How Do People Make Money Blogging in Their Spare Time?

Everyone knows that you can make money from running a blog. Most of the conventional wisdom shows that you have to do a lot of research or put all of your time into it if you really want to make a good living from it, though. But that's not entirely true. There are millions of bloggers that generate some extra cash by simply blogging in their spare time.

Their solutions, systems, and approaches all vary, but they have several things in common. I'll share those with you today so you can start making money from your own blog without much difficulty at all.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

The first thing you need to realize is that none of these part time bloggers are in a hurry. They are in love with their chosen topic, and they blog strictly out of passion. Monetizing their site and generating revenue from it was likely an afterthought.

This is where most people go wrong when they set out to make money blogging in their spare time. Instead of deciding to put together a great blog and sticking with it over the long haul, they start out with the intention of making some cash. Three months into it they close the blog, since they still haven't seen a single dollar.

Rand Fishkin, the SEO celebrity associated with SEOmoz.org, once helped his wife set up her own travel blog. Keep in mind that he is one of the most knowledgeable and skilled SEO professionals in the entire industry. Everything was set up perfectly on her site, and the strategy was essentially bullet proof.

She blogged every day for a full year before her traffic became substantial enough to consider the blog a success. If it took Rand Fishkin's wife a full year to do it, it might take you a bit longer.

Monetization through Advertisements

The easiest way to monetize your part time blog is with Google's AdSense program. It's contextual, meaning the ads will be related to the content on your page. It is also free to participate, so if your blog never generates any revenue you won't lose out at all.

There are plenty of other advertising programs that you can participate in, too. Take the time to look around and figure out which are best suited to your topic before committing to any particular program. It's very rare for you to be able to have more than one present on your site at any given time.

Affiliate Programs Make the Big Bucks

The problem with contextual ads is that many people don't really click on them. As internet users, we know what an ad looks like and we tend to ignore them. So, what other opportunities do you have for monetization?

The biggest, by far, is affiliate marketing. Visit sites like Commission Junction or Click Bank to get some idea for the large variety of products that are available for promotion. You'll generate a commission every time someone purchases the product through your site.

If you can find a product that's particularly appropriate to the type of content you're producing, then it will work even better. If you can't, you're better off joining the Amazon.com affiliate program, as they have just about every type of product imaginable and can help monetize any blog.

Transitioning into Training

This won't work for all blogs, but it sure is a flexible opportunity. If you have any kind of expertise in your niche, then you can easily offer your services as a consultant or coach. Even if your niche isn't one that seems to be appropriate for training and coaching, you could always offer your services as a blogging and writing coach, as you're already an expert at that point.

The rates you charge might vary drastically depending on the niche you're covering. They typically range from $50 to $250, though, and you can actually charge significantly more. There are some famous bloggers that charge more than $5,000 for a single hour of consulting time.

None of these strategies will work in a short period of time. You'll need to stick with your site and keep at it for the long haul. But remember, you're doing this in your spare time, so you shouldn't be in much of a rush anyway!

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