How To Make Money Online As A Blogger
Google loves bloggers! Almost every search you conduct online these days will throw up a contribution from a blogger somewhere in the results. If you click on one of these results you will often see the blogger is promoting a product or service somewhere on their site. By writing engaging and well keyword-targeted posts these bloggers are attracting a ton of free traffic to their affiliate offers from the search engines, and making sales. If you like writing and would like to make money online doing it then why not blog your way to affiliate commissions?
Affiliating other people's products through your blog is a headache free way of making money online. Affiliates do not need to set-up merchant banking accounts, perform order fulfillment, provide after-sales service and customer support, or get involved in shipping and delivery. It is a relatively inexpensive way to create a home based business around your passions and interests. All you need is a hosted blogging platform, an autoresponder, a small marketing budget and the time to blog!
If you are unsure about which products you could be affiliating then just look at your own online shopping habits. If you shop at Amazon a lot then consider joining their affiliate program, if you download a lot of music or films then why not iTunes. If you have a particular hobby or interest then consider actively looking for affiliate programs in those areas. Software tools often offer affiliate programs so if you have recently purchased something you think might be of benefit to others, join the affiliate program and let them know.
Of course blogging isn't the only way to go about affiliating products but is relatively inexpensive if you are on a tight budget. If your pockets are a little deeper then you can always augment your efforts with Pay Per Click advertising on Google, Bing, Facebook and other ad networks. Banner advertising on relevant high-traffic sites works too.
Look for high-ticket products to affiliate so you can earn higher commissions. Some of the internet's leading business-coaching programs can net you three or four thousand dollars or more for just one sale!
One of the beauties of this model is that you can work from home. And once you have your content suitably distributed, syndicated and optimised for the search engines you can leave it out there for people to discover and enjoy while your affiliate commissions come-in on auto-pilot.
When we first started our home based business online two years ago, we were looking for a work from home business opportunity and we were overwhelmed with all the information and different models. We had our fingers burned several times by press-button, get-rich-quick scams and nearly gave-up in frustration. After a while though we learned which type of 'opportunity' to steer clear from and concentrated instead on learning new skills. We began blogging and soon learned our way around WordPress, then we experimented with Google AdWords and began to build a list of email subscribers. We moved on to banners and solo ads and soon we had a large list to market to.
Earning money online, from the comfort of your own home, doing something you enjoy is hands down better than fighting your way through commuter traffic every morning to a job that is underpaid, stressful and unfulfilling. You can also do it anywhere in the world you have access to the internet
A few words of caution though...
This not a way to get-rich-quick. It takes time, patience and perseverance. The learning curve is incredibly steep to begin with and you will need to invest some money in tools and training. It can also be a lonely profession and if the one thing you do enjoy about your job is the banter with your colleagues, you might miss that a lot! So don't give-up your day job straightway, join a coaching program and search out other bloggers who can you can talk to and ask for advice. If you have a partner, friend, spouse or other family member who is also interested, then consider teaming-up as a duo. Two heads are better than one and when the going get's tough it's useful to have someone to help keep you motivated.
