When did I become such a mercenary?

I'm a writer. I'm a blogger. Yep. We established that a few posts back. But here's my dilemma.... Am I a writer because I get paid to write? Or because writing is my creative outlet? Or both? Or neither?
If I write an article for a magazine or newspaper and I am paid that feeds the belief that I am a writer. If I blog and I'm not paid--in the same manner as a print article--does that feed the same belief that I'm a writer/blogger?
The reason I ask is that frequently, as a writer, I've been asked by friends about their becoming a writer. I recommend a few books, wish them luck and, if they find their skin is thick enough, we enjoy future discussions about this editor or that one. It's part of the networking of writers. But go to a writers' conference and, friendly and fun as it may be, we're all in line to pitch the same editor, competing with one another. Just as my mentoring writer friends did with me, when my friends want to understand how the business works and I'm happy to encourage them, suggest some books and then let them go find their way.
Blogging seems to work in the reverse. At blogging conferences, it seems, there is a joi d'vivre and everyone is happy to see and meet everyone else. There isn't the same competition. My blog is mine, yours is yours. We reach different audiences and I don't have to convince an editor to buy my ideas or words.
More and more I'm being approached to talk to friends and acquaintances who want to start their own blog. But blogging has a technical and business element that is missing from writing for magazines. The talks are more in depth, balancing technology, terminology and the business of writing. Is it wrong to want to monetize these talks? Do you have this dilemma? I hope this analogy works, but could it be the difference between the casual cocktail party conversation talking about your health with a doctor and making an appointment to actually talk to a doctor?

Elizabeth King Humphrey is a creativity coach and the moderator/main blogger for CoastalCarolinaMoms. She is also a freelance writer and can hardly wait to stop thinking money and starting thinking creativity...or at least gardening. Check it out at TheWriteElizabeth. In between answering comments, she'll be playing in the dirt...flower and vegetable seeds at the ready.

Tips to Make Money from Your Blog

With the economy the way that it is, every little bit helps. You have a blog, so why not make money from it? Some bloggers tout a steady income somewhere in the six-figure range, but that's only possible if you have a huge following and a ton of traffic. You also have to be somewhat of what I like to call a "shilli vanilli"--a shill, or a used car salesman. While that might work for some people, I prefer the natural route with a little kick-start. Here are some resources to get you started.

Sponsored Blog Content Networks

These are sites that connect you with advertisers who pay you to write about their product or website. The key to this is finding a product or website you like. You write about it, post it, and get paid for the content.

PayPerPost: https://payperpost.com/blogger_signup.html
Sponsored Reviews: https://www.sponsoredreviews.com/
Review Me: https://www.reviewme.com/bloggers.php

Pay Per Click Ad Networks

These ad networks work by advertisers bidding for keywords. Words that are highly sought after get higher bids and bloggers whose content matches those keywords earn more per click.

Google AdSense: https://www.google.com/adsense
Yahoo Publisher Network: https://publisher.yahoo.com/
Microsoft Ad Center: https://adcenter.microsoft.com/
Adbrite: https://www.adbrite.com
Kontera: https://kontera.com

Product Based Pay Per Click

These are the same as above but they focus on products. They match up relevant products to the content you write.

Chitika: https://chitika.com/
TTZ Media: https://www.ttzmedia.com/
WidgetBucks: https://www.widgetbucks.com/

Affiliate and Associate Programs

Affiliate programs let you pick specific products you want to promote and you make money from the sales. This works when you find a product you believe in and want to recommend it.

FruitFul Time: https://www.fruitfultime.com/fruitfultime_affiliates.php
Commission Junction: https://www.cj.com/
Clickbank: https://www.clickbank.com

Those are some resources to get you started. Of course, there's always selling your own ad space by putting up an Adrates page, which is probably the best way to go if you have a lot of traffic. That way, you can tailor campaigns to fit your advertiser's needs, and you're in charge of who advertises on your website or blog. But, if you don't have a lot of traffic, you can still make money from promoting affiliate products or using pay per click ads. You have a blog, why not make money from it? Try a few things out and figure out what works best for you. There will be trial and error, as with anything, but you'll have a better idea of what your readers respond to, and you'll get paid to write what you love!