Profitable Blogging Strategies

Ask any blogger who has been at it for a while and you'll discover that blogging is more about business strategy than simply dropping lines of random thoughts. Blogging is big business these days. Look at the story of famed blogger Perez Hilton. Such bloggers have a huge following and make money from advertisers and other affiliate programs that actually pay bloggers.

Blogging for bucks begins with blogging. You need to set up a blog. Along with setting your blog, you will need to plan out a strategy for promoting your posts and publicizing your blog to family, friends and followers. With that in place, you can begin blogging for bucks and eventually the big bucks.

Blogging requires a platform. You can choose from Blogger, WordPressand some other platforms. In most cases, you don't have to pay to blog. If you are being charged to blog, there had better be some serious benefits to it for you and your followers. If you are using a site like Ning for blogging, I suggest you that you maximize the options and features within the network. Whatever platform works best for you is the platform that you should use for your blog.

Before you even give your blog a name, you need to identify your theme. Will this be a blog about shopping on budget or browsing books around town everywhere from thrift shops to libraries and more? Identify a theme. Think through who will follow a blog on that type of theme. Your theme will reveal three major things:

1. Your Audience/ Market
2. Your Topics (Hopefully, a wide range of topics)
3. Your Voice/ Tone

As you begin blogging, you will begin to get a feel for the types of responses that come to you. Be sure to adjust your settings to allow comments. People who follow you will want to share their reactions and responses to what you have shared. Respond to comments in order to maintain your personal level of engagement with followers.

You just don't get into blogging and start enjoying all of the perks. In many cases, you will need to complete an online registration page and await approval. You may also have to submit some basic information for payment through Pay Pal and Google AdSense. Also, you may be required to submit your verification as an Amazon Associate and eBay Seller. Be ready to submit this information for these additional programs.

Blogger offers a great way to add Amazon items and Google AdSense. Just click its "Monetize" tab on the dashboard of your blog and get started. A great resource on blogging programs and their benefits is Pro Blogger. Search on industry-specific sites such as Blogging Tips and Mashable for more options.