At The Motherhood, we have the pleasure of working with some of the most savvy, hard-working and successful bloggers out there. If you’ve ever wanted to follow in their footsteps and create a profitable way to promote your passion, read on for some tips on how to monetize your blog.
Find Your Footing
No matter what you blog about – recipes, parenting, bodybuilding, your kids’ artwork or anything in between – make a commitment to create quality content on a regular basis. We’d recommend at least three blog posts a week. The more you publish, the more you’ll appear in online searches, and the faster you’ll build a solid reader base. You don’t have to have millions of monthly visitors to successfully monetize your blog. While a strong following is important, many marketers are looking for niche influencers who resonate with a loyal audience.
Blog for Brands
If you’re interested in working with reputable brands but aren’t sure where to start, consider working with a blogger network (like The Motherhood!) to bridge that gap. Much like a headhunter matches ideal candidates with their dream jobs, we cultivate opportunities for target-right online influencers to help brands reach their marketing goals.
Compensation depends on the specific opportunity, and can include a cash stipend or goods in exchange for your honest opinions. If you’re interested in joining our network, tell us more about yourself here!
Advertise
You’re likely familiar with this popular revenue model! While certain blog creation sites, such as WordPress, have specific policies on this type of advertising, several bloggers use banner space to run advertisements on their pages.
There are three main types of online ads:
- Pay-per-click: Each time someone clicks on the ad from your site, the advertiser pays you.
- Pay-per-impression or cost-per-impression: You’re paid each time an ad receives 1,000 impressions (the number of times the ad is seen or displayed) from your blog.
- Pay-per-action: Just like it sounds – and similar to affiliate links described below – you’re compensated each time someone clicks and completes a required action from the ad on your blog.
Google AdSense is an easy way to get started with on-site advertising. Once you apply and your site is approved, ad networks determine the most relevant ads for your readers.
Become an Affiliate
Affiliate links work like commission. Once you include an affiliate link on your blog and a reader clicks on it and takes a required action (for instance, purchasing a specific product or signing up for an email list), you’ll earn a percentage of that profit.
We recommend incorporating affiliate links that align with the content you post. That way, you can combine your editorial opinion with products or services you personally trust, which your readers will appreciate!
A quick online search for “affiliate programs” or “affiliate networks” will yield several options that might appeal to you; Amazon and Apple are just a few brands that offer affiliate programs.
Keep it Real and Play By The Rules
Just like with any business, there are certain rules and regulations when it comes to monetizing your blog.
The best way to maintain the integrity of your blog is to disclose your participation in any and all promotions and endorsements. Not only is proper disclosure required by the Federal Trade Commission, maintaining transparency will help boost your reputability with readers and brands.
As our friends at More Than Mommies explain: “Did you know that if a company pays you more than $600 in a tax period they will need to send you a tax form so that you can claim your earnings with the IRS?” Read their post for even more helpful tips and rules to keep in mind!
Have you dabbled in any or all of these options to monetize your blog? Tell us your experiences in the comments below!
Featured image courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons user Tracy Olson
