Whether you’re looking to make money blogging or just doing it for fun, you’ll find that creating a blog can be easy enough to do and master.
Look around and you’ll notice that there are a lot of bloggers right now who are earning a living through blogging. Blogs have been a popular avenue for people who are interested in earning some extra income. They are relatively easy to create, with Google AdSense and other forms of advertising offering a few methods for monetizing your blog. There’s a bit more to it than just setting up a blog of course, but you’ll have to start somewhere.
How To Create A Blog For Fun Or Profit
The first step to setting up your blog is to decide about what subjects you want to write. I always tell folks who are just starting that what you decide to write about makes a difference on how committed you’re going to be about this endeavor. So what excites you? In what areas do you have a lot of knowledge? This could have something to do with your work or hobbies — maybe even your personal life or family. If you’re starting a blog on a more casual level, then pick a subject and write about it. But if you’re approaching this as a business, it can be a whole different story. You’ll probably need to be more strategic about the type of subjects you want to tackle — to see if those topics will “monetize” well (e.g. monetize = translate into some dollars).
Image from sfgate.com
At any rate, if you’re learning the ropes, you’ll want to get your feet wet by trying out blogging software such as those offered by Blogger.com or WordPress.com. These are among several free blogging communities that you can join, if you want to go about blogging without having to fork out any money. Later on, you may think about hosting your own domain, and if you do, you’ll need to deal with a web hosting service (here’s where you can find the best web host). If you decide to go this route, you’ll be paying for your blog’s upkeep, but you’ll also have better control of your blogging environment. Most serious bloggers sign up with cheap web hosting service providers and run their blogs this way.
Write Quality Posts
If you love to write, then this should be easy. It’s probably a good idea to assess what kind of goals you have for your blog. Why are you writing? Who are you writing for? It’ll help you focus on a certain theme and allow you to fine tune the content that you create. You’ll do well if you’re a creative soul. Being unique is also a good thing — it’s best to try to write in a way that makes you stand out. Using pictures, videos and other creative elements can draw your reader’s eye and help make what you have to say (and express) memorable. There’s a lot of freedom here, so don’t be afraid to try things out. See if you can find a “voice” and establish a “vibe” for your blog; developing your blog’s identity can help you develop its brand.
How Do You Monetize?
When you’ve got enough traffic, you could explore the possibility of making some money on the side. A lot of people are surprised that you can actually make a living off of your blog, but it’s very possible! In fact, the proprietor of this blog, The Digerati Life, is a full time blogger and has traded her software career for internet entrepreneurship (you can read more about her story in her About page).
So how can you make money? There are various ways you can do so, but let’s start with the most popular: sign up for Google AdSense. If you’re a Blogger.com blogger, it’s even easier, since your blog is already integrated with Adsense. If you run a WordPress blog, then there are a lot of plug-ins to help you improve the process of incorporating Adsense into your site. The key is to do some research and find out the most optimal way for ads to fit into your site. It may take some trial and error (each blog is different so there’s no “one size fits all” answer here), but hopefully, you’ll find an optimal set up that will earn you some bucks.
Follow Other Blogs
Once you start blogging, I’d recommend that you also think about joining a community of bloggers and try some networking. I would suggest that you check out your online neighbors and read other blogs. Find ones that you are interested in and begin following them. Leaving comments and linking out to other bloggers are great ways to get involved in the blogging community, especially if your goals are to share ideas and disseminate information with others. This is what makes having a blog such a fulfilling experience: it allows you to get to know like-minded people or those who share the same interests that you have. It also affords you opportunities to learn from others.
Change It Up!
Don’t expect to make money right away — certainly not thousands of dollars on your first month, or maybe not even on your first year as a blogger. The key to creating an income stream through blogging is to be consistent. Create blog posts every week. Update your blog monthly. Change the layout or theme every so often. As you continue sharing your unique ideas, you will begin to see more visitors, and hopefully, your ad revenue will increase. Just be persistent and stick with it!
Integrate Other Social Media Strategies With Your Blog
Once you’re able to stick to a consistent blogging schedule, you may consider using some social media channels to help promote your blog. Set up a Facebook and/or Twitter account. These are both great social media outlets you can use to meet other people and to introduce your blog. Many people use social media networking to build their community (or belong to one), as well as to socialize. If you love to network, then you could very well become a success at blogging!
Contributing Writer: Selena
Copyright © 2010 The Digerati Life. All Rights Reserved.
{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
Blogging is definitely fun, but careful about getting addicted! 🙂
Do it for fun, and if money comes great! If not, no big deal, b/c fun is the name of the game.
Yeah, after all these years, it’s still quite a fun ride! I think a lot of it is to do with the people you meet online. There are always new people to meet and get to know. I’ve already made some steadfast friends from the online world (whom I see in person on a regular basis) — this is one of the biggest benefits of being part of a blogging community!
The creative element plus the money are just icing on the cake. 🙂 But yeah, I will admit, it’s pretty sweet icing.
I think money doesn’t really come that easy. But fun — definitely!
Man, I just started blogging about 3 months ago and I am already hooked (almost kind of dangerous because I spend so many hours online now…!)
I love the sense of community that bloggers have. It’s a lot of hard work, but a good payoff to be able to share knowledge and information online through dialogue. =)
I thought about starting a blog (I even bought hosting and designed the site) and then I realized it would be a ton of work for the next foreseeable future – I would be committing to at least 2-3 quality posts a week plus all the micromanaging, updating, security issues, following other blogs, setting up plug-ins, figuring out how to make the best backup etc. etc. etc. It was just too much work for me to take on right now, I know I wouldn’t be motivated to doing the very best job I possibly could.
Perhaps I’m just expecting too much.
Thanks for the great post. I have not yet started my blog but have been planning it (content & such) for about 6 months. I’m completly overwhelmed and feel stuck – unable to take the next step of building my blog. Your post could not have come at a better time!! I came across your site quite by accident and am now going to do some looking around it but from what I’ve seen I think it’s going to be great. Thanks again.
I’m definitely starting a blog for fun. I don’t care if it ever makes money. I’ve learned so much about tech stuff since starting a website last year. This is a good opportunity to share things I’ve learned. My husband may be the only person on my blog, but that’s okay by me 🙂
Great information! I’ve started a personal finance blog about 2 weeks ago and our official launch day is Monday. It has been a learning time trying to figure out the aspects of SEO, advertising and quality writing. I’ve slowly learned the advertising route and have it started (AdSense and Affiliate for now) but still have to work on the proper positioning. The next hurdle is SEO and advertising/marketing the site. I’ve touched on SEO but there is a lot to know and it’s ever-changing. I need to join blog communities and carnivals while really pushing to write some excellent guest posts. Which ways have you found are most successful to drive traffic?
Blogging is a great way to connect, and to share the wisdom you have attained in your years working or in a hobby. It’s a way to give back to the community and teach what you have learned…or to just to give an opinion!
The best way to build traffic? Promote yourself — through links and networking. How do you do that? Sometimes it’s better to give first. What I mean by that is if you link out to other blogs (make sure your setting for pinging other blogs is “on”), then those blogs or sites may notice you and if they’re nice, they’ll link back to you. 🙂 Comment on other sites and you’ll also get noticed or recognized. Sometimes, dropping an email note to introduce yourself to other bloggers may also work (or it could annoy, so be careful): the tone of your message and the approach you take is important.
The traffic building comes with time. That is why it’s very important to be consistent with your site. If you don’t maintain a blogging schedule, then it will be harder for you to gain traction with your blog/site. A blog is one of those things that is quite easy to get into (barriers to entry are extremely low), but hard to maintain: you should get into it because you are committed and enjoy doing it, come hell or high water. If money is your main focus, you may get frustrated pretty easily and abandon the blog before it can take root.
One last thing — blogging today is different from years past. It’s probably harder to build traffic if you start today from scratch than if you did some years ago. It’s also more competitive. So evaluate your goals and see what it is you’re getting out of it. I believe you should do more than just want to make money with it.
In my case, I like to learn new things and be creative. 🙂 I like to read about people’s stories and to connect with others (behind the scenes). Heck, if it were not for blogging in the personal finance space, I would have never heard of the weird practice of “credit card arbitrage”, the various budgeting and debt reduction strategies you can do (snowballing, snowflaking, etc), the difference between FICO scores vs proprietary credit scores, and techniques used in technical analysis (stock trading using strategy, not emotion). I got to learn more about personal finance in ways I could never have if I never wrote about it on a daily basis over the past 3.5 years… 😉
Most people will be unsuccessful blogging for money because they will give up before they reach that level. It takes a ton of work, time and consistency. Good post!
Yesterday, I installed Zen Cart on my Dreamhost installation and will be selling my fiction eBooks through there (with frequent, generous coupons for my regular visitors). I’m also hoping to put some audio version out there, at some point in the near future. (For those folks on Dreamhost, this is a “one click install” – although there is a considerable amount of configuration.)
I’m also planning to implement a “tip jar” for my writers as part of the store … but that will be a very “soft sell”, since I don’t want to strong arm people into giving money.
Personally, I’m never annoyed by introductory emails (although you might hold off suggesting a link exchange until the second or third email 🙂
On the topic of link exchanges, I don’t ask people for them. If I’ve linked to them, I’ll just casually mention it. Sometimes they’ll return the favor, sometimes they don’t – but I subscribe to the “more flies with honey than vinegar” approach and just hope for the best 🙂
There are many free tips and advice on how to optimize blog. However, it is a lot easier to pay someone to do it for you, but if you want to save money, there are plenty of sources out there in the search engines. I would go the free route because in return, you can also learn so much and then teach others to do the same.
Cool! I was just thinking about starting up a blog the other day but just for fun. It’d be nice to have a place to just blog at the end of the day…It’s also great to see what your other friends are up to if they have blogs as well.
Thanks for the information. Blogging is definitely something that every business owner needs to incorporate into their business. Websites are not as effective as blogs are now. You can do so much more with a blog platform: build on your expert status, build feeder sites, build affiliate platforms, and much much more. thanks for your post.
@ Credit Girl – Hey, there’s no time like the present! Jump in.
Nice set of tips there…I’ve been at it almost 4 months and it’s good to see posts with ‘how to get better’ advice. Blogging definitely has a learning curve but I em enjoying the ride and have plans to make some new changes in the near future. Good post.
I wish my site made money =) its just for fun (and to inform people about things I like – mainly tech stuff and the music industry). I am a pro web developer during the day, so I know a fair bit about how to make my site work, I just don’t have anything to sell (unless you count my cd’s, but I couldnt make a living from them).
Adsense is pretty good. you get a few $0.01 for every click, which helps to pay for web hosting if you need it.
I have been blogging for over two years and not making nearly what I thought I would by this time. BUT I will say that’s not the reason I am doing it. I really do enjoy writing and sharing my crazy ideas with people. 😉
Nice set of tips there…I’ve been at it almost 1 month and it’s good to see posts with ‘how to get better’ advice.
I started late last year, but I’m having a ball with it. In many ways I view blogging like english class (now Language Arts?) in high school. Quick, before the period is up, create a story from scratch. If you don’t like such impromptu assignments, then blogging isn’t for you.
In many ways blogging has increased my verbal and written skills too. It also helps me keep my focus on the finance world.
As for making money, not so much…
Thanks for the information. I think Blogging is something that every business owner needs to have in their business. Websites are not as effective as blogs right now.
A blog can either be an extension of an existing business, or a whole new exciting online business in its own right. Best to get in early, before your niche is too saturated and you have to catch up on 5 years worth of content and link building in order to garner some decent search engine rankings.
I personally started making blogs for fun, but its turned into something that I now use to make money with!
I’ve tried a few things over the past year, but it’s still hard to beat AdSense!
I think creating a blog can be fun and at the same time it can generate a very nice passive income. If you have a feeling about the topic you are writing , you will be successful if not, probably you will fail.
When I started making money online I used Social Media. Social Media Marketing
can be very profitable because you can reach an extremely large number of people.
And you do not need to pay for traffic; just use social media and it will help you.
Really good post. Thank you for that.
At university here, students often say that they want to create a blog to get rich. If you ask them how they want to do it or what they want to blog about, they have no clue. You can earn good money with a blog, but everybody has to know that it is real work. Normally, in the beginning, you are working “for free” and it takes a while until you get the first dollars.
But you improve your writing skills, as Money Reasons said before. So I think it´s worth a try.