How to Make Extra Money Blogging

You won’t get rich as a blogger, but even a part-timer can make $100 a month or more.

John Miley
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published
in How-to

You won’t get rich as a blogger, but even a part-timer can make $100 a month or more. More visitors mean more cash.

Start by picking a topic you’re passionate about -- the more specific, the better (for example, “fly fishing in Montana” instead of “fly fishing”). Sign up for a blog template, such as Wordpress, Blogger or Tumblr, and start posting regularly. Schedule a week’s worth of posts on a free day if you don’t have time to write every day. Above all, be original, says Jessica Quirk, blogger at WhatIWore.Tumblr.com. “You really have no hook without original content,” she says.

Use social media to attract a community and keep them engaged. As your audience grows, post advertising. Google’s Adsense, a free program that lets you embed ads on your site, gives you a cut of the profits. Track your traffic and increase the type of posts that reel in the most visits, comments or re-posts. For tips, search your blog template’s Web site for free tutorials and forums.

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John Miley
John Miley
Senior Associate Editor, The Kiplinger Letter

John Miley is a Senior Associate Editor at The Kiplinger Letter. He mainly covers technology, telecom and education, but will jump on other important business topics as needed. In his role, he provides timely forecasts about emerging technologies, business trends and government regulations. He also edits stories for the weekly publication and has written and edited e-mail newsletters.

He joined Kiplinger in August 2010 as a reporter for Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, where he wrote stories, fact-checked articles and researched investing data. After two years at the magazine, he moved to the Letter, where he has been for the last decade. He holds a BA from Bates College and a master’s degree in magazine journalism from Northwestern University, where he specialized in business reporting. An avid runner and a former decathlete, he has written about fitness and competed in triathlons.