The majority of bloggers I know aren’t just writing all the time to hear their own thoughts…at some point, there is usually a hope or dream to earn even a small amount of cash from their blogs. Over the last 6 years, I have learned a great deal about blogging, and even made a decent amount of money off my blog. But let me be honest; if you’re expecting to become a millionaire off of a blog about your life, it’s probably not going to happen. That doesn’t mean that you can’t create a great supplemental income for your family and probably pick up some great swag along the way, though!

Bloggers often go through quite a lot to earn revenues from their blogs and there are many ways to monetize your blog. What works for one blog may not work for every other blog. And sometimes, you just may not personally feel like every option is suitable for your own blog. If you have not ever monetized your blog in any way, do know that sometimes putting up a few ads or writing a review for an affiliate product may irritate some readers — and they may tell you so or even stop following you. But honestly, if they can’t understand that you are blogging as more than a hobby and respect your professionalism, then maybe they were never the right readers for you blog in the first place. Just don’t over do and cheapen your blog.

10 Easy Ways to Monetize Your Blog

  1. Sell your own ads
    When you have established that traffic to your blog is increasing and you have a growing audience on a particular niche, the best step to take to earn a bit of cash is to sell your own ads. There are a lot of online guides on how to sell your own ads that will inform you of industry standards and how you can calculate your charges for it. But basically, you want to take a look at your traffic (namely the page views divided by 1,000 to obtain your CPM or Cost Per Mille/Thousand) and find a few blogs similar to your own that offer advertising.  Consider what their own rates are and if you believe that is a good fee for your blog. Sometimes a bit of trial and error is necessary to find the best price that makes advertisers and you happy.
  2. Joining an ad network
    Some may find it difficult and frustrating to manage their own ad sales. You need to be rather organized if you don’t use a plugin that automatically expires your ads, have to keep in contact with current and potential advertisers about rates and make sure the ads show up on your site. Ad networks can greatly help bloggers as they offer access to companies that may not otherwise find you and can also help you set rates. There are also many out there which cater only to specific blog niches, which means you can display highly targeted ads that will interest your readers more.
  3. Use your blog to promote your business
    Create a portfolio on your blog, mention it in your About Me page and make sure to mention what you do in your “other life” on your blog on a regular basis. Not every blogger who works in another area of expertise does this cross marketing, but it’s a great way to reach new customers who already find you interesting and probably even trustworthy. And even if they can’t personally use your services or products, they might remember to tell their friends about you.
  4. Create tutorial classes from your blog
    You can go about this in two ways. First, you can sell subscriptions on your blog. Second, you can do it yourself. Either way, you should be sure that topics are in close relations to your blog and that it is limited by imagination.
  5. Write sponsored post or publish commercial guest posts
    Writing a post with a link to a specific website using specific keywords and receiving compensation for it is a sponsored post. You may have seen posts like that on NOH before because I do monetize this blog with that method. And there are even networks which you can join that help you find sponsors for posts (ask me if you want to join one as I have a company that I really like working with and I’ll happily recommend them). But you must make sure to not post them too often, and some of the networks have additional rules for posts. Also, be sure not to sell yourself short. If you have an established blog and someone offers you $5-10 to write a sponsored post, tell them to take a hike.
  6. Create a branded video
    A branded video works the same way as a sponsored post. The content of the video you have created is one that can be useful not only to your viewers but to the brand as well. And for mentioning their product or doing a video review, you receive payment. Do know that the FCC requires you to designate in both blog posts and videos that you are receiving some sort of compensation for these posts on your blog.
  7. Sell products & services
    If there is anything related to your blog, branded for your blog or which otherwise ties into your blog that you can sell personally, then go for it. You might want to have a virtual garage sale, sell off products you’ve canned, or sell services that teach people how to do something you once described or showcased on your blog. You can even set up a shop online to sell your own products if you plan on creating new things regularly.
  8. Sell your own book
    If you are an exceptional writer, there is no better time than now to publish your own book! You can do it yourself, and even have books printed on demand at very low cost — or you can just sell it as an ebook. You may find inspiration in the collection of most popular posts on your blog, or a series you did which became very successful online.
  9. Develop an ecourse
    Along the same lines as selling a book or ebook, if there is something you have a lot of expertise in and are passionate about (and others are too), you have the ability to easily create an ecourse to be sold online which will bring in far more profit than ebooks. You may want to do live recordings & webinars for members — or you may want to stick to screenshots and manuals. But ecourses are definitly a viable way of making money online and helping to further your blog by using materials you’ve already created, promoting it via your blog and letting your blog be a great source of information about what people are looking to learn about.
  10. Affiliate marketing
    A lot of income can come from promotions about someone else’s products. You can promote ebooks or online courses and even put up some affiliate marketing as part of your posts in the form of a review. It is best to market products you are already familiar with or use regularly, because you’ll be putting your name on the line for those products. If you want to get into selling affiliate products, usually you can contact the company selling that product (especially if it’s an ebook or ecourse) and request a copy for review. That way you can make sure you aren’t selling something that is a rip off or a waste of your readers time.

Do you monetize your blog? What are your favorite methods?

Are you trying to create your own ways of making money from home? What would you like to learn about being an entrepreneur and starting your own ventures? Ask me now and I’ll be sure to talk about it in future posts!