While it’s not garnering quite as much interest as a few years ago, blogging is still very hot. Millions of people already have blogs, and thousands begin them every day. There is a buzz about the money making potential of blogs, too, with countless guides, articles and e-books on how best to do this.

Most of these center around these basic methods: serving ads such as AdSense, Performancing Ads, and Widget Bucks; putting affiliate links up; and writing reviews.

While these are all tried and true methods, all except the last need a lot of traffic to bring in some cash. AdSense in particular will only be profitable if the blogger is drawing in thousands of hits per day.

So now, with so many people starting blogs and using these techniques in the hope of earning an income, the market is becoming increasingly saturated. There are many people who work hard for months and end up with nothing to show for it. Understandably they are bitterly disappointed. Some subsequently give up blogging entirely.

That’s unfortunate. Just because you’re not making money directly off your blog it doesn’t mean you’ve failed. In my opinion the best approach is to look way ahead, and stop seeing your blog as an end in itself. Instead, think of it as an adjunct to something else; a branding tool and a profile raiser.

You’ve got all that material up there, remember. You can rejig it somewhat and turn it into a book through one of the blog-to-book sites such as Lulu, and start promoting that. (And even if it doesn’t sell one copy, you’ve still got a book to your name!)

You might not want to do this. But you can still take your blog posts, rewrite them substantially and turn them into articles. If you post these to article directories you can lift your profile even higher.

Your blog posts and articles will keep appearing occasionally in various searches and you’ll start to get known for your knowledge and skills. You’ll gradually develop a kind of niche-related internet fame. Subsequently, every now and then people will start Googling your name directly. They’ll see your blog and article directory profile, listing all your articles. People will be impressed at all the knowledge you’ve accumulated. Needless to say this will confer substantial credibility.

This is extremely valuable for anyone selling any kind of product or service. And even if you aren’t selling anything yet, you might end up doing so when you realize your knowledge is so respected and in demand.

So, don’t give up that blog just yet. It doesn’t matter what you do, just keep posting about what you love and know about. It will pay off eventually, quite probably in ways you haven’t even thought of yet!