There is no doubt that blogging/running a website is one of the most popular activities you can do online. You get to voice your ideas, thoughts, and opinions and share them with the rest of the world, improve your writing skills, and connect with other, similar-minded individuals. You get to write about what you love, and it doesn't get any better than that. Well, actually, it gets better if you can earn some money in the process. However, while blogging is a lot fun, if you are going to turn into a source of additional income, or even a way to make a living, you are going to have your work cut out for you.
The bad news is, only a small percentage of bloggers and website owners earn huge amounts of money, and most of them are devoted to it and consider it a full-time job. Also, there are those who generate enough revenue for themselves while working part-time in addition to their day jobs. In both cases, it's not something which can happen overnight. It takes time, hard work, lots of trial and error, and patience. The good news is that it's very much possible, if you check out our list, which contains the most effective ways you can earn money from your website or blog.
1. Place Ads on Your Website/Blog
This is probably the most popular way of monetizing your site, and there are several different types of ads you can place. CPC/PPC (cost per click or pay per click) ads are essentially banners which you can place on your pages, after which you will receive payment every time one of your visitors clicks on the ad. There are also CPM (cost per 1,000 impressions) ads, for which you will get paid a fixed sum depending on how many people have viewed the ad you have placed.The easiest solution would be to sign up with Google AdSense. You place the banners, and then Google decides on what they will be. Of course, they are usually relevant to what's on your website or blog. This means that you can make less or more money, depending on what niche you choose. If it is profitable and there is not a lot of competition, it can be a pretty sweet deal, but it does take some extra research.
Google AdSense and similar networks are not your only option when it comes to ads, especially if you are on your way to becoming an established blogger. That is when advertisers will start coming your way and asking you to place their ads on your site or you will start reaching out to them. So what's the difference between private ads and the ones described in previous paragraphs? First of all, since you are selling ad space directly, you get all the money. Second of all, you get to set your own rates for ads. And finally, you get to choose who you'll advertise.
Apart from banners, you can sell links, or even write posts which are sponsored by the advertiser. You can also show ads from sponsors in your videos or podcasts.
2. Sell Your Blog or Website
Yes, one way to make money with your blog or website would be to sell it. Once you have established trust between yourself and your readers, built a brand, and generated a large following which reflects itself in regular traffic and revenue, you might be able to sell your blog to a larger company. Or they might come knocking at your door. Why would they want to buy it? Can't they just make their own blog? Sure they can, but as you already know from experience, turning your website or blog into a popular online destination takes time, and there is no getting around that, even if you have money to burn.You have already done all of the heavy lifting for them, and they are basically buying a finished product, so to speak. They get your site, with all of its content, visitors, and reputation and you receive money for selling your blog. While it might seem like you're shooting yourself in the foot and starting all over again, sometimes it's a better option. Now that you know what it takes, you can start a new blog, and do things better the second time around, choose a different niche, or experiment more, or do something else entirely with the money you have earned.
3. Affiliate Marketing
Another way to earn actual money from your site would be to try affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing is fairly simple. On one end, you have an advertiser who wants to sell their product or a service to the people, and on the other, there is you, with a blog or a website which has a large following, which means instant exposure. They ask you to feature one of their links on your site, and you get a commission every time they sell their product to a customer coming from your blog.All you have to do take a unique link given to you, which tracks your affiliate code, so that the advertiser knows the customer came from you, and place in one of the banners, or work it into your content. You can find affiliate marketing opportunities through Amazon or similar networks, or you can get in touch advertisers or businesses directly and work out a partnership.
4. Sell Products or Offer Services
If you have a product you would like to sell to your readers, or a service they could benefit from, you can use your blog or website as a platform to promote it, generate interest, and turn your followers into customers. And there a wide variety of digital products you can market to the people these days, ranging from eBooks, apps, plugins, themes for WordPress, templates, courses, images and video, music, or anything else you can think of. Needless to say, it is up to you to make these products beneficial for customers, but that is subject for another article.And it's not much different if you are trying to sell a physical product, either. The only difference is that your blog would become more of a platform where you would host helpful content, as well as a marketing tool with which you would direct users to your official website and online store. You can sell anything from hand-made items, to actual services. For example, you can run a blog about health and fitness, with informative and insightful posts, after which they would go to your website, where they could find sports equipment, food supplements, or vitamins, for example. Or, you could blog about doing repairs on your car, and then sell car parts via your website.
5. Host Webinars
Webinars are not only great for getting more people to your site and building your authority, but also for generating income. It's all about the numbers. If you run a relatively successful blog or website, you can expect thousands of people to tune in to your webinar, which could potentially mean tens of thousands of dollars in sales. It is easily the most profitable thing you can do as a blogger. But, creating a good webinar people would be interested in, and one which would have them walking away satisfied afterwards Is not easy, so every dollar you get from it is well-earned.6. Create a Premium Membership
You can also sell premium membership to your website or blog, which would provide paid visitors with an access to its exclusive section, where they could find content that is even more useful and even more specific when it comes to addressing their needs and problems. But, what you have to offer inside the premium section has to be worth their money, and something which they can't find elsewhere online. For example, if you write articles and blog spots about building your career, finding a job, writing an effective resume, or anything similar, you could offer them access to your job board, where they can get in touch with employers, or provide them with advice which is even more detailed and applicable in real life.33 Most Common Ways to Make Money with Your Website (infographic)
Source: Websitesetup.
Bonus Tip
You will come across different points of view online as far as selling is concerned. Some bloggers think you should hold off until you have built a loyal audience, and that approach certainly has its merits. But, you would be better off if you were to start monetizing your blog or website right from the very beginning. And the reason why you should do it is not money, because you are not going to make anything right away anyways. The reason why you should do it is to keep yourself motivated. Because blogging takes hard work and patience, you will be tempted to give up at some point, especially if there aren't any noticeable results.
But, once you open your blog's dashboard, and see the first dollar you've made, you will know that your efforts are starting to produce results, and it will motivate you to keep on going. It's going to feel even better when you earn the first $100 through your site, or $1000, and so on. Once the numbers start climbing, your motivation will follow suit.
Conclusion
Although it is not as easy as it might seem to most people, making actual money with your blog or website is possible, and if done right, it can turn into a full-time job, and a well-paid one at that. However, you need to be able patient, do your homework, and follow the tips in this article. If you can manage to do that, rest assured that running your own blog will turn into a success story.
About author: Lisa Wheatly works for Top Aussie Writers in her spare time, where she creates unbiased essay service reviews. Lisa believes analytical thinking and an enquiring mind are her strongest points, and she does her best to put them to good use. Lisa is a consultant of young entrepreneurs, and she believes her knowledge of the human mind allows her to accurately assess the abilities of the young businessmen.
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