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How to Make Money from Blogs

Thank heavens for blogs. Blogs are the easiest way to be on the Web nowadays – you don’t even need to be skilled in CSS or HTML to start your own blog. But starting a blog is one thing; earning money from it is another.

Here are some steps to start a successful blog and earn money from it:

1. Set up your blog. You can have the option of using their URL (e.g. http://widgetsblog.blogger.com) or use the blog software in your own domain name (http://www.widgetsblog.com). Some of these are free, while some has monthly/annual subscription

Here are some places that will allow you to create your own blog

Blogger http://www.blogger.com
Typepad http://www.typepad.com/
Moveable Type http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/
Wordpress http://www.wordpress.org/

2. Create great content. Everything starts with content. Give a reason why visitors will frequent your site. Why will they want to read your blog? Why will they want to spend their time in your blog? Provide value, useful information and other benefits to the readers.

3. Get traffic to your blog. You can’t earn from your blog if the blog does not have traffic. Getting traffic is going to be your biggest challenge.

Here is a comprehensive list of places where you can list your blogs and syndicate its content – Resources for Marketing Your Blogs and RSS Feeds

Use carnivals, which are a technique for showcasing your blog. Carnivals occur once a week, and you need to submit your blog post to the carnival moderator. Here is a submission form: http://www.conservativecat.com/Ferdy/Carnivals.htm An example of a carnival in action is that of the Carnival of Entrepreneurship hosted by About.com

4. Think of how to monetize your blog. One of the most common way of earning money from blogs is through advertising and donations. Here are some ways you can earn money from your blog:

Google Adsense http://www.google.com/adsense
Chitika eMinimalls http://www.chitika.com
Text link ads – you can sell for fixed price for a fixed period of time
Donation (yes, you can beg) Affiliate programs such as Commission Junction http://www.cj.com and the Amazon Associates program