To add stuff to the sidebar, one will have to temper with the template or edit the profile. For this, it will help if you know enough of HTML to be able to do some simple editing. A good place to learn HTML is the W3Schools (close new window to return to this page. Otherwise, you will just have to follow the examples.
To edit the template, log into Dashboard, select the relevant blog, click the TEMPLATE tab (see screenshot). Backup the template by clicking inside the editor, press ctrl+A, right-click, select copy, then paste into Notepad. Save with a suitable name, preferably including the date.
What can one add to the sidebar. Some link lists, Google targeted ads, Amazon ads, an extra paragraph, etc. The easiest way to add links is to edit those already provided in the template. See “How to edit links in the sidebar” (click “BACK” button to return to this page). To add Google AdSense to the sidebar, you first have to have an AdSense account. To find out more about Google AdSense, go to AdSense Alert (close new window to return to this page).
You can apply for an account there as well. If you have an AdSense account, you can go to Generating scripts for your Google ads, searchbar and referral buttons (close new window to get back to this page). This post will guide you as to which part of the template to paste the scrips: Adding content via the template (close new window to return to this page). The same thing will apply for Amazon ads.
To add an extra paragraph, see “How to put a new paragraph in the sidebar” (click “BACK” button to return to this page). If this is not clear enough, add your comments in the comments section, and I’ll see how this post can be improved to make it clearer.