How to Turn Your Blog Into a Money-Making Business

With more and more of our lives being spent online, all of the creative folks out there should look for ways to use this to your advantage. A great way to go about this is by turning your blog into a money-making business. Easier said than done — I know — but here are some easily, actionable tips that you can use to get started.

Actually Start Your Blog

This might seem ridiculously obvious, and apologies to those who are already up and running, but it's amazing how many people just don't take the plunge and actually get started on their blog in the first place. There is simply no excuse for this as starting a blog really is incredibly easy.

Don't let what you don't know hold you back. Blogging is something that almost everybody has to learn as they go. All personal blogs start out small. Just get started and on your feet before you start thinking about how you are going to turn your blog into a money-making business.

Share Your Posts

Your blog is setup, and you're pretty happy with the way everything is going. The problem is that nobody is actually reading it.

One of the easiest ways to get your blog out there is for you to start promoting your blog by sharing your posts on all of your social media channels. If your friends start liking your links, their friends will start to see that too. Little by little, you will start to build your audience.

On top of this you should also look at and engage with the more established blogs of people who are producing content in a similar field to your own. If those blogs have a comment section, let these guys know that you like what they are doing. Chances are that this will bring you to their attention, too.

Do Some Studying

The world of SEO is probably a mystery to most people, but this is something that needs to change if you want a Google search to direct people to your blog. You don't need to get a Masters in SEO, or even become an SEO expert, but you do need to know the basics.

Getting an understanding of SEO will only take up a little bit of your time, but it will prove invaluable as you look to turn your blog into a money-making business.

Sell Your Space

Once you have developed your blog to the point where you are attracting a regular audience, the next step is for you to start selling advertising space on your page. One of the simplest methods of doing this is through Google's AdSense. Sign-up is easy and once done you will automatically begin to earn money every time a reader clicks on one of the ads on your blog.

If your audience is really starting to grow, you may want to think about branching out beyond AdSense and looking at which affiliates could be interested in offering you some bigger money.

Branch Out

Depending on what your blog specializes in, you may be able to generate a whole new revenue stream through merchandise.

Photographers can sell their prints directly to their readers. Writers and poets could offer custom made pieces of unique work. And anyone who has some cute little logo or any other kind of recurring motif, can develop this into a recognizable brand that can be emblazoned on just about anything you can think of.

Merchandise isn't the only field that your blog could diversify into. For your loyal readers, and the people who pay attention to these kinds of things, you are now a valuable commodity. Whether you develop this through online workshops, consulting, guest-blogging, a book, or even TV and radio appearances, there are numerous viable and profitable ways for you to step out from behind the screen and give your blog a face people can connect with.

Really Turning Your Blog Into a Money Making Business

At a certain point, where you have become successful beyond your wildest dreams, you will need to start think about actually running your blog more like a business. This involves a whole new set of challenges, but simplification will be the key now as you need to focus on keeping your baby ticking over whilst managing the new expectations that come along with it.

When your blog is this developed you will probably need help in maintaining it. This doesn't mean that you will no longer control the content, but you may need somebody else to actually be keeping track of things and publishing your posts for you. A good lawyer would also be somebody you should have picked up by this point.

The world is your oyster, but you're going to need professional assistance to make sure you continue to keep harvesting pearls!

Featured photo credit: Ed Gregory via stokpic.com

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