In this article we will discuss some ways to monetize (make money) from your blog. If you have been reading and following along and have seen all the work it takes to start a blog and then you have probably realized that you are not going to get rich quick from blogging. It is very possible that you could make a few dollars if you offer something helpful to people. That is why writing good articles is so important. People will keep coming back if you give them something they are interested in. The exception to this is if you plan on doing Niche sites which are all about good SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and driving people to your sites with keyword searches and then getting them to click on whatever advertising you have set up. But for most of us, it’s going to be about quality, writing about things that people are interested in.

Monetizing

We took our first steps toward monetizing the blog when we installed Adsense. Google Adsense is a proven program but it only works if you have readers who also click on the ads. I have done some research on Kontera. Kontera is a provider of In-Text Advertising. You have probably seen this on blogs that as you reading the blog you can roll your mouse of underlined test and you get a screen that advertises a product related to the the text. If people click on the ad you can get some money. You may want to check Kontera out (www.kontera.com), but at this time I have decided not to use that type of text advertising. I am adding a nice way to receive donations from PayPal.

PayPal Donations

There are several PayPal plugins available at the WordPress.org plugin directory. We are going to add one called Buy me a Beer(Coffee). If you don’t have a PayPal account you will to set one up. The process is pretty straightforward. Start by going to the PayPal website. If you don’t have an account click on sign-up.

I chose the Premier Account. It’s free and allows me to accept Paypal and credit cards. Once you choose your option you will be required to fill out information and then you will have a PayPal account. In order to verify the account PayPal will make to small deposits into your bank account. Once you have seen the deposits you type in the amounts at the PayPal site and you are good to go. This process can take a few days so you need to get on it. The plugins we are going to install won’t work until your PayPal account is up and verified. Here are the plugins I am using with PayPal.

Buy me a Beer Coffee

The plugin is called buy me a beer, but you can change it very easily to buy me a coffee once you install it. I like this plugin because it is more directed then just saying please contribute. I set it up as a $5.00 cup of virtual coffee. Sometimes I buy myself a cup just to feel good about the blog. Why don’t you buy me one? Or even two. You can see how this plugin looks on the sidebar to the right just above the tag cloud. It’s is really pretty easy to get running. Download the Buy Me a Beer Plugin and then install it in the Wordpress Plugin Directory. Activate the plugin and then go to Options and Buy Me a Beer.

Make sure your PayPal email address is entered in. Enter in the type of currency. Enter in an amount. This is optional but I like the idea of having a set amount so I put in $5.00. I gave it a title “Buy Me a Vitual Coffee” and a brief description “If you are enjoying this blog, click on the coffee mug to buy me a virtual coffee”. I then changed the image from a beer to Cafe. You can also set it up to appear after each post but I decided not to do that. Press Update Options and you are good to go. If you are like me you will have to check it out by buying yourself a cup. Once you do go and check your PayPal account and you should see some money. I hope it is just the first of a lot of money you see in your PayPal account! Another How to Create a Blog question answered.

I have been working hard on the blog and while I realize I have a long way to go to get where I want to be I feel good about the progress so far. If you have been following along with your own blog you should feel pretty good by this point as well. I hope you are practicing your writing skills and working on some posts and not spending all your time just getting the mechanics of the blog down. The mechanics will eventually get done (there of course will always be changes but the big stuff will get finished) and then you need to write, write, write. The blog I have started from scratch is taking shape and so I am going to begin the Adsense process. One quick thing, if you don’t have a Google email address (Gmail) you might want to consider getting one. It’s free, works great, and will help keep all the stuff you do with Google in the future under one user name and password. Just go to Google and and sign up.

Signing up for Google Adsense

The first part of the process is to go to Google Adsense and join. You will see a screen that will say Join Adsense or Sign Up for Adsense:

Press the Join Adsense button and you should see:

Fill in the information and Google will ask you to check all your information again and then ask a couple of questions about how you will communicate. This is where it would be convenient to have a Gmail account already set up. When you answer the questions you will get this screen:

Now you have to wait for an email. It is going to take one or two days so you should probably work on something else for a while and then come back to this post after you have received your email from Google. See you in two days. Have fun! Be careful!

I got my email from Google, now what?

You need to go to Adsense Setup. Then go to Adsense for Content.

You will want to set up some Text ads so in the Ad unit window select Text ads only.

Choose what size you want for your blog. I like the 160 x 600 skyscraper.

You can also manipulate the color palette so that the ads match your site better. If there are no ads that fit well with your site you can choose to allow Public Service ads in those places, or you can choose to having nothing there and just fill the space with color.

You can choose channels to track the performance of the ad unit.

You can leave this blank as well and click continue.

Now you have a Adsense unit. Click on Submit and Get Code.

Highlight and copy this code. Go to the WordPress Dashboard, Presentations, and Widgets. Open up a text widget and paste in the adsense unit code. Wait for a few minutes and when you go to view your site you should see some Google ads! I want to encourage you to play with the different formats for ads. You are not allowed to edit the Adsense code, but they give you a lot of format options. Read the rules about how many ads you are allowed to have on your page. I think its important that you place the ads in a way that they don’t detract from your site. Go ahead. Take some time to experiment and have fun! Another How to Create a Blog question answered.

The Who, What, Why, Where, When, and How of Starting a Blog

Whether you create a blog for fun or for money you can get a lot out of blogging. Some time ago I read an article about the tremendous growth that blogging was experiencing and it really caught my attention. I feel like I have a lot to talk about and a blog seemed like a perfect venue to write some of the things I wanted to share. The article recommended a couple of books. One was about how to blog, and the other was about starting a blogging business. I ordered them and eagerly awaited their arrival. They were good books, and I recommend reading them (to order the books go to the Products page) but I was still in need of more information to get started. I searched the internet for information about starting a blog from scratch and I found a few good sites but even they assumed that I knew a lot more about getting started than I did at the time. Now that I have a blog up and running I am writing this article to try and help people with very little computer experience get there own blog started. If you are hoping to start a blog to make some money or just want to have some fun and an outlet for what you have to say then then this is the article for you. Let’s get going and learn how to create a blog.

Who should blog?

I think that everybody has something to say. If you have something to say then you should have a blog. You might be asking, “what would I write about”? Good question. Here are some answers. What are your hobbies? What are you passionate about? What do you consider yourself an expert in? What do you find yourself talking about? Are you interested in politics? Can’t get enough news talk radio or TV? Love football, basketball, baseball, hockey, NASCAR? Fascinated by celebrities? Love to cook? Raising kids? Watching movies? Reading books? You can start a blog about anything that you are interested in. Write good articles and people will come and read them. If you build it, they will come. I have a couple of articles that might help you with writing as well. One of them is about using the WordPress Editor to write with. The other one is about getting motivated to start writing. Check them out later on.

What is a blog?

This is the definition of a blog I found at GoodNewsDomains.com (a good place to get a domain name and web hosting for you blog. We will talk more about this later in the article). “A web log (or “blog”) is similiar to an online journal. It is largely text-based, so it’s easy to update and maintain–even if you have no experience running a Web site. Any type of information can be presented in a blog, from stories about a family vacation to in-depth commentary on world politics. In addition, most blogs allow visitors to post responses to blog articles or entries and leave feedback for the person running the site, known as a “blogger”. Overall, a blog is a fast, easy and fun way to establish an online presence.” A blog takes the articles you write (called posts) and organizes them by date and category so that people who visit your blog can easily find, read and enjoy them. If this is starting to sound complicated don’t worry. One of the great things about a blog is that the software that runs them is very user friendly and does most of the work for you. Later in the article when we talk about domain names and web hosting I will also introduce you to a wonderful blogging software called WordPress. One of the great things about WordPress is that it’s free.

Why a blog?

A blog is not only a great way to talk about your ideas, there are also some very real possibilities of making some money. There are programs like Google Adsense, Affiliate Programs, Click Banks, and opportunities to sell articles that you write. A blog is a lot simpler to set up than a regular web site and thanks to software like WordPress everyone can do it with just a little bit of help.

Where do I get a Domain Name and Web Hosting?

Let’s start with a domain name. A domain name is the internet address of your site or blog. The domain name for this site is mynewbieblog.com. It’s good to try and find a name that matches what your blog will be about, although some people do fine by just using their name. My site could be stephenlawes.com for example. Regardless of the domain name I choose I can give my blog a different title. In order to find out if a domain name is available you need to do a search. I like to use www.goodnewsdomains for this.

At the search bar type in the domain name you would like to have. A lot of domain names are already taken so you might have to get creative. The domain search bar will actaully return a list of ideas to you. Lets say you entered “chickenwings”, in fact let’s try it and see what happens.

I have a feeling chickenwings.com is not going to be available, after all, who doesn’t like chicken wings.

I was right. Not only is chickenwings.com not available, the .net, .info and .org are already being used as well. By the way, I think the other extensions work just fine if the .com is not available. Fortunately a list of possible ideas based on your search will also appear.

It appears as though chickenwings.ws and chickenwings.name are available. Or I could choose chickenwingssite.com or chickenwingsblog.com. There are a lot of options. Once you decide on a name go ahead and register it. When you are signing up for anything on the internet always write down the information you use (user name, password, etc.) because you almost always need it later.

After you enter you name and password click Continue and you will be at the Registration and Checkout Options screen.

Select any options you want and click Continue. You will need to review your cart, select a payment type, read and click on the Domain Registration Agreement and Universal Terms of Service and the click on check out now. On the next screen you need to enter a password and a password hint. Write down your login ID number and your password and then click Continue With Checkout. Fill out your credit card information and click on Checkout Now. You will see a screen that says Thank You for your Order. Make sure you have written down all the important information. Then press Login to My Account.

Enter in your Customer number and Password and hit Secure Login. The first time you do this you will get a screen asking for a Call in PIN number.

Enter in a 4 digit pin (write it down) and press Save.

Now that you have a domain name we need to get you set up with a web host. Web Hosts are the computers on the internet where your blog is stored. There are a lot of web hosts available. I use GoodNewsDomains.com for this service as well. There prices are reasonable and they have a control panel that is easy to use. They also have WordPress available for free for your blog. WordPress will make your blogging experience a lot more enjoyable. At the GoodNewsDomains welcome screen put the mouse on the Web Hosting button and on the drop down menu press Hosting Plans.

I use the Linux server deluxe plan and I suggest you do the same. The plan is on sale as I write this post at $7.24 a month. It will be money well spent.

Click on Add and then follow the directions giving all your pertinent information (don’t forget to write down your user name, password, account number, etc). You will get a screen asking you to customize your order. You can always come back and upgrade later. Read through and click Continue. You will be asked if you need Website tonight. Since we are going to install WordPress you do not need Website tonight. Click Continue to Checkout. At the Secure Checkout screen check your payment method and check that you have read the Universal Terms of Service. The click Checkout Now. Enter in your payment information and click Checkout Now. You will get a screen that says Thank You for Your Order. Click on Login to My Account. Put the mouse over Web Hosting and on the drop down menu press My Hosting Account. You will see this:

Click on Setup Account. Read the Hosting Service Agreement and click Next.

Enter a user name and password (write it down) and click Next.

Select a domain name from your list (you probably only have one) and click Next.

Go with the default setting on this screen and click Next.

Review the information and click Finish.

The account is now pending setup. This can take a few minutes or longer so log out and take a ten minute break.

When can I get started?

Once your site is active you can get WordPress installed and your blog started. I will walk you through the process of getting WordPress installed now.

Go to the GoodNewsDomains.com site and put your mouse over the Web Hosting button and a drop down menu will appear. Click on My Hosting Accounts.

If you are not logged in you will need to do it now. Sign in with the Customer Account number and the Password you set up when you signed up for your domain name and web hosting.

The next screen will have your hosting account listed and a link that says Open.

Click on the Open link and you will see the Hosting Control Center screen.

Look for the Value Applications link and click on it.

Look for the Show all applications link and click on it. Scroll down that page until you find the WordPress application.

Click on the WordPress button.

Click on the Install Now button. You will then be asked what domain you want to use. Unless you registered more than one domain name you will probably only have one to choose from. Click on the domain name and click Continue.

You will then be asked for a Database description and database password.

Type in a description for your database. I usually use the name of the blog but you can call it anything. Enter a Password. Make sure you write down this information. You will need it again. Click Next and you will be asked to choose an install directory.

The screen will have wordpress typed in it. You need to put your cursor in the box and delete wordpress. For this installation you want that folder to be blank.

Once its blank click Next. Now you need to enter your admin name, password, a working email address, and your blog title. You can change the title in the future so don’t panic about this. After your title is in click Finish.

It takes a few minutes to an hour for your blog set up. You can see if your blog is installed by typing in your domain name in your web browser. Once its installed you will see your blog.

How do I add the bells and whistles?

If you made it this far into the article then you probably have the right stuff the create a successful blog. Now that you have your blog started you can change the theme to give it the look you want. You can start writing and adding articles that express your ideas. To help you get your blog looking good and working well read the articles on mynewbieblog.com. All of the articles will help you step by step to add all the bells and whistles. After you finish this article read Starting a Blog. Then read 50 Things to do to Start a Blog from Scratch - Part 1, then Part 2, and then Part 3. Read Making Progress on Starting a Blog and More Progress on the 50 Things to Do to Start a Blog from Scratch. Then read the various articles about installing plugins and Google Adsense, etc. You will be well on your way. At that point you might want to go and learn from blogs that can help you to make your blog profitable(monetize). If that’s what you hope to do some good sites to check out are Court’s Internet Marketing School, ProBlogger, DoshDosh, and CopyBlogger. Come back often and checkout mynewbielog.com as well. Better yet, sign up for the RSS feed or get an email subscription to the blog so you don’t miss anything. Happy blogging!