How to Start a Blog and Make Money Online

If you're new to the internet and wondering what an earth this blogging craze is all about, or if you already have your own website and you wonder why everyone keeps advising you to start your own blog, read on. I'll explain what a blog is, why you need it, how to configure it, promote it and of course, make money from it.

Blog is short for "web log" and is similar to an online journal. The popularity of blogs has started in the late 1990 and began to become increasingly popular over the last two years. Almost everyone seems to have a blog these days, from CEOs of large companies to webmasters, world travelers to teenagers. Even my father has his own blog now! A blog allows you to communicate informally with people via an online diary, but it is more personal and unstructured for a website and easier and cheaper to set up a website.

If you have your own website, but have not yet started a blog that you can easily create one using a free service like Blogger or Wordpress. Try posting your blog at least once or twice a week on topics related to your website. Blogging will help your search engine and open channels of communication between you and your visitors or customers, encouraging them to interact with you and give them a reason to return to your site in the future.

If you do not have your own website and want to create a blog quickly and easily I recommend opening a free account with Blogger. You can blog about what you want, such as a hobby, vacation, your home town, something political, a sport or your business. Just be sure to choose something that interests you and well informed. You can host your blog on Blogspot for free - all you need to do is choose a name that is relevant to the topic of your blog. Once you have configured your profile and chosen a template, blogging is as simple as sending an e-mail to a friend.

There are many ways to earn money from your blog, but here are some ideas to get you started:

- Google Adsense - this is free to join and easy to implement. The ads match the content of your blog and you'll get paid each time a visitor clicks on an ad.

- Affiliate Programs - sign up for affiliate programs related to the topic of your blog and display links to related products on your blog. Clickbank, Trade Doubler and Commission Junction are good places to start, or do a Google search for "affiliate program" + the topic of your blog to find more affiliate programs. Each time someone clicks on your affiliate link and buys a product, you will receive a commission. If you know your subject, you can also write reviews for products help increase your affiliate sales.

- Sell advertising space - if you have a popular blog, you can charge people to advertise on your blog. This could take the form of a text link, banner or graphic.

You're not going to make money with a blog if people can find it. Once you have started to publish on your blog it is time to start promoting it. You can get your blog noticed by ...

- Submitting your blog to blog directories - just search for "blog directories" into Google

- Sale of other bloggers to exchange links with you - you put a link to your blog in exchange for a link to their blog.

- Writing an article on the topic of your blog and posting it to article directories. Remember to include resource box of an author with a link to your blog.

- Ping Ping blog services whenever you create a new message - and pingomatic.com pingoat.com are two sites you can use to do this.

- Participate in forums related to the topic of your blog. Put a link to your blog in your forum signature.

Finally, once you have your blog monetized and you have begun to promote this do not forget to regularly. The most important of all the blogs success is common property, so be sure not to let the dust collect on your virtual Blog

Suzanne Morrison blogs regularly on various topics including travel home business and internet marketing. Visit the Plug-In Profit Site blog to know how she makes money online.