Most people that start a blog do so because of various reports that highlight how some bloggers make a 5 or 6 figures income every single month. It is obvious that you will be tempted to do something so that you can reach the same success levels. The big problem is that even when there is a lot of traffic, many bloggers do not make a lot of money. That is usually because monetization is not done properly.
While it is obvious that in many situations the best monetization option will vary and what works great for one site may not be great for yours, here are those opportunities that you have to always consider.
Disclaimer: Never expect to have as much money as in the following picture as a beginner. One bill of those in one month is quite ok.
Google AdSense And Similar
AdSense is one of the best ways to monetize your blog. There are hundreds of articles about that. You can easily add their codes to your site so that you can make more money. However, in this case you have to be sure that you respect TOS since a failure to do this would lead towards you losing your money.
Direct Ad Sales
This is definitely something that you need to consider, especially if you grow your traffic. You can sell ad space directly on the blog or in the newsletters. Take a look at what others do and when you start, offer some free ads to those bloggers that are your friends. Leave a couple of free ad spaces so that you can make the site seem more attractive for potential buyers.
In most cases direct ad sales will make you a lot more than Google Adsense but it is less than with the ad networks that require you to have a lot of traffic. You do not need to charge much in the beginning. Just $5 per one ad per month can help you cover your hosting costs. If you use WordPress, there are plugins that can help you to easily manage ads.
Affiliate Marketing
You can make a commission with every single sale that you generate. You sign up to an affiliate network or an affiliate program. Then, when you recommend some products and a visitor buys, you make a commission. Make sure that you think about the audience you have so that you can offer products that are actually necessary. Never try to sell something that is not useful for the potential buyer.
Keep in mind that you have to be transparent about commissions and affiliate links. The audience you have does deserve transparency. Affiliate marketing will not help you in the event that you throw an ad in the sidebar.
Try to present the program you promote in a way that it appears as it is helpful for the visitors. Make sure that it is helpful for your visitors. This is more important than you may believe at first glance.
Offer Services Or Products
Many are afraid to offer services or products on their own sites. You should not be. Think about what you can offer to your visitors and as long as you know you can offer something of a suitable quality, you can do that.
As a very simple example, if you are really good at writing, offer your writing services. Alternatively, if you are good at something else like facebook page management, write a report about it and how it needs to be done. You can sell this for a low price until you get to sell services or products at a higher value.
Consider all the options mentioned above. Also, make sure that you always do all that you can so that you understand the audience you have. This is a lot more important than you may think.
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