Monetizing your blog is not as easy as it looks. You have to work hard every day until you reach that level of success where people talk about how awesome they are because of what you did. That's the dream anyway right? If you're just starting out blogging then this article will help you learn the basics of monetization so you can start generating income with minimal effort.
If you want to know how to create passive income online, this post is for you!
There are several methods in which you can generate revenue from your blog or website. In fact there are so many different options available but if you ask me "how does one monetize a blog?" I would answer very simply by saying - It depends on what type of site you own and what kind of content you provide. So let us break down some basic ideas here.
1.) Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing means selling other peoples products through affiliate links (or sometimes product ads). To be honest, affiliate marketing is probably the most popular way to earn money online today. We recommend using Amazon Associates since its free to sign up and has lots of great tools and training materials. Another example would be ClickBank.com which offers thousands of digital downloads you could sell to your readers. The best part is once someone clicks on your link and purchases something, you keep 100% of all commission payments like we mentioned above.
2.) Sell Your Own Products Or Services
This is another method where you would offer your services directly to your audience instead of trying to force them into buying things they don't need. An excellent example of this is creating eBooks & courses. Nowadays everyone wants to buy information online rather than going somewhere else. This helps build trust between yourself and your customers. Also when they purchase something from you, they feel obligated to give back testimonials about their experience. When building credibility, always try to deliver quality service. People who receive good value usually come back for more. Once you establish a loyal customer base, you'll find getting paid easier and faster.
3.) Create A List And Sell Subscribers
Another option is having an opt-in list of subscribers who pay monthly to access your articles & newsletters. One thing you should remember though is that these types of subscriptions are extremely important. They allow you to grow over time without spending too much money at any given point. For instance, if you were able to gather 1,000 email addresses per month with $20 spent on traffic generation techniques such as SEO, PPC or social media advertising, then imagine what you'd be doing with 20K emails in your inbox. Of course this isn't a simple process unless you already have built a strong following and established brand name. However, the idea behind this strategy is giving away high-quality valuable info before asking anything in return.
4.) Build Up Your Email Lists With Free Content On Your Blog
One of the easiest ways to gain subscriber loyalty is writing informative posts on various topics related to your niche market. Then include a little form near the bottom asking visitors to subscribe to your newsletter via RSS feed. By offering relevant new content regularly, you'll continue attracting viewers to stay tuned for future updates. These followers may even end up becoming real life friends.
5.) Offer Advertising Space On Your Site
You can also take advantage of ad space on blogs and websites. There are hundreds of companies willing to advertise on sites that attract targeted audiences within certain demographics. As a beginner blogger, you might not think that your small blog could ever compete against big corporations but believe it or not, you actually have a lot to bring to the table. First off, you understand your target demographic better than anyone, meaning you have unique insight in knowing exactly what interests your ideal reader. Secondly, you can leverage your existing network to promote those same brands and advertisers. Thirdly, you can use your knowledge of current events to write compelling headlines that draw attention immediately. Finally, you can offer higher conversion rates than traditional banner advertisements due to your ability to appeal to potential buyers' emotions.
6.) Write Guest Posts For Other Websites
Writing guest posts for other reputable websites is another way to increase your exposure while making extra cash at the same time. Try searching for topic directories in your niche market first. Next, contact the webmasters of top ranking sites and see whether they accept unsolicited submissions. Afterward, submit proposals containing your original thoughts and opinions. Make sure to leave your bio box filled out with your credentials and contact details. Lastly, make sure your proposal contains useful facts as well as key callouts highlighting why you consider yourself qualified enough to contribute.
7.) Become An Expert At What You Do Through Video Tutorials & Podcast Episodes
Video tutorials are an inexpensive yet effective way to teach others how to perform specific tasks. Take for instance, learning Photoshop skills. All you need is a webcam, microphone and editing software. Simply record voice commentary explaining each step of whatever task you're teaching. Then upload your video onto YouTube and Vimeo. Since most Internet users watch videos rather than read words, this strategy is highly recommended for beginner bloggers looking to expand their horizons. Remember, however, that you must remain consistent with providing helpful content consistently. Otherwise, viewers won't stick around long enough to enjoy your latest tutorial series.
And lastly, podcast episodes are similar to video tutorials except you only broadcast audio. Just listen closely to podcasts whenever possible, and never forget to add short descriptions of your main points throughout the recording. Although podcasting requires slightly more technical skill compared to filming videos, it doesn't cost nearly as much either. Plus, listeners love hearing your voice. Not to mention, this method works especially well with mobile devices since they require less bandwidth.
How can I monetize a blog for beginners? was written by James Frew, founder of MyBlogGuides.net. He spends his days researching the latest opportunities in the world of internet business. His goal is to share this vast amount of knowledge with fellow entrepreneurs, hoping it will inspire them to achieve greater heights. My favorite quote comes from Robert Kiyosaki author Rich Dad Poor Dad: "The rich didn't become wealthy sitting on their asses waiting for luck." Instead, he believes they took action and made decisions everyday that helped shape their destiny. "It's not about being lucky," says Kiyosaki. "It's about choosing to be lucky!"
Blogging is hard work – especially if you're just starting out or are looking to earn some extra income through blogging. However, there's no need to worry because it doesn't have to be difficult. You don't even necessarily need any technical skills. All that really matters is how passionate you are about writing content around topics related to your niche.
If you want to learn more about what kind of money bloggers make online in 2019 (as well as earlier years), keep reading below.
This question has two parts: What methods exist for making money on a new blog post, and how should you use those methods most effectively when first getting started with blogging?
The easiest way to start earning money straight off the bat with your own blog is by using one of many affiliate programs available online. Affiliate marketing involves promoting other people's products and services while receiving commissions based on purchases made directly via your site. When someone clicks on an ad displayed on your website, buys something, then completes a purchase form at checkout, you receive a commission. The great thing about this method is that you only pay affiliates once they've reached their monthly payout threshold. This means that you'll never have to deal with customer support issues, refunds, etc., which all take valuable time away from running your business. If you're interested in learning more about affiliate marketing, check out our beginner's guide to affiliate marketing here.
Another quick but effective option is displaying Amazon ads on your pages. These will show up alongside articles and posts rather than at the top and bottom of each page like traditional banner advertisements. As long as you include them properly within the code provided by Amazon, these ads will appear across multiple platforms without slowing down load times. There are also apps that allow users to click and buy items simply by tapping a button on screen. For example, TapJoy allows publishers to create free mobile-friendly apps featuring pre-written product descriptions and links to relevant websites. Users tap buttons to view offers, watch videos, listen to audio clips, and complete shopping orders. Publishers who choose to participate in the program agree not to alter the text contained within app listings.
While both options above involve selling things, another popular way to generate revenue with a new blog is by offering eBooks. By creating digital versions of your current print books and giving them away for free, you open yourself up to a whole slew of potential customers who may otherwise not know you existed. While you won't see large amounts of cash rolling into your bank account overnight, doing so represents a much quicker path to generating advertising profits. Plus, you'll likely find that once word gets out about your eBook release, traffic to your blog increases dramatically over time thanks to viral social media sharing and organic search engine optimization. To learn more about ebook publishing, read our article detailing everything you need to consider before releasing an ebook.
Once you have a blog set up, published, optimized, and filled with quality content, it's essential to begin thinking about where else you could potentially profit from its existence. One popular source of additional income is joining a network marketing company such as Amway, Avon, Pampered Chef, Herbalife, Mary Kay, and Tupperware International. Network marketers earn residual income every month regardless of whether they personally market anything or sell actual goods – instead, they focus primarily on recruiting others under them to build their team. Once recruited, distributors earn incentives for reaching certain goals, including recruiting new members. Many companies offer generous signup bonuses along with ongoing training materials, webinars, conference calls, and weekly meetings. But beware! Not everyone makes it big, so research opportunities carefully and avoid ones that lack transparency. Network marketing isn't for everybody.
Additionally, you might look towards building partnerships with brands that produce complementary products. In exchange for being featured prominently on your blog, companies sometimes provide monetary compensation or discounts on future purchases. A good place to start researching possible partners would be Instagram influencers — anyone whose following exceeds 100,000 followers. To see examples of successful partnerships between bloggers and big businesses, visit our partner directory to browse thousands of existing relationships.
Lastly, you could try partnering with brand representatives to promote their products exclusively through paid advertisement space. For instance, if you frequently write about health and fitness, why not reach out to companies that specialize in healthcare accessories and supplements? Some of these types of relationships can last for months, even after you graduate from high school.
We recommend asking permission before posting sponsored content anywhere on your blog. Otherwise, you run the risk of violating copyrights and trademarks, and/or triggering false copyright infringement claims against you.
As mentioned previously, the quickest way to make money with a new blog is to leverage affiliate marketing programs. Depending on your target audience and specific topic area, you can expect to see results faster than say, opening an Etsy shop that sells homemade crafts. That said, it takes time to establish trustworthiness with readers, develop rapport, and attract targeted viewers, so patience is key. Here are three important factors to bear in mind:
1) Your content must stay fresh. People often enjoy consuming information for free, meaning you'll need to continually update your blog regularly with original, unique content. It's best to think of your blog as a living entity that needs to grow and evolve naturally. Don't feel pressured to publish daily updates, nor should you ever stop working on improving, optimizing, and growing your blog altogether. Instead, focus on producing consistently satisfying content that keeps visitors coming back again and again. Eventually, they'll become loyal fans eager to share your material far and wide.
2) Content is king. Keep in mind that although the Internet is full of brilliant ideas, not all of them translate into profitable success stories. Only about 1% of entrepreneurs actually succeed at launching a venture that generates consistent returns. And while some experts believe that 80% of success depends upon planning, 20% comes down to execution, we now know that less than 10% of plans end up fully implemented. So, don't lose hope if your idea seems too "outlandish" or "unrealistic." The truth lies somewhere in the middle. Be prepared to adjust as needed. Stick to your plan until your goal becomes reality.
3) Focus on value. Always remember that providing helpful, educational resources is worth more than gold. Readers are always searching for solutions to problems, and if you have useful knowledge to impart, you'll soon gain admirers willing to spread the gospel on your behalf.
There are several different ways to monetize a blog depending on your particular circumstances. We highly encourage trying as many of them as possible in order to determine which suits you best. Below are some common methods:
Google Adsense - Google displays contextual ads throughout YouTube, Gmail, Blogger, and elsewhere, showing relevant messages to users whenever they access sites containing Google's tracking cookies. According to CNBC, Google earned $18.9 billion USD in 2018 alone.
Subscriptions - Subscription models range from simple email opt-ins to recurring automated payments depending on user activity. Since subscriptions represent repeat transactions, they tend to net higher conversion rates than single transaction promotions. On the downside, subscribers tend to be very sensitive regarding privacy concerns, so tread lightly when deciding which subscription model works best for your blog.
Affiliateships - Affiliating refers to the act of recommending a third party product or service while maintaining direct financial gains from referrals. An affiliate earns commissions on referred leads generated by his or her promotional efforts. Typically, commissions vary according to the type of referral involved. Most reputable affiliate networks charge fees ranging from 5%-10%, plus commissions ranging from 2% to 50%.
Ebook Publishing - Creating ebooks gives you flexibility since you can customize them to suit your target audience—and distribute them freely worldwide. Alternatively, you can hire ghostwriters to author professionally written ebooks in exchange for royalties.
eBay - Selling physical items directly through eBay is relatively easy compared to selling digital downloads.
Podcasts - Producing podcasts and distributing them on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, SoundCloud, and similar platforms helps you connect with listeners.
In conclusion, if you'd prefer to learn how to make money from home, then it's definitely recommended that you pick up blogging as a side hustle. You could easily supplement your primary job earnings with passive income from your personal blog, allowing you to spend more time pursuing hobbies and interests. Just imagine how rewarding it will feel knowing that you're helping others achieve their dreams and aspirations whilst simultaneously boosting your self esteem.
I've read several articles that say "it's better to have no revenue than rely solely on advertising". The truth is that it doesn't matter if there are ads or not -- as long as people click them! If they don't then we're all out of work anyway... so at least having some income isn't bad.
The question is how much should one earn per month from their blogging efforts in order to consider themselves successful bloggers? In this article I'm going to cover what exactly does constitute a'successful' blogger, how easy (or hard) it is to actually get started with making money online, and finally, why most newbie bloggers fail miserably when trying to sell anything through their sites.
To start off, let me explain something about myself. My name is Sami Makkarainen, but more commonly known by my pseudonym Saffron Bun. When I first began writing posts under my real name, readership was low because most of my content centered around personal finance topics rather than general life-coaching. So I changed my username to reflect my current interests. It wasn't until recently that I decided to use my real name again. Nowadays, I write mostly about lifestyle issues like health, fitness, nutrition, cooking, crafts, DIY projects, pets, family, relationships, parenting, travel, and entertainment.
Anyway, back to the topic…
Absolutely. There are hundreds of thousands of hobbyist writers who create websites purely for fun without even thinking about monetization. And yes, those same writers can also generate enough income to live quite comfortably using only their blogs. However, when you begin growing beyond just being a hobby writer, things change drastically. Here are some reasons why:
1.) You'll want to grow your audience beyond friends and acquaintances into paying customers. This requires increasing traffic.
2.) Once your audience grows bigger, you may find yourself needing to hire someone else to handle managing the website while you focus on other areas of your business. For example, you could end up hiring a virtual assistant, copywriter, graphic designer, web developer, SEO specialist, social media manager, etc.
3.) Your site will become increasingly complex, which means you might eventually need professional help with things such as domain registration, hosting, security, backups, technical support, marketing, list building, product creation, email management, etc.
4.) One day you'll realize that you aren't able to keep up with everything anymore, especially since you won't be getting paid any salary. Or perhaps you'll decide to stop working part time due to lack of motivation/energy. Either way, you'd probably prefer to be earning actual dollars instead of bits and bytes every month.
5.) Most importantly, once you start generating significant amounts of cash, it becomes very tempting to spend said money frivolously on unnecessary purchases. As soon as you see profit margins increase, spending habits tend to worsen significantly. Before you know it, you'll end up buying expensive cars, jewelry, clothing, vacations, gadgets, electronics, furniture, etc. Then later down the line, you'll feel guilty for wasting all of that money. After all, hadn't you worked hard to earned it?!
6.) When you reach these milestones, you'll probably start looking for alternatives to traditional methods of passive income generation. These include selling digital products, creating eBooks, starting an eBay store, doing sponsored reviews, becoming an Amazon bestseller, joining network marketing programs, taking surveys, promoting affiliate offers, finding advertisers, leveraging Facebook groups, etc.
7.) Finally, after years of consistent growth, you realize that although your fans appreciate your effort immensely, your earnings continue to fall short of where you really deserve to be financially. At this point, you would either give up entirely (which usually ends poorly), or you take matters into your own hands by pursuing alternative forms of entrepreneurship.
So now you understand why it's important to think strategically before embarking upon any type of monetary endeavor. Unfortunately, there hasn't been a lot written about this subject. Therefore, today I wanted to share my experience and insights regarding how to successfully build a profitable blog following while avoiding the pitfalls mentioned above.
There are two main ways to monetize your blog:
1.) Sell advertisements - aka display ads or banner ads.
2.) Sell complementary products via affiliates.
Advertising works well if you already enjoy writing regularly about certain types of topics. On the contrary, affiliate marketing works great if you love sharing information related to specific hobbies or passions.
In terms of cost effectiveness, both options provide excellent returns compared to purchasing organic search engine optimization services. While PPC campaigns require a higher upfront investment, the results are typically longer lasting. Affiliate links, on the other hand, are less disruptive and less costly over the course of the entire campaign.
It's worth noting that there are pros and cons associated with each method depending on your goals.
For instance, if you plan on expanding globally by launching localized versions of your website across different countries, then affiliate marketing provides greater control over your branding. Also, if you intend on selling physical goods directly to consumers, then direct contact allows for faster customer service.
However, if you're interested in maximizing profits, then displaying banners and running pay per click campaigns is superior. Lastly, localizing for international markets involves additional costs and resources.
Now that you understand the benefits and drawbacks of each option, here's a brief overview of the steps involved in setting up a successful affiliate program.
Step 1). Find relevant items to promote.
This step entails researching popular keywords within your niche, identifying hot sellers, checking demand trends, and analyzing competition. From here, you can determine whether potential products offer high return rates relative to risk.
Additionally, you should also research top performers within your chosen field. How much commission do they receive? What kind of perks come along with the package? Do they offer refunds in case buyers are dissatisfied? Are there any complaints filed against them? Is the refund rate relatively high?
Once you narrow down your selection, go ahead and register domains for each item.
Step 2). Create landing pages.
Landing page templates allow users to quickly navigate between various sections of your site. They serve as hubs linking visitors to the appropriate product details. Landing pages feature prominently throughout the website, ensuring maximum visibility.
Since landing pages look identical regardless of location, they save you considerable amount of development time and enhance brand awareness. Additionally, you can leverage prewritten emails containing special discount codes, promotional messages, testimonials, FAQs, videos, images, audio clips, etc. Just replace the text according to user preferences.
You can easily customize existing HTML code or purchase template packages available online. Alternatively, you can learn basic CSS skills and design custom ones with Adobe Dreamweaver.
If you opt to buy template packages, try to avoid generic themes unless you truly believe in a particular company. Generic theme providers rarely update their designs, resulting in outdated graphics and broken links. Furthermore, generic themes often carry hefty price tags since designers charge extra fees for customization.
Instead, choose premium quality themes that come complete with multiple color schemes, font styles, header layouts, sidebar widgets, layout adjustments, etc.
Step 3). Setup auto responder accounts.
Auto responders send automated followup emails based on triggers set forth in advance. For beginners, it's recommended that you stick to simple drip systems consisting of welcome message, confirmation emails, thank you notes, newsletters, etc.
Also, you must ensure that your autoresponder sends automatic replies whenever a visitor leaves negative feedback. Otherwise, unhappy customers may leave abusive comments on your blog, lowering its overall credibility. Remember that good reputation translates into increased sales.
Finally, ask visitors to confirm subscriptions prior to receiving the next email. Failure to do so may result in double registrations, leading to spam violations.
Step 4). Set up payment processors.
Payment processing companies facilitate transactions between merchant partners and credit card issuers. Users simply enter billing data during checkout. Some merchants accept PayPal, others integrate Stripe technology, while others still utilize Authorize.net.
Most reputable payment processor providers charge transaction fees ranging anywhere from 0% to 15%. To avoid surprises, check to see how much each solution charges beforehand. Although these fees seem insignificant, they add up over time.
Lastly, always maintain strict anti-fraud measures to prevent fraudsters from abusing stolen cards. Never trust third party applications with sensitive financial information. Only use secure servers, preferably SSL certified.
Here are some techniques you can implement immediately to boost your bottom line:
1.) Offer freebies.
Make sure to clearly state in your sign up form that users will gain access to premium features after subscribing. By offering freebies, you encourage repeat visits and maximize retention rates.
2.) Give away free advice.
Write informative guest post posts relating to common problems facing readers. Provide solutions and recommendations. You can also interview experts in your area of expertise in exchange for giving them permission to reprint excerpts on your blog.
3.) Write eBook guides.
Create detailed step-by-step instructions on how to perform tasks. People love learning visually, particularly through video tutorials. Instead of providing lengthy explanations, convert complicated processes into diagrams.
Just follow our battle-tested guidelines and rake in the profits.