Have you ever thought of the ways that would make your blog popular? And if you have, has Twitter crossed your mind, even as a passing thought? Are you on Twitter these days? If yes, what’s your take on Twitter in comparison with your blog?

Making money blogging is a complex phenomenon for those who haven’t got a handle of things online. While working on content is a full time affair, some may not be able to allot the time required to make their blog a success while others may run out of ideas as to how to keep the blog up and running for ever. The first issue, as always, is to get the basics right – getting a steady flow of ideas and a steady source of stories to blog on is just the beginning.

The origins – Blogs and Twitter: Twitter is a separate topic by itself, the new kid on the block. When e-mails led the way for instant messages, the next star to rise on the horizon was social networking. Blogging was, in its initial phases, just another way to express one’s thoughts, more as an alternative to mailing. Blogging was no more than an online diary of events and happenings. That’s when social networking sites like MySpace gained in popularity as a means to stay in touch with people, virtually, all the time. Blogs went along with social networking as Yahoo tried out with Yahoo 360 and MySpace had its own space to log one’s thoughts.

Simultaneously, blogs grew in popularity when such stories started to get reported in blogs as the ones that were not being reported in what is called “mainstream media”, when blogs grew in clout and became so up-to-date as to start breaking news even before they were reported in the Television. By then, blogs were taken seriously and were reference points for the regular news media. With so many eyeballs getting increasingly glued to blogs and as time spent by the typical user on television started to get diverted into blogs and online assets, blogs became money-making machines. Advertisers became interested in the amount of exposure their brands could get with their online presence and soon, blogs became hot properties. That’s when Twitter entered the scenario.

Micro-Blogging with Twitter: If you own a blog which, as you can now see, could be a steady source of earnings with time, you should give Twitter a favourable consideration and know how to wield it so that your blog gets popular. Twitter is the pioneer in the phenomenon of Micro-blogging, which started off with letting people tell the world what they did last minute. With its Tag Line, “What are you doing”, Twitter implores people to do just that.

But Twitter has grown in popularity so much that it has crossed the thresholds that would define it as being “popular” anymore. Twitter has become a rage! Twitter is being used by the “Who’s Who” of the world to “engage” the audience. Being able to engage audience in real time is the magic wand that Twitter flaunts. So, how do you manage to engage audience in real time, and more importantly, how do you make money with Twitter?

Make Money with Twitter: Serious, no kidding! You can make money out of Twitter as well, if you didn’t know that. But then, it’s not the straight way as you do using blogs. At least in the immediate future, there may not be advertisements posted on Twitter based on what you Tweet, a possibility that is now a reality with blogs. Twitter, however, can help you earn money with your blog. In other words, Twitter is the tool that you can use to make money blogging.

Twitter Helps Blogs: Twitter helps your blog in at least two ways. One, if you have got used to Tweeting and you have started following people of importance to you, you have a steady stream of ideas to blog on. If you blog on politics, for instance, start following people in active politics – prominent personalities right from the US President, the Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, the California Governor Schwarzenegger to The UK Prime Minister’s office, Downing Street are all out there Tweeting you. If you know whom to reach for and follow, you have all the lead stories for your blog.

The next big thing that Twitter can offer you if you are active out there, is to get you readers. You start following people, you start Re-tweeting and people would know you exist. Soon, you would have a list of followers. Once you manage that, start tweeting about your blog posts on Twitter. As Twitter allows just 140 characters at a max, you would have to keep it short. Provide a link to your post and you would soon have traffic trickling your way.

Blog Vs Twitter: The caution with Twitter, however, is to know where to focus your attention and effort on. When you notice a story that you want to tell your folks, you may be tempted to go out there and Tweet about it. Yes, you would have readers. But you need to remember that you started using Twitter in the first place with the sole purpose of getting publicity for your blog. If you keep tweeting, you may become popular on the Twitter but Twitter by itself is not going to pay you a penny. And back-links on blogs would help you anyday!

Twitter gives you traffic and hits for your blog – as long as you know how to use it to monetise your blog contents. As long as you know where Twitter stands in the bigger picture, go Tweet!