Let’s face it. Social networking sites provide a ton of free traffic.

So, how can this help your blog?

It can help your blog tremendously. Many social networks come equipped with some sort of service, application or gadget that lets members share links with their social friends. If you write a blog, this is a great avenue for you to put every single one of your blog posts in front of each and every one of your friends on the network that you are using. This can provide you with a steady flow of traffic from your social network to your blog for free. If you have properly set-up your blog with quality posts and ads that generate revenue, this traffic increase can also mean an increase in revenue!

It’s easy. Every time that you complete a new post, make sure to share the permalink to the post using your social network’s “share a link” service. Most of these “share a link” services (like the one on Facebook) will actually post a brief summary of your post along with the link to help entice people viewing the link at your social network to click through and continue reading your post. That is, as long as you’ve written something that will attract your friends attention and make them want to read the full story.

Some social networks (like MySpace and Yuwie) even allow you to have your own free blog. If your a blogger with your own stand alone blog, you can use this free blog provided by the social network to post a short summary of your posts that include the permalink back to your original post on your blog. More free, targeted traffic! Another bonus of using this method is that it creates more incoming links to your blog which can help increase your blog’s visibilty in the search engine results. Better visibilty in the search engine results, can also lead to an increase in traffic!

Once you get the hang of spreading your blog posts around the social networks this way, you can branch out and try to place even more links back to your blog throughout the social networks. Many social networks have discussion boards, forums, clubs, groups, etc. that are focused on a particular activity, event, place, or product. Search around your social network and find discussions, clubs, groups etc. that are related to your blog or blog post and add your post summary that includes the permalink back to your blog. Other members of your social network that regularly view that discussion board, forum, club or group will see your summary. Peak their interest and they will visit your blog to read the rest of the story. More free traffic!

Remember, more traffic to your blog means more people are viewing and/or clicking on the money making ads that you have placed on your blog. If you’re blogging about products that you’re selling through your blog or website, more traffic may also provide you with an increase in sales. Don’t expect miracles. It takes a while to develop a strong blog following. Keep writing and posting. Eventually you’re target audience will find you.

Recently, there have been a number of new social networks making a name for themselves by providing a “Revenue Sharing” model for their members. These social networks have decided to reward their user base by sharing a portion of their Advertising Revenue with their members just for using their website.

Revenue sharing social networking websites are often geared less toward larger businesses and more toward individual entrepreneurs, small businesses and multi-level marketers. They usually include some form of paid to refer members or paid to contribute content program. The cornerstone of revenue sharing social networks is their belief that members should benefit from the content they provide and the page views they create. In fact, they often promote their own services by stating that the larger social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook make millions of dollars from advertising revenue on user generated content and page views without sharing a single cent of their advertising profits with their members.

They definitely have a point. Everyday, millions, perhaps even billions of advertisements are being displayed to the masses that visit and use the larger social networking communities. All of that advertising is generating money. If you had the choice, wouldn’t you want to get a piece of that pie? Of course! I know I would!

That’s where the Revenue Sharing networks come in. There are a few different models out there, but they all seem to be backed by the same principle. Use their network and you’ll get something back. Use the other guy’s and you won’t. Two of the most prominent of these networks are Yuwie and myLot. They both operate on a different revenue sharing model, but the basis is the same. Set-up a profile on their site, generate some content, get people to view that content and share in the advertising revenue. They also both have a referral or affiliate program that rewards members for recruiting new members into the network.

Now, while it’s possible to earn money by just joining these networks and regularly contributing content, the real money to be made is in referring others and getting a piece of their action too. This is really no big surprise. If you want to earn money using these networks, you should have to do something for it. No one is just going to give money away. That being said, you don’t have to be a multi-level marketing genius or harrass your friends and family to join the networks in order to make money. Simply use them on a regular basis for the purpose that they were intended.

Be social. Have fun. Share with friends. 

If you have a large group of friends on one of the larger social networks, don’t railroad them with information and invites. Simply suggest that they take a look and point out some of the advantages of the network that you’re inviting them to join. Those that are truly interested will contact you for more information on their own. Don’t make any outrageous claims of fortune. Most people will not make a steady income from these types of sites. However, it is possible to earn enough money to help with the monthly bills, if you work at it. Make sure to explain to those whom you invite, that it will probably take a while to build any sort of income, but getting anything is better than getting nothing. Besides, most people are already doing the same things on the larger social networks for free. Why wouldn’t you want to get paid to do the same things on a different network?

It’s also a good idea to remind people that by joining the new network, they don’t have to stop using the social sites that they’re already using. In fact, they can even use their primary social network to recruit referrals for the revenue sharing network of their choice. This is actually becoming a little more difficult as competing social networks have started to ban advertising for their competitors. Some have security measures in place to block links to certain domains, while others have gone as far as to suspend the accounts of people that promote competitors in their networks. Just make sure to read the Terms of Service at each network before promoting your other network.

Probably the best way to get around such roadblocks is to use the private messaging service provided by your network to inform your friends about the network you’d like them to join. Once they express interest, send the invitation to their personal email address. Please don’t spam. I can’t stress that enough.

If you’d like to learn more about how to make money with revenue sharing social networks, it’s easy. Simply join me on Yuwie or join the discussion on myLot then, add me as a friend. My profile pages have links to advice, helpful blog posts and discussions I have started. You can also send me a private message and I’ll do what I can to help get you started on the right foot.