Making money by blogging may seem like an amateur’s pipe dream, but while the competition is fierce to succeed online it’s certainly possible in today’s Internet-savvy world if one is willing to work hard and keep learning. If you’ve been blogging for a while and feel like it’s time for all that effort to start paying off, there are plenty of services that you can utilize to monetize your blog and start seeing tangible returns.
1) Google AdSense
Google’s AdSense program is one of the most popular and well-known forms ofblog advertising. Popular blog services like Blogger and WordPress have plugins and widgets available to allow you to integrate AdSense directly into your site.
AdSense ads are quick and easy to set up. Fully customizable in size and color, they’re perfect for sidebars, headers, footers, or anywhere you feel they’ll be most visible to your readers. A big plus of AdSense is that the ads aren’t flashy. Placement doesn’t detract from the look or layout of your blog.
2) Amazon Associates
Amazon.com has expanded greatly over the years to offer a huge selection of products across multiple categories. This makes the Amazon Associates program a great tool for monetizing your blog. No matter what your posts are about, there’s probably a relevant product to be had on Amazon.
There are several ways to utilize Amazon Associates depending on your preferences and the layout of your blog:
- Links and Banners can be tailored to your content and placed anywhere in a post or sidebar.
- Widgets integrate bits of the Amazon site with your blog to provide readers with pertinent, targeted advertising.
- aStores lets you build an entire customized store, complete with shopping cart and product details.
All affiliate services from Amazon are free to use, but require an Associate account.
3) Affiliate Link Programs
Aside from Amazon, there are several affiliate linking programs that can generateincome for your blog. Some, like LinkShare and Commission Junction, cover a wide range of products, services, and companies. Others are more specific and can be useful for targeting a niche audience.
All of these programs work the same way: after signing up, you generate links depending on your preferences. These may be text links or banner ads in whatever size best fits your blog. When a visitor clicks on a link, it takes them to theadvertised website via a tracking cookie for the affiliate program. If they make a purchase while the cookie is still active, you get a cut.
The nice thing about affiliate links is that they can be embedded in a variety of unobtrusive ways. Nothing is more annoying than visiting a blog or website where blatant advertisements flash from every sidebar. With smaller banner ads or text links, you can market directly in the text of your posts right on your own domain name without breaking the flow.
4) Offer Swag
Once you have a loyal readership, consider offering merchandise based on your blog. Websites like CafePress, Zazzle, and Spreadshirt allow you to open your own shop for free and immediately begin selling print-on-demand items.
Popular merchandise includes:
- T-shirts
- Coffee Mugs
- Travel Mugs
- Mousepads
- Hats
All of these are versatile enough that you can use them to promote your blog with a logo, in-joke, or catchphrase. Just make sure that whatever you choose is interesting enough to generate curiosity about where it came from (i.e. if you have a website in a super boring market like car insurance then it may not be so easy to think of clever jokes or catchphrases as if maybe you had a website about liger breeding for example), and remember to include your URL.
People love swag and, once you being generating sales, it means that someone somewhere is advertising your blog. Not only will you be making money from the swag itself, but this clever form of promotion can generate more interest and bring new readers, who in turn may purchase more merchandise.
5) Product Reviews
Writing product reviews can pay off in two ways. One, it gives you a chance to embed multiple relevant affiliate links in a post. Two, people searching for the product you’re reviewing will be drawn to your blog. The better the review, the better the chance that people will follow your affiliate links to the product.
10 Websites to Writer Sponsor Reviews
6) OpenSky Shops
Whether or not you write product reviews, you might still find yourself referring to certain products or items with frequency as you blog. If you blog about lifestyle or hobbies, the tools and brands you use to pursue your passion will no doubt turn up in your posts.
OpenSky allows you to capitalize on this. Word of mouth—or, in this case, word of blog—is one of the best ways to spread the word about products and services. Becoming an OpenSky seller lets you:
- Connect with people who create and distribute relevant products
- Offer unique, fun, interesting, and otherwise noteworthy merchandise to your readers
- Provide visitors direct access to products you already love
- Make money by recommending and selling these products via your own OpenSky shop
People are far more likely to buy things suggested by someone that they trust rather than a random ad. Once you establish an OpenSky shop, you can offer product discounts to your readers and generate even more sales.
7) Publish an E-Book
You’ve worked hard on your blog, and your readership enjoys your content. When your following is big enough, it might be profitable to consider gathering some of the best of the best from your blog and creating an e-book.
This may sound a little self-centered, but it’s actually a very good way to revisit old content and give newer readers a chance to catch up. Rather than slogging through archive after archive, an e-book gives visitors insight into what you consider to be the most important bits of your blog history.
E-books are especially good for “how to” blogs, food blogs, and hobby blogs. Foodies love recipe collections, and hobbyists like having clear instructions on hand. Offering an e-book to the creative and curious among your visitors lets them have your most pertinent posts just a click or two away at all times.
Monetizing your blog may take a while to pay off, but if you’re good about posting and can maintain a loyal following, there’s no reason why your blog can’t start working for you. Remember that creating consistent, quality content will get you noticed, which can in turn boost your revenue.
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