Blogging is fun. It’s a great way to share your thoughts, ideas, recipes, and/or crafts with a broad range of people all around the world.
However, since an effective blog can take hours a week to maintain, it can take you away from your job and other money making activities. One good way to counter this is to use your blog to generate income. In other words, turn your blog into a business.
Ways to turn your blog into a business
There are a myriad of ways to use your blog to make money. Below are just a few ideas to get you started.
- Try affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing is one of the easiest ways to make money with your blog. You don’t have to make or stock a product. You simply include links to products on your blog. When a reader purchases something, you make a commission. It’s that easy. Good places to start include Amazon and CJ Affiliate.
- Ask for subscriptions. If you’re producing regular, unique, quality content, your readers are likely willing to pay to get extra content or to continue being able to access your blog.
- Solicit direct advertisers/sponsors. Though not as easy as affiliate product ads, direct ads, ones that you solicit yourself, give you more control over what products are offered and how those products are delivered to your readers.
- Offer downloadable content. Offering extra downloadable content, such as newsletters, ebooks, and white papers is yet another good way to generate income with your blog. These are also a great way to increase your reader loyalty.
- Ask for donations and pledges. If you have a large, loyal readership, asking for a little money may be all you need to cover the cost of your website hosting and your time. To get started, simply insert a Paypal button on your home page.
Writing and maintaining a quality blog with a substantial readership doesn’t have to take you away from earning a living. By combining affiliate marketing with subscriptions, direct ads, and downloadable content, you can start making money with what you love best—writing your blog.
About the Author
Sandy M has been a full-time freelance writer since 2005. Her work has appeared in dozens of print and Web publications, including About.com, Mahogany Magazine, Huffington Post, and USAToday.com. She is the author of two books about Cleveland history and is currently researching a third.
