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Blogging, or self-publishing is an easy way to earn a great deal of money online so is it something everybody can do?

Blogging

The easy answer to this my question is no. Blogging isn’t something everybody can do, let alone something the average person can do to make a living. Before I hear a ton of complaints from people, let me be frank most people fail at blogging, but why? Let’s look at the skills needed and we’ll discover why.

Technical Skills

Blogging involves a certain level of technical knowledge but the truth is, this can be easily overcome with some basic reading and/or hiring a consultant to help get you over the initial stumbling block. If you think about it then, almost anybody (certainly an average person) can overcome the technical points:

• Set up a hosting account with Bluehost
• Get a free domain name with Bluehost
• Click a button, install a blogging package for free with Bluehost
• Pick a template, install plugins and start blogging with WordPress
• So the reason the average person will fail at blogging is not technical.

Subject Matter

If failure isn’t related to technical limits, it could be subject matter except for people who are successful at blogging will tell you that picking a subject is actually insanely easy once you stop thinking so hard about it. The trick is simple, pick a subject that you know about (ie cooking, marketing, cars, fishing) and that some of the other 1,966,514,816 internet users (estimated) will also like. The funny thing is, that if you have an interest the chances are that others will have that interest as well.

I, for example, I have a passion for brewing apple cider. Not the sweet stuff you drink on a cold fall day but the hard stuff your grandfather brewed in the barn. It’s sweet and delicious but would it make a good blog? According to Google AdWords, 1.5 million people searched for the subject in November that’s a pretty good market size.

So the reason the average person will fail at blogging is not finding a subject.

Writing Skills

It’s got to be said then that logically, if not technical or subject the only reason to fail at blogging is that people are poor writers but that’s not right either because if you read my blog you’ll quickly realize that it’s riddled with spelling mistakes and grammatically rubbish. In fact, I’m a horrible writer that depends on spell check for everything yet, I blog successfully.

So the reason the average person will fail at blogging is not writing.

Marketing Knowledge

You’re most likely noticing a trend by this point because the reason for failing at blogging is not technical (you can hire people like me to do the technique for you), it’s not hard to find a subject and nobody cares if you’re a lousy writer so then, could it be that the reason the average person fails at blogging is marketing?

No. I can’t believe the problem is marketing because it’s painfully easy to market a blog.

1. Write content
2. Build traffic
3. Improve content
4. Repeat

So the reason the average person will fail at blogging is not marketing.

Self Discipline

Ah ha, we found it.

See, the problem with blogging for most people is that they’re lazy and by lazy I mean lazy. I mean really, truly, lazy. They are:

• unwilling to work or use energy
• unwilling to show effort or care
• unwilling to quickly adapt

Blogging is a mind-numbingly boring occupation. There are a million things I’d rather do than blog most days of the week, I’ll even watch Stargate Universe over blogging some nights but at the end of the day, blogging is about doing something really hard for most of us (writing) in a medium that is outside our comfort zone (technical) about something we’re often unsure of (subject) and afraid to admit we love (marketing).

Worst of all however, most people are simply too lazy to get past these things and put in the energy to overcome them on a consistent basis which is great because for those of us who are willing to write about the things we love and share it with the world, there is a great living to be made.

How can a housewife make money blogging?

What can the average American housewife blog about to help earn an extra income?

When it comes to why a housewife needs to make money online, it doesn’t matter if it’s because the primary income has failed or simply that the cost of living keeps going up because there are easy ways for a stay at home woman to make a great income online.

Being a housewife has real value.

Knowledge is power and being a housewife is a powerful resource of knowledge, if you take the time to think about the things you know, that the rest of us want to know about. For example, cooking blogs are hugely popular as are the home renovation, budgeting, parenting and community groups. Don’t underestimate the skills you’ve acquired while running the home because there are 3.14 people in a family and 307,006,550 people in America which means that 97 million people out there are just like you.

So what can you blog about to make money as a housewife?

Let’s start with the basics:

• Cooking
• Cleaning
• Childcare
• Community
• Babies

But let’s not forget the backbone of being a housewife:

• Budgeting
• Motivation
• Relationships
• Morals
• Scheduling
• Sex
• Conflict Resolution
• Literacy & Education
• Real Estate
• Medical Advice
• Balancing Career & Family
• Vacation Planning
• Multi-Generational Living

Remember, those ideas are just the basics of what a woman does every day as part of their role at home, it doesn’t include your education, career, and personal interests which could range from being a sales professional to a doctor or a photographer, a marathon runner or a community activist. Finding a subject to blog about is important, but as the manager of a small business called your home, there are countless everyday subjects to choose from.

Writing a blog is about creating an information resource, something that people can come to and learn without feeling intimidated. It’s about creating a sense of community, supporting each other and helping to find solutions to common problems. That’s why writing blogs about the family and helping other mothers is such a powerful networking tool.

How to Create a Blog

The first step to creating a blog is to sign-up for a hosting account. A web hosting account is where you’ll put your blog, I recommend using Bluehost, they’ll include a free domain name for the year (what people type to get to your blog) as well as a one-click installer that’s designed to get your website up faster. If you’re confused after setting up your account, drop me a line and I’ll help set your blog up for free.

How to Make Money Blogging

Now that you’ve created a blog using Bluehost you’ll want to start earning money. There are a few ways to make money writing and the easiest is advertising. Google AdSense is just one of many systems which let people buy ads on websites and pay publishers like yourself each time an ad is clicked. Remember an average blog receives around three clicks per thousands of visits, so you’ll need go generate a lot of traffic to earn a sizeable income.

How to Generate Traffic

There are a couple of ways to get people to come to your blog, first you should write great content. I can’t stress this enough, people love great content and will tell their friends about it. Secondly, comment on other peoples blogs when you can add to their posts or participate in their articles. If your contributions are valuable, people will follow your link and read your blog post as well.

 

Want to know how to make money online? Stop thinking so hard.

The other day I was wrapping up a new website for the Fredericton Meals on Wheels organization, it was a charity gig that I happily donated my time on (thanks again for the support everybody) which led me to work with a well known local community activist, John Carty. He’s the new director of the MOW program and a man who’s master the art of giving to the community, funny thing was that he said something hilarious one day when I was on the phone with him and it’s brilliant advice for web entrepreneurs.

Everybody loves pets.

What he actually said what that everybody loves animals, he used to be the head of the Fredericton SPCA so he’s a man who knows about animals. During another chapter of his life, he ran for local office and he discovered that most people had a pet in the house when they came to the door. I hope John doesn’t mind me sharing this story, but the point is pretty simple people love animals. So what’s this got to do with making money online?

Honest to Google, while the rest of us are killing ourselves building complex social networking engines, marketing tools, SEO optimization mechanisms and writing content on everything from how to make money blogging to Google in your TV these guys are making a mint doing nothing more than putting funny captions on pictures.

http://icanhascheezburger.com/ may seem like a joke at first glance but this cheesy little website stacks up like this:

Basic Traffic Statistics
Alexa Traffic Ranking: 2,780
Google PageRank: 7
Average of 709,717 backlinks from major search engines.

You read that right a PageRank of 7 and over 700,000 backlinks to a website with cute pictures of kittens and some funny text. Their website’s estimated worth (for the domain name, not the business) $2,202,868.

I’m not knocking icanhascheezburger.com, honestly, I’m just jealous that I didn’t think of it first. The website is a WordPress.com hosted website powered by the greatest tool ever, it also means that there was basically no startup costs to put it together. Basically a domain name and a free account.

My point I suppose (if I indeed have one) is that much like my recent article So You Lost Your Job, Now it’s Time to Live., and How make money online? the only obstacle between you and making money online is your own desire to start doing it.

Well I think there’s only one thing for me to do then

Could a website help increase your business profits?

Do you have all the customers and all the profit you desire? For many businesses, the answer to this question is a resounding NO! There are several reasons a website may help you bring in those clients or customers you are currently missing.

The hours of a website are a full 24/7, 365 days a year, never a holiday or vacation included. You can’t run your business on that basis, unless, of course, you are Wal-Mart or some such large business and then you already have all the customers and profits you need.

Most small businesses are open 8 a.m. to 6 or 7 p.m. at most. Many working people can’t come in during those hours. Most professional services businesses aren’t open all day Saturday and never on Sunday. So, many workers never find the time to make use of your services, even if they badly need the service!

By maintaining a web presence presenting your wares, services, and information about your business, people can find you when THEY have time, not when YOU can be available! You can even have an e-commerce site where products are purchased online and shipped to people all over the world. Some of those customers certainly are never going to walk into your business!

There are keys to making the idea of a business web presence work to make those sales for you and make your site profitable, rather than a burden on your business budget.

First, your website must be attractive and informative. An unattractive website will turn people off and they will go to another location. Also, if they can’t find information easily, they will go somewhere that information is easy to find. Investment in a professional web developer who has graphics expertise can provide you with a lot of exposure for a relatively small investment!

Second, your website must be maintained so that information remains current. No one wants to look at a website in late 2005 and see this item coming in June 2004. Right then and there, you lost the complete trust of the potential customer!

Third, any orders or inquiries coming in from your website must be serviced promptly. Orders can’t sit around awaiting confirmation via email; shipping must occur immediately after payment. After all, today’s world is one of instant gratification. The buyer wants to hold the product or obtain the service in the shortest time possible.

Fourth, local people can find out more about your service or products and determine if they wish to take time at lunch, or even take off work a bit early one day, in order to catch you during business hours for one-on-one contact or telephone contact. It’s just easier to sit back at their computer and find the product or service options before coming to your office or storefront. Many potential clients go to another business that DOES have a website if you are not providing this visibility to those potential clients!

When correctly developed, a web presence can be one of the most effective investments you will ever make. Your client or customer base will expand from local to global. Your visibility will rise significantly. When correctly maintained with the most current information, sales or specials, and other incentives, you can affordably obtain an edge over the competition and we all have competition!

Use the web to your advantage. Once your initial website is developed and online, small updates are inexpensive and should be done often. Occasionally, a major update may be desired. While a bit more costly, it still will not require a large investment. Any business failing to have a web presence today is missing the boat!

Are you online to make money?

Let’s take a quick look at how a small blog owner makes $3,593.24 for a month’s work and how anybody can be online to make money.

There are a lot of reasons to be online, not all of them is to make money as we talked about in a post last week (What’s Your Revenue Model?) but if you are online to make money the question has to be .. how do you make enough money monthly to help with the bills or even as a primary income source?

Before you know exactly how much money you can make online you need to understand how money is made online and what revenue models exist. Once that’s accomplished you need to take a look at how much money you can make and the methods for reaching those goals.

If you’re online to make money then you need to look at how a basic advertising model such as Google Adwords can earn you cash. It’s actually pretty straightforward although it’s a little daunting for some newcomers.

Sign up for a free account with Google Adsense
(note that when you’re selling ad spots you use Adsense when you’re buying ad placements you use Adwords)
Register a domain name and set up hosting with a company such as BlueHost
Upload your website to your domain, or use a free blogging package such as WordPress
Install your Adsense code into your WordPress or website template
Promote your website and write great content
These five easy steps are all that it takes for anybody from an out of work stock trader to a stay at home mom or retired couple to make real money online. It works because there is always somebody one step behind your learning curve in a chosen specialty or your stage of life. The first true step to making online money is realizing that the things that you know are valuable and people want to share in your wisdom and experiences, it doesn’t matter if your 25 or 75 you know things and people want to read about it.

How much money can you make online?

That question is a pretty big one to answer and it depends upon a few things:

How much time can you invest in being successful online?
What can you share with the world?
Will people want to read about it?
google ad sense report 300×128 Are you online to make money? imagePlentyoffish.com is a free online dating website, it’s run from the owner’s apartment and makes a million dollars a year I’m not kidding. Askthebuilder.com pulls in $40,000 a month promoting home building and renovation expertise. The trick is to establish your CPM (cost per thousand) for a market and increase your website’s traffic to build off of that traffic. The Adsense report to the right demonstrates how a simple website can build not only increased traffic but also revenue from visitors with the placement ads.

In that example, the website owner received 35,243 page views yesterday which resulted in 265 clicks and earnings of $128.33 for the day. Assuming this was an average day for the author, his revenues for February would be $3,593.24 not bad for running an online blog about something he (or she) was passionate about.