Do you have a blog? If not, you should, especially if you’re trying to build a business online. Blogs can be used for lead generation, they are traffic magnets, and they’re free. How cool is that?
But one question that often arises is, “How do I make money from my blog?”
There is a simple answer to that, but here are 3 good ones:
Use it to build your email marketing list:
When you first start a blog, you should write in it every day. By doing so, you’re building a relationship with people in your niche, who are looking for information. They will subscribe to your feed, and if you add an autoresponder optin box to the blog, they will subscribe to your email marketing list, as well. A relationship with readers that know, like, and trust you ensures that you will make sales on the products you recommend.
Use a banner or two in your sidebar:
People who come to enjoy the content in your blog will be looking through it for more information. Placing a banner ad in your sidebar is a good way to attract their attention to products that you use and recommend. Linking them to affiliate sales is another way to make money with your blog. Just don’t overdo. Too many banners and your blog will look like a carnival and highly unprofessional.
Solicit Advertising:
If you consistently place good content in your blog, be it written, video, or audio podcasting, advertisers may well approach you. However, it’s okay to write to webmasters in your niche and offer them space in your sidebar. To do this, be sure that your blog is getting lots of traffic because that’s what really matters to advertisers. Just never sell paid links of any kind. Links are text phrases that are hyperlinked back to the advertiser’s website. It’s still possible to do this, but the search engines really abhor the practice (especially Google), so it can ruin your search engine rankings.
Search engines love blogs, so getting traffic to them is easy, if you’re providing solid content about your niche on a regular basis. You can use blogs for a lead generation boost [http://ListFormula.com], to build relationships with your market, a