More and more people are tempted nowadays to start blogging, for several reasons, some just start them for the purpose of writing their daily journal, some write for passion and some establish a real business online. Not many know how exactly a blogging platform works, what blogging involves , how to promote a blog and gain audience. I am going to list a few steps to consider when you opt to start a new blog.

Choose a Subject for Your Blog

Choose a niche. Yes that`s wright ! Think well before you start you blog what you are going to write about, and try to be relevant throughout all your posts, otherwise you would make it a personal blog. there is nothing wrong about it, you can be personal in whatever niche you might be in, but there is a difference between being personal on your blog and actually making it a personal blog, not many people would like to know what you ate for breakfast, or if you have been jogging or not lately, so there wouldn`t be much audience, if not at all. You better write about something you love, something you are good at, other wise you risk to give up, the most common reason is for getting bored. Some people started out blogs out of passion, and made them a real success along the years. No one will be able to blog about things they dislike. Why? Because they simply get bored quickly and give up, and I bet you don`t know much of a subject when you dislike it, it`s obvious. Ok, blogs can be out of passion, but in my opinion spending some hours every day adding fresh content, promoting your blog, should pay off some day, so blogging is more of a business nowadays, you will lots of people in the blogosphere that don`t admit it, but most of them spend their time to build their blogs and as we all know time is money, there is nothing wrong about making money, actually it`s really great, if you want to earn blogging then really do it, put effort in it. Would you be teaching someone, or be a guide for a trip just for the fun? Maybe for some weeks ..but that`s all.

Choose an attractive Domain Name

Advertising is an art, but what really advertises a brand is it`s name, at least at some point. Make your blog stand out from the rest. No one knows at a quick look what stands behind that specific brand until they try their products. The name of the brand is actually your blog`s domain name. Make it catchy , eye taking , and not too long , in other words easy to remember. There several SEO reasons, for choosing a great domain name.Some examples of brands I like most , and consider a success because of their domain names is Engaget (technology) , TechCrunch (Technology), PerezHilton (Celebrity Gossip), and these are just a few examples of great domain names. These guys have not only attractive domain names , but short descriptive too. Choosing your name as your domain will be ok, but remember to add a subtitle related to your content.

Subscribe for a Cheap Hosting Plan and get your own Domain Name

It has to be a self-hosted blog. Not necessarily on a dedicated server but a cheap hosting plan will do for the start.This is one of the most important things when you want to be or become a professional blogger, no matter your niche is. Blogger and Wordpress, are two of the free blogging services. They are great for blogging but not when you need a lot of plug-ins , ad-ons , video streaming , hosting lots of images , in shorter words they offer limited options , but will do for a start. Anyways I recommend using your own domain, register one at GoDaddy for $1.99 (.info) domain and try a cheap hosting plan at HostGator for as low as $7.99 / mo. Doesn`t sound bad it`s less than 10$ , that would only buy 2 coffee cups after all.

Blog`s Design

Well not everyone can design his/her own blog, you can always check out UniqueBlogDesigns to get an unique and self branded theme for your blog, or if you budget is a little lower, try Rentacoder, those guys will charge as low as 150$ to get your blog nice and neat. Why designing a blog in the first place? For SEO purposes, catchy blog attract more traffic. One other reason is for an easy navigation, between the pages of your blog, you posts and later on have your advertising spots nicely placed, in order to be more effective.

The "About Page" and your first Blog Post

Delete the old "Hello World!" and start typing a great post to show the world what your blog is about. Edit your "About" page and let your audience know more about you front the start. Include your experience, your interests, your professional career and what you will actually offer on your blog. Believe me, people do check the about page, my about pages are highly visited.

Content

You blog does need content. In order to index well in the search engines and get some traffic , start writing good and unique content , on your niche. Try updating daily. This is what blogging is about. Want to make money? Then you better take a full time job on your blog or at least 4-5 hours a day. Otherwise you`ll end up the next Christmas with the same income.

Get in touch with other Bloggers

So you have some content? Start socializing. You want your blog to be visited , right ? Then start making new friends among other bloggers, join social networks, get involved in group discussions, join forums, taking part in contests, buying reviews on other blogs or cheap advertising. These are some of the ways to let the world know about your blog, at least some of the basic ways. Don`t start wasting 500$ a month on contextual advertising from the start, let some time to pass first or you are making a big mistake.

Build readership

Readers can be the actual people that visit your blog constantly or either the ones that subscribed to your feeds, RSS or by e-mail. Readership means the people that visited you blog and came back for the updates. This can only be done by great and interesting content , that is worth reading.

Monetize!

Time to make some money, not to waste time! Don`t be shy there is nothing wrong about it. There are hundreds if not thousands of affiliate programs and networks that can monetize your websites. You can either sell private advertising, join affiliate networks and do affiliate marketing, sell text link add, or just show relevant ads. Or you could sell paid plugs or blog posts, for different customers and services of the Blog Advertising Services such as Smorty and There is no way you won`t be earning if you get a decent traffic to your blog. The ones below are contextual advertising companies, affiliate networks and blog advertising networks that I use to make money online:

AD NETWORKS (Earn Revenue From Ads Displayed on Your Site)

Kontera - Contextual Advertising

Adbrite - Contextual Advertising

Bidvertiser - Contextual Advertising

AFFILIATE NETWORKS (Earn affiliate Revenues From Products You Promote)

Market Leverage - CPA Affiliate Network

Commission Junction - CPA Affiliate Network

Amazon Associates - CPA Affiliate Network

DealDotCom - CPA Affiliate Network

PepperJamNetwork - CPA Affiliate Network

BLOG ADVERTISING NETWORKS (Earn Cash Writing Reviews on Your Blog)

Smorty - Blog Advertising Network

PayPerPost - Blog Advertising Network

These are pretty much the most effective ways to earn money from your blog. There are other affiliate networks and blog advertising programs, but as far as I know these are the most effective and popular ones. They have realy proved to generate a decent amount of money over the last couple of months. If you own a blog you must try the blog advertising networks some people are making well over $3000 a month from them alone.