Now that you have your blog set up, as well as ideas on how you can get content to it, it’s time to think about how you will be getting some visitors to it. There are some ways to optimize your blog in order to receive the maximum amount of traffic, without spending money on advertising. Some of these ways are actually quite simple and can be implemented on a regular basis. Here is how you can get some high quality readers to your blog and keep them coming back:

• Research Your Keywords

This applies to both your blog post categories, as well as the posts that you will be making. Research the keywords that you would expect readers to search for on search engines like Bing and Google. Do a comparison of the different keywords, such as their search volume and competition level. Select the right keywords to describe your categories. For your posts, include the keywords in a natural way. This is very important, as to ensure that your posts stay legible and not simply stuffed with keywords, you will need to include them in a fully natural way.

• Include Sharing and Bookmarking Options

Integrate the “big three” social media buttons, such as Google+, Twitter and Facebook with your blog, by having like buttons for your blog itself as well as for individual posts. If there are other social networks that are popular among your readers, include their buttons as well. You should also put in social bookmarking links, such as Digg, Stumbleupon and Delicious, which will further allow your visitors to remember your blog as well as share it with others. An RSS feed would also be a good way to keep your readers loyal by letting them know when new content has been posted to your blog.

• Submit Your Blog to RSS and Blog Directories

There are plenty of free blog directories that you can submit your blog to. Take advantage of them. Even if they may not bring you too much exposure in the beginning, a few visitors a day could rapidly turn into hundreds of visitors if your content is engaging enough for these visitors to share your content with others online.

• Distribute a Press Release Regarding Your Blog

When you’re just starting out and have started adding some content to your new blog, distributing a press release about your blog could be a good way to get some attention. Press releases are often held in high regard by the “News” section of search engines, especially Google. You can find plenty of free information online on how to write an effective press release, what information to include in it, as well as where to distribute it so that you will get maximum exposure for your blog. This is one of the best ways to get some attention going to your new blog and can very well get you your first loyal readers if they like the topic of your blog and its content.

Times are tough, and everyone is looking for ways to bring in a little extra money. It’s tough to figure out which methods work, and which don’t, but we’re here to help you sort it all out.

Contrary to popular belief, you can actually make some money doing online surveys and responding to email promotion offers, just not a lot of it. Small tasks like this bring in small amounts of money, but if you’re just looking to spend a little bit of time every day working towards making some extra spending money, surveys are a great way to go about it. We highly recommend treating small tasks as something of a holiday fund. If you do a lot of surveys throughout the year, and put the money they bring in aside, you might find you have a nice chunk of spending money for your next vacation.

There are a lot of opportunities for an aspiring writer to make some money online. Many sites will provide writing jobs if you can show some proficiency as a wordsmith. You’ll usually have to submit a resume, or a writing sample, so be prepared to show some credentials. Once you’re in with one of these sites, they’ll provide gigs on a regular basis. The pay isn’t always tip top, but if you can turnaround the work quickly, it will definitely be worth your time.

Signing up for Amazon and Ebay affiliate programs can also bring in a nice chunk of change. You’ll need a little bit of web design skill for this one, but the investment in time is worth the yield. Set up a site with good information about a wide variety of products, and place Ebay and Amazon ads for those products on the site. For each person that buys the product, you’ll get a small percentage of the sale. This also works through a twitter account, just be careful not to come across as being spammy.

Setting up a full fledged affiliate site takes a lot more time and research than the above-mentioned Amazon and Ebay method, but the yield is worth the work. By doing some research on what companies have high paying affiliate programs, and what questions people have about their products, you can create a highly effective site that markets products to the people that are looking for them.

Some advertisers offer Pay Per Click programs, where (as the name implies) you get paid each time someone clicks on one of your ads. The pay out is usually small, and advertisers often have very specific terms and conditions dictating how you can use their ads. If you have a high traffic website in place already, PPC ads can put a little extra cash in your pocket, just make sure you’re following the rules.

There are other ways to make money online, these are just some of the more popular ones. Before diving into any of the above mentioned methods, or something we didn’t cover, be sure to do some research. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. If you do your homework, and work diligently, you’ll find yourself with a full fledged second income in no time.