How To Become A Paid Blogger

Blogging is such a terrific way to share with others all the amazing things you can do and how creative you can be as well as all the great parenting tips and tricks that we have learned and want to share with others.

But...

I am not an organizing queen, I can't afford to make each and every item with my own two hands, and I don't have the patience to meal plan for weeks at a time. Have you ever finished a long day of work looked in the freezer and said "ah crap?" That is how my days are usually, I have been dealing with kids all day as a child care provider and then I have a family of my own to take care of as well. My sink is full of dishes, my floors are a mess and I have been trying to find the time to sew my daughters jacket for the past two weeks. 

I am your average busy parent & business owner.

So how does blogging fit in here? I will tell you! All these crazy bloggers who sit there and say they quit their jobs and became full time bloggers are really not the average blogger. They are the privileged ones that own their homes, have thousands in a rainy day fund, married a hard working spouse and have family to rely on for babysitting, meals, vacations, etc. If this sounds like you then clearly you have had a great life and congrats! If your like me and have come from poverty, no parents to help you along the way, and work your butt off to pay the bills, then pay attention! I spend every ounce of free time I have trying to maintain my blog, grow my following, and maintain business relationships.

Blogging is hard work and it doesn't make you rich. You are in a very competitive space and you will be fighting for pageviews with every other blogger that thinks they are better then you. Let's face it, lots of them are! So why are readers going to come to you? Because you need to relate to them, you need to intrigue them, share new things with them, and maintain quality content that keeps them wanting more. Pageviews are the most important thing because no business wants to work with someone that nobody cares about!

• Make your presence known  
• Work hard to establish great business relationships
• Every deal is opportunity for growth
• Treat every client like they are top priority
• You never know what it could turn into in the future!

So how do you make money?

I bring in cash from sponsored posts mainly, which is companies paying for an article that contains their links leading to their sites, I ensure they get top priority and major social media attention. Affiliate marketing is a lot of work, I make almost nothing from this because you need people to click on ads to buy products or sign up for things, nobody wants to do that. I get a lot of companies asking me to do product reviews and I love doing those because I get free stuff but sadly I can't pay my bills in snacks and bath products. Luckily most companies include giveaways with their reviews which helps bring your pageviews and social media following up. You can also offer sidebar ads on your blog which is basically a billboard on your site for a monthly or weekly fee.

Where to start?

Start reading sites like Blogelina and the Sway! If you think blogging is the right thing for you begin with Wordpress or Blogger. Begin writing and bringing in the views and then you can sign up with sites that pay you to blog, I love working with ValuedVoice they pay a decent amount to add blog posts to your site. There are a lot of other options and if your doing an excellent job they will come to you. Make sure your contact information is easily accessible on your blog and the opportunities will come.

I have been doing this for over 4 years and it takes time and effort to be noticed and it takes even more effort to maintain a following!

That is pretty much all you can do to make money off your blog. Having people guest post helps to get you more views as they will share their article with their followers linking back to you but if you really want to gain ground and become a famous blogger with all the hottest tips and tricks, get in line! It is a busy section of the web and if you aren't giving people something they want more of, say goodbye!