Monetizing a Blog - Simple Ways to Make Money from Your Blog

Monday, January 23, 2012

10 Ways to Make Money Blogging

Easy Money Makers for Bloggers

If you want to make money blogging, then you'll be happy to hear that it is not that hard to do. Of course, the amount of money you make depends entirely on your ongoing efforts to publish a great blog, grow your audience, and continually test new money making opportunities in order to find the best ways to match your audience's expectations for your blog and your own goals for your blog. With that in mind, check out the 10 fairly easy ways to starting making money from your blogging efforts.

1. Join an Advertising Program

There are many advertising programs available for bloggers to join. One of the most popular online advertising programs and possibly the easiest to set up on your blog isGoogle AdSense, which offers a variety of pay-per-click text, display, and video advertising opportunities for bloggers. With a bit of effort, experimenting, and tweaking you can definitely make some money with Google AdSense.

2. Join an Affiliate Advertising Program

There are many companies that offer programs that enable you to sign up as an affiliate of that company and earn money. Amazon Associates is one of the most popular and easiest affiliate advertising programs for bloggers to use.

3. Join an Affiliate Advertising Network

There are a number of affiliate advertising networks that link online advertisers with publishers (such as bloggers). Commission Junction is one of the most popular affiliate advertising networks.

4. Sell Your Own Ad Space Directly to Advertisers

You can attempt to sell your own ad space directly to advertisers, but unless your blog is established with a sizable audience, it can be difficult to manage and make money selling ad space directly. Fortunately, there are sites like BuySellAds.com that link online publishers (like bloggers) up with online advertisers to make selling your ad space easier.

5. Publish Posts and Reviews for Pay

You can write blog posts on your own blog in exchange for pay, and there are several Web sites that link online publishers (such as bloggers) up with companies and individuals who want their products and services reviewed or discussed online. Just be sure to understandhow to safely publish a paid post or sponsored review on your blog, so you don't negatively affect your blog's traffic.

6. Sell Merchandise

There are a number of Web sites that make it extremely easy for bloggers to create their own online stores where you can sell custom or stock merchandise and make money doing it! CafePress, Zazzle and Printfection are three of the most popular sites for creating your own online store.

7. Become a Professional Blogger

If you write well and can work autonomously, then you could work from home as a professional blogger! Fortunately, there are many sites where you can search for paid blogging jobs. Keep in mind, blogger pay rates can vary drastically, so make sure any opportunity you take matches your long term blogging goals.

8. Join a Blogging Network

There are a number of blog networks that include a number of blogs and bloggers all publishing under a larger brand or company. Many of these blog networks pay bloggers a flat fee per post or word that the blogger writes or the blogger receives a percentage of advertising earnings tied to the number of page views his or her posts generate (some networks even pay both a flat fee and a percentage of advertising revenues). As always, make sure the opportunities you pursue match your long term blogging goals.

9. Ask for Donations

While you're unlikely to make much money from donors, it certainly can't hurt to ask for donations on your blog. It's easy to add a PayPal donate button, and you never know who might be feeling generous!

10. Make Money without Ads

There are a variety of ways that you can make money from your blog without publishing any ads on your blog at all. Don't be afraid to get creative!

Review of the E-junkie Affiliate Advertising Network

Make Money on Your Blog with E-junkie Affiliate Advertising

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E-junkie is an affiliate advertising network that links people and companies who have products and services to sell online with online publishers (like Bloggers) who have ad space to fill. It's an easier program for advertisers of all sizes to join than some other affiliate advertising networks and it's very popular in the blogging community as a blog monetization opportunity.

The Positives of E-junkie

It is free to join E-junkie and to participate in any affiliate advertising opportunity offered through the network. There are many opportunities to advertise products and services from smaller companies, so it's not as difficult to get accepted into individual advertiser programs as it is with some larger affiliate advertising networks such asCommission Junction.

There are many types of companies and products represented through the E-junkie affiliate advertising network, so it's very likely that you'll find products and services that match your blog and your audience. Payments are made in lump sums via PayPal and you can manage all of your programs through your single E-junkie account.

The Negatives of E-junkie

Perhaps the biggest complaint for E-junkie is the fact that the site is not built as cleanly as users would like. It's difficult to search through the affiliate advertisers database to find specific programs.

Also, it's imperative that you carefully read all of the information related to any affiliate program you consider joining because each has its own requirements, payout policies, and so on. Be sure you understand what you're signing up for before you apply to join an affiliate opportunity.

Bottom-line of E-junkie

E-junkie is a great option for bloggers looking for affiliate advertising opportunities that match their blogs and audiences but don't require large amounts of monthly traffic to participate. The site offers a useful help section, too. Be sure to read all of the terms and policies on the E-junkie website, and when you're ready, you can follow the instructions on the E-junkie help page to register.

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Commission Junction Affiliate Advertising Review

Making Money with Commission Junction Affiliate Advertising

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Commission Junction is a popular affiliate advertising network that brings advertisers and online publishers with ad space to sell together. A blogger publisher, also known as an affiliate or reseller, shows ads on their blog in exchange for a commission which is paid when visitors to your blog perform a specific action such as filling out a form, subscribing to a service or making a purchase.

The Positives of Commission Junction

Commission Junction has been around for years, and the company has a reputation as being one of the leading affiliate advertising networks. Commission Junction attracts many well-known advertisers that visitors to your blog will already be familiar with, making it more likely that they'll click on an ad and make a purchase (and that means higher earnings for you).

A great aspect of Commission Junction is that once your application is accepted, advertisers within the network might seek you out to join their individual affiliate programs within the Commission Junction network. One day, you might just get an email inviting you to join an affiliate program through the Commission Junction network, meaning you can bypass the individual program application process and start displaying ads for that program right away!

The Commission Junction Web site is fairly easy to navigate, payments are reliable, and help is available if you need it. Most advertisers in the network offer a variety of ad types such as display ads (various size image ads), text link ads, and more.

The Negatives of Commission Junction

Since Commission Junction attracts a lot of big advertisers, it can be difficult to get accepted into the affiliate program. You have to fill out an application, and if you're accepted, you then have to apply to each advertiser's program individually. That means, even if you can get accepted into the Commission Junction network, you might not be able to get accepted into the individual affiliate programs whose ads you want to display on your blog.

It's also important to take the time to read all of the requirements and payment terms for each individual affiliate program that you join within the Commission Junction network. No two programs are alike, and it's up to you to make sure the payouts and requirements meet your abilities and goals.

Bottom-line of Commission Junction

If your blog is accepted into the Commission Junction affiliate advertising network, it's a great program to join. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the information on the Commission Junction Web site before you apply, and when you're ready, you can fill out theCommission Junction application.

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Review of BuySellAds.com for Blog Advertising

How BuySellAds.com Can Help you Make Money from Your Blog

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If you want to make money from your blog by selling ad space, then BuySellAds.com is a great option. In simplest terms, BuySellAds.com is an online advertising network that brings online publishers (such as bloggers) and online advertisers together, making it easier for those advertisers to find Web sites and blogs best suited for their ads and budgets.

How Does BuySellAds.com Work?

In order to add your blog to the BuySellAds.com publisher directory, you need to register for a free account on the BuySellAds.com Web site. Once you have an account, you can enter the information for your blog into the form provided. BuySellAds.com supplies you with the necessary HTML code to insert into your blog's template in order for ads to display on your blog once space is purchased by advertisers.

After your blog is submitted to BuySellAds.com, it appears in the publisher directory, which advertisers search in order to find the sites where they want to place ads. When an advertiser finds your listing (see an example listing here), BuySellAds.com automatically appends publicly available analytical data to it such as your blog'sAlexa rank, Compete rank, Google page rank, number of RSS subscribers, and more.

Advertisers purchase space on your blog directly through the BuySellAds.com Web site, so you don't have to be involved in accepting payments from individual advertisers. Typically, ads are purchased in 30-day increments for a flat fee, which is set by you. Once your account reaches $50, you can request a cashout and get your earnings.

The Good News about BuySellAds.com for Blog Publishers

There are a number of good points about using BuySellAds.com to sell advertising space on your blog. First, BuySellAds.com does all the work for you once you set up your blog listing in the publisher directory and paste the provided HTML code appropriately into your blog. You can set up your account so that all ads are automatically approved or you can set it up so you have to manually approve ads. This is a great feature as it provides you with as much control as you want in terms of determining the types of ads that appear on your blog. Furthermore, payments occur through the BuySellAds.com interface, so you don't have to handle transaction processing with advertisers.

BuySellAds.com is a great option for smaller blogs that don't get a lot of traffic yet, because the site puts their blog in front of a larger audience of advertisers than those smaller blogs are likely to reach on their own. However, it's important that you set your advertising rate at the appropriate level to be competitive with the other blogs listed on BuySellAds.com that attract a similar advertiser as your blog attracts. Do your research before you create your blog listing in the publisher directory. Find blogs similar to yours and try to price your blog's advertising space well relative to your competitors' prices.

In addition, BuySellAds.com offers flexibility in terms of the type and amount of advertising space you can offer through your listing in the publisher directory. You can offer multiple ad sizes, locations, prices, and more so you can maximize your earning potential.

The Bad News about BuySellAds.com for Blog Publishers

The biggest complaint users have about BuySellAds.com is the fact that BuySellAds.com takes a percentage of your earnings as compensation for offering the technology and services of the site. It's a small price to pay for the exposure the site gives in terms of reaching a wider audience of advertisers than a blogger might be able to reach on his own. However, if you don't want to give up any of your advertising earnings, then BuySellAds.com might not be the best option for you.

Bloggers also complain about the cluttered publisher directory making it difficult for advertisers to find their blogs in searches and once blogs are found, it's hard to stand out from the crowd. The key to getting around these drawbacks is by taking the time to do three things well when you set up your blog's listing in the publisher directory on BuySellAds.com:

Use as many specific keywords as you can to tag your blog's listing in the publisher directory in order to maximize keyword search hits.
Write a great description of your blog in your listing in the publisher directory, including any demographic statistics or information that draws attention to the unique and desirable niche audience that your blog attracts.
Price your ad space competitively as described in "The Good News" section above.

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Review of Kontera Advertising Program

Make Money with Text Link Ads and More with Kontera

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Kontera is a popular monetization option for bloggers thanks to its easy to implement text link advertising program. The argument for and against text link advertising and the benefits and negatives of including Kontera ads on your blog to make money are discussed below, so you can make an educated decision as to whether or not Kontera is right for your blogging goals.

The Positives of Kontera

Kontera offers a popular text link advertising program where ads appear as text links within the existing content of your blog. Typically, Kontera ads appear with double underlines beneath the linked text and when you hover over the ads, a small window opens giving you a preview of the ad. Kontera ads are placed based on the content on your blog, so they're contextually relevant (most of the time), and don't take up any extra space on your blog.

Kontera also offers contextually-relevant display (image ads of different sizes) and video ads. All Kontera ads are based on the pay-per-click payment model, so you get paid a small amount when people click on the ad on your blog.

Kontera is easy to integrate into your blog, takes up no extra space, and delivers content your audience should be interested in since they're contextually-relevant, which means more people should click on the ads, thereby boosting your earnings.

The Negatives of Kontera

The biggest argument against Kontera relates to how Google feels about text link ads. Google's search ranking algorithm penalizes sites that are caught publishing text link ads, because part of Google's ranking system relies on the number of incoming links to a page. The theory is that pages with a lot of incoming links must include great information or no one would link to them. Text link ads artificially inflate the popularity of the page that those links go to. Both the site that publishes paid text links and the site that the link goes to could be punished by Google if they're caught, meaning that both sites' search rankings could be lowered or they could be removed from Google search results entirely. If you want to grow your blog with search engine traffic, then you might want to avoid publishing text link ads.

A second negative is the intrusiveness of the window that opens over your blog's content when a visitor hovers their mouse over a Kontera link within your text. That little window can be annoying!

Bottom-line of Kontera

The final decision of whether or not you place Kontera ads on your blog depends on your blogging goals -- at least where text link ads are concerned. While Kontera is a great way to make money with little effort, it's not right for every blogger. Weigh the opportunity to make money with the opportunity to get traffic to your blog from search engines to determine whether or not Kontera is right for your blog.

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Reviews of Ways to Make Money Online with a Blog

Now that you know a bunch of different ways to make money online with a blog, check out my reviews of many of these options to learn the good and bad:

Add a PayPal Donation Button to Your Blog

Learn the Benefits of Adding a PayPal Donation Button to Your Blog

As you spend time visiting other blogs, you'll probably notice dontation buttons on many blogs. Some may be obvious and say "Donate" while others could be a simple linked line of text that says, "Buy me a cup of coffee".

While the words and appearance may vary, the purpose is the same. In each case, the blogger is asking people who read and enjoy the blog to donate some money to help keep the blog going.

You can easily set up a donation button through PayPal. Just sign up for a PayPal account and follow the simple instructions on the PayPal Donations web pages to obtain the code that will link to your PayPal account. Next, you'll simply copy and paste the code into your blog (most people do this in an easy way by putting it on the blog's sidebar so it appears on as many pages as possible).

Once the code is inserted in your blog, the donation button will appear automatically. When a reader clicks on the donation button on your blog, they'll be taken to your personal PayPal donation page. Whatever money they donate, will be deposited directly into the bank account you chose during your set up process through PayPal.

It's important to understand that a donation button is not likely to bring much revenue, but it's simple enough to add to your blog that it's worth the few minutes of effort it takes to get it up and running.