I have had a blog for 4 years and am FINALLY now looking to make some money off it. I am going to have a web designer recreate it, but can you help me out to make some money off it? Do you make money off yours?

I receive a lot of this type of messages. As in, A LOT.

And, no matter how many times I receive and try to respond to such emails, I always find it a bit difficult to come up with the right answer.

It’s not because I don’t know what to say. In fact, I pretty much have the same answer each time.

I just find it difficult because it makes me feel that these people want a “magic answer”. A simple solution on how to rake in the riches from blogging.

The problem is: There’s no easy solution. No magic answer.

Yes, I make money off my blogs. I run a few, you see. Not as a full time job, mind you. So, I don’t get to spend much time on them. But, that’s just how I like to run my online life at the moment. Much as I love it all, I’m keeping a bit of a distance, as I explore my other interests and live the rest of my life.

I know other people have decided to make this as their full-time gig. I know I have in the past. That’s why I know it’s possible to do it.

So now, how can I help others make money off their blogs? Well, that’s one of the biggest reasons I maintain this site, JMMO. It’s a way for me to write down different ideas on how to make money online. It’s how I try to guide those who are starting out and experimenting in finding ways to make some money from the web. That was the reason I started in this MMO niche in the first place some 4+ years ago. I don’t see myself as a “business” or “marketing” blogger. I mainly do this because I receive so many questions and find a number of leads and ideas in this field. That’s why I keep going with this blog.

But, I digress.

Now, back to the main question: How do I help this person to make money off his/her blog? There really are so many factors with making money from one’s blog.

The longevity of the blog is one important aspect – although not the most important one. A new blog will always have a bit of an uphill battle, as it tries to build content and readership. A four-year-old blog, hopefully, will have enough readers, PR, content, and pageviews to attract monetisation.

So, my next suggestion is to learn as much as you can about making money from blogs. There are so many things written out there, of course. And, JMMO alone has several ideas that I shared over the years. Since there are a number of posts to go through here, perhaps, checking the “Best of JMMO” page might be a useful start. For bloggers, the “Making Money in the first 6 Months” might be a good place to gather some ideas.

Don’t go overboard with the research! Just get enough information to help you gain some confidence about implementing ‘best practices’ — then get in to the action. Make some choices when it comes to revenue models. Then, try to implement them bit by bit. Experiment, take notes, then try some new things. Rinse and repeat – until you find the right formula for your particular circumstance.

If you set some realistic goals, then hopefully, you will begin to see the results of your labour. I wish you all the best with it!

This post is originally from Just Make Money Online. Please respect copyright.

Money Chat: Finally Jumping in to Making Money from Blogging

Anyway, admittedly, my initial expectation was to read something that’s more on the “inspirational” side of blogging. Perhaps, it was due to the title “Beyond Blogging” and the subtitle “… for Bigger and Better Things.” While the book does have an inspirational feel and effect, the main message of the ebook is primarily about how to make the most out of blogging by using it in business and/or making money from blogs in various ways.

Once that message is established, the rest of the ebook reads in an easy, practical manner. It offers a few useful tips to break in to professional blogging — and how to turn your own blogs in to a profit centre. Or perhaps, use your own blogs to land other lucrative jobs.   

Here’s the basic outline of the ebook (with my short commentaries):

Chapter 1: Blogging for Dollars (an overview of different ways bloggers make money with their blogs, such as affiliate marketing, etc).

Chapter 2: Blogging Skills (these are the different things bloggers do and/or use to become effective in what they do)

Chapter 3: Beyond Blogging: Where your blogging skills can take you (offers an interesting array of blogging-related jobs that you might be able to land)

Chapter 4: Where and How to find “Beyond Blogging” Jobs (includes a list of blogging job boards)

Conclusion

Anyway, if you’re interested, Deb’s book is currently for sale at US$10.

Also, Deb has kindly offered one (1) free copy of Beyond Blogging to JMMO readers. If you’re keen, just leave a comment in this post and answer the question: Why do you like blogs/blogging?

Deadline for this giveaway is on Monday, 9th March 2009. All commenters’ names will be put in to a virtual hat – and we’ll announce the lucky winner next via random draw.

Good luck!

This post is originally from Just Make Money Online. Please respect copyright.

Beyond Blogging: An eBook Review (+a Giveaway!)

This is part of the A-Z of Making Money Online series. This series covers the various ways of making money online, in alphabetical order.

Well, other than “Just Make Money Online” – J is for…

Job-a-matic – Run your own job board!

Job Boards – A list of job boards for work seekers

Junk Mail – Yes, there are ways to make money from junk mail…

This post is originally from Just Make Money Online. Please respect copyright.

J is for…

1) Social Media Jobs
2) GhostBlogging.net
3) BloggerJobs - Blogged here
4) Guru - Blogged here
5) Project4Hire – Blogged here
6) Job-a-matic
7) Problogger Job Board - Blogged here
Gawker Job Board – Blogged here
9) Craigslist - Blogged here

Can you think of other useful job boards that you use? Share them here so we can compile a bigger list.

This post is originally from Just Make Money Online. Please respect copyright.

9 Online Job Boards for Work Seekers

There’s still not a lot of jobs listed, but it does look like an interesting service for a particular niche of job seekers. And, while the site is based in Australia, there seems to be jobs available in other countries too.

And, of course, if you’re looking for someone to hire in the social media field for your business, then it might be a good place for you to post your job opening.

Anyway, if you want to keep in touch with openings, there’s an RSS feed available for subscription. The site is managed by Gavin Heaton.

Hat tip: Des Walsh

Image source: SocialMediaJobs, Edits – Shai Coggins

This post is originally from Just Make Money Online. Please respect copyright.

Social Media Jobs: Job Board for Connectors

This is part of the A-Z of Making Money Online series. This series covers the various ways of making money online, in alphabetical order.

Ghost Blogging – Write for other blogs and get paid for it.

GoDaddy – From using their domain and web hosting services to making use of the Cash Parking option, there are various avenues to make money using GoDaddy.

Google – There are different ways to use Google to make money online. Check out some ideas.

Greeting Cards Universe – Design and sell your own greeting cards using this service.

This post is originally from Just Make Money Online. Please respect copyright.

G is for…

If this is your idea of a perfect job, here are some things you need to know about desktop publishing:

Education and training
Generally, you do not need to complete a college degree just to get hired as a desktop publisher. Many professionals in this field obtained their expertise through interest and practice. However, obtaining a certificate, a bachelor’s or associate degree will help, particularly because these qualifications often lead to the best jobs.

Knowledge in the appropriate computer software is also required. Since you will be working with computer peripherals such as scanners, cameras and printers, it’s also important that you are comfortable using these accessories.

What the job entails
As a desktop publisher, it’s important that you know how to use the appropriate computer software. Having good artistic skills and knowledge in visual aesthetics are also key to success.

Other than that, you also need to be capable of making critical decisions regarding certain elements that affect the final product. Being able to identify strong and weak points in a presentation and give alternative suggestions and approaches are also vital to your work.

Since you will be working with a computer, expect to be spending most of your work hours sitting in front of a monitor. Expect to be working and communicating closely with clients during projects and job assignments.

Job prospects
In 2006, over 30,000 people worked in desktop publishing and the figure continues to rise. Many of these individuals work independently either as self-employed workers who own their own firms or work-from-home contractors. It’s important to create a strong portfolio and obtain excellent reviews from past clients. Build your network and market your skills to gain more projects. Do research so you can price your services appropriately.

So where exactly can you find desktop publishing gigs? You can start looking for this type of job through visiting job boards, online marketplaces, social networks, and oftentimes by simply asking for referrals.

image from sxc.hu

This post is originally from Just Make Money Online. Please respect copyright.

Make Money Doing Desktop Publishing: A Career in Digital Arts and Media

It seems like a nice nook for blogging job hunters, although it seems like a paid guest-posting matching service and I disagree with one of the statements on the site’s bloggers’ section:

Bloggers are what makes the Internet ‘go round. The trouble is, they can’t get a vacation day!

The future posting features of the various blogging platforms and guest-bloggers are what makes vacations (albeit not as frequent as those with office jobs) possible for full-time bloggers.

What also interests me is its freebie for job posters – a book on SEO – entitled SEO for Freelancers. Why isn’t it offered to bloggers as well?

So what’s the catch?

As I’ve mentioned it’s a paid service, so job posters and job hunters both have to pay $10 per month to benefit from the site.

So what do you think of GhostBlogging.net?

via FreelanceFolder

This post is originally from Just Make Money Online. Please respect copyright.

GhostBlogging.Net: New Blogging Job Board

According to the Washington Post article, “When You Need Another You”,

Once, lifestyle managers were a perk for celebrities and professional athletes. But now, families are hiring managers to help them through their busy lives, or at least the boring parts. Experts say the industry is on the rise because people are overwhelmed by basic tasks, their increasingly fragmented lives and long commutes.

So yeah, even though there might be a limited market for these types of positions, it’s still possible to offer your services as such. Here are some ideas on how to make money through Lifestyle Management job:

1) Run a search on career job boards like Career Builder or Craigslist. I did a quick look and there were already 2 or 3 relevant jobs that I found.

2) Start a blog or website advertising your services as a Lifestyle Manager (or you can call it something else, if you wish).

3) Keep a blog or site on lifestyle management and earn cash from this area by listing jobs for fellow job seekers, giving tips and ideas, etc. 

4) Check your local newspaper for ‘Help Required’ listings. This sort of job is probably not listed under the title ‘lifestyle management’.

5) Ask around and check your network. See if you know folks who lead busy lives that can possibly afford to pay for extra help in managing their day-to-day living.

10 work task ideas for Lifestyle Managers (who wish to make money online):

1) Shopping – Doing folks’ shopping needs online (groceries, fashion, electrical goods, etc), researching good deals, background info on products, etc.
2) Checking/Responding to Emails
3) Maintaining Online Profiles
4) Maintaining Social Networking Sites
5) Doing background work for their blogs/websites
6) General Research
7) Downloading/Uploading Photos, Videos, etc. Keeping up with online information – and giving folks summary of blogs, sites, etc being followed
9) Maintaining and running online auctions
10) Running various errands online (sending ecards, etc) 

This post is originally from Just Make Money Online. Please respect copyright.

Making Money Idea: Be a Lifestyles Manager

However, earning money from clients you gain is not the only way to make money from these social networks.

Check out the other methods people use to make money online using social networks:

Revenue Sharing and Referral Programs

If you are a social network butterfly who can create an account on any social network and you won’t bat an eye if your batallion of friends will follow you wherever you can be found online, you might want to make some moolah from the eyeballs your page gets. Dada.net, *ApSense, Yuwie are some of these social networks offering referral programs and/or revenue sharing.

Leverage the Traffic

Targeted traffic equals more chances of conversion. And, social networks are popular vehicles to get more targeted traffic to a blog or website. If you have lots of social network contacts or friends, it won’t hurt to use features like Friendster’s ShoutOuts or Facebook Wall to inform your network about a blog post you wish to get Dugg or Stumbled. The list of social networks that are well-known to help people drive traffic to their sites are MyBlogLog, Digg, StumbleUpon, BlogCatalog, and BlogRush.

Land a Job as a Web Community Manager

If you enjoy maintaining your LinkedIn or your MyBlogLog community and you receive lots of emails and comments from your gazillions of contacts, friends, community members or whatever a social network labels your followers commending you for your work or simply loving the interaction, do include it on your resume.

An ideal web community manager should have Web 2.0 – Knowledge, experience, and an active user of a social networking site.

However, this would usually work for those who would like to pursue an online marketing career.

If you’re serious about the “online community manager” jobhunt, you can start preparing by seeing if you can come up with decent answers to these questions. Here’s a job board focused on community-related jobs.

If you find “web community manager” too big a job title, you may want to consider a forum moderator or an online relations stint.

Create Social Network Accounts for Busy Entrepreneurs

Although not yet as popular, you can actually earn from creating accounts for other people. The popularity of social networks as marketing media is what gave rise to this type of job. There are lots of online marketplaces where you’ll find service buyers posting this service. But I’ve become more aware of its growing popularity when about half of my virtual assistance clients ask me to do it. What fun!

Got other ways to make money online from these lovely social networks?

image source

This post is originally from Just Make Money Online. Please respect copyright.

How to Make Money Online with Social Networks