Blogging offers potential source of extra income

Ric Romero, an ABC news columnist and a specialist in consumer culture, believes that some talented online writers might be spending a little too much time on Facebook and MySpace, when they could be making money writing blogs instead. The number of private individuals from all walks of life, as well as companies both big and small, that generate extra revenue through blogging is growing rapidly. Cheryl Phillips, a stay-at-home mother of five young children, never thought that she would be able to top up her monthly income by nearly a thousand dollars when she first started blogging at dailyblonde.com, during the recovery phase of a serious car accident. But Phillips now makes upwards of $800 each month, as the popularity of her blog and its high ranking by Google has drawn in a wide range of advertisers. Jennifer Leal, another mother from the United States, is equally successful with what she at first thought would be a cooking blog geared towards a small, niche audience.

Romero believes that the key to making money with blogs is drawing in readers from other, related sites and then building a dedicate group of core visitors that will keep coming back. As such, a good blogger must also be an avid reader of other blogs, and also someone that leaves regular comments. It is important to remember that each comment you leave is your cyber footprint and one of the best ways to let new readers know about your site. Once you have managed to do this, sign up for a Twitter account and encourage your regular readers to be your “followers.” This way, you can drive your readers towards targeted articles by adding links to your Twitter page whenever you post status updates.

When it comes to generating money through advertisements, Romero suggests a combination of two different services. First, Google’s Adsense usually offers around 5 cents per click, but this alone won’t be enough to generate a noticeable monthly income. But to use this in combination with Amazon’s referral programme, however, is a much more successful approach, as you will receive a share of profits whenever you refer readers to their site.