Wow, I didn't know anyone was paying attention

More of you have visited and commented on my Multiply page in the last couple of days than you have in the last year or so!

And all because I ported my blog from Blogger to Multiply.

In any case, if you want to get it hot and fresh ... visit My-Tube instead. I check and update it regularly and can comment back more easily from there as well. (Multiply is really slow for me!)

How to make money from Google Adsense: Tips

In my previous post, I said I wanted to be a problogger. Said in a moment of frustration and whimsy, I thought that it would take a long shot before anything of the sort came close to happening.

That was, of course, BEFORE the Google Adsense check arrived. It did, the other day. (Yes, I've made a copy and am now going to get it framed before I bring it to the bank for encashment.)

In other words, this thing of becoming a problogger is not such a pipe dream after all. All I need to do to make it viable is to make the Adsense checks come in ten times more often and more frequently!

Now, THAT's the hard part. See, it took almost two years before the first Adsense check came in. Which means that it was a slow burn before I got enough readership and the clicks necessary to get enough for an Adsense check.

But I'm learning.

Here's the top list of things I've learned so far:

Blogging is not easy.
Seriously, making money from the Internet via blogging is going to be a lot of work so you should only do it if you really mean it and have the time to do it. Don't bet the farm on it. Don't quit your day job. Don't take out a loan on a private jet just yet.

Blog about your interests.
It's not like work if you enjoy what you're doing. It's a good thing that with the Internet, you can now find out more things to blog about than the things that you already know about your topic. Every day can be an opportunity to learn more and share more with your readers.

No matter what your topic may be, be it something insanely popular like American Idol, mildly popular like online videos or even not very popular like Batanes, you can find the resources to help you write about them AND more importantly, you can find audiences interested enough to read about them as well.

Blog regularly.
The more frequently you blog, the more you get noticed and listed by Google. Which means your chances of appearing higher up in a Google search -- and of being found by an interested reader -- are higher. Naturally, the more you write, the more your readers can keep interested enough to come back. And the more they come back, the more times they'll see your ads -- and maybe, just maybe, they'll see an ad they'll be interested enough to click on. (Remember, that's a maybe --- often, it's a maybe not!)

To help you find stuff to write about...

Surf intelligently.

• Often you'll run out of stuff to write about from your personal real-world experiences so you better use your time on the Internet wisely. Surf with a purpose -- i.e., look for stuff you can blog about.
• Use RSS services like Google Reader to keep you easily updated about bloggable topics. (In essence, the blog posts on your favorite topics go to you whenever they get posted.)
  
• Use Google Alerts to send you emails whenever a new post appears anywhere on the Internet about your topic of choice.
• Use a Firefox plugin like Zotero to help you remember and return to the sites and blogs that are of interest to you.

Write good headlines.
I'm not a professional writer or editor but I can tell the difference between good headlines and bad headlines. So, even if my headlines may not be the best in the world, I know when it's blah enough to need some more improvement. And note, the improvements you're trying to achieve in writing for the Internet go BEYOND the basics of good writing. You're writing not just to attract people, but also the search engines.

So if you're writing about "tips" --- don't bury it. Put it up front on the headline because the headline is most likely what'll end up on a search page -- and that's your first point of contact with a prospective reader.

Get listed in online directories.
You need visitors, big time, so make sure you submit your site to different blog directories. The more leads or signposts you put up, the better your chances of getting visitors.

Get incoming links from blogs with some authority.
Basically, that would be anyone more important or influential than you in the online world. See, that's how Google figures out if your blog should come out higher or lower in the search pages. Analogy: if an important person thinks you're important, then you probably ARE! Ergo, this tip.

Making it happen is a bit harder than just identifying the gurus for your topic of choice, of course. How to do it?

Start by commenting on their blog comments sections whenever you have something relevant to say. (And don't forget to write your blog's URL!) This will alert them to your existence and maybe they'll establish some kind of relationship with you and refer to your blog at some point in th future.

None of this is easy, and as I said, it took me a WHILE to get the Adsense revenue.
But it's real.

Any of you want to share your tips?

Top 10 Reasons Why I Want to Be a Problogger

1. I'm on the internet all the time anyway, so I might as well make THAT my day job!
2. I want to be able to read and write and link and comment to my heart's content -- without anyone telling me to get back to work. Because, hey, that'd be MY work!
3. It'd be fun to work alone and have control over my life for a change.
4. I'm excited by the idea of focusing purely on topics I like.
   
5. I'm tired of the commute.
6. And I always wanted to go to work in shorts and a t-shirt.
7. And I've always wondered how it would be like to work out of an internet cafe -- just like those guys I see all the time at Starbucks and Seattle's Best.
8. It'd let me have an excuse to wake up late -- but then, I'd never again be actually LATE.
9. I've been fiddling with Adsense anyway and now's good a time as any to see if I can make it really work.
10. They can do it in other countries, why can't I do it here?

This blog will be my homebase for how this experiment develops.