The Reality of Blogging for Money

So what is the reality of building up one’s blogging to a point where they can make a full time living blogging?

Here are five facts that I’d like to share about my own story to give a more realistic picture to those considering getting into blogging as a way to make a living.

1. It takes a concerted long term effort
I have been blogging for five years. The first year was not for money in any way (although I learned a lot about blogging in that year) and the next two I worked 2-3 jobs at a time (and was studying part time) while I built my blogging up from a hobby, to part time job to a full time venture (more on my story here).
I’m often asked things like - ‘I need to make $xxxx in the next few months - how would you do it with a new blog?’
The average age of blogs in the Technorati Top 100 was over 3 years when I last surveyed it - while the occasional blogger has a fast rise to frame they are the exception. Building a successful blog takes a long time (it takes time to build readership, to work out how to monetize it etc) so take a long term approach and pace yourself.

2. It takes luck
I won’t speak for other bloggers but in my case I was very fortunate on many fronts. I started blogging at a good time (it was a lot less crowded and competitive back then).
• I stumbled on making money from blogs quite accidentally
• I started my first money making blog on the spur of the moment and picked a topic (digital
• photography) without knowing what I was doing - but for the time it was right)
• I met the right people at the right time
• Bigger bloggers discovered me at opportune times
The lucky list could go on - but I was very lucky. Of course some people ‘make their own luck’ and to some extent I agree with this - there are ways to increase your chances of being lucky - but some of it is outside your hands. Sometimes the luck comes and sometimes it doesn’t.

3. It takes a lot of work
There’s been a lot of talk lately about how blogging less can mean more from your blog. While I agree with this - that doesn’t mean you can just come up with a few posts on a whim every few days and expect the traffic (and money) to come rolling in. Over the last 3 years I’ve consistently worked 40-60+ hour weeks on my blogging. At one point I was posting 20-30 posts per day (mainly news related posts back then). Most bloggers that make a full time living from blogging work corresponding hours on it.

4. Many don’t make much money blogging
I’ve often used the analogy of Professional sports people to highlight that in any ‘game’ there are many who play it - less who make a little money from the game, even less who are able to earn a living from it (just) and just a small group who make big money from it. The same is true for bloggers. I’ve run many polls here at ProBlogger on how much people are earning from the medium and on every single occasion they reveal that the vast majority of bloggers are making very little per month. While it is possible to make amazing money from blogging the sad reality is that most don’t make more than pocket money. Even some blogs who ‘deserve’ to make money blogging don’t.

5. It’s hard
One thing that I’ve found to be common with when I had small/new blogs and now having blogs that are doing reasonably well is that in both instances it can be really hard to keep them going. The pressure to keep coming up with fresh ideas, to respond to critique of others, to deal with jealousy when others do well and more can be difficult to deal with. On some levels it gets easier to deal with as your blog grows - but on other levels the demands that you face from a larger readership can at times be overwhelming. Most bloggers that I know (big and small) have at one point or another been close to giving up - I know I have.


Feeling Depressed?
I don’t want to put a downer on those of you wanting to take your blogs to a level where you could make good money from blogging - the fact is that it is possible and increasing number of people are making a part time or full time living from the medium - but I do think it’s important to have a realistic picture before getting into blogging for money.
While some bloggers do talk about blogging as a way to make quick money I’ve not had that experience myself. Perhaps others do get rich quick from blogging - but I’ve not met any successful bloggers who’ve told me that yet.

Making revenue from blog is as easy as spending it

A person always gets confused on attracting a huge traffic for his page. For this, the page is filled with advertises and banners and everything. You should always keep in mind that, only the content of your page is the key that attracts the traffic. And the presentation of your page acts as a silver spoon for the same.
If your page contains the right content you finish the first step towards success. Now its time to promote your page, you can do so by writing articles for different sites, indexing your page on yahoo, google and many others. Later, when your second job is over you have to take care that you update your page regularly to maintain the traffic attracted. Updating your page and staying in touch with your viewers/readers helps you to be friendly with them, which in return helps you to maintain your traffic.
Try doing this and fill your pockets.

How Can one boost the traffic of his page??

Some tips for my reader friends who are trying their hand in earning through their blog or own web pages.

1. Find relevant blogs and comment on them.But don't spam.
2. Join your niche forums which allow you to put your links in your signature.
3. Socialise with other blogs in your niche.
4. Review a product or service in your niche.If your review is positive and good then the company may link back to you which would give you a boost in traffic as well as in serps.
5. Publish a press release of your blog or site in renowned press directories in that niche.
6. Submit your site/blog to free as well as paid directories to get quality and fast traffic.
7. Bookmark your site at one of the top social bookmarking sites.
8. Submit articles to top article directories.
9. When someone comments on your blog always give them a reply or thank them for giving their time to read your blog.
10.Answer questions on yahoo answers.
11.Join yahoo groups and spread the word out about your blog or site and see yourself raking in traffic.
12.Make as many links to your site as you can.
13.Give away a freebie product at your site or blog like an ebook or a software.
14.Buy reviews for your site on other popular sites in your niche.
15.Produce a good link bait post.
16.Optimize your site for search engines.
17.Guest post on popular sites.
18.Exchange links with other sites in your niche.
19.Buy a bunch of plr articles, change the title customize it and post it on your site.
Lot of good content=lots of good traffic.
20.Get the word out about your site on social community sites like myspace and orkut.
21.Become one of the top commentators on a blog with high audience and also which publishes its highest commentators.
22.Write killer headlines.
23.Purchase advertisements and not links on some popular blogs.
24.Use ppc to get quality traffic to your blog.
25.Don't disappear from your blog for a long time.
26.Focus on your niche not around it.
27.Constantly update your site or blog.
28.If you have a blog submit it to blog directories that you can find.
29.Don't copy the content of the a-listed blogs or sites.
30.Place classified ads on sites like ebay and sulekha.

Ad Tracking Success

It's no secret that there's a lot of money involved
with affiliate marketing. This is only true however,
for those who are serious and hard working on their
affiliate program. The biggest part of succeeding
depends on your perseverance and determination.
Even the best of affiliate programs won't prosper
if you don't build the business on a solid foundation.
Nothing happens if the banners and links you place
on a website just decorates the pages. The affiliate
must convince visitors to click on the banner or link
then proceed to the program to buy products.
Affiliate marketing can be easy if you have planned
your campaign well and have taken the right steps
towards success. Choosing the right product and
designing your website with banners and the right
material are keys to making things happen.
An ad tracker is a software program that will allow
you to trace and monitor every click that is made
by visitors through your referral link. To make
things even better, you know exactly where you
placed the link. You can either use a service
provider or purchase ad tracking software.
With ad trackers, you can monitor the progress
of your campaigns, even advertising offline. If
you have several affiliate accounts, this tool
can be very good to have.
Each and every decision you make should be well
grounded in facts. By using an ad tracker, you'll
be able to generate traffic reports for your
personal sales page. Armed with the proper
knowledge and an ad tracking software program,
you'll have no problems succeeding in the
affiliate marketing world. It can be tough to
get started - although once you start making money
you'll be glad you took the chance!

Few Reasons Why Blogging is the New E-Marketing Tool

Blogging is a concept that started in late 90s. It used to be a way to comment an existing webpage, an opportunity for visitors and readers to react or voice out one’s opinion on the said page. What started as a single-sentence commentary has evolved into pages of personal take on just about anything and everything under the sun. As it continues to move forward, online advertising has tapped into the blog’s potential. Here are 5 reasons why you should use blogging as an Internet marketing tool.
1.Blogging is simple. The simplest way to get your piece on the net is through blogging. No skills are necessary… an average adult can read and type, or at least click a mouse. It’s like having a virtual piece of paper and you just write your ideas, experiences, new products, and hope that the truth behind your articles comes out and entice your reader to also try your product. If you have a PC and an Internet connection (who doesn’t?) then you can blog and advertise.
2. Blogging is authentic. In this day and age where advertising saturate our lives, we question the credibility of promoters’ claims. However, in blogs, real people share their real-life experiences, unscathed by paid advertising. Reading blogs about first-hand product use is like talking to people about their first-hand experience. You definitely want to buy a tried and tested product.
3. Blogging is free. Because blogging is yet to be proven as a mainstream online advertising media, most sites see it as something to augment current marketing tools and thus offer it for free. Any opportunity for free webtime is definitely a bonus especially to businesses that are starting up. Needless to say, paid blog pages can generate more income for your seriously growing business.
4. Blogging builds credibility. As you get more and more into writing your experiences on a particular product or industry, your readers come to realize that they can depend on your posts for their own information needs. As such, you become an expert on it; as a consequence, more readers visit your site and more bloggers link to your blogs. As companies and professional organizations notice the growth of your readership base, they may soon get in touch with you for advertising on your blog page, or make you an affiliate, which pays for every referral generated from your blog site.
5. Blogging builds your market. Unless you are a Hollywood star, chances are, only your Mom reads your posts. Mom has a lot of friends, so she lets her friends know how interesting your blog site is. But you need not depend on Mom to increase your readership base. Look into the following ways to build your market through blogging:
-By using your e-mail. Today, blogging is overcoming the e-mail’s popularity in quickly and effectively reaching and expanding a market. In this age of speed and quick access, logging in and downloading e-mail is simply taking longer than clicking into a blog site. Let them explore your site by using a short e-mail message as teaser to your blog site. If your e-mail is on an entirely different subject, use your e-mail signature to give a link to the site.
-By using subscription. An easy way to get your readers e-mail is to give them an opportunity to subscribe to your blogsite. Keep some exclusive information for your subscribers to entice readers to subscribe and give their e-mail address. Just be responsible in using their e-mail address, as the last thing you want is a comment on your blog that you are a spammer.
-By understanding your readers. Conduct a simple survey for your readers to understand their profile and advertising preferences. Ask consumers to give you feedback on a post, an ad link, or a trial that you shared. In this way, it is like interviewing your readers without the commitment and intrusion of a face-to-face interview.
-By joining a blog network –A network of blogs maybe a collection of blog sites that share the same industry, interest, readership base, payment mode, etc. Consumers find credibility and convenience in clicking one link to several real bloggers about a single subject. Clearly, more bloggers are better than one.
-By using RSS. RSS is the fastest growing technology on the Internet today. As such, having RSS feeds to your blog is definitely another means of generating awareness for your readership base. Having a variety of feeds can add interest to your blog site.
Give your business a boost by effectively using blogging as an Internet marketing tool.

Tata's NANO Innovation

Small Tata Nano attracts really big numbers

For the 200,000 visitors at the Auto Expo 2008 in the Capital on Sunday, Hall Number 11 is invariably the first halt, to see the little Tata Nano that has raised aspirations of millions who now see themselves soon owning a car.
With a snub nose, a sloping roof and just about room for five to squeeze in, the world's cheapest car at the Tata Motors Pavilion at Pragati Maidan in the Capital has got everything which people could possibly ask for in a car at the price of just Rs.100,000 ($2,500).
Nano, according to industry research organisation Crisil, may bring 65 per cent more families into the ambit of those who can now afford a car.
"It is a record for the Auto Expo. On Saturday, it was 160,000 and by 12 pm the figure hit the 180,000-mark just within 2 hours," said Gurpal Singh, deputy director general of industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), one of the organisers of the show.
The pavilion had to be closed for almost 2 hours to control the rush. "The crowd is anything but nano," said a Tata official.
The Indian Trade Promotion Organisation has asked CII to shift one exhibit of the Nano to the Lal Chowk theatre, which will make it easier for the organisers to tackle the crowd.
The Tata team has in fact doubled the temporary staff at their pavilion for the Sunday rush. They have also put up emergency units outside the pavilion.
It's almost the same story at the CII information booths. "The query begins and ends with the Nano," said an executive.
But it is not just Delhiites who are thronging the venue. A huge number of tourists, including many first timers, have changed their tour schedule to catch a glimpse of the Tata car.
"I don't care about the car necessarily but I wanted to take a moment and celebrate the awesomeness that is the word 'lakh'. It means 100,000 and it is what Indians use to express a big number the way we use million," said American Keetsa Mattress who managed to squeeze her way through to crowd to the Nano turntable.
And many like South Korean Jimmy Yep agreed Nano would change the way the world looks at developing countries.
"The Tata Nano is a microcosm and instructive example of the very real growth and poverty problems facing India and China and the reaction of environmentalists who want to restrict their growth in the name of global warming," he said.
The response to Tata's small wonder is mega but its actual test will be once it is out on the roads to be experienced by the common man.
As Tata put it, "The final judgment will be made by the consumer. Let's wait and let them decide."