Who Am I ?He is a Entrepreneur, Blogger and internet addict. After a long stint in IT Industry spanning 12 years and 3 continents, He came back to India to start on his own. 2 startups that he co-founded have had mixed success. He is founder of Armoks Interactive Labs and founder- editor at Trak.in, one of the most popular Indian Technology News and Views Destination where he and his team of passionate writers present Insightful and Analytical stories on Technology, Telecom and Startup world.

So, You want to make money through blogging?

But, why do most find it so difficult?

If you want to make money through blogging, you should look at it as a

Business, and not a hobby

Most people who blog, look at it as a hobby or a do it for their passion of writing.

While passion for writing is needed, lot more goes into achieving monetary blog success!

So, What is that “lot more” ?

Let’s First Classify Types of Blogs…

Personal Blogs – Ongoing Diary, Commentary

No – Can’t Make Money..

Let’s First Classify Types of Blogs…

Group Blogs – Multi-Author Blogs, started by group of individuals around a theme or Genre without the purpose of making money.

Can Make Money, but rare..

Let’s First Classify Types of Blogs…

Corporate / Organization Blogs – A company mouthpiece or announcements platform.

Money Making is Not a purpose…

Let’s First Classify Types of Blogs…

Micro-Blogging – Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, Vine etc

Yes, You Can Make Money, but difficult

Let’s First Classify Types of Blogs…

Individual (or Group) Professional Blogs - The Blogs written with purpose of making money ( directly or indirectly)

YES – Can make good money. We will talk on this

Get These Myths Out of Your Head First

• Blogging is easy• Blogging is Make-Quick-Money Method• Passive Income is possible with blogging• You Have to be a expert writer• You can’t make money through blogging• You need loads of traffic to make money

5 Key Pillars Of Profitable Blogging

Vertical Granular Content Focus Creating Regular Useful Content What Readers Want, Not What You

Want Reader Engagement Effective Monetization Strategy

And spend time on… Business Model (Competition, Market size,

Your differentiation) A Great Domain Name Professional Design Reliable Host / Blog speed / Optimizations SEO Best Practices Social Media Strategy Blog Marketing

Vertical Granular Content Focus• You can’t be generic and still be successful• Find the niche you are passionate about• Niches like Photography, parenting, beauty, travel etc

are good. But even better would be “Macro Photography”, “Positive Parenting”, “Women Makeup” or “Adventure Travel”

• Better & Easier Monetization opportunities• Better & Easier Search Rankings

Creating Regular Useful Content• Being regular does not mean write daily.

Define your publishing calendar and stick to it.

• Regular writing in long term will have a snowball effect

• Write “Resource Guides” rather than “News Bits”

• Research, Research and Research before you start writing

What Readers Want, Not What You Want

Look at Google Trends, do some research, find what people are searching or are looking for and select topic on that.

Quora is a great starting point. Use Google Alerts.

Reader EngagementEngage your new visitors in a way that they become regulars

• Always reply to comments• Offer them helpful freebies (e-books, free downloads etc)• Ask Questions (one of the most effectives way to engage)• Build presence on various forums and communities

related to your niche• Email Newsletter• Social Media presence

Effective Monetization Strategy

Every Blog demands a different Monetization strategy. It depends on your niche. Never Monetize unless you have reached a certain stage.Remember, AdSense is lowest hanging fruit and in many cases very ineffective Let us look at a few different Strategies:

Freemium ModelYou provide a lot of quality content for free to your audience, and you provide a premium-level program to those willing to pay for it.

Works For: Research Blogs, White papers, Rare Content blogs

Affiliate ProgramsAffiliate Incomes can be HUGE!This is one of the most widely used monetization strategies by bloggers. Offer Affiliate products that will appeal to your readers in your niche

Works For: Make Money Blogs, Tech blogs, Gadget blogs and many more…

Direct AdsThis can be lucrative, but needs some work!Get in touch with brands that have products in your niche. Create a deck on how the brand will benefit from advertising with your blog

Works For: Travel, Business, Photography and most other verticalsNote: This should always be on your radar…

Ad NetworkThe easiest way to monetize your blog is to signup with a Ad network. The revenue may vary from very low to very high.

Works For: Most Blogs but may not be effective in some casesNote: You should never rely on single ad network, try various options.

Sponsored / Paid PostsAnother lucrative monetization strategy, but works only for a few blogs.

Works For: Review blogs, product blogs and many more…

Note: When doing paid post, ALWAYS disclose a paid post to your readers

Speaking GigsIf you are known expert in any niche, this could be a great way to monetize. Talk about your previous speaking engagements. Have a separate section on your blog

Works For: Expert blogs, know personality blogs…

Consulting / Coaching AssignmentsThis is an indirect monetization strategy, where your blog is a marketing channel for you. Build your reputation, and showcase your expertise through the blog to land consulting & coaching assignments

Works For: Niche skills, developer blogs etc

And a few more…

Blogging can be a great way to make real good money. But, you

need to be patient and persevere

Floor is open for Questions…

Get in touch:arun@trak.in / FB:arun.p / Twitter: @8ap

@Trakin # 91.9822575676