Earn a living from blogging

Yes, more and more people are making a living from blogging. A select few are even earning seven-figure incomes. An example is the digital-media news site PaidContent.org (published from the second bedroom of the owner's home). At the six-figure tier, examples are Problogger.com (blogger-advisory), TechCrunch.com (Web 2.0-news feed), and BoingBoing.net (amusement site).

Below this rarified group, an estimated several thousand bloggers are bringing in sufficient income to support themselves in varying degrees of comfort, and further down are the hundreds of thousands receiving part-time income. But the monetary remuneration is not the only incentive: most bloggers are happy to be plugging away on modest incomes because they were "born to write," relish a bit of fame, and/or prefer the perks of self-employment at home.

What are the perks? There is the one-minute, traffic-free commute to the keyboard in the den. Office attire commonly consists of slippers, t-shirt and sweatpants (but can range from birthday suits to tuxedos). Working hours are anytime of the day or night and can be logged during TV commercials or 10-hours straight without a single interruption. Location can be practically anywhere (if it wasn't for family obligations, I would be tempted by the Cayman Islands in January and February).

Some might say it's a lonely existence. Not at all: you are free to break away and meet friends and relatives at any time. The two or three hours otherwise spent traveling every day to work and sitting through endless meetings becomes extra time for social opportunities and family. Even better, you have more choice with whom to interact.

So, how does one make money from blogging?

1. The basic way to monetize a blog is to sign up for Google AdSense at Google.com/adsense. It will match ads to a site's content and pay each time a visitor clicks on an ad. There are a multitude of other advertising channels, including the affiliate programs of Amazon.com and hundreds more that will pay to place ads (or give a cut on sales originated by your site). The Oct. 16 post on JohnChow.com contains a lengthy list of the possibilities.

2. You can sell links. The more popular your site, the more other bloggers will pay to have you link to them in your blog roll or elsewhere. A link, for example, on product-review sites Engadget.com and Gizmodo.com costs over $10,000 (U.S.). The current value of links to your site can be calculated at Text-Link-Ads.com.

3. It may be ethically questionable, but services like PayPerPost.com will pay bloggers to write posts about advertisers' products. The diarist at SimpleKindofLife.com is a leader in receiving money from this recently launched channel. Over the past three months, she has garnered $2,000 (U.S.). Of course, if a blogger writes too many paid plugs, they risk losing their audience.

4. You may be able to get paid or sponsored to blog. Companies, governments and other organizations are moving into blogging and are hiring employees and/or freelancers to write or ghostwrite blogs for them. Then there are blogging networks: they may follow the lead of AOL's WeblogsInc.com in paying bloggers to write for them. Miss "Rogue' at HorsePigCow.com is one person carving out a livelihood in this niche. Sites like BloggersForHire.com match up bloggers with hiring organizations.

5. It may take a bit of time and hard work, but if your blog emerges from the pack, you could attract money from venture capitalists. GigaOm.com, PaidContent.org, PayPerPost.com and Problogger.com have recently closed financing deals. You may also be able to sell your site (or sites) for a tidy sum, as highlighted by Web entrepreneur Jason Calacanis' sale of WeblogsInc.com to AOL last year for $25 million (U.S).

6. Various sites put together posts from a collection of freelancing bloggers, paying them per piece accepted. A sampler is at Commonties.com. At eefoof.com, video, photographic and audio postings get paid per click (hint, pictures of beautiful women most popular). The forum at Google.com/answers pays people to answer other people's questions.

7. A blog can lead into consulting, speaking and book-publishing opportunities. Debbie Weil at DebbieWeil.com has emerged as a leading consultant in the field of corporate blogging and has written a how-to book. The bad boy who writes about his sexual escapades at TuckerMax.com (and so far has only been sued once), recently landed a $300,000 (U.S.) advance on a book.

My next column will be on white hat (good) and black hat (ethically challenged) techniques many bloggers are using to boost traffic to their sites.