Frank Viola | Beyond Evangelical

Official Blog of Author & Speaker Frank Viola. Digging below the surface and moving beyond the shallows in today's Christianity.

How I Became a Professional Blogger

Most of you are aware that I don’t profit from my book sales. As I’ve explained elsewhere, the money earned from my books is given to the poor and used for ministry expenses. Part of my personal income comes from this blog. And today I can say that I’m a “professional” blogger in that most of my personal income is derived from the blog.

Since this blog is free to read and subscribing is free as well, how do I generate income from the blog?

The answer: from advertising and affiliates.

Click here to read the steps I took to become a professional blogger

Category:

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Frank,

    I am making a fresh commitment to writing more often than monthly. My goal is to write on a daily basis. Is there a grammar check software you can recommend? Maybe one that can suggest better sentence patterns?

    Manny

    • I’m so glad I found your blog! Thank you for the great advice… I’ve had a blog for a few years now, but only recently decided I really want to get serious about it, so I’ve been learning all this stuff recently. Your point about posting everyday for one year surprised me! That’s a HUGE challenge, but if it really does make a big difference, I’ll take your advice! Thanks again and God bless!

  3. Hello Frank, I was sent here by Michelle Schaeffer. I have subscribed to your blog and look forward to receiving updates. I think that it’s fantastic that you give all your profits to the poor. May God richly bless you.

  4. Hi Frank,

    I checked out Blue Host and I agree with you. They are a definite place to move Inspiration Point from a personal blog to a magazine. Now, it is time for the planning stage and I could use some input from the community.

    My personal vision for Inspiration Point is to create a magazine style blog; where one can find encouraging stories from a Christian perspective. Some of my writings have taken a gentle prodding tone. I am sharing this, with a purpose.

    Frank’s site model is roughly similar to what I want to do. I see that I should add a review section. What are some things I should consider for my site? What are some other sites that I could look at that’s similar to what I’m doing?

    I honestly believe that Inspiration Point could make the transition. If there be any tips; I’d recommend doing what I just did. Seek wise godly counsel from others who are doing a similar thing.

  5. Hi Frank,

    I want to thank you for writing this post. I like your writing style, so I will be adding you to my RSS feeds for daily reading. Keep up the good work, and once again, thanks.

  6. I have trouble posting every day but I am trying to be better and make sure I do it. The next thing I need to work on is the page views and I see you left a comment on things to do to do that so I will check it out now. Thank you.

  7. This is great guidance, Frank. Thank you for putting it out there in an easy to understand and follow format.

    As far as affiliate programs, what I’ve found most successful is just to look at what my audience is already buying (or should be buying) and recommend based on that.

    For my particular blog, that’s two different types of things: blogging related tools (Genesis themes, CommentLuv, other plugins, etc) and business building programs or workshops for entrepreneurs and small business owners.

    And I’m with Jeff. Creating products/services for my readers based on what they want from me is what’s really helped me to monetize my blogging and be of service in a bigger way.

  8. Good article Frank – I think its interesting you mention to blog every day for 12 months to increase traffic. Definitely going to increase the production in my blog to give a boost. Thanks for sharing your tips on professional blogging.

  9. Wow, this is so helpful, Jeff! Especially knowing that you are actually making a living with your blog means that you know what you’re talking about. But how to get to 25,000 pageviews per month? Any concrete advice how to get there?

  10. Thanks Frank! #4 is definitely the challenge. How do you post daily while staying true to your core themes? I suppose some newspapers and magazines accomplish that fairly well :-). Engadget, Techcrunch to name a couple. This is an awesome list. I’ll post on my bulletin board.

  11. Thanks so much Frank. This was a great article. One of my goals in life is to become a reverse tither. In other words, tithe 90% and live on 10%. I am hoping to be in your position one day! I truly appreciate your articles.

    Linda

  13. Thanks so much for the information. I really desire to be a better writer.You are one of my favorite authors. I really enjoy reading what God has deposited in your heart. Thanks for sharing information that can benefit others. It is truly a blessing to see.

    thanks,

    Johnny Mengarelli

  14. Thanks, Frank. I appreciate your desire to help others in this area. I’ve gained a lot from your suggestions 🙂

  15. Interesting list, Frank. I think one an additional great list to make money online (that you can feel good about) is ask your audience what they want from you. Then deliver it in the form of a product you can sell. Charging for it allows you to invest more time into it (thus making it better) and it also causes people to value it (and therefore use it). Creating products and services for my blog readers has literally changed my family’s life.

  16. It’s awesome to see you recommending StudioPress / Genesis Framework. I use that as well and actually build all of my client websites with Genesis. Definitely the way to go. Great other tips as well!

Privacy Policy - Terms and Conditions