How can I start a blog and get paid?

[Chochies]

Is it hard to start a blog? I wanted to know if it is expensive to start a blog. What do I have to do? Thanks

[Avril]

Open a Google account and then open a Blogger sub account. It's free to start and if you're 18 you can open and AdSense account where you get paid for having ads on your blog!

[Maarten K]

Starting a blog is easy and can (should according to me) be free. Blogger and wordpress are the two most famous and complete options you have, though there are many other free blogging softwares you could use.
To get it started you could sign up with many hosting companies out there and get a free plan, that includes the easy one-click installs for wordpress. After that you can install you blog, customize it (get some widgets and a (free) theme that suits you) and you're ready to blog.
If that sounds complicated, just let it install (for free) by someone, I'd recommend for example http://www.mokodesign.com

To earn money with your blog is another story, which will take quite some effort:
You'll have to write many many (good quality) articles, and build a name. Try to get some links to your site as well, so people will be able to find you. Once you have some visitors, start puting some ads on your blog (adsense for example). People that visit your site will (or will not) click the ads, and you'll earn money with that.
However, don't expect big bucks anytime soon!!

[Kumar]

Hi Morgan,

Blogs are classified as free blogs(blogger, wordpress.com, etc) and self hosted blogs(blogging platforms like wordpress.org, joomla, drupal, etc).

Free blog: You cant monetize a wordpress blog(though wordpress has lot of features), if you did and the administrators find out they would ban your site. So, if you plan to go for a free blog then blogger is the best.

Self hosted blogs: Though you spend money on hosting the blog, you get much more returns when compared to a free blog.

Wordpress.org: highly customizable, lot of themes and plug-ins are present. Widely preferred by most of the bloggers.

Joomla: a better CMS engine when compared to wordpress.org. These are generally preferred by news channel websites. Higher programming skills required for making changes in this platform.

Drupal: a better CMS engine when compared to wordpress.org. Higher programming skills required for making changes in this platform.

Monetizing your Blog:
There are 3 methods people use to monetize the blog, primarily:
PPC - pay per click(Google adsense, chitika, etc).
Affiliate ads - cj.com, clickbank.com, etc
review posts - ppp, sponsored posts, etc.

Check: Top 20 ways to earn money through blogs:
http://www.levoltz.com/2009/08/05/top-10...your-blog/
http://www.levoltz.com/2009/08/14/top-20...r-website/

[Kee]

You can either run a blog-centered web site mostly by yourself or use a developer-hosted blog service to start a blog.

If you want to create a web site controlled mostly by you (i.e. a stand-alone blog), then you would likely need money - $10 to $160 - to pay for a web host and/or domain name (prices vary regarding time range and offered features). You may need to purchase blogging software as well. There are some services that are all-inclusive - web hosting, domain name, blogging software in one package. See http://www.problogger.net/archives/2006/...-platform/ for more details regarding your choices.

There are typically free options, which are developer-hosted blogging services, where most of the blogging functions are automated and provided by the blogging service. Rules regarding content may be more restrictive. You would have to check the site's policies regarding the use of their service to generate profit or advertise. Less web page coding skills are required. Also, visitors may need to be a member of the service and/or a connected "friend" in order to comment on content. Social-networking sites have features that extend beyond just blogging and are geared toward connecting with other profiles. Investigate and register with one of the following services to begin creating blog entries:


Free blogging services:
Blogger/Blogspot (http://shine.yahoo.com - already registered just go to the site)

Free social-networking services with blogging capabilities:
MySpace (http://www.gaiaonline.com/ ) are sites geared toward teenagers.

You may want to check out http://social-networking-websites-review...views.com/ which provides a listing of top services and features (excluding Y!360 from the blog list).


As for making money blogging...
Typically, you will not make thousands of dollars, but you may be able to make a little spending cash. Making money from ads on the blog is just one way to earn. Also, you can be hired as a blogger (see a list of job boards here: http://www.bloggingtips.com/2008/01/03/t...ob-boards/ ).

See http://www.problogger.net/archives/2005/...rom-blogs/ .