Anytime you read an article about making money from home, one of the suggestions is to start a blog. However, most people don’t know how to go from writing a blog to making money. You could have one of the most popular blogs on the Internet, but if you don’t take steps to monetize that, it’s really just a hobby.
The first step is to build an audience. If no one is reading your blog or going to your website, you aren’t going to start making money off of it. The best way to build an audience is by producing high quality content that is timely and relevant to your intended audience. The second step is to get our readers to sign up for your email list. Your email list will be your money source because it is comprised of your most captive audience.
There are many ways to make money with your website, however, some are more effective than others. Here are five of the most effective ways to monetize your website and create multiple revenue streams.
1. Sell Your Own Products
Once you have a good base of readers, you can start selling to them to make money. The largest profit margins are in selling your own products. This may be a book, eBook, special report, private mentoring, or other service that you directly provide and is applicable to your target audience. It is important that whatever you decide to create and sell, you make sure it is something your audience will want to buy.
It is also important to take into account the time and energy you are putting into the product. For example, you can sell packages of 10 hours of your time for one-on-one mentoring, but that means you have to commit your time to each and every sale. That limits the number of sales you can make because you only have so much time to offer.
However, if you write an eBook, the time and energy you put into writing it is done before you make your first sale. Then you can sell that one eBook over and over again. The potential profit on something like an eBook or special report is far greater than services that drain your time and energy.
2. Sell Other People’s Products
Selling other people’s products is referred to as affiliate sales. You are acting as an affiliate of the other person or company when you are selling their products. You can find products to sell through websites like Amazon and Clickbank. You simply find products that would be applicable to your audience and then promote them using the affiliate link you will be provided with when you chose the product.
When you sell as an affiliate, you keep a percentage of every sale you make. The percentage is set by the seller and can range anywhere from 5% to 100%. You can promote affiliate sales alongside selling your own product. Offering your readers a diverse selection of products will promote higher overall sales.
It is important to be mindful of the products you are selling and the people you are representing when acting as an affiliate. If your customers are unhappy with the product or your affiliation with the seller for personal or political reasons, your business will suffer.
For example, if you recommend a product that turns out to be horrible and ineffective, you are going to lose credibility with your customers. It is best to only endorse products that you have personally used and can attest to the value or products being sold by people or companies that you legitimately trust. That way, if you ever need to defend your decision to endorse the product, you have a justification for your actions.
3. Offer Premium Content
Another way to make money with your website is to offer premium content or features. This would include having a special members-only section on your website that includes exclusive content for members only. Charging for premium content may not work within every niche, but you can search out what other bloggers in your niche are doing and what the readers will engage with.
Premium content can include live webinars, online classes, Skype conferences, and one-on-one or small group mentoring. The key to successful charging for premium content is that your readers feel they are getting more than their money’s worth. If you charge for premium membership, but the content you offer is very similar to the free content on your general site, you won’t be able to maintain those customer relationships. They will eliminate your premium content services and you run the risk of losing credibility.
4. Ad Networks
Ad networks, like Google Adsense, will place ads on your website for you. Those ads will be selected specifically for your audience and rotated regularly, so there is always fresh content on your webpage. You will receive a predetermined percentage based on the people that click through the ads.
The downside to using an ad network is that you don’t control the ads that are placed on your website. Although you can request an ad be removed from your website that requires additional monitoring and work. The upside is that you really don’t have to do anything to make money other than maintain high web traffic.
5. Private Sponsorship
Private sponsorship essential means selling advertising on your website directly, opposed to going through an ad network. Private sponsorship can be in a variety of different forms including a banner ad across your website or a guest article with embedded links. What content is included on your page or how that content is displayed is determined by you and the sponsor. Price for private sponsorship is set by you, and agreed on by the sponsor.
You can make money with your website pretty quickly with private sponsorship. It is more time consuming than simply relying on an ad network, however, the money is often better, and you have more control over what goes up on your site. Additionally, you don’t have to choose one or the other. You can utilize both ad networks and private sponsorship to create multiple revenue streams.
