Blogging for Profit & Fun- Scam-Free!

The first thing you want to do is figure out what types of topics you want to blog about. Will it be on only one subject? Will it be about several topics? Think about what your interests are. Do you take photos? Make a photo blog! Are you or have you raised kids? There is a TON of stories you have to tell. Talk about the time your son grabbed your lipstick and created a mural on the living room wall 20 minutes before company was to arrive.
Still not sure? That's okay. You can decide later!

T here are many blog sites on the internet from which to select. Choose the one right for you. How? Well, ask yourself a few questions.

*Do you want reader feedback and comments?
*Would you like your work to be critiqued?
*Do you want to make money from blogging?
*Are you willing to continuously add new posts to keep it fresh and keep your readers coming back? (If you're a Squidoo member, you already know how that goes!) If you're not a member of Squidoo, why not become one for free? CLICK HERE!

Some blog sites require a membership fee. The ones that do are usually a very small fee but most often pay you each time your blog is read. (Read more about that below.) That is what my blog site is about. We are a community from all walks of life. We can (and do) blog about anything we choose.

Just SOME examples of categories you can post in:
Antiques & Collectibles
Photography
Business & Investing
Family & Parenting
Fiction
Journal
Poetry
Gay Life
Opinion
Religion & Spirituality
Politics
Spanish-Language
Relationships
Sports
Humor
Mature Audiences (requires proof of age)
Self-Help
Fashion & Style
and even an "Everything Else" category
(There are MANY more than this!)

We are paid each time another member clicks on our posts. It won't seem like much at first because you'll see only a few cents trickling in. But once you establish yourself, post blogs, read and comment on others' postings, you will find yourself not only having fun, making friends & earning money, but a new addiction! (It's ok. It's a healthy addiction!)

If you want to join a blogging community, read interesting blogs by people of ALL walks of life AND make money, look no further than Blogit.com.



Here's the gist of Blogit and how it works:
Blogit says, "Paying each writer, one at a time, is too painful to think about. It's one of the reasons why donations don't work.
Instead, let's use the Disneyland approach: 'entrance to the park costs money, and all the rides are free.' We'll pay one price for unlimited access to all of the writing -- say, as little as $9.95 per month." (It's cheaper if you pay for 3, 6 or 12 months at a time.) I pay a yearly fee but I make the money back from blog earnings within the first couple months at the least and profit the rest of the year.

How They Make it Fair
Blogit says, (paraphrased) "...if each writer automatically gets the same portion of our payments, that isn't very fair -- what if we never read Sam?"
So, Blogit automatically divides our payments among all of the writers we read, based on how often we read each one. In other words, if you read Jill more than Jack, Jill gets that much more of your payment. If you never read Sam, Sam doesn't get any of your payment. Get it? Cool, huh?

Besides just blogging, socializing, reading, and earning moolah, Blogit allows you to add items to sell.

Got a manuscript or collection of poetry? Children's stories? List them for sale. Listing items is free; when an item sells, the seller is charged a fee of 10% of the sale price. You may list up to 20 items at a time.

Before the internet, we had to do many things the hard way. Now, all we have to do is go online and within minutes, we are in touch with the world. Some stories are so easy, they can practically write themselves! It is simple but addicting. Is a "Bloggers Anonymous going to be invented soon? Probably.
Some would even go as far as saying it's so easy even a... Well, you know the rest!!

Writers block is the worst for me. Well, no, that's not true. I can think of many worse things so I'll just say I hate writers block. I'll tell you what I do when it strikes. I try to recall the times I have laughed the hardest and put it into a story. I think about every day events and blog about them. People love to read stories they can relate to. What do you think about when you're stuck in traffic? (Besides how late you are running!) Our brains naturally go into "day dream mode." What do you day dream about? How about the icky old guy picking his nose in the next lane. Eeew. Maybe not.
I often look at the people in the surrounding vehicles and wonder what their story is. Where are they going or coming from? When I'm really bored, I've actually made up my own little stories about them and crack myself up. I wonder if they are thinking the same thing as me. I wonder if they are looking at the crazy girl laughing to herself in her car. ;)

If you are a lens maker on Squidoo, you probably already have the basics down pat for quality writing.

*An attention grabbing title
*Interesting content/Ease of read
*Not too long but not too short
*Decent grammar/spelling (It doesn't have to live up to term paper or professional article standards. A quick spell check is helpful, though!)
*Pictures optional (But like Squidoo says, "People Like Pictures!")

Do you know a dad or grandpa that already have everything and you don't know what to get him for Father's Day? You're in luck!! Click here and your worries are over!

Here is a perfect example of how easy it is to blog about things you think about. You know, the odd stuff. I have tons of these kinds of posts. (Should I admit that publicly?) Ooops. Too late. Anyway, in most of my blogs, I write as I speak. It is my chosen, natural style. I do write professionally when writing a freelance article and often in my Squidoo lenses. However, my blogs (especially my humor-based blog) are more personable, light-hearted and fun. There are many ways to write and if you haven't already, you will find your own style.
Here is one post I'll share with you to give you an idea of how I blog and some of the things I blog about. You may finish it and conclude I am completely out of my mind but I'll chance it.

I'm Just Wondering About a Couple Things as Usual. Ever Think About This?

What does the Tooth Fairy do with all the teeth she's gathered? I mean, that's gotta be a hell of a horde of teeth she's accumulated throughout the years. I wonder if it's like those elephant tusk hunters who sell them as ivory to make into piano keys and jewelry. Did ya ever wonder if stuff you buy is made out of human baby teeth? That Tooth Fairy may be just as bad as those elephant tusk poachers even though she leaves money under the pillow for her goods. She's gotta be makin' a killing. (And why doesn't she show up when adults lose their teeth?) Does she show up at bar fights or hockey games and steal them from the floor when we're not looking so she doesn't have to pay for them?

At least human kids get a dollar. Elephants get nadda. All they probably get is the other elephants making fun of them cause they're missing a tusk or even both. Emotional damage to their ego, for sure. I think the Tooth Fairy should have to pay for his psycho therapy. It's only fair.

Note: I know the title below may seem a bit harsh, but remember, it is important to grab the readers attention just by the title. It's a teaser. It's the same method we use here on Squidoo. Just be sure it's relevant to the text in the post. If not, it doesn't sit well with readers, especially if they gave you the click and you failed to deliver!!

Who Do I Have To Sleep With To Get Some Simple Questions Answered Already?

There are a few things (well, a few hundred) I have pondered for many years. Here are a few of them.
When checking in at an airport gate and the airport employee asks, "Has anyone put anything in your baggage without your knowledge?" Are you just as tempted as I am to say, "If it was without my knowledge, how would I know?" Duh. Okay, yeah, I've said it. I can't help it. "Have you left your baggage unattended?" Nowadays, if you have any smidge of intelligence, you're not going to leave your bags unattended in public. So, unless there were terrorists, little fairies, or Ninjas that broke into your house before leaving for a trip, I can only conclude the answer is no. (Aside from the possibility of that happening if you were abducted by aliens who gave you a ride to the airport.) I've learned not to accept rides from them anymore; that's for sure. They can't be trusted.

Now, I've also always wondered about the expression "at the drop of a hat." I realize how quick the time can be from hand to ground when someone drops their hat, but if ya think about it like this: "He can hit a home run at the drop of a hat." In that sense of the saying, it means how frequently he can hit a homer. But what I don't get is how this even became a saying. Was someone always dropping their hat? Just pick the damn thing up and shut up already.

Imagine someone is scarfing down a cheeseburger. Someone might say, "Man, he's really goin' to town on that burger." What town? Where is that town at anyway?

"Well, ya know as they say..." Who are THEY? Are they some official committee of knowledge? Are they like, some ultimate deity of wisdom? I'd like to meet with that committee, cause I have lots of questions. (Obviously.)

Why are we taken to the cleaners or taken for a ride when we get ripped off or screwed over? Is the ride some kind of getaway car? Who's driving and where are we going on this so-called ride? Are we going to that famous, unnamed "town" so many seem to be going to? Are we going to the cleaners, perhaps?

Here's my last example from my humor blog. This particular blog accumulates the most "clicks" or traffic out of all my blog topics. My others do quite well, but for me personally, my humor has proven to me to be my best seller.

We All Know What Chicken of the Sea Means (Except for Jessica Simpson) But...

What about Buffalo Wings? They're not the wings of buffalo. I've checked. Besides, buffalo's don't even have wings. I've checked that out, too. I'm sure of it now. So, who are they trying to fool? I can understand the Hooter's waitresses not caring (or, in all reality, not understanding for that matter) but trying to convince patrons that they're eating genuine buffalo wings is a far stretch of trickery. Although, it's obviously working.

Why is it so often stated in fairy tales as, "In a castle, far, far away..." Well, like what if you live in that castle? Then it's really not "far, far away," right? Besides, even if you don't live in that castle, who is it really "far, far away" from? Or from what? One must see that if a home is lived in and very secluded from other civilization, there's something creepy about that right there. Duh.

Or even, "Once upon a time..." Isn't every day, hour, or minute really only to become a "once upon a time?" I mean, just now, as I typed that, it WAS once upon a time...Yeah, a few seconds ago. And now, and now and now....

But, to be fair, I have provided this link to other blog reviews and their sites
Be sure to check out the ones that interest you and fit your personal needs and expectations. Just keep in mind, ALL blog sites, job-related sites and other sites promising you'll make $XXX amount of money each month...BEWARE. NOTHING IS FREE and any amount of income will NEVER EVER come without some work on your part. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably IS. Move on to realistic things.