Blog Publish to Make Money Part 1 From Reasons You Should Blog For Your Business

If you call yourself an Internet marketer and you’re not publishing a blog then you’re just ignorant!

Who hasn’t dreamed of publishing a newspaper or magazine? What businessperson hasn’t fantasized about the inherent power of “press” ownership? For those of us who have done it, and those who have only wished they could have, today’s “new media” blog technology lets you easily publish and prosper from it.

Sure the format, the medium and the methods are different, but it’s still communication. The difference is that online it’s more “dynamic” and interactive. New media publishing -blogging- produces what I call, “live” content. Your blog is actually a living thing. It needs continual care and maintenance, it grows and changes constantly yet anyone can feed it. Blogs provide the technology for your readers to add content! You aren’t doing all the work alone.

The major blog building ‘platforms’ are WordPress and Blogger (owned by Google).

REASON TO BLOG: YOU CAN “MONETIZE” YOUR BLOG and MAKE MONEY!

While this should perhaps be the last reason for blogging, the reality is, business people want to know how anything they invest time and/or money in will profit them. In the case of blogging which only incurs minor hosting expenses, as low as $5 to $15 a month with WordPress.org and free with Blogger.com, the cost is not an issue. Time spent may be, with business owners who don’t yet understand the power of blogging, questioning, “Why should I spend time on that?”

So we’ll look at making money as as a core reason to publish blogs and explain HOW you can make money blogging.

1. You can feature advertising on your blog just like traditional web sites. This includes:

• Ad network advertising. (Online agencies called “networks” facilitate the process, managing your ads and generating revenues for your [blog] site.)
• Classified ads. (Once you have enough traffic, a large enough database or following, you can offer your users short free listings and PAID listings with more content and/or features.)
• Affiliate links. (Selling products and services of other companies you are officially affiliated with and thus, earn commission from.)

WARNING: like most online users your typical blog audience, your “community” doesn’t appreciate intrusive, interruptive, “ambush” advertising. So, make sure your ads are relevant and your advertisers’ offerings, beneficial to your audience.

2. You can sell products from your blog by featuring an online catalog with shopping cart, or simply single products connected to your PayPal account, allowing your customers to buy from you online -directly from- your blog.

3. Build credibility and visibility for, and links to, your business Web site where you sell your products and services. Use your blog to “cross-promote.”

4. Charge one-time or recurring subscription fees for special features on your blog. Examples include educational podcasts (digital audio or video files released in a series), video tutorials and directory placements.

Each of these money-makers requires easy “plug in” technology or “widgets” (WordPress) or “gadgets” (Blogger) to make them function. This is just extra software that you can easily find and place on your blog without ever needing to hire a programmer.

THIS IS EASY TO LEARN

If you’re a novice, these days, anything you don’t know is easily researched and then accessed via the Internet. Simply search for or “Google” what you don’t know. I like to use the combination of Wikipedia (online encyclopedia) for definitions and Google for search research. For instance if you don’t have a clue about some or all of these money-making strategies, or feel that you just don’t know enough about them –like ad networks, affiliate marketing (using ‘affiliate links’), or podcast marketing, simply set aside a little time to look them up and learn more. It’s that easy.

In any case, “making money” is usually the reason behind everything business people do. I’m sure you’re no exception. So as you share information and interact with your audience and your customers through your blog, know that your time spent can also generate revenue.