Thursday, March 7, 2013

Blog-turned-business


I started this blog over four years ago just to document things that were important to me. It slowly evolved as I decided I wanted to use the blog as a money-making tool and for networking. I put together a list of online tools and methods that you can use to make money from your blog.

Passive income has always been something that interests me. Conrad and I have several websites and passive income tools that we use that provide us with a pretty steady amount of money. I won't get really deep into the numbers, but here's a general overview of the tools we use and how they help us.

Google AdSense 
The Framed Lady has made $222.60 from AdSense
This is an ad program that helps cater to your audience based on their personal search history. You get paid based on the amount of clicks you get. They will send your payment once your balance reaches $100. If you have a blogger blog, you can just add the Google AdSense widget to your site!

Amazon Associates
The Framed Lady combined with some of our other websites has made $71.47 from Amazon Associates
This is an affiliate program. You sign up with Amazon, and they give you 4% of all sales that you referred. You can post products and links on your website or blog, and if people click on it and buy that item, or any other item, you receive 4% of the sale. This means that we've referred $1530.71 of sales! That's a lot of money made for Amazon!

Shopsense
The Framed Lady has made $.05 from Shopsense (I signed up two days ago)
This is another affiliate program. It's great for creating collages of products you love. You post the collage on your site and your readers can click the links. You get paid for referral clicks and any resulting sales. Pay rates vary per online store and sales results.

Passionfruit Ads
The Framed Lady has sold over 50 ads through Passionfruit
Personal ads are a great way to make money in the blogging community, and to network with your fellow bloggers. Many bloggers use this tool, which makes it very easy to buy, sell, and trade ad spots. I've found that the months that I sell more ads are the months when I provide more opportunities for growth for my sponsors, such as giveaways, feature posts, and product posts from their shops. Bloggers will see that you are able to provide them with new readership, which in turn makes more people want to advertise with you.

Social Spark
Just signed up!
This is an affiliate program where you can write sponsored posts for advertisers who will pay anywhere between $5 and $200 or more per post! You can choose the companies and products you endorse, which means you never have to lie about being happy with a product or service! Some companies will even give you free stuff to try!

Tools that help drive traffic and bring money in other ways
These tools may not make money directly, but they are great tools to direct readers to your site, and they can result in money in other ways.

Newsletters
There are various newsletter-sending sites that allow you to notify your readers of posts, sales, freebies, and other awesome info by email. I use MailChimp, and it's super easy and free. You just type up your template, send to your list of people, and watch as the clicks roll in! Through newsletters, I've been able to sell ads, promote my sponsors, and promote my posts.

HelloBar
This is a tool to get attention to one post or site. The bar pops up at the top of the page, and readers can click over to your post. You can drive up your pageviews and increase contest entries this way, which means you and your sponsors will get more followers!

Facebook page
Use social media to your advantage! Have a Facebook page for your blog or business allows you to reach unique readers and send special deals to your fans. You want to be present on as many online platforms as you can, since there are some people who you might only reach by Facebook or Twitter, etc.

Twitter Account
Same as above! Facebook and Twitter allow you to have conversations and interact with your readers in a way that no other platform allows. Create a relationship with your audience, and your opinion and referrals will matter more to them.

Long-term projects that can help you make money
These projects take more time, but the money that can result can be awesome! If you're feeling particularly ambitious, give these a try.

Write an e-book
Develop an app

Check out Smart Passive Income for more awesome information on making money online! The blogger makes TONS of money online because he's mastered so many tools!

Do you use any tools I didn't talk about? Tell me about it in the comments!

6 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for this post!
    I love blogging and would love to be able to bring in a little extra money when I do eventually stay at home.

    http://www.diaryofabrwneyedgirl.blogspot.com

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  2. How do you feel with the MailChimp that it has your address in the bottom? That's my one worry with it, it wont let me take that off... :(

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    Replies
    1. I'm ok with it. I don't publicly post it on the blog, but if I'm sending a newsletter, it's a business move. We own a couple businesses that are all registered to our address.

      I personally never ever EVER even look at other people's addresses on mailchimp, so I'm not too concerned with people being able to see my address. Almost my whole mailing list is fellow bloggers, and I'd give them my address for giveaway purposes anyway.

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    2. I typed in mail chimps address instead :)

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  3. These are good tips and ideas! I hate AdSense though. They closed down my account for I don't know what reason and it didn't even help asking why. Still trying to find other ways to make some passive income!

    http://skinstuffbykaty.blogspot.com/

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  4. This is a great article and very informative. I have been running a business for a few years now and I recently had to change my call taking services. My company started off small but we grew dramatically in the past year. I was told to use the services of call center order taking because they handle all your calls for you. They can also take order and improve your overall business and revenue.

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Thanks for your comment!