While we tend to start a blog with many things in mind earning money is usually at the top of this list. Unfortunately, it’s not always as easy as others make it look. Especially if you are new to blogging. With so many blogs available today, you have to make yours unique and make readers want to subscribe and keep coming back for more. The more readers you gain, the more revenue you can earn. Here are some proven ways to increase the revenue on your blog over time.
1. Advertising
Advertising is a great way to earn revenue. Many people just starting out with a blog may choose to use PPC programs, like Google Adsense because it’s easy to learn and incorporate into your blog. It’s also a great start for beginners and as your blog grows your chance for better opportunities increase. Other companies will want to advertise on your site which will bring in even more revenue than PPC alone. If you already have a blog generating a lot of traffic and have just started trying to monetize it, why not contact advertisers directly? Draft an email including prices for advertisement placement on your site and send it to merchants relative to your own blog.
2. Affiliates
Affiliate programs are where you choose a product and either write a review or place an ad on your site and you draw in commission from viewers who choose to purchase the product. It’s a great way to bring in some revenue but you need to be careful, and choosy, when selecting products to promote. Only choose those you have either used yourself or know to be valuable to your readers. Affiliate programs will typically pay a certain percentage of sales or a flat fee for each lead you provide. It’s worth considering if you want to increase your revenue, but be careful in which programs you choose and do not overdo it; place dozens of affiliate ads, etc on your site. This can be a huge turn-off to readers.
3. Sell Products
You’ve probably visited many blogs where you can purchase an eBook or other product sold by the blog owner. Many times it’s not an expensive purchase but can definitely help a blog owner earn some extra cash. The best way to sell your own product without throwing a sales pitch in your readers’ faces is by providing valuable and useful information with an option to purchase your product. Link to it or consider providing a special offer or discount to help generate even more revenue. The more authority you gain within your blog, the higher chance you have of people purchasing your products. People want to buy from those they trust and know. If you don’t have products to sell, create an informational product, such as an eBook that contains valuable information for your readers. Consider giving it away for a short period and then increasing the price. When people learn of your expertise they’ll surely come back for more.
4. Paid Memberships
If you have a blog with steady traffic you already know that people want to learn more about what you have to say. You might consider changing it up and offering a paid membership, where free members can read the blog but paid members have access to more information or special features. The risk to paid memberships is that you want to give the subscriber what they’re after. They won’t pay for it if they don’t feel it is valuable or relevant enough. Keep your readers in mind and continue providing consistent information, articles, etc. in order to keep your current members and increase the number over time.
5. Paid Reviews
If you have a lot of traffic to your blog companies could benefit from your reviews. Posting a review about a product, service or website might be a good option for you. Many people look for reviews or information on a product or service before buying it so your two cents could persuade them to purchase the item or service. You might start with free reviews and after some time contact bigger companies to see if they would be willing to pay for a review about their company, product, etc. Most companies choose to pay blogs that already have a significant amount of traffic so keep this in mind if you’ve just started out. Free reviews may be the way to go until your traffic increases.
Increasing the revenue for your blog will take some time. However, the more methods you utilize the higher your chance of seeing a significant increase. Just remember not to make your blog appear “spammy” by adding a lot of advertisements or affiliate links and ads. Don’t overwhelm people with a long sales pitch to buy your product. Use subtle approaches and keep in mind your goal is increase revenue but you need readers to do that; lose your readers and your chances of more revenue instantly decline.
Jason Bayless is a professional blogger that provides SEO reviews. He writes for BestSEOCompanies.com, a nationally recognized comparison website of the best SEO companies in the United States.
