Dear @Emma White,

I am not a Blogger, however, I’ve made enough money to lead a comfortable life.  I believe you can make money as a Blogger.  There are now more people enjoying reading than ever before and I’m one of them.

Usually, the things that we’re good at, we enjoy doing, which for you is writing. If it were me, I’m not sure I would go about making, selling, or advertising products outside of writing, unless you equally enjoy those tasks.

I would focus on connecting and surrounding yourself with people who have similar interests, that are the leaders in their field.  And figure out how you can help others who share similar interests.

Maybe you start by pitching story ideas to the world’s most successful Blogs and publications, in your area of interest.  If you land a gig to guest post in front of a huge audience and get to include a link back to your site, where you could offer something of value, like, I don’t know… a free ebook or subscription to your site, it would lead to more people wanting to read your work.
 
There are many different jobs to do in every business, small or large.  I believe you should decide on what task you enjoy most and farm-out the rest.  This may be difficult in the beginning as most people starting in business are forced to wear many hats. 

As your business grows don’t lose focus of why you started in the first place.  The sooner you can relieve yourself of being the bookkeeper, window cleaner, bottle washer or whatever, the better.  Do what you love and you will love what you do.  So, write, write, write and give, give, give.  Giving has a magical way of turning itself into getting.

You already are a success.  The mere fact that you are a member of this community, indicates that you are better off than most in today’s world society. 

Make your work life reflective of these things and you just may realize effortless joy in your career.  I wish you all the success you yearn for and If I can be of any help, just drop me a note.

Kind regards,
Michael

@therealsupermum I make a living off of blogging, or at least off of services I offer that are a result of my blogging.  I started blogging almost four years ago, and it took three years before I found my calling as a freelance writer, something I never would have found without blogging.  While my main income is through freelance writing, I also make a little bit on the side through affiliate marketing and advertising.

Check out ProBlogger — probably the best resource on monetizing blogs on the Internet.

http://www.problogger.net/
http://www.problogger.net/make-money-blogging/

Good luck!

@therealsupermum You can make a living from your blog!

I do. I started the Social Media DIY Workshop 3 years ago. I had a vision for what I wanted to do, I focused it the best I could, and started out. 

Along the way, my community told me what they needed from me, and I listened. I started offering the products and services they wanted. They bought them. It continues to grow and expand every month.

You can learn a lot by looking at what successful people are doing online. There’s a strategy for offering products/services at different price points, and balancing free with paid. Find people who are successful, pick at what they do, and see what might work for you.

The biggest challenge I have faced is that I had to learn to do things that were not natural for me. For example, “everyone” says that having an ebook incentive for newsletter signup really works, but I didn’t like that. But I realized I needed to try new things to get different results. So I wrote an ebook specifically for that purpose. And you know what?! Almost 75% of the people who check out my subscribe page do subscribe, and less than 5 people each month unsubscribe after they get the free ebook.

Certainly Darren Rowse is a great teacher and guide. But here’s a name you might not know: Chris Garrett (ChrisG.com). I took his authority blogger course and it helped me immensely!

You are already on your way. You can do this!

I have two blogs, and want to use it for affiliate marketing and advertising. But I seem to earn anything from blogs. Not even from ad sense. I just started so I know it will takes time. But I still feel like im missing the main factor to get it to earn a living. Please give me some feedback. http://Www.birdiethompson.comhttp://socialmedialert.blogspot.com/

@therealsupermum  I think you might find Ana Hoffman’s post about how her blog income breaks down interesting

http://www.trafficgenerationcafe.com/make-money-income-report-march-2012/
Ana is listed as one of the most influential bloggers on the web by Technorati (the blogging authority). 
I personally think you might be in a position to earn more than Ana. We all know that parents are prolific buyers  And they’re always looking for recommendations from sources they trust.
The thing about affiliate programs is that you have to be willing to go through quite a bit of trial and error, I think, before you find your core products that sell best for you.

Funds are generally generated on a blog via affilate marketing, advertising etc.adslot-overlay {position: absolute; font-family: arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgba(0,0,0,0.65); border: 2px solid rgba(0,0,0,0.65); color: white !important; margin: 0; z-index: 2147483647; text-decoration: none; box-sizing: border-box; text-align: left;}.adslot-overlay-iframed {top: 0; left: 0; right: 0; bottom: 0;}.slotname {position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; right: 0; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; padding: 3px 0 3px 6px; vertical-align: middle; background-color: rgba(0,0,0,0.45); text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden;}.slotname span {text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-transform: capitalize;}.revenue {position: absolute; bottom: 0; left: 0; right: 0; font-size: 11px; padding: 3px 0 3px 6px; vertial-align: middle; text-align: left; background-color: rgba(0,0,0,0.45); font-weight: bold; text-overflow: ellipsis; overflow: hidden; white-space: nowrap;}.revenue .name {color: #ccc;}.revenue .horizontal .metric {display: inline-block; padding-right: 1.5em;}.revenue .horizontal .name {padding-right: 0.5em;}.revenue .vertical .metric {display: block; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em;}.revenue .vertical .name, .revenue .vertical .value {display: block;}.revenue .square .metric, .revenue .button .metric {display: table-row;}.revenue .square .metric {line-height: 1.5em;}.revenue .square .name, .revenue .square .value, .revenue .button .value {display: table-cell;}.revenue .square .name {padding-right: 1.5em;}.revenue .button .name {display: block; margin-right: 0.5em; width: 1em; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: clip;}.revenue .button .name:first-letter {margin-right: 1.5em;}a.adslot-overlay:hover {border: 2px solid rgba(58,106,173,0.9);}a.adslot-overlay:hover .slotname {border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(81,132,210,0.9); background-color: rgba(58,106,173,0.9);}a.adslot-overlay:hover .revenue {border-top: 1px solid rgba(81,132,210,0.9); background-color: rgba(58,106,173,0.9);}div.adslot-overlay:hover {cursor: not-allowed; border: 2px solid rgba(64,64,64,0.9);}div.adslot-overlay:hover .slotname {border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(128,128,128,0.9); background-color: rgba(64,64,64,0.9);}div.adslot-overlay:hover .revenue {border-top: 1px solid rgba(128,128,128,0.9); background-color: rgba(64,64,64,0.9);}

Funds are usually generated via affiliate marketing, which is promoting other peoples products or services (presumably that you have used and would recommend).  You earn a commission for funneling a lead that results in a sale.  You can also earn by producing your own products or services.  This can be a physical product, creating an eBook, or offering consulting/coach services.

@lauriefetkenherumscheid – Try guest posting on other industry or travel blogs that may be a fit for you.  Are there travel industry forums that you can be active in?

@therealsupermum – Hi Emma,Of course you can make money blogging, but from my research and observations, it’s all down to the tribe or crowd that you are attracting and keeping together. If you have a group of raving fans who come to rely on your information – then you eliminate the ongoing need to have to rely too heavily on passing traffic.The best example I ever saw of a successful ‘tribe’ was a $20 a month members only site for knitters – predominantly US based, consisting of 40-60 year old women who were passionate about sharing patterns, tips and sharing pictures of their finished clothes etc.Doesn’t sound too exciting until you realise that the owner, who didn’t care about knitting at all, had over 10,000 loyal members, all paying $20 each per month – that’s a nice steady income of $200,000 a month. Nice.What really made a difference was the forum. It was an absolute killer. The mums and granny’s there talked to each other nearly everyday, and it became a place for friendships to grow, and a place to keep up to date about family and friends and their kids. So much so, that when one elderly lady couldn’t afford the monthly fee, due to her husband being Ill, the group clubbed together and bought her a lifetime membership. The lady cried because she was so pleased she didn’t have to lose her friends!This kind of tribe is what I believe we should aspire too. A connection on an emotional level.Any thoughts?

@robinyearsley great insite