The best way to make money blogging

"Want to learn the quickest way to make money blogging?" Regardless of whether you are a blogger, entrepreneur, or using a blog to market and grow a business online, the process for driving traffic and generating an income from blogging is the same.

To make money blogging you need to be able to create great content on a particular topic. That's pretty much it. So why do so many businesses and entrepreneurs struggle?

The problem is that blogging takes skill and practice, with a good understanding of the target audience and SEO (Search Engine Optimization). In other words, a blogger needs to be a good writer, a good marketer, and a good SEO.

This article will provide you with all the resources you need to learn how to blog effectively, select a niche topic that you are passionate about and that will bring in money, and give a step-by-step guide to making decent money in the shortest possible time.

Are you up to the challenge?

Important blogging skills

Before you can start making decent money from blogging, you will need to learn a few things. By learning, practicing and honing your skills now, you will save plenty of time and effort going forward.

Blogging is a competitive industry and no-one can afford to waste precious man-hours creating content that isn't highly relevant, highly engaging, and primed to dominate Google search.

Start with the following blogging, marketing and SEO articles and resources:

• SEO blog post template
• Five top SEO tips for small business bloggers
• 3 best blog marketing tips for 2012
• How to promote your blog with social influence
• Sales funnel marketing strategy for bloggers
• 5 top SEO tips from Wikipedia
• Increase Web traffic with this great SEO marketing tip for bloggers

After reading those articles you should be able to structure a blog post perfectly to maximize your chances of ranking highly in search. You should know how to craft content to boost organic search traffic - SEO. You should know a couple of neat blog marketing techniques, and understand how social media can help to drive traffic.

How to start a blog

Starting a blog can be divided into two separate categories:

1. Choosing a niche
2. Getting online

Choosing a niche

There's as much science to starting a blog as there is creativity. Never choose a blog topic because you feel will make more money, if it is not a subject you are personally interested in.

Blogging is time consuming, and you simply won't stick to it for long enough, if the subject matter is of no interest to you.

With that said, not all blog topics are equal, and some have greater potential to make money. Read the following articles that talk about how to choose the perfect money making niche for you or your business:

• Which blog topics make the most money?
• How to come up with ideas for a home based business startup
• "Google insights for Search" as the best free SEO tool for small business SEO

Getting a blog online

In order to get your blog up and running you will need:

1. A domain name
2. Blog software or platform
3. Hosting

There are plenty of great options available to you, and the following articles will help you make the right choice:

• How to build a website
• How to start a blog with WordPress
• Top 10 things you need to start a blog and make money
• Top 10 priorities for starting a blog or small business website

How to make money blogging

In the online world, it is far more important to dominate a single niche (even if it is a small one) than it is to be "pretty good" over a broader niches, or a range of niches.

The reason is because focusing on a specific niche makes your content very relevant to people searching for that information. The more relevant, engaging and useful your content is, the more likely you are to build trust, authority, reach and social influence.

Once you have captured one niche, it is then easier to go for the next one. In this way, you can build up your traffic one niche at a time.

The benefit of capturing one niche at a time is that you will be able to make money as you go. If you don't dominate any niche, traffic will be less relevant and less likely to convert.

Step by step guide to making money blogging

If all goes to plan, you should find that you start earning a bit of money within a few months. This revenue should grow in proportion to the amount of traffic your blog generates.

As time goes by, more content and social influence will lead to more and more traffic and at some point, you will be able to earn a full-time living from your blog.

Here's how:

1. Pick a focused niche (use Google AdWords Keyword Tool to help choose the perfect niche phrases)
2. Choose a good blog platform - one that has excellent SEO features and proven reliability
3. Follow other successful bloggers via social media and learn from them
4. Become skilled at SEO
5. Promote and market yourself and your blog via social networks and guest posts
6. Contribute to other discussions, groups and forums in your niche
7. Network and make meaningful connections
8. Write at least four to five high quality articles per week
9. Learn how to use Google AdSense and other advertising networks to make money (learn about affiliate marketing)
10. Explore affiliate advertising (learn about affiliate marketing)
11. Sell direct advertising once you have sufficient traffic
12. Learn how to use Google analytics to help refine and improve your SEO, marketing and blogging (learn about analytics)
13. Be consistent
14. Be persistent

It might sound like a lot, but remember that you have plenty of time to master the skills you need. So long as you are always prepared to learn and adapt, you will be able to make money blogging.

Do you make money blogging? Have you tried to make money blogging but failed? Share your blogging tips and experiences in the comments or follow me on Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ for more news and advice on blogging and business online.