Writing is one of those careers where you could either have a big success or have no success at all. The difficulties of obtaining a publisher to print and sell your book or a magazine to publish your column can't be overemphasised. As luck would have it, this picture of a writer may already be a thing of the past, thanks to recent technical improvements.

While in the old days, people in the writing profession had to depend on others to earn; writers today can generate an income from their craft by turning their passion into a business. Tough as it may sound, this can be quite easy to accomplish with the use of blogs.

Whether you are new to blogging or you are a seasoned blogger, earning money with a blog is something that you can fulfill. Here are some hints and tips to give you a push in the right direction:

1. Google AdSense - You can earn money from Google by using their AdSense service. You need to make your blog in advance then get in touch with Google and apply to be a Publisher. If they sanction your site, you will be able to create code which make AdSense advertisements show on your site. These adverts will be relevant to the subject matter of your pages and you will earn cash when your visitors click on the ads. This will be calculated by Google dependent on the amount that the advertiser paid for the ad slot.

For instance, if you published an article on your blog about internet marketing, then the AdSense ad units would be to do with that subject. You will, however, have to wait for your profit to reach $100, or the equivalent in your currency, before you can get paid.

2. Affiliate programs - a lot of internet businesses offer affiliate programs. You register as an affiliate and when authorised, you get access to various types of advertisements. Some of these, such as links and banners can be applied on your site. When an individual buys through a link on your blog, you earn commission. Some decent large affiliate programs are Amazon, LinkShare and Commission Junction and there are loads of smaller companies that offer affiliate programs also.

3. Sell space on your blog. The disadvantage of AdSense and affiliate programs is that you do not truly have much control of your earnings and the ads that are shown on your blog. If you want to play in earnest in the ad selling game, then you can use BlogAds which is a free database where you can set prices for advertisers to post your blog. Some companies look for blogs that match their products and services and rent ad space the way they do with those traditional billboards you find along the motorway. Your ad space can then be leased for a certain period of time. You would just need to pay 20 percent of your earnings to BlogAd.

4. Start a gift shop. If your blog becomes popular enough that you get lots of visitors every day, then you may profit from selling gifts. Don't think that you have to make them yourself or stock them either because there is a company called CafePress which will do it for you. CafePress will sell mugs, T-shirts and more, all with your own images on them. The selling price is up to you; you just have to pay them the basic price of the products.

Making money from a web site is not as difficult as it seems, but of course like in any other money making venture, you still have to graft at it.