Blogging has evolved from an easy, free way for writers to share their thoughts and insights with readers around the world to a slightly more complicated tool for generating income by posting content to the Internet. Bloggers can earn money by owning and controlling their content or by selling it to websites that generate revenue from it. In either case, you will want to first establish your blog and the generate a loyal following of readers.
Decide on a Business Model
Step 1
Read articles on the two main business models you can to use to generate income from blogging. Decide if you want to establish your own website, open your own pay-per-click advertising and affiliate accounts and sell banner ads, or if you want to write professionally for someone else's website.
Step 2
Evaluate different blogging programs such as WordPress, Drupal or Blogger. Decide which one will best suit your needs for creating and posting content and generating revenue.
Step 3
Look for programs that let visitors comment on your blog posts. Determine whether they will be moderated or not to prevent spam and inappropriate comments, and how much work it will take you to allow comments on your site.
Step 4
Examine the statistics tool that comes with your chosen blogging software or consider adding tracking code such as Analytics or Quantcast. These will help you learn how to track visitor statistics on your blog.
Step 5
Visit the websites of pay-per-click programs such as AdSense, Chitika or AdBrite, and affiliate programs such as Amazon Associates, Shopzilla and ValueClick to research how these programs work.
Step 6
Visit the Facebook, Google and Twitter websites to learn how to add their Like, +1 and Tweet plugins, respectively. These will allow visitors to your blog share your posts with friends.
Owning Your Blog
Step 1
Prepare a list of topics about which you can write interesting articles on a regular basis. Perform search engine research to see how much competition you have for these topics.
Step 2
Choose a topic with wide interest but not massive competition. For example, a generic weight-loss blog mighty not be able to compete with the many similar blogs and websites already established on that topic. A weight-loss blog targeting new mothers, senior men or teen boys might give you a better chance to succeed. Instead of a generic gardening blog, consider a vegetable garden blog for those living in the Southeastern United States.
Step 3
Integrate the blogging software, revenue-generation tools and social media plug-ins you have chosen and put your blog live on the Internet. Populate it with content. Include your credentials for writing on your topic.
Step 4
Add keywords to your posts that will help people searching for information on your chosen topic find you. Analyze your website statistics to learn which of your articles and/or keywords is generating the most page views for your blog. Find out which of your pages is generating the most Facebook Likes and Twitter Tweets.
Step 5
Continue blogging using your website statistics to guide the type of content you create. Monitor and respond to posts on your site to create a stronger community and generate more repeat visitors.
Blog for Someone Else
Step 1
Follow the previously outlined steps you would use to create your own blog to begin generating traffic and a following. Don’t include the steps for generating revenue if that is not your goal.
Step 2
Research websites that have or need similar content to what you offer to determine which might hire you as a blogger. Visit the Huffington Post for an example of a website that aggregates different blog topics around a main theme -- in this case, politics. Look for commercial websites that offer topics that revolve around a broader theme.
Step 3
Research companies that make products or sell services related to your topic area and propose that they add a blog to their website for their clients and potential customers. Contact commercial businesses, trade associations and nonprofit charities and foundations.
Step 4
Prepare a proposal that includes an overview of your blog content, your credentials, how your blog relates to the site for which you’re proposing to write, and how it would interest the customers of advertisers on the site. Also include your blog traffic statistics.
Step 5
Contact the websites for which you hope to blog to gauge their interest. Have a fee in mind, based on how many posts they will want per day or week, and the word count of each post. There are no set standards for blogging traffic and pay, so take your lead from your potential new partner. You should know in advance what how much money you need to make as a professional blogger so it is worth your while.
