Type 'how to make money blogging' into Google and you'll choke on a pile of spammy-sounding search results telling you how, if you'd only give up your e-mail address or credit card number, you'd learn the secret to living like a billionaire on your pajama-based blogging income.

I've been making a living publishing a blog (my full-time income, supporting a family of four) since 2008, and as a supplemental income since 2006, and blogging as a hobby since 2003, so I guess I'm as qualified to speak on the subject as anyone else. Plus, I don't want your credit card number.

The bottom line: there's no secret to making money on a blog. It's the same as making money from anything. It's mostly perseverance, hustle, and the willingness to keep trying.