A blog can be treated as a platform to express yourself in a creative sense. On the other hand, some bloggers start to write because they aspire to monetize content later.
How much you can make on your blog often depends on your audience. Big visitors do not mean much if they are random people rather than an audience that you can target with specific modification methods.
And even then, going overboard and trying to squeeze everything you can out of a blog can backfire. If regular visitors who come to check the site notice that it has become nothing but a grab for money, they will not bother coming back. In other words, you need to maintain the quality of the blog and not push monetization too much.
Figuring out the correct approach is a crucial step. Next, it is about what method you choose. Some bloggers stick to a single idea and polish it consistently. Others try multiple methods and even combine them.
Advertise and Sell Custom Merchandise
From streamers and YouTubers to social media influencers and bloggers, all kinds of content creators are utilizing custom merchandise as a monetization method.
By purchasing merchandise, fans support the content creator they love while also getting a neat item in return.
So long as the design is interesting, unique, and even wacky, it would not be a stretch that, as a blogger, you can sell t-shirts fit for everyone, not just in terms of size but also in terms of design. And the same thing applies to other types of merchandise.
You can dedicate a section for custom merchandise on your blog or create an account on one of the many available custom merch markets and redirect readers there.
Offer Guest Posts and Link Insertions
Link building is a popular strategy to boost a website’s rankings on search engines and raise brand awareness.
Since you own a blog, you can charge money for guest posts or link insertions. Of course, it is necessary to ensure that content and backlinks from others do not affect your website negatively.
Some bloggers go as far as accepting any content so long as they receive money for it without realizing that the overall site quality suffers greatly. Poor content gets noticed by readers, and it might not be too long before they turn back on the blog.
Create a Patreon Page
Direct support from your audience means that you do not have to really modify the website by putting promotional content on it and such. However, it can be difficult making money this way.
Crowdfunding platforms do not generate that much income for an average blogger. Your audience needs to be quite loyal and love your content.
You can try offering various perks, such as exclusive articles to your supporters. Taking suggestions for future article ideas could also be an interesting perk, but if you have a lot of supporters, producing enough quality content to appease everyone’s ideas could be impossible.
Having said that, a Patreon page is still a decent monetization option and should be on your list.
Sell Digital Products
Digital products include ebooks and webinars, which are arguably the best two examples. You can find plenty of self-proclaimed gurus who advertise ridiculous guides on how to make money or launch a successful career as a service provider.
The reality is that these courses are a hoax. You want to avoid that and focus on something that actually offers real value to your audience.
In case you do not want to create digital products yourself, you can find someone to collaborate with. However, be sure to check the content quality. You certainly want to avoid jeopardizing your blog by advertising lackluster digital goods.
Use Affiliate Marketing Links
Affiliate marketing is not as popular as it once was, but you can still make decent money with it. A blog presents you with an opportunity to insert affiliate links where appropriate. However, it is natural that spamming content with affiliate links is easy to notice, so you need to be careful.
Usually, Amazon is the go-to option because they offer a lot of different products to promote in their affiliate program. On the other hand, if the theme of your blog does not really fit with Amazon’s products, you can seek other affiliate programs.
Run Ads
The idea of running ads might feel a bit outdated these days, mainly because many people are using ad blockers on their internet browsers. Moreover, ads are quite annoying for an average internet surfer, so they might find the site too difficult to navigate and close it. Lastly, there is the question of how much ads will slow down the website’s speed.
Despite the downsides, ad networks are still a popular method of monetizing websites. It is about finding the right ad network and figuring out where exactly on your website you should place the ads for the best possible ROI.
