The focus of this blog is ‘Making Money on the Net, Legally’. Recently Satish Talim of BlogMeCash.com spoke to prolific and successful bloggers Amanda Jones of ‘Build A Blog’ and Caroline Middlebrook of ‘Livin’ Online’ and asked them: “Amongst the various legal ways of Making Money Online, which is the one you recommend; use and why?”

Amanda Jones>> I would have to say for me it’s affiliate programs, because it’s the most flexible way. You can pick whatever you like to promote, depending on the commission you would like, the product itself and what you think of it. It’s a versatile way to make money with blogs because you can write reviews or have text links, banners or add it to your newsletter. You are in control of how you promote it and which one you use. I like to promote products or services which I use and know and that will benefit my readers. I also list the ones I use in my resource page. Of course it all depends on whether your readers need the product, you have to pick wisely. It’s also a numbers game so the more targeted traffic you receive the more chance you have of earning money!

Caroline Middlebrook>> I am still very much at the experimental stages of making money online. In a recent post on my blog I examined 10 strategies that have proved to work for many other people and I picked one to start working on myself. I chose bum marketing, also called article marketing. The reason I opted for this method is that it is really just a method of driving traffic and the site you drive it to can be anything which gives you the freedom to experiment with different monetization methods. For my project I am building a small niche website that will initially be monetized with AdSense which I have not used before. Another reason I like the sound of bum marketing is that it is fairly easy to get into if you have some basic writing skills. It’s not for everybody as the bulk of the work involves writing lots and lots of articles related to the site you wish to promote. But if you can do that, hopefully you can drive lots of free traffic from those article directories. I haven’t started submitted the articles yet so I can’t report on the results but I post weekly updates to my blog.

Hopefully in the days to come, more bloggers would join in and express their opinion on issues related to ‘Making Money Online’.

Blog Me Cash caught up with Caroline Middlebrook, a prolific and successful blogger. Caroline talks to us about her blogging experiences in this brief interview.

Hello Caroline, and welcome to BlogMeCash.com. Caroline, could you tell us a bit about yourself?

I have quite a varied background. I got hooked onto computers 25 years ago when I got a Commodore 64 (I still have one!) and I never looked back. For all my adult life I have flipped back and forth between being employed and self-employed. Just a couple of weeks ago I made the move back to self employment for the final time as I realise now that I simply was not born to work for somebody else.

What made you take up blogging?

When I quit my day job, I didn’t really know what I was going to do. I just knew that I wanted to make a living using online methods. I had no savings and no established secondary income stream, so from that perspective I was in a similar position to many other people out there that are wanting to make money online. I figured that some people might be interested in seeing how I get on. Therefore I started the blog in order to tell the story. If I am successful, I hope I can inspire others to escape the chains of a job that holds them back. Though hopefully with less risk than I did!

You have been blogging about “Livin’ Online” for some time now. What has been your experience?

It’s only been 6 weeks actually but it’s been fantastic. Other blogs I’ve had in the past still only had 3 subscribers after 6 months but this one has been growing nicely, I am thrilled to see all the comments left on the posts and I am starting to ‘meet’ lots of other bloggers in my niche. I really feel like I am becoming a small part of that community.

Some words of advise for people looking at making money online?

1. It CAN be done
2. You DON’T ‘t need to spend money to do it
3. All the information you need is out there for FREE
4. Don’t Google for your info - read BLOGS
5. It takes LOTS of work
6. There is enough opportunity for EVERYONE

Anything else you would like to say to our readers?

Don’t be put off when you see the ‘big boys’ raking in thousands of dollars a month seemingly so easily. Everybody started at the beginning. The great thing is that it is available to anybody with a computer, you don’t need to spend any money to get started so you can start with nothing but a little of your free time.

Thanks Caroline for sharing your views with the BlogMeCash.com members.

Blog Me Cash caught up with Amanda Jones (Mandy), a prolific and successful blogger. Mandy talks to us about her blogging experiences in this brief interview.

Hello Mandy, and welcome to BlogMeCash.com. Mandy, could you tell us a bit about yourself?

I am married with two children. And I am working from home so I can be more flexible and available for my children, using the internet and blogs to do this. I like walking and generally getting out and about in the fresh air with the kids. I enjoy playing the guitar, music and films and I love everything about photography (oh, and blogs).

What made you take up blogging?

I had been finding my feet on the internet and trying different ways to make money like Google Adwords, but they didn’t grab me or get me excited and motivated to carry on each day. Until I came across Blogs. They were different and gave me the ability to be more creative and personal with my writing. So I concentrated on Blogging because they are more interactive, like a conversation and that drew me in and got me hooked.

You have been blogging about ‘Build a Blog’ for some time now. What has been your experience?

It is a learning curve (a steep one), and very hard work and I have learned a lot from my mistakes, but it’s very rewarding and great fun too. My blog is constantly growing, in design and structure as well as content. It becomes more and more my own as I build it and watch it grow. It’s the interaction with other bloggers that’s great and makes it a rewarding experience, and keeps me coming back day after day. It is very satisfying to look at what I have created after all the hard work, and I hope that it may help others on their blogging journey.

Making money with blogs is not a get rich quick method. You need to pick a subject you’re interested in and Build a Blog talking about it, then monetize it. There’s no quick fixes with blogs if you want to do it properly and make a lasting income from it.

Some words of advise for people looking at making money online?

You have to enjoy what you do, choose a method that suits you as a person. Otherwise you’ll have to drag yourself to the computer each day, and you won’t succeed because it will become a chore.

Don’t suffer alone, if you’re stuck in a rut - find help. Look to find a way to move yourself forward. I joined a mentoring program so I could constantly move forward, and receive help and advice.

Anything else you would like to say to our readers?

Don’t give up! Keep testing and persevere, and you will find a formula that works for you.

If you are going to blog and have a passion or hobby, use that, it will easily motivate you, and your love for it will come across in your writing and engage your readers. If you would like to find out more about my journey with blogs, then visit my blog.

Thanks Mandy for sharing your views with the BlogMeCash.com members.

Blog Me Cash caught up with Ryan Knuppel, a prolific and successful blogger. Ryan talks to us about his blogging experiences in this brief interview.

Hello Ryan, and welcome to BlogMeCash.com. Ryan, could you tell us a bit about yourself?

My name is Ryan Knuppel and I’m the proud owner of knupNET.com! I have been in the internet marketing business for just over five years - but mostly as just a hobby. Over the last year I’ve tried to make an effort to turn this into something more than just a hobby. I have a network of 50+ sites on the web. Some are developed and making money - some are not yet!

What made you take up blogging on internet marketing?

I love creating websites and the challenge of trying to turn a profit on them. It is such a low money investment that it doesn’t take much revenue to make a website ‘profitable’. I decided I wanted to become somewhat of an expert on Internet Marketing and what better way than to write about it everyday and soak up all the knowledge I can.

What has been your experience so far?

My experience so far has been great. The one thing you don’t realize is how time consuming it is. Hours upon hours of reading and writing. Then more hours just doing follow-up emails and looking for new contacts. It is all about the contacts in my opinion!

Some words of advise for people looking at making money online?

Don’t expect to make EASY money online. It’s not going to happen. You have to work very hard to turn any kind of a profit. But with hard work, patience, and a little luck you will be bringing in a monthly income. Whether it’s $50 a month, $500 a month or $5000 a month - every penny counts

Anything else you would like to say to our readers?

One of the things I believe in the most is that the “up and coming” bloggers need to stick together. Every where you look there are posts and links to A-List websites. But there are TONS of great smaller blogs out there currently too. The only way we are ever going to compete and grow to an A-List level is to help each other out. I created a program I call, “Roll Partners”, where I’m looking to simply exchange links and RSS feeds with other bloggers that are looking to ‘make it’. If anyone ever has questions, comments or suggestions for me - just email me at ryan@knupnet.com or visit my website at knupNET.com! Thanks!

Thanks Ryan for sharing your views with the BlogMeCash.com members.

Blog Me Cash caught up with Pat B. Doyle, a prolific and successful blogger. Pat talks to us about her blogging experiences in this brief interview.

Hello Pat, and welcome to BlogMeCash.com. Pat, could you tell us a bit about yourself?

First, I would like to thank Satish for doing this interview. I welcome the opportunity to introduce myself to your readers.

I started out my career as a teacher, then I became a computer programmer, and now I am a computer consultant. I started my internet business in 2005 with my first blog. I now have enough income from my blogging to be able to cut back to 4 days per week on my consulting job. It is my goal to build my internet business to the point where I can focus on it full time.

I am just starting to get into creating my own products to sell online. I am working on my first video course, which will be a beginning blogging course. I am really enjoying that. It goes back to my teaching roots. I actually love teaching. I left the teaching field because I didn’t like dealing with all the discipline problems with unruly students. With creating my own courses, I don’t have to worry about that!

I am also really enjoying my new blog. It is great to have a blog that is read by other bloggers. I love posting about my experiences and seeing that it is helpful to others.

What made you take up blogging?

When I first heard about blogging, I thought it would be fun, so I tried a personal blog, with photos of my hometown. I was just fooling around.

Then I came across a link to ProBlogger, where Darren Rowse first disclosed that he was making 6 figures by blogging. I thought to myself, “I can do this!”

So I abandoned my personal blog and started a blog about dogs. It was a lot of fun, and after a while, I started to make money on it. So I started more blogs in different areas and was pretty successful.

You have been blogging on ‘online money making’ for some time now. What has been your experience?

I just started my new blog, a few weeks ago. I want to get my name known better, because I want to sell some of my own products. I am in the process of producing some video courses on blogging. The first one will be a beginning blogging course, and after that, I will tackle some more advanced topics. I felt that if my name was better known in the “make money online” field, I would be better able to sell my video courses.

I previously had a blog called “affiliate-moneymaking.com”, which discussed moneymaking topics. But I didn’t update it very regularly. I was too busy with my other blogs. It is my personal experience that it is hard to make money online with a “make money online” blog, unless you are selling your own products. (Of course I’m sure John Chow would disagree with me.)

Some words of advise for people looking at making money online?

First, I would say, don’t quit your day job until you are doing really well with your internet business. Sometimes it can take a while to get started.

Also, don’t jump around from one project to another. Stick to one thing and keep going. Be patient. If you have a blog, be sure to update it regularly, and also spend time on marketing it, making it known. You need to get decent traffic to make good money.

If you can, create your own products to sell. If you don’t want to do that, then the next best thing is to create a popular blog, and make money through Adsense, other advertising, and selling affiliate products.

Think about what kind of blog you would like to visit and keep coming back to. Then make your blog like that. Create good, interesting content that you yourself would like. Make the blog nice looking and not too cluttered.

Anything else you would like to say to our readers?

If you want to make money online, do something you enjoy. It will be a lot easier to stick with it if you enjoy it.

If any of your readers would like to ask me questions about blogging or making money online, they can contact me using the contact form on my blog. I can’t promise that I will answer all questions right away, but I will answer many of the questions in future blog posts.

I wish you and all your readers great success in your money-making endeavors. Thanks for taking the time to read this interview, and I hope some of you will visit my blog in the future.

Thanks Pat for sharing your views with the BlogMeCash.com members.