Yes you can make money online IF you really learn what works and avoid what doesn’t – and THAT is not as easily done as one would hope. Since I have been studying how to make money online since 1994 and making a living totally online since 2000 I know who is the real deal and who just writes about making money. The resources I’ve found the most valuable are linked below.
I recommend you check out several, select ONE that offers an ebook, email training or video/email training, and dedicate yourself to going through their process.
IMPORTANT: Focus on IMPLEMENTING what just one teaches!
You can always learn from the others later. Believe me there is more to do than you can ever learn from just one source. The very best method for getting started is to follow a specific course laid out by a highly experienced and successful blogger. As Bilal wrote in The Secret to Becoming a Six Figure Blogger:
“The difference between Darren Rowse and your average blogger is, Darren Rowse didn’t sit down all day with brilliant ideas and not put them into action… He took all his ideas and carried them out. Put your ideas into action and become the next blogging superstar.”
HOW TO MAKE MONEY BLOGGING:
AffiliateBlogOnline compared five of the top ten bloggers and charted some very interesting Common Features of a Successful Blog that can provide some background. Then check out the bloggers / Web site owners below who make substantial money online and – more important for you – are good at teaching what they’re doing well.
Click this button to use TweepML to follow them all on Twitter: 
ProBlogger – (ProBlogger) – Darren Rowse is possibly the most famous Blogger and purported to make the most money online. Learn more in this excellent Problogger interview from BloggingWithoutaBlog. Darren offers a ProBlogger community forum, the book ProBlogger: Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income, and the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog workbook.
CopyBlogger – (CopyBlogger) – best blog for persuasive copywriting and more on how to make money. Also read and apply his exceptional free ebook Authority Rules: The Ten Rock Solid Elements of Effective Online Marketing.
Remarkablogger – (Remarkablogger) – Free How to Start a Business Blog workbook: Step-by-step guide with exercises to help you plan, set-up, and create content for a business blog.
There is a free Make Money Online ebook download on the top right corner of John’s site. This link goes to his Make Money Online page which lists all of the ad networks and affiliate programs he uses to make money online.
Successful Blog – (LizStrauss) – Offers Coaching and the Book: The Secrets to Writing a Successful and Outstanding Blog
FresheVenture – (FresheVenture) – The speed Keller’s new sites growing grabbed my attention. She offers an easy to understand free ebook guide Fresh Start for Your Online Business.
Yaro Starek (Taught FresheVenture and many more) – Start with the free video tutorials and ebooks at BecomeABlogger and BlogMasterMind. Also see the Podcast video interviews of Yaro published by FresheVenture.
Thirty Day Challenge – (30dc) – Free thirty day series (videos and text) on how to make money online. It does offer some tools that cost money but often it is worth spending money to save time and work more productively.
MattLaClear – (mattlaclear) – Matt has 800+ money-making sites (not primarily blogs) and a multiple six figure income. He is an expert on the use of autoresponders and mailing lists which is key to making money online. He offers an Online Gold Training System and is extremely active in his STA.RTUP.BIZ network blog where he shares quality content including 160 free ebooks.
Grant Griffith of Blog for Profit offers Building a Successful Blog and 28 Days to Build a Successful Blog processes starting with defining your Goals through how to use Social Networking and other traffic increasing methods. If you’re really ambitious you might want to add his methods to any of the above.
Take the time to check out the above offerings then select the one that most appeals to you and dedicate the time required to APPLY what they teach. You must have confidence that they know what they’re doing and that you can replicate it. If you skip steps or ignore things because you don’t think they’re important you are very likely to go astray so unless you’re already an expert trust that there is a very good reason for every single thing they teach. Don’t torpedo your results by ignoring anything.
Once you’ve been blogging a while be sure to watch for these Five Ways to Know if Your Blog is on the Right Track and keep working to increase your visibility and incoming links. We will have a tracking process available here soon to assist you in making sure you consistently focus on the tasks that grow your blog most efficiently.
My apologies to whomever I may have forgotten; there are many but these are the strongest off the top of my head. I created this post on the fly based on an answer I just posted elsewhere. Do let me know in the comments or elsewhere who I’ve missed and I will update this post. I continually make improvements, additions and corrections to my posts so they stay current.
This why I do not post as often as other bloggers – I prefer providing reference resources over breaking news. For those who are still waiting I want you to know that research continues for my much-anticipated post on the best way to post to multiple social networking sites efficiently. It is getting closer to completion each day.
MOST INFLUENTIAL / HIGHEST INCOME BLOGGERS:
- Incomediary Make Money Online Blog – (Michael Dunlop) – 50 Most Influential Bloggers of 2009
- 30 Blogs that make a lot of money online (Mar 19, 2009)
- Confessions of a Six Figure Professional Blogger – David Risley – (Twitter) – David offers a free Six Figure Blogger Blueprint
HOW TO MONETIZE YOUR BLOG:
- J.T.Pratt - (jtpratt) – How to Monetize Your Blog
- NEW: The Top Seven Reasons Why You Are STILL Not Making Money From Your Blog
WORDPRESS BLOG INSTALLATION GUIDES:
- WordPress Howto Spotter – (thespotter) – How to Build a Web 2.0 Site Using WordPress – Offers a Free Expert WordPress video on creating hacker proof, search engine optimized, traffic generating WordPress installs and a free downloadable blog installer.
- Stop Slogging Start Blogging – (davidwalkertv) – Free comprehensive ebook from DavidWalker who also wrote 10 Steps to Creating an Authority Blog
HOW TO BUILD A SUCCESSFUL BLOG BASED BUSINESS:
We write often about the differences between most blogs and a highly optimized blog. Read How to Build a Successful Blog Based Business for details. You may want to have someone else handle the technical details of getting your site up and running so you can focus on creating content. That post contains details and contact information for doing just that.
THANK YOU FOR SHARING:
If you use StumbleUpon we would really appreciate your sharing this post there. If you don’t already have a StumbleUpon account nothing will be as important to growing traffic to your blog or business so why not open a StumbleUpon account and/or download the StumbleUpon Toolbar today?
As a thank you to anyone taking the time to recommend our posts or share them on any Social Networking site be assured that we reciprocate. Share us anywhere and we will share your best content at Twitter, StumbleUpon, Facebook, FriendFeed and Delicious and will be expanding to Digg, Reddit and many other sites. We also take time to mention those who cross our path wherever we travel online – and we are almost always online.
HELPFUL TIP: Use the tag function at Delicious or StumbleUpon to save posts for future reference or to organize your research. A tag is simply a word or phrase to help you find a web page again.
You might save this post under blogging or how-to-blog or make-money-blogging or make-money-online.
StumbleUpon allows you to use up to five tags. If you don’t use StumbleUpon I strongly suggest you start. They send more traffic over a longer period of time than any other Social Networking site.
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Twitter: @BSwafford
You hit the nail on the head with these words, “If you skip steps or ignore things because you don’t think they’re important you are very likely to go astray so unless you’re already an expert trust that there is a very good reason for every single thing they teach.”
Thankfully we have veteran bloggers who willing share their knowledge. Since it was them who lead the way, not only have they tried things and failed, but they provide others with what works.
The list you’ve compiled is fantastic.
P.S. Thank you for the link love. I truly appreciate it.
Barbara Swafford´s last blog ..Blog Your Passion
Twitter: @GrowMap
Thank you for making the time to come by and comment and especially for reinforcing the importance of doing what is recommended. So many will skip important steps not realizing their importance. I know you know how much of what is most important is not visible on a blog – it is what is happening behind the scenes.
If you have a process that I can include on this page do please let me know. As I always do, I will be adding resources and keeping this page current. I know that many are very interested in this subject so I expect this will become a very popular post.
I will be publishing an important new post on how to maximize the results from time spent on Social Networking soon. I hope you’ll try it and let me know how well it works for you.
Twitter: @thespotter
Thanks for the inclusion!
Processes are everything in my experience
it is finding one that will work for you, individually is what killing many people’s chances to success.
Alex
Alex Sysoef´s last blog ..FTC Attacks Affiliate Bloggers
Twitter: @GrowMap
Hello Alex,
I hope you don’t mind my “borrowing” the image you created. It was perfect for this post and the reason I remembered to include your resources in this compilation. I think that image would make a great Avatar and logo for your site and Social Networking profiles.
Although often I am very specific in my recommendations, the reason I provided so many options is to allow each person to find the style of blogger and teaching method that fits their goals best.
One of the reasons I created this post is that there are many who are teaching how to make money online who truly believe they know all they need to know. The very best know they still only know 5% of all that could be known; however, they do already teach 1000% more than the average person does.
I just looked at one that was based on and teaching people to use Blogger. IMHO, not using WordPress instead of Blogger is a major drawback to successful blogging. Not using a professionally designed, supported Theme is another. And there are thousands of other individual decisions that can make all the difference.
Anyone serious about making money online must be serious about getting all the details right – and for that it just makes sense to listen to those who are already truly sucessful.
Internet Strategist @GrowMap´s last blog ..Social Networking is NOT Chat
Twitter: @12
Growmap wrote: “[I have been] making a living totally online since 2000.”
Wow. That is impressive. I’m going to guess that very few of the make-money-blogging “experts” could make a similar statement. You know of what you speak, which is refreshing.
~ Steve, the impressed trade show guru
Steve@trade show guru´s last blog ..Are Trade Shows Obsolete?
Twitter: @GrowMap
Hello Steve,
I originally made money managing pay per click advertising – primarily AdWords accounts – at $100 per hour cash in advance by PayPal. I mention this because so many Search Engine Marketing companies and other consultants need to know that if you specialize and get results you can have a business model no one believes will work.
I give away much of my time these days helping small businesses that can not afford expert advice or do not realize how important it is to know where to focus time and efforts.
My blogs do not currently make much money because I have not paid sufficient attention to monetizing them. This is partly because I do not care for overly commercialized sites and partly because I still do not have a mailing list even though I’ve known since 1994 all sites should have one. (Do as I say not as I do.
I greatly reduced my overhead and my current income comes primarily from consulting with two businesses who recognize that I know what I’m talking about and are willing to pay me for using what I’ve learned to grow their leads, sales, affiliate programs and Social Networking accounts.
I will be moving to a blog income model on several joint venture blogs soon so this research is as much for me as for all the others who want to make money online. If I ever get caught up I may even be able to write comparisons of some of the above choices.
My major goal – and not an easy one – is to generate as many sales from free traffic as I could drive using ppc advertising. This is a HUGE challenge so if anyone wants to jump in with ideas I’m all ears.
Internet Strategist @GrowMap´s last blog ..How to Optimize Your PPC Advertising to Benefit YOU
Twitter: @roschelle
great post full of excellent resources. I’m sure compiling this list took a good bit of time. Thanks for sharing.
Roschelle´s last blog ..I’m A Geek and Proud of It!
Twitter: @GrowMap
Welcome to GrowMap Rochelle,
I was inspired to create this post because I see this question asked so often in my travels across the blogosphere. Every day I see offers promising to help people make money online that I know are over-promising and under-delivering and realized that most have no way to evaluate what is true and what is not.
Even if you know about a blogger who is known to make money it isn’t always easy to locate their latest and best process for learning what they know. IMHO, this compilation of links to what they offer makes it easy to check them out and find the one that most speaks to each person who wants to know exactly how to make money online.
I love the way you offer individual subscriptions to specific topics in your blog! I’ve wanted to do that for a long time but had not yet focused on figuring out how to do it. Now I have a model to emulate. I would love to also be able to click directly to all your posts in a particular category too though. Thank you.
I added you to my Technorati and as it has for several days now I get this message: “Thank you for using Technorati Favorites! Technorati is collecting Favorites information as usual, however not currently displaying them in the site. Your submission was just saved. We are working on an upgraded Favorites system we think you’ll like much better than the previous system. When we roll it out in the near future, all your previous favorite submissions will again be available to you. Thank you for your patience!”
I could really use more Technorati juice so I’ve been making a point of adding every blog that has a Technorati button on it.
I shared your latest post using a process I’m testing that allows me to write a review at StumbleUpon and then feed the review to Facebook, FriendFeed and Delicious and send an optimized Tweet to Twitter. As soon as I have that process as optimized as possible with the tools available today I will publish it here. Anyone who has input for that is invited to share it.
Internet Strategist @GrowMap´s last blog ..Instantly Acquire 76 High Quality Incoming Links
Twitter: @ChugginMcCoffee
These are fantastic resources, and I myself write freelance for blogs to make money. To me, it’s really funny because a lot of people think that you can just “start a blog” and make some money. Not true! You do need to be willing to do blog posts for free sometimes to promote yourself, but in the end, you can make it.
Twitter: @GrowMap
Hi Mark,
Most new bloggers simply have no idea what is involved in creating an income from any Web site. I saw that when I managed ppc accounts for ecommerce store sites and I still see it today.
They don’t realize the quest for success requires continual improvements in usability, content, how you relate to others, how you interact, getting your site listed and talked about elsewhere and so much more.
Only the few who are willing to continually learn AND IMPLEMENT what works are ever going to see success. Most take a stab at it and just assume it doesn’t work because they will never get their blogs off the ground.
That is why I compiled this list of resources. I know that these particular bloggers ARE making money and are willing to share what they’ve learned. Instead of spending years learning everything the hard way it is far faster to seek out those who are successful and learn from them.
My next post contains similar resources for learning how to make money with affiliate programs including how to evaluate an ecommerce store to see if it is likely to convert well.
Internet Strategist @GrowMap´s last blog ..How to Optimize Your PPC Advertising to Benefit YOU
FYI, you could always post some random article, just to let us know you’re still alive! Even if the topic is unrelated to your blog, the regular readers won’t mind occasional random babble about anything you wanna tell us about. Trust me, your readers want to get to know YOU.
Some of the most successful blogs don’t even seem to have a regular topic, there’s one where the owner just goes on rants about nearly everything in a random manner. ….He can’t even stay on his blog’s topic! Yet he has thousands of readers and followers……….because he’s very amusing and honest.
Bottom line: Bloggers who are real & honest, with an interesting story to tell, will succeed!
Twitter: @GrowMap
Hi Matt,
Always good to see you here again. I don’t post as frequently as most successful bloggers recommend because the research behind my posts can take weeks. Just writing some of them up can take days.
As soon as I complete some of these huge research projects I will make it a point to post more frequently. I have so much more in my head that I could put down in a post than is currently here.
If there is ever anything specific you would like to see me share do let me know? It is true that stories are more interesting and what I post tends to be pretty “serious” stuff. I’ll be thinking about how to better share what I’ve learned by telling the stories of how I learned it.
Thank you for this bit of advice. We’ll see if I am able to incorporate it into future posts and hopefully others will read it and tell some interesting stories in their own blogs. I bet you have some funny wedding related stories to tell. Wedding blooper videos are often viral so your stories could be too!
Did you see that foot-stomping wedding dance video that made the rounds? Jill and Kevin (the couple getting married in the video) put it up on that Web site and are now using it to promote a good cause.
Internet Strategist @GrowMap´s last blog ..Local Search Directory Taps the Power of Television
Twitter: @sachinansh
In this internet world everyone wants to earn money online. So to do this money making blogs are really nice options.
Twitter: @GrowMap
Hello ANSH,
Most people will never make money without following what someone else has developed that really works. Because I do not focus on monetization this blog which has good traffic and backlinks and is PR3 makes almost no money. I give freely and support my life in other ways.
I mention this because I suspect many think making money from a blog just automatically happens. It doesn’t. You have to spend time making that happen and I have to date preferred to spend my time researching and sharing instead.
If any blog benefits you financially you may want to consider intentionally supporting what they offer so they can keep doing it.
Internet Strategist @GrowMap´s last blog ..Social Networking is NOT Chat
Twitter: @saurabhsnv
that’s wonderful and i appreciate that you shared so useful to make money online.
i have earned a lot from adsense and i suggest that adsense really works great for revenue generation and for online income as well.
Twitter: @GrowMap
Although AdSense does not pay as well as it once did – which it should since bid costs have only gone up – there are many who make money with it today. It is probably the easiest path but not the best one.
Google can and does cancel AdSense accounts so that income can suddenly disappear. If you are relying on it alone it would be a great idea to diversify and learn to monetize in other ways.
Your store has many fine attributes. You may be interested in reading my last post on evaluating affiliate programs because it explains what types of upgrades increase conversions in ecommerce stores.
Internet Strategist @GrowMap´s last blog ..How to Evaluate a Merchant Gift Affiliate Program
This very great list of money blogging resource. Thank you so much that this can very help me to find some resource that I haven’t known before. Some of them give us new information that better than the others. Hope your site can give more list resource not only bout money blogging like this.
Serunya Belajar SEO´s last blog ..Belajar SEO Online
Twitter: @GrowMap
I recommend starting with the free ebook and videos from Yaro Starek. They are the fast, clear way to understand how most blogs make money.
Money blogging resources are very useful for a man who don’t have any work to do because these resources make money day by day and post by post.
really a great site i always got very informative.well first of all i would like to say thanks to you for posting this wonderful information its very informative money blogging resources are very useful for those who do not have any work but still they want to earn money “by hook or by crook”.
Twitter: @ArticleDirec
excellent posts. I am not really into creating blogs, as I am with regular web sites with low maintenance, but I have found my reading material for this weekend. I guess it is never too late to get into a different aspect of making money. Thanks.
Twitter: @GrowMap
Most strategies that work for bloggers also work on static sites so I’m sure you’ll benefit greatly from these resources.
Twitter: @johnsonabigail2
yes. I already read that book from Darren Rowse Problogger and I learned a lot from there. It inspires me to do blogging.
Twitter: @GrowMap
Welcome Samantha,
Yes, Darren is considered “the” Problogger for a reason – he does share exceptional resources continually.
GrowMap´s last blog ..Are You Playing Hide and Seek With Your Market?
Twitter: @alinkbuilder
i have clicked on that button now i am following them on twitter, thanks! and i hope it will get me some traffic and money.
ami@black friday ads 2009´s last blog ..2009 Cyber Monday Ads, Sales, Deals Specials
Twitter: @GrowMap
Ah Ami,
It is not that simple. Twitter may get you some traffic but it takes far more to turn that traffic into money.
Twitter: @alinkbuilder
you have mentioned some wonderful resources here ,i will definitely follow them and will get some money from it.
me too want to be a part of this money making thanks to you for sharing your wisdom.
Twitter: @moonheart
All are famous blogger, they are all internet celebrity, we new blogger should have to follow their idea.
Twitter: @GrowMap
Hi again Moon,
Being famous is not a good reason to believe someone. Those who are familiar with how to make money bloggers will note that there are some notable famous folks absent from this page. Not all famous folk have your best interests at heart and not all bloggers become famous because they tell the truth.
There may be other honest bloggers in this space that I missed so don’t assume that not being included proves someone is deceptive. I shared these specific people because they ARE successful and I am not aware of anything they teach that is intentionally misleading or dishonest.
GrowMap´s last blog ..Tools Wanted for Power Bloggers, Social Networkers
Thanks for the excellent article, this has given me so much inspiration.
Thanks for sharing! But why is it blogger is not included in the list?
You can make money in blogger through adsense.
Twitter: @GrowMap
Hi Evan,
This post is about who teaches how to make money blogging and not about which blogging platform to use. I know enough about blogger to know that WordPress is far superior for business blogging and not enough (by choice) to write specifically about using it.
GrowMap´s last blog ..MEME: Share What Makes You Feel Thankful
Blogging is really useful for making money. Thanks for sharing info
Twitter: @GrowMap
It can be but it isn’t all that easy which is why I recommend that those who sincerely want (or need) to make money learn from those who already know what works best.
We all have limited time and resources so making what really works your priority will get you to a good income much faster than learning it yourself.
GrowMap´s last blog ..Tools Wanted for Power Bloggers, Social Networkers
It’s difficult to run a business with this crisis, but we cannot give up, otherwise the crisis will win the struggle I think it’s worth to keep working and try the run the business normally and hope we will get over this situation soon.
This is a great comprehensive lists of places to begin…and perhaps end. There is no need to recreate the wheel as people can find out from these many sources who makes money blogging. It is STILL possible for sure but it takes more effort than say 10 years ago. After reviewing all of these locations, people can then find their own niche using the techniques that they have learned from others. It is important for people to note that it takes TIME. I think you have to dedicate a 3 year window to really develop your plans…quick gimmicks do not work. Great pages with an audience that builds up over time is the best way to go!
Richard@How To Videos´s last blog ..How To Make Money On eBay
Twitter: @GrowMap
Hi Richard,
That is why I posted it. Few really understand enough about how the Internet works to make money online. Learning from someone who has
actually done it is the very best way to make it happen.
I sincerely hope anyone reading this takes my advice to heart. Even people who work full time online find it very challenging to make enough money to live on. It is almost impossible to accidentally figure it out.
I’d love to chat with you about your site – it has HUGE potential for you and small businesses and bloggers alike. I want to know more about what you offer now and have many suggestions for you.
GrowMap´s last blog ..How to Use TipTop for Real Time Market Research
I really enjoyed reading this article. It struck home because most of the money I make from my blogs. it seems very logical that you don’t go for the hard sale but rather convince your visitors about the benefits and let them decide… I also find that it helps if I believe and actually use the product or service myself…
Twitter: @emusicdownloads
hi,
I just wanted to mention one affiliate training site I particularly like.www.affilorama.com,they offer tons of information free,it will be helpful to anyone who want to make money online.
Happy new year to everyone.
Best Music Download Sites
Twitter: @alinkbuilder
Its pretty difficult to run a business but In my opinion a blog is a wonderful way to create money and increase income as well.
Thanks for giving such a wonderful portal. Your blog is not only knowledgeable but also very inventive too. There normally are very few experts who can think to write technical stuff that creatively. we keep searching for information on something like this. I have gone through many blogs to come across know how with respect to this.We look forward to the next posts !!
I like the post and might have to incorporate it into my blog. People need to know how to do and it is not all that hard, but education is key. Thanks for the link!
A blog with current information and regular updates, especially one built with Wordpress is going to get much better rankings in the search engines than a plain business site with static data and contact information.
Great article. Although you are correct it is difficult to break into this market, I believe the biggest problem is that most people don’t know enough of the fundamentals to make an impact anyway. we need to find those untapped niches or focus on the long tail to carve out our little slice of a certain market.
oliviya@fatcow hosting reviews´s last blog ..Free $25 Abes of Maine Gift Card.
This is really a great post about the particular topic and i am really impressed to know about it. I have read your full article and truly speaking that it was really very knowledgeable and very interesting. I think you are really very close on your points. Anyways keep it up and keep continue with your valuable thoughts. In the near upcoming future.
One of my biggest challenges in making money online is focusing on one project and getting enough content in it and backlinks to it. Instead, I keep on thinking up newer and better ideas and jumping toward each “bright shiny object” that seems better than what I had been doing. I find that what I need to do is step back, relax, breathe deeply and try to remain focused on my primary goal.
Helen @ Lemonade Cleanse Recipe´s last blog ..Lemonade Diet Cleanse Tips
I really appreciate posts, which might be of very useful for beginners in blogging as I am. I already have a small collection of blog posts and other articles, from which I step by step learn various aspects of life. Thank you for your resource.