If you have a website or blog, you might be thinking about how you can effectively monetize it. This means using various tool and strategies to gain money, created when users interact with your pages. By monetizing your website or blog, be it turning it into an e-commerce store or working in conjunction with brands that interest you, you can start to earn a passive income which could, over time, turn into an income you can solely live off.
Advertising
Running adverts on your website is one of the easiest ways to monetize, however, you should not jeopardize the quality or user-friendliness of your website. Simply sign up for an advertising network such as Google AdSense, add some code to your website, and ads will appear in your chosen location, such as within your content or in your sidebar. AdSense uses adverts that are as close to your niche as possible, so they are targeted to your audience, making them relevant and useful. You earn money every time a visitor clicks on an advert on your website, or you can earn per page impressions.
Affiliate Links
Affiliate marketing is where you place links to products or services that you recommend, allowing you to earn a commission from any sale that comes from your website. Many bloggers, known as influencers, use social media and their blogs as a means to link to products and services which they trust in; every time someone clicks through their link, they usually make extra money. If you have a loyal fan base, there are many business-related affiliate programs for you to join, so that you can work in partnership with brands that interest you.
Digital Products
If you are willing to put in the time and effort to create a digital product, then you can sell it through your website as a download for interested readers. Digital products can be eBooks, a video series, tutorials or online courses. As long as you have great content that gives value, then people are usually willing to pay for it. However, be prepared for it to take time for your digital product to become completed, although, it is well worth the effort. Do your homework first, as you want to make sure that your digital product fills a gap in the market, or that a similar product is not available elsewhere. Make sure your product offers something different, and solves a problem that your audience has.
Sponsorship
Many companies are willing to pay you to have their banner or logo added to one of your web pages, showing that they are a sponsor of your website and that you endorse their products or services. Sponsorship means that you can charge a monthly or yearly fee for the privilege. This is a great way to monetize, as it does not rely on your audience to interact with links or ads.
While setting up a website is easy, the marketing and building of a fan base are not, and can take copious amounts of effort and time for you to do. In the end, though, it is all worth it, and can be a great means of making extra money. Consider the above tips when you are ready to start monetizing from your blog or website.