TOPAZ HORIZON

One way to make some cash at home is blogging. Yes, you can make money at it, although it is certainly not guaranteed. But if you want a flexible method that lets you stay home, this one fits. So first thing to do is to set up your blog, then we’ll talk about how it can bring home some cash. 

Getting Started 

This is the short version, so make sure to check out a more in depth tutorial if you need one. First two things you need: your own domain and a web hosting service. Often the hosting company will offer domain registration as part of their charge, so factor that into your research. Make sure you get a domain that you own, don’t go with a free hosting service with a tacked on name. Either you control your site or someone else does. Free sites can be shut down at any time and have many restrictions on how you can make money from them. Take control, you’ll be glad you did. 

Now install WordPress, it’s by far the most common blogging platform and very easy to use, and a framework. Consider a premium framework, they aren’t very expensive and come with a much better design which is easier to use and more powerful. Choose your topic and your schedule and start writing. You’ll need some articles posted, content as it’s known, and some readers before you can really make much money from your blog. So post useful articles and draw as many people to your blog as you can. 

Affiliates 

Once you’ve got some readers, you can start with one of the easiest ways to ‘monetize’ your blog, affiliate marketing. Simply put, you sign up for an affiliate program for a company you like and direct your readers to it to purchase things there. If they do, you get a commission. Your reader doesn’t pay any extra, the commission is directly from the affiliate. A common example is Amazon. Reviewing or recommending products that are available through Amazon lets you earn that commission if your reader uses your link to buy the product you talk about. 

Pretty simple! Make sure you would honestly recommend the product or you may lose readers who feel you are simply pushing those items to make money. And be sure to disclose that you are an affiliate and are earning a commission. It’s best to be upfront and honest about that. 

Digital Sales 

Another great way to go is to create a digital product, an eBook, video seminar, or artwork for example, and sell that through your blog. Digital is a great way to go since there is only the initial cost of creating the item and you don’t have to manufacture it each time to sell it again. Be sure the product is something worthwhile, something valuable to your audience. One way to convince people to buy is to offer a free item first. A short eBook where the only cost is signing up for your mailing list for example. Then market your longer books later on. 

Physical Sales 

If you do crafts or are willing to buy items wholesale for resale, you can sell physical items over the internet as well. Be sure to budget in shipping costs, but as long as you set it up properly, you can still manage most of this from your home. Another option is setting up a system where you take orders then have them drop shipped directly from the producer to your customer. Selling physical items does have some extra expenses associated with it, shipping, inventory, materials, etc., but if you are willing to invest in those you can make it work. 

Memberships 

If your blog itself is enough of a draw, you can charge a membership fee for people to access it. This is usually a way to earn from either a very popular site, or one which has a great deal of expertise and experience behind it. If you happen to have experience or training in a field you could set up a members only site for your most useful articles. Some pay sites will allow any reader to see the first few paragraphs but ask for registration to see the rest. As with any of these tips, there are several ways this could work. 

Advertising 

Finally, there is simple advertising. Placing ads along the border of your blog is an easy and low maintenance way to bring in some income but be prepared for it to be small. Click through ads only deliver a small amount each time a reader uses them, and CPM ads need huge numbers of viewers to return large amounts of money. Most internet users pay little attention to ads, although if an inappropriate one appears on your site you will probably hear about it. Be sure to screen the companies on your ad feed to prevent offensive content. 

As you can see, all five of these allow you to stay at home and work from there. There is a fair amount of work to be successful, though. You may need to spend several hours a day researching and writing your articles, so don’t over commit to your blogging schedule. If you can only manage one post a week don’t say you’ll do more. Missing your schedule is worse than having a relatively long update cycle. Now that you know what to do, get to work! Set up your site and blog!