Have you ever asked yourself, "How do websites make money?"
The answers to that question vary and each requires different effort on your part.
Some are easy to set up and others will require a lot of consistent work over longer periods of time.
Keep reading to find out more about how to monetize a blog.
How to Design a Website
If you are reading this, you likely already have your own website (or are considering starting one). Whichever you are, make sure your website is designed to increase your traffic to take the most advantage of the tips in this article.
How to Monetize a Blog or Website
You've created your website with some amazing content and now you're wondering how to monetize a blog or website.
There are many creative ways out there to do this, but some can be kind of dodgy and irritate your visitors. So be particular about what you do.
Keep your visitor's experience in mind. No one likes ads popping up all over the place getting in their way of finding what they came to your site to look at.
Below are some of the better options out there to help you.
1. Selling Ad Space
Since you own the space on your website, you can sell any part of it you want to other people to make money from your site. Some ads pay only if your visitor clicks on the ad but others pay you just for their ad appearing on your site.
Google AdSense
Google AdSense ads are a pay-per-click, not per the view.
When you sign up for their service, you can specify where you want the ads to display and you can choose the type of ads you want to appear.
This type of advertising works best when you have a lot of visitors since you only get paid by those interested enough in the ad to click it.
Banners
Banners are a type of ad that can earn you a monthly fee. The amount you will be able to earn is directly related to how many visitors your site gets per month.
Banners along the top of your page will earn more than banners on the sides or bottom.
2. Sell or Promote Other People's Products / Services
Affiliate marketing is one of the most used ways people get paid to sell for other people. There are lots of products and services to choose from, too. So finding affiliate opportunities that work on your website or blog's niche is very likely.
To put it simply, once you become an affiliate, any visitor that clicks the affiliate link then goes on to purchase the product or service, you get paid a percentage of the sale. How much you get paid depends on the individual agreement you enter into.
3. Sell Your Products / Services
Use your website to sell your own products and services. If you only provide one of the other, consider expanding to include both.
If your website or blog focusing on a particular niche of products, is there a way for you to market your service to provide your visitors with more help? Perhaps as a consultant? If so, add a consultant services tab to your site and promote your services!
On the flip side, consider developing your own products that your visitors would find relevant, helpful or just plain fun.
E-books/books putting a lot of your information in one place is one idea. But maybe t-shirts, mugs, and other merchandise with your blog name or niche-related ideas on them would work better for you. You may be able to get some ideas by looking at what your competitors are selling on their site/blog.
You can also consider creating a "Members Only" area on your website where you charge a fee for entry. In this space, you can offer more in-depth information or help to your subscribers. Or simply provide a space for your subscribers to interact with each other.
4. Use Your Email List
Make sure you are putting your traffic to use by encouraging your visitors to provide you with their email list. You can do this during the process of selling your products or services, or by offering to provide them with free materials or to subscribe to your newsletter.
The names on your email list are valuable to you, so make sure to track them. The folks at Digital KYC also suggest that monitoring the quality of the names on your email list matters too, to limit drop-outs.
Newsletter
Use your email list to keep in contact with your followers by way of a newsletter.
If you have a blog, your newsletter can contain your blog posts. If you blog often, however, consider selecting sharing the posts that generated the most interest on your website or social media sites.
You can also use your newsletter to promote products and services (either yours or someone else's).
Try These Tips Today
If you aren't using these tips already, pick a few today to start incorporating into your plan so you can increase the revenue generated by your blog/website.
Remember: you can keep what works for YOU, and change what doesn't. The only way to know is to test it.
For more info about how to monetize a blog, and to learn other ways we can help you grow your business, contact us today here on Bootstrap Business.
