freelance writer blogs--tool/media to generate revenue?

I do it because I like sharing what I've learned, but yes, it has earned me money. I make money through Adsense, affiliates and Infolinks.

Just like Ali, I write my main blog to share things i have learned along the way in hopes that it benefits someone out there. I make a few book sales and Adsense on my main blog. Indirectly I have my business page on the blog and have picked up a few clients from there.

I think the time investment is well worth it. As far as the ROI, it is two-fold. Yea a make a little income from my main blog but the biggest ROI is just knowing someone received something useful from the post. Sounds cheesy I know, but my main income comes from product blogs and affiliate sites/content sites.

If you're a nonfiction writer specializing in a topic of interest to a fairly wide audience - and you have some credibility in that area (e.g. you've written a book about it, are considered an expert in the field, etc) - it should be fairly easy to land a paying gig blogging on an existing commerical website(s) dealing with that topic. You're probably not going to be able to survive on that blogging income alone, but it can provide a steady paycheck, and it allows you to expand your platform and be paid to do it at the same time.

When I started writing full-time six years ago, only about 3% of my income was from online writing. Now this year, for the first time, more than half of my income will come from online gigs (both blogging and online features), even though my income from book and print work will also be at an all-time high. Of my online income, about one third is from two regular blogging gigs I have. Although blogging isn't my favorite type of writing, it's pretty quick and easy, with minimal editing and other hassles.

Good luck!