How To Make Money With A Blog

Photo by US Mission Geneva

It is amazing how many types of blogs exist on the Internet these days.

Some blogs are just gossip, while others offer information. Some are personal, professional, corporate, SEO content-driven, entertaining, useless, etc. Blogs are everywhere and not all of them are just ads. However, some blogs are advertising and intended to create a revenue stream.

If you’re already a pro, you may be asking, “how to make money with your blog?” But maybe this is your first error.

 

First of all: you shouldn’t be asking “how to make money ”

Blogs are subtle things. Google thinks so. It looks at content to make sure that it isn’t spam, or simply cut-and-pasted content from somewhere else. You can’t fake blogs. Google will be able to tell if you’re writing good, legit content.

You have to mean what you say. You have to be an expert in your field. You have to connect to other bloggers with regards to what you’re writing about. It’s not supposed to be all about the money. But at some point, for some bloggers, it has to be about the money.

If you’re finally asking “how to make money with a blog?” then read on.

 

You can sell out

It may be possible that you can sell your blog to the highest bidder. That is, just as long as you have a major online presence, can show a track record of huge traffic to your site, and finally, that you have a proven record when it comes to already making ad money.

But there are simple ways you can make money online that don’t rely on having to be bought by AOL. Let’s look at a few methods:

1) Selling membership to your club

Much like any other high-end club, web sites can offer premium content, loyalty-based services to special members. If membership is going to have its privileges, make sure this content and / or service is worth the price of admission.

2) Being sponsored or aligned with specific corporate interests

It is possible to maintain a site that simply agrees with a corporate agenda. Meaning, if American Express likes what you’re saying because your readers are more likely to buy their product, then they will sponsor you. It’s the same as PBS raising support for its programming. This can help you make money with your blog.

But beware that your blog’s brand will become aligned with the brand of your sponsors as well. You will be judged by whom you do business with. So if you don’t agree with the mandate or policies of your sponsors, you may want to re-think doing business with them.

3) Turn your posts into poetry

Write a book based on what you’re already written. Take advantage of your large following to sell them something else. The example is Julie Powell creator of the Julie & Julia Project (cooking Julia Child’s recipes over the course of a year). She found a way to get rich by writing and then selling her journey as a book. And then that book turned into a movie.

If hard print isn’t your thing, you can create and sell eBooks online. Just make sure your paid-for eBooks are more detailed and valuable than the free eBooks you’ve been offering (as part of the inbound marketing strategy I’m sure you’re already using).

4) Consider going public

If public speaking is your thing, you can easily begin to make money with your blog by offering paid webinars and seminars from your site. Odds are if you have a decent following of trusting readers, you will be able to convert them into a paying audience.

5) Public speaking more publically

If you’ve gone so far as to produce online webinars and seminars, then holding a real life version of the same thing won’t be too hard for you. Consider the many self-help seminars made famous by infomercials of the 90s and the men with and large yachts and big teeth.

While this is still considered a possible method for how to make money with a blog, it is not the easiest way. Unless you enjoy producing and paying for event space and so forth.

6) Consult, educate and train

Based on the same principles of how to make money by offering webinars, consider offering online courses. Take the knowledge you have been giving away for free and turn it into a 6-month course that you can package and sell.

As well, you can offer your services to other businesses. Finding consulting jobs will be easier due to the fact that you have proven yourself an authority in your field and have a major name online.

7) Full-on Advertisements

Finally, it is entirely within your right to simply sell ad space. This is the traditional way to earn money but it still works.

If you’ve got a huge amount of traffic, you can most likely sell ad space. Look at your current page views for each month. Look at the location of your visitors. Are they coming from a place where you can approach ad clients?

 

Now that you’ve learned how to make money

It is important to remember that making content online shouldn’t just be about the cash. While learning how to write blog, I hope you also noticed that the main thing you should be doing is knowing your field, becoming a better expert in that field and making yourself known in your field.

Every time you write something online, you are writing your resume. And with each post, your worth will increase as well. It is only natural to want to live the dream of finding profit. But this can’t be the sole goal.

Blogging will open doors for your brand and your personal worth. Keep writing. But write for the job you want, and not for the job you have.