More and more people are seeking to make money online, especially in today's global financial crisis with thousands of people losing their jobs. It is possible to make money online, but where does one start?
For beginners, the fundamental differences between websites and blogs and which tools to use is a good starting point.
What is a Blog?
Blogs were previously known as web logs and now dominate the Internet. A blog's main function is as the name suggests a 'log' or diary. Blogs are less formal and more personal than websites. The blogger can provide personal and intimate details about his or her subject and so blogs can be a starting point in re-directing a potential customer to a website for an actual sales transaction.
These days, blogs and websites work hand-in-hand.
- Blogs are easy to set up and a less expensive way of advertising to an online community.
- Using the word blog instead of website attracts a higher click through rate when sending out email newsletters because the word blog is more trustworthy. In general, it is not perceived as a sales tool.
- There are a lot of blog providers where one can register and make a personal blog without having to have a server and configure blog software.
- People find individual posts by search engines and not usually from a site.
- Tone of persuasion is friendly.
How to Make Money Online with a Blog
Blogs are becoming increasingly important to any web based entrepreneur in making money online because it is where all the action is. Traffic is generated in large quantities at blogs and then re-directed to web sites.
The way to make money online with a blog is simply writing about a subject of interest or expertise and then monetizing the site in a way that can earn money online, such as applying for Google Adsense or placing banner ads on the site.
There are sites such as PayPerPost or ReviewMe which will pay bloggers to write blog posts about their advertisers. This is a relatively easy way to earn money on line, although there is generally a waiting period, for example, PayPerPost requires blogs to be 30 days old before they are eligible.
What is a Website?
A website is a collection of related web pages, images and/or videos that have a common domain name or IP address.
- A website is hosted on at least one webserver, accessible via the Internet or a private LAN (local area network). It is the official address and location of a web-based business, just the place one would expect to find e-commerce tools and landing pages where customers can make a purchase online.
- Some websites require a subscription to access some or all of their content. Examples of subscription sites may include many business sites, academic journal sites or sites that provide real-time stock market information.
- A web site can be difficult to build from scratch but there are many websites templates that are already freely available.
- A website can be inclusive of a blog and can include online shops, magazines, companies, universities, services etc. but usually has a clear category structure.
- People find posts posts and information on the website easily due to clear site links hierarchy.
Which is Best – a Blog, a Website or Both?
This depends on a person's individual needs. One needs to think about whether the site will be more of a portfolio site or a blog site and which will be used most, the blog to attract people or is the site a business site with a blog? What is the purpose of the blog or website? Once a decision has been made as to what the web presence will accomplish, it will be easier to make a decision whether it should be a blog, a website or both
The benefit of an all-in-one blog/website is that there is have one home, one domain to drive traffic to. The downside is that it can take months of work, marketing and promoting to get sufficient traffic to the site.
In conclusion neither can really totally replace the other and both blogs and web sites have their individual very important key roles to play in the marketing success of any online money making enterprise.
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