You might like…<\/h4>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/shared-150x150.png\")
<\/a><\/span>Shared Hosting<\/a><\/li>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/wp-hosting-150x150.png\")
<\/a><\/span>WordPress Hosting<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\nHow Much Can You Make from a Blog?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Before we get to the blog monetization strategies, let\u2019s briefly address the elephant in the room. Yes, the question on everyone\u2019s minds - how much money can you make from a blog?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, the answer isn\u2019t straightforward. It depends on many factors such as your:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Niche<\/li>
- Audience demographics<\/li>
- Monetization methods<\/li>
- Traffic<\/li>
- Whether you\u2019re blogging full-time or as a side hustle<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
However, the bottom line is that some bloggers make $0 while some earn 7-figures from their blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And quite frankly, the end of the spectrum you fall on is mainly dependent on your hustle, strategies, and mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Take my blog, for example. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I started my blog in 2019 as a side hustle while working full time as an Affiliate Manager for a large tech company in Austin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I took what I learned in the startup world and decided I was going to scale my blog like a startup company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I didn\u2019t have much traffic at first, but I offered consulting services out of the gate to make some initial seed money that I used to outsource my processes and save me time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I crafted a top notch SEO and link building strategy, hustled, and ended up writing 80 articles and 82 guest posts in my blog\u2019s first year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And as you can see in my blog income reports<\/a> and in my feature on Forbes<\/a>, I now make over $80k per month from my blog:<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"adam](\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/sqaCi58W-G_gDAL6LEo30O0Dfb1otexx1aHmjejt1XDpqMeh9J2L5mn-2L9L3L_buwmdO2mro4HGCpphc_ZTSNjpvfHReJkD5qbAlie1dJmW-Vazaj3YCF1ihiCOYivwhlzzHo0a\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhile I didn\u2019t expect to attain this number in such a short period of time, I will give you some ideas on how I did it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
6 Top Strategies to Monetize Your Blog<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nMost blog posts are written for the sole purpose of ranking on Google. This isn\u2019t such a blog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This post is different because I\u2019m going to arm you with actionable strategies to help you monetize your blog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, let\u2019s get to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. To Monetize Your Blog, Treat Your Blog Like a Startup<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
This is where most bloggers miss it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They start their blogs as hobbies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And if there\u2019s one thing that\u2019s true of a hobby, it\u2019s that it rarely generates revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To make money from your blog, you must treat it as a startup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes, you read that. More than being a blogger, you\u2019re a startup founder. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ditch the outdated advice that tells you to blog about your passions because, frankly speaking, passion doesn\u2019t generate revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To monetize your blog, you must start your blog like a business<\/a> and run it like one.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIf you\u2019re wondering, here\u2019s how you approach blogging from a business standpoint:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Select Your Niche Based on Profit, Not Passion<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
One of the biggest reasons bloggers fail is not that they aren\u2019t passionate enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many bloggers fail to succeed because they use an outdated and massively flawed niche selection system. They use a system whereby you select your niche based on interest, passion, and skill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To select a profitable niche, you must base your niche selection on market research. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"most](\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/EYUsrMuZdN6jww9x5mJ-LyHqf3q1EIemqA7YVixrsHBN9lGP4YeMpilcgbL6R93loFY1sJE3OZHkMAfskSxzezTYp3PrmksEep91ceAAwz0bxEhJ-YPoHzOc8vmYejMOHq5eXVwW\")
Source: successunscrambled.com<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nIn other words, choose a niche based on:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n- Audience Revenue Potential<\/li>
- Affiliate Marketing Potential<\/li>
- Professional Leverage<\/li>
- Keyword Research<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Of the four factors above, affiliate marketing potential is probably the most important. That\u2019s because affiliate marketing is one of the avenues that bring in the most revenue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To analyze a niche\u2019s affiliate marketing potential, perform keyword research and use the word 'best'\u009d as a modifier. For example, 'best laptops'\u009d, 'best credit cards'\u009d, 'best golf irons.'\u009d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
'Best'\u009d keywords usually have transactional search intent and are used by people looking to make a purchase. If you can find these types of keywords with high search volume and low difficulty scores, that niche will likely be profitable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A monetizable affiliate blog only really needs two types of blog posts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- 'Best'\u009d keywords with transactional search intent to make affiliate income.<\/li>
- 'How to'\u009d posts with informational search intent to showcase you as an expert to your readers.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Leverage Your Personal and Professional Experience<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Another business-centric way of starting your blog is by leveraging your professional experience. After all, why waste all those years you slaved away on your 9-5 job?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Put those years to good use by tapping into your professional network and letting them know what you\u2019re up to. This will help you build your Domain Authority<\/a> (DA) faster as guest post outreach is more successful when reaching out to people you\u2019re familiar with.<\/p>\n\n\n\nLeveraging your professional experience is also essential when choosing a niche for your blog, as you\u2019ll succeed faster in a territory you\u2019re familiar with. For example, I spent most of my working life in the SaaS industry and had the opportunity of working with many SaaS products. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I leverage that experience on my blog by reviewing different SaaS software, platforms, and services. This has helped me monetize my blog faster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Scale Your Processes, Not Your Writing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Common advice tells you, 'keep writing quality content and they will come.'\u009d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2021, this simply isn\u2019t true. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not only will you burn out from all the writing, but you can\u2019t get traffic without building real relationships and getting backlinks from other blogs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead of scaling your writing, you must focus on scaling your processes. To do this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Create a Content Strategy<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
A content strategy<\/a> is a roadmap of the content you\u2019ll create, and when you\u2019ll publish it. <\/p>\n\n\n\nAn effective content strategy includes the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Keyword research<\/strong>. To create content your target audience will easily find, you must know the keywords they input in their search queries. <\/li>
- Competitor research<\/strong>. Check out your competitors<\/a> and see what kind of content and distribution channels work for them. Competitor research will also help you find content gaps in your niche.<\/li>
- Understand search intent<\/strong>. Search intent is the reason a user searches for a particular query. It\u2019s a good indicator of your audience\u2019s pain points and enables you to focus on keywords that have a monetary value.<\/li>
- A content calendar<\/strong>. Armed with the above intel, create topics around subjects your readers are most passionate about. Also, make sure to schedule the publication date.<\/li>
- Link building. <\/strong>You need to reach out to other sites to do guest blogging and other partnerships to build your site\u2019s authority. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Outsource Your Content Writing and Other Tasks Involved in Growing Your Blog<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Another way of scaling your processes is to outsource your content writing. Since you\u2019re a business owner, not just a writer, you don\u2019t have to do all the writing on your own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Outsourcing first drafts to a ghostwriter will help you create content faster and free your time up for other vital tasks central to running your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Apart from outsourcing my content creation, I also devised some scaling systems with three goals in mind:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Obtaining backlinks to build my blog\u2019s Domain Authority (DA).<\/li>
- Accelerating my organic traffic growth.<\/li>
- Monetizing my site within 3-6 months.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
To achieve this, I had to hire an assistant to help with the link building and guest posting outreach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whether you\u2019re holding down a full-time job or blogging full-time, you must delegate some of your tasks to scale your blog efficiently. Start with the tasks you like the least, and as your blogging income increases, outsource more tasks to help you run your business more efficiently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Build Organic Traffic<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
It goes without saying, but you need traffic to monetize your blog successfully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/lh4.googleusercontent.com\/1AREcfKxmFtzpdI5iwdGnriFGm0bTAWPV6byPA8Fs17qrToI8jxTTD_CH_jM-3WHuLxH4ufMRKiUauAlCU5Qp22QNPWCq7nlfULOXBPbQtAwJG67HzKGoABWGRpgSvEAZySwG459\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAll the best blog monetization strategies won\u2019t work if you don\u2019t build an audience for your blog. To do that, you should focus on three main areas:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Search Engine Optimization<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Search engine optimization<\/a> (SEO) is the practice of organically increasing both the quantity and quality of traffic to your blog from search engines. A few ways to boost your SEO include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n- Create SEO-optimized content<\/strong>. This is content created around a focus keyword in your niche. It must also provide value if your audience is to engage in it.<\/li>
- Build backlinks<\/strong>. You can do this by guest posting or by running guest posting outreach campaigns. You need to build relationships and provide value to other sites in order to get more links for yourself.<\/li>
- Link internally<\/strong>. Strategically linking to other pieces on your blog gives search engines a better understanding of what your blog is about. It also helps increase the time a visitor spends on your blog.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
With good SEO, you\u2019ll be able to attract visitors who are likely to turn into regular followers of your blog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Email Marketing<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
The key to succeeding as a blogger lies in building relationships with your audience. And the best way to do that is through email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That is why you must start building your email list from the first day you launch your blog. Use an ESP like Growmatik<\/a> to automate your email marketing and develop meaningful relationships with your readers. <\/p>\n\n\n\nSocial Media Marketing<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Another platform you can leverage to build a following for your blog is social media. With close to 4 billion<\/a> active users, it certainly makes for a great tool to drive traffic to your blog. It\u2019s also a great place to interact with your audience and like-minded bloggers.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAgain, it may be best for you to hire a freelance social media manager<\/a> to help you scale this aspect of your blogging business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n4. Set a Blog Monetization Timeline<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Like every business, you must have a plan for how you will run your blog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An important aspect of your plan is to create a blog monetization plan. This is a schedule of milestones you should strive to reach and the monetization methods you can employ when you get to a certain milestone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, you can\u2019t start running ads on a brand new blog as ads require that you have a lot of traffic coming to your blog. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But what if you want to start monetizing your blog in as little as three months?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, it\u2019s definitely possible. I know because I did just that with my blog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s an example of the blog monetization timeline I used:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- 1-90 days<\/strong>. High-end consulting (0-1,000 monthly site visitors)<\/li>
- 90-180 days<\/strong>. Affiliate marketing (1,000-2,500 monthly site visitors)<\/li>
- 180-365 days<\/strong>. Your first online course (5,000+ monthly site visitors)<\/li>
- 365 days and beyond<\/strong>. Course memberships (10,000+ monthly site visitors)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Particularly if you leverage your professional experience, it\u2019s easy to start offering high-end consulting right from the first day. The good thing is that you don\u2019t necessarily have to be an expert to be a consultant. You just have to know more than the average person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Setting a timeline is important as it will give you something to work towards. It will help you treat your blog with the gravity it deserves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5. Design an Effective Blog Sales Funnel<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
To start monetizing your blog immediately, you must design an effective sales funnel.<\/a> Your sales funnel will comprise five main stages designed to drive prospects toward purchasing your high-end consultation offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n- Stage 1<\/strong>: Blog visitor reads your high-quality blog content related to your high-end offer.<\/li>
- Stage 2<\/strong>: They opt-in for your email list in exchange for your 'freebie'\u009d offer.<\/li>
- Stage 3<\/strong>: Optional: Add a lower-priced offer around $50-200 to build trust.<\/li>
- Stage 4<\/strong>: Send an automated welcome email series that tells a story and takes them down a path to set a meeting with you.<\/li>
- Stage 5<\/strong>: Your ideal client sets a meeting with you and pays for your high-end consulting offer.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
While it may seem counterintuitive, start with your high-end offer as it will help you make more money with a small amount of traffic. And as you scale up traffic, you can then introduce other offers like affiliate products, sponsored posts, and digital downloads. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once you have those locked down, you can use an online course tool<\/a> to sell high-end premium courses to your audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThis brings us to the next strategy for monetizing your blog - choosing your monetization methods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
6. Choose Your Blog Monetization Method(s) Carefully<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Now that you\u2019ve set up a solid foundation for success, you can now choose your blog monetization methods. Notice I used the plural as you must use as many monetization methods as you can manage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"example](\"https:\/\/lh4.googleusercontent.com\/KufkSg2SLcjGXa1QzEHPTRFr7rkjp4ELt2R885dub-3KptjzV_IvPSH4LERQZ39CVHn3PH4Zk8PRYZtAhPAQb4_Yt_M-Z0ccuhs8Dp0Ten4h4r7vK8kOIKiXJTaYh4l_ry-e_7lM\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nLet’s look at some methods you can use to monetize your blog, apart from consulting, as we\u2019ve already dealt with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Affiliate marketing<\/strong>. You can use your blog to sell digital and physical products, online courses, and other products made by others. The merchant then pays you a commission.<\/li>
- Create and sell your own digital products<\/strong>. With the advancements in technology, creating a digital product has become easy. All you need is an idea and the right software to create it.<\/li>
- Displaying ads<\/strong>. If you have a lot of traffic coming to your blog, ads<\/a> are an excellent way of monetizing your blog. The only drawback is that revenue is traffic dependent.<\/li>
- Sponsored posts<\/strong>. A sponsored post is a blog post a company pays you to publish on your blog. Usually, there will be a mention of said company in the blog post.<\/li>
- Sell your services<\/strong>. Use your blog to sell services such as design, writing, photography, virtual assistance, and many more.<\/li>
- Offer paid membership<\/strong>. You can gate some of your best content and offer access to it at a monthly fee. <\/li>
- Flip your blog<\/strong>. When you build up a decent amount of traffic and improve your blog\u2019s domain authority, you can also make money by selling it<\/a> on sites like Flippa<\/a>.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Depending on the structure of your blog and revenue goals, you can leverage any one or a combination of the above methods to monetize your blog. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your Blog Monetization FAQs Answered<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
There you have it - six actionable strategies to monetize your blog in 2021. But before we wrap things up, let\u2019s quickly answer some of the most common blog monetization FAQs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How Much Does It Cost to Start a Blog?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/span>Shared Hosting<\/a><\/li><\/a><\/span>WordPress Hosting<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\nHow Much Can You Make from a Blog?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Before we get to the blog monetization strategies, let\u2019s briefly address the elephant in the room. Yes, the question on everyone\u2019s minds - how much money can you make from a blog?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, the answer isn\u2019t straightforward. It depends on many factors such as your:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Niche<\/li>
- Audience demographics<\/li>
- Monetization methods<\/li>
- Traffic<\/li>
- Whether you\u2019re blogging full-time or as a side hustle<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
However, the bottom line is that some bloggers make $0 while some earn 7-figures from their blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And quite frankly, the end of the spectrum you fall on is mainly dependent on your hustle, strategies, and mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Take my blog, for example. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I started my blog in 2019 as a side hustle while working full time as an Affiliate Manager for a large tech company in Austin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I took what I learned in the startup world and decided I was going to scale my blog like a startup company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I didn\u2019t have much traffic at first, but I offered consulting services out of the gate to make some initial seed money that I used to outsource my processes and save me time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I crafted a top notch SEO and link building strategy, hustled, and ended up writing 80 articles and 82 guest posts in my blog\u2019s first year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And as you can see in my blog income reports<\/a> and in my feature on Forbes<\/a>, I now make over $80k per month from my blog:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While I didn\u2019t expect to attain this number in such a short period of time, I will give you some ideas on how I did it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
6 Top Strategies to Monetize Your Blog<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Most blog posts are written for the sole purpose of ranking on Google. This isn\u2019t such a blog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This post is different because I\u2019m going to arm you with actionable strategies to help you monetize your blog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, let\u2019s get to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. To Monetize Your Blog, Treat Your Blog Like a Startup<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
This is where most bloggers miss it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They start their blogs as hobbies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And if there\u2019s one thing that\u2019s true of a hobby, it\u2019s that it rarely generates revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To make money from your blog, you must treat it as a startup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes, you read that. More than being a blogger, you\u2019re a startup founder. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ditch the outdated advice that tells you to blog about your passions because, frankly speaking, passion doesn\u2019t generate revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To monetize your blog, you must start your blog like a business<\/a> and run it like one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re wondering, here\u2019s how you approach blogging from a business standpoint:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Select Your Niche Based on Profit, Not Passion<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
One of the biggest reasons bloggers fail is not that they aren\u2019t passionate enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many bloggers fail to succeed because they use an outdated and massively flawed niche selection system. They use a system whereby you select your niche based on interest, passion, and skill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To select a profitable niche, you must base your niche selection on market research. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Source: successunscrambled.com<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n In other words, choose a niche based on:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Audience Revenue Potential<\/li>
- Affiliate Marketing Potential<\/li>
- Professional Leverage<\/li>
- Keyword Research<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Of the four factors above, affiliate marketing potential is probably the most important. That\u2019s because affiliate marketing is one of the avenues that bring in the most revenue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To analyze a niche\u2019s affiliate marketing potential, perform keyword research and use the word 'best'\u009d as a modifier. For example, 'best laptops'\u009d, 'best credit cards'\u009d, 'best golf irons.'\u009d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
'Best'\u009d keywords usually have transactional search intent and are used by people looking to make a purchase. If you can find these types of keywords with high search volume and low difficulty scores, that niche will likely be profitable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A monetizable affiliate blog only really needs two types of blog posts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- 'Best'\u009d keywords with transactional search intent to make affiliate income.<\/li>
- 'How to'\u009d posts with informational search intent to showcase you as an expert to your readers.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Leverage Your Personal and Professional Experience<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Another business-centric way of starting your blog is by leveraging your professional experience. After all, why waste all those years you slaved away on your 9-5 job?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Put those years to good use by tapping into your professional network and letting them know what you\u2019re up to. This will help you build your Domain Authority<\/a> (DA) faster as guest post outreach is more successful when reaching out to people you\u2019re familiar with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leveraging your professional experience is also essential when choosing a niche for your blog, as you\u2019ll succeed faster in a territory you\u2019re familiar with. For example, I spent most of my working life in the SaaS industry and had the opportunity of working with many SaaS products. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I leverage that experience on my blog by reviewing different SaaS software, platforms, and services. This has helped me monetize my blog faster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Scale Your Processes, Not Your Writing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Common advice tells you, 'keep writing quality content and they will come.'\u009d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2021, this simply isn\u2019t true. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not only will you burn out from all the writing, but you can\u2019t get traffic without building real relationships and getting backlinks from other blogs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead of scaling your writing, you must focus on scaling your processes. To do this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Create a Content Strategy<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
A content strategy<\/a> is a roadmap of the content you\u2019ll create, and when you\u2019ll publish it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
An effective content strategy includes the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Keyword research<\/strong>. To create content your target audience will easily find, you must know the keywords they input in their search queries. <\/li>
- Competitor research<\/strong>. Check out your competitors<\/a> and see what kind of content and distribution channels work for them. Competitor research will also help you find content gaps in your niche.<\/li>
- Understand search intent<\/strong>. Search intent is the reason a user searches for a particular query. It\u2019s a good indicator of your audience\u2019s pain points and enables you to focus on keywords that have a monetary value.<\/li>
- A content calendar<\/strong>. Armed with the above intel, create topics around subjects your readers are most passionate about. Also, make sure to schedule the publication date.<\/li>
- Link building. <\/strong>You need to reach out to other sites to do guest blogging and other partnerships to build your site\u2019s authority. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Outsource Your Content Writing and Other Tasks Involved in Growing Your Blog<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Another way of scaling your processes is to outsource your content writing. Since you\u2019re a business owner, not just a writer, you don\u2019t have to do all the writing on your own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Outsourcing first drafts to a ghostwriter will help you create content faster and free your time up for other vital tasks central to running your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Apart from outsourcing my content creation, I also devised some scaling systems with three goals in mind:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Obtaining backlinks to build my blog\u2019s Domain Authority (DA).<\/li>
- Accelerating my organic traffic growth.<\/li>
- Monetizing my site within 3-6 months.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
To achieve this, I had to hire an assistant to help with the link building and guest posting outreach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whether you\u2019re holding down a full-time job or blogging full-time, you must delegate some of your tasks to scale your blog efficiently. Start with the tasks you like the least, and as your blogging income increases, outsource more tasks to help you run your business more efficiently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Build Organic Traffic<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
It goes without saying, but you need traffic to monetize your blog successfully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All the best blog monetization strategies won\u2019t work if you don\u2019t build an audience for your blog. To do that, you should focus on three main areas:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Search Engine Optimization<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Search engine optimization<\/a> (SEO) is the practice of organically increasing both the quantity and quality of traffic to your blog from search engines. A few ways to boost your SEO include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Create SEO-optimized content<\/strong>. This is content created around a focus keyword in your niche. It must also provide value if your audience is to engage in it.<\/li>
- Build backlinks<\/strong>. You can do this by guest posting or by running guest posting outreach campaigns. You need to build relationships and provide value to other sites in order to get more links for yourself.<\/li>
- Link internally<\/strong>. Strategically linking to other pieces on your blog gives search engines a better understanding of what your blog is about. It also helps increase the time a visitor spends on your blog.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
With good SEO, you\u2019ll be able to attract visitors who are likely to turn into regular followers of your blog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Email Marketing<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
The key to succeeding as a blogger lies in building relationships with your audience. And the best way to do that is through email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That is why you must start building your email list from the first day you launch your blog. Use an ESP like Growmatik<\/a> to automate your email marketing and develop meaningful relationships with your readers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Social Media Marketing<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Another platform you can leverage to build a following for your blog is social media. With close to 4 billion<\/a> active users, it certainly makes for a great tool to drive traffic to your blog. It\u2019s also a great place to interact with your audience and like-minded bloggers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Again, it may be best for you to hire a freelance social media manager<\/a> to help you scale this aspect of your blogging business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. Set a Blog Monetization Timeline<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Like every business, you must have a plan for how you will run your blog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An important aspect of your plan is to create a blog monetization plan. This is a schedule of milestones you should strive to reach and the monetization methods you can employ when you get to a certain milestone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, you can\u2019t start running ads on a brand new blog as ads require that you have a lot of traffic coming to your blog. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But what if you want to start monetizing your blog in as little as three months?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, it\u2019s definitely possible. I know because I did just that with my blog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s an example of the blog monetization timeline I used:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- 1-90 days<\/strong>. High-end consulting (0-1,000 monthly site visitors)<\/li>
- 90-180 days<\/strong>. Affiliate marketing (1,000-2,500 monthly site visitors)<\/li>
- 180-365 days<\/strong>. Your first online course (5,000+ monthly site visitors)<\/li>
- 365 days and beyond<\/strong>. Course memberships (10,000+ monthly site visitors)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Particularly if you leverage your professional experience, it\u2019s easy to start offering high-end consulting right from the first day. The good thing is that you don\u2019t necessarily have to be an expert to be a consultant. You just have to know more than the average person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Setting a timeline is important as it will give you something to work towards. It will help you treat your blog with the gravity it deserves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5. Design an Effective Blog Sales Funnel<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
To start monetizing your blog immediately, you must design an effective sales funnel.<\/a> Your sales funnel will comprise five main stages designed to drive prospects toward purchasing your high-end consultation offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Stage 1<\/strong>: Blog visitor reads your high-quality blog content related to your high-end offer.<\/li>
- Stage 2<\/strong>: They opt-in for your email list in exchange for your 'freebie'\u009d offer.<\/li>
- Stage 3<\/strong>: Optional: Add a lower-priced offer around $50-200 to build trust.<\/li>
- Stage 4<\/strong>: Send an automated welcome email series that tells a story and takes them down a path to set a meeting with you.<\/li>
- Stage 5<\/strong>: Your ideal client sets a meeting with you and pays for your high-end consulting offer.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
While it may seem counterintuitive, start with your high-end offer as it will help you make more money with a small amount of traffic. And as you scale up traffic, you can then introduce other offers like affiliate products, sponsored posts, and digital downloads. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once you have those locked down, you can use an online course tool<\/a> to sell high-end premium courses to your audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This brings us to the next strategy for monetizing your blog - choosing your monetization methods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
6. Choose Your Blog Monetization Method(s) Carefully<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Now that you\u2019ve set up a solid foundation for success, you can now choose your blog monetization methods. Notice I used the plural as you must use as many monetization methods as you can manage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let’s look at some methods you can use to monetize your blog, apart from consulting, as we\u2019ve already dealt with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Affiliate marketing<\/strong>. You can use your blog to sell digital and physical products, online courses, and other products made by others. The merchant then pays you a commission.<\/li>
- Create and sell your own digital products<\/strong>. With the advancements in technology, creating a digital product has become easy. All you need is an idea and the right software to create it.<\/li>
- Displaying ads<\/strong>. If you have a lot of traffic coming to your blog, ads<\/a> are an excellent way of monetizing your blog. The only drawback is that revenue is traffic dependent.<\/li>
- Sponsored posts<\/strong>. A sponsored post is a blog post a company pays you to publish on your blog. Usually, there will be a mention of said company in the blog post.<\/li>
- Sell your services<\/strong>. Use your blog to sell services such as design, writing, photography, virtual assistance, and many more.<\/li>
- Offer paid membership<\/strong>. You can gate some of your best content and offer access to it at a monthly fee. <\/li>
- Flip your blog<\/strong>. When you build up a decent amount of traffic and improve your blog\u2019s domain authority, you can also make money by selling it<\/a> on sites like Flippa<\/a>.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Depending on the structure of your blog and revenue goals, you can leverage any one or a combination of the above methods to monetize your blog. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your Blog Monetization FAQs Answered<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
There you have it - six actionable strategies to monetize your blog in 2021. But before we wrap things up, let\u2019s quickly answer some of the most common blog monetization FAQs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How Much Does It Cost to Start a Blog?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
- Create and sell your own digital products<\/strong>. With the advancements in technology, creating a digital product has become easy. All you need is an idea and the right software to create it.<\/li>
- Stage 2<\/strong>: They opt-in for your email list in exchange for your 'freebie'\u009d offer.<\/li>
- 90-180 days<\/strong>. Affiliate marketing (1,000-2,500 monthly site visitors)<\/li>
- Build backlinks<\/strong>. You can do this by guest posting or by running guest posting outreach campaigns. You need to build relationships and provide value to other sites in order to get more links for yourself.<\/li>
- Create SEO-optimized content<\/strong>. This is content created around a focus keyword in your niche. It must also provide value if your audience is to engage in it.<\/li>
- Competitor research<\/strong>. Check out your competitors<\/a> and see what kind of content and distribution channels work for them. Competitor research will also help you find content gaps in your niche.<\/li>
- Keyword research<\/strong>. To create content your target audience will easily find, you must know the keywords they input in their search queries. <\/li>