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A blog can make you money in two ways: directly and indirectly.

Indirectly, a blog extends your existing marketing efforts. It enables you to save time, move faster and generate better search engine rankings, so that more people find you.

Once people find you, they can grab your white paper, sign up for your newsletter, join your online forum, or attend your seminars. They can also see that you have upcoming events or new products and services, so they’ll go to your main Web site more often.

By using your blog to get more people engaged with your Web site, you can convert more prospects into paying customers.

One of the great things about a blog is that you can link back and forth from your blog to your Web site. You can also use a blog to poll your audience and conduct customer research that assists with the development of new products and service.

A blog should be more than a one-way communication tool. Of course, you give people relevant information in the form of white papers, product updates and newsletters. But to build your business, a blog needs to be interactive. Think of it as a customer-service survey that never ends, so that you’re always getting feedback from your target audience.

Perhaps most important, a blog can be a powerful lead-generation tool. Use it to increase readership for your newsletter, build your client database, and get more prospects to the place where you can convert them into paying customers.

Cha-Ching!

How do you make money directly with a blog?

Through advertising or affiliate commission-based products.

Visitors come to your blog to get information about a certain topic. If they see advertising or affiliate products that are in line with that topic, they will click on those links, making you money in the process.

For example, suppose your blog deals with debilitating foot pain. On the right side of the page, you might have a large banner ad for a new kind of orthopedic shoe. People won’t consider the ad intrusive or inappropriate because it relates to the content they’re looking for.

In fact, many will click on the ad to see if it presents a solution to their problem. You then get paid, either by the click or as a percentage of the sale if the visitor actually buys the product.

To maximize your blog’s earning potential, avoid “interruption” advertising. Online, people want fast access to information, but only if it is relevant. Anything that interrupts their attention by not being relevant is a waste of their time. Not only will people not click on the ad, they will likely not return to your blog.

Remember that you’re building a loyal fan base with your blog. These are people who come to you for reliable information on the subject they’re interested in. If your advertising doesn’t align with the content of your blog, it will destroy your credibility as a provider of reliable information, and people won’t come back to your blog.

This post is the fourth in a series of excerpts from OneCoach CEO John Assaraf’s interview with award-winning blogger Andy Wibbels, author of “Blog Wild.” You can see his blog here.