How to Make Money with a Blog WITHOUT Trying to Make Money
If you want to know how to make money with a blog then you need to STOP trying to make money!
Don't write blogs just for the money; write blogs to benefit others and they'll want to give back to you.
By the end of this article you will know exactly how to make money with a blog.
Don't Do It for The Money!
If you're truly serious about having a successful blog online, that brings you a steady income, then you can't focus on the money! If that's all you care about then it's going to start to show and your traffic will dwindle, you won't get as many comments and people aren't going to pass your blogs around. You don't want any of that to happen!
When you write with the specific purpose of making money it'll often come off as an ad or something your readers will see right through. They will realize why you're writing about a topic and ignore all your affiliate links or ads. They will see you as a beggar, trying to squeeze change out of all of your readers. Why? Because so many people write for that reason! They're use to seeing it and people are hard to fool these days.
A job is where you make money but a job is also something that people seem to hate. Do you want to hate posting on your blog? Then why focus on making money, which will only make blogging seem like a job and a chore to you? And when you don't see the money coming in, you'll get frustrated, you'll think about quitting and you'll wonder why you even write blogs. These are all good reasons NOT to write for the specific purpose of making money.
Do It to Benefit Others!
Instead you should focus on helping others in any way that you can. It could be something as simple as brightening someone's day but you have to focus on your readers. Most successful writers, bloggers or not, all seem to help people with what they write about. Think about your favorite authors or bloggers... what do they do for you? Why do you follow them and read everything they put out?
Is it because they help you? Is it because it's enjoyable to read everything they write about? It probably is! And when someone helps you out through a simple blog post what do you usually do? You let them know through a comment or you pass it onto someone else you think it would help. You don't look at it as an ad. You read every inch of their page, clicking the links they give you because you trust them. And when you write, you want your readers to feel the same way about you.
Because when you read their comments it's going to make YOU feel good! The praise will make you want to write more often and will show you what people really want to read. It makes blogging seem like less of a job when you can see the difference you are making. And, by paying attention to how people comment, you can easily pick new topics for future blog posts. This is truly how to make money with a blog.
Your Readers Will Want to Pay You!
How can I say that? Well, there's a subconscious need for us to give back when someone gives us something. Like when someone gives you a Christmas present and you kind of feel like you should give them one too. But with blogging it's not quite as forced as feeling like you have to give back. You honestly want to give back because you appreciate what the writer has done for you.
Sure, some of your readers will "give back" by linking to your blog posts and passing them around to others. That will get you a lot more traffic and some new readers. But other people will keep an eye out for what you recommend to them. They will start to trust you and may even want to be in your shoes. So if you recommend a book to them, they're going to want to read it too because maybe it helped you get to where you are. And they won't care if it's an affiliate offer; they will be happy that you showed them the book and feel like you deserve the commission.
And some people might even want to give you money as a donation or for some one on one help. They realize that you need money to survive and that your blog might cost money to keep it online. So some people might want to donate to you so that you keep feeding them your awesome blog posts that help them get through their day. Other people might want you to personally help them through consulting or just answering their questions and will actually pay you to do that. They know you're busy and it might even make them feel a bit special that you'd take time out of your day just for them.
As odd as it sounds, this has been proven to be the best way to make money with a blog. So don't write for money, write for your readers and they'll give back to you because you deserve it. Now you knowhow to make money with a blog!
