become a new blog.
Some write a number of blogs - I do this myself, on a number of different topics. But, start with one or two blogs on topics or issues that are near and dear to your heart, and then monetize your blog in one or more of these ways:
How to Monetize Your Blog
- Google Adsense is a quick and easy way to get started. The ads correspond with the content you write, so if for instance you write about tips on selling your home quickly, your Google Adsense ads might come up with ads pertaining to local real estate, home staging, books about selling real estate, etc. You earn a small amount for each click. You might want to research what types of content earn the most income, if the main goal of your blog is income generation.
- Advertising - Link ads or small cube or banner ads on your blog itself can be rented out to sponsors by the day, week, month or year. It will usually take a while for your blog to earn this kind of advertising, by being one that readers return to over and over again to read. In other words, a good, consistently written blog with regular readership are the ones that can charge for ad space successfully.
- Amazon has an affiliate program which allows you to place links or ads on certain products or even categories of products. Each time someone purchases something on Amazon after having been taking to the Amazon site through your original link, you earn a percentage on sales. It's very easy, and you can either take cash payments or else a gift card from Amazon.
- Sell your own ebooks - at www.happyslob.com I set up sales for my original ebook called The Happy Slob's Guide to Housecleaning. You can sell your own ebooks too, and contrary to popular belief it often pays more to sell your own electronic books instead of going the traditional publishing route. (I know this from firsthand experience - you make far more per book selling ebooks than regular bookstore books. But, I digress -- having a book on a bookstore shelf can sure make you excited!)
- Paypal donations - this is a tricky one. Some bloggers have great success with a Paypal donation button strategically placed on their blogs; others veer away from this option. It all depends on what type of blog you choose to write. You can always try popping up a Paypal button and see if your readership agrees that your content is worth an occasional donation of their hard earned money.
These are five ways to get you started with monetizing your blog, but there are dozens of other ideas too, which we'll discuss in an upcoming blog post.
And now...go get writing!
The Almost Wealthy Writer
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