People who start their own online blog can have many different reasons for giving up. Perhaps they don’t have enough time in the day to work on it, or that they just aren’t seeing the results that they hoped for.
The most common reason though is that they simply aren’t earning enough website income from it to justify the running of it. This is a shame because there are lots of successful mommy bloggers out there that are making money with their own sites.
You only have to look at bloggers like John Lee Dumas and Pat Flynn to know that it is possible.
So what are these “successful” bloggers doing that maybe you aren’t?
Well, simply put, they are not relying on just one method to earn money, but they implement several different methods to diversify their income streams.
Yes, it can and will take time to set these up, but essentially the more methods you have (and you can have as many as you want), the more money you can potentially earn from your website.
In this post we take a look at some different ways in which you can boost your online income.
Advertising
OK, let’s start with an easy one – advertising.
This is by far the easiest and most effective way to earn money from your blog. Many websites do this, as it’s a good way to monetize the unused space around their blog content.
There are a couple of different ad types that you can use on your site;
- Google AdSense
- Selling your own ad space
Google AdSense (and other PPC ‘Pay Per Click’ providers) is a great way to quickly ad revenue to an existing site.
You simply register with Google AdSense, who then provides you with code to place on your site where you want the ads to appear.
This code will display contextual adverts, which are adverts related to your content, on your site.
For example, a cooking blog will likely display ads for kitchen utensils, cooking books, cookery courses, etc. instead of random kids toys, car insurance or bingo site.
For every click you get on these PPC ads, you get paid a small amount. The only real down side is that you really need to be getting large amounts of traffic for this method to be truly profitable.
A single click may only net you a couple of cents, which is why you need lots of traffic to make it work. That said, it is an easy and effective way to earn a bit of money from your site.
You can also offer to sell space on your blog to advertisers that want to promote their own product or service. The good thing about this is that you can set your own rates of what to charge.
You can charge on a monthly/quarterly/ yearly basis, where you are guaranteed to be paid as long as you display the agreed adverts for the fixed amount of time.
Many high profile websites use this method to earn vast amounts of money! Again, the more traffic you get, the more you can charge.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a great way to earn money from your blog. You sign up to an individual affiliate program that you are interested in and promote that product/service on your site. For every sale that is made via a referral from your site, you earn a commission.
Let’s use a cookery blog again as an example.
You could find affiliate products that relate to your niche, such as products like; recipe books/eBooks, cookery courses, kitchen ware, etc. to promote on your site. As all these products relate to your website, more of your visitors will be interested in purchasing them, which will result in you earning more commission.
The good thing about affiliate marketing is the ease in which you can promote these products.
When you sign up to an affiliate product, you get a URL link that is specifically unique to you. This means that you receive commission for every sale that is referred via your unique link.
Now, with this link you can promote products in a number of different ways;
- Display traditional adverts for these products next to your content,
- Include text link ads within your blog posts to relevant products,
- Write dedicated review posts for the products you are promoting,
- Promote them via your social media networks,
Affiliate marketing is probably my favourite method of monetizing a site.
Yes, there is a little more work involved in setting things up (though not that much more work), but you can potentially earn a LOT more than you can with PPC ads.
Create & Sell Your Own Product
Instead of only promoting other people’s products on your blog, why not create your own and sell it via your website!
The great thing about this is that, compared to selling your products in a small local shop where you have limited customer base, you can promote your product online where you can sell worldwide!
You may be an artist, why not sell your paintings and prints on your site. Perhaps you are a musician, you could promote and sell your own music on your blog. Maybe you have developed your own ‘App’ for a mobile device, sell it online via your website.
Whatever your product is, you can promote and sell it online. Not only that, but why not sign up to an affiliate marketplace and sell your product. That way, other people can be promoting your product on their site for a commission, which helps to get your product seen by more people!
Write An eBook
If you can’t think of a product to create, why not write your own eBook and sell it. It doesn’t have to be a fictional story book (though it can if you are into that), it can be information based.
The good thing about eBooks is that they can be about anything. People read eBooks for information, so if you have some knowledge about a certain subject, then you could write your own eBook about it.
Maybe you are a gardener, why not write an eBook about growing your own food in your back garden. You may be a personal trainer, why not write an eBook about exercise regimes or diet plans.
You could even write an eBook about writing an eBook! The possibilities are endless.
With the popularity of eReaders, Kindle’s, iPad’s and Smart phones, more and more people are reading eBooks every day. Why not write your own and sell it via your blog. You could even upload it to sites like Amazon, Etsy or the Apple iStore and sell it there as well!
Create A “Hire Me” Page
Another good way to monetize your site is to have your own ‘Hire Me’ page.
That way, you can hire out your services to help other people. Many freelance writers/designers do this as it’s a good way to find clients.
Think about it, people are already on your website, so they can see that you are (hopefully) good at what you do, therefore they are more likely to hire you.
This doesn’t only apply to freelance workers though. It doesn’t matter what you do, if you have a skill, you can have your own Hire Me’ page.
You may be a programmer, people could hire you to develop custom made software for their business. You may run your own language website, you could hire yourself out to people who want to learn English/Spanish/Japanese, etc. and teach them over Skype on a one-to-one basis. Maybe you are a dietician, people could hire you to produce a custom diet plan for them to follow.
Whatever your skill, having your own ‘Hire Me’ page can be a great way to make money online!
Summary
There are many ways that you can monetize your blog, you don’t have to rely on just one.
Like the saying goes, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket!” Why not try one of the methods listed above and see if you can make that work on your own site.
What ways are currently working for you to make money on your site?
I would love to hear your stories.
