It’s one thing to start a blog, but it’s another thing to make it profitable. One of the biggest challenges that new bloggers face is finding a way to start making money from their blog. After putting in the time and effort in creating the website and content, you obviously want to see something come out of it. To help you get some ideas, here are 10 solid ways that can help you bring in some much needed cash.
1. Create a Product Based on Feedback
A great way to generate revenue from your blog is to sell your own product. The problem is that many bloggers don’t know what kind of product to create. This problem can be solved by simply asking your readers what kind of products they’re already buying and what solutions they’re looking for.
2. Promote a Product or Service as an Affiliate
The most obvious way to monetize your blog is to promote a product or service as an affiliate. You don’t have to go through the process of creating a product or service and you can choose from thousands of offers. Just make sure that what you’re promoting is relevant and of value to your readers.
3. Sell Advertising Spots
Along with selling your own products and promoting as an affiliate, you can also sell advertising spots once you develop a respectable following. Post a banner or widget stating that your blog is accepting advertising. Just make sure that you choose an advertiser that doesn’t conflict with what your blog is about.
4. Offer Your Services
If you’re a professional on the topic that you’re talking about, why not offer your services? The services you offer do not have to be anything complex. You can simply offer consulting or advice for a flat hourly fee. If you go down this route, make sure that you establish your credibility and authority through your blog’s content.
5. Monetize with Google Adsense
If you can’t find something to promote, then the next best way to monetize your blog is with Google Adsense. This is an advertising program where publishers display Google ads and get paid a percentage of the revenue that’s generated when a user clicks on the ads. When using Google Adsense, experiment with different sized ads and placements to discover which set up yields the best earnings.
6. Sell Leads to Other Companies
If your audience is made up of prospects that can be of value to an industry, then you should reach out to companies in the target industry and set up a lead generation deal. Simply set up a deal where you work together to get people to subscribe to their email list or call their number, and get paid for each lead.
7. Set Up a Tip Jar
People appreciate great content so much to the point that people would be more than happy to donate to their favorite blogger if the opportunity presented itself. So why not create the opportunity? You can simply create a Paypal account and set up a link where your readers can make a donation.
8. Audio/Video Sponsorship Spots
Do you podcast or vlog on a regular basis? Then, you can create an additional revenue stream by finding sponsors for your podcast or vlog content. It doesn’t take that much effort to plug a company for a minute or two, and you can create a passive income from this sponsorship if it works out well for the company.
9. Sell Text Links
Text link ads are non-intrusive ads that simply create text links out of the content on your blog. The text links will either open up a mouseover ad when hovered over or directly take the reader to the advertiser’s website. This is a great alternative to Google Adsense. There might be some conflict with using more than one of these types of advertising programs, so if you have to make a choice, test different programs to see which ones result in the most earnings.
10. Sell or Organize Live Events
Your blog can be a medium for bringing people to a live seminar. If your topic doesn’t revolve around teaching or coaching, then you can simply use your blog to set up and organize live events for your readers. The money can come by working with bars, restaurants or clubs to give you compensation for getting seats in the table.
There are many more ways to make money from your blog such as setting up joint venture offers, accepting sponsorship content, installing a job/classified program, and more. When you first start a blog, you don’t know what exactly will work with your audience, so make sure you test a variety of monetization options to see what works best. You have to be selective about how you monetize your blog as you don’t want to mislead your readers with the wrong sponsors, distract them with obstructive ads and present them with unrelated offers. Put in the time to learn who your audience and find the right balance between monetization and relevance.