How to make money blogging (marketing & ads)

Marketing

Blog marketing comes in many flavors, but one of the most important aspects to marketing a blog is social media marketing. It is crucial that you get people talking about your content. The more people share and discuss your content, the more other people will join in the debate and create "buzz".

Implementing a great Internet and social marketing strategy will help decrease the amount of time it takes to get your blog to the point where it is self-sustaining. But be warned, 2012 is a year of great change, and you need to be aware of what is happening in the search and marketing industries as a whole.

Here are the best Internet and social marketing articles and resources for bloggers:

• Small business SEO & Internet marketing strategy guide, 2012
• How Google Product Search will affect small business SEO SEM strategies and how to cope
• 5 best Internet marketing services for small business, 2012
• The top five tips that teach you how to rock social media
• How best to target new social, marketing, business or blogging connections

Selling advertising & affiliate links

Online advertising is one of the best ways to make money from high quality blog content. There are many ad networks, affiliate networks, ad platforms, and so on, and it can be a bit bewildering to find the right one for your content.

My advice is to start off with the easiest advertising option - Google Adsense provides targeted ads with minimal fuss.

When you are ready to get more adventurous and explore new ways to make money blogging, check out the following resources:

• PeerFly: affiliate marketing network
• Clicksor: contextual online advertising software and network
• DoubleClick for Publishers: advanced ad management software by Google
• LinkShare: large affiliate network

Now it's your turn to have a say. Have you been blogging with little to no success, but improved after reading this article? Are there tips and techniques you use to drive traffic and convert it into moola that you'd like to add to this article? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below or join the discussion on Twitter and LinkedIn.