So, you have started blogging and want some money from it but don’t know what to start doing next. It sounds like an impossible task for the average blogger. But there is one option left – pay someone else to take care of your traffic instead of yourself.
Today we are going to talk about three different methods of making money using only free services such as WordPress or BlogSpot blogs, Google Ads (or other similar programs), and maybe even outsourcing your posts if you really need them done quickly. We will also show you how to set up those strategies so they can work together seamlessly without any problems at all.
Let's jump right in!
Free blogging platforms offer great flexibility compared to paid ones. You can use themes that look very professional and customize everything according to your needs. And, most importantly, you can run unlimited domains on their platform which makes it easier to brand and promote multiple websites. The downside is that free blogging platforms usually lack features such as analytics tracking tools, social media sharing buttons etc., thus hindering growth.
There are two ways to make money online through a free blog - selling advertising space on your website or writing sponsored reviews. Both options are simple enough for anyone who knows how to drive traffic to a site. If you're just starting off though, here's where things get tricky. As mentioned above, running ads on your own domain requires extensive knowledge and experience in SEO/SEM marketing techniques and knowing when to buy ad spaces versus placing them manually. Paid hosting plans may cost $10-15 per month but this could save you hundreds of dollars later on. On top of that, you'll probably end up spending more time maintaining your page than earning from it. So why would you choose free hosting over paying for premium packages?
If you already have some background in web design and development then this might not apply to you personally. However, many people nowadays struggle with basic tasks such as adding new widgets, customizing existing templates, changing colors and fonts, creating banners, optimizing images, installing scripts, uploading files... There are thousands of things to learn in order to keep a decent looking website running smoothly. This means that by the time you've learned all of those skills, another person has likely figured out something better and faster. Most bloggers simply give up after trying to add Facebook Like button on their pages because it didn't go well. Or sometimes they fail at implementing Google Analytics code into their sites due to being unfamiliar with HTML. They end up wasting countless hours tweaking settings and getting frustrated while others manage to create successful sites within minutes thanks to prewritten plugins.
The point is that if you aren't comfortable learning how to optimize your blog to receive good rankings, you won't succeed regardless of how much hard work you put into promoting it. That said, there are still plenty of profitable niches that require little technical skill. For example, affiliate marketers typically write articles related to products they endorse and publish them on article directories. Other examples include reviewing electronic gadgets, giving product recommendations, offering home decor ideas, posting recipes...
Most of us can easily understand concepts of search engines optimization, conversions, clicks, sales, ROI, etc., however, until recently I was completely unaware of the importance of having high quality backlinks pointing to your website. A few months ago I stumbled upon a fantastic tool called Rank Tracker Pro. After testing its functionality, I realized that it does exactly what I needed: track keywords ranking, check link building performance, monitor keyword difficulty level, calculate daily and monthly visitors based on rank position, view SERP results, export data to CSV file. All of that for less than $40. Needless to say, I'm now able to focus solely on growing my audience instead of worrying about whether I should purchase certain plugin or change anything on my pages.
My advice to beginners who wish to grow their readership via organic links rather than buying PPC campaigns is to first try generating interest around your niche topic and see what kind of response you get. Once you've got a feel for popular topics, narrow down your list of potential keywords and start researching them thoroughly. Then begin experimenting with various titles, descriptions and tags. Use trial and error method. Try lots of variations of each post title and description and pick the best performing versions. When you notice that particular version generates higher clickthrough rate, try repeating the same idea again but with small changes like switching font style or color palette. Repeat this process until you come across a variation that performs equally well or slightly better. By constantly improving your posts' conversion rates, you'll soon reach a plateau. From there onwards, increase your efforts by focusing on increasing overall visibility of your blog. Focus on attracting more attention to your posts, attracting more followers, writing interesting comments, networking with influencers and joining relevant communities. These actions will help you gain momentum for further success.
One last note regarding monetising free blogs: if you plan to earn significant income from your blog, consider hiring somebody to handle your traffic management instead of relying on free platforms' limited resources. In addition to helping you avoid pitfalls discussed in previous paragraphs, dedicated manager could potentially provide valuable feedback that helps improve your content quality.
As previously stated, the easiest way to make money with a free blog is either selling ad space, or writing sponsored review pieces. Of course, both of these approaches demand thorough understanding of SEO/SEM marketing principles and analytical skills. Otherwise, you risk losing tons of money before you realize what went wrong.
In case you'd prefer to sell ad spots directly, first determine your target market. What types of customers would be interested in reading your blog? Is it aimed towards women aged 18-35? Are you targeting students? Are you aiming at parents? Do you specialize in specific industry? Determine your goal and build an appealing landing page accordingly. Next step is to register an account on Google AdWords, select suitable campaign type, define budget limitations, and decide how often you intend to place your adverts. Now let's discuss some important factors affecting the number of clicks received from your advert.
First of all, you must carefully evaluate your competition. How many advertisers compete against yours in the same category? How long were they active on the platform? Did they stop publishing articles? Were they removed from Google index? Have they built relationships with their audiences? Find answers to all of these questions and compare them to your own situation. Also, examine whether your competitors used effective promotional tactics that resulted in increased readership and popularity. Analyze how effectively you managed to establish connections with your audience. Ask yourself "What did they bring to the table?" Was it unique approach or strong personality? Maybe you came up with a new trend, introduced a revolutionary device, published informative piece, wrote engaging posts, had a large following on social networks, offered useful information, provided inspiration, helped solve common issues faced by users...? Whatever you did, make sure that your customers remembered it. People tend to remember memorable experiences more vividly than boring facts. Think of unforgettable moments of your life, think of famous people whose names you mention frequently, think of inspirational quotes, pictures, events... and turn them into compelling stories.
Another factor that influences clickthrough rate is relevance. Your advertisement should contain phrases that relate to your blog theme. Customers generally trust brands that they recognize, therefore it is crucial to ensure that your ads stand out. Make sure that message contained inside your banner stands out among millions of competing advertisements. Don't forget to properly test your ad copy. Keep in mind that your prospects will be bombarded with dozens of tempting offers every day. Therefore you must grab their attention right away. Be concise yet catchy. Tell them exactly what they want to hear. Avoid vague statements such as "free" or "new", tell them straight forward what benefits they'll enjoy once they visit your site. Here are some helpful hints that will surely convince anybody to click on your advert:
Make your call to action clear and unambiguous. Give additional reasons why customer should sign up for newsletter subscription or follow your feed. Offer incentives.
Write short sentences. Longer texts are perceived as pompous and arrogant.
Use big bold text. Large letters are easy to read and catch attention.
Avoid using fancy graphics. Plain backgrounds and white coloring scheme produce optimal contrast ratio allowing to display larger amounts of text simultaneously.
Keep scrolling speed fast. Scrolling too slowly allows user to finish scanning entire page before actually seeing advertised offer.
Last but not least, always proofread your banners and emails. Nothing turns people off quicker than typos, grammatical mistakes and poor formatting.
After deciding on the location of your advertisement, carefully analyze where your prospects spend most of their time. Take advantage of opportunities presented by trends in internet usage. For instance, today everyone uses mobile devices to browse the net, therefore you should aim to advertise in areas that attract maximum amount of eyeballs. Another thing worth considering is how many times your prospective client clicked on your banner. Knowing this figure will allow you to estimate approximate earnings. Remember that clickthrough rate depends on numerous variables including age group of targeted audience, frequency of visits, current mood of consumers, geographical region, etc..
Blogging is an incredibly popular way of expressing your thoughts and opinions, but it's not always easy making money from the platform. The good news is there are plenty of ways in which you can make extra income through blogging -- whether by selling ad space on your site or creating affiliate products for example.
As well as offering an alternative means of earning income, blogging also gives freedom over content creation, while allowing readers to easily share their stories via social media. It's hard to beat when looking at all-round results!
If you're wondering how to monetize a blog then read on...
While most people think about setting up a new WordPress website before they begin publishing regular blogs, this isn't necessarily true. There are several reasons why someone who wants to set up a small personalised blog might choose to use a service like Blogger instead:
Bloggers offer more flexibility regarding design than self-hosted sites. This makes them perfect if you want to create something quickly using themes already available online rather than having to learn CSS (the code used to format websites).
You don't have to worry about hosting fees, monthly payments, domain registration and renewal etc. All of those issues are taken care of automatically for you. You just need to focus on writing, editing and posting regularly.
There are no technical problems such as database management, server maintenance or SEO optimisation. If you've ever tried to change anything on a Wordpress website you'll know that maintaining things like meta titles and descriptions takes time and effort.
These points aside, yes, you can earn some money from running a blogger account. But what kind of financial rewards will depend entirely upon your chosen niche, audience engagement levels and other factors too numerous to mention here.
In short, you won't be able to rely solely on advertising revenues to keep your blog going. At least initially. The following tips should help you turn your fledgling blog into a viable source of passive income though.
It depends on where you live. However, in general terms, you shouldn't run into any difficulties getting approved for ads displayed on your blog even if you haven't yet built up traffic numbers.
Here's what Google has to say on the matter: "We only accept text links, image links, or video links." So stick to plain old words, images and videos!
Also, bear in mind that Google uses cookies to track user behaviour across its various properties so if you switch between different devices, apps and browsers then you may see inconsistencies in the types of advertisements shown on each one.
This limitation is probably the biggest obstacle standing between bloggers and displaying sponsored post ads. As long as your blog includes lots of original, quality content then you should be fine. Remember to include relevant keywords wherever possible however.
Once you've been added to the programme, simply check the settings menu within your dashboard to adjust ad preferences. For instance, you might prefer to show fewer ads per page or limit adverts to certain sections of your site.
Keep note of the options you select because you can go back to edit them later. Don't forget that you can disable the entire feature completely if you wish.
Don't panic if you notice a sudden increase in advert activity. That's normal. Just wait until a few days pass before checking again.
Remember, adding contextual ads is free whereas showing display ads costs $5/month. Display ads appear alongside articles, above the fold and below the header. Contextual ones are placed throughout your pages based on specific search criteria.
So once you've got yourself accepted, try experimenting with different combinations of ad placements. Then monitor visitor responses and tweak accordingly.
One final piece of advice -- avoid paying big bucks for premium services relating to placing contextual ads. They tend to come and go very fast indeed. Instead, look towards smaller companies offering affordable solutions.
To answer this question we must first understand that you aren't actually charged for visitors who view your site. Your ad unit (i.e., banner or sidebar) displays whichever campaign you last had active on your blog. When a person clicks on one of those ads, they end up landing directly on your homepage.
Your earnings therefore depend on two main factors:
Clickthrough rate -- What percentage of viewers click on your advertisement link?
For starters, let's assume you write interesting content that draws thousands of eyeballs every week. You'd expect to receive hundreds of unique visits each day, right? Well, the truth is far less rosy. A lot goes into driving targeted hits to your blog. To give you an idea, if you're lucky enough to attract 1 million daily visitors then chances are that 500k will head straight away elsewhere. This leaves you with half a million potential readership losses every month due to lost opportunities.
Unless you take steps to prevent this happening, of course. And that's exactly what we mean when talking about improving your clickthrough rate.
Most importantly, consider putting together a strong call-to-action (CTA), ideally located somewhere near the top of your webpages. Think carefully about what you want your readers to do. Is it sign up for email updates? Click on another article? Bookmark the webpage in question? Whatever it is, ensure your CTA is clear and prominent.
Next, pay attention to your headline. Readers are likely to skim past anything that looks vague, confusing or irrelevant. Make sure your title grabs their interest immediately. Also, remember to add key information about your intended target market, product offerings, pricing policies etc. In addition, include snippets of useful supporting copy, testimonials and case studies.
Finally, consider including multiple CTAs on your home page. More calls-to-actions equals better conversions.
At present, the best option for bloggers seeking additional sources of income is promoting individual blog entries. This is ideal because it allows you to control everything. Plus, if done correctly, it lets you continue building up loyal followers without worrying about losing them to competitors.
To start, craft compelling headlines and summaries that draw eyes to your post. Next, build a series of enticing subheadings beneath the main heading. Finally, fill the remainder of the entry with informative, engaging prose.
Now comes the tricky part. Try to capture reader emotions by focusing on benefits, empathy and sharing. Use phrases such as "I feel" and "When I saw". Keep sentences simple and straightforward. People hate complexity.
Also, provide links back to your own site whenever possible. Doing so keeps your readers informed about recent developments whilst helping to boost your authority status.
Finally, consider linking to external resources and inviting comments. Comments encourage interaction and conversations thus leading to higher profile rankings. After all, it was Abraham Lincoln who said "Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I would spend four sharpening the axe".
Happy blogging!
Have you made much progress since starting your blog? Do you currently use any of the methods mentioned above? Tell us below. We're happy to hear feedback, suggestions and ideas.
Blogging is great way for people with little or no budget, time and experience to become professional writers. But what if your blog isn’t doing as well as it should be? You might feel the need to monetize your blog in order to keep up with its content, but are unsure on where to start. If this sounds like you, worry not! Below we'll discuss everything from basic blogging setups to advanced ideas about how to earn money from your new blog.
The most common method of generating income through blogging involves using affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing allows website owners to promote other companies' products without being directly involved in their sales process. Instead of creating an entire product all by yourself, affiliates only have to provide visitors with links which will lead them to the company's page. If someone clicks on one of those links and makes a purchase, then the site owner gets paid based on commissions.
Affiliates can use different methods such as banner ads, text link ads, image links, video links, email list subscriptions, etc. For beginners who want to earn quick cash online, however, banner advertising may seem too complicated when compared to simpler alternatives such as promoting Amazon products or recommending eBook readers.
That said, there are a lot of benefits to affiliate marketing. One benefit is the ability to leverage existing traffic instead of trying to drive fresh traffic to your blog. Another advantage is that many top-tier advertisers pay higher commission rates than regular small businesses due to bigger demand. As a result, even though they're more expensive, affiliate programs tend to bring in better returns over time.
If you decide that affiliate marketing is right for you, here are some helpful resources:
Start Here To Make Money With Your Passion - A step-by-step guide to building your own profitable business around your interests.
Amazon Associates Program - Learn how to join Amazon's program so you can get started selling Amazon products straight away, even if you don't know anything about coding.
Affiliate Networks - This directory lists hundreds of popular affiliate networks. Some offer specialized services while others focus on general affiliate promotion opportunities. Most affiliate directories allow members to search available offers by category, location, date posted, popularity rank, etc.
Once you've decided whether affiliate marketing is right for you, you must set up a merchant account to accept credit card payments. There are two ways to go about setting up a merchant account. The first option requires extensive preparation since each bank has different requirements. We recommend going down this route once you already have enough clients signed up under your name. It also takes longer to open accounts but ultimately saves you more money in the long run. Unfortunately, banks aren't always eager to work with smaller startups.
Another alternative is opening multiple accounts at different banks and transferring funds between them as needed. This approach usually costs less money upfront but requires more attention on your part. Be aware that some banks require customers to maintain positive balances while others charge monthly fees. Also, check if any customer service issues arise before sending payment information to the wrong bank.
To learn more about setting up a merchant account, read our article detailing how to choose the best financial institution for your needs.
It goes without saying that you should never give user credentials including access tokens (e.g., passwords) for your blog to anyone except trusted employees. In addition, make sure that you disable remote login functionality whenever possible. Doing so prevents unauthorized users from changing settings, viewing private posts, adding comments, etc.
For security reasons, consider installing HTTPS encryption technology on your blog. By default, Blogger does not support SSL connections. However, you can easily enable secure HTTP pages simply by clicking "Settings" followed by "Preferences." Then select "Security," scroll down until you see "Enable Secure Connections", click the toggle button next to it, and enter http://yourblogaddress.blogspot.com into Address Bar. Finally, save changes and refresh your browser window.
Note that enabling HTTPS requires extra effort because it cannot automatically update itself. Therefore, you may wish to contact Blogger Support asking for assistance.
In terms of profit margins, freelance writing is a bit like freelancing. On average, experienced bloggers earning $5-$10 per hour typically write 1--3 articles depending on length and complexity. Newer blogger/writers often receive lower hourly wages.
One reason why this trend exists is because most beginning bloggers lack expertise in areas such as SEO, social media management, copywriting, and research. They rely heavily upon guest posting, sponsored advertisements, and affiliate promotions to increase their audience size and eventually earn decent side incomes.
On the bright side, many successful bloggers discovered success early on despite having limited skillsets. Their secret was persistence. And persistence pays off. Over time, they learned various strategies, improved their craft, and gradually earned larger checks along the way.
Below are several useful tools for finding gigs as a writer:
Upwork -- UpWork connects employers with high quality professionals worldwide. It's easy to create profiles, upload samples, and apply for jobs. Once selected for a job, candidates bid for projects and send proposals containing relevant details. Employers review bids and hire qualified applicants.
Fiverr -- Fiverr lets users sell services ranging from $5 to $500. Sellers submit gig requests via categories, tags, and keywords. Buyers browse listings and pick whatever suits them best. Payments happen within 24 hours after successful completion.
Freelancer -- Freelancer operates similarly to UpWork but focuses exclusively on short term contracts lasting anywhere from 2 days to 3 months. Clients sign agreements, assign tasks, and leave feedback.
As mentioned earlier, affiliate marketing is easier to implement than direct advertisement. That said, you shouldn't expect to make millions overnight unless you're independently wealthy. Many serious bloggers take years before making significant amounts of money.
Google AdSense used to be the easiest means of generating passive income on blogs. Today, however, things are quite different. After removing the ad blocker feature last year, Google recently introduced Ad Experience Ads. These kinds of ads appear above the fold and contain contextual units such as images, videos, buttons, forms, and interactive elements. Users won't notice them unless they hover their mouse pointer over them.
Ad Experience Ads serve three primary functions: display network tracking, serving targeted ads, and providing analytics data. Like standard banners, they show appropriate ads according to visitor locations, browsing histories, age groups, gender, etc. Google uses special algorithms called machine learning models to determine where to place ads.
Although Google Adsense remains one of the most effective ways of monetizing a blog today, there are certain drawbacks associated with working with it. First of all, Google charges publishers 15% of total earnings made from their Ad Sense campaigns. Secondly, the maximum payout depends on several factors such as number of impressions served, CTR percentage, etc. Lastly, you have very few options regarding placement, design, dimensions, colors, fonts, font sizes, background color, header style, etc.
Fortunately, there are plenty of reliable alternatives to choosing among the thousands of AdSense publishers currently active on the platform. Two of the most notable ones include Chikita and MediaBrix Pro. Both platforms allow creators to publish premium ads on their websites. Additionally, they both offer flexibility in terms of layout design, ad placements, ads types, etc.
What kind of ads can you embed on your blog? How do you ensure compatibility across browsers? Read below to understand how these questions affect your profits and ease of operation.
Yes. Unlike WordPress, Blogger supports almost every type of ad unit. Although it limits your choice somewhat, there are still lots of opportunities to earn.
Chikita and MediaBrix Pro offer dozens of unique templates designed specifically for specific niches and purposes. Aside from offering more choices, these plugins also help boost engagement metrics thanks to additional callouts, overlays, and popups.
MediaBrix Pro provides a wide variety of customizable ad units that cover nearly every purpose imaginable. Among other features, it includes dynamic ad rotation, responsive layouts, mobile view modes, automatic updates, custom CSS editing, multi-lingual versions, rich snippets, etc.
Is there an API key required for using Chikita? Can I use my own domain name?
No. Since Chikita runs entirely on client servers, it does not store cookies, cache, session IDs, or similar identifiers locally. Consequently, developers must use third party libraries or APIs to connect Chikita with external sources.
Because of this, it's impossible to share admin privileges with another person. So, if you plan to install Chikita on your blog, you'd definitely want to let someone else handle hosting duties.
Unfortunately, unlike WordPress, Blogger doesn't natively support.htaccess redirection. As a workaround, you could try redirecting incoming URLs using Apache configuration files. Or, alternatively, you could install Redirect Manager Lite extension. When installed, it adds a menu item labeled "Redirect" located inside Dashboard tab. Clicking on it brings up a popup window showing all current redirects. From here, you can manually edit any rules you want.
Just follow our battle-tested guidelines and rake in the profits.