A blog is a key component of content marketing for promoting your products and services. However, a blog can also be a great way to generate an additional income stream that is independent of your company’s offerings. There are many ways that you can monetize your blog, helping you to bring in supplementary income or to create a whole new online dynasty in itself.
Here are the top 5 ways you can monetize your blog, whether you are trying to create additional passive income or to generate an independent revenue stream:
Advertising
One of the most popular ways that businesses monetize their blogs is to sell advertising. There are three primary types of advertising you can include on your blog:
- Pay-per-click
- Pay-per-impression
- Direct sale
The first two types do what their names suggest: Pay you a certain amount each time the ad is clicked or each time it is viewed. Direct sale advertising is what you sell yourself. You set the price, the size, and the duration of the ad.
The key to making money with all three types is traffic. The more traffic you have, the more impressions you will get and the more clicks you are likely to get. Pay-per-impression ads generally pay less, so you have to have a great deal of traffic to make money with them. You also have to have a great deal of traffic to command your own rates through direct sales. However, if you can get the traffic, selling your own ads directly has the potential to make you the most money.
Affiliate Marketing
Unlike advertising, which pays you a few cents each time your ad is seen or clicked, affiliate marketing pays you a few dollars (or even a few hundred dollars) each time someone clicks on your ad and actually buys a product. There is potential to make much more money with affiliate marketing, as the commissions are higher.
It is important to choose quality products that complement the content of your blog in order to make money with affiliate marketing. If you sell products yourself, be sure to choose affiliate products that do not directly compete.
Paid Reviews
Many companies are willing to pay you to feature their product or service on your blog and to review it. Not only can you get paid a fee to write the review, but you can also receive a sample of the product and keep it.
The more popular your blog is, the more offers you are likely to get to review products, and the more you can charge for the service. There are also several websites that can put you in touch with companies who are looking to have their products reviewed.
Information Products
In addition to your own products and services, you can create e-books, online courses, and other information products to sell on your blog. Information products are a natural complement to blogs, whose chief aim is to provide useful information for consumers.
A key strategy for success with selling information products is to choose products or topics that naturally complement your other products or services. For example, if you sell hair care products, you can offer an e-book on how to highlight your own hair, or an e-course on getting your cosmetology license. Not only will this strategy help you better reach your target audience, it will also help you to sell more of all your products.
Paid Membership
Have premium content on your blog? Charge for access to it. Create top-tier articles or e-books that are only accessible to members who pay a monthly or yearly fee. Other premium content can include videos, tutorials, or even a members-only forum.
The more you have to offer behind the scenes, the more you can charge. Just make sure you deliver on your promises, or else you’ll lose members and customers.
Your blog is much more than a content marketing tool for your business. If used properly, it can create a whole new revenue stream for you. It can even become a business of its own.
Do you monetize your blog or use it strictly for content marketing? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Kay Winders is presently the resident writer for badcreditloans.org, where she researches the best way for people to pay off their debts without damaging their credit. In her spare time, she enjoys freelance writing, the beach and gardening.
