Blogging can be more than a hobby...

In a recent survey by blog search engine, Technorati, 64% of respondents claimed that they blog for fun and don’t earn an income from it. But if you’re dedicating a large chunk of your spare time to your blog, it’s not unreasonable to contemplate earning some cash for your efforts. So how do you go about it?

The Blog Basics

If you want the pennies to pour in, then driving traffic to your blog is the first crucial step. There’s lots of ways to do this but the most important thing you can do as a blogger is make sure that you write relevant content and post as frequently as possible. You should also give your blog some focus. If your blog is too general, you’ll struggle to build up a loyal readership as visitors simply won’t know what you or your blog are about and won’t come back!

Link your blog to your Twitter feed so that every time you add a new post, it automatically pops up as a tweet with a url to your site. Be sociable when you’re online and contribute to discussions – try to leave comments on other blogs that fall within the same niche as yours and it’s likely that they will link back to your blog in the future, and in turn, drive new users to the site.

Submit your blog to directories like Technorati and get clued up on Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) – this means thinking about the words you use in your headlines and throughout the blog post itself. You need to use keywords wisely to get your blog picked up – and ranking high – in search engines’ results.

Making Money

Now that you’ve got a steady flow of traffic, it’s time to explore your money-making options! Pay Per Click advertising is a popular method – sign up with a service like Google AdSense which provides contextual ads based on the content of your blog. You’ll then earn from valid clicks from your site.

Affiliate programmes, like those offered through Commission Junction or Amazon Associates, are also worth a look. The process is simple – you display an advertiser’s ad, text link or product link on your site and if a visitor to your blog then follows through on buying an item, completing a form or subscribing to a service (whatever it is the advertiser is after) you’ll get paid a commission.

Do it yourself! Take control and sell advertising space yourself. This is a good option if your blog falls within a specific niche, for example if you blog about fashion, think about contacting boutiques or designers keen to get their brand out there. Try to display adverts that complement your content though and that would be of interest to your readers.

How about some blog merchandise?

What’s Next?

If you’ve got an avid following, then a spot of self-merchandising could do the trick. Branding up items like mugs, magnets or iPad cases with your blog’s logo or strap line could generate some money – take a look at website Cafe Press to get started.

Go offline. No, we don’t mean abandon your blog, but use it to land writing gigs for publications of the shiny paper kind. If you’ve established yourself as something of an expert within your field, then exploit this as much as you can and get paid for sharing your comments! It’s also another way of promoting your blog to a whole new audience.

These are just a few ideas on how to get started – if you want to find out more about monetising your blog, take a look at ProBlogger and Flowtown – both sites are brimming with handy tips and advice. And remember, bloggers who make a living entirely from their blog are in the minority but by adopting one – or a combination – of the above, you can potentially pick up some extra cash that might help pay for your next pair of Jimmy Choos! And whatever you do, don’t let advertising take over your blog – readers visit your site to read your posts, not to be bombarded by ads!