There are a seemingly endless number of ways to get content out on the internet these days. In today’s online world, anyone can have a blog (though not necessarily a successful one, if you don’t manage it well), and most new companies know there’s no way you can get a new enterprise off the ground without creating some buzz about your product or service on the web to get people interested — and that often involves plenty of content creation and usually an active blog page on a company website.
There are numerous ways to market your content, and also numerous ways to present it to an online audience. But, how do you go about generating income or revenue from that content? How does one do it in a way that will catch the eyes of readers who are already inundated with an online universe full of content?
The trick is — you’ve got to get creative with content monetization by using some of these techniques.
Paywalls and Subscriptions
You may have noticed that a lot of the big dogs when it comes to content on the internet — namely publications that are huge in their own right like The New York Times — use paywalls to help create revenue from their readers. Each person who accesses their content has a limited number of times they can do so before they are asked to sign up for a subscription to the outlet.
But, it’s not just the media giants that are monetizing their content in this way. Even bloggers with a much smaller readership can use subscriptions to generate income from people reading their content.
Sites like ConnectPal are making it easier for bloggers and a wide range of other content creators to monetize their content. With ConnectPal, bloggers and other content creators can set up their own ConnectPal page and request that those who want to access their ConnectPal page pay a small monthly subscription fee. It’s a simple, effective and creative way to monetize content, even if you don’t have an audience size like The Washington Post.
Insider Content and Special Offers
If you’ve already earned a small, dedicated readership, offering “insider” content to them, or other special offers, is another way to creatively monetize your content and generate a more engaged following. You can set up an email list of fans who pay even a small fee to get things like extra content or deals you’ve made with affiliates, or entries into giveaway contests that non-paying readers don’t have access to. This is a better strategy if your content already has eyes on it.
Tips and Donations
Some independent creators include links for readers to leave donation or tips to help the creator fund their work. Don’t think of this as begging for money — think of it as kind donors helping to support your craft. You can get even more creative with it by writing personal thank you emails to donors, or otherwise offering something in return to them for their generosity — with your added, very personal, touch that will be very much appreciated.
There are, of course, lots of ways to get creative with content monetization. But, hopefully these tips will get you off to the right start when it comes to earning revenue from your digital work.