1) What publishing platform / content management system / blogging tool do you use? E.g. Blogger, Wordpress, SquareSpace, etc. And are you happy with it? Pros and cons?
WordPress.org on Bluehost.
As envious as Google may be of WordPress, I think that WP is going to stay the 800-pound gorilla of blogging for quite a while. I also think it's difficult for Google to out-innovate the open-source software community.
Bluehost has been trashed by many customers, and Bluehost has probably earned that reputation, but so far they've treated me fine. The one time I needed to phone them up they were able to show that the problem was with the ISP... and they even showed me how to "motivate" my ISP to fix their ragged gear.
2) How much does it cost to run your blog? (Include one-off costs and ongoing costs e.g. website design, hosting, domain registrations, maintenance, etc.)
I forget the price, but whatever special/discount offer they have and for as long a period as possible.
If you're going to seriously commit to blogging, then shelling out for a three-year contract will make you serious about your commitment. If you decide to bail out before three years, then the extra length of the contract may earn you a few extra bucks when you sell your blog on Flippa.
3) Do you earn any money from your blog (or as a result of it)? If so, how much, and with what methods?
I blogged for two years on WordPress.COM because I was marketing a book, not monetizing a blog. When I decided to start earning money on the blog with AdSense, I already had a modest audience and my first month's income was over $100. 10 months later when I sold the blog, I was earning over $250/month. The new owner has doubled the traffic and is probably earning double that.
Google AdSense, individual corporate ads, Amazon Associates (including an aStore of resources), sponsored posts ($50-$100 per post), and paid links. The new owner started up some affiliate programs with military-friendly companies like USAA.
The reason I'm curious is because I'm thinking about starting up another blog, which hopefully won't cost too much, and also, hopefully, may bring in income or job opportunities, and I am considering using a different platform. While I like Blogger, it's blocked in China, and the new blog is going to have a lot of travel content, so it's not the ideal mix.
WordPress has plenty of plugins and themes for managing multiple blogs via one interface. The owner of The-Military-Guide.com has at least two other blogs that he manages through one multi-site plugin.
I must note that the earnings are not from Google Ads, though I have recently installed one unit on the sidebar, but so far the income is negligible. I also personally dislike intrusive ads, so they're all on the sidebar, which means they may get less attention (and therefore less profit), but I'm fine with that.
Great intentions, but that's why people use ad blockers. You could load up your blog with Google AdSense (three ads per page), two Google search boxes, and link units. You could also have AdSense automatically serve mobile ads to your mobile readers.
In the meantime you're hurting yourself. The people who "dislike intrusive ads" are going to use an ad blocker. The people who complain about intrusive ads should either start using an ad blocker or should just go somewhere else. (I had only one complaint in 10 months while steadily building readers and income.) The people who don't use ad blockers actually seem to enjoy seeing your ads, and they'll click on them, and they'll bring in a lot of Amazon affiliate income.
I'm using wordpress.com. I've been actively blogging for just over a year now and I really enjoy it. I do pay for my domain name (maybe $30 a year), but that's it. And I don't make any money on the blog. My understanding from reading the fine print is that you generally can't monetize a blog using wordpress.com. I'm thinking of starting a new blog/transitioning over to a blog on wordpress.org so that I can monetize it. Has anyone done this? Any good resources you can direct me to? This is all new to me, so I'll probably have s steep learning curve.
I don't know if WordPress.COM still has their WordAds program, but my experience was that I could make at least 10x on WordPress.ORG with the other advertising options... and that was after expenses.
I used BlogCrafted.com to do the switch. If you sign up for Bluehost through BlogCrafted's site then he gets a huge affiliate commission from Bluehost, and he'll give you a huge discount on his fee. I signed up for a Bluehost account (through BlogCrafted's affiliate link) and then handed over my passwords to Scott at BlogCrafted. He made the whole move happen in under 48 hours, and then I started doing the ads.
You can also outsource all of your blog's advertising to Crystal Stemberger at BudgetingInTheFunStuff.com. She takes 25% of the gross but she'll show you how to implement (and ramp up) all of those programs mentioned above. Her skills will probably earn you more money (even after her cut) than you'll earn on your own.
Two other suggestions:
1. Consider signing up for Bloggers Helping Bloggers (BlogMentoring.com) or some other support group. They help you articulate what you're trying to do and force you to commit to it.
2. Consider attending a blogger conference in your niche-- like FinCon14 for personal finance bloggers. You want something relatively small (100-500 bloggers) with enough room for individual attention where you can network, inspire, and persevere.