How You Can Make Money Blogging

As a college student constantly looking for ways to make some extra money online I know how difficult it can be to come across scam after scam. You spend countless hours reading about 19 year olds and their success stories in making money online yet you managed to make $0.39 the past 5 days. Trust me, I've been there done that. What most websites won't tell you is that there is no magic program that allows you to make thousands of dollars with little to no effort. If there was, then the world would be filled with teenage millionaires. The reality of this story is that you probably won't be making thousands of dollars online this week, let alone this year. However, what if I could promise you that there is a way to possibly make upwards of $100 a day, if not more in the next few years? Well I can, and the answer is blogging.

 Chances are that you are passionate about something in your life. Whether it is basketball, video games, 13th century historical figures or even food, there is money to be made in it. The nice thing about blogging, especially as a college student or teenager, is that there isn't much effort that you need to put into it. If you can come up with 2-3 interesting articles on your niche that are well written a week then you are well on your way to getting an established following which translates into cold hard cash. I've always loved blogging as a source of income because I am writing about something that I thoroughly enjoy, while being paid at the same time. Got a favorite sports team? Blog about them. Technology geek? Blog about the latest tech gear. The list truly is endless.

How to Start a Blog?
Teensmakemoneyonline.com is a blog based on Google's Blogger platform. I pay $10 a year for hosting and receive a load of benefits that really make things easier for myself when managing this blog. In the past, blogger was the go to platform in terms of where to begin when starting a blog. However, times have changed and while blogger is still phenomenal I highly recommend you check out Wordpress. Just like blogger you can start a free blog, or receive your own .com domain name for a fairly low cost. The reason that Wordpress is so highly coveted is that it is so easily designable. Basically every big website on the internet now days is made using Wordpress and I think that just goes to show how high of a reputation it has. However, Blogger is definitely more user friendly and if you have little to no design expertise then you will struggle on Wordpress, so chose your host website wisely. Once you go to Blogger.com or Wordpress.com the process to start your blog is as easy as 1-2-3.

How to Get an Established Audience?
It's one thing to write a few articles and own your own blog, but it's quite another thing to actually receive traffic and readers to your blog. As I have stated numerous times in previous posts, you need to know "how" to write for SEO (search engine optimization). Keywords and Backlinks play a huge role in how successful your blog will be and I highly suggest you check out those posts before you begin.

How to Make Money With Your Blog?
Advertising. Now you're probably thinking to yourself, I'm only a teenager looking to make some money and I just started off, how in the world am I going to get people to advertise on my website? 1 word answer for that, Adsense. Google Adsense is a program that allows you to monetize your blogs traffic and is very easy to implement. All it takes is a google account, a website/blog and traffic. But before you get excited, Adsense like all other programs on the internet, is not a get rich scheme. You have to have an established blog with consistent traffic before you can expect to earn decent income on the side. However, I'm not trying to scare you off, I know many college students on the internet that have their own websites and earn close to 6 figures a year. All it takes is a plan and ambition to realize that anything is possible.

Advertisers pay google to have people like me and you advertise their ads on our websites. Every time some one clicks on an ad on your blog you receive roughly 68% of what the advertiser paid google, and google receives the rest. Page views without traffic are irrelevant in terms of generating revenue, commissions are only applicable when users actually click on the ad, so ad placement is very important.

Summary
There you go, those are the basic guidelines to follow when you begin your blog. It's important to keep in mind that you should spend about 20% of your time writing articles and 80% generating backlinks and increasing traffic. It may seem like your blog is going no where when you first start out, however if you keep to it and put a solid effort in then you will be heavily rewarded. It may take some time, but I can guarantee that if you have a well written blog on a good niche then you can make hundreds of dollars a day in the future. Just implement a plan and stick to it! Good luck everyone!

College Students Get Paid to Listen to Music

Recently I stumbled across a post on Craigslist claiming that Students could get paid to listen to and review the latest music, starting today. As intrigued as I was, I skimmed over the ad as I have seen hundreds of similar ads that were nothing but scams, plain and simple. As I continued to scroll through Craigslist I noticed the same ad over and over, so eventually I caved in and gave the website a shot. I clicked the link, created an account and within minutes I was listening to a rather impressive acoustic track. After 90 seconds I wrote a short review, rated the song and received $0.30. I continued at it and after an hour had $9.21 in my account, far surpassing my expectations.

                                                                  Screenshot from Slicethepie.com
What is Slice The Pie?

Slice The Pie is a website that allows artists and aspiring musicians a chance to have their music reviewed and rated. The fans (or yourself) are referred to as "scouts" and are paid a commission for writing an in-depth review on musicians work. Each review brings you back at least 5 cents and upwards of 40 cents. Obviously, the better the review the more you will be making. You can't just write "nice song" and expect to bring in any money.

As a college student constantly looking to make money online I am very impressed so far during my time at Slice The Pie. It's perfect when I'm just sitting in my apartment, skimming the television when nothings going on. I can just turn on SportsCenter, listen to some great music and earn some cash in the process, it's a win-win.

Write Meaningful Reviews

Although your goal is probably just to make some extra cash on the side, it's pretty cool knowing that your reviews are helping artists improve their work in hopes to one day make it big. Artists that have the best reviews become eligible for financing that ultimately help them record their own record. And trust me when I say this, the more effort you put into your reviews the more you will make and the better your experience will be.

Some Tips

• Write while you listen! You are required to listen to 90 seconds of a song before you can submit your review, so use the time to write your review. More reviews = more money!
• Use creative words. Interesting, talented, strong, rich, creative, imaginative, original, heart-warming, inspiring, awkward, powerful, memorable, the list goes on! Better reviews contain a wide variety of vocabulary that genuinely help the artists. 

Sample Review

"I was very impressed with this upbeat song. The lyrics were genuinely unique and I could tell that the artist sung them through her heart. The song was unlike anything I have ever heard and I know for a fact that there is tremendous commercial potential in it. If I were in my car and I heard this song on the radio, not only would I leave it on, I would turn it up. Amazing!" 

So there you have it! Knock yourself out and check out Slice the Pie today. I have made some great extra spending money and plan to continue to use it, because it really is an experience that is not only fun, but exciting as well! College Students and teens share your experience!