“How can you squander even one more day not taking advantage of the greatest shifts of our generation? How dare you settle for less when the world has made it so easy for you to be remarkable?”
This was the quote that inspired me to look beyond my cubicle as a means of financial security and tap into my passion and ability to create something on my own. To create my own means of financial security so I do not have to depend upon others who may not have my best interest in mind. I knew deep down that I was not put on this earth to spend the next 30 years of my life sitting in a cubicle. I wanted more for my life and decided to make a change.
To make a long story short, I began exploring the world of blogging in my spare time and I now do it full time; loving every minute of it! You see, the internet has truly provided the individual with an enormous opportunity to be remarkable. To pursue dreams and opportunities that were not viable options just a few years ago.
As I continued to learn more about the internet and blogging, I began to see just how the individual can harness their powers and generate a legitimate source of income. I began to see just how much the playing field is being leveled in terms of how the “small folks” can now compete against “the big businesses.”
The Internet is still a relative Frontier and the avenues for individuals to generate real income are continually opening. Below, I have listed three common ways bloggers monetize their blogs. Keep in mind these are just a few ways to make money blogging.
1. Contextual Advertising
Contextual advertising programs create advertisements based upon a site’s content. Le’s say you have a blog about baseball and you just added a contextual advertising program. The type of ads generated might be from companies selling baseball cards, sports memorabilia, or baseball equipment. When one of your readers clicks on one of those ads, you will get paid a small commission.
Why do you get paid?
Well, when one of your readers clicked on an advertisement and went to another site, you essentially drove potential business to that site, which companies are willing to pay for.
Google Adsense was the first major contextual advertising program available to bloggers and website owners, and is the most widely used platform today. I can almost guarantee that most Internet users have, at some point, either seen these ads or clicked on one of them.
Another contextual advertising company that is gaining respect in the blogging community is Chitika, which actually works in conjunction with Google Adsense. I use both programs on many of my blogs and I highly recommend that anyone who is interested in monetizing their blog to use both advertising programs.
2. Affiliate Marketing
Amazon was the first major online merchant to offer an affiliate program. Affiliate programs are essentially setup so bloggers and website owners can advertise other merchants products/services and earn a commission at the time of sale. One of the earliest examples of this came in the form of banners being placed on websites.
For example;
This time let’s say that your blog is about Paris. Thousands of people search for information on all kinds of topics on Paris every day – “Eiffel Tower” or “Louvre Museum” or “Arc de Triomphe”… etc., etc.
Ideally, when they find your blog and read your content, they will enjoy it, become a loyal reader and now be more trusting of your recommendations and advertisements.
When they click your link to go to Travelocity.com to book a cheap flight; you get paid a commission. Then they click your link to AllHotels.com and book a hotel room and you receive another commission. Finally, they click your link to Amazon.com to buy a book on French wine and yes, you get paid yet another commission!
Some of the more widely used affiliate programs include:
3. Sponsorship
Another way bloggers are making money is by selling their own advertisement space. The successful bloggers target advertisers in their niche that have products and services that are in-line with the theme of their blogs. Many of these bloggers are offering various forms of advertising including; banner ads, text links, buttons, and more.
To further illustrate, think Superbowl. More specifically, think about the advertising bananza that has engulfed football’s biggest event. Advertisers are willing to pay big bucks to get an ad spot during the game. Why? Because they know millions of people are going to potentially see their ad; thus potentially attracting new business. Sponsorship advertising on blogs works the same way. Online merchants are willing to pay bloggers to advertise on their blogs with the idea that some of that traffic will migrate to their site via their advertisements. Keep in mind the more traffic you have going to your blog, the more companies will be willing to pay for ad space.
These are just a few ways to make money blogging. As more businesses flock to the Internet, the opportunities to make a living blogging will be more widely seized upon by those who are tired of the usual grind of their 9 to 5 jobs.
I strongly encourage anyone who is interested in either starting a home-based business or simply wanting to make some extra money, to look into blogging. It is relatively cheap and easy to start and it can be fun, fullfilling and financially lucrative. Go for it!
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