Blogging


Meet Karen, a regular pioneer in USA.  Karen has been writing a blog for about 7 years.  It is a collection of her travels which contains helpful information and tips for wannabe travellers. On her blog she allows google to put advertising and she makes her money this way.

Demands on Time
Karen makes a flurry of entries when she is travelling.  So the demands on her time come in waves.  When she is at home, she can focus on the ministry. But when on the road, she makes sure she schedules enough time to write about the things she sees.

Karen asked that her blog link not be included. But I can tell you it is a very professional looking website, which no doubt took time to develop.

This is the biggest drawing card for her. She loves the flexibility in her schedule.

Earning potential
Karen says that she averages about $30 per month for every 150 entries.  You can now do the math. She supports herself solely with this blog so you can get an idea of how many entries she has made in her blog to make ends meet. She's a prolific writer.

But what I find amazing are the perks.  Not long ago, she started getting requests from hotels to post a review. She would get a free stay in a swanky hotel just to post the review.  She now gets lots of these perks.

Overseas potential
Family obligations prevent Karen from serving as a need-greater outside USA for long periods.  However it's a job that is completely mobile as long as there is internet. She has even gone as long as 3 months without a single entry, so long breaks present no problem.

Requirements
Currently Karen just has a tablet, smart phone and a full size keyboard. She plugs in her full size keyboard when she makes entries.

She uses WordPress, a website for bloggers. But she says that others like blogspot work just fine.  She also purchased her own domain name at Godaddy.com.

Reality check
Karen makes it seem easy, but the truth is that it takes some effort to learn how to make blog entries and make them look good. And perhaps you have already figured out, it takes thousands of blog entries before any significant income comes from google.

How to get started
First, get a gmail account. Then go to blogspot.com and start a blogger account. Here is a video that teaches you to do that.




Then you can purchase your domain name at godaddy.com. After some entries, Karen hired someone on fiverr.com to make her site look professional. You can too for very cheap. But she recommends making some entries first.

Conclusion
My take on it is this: it would take a long time to get this off the ground.  But it costs almost nothing to start. It can be a great source of income where it is cheaper to live.  The minimal startup costs also make it appealing.



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