Must Have WordPress Widgets, Plugins Themes

Widgets

The number and type of widgets you use on your WordPress blog will depend on your theme and the amount of space available on the sidebar. A 'Categories' widget is essential to allowing your readers to browse your pages, and the 'Recent Posts' plugin will make sure regular visitors don't miss a post. A 'Search' widget is also a valuable addition to a website, particularly if you have a lot of content. Most websites place this at the top of their sidebar.

Plugins for Functionality

'Akismet' is an essential plugin for any WordPress site with comments enabled. To activate Akismet, you need a WordPress API key which can be obtained by signing up for an account at WordPress.com. The 'Contextual Related Posts' plugin adds a list of similar posts at the end of each post, and the 'Subscribe to any' and 'Add to any' plugins help your visitors subscribe to your site and share your work via their social media accounts respectively.

Plugins for Monetization

The 'Yoast SEO' plugin allows a great number of search engine optimization procedures to be enabled without going into the HTML source code. It can turn post tags into title tags, which is beneficial, but if you want to override this for individual posts, the 'Custom Title Tags' plugin will do this for you. The 'WhyDoWork' AdSense plugin allows Google AdSense ads -- or any other type of ad -- to be positioned at various places through your articles using a simple interface.

Themes

The 'Thesis' theme is a highly customizable theme framework that makes it easy to customize the styling and functionality of your site without any HTML knowledge. However, it comes at a price, and the 'WooThemes' templates also offer a large range of functional and stylistic editing options but for free. For an impressive home page to your blog, the 'WP-Coda' theme uses JQuery to make a slide-show based on your site's pages, and displays it on your blog's main index.

How to Make Money From a Blog

Start Your Blog

1. Choose a blog. There are free hosted blogs online through many sources that can help you by giving you the tools and resources to make it simple to start your own blog. Or you can register a domain name and start your blog from scratch if you have a bit of technical savvy.

2. Choose a niche. Once you've decided on a blog, decide what you will write about to attract visitors. Some simply use their blog as a place to write editorials or opinions while others blog about a specific subject they are knowledgeable on. Many professional bloggers recommend that you choose a niche so you can build a following.

3. Promote your blog. Use web services that will get you some attention such as blog directories and social bookmarking. Using these services can help you get indexed in search engines and drive traffic to your blog. Commenting on other blogs can also build links in to your blog and help more people find you. Once you have some material to read and are indexed in search engines, you can begin to really monetize your blog and start earning money.

Monetize Your Blog

4. Sign up with Google Adsense. Google offers the ability for people to display targeted advertisements on their blog. Google will give you a percentage of that revenue when people: click on the ads, view the ads and purchase something from a sponsor. You need to apply to Google Adsense and wait for acceptance, and then you will have to work with your blog program to embed the code so the advertisements display properly. This is not difficult.You need to follow Google's TOS (terms of service) in order to maintain good standing. See warning section in this article for more information.

5. Apply to other websites that pay you to post on your blog. There are many blog sites that will pay you a flat fee for writing a specific advertisement and link into your blog. Sites like Payperpost, Blogitive or Blogvertise offer these services once your blog has been indexed in search engines such as Google.

6. Apply for professional blogging jobs. Many online classified networks advertise the ability to post on your own blog or on a blog belonging to a company. Many freelance bloggers earn a regular income by blogging this way.

7. Join affiliate programs like Amazon and Chikita Mini Malls that offer the ability to advertise on your blog. Many affiliate marketing programs exist that allow you to monetize your blog and earn based on click through rates.

Maintain Your Blog

8. Update your blog regularly. By keeping your blog fresh, you attract readers who will keep coming back and who might click your ads or purchase advertised services.

9. Add reader services to your blog such as RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds to allow syndication and to attract more readers. Continually finding ways to grow and improve your blog will increase your money-earning potential.

10. Advertise. Once you are earning money from your blog, increase your earning potential by paying for advertising in places that fit your niche. You can also accomplish this by trading links and banners with other pro bloggers to increase exposure for your blog.

How to Opt Out of DoubleClick

1. Go to the Google website that allows users to opt out of the DoubleClick cookie.

2. Click on the 'Opt Out' button located on the right side of the page.

3. Click 'Download the advertising cookie opt-out plugin' button if you want to permanently opt out of DoubleClick. Click the same button on the next page.

4. Click the 'Allow' button at the top of the toolbar if you see a gold bar.

5. Click 'Install Now' to download the plugin. Wait for it to install.

6. Close and then reopen your browser.

How to Apply for a YouTube Partnership

1. Visit YouTube and sign into your account. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on 'Creators & Partners.'

2. Click on 'Apply Now.' Read the general disclaimer (if turned down, you'll be unable to apply again for two months).

3. Click on 'Apply Anyway.' Type your full name, date of birth and location. Choose the type of organization and then choose the number of videos you have produced and their typical length.

4. Add any other relevant information, such as qualifications, that may help YouTube approve your application.

5. Click on 'Review Application,' and then click 'Submit Application' to submit your YouTube Partner application.

How to Make Money to View Ads

1. Look over the terms and conditions of the different sites offering to pay you to view advertisements. Look for a site with a low cash-out amount but not one that makes it seem like you will get rich quick on their site.

2. Read through the payment terms of each site. Always look for one paying a set fee for advertisements and not one that promises free products or gift cards.

3. Perform a web search for the name of the site you are considering plus the word 'scam' or 'review'. This will give you links to user-written reviews of the company so you get an idea of the working conditions.

4. Set up a junk email account. When doing work for sites that pay users for watching advertisements, there is a good chance the site will share your email address with the advertisers. Using a junk email address for this type of work will keep your regular email box free of spam.

5. Sign up for an account at one or more of the sites that you decided fits your needs. Read through any information they send to you to ensure you are following all of the site's rules.

6. Complete the screening survey to determine your demographics. The survey will ask your age, gender, household makeup and yearly income at the minimum. You may have to answer additional questions depending on the site you choose.

7. Select an available advertisement to watch. Keep the advertisement at the front of your screen.

8. Respond to any prompts presented during or at the end of the advertisement. You may need to click on the flashing button or another target within a set number of seconds. These prompts ensure you are watching the ad and not just opening it and walking away.

9. Answer any questions asked about the advertisement. Questions may include if you think the advertisement is effective or if you would change anything about the ad. You typically receive more pay for ads that require you to give your opinion.

10. Continue watching any available advertisement. If you run out, log out of the website and try again within a few hours. If possible, sign up for email alerts from the site so you receive notice of when new advertisements are available.

How to Put Ads on YouTube With Google AdSense

1. Ensure that you create original videos and post them to YouTube on a regular basis.

2. Ensure that you have express permission to publish and monetize all content on your videos, including images, text, video clips, audio and music. Remove any videos containing content that you do not have permission to use.

3. Promote your YouTube videos on your website until you have thousands of viewers for your videos. You can begin doing this by posting them on your website, posting them on social media websites like Facebook and Twitter, and by using social bookmark services like StumbleUpon and Digg.

4. Read the YouTube Terms of Service and Community Guidelines.

5. Apply to the YouTube Partnership Program once you are certain you meet its membership criteria.

6. Enroll in YouTube's revenue sharing program when your application to the YouTube Partnership Program has been approved. Then you can begin attaching YouTube's Google AdSense ads on your videos.

How to Make Money Online for Kids

1. Let kids sell items on eBay. The rules of the site allow an adult with an account in good standing to let children sell through the site as long as their activities are supervised. Kids can sell anything that is allowed for sale by the Website. A few ideas for kids' sales are selling their outgrown clothes and shoes, old toys they no longer play with, craft items they've made, and cheap items that they buy at the thrift store in order to resell.

2. Give kids a digital camera. Let them sell their digital photos. Sites like Stock Exchange let all customers list their photos for sale through the Website. It then pays the photographer a portion for each sale. The photos can be of household items, nature items or anything else that someone might want to buy to use on their Website or for their commercial projects. Some sites will require that the adult have the account. However, as long as the parent supervises the account, kids can make money from the photographs.

3. Set up a blog that will allow the child to make money. A kid can post his own blog posts on his own blog which is then monetized by placing ads on the site. Affiliate ads can be placed as banner ads or as links in the text of the blog posts. Readers click on the links, and a commission is earned for the blogger if the reader then buys an item.

4. Have kids make crafts that can be sold on Etsy. The site is a third-party retail Website that sells online hand-made crafts. The sales may have to be supervised by an adult account holder, but there are many money-making possibilities with the site. Kids love to make things, and Etsy has a growing customer base of people who love hand-made items.

5. Help kids to create their own Websites. The Websites can then be monetized with ads that kids can negotiate on their own. This would require kids to contact Websites and ask the site to advertise. Ad networks that supply paid ads require people to be 18 to sign up. That makes the site-to-site negotiation necessary. Kids can also have a donation button on their Website that allows people to donate to a PayPal account that is held in a parent's name.

6. Place AdSense ads on a Website or blog using a parent's account. AdSense account holders must be 18, but kids are allowed to use their parents' AdSense codes on their own Websites. Ashley Qualls, the owner of Whateverlife, started the Website at the age of 14, using her parent's AdSense account to make money from the Website. She makes MySpace layouts and gives them away for free through the Website. She earns about $70,000 per month from the Website through AdSense and other ad revenue.