More and more people are coming to realize the enormous potential of blogging. The search engines love fresh content and since blogs are updated frequently they give the search engines what they want, in return the blogs get a high rank in the search engines which results in a lot of free traffic, everyone wins. If you want to start blogging for profit there are a few basics that you need to keep in mind to get the most out of this potential.
Here are a few points to keep in mind as you set up your online blogging business:
1. There's always varying opinions on what makes the best blog platform, the two top contenders are Wordpress.com and Blogger.com. Most internet marketers I know recommend Wordpress. It doesn't matter too much which one you choose, just find the software that you feel the most comfortable using.
2. Stay away from using the free Wordpress or Blogger services. I know when you're just starting out you might not have a lot of money, but this is not the place you want to cut corners. Why? Because if you use the free services you don't own anything, you have to abide by the terms of service (TOS) of whichever site you are using and these TOS can change often. If you have a profitable site that is getting a lot of traffic and the company updates it's TOS and you're no longer compliant, your blog will be gone. No discussion, no warning, just gone. While that doesn't happen too often it is a risk you shouldn't take. Ok, Ok, I am using this form of comunication with you guys in this instance but I have MANY websites with proper domain names I paid for. However, If you wanna make it to the 7 Figure Income Club, I do not think is possible just by using FREE blogs (just my opinion)
Buying a domain name can be as cheap as $6.50 or less, for that amount you will own that domain for at least one year, you will also have the option of renewing it after the year is over for the same amount. My personal choice that I use is Namecheap as not only they provide you with cheap domain registrations, but they also give you FREE "whois Guard" for a year which gives you privacy (in other words, people looking to identify your name, home address, phone number... etc, won't be able) A hosting account can be as cheap as $9 a month (or free, as I explain in a second). Both of these combined are a very minimal expense but you will actually own something, it's worth the investment.
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3. If you want to monetize your blog so that you can make money there are several ways you can go, two of the most popular are Google Adsense and affiliate marketing. Google Adsense is a system that you can sign up for, it's free, that will place ads on your blog that relate to the topic of your blog. Whenever one of your visitors clicks on an ad you will earn a commission. This isn't going to be a huge revenue stream, but you can make some easy money just doing what you're already doing.
Affiliate marketing is when you promote a product or service on your website with a link to a purchase page. The link has your unique affiliate ID embedded in it so when a purchase is made from that link you will earn a commission. Many marketers believe that combining these two types of income streams is the best way to go.
Blogging for profit is one of the easiest, yet most profitable ways, to start an online business. You can learn the basics in just a few days and be making some money in no time.
Again, let me know your comments! :)
Wednesday, 29 December 2010
What is Blogging?
It's easy to get confused when it comes to the internet, it seems like there is a new fad popping up almost daily. Between Facebook, and Tweeting, it's very easy to feel overwhelmed and while I don't pretend to be an expert about all things internet, I can help answer the question: what is blogging?
Blogs started as online journals, a web log (blog). For the most part it started as a way for people to have their own website online and share their thoughts and expertise with anyone who might be interested. Over the last few years though more and more people have learned that having a blog can also help them make some money online.
There are many places where you can start a blog for free, some of the most popular are Wordpress.com, Blogger.com, Squidoo.com, HubPages.com. If you want to learn more just do a search online. These places will allow you to set up your own blog for no charge.
The actual steps may vary somewhat from one place to another, but here is an overview of the basic steps you will take to set up your own blog:
1. First you will sign up, at that time you will be asked to pick out a name for your blog. It can be anything you want it to be, Cathy's Kittens, or Sally's Sewing, etc. Just pick something that you like and reflects the nature of your blog.
2. Once you've signed up you can pick out the theme you want to use. A theme is just the template for your blog. They come in all types of styles and you can find many of them for free. Just do a search for themes online and you'll see what I mean.
3. Take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the theme and how it works. It's not hard, but you want to be comfortable so you don't miss out on any great options you may have.
4. Start making posts to your blog. Every time you write an article for your blog it's called a post. Most blog themes will allow you to easily upload pictures, videos, and music. They will also have helpful features like spell check.
Once you've got your post looking just the way you want it, you can click on the 'publish' tab and your post will be uploaded to your blog so that all your visitors can read what you've written or look at your pictures.
These are the basic steps you will need to take when starting a blog. The important thing for you to remember is that if you are starting a blog as a business you will want to change out some of these steps:
1. The first thing you will want to do is to figure out what subject your blog is going to be about. This isn't a difficult step but it is a vital one. When it comes to making money online with a blog, half the battle is picking the right niche market. Find a market that has a lot of people who are passionate about it... and who spend money on it, and you're well on your way.
2. When you find a good niche market you can take a keyword related to that market and buy a domain name with that keyword in it. With a business blog you don't want to use the free sites, you will want to buy a domain name and get a hosting account. I know this can sound overwhelming if you are new, but just take it one step at a time, it's not that hard or that expensive. A hosting account and domain name will cost you around $30, maybe a little less (in the next post "blogging for profit", I'll show you how to completely eliminate this and have FREE hosting).
3. At this point the process is basically the same as the above method. You just pick out a theme that reflects the topic of your website and start making posts.
I hope this overview has helped answer the question: what is blogging? Just get started and you'll see how easy and fun it can be.
My next post will deal in more detail in how to PROFIT from blogging...
Blogs started as online journals, a web log (blog). For the most part it started as a way for people to have their own website online and share their thoughts and expertise with anyone who might be interested. Over the last few years though more and more people have learned that having a blog can also help them make some money online.
There are many places where you can start a blog for free, some of the most popular are Wordpress.com, Blogger.com, Squidoo.com, HubPages.com. If you want to learn more just do a search online. These places will allow you to set up your own blog for no charge.
The actual steps may vary somewhat from one place to another, but here is an overview of the basic steps you will take to set up your own blog:
1. First you will sign up, at that time you will be asked to pick out a name for your blog. It can be anything you want it to be, Cathy's Kittens, or Sally's Sewing, etc. Just pick something that you like and reflects the nature of your blog.
2. Once you've signed up you can pick out the theme you want to use. A theme is just the template for your blog. They come in all types of styles and you can find many of them for free. Just do a search for themes online and you'll see what I mean.
3. Take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the theme and how it works. It's not hard, but you want to be comfortable so you don't miss out on any great options you may have.
4. Start making posts to your blog. Every time you write an article for your blog it's called a post. Most blog themes will allow you to easily upload pictures, videos, and music. They will also have helpful features like spell check.
Once you've got your post looking just the way you want it, you can click on the 'publish' tab and your post will be uploaded to your blog so that all your visitors can read what you've written or look at your pictures.
These are the basic steps you will need to take when starting a blog. The important thing for you to remember is that if you are starting a blog as a business you will want to change out some of these steps:
1. The first thing you will want to do is to figure out what subject your blog is going to be about. This isn't a difficult step but it is a vital one. When it comes to making money online with a blog, half the battle is picking the right niche market. Find a market that has a lot of people who are passionate about it... and who spend money on it, and you're well on your way.
2. When you find a good niche market you can take a keyword related to that market and buy a domain name with that keyword in it. With a business blog you don't want to use the free sites, you will want to buy a domain name and get a hosting account. I know this can sound overwhelming if you are new, but just take it one step at a time, it's not that hard or that expensive. A hosting account and domain name will cost you around $30, maybe a little less (in the next post "blogging for profit", I'll show you how to completely eliminate this and have FREE hosting).
3. At this point the process is basically the same as the above method. You just pick out a theme that reflects the topic of your website and start making posts.
I hope this overview has helped answer the question: what is blogging? Just get started and you'll see how easy and fun it can be.
My next post will deal in more detail in how to PROFIT from blogging...
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