The world today has been affected by an economic downturn. Many people are looking for additional income. There are people who can’t quit their job. Many people are looking to earn extra money. There are also millions of people who have become unemployed. Blogging is a means to meet these ends.
The ways that a blogger or content artist is able to make money from blogging are numerous. They include advertising, RSS advertising, sponsorship, affiliate programs, digital assets, blogging networks, business blogging, non business blogging, merchandise sales and blog flipping.
Advertising programs have several models. Examples are text link ads and Google adsense. This is a revenue source that comes from advertiser based revenue sharing. There are different methods that are used for compensation. The main three are CPA or cost per action, CPC cost per click or CPM cost per mille. CPA is an online pricing model that where the advertiser pays for each specific action or sale. CPC is a model that websites use when the advertiser pays the host based on the number of times the ad is clicked. This is usually used when advertisers bid on keywords for search engines. CPM is when the publisher makes the ad available on the website. The amount of compensation paid is based on the number of times that a page is viewed that contains the advertising.
RSS feeds are another example. This is an area that is becoming increasingly popular. This is because of the growth in RSS feeds usage. Society today is more interested in having their information delivered in a quick and concise method and just in time. This is something that RSS feeds can deliver.
Sponsorship by advertisers has become more common. There are programs where a sponsor pays the content artist in return for favorable content. These are also called sponsored conversations. There are also “adopt a blog” programs where content artists take over and manage abandoned blogs. The sponsor pays the cost of maintaining the blog while the content artist continues the labor and day to day maintenance.
Another method that a blogger can generate revenue is through affiliate programs. Affiliate programs are when a business provides rewards or compensation for visitors, customers or referrals that are brought to the business by the affiliates’ marketing efforts. Four core players in the industry are, the merchant, the network, the publisher and the customer are the main four core players. Examples of the larger affiliate programs are Amazon, Linkshare, and Clickbank.
Digital assets are a popular method of revenue generation. Digital assets are things like the sales of books, courses and tele-seminars. These can be based on any number of topics and media sources. There are also several different methods of distribution that are available. This is a revenue stream that looks like it will continue to increase in the future.
Blogging networks are beginning to appear at an increasing rate. This is where content artists receive compensation by blogging or writing for and with other content artists. Payment models will vary with the topics and the networks. Larger blogging networks are not as easy to start with but there are plenty of smaller networks that are looking for writers or content artists. Writing for a network has advantages in the areas of promotion, administration, reduced cost and SEO as well.
Non blogging writing opportunities are becoming available. There are many examples of magazines, newspapers and non blog websites hiring content artists to write for them. This is usually an example of someone with a mature blog that someone has seen and liked their work. Some content artists have also published books.
Businesses are seeing the need for internal staff to manage their blogging needs. This is sometimes also done by outside consultants. These consultants will manage several blogs for different companies.
Flipping blogs has become more and more popular. Content artists have developed and nurtured blogs to a point where they have grown in page rank and value. They have been approached to sell the blog. This also happens when someone has a group of blogs that are tied together in some way and are sold as a package.
Merchandise sales provide income generation. Content artists sell t-shirts, cups, etc to make a few extra dollars. These products can be branded to your site or to promote your favorite team or hobby.
There are other ways that are becoming available every day. The true content artist is going to be aware of these opportunities and integrate as many as possible into their blog as possible.The true content artists should work to stay abreast of these opportunities.
Discussions about making money with blogs is something that Mark Talbot has been involved in for several years. He has operated in internet businesses for over 10 years at different levels.