4. Want to Improve Yourself?

Once you actually start, you will realise that blogging has the ability to improve your language and communication skills (especially if you are blogging in a language that is not your mother tongue). This happens automatically as you start reading and researching your post topics.

The more you write the more you'll find yourself checking for grammatical and spelling errors and trying to get the message across more effectively. You also learn how to entertain and perhaps even coax readers through your writing.

Sidebar: To help with this you can try Grammarly. Grammarly is free and it helps ensure everything you type is easy to read, effective, and mistake-free. Grammarly also has browser extensions for Chrome, Safari and Firefox. 

Blogging also gets you connected to a range of new people from various countries, with different cultures and backgrounds. Who knows, you may even form relationships if you communicate with them through the comments section. 

It is really quite exciting watching more and more people subscribe to your blog, post comments, ask questions and just start interacting with you and other members. As you get good responses to your posts it will positively impact your self-esteem which will consequently improve your life.

Stay tuned for Part 5!

Melody Christie

Where life takes me..

Click here to start blogging & connecting with amazing people from all over the world!

Want to earn some money?

There are many ways people earn from blogging and you could too. Whilst it may take time to build a following and start earning a regular income from blogging, it is possible. Here are a few ways you can start.

1) Affiliate Programs

There are countless affiliates programs online and many of them provide you with marketing collateral like banners, images and unique referral links. If you write a post that is related to that affiliate program, you can easily add your affiliate links within the article itself. 

Alternatively, you can also add a banner at the beginning or end of your blog (similar to what I done here for Markethive).

You can also check out the Blog Posts section on my "Hacking Travel" Group to see how I've incorporated Amazon product links there and how you can do something similar.

2) Banner Advertising

Once your blog has a regular flow of visitors and you have the stats to show this, you can sell advertising space and invite companies with complementing products or services to buy a spot.

For instance, if your blog is about parenting you could invite companies that sell educational games or other children related items to buy an ad spot. 

If your blog is about places to visit in Colorado, for example, you can make a deal with your favourite local bakery and invite them to buy an ad spot or tell them you will advertise their bakery for free if they can give your readers a free croissant or coffee every Tuesday, or something like that. 

3) CPC / PPC / CPM Ads

Cost per click (also called pay per click) ads are usually banners that can be placed within your blog content or in the sidebar. Each time a reader clicks on the ad, you are paid for that click. Your reader does not actually have to buy anything from the advertiser. They only need to click the ad.

CPM Ads (“cost per 1,000 impressions,”) on the other hand are ads that pay you a fixed amount of money based on how many people view your ad. This is great if you have a high traffic blog.

One of the most popular networks that provide this type of advertising is Google AdSense. Many bloggers employ this method because they do not need to contact any advertisers as Google takes care of all that. 

You only need to place the banner on your site and Google will determine what ads are relevant to your content. When your viewers click on the ads, you will get paid by Google. That's it.

Of course, Google is not the only company to offer this type of advertising. There are other companies such as Infolinks.com and Media.net, that you can check out.

It is worth mentioning that you will not earn a large amount right of the bat, but as you continue blogging, creating a brand for yourself and establishing yourself as an expert, you will start to see the money come in.

4) Paid to Blog

Finally, there is a platform that actually pays you to blog. It's called Markethive. I personally prefer this method because my earnings are not solely dependant on anyone clicking my affiliate links or banners or ads. In addition, it allows me to earn with my very first blog post. Very few platforms in this world give you that opportunity. Plus they pay you in cryptocurrency!

Of course, my hope is that my readers find the content I provide helpful and useful and so they follow through to purchase whatever they need to through my links but knowing that I'm earning just for blogging, is nothing short of awesome! Want to start earning for every blog post? Click here.

Stay tuned for Part 4!

Melody Christie

Where life takes me..

Click here to start your free Markethive account in 1 minute flat!

2. Do you want to help others?

Think about it, how many times have you desperately Googled for something and then found the answer you were looking for in a blog post?

In the same way, if you choose to blog on a topic you have some experience with, you could very well provide the answers to questions many people are searching for.

For instance, if you're an Entrepreneur, you could offer advice to others who are considering becoming one, talk about the things to look out for when choosing a business, potential pitfalls, the need to commit and spend at least a little time each day working on their project and such.

Or if you are a foodie (yes, it's a thing now), you could tell people where all the best restaurants, cafes and eateries are, the best time to visit to avoid standing around waiting for a table, etc.

Think of it as helping people. Put yourself in their shoes and consider;
– what they are searching for
– what they need help with
– what you already know
– what you are good at
– how you can help them

It's heartwarming going through the reader's comments knowing your post has helped someone.. even if it's a seemingly small thing like how to re-open a browser tab they've closed prematurely 🙂 (<– this was not a blog post but it was one of my early shares and the response was just great)

If you would like to test your blogging skills, Markethive is a free platform that provides you with everything you need to do just that. Plus it comes with a community of supportive Entrepreneurs who are happy to guide you along the way… and the icing on the cake? You get paid for every post you make! What else could you ask for?

Click here to start your free Markethive account in 1 minute flat!

Melody Christie

Where life takes me..