MONETIZE YOUR BLOG

Vijoy M Alexander

Many still think that blogging is for self-expression. Yes, they are not wrong; but not right too. Your interest may not be the same as your audience. People visit blogs for information and they trust you. Eventually, they buy what you recommend.

Blogging is not only to increase your hits and traffic. You might have noticed by this time that Traffic Exchanges gives hits ( A good Traffic Exchange gives on an average hit of 200 per thousand.) but the net results are even less than 20. But through a good blog, you can earn good results. Though I use traffic exchanges, my main campaign is through Web Search Engines.  A good blog always gives good and rich content according to the taste of a targeted audience.

If you are a good blogger you can make money too. There are a few ways to do it.

1. Selling Your Own Products

A product which you want to sell online should be tangible. Digital products like E-book, Photo, Art Print or Apparel. Customers always prefer to buy directly from you.  Perhaps the most obvious way to monetize a blog is to sell a product that your customers can buy directly from you. Once the product is ready, you can publicize in your blog and also try to put it through good e-commerce sites. You should have a PayPal or WordPress payment option.

2. Services:

There are certain services you can offer if you are an expert. For Eg: Photography, Web designing, Logo designing, Copy Writing, Content Writing etc. Selling of these services is same as selling a Product.

3. Affiliate Marketing:

Affiliate marketing is simple ( Not MLM); no product or services of your own is required. It is promoting other peoples’ product through your blog or other sites and receives a commission in return. You are given a personal link and an image link ( Eg. Banner or different sizes) to use promoting a product. Once your visitors click on these links they will be re-directed to the original seller’s site and when he makes a purchase you will get a commission.

You can place these links or banners in your blog on a sidebar or even within a content. You may visit my site Tourwaysintl. Most of the advertisements you see are where I am an affiliate and there are one or two my own products as well.

4. Advertising:

If your blog or website has above average views advertisers may approach you to place their product advertising.

Direct selling of advertising is rather difficult which depends on the design, views, and content. Instead, an advertising network.

Target your blog to certain segments such as, finance, health, diabetes, affiliate management, photography etc. Once your blog is accepted and people are satisfied your web view will be increased and advertisers will automatically approach you. Once you have the credibility, even you may be invited to co-author articles and books for which you will be paid.

Note that blogging is not a direct form of making money.

If you want to have a great blog, start writing; money and fame will follow.