1. Create a Web-log (Blog)
According to Technorati's 2008 State of the Blogosphere report, there are over 94.1 million blog readers in the United States alone. That's 50% of all internet users! (eMarketer - May 2008) Blogs are a "global phenomenon that has hit the mainstream," in fact, 4 out of the Top 10 Entertainment sites are blogs.
The Blogosphere, an intricate community of blogs, is an incredibly profitable venue for entrepreneurs and business people everywhere, with endless opportunities for advertising and promotion. With the arrival of many blog publishing systems, it has become very easy for internet users to create their own blog. These publishing systems include WordPress, Blogger, Squarespace and Mephisto.
Making money off of blogs has become very easy and simple as well - most blogs generate revenue from Ad Clicks. Most blog publishing systems support Google AdSense. Google AdSense puts ads on your page, and everytime somebody clicks them, your blog will receive some money. Advertisements are almost always based on your page's content, and the quality of the ads (High paying vs. Low paying) is influenced by your content and usually determined by your blog's traffic levels. For example, a blog with more frequent visitors will have more expensive ads.
Signing up for Google AdSense is simple and free. So long as you have your own blog/webspace, you can apply for a Google AdSense affiliation. More information regarding Google AdSense can be located on their page, which you can access here. A major reason why blogging is so profitable is because it doesn't cost you anything besides your time and effort.
Technorati's 2008 State of the Blogosphere surveyed and reported Blog earnings.
| What is your annual estimated revenue from advertising on your blog? | Annual revenue from blog (US$) | ||
| MEAN annual revenue | MEDIAN annual revenue | MAXIMUM annual revenue | |
| U.S. bloggers with advertising | $5,060 | $200 | $350,000 |
| European bloggers with advertising | 9,040 | 200 | 324,000 |
| Asian bloggers with advertising | 7,440 | 120 | 250,000 |
For more, click here.
Your Odds of Making Money - 1:4
According to Technorati, one in four bloggers use advertising on their blogs. Basically, as long as you sign up for advertising programs (Google AdSense, Yahoo! Publisher) you will make money. The amount of money earned really depends on your traffic, which is up to you to generate. There are a multitude of good websites dedicated to helping you increase your traffic.
Here are the ones that I found most informative.
One crucial element of generating traffic is exposure. Exposure through blog listings, pings, blog catalogs and emailing lists can bring in crowds, thus increasing your chances at ad-clicks!
Here are some really good sources that you can use to push your blog out there.
- Wikipedia (Learn what "pinging" is) - Article
- ProBlogger's explanation of RSS Feeds
- Pingomatic.com
- BlogCatalog.com
- Digg.com
Some Great Examples
These blogs here are truly excellent. Well, not that I like Perez Hilton or anything, but because these blogs have utilized tools and have gained lots and lots of exposure, thus increasing traffic levels and increasing their ad-click-through rate.Some other great blogs are:
Problogger.net
Goodvibeblog.com
Thinkingoflaughing.com
BarackObama.com
Want your added to this list? Just e-mail me and we can get it done. :)
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