Blogging is the new money-maker of today’s online world. The definition of a blog is simply an online weblog of a course of events. However, recent blogs have been changing perspectives from simple journals to money-making article machines. The trouble is getting to the top of the already successful blogs, and taking a piece of the pie for yourself. In this easy guide, we will review how to successfully obtain, own, and manage your own blog in a matter of a few steps.
Firstly, you will need to buy or obtain a free webspace. There are free blog-hosting companies that will give you space for a blog- but it will most likely have ads on it, that you won’t receive money for. However, you can also register your own domain name and buy hosting for a low price. This all depends on your startup budget. There is nothing wrong with getting a free blog host, but you will have more functionality and options by running a blog on your own domain. Free blog hosts also offer you to host your own ads, so you can still make a good sum of money with free hosts.
Secondly, you will want to think of the name of your blog. Blog names should be unique, and should accurately describe what you are writing about. (Whether it be games, movies, or outdoor life) If you are choosing a free blog host, your URL will be in the format of “YourblogName.YourBlogHost.com”, whereas your own domain and hosting would give you “YourBlogName.com.” Obviously, having your own domain will reduce the URL size, and thus, let your visitors remember your site more accurately.
Thirdly, and most importantly, you will have to write good articles. If you can not write good articles, it is absolutely imperative that you find someone who can. A good blog will only be successful with great content. The better the content, the better the revenue. Generally, it is normal to write 300-500 words per article and include some pictures to spice up your blog. A good rule to follow is that you should post all links at the bottom of your post. This will keep the visitor reading your article until they reach the end, increasing the amount of time spent on your blog. Since you are putting these links away from the content it pertains to, you will have to label the URL links descriptively.
Next, you will want to pick an ad program. The most common is Google’s Adsense. You can also try ad programs such as Yahoo!’s, Bidvertiser’s, or Clicksor’s. These companies will place ads on your blog and pay you for each click you get. You can expect to get anywhere from a few pennies to a few dollars per click. (Some, interestingly, bring $50 a click. These are very rare.) Some, like yahoo, are only open to U.S. citizens, and you can only get access to its ad program through an invite. Bidvertiser and Clicksor both are underdogs of the industry, offering generally lower pay per click.
Without recognition and a good fan base, your blog is worth nothing. When you are done writing great articles and applying for your ad program, and only after, it is time to market! There are many article directories in which you can submit your writings, and in return, you may get massive amounts of traffic if it is popular and well-written. You may also want to submit your site to blog directories, and ask blogs that are similar to yours for a link exchange to help speed the marketing process.
With enough work, anyone can start earning good money in about a month’s time. Once you have all of these steps complete, you should continue submitting articles to your blog that are worthy of recognition, and don’t forget to market them afterwards!
Links:
Free blogs:
www.blogger.com
www.wordpress.com
www.blogster.com
www.blogspot.com
Buy Domain/Hosting:
Registrar – www.namecheap.com
Recommended Host –
http://www.startlogic.com
Ad Programs:
www.google.com/adsense
www.publisher.yahoo.com
www.bidvertiser.com
www.clicksor.com
Blog directory:
www.blogorama.com
www.blogdirs.com
