www.inkthinkerblog.com — The other day, I wondered if maybe I’m out of things to talk about. Secretly, I feared that I’m completely uninteresting. But as I’ve been bouncing ideas off of my friend, you know, the one who suggested it in the first place, I realized that I actually have more ideas than I thought I did — they’re just not what professional blogging networks are looking for. What I do know is that there is definitely an audience for these ideas. What I don’t know is how to make any money from them.
If I had my way, I’d be a pro blogger like my friend Dana, whose Mamalogues blog (along with her columns at STLtoday and ClubMom) leaves me rolling on a pretty much daily basis. She rocks her blogging like nobody’s business, and her hair looks great, and I think I want to be Dana when I grow up. So how do I pull that off? I’m going to hit her up for some tips, but in the meantime, I’d love your suggestions.
Have you made blogging lucrative without joining a blogging network? Do tell.
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i really don’t get how people make money out of blogging. is it to do with advertising or just cos you end up getting a book deal out of it, like petite anglaise in paris? i’d love to know!
I’m fortunate enough to make enough to make almost enough to pay for my son’s tuition. I won’t tell the exact amount, but it’s more than one hundred but less than one thousand a month. I run Google Adsense on my site, and all my income comes from three small text ads per page. Here’s the interesting thing. I haven’t posted any new entries since October 2005.
That’s right. I haven’t published anything in over a year.
The reason I haven’t made any new entries is simple and boring. I got a new job and don’t have the time. I expected at first that traffic would drop precipitously and was pleasantly surprised that it didn’t. As the months have gone by, my revenue has actually slightly increased.
I know. I know. You’re dying to know my secret. You want to know how I did it. Or rather, how you could do it. All right, I’ll tell.
1. I wrote a lot about my cat. People love cats. Kidding, kidding. I wrote about one specialized subject that I know a lot about because it interests me. Research was fun, not a chore.
2. I have about two hundred posts / articles. There are lots of paragraph sized posts and about a dozen articles. You need some volume.
3. The information on the site is truly useful, not just entertaining. I had a humor site that I maintained for a couple years. I got a lot of positive response to it, but no money from it.
4. It’s well-organized and divided into different subjects, not just a continual list of posts defined by dates.
5. Everything has a good, explanatory title that is keyword-friendly. Leave the creative writing in the body of your text. Don’t be cute or ironic with your titles. Search engines don’t like it.
That’s it. Seriously.
I would really like to take it up again and intend to do so, but I need some kind of lifestyle change before it’s feasible. I like to tease my brother that I’m one of the few writers that actually makes money. I have to admit, it’s an ego boost to know that I am getting almost a million page views this year. How many writers can boast that kind of readership? Okay, a lot. But it’s exciting for me.
I won’t tell you the site here because I don’t want to spam, but if anyone really wants to see it to see what worked for me, email me at frankeinstein-at-gmail.com. (Replace -at- with @.)
No worries, everyone, I’ve already e-mailed Ned (my hero for the week) for the link. With his permission I’ll post that, and, hopefully, some more tips from him if I can snag an interview, in a separate post.
kk, who’s dying from the suspense
Wow, I’m in awe of Ned too, and I look forward to checking out his site. I would love to make a little money off my blog, but I haven’t really tried yet. I’ve been doing it consistently for over 6 months, and my traffic has slowly increased. I need to try Adsense, but I think I’m scared that somehow I’ll end up owing google a few pennies instead of making 12 cents per month off the ads, or whatever. I think Adsense is definitely a start, and if your blog really excels in its niche area, maybe advertisers will find you. I don’t think I’d like to join a blogging network unless they paid very well. I would rather feel free to write what I want when I want. And be the sole owner of my work just in case the blog did become wildly successful.
Well, I want to make cash out of it, too. I think I’ll apply Ned’s thinking to my professional site (the one where I pretend the IRS will someday be thrilled to see my return come in).
I think it’s a little known fact that, contrary to what the blogging hype leads people to believe, most bloggers make very little, if anything.
Often plastering adense around their sites is a turn-off for readers who just want to see that the blog is about. I’ve heard of a variety of affiliate tie-ins working better.
And I’ve had some luck myself with networks such as blogads.com which have advertisers pay for space, regardless of click thru rates. Seems like a combination of sources works best.
Oh, I know that fact all too well. :] I’m definitely going to check out blogads.com.
kk
I’ve never even considered my blog as a potential money-making opportunity. To me, it’s just a labor of love. Although I would love to see some cash flowing in because of it, I just can’t picture myself ever clogging it up with ads. I don’t like reading blogs that are littered with ads and I suspect most people are like me in that regard. If someone clicks through to my website and offers me a job that way, that’s a little bonus. And someday, I’m still hoping my blog will lead millions to buy my book (when I get around to writing it, of course). Nevertheless, I’m looking forward to your interview with Ned, Kristen.