It seems like just about everyone these days has a blog on the internet. Blogging has certainly become very popular and everyone from individuals to multimillion dollar corporations appear to have jumped on the blogging bandwagon. If you don’t know what blogging is, you just may be living in the dark ages. Quite simply, it is a way to communicate information to others on the internet. In the “old days” we wrote journals, now we write blogs. Blogs can be personal stories or articles on any topic imaginable. People use them to keep friends and family updated on their happenings and businesses use them to promote their products and services. In fact, anyone who has a little desire and determination can make money from blogging.

Profitable Blogging, how to get started: If you are looking to real in a profit by blogging on the internet, you will need to follow some key steps to get your blog up and running. Look at these steps as the laying of a foundation. Your money making potential will, in part, be determined from these critical first steps.

First, you will need to decide what niche your blog is going to be about. It is important to pick a topic that you are passionate about and one that others will be interested in as well. Having a niche that you are familiar with and zealous about will make your job more exciting and easy. It is difficult to be passionate about something you don’t believe in.

Next, you will need to decide what platform to use for your blog. While there are many free services available for you to use, most people prefer to set up their own and pay a minimal fee for hosting. This will allow you to have complete control over your blog.

You will now need to choose a domain name and register it. It will be critical for you to choose a domain name that will relate to your niche and be easy for people to remember.

Next, you will design your blog site. When doing this make sure you use a simple yet catchy design that will draw people in.

Now you will need to begin to post your blog entries. Make sure that you spend a good deal of time on this step. It is essential that what you are writing is valuable to others, while at the same time catches their attention. Providing an entertainment factor to your blog can be very beneficial.

Make Money Blogging, How to Market Your Blog: Once you have your blog up and running, it is time to get down to the business of filling up your pockets with some cold hard cash. This part will be critical, and your hard work and determination will set the pace. Keep in mind that making money takes time and you should not expect to be making a fortune overnight. Remember, slow and steady wins the race.

To make money on your blog you will need to do one of three things. If you have your own product to sell, then your focus will be to promote your product/service and quite simply sell it. Your second option is to contract with companies that sell products/services in your niche and sell these for a certain percentage of the sales. The final way to make money is the most popular in the blog community. You would be an affiliate marketer and refer people to products/services related to your niche and in doing so you would receive a referral fee.

Once you have decided how you are going to make your money, you will now need to focus on traffic. Without traffic to your blog, you will not make a cent. There are a variety of ways to drive traffic to your site, let’s take a look. They include:

Google ad words Article Marketing Registering with Blog Directories Registering with Blog Carnivals Banner Ads Email Marketing Using Social Networks Word of mouth, tell everyone you know about your blog Print Medium; include your blog on your business cards and any other print mediums you work with.

In conclusion, making money from blogging can be very profitable for most people. By following the above steps and mixing in hard work and determination you could have the recipe to becoming profitable.

If you’re going to do this properly and seek guidance here are the points I advise you to look for especially for producing income from your blog – training on aquiring or producing good content (this is key), where to get traffic (multiple sources), step by step (preferably visual) instructions, choosing relevant products, establishing a relationship with your audience (people blow this all the time). I’m very comfortable with this source of knowledge called 31 days to better blogging. I have also met the author and he is perhaps in the best position to teach you because he’s likely the most well known professional blogger on the internet. Read the overview and then download thirty one days to better blogging.