We all need to be paid for the work that we do, and running a blog is no different. It takes a lot of time and effort to make good content and you should absolutely be rewarded for providing valuable information.
What is Monetisation?
Monetisation is the process of making money from the content and the networks you own.
As you can see from my list below there are loads of ways to make money marketing yourself or your products online.
To some, this sounds cringy. But it is important for a business to make money. More importantly, though, it should always be about the customer experience first. Not ONLY about the money.
For monetisation to work, it must be a by-product of what you do.. not the reason to do the work. Monetise by giving value first. So then money making is a by-product of your success not the reason for it.
An online business is a long-term game, where most of the work is upfront.
Best Monetisation Methods
Whenever we start a brand new site, we try from the very beginning to figure out which monetisation strategy we are going to use on the new site. Try to find unique and fresh ways of making money from your blog. These are the most popular methods.
Advertising
Monetising your content by placing offers (ads) in front of your visitors. This is where you’re advertising other people’s products. Either you make money each time someone clicks. Or you earn income for a certain number of page views. Or you’re compensated for making recommendations in your content.
Here are the different ways of advertising ‘Other peoples Products’ on your website.
Display Ads
Display ads on your website are the most popular because it is easy to set up. This is where you get income from either, views or clicks away from your site.
If you’re creating a lot of content then display advertising is a great way to start earning money from your website. There are many different types of adverting networks you can join.
Google Adsense is the easiest to start with. Once you get approval, you can easily show display ads on your website.
Other ways to advertise and be compensated for recommending other businesses products and services are as follows.
- Affiliate – Sell other people’s products and earn a commission from every sale
- Sponsored content – Brands pay you to write about or add to your content a mention or a product placement
- Lead Generation – Generate leads for another business and get paid for the lead
E-Commerce
This is where you set up an attractive-looking store where your customers can buy your products. You can also use Google Shopping to take advantage of the traffic that is already searching on Google looking for a product like yours.
There are so many different types of products that can be sold online, it just boggles the mind. Here are a few different ones that I have seen while working with my clients.
Selling Physical Products
Selling actual physical hard goods. Or offering human-delivered services to an end user.
There are so many reasons why this style of selling is so popular. You are able to set up your own pricing and controls on the site without any input from other parties so it’s easy for you to make money this way.
- Drop Shipping – Selling other peoples physical products as though you did it yourself
- Drop Servicing – Selling services that other vendors perform as though you did it yourself
- Fulfilment Service – Selling your own physical products. But you outsource the product fulfilment to a third party
- Direct Selling – You produce a product or service that you complete and deliver to your customers
Selling Digital Products
Selling digital products that you deliver over the internet. For example, music, messages, eBooks, Courses, Software, and Games, among others.
Subscriptions
Subscriptions have recurring charges. Where a product or service is billed on a recurring basis. For example, Newsletters, Memberships, Software and streaming and other digital services.
Recently physical product subscriptions have become popular. This is where the consumer is sent a box every month for a fixed monthly subscription.
Donations and Support
Where your audience pays you through donations. Some provide financial support on sites like Patreon. This model works well on Youtube and for podcasting.
Crowd Source Funding
This can be part of the strategy to prove an early product or project.
If you get the funding for the project, it can move forward, otherwise, you can try again from another angle.
This gives you direct feedback very early on.
Selling your Time and Expertise
Blogging is a great place to promote your online courses, ebooks, coaching programs or other digital products.
However, sometimes it’s not enough for your community. Some members will want to talk with you in person. This is also an opportunity.
If you have a large following, your customers will be more than happy to pay you for your time and in-person expertise.
Public Speaking Engagements
Public speaking engagements are an excellent way to make money from your website. You can arrange speaking engagements with organisations or companies.
To get started you’ll need to get in touch with an event manager about the rates of the organisation and what they’re looking for in speakers.
The next step is getting in contact with different entities that hold events like this like different charities, conferences, universities etc. Now it’s all about pitching your idea to them and selling yourself.
An online business is a long-term project, not a get-rich-quick scheme.
Conclusion: The Monetisation Strategy
Figuring out how to monetise your website can be a daunting process. The best way is dependent on what you create content about and think about different product placements with every piece of content you create.
With any one of these options at your disposal, it’s easy to begin making money from your website.
We’d love to help you get started by providing some free advice and guidance in figuring out which route will work best for your site.
If you have any questions please leave a message via the contact form. I will update the post and leave a clarification on the page.
As people have asked me I have updated this page over time. If you have any more suggestions, please send a message.