How to Monetize Your Blog
Sell advertising space on your blog., Sign up for an affiliate program, where you directly market certain products to readers., Offer your services to your loyal readers., Promote and sell other products aimed at your audience., Mix and match your...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Sell advertising space on your blog.
All blog platforms allow you to sell ad space, which generally gives a few cents every time someone clicks on the ad.
The most popular option, Google Adsense, allows you to place ads that are related to the subject matter of your blog, giving fifty cents for each click.
While you generally only get one click per thousand visitors, it can add up if you have enough readers.Ads are perhaps the easiest way to make money, but remember that you need enormous readership to make this possible.
What's more, many readers are turned off by the sight of ads, which drags them away from your content.
Other sites to sell ads include Kontera, IDG, and Tribal Fusion. -
Step 2: Sign up for an affiliate program
This is a more targeted form of advertising, where you directly reach out to a company you personally like enough to vouch for.
Look to see if companies you already love or write about have an "affiliate program." Whenever you recommend or talk about a product (putting a link in your blog) you'll get a few bucks every time someone buys it.
Most affiliate programs simply give you a specific link.
When the readers click it, they are brought to the site to buy the product, and you get a quick kick-back., Are you a financial guru giving advice on your blog? Then offer some basic, paid financial services for your readers to purchase.
If you're a writer, offer to help edit and revise, give lessons, or ghostwrite.
Find the areas where you can charge for your expertise, letting your blog posts be the "advertisements" that prove your abilities.
Other options include:
Creating artwork or photography Coaching or training in a specific niche, including blog writing/creation Graphic design Speaking/lecture engagements Social media management., Your blog is often just the front-door for your business.
It gets people engaged and involved with free content, building up a market of readers who would buy your actual product.
For example, you might be a humor writer working on a comic book
-- you can be sure the fans of your blog posts will be the first people to buy your book.You could also sell:
Themed clothing or T-shirts Accessories, crafts, and little knick-knacks (ex. a bottle opener for a beer blog) E-books Courses or teaching videos Membership to exclusive content Original artwork., At the end of the day, getting full-time cash from a blog is full-time work.
Without a varied, multi-level approach you will find it hard to make much cash from any one of the methods discussed above.
Instead, find a mix of strategies that work for you: 2-3 ads, several services, and t-shirt/book sales, for example.You should always give your readers content, not just advertising.
Build trust first, money later.At the end of the day, a blog is a marketing service and content provider, not a business.
The more actually services/things you can "sell," like in a real business, the better you'll be at making money. -
Step 3: where you directly market certain products to readers.
-
Step 4: Offer your services to your loyal readers.
-
Step 5: Promote and sell other products aimed at your audience.
-
Step 6: Mix and match your monetization sources for the best results.
Detailed Guide
All blog platforms allow you to sell ad space, which generally gives a few cents every time someone clicks on the ad.
The most popular option, Google Adsense, allows you to place ads that are related to the subject matter of your blog, giving fifty cents for each click.
While you generally only get one click per thousand visitors, it can add up if you have enough readers.Ads are perhaps the easiest way to make money, but remember that you need enormous readership to make this possible.
What's more, many readers are turned off by the sight of ads, which drags them away from your content.
Other sites to sell ads include Kontera, IDG, and Tribal Fusion.
This is a more targeted form of advertising, where you directly reach out to a company you personally like enough to vouch for.
Look to see if companies you already love or write about have an "affiliate program." Whenever you recommend or talk about a product (putting a link in your blog) you'll get a few bucks every time someone buys it.
Most affiliate programs simply give you a specific link.
When the readers click it, they are brought to the site to buy the product, and you get a quick kick-back., Are you a financial guru giving advice on your blog? Then offer some basic, paid financial services for your readers to purchase.
If you're a writer, offer to help edit and revise, give lessons, or ghostwrite.
Find the areas where you can charge for your expertise, letting your blog posts be the "advertisements" that prove your abilities.
Other options include:
Creating artwork or photography Coaching or training in a specific niche, including blog writing/creation Graphic design Speaking/lecture engagements Social media management., Your blog is often just the front-door for your business.
It gets people engaged and involved with free content, building up a market of readers who would buy your actual product.
For example, you might be a humor writer working on a comic book
-- you can be sure the fans of your blog posts will be the first people to buy your book.You could also sell:
Themed clothing or T-shirts Accessories, crafts, and little knick-knacks (ex. a bottle opener for a beer blog) E-books Courses or teaching videos Membership to exclusive content Original artwork., At the end of the day, getting full-time cash from a blog is full-time work.
Without a varied, multi-level approach you will find it hard to make much cash from any one of the methods discussed above.
Instead, find a mix of strategies that work for you: 2-3 ads, several services, and t-shirt/book sales, for example.You should always give your readers content, not just advertising.
Build trust first, money later.At the end of the day, a blog is a marketing service and content provider, not a business.
The more actually services/things you can "sell," like in a real business, the better you'll be at making money.
About the Author
Nicholas Hart
Brings years of experience writing about lifestyle and related subjects.
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