Why do people blog?
Most likely it is because they have something to say in this or that regard.
But how long can one stay motivated on enthusiasm alone?
It can be hard to stay motivated and sustain your blog when your only reward is the sense of accomplishment. One needs something more material, something to help you pay your bills and justify the amounts of time that you dedicate to writing your posts and promoting your blog.
It may be worthwhile to put a little disclaimer here. One may argue that putting any actual effort into monetizing your blog is not such a good idea. It may ultimately lead to utter commercialization which can be viewed as something unethical or even downright evil by some. So, if you share this idea to some extent, be advised to first sort out your feelings and decide whether you want to monetize your blog or not. If not – don't read any further.
Now, every blogger has his or her own ideas on how a blog can be monetized. This article sums up several little tips and ideas on how to earn more money off your blog.
1. ADVERTISE
The most obvious way to earn money from your blog is to place ads and the most obvious means is ad networks like Google Ads. You might, however, want to do a little research to see what other ad networks have to offer. When choosing an ad network, consider the following factors, your niche and your number of visitors (actual and expected).
When choosing spots for placing ads on your pages, be consistent and considerate. On the one hand, you do not want to have your entire page covered in ads since this may compromise the user experience and annoy your audience away. On the other hand, the ad should not be placed somewhere barely visible just out of fear of annoying the reader.
It is also possible to earn some commission from online shops like Amazon by placing links to the products they sell on your blog. Here you need to take care that the links were relevant and not irritating. There are a few tricks here:
1) You can opt for deep linking. This means that the links to the relevant products will be placed in the article proper. For example, the article about the things to take into account when choosing headphones can include links to the headphones that you suggest for these or those purposes. This way, your reader will be able to instantly go to the online store and buy those headphones, thus generating some commission for you.
2) You can also place links in your sidebar. It seems the most effective way since sidebar appears on all pages, so the reader is always exposed to it. These links don't need to be too creative. For example, if your blog is dedicated to gardening, you can create a new link category called “My Top 11 Books on Gardening.”
3) Remember to localize ads. In most cases, it will be strange to expect all your readership to originate from just one country. There are plugins that allow you to control which links are to be shown to people in different countries. For example, a person from the UK will be directed to amazon.co.uk, while a visitor from Germany will see the link to amazon.de. This way, your reader will not get disappointed and irritated to have clicked on a link to a product that they cannot buy. Instead, they will only be directed to usable links.
Also Read: How to Make Money with Advertising on your Blog
2. SELL YOUR OWN STUFF
If you are an experienced blogger, you should be an expert in what you blog about. So, why not write an eBook about it and sell it on your blog and on eBook platforms like Kindle? You might as well consider rewriting some of your older posts into the chapters of your book.
If the book is successful, some publishing houses may show interest in buying the publishing rights to it.
Also Read: Make Money by Shortening Links
3. BE SELF-AWARE
Once you have decided that your blog needs to generate income, you should not be shy about it. If you put ads on your blog, have them in a visible place. If you request donations, let your reader be constantly reminded that these donations are needed to keep their favorite blog alive. Even if your earnings from your blog will be quite modest, you become vulnerable to being called a sell-out. So, be ready for it and embrace it.
Most people start blogging to express their passion for the topic they choose, and they genuinely enjoy writing about it. Now, what can be better than having your calling not only keep you inspired and engaged, but also pay your bills? This is the ultimate self-realization to which all people aim. Having mastered the tricks described in this article you will surely be on your way to self-realization as a blogger.
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