Ecommerce Shopping Cart - Search Engine Marketing Software

How to Make Money with Your Blog

-- What Is A Blog

A blog (or web log as what originally called) is the modern day equivalent of a journal... think 'captains log stardate... ' and you're heading in the right direction.

A blog is an online publication about a subject or subjects that interest you. You could write (blog) your thoughts and ideas about your favourite movies, you could log your daily activities, you could even write about your hobby.

Today advanced blogs can include more than just words – now they can include audio as well as pictures. You can even blog from your mobile phone if you care too!

Creating and Writing Your Blog

So how do you create a blog? The easiest way to start is to use Google's Blogger.com system. Simply visit www.blogger.com and follow the prompts – they provide step by step instructions and you'll be blogging in less time than it takes to boil an egg!

Blogger.com will allow you create a free blog and they'll even let you host it at no charge too! Remember, a blog is published "out there" on the Internet so it has to live somewhere and the free hosting environment from Blogger.com is called Blogspot.

Writing (some people calling it 'blogging') to your blog is even easier than creating it. You can either use the built in publishing features provided by Blogger or you can use the 'BlogThis' button included with the Google toolbar. Again, complete instructions about how to blog your blog (now that's a mouthful!) are included at the Blogger.com site and the Google.com toolbar page.

-- Monetizing Your Blog

But unless you are into sharing your thoughts for free, you want to know how to make some money – AND – share your thoughts... right?

In a word, if you have focused blog traffic (readers) then that stream of people passing by has monetary potential. Your readers have the potential to spend money, the potential to click on a link, and potential to turn all your hard work into money – here's how: TRAFFIC...

-- Adsense (Google)

Simply put, this program devised by Google, puts a context sensitive advert in front of your viewers. If you're blog is all about golf balls, then the adverts that you show will be about golf balls.

And when someone sees the advert and clicks on it you make money. How much you make depends on how much the click is worth (see the Adsense reporting data in your Adsense account for that info) and how many times the advert is clicked. As you can see, this is numbers game – the more traffic you get the more clicks you'll get the money you make.

-- Affiliate Sales

Another way to capitalize on your blog traffic is to offer the readers more than just advertising – offer them solutions.

If your blog is all about golf balls then it might be a safe bet that the reader plays golf. If they play golf then they probably want (like most golfers) to improve their swing or their short game, or any number of golfing challenges.

Well doesn't it make sense to offer them these solutions from within your blog? Of course it does. And you do this by promoting other peoples products and solutions. When your reader clicks on one of these promotional links and chooses to buy the product, you get a slice of the sale proceeds – in some cases up to 75%

Now this might sound complex but it's not. There are many affiliate programs on the Internet – simply type 'affiliate programs' into Google and you'll see what I mean. However, for my money the leader (at the time of writing this) was www.ClickBank.com

This company (like all good online companies) offers you plenty of valuable information about how to sell and promote other peoples products and make money. Afterall, your blog did all the work and got the traffic – why not turn that traffic into money too?

-- Search (Google)

You just read about Google's Adsense program, well guess what – they have a search element to that program. Basically you can add a Google search box to your blog and when someone searches from your blog Google takes not of this and you are credited for any sales that result from your 'assistance'. Again, the Google adsense program contains all the nitty gritty details so check them out.

-- Other Affiliate & Joint Venture Ideas

By now you should be getting the idea – TRAFFIC equals MONEY. So get creative with your blog. If you've got the readers then think of ways to offer them other products and services.

Here are a few other ideas to get the creative juices flowing:

-- Ebay

Let's go back to our example from earlier – golf. If you've got readers wanting to get information on Golf then why not offer them the chance to get highly focused golfing products from Ebay?

Did you know that you can become an EBay affiliate? Well you can, and when someone registers to join Ebay or someone buys something from Ebay you will get a portion of the sale proceeds.

Again, TRAFFIC equals MONEY.

-- Paydotcom

Although Clickbank.com has been the leader for digital product sales and affiliate marketing, a new player has come on the scenes – www.PayDotCom.com

I know, that name is a real mouthful, but they seem to have a lot going for them. They too also have a great affiliate program and can provide you with great ideas for products to offer your readership.

-- Blog Promotion & Marketing Strategies

You've likely heard this a hundred times... if you build it they will come. Well I've got news for you... they won't!

Not unless they can find you, and of course, not unless you offer them something relevant and useful (which you are doing by publishing a blog on your chosen subject.)

So how do we get the readers to find you – here are a few of the major ways:

-- Blog Directory Updates

When you set up your blog (if you are using Blogger) you can tell the system to notify the blog directory when any changes occur. This means that people (who are watching the directory) will know when your blog has changed.

You should also ensure that your blog is set as PUBLIC so that it will be made available to the entire world. No good keeping it a secret if you want visitors!

Incidentally, when the Internet was young (circa 1994) the free websites and free hosting solutions were ignored by the major search engines. The thinking behind this was as follows – if you cannot afford the low cost of hosting then you were not serious and so they figured why bother including you.

These days, hosting and websites are so cheap to obtain that they've become a commodity and now that elitist mentality has gone. The free sites are now included in the search engines. And I should point out that Google owns Blogger so they're a supporter.

-- Pinging

One of the neat features of blogs is the ability to syndicate the content. Syndicating the content simply means that people interested in content like you have on your blog, can be notified and presented with the information when it becomes available.

Now don't worry about the technical details, just know that there is a way to do this and for the most part it's call RSS.

If you want to get major search engine to pick up your blog and index it in a hurry, then the current tactic is to add your blogs RSS or XML specs to your Yahoo RSS feed list.

It's a bit beyond the scope of this document, however it is straightforward enough. Simply log into your Yahoo account and click on the edit button under RSS feeds – add your blogs feed address and that's it.

If you've kept the defaults from within Blogger then your RSS feed will be called: http://your-blog-name.blogspot.com/atom/xml

-- Press Release

Press and media releases aren't just for big companies – they're for you too. The simplest way to approach this is to use a free PR distribution service like www.preweb.com

I've used them many times in the past with fantastic results – of course you still need to write a good press/media release but PRWeb really comes through after that.

PRWeb is free to use (although you can donate to upgrade features if you wish) and provides ample examples and a complete step by step guide to follow.

Simply get yourself a free account, write yourself a release (using their easy-to-follow guidelines) and submit it. Just remember to include your blog name and it's web address so that the search engines can index it accordingly.

-- UseNet, Forums & Discussion Boards

If your blog contains meaningful and useful information then you should take a little time and visit the various resources all over the web that would like to know about your blog.

Check out the newsgroups, the discussion forums and anything else you can find related to your chosen subject. It will take a little time at first but you will get the hang of it very quickly.

Just remember to be courteous when you post anything. Blatant advertising and commercial messages are often frowned upon so be sensitive to that. It's generally acceptable to include a short bio box or signature at the end of your email or message posting so be sure to include a brief description and link to your blog.

Remember, add value and don't be pushy.

-- What's Next?

Well as the shampoo bottles like to say "rinse and repeat"

This will take a while to gain momentum and the search engines can be a little slow at picking up the thread – the trick here is persistence. Which shouldn't pose a problem for you since you're blogging on a subject that interests you anyhow?

Here are a few passing thoughts to get you excited.

It's very easy to earn $10 to $50 a day with this technique – once the traffic has begun flowing. Remember, TRAFFIC equals MONEY. These numbers are very conservative because I don't want you thinking this is some get-rich-quick thing.

Sure you can earn more, I know people making at least $100 a day, but this system works as a function of the effort you put into it. You will need to create a valuable blog. You will need to write meaningful and useful content. If you throw up some shoddy link farm or inappropriate content you will be rewarded accordingly.

JAMES C. BURCHILL is a 20-year veteran entrepreneur and information technology executive who now provides strategic marketing consulting services to a select group of clients. He is a published author, a passionate advocate of technology and the Internet, as well as an avid study of classical advertising and marketing strategies (which he uses during 'Internet alchemy' experiments.) James is an expert in information and data management, Internet marketing and online networking. A self confessed 'information and technology enthusiast', James brings a wide range of valuable skills to any venture. Of singular note is James' ability to assimilate complex subject matter and produce clean clear 'easy-to-understand' messages. James has been interviewed many times and caused quite the media buzz when a client 'double-dog-dared' him to prove you can get front page coverage for $0. The details and that 'dumb stunt' are now part of EBay legend. Currently James lives in Ontario, Canada with his wife and family, their Siamese cat and one very nervous fish. Visit http://www.JamesBurchill.com for details.

Shopping Cart Uses Top Google Keywords to Maximize Revenue
Ecommerce shopping cart hosting uses search engine marketing software to sell products online. Use top paying Google keywords and PPC campaigns to maximize revenue and boost your income stream. Get a merchant account for credit card processing and make money on the internet with merchandise sales.

MORE ARTICLES:

Shopping Cart Software - Making Internet Shopping Easier
People are increasingly turning to the Internet when they want to earn extra income or even begin earning a primary income from home. So many different jobs and sources of revenue on the Internet have evolved over the years that making money on the Internet has become quite easy. If you think about it, it's obvious why. The Internet can reach more customers than a physical store location can.

Pinnacle Cart Releases the Next Generation of Their Successful Shopping Cart Software  Pinnacle Cart 360
Pinnacle Cart announces the release of their latest ecommerce software solution, Pinnacle Cart 360. Designed from a marketing perspective, this tremendously successful shopping cart application is designed to increase website sales, average sales amount and organic traffic.

Credit Card Processing - 7 Things You Need to Know Before Opening an Online Merchant Account
When considering opening an online merchant account to accept credit card orders, there are a lot of things you need to keep in mind. The best thing to do is learn all about credit card processing before you open your online merchant account so you can handle everything from the beginning rather than having to go back and make many changes.

Merchant Account Insider Secrets - Accept Credit Cards Online
The process of learning how to accept payments on the Internet is similar to the course of figuring out how to launch a business. What at first seems puzzling and intimidating may be viewed as straightforward and easy to understand if one has the right guide or manual.

PPC Marketing, PPC Advertising, Pay Per Click, Internet Marketing
PPC Means ProsPerous Campaigns!

Accept Credit Cards Online Without a Merchant Account
There are two major ways to accept credit cards on your website. The first and most expensive is to have your own merchant account.

Apply For A Credit Card Merchant Account Online
Who should? Why, you should, of course, if you want to grow your business and maximize sales volume! In this day and age, more and more business functions are moving into cyberspace, which means that business owners must be ready to travel to this relatively unknown domain if they want to maintain strong customer ties and stay a step or two ahead of the competition. Dont worry if youre not Web savvy; most online processes that are geared to the general consumer are not hard to perform. In fact, most are downright easy.

eCommerce Solution - Shopping Cart Software
Build Your Own Ecommerce Website Ecommerce has been the rage for the online community. Now over half of the world prefers to do shopping on Internet through various ecommerce stores. Every businessperson wants to build own an ecommerce website in order to get their business an impressive online presence and an ultimate global exposure. If you are also running a business and are looking for a perfect way out to reach the millions of customers from all over the world, there is no other way to do this than building an ecommerce website. However, if you are planning to build your own ecommerce website, you should not that it is not an easy task to do. You need to look into several factors. Let us go exploring. Professional Design W...

Website Marketing Firm Brick Marketing Launches Local Search Engine Marketing Product at Brick Marketing Local
Brick Marketing, a respected full-service website marketing firm known for its success in increasing the sales of clients through online marketing, has launched a new local search engine marketing product. The new local online marketing package gives brick and mortar businesses the opportunity to achieve higher exposure in a wide range of local search engines.

Xonca Ecommerce Shopping Cart Software Released
Ecommerce software company Arquan releases search engine friendly Xonca shopping cart software for web designers and SEO professionals.

Search Engine Marketing Offline Sales Tracked With Online Advertising Analytics
ClearSaleing's new enhanced CRM integration program is an online advertising solution for search engine marketers.

Online Credit Card Processing - How to Accept Credit Cards - Ecommerce 101
Back in 1998 (through 2000 or so), I worked for a small company (called PaymentNet / then Signio) that handled online transactions. Verisign later purchased this company, and the product team I led integrated the "client" - the portion that took the credit card information and sent it to our servers for processing.

Comparison Shopping Search Engines Equal Big Profits for Online Merchants
Holiday shoppers are expected to spend $32 billion online this season, with purchases happening well past ground shipping cutoff dates. That's according to "Online Retail Holiday Forecast, 2006," a report from JupiterResearch.

Arquan Announces Ecommerce Shopping Cart Software For Web Designers and SEO Professionals
Arquan announces Xonca 3.0 ecommerce shopping cart software for web designers and SEO professionals who need complete design control, power, simplicity, and search engine friendly features. Xonca is also very easy to operate for the end user.