For people that want to make money online, a number of new opportunities have arisen in recent years. One of the concepts that have been rapidly gaining ground is the use of social media. Rather than using publications that are driven by the large budgets of media companies, social media uses social connections and word of moth to spread information.

There are many social media tools available for use, but the blog is among the most popular. A blog provides a place for someone that has something to say to post their messages and a place for people that are interested in the message to learn more.

Think about the profoundness of that statement for just a moment. Before the days of the internet and social media, the sheer financial cost of spreading a message were prohibitive. You’d either need radio or television time, or a budget sufficient to meet the challenges of national or global publication. Not only do blogs dramatically lessen this cost, but they make the same platform available to just about anyone.

However, there is one down side to using this powerful tool. How do you keep your message from getting lost in all the noise? This is one of the main reasons that social media networking shines through, but even that has some drawbacks. How is someone without the much needed social capital able to break into the social networks in order to take advantage of everything offered?

This is where blog networking can really help. Simply put, a blog network is a group of blogs that are related to specific niches that are grouped together to commercial, as well as other forms of support. Since these networks can take on many forms, generalizing them can often be a challenge, but we have given a few of the broad characteristics and the advantages that each of them offer.

First and foremost, blog networks combine many blogs into a single feed. Ideally you should be able to draw visitors directly to your site, thus generating ad and other revenues directly. However, before you can make money online you must first make your content available to many readers. If those responsible for administering blog networks feel that your content is in keeping with their guidelines, your articles will suddenly be syndicated to however many readers happen to be following that particular network. As such sites are quite convenient for readers with a passion for the topic in question, this number can be quite large. If your posts are interesting enough, readers will visit your site to join the discussion, and suddenly you’ve attracted viewers you’d have missed had you instead focused on drawing traffic directly.

The blog networks will take advantage of social media networking in order to promote their network and their bloggers. It can be rather difficult to integrate you blog into the social networks, especially if you’re not familiar with how the technologies interact and the different opportunities that are available. Since most of the blog networks don’t concern themselves with content, they can focus on promotion. Many blog networks may automatically post links to content on Twitter. If the post has a catchy title, your blog may be retweeted and distributed widely in addition to drawing curious readers.

Another of the benefits of joining blog networks are the relationships that can be formed. For many, blogging can be very lonely work and starting out with no social connections can be very difficult. Even bloggers who would be quite good given time might give up in frustration due to lack of initial support, and the feeling of being a part of something larger. For the new blogger, such support and motivation may be the difference between a enjoying a successful career and something that will be tossed aside in frustration.

There are a number of networks from which to choose, ranging from the general to those focusing on very specific niches. Blog networks also exhibit a wide array of models, from highly informal aggregations of feeds to well-structured businesses with associated benefits and costs. Before committing to join any blog network, research the choices available for your topic, as there are many lists published online. Also, investigate the blogs of network members to ensure that theirs are weblogs with which you wish to associate.

As with most things, blog networks aren’t right for everyone. They are, however, a powerful tool that can help harness the power of social media to your benefit, and should be given serious consideration by anyone wishing to make money online.

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