I know I write a lot about writing, but the best part of my income doesn’t come from writing for other people’s websites, it comes from writing for my OWN websites. This article is designed to teach you a bit about what I know of niche blogging, things I’ve found successful and… well, things that don’t work, too.

1- Write what you know.

You might think “I know nothing” and that may be true. If you know nothing, then you’re in luck because you can research whatever you want. So write what you know, and keep learning more.

2- Start small.

Begin with a little blogspot blog, they’re free and can be monetized with adsense, , Chitika, PayPerPost and any other text-link or keyword based advertising program. Wordpress is the platform I prefer for self-hosted websites (meaning when I own the domain) but the free version of wordpress doesn’t allow users many options for monetizing.

Anyhow, the advantage of starting small (and free) is that you build up content (articles or posts) while you learn. You need to learn about niche blogging, search engine optimization and also about your niche.

3. Get Help

And I don’t mean mental help, because friends and family will tell you you’re crazy. If they don’t come right out and say it, they’ll at least warn you that it’s a scam. trust me (and tons of other niche bloggers) It’s not a scam. A lot of people fail because they mistakenly believe that the income comes like magic, without any work. That’s not true, it’s a lot of work, a lot of reading and a lot of writing but in the end, the income is residual, meaning that you can continue to earn for a long time without adding more work.

One place to get help and support is from the wahm.com message boards. These moms know their stuff, they help one another navigate the world of online writing, affiliate marketing, web design and every other skill that niche bloggers need. Amy Bass’ Niche Blogging course is great for beginners, too. I wish I had found it when I was new.

4. Talk About Money, and LISTEN

I know there’s a backwards social stigma about not discussing your earnings, but how will you know who to listen to if no one is telling you how much they’re making? There’s a woman who always posts on forums about how well she’s doing with a certain website. This certain website is BUNK. It’s garbage, writers earn “stars and badges” not real money. I pressed her until finally she broke. She said “In my first month I made almost $10 but now I’m making almost four times that.” Well excuse me- $40 isn’t really much money for all the work she had done. When people are evasive about the money they’re making, chances are that they’re not making much.

5. SEO is your business partner

Forget about social bookmarking and promoting your work through social networks (unless you have friends who are also promoting you) the bulk of your traffic should come from search engines. Search engines like it when your titles, subtitles, headings and text are easy to figure out. How will a search engine know your blog is about Making Wheatgrass Juice if you call it “Miss Jean’s Sweet Green Sip of Heaven” You need to call it “Making Wheatgrass Juice” Be precise in your language, not picturesque.

Your niche blog will not make a dime if you don’t understand Search Engine Optimization. Amy’s class will teach that, you can also learn it (and build incoming links) by signing up to write at sites like Suite101 and Examiner. They both have very different SEO philosophies, both of which have merit.