Turn your blog into a business

Filed in archive Bootstrapping Opportunities on February 7, 2008

The next post in our series on great bootstrap ideas you can start almost immediately involves making money off something you already have-a blog.

Yes, those personal journals, no matter what the subject, can create a revenue stream if you just know how to turn on the faucet.

Some important suggestions:

• Do some bargain hunting. If you don't already have one of these little on line journals, starting one or two or three is as easy as can be and should not be expensive. Before looking into paying for hosting consider the free options like blogger, wordpress, soulcast or pay just a bit more for a higher end blog experience like TypePad. If you really want a special URL for branding purposes, some blog networks, TypePad included, allow you to purchase an address from a hosting service like GoDaddy then hook it up to your blog.
• Sell your space. Of course, one of the easiest methods to do this is through Google Adsense but as this video from the Swapw blog explains, it may not be the only or even the best option.

• Build an off ramp of information. Despite the advice of on line gurus, steady posting may not always be sufficient to draw visitors to your site. Consider other options including commenting on other blogs to create link backs and creating profiles/groups on social networks ranging from MySpace to Squidoo all designed to increase the likelihood of visitors finding you site.
• Open a store. Don't stop with advertising and affiliate programs. There are other methods of profiting off the traffic your blog receives depending on your subject matter. Services like CafePress.com and Lulu.com allow you to sell everything from personalized T-shirts to your own book, CD or video from a store linked to your site. For other options in the retail department see this previous post.