You blog because you’ve got something to say… maybe it’s a message to share, maybe it’s a way to help more people, maybe it’s a personal expression thing. Whatever your motivation, it’d be nice to make a little money from it, right?
Depending on your blog topic and how it fits into your business, you’ve got lots of options!
Here are five ways you can make money with your blog:
1. Advertising
You can offer advertising spots on your blog. For example:
- Image/Banner Ads (check out WP125 plugin or BuySellAds.com)
- Text Ads
- Paid Posts
- Ads in Your Newsletter or RSS Feed
Or you can consider options like Google Adsense.
2. Affiliate Marketing
What products or services have you used and can recommend that your readers might be interested in? Check into whether they’ve got affiliate programs you can sign up for.
Here are some strategies for promoting affiliate products:
- Write a review post
- Create a resource list blog post or page
- Write and giveaway a free report you can include a link in
- Ad a link or add to your sidebar
- Do a webinar or teleseminar (you promote on your blog and social media to get people there, the presenter gets to make an offer after they deliver valuable info and then you get a cut of any sales)
3. Virtual or Physical Products
What products do you offer? Be sure to promote them on your blog!
No products yet? What could you create or put together to sell?
4. Communities or Continuity Programs
What could you build a community or continuity program around to offer on your blog?
5. Your Services
What services do you offer? Do your blog readers know they can hire you? Consider adding a page to your website highlighting your services, if you don’t already have it.
Brainstorm what else you could offer!
Other Options
You can also make money from your blogging by flipping blogs (you start or purchase a blog, make it thrive, then sell it for a profit) or by using your blog to help you get a job or grow an offline business.
See how many options you’ve got?
Great advice, Michele!
Thanks, Roy. Appreciate the tweet, too!
just thought to create an ad for myself
fantastic!
Awesome, Helen! :)
Your post is packed with great information Michelle and a helpful one. I will look forward to apply this tips.
Michelle, I would like to invite you to my site. My site undergone to a major changes. Try to visit at your most convenient time.
Thanks, Farrell, and definitely put them into action.
Stopped by your blog–nice XHTML tutorials.
Very helpful, Michelle, specially to those new and well, the not-so new to blogging. Your post – your blog posts in general – is short, simple, and informative. Great job, keep it up!
Thanks, Reese!
Great post Michelle. I would like to add that people must be patient and not expect results overnight. Everything that you have suggested here takes time to yield results.
Yes, I think much of the time/patience lies in getting an audience of readers built to create the platform so the monetization works.
Great money making tips Michelle. I agree with Neil one needs to be persistent and patient.
What’s the saying? Most “overnight successes” were years in the making. :)
I feel like there is so much more I need to learn about affiliate marketing. It seems like it is something that works very well for people.
Hey Julie, one thing you’ll find as you get into it more is that the best affiliate marketing programs have really cool training available for you. Copyblogger’s programs are a great example.
Blogging on the side can definitely be a fabulous way to make some money on the side! Kind of surprising what you can do with blogging!
Hi Michelle, I liked your idea of writing reviews on product to sell affiliate products. I think there is no better option than this option to sell affiliate product.
It works a lot better than banners or other advertising methods for me personally. Writing a review helps get traffic from the search engines, and shows readers we’ve actually purchased the product and used it successfully so we’re more credible promoting it.
Michelle,
I have just taken up your 30 day challenge. Now that I have signed up for it, I feel a sense of pride and a sense of fear as well.
What if I cannot deliver?
Anyways I am using some of the strategies you mentioned here. I will try out the ads plugin someday.
Good post. I struggle with the idea of flipping a blog. It would kill me to build up a profitable blog only to sell it to someone else. :-)
Yeah that one isn’t too appealing to me either, but I know quite a few people who’ve done great with that strategy. Depends on the goal. :)
Let’s win the money :)
Advertising and Affiliate Marketing are all that I need.
My favorite way to profit from a blog is through affiliate marketing. I love to educate/inform my target audience and build my rapport with them while also showing them how the products that I am affiliated with will help build their business/services!
Great insight in this post, thanks!
Affiliate programs need to make it easy to use them. I like the ones that offer a variety of ads and or banners, as well as have training, as you mentioned Michelle.
Thanks for revealing how to make income blogging. Great ideas that I will use.