by Marlin Bressi

Created on: December 23, 2011   Last Updated: January 04, 2012

Creating a blog is the easy part.  Getting paid for blogging is the part that can be tricky.  When it comes to monetizing a blog, most people are mistakenly convinced that using an ad-server like Google Adsense is the way to go.  However, there are many other ways to make money from blogging.  Affiliate marketing is one such method.

Unlike Google Adsense, affiliate marketing allows a blogger to select exactly which ads appear on the blog.  As an affiliate, you receive a percentage or commission every time a person purchases a product through an ad on your blog.  This can be quite lucrative, especially if you partner with a company that sells the types of products your readers are interested in buying.  For instance, if you own a blog about health, you may decide to join an affiliate program operated by a company that manufactures vitamins or herbal supplements.

Another advantage that affiliate marketing has over Adsense is the variety of services and products you will be able to promote on your blog.  Many bloggers have invested years of their lives building and maintaining a blog, only to be notified by Google that they have violated the Adsense user agreement.  Adsense is much like the Disney Channel of advertising; they do not allow a blogger to promote anything that has to do with gambling, gaming, and weapons.  For instance, if you own a hunting blog you might be violating Adsense policy and you run the risk of having your Adsense account suspended.

Affiliate marketing is the solution to this problem, since you will have the freedom to promote any type of product you wish.  Once you have signed up for an affiliate account, you will usually be given a variety of ads that you can place on your blog.  This requires virtually no knowledge of programming, simply copy and paste the ad's HTML or Javascript code into your blog.  For example, if you have a Blogspot account on Blogger.com, all you have to do is go to the "Design" tab, click on "Choose a Gadget", select "HTML/Javascript" and enter the ad's code into the box that pops up.

For best results, limit yourself to only two or three affiliate programs per blog.  If a blog contains more ads than content, you may have your affiliate account suspended by the company because you are creating more competition for them.  It is also a good idea to be selective about which types of products you wish to promote.  A blogger can narrow down the search by going to a directory of affiliate programs, such as http://www.allaffiliateprograms.com, which lists programs by categories.  Find the program which would be of most value to your readers, apply for an account, and within minutes you will be on your way to earning money with your blog.

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