Blog monetization is not a new thing in the cyber space. From the methods that are easy to pull off, like Adsense and CPM to those that take a bit of time to manifest, like email newsletters and premium content, I have seen a couple of other creative ways that fetch a lot of blog owners some money. If you have implemented a couple of these and need extra one or two techniques to chip in or perhaps you are looking for some ideas to decide on the best take, here are some tips to consider.
- In-Text Ads
These are ads served along with the posts on a blog page. You may have probably seen a couple of these without knowing. They are those links with double-lines below them and are known to attract more clicks. However, it is important that you know your readers before using in-text ads as in most cases; such ads seem irritating and may lead to lose of visitors, readers or subscribers.
- Ask For Donations
Asking people to donate is perhaps one of the old methods of monetizing a blog. I will say it is outdated but some bloggers still make use of it. Even if you don’t mind that little button on your blog that asks visitors to “donate,” you will really need a bit of creativity to really get some donations. Instead of just putting the donate button and hopping that people do, you can channel the call to action to a project you are running for your readers. For instance, if you have a huge community of blog readers in the IM niche, and run a valuable weekly newsletter which your readers love, you can ask for donations in order to continue paying for the email newsletter cost. I think your readers will be happier to drop you a dollar or two as a thank-you for the value you are taking your time and effort to provide them. Hence with some creativity, you can still pull a couple of cash once in a while from your blog through donations.
However, using this method depends on the kind of bog you are running. For instance, I have a coupon blog where I share unbiased views about digital product creation service sites, like Snapily and Mixbook. My intention for the blog is to provide visitors the truth about such services and products so they can make a more informed decision as to whether they need the service or not. In a case where they decide to go for it, I expect them to click-through using the link served on my blog which will fetch me some commission. Therefore, if I have to place a “Donate” button on this site, it will serve as a distraction to what I want my visitors to actually see and read. So I desist from it!
- Paid Surveys/Polls
I have seen a couple of blogs with some polls or a survey question placed in a widget by their sidebar. You can leverage on this method to earn more money with you blog. Choose a relevant poll or survey and when your blog visitors fill it out, you will earn money. However, it is important that you work with a reputable survey or poll company as many of such have been identified as scams lately. Research the background of the company and let your visitors know, ahead of time, that the survey or poll is served by another company with separate terms and policy.
- Sponsored Post
If your blog is already commanding good amount of traffic with some activity, you may have probably gotten a contact or two from people requesting to know whether you accept sponsored posts. For reasons of gaining more exposure, many people may want to pay a couple of dollars in order for their articles to be featured on your blog. If you want to leverage this earning potential however, it is important to ensure that such posts will not turn off your readers in any way. Better still, let your readers know that they are sponsored posts; it is up to the writer to write a compelling content that will prompt the intended action.
These are a few of the methods you can start with or combine with the ones you are already using to turn your blog into a cash cow. Do you have something different that is working for you? I’d love to hear it.
Nice money making tips, Steven. I recently launched my healthy living for vegans website and I am looking for ways to monetize it, apart from affiliate marketing. You gave me some ideas here but I definitely need to grow in traffic.
@elena anne thanks for reading, Elena. Good luck with your new online venture on healthy living. I checked on it and you’ve done a good job regarding monetization. Keep it up.