There are some people who feel that making money from a blog is an unethical way to use their blog. They may feel that monetizing it will make it less cool and make them look greedy. If you feel that commercializing your blog will make you look less professional as a blogger…don’t do it.

You may have already decided how you feel about commercializing a blog, or you may not have decided how you feel about it. If you’re confused about the answer, try to make this decision first. Being successful at making money on a blog means going for it wholeheartedly – not trying to sabotage yourself. If deep down you feel you shouldn’t be doing it, you may not be as successful as you would, if say, you felt that you deserved to make money from your blog.  If you’re undecided, it might be a good idea to read what others say about it.

If you really want to earn money from your blog, there’s no reason to be subtle. You need to put the kind of ads on your site that will definitely be seen. Don’t put subtle little ads in the bottom corner. Put up big, eye-catching ads and really sell the items you are promoting. A half-assed attempt to sell things isn’t going to do a thing for you. There’s too much competition from too many other blogs to waste your time with anything less than your full effort.

Many bloggers also choose to accept donations on their websites. After all blogs cost money to maintain. If you really want donations, don’t slip in a tiny link for donations and believe that donations will come rolling in. Ask for them proudly and place the link where everyone can see it. Get people’s attention and you have a much better chance of getting donations.

If you have a free site and then start to commercialize it and prepare for some people to complain about it. When a colleague launched a site a few years ago, there were no ads on it. Shortly thereafter he began using Google AdSense ads to monetize the site. A few complaints came in, which he expected, but they were very few compared to the number of visitors coming in. Most of the feedback he received was positive and supported his decision. The complaints that he did receive tapered off after just a few weeks and the money started rolling in.

At first, the amount coming in from the site was low. He made $50 in the first month that the ads were placed, but that income has continued to grow over the years. He now regularly takes in at least a $1,000 a month just on ads.

Do you have a similar story?  Let us know.