Working from home has become more important than ever as families make hard decisions. Decisions that require them to consider additional choices when it comes to the way they earn income. 

Reasons to Keep Your Options Open

There are many reasons why people need options when it comes to the way they earn a living.  Here are a few: 

• The first issue has to do with making a living wage that provides not only the necessities, but money that is left over at the end of the month once the bills are paid.
  
  Many people are working each day, but their wages are not keeping up with the rising cost of everything.
  
  
• There's a need to consistently earn from more than one source, without having to get a second job or work a lot of extra hours.
  
  
• There is a need to have more control over working conditions from a health and safety perspective.
  
  
• And finally, there's a need to have more flexibility and time. Time to spend on personal development, to care for loved ones, to replace lost income.
  

A Different Way to Earn

There is a category of people who are earning online with a home business they run on a full or part time basis. These are not remote workers in the traditional sense. 

They are not tied to a traditional job, they have no boss and they are free to earn on a schedule that meets their needs. 

They are entrepreneurs who work in a number of industries, and with a wide variety of knowledge, experiences and interests. 

They have learned that by writing, teaching and informing a specific audience of people who are looking for what they have to offer, that it's possible to earn full time or supplemental income.

They earn income from a blog that serves their audience in a number of different ways, from a number of different sources.

Some bloggers create their own products and services, some source products from other entities, some work as affiliates and some work as consultants.  

Some workers in this category also work as contractors and freelance workers for other companies. 

Cut the Cord to the 9 to 5

Imagine earning income from writing, creating videos, using creative skills and pulling together resources that enables you to share information about any number of topics and subjects that you choose! 

Think of how great it would be to have a marketing tool that's affordable and easy to set up, that enables you to take your hobbies, interests and passions and turn them into an income generating opportunity!

Imagine a process that lets you help people solve problems in your niche. 

The one thing that makes bloggers different is that they have made (or are making) the transition to cut the cord the traditional employee/employer model. 

They have transitioned to a new way of earning and they no longer look at the traditional 9 to 5 as the only way to earn.

They have found a combination of income opportunities that is beneficial to their needs.

These bloggers have more options, (even if they are working a 9 to 5) that keeps their finances from completely falling apart if they are suddenly laid off, demoted or fired. 

Having a blog means you are free to earn from a number of sources, some of which are passive income sources. 

This is the category of online workers that are the focus of this post. 

A Historical Perspective

There was a time when the only option available to workers in certain industries was working a traditional 9 to 5 job.  

Yes, it was stable, and yes it provided a good way for the average family to live a great middle class lifestyle.

In the past, traditional 9 to 5 jobs paid a living wage, and made it feasible to have disposable income that could be invested or saved. If you ad a college degree or technical training, you could earn even more. 

Today those great jobs still exist but they are not as plentiful or stable. You may hum along well for a number of years and then for any number of reasons the job can simply disappear.

In the past, if additional money was needed, someone in the household would get a second job.

Having a second job used to be something temporary that was meant to pay off a specific debt or put money back for a raining day.

Today without a second job, many families would not be able to make it. And the second job represents not getting ahead, but being able to place food on the table.

A second job means working weekends, overtime or another job altogether, after working a 9 to 5. 

Working evenings, weekends and overtime can result in burn out, ill health and even less time with family.

A Second Source of Income Without Leaving Home

As you can see from the image below, a blog can benefit your business by serving as a central hub.

Smart bloggers send readers, visitors, prospects and customers to their blog.This gives them an opportunity to learn the details about their company, products and services. 

There was a time when blogs were more of an online diary where people discussed their hobbies and thoughts about a number of different topics.

These kinds of blogs still exist, and they serve a significant purpose.  

However today's blogs also serve as a central hub that fuels income opportunities from around the globe.  

It helps people from a number of backgrounds and industries earn additional income.

The best thing about having a blog is that it's easy to set up and affordable to run.

How Blogging Can Help Your Business

The biggest benefit of blogging is that it helps entrepreneurs leverage their activities.  

Leverage in this context means that you're using something to it's maximum advantage.  And as an entrepreneur, your goal is to leverage everything that can help you gain more traffic, leads and sales that will benefit your business. 

When you are able to give a sales presentation or product demonstration to hundreds of people at once, versus talking to one person at a time, that's leverage. 

When you hit "publish" on a blog post once and it reaches an audience of thousands who are actively looking for your solutions, products and services, that's leverage. 

Think about everything you do as an entrepreneur, from content creation, in person meetings and events, distribution, social media activity, activity on forums and paid advertising.  

A blog can help you leverage these activities, providing central hub that everything points to.

This gives visitors and customers a consistent location that serves much like a brick and mortar business, to help visitors understand more about your expertise with interactions that they can access and purchase when needed.

Customers and readers can make referrals and help you spread the word about your business that can result in new leads and new customers.

How Blogging Helps You Work from Home

Blogging has transitioned to a much needed business tool that can be monetized and used to create leverage. A blog works 24/7 as a source of passive income (income you earn while you do other things) that you can earn from home.

As today's job market changes from day to day, people are becoming more interested in the flexibility and opportunities to earn passive income that a home business can provide.

Without a blog or a central location online, it might be hard for potential customers who are not in your local community to know who you are, what you do and how you can help them. 

A Platform That Allows You to Promote Without Being Pushy

There are two things that any business needs: (1) a product or service to sell and (2) an audience of people who want to buy that product. 

A blog provides a platform that allows you to promote without being spammy and obnoxious, while building an audience.

For these reasons and more, a blog is a great option for many families because blogging gives them the flexibility needed to deal with today's every changing world. 

Our free blogging course walks you through setting up a blog in a few simple steps. It will walk you through getting started with your work from home journey.