For indie writers, earning a few extra bucks from home can be a nice addition to their monthly income. But what does that mean? How do you get paid writing blogs? Is it even achievable? In this article, we will answer all of your questions and teach you the best way to earn money from home while providing excellent customer service.
The Basics Of Getting Paid To Write Blogs
Even though we live in the age of the internet, nothing online ever truly dies. Which means there will always be a need for content. And as a blogger, you’re in the perfect place to meet that need. If you want to get paid to write blogs, all you need to do is become a freelancer and connect with potential clients.
To do this, you need to first establish yourself as an expert in your industry. To do this, you need to continuously add value to your blogs and provide exceptional customer service. Once you’ve established yourself as an authority in your industry, you can become a freelancer and connect with clients. From there, you can negotiate a contract and get to work.
The Difference Between Blogging And Writing A Blog
If you’re reading this, I assume you already know the basics of what a blog is and how to create one. We also assume you’re looking for ways to make money from home. What we’re going to do is clarify the difference between blogging and writing a blog and teach you the best ways to do each one. This will help you in understanding how you can make money from blogging and make the most of your existing knowledge.
Blogs Vs. Blogs
This might be one of the most confusing terms to sort out. Even after all these years, the lines between the two are still a bit blurred. You have blogs, which are discrete, published articles on a variety of topics. Then you have Web logs, or blogs, which are a type of blog that also includes multimedia content. So, a blog is really just a type of blog. But let’s go through the basics. A blog has several key attributes:
- It’s usually worded in the third-person as “He blogs.”
- It’s typically self-referencing.
- It’s usually informal.
- Often, there’s a mixture of text, images, and video content.
- Often, there’s a combination of content across multiple platforms (i.e., social media).
- It’s human-friendly — meaning you’ll most likely be able to engage with your audience.
- There’s usually a focus on a specific topic.
In comparison, a Web log is similar to a blog, but has a couple of differences:
- Usually, it’s in the first-person as “I blog.”
- It’s usually longer than a typical blog. The majority of Web logs are between 500 and 1,000 words.
- There’s more emphasis on the quality of the content.
- The tone is often more serious.
- It’s more journalistic in nature.
The Difference Between A Blogger And A Content Creator
A blogger is someone who simply publishes content (i.e., articles, videos, etc.) for other sites. They might write for a local newspaper or magazine, post on social media, or even create videos to promote products or services. Essentially, a blogger performs various functions:
- They collect and curate content.
- They write and post content.
- They engage with their audience through social media.
- They promote products and services, either through affiliate programs or paid ads.
- They comment on blog articles and other people’s blogs.
A content creator, on the other hand, creates content that gets published and consumed by others. They might create a YouTube video to promote a product or service. Or, they could write a blog post, send out a few e-mails, or make a podcast appearance to educate their audience about a product or concept.
In some cases, the lines between a blogger and a content creator can get a bit blurry. For example, a freelance journalist could potentially fall under the purview of both labels. But for the most part, if you’re looking to get paid to write blogs, you’re a blogger.
How Do I Start A Blog?
So, you want to start a blog. Congratulations! It’s a goal we’d all like to accomplish. But, how do you go about doing this? Here are some basic guidelines to follow:
- Find your niche.
- Build a community.
- Iterate.
- Make money.
Once you’ve followed these guidelines, you’ll be able to start and maintain a blog that earns you enough money to live on.
Make Money With Your Blog
So, you’ve gotten yourself a blog. Now, how do you actually start making money? There are several ways a blog can generate income, but none of these methods are quick fixes. It takes time to build a successful blog. But you can certainly make money online with a blog. The key is creating and following a course of action.
Here are a few of the more popular ways to make money from blogs:
Monetization
When we say a blog can be monetized, we mean you can make money from the blog itself through affiliate marketing, placing affiliate links and ads on it, or selling and advertising products related to your niche. In 2019, the most popular methods of monetization are affiliate marketing and displaying ads. If you want to make money with a blog, these are the two ways to go about it.
Sale Of Merchandise
Blogs don’t always have to have money-making potential. There are many ways a blog can generate revenue, simply by selling and displaying ads for products related to your niche. For example, a travel blog could potentially earn money from accommodation and travel-related products (e.g., tours, travel guides, etc.).
Content Squeeze Pages
A content squeeze page is a type of ad that’s usually placed on a blog in conjunction with an affiliate program. As the name implies, the content of the page is usually “squeezed” between a set of content guidelines. When a visitor clicks on a content squeeze page and makes a purchase after reading our review of BestVPN, for example, we’re compensated monetarily by the vendor.
Make Money With Affiliate Marketing
If you’ve built a following on social media, you could use your influence to market products for others. To do this, you’ll need to become a digital marketer.
Developing Your Niche
If you’re looking to get paid to write blogs, you’ll need to build a solid foundation first. To do this, you need to find a niche. A niche is a segment of the blogosphere that is interested in your particular brand of expertise. For example, if you have a cooking blog, your niche may be culinary or cooking-related topics. If you have a fashion blog, your niche could be styling or fashion.
What is important is that you identify a topic that you are uniquely positioned to write about. You could start by brainstorming topics you’re passionate about and have experience in. Then, you can narrow this list down to a smaller, more manageable set of topics. If you have an existing platform with a large audience (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, Google+, etc.) you can use this to gain credibility quickly in your niche.
Building A Community
So, you’ve managed to narrow your niche down to a manageable set of topics. You’ve also found a way to establish credibility in your niche. Now, you can put these skills to use and begin to build a community. Your community is basically your audience. Those individuals who are interested in your topic (e.g., culinary, fashion, travel, etc.) This is your target audience.