Are You Blogging For Fun Or To Make Money On The Web?

Many people think that blogging is fun and very easy and that you can make money on the web without much effort.

You may have read some eBooks where they tell you that all you have to do to make money online is to start blogging, add some AdSense code and promote some affiliate products in your posts and you will make money.

While it may appear like that when you look at some successful bloggers, let me tell you it doesn’t work quite like that. Most successful bloggers have put in some serious work to get their blogs making money for them.

Many blogs are started with great intentions but a lot are abandoned after a few months as the bloggers are finding that making money on the internet is tougher than they first thought.

Some bloggers start blogging for a hobby but are lucky enough to be able to turn it into a money making project when they find out they are getting a loyal following of fans.

Here are some key steps to making money on the web with your blog.

1. Something for nothing

We all like something for nothing don’t we? In this case it’s not quite for nothing. You offer  something like a free report or eBook  on your blog in exchange for your visitor’s email address. There are several reasons for this.

Once you have them on your subscriber list you can send them an email  to let them know that you have made a new blog post. You keep them coming back for more.

It’s an ideal way to start creating a relationship with them. You can do this by sending them some valuable free information that will help them with their online business.

By doing this you build up trust and are more likely to be able to make some sales by slipping in an affiliate promotion from time to time.  If you decide at some stage to create your own product then you have a ready made audience.

2. Give them a Feast

People searching the internet are hungry. They are hungry for information. Don’t just give them a snack give them a feast!

Write great, original content.  Google just loves original content.  If you get stuck for ideas of what to write about just visit some other popular blogs in your niche and see what they are blogging about.

You can also pick up some great tips from them if you study them closely.  It’s great to get ideas from other articles but you have to make it your own.

By blogging regularly, your blog gets indexed by the search engines which in turn brings traffic. The more traffic you get the more people will sign up to your list or buy the products you are promoting.

Amazingly enough coach Alex admits that he has never blogged regularly but there are always going to be exceptions to the rule. Once a month is more his style! But then Alex has got to where he is now by being Alex.

You can learn more tricks about the right way to make money on the web in his free training webinar replay. Just click on the Easy Cash Webinar banner at the top right of this blog.

3. Keywords are king

It is important that you use your keywords in your blog titles and posts and preferably in the first paragraph.  By adding keywords and phrases that relate to your niche to your blog posts, you increase your site’s ranking on search engines. This again will help to bring traffic to it.

If you’re using a SEO plugin, you can set a different page title than that of your blog post.

Also edit the post slug (permalink) so that it contains the most important keyword and try to keep it as short as possible.

4. Advertise

There are a number of ways to advertise on  your blog.   Adding AdSense or Yahoo ads is one way. You simply sign up for a free account with Google AdSense or Yahoo publisher and add some code to your blog.  When visitors click on an ad you earn money.

Some people set up many blogs to make money on the web purely through AdSense though these are often automatic blogs that pull in content automatically.

There is some debate about adding AdSense to your blog because you want visitors to stay and read what you have to say. If they see an ad that catches their eye they will be off in a flash and you have lost them before they have had a chance to sign up to your list.

On the other hand many successful bloggers make all their money from ads. So think carefully about how you intend to make money with your blog.

Another way to advertise is to add a banner for an affiliate product. The banner is linked with your affiliate code so if the visitor buys the product then you make a commission on the sale.

5. Be bossy

To get your visitors to act you have to tell them what to do. This is often referred to as a call to action. Most readers are just that –  readers. If you want them to take some action like sign up to your list you have to tell them to do it and how.

One good call to action is to ask a question at the end of your post and ask them to leave their answer in the comment box. Having a lot of comments on your blog helps to make it look busy. Busy blogs get more traffic. More traffic means the chance to make more money.

By following these guidelines you will be off to a good start. You can find out more ways to make money on the web with coach Alex’s Easy Cash Webinar.
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