By Kelli Townsend
Keywords: blog, write a blog, blogging, make money online
Are you are looking to make money online? Consider becoming an online freelance writer who specializes in blogging. There are a few differences between blogging and writing other forms of paid web content. Typically, blogs are casual and require shorter posts. To be a successful blogger, however, you have to be aware of the most recent current events, as well as quickly and efficiently communicating news to your readers.
Picking the Blogging Venues That's Right For You
Three main types of blogging venues exist that will allow you to make money online. The first option is to write for a blog network. A blog network is an association of blogs owned by a parent company. The company hires individual bloggers, and those bloggers get paid to write a blog. The next option is for a Web site or company to hire you to write a blog. The final option is to operate your own blog. If you choose to start your own blog, you will have complete control of the content and be able to place advertisements on your blog to earn money.
Whether you should opt to write for someone else or write your own blog depends on your individual situation. If you would like to make money online on a consistent basis, join a blog network. Recruiting traffic to your blog is easier if you belong to a blog network. Additionally, blog networks pay bloggers a base per-month salary, according to how long they have been a part of the network. On most networks, financial incentives are available based upon the amount of traffic to the blog.
If you are an experienced blogger, you can often find work blogging for a specific company or Web site. These companies advertise in online classifieds for freelance bloggers to provide content for their Web sites. These blogging jobs can pay a flat per-month salary or per-post amount, plus traffic incentives. Most companies require you to send a resume, clips and/or writing samples.
Here are a few online sites that will help you find blogging jobs.
Write your own blog if you want to maintain creative control while trying to make money online. There's a learning curve about exactly how to write a blog, so having complete control of your content is a luxury compared to those blogging for others. With your own blog, you can place advertisements from Google Ads, affiliate networks and other companies to earn money from your blog.
You won't become rich overnight as a blogger. It takes time to build traffic and gain repeat visitors. However, by offering quality and engaging content, you can begin to build a readership and ultimately make money as a blogger.
Writing Your First Blog
Before beginning, decide on the focus of your blog. Think of one of your interests, and decide on a particular aspect of that interest about which you'd like to write. For example, if you enjoy action movies, you might write a blog on which your write detailed reviews of new releases.
Don't write a blog with too general a focus. Likewise, don't select a niche that is so specific, only a few people will be interested. Write a blog whose topic is highly searched in order to attract as many readers as possible. Traffic equals money when you write a blog.
Pitch your blog idea to a blog network or decide to write a blog of your own. Before you know it, you will be getting paid to blog!
Network Blogging
If you decide to blog for a network, look for one that pays both a base salary and traffic incentives. Though you won't make a large amount of money immediately, through time you can garner enough page views to make blogging really worth your while.
Some of the larger blog networks include:
If you want to write a blog of your own, you will need to set it up using a blog platform. You can use a stand-alone platform or one in which the host offers the platform, domain name and hosting.
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