Making money as a freelance writer online isn't easy. Blog networks often pay by the post, but rarely pay much. Others pay by page view. It's not easy attracting enough viewers to a blog to make that arrangement pay off.
But there is another strategy online writers can take: They can create their own series of niche blogs, equip them with Adsense and promote them -- in a non-spam way -- on message boards and other blogs.
Doing this won't make most writers rich. But it will provide a steady stream of income.
Running Multiple Blogs is Key
By creating a blog on a site such as Blogger, writers can immediately start earning money by signing up with Google's Adsense program.
When visitors to a blog click on the Adsense ads that run along the blog's side or under its posts, the owner of the blog earns money. It's not much money -- usually just a handful of change per click -- but it is real money.
Google pays blog owners once their Adsense accounts reach $100.
The problem is, it's not easy reaching that $100 mark when writers run only one blog. But when writers create and run multiple blogs? Then it gets a bit easier.
Writers Should Write What They Know, Love
Successful online writers know the power of equipping many blogs with Adsense. Pennies a day can suddenly turn into dollars a day.
The key, though, is for writers to pick topics that they enjoy and that they already know much about.
If writers enjoy a topic, they're more likely to update their blogs regularly. Blogs attract more visitors, and more Adsense clicks, when they're updated frequently.
If writers are already experts in their topics, they can write their blog posts quickly, without having to do loads of research. When running multiple blogs, it's important for writers to be able to post quickly. Otherwise, the Adsense money, on an hourly basis, does not pay off.
Writers who are fans of Marvel Comics' Spider-Man should consider blogging about the heroics of their favorite wallcrawler. Those who like Dexter on HBO, can create a blog about that show. Writers who are experts on distributed power generation can run onsite electricity generation blogs.
Promoting Multiple Blogs
To make solid Adsense money, writers will have to spend as much time, if not more, promoting their blogs as they do writing them. Even the best writing will have little impact if a blog receives just a trickle of visitors a week.
One of the best ways to promote a blog is to visit and post at online message boards, forums and other blogs. Writers who run quilting blogs, can visit any of the other online sites devoted to the hobby, post regular comments on these sites' message boards and include links in these comments to their own blog. That should bring new visitors.
The key, though, is to post comments that are thoughtful, useful and appropriate. Writers who post two-word comments such as "Great Post!" and then put links to their blogs under those comments may find that forum visitors consider their remarks blatant advertisements. Forum members frown upon such bald-faced ways to gain visitors.
Organization is Key
Writers who run multiple blogs, all equipped with Adsense, won't get rich quick. But with 10 blogs -- or more -- running at once, writers should bring in a consistent stream of click dollars.
It's essential, though, that writers create a schedule for maintaining these blogs. It doesn't help to update three blogs every day and seven only once a month. Writers who create a weekly schedule listing every blog that must be updated on a given day can ensure that their blogs will remain fresh and attractive to readers.
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