This is a guest post by haha.
Blogging has turned into a viable source of income and lots of people are making a ton of money online. On paper it seems like an easy enough job, but there are lots of different factors that influence blog success and strategy.
The truth is, you probably won't make a decent income to live off when you are first starting out (unless you get incredibly lucky). That being said, there is no reason why you can’t accelerate your blog’s growth to get you earning as fast as possible.
Here is what you need to know about rapid monetization.
What are your blogging goals?
There are lots of different ways to make money from your blog. Most successful entrepreneurs actually make their money through a variety of income streams as opposed to just one single stream.
Dream big and think about what you actually want to achieve from your blog.
How do you want to start monetizing your blog? How much would you like to make?
Stick to one revenue source at first and focus on building on your knowledge and experience to take it to the next level.
Once your blog gains momentum, you can start thinking about other viable sources of income. It’s important to take your time building your blog before you rush into purely trying to make money, or you risk your blog becoming unfocused: not something people will want to read.
Add value to your readers and give them genuine, actionable steps they can work with, rather than JUST focusing on moneymaking.
Tip: Write down your ultimate blogging goal and work backwards through smaller, short-term goals. What will you be happy achieving for your blog in one week, one month, and one year?
Dream big and display your goals somewhere you will see them often to keep you motivated. Income reports and tracking can help to build motivation, and they hold you accountable for your successes and downfalls. This will help keep you on the right track.
Monetization strategies that are worth exploring:
What method of making money makes the most sense for your blog and your niche?
- Visibility - boost your blog’s visibility through guest posting on other sites. With a link back to your own site, you will boost traffic and make it more powerful. Balance this out with longform content and articles on your own domain to power up your blog’s SEO.
- Display advertisements on your site once your blog gains momentum and power: these can be sourced through a platform, or you can offer custom spots for local brands and businesses (might be more lucrative).
- Offer sponsored posts for advertisers, companies, and marketers for a fee (but make sure the quality remains high).
- Use affiliate marketing to earn revenue through your blog by sharing products or tools you love (in-depth reviews tend to rank and do well).
- Turn your blog into an ecommerce store and sell products that you love.
- Sell services through your blog for other avenues of revenue. You can use webinars and content to sell your social media management skills, or offer your copywriting skills to companies and bloggers.
- For big bloggers, or emerging niche bloggers, partnering with brands on content or social media can be a great way to break into the monetization sphere. Don’t be afraid to conduct your own outreach (as well as sifting through the inevitable emails that will flood your blog’s inbox)
Tip: For those just starting out, focus your attention on building your online visibility, which makes it easier for people to find your site, so that both users and advertisers will want to work with you.
You can growth hack your blog by going super niche (serve the needs of an active community), paying for social media advertising, hosting competitions, scouting expert endorsements, doing fun PR stunts , or genuinely serving a need that hasn’t been met before (emerging culture is great for this).
Take a look at others: what lessons can you learn?
Take a look at fellow bloggers that you look up to. See what they are doing to make money from their blog. Are there any lessons you can learn from?
Perhaps you notice that one of your favorite bloggers is suddenly sporting lots of GoPro gear, like travel bloggers Kingingit? After their blog gained momentum they were sponsored by GoPro and are now earning sponsorship revenue, alongside other avenues of income.
- Even if you can’t get sponsored by a big name brand, you can still sell their products through affiliate marketing or ecommerce. Leverage successful brand reputations by becoming an online merchant on the side.
- Always getting complimented on your lifestyle choices? You could create a subscription box full of items you know your readers will love.
- Want to design something yourself? You could sell gorgeous bags, watches, or t-shirts to make more revenue. (With dropshipping and print fulfilment available to us all at a monthly subscription fee: anyone can do it).
- Selling blogger growth packs and services to other bloggers is lucrative...so why not share your knowledge with beginner bloggers?
Blogging and ecommerce go hand in hand, so it's not surprising that lots of bloggers have expanded their business venture into ecommerce.
Opening an online store is a logical next move for any blogger because it is relatively low risk (especially if you are using dropshopping). It’s a great way to turn your audience base into customers – and your site will already have power.
If you are using WordPress to power your site then you can use plugins like WooCommerce to change your site into an ecommerce store or use other professional hosted sites like Shopify to create your online store.
Free trials are great to test whether or not you want to explore this avenue as you can play around for a few weeks to see whether it will work out for you.
Manage monetization in the long-term: scale your blog.
For any business, whether in the online world or not, knowing how to grow is imperative for success. Grow too fast and you risk making a bad decision or not being able to handle the added pressure. Grow too slowly and you may not make enough money to continue.
Accelerate growth and traffic to your blog using paid advertisements. Facebook ads can be a great way to reach more people and will be targeted to the right audience. Spend a little money to increase online visibility and grow your blog fast.
Reach the happy medium where you are steadily growing and expanding your business to its maximum potential.
Start out with a strong business plan, actionable steps and a solid end goal in mind. This can change or grow over time, but by having this goal in the first place you know what you are working towards and how you will achieve it. A well thought-out business plan will ensure your company keeps on growing and ends up as successful as you dreamed.
Monetizing your blog can be a great way to earn an income you can live off. Accelerate blog income by focusing on growing your online visibility through search, social media, and advertising. Great blogs take a lot of time and effort, so be dedicated, and the rest will fall into place if you keep at it consistently. Many bloggers start to see big results around the six months mark.
How will you manage blog monetization?
Guest Author: Patrick Foster is an ecommerce coach and writer, who loves sharing his expertise with other budding entrepreneurs and bloggers. He is the brains behind EcommerceTips.org where he shares expert tips and helpful guides about marketing, ecommerce, blogging and building your online brand. Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn
