by Jennifer Eblin

Created on: November 30, 2008

The other day I stumbled across a website where the owner was making over $5,000 every month just based on one blog alone. That article made me stop and think. Then I realized that there are people out there who are making a living as a blog owner and I wanted to know how exactly they did it. After all, I have my own blog, but I make around $50 every month. That's enough to pay my internet bill, but hardly enough to quit one of my other jobs.

If you want to make a career out of blogging, you need to start by first finding a topic that draws in the viewers with regularity. One of my blogs is devoted to horror movies and while it isn't a lucrative topic, it's something that I find interesting and something that I like to do. Movie reviews aren't necessarily a great topic, but there are some topics that are worthwhile. For example travel, parenting and dating are all topics that keep the viewers entertained. At the same time you should avoid any topic that's too personal such as a blog devoted to your life. While your friends and family members might be excited to hear about your day to day life, outsiders typically don't share their interest.

Once you decide on a topic, you need to decide if you want to earn money based on performance, the post themselves or a combination of both. Today.com is a great website that pays for posts, but you can't use Adsense or any other type of ad revenue sharing on their website. For beginners just starting out, Today.com can be a great help. Blogger and similar websites are where many bloggers start out because the website is easy to use, even for beginners. A new program with Google allows users to automatically add Google Adsense to the site and start earning money right away.

The next step is to get those readers! Readers bring in money every time they visit the website. On page view sites you'll earn money based on each unique viewer that visits your site in a given day. On Adsense pages you'll earn money when those people follow the ads on your website and make a purchase. In the beginning you'll probably notice that your earnings aren't very high, but given enough time you'll start picking up money every day.

There are a number of ways you can get viewers to your website. Start by visiting blogs that you like and leaving a comment. When you leave a comment, include a link back to your blog. I've picked up dozens of readers doing this. You'll also want to set up an RSS feed on your blog so that repeat viewers can subscribe and come back every time you post a new blog. Also try the Entrecard system, which allows you to "drop" cards on other users and let them come back to your site.

As long as you have a worthwhile topic and can find readers, you can easily make a career out of blogging, regardless of whether you run one blog or dozens.

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