I remember when blogging was just a whisper. That was a few years ago, what a difference today. Blogging has become a new international pastime that has the potential to replace your existing income.

For me it’s a way to keep up with family and friends. We can share our opinions with others and even make a difference in the global community.

I use one of my blogs to share my fishing adventures with friends and family. It’s fun to show photos of the fish we catch and release.

Also, your blog can become a way to supplement or create a major stream of financial support for you.

Well, the first thing you have to have to make money this way is a blog. Blogs were first of all online journals. They still are because you post articles most days of the week and they are kept in reverse chronological order. But, blogging is now so much more.

Blogging Can Be Time Consuming

Some people are conflicted when it comes to blogging. You do it because you love it but it does take up a lot of your time. If you are a stay-at-home parent or someone who is out of work for one reason or another, blogging can be a great outlet. Over time, though, you may start to wonder how such an enterprise can make you a little change at the same time.

Personally I blogging to add to my income, but I try to blog about things that I talk about for free all the time, like I said above. For me it’s fishing, and a few other hobbies and interests.

If you are building a following, your readers may resent you turning your good thing into a model of capitalism. What they don’t understand is that there are ways to make money from your blog without changing the basic feel of your blog. You won’t be asking your fans to give up their hard-earned money as much as you will be offering them opportunities that they can find elsewhere on the Web. At least with you, they know that you will recommend advertisers and products that you trust.

Making the Decision

It is not an easy decision to arrive at, but monetizing your blog can be a great financial relief. Now, seeing five-figure profits take a lot of time and commitment, but it can be done if that is your goal. Very few people get to make money doing something that truly interests them. Usually you have to quit your job to do that.

Once you make the decision, the hard part is over. Now, your efforts will be geared towards getting things into place for your new online venture. At the same time, you’ll need to keep your existing audience happy. While there may be complaints about your new approach, you probably won’t see a mass exodus of readers.

The Pep Talk

Okay, you have made the decision and are looking for ways to generate income from your blog. But, just in case you begin to flounder, here are some of the reasons you considered:

• New source of income doing something you feel is worthwhile
• More blog traffic
• Greater sphere of influence in online circles

Monetizing your blog is not a sin or a hypocritical move. It makes perfect sense if you spend a lot of time blogging and have gained a following.

Importance of Unique Domain Names When Blogging for Dollars

As a blogger, you are making a difference in the lives of others one post at a time. Maybe you were just expressing thoughts to friends at first, but since then, you have found another purpose that involves monetizing your blog. Don’t underestimate the power of a good name when reaching mass audiences.

What’s in a Name?

Your name is how you are identified, when someone pronounces it wrong, you can feel demeaned. Your parents took care to find a name that would fit you for life.

This is one way to look at the process of choosing a domain name for your blog. The name of your blog may be your name or something cute you thought up at the time. If you use a popular blog host like Blogger or Wordpress, the URL name also contains the host name. When you change hosts, the name that others have become familiar with change also.

When blogging for cash (sounds like a bowling tournament), you want a name that appeals to the audience you are trying to reach. Your name as the domain name won’t be synonymous with gardening, at least not yet. If your name is difficult to spell, it could easily be misspelled and you won’t be found by those trying to reach you.

Humans like to associate things with each other. If your site is about gardening aspects, then a domain name that has “gardening” or some keyword associated with gardening in it, your site name will be easier to remember because it makes sense. You can perform a name search to see if your choices have already been taken.

For those who have blogs already, you may want to consider investing in a domain name. For Wordpress.com users, you can use the other version at Wordpress.org that you install so “wordpress” doesn’t appear in your URL.

Short and Relevant

Too many words are a recipe for disaster in a domain name. People can type the wrong letter or use one letter to the left and end up on another site. After a couple of tries, they will give up and you have lost a potential new customer.

Use relevant keywords to make up your domain name. Performing a little keyword research will benefit your blog articles and the name of your blog. Using words that readers are using in the search engines will help drive traffic in our direction.

Don’t neglect the name of your blog. It is a powerful tool to expand your readership and your visibility when you decide to monetize your blog.