So, before we start, make sure you have a self-hosted WordPress blog and it is up and running. If you do not have one yet, you might want to wait and read this article as it may overwhelm you. You need to focus.
If you have not read about how I implemented the free service, AirTable, you might want to read that article first. Like I said, learning how to blog can be overwhelming. But trust me, it is exciting and worth it. Do not give up….ever!
Ok, let’s get started!
Google Adsense
Google Adsense is an ad network by Google that you must apply to first. Over the last few years, they have become a little more picky in who they allow into their network. As long as your content is not copied from another site and provides good quality content, you should not have a problem getting accepted.
This is by far the easiest way to monetize off your blog, not necessarily the best. You need a lot of consistent traffic to maintain the income and that can take a bit of work, especially in the beginning. If done correctly, it can be very lucrative. However, I find that blog ads make your site look cheap and annoying. You can’t even control what ads will be shown and it ruins the hard-earned trust that your reader has of you.
The reason this is commonly used is that it is simple to set up and to be honest, most new bloggers don’t know any better.
Email Marketing
Building an email list is a critical component of having a blog. This is where the value of your blog lies. Email marketing can be used to make money in a variety of methods such as direct email promotions or simply to drive traffic back to your website to monetize through another method. Do not forget to set up some form of email capturing system right away. I’ll go into detail at a later date on the different ways to do this.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate Marketing is when you recommend a product or service to your website members/visitors. When a website member/visitor clicks on a link that has a special code attached and they end up purchasing an item from this third party, you will then get either a percentage or flat fee. The reimbursement depends upon your arrangement with the Affiliate. Promoting third-party products or services with affiliate marketing is a great way to monetize your blog! You have to make sure that you are promoting something that you are familiar with, have used or trust. Your reputation is on the line. When paired up with email marketing, you have a very effective monetization system.
Membership
A membership section applied to your website is definitely a good way to monetize your blog, but it may be time intensive. If you are charging a monthly fee, the members will want some new content every month in the form of more in-depth blog posts, videos, downloads, etc. You can’t just charge membership and then let the content get stale. This doesn’t fall in line with “passive income”. However, if you can combine this membership with a forum, the interaction of the forum could be enough to keep the members. There are some really good membership plugins available such as MemberPress and Restrict Content pro.
Digital Products
Selling digital products like an e-book does take a lot of initial work, but you can reap the rewards for a long time afterward. If you have a blog that has been online for quite some time, you could basically take a lot of your old posts and put them into chapters and create an ebook. You can create a book cover over at CANVA or SNAPPA after you are done and then you can start selling the ebook. Easy digital downloads would be perfect if you have an ebook to sell.
Online Courses
Selling an online course seems to be the latest craze. Online courses can be sold at a much higher profit margin than ebooks. The downside is that it takes a lot more planning and work to bring together a high-quality end product. Creating the course, video editing and supplemental materials take patience.
After completing the online course, there are plugins available to deliver your course to your members. These plugins are called “Learning Management Systems” or LMS. Although I have not used these plugins, some highly recommended plugins available are LearnDash. If you choose to place your material behind a membership wall, then the MemberPress plugin is recommended.
Flipping Websites
I cannot imagine putting all my hard work into the creation of a blog and then selling it. However, many people do exactly this.
Freelancing
This is probably the fastest & easiest method to make some meaningful money. You are not actually monetizing your blog, but rather you are using the blog as a portfolio or an authority builder. There are many different types of freelance opportunities. You could be a freelance writer, videographer, virtual assistant, graphics artist, social media marketing specialist, Facebook ads specialists or copyrighter just to name a few. If you find yourself finished with your blog and getting nailed with the monthly bills while you wait for it to monetize, this might be a great back up in the meantime.
Sell Sponsored Blog Posts
A sponsored post is also known as a “promoted post”. This is probably the fastest & easiest method to make some meaningful money. You are not actually monetizing your blog, but rather you are using
Write Reviews
Written reviews are similar to sponsored posts. You are basically earning money by writing a paid review on your site. With this method, you are usually provided a product from your niche for free or loan. You would then get paid to write a review on the product and your experience with that product. You may be approached by outside companies to do this or you could take it upon yourself to contact the companies on your own and ask to do a paid review of their product. Check out the LINKS section for the current list of websites that help connect you with companies who may be interested in having you do this for them.
Donations
Probably the original method of monetization is the good old donations. You can do this with a simple button linked to Paypay or Strip on your website. I find donations to be the least effective and very unpredictable. With a plethora of websites out there on any one niche, it will be difficult to simply ask for money because you can without giving something in return. I can’t help but feel like I’m begging when if I put up a donations button. Your time would be better spent setting up affiliate accounts.