5 Ways I Monetize My Blog
You’ve worked hard to build your blog’s following. Now it’s time to reap the benefits. Here are the top five ways I monetize my blog.
You’ve also spent long hours building your blog with the right format, long-tail keywords, and backlinks. It took a lot of time and effort to get here, but you finally made it to the winner’s circle. Nah, there’s no winner’s circle. Maybe just a better life for you and your family.
Using non-competitive keywords and synonyms throughout your blog works best but only about 1% density. That’s about once every 100 words. Plus, you will want to use it in your image alt text once or twice.
However, now that you have a decent following, it’s time to make some money from your blog so that you can start to live your dreams of pursuing your blog full time. Here is how I monetize my blog, which is the challenge most bloggers face.
1. Use Affiliate Marketing.
I made this number one for a reason. It is by far the easiest method of monetizing your blog, period. You don’t need a product, so there is no inventory or shipping, just profits. What’s more, you can start making money right away.
You do not need to wait until you have a following with affiliate marketing you can use your blog, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or any social media account you have.
Affiliate programs make it easy to earn money from your blog since these are easy to set up. With affiliate programs, companies pay you a commission from products that people purchase. Some even pay you when your readers click on their ads or banners.
Some great examples of affiliate programs are Amazon’s associate program as well as Rakuten’s LinkShare affiliate program. These affiliate programs allow you to have access to a large number of products and services which you can promote online. They handle the billing, so all you must concern yourself with is setting up the direct deposit for collecting funds. I use PayPal.
2. Use Your Blog as a Platform for Selling Services
I use my blog to give my readers insight into how to make money as a Freelance Writer, and I monetize my blog by selling my services. Yes, the majority of my readers are freelance writers themselves, so you may be asking yourself why they would hire me to write for them.
The answer is simple. Freelance writing is like a roller coaster ride. One day you’re up, and the next day you’re down. Some days you are so busy you can’t possibly finish all the assignments you have, let alone work on your website. You must work on your site every week. At least to add a new blog, answer comments, and fix broken links.
Therefore, you might seek out another web content writer or blogger to provide a guest blog or paid article.
Freelance Writers have a much broader area than say a consultant. You can convince people to purchase your consulting services with each well-written blog post that draws in a potential new customer. Writing or using a ghostwriter to write self-help or motivational stories might be an offshoot of your primary service.
I do not design websites or do website optimization, but I have friends that provide those services. Furthermore, I know enough about what needs to get done so that I can write about it. I then refer my readers with a website to my friend who does optimization services to speed up their site. Everyone needs a quick loading site. As long as you can relate it to your specialty, you can blog about it. And maybe, help some friends along the way.
3. You Can Sell Banner Ad Space to Monetize Your Blog.
There are plenty of business owners who are looking to promote their products for a fixed monthly fee. With a banner ad, you can rent out advertising space.
Banner ad space is a consistent income. As long as your advertiser is happy with the results, and they see their banner ad makes money, they will continue to pay for space. It’s easy to do this, as companies such as BuySellAds will let you advertise the banner ad space on their site, and interested advertisers will be able to buy ads.
Another excellent resource is Thalamus, which is a database of advertising companies & publishers, with data & contacts for over 50,000 vendors across the globe. Thalamus also has an easy to use search feature, so if you know the name of the company you would like to approach, you can find it there.
4. Start an Online Store with Amazon and Shopify to Monetize Your Blog.
Why not set up an online store? Many people use Amazon or Shopify, whose motto is, “Whether you sell online, on social media, in-store, or out of the trunk of your car, Shopify has you covered.”
You can sell your products online instead of those of an affiliate. You don’t necessarily have to have anything significant, but instead, you could use a company such as CafePress to create products you design, such as T-Shirts or coffee mugs for your site. For instance, a funny T-Shirt like I Like Big Books and I Cannot Lie. With a profit margin as low as $2, if you sell 50 a day — think about it.
5. You Can Create and Sell an Online Course.
Teach others what you know. You are the Subject Matter Expert (SME), why not get paid by selling that knowledge or information? Information products can be anything from eBooks or PDFs to webinar courses. With these digital products, you will be able to sell your ideas and knowledge inexpensively to customers who are willing to pay for your expertise.
You can also use free eBooks and PDFs to entice readers to register for your email list.
What Is the Bottom Line about Monitizing Your Blog?
So, the answer to the question, how do I monetize my blog, is by writing content people are interested in and want to read. You must hold people’s attention and make them want to read your next blog. If you provide your audience with the answers to their questions, why wouldn’t they come back?
If you implement my ideas and start making money from your blog, chances are you will come back to find out more ways to make money. Am I right?
Ask your visitors to subscribe to your blog. I do that with an exit popup that asks them to register. Then follow-up and let them know when you have something new.
Published On — August 20, 2016, to my Writing Blog
Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my disclosure statement for additional information.
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Stephen Dalton is a retired US Army First Sergeant with a degree in journalism from the University of Maryland and a Certified US English Chicago Manual of Style Editor. He is a freelance journalist currently living in the Philippines.
You can see his portfolio here. Email [email protected] to hire him to write for your website.
You can read more of his stories here: https://medium.com/@stephendalton
