Saturday, November 29, 2008

Blogging As a Home Business

For many people, times are tougher than ever and money is tight. Finding a way to earn extra money, without sacrificing time with family, might seem like an impossible task, but there are several ways to make money, without ever leaving home. One of the easiest ways to earn cash, right from your own home computer, is by blogging.

When most people think of blogging, their thoughts turn to online journals, where users chronicle their lives, but as blogging has evolved, this platform has created moneymaking opportunities for those with just a little bit of know-how. There are several different ways to use a blog to make money, as long as you have a topic that creates interest and draws in readers.

Affiliate Marketing

Earning money through affiliate marketing is one of the most popular was to use a blog to create income. You find products that your readers would be interested in or likely to buy, then become an affiliate of the company, earning a commission on each individual sale that is initiated through your blog. With most of these programs, there is no start up cost involved. The only work that needs to be done on your part is to bring in people who would purchase the products that you are promoting.

Selling Ad Space

Another way to make money through your blog is by selling ad space to companies. If you have created an audience or the potential for an audience, advertisers will pay to be featured on your site.
In some cases, they may approach you, but if they aren’t, don’t let that stop you. There are other ways to find companies to advertise on your blog. You can try a sales approach of your own, going to companies that might be interested and pitching your blog to them.

Contextual Ads

Contextual Ads, such as Google Adsense, allows a blogger to earn money from the content on their site. Signing up for the programs is free. When you do so, you will receive a bit of HTML code to place on your site. This allows the program to “read’ the content on your blog and it will automatically place relevant ads on your blog.

For example, if you have a blog about motorcycles, you will be most likely to have ads displayed for motorcycle parts and accessories. If one of your readers clicks on the ad, you will earn a small commission. It doesn’t matter if the person buys anything – you get paid just for the click. In some cases, you may also be paid by the number of times the ad is seen, whether or not anyone clicked on the ad.

Many people earn full time incomes through their blogs. It doesn’t happen overnight, and it will take a lot of hard work on your part, but blogging can be a viable home business option.

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