Obviously, from the title of this post, you have clicked on it because the subject matter is of interest to you perhaps, because you would like to do the same. So, without the fluff, let’s get into it.
Once again, from the title of this post, you are going to need a blog to start. I’m not going to go into all of the details on the mechanics of setting up a blog as there are plenty of resources on the internet which you can search on how to do so. Suffice it to say that you will need the following 3 things to get started:
- A Domain Name – First you will need to buy a domain name for your blog’s name (For example mine, eyzonreviews.com). To purchase your domain name, I recommend Namecheap.
- Hosting – Then, you are going to need a “web host” to host your blog. This is where your blog come to life on the internet. If you will be using WordPress as mentioned in 3 below, then I recommend SiteGround for your hosting because they are specially set up for WordPress hosting, providing security, fast speed, backups and high percentage uptime.
- Your Blog Design – There are several different software’s which you can use to design your blog. The best known is WordPress. Others include Blogger, Wix, Squarespace, Web.com, Site123 and others. You can even use a WYSIWYG HTML5 software to create your blog if you want to be more adventurous. However, I recommend you stick with the most popular, WordPress.
Content
Alrighty then… now that you have your blog up and running, you need CONTENT, but not just any content. You need ORIGINAL content. You need RELEVANT content. You need QUALITY content. So, you need CORQ (<<< look, I just coined a new acronym – imagine that) content. Why? Because Google rewards those bloggers who write CORQ content over those who put up PLR content (PLR stands for Private Label Rights, meaning it is free intellectual property for the public to use) and think they have outsmarted Google.
Understand this, I’m not suggesting that you can’t use PLR but, it must be first, RELEVANT to the subject matter of your post and you need to “dress it up” to make it ORIGINAL as well as make it longer (word count) as most PLR is only 600 – 1,000 words long. Plus by adding some of your own words regarding the subject matter, you are increasing the relevance and making it more original in addition to improving its quality. Does this make sense? (I’m visualizing you nodding your heads).
Now, I mentioned just above about the length (number of words) of your post. A good practice is to write posts which are at least 1,500 words long to 2,000 (give or take 10% on that upper end as most visitors won’t read more than that plus you need to be “efficient” in saying what you need to say in your post). Why? Remember, Google rewards you better for that CORQ and now CORQL (<<< a new coined acronym to include length of your post). You see, one benefit to “length” is that it allows you and Google to place several ads within your post and alongside your post in a sidebar, assuming you set up your page to have a sidebar. We will discuss ads more in the next section regarding monetization of your blog. After all, this post is about blogging for dollars.
Ways to Monetize your Blog
First of all, monetizing your blog requires having something to offer your visitor to purchase – how else will you make money? That “something to offer” can take the form of a product or service, whether yours or someone else’s products or services in addition to just an ad for someone else’s product or service a la Google’s AdSense advertising platform (Read about AdSense here). This is what I refer to as the “basic ways” to monetize your blog as they are pretty straightforward and require little effort.
However, there are also alternative ways to monetize your blog as well requiring additional effort to be done first before utilizing your blog to monetize things.
That being said, the most important thing that you need in order to monetize your blog is traffic. Let’s be honest, in a sea of approximately 1.7 billion websites, this isn’t any “build it and they will come” movie if you get my reference. So, getting eye balls to your blog/website (that’s what your blog is – just another website) is a topic for another post as this post is about blogging for dollars assuming you already have the eyeballs looking at it.
The Basic Ways
As I see it, there are 3 basic ways to monetize your blog; those being your very own storefront either as a part of your blog or linked to your very own storefront’s website from your blog where you write posts regarding the items you sell on your store. This is you self-promoting your store. Drop shippers use this method and you can too. For example, let’s say you became a Mary Kay consultant. You can promote your Mary Kay store on your blog.
The second basic way is Affiliate marketing where you sign up to be an affiliate. In this method you are provided links (text, banner or even rich media) to place on posts within your blog. They can be placed in the body of your post, in the sidebar or both, the choice is yours. They can be relevant to the subject matter of your post or not giving you the flexibility of trying things to see what converts for you.
There are many Affiliate networks where you can join and they are all free to join. Some main ones are Shareasale, CJ Affiliate (formerly Commission Junction), Awin, Amazon Associates, Rakuten Marketing, Clickbank and several others.
The third basic way to monetize your blog is using Google’s AdSense advertising platform. It costs nothing to join. You just need about 10 CORQL posts before you sign up and it’s that easy. When you sign up, you get to choose where ads will be placed on your posts, which type of ads (text, display/image, or rich media) to be placed and Google will do the rest choosing the most relevant and highest paying ads to display on your site. When someone clicks on these ads, YOU make money. NOW, you know the IMPORTANCE of CORQL content (Read about AdSense here).
Alternative ways to Monetize Your Blog
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Consulting and Coaching
This is the easiest method to make money utilizing your blog and is a great option if you are just starting out. That’s the upside of this method – the ease of entry.
The downside of this method is that it is time-consuming, and it is NOT scalable. Additionally, if you are wanting to make money while you sleep, trust me, you won’t be sleeping a lot.
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Sponsored Posts
A sponsored post is when you write a post for a merchant or the merchant creates an article to publish on your blog. You make money from the merchant paying you for publishing it on your blog. Although this is a method to monetize your blog, you need to achieve “influencer” status before you can use this method. Also, you are legally required by the Federal Trade Commission of the US (the FTC) to disclose that you received payment for the article. Nondisclosure puts both you and the merchant at risk of fines. Plus, Google doesn’t like sponsored links back to the merchant, so you have to do some coding to satisfy Google as well. So, I wouldn’t recommend this method as it is too much work for a little pay-out and the Cons outweigh the pros in this case.
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Create a Digital Product
Creating your very own digital product to sell is more profitable than selling someone else’s product via Affiliate marketing because you keep 100% of the money you make from the sale. The nice things about digital products are that you create them once, you have unlimited inventory on your computer from which to fulfill every order and you can market them right from your blog creating a landing page within your blog.
There are mainly three different types of digital products:
- eBooks – can be sold on Amazon Kindle and physical books via Amazon as well
- Courses (text type, video, audio, Power Point video)
- Creating software or apps which is a one-time purchase and download
The downside is that others can duplicate the very same products you created BUT the marketplace is huge. Think about it, how many different kinds of bars of soap are out there in the grocery store as well as online. It’s the same product being sold.
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Create a Physical Product
Basically, you use your blog to market your product the same as 3 above with the exception of having inventory and also needing to ship the product to your customer. A way around that is to use Amazon’s FBA program so you don’t need to store your inventory nor worry about shipping. You just use your blog to take orders and market accordingly.
Another method utilizing physical products is to join an MLM but look for one that does not require you to purchase inventory similar to HB Naturals.
FAQ’s about Blogging for Dollars
Below are some frequently asked questions I hear the most that I will share with you here:
Can and do bloggers make money?
The simple answer to: “Can bloggers make money?” is yes. But the “do” part of that question is ONLY up to you. How committed are you? How patient are you? What are your income goals? Do you want to replace the “rat race” you currently run in?
To give you an idea, it takes some of the smartest, connected and dedicated people anywhere from around 3 – 6 years to make enough money blogging and escape the “rat race” but if you are young, in your twenties starting out part time or perhaps given early retirement in your fifties, what’s 3 – 6 years to be on vacation for the rest of your life? The point is, no matter your age, be patient, be dedicated, treat it as a business and you will reap the rewards.
How much money can you make from blogging?
The truth is, an overwhelming number of bloggers make nothing. That is not to say that there isn’t any money in blogging because there is. Remember the answer to the question above about being patient, dedicated, and treating it as a business, then, if you do so you will reap the rewards. Most bloggers write a post or two, see how much time it takes to do the research on their topic of interest and walk away. But if you stick with it and your content is really good, you learn how to drive traffic to your blog, have good paying offers, you could make millions. Remember, I know you just read the word “millions” but don’t put the cart before the horse – use that word as a goal.
So, just how do you make money blogging?
If you have read down to here then my answer is for you to go back to the top and re-read this post again because you obviously weren’t paying attention. Which is best way for you will depend upon your interests, the content of your blog, the appeal to your audience, your persistence and dedication, your expertise, and your situation (Note: I did not mention ALL of the ways to monetize your blog, so check around the internet and read from others who are far smarter and more experienced than me. What you will find about them is everything I just mentioned).
Are there any other resources I should consider when blogging for dollars?
Here are a few resources you should consider in combination with blogging for dollars as well as in general as these resources don’t actually talk about how to make money blogging, but rather, they offer insights to things you should keep at the forefront of your blogging strategy. Used together with your blogging, they will give you a solid base from which to build your blogging business:
Backlinko — Brian Dean is one of the top experts and educators in the world on SEO but he doesn’t talk much about how to make money blogging, If you’re a blogger newb looking for DIY insights or a seasoned veteran, prepare to be immersed into something wonderful covering complex topics made simple and easy to comprehend.
Neil Patel – Neal Patel is one of the most sought-after people in the SEO/Digital Marketing space and offer tons of free training that anybody, newbie or seasoned pro, can use. In addition, he has many tools available (both free and paid versions) which will help you in every aspect with your blog.
Digital Marketer: — The people over at Digital Marketer are the one of the best in the world at monetizing traffic along with Neil Patel in my opinion. Between the both of them there is no better source to learn about marketing, list building, traffic generation, customer research, keyword research, automation, or funnels, and much more.
Smart Passive Income — Pat Flynn is considered a master at teaching you how to build a passive business that can support you and the lifestyle you want if that is your goal and you’re interested in using your blog to build passive income.
Conclusion
The Bottom Line about Blogging for Dollars – It’s possible to create a nice passive income and create financial freedom for yourself if you treat blogging as a blogging business. You can start it as a side hustle but you must be persistent in your consistency; that is get into a daily routine of writing or find a or several excellent free-lance writers to post to your blog on a regular basis if you have the capital to do so.
Just like any other business and like anything worthwhile, it takes time, effort and dedication to make it into something that can generate passive income for you and allow you to go on perpetual vacation so to speak.
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