Did you know that your business blog can be a lucrative money-maker? While your blog page may not be the first thing you’d think of when talking about revenue, it’s actually one of the least tapped treasures of many business websites.
So, here’s the million-dollar question: how can I monetize my blog and earn a passive income?
In this post, we’ll share some practical ways to monetize a blog and how you can implement it on your own pages. Keep reading and see how you can open another income stream on your website!
1. Sell ad space on top-performing blogs
If you already have an established and high-traffic blog page, selling ad space is one of the easiest blog monetization strategies you can consider.
So, how do you monetize your blog with this method? You can join an ad network like Google AdSense to create and sell ad spaces on your blog page and basically anywhere on your website.
With Google AdSense, you can start selling ad space by adding a single piece of code to your pages. The best part is that this tool is free and packed with a suite of analytical features to help you assess your clicks, impressions, and earnings all in one board.
On top of that, you can choose the ad size, type, and location. You can also block specific ads that do not align with your business or brand.
Another way to sell ad spaces is to contact advertisers directly. Imagine it as offering a digital billboard space where you can charge a fee for a specific ad duration and size. This way, you’ll have better control over the ads that will show on your pages, but it will take more work than Google AdSense.
2. Offer premium content
You can also monetize a blog page through premium content that converts. This can be in the form of subscriptions, memberships, or simply exclusive content.
Overall, this strategy in monetizing a blog works well for mature business blogs with niche-specific and valuable content.
Make sure that there are free blogs that your readers can access to establish your authority and expertise. From there, you can direct them to your premium blog content, which they can access for a reasonable cost.
But don’t just stop by asking site visitors to pay for a blog page. You can stack up your offer with early access to discounts, VIP seats on product launches, and so on.
Above all, make your premium content worth the buck. Premium content should deliver a premium experience so your visitors will keep asking for more exclusive content.
3. Consider affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing is a popular way of monetizing blog pages. It’s applicable to almost every type of blog site, whether it’s for a business or not.
Under this strategy, you’ll be promoting other companies’ products or services on your blog as naturally as possible. And whenever someone clicks and purchases from your links, you’ll receive a certain percentage of the sale as commission.
However, when you monetize your blog through affiliate marketing, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires you to disclose the information to your site visitors. You simply have to add a ‘disclaimer’ somewhere along these lines:
“Our site contains affiliate links, which means we earn a commission if you click our link/s and make a purchase. Rest assured that this will not incur additional costs for you.”
Some of the most popular affiliate programs are Amazon Associates, ClickBank, and eBay Partner Network, to name a few.
Another similar strategy on how to monetize blog is sponsored content. Basically, a company will pay you to create and publish a blog post that mentions their product or service. As a way to monetize blog pages, sponsored content can be in the form of a review, video, display ads, and more.
4. Create a blog sales funnel
Now, if you want your monetization efforts to work for your own products or services, the best way to monetize your blog is through a blog sales funnel.
Learning how to monetize your blog through this strategy requires a deep dive into your current digital marketing strategy. This way, you can tie up your blogging efforts so you can start earning money and sustain it long-term.
The goal of this sales funnel is to drive leads and conversions by mapping your blog posts into specific conversion points.
The idea here is simple: ask yourself what a reader would want from your company after reading the blog post.
From there, you can create an intentional buyer’s journey that could include the following steps:
Step 1. Provide an eye-catcher.
In the beginning, your readers are not yet aware of your brand or know very little about what your company does. So, at this stage of your sales funnel, you need to publish high-quality, non-sales information that interests your target audience. Good blogging examples here are ‘how-to’ and ‘quiz’ posts.
Step 2. Offer a lead magnet.
Now that your audience has engaged with your brand by reading a blog post, the next step is to pull them in a bit closer. You can do this by offering free materials called a ‘lead magnet’.
There are two exciting parts about lead magnets: 1.) you build trust with your audience, and 2.) you get to collect their emails for your own email marketing efforts.
For this blog post, you can attach downloadable templates, reports, checklists, a free trial, webinars, guides, toolkit, or even a free consultation.
Step 3. Provide an initial offer
Once your audience knows more about your company, it’s time to attempt to convert them into customers.
Make sure that your first offer has a low price and stacked with every possible freebie you can provide. Above all, your first offer should offer a solution to a genuine pain point of your customer.
Step 4. Do a follow-up
If a customer purchases your first offer, the next step is to keep them connected to your brand. You can do this through automated email campaigns with tailored content.
You can send them links to your blog posts that are related to their initial purchase. At the same time, this blog post should have your ‘next sell’, which is where you’re going to make bigger profits.
Overall, these steps will require a lot of work, but it will be a gift that keeps on giving in the long run. You’ll start making money from your blog aside from selling products or services.
Need expert help monetizing your blog?
Knowing how to monetize a blog can be a great way to drive more revenue to your website. However, we understand that these monetization methods require a lot of work, and many business owners don’t have the time and expertise to handle content creation.
So, if you need help monetizing your blog or website, you can reach out to Top Position. Our digital marketing agency can create a compelling blog page for your business that converts and attracts customers.
Aside from monetizing your blog pages, we also provide search engine optimization services to make your blogs reach a bigger audience. We also specialize in web design and development services to ensure that your website is ready for conversion, whichever method you wish to explore.
If you want to know how to start a blog page for your business or how to make more money on your website, contact us today for a consultation!
