While some would gladly blog for the fun of it, others are in this business to make money. In fact, blogging is one of the most popular online money making techniques today. If anything could back this statement then it is the purchase of Huffington Post by one of the internet’s big names (i.e. AOL). Not only did the over $300 million show that blogging could be lucrative but it also proved that blogs are popular. Besides, the number of unique monthly visitors some blogs have managed to pull in the recent times is proof enough that most internet surfers prefer blogs to other types of websites. Therefore, if you are blogger or planning to become one, know that the field is competitive but one that can be highly rewarding.
So, how do people make money blogging? Well, this question prompted me to scour the net for tips, reviews and general knowledge on the most effective ways of monetizing a blog. Before we look into the tips, however, I would encourage that you tweak your blog accordingly. Look at your blog as a new product that is entering an already crowded market because (believe it or not) there are hundreds of websites covering your niche already. It is for this reason that I usually insist on giving a different perspective to a popular topic. For instance, though the internet is likely to go abuzz with all sorts of articles on Samsung Galaxy S5, only a few will stand out (because of their informational value and uniqueness). Some will only concentrate Galaxy SVI’s features compared to its predecessor while others will compare it with the iPhone or other high-end Android phones.
Lest we lose focus here, the post is neither on qualities of a good article nor how to optimize your blog for search engines and ads placement. I‘ll assume that you know how to choose the best template for your blog, and how to attract quality traffic through SEO or other methods. So, let’s go straight to the methods of blog monetization:
Advertising
Using Ads programs like Google Adsense, Bing Yahoo Network, Kontera, Infolinks etc. are the most popular ways of making money with your blog. The idea is simple; you strategically place the ads (be they text links or image banners) on your blog and get paid for the views, clicks or purchases. I would recommend you read and understand rates an ads program offer to avoid unnecessary frustration. Here are the three ways you could make money with an ads program:
Cost Per Impression (CPM) – you are paid per every 1000 views and rates differ from one program to the other.
Cost Per Click (CPC) – You are paid if the visitor clicks the ads. NEVER ask friends to click ads or pay people to do so. It is cheating and you would not want to run a fraudulent blog. CPC offers some good income for those with thousands of targeted visitors)
Cost Per Action (CPA) – You are only paid when the users clicks the ads, visits the site and buys the product or does any other action described by the advertiser. CPA usually pay more if you have decent number of page visitors
You could also sell direct ads space, run a premium newsletter advertisement or create a Jobs Board/Classified. You could also turn to RSS Advertising (i.e. where you blog subscribers receive ads along with daily feeds)
Affiliate Marketing
In my research, I have come to learn that most popular bloggers get most of their blog income from affiliate programs. Granted, there are hundreds of affiliate programs out there. However, only a few can give you the income you need. Affiliate Networks like Amazon or Ebay Partnership Program can earn you good money (provided you have good traffic - not a few hundreds of daily pageviews. So, get the right traffic before you try affiliate marketing
Artistic show of the profitability of Affiliate Marketing
Source: Pvdkerk via Wikimedia
Selling/Flipping blogs
As I said before, a blog was just bought at a whooping $300+ million. So, you could decide to sell/flip your blog. While you may not even reach the million-dollar mark, chances are that you will always sell your blog at a profit. In brief, the flipping business involves buying a domain, starting and promoting a blog and selling it at a profit. You could also buy an underused blog and tweak to improve its market value before selling on flippa.
Offering Continuity Programs
Ads placement, affiliate marketing or flipping are not the only ways you could make money with your blog. If you are an expert in a given field and capable of providing unique contents, then you can run premium contents and training/tutorial programs. Alternatively, you could start a membership program to give access to premium contents to subscribers (the said subscriber often pay a monthly fee for their access).
Selling Products
In today’s world, selling virtual products like Ebooks, Audios, videos, Software/plugin/apps, webinars, reports and courses has become very profitable. In fact, it is rare to see a blog without a free or premium eBook offer. It is however advisable that you research first instead of offering substandard virtual products. On the other hand, you could sell physical products like Books, DVDs and other Merchandise from your blog.
Whichever method of monetization you choose, you must not be impatient. They say Rome was not built in a day and so is your blog. It will take time and hard work but in the end you will be smiling all the way to the bank.