1. HowHowHowHow ToToToTo MakeMakeMakeMake MoneyMoneyMoneyMoney ReviewReviewReviewReview
ThisThisThisThis postpostpostpost isisisis fromfromfromfrom GRSGRSGRSGRS staffstaffstaffstaff writerwriterwriterwriter DonnaDonnaDonnaDonna Freedman.Freedman.Freedman.Freedman.Donna writes the
Frugal Cool blog for MSN Money, and writes about frugality and intentional
living at Surviving And Thriving.
Let me say that initially I was skeptical about both the size and cost of HowHowHowHow IIII
MakeMakeMakeMake MoneyMoneyMoneyMoney Blogging:Blogging:Blogging:Blogging: TheTheTheThe BeginnerBeginnerBeginnerBeginner’’’’ssss GuideGuideGuideGuide totototo BuildingBuildingBuildingBuilding aaaa
Money-MakingMoney-MakingMoney-MakingMoney-Making Blog.Blog.Blog.Blog. The $27 freight seemed a bit steep for a 32-page e-book.
ThenThenThenThen IIII openedopenedopenedopened thethethethe PDFPDFPDFPDF andandandand beganbeganbeganbegan totototo read.read.read.read.
Within minutes I realized that you shouldn’t judge a
book by its cover price: Reading “HIMMB” is like a
long, fruitful session with an Internet consultant.
The difference is that a consultant might give you
only part of the picture in order to guarantee a
follow-up appointment. The author, Crystal
Stemberger, holdsholdsholdsholds nothingnothingnothingnothing backbackbackback –––– andandandand thethethethe
readerreaderreaderreader benefitsbenefitsbenefitsbenefits.
Stemberger owns or co-owns eight sites and while her posts won’t win Pulitzers
for prose, they’re lively and informative. Ditto her e-book: While she at times
needs an editor (who doesn’t?), the information comes across as chatty advice
from a trusted friend who’s been at this a lot longer than you have.
She is, in fact, as Internet-savvy as a person can be without actually being an
android. As noted in her GRS Reader Story (“Turning a side hustle into
self-employment“), in the space of a year Stemberger went from blogging for fun

2. to earning as much as $25,000 in a single month. She did this without spamming,
running naughty-bits ads or polluting the Web with SEO-drenched “content.”
Note:Note:Note:Note: SEO stands for “search-engine optimization”, techniques that make a website
more appealing to search engines like Google — but less useful to readers like you.
SEO is a shortcut to high search results, but it comes at the price of long-term
usefulness. As J.D. is fond of saying: “The best SEO is actually great content that
other folks want to link to.”
That’s not to say that the author is averse to search engine optimization and other
traffic-enhancing tricks. That’s how online commerce works, and “HIMMB” gives
all the equipment you’ll need to play in the big leagues. For example, here’s how
the author suggests you choose a blog title: “Figure out some keywords that will
be searched for and include them in your name.”
On first read, that piece of advice gave me the wimwams. It seemed so calculated,
maybe even a little cold-blooded. But that’s because I tend to approach blogging
from a writer’s angle vs. a business mindset. If you want to write for free,
nothing’s stopping you. IfIfIfIf youyouyouyou hopehopehopehope totototo bringbringbringbring inininin aaaa littlelittlelittlelittle (or(or(or(or aaaa lot)lot)lot)lot) ofofofof extraextraextraextra
money,money,money,money, thenthenthenthen youyouyouyou needneedneedneed thisthisthisthis e-book.e-book.e-book.e-book.
AnAnAnAn evolvingevolvingevolvingevolving landscapelandscapelandscapelandscape
Plenty of us could search all day for information on the business of blogging yet
be unable to comprehend it completely once we find it. Much of what’s out there
is so larded with jargon as to be impenetrable. I’m not a complete Luddite; for
example, I know that the Internet isn’t really a series of tubes. Yet the alphabet
soup of online shorthand sometimes makes me long for the days of Linotype.
Not knowing what we don’t know can cost us, literally. Many newbies (like,

3. um,me) have accepted criminally low ad rates because we just didn’t know any
better. Anyone who buys this book will know exactly what to charge: Stemberger
provides a list of revenue types and how much each one should bring in, based on
page rank.
What’s a page rank? Good question. Stemberger explains three different types of
rankings and goes into some detail about Google vs. Everyone Else. It’s a complex
issue because many bloggers live in fear of being penalized by that particular
500-pound gorilla. The upheaval from two recent tweaks to Google’s algorithm
cut many online entrepreneurs off at the knees, financially speaking. (The
author’s own page rank slumped to zero and hasn’t budged since.)
DoesDoesDoesDoes thatthatthatthat meanmeanmeanmean thatthatthatthat big-bucksbig-bucksbig-bucksbig-bucks bloggingbloggingbloggingblogging isisisis aaaa thingthingthingthing ofofofof thethethethe past?past?past?past? NotNotNotNot
necessarily.necessarily.necessarily.necessarily. Stemberger explains that even though many of her advertisers and
clients were body-slammed by those algorithm updates, “there is still plenty of
money to be made online – it’s simply a matter of adapting your strategy as the
landscape evolves.”
Yet she also says what must be said: ““““DonDonDonDon’’’’tttt bebebebe inininin thisthisthisthis forforforfor thethethethe money.money.money.money.””””Your
blog might not make much right away – or ever. If you think you can slap
together a few basic sites, staple on some SEO-heavy content and sit back as the
money rolls in, you’re likely deluding yourself. Those algorithms are getting
smarter all the time, and so are readers.
ReasonsReasonsReasonsReasons forforforfor writingwritingwritingwriting
It’s the readers — not the lucre – that should keep you in the business, the author
cautions. While the money is “a huge bonus,” it’s building an online community
that motivates her to work so hard.

4. And it is work. Note that the title calls it “building” a blog, not “lying in a
hammock while the blog makes you rich.” AlthoughAlthoughAlthoughAlthough thethethethe notionnotionnotionnotion ofofofof passivepassivepassivepassive
incomeincomeincomeincome isisisis aaaa persistentpersistentpersistentpersistent onlineonlineonlineonline meme,meme,meme,meme, itititit takestakestakestakes considerableconsiderableconsiderableconsiderable efforteffortefforteffort totototo
bringbringbringbring inininin thethethethe bigbigbigbig bucksbucksbucksbucks consistently.consistently.consistently.consistently.
Incidentally, those bucks need not come only from advertisers. The author reveals
a list of other online gigs she has done/still does, such as ghostwriting,
commenting for hire and acting as a blog virtual assistant.
WhatWhatWhatWhat aboutaboutaboutabout thosethosethosethose whowhowhowho justjustjustjust wantwantwantwant totototo writewritewritewrite forforforfor anananan audience,audience,audience,audience, totototo shareshareshareshare
ideasideasideasideas andandandand generategenerategenerategenerate conversations?conversations?conversations?conversations? I’m sure some of you actually exist. But I
bet the rest of you alleged purists would leap on even a penny-a-click ad account
if it were offered – and I say that as someone who maintained a personal website
for months without ever investigating how she might make that blog pay for itself.
Putting ads on your site is not selling out, by the way. The laborer is worthy of his
e-hire. Ideally your readership would grow to the point where you could make
writing your full-time job. Unlikely, mind you, but it could happen – after all, this
time last year Stemberger had just bid farewell to the cubicle life.
Yet even if you don’t want to “monetize” (ugh) your site, Stemberger’s book is still
incredibly valuable for its traffic-generating tips. That audience you crave won’t
find you all by itself.
Note:Note:Note:Note: Crystal Stemberger, the author of this ebook, is also a long-time GRS reader.
She’s created a $10-off code for readers of this blog. UseUseUseUse thethethethe codecodecodecode ““““GRS10GRS10GRS10GRS10″″″″
throughoutthroughoutthroughoutthroughout thethethethe monthmonthmonthmonth ofofofof August,August,August,August, andandandand youyouyouyou cancancancan purchasepurchasepurchasepurchase HowHowHowHow IIII MakeMakeMakeMake
MoneyMoneyMoneyMoney BloggingBloggingBloggingBlogging””””forforforfor onlyonlyonlyonly $17.$17.$17.$17.
Addendum:Addendum:Addendum:Addendum: As has been pointed out in the comments, thisthisthisthis bookbookbookbook

5. isisisis availableavailableavailableavailable inininin aaaa KindleKindleKindleKindle editioneditioneditionedition forforforfor $9.99$9.99$9.99$9.99. Not everyone has a
Kindle but those who do will pay a lot less.
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