If you want to be a full-time freelance writer, there are a few things you should know about blogging. The first thing you should know is that you don’t need to start your own blog. In fact, you can start making money as a blogger very quickly, without ever having a blog of your own. More on that later. The aim of this article is to give you an overview of the ways you can make money blogging. If you’re looking for freelance writing opportunities, this article is a must read. You are about to learn 4 ways to make money as a blogger – and only one of them involves starting your own blog.
Blogging is one of those odd niche areas that isn’t really a niche, is made up of niches and is a niche unto itself. I know that sounds rather confusing so let me explain by starting that there is an entire niche within writing that is made up entirely of blogging in and of itself. Then there is the simple fact that most blogs cover a single subject that is a niche, for example a blog devoted to Pomeranians. Then there is the fact that blogging is not so much a niche but a form of writing that has its own style and format.
In short, blogging is a style of writing. There are also many blogs that you can write for, in nearly every imaginable niche.
Blog Style
Let me start by saying that some blogs have set parameters and if you are ghost or guest writing a blog you will need to adhere to the standards that the owner sets, if they bother. A great many blogs however have been abandoned (more on that in a minute) and you can set up the style that you want. The key here is to be consistent. Readers hate it when the styles change.
Most blog posts are between 250 and 350 words. Don’t go over 500 words. When that happens it is no longer a blog post and has become an article. Anything less than 250 words is a Facebook post; don’t go there on a blog.
Blog Niches
One of the most attractive aspects of a blog is that it is a huge collection of niche posts. For blogs that have been around for a few years and have been well attended it’s a treasure chest of information on a particular subject.
Blogs are very popular with hobbyists as well as businesses. They are a great way to dispense information, keep readers updated and expand the web presence of a business. The only catch, and you knew there had to be one, is that they require a great deal of attention. They require a constant source of new content. Without it the blog will become stale and readers will leave.
Making Money
There are several ways to make money through blogging. They each have their positive and negatives sides as well as varying degrees of difficulty. By difficulty I mean the amount of work involved.
There are two ways to make money on blogs; active and passive. My personal favorite is a combination of the two but that can be rare to find. So how do you go about making money through blogging?
Starting your own blog
This is extremely popular with writers and I don’t know of a single writer that hasn’t had at least one blog at some point. Most have had several that they failed to maintain. I’ve been guilty of this more times than I can count. But starting and maintaining your own blog is what leads to two of the most lucrative ways to make money.
This is the most work of all because you have to maintain the blog yourself and you have to keep the content updated. That can be a full time job depending on how you run the blog. As a general rule, posting daily at least 5 days a week is preferred so you can see why it can be a lot of work. You have to keep the traffic flowing on your site. When you do it well you can use the first two money making ideas to great success.
- Ads
If you are a frequent blog reader you have probably noticed targeted ads on the sites. The vast majority of the time these are run through the Google Adsense program. It’s free to sign up and you get paid based on a variety of criteria, mostly when a visitor clicks on one of the ads. If your site has a high volume of traffic you can make quite a bit of money this way. I personally know several people making $5,000 or more a month this way.
Once you have your blog set up, you can select where the ads will be placed on the page and even the type of ads that are displayed. Targeted ads show people various products and sites related to, but not in competition, with your own site.
- Affiliate Markets
This is more difficult but can also be far more rewarding. There are several groups you can join to help with this but Linkshare.com is probably the largest and is certainly the most diverse. After signing up you post links on your page to various sites. You get a commission based on those who click on the ads or those who purchase listed products. The structure differs from company to company and it’s clearly labeled on their site.
Another method of affiliate marketing involves signing up with individual companies and then posting a link on your site. These links will change themselves depending on the program running at the time. Usually there is a small photo or two and people can buy the product by clicking on the photo. You get a commission when that happens. These ads do not get in the way and now that you know about them you will probably notice them for what they are when visiting your favorite blog sites.
Guest Blogging
This is the one that everyone talks about being so great. It can be, under the right circumstances. When you guest blog you will get a byline as well as a link to your own website. For a high traffic site this can be a great way to build an audience, make some money and gain experience. For low traffic sites it’s generally pointless unless you are being paid well. A few sites, and please understand that this is rare, will not only pay you for your post but will also cut you in on the affiliate and ad revenue that your post generates. For a high traffic site this can add quite a bit to your revenue stream.
Guest blogging gigs are generally pretty simple to land. You find a blog, pitch a post idea to the owner and then write the post if they want it. Given the amount of work involved in maintaining a blog, most large blog owners are happy for additional help. Even those that have a staff of writers are usually looking for a fresh voice.
Ghost Blogging
This is probably the most popular from the perspective of the blog owner: Someone writes the posts and they take the credit. Oddly enough these tend to pay far less than guest blogging but it’s a good way to break into blogging so it’s included. Now in all fairness, there are actually many cases where you can make a very nice living ghost blogging. $1,000 a month is not unusual for some of the sites with high traffic. Considering that you will work about an hour a week, that’s not bad.
My primary issue with Ghosting is that while you make money it does nothing for your writing career. You can state that you are a ghost blogger and the topic but it’s very bad form to mention the clients by name. In some cases you have to agree not to do this. Weigh your options carefully. If the money is good and it leaves you time to devote to other projects then by all means go for it. Just don’t let it eclipse your true writing ambitions.
Blog Adoption
Many businesses either don’t have a blog or they have an abandoned blog (A blog they started and haven’t kept maintained.) When you find sites like this, especially if they have decent traffic, send a proposal to the blog owner (in this case the owner or manager of the business in question) and detail how an active and well maintained blog can boost their profits. In this case, you can generally negotiate for a byline as well as a monthly maintenance fee for the project. This gets you recognition, samples and money. It also gets you a long term writing gig. Chances are you will be able to set up your own blogging format and blog what you want (within reason and keeping to the theme of the business of course.)
To find these, start locally and work your way out further geographically. Look for businesses that you have an interest in already so the topic is easy to write without a lot of research. The blog itself is part of the advertising or marketing plan for the business so that is where the money comes from in their budget. Look for businesses that take out large ads in local and regional magazines. These ads show that they have a healthy advertising budget so they can afford your services. Most of those companies will have abandoned or vastly underused blogs. Target those companies first as they will be the most inclined to hire quickly.