How to Earn Advertising Dollars With Your Blog

1. Write a clear description of your blog and identify the audience your blog is intended to serve.

2. Provide your readers with timely, relevant content through regular blog entries with the goal of attracting a substantial, loyal group of readers. Make your content useful, engaging and targeted to the audience you're trying to reach. The more relevant and unique your content, the more likely readers will become loyal and even suggest your blog to friends, family and colleagues. Interact with your readers by responding to their comments and suggestions.

3. Install a Web analytics tool, such as Google Analytics, SiteMeter or StatCounter, to your blog so you can measure how often people visit your site, how they land on your blog, how long they stay and whether or not they come back. Use this tool to also help you determine which pages readers visit the most and the locations of your readers so you can provide that information to advertisers. Keep track of this information so you can include these details in your media kit.

4. Designate a space on your blog for advertising and decide on the types of advertisements you want to include. Choose from text, sponsorship, display, interstitial and pop-up advertisements. Look at your competitors' sites to see what type of advertising options they offer and their pricing. Create a price list for advertisements included on your blog.

5. Compile a media kit, which is a marketing package that can be as simple as a one-sheet flier, that gives information about your blog content, topics it covers, how often you post and your overall message.

6. Survey your readers, once you've built a relationship with them, via a Web survey to collect specific demographic data, including: age, sex, educational background, interests and marital status. Include this information in your media kit.

7. Compile and include the site traffic information gathered in Step 3 in your media kit.

8. Post your media kit to your blog in HTML and print versions. Disclose your advertising policy to your readers, so that they are aware they will begin to see advertising on your site.