Where to Blog: Don’t Put All Your Blogs in the Same Basket

Ever heard the phrase “don’t put all of your eggs in the same basket”? Well the phrase is there for good reason when it comes to the blogging industry. There are too many blogs already on the internet and your blog has to stand out in that one large basket with millions of eggs. So how do you make money off blogging?

Use Multiple Sites

If you are using just one site to host your blog, you are limiting yourself to one opportunity. There are multiple places to host a blog. While some are free, others come with such an affordable rate that any blogger can justify it. For free blogging, look into sites like Blogger.com or Wordpress.com. Pay for blog hosting at sites like GoDaddy.com or BlueHost.com. Check for future posts about where to host your blog with both free and paid sites listed.

Spread Out Ideas

One idea can easily be turned into five ideas if you think about it. A blog about cake decorating for example can be turned into DIY cake decorating, reviews on cake decorating products, cupcake decorating, fondant and gumpaste decorations, and wedding cakes. Take the branched out ideas and turn them into new blogs. So now you have five blogs spanning on the Internet with your one central idea. That is five chances, instead of one, that someone will find your blog out of the millions out there. Just think what you can do if you do that same procedure 10 or 12 times.

Have Multiple Blogs

Multiple blogs on the same topic are also a good idea, especially when you post a few on one site, a few on the other and so on and so forth. Some bloggers will have over 50 blogs, all that centralize around the same genre, but vary just slightly. Use a few free blogging sites to host a few ideas, then move to paid sites for a few more. Slowly build your way up to having multiple sites, because if you dont maintain them all, then there is not point in having them.

Link, Link, Link

No matter how many blogs you have, they all should be able to link back to one another. Links are automatically recognized by search engines like Yahoo, Bing and Google. Therefore, linking on your blog to another blog or multiple blogs won’t go unnoted. Even if your blogs do not all relate, find a way to tie them together or link them out. This will bring page visits to all sites, but also increase traffic and opportunities for visitors to click on pay-per-click ads or perhaps purchase a product from a certain blog. So link, link, link whenever you can find the chance.

Suggested reading for the blogger ready to earn money:

       

Tips for Making Money off Blogging: Affiliate Programs

So you have created a blog, but how do you make money from it? Though you can sell products directly from your blog, this type of passive income takes months if not years to show any results.  Instead, bloggers can make a lucrative blog by just posting advertisements through affiliate programs.

What is an Affiliate Program?
Basically, an affiliate program pays you a commission percentage when people buy a product or visit a website via your blog. Typically programs pay between four and nine percent commission, depending on how much traffic you bring in, how many products you sell, etc.

There are hundreds of thousands of affiliate programs out there, but to be successful with an affiliate and actually make money, you need to use them properly.

Who Reads Your Blog?
Before signing up for an affiliate program, ask yourself a simple question “Who reads this?”. Your audience is the first deciding factor in what type of affiliates to post on your site. For example, if you write about cake decorating, then you want culinary and cake decorating supplies listed on your site, not iPads and computers.

Be Genuine
Do not just promote any and ever product on your site. Instead, be genuine about the links and products you promote. Using the cake decorating example, if you are trying to teach people how to frost a cake, but tell them they need a particular tool, advertise that particular tool. Use a tool that you use or have used and you actually recommend.

Correlate Advertisements
Make sure the advertisements you use correlate with the blog post you are writing about. Do not just post random banners for Amazon or eBay all over your site. This will not only limit the chance of anyone clicking on it, but limit your income.

Strategically Place Your Links
Don’t just put a link at the bottom of the page and assume a reader will click on it. Even the best products need strategic placement. Position your advertisements in a hot spot of the page instead.

Drive Traffic
You won’t make money from your affiliate programs if you do not have traffic coming to your site. The more people that visit your site, the more likely a few of them will actually click on those links. Blogs that only have 100 visitors per day might make some money, but blogs that have over 1,000 visitors per day will really make the money.

Don’t Be Obvious
Do not be obvious about your affiliates or that you are outright trying to make money from your blog. Pushy advertising and sales is what drives people away from your blog. Instead, be subtle, be crafty and most importantly, be smart about how you advertise.

Keep Track
Check monthly reports from your blog and posted affiliates. See what types of links got the most attention and from what posts. Use that data to create more successful post/link combinations on the blog to optimize commission sales.

Check out Savvy Freelancers “Guide to Making a Successful and Lucrative Blog in 30 Days” eBook for tips on how to use affiliate programs, 50 affiliate programs that work and strategies that will make you money before the month is over.