Earning Money with your Blog - Part 2

Another way to make money through your blog is to integrate affiliate marketing links. You can do this within individuals posts, or you can make them more permanent by adding them to your side bar. When readers click on the links and purchase the products, you will earn a small commission from the company.

Affiliate links work best if you are reviewing a product or a book and recommending it to your readers. Once you have offered your opinion on the features and benefits of a product, or explained how you have used the concepts in a book to build your own business or become more productive, your readers will likely be interested in checking it out for themselves. Providing the link to the product or book is convenient for your readers, and marketers appreciate the referral, so they are willing to pay a commission for any purchases made through your link.

With most affiliate links, you have complete control over which products you advertise. This is important because, as stated in our last blog, the items that you advertise on your site can reflect your values, priorities, and ethics. Once again, it's important to think ahead and understand how your readers will interpret your marketing techniques and view your business. That's why we recommend choosing items that you are familiar with and have actually used to develop your business.

Companys operate their affiliate programs differently, so you'll have to read the fine print to find out if there are restrictions on how to use the links. If you're interested in affiliate programs but not sure where to look, investigate your vendors. Where do you purchase the supplies you need to run your business? They may have programs that match your needs. Here are a few for consideration:

Amazon.com
Audible.com (audio books)
RingCentral.com (phone service)
GoDaddy.com
Office Depot
Alerts Made Easy (our very our broadcast messaging service)

Earning Money with your Blog - Part 1

Blogging is a great way to drive traffic to your business Web site and it really does boost your search engine rankings if you post regularly. However, the return on your investment into the time it takes to write posts may seem elusive. That is, you have a hard time pinpointing exactly how your blog is making you any money. Indirectly, you are because you driving potential clients to your site and building customer relationships and loyalty. However, if you want to get a little more out of your blog, it is possible to make money directly from your blog.

For example, you can sell advertising space on your blog. Here are two ways to do this:

• Approach potential advertisers and submit a proposal. You will need specific stats to show the popularity of your blog, and you'll need to match advertisers with the needs of your blog's target market. This process could take some time, but once you find a few good matches, it will be mutually beneficial for both you and your advertisers.
• Use Google AdSense. AdSense will allow you to choose categories that relate to your blog content so that the ads will fit your target market. It's a free service, but you don't much have control over which ads appear on your site.

One thing to consider - how will your readers react to advertising? Consider your target market and the reasons they are reading your blog. Will they be turned off by seeing ads on your site? Will the ads reflect your business values and opinions? You'll want to ensure that the ads displayed are not promoting a product or concept that conflicts with your business image. Although Google Adsense is an easy way to post ads on your blog, working directly with advertisers is the only way to guarantee ad content.

What do you think? Do you advertise on your blog, and if so, how do you accomplish this? We'd appreciate your input!

If ads don't seem like the right thing for your blog, we'll have more money-making suggestions in the next few days.

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Thanks for your help!

Who Are You and Why Are You Blogging?

Blogs are a great way to create publicity for your self and your business, so it's very important to fully develop your "About Me" page associated with your blog. Readers will look here first to get a more complete picture of who you are, why you are blogging, what you have for credentials. This is also where readers will look to find your contact information if they have questions or want to discuss networking opportunities.

Your "About Me" is your chance to build a relationship with your readers by helping them understand why they should trust you and value your advice. Be sure to show your passion and excitement for your blog topic. Here are some things to include on this page:

• A short biography to help readers learn more about you
• A description of your business
• A short explanation about why you blog, or why you love your topic
• Your education credentials and experience
• Links to your other Web sites, blogs, or articles that you have written
• Links to other blogs that you frequently read
• A picture of yourself, so readers can connect your name with your face

Make sure that your "About Me" page is easy to find with a prominent link available on both your home page and the other pages of your blog.

Using Social Media to Promote Your Blog

Social media is all the rage, and if you're not already using it in some capacity to promote your business, you should seriously consider it. But even if you aren't ready to join the ranks of MySpace, Facebook, or Linked In, you can still promote your blog, and your business, through social networking.

If you do have a social networking profile, you should definitely add your blog link to that profile. Your recent posts can appear in your profile, which gives you free exposure to an automatic audience. Many of the connections you've already made will be curious and interested in what you have to say.

If you aren't interested in establishing these profiles just yet, then focus on social bookmarks. These are sites like Digg, Delicious, and StumbleUpon. These are places that allow people to indicate their favorite Web sites, blogs, videos, and other media. After submitting your entry, others can view it and voit on it as well. The more popular your entry, the higher your rating and the more likely it is to be seen by lots of people!

Another option is to start "tweeting" with Twitter. Also known as "microblogging", this is a service that allows you to send short updates about what you are doing or what's on your mind. Or, maybe you're looking for feedback on a blog. You can send a note requesting that your followers check it out and get back to you with their opinions. Twitter is a very powerful social networking tool if you know how to implement it as such, so we'll focus on its potential in future blogs. Stay tuned!

And last but not least, definitely register your blog with blog directories such as Technorati, Blog Catalog, Best of the Web Blog Search, or Blogged.com. It may be a little time consuming, but search for "blog directories" and you'll find some of the most popular. Spend some time each day submitting your blog URL so those who are looking for you and your topics can find you.

What's RSS?

You've seen the little orange and white icon before, but not everyone understands how to use it or what it can do for them. RSS stands for "Real Simple Syndication." It essentially allows you to subscribe to a "feed" and receive updates through a feed reader. So, if you have a blog you love to read, you can click on this button to configure automatic updates so you don't have to go to the blog site each time.

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Feed readers are easy to come by these days. They can be based online, on your desktop, in e-mail clients such as MS Outlook, and even on mobile phones. Do a quick search for "feed reader" via any search engine and you can take your pick. Popular ones include Google Reader, RSS Feed Reader, NewsGator, and Bloglines. Here are a few more suggestions for Windows and for MACs.

Once you have a feed reader established, you can easily add sites and blogs that feature the RSS icon. Obviously, you should activate this feature on your blog as well. This makes it super easy for your readers to keep up with your entries, and they'll be more likely to particpate by adding comments or links to your blog.

It's also a great way to monitor what's going on in your industry and other areas of interest. By reading, or at least browsing, other blogs each day, you can find new topics of interest to blog about yourself.

Wooing the Search Engines

Blogs are a great way to generate traffic to you site and interest in your business. Search engines love blogs because, if you consistently post, the content is new and fresh. And by taking a few quick extra steps each time you add an entry, chances are good that the search engines will reward your efforts by helping you get noticed by potential customers. There are a few ways to optimize your blog to make it more search-engine friendly:

• Make sure the popular search engines know you exist. Register your blog's URL with Google, Yahoo!, Technorati, and MSN Live and other search engines so they know where to find you.
• Optimize your writing with relevant key words. While you don't want to over use them, you need to include words and phrases that people commonly use to search for your services or business.
• Use images and add labels or titles as you use them. While they can add visual appeal to your blog, they can also be used by the search engines. For example, when people search for an image using Google or Yahoo's Image Search, your image may fit the search criteria and lead them to your blog.
• Tag or label your posts. Most blog providers have spots to add these keywords, and they are just another way to attract search engines.
• Use links in your blog, and use them often. When you link to articles by other bloggers, they notice, which can help you get noticed. They might add a comment to your blog or mention you a future post. Search engines like to see genuine link reciprocity, as it helps demonstrate the popularity of your blog, which can lead to higher rankings.
• Maintain your blogroll. If you read and enjoy other blogs, add them to your blog roll. Again, it's another way to encourage reciprocal links from other bloggers.