Freelance Writing Jobs For Bloggers:
How to Blog For Money
By Lisa Jenkins
 

If you're looking for writing jobs online, it likely won't be long before you begin to explore blogging options. When working with some clients, you'll be paid per blog post, but often, you'll receive part of your salary based on your traffic. In other words, the more traffic you get to your blog's website, the more you'll get paid. So, when blogging for money, traffic matters.

How can you increase your traffic? It is a combination between post topics, promotion, and search engine optimization. Above all, you need to have quality posts that people really want to read. As a beginner, building your traffic can be tricky, but here are some great tips for finding those readers:

Tip #1: Title your blog posts well.

Whenever you write a blog post, title it with the topic in mind. Funny or cute titles might make you feel creative, but they aren't good for your traffic. First, readers want to skim your site and see exactly what topics they want to read. Second, if your title your post transparently, you'll be using keywords for your topic, which will make you easy to find on search engines.

Tip #2: Offer tips, secrets, or instructions that readers can find other places.

The Internet is saturated with information. What can readers find at your site that makes them want to come back? You can use search engine optimization to get readers to your blog in the first place, but the only way to consistently increase your traffic is to write posts that your readers can't find everywhere else. Avoid generic posts that don't contribute anything - if readers see those posts, they won't be back.

Tip #3: Update the blog constantly.

Blogging really is a lot of work. Some bloggers update their sites ten or more times per day. If your blog is news-based, you might update even more often. Some topics don't demand ten updates a day, but you should try to update at least once a day. You should also spread your posts out over time. For example, if you write three posts a day, they should go live at 9:00 am, Noon, and 4:00 pm, rather than at 9:00 am, 9:30 am, and 10 am. The more often you update, the more traffic you'll get to your site in general.

Tip #4: Define your niche clearly.

Blogs with general topics usually don't do well because people can find specific news at other places. For example, a general celebrity blog typically won't do as well as a blog about a specific celebrity (like Brad Pitt) or a specific kind of celebrity (like celebrity moms). You can even define your topic even more by your style of writing. For example, maybe you cover the news about Brad Pitt in a funny way, or maybe you focus on help people find the fashions worn by celebrity moms. The more clearly defined your niche, the more successful you'll be - in most cases. Sometimes, if you define a topic too much, you simply won't find enough people online to care and you'll have a hard time updating daily. A blog about training dogs in general, for example, might to better than a blog about training dogs to sit. Don't over-define!

Tip #5: Make your blog posts reader-friendly.

Online, long blocks of text are difficult to read. When you're blogging, consider how your post will seem to readers. Include bullet points, numbered lists, paragraph breaks, and pictures. If your posts are long, you should even consider whether they shouldn't be broken up into multiple shorter posts. Blog posts generally get the most traffic if they are between 200 and 400 words and are easy to skim.

If you're trying to increase your traffic, basically, you want to take steps to convince readers to come back. Search engine optimization and post promotion on social networking sites are both important, but having a devoted readership is the only way to see your stats rise over time.

 

For blog writing jobs (http://www.jobmonkey.com/writingjobs/writing-blogs.html) that pay according to traffic, long-term readers will be your bread and butter. The bottom line is that there aren't eno (http://www.jobmonkey.com/writingjobs/) these days. What you need to know is how to be successful as a writer over the long term. Find out the secrets to writing success on JobMonkey, a free website featuring material from Lisa Jenkins. She has written on a variety of career topics for more than 10 years.