[Ash]

If its any cause of inspiration for you guys.

I was able to almost double revenues last quarter, and i'm hoping to triple revenues this quarter

[elishevadpw]

Just to update this thread...

I have still not reached a 4-digit per month income from my blogs ever since I started this thread although I do notice a slow increase every month. I have started a few travel blogs in addition to the finance one that I started with when I started this thread.

I am monetizing my blogs not only using Google Adsense but others such as Infolinks.com (I just recently switched form Kontera.com as I realised I earn better using Infolinks)... some blogs with Linkworth and others with Text-Link-Ads, and also paid posts such as Blogsvertise.

Traffic also increased (very slightly though) from 2069 UV in Jan 2009 to 4446 UV in Jan 2010 until 26 Jan 2010. I know I need way more traffic to reach 4-digits per month, let alone 50k

So far I have been using social networking to promote my posts especially newly published ones. Haven't done much link building except submitting my sites to tons of directories. I admit I haven't done enough marketing... Most of my time is spent in writing quality posts everyday. Which is EXHAUSTING!

Also, I recently added links to my blog from some high PR sites (ranging PR5-8) but instead of gaining PR, I lost my PR. Many said this Google dance is normal to happen especially shortly after high PR link building. However, my PR may have been lost but one of my posts now rank #1 in Google for a keyphrase related to credit score and student loans. So I know for sure that my blog wasn't banned. Ever since I rank #1 for this, I get more traffic and also an increase in Google Adsense.

I write the content myself for all of my blogs and producing quality content EVERYDAY is exhausting and time consuming. I am thinking if I should pay somebody to help me blog but I don't know it that is a good idea in terms of the quality of the posts and also money wise.

I am still in to reach 50k from my blogs. And I have more questions here:

- Which link building strategy should I go for? As I am currently doing everything myself, I want to go for the most effective strategy... I am thinking of article submission to article directories. Is that a good option?
- Should I pay bloggers to blog? How much should I pay if so? Who would you recommend?
- One of my blogs has just been accepted and added into Google News. 3 of my most recent posts have been included there. I really really hope that being in Google News will drive even more traffic to my site. Since I only get 4500 UV for Jan 2010 alone, is there anything else that I can do to boost my traffic to 10k UV next month?

[Loko]

Is there any way you can go beyond the advertisements and get some visitors convert to offline customers? With so much quality content there should be some possibilities.

[Will.Spencer]

Originally Posted by elishevadpw

Just to update this thread...

It's great to see an update!

Originally Posted by elishevadpw

I have still not reached a 4-digit per month income from my blogs ever since I started this thread although I do notice a slow increase every month. I have started a few travel blogs in addition to the finance one that I started with when I started this thread.

Slow and steady wins the race.

Originally Posted by elishevadpw

So far I have been using social networking to promote my posts especially newly published ones. Haven't done much link building except submitting my sites to tons of directories. I admit I haven't done enough marketing... Most of my time is spent in writing quality posts everyday. Which is EXHAUSTING!

I have a similar issue with my personal blogs. It feels like a single decent blog posts takes half my energy for the day.

One thing I am trying is having a writer re-write my blog posts and using the rewritten versions for article marketing.

Originally Posted by elishevadpw

I write the content myself for all of my blogs and producing quality content EVERYDAY is exhausting and time consuming. I am thinking if I should pay somebody to help me blog but I don't know it that is a good idea in terms of the quality of the posts and also money wise.

It works, if you can find a writer with acceptable quality and the right "tone" for your blog. This is really difficult for my personal blogs.

Originally Posted by elishevadpw

- One of my blogs has just been accepted and added into Google News. 3 of my most recent posts have been included there.

Congratulations!

Originally Posted by elishevadpw

...is there anything else that I can do to boost my traffic to 10k UV next month?

Take a look at The Blogger's Guide to SEO by Aaron and Giovanna Wall[/url]. Aaron also recommends How to Dominate Your Niche by Brian Clark.

[Loko]

This short article from inc.com about someone running an online Financial Advice business reminded me of this thread.

[elishevadpw]

Thanks Will and Loko for the excellent reply and links!

The greatest lesson I learned indeed is the quality content. I wrote a few posts months ago that are probably the best posts I have written. In the beginning they were only some "posts" in my blog but for some reason those are now ranking high in Google and those posts are where my traffic comes to.

So the more QUALITY posts I make the more I have a chance in the future to have more posts up there in Google.... so exciting!

From all the links that you have posted above...
The Blogger's Guide to SEO - by Aaron & Giovanna Wall | SEO Book.com
How to Dominate Your Niche | Copyblogger
Home based Businesses You Can Start In Your Pajamas in 2010 | Inc.com

...eventually it comes down to only one thing... write deep, detailed and quality posts.

May be exhausting but they WILL pay off in the future. But at one point I will hire writers that suits the "tone" of my blog... if I can finally find one.

Also, thanks to the good posts that I have written, some of them are now in Google News too and that also has driven traffic.

I am now past half way to 4-digits per month.... from different streams... below based on my top earning network...
1. Adsense,
2. Text-Link-Ads,
3. other advertisers (who directly came and contact me for advertising opportunities)
4. Infolinks
5. Blogsvertise

To answer Loko's question, I tried generating leads for a debt consolidation company, accumulated something like US$350 over 4-5 months but haven't received any payment despite my constant emailing them to pay me....

So ever since, I haven't tried anything like that yet or other opportunities to convert my traffic to offline customers.

[LibertyGirl]

Originally Posted by elishevadpw

- Which link building strategy should I go for? As I am currently doing everything myself, I want to go for the most effective strategy... I am thinking of article submission to article directories. Is that a good option?

If your blog writing is being picked up by Google News, then article marketing should work well for you. Sounds like you are doing a great job with your writing, so perhaps each blog post that you write could also be used to create shorter articles for submission to the major article directories.

I have read that a good strategy for article marketing is to take a single blog post and turn it into a short "5 Tips..." style article with bullet points. In this way you can piggyback off of something you have already written and avoid the duplicate content issue by changing the format, re-arranging the content, and using a new title. The key to driving traffic with article marketing is to link back to your blog in the bio area for each article directory submission. The bio link to your blog stays with your articles and can go viral to drive traffic to your blog whenever a publisher uses your article.

Here's wishing you continued success! I look forward to reading about your progress.