BLOGGING AS A BUSINESS (July 18, 2007)
•    Business blogging
•    Blog consulting
•    Making money off your blog
•    Freelance writing

CORE READINGS
•    "Blog!" -- Part Two (pp. 101-220)

ADDITIONAL READINGS
•    "It's a Blog World After All," http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/81/blog.html
•    "Post(er) Boy," http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/81/blog_scoble.html (really, all of the sidebars to the Fast Company piece are worthwhile)
•    "How Bloggers Make Money from Blogs," http://www.problogger.net/archives/2005/12/06/how-bloggers-make-money-from-blogs/
•    "Blogging for Dollars: Giving Rise to the Professional Blogger," http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/javascript/2002/08/12/megnut.html
•    Pro-Bloggers Association, http://www.probloggers.org/

Business Blogging


Making Money off Your Blog

    Traffic generation -- This is really the secret of the game
    Per http://www.marketingprofs.com/7/eight-easy-ways-to-grow-blogs-collier.asp, the most basic tricks include (a) posting regularly, (b) allowing comments -- and responding to them -- (c) offering an RSS feed or email list, and (d) being really good at what you do… (e) filling a niche.
    Register your blog -- http://www.wordsinarow.com/blog-registration.html. Ping services are services that you can alert whenever your blog is updated. They and blog search engines and directories are common ways people find blogs.
    Also, register with the major search engines -- http://www.wordsinarow.com/wheretogo.html. This will help your blog be more easily found via general search.
    Search Engine Optimization -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_optimization -- is also something to consider. SEO for Dummies is a good book on the subject for those wanting just a basic taste.

AdSense -- https://www.google.com/adsense/login/en_US/
    This free blog ad program helps bloggers display up to three content-specific ad units per page. They will feature  ads related to the content of your posts and pages. Whenever a reader clicks on an ad, the blogger gets a share of the revenue. Google doesn't say how much bloggers will earn, but you can track your income as part of your account. Google will send you money when you earn at least $100.
    There are other AdSense-like blog ad programs. You can check out a relatively dated list at http://www.threadwatch.org/node/2854. Each program has its own approach and terms. I'd argue that Google AdSense might be the best, but people are starting to say that eBay's AuctionAds -- http://www.auctionads.com/ -- might help people make more money. Truth be told, I'd bundle AuctionAds under affiliate sales programs.

Affiliate sales -- http://www.efuse.com/Grow/affiliate-selling.html is a good primer
    At its most basic, affiliate sales is a sales referral system. You feature items on your blog, and any sales made through your blog earns you a portion of the income.
    The two leading affiliate sales programs are Commission Junction -- http://www.cj.com/ -- and LinkShare -- http://www.linkshare.com/ . Individual companies also feature their own affiliate sales programs. Notable examples include eBay, mentioned above, and Amazon, whose Associates program -- http://affiliate-program.amazon.com/gp/associates/join -- is more than a decade old and quite successful.
    AffiliateGuide -- http://www.affiliateguide.com/ -- features a list of other affiliate programs. But as you start working with smaller vendors, your chances of making a lot of money decline. I'd stick with the bigwigs: CJ, LinkShare, eBay, and Amazon. They're vendors people trust, and they bring in good brands and online retailers.
    I've only used one to any effect: Amazon Associates. My Google AdSense revenue has been so low that I've yet to earn any money. I've had better luck with Squidoo.

Joining a blog network
    

Selling your own ads and sponsorships

Pay per post
    PayPerPost -- http://payperpost.com/
    CreamAid -- http://www.creamaid.com/
    ReviewMe
Personally, I'm ambivalent about these projects.

Other options
    Content aggegators like Squidoo
    Video platforms like YouTube and Revver
    General Search Engine Optimization

Freelance Writing