7 Easy Tips to Make Money Blogging

Can you imagine being a blogging rockstar like Johns Wu? He sold his blog (bankaholic.com) for $15 Million dollars. He spent 2 years developing that blog focused on personal finance, credit cards, bank rates, loans, etc. Not bad for 2 years work.

Weblogs, Inc is a blogging network that earns about $30 million dollars a month.
The Huffington Post is a blog. They earn over $2 million dollars a month.
 John Chow is a pretty average joe, he claims to earn over $40,000. per month on his blog.
 Maybe the biggest secret to blogging is to change your name to John.

Moving on...
How to Make Money from blogging.
Some niches have more opportunity to market and different techniques available. Some are easier to drive traffic to than others. Once you are getting traffic to your blog you will want to monetize it.

Below are a few techniques.
Affiliate Marketing
Promote other people's products or services and receive a commission. Affiliate sales could include a one time fee to a residual monthly stipend. The possibilities for affiliate income ranges from less than one dollar to $10,000. per sale. Profitability and potential depends on your niche.
Banner Advertising
Advertising banners of affiliate marketers or actual product publishers guarantees you a monthly income. Many put a contract in place for banner space on their blog. It often involves a 3rd party that the blog owner can sign up with. If you have a high ranking blog, other marketers will reach out to you independently wanting to advertise on your site.
Pay Per Click (PPC)
PPC is a component of banner advertising. Google is a PPC provider. The blog owner and Google are paid when someone clicks on the advertisement placed on the blog. It is not based on whether or not a sale was made.
CPM Advertising
CPM is an impression based advertising model. Cost per 1000 impressions. An impression is counted each time the advertisement is viewed.
Membership Program
Membership sites are a growing trend in the industry. If you provide premium quality content to your visitors you might find some willing to pay for it.
Consulting - Coaching
If you are comfortable in your knowledge of your specific niche, offer to coach someone else who is interested in learning about it.

Sell Your Own Product

Write a "How To" Book and sell it on your blog. Do you make jewelry, or croquet doilies, sell them on your blog.

Blogging is easy, and fun, although if you find yourself stuck on one or more component of the creation you can always outsource anything you need.

If you have a blog and you are not monetizing it, you are leaving money on the table.

By Sandy Armstrong

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8876084

If you are interested in learning to market your business online, please collect my 4 free ebooks at www.methodsocialmedia.com

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How to Boost Your Social Media Marketing - Tip 1 - Automate Your Social Bookmarking

This article is the first of a series of articles which will help you boost your social media marketing.You can benefit by posting your bookmarks to a social bookmarking service.

Do you need to; Create new targeted traffic to your website, blog or optin page?; Create more chances for your site to appear in the search results of major search engines?; Create the chances of viral traffic?

Of course you do. These can be the benefits to you of social bookmarking. Importantly the submission process can be automated so saving you lots of time.

A social bookmarking service is a centralised online service which enables users to add, edit and share bookmarks of the website pages which they like. You can use your bookmarks easily from any location using any computer which is connected to the internet.

Being listed on sites like Digg and Delicious can drive new traffic to your website. Incidentally Delicious popularised the terms "social bookmarking" and "tagging." These sites offer the best type of visitor. People who reach your site from such a social bookmarking site are generally there because your website appeared in a search for topics they were interested in.

Search engines will often list results from bookmarking sites. So if your site is bookmarked, this is an extra opportunity to show up in search results.

Being featured on one bookmarking site can often lead to people tagging your site on other bookmarking sites so you have the possibility of viral traffic.

The top 5 bookmarking sites in terms of unique monthly visitors are Reddit, StumbleUpon, Delicious, Digg and Slashdot. But there are many more. Search Engine Journal has put together a list of 125 social bookmarking sites, some of which are very popular and others which are newer or somewhat unheard of.

Besides targeting the major social bookmarking sites, you will find some diamonds in the rough which are niche oriented or treated well by Google and other search engines.

To get your share of the wealth which social bookmarking offers, you should leave your bookmarks in multiple sites. This might seem a daunting task but it can be automated with appropriate software such as IMAutomator.

This social bookmarking software allows you to build links in just moments. IMAutomator operates using Submission Credits. Every site in the system has a credit cost equal to its PageRank so a PR1 site costs 1 credit to submit to, a PR4 site costs 4 credits and so on. When you submit a job you choose exactly which sites you want to submit to and thus control exactly how many credits you are spending on each one. If you're just starting out the best option is the free trial then you buy credits as you need them.

You'll be surprised how easy the submission process really is. Once you've completed your details and submitted the job, you'll have access to a submission schedule, for each job.

The default rate for link submission is one per day, in order to avoid search engine penalties. My job comprised of 63 scheduled submissions and the cost of credits was about $6. The bookmarking site with the highest PageRank was Delicious. The remaining 62 sites had a PageRank ranging from 1-7.

So there you are then. Automated social bookmarking. The automation cost of $6 saved hours and hours of my time. Of the top 5 sites however, only Delicious was included in the submission schedule. So I'll have to do Reddit, StumbleUpon, Digg and Slashdot manually. Not such a daunting task considering the many long term benefits.

By  Stelios Perdios

Read more Social Media Marketing Tips at http://www.socialmediamarketingstepbystep.blogspot.co.uk

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stelios_Perdios

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Social Bookmarking: What is Social Bookmarking and How to Use It?

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Creating a Facebook Ad? Implement These Call to Action Tips

Anybody with a little bit of time and a few dollars can create a Facebook ad and run a campaign. Not everybody has what it takes to create an ad that generates clicks and converts these people into buyers.
When creating a Facebook ad, regardless of your company size or industry, the call to action is one of the most important factors. If your ad is boring and unattractive, you can't expect it to receive a high click through rate. On the other hand, if you implement a killer call to action, you may be surprised at how much traffic you drive.

Here are three call to action tips that can take your mediocre ad and turn it into something much more powerful:

1. Use at least one "action" keyword. A Facebook page is full of content and images, so your ad has to stand out in the crowd. By using an action keyword, you are telling your audience that you have something special to offer. You are telling them to take action now if they want to take advantage.
   
   Some of the best action keywords include: save, discount, book now, sign up today, order now, try, and subscribe.
   
   You can build off of these, based on your particular industry and offering, to create an even more powerful message. For example, if you are pushing a weight loss product, you could use a phrase such as "lose weight today" or "lose weight faster."


2. Don't beat around the bush. You only have so much time to grab the attention of your audience and convince them to click through.
   
   Don't make people read through your ad to find out what you want them to do. Instead, the call to action should be displayed in a prominent and powerful location. If your audience can identify the call to action at a glance, while also understanding what it means to them, you have reached your goal.


3. Ask a question. This is one of the best ways to engage your audience. Not only does a question draw people in, but it can improve your click through rate as they will be interested in learning the answer.
   
   Note: if asking a question, keep it short and sweet.

With these three call to action tips, you will find yourself taking a different approach when creating Facebook ads. Subsequently, you may also find that your campaign is generating better results.

Peg McDermott is an award-winning marketing communications expert,Internet marketing specialist, and public speaker. Peg is the founder and president of COGO Interactive, an innovative Internet Marketing firm specializing in helping small to mid-sized businesses increase revenue and awareness by leveraging Social Media Marketing and Search Engine Optimization.

By Peg McDermott

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peg_McDermott

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Brands Look to YouTube to Boost Sales

YouTube Stars Becoming Brand Ambassadors

As online viewing figures continue to rise, brands and advertisers are looking for new ways to reach their target audience. Their next port of call? YouTube.

 getchute.com

YouTube advertising on the whole is nothing new. I’m sure you've all been frustrated by seeing an advert at the start of a video you’re trying to watch, even more infuriating when that advert is longer than the video and won’t let you skip it! (I’m not bitter at all…)

The latest approach, however, puts a different spin on the tried and tested techniques. By collaborating with YouTube stars who have managed to accumulate a large following, brands are hoping to build a rapport with their customer base on a more personal level. The ambassadors are often content creators who focus on independent product reviews, a style that helps them to earn their viewers’ trust, as they will only endorse a product they have themselves tested and liked.

A major factor in why these people have amassed such large following is the genuine and personable feel you get from an independent YouTube star, as compared to a generic TV host. When a major YouTube star such as Zoella (recently appointed digital ambassador for the charity ‘Mind’) advises her viewers to invest in a particular product, they are more often than not taken on their word. They carry with them a certain level of credibility accrued from years of making videos, meaning their audience now are likely to have been following them for a while, and keep coming back because they enjoy, and importantly trust, the content.

thenextweb.com

When selecting a brand ambassador for your own business, getting the right representative is key. Make sure you’re hitting your target market, there’s no point in a make-up company teaming with a cooking channel, to make an obvious example. Once you've found your demographic, aim to find a YouTuber who is passionate about your product. They need to believe in what they’re selling or that edge they gain for being genuine with their audience is lost, and they may lose credibility as a result. Of course, that would be bad news for both your marketing campaign, and the star’s subscribers.

Done right, a brand ambassador can dramatically boost your business, but make sure you know the rules. Oreo recently had a YouTube marketing campaign banned for misleading viewers. The purely promotional videos were not labelled as such, and YouTube decreed that as it was unclear that the videos were paid for they had to be taken down. As long as you follow the guidelines however, a YouTuber on your side can be a big advantage.

By Sam Bonson

Article source: http://www.socialmediafrontiers.com/2015/01/youtube-stars-becoming-brand-ambassadors.html#.VK8WSPzlqos

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6 Apps You Need to Stay Social in 2015

New social media platforms and social applications are released every day. With so many to choose from, it can be difficult to know which apps and platforms are right for your business. So, here is a brief list of social applications to watch in 2015:

1. Line

Messaging is a quick way to communicate with your employees and staff. Since most people are busy, important conversations need to happen quickly and Line allows one-on-one chatting as well as group messaging. Additionally, it offers video sharing, voice messaging and photo exchange. Not only can you and your employees connect with each other, but you can use this app's social features by following popular artists and brands. This is especially helpful if you are in advertising or marketing because you can keep up to date with what's trending.

2. Quicket

If your business requires you to travel frequently, Quicket is a one stop shopping tool. It enables you to book your ticket online and choose your seat all from your smartphone. This app also allows you to be social by checking-in via Facebook and even connecting with who is sitting next to you on the plane.

3. Space Tag

Available for free, Space Tag allows people to leave their digital mark wherever they go. Users can snap a photo, leave notes about their location and share on social networks. It is a way to communicate with others about a particular place, capture a memory and even make a digital diary. This is especially helpful for businesspeople who travel or for advertisers and marketers who need feedback on their client's location and business.

4. Rinbw

This app can be a fun way for your employees to bond and have fun with each other. Rinbow allows you to share 5-second videos to people in your contacts. Creating and sharing these videos may spur conversations, spark creativity and help build team unity. Friends can also "fruit" videos that they like, which will definitely make the person sending the clip smile.

5. Viber

Viber is another great app for the traveling businessperson. It not only allows you to call locally and internationally for free, but it lets you text and send photo messages, too. Without the fear of running up charges and fees for long-distance calling, Viber allows users to talk and connect without pricey repercussions. This also is helpful if your clients are out of the country or if you have a global workforce.

6. Heard

Heard is a social network that allows users to interact anonymously based on the content they prefer. Visitors can check out polls, predictions and posts from others and then interact with them as much (or as little) as they want. Heard also connects your content to the right audience, which is especially helpful if you are in content marketing, an upcoming blogger or publisher or a writer that is trying to get noticed. The app then tracks user reaction and other stats that are helpful to your business.

Social companies possess the potential to make their mark in 2015. If you want your business to stay social and be noticed, be sure to watch these social applications and let them help your business thrive.

Written by TeamSMF

Article source: http://www.socialmediafrontiers.com/2015/01/6-apps-you-need-to-stay-social-in-2015.html

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Beyond Followers: How to Achieve True Engagement with Social Media

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Via Salesforce
Article source: http://blogs.salesforce.com/ca/2014/11/engagement-with-social-media.html

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