A blog is simply a website where people post articles about various topics.  Some people start a blog as a way to journal, others create a blog around a detailed topic and post "how to's" and "Frequently asked questions" along with much more content.

Blogging is an excellent wan for any small business to gain a presence online.  By simply providing digital content and advice about any topic, people can find you through a basic search engine result, and be directed right to your business.

What are blogs used for?

In most cases, the reason people and businesses start a blog is to attract more customers, grow their brand awareness and make money.  A blog is no different than a website, its rather just the content piece of the website.  When customers are in search of a new product or service, they almost always start by researching the product or service they are in need of.

Their research begins with a Google search, resulting in thousands of web pages and blog posts that could potentially aid them in their research.  Since blogs are most often directly linked to a businesses main website, chances of people making purchases increase as more people find the company blog posts.

Not only do businesses use blogs, but so do people in general, be it for business purposes or simply a hobby.  The benefit of an individual creating a blog comes from growing their online presence on particular topics, allowing one to make additional money online through affiliate marketing, advertising, and selling digital products such as ebooks and training's.

The same principle applies to individuals as it does to businesses, in that the more people an individual can reach through their blog, the more potential they have to make money online.

Common uses of a blog:

1. Grow your business
2. Make additional money
3. Communicate events or updates to a group or community (a church, an athletic team, a club, etc.)
4. Online journals

These are just a few examples, the list is nearly limitless!

Do you see the benefit in starting a blog? The question now becomes "why wouldn't you start a blog?".

The first step to starting a blog is setting up your free website, and you don't even need to have any previous online experience.

How do you make money blogging?

This could be a very broad question.  Bloggers make money in a lot of different ways.  But the three most popular ways that a blog makes money are:

• Affiliate marketing - often times, a blog post will have a link embedded within their content that takes you to a recommended product page.  Did you know if you purchase the recommended product, that blogger makes a small commission off that purchase? This is called affiliate marketing.  (keep in mind no extra charge is added to your purchase from an affiliate link).
• Ads - businesses all over the world pay websites to post their ads so that their website visitors see the ad, and click on them.  Each click on any add pays the blog owner a small commission.
• Selling products & services - Many bloggers have written books and even created courses on their expert topic.  These are posted and sold to their blog visitors, adding another source of income to their online business.

As your daily traffic increases, so does your potential to make a lot of money.

Make money from your blog through affiliate marketing

Perhaps the most popular way to making money with your blog is through affiliate marketing.  Affiliate marketing is simply the referring of helpful products or services to your readers, to which you receive a commission if a purchase is made.  If your blog topic is tips and tricks for new mothers, you might include a link within your blog posts to a baby toy to help calm your baby down.

Another example might be including a link to a popular weight loss program if your blog topic is weight loss for senior citizens.  The important thing is that you only recommend products that are relevant to your blog niche, and products that you yourself would buy or have used.

Where to get affiliate links for your blog

How do companies know how to pay you for referred sales?  This is done through affiliate links that are specific to your business.  You can obtain these links through the company directly (usually on their website near the footer section there is an "affiliate" menu item), or you can use an umbrella affiliate company.

The umbrella companies are like a middle person between the blogger and the affiliate company.  This umbrella company provides links to thousands of companies, to thousands of bloggers, and provide the service of ensuring payments are made in one place.  This enables you to have all of your affiliate links and commissions in one location.

Recommended Affiliate Marketing Company

Flex Offers is one of the largest affiliate marketing umbrella companies available.  They provide links to over 10,000 companies in every industry you can think of.

Apart from their wide selection of companies for your website, they make the process of getting approved with new companies to promote easier than most, with a quick approval process and ability to customize your links as needed.

They provide daily stats on the number of impressions, views, clicks and sales on a daily basis, weekly, monthly and custom date ranges.