Set Up a Tip Jar or Donation Button

Soliciting Support for Your Blog
Setting up a 'tip jar' or a donation button is a controversial way to earn cash from blogging. Some people think it's a good way to allow readers to name their own subscription fee to online materials (the blog), while others think that it's bad taste to solicit money from blog readers.

Whatever your stand may be on this matter, truth of the matter is: Tip jars or donation buttons may not help you to quit your day job, but it may help you cover some of your blogging expenses such as server/hosting fees, Internet fees, etc. So, if you either have a loyal following and/or if you offer valuable resources in your blog, then it might be worth your time and effort to have one.

Just remember that if you do decide to solicit financial contributions on your blog, make sure you keep these things in mind:

1) Use the 'Soft Sell' Approach.

No one likes an over enthusiastic sales person. It's even worse to deal with a pesky beggar. So, the best thing to do is to introduce your call for contributions in the most direct but subtle way.

2) Be Ethical. Never lie about your needs (or wants). If you're looking to buy a new computer, don't say you're ill and needing help to pay for medications. People are more likely to offer donations to real causes.

3) Show Appreciation - Don't Alienate. Think of ways to thank your donors without alienating readers who don't or can't donate.

4) Make It Easy for People to Donate. It seems obvious, but some people do make it difficult for others to donate if they have several rules for prospective donors (e.g., "I only accept credit cards."). While the most popular way to add a 'tip jar' or donation button is through online payment systems like PayPal, you should also offer other ways to receive donations. For example, you can add a snail mail address (a PO Box is the safest way) for those who may wish to donate money orders or checks.

An example of a 'tip jar' in action can be found in Andrew Sullivan, a popular blog by this journalist. In his blog, you can find a link to something called to 'The Tipping Point.' When you visit 'The Tipping Point,' you will find ways on how to donate and other donor information.

How To Set Up a Donation System Using Paypal

Donation buttons (aka as 'tip jars') may not make you rich or provide you with a regular income from your weblog. However, it might just help cover some of your blogging expenses (server/hosting fees, Internet fees, etc.). So, if you're inclined to set one up, one easy way to do it is to use PayPal's service.
Difficulty: Easy

Time Required: 5 mins.

Here's How:
1. Go to https://www.paypal.com/.


2. Sign up for an account, if you don't have one yet. Just follow the instructions and you'll have an account up and ready in no time.


3. Once your PayPal account is active, log in.


4. Go to the 'Merchant Tools' section. Look for the 'Accepting Website Payments' section. You will then find a link called 'Donations.' Click on that link.


5. Provide the necessary information to set up your donation button. Just add the optional information to facilitate the donation process (donation name/service, donation ID/number, donation amount, currency, etc.).


6. You can also add more options, such as providing customized 'thank you' pages, cancellation pages, etc.


7. Once you're ready, click on 'Create Button Now'.


8. Copy the HTML code and paste it on your blog template.


9. Encourage your readers to use your donation button (or 'tip jar') to send donations.


Tips:
Unless you know what you're doing, try not to fiddle with the PayPal HTML code too much. Otherwise, it might not work properly.
If you have several weblogs or websites using the same PayPal account, you may wish to provide different names/services or IDs/numbers per weblog or website.
The use of name/service and/or ID/number is also useful if you seek specific donations (e.g., for server/hosting fees, for new digital camera, to fix old car, etc.).
Write a short blog entry intoducing your 'tip jar' or 'donation system'. Tell your readers why it's there, what it's for, etc. It's up to you how you wish to encourage your readers to donate - just make sure you don't oversell it.
What You Need:
An active weblog.
An email account.
A PayPal account.

Earn Money From Your Blog With Affiliate Programs

Join Affiliate Programs
One of the most popular ways bloggers earn money from their blogs is through affiliate programs. So, if you're not an affiliate yet, you might want to consider becoming one.
First things first: What are affiliate programs?

The basic concept of affiliate programs is simple: Sellers offer a percentage of the sale (or a flat fee) to people who refer a customer to them.

Many companies and individuals who wish to promote the sale of their products online offer affiliate programs. That is, if you (a weblog owner) sign up for an affiliate program, you will be given a unique affiliate ID. This affiliate ID is then used to identify the referrer of the sale. If there are successful sales of products using your affiliate ID, you will then receive appropriate renumeration as stated in the affiliate agreement.

The range of payment can be anywhere between 1 US cent to US$100 per sale, depending on the product and the program.
Two of the most popular affiliate programs among bloggers right now are run by Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Also check out other affiliate programs in http://www.associateprograms.com/.

Once you decide which affiliate program you'd like to join, all you need to do is sign up for free. When your registration as an affiliate is complete, you can start adding affiliate codes in to your weblog.

The top three ways to add affiliate link codes are as follows:

1) Reviews. If you like a book, music, or video, just write about it in your blog with a link to the specific product in your affiliate program.

2) Recommended List. If you do not wish to write any specific review but you want to come up with product recommendations, you can do so either in a blog entry (e.g., 'Top 10 Writing Books,' 'Top 5 Video Games,' etc.) or in a short feature showcasing 3 to 5 products in your blog's sidebar.

3) Random or General Links. If linking to specific products do not appeal to you, you can use scripts or codes that can generate random links to products with your affiliate link. Or, you can simply add a search engine that links to your affiliate program. Amazon, for example, has this type of linking available.

Whatever way you decide to use your affiliate programs to earn money from blogging, just remember that people generally don't like the feeling that you're just selling stuff to them when they read your weblog. Make sure that you provide a service when linking to products in affiliate programs. However, if you really want to use a 'hard sell' approach, you should state that your blog is a commercial endeavor.

Earn Money by Running Ads on Your Web Log

Run Ads on Your Blog
One of the most common ways bloggers are cashing in on web logs is by running advertisements. If you wish to automate your blog ads service, two of the most popular services available are: Google AdSense and BlogAds.
Using some ad services, such as Google AdSense, is just a matter of signing up for the service, customizing the code, and adding the code in to your blog. With ad services like BlogAds, you need to submit an application and get approved before you can use the service.

Matt Haughey, who runs PVR Blog, is just an example of a blogger who gained some success in using Google AdSense.

Glenn Reynolds, of the popular Instapundit, is currently one of those who are using BlogAds.
Even if your blog is not in the 'Top Weblogs List,' you can still profit from running ads. One way to make this work is by writing specialized and targeted content. For example, if you're passionate about vintage clothes, you can see that there are advertisers for this topic when you do a search on Google. So, go ahead and write about what you're passionate about and make sure to add your ad service codes not only in the main page of your weblog but also in the individual archived entries.

One thing you might want to keep in mind before signing up for any ad network service is that some of them may not allow you to run several codes from various services in one page. Always check the terms and conditions to verify this.

To see what other ad network service is currently available, see Advertising Networks for Blog Publishers. You can also check out Webster Flooble's Ad Network Listing.

5 Tips for Seekers of Blogging Jobs

On Becoming a Professional Blogger
Instead of simply waiting for a blogging gig to come along, here are some ideas that you can put in to action to get you on your way to becoming a professional blogger.
1. Invest in your own blog first.

It is the best "resume" you can have. How else do you prove that you can write with style? You also need to prove that you can write constantly and consistently.

2. Create and maintain the kind of blog you like.

Think about what kind of blog you would enjoy creating and maintaining. Do you want to entertain? Inform? Persuade? Influence? Before you target any potential client, make sure you understand what kind of writing will keep you engaged for the foreseeable future. Because a blog has to sound authentic and you gotta write a lot!

3. Target a specific market.

Target a market segment, just as you would in a traditional marketing analysis. In my case, I decided to focus first on a world I know very well. It's where I have some contacts and a network, and it's also where my services would be something completely new. Look for your own niche.

4. Don't be afraid to propose a concept to anyone.

When a friend said "work something up," I took her at her word and created a Concept Proposal, just like I would have in my traditional marketing job. She was a little taken aback that I actually followed through. But, after providing her with professional information and research, why wouldn't she be intrigued? And, I also got the column in the Metro because I emailed the editor with my column idea (pointing her to my blog to get a flavor of what i was talking about.) It took her 5 months (!), but eventually she called and offered me the column, just as I had pitched it.

5. Stay professional.

Blogging may be cool and on the cutting edge, but most employers or business owners don't get excited by being cutting edge for its own sake. Be professional before, during and after you work on a blog deal. I can still wait for the creative muse to strike on my personal blog, but I've committed to blog at a certain rate for these businesses, and blog I do.

Earn Money From Your Blog With Product Sales or Merchandising

If you have the business savvy and the inclination to develop your own line of products, then you can monetize your blog by promoting and selling merchandise either directly or through an online merchandising service.
One of the most common merchandising services among bloggers is CafePress (http://www.cafepress.com/). CafePress allows individuals or organizations to sell goods and gear such as T-shirts, mugs, mousepads, sweatshirts, prints, calendars, posters, and more without any monetary capital. That is, unless you decide to start a premium online shop, where minimal subscription fees are involved (as low as US$5 a month). Otherwise, signing up and starting your own store will cost you nothing.

It's easy to start your own CafePress store. All you need to do is to come up with original designs (no copyright infringement) that can be printed on the products. The designs can be uploaded on the site and then you set up your storefront by choosing products and stating your retail price with the appropriate markup value. The markup value is how you earn money. Say, for example, the base price of a shirt is US$14.99. You can then sell this shirt for a retail price of US$17.99, so you can keep the US$3 markup value per shirt.

If you're an author, an information expert, an artist or a musician, you can also benefit from CafePress's self-publishing product line, as they also offer books, audio CDs and data CDs for sale. You can upload your formatted manuscript, music files, ebooks, stock photos, etc. and make them available to the public for a set price. It's up to you to determine how much you wish to charge per item.

Other than CafePress, products such as books and CDs may also be sold and distributed through other online venues like Amazon Advantage and Lulu.com. Other online music sale venues are Download.com, CDBaby.com, and GarageBand.com.

Among the A-list bloggers, actor and author Wil Wheaton is one of those who uses merchandising as a way to make money off his weblog, WilWheaton.net. He uses CafePress to sell his original designs. You can see Wil's CafePress shop at http://www.cafepress.com/wilwheaton. Another example of a CafePress shop integrated with bloggers is the popular organization for law bloggers, Blawg http://blawg.org/. Blawg's CafePress shop is at http://www.cafepress.com/blawg.

This site, About Web Logs, also has a CafePress store with several blogging gear and merchandise for bloggers (and those who love them). Check it out at http://www.cafepress.com/aboutweblogs.

For some ideas on product selection and sales, check out the article, Product Selection for Online Business by About's Online Business Guide.

How To Add AdSense To Your Blogger.com Weblog

One way to make money from your blog is to run ads like Google AdSense. Blogger.com now has a built-in feature for adding AdSense.

Here's How:
1. Log in to your Blogger Dashboard and go to the Templates section of your blog administration panel.


2. Click on the 'AdSense' link in the Templates section. You will then be prompted to sign up for an AdSense account or sign in to your existing one.


3. You can then select the ad format and the color theme. You can see a preview of each selection. Once you're happy with your selection, click on 'Save'.


4. To see the changes in your weblog, click on 'Republish'.


5. To find out the details of your AdSense earnings, check the Google AdSense console.

Tips:
If you have more than one weblog under the same account, you must repeat the steps accordingly for each weblog if you wish to add AdSense to all your Blogger.com weblogs.

If you are familiar with HTML and/or CSS, and if you are comfortable with editing your Blogger.com template, you might want to add your AdSense codes manually instead of going through this route. It gives you more flexibility when it comes to showing the ads on your blog.
What You Need:
An active Blogger.com weblog.
A Google AdSense account.
Patience in building up your blog profits.

Make Money From Weblogs - Earn Cash from Blogs

Make money from weblogs; Learn how to earn money from blogs; Blogging for Dollars; Cash From Web Logs; Bloggers Looking For Ways To Earn Money; Blog Profit Tips; Make Money online; Internet Businesses; Work from Home Opportunities with Blogging

How To Add AdSense To Your Blogger.com Weblog
Here's a quick tutorial on using Google's AdSense program to make some money from your Blogger.com weblog.

Earn Money From Your Blog With Product Sales or Merchandising
Here's another way to make money off your blog: Sell products with your original designs or create other merchandise. Read more about this opportunity to cash-in on your blog and start a small home-based business today.

5 Tips for Seekers of Blogging Jobs
Learn how to become a professional blogger and make money while blogging.

Earn Money by Running Ads on Your Web Log
Looking for ways to cash in on your web log? One way to bring in some dollars is by running ads.

Earn Money From Your Blog With Affiliate Programs
Looking for ways to cash in on your web log? One way to bring in some dollars is by joining affiliate programs and using them on your blog.

How To Set Up a Donation System Using Paypal
A simple tutorial on setting up a donation button or tip jar using PayPal.

Set Up a Tip Jar or Donation Button
Tips and ideas on setting up your own donation buttons or tip jars to make some money from your weblog.