Monetization — Extra Information
I have written on the subject of Monetization before on this blog – in fact twice:
- Monetizing OK – Beware of Over-Doing It — June 27th 2007
- Only One Way to Monetize? — July 27th 2007
I just noticed that these two articles were written, by coincidence, one month apart. Funny when you go through such a blog to find any potential holes. You end up noticing these funny little details. 🙂
There ARE Other Ways Indeed
I would like to mention six methods you could also use to monetize your blog.
- Direct or Targeted Advertising
- Affiliate Links
- Selling Links
- Selling Content
- Coaching, Speaking Opportunities and Consulting
- Don’t Give Up – Sell Your Blog Instead
1. Direct or Targeted Advertising
One of the most overlooked factors when you dominate a good niche is the fact that many companies could be interested in advertising on your blog. You might be outselling yourself if you relied purely on contextual advertising like AdSense or Kontera when niches often may not have any high-paying keywords – and even if they do, user interest is quickly falling towards the cave if you maintain identical advertising for months.
IF and WHEN your traffic becomes interesting you may want to publish that data to attract advertisers’ interests. On the other hand, you might also want to keep it a secret. There are times when success can tick others off, as you no doubt know.
Whether or not you choose to have the obvious “Advertise On This Blog” link on your blog is a question of what fits your design. You may also want to keep it under the About the author page or in other areas where you have a feeling you will attract the right audience if they are REALLY interested in what you write.
Make sure you provide efficient statistical figures for your advertisers. Your advertisers are more likely to stay with you if things look good – and even if they don’t, they are more likely to “sponsor” you when you show good will towards their interests also.
2. Affiliate Links
One of the better methods that has survived for many years is the use of affiliate links. When you are in a strong niche, there might be some very interesting products that could earn you some very nice money in the long run.
Amazon is what many think of when you talk of affiliate links, but they are not all that interesting in the long run. You might find that smaller companies offer far better conversion rates and a far better commission structure. Surf around to find the best deals, or look at ONLINE INCOME – Step by Step. Their very first issue is on the subject of “affiliate marketing.” At 64.95 per month you can learn all you need about making money from the internet.
3. Selling Links
It sounds almost like affiliate links, but whereas you only earn from actual clicks or actual purchases in point no. 2, you could offer a monthly price where the advertiser knows your monthly statistics and then pays a monthly price upfront. The advantage is clear. You get money for research & development straight away. The disadvantage is that you earn a just as low income in a good month (with high volumes of traffic) as a poor one (with less traffic).
It’s difficult to say what is best, but you should clearly think twice before offering a monthly fixed price if you have a high volume of traffic or you can see good potential in the product. Recurring income can be just as nice long-term as cash upfront. Depends upon your monetary preferences also.
4. Selling Content
You might want to package many of your articles into e-books. You might even convert your word processing document using the Lulu.com publishing services to create a webshop with book the e-book and even a printed edition of your book. Since they do print-on-demand for you there is no initial investment to get published. THAT can save you a lot of money. 🙂
5. Coaching, Speaking Opportunities and Consulting
Your knowledge might just as well be put to good use, and for those of you with talents in helping others, coaching could be a marvelous tool. Speaking opportunities might sound scary in the beginning, but you CAN truly help a lot of people at the same time, so it’s actually like a grand-scale coaching session. Consulting is a good thing when your level of expertise rises far above average since you can earn a decent income long-term.
6. Don’t Give Up – Sell Your Blog Instead
If you ever get tired of your blog or you actually begin to feel things are getting to be a bit old hat, you have two choices: either hire an extra person to partner in writting or selling your blog. The last idea might sound a bit far-out, but when you think of it, it’s not all that crazy and could earn someone else a good income – and you too when you sell it.
Think of it like this: if you just gave up the blog, it would end up paying nothing. There might be some recurring income for a year, but a passive blog will quickly loose it’s worth. So why not get paid in the process?
Conclusion
It can appear a bit tedious to start up a good blog but you will find that once you have built up a fixed readership that comes back to your blog, you can improve your income considerably by applying these tips. Good luck.
Remember: Carpe Diem. 🙂
PS: If you have other ideas please do write a comment. I’m always on the lookout for passing on good tips on monetizing your blog so you can improve your ability to master the WordPress blogging software.