Six to seven years ago, I never heard of someone getting paid to blog. I remember friends getting paid to write lengthy articles but no one paid attention to people who simply blog. The impression blogs created that time was limited to private posts shared among friends in an online journal community offering free membership accounts. Connecting to a larger audience may be appealing but it was not something everyone was enthusiastic about. Traditional bloggers preferred privacy over their pageranks.

Over the years, the blogosphere has evolved and matured together with its tools. Some realized that visitors online are more concerned about getting information than learn about what someone just ate for breakfast. Bloggers have found their niche in writing some companies could not resist relating their offers to. That’s where blog advertising comes in.

As a marketing professional, I have realized that blogging has become a powerful advertising tool. It outpaces traditional print media in terms of reach, frequency and cost. And the best thing about it? Businessmen get responses straight from their customers.

There is no reason why businessmen should not advertise on blogs. Blog advertising service companies such as Smorty offer both advertisers and bloggers a chance to earn online. It’s basically a partnership. Writers are paid to blog about their opinion on certain products and services offered by advertisers. Each website visit created by the product review would mean sales to advertisers. This program is effective, highly-targeted and cost-efficient.

To those who would like to venture into serious blogging or to businessmen who are exploring other advertising options, there’s money in here if only you knew where to look.