Educational Grants

Are you a newbie to the idea of how to make money online? Don't feel bad because there are many out there who would like to do it too but know how or where to begin. If you're in this boat you've come to the right place. The great opportunity of making money online as a newbie doesn't have to pass you by. I was there too. As a Christian minister trying to get more money for my family and ministry expenses, I saw other people making money online and wanted to do the same. So I started researching how to make money online even as a newbie who knew NOTHING about websites and internet marketing. Although I now make several thousand dollars each month, I made lots of mistakes along the way, but learned as I went. I am sharing the following in hopes of helping others provide better for their families as well.

Make a Website for Your Existing Business

If you already have a small business, the topic of your site is already chosen. You can literally easily grow your present income as a newbie by having an online presence for your business. Furthermore, nowadays you need not know any web design or HTML to do it. Many of the web hosting companiescome with free Site Builder tools that will allow you to put up your own professional looking website in hours with no hassles. No matter if you build your website from scratch or used pre-made templates that comes with a site builder, you will need to host your website on a web server. Since there are many reliable web hosting packages out there at less than $10 per month this makes it all quite affordable to make money online as a newbie.

Make a Web Site and Become an Affiliate

Did you know you can make money online as a newbie by not selling anything? That's actually what I do. I don't have a product or inventory but make thousands of dollars online each month by affiliating with other companies that do sell stuff. Using an example from my Christian Dating site (Christian-Dating-Service-Plus.com), I'll give you the run down on how this way can make you money online as a newbie:

1. Build a blogging website on a topic that I like to write about.
2. Go to CJ.com, a middleman company that matches affiliates with companies looking for folks to put ads on their sites
3. Put an ad on my blogging site about a certain company. For example, I have a Christian dating site that partners with eHarmony. You see eHarmony and thousands of other companies and businesses are looking for folks like us to put commercials on their web sites to drive traffic to their sites. In turn
4. Collect commissions from from CJ.com after I make a sale

One warning here. If you are a newbie excited at the prospects of making money online, please don't swallow any of the get rich quick schemes out there you may come across. finally, we also recommend you Google 'make money online' and read up on the topic.

David Butler, the author of this article, is a Christian businessman, and has several web hosting sites, Affordable Web Hosting 4U, HostGator Reviews and Bluehost Reviews

Blogging is big business right now, everyone has a blog from the big guys at Microsoft to next-door's angry teenager. It's quick, it's easy and it's a great marketing tool for a business.

Business blogging can be used to keep customers and visitors up to date on what's going on in a business, what's coming up, general chit-chat that doesn't fit anywhere else on the company site but might be interesting. It also brings a personal feel to the site when it's done right.

No matter how corporate and professional the web site may be, business blogging should be kept on a conversational level. It's an informal contact that can be used to communicate and to sell at the same time. Keep up with comments made from visitors and reply to them if necessary - it shows that their comments are valued and they'll likely return.

It doesn't always have to be the guy in IT who does the blog just because it's a technical thing. Anyone can write it, it's the person who knows what they are talking about on that particular subject that makes the blog work.

Link to other blogs and articles of interest around the web if it's appropriate to. Linking is a big feature of blogs and it can encourage return links. Use trackbacking, if possible, a form of notifier between blogs to say they've been commented on. This kind of networking can provide both valuable visitors and some good links to feed the search engines with.

Linking the blog to an RSS feed is a good idea too, as it will automatically tell interested parties when it's updated, to save them having to keep checking back. They may even forget to occasionally, so a gentle prod will bring them back to keep up with the news.

The regularity of a blog is important, therefore it needs to be thought out before setting it up to make sure there will be things to say. Try to set a regular sort of time for postings. Daily, every three days, every week, it doesn't really matter as long as it is regularly updated - that is the point of a blog.

The search engines will read the blog and will like it for being kept up to date. So, make sure to get a few keywords in there without going overboard and it will know the content is relevant to the site, helping keep it's spiders busy and listing positions as high as possible.

If a business blog should not work out for any reason, collect pertinent posts for a news archive and close the blog gracefully over a period of time rather than immediately, making sure to inform regular users.

And finally, enjoy it! People will know if the blog is enthusiastic or if it's being done as a chore - guess which one they will prefer to read.

Julie-Ann Amos is a professional writer and business consultant. She has over 14 books published in many countries. She runs Exquisite Writing, a large freelance writing agency that produces a wide variety of articles, web pages, website contents, books and ebooks as well as daily/weekly/monthly blogging services for an international client base. Topic experts available for a wide range of subject areas, such as blogging.

About 6 months ago I started to see information about real estate blogging everywhere! It was in the National Association of Realtors Magazine the same month that it was featured in the Florida Realtor Magazine. It was in the Agent Direct News and the Broker Agent News. I read an article that said that one of the big brokerages was giving a blog to every one of their agents. Somehow blogging became a HOT HOT HOT topic and realtors around the country could not get enough.

Let me state for the record that I think real estate blogging is a fabulous thing! It gives agents a forum to show their expertise and allows the public to put a personality on the agent photo. It allows groups of agents and associated vendors like mortgage bankers and title people to get information out the public that is not common knowledge. I think that every agent (make that every human) who has something to say and who will say it several times a week should have a blog!

Some of my favorite stand alone blogs are Bloodhound Blog - a compilation of over 20 industry experts who have great conversations about all things real estate related. I also like local blogger Kris Berg of the San Diego Home Blog who mixes humor with practical information about her local market. I have also proudly been a part of launching numerous real estate blogs that provide a mix of real estate and marketing information. The main thing these blogs have are interested authors who are committed to provided quality content. They also have very different looks but still all are obviously maintained by professional people.

Active Rain is also a great spot for realtors. According to their site "ActiveRain is a Bellevue, WA based technology/media company hybrid that operates the largest and most active social network in the real estate space. " They are showing that they have 78,412 active members today. This is a super easy interface to use that lets realtors communicate with each other and which answers civilian reader questions all in one place. The top 2 realtors are Sharon Simms and Randy L. Prothero and they are obviously very active in this blogging community. Sharon is a hometown girl, working in St. Petersburg Florida, right in my backyard!

That having been said there are MANY blogs with one or no posts. Also, do not begin your blog with a post that starts with "this is my new real estate blog"! Start it with a great post and carry that on throughout your entire blogging career!

Visit http://www.marketingartfully.com for information how to pick your niche and market your business!

Realtors and mortgage bankers/brokers, please feel free to use this article provided this reference is included and all links remain active.

I have been blogging for a living for a little over a year. In that time I have learned a lot about what it takes to build blog traffic. This is one of the main challenges that a new blogger faces. What is the point of having a blog if no one is reading it? And for those bloggers who want to monetize their blogs, having decent traffic is mandatory.

I am confident that if you follow the steps below you WILL begin to see a quick improvement in your blog traffic:

1. Learn the Bells and Whistles

Whatever blogging platform you use, whether it be Blogger.Com, Moveable Type, Wordpress, or many of the others out there, before you can become an effective blogger I think you need to learn what makes that puppy operate at maximum efficiency. That doesn't mean you can't start blogging, but to me that would be like trying to ride a bicycle for the first time without training wheels. You are gonna fall, but keep working on it and you will quickly be sailing confidently. In other words, read the instructions and do some research. Wordpress is my blogging platform of choice due to the fact that they have so many plugins and applications that can help you have an easier and more productive blogging experience and also help you gain traffic.

2. Titles are Crucial

There are several reasons that the title of your post is so important. One is that readers will be drawn to what you have to say if your title piques their interest. The second reason is that you want your posts to be picked up by search engines. Sites like WordTracker will help you find keywords so that you can phrase your title for better search engine optimization.

3. Content is King

I started hearing this long before I started blogging. When I was writing freelance and hanging out on writer's message boards three years ago "content is king" was being said and it is is especially true for blogging. If you don't have anything interesting to say, who is going to read your blog? Blogging is a relationship between you and the reader, just as reading a book is a relationship between the reader and the author. Be yourself, be honest and genuine, create original content that is interesting and informative, use keywords for SEO, create posts with ordered lists, offer advice, write post that invite readers to join in a discussion, and you WILL begin to gain a loyal readership. And EDIT! Don't dare publish your posts with grammar, spelling or punctuation errors. Treat your blog with professionalism in this aspect and you will be viewed as a professional.

4. Comments are Queen

One of the most exciting things about blogging, in the beginning anyway, is when you start getting comments. Then you know that at least someone was interested enough in what you had to say to reply. Be sure to answer all comments and keep a tight rein on getting rid of spam. There are programs in the editor of your blog software that will help you with this, but spam inevitably finds its way into your comment section., so keep your eyes peeled for it.

Trackbacks rock! That means that someone thought enough of what you had to say to refer to it on their own blog. You are definitely on the right track when you start getting trackbacks.

5. Submit Your Blog to Search Engines and Directories

Submit your blog and/or RSS feed to the search engines of Google, Yahoo, and MSN. This is free. And also list your blog is several big directories. One of best I have found is Best Blog Directory And RSS Submission Sites http://www.masternewmedia.org/rss/top55/ but there are tons of free directories you can list your blog with. This is time consuming but it needs to be done. You don't have to go overboard, just make sure you have spent a good bit of time hitting the top directories.

6. Comment on Other Blogs and in Forums

I can't count the number of backlinks I have gotten simply by commenting on blogs or in forums. Now when I say that I don't mean go around spamming these sites. Find a couple of forums where you really are interested and want to be a regular contributor and put your blog link in your signature. Comment on blogs that are in your same niche or that you truly find interesting. The relationships you form here will become the meat and potatoes of most beginning bloggers' traffic.

7. Tagging and the Social Networking Sites

Sounds kind of like the name of some new alternative rock band, huh? By tagging, I am talking about using Technorati tags in your post. This will ping Technorati and help you gain readership with so little effort. There are many plugins for Wordpress that will automatically create tags for you. I am not sure about other blogging platforms because I don't use them. As far as social networking sites, jeez, there are more out there now than I could ever list. But Stumble Upon has been the most effective for me, along with Blog Catalog. Each blogger has their favorites. Some people love Digg, some folks swear by MyBlogLog or Technorati (I consider any site that has a bunch of bloggers sharing information "Social Networking" so don't sue me for putting Digg and Stumble Upon in the same class as Blog Catalog, Technorati and MyBlogLog, it's all traffic building.)

There is a LOT more to traffic building than what I have listed here. These are just the main things I have found to get you started as a beginning blogger. Once you have gotten your feet good and wet following the steps above, my advice would be to follow the lead of blogs like Dosh Dosh, ProBlogger, and many other A list bloggers who will lead you further down the primrose path of blog traffic building.

Good luck and happy blogging!

Denise Grier is a full-time writer/blogger. You can learn more about Denise and find telecommuting jobs by visiting her freelancing blog at http://internetmarketingreview.org/blog

More recently, individuals maintain internet business blog websites as a business and a source of income. This is a trend that has grown and become accepted among online businesses. Corporate America has exploited the popularity of "make money blogs" as a method of getting closer to their target audience and shaping their view and perception of their company. Making money blogging through internet business blogging is a must need for start-up businesses and veteran business owners alike.

A lot of bloggers can make a substantial income by just blogging. If this is what you want to do, you have to ask yourself why you blog.

There are a number of reasons for internet business blogging. Some blog for recreational purposes while others do it to promote businesses. Some use blogs as a personal diary or as a way to find internet friends while others do it to make money.

If you're blogging to make money, you should know there are two ways of blogging. There's the direct income and indirect income method.

You earn money directly from your blog in direct income method while you earn money because of your "make money blog" in the indirect income method.

One of the ways you can generate income is through affiliate programs, programs that give you commission for referring a visitor or reader from your blog. This will only happen if you generate enough traffic to generate enough clicks and purchases from the company. You need a company selling products pertaining to your blog to create a target audience.

You can also simply ask for donations. If you develop a large enough audience, and you're providing good and reliable information, then you should be able to get a substantial amount from donations alone.

Depending on the type of "make money blog" that you run, you can also sell t-shirts and other accessories. This is especially effective when you have loyal readers since they'll want something to show that they're part of the group.

You can create internet business blogs and sell them. As long as you generate high readership, it should do well at auction sites that successful sell blogs.

Internet blogging will allow you make money blogging. Be sure to keep it informal and informative, and readers will definitely come check your site. Update frequently, and don't load your site with irrelevant advertising. If you do choose to advertise, make sure that it's with relevant advertising; you want to keep your "make money blog" professional.

Ray Johnson is an Internet Marketing mastermind and is the Google.Com no.1 ranked information product eseller. Find out how you can run an internet marketing business using a blog at:

http://www.ray-johnson.co.uk

I have been blogging for a living for a little over a year. In that time I have learned a lot about what it takes to build blog traffic. This is one of the main challenges that a new blogger faces. What is the point of having a blog if no one is reading it? And for those bloggers who want to monetize their blogs, having decent traffic is mandatory.

I am confident that if you follow the steps below you WILL begin to see a quick improvement in your blog traffic:

1. Learn the Bells and Whistles

Whatever blogging platform you use, whether it be Blogger.Com, Moveable Type, Wordpress, or many of the others out there, before you can become an effective blogger I think you need to learn what makes that puppy operate at maximum efficiency. That doesn't mean you can't start blogging, but to me that would be like trying to ride a bicycle for the first time without training wheels. You are gonna fall, but keep working on it and you will quickly be sailing confidently. In other words, read the instructions and do some research. Wordpress is my blogging platform of choice due to the fact that they have so many plugins and applications that can help you have an easier and more productive blogging experience and also help you gain traffic.

2. Titles are Crucial

There are several reasons that the title of your post is so important. One is that readers will be drawn to what you have to say if your title piques their interest. The second reason is that you want your posts to be picked up by search engines. Sites like WordTracker will help you find keywords so that you can phrase your title for better search engine optimization.

3. Content is King

I started hearing this long before I started blogging. When I was writing freelance and hanging out on writer's message boards three years ago "content is king" was being said and it is is especially true for blogging. If you don't have anything interesting to say, who is going to read your blog? Blogging is a relationship between you and the reader, just as reading a book is a relationship between the reader and the author. Be yourself, be honest and genuine, create original content that is interesting and informative, use keywords for SEO, create posts with ordered lists, offer advice, write post that invite readers to join in a discussion, and you WILL begin to gain a loyal readership. And EDIT! Don't dare publish your posts with grammar, spelling or punctuation errors. Treat your blog with professionalism in this aspect and you will be viewed as a professional.

4. Comments are Queen

One of the most exciting things about blogging, in the beginning anyway, is when you start getting comments. Then you know that at least someone was interested enough in what you had to say to reply. Be sure to answer all comments and keep a tight rein on getting rid of spam. There are programs in the editor of your blog software that will help you with this, but spam inevitably finds its way into your comment section., so keep your eyes peeled for it.

Trackbacks rock! That means that someone thought enough of what you had to say to refer to it on their own blog. You are definitely on the right track when you start getting trackbacks.

5. Submit Your Blog to Search Engines and Directories

Submit your blog and/or RSS feed to the search engines of Google, Yahoo, and MSN. This is free. And also list your blog is several big directories. One of best I have found is Best Blog Directory And RSS Submission Sites http://www.masternewmedia.org/rss/top55/ but there are tons of free directories you can list your blog with. This is time consuming but it needs to be done. You don't have to go overboard, just make sure you have spent a good bit of time hitting the top directories.

6. Comment on Other Blogs and in Forums

I can't count the number of backlinks I have gotten simply by commenting on blogs or in forums. Now when I say that I don't mean go around spamming these sites. Find a couple of forums where you really are interested and want to be a regular contributor and put your blog link in your signature. Comment on blogs that are in your same niche or that you truly find interesting. The relationships you form here will become the meat and potatoes of most beginning bloggers' traffic.

7. Tagging and the Social Networking Sites

Sounds kind of like the name of some new alternative rock band, huh? By tagging, I am talking about using Technorati tags in your post. This will ping Technorati and help you gain readership with so little effort. There are many plugins for Wordpress that will automatically create tags for you. I am not sure about other blogging platforms because I don't use them. As far as social networking sites, jeez, there are more out there now than I could ever list. But Stumble Upon has been the most effective for me, along with Blog Catalog. Each blogger has their favorites. Some people love Digg, some folks swear by MyBlogLog or Technorati (I consider any site that has a bunch of bloggers sharing information "Social Networking" so don't sue me for putting Digg and Stumble Upon in the same class as Blog Catalog, Technorati and MyBlogLog, it's all traffic building.)

There is a LOT more to traffic building than what I have listed here. These are just the main things I have found to get you started as a beginning blogger. Once you have gotten your feet good and wet following the steps above, my advice would be to follow the lead of blogs like Dosh Dosh, ProBlogger, and many other A list bloggers who will lead you further down the primrose path of blog traffic building.

Good luck and happy blogging!

Denise Grier is a full-time writer/blogger. You can learn more about Denise and find telecommuting jobs by visiting her freelancing blog at http://internetmarketingreview.org/blog

Most of us are familiar with the fact that it is possible to make money on the Internet. Unfortunately, far too many people end up discouraged because they go down the wrong path whenever they first get started. Not only can this make them quit prematurely, it may throw them into a cycle of jumping from program to program, never seeing anything to fruition. The fact of the matter is, the answer to their question may be right under their nose but unless somebody pointed out to them, they may simply overlook it.

What I am talking about is using WordPress in order to begin making almost instant money with an online content system. WordPress is the most popular blogging system that is in existence and it is free and easy to set up. As a matter of fact, one proper choice in your hosting system and you will be able to set up a WordPress blog on your domain with a simple click of a button. From that point, all that is really necessary is for you to establish the backend parameters and to upload your free themes and add-ons in order to maximize its profitability.

The first thing that you are going to need to do whenever you are setting up your WordPress blog is to choose your theme. Really, this is one of the more difficult things that you're going to have to do when it comes to making money on the Internet. The setup of the WordPress blog itself is a simple operation and as long as you have the proper guide, you will be able to establish all of the backend settings in just a few minutes. It is important that you do this properly from the start or else your blog may never really work as well has what it should.

There are plenty of themes and add-ons for you to enhance your blog in one way or another. Picking the proper theme, however, is a matter of pulling the attention of the reader to the advertisement subtly. This can dramatically increase your click through rate and the profitability of your blog. Add-ons can also cut down on a lot of the work that is involved with a blog but unless you enjoy manually configuring a database, you should do some research and choose the proper add-ons ahead of time.

All of these things will come together into what will be the easiest money that you will ever make. Once it is set up, all you need to do is add content to the blog and it will do the rest. Most people are surprised with how quickly they begin to earn after their blog is set up. I'm sure that you will enjoy that part of the experience as well.

Diane Sweeney is a successful internet marketer who specializes in promoting affiliate products with WordPress blogs.

http://freewordpressvideos.megawebpages.com/