Friday, March 13, 2009

Choosing Your Blog Topic - and Making Money

Choosing your blog topic is easy.

Choosing a blog topic that will make you money..... not so easy.

Here are some tips.

#1) Write about something that you enjoy. I put this first, because... well, it's 4:58 am right now, it's important to me to be excited and WANT to write in my blog. I have several blogs and each morning I pick which topic I feel motivated to write about. Why did I pick this topic... Well, I enjoy looking for new ways to make money from home.. and I enjoy sharing that information. My friends are a little tired of me constantly trying to tell them about these great opportunities... so, that's where you come in... my extended circle of friends! :)

#2) Write about something you know. Let's face it... I may enjoy airplane rides... but I don't really know ANYTHING about airplanes. This also ties back into writing about what you enjoy, you are going to have to do a certain amount of research. Perhaps googling your topic in the morning to get ideas... or checking other industry specific resources... Unless your topic is your family... or (in my sister's case) her backyard garden... then you may have to do some research

#3) Third party content. I never thought about this when I first started blogging, but my readers are happy that I eventually did... Sometimes I access third party content that is related to my topic... it gives that particular entry the different voice that is required to keep people interested. Of course, you have to have permission to reprint someone else's materials, but if your topic is popular there will be other means for putting together the daily entries that are required to keep your blog popular

#4) Popularity. Many blogs are found by chance... if your topic is too popular, you will be buried pages and pages down from the initial search, if your topic is too obscure, very few people will be searching for it... It's a fine line, start with doing some searches of your topic. Go to Blogcatalog.com and see what the most popular blogs are being written about...

#5) Affiliates. As I've pointed out before, a great way to make money with blogging is by attaching affiliate advertising to your blog. These are links that will pay you a percentage if someone clicks through and purchases the product. There are a couple of different ways to locate affiliates in your topics... and I will go over them in a later article, but for a sneak peak at some popular affiliates you can go to www.sharpstarters.com a page devoted to "Money Making affiliates"

...yawn... only 3 more blogs to go! I love this job.

Have a great day!

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How to Start a Freelance Career

Work at Home and Earn an Excellent Income

Imagine being able to work from your own home, doing a job you love, and getting paid handsomely for doing it. Wouldn't that be great?

Well, the good news is that this is not just a fantasy. It is a prospect that is well within your reach. Today, millions of people worldwide have established highly-successful careers as freelance professionals. Writers, designers, programmers and many other home-based consultants have discovered that freelancing offers the perfect combination of freedom, creativity, flexibility and profitability.

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Now there are a number of job sites dedicated to helping freelancers find work and stay busy. Freelance Work Exchange, for example, brings you hundreds of fresh freelance jobs like these:

Write for Discussion Boards: $1200 per week, plus bonus
A writer is needed for an ongoing writing project. You will need to write copy to stimulate others into joining the discussion board. The writer needs to actively encourage regular and meaningful debate on the relevant discussion board, with some moderating of the content. You must have solid writing skills and good ideas.

Administer a Web Business from Home: $4000 per month
A successful e-commerce venture is seeking a part-time virtual assistant to act as a home-based office manager. You will deal with email correspondence, update site content and deal with general admin issues. You should have your own computer and Internet access.

Transcribe Author's Notes: $80 per hour, flexible working
A publishing company is seeking a freelance with an eye for detail to transcribe authors' notes and recordings for a range of ongoing projects. You must have a good grasp of English, be able to edit content into readable form, and be able to submit work from home by email.

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