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The Beauty of Blog World 2009: How to Earn More Money from Your Blog

October 17th, 2009 by Karen 17 Comments

Beauty and Blog World 2009

Good mornin’, ladies. How’s it going? Are you glad it’s Saturday? It’s just after 8 a.m. here on my last day in Las Vegas. I’m taking it easy and blogging to you from bed in the hotel, whee! I thought I’d skip the morning keynote at Blog World to tell you about the convention yesterday and share what I learned about a topic that interests a lot of bloggers, monetization, aka Blogging for Benjamins.

Now, most of the 70+ million blogs out there aren’t run as businesses. They’re small personal endeavors or not-for-profit initiatives, but I think some of these tips can be applied to those kinds of blogs as well. For example, if you’re blogging about a local church or charity, consider the tip on using YouTube to drive donations, or the tip on placing your most important messages “above the fold.”

I have A LOT more information from the convention (tips on using video, Twitter, Facebook and more), but some of it will have to wait until I get back home to share.

In the meantime, have a great weekend! 🙂

Tip 1: Maintain a regular posting schedule

There are a couple of different reasons for this one, and the first one has to do with Google. Posting on a regular schedule — say once per day or week — actually trains the Google bot (that’s really what they call it), the program that scours the web looking for new content to include in the Google search listings.

The second reason to maintain a regular posting schedule has to do with people. We come to expect and appreciate things that follow a recognizable pattern.

Tip 2: If it’s your business, don’t be shy

Be considerate, but don’t be shy. It’s never easy to talk about money, particularly in a public place (like on a blog), but if you’re hoping to earn more money online, don’t be ashamed to let your readers know.

Tip 3: Diversify revenue streams

The most widespread and common way to earn money from a blog is by placing ads. Google Adsense is the industry standard because of how quick, easy and effective it is. I’m running them here on MBB (below the masthead at the top and in the right sidebar).

But look for additional revenue streams if you’re serious about earning a stable income with your blog. You wouldn’t want a policy change at Google HQ to suddenly cut your earnings in half.

Things to consider: writing and selling a book (or an e-book), incorporating more than one ad network (Kontera is one that was mentioned a lot yesterday), creating a product to sell, joining affiliate programs (Amazon.com, Clickbank, Commission Junction) or creating a paid membership site.

Tip 4: Placing ads above the fold

I’ve always struggled with this one… The experts suggest placing all of your ads right up near the top of the page where visitors will see them as soon as they open the page. The problem with that is it’s kinda annoying to open a webpage and see nothing but ads, right?

My suggestion: Try to balance ad placement “above the fold” (which basically means at/near the top of the page) with a dash of common sense and design appreciation.

The World's Littlest Showgirl
The World’s Littlest Showgirl…

Tip 5: Affiliate programs

I mentioned some of these in Tip 3, but the experts yesterday all agreed that affiliate programs can be great ways to earn money from your blog, particularly if you blog about a topic tied to something people actually buy (beauty products, books, clothes, shoes, food, baby products, household supplies, etc.).

One common approach involves including links to products within your blog posts that generate a tiny percentage for you whenever readers click and buy the product.

NOTE: Overusing affiliate links can degrade the experience for your readers, so be careful not to overdo it, and be sure to disclose to your readers when you’re earning money from your affiliate relationships.

Tip 6: YouTube, YouTube, YouTube

Superstar tech blogger and geek extraordinaire Chris Pirillo (just type Chris in Google and he’s the first Chris that comes up, LOL!) calls YouTube his single most effective sales tool. He writes and sells e-books, and when he tells people about them in his YouTube videos, he sees a spike in sales. He says that people just seem to respond better to his video sales efforts than his written ones online.

Just something to keep in mind if you blog and also have a product to sell (I’ll have more tips about creating videos in a later post).

Tip 7: Own your own domain name

Most bloggers (myself included) start blogging with a free/inexpensive service like blogger, typepad or wordpress.com (there’s a wordpress.com AND a wordpress.org). I did (MBB Version 1 circa 2007 was on wordpress.com), but at some point you want to have your own domain name, i.e. www.myblog.com, and the control that comes with it.

There are techie things involved in moving from a free startup blog service to what they call a self-hosted one (like wordpress.org), but if you’re serious about blogging, even if you’re not blogging for money, I think it’s worth the time and effort it takes to figure out.

The credibility that comes with having your own domain name versus one tied to another company is significant. For what it’s worth, WordPress and Godaddy made my move from wordpress.com fairly easy. I purchased my domain name through them (about $7/year), paid for one year of their least expensive shared web hosting (about $72/year), and with their online tools was able to install self-hosted WordPress on my account with the click of a button (well, the clicks of a few buttons).

WHOA! It’s 9:30 already? I lost track of time. I’d better get ready and head over to the convention center.

Oh, guess who I ran into yesterday? Carleen Pruess Coulter of Beauty and Fashion Tech. It was cool bumping into a fellow beauty blogger here, since most of these other bloggers are into tech. We talked about the new MAC release and eye makeup remover (to help a finance blogger girl who overheard us talking about makeup, ha!).

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

The Beauty of Blog World 2009: How to Earn More Money from Your Blog / Originally published October 17th, 2009

There are 17 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Beauty Tips, Just For Fun, News Keywords: blogging, Las Vegas

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Comments

  1. Kelly says

    October 17th, 2009 at 10:25 am

    Morning Karen!

    Yay more great tips!

    When I came over from GoDaddy’s QuickBlogcast template to my new WordPress template on my own hosted domain, it was pretty much a nightmare! My site was down a whole week, it wasn’t pretty…But now everything is fabulous 🙂

    Can’t wait to hear more, I am soaking it in. Oh and I totally used your post yesterday when you said “I have spent thousands of dollar in camera and computer equipment” as an excuse to the hubbie to get the new Rebel XTi. He may or may not have bought it LOL!
    .-= Kelly’s last blog post… OPI Holiday Wishes for Winter 2009 Swatches and Review – Part I =-.

    Reply
  2. Dao says

    October 17th, 2009 at 10:49 am

    Great tips, Karen! As soon as I gather enough cash, I will move on to become a dot commer. Leeching off Blogger is ok but there are other things I want to do as well. Can’t wait to read more tips you gathered from Blog World.
    .-= Dao’s last blog post… Beauty Literotica: Fine Beauty by Sam Fine =-.

    Reply
  3. Christina says

    October 17th, 2009 at 11:04 am

    Thanks for sharing all the great information from BlogWorld! Most of the information I’m getting from other people who are attending is interesting, but meant more for techies. I can actually understand what YOU are saying. 😉

    Enjoy your last few hours in Vegas!
    .-= Christina’s last blog post… Got Manure? =-.

    Reply
  4. Stef says

    October 17th, 2009 at 12:49 pm

    Karen, it really is so cool of you to be sharing all this info with other bloggers who are faithful readers (like me!), it’s great advice. It’s really generous of you to not be afraid to help others advance too. You’re a rockstar!
    .-= Stef’s last blog post… Julie Hewett Los Angeles- twilight palette review =-.

    Reply
  5. amy says

    October 17th, 2009 at 1:32 pm

    Thanks for all the great tips Karen, I just started blogging at wordpress.com as a hobby at the end of August, but I know eventually I would want to move to self hosting, as I want more control over the look of my site. As well as what I can do with it. Reading your tips is much more interesting then constantly reading boring dry blogging tips from else where! 🙂 So I am assuming you are on wordpress.org now and using Go Daddy?
    .-= amy’s last blog post… Style Spy: Fine Finds Shopping Party with Benefit Cosmetics Goodie Bag =-.

    Reply
  6. Kyl says

    October 17th, 2009 at 6:37 pm

    Thanks for the tips, Karen! I used to have Affiliate Links but never made any money from them. Now with the FCC regulations really cracking down on affiliate programs, I’m glad that I got rid of mine.
    .-= Kyl’s last blog post… Look For Less: Ginnifer Goodwin =-.

    Reply
  7. Sherry says

    October 17th, 2009 at 7:52 pm

    love the tips and looks like you have a great weekend 🙂 I started an online store for handmade jewellery, still baby step to see it grow.
    .-= Sherry’s last blog post… Sleepy head =-.

    Reply
  8. Vonvon says

    October 17th, 2009 at 8:03 pm

    Thanks for sharing these useful tips, Karen!
    .-= Vonvon’s last blog post… Review: L’oreal Revitalift Face, Contours & Neck – By The Intrepid Beauty =-.

    Reply
  9. Shirleen says

    October 17th, 2009 at 10:23 pm

    Hi Karen,

    Thanks for the great tips and I especially like tip 1 and 2. My day job takes up most of my time and I’m finding hard to write as frequent as I want to be. I wish to be a full time blogger but the revenue earned is inadequate to do so now. Moving forward, I will probably be more upfront with my readers on money wise.

    Thanks so much! 🙂
    .-= Shirleen’s last blog post… Skin Care Ingredients To Reduce Skin Inflammation =-.

    Reply
  10. Sherry says

    October 18th, 2009 at 12:49 am

    I blogged a post link here 🙂
    .-= Sherry’s last blog post… How to make money from your blog? =-.

    Reply
  11. Karen B says

    October 18th, 2009 at 1:11 am

    Hi Karen!
    It’s so great to see you sharing all your newly acquired knowledge. I really admire that in you: you’re not afraid to help others find their own way and give them the little push they need to find their path to greatness (sounds wise huh?).
    I hope you have fun for the rest of the convention.

    Reply
  12. charlene says

    October 18th, 2009 at 3:10 pm

    Thanks Karen! So informative!!

    Reply
  13. sunmom says

    October 19th, 2009 at 12:06 pm

    you look pretty in the first picture! very natural!
    .-= sunmom’s last blog post… Protecting Yourself from Holiday Crimes =-.

    Reply
    • Karen says

      October 19th, 2009 at 12:16 pm

      Hi Sunmom,

      Thank you, hon! Hope you are having a fabulous Monday!

      Reply
  14. Bun Bun Makeup Tips says

    May 9th, 2011 at 5:02 am

    Thanks for the very useful tips, Karen! But it’s really hard to post regularly, especially if you have a day job that takes up 15 hours. =(
    Bun Bun Makeup Tips recently posted … How To- Depot Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion in 5 Minutes

    Reply
  15. Hina says

    December 16th, 2014 at 5:47 am

    This is such a helpful post for all new bloggers.

    Thank you!

    Reply
  16. Hina says

    December 16th, 2014 at 5:47 am

    ♥ Makeup By Hina ♥

    Reply

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Welcome to Makeup and Beauty Blog
Hi there! I’m Karen, your friendly neighborhood beauty addict, and I’m a Bay Area girl who hoards brown eyeshadow and covets coral lipstick. Every morning, I wake up and say, “I’m going to do something other than a smoky eye today.” Then…I end up doing a smoky eye anyway (most days). When I’m not putting on makeup, taking pictures of makeup or writing about makeup, which I’ve been doing daily since 2007 (!), you’ll find me hanging out with my hubby (“El Hub”), my four-year-old daughter (Connor Claire) and my torbie girl cat (Pretty Girl Rosie, a.k.a. PGR).

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