Get Paid to Blog
Get Paid to Blog – 3 Tips for Getting Started
I get paid to blog. In fact, blogging is what started me on my work at home journey. I get paid on my own sites and clients pay me as a ghostblogger or contributing blogger for them as well. I started my first blog in 2003. I didn’t stick with it and didn’t monetise it but in 2006 I launched my first monetised blog and have learned a lot in the last 4 years.
Where have I earned money blogging?
Blogging has paid me in many ways, such as:
- paid blog ads
- Google Adsense
- Amazon
- Kontera
- Blogging Networks
- Client links
- Ghostblogging
- and more
Today’s post is a kick-off for a new series about getting paid to blog. Some bloggers are earning 6 figures a year at it. I’m not at six figures yet but know I can provide helpful information to newbies who want to learn how to get paid to blog anyway.
Here are some small but important tips to help you get started on your blogging journey:
- Pick a topic you can write endlessly about.
- Learn about search engine optimisation (SEO, search engine optimization)
- Start your own blog
Blog Topics – Your Blog Niche
The topic you write about is something you need to be willing to write endlessly about. Don’t make the mistake of picking a ‘stuff’ topic where you plan to just talk about anything and everything. You can do this, of course, but it isn’t likely to make you money. No one, beyond your immediate friends and family are likely to care about your random musings. Random musings blogs are fine for your soapbox and online diary but really, in 99.9% of cases are not going to be earning an income. Choose something that you know you know something about, that you’re willing to keep learning about, and that people want to read about. Be willing to become an authority on a subject so that you can get subscribers.
Learn SEO
SEO writing is an imperative aspect of blogging. By optimising for search engines (search engine optimisation) you can get found. Again, unless you’re just writing for you…a blog is going to be pointless and penniless if no one finds it. First and foremost, your blog has to be interesting and valuable to others and second…it needs to be indexed by search engines according to categories and keyword phrases that people surf/search for so that those interested in what you’re talking about will be able to find you. By choosing a niche, you make it glaringly obvious to search engines how they should categorise your site. Then, you start getting traffic.
Start Your Own Blog
There are many free blogging platforms. They’re great. I love them. But they aren’t likely to make you nearly as much money as your own blog on your own domain. I use them but not for my primary monetised blogs. Don’t cheap out and try to make money from a Blogspot or WordPress blog. Do use them, especially for link-building but if you’re serious about making money blogging, start your own blog. While they can build traffic and a following, your best bet is to pay for your own blog on a domain you own. Why?
- You have full control over your content and decide what ads you want on the blog
- Search engines pay more attention to your own domain rather than a shared domain
- It’s easier to do your own domain from the beginning rather than wait until you’re ‘ready’ and then deal with link re-directs, lost traffic, and duplicate content if you plan to run a second blog. It’s worth the money.
How much does it cost to have your own blog? Under $10 a year for your domain name and $10 or less per month. If you go with Hostgator, you can have a $10 a month account and add unlimited domains to that account (provided you stay within a certain bandwidth. You’d have to have MANY many successful blogs to go over the limit of what your Baby Croc account would get and if you really needed more bandwidth, chances are your blogs would be successful and profitable enough that you wouldn’t mind paying a little more than $10 a month for hosting.
It can take a while to get your blog making money so take your time, learn as much as you can, be patient, and persevere. More from me on this topic soon! If you want posts delivered to your mailbox or feed reader, subscribe to The Work at Home Blog.
How Can You Make Money With Google Adsense?
Google Adsense shares ad revenue with publishers. This is a great opportunity for those that want to work at home part-time or even full time. The more publishing you do with Google ads on the page, the more money you can make online.You can sign up to be a Google publisher and make money from Google by utilising Adsense in many ways.
Here are some Google Adsense tips:
- Start a blog
- Join passive income sites
- Post on forums
Blogs
Bloggers can add Google Adsense code to their websites. By doing this, you can earn revenue when people visit your blog. Join a blog network and you’ll share revenue. Start your own blog and you’ll earn 100% of revenue made on that blog. Even a blogspot.com blog (which is free to start) can make you money.
Passive Income
Many sites exist that allow you to share in their income. By contributing, through writing articles, you can earn revenue on an ongoing basis. Sites like Bukisa, InfoBarrel, HubPages, and Askables all have such programs.
Forum Posting
Some forums even share Google revenue as well. For every thread you start, you’ll earn a % of the revenue on that page. In this situation your Google publisher ID is put into your Control Panel.
One of the greatest things about publishing for Google Adsense revenue is that you can publish something once and earn from it indefinitely. There are techniques you can use to drive traffic to your pages as well and this can enhance the earning opportunities. Do some keyword research and you’ll make even more money because you can research the high paying keywords out there and that can increase your income.
How much can you make on Google Adsense?
The sky is the limit with Google earnings. You do need to be very careful that you follow their publisher guidelines otherwise you can get tossed out of the programme and have to forfeit your earnings. Google doesn’t divulge their earning formula so that they can keep the programme honest.
How do you get paid?
Google Adsense pays publishers monthly. For every month that you reach $100+ USD, you’ll get paid in the following month. You can be paid via a cheque in the mail or through direct bank deposit.)
Success Tips:
Post regularly, check your stats so you can analyze where your money is coming from, be sure to create valuable pages, and do keyword research.
(photo credit: http://www.sxc.hu/profile/owaisk_4u)
Use Free Blogs to Make Money Online
Can you make money with free blogs? You betcha! Here are some ways and blogs that you can use:
A blogspot blog is almost as useful as a blog on your own domain. It’s easily customizable and you can add widgets and monetization tools as well as ads and banners that can make you money through: ad displays, ad networks, paid links, affiliate links, and paid to blog posts. You can even make it look like an online store.
While WordPress.com doesn’t let you put ads, you can use it like a link building tool as well as to showcase your professional services. Many use WordPress.com blogs to direct traffic elsewhere and as an online resume / portfolio
Blog Networks
There are blog networks like Today.com that are free to join and pay you $2.00 per 1000 page views as well as commission on revenue-sharing programs.
A blog like the one at the Inspired Author community lets you monetize your blog individually plus promotes your blog and your articles for you on your main page. This is a great spot for writers and those who want to get paid to write articles.
(Check out this article on why you should blog at Inspired Author)
While starting your own blog is inexpensive and easy (and very effective as a monetization and SEO tool) there’s no reason why you shouldn’t also take advantage of the many free blog platforms and networks that are out there. Making money online is something that can be done by many methods and the more streams of income you can develop, the better you’ll be able to do!
