Many people start blogging just for the hell of it, or because they want to express themselves and talk about the things they love. But as soon as you start building up a reasonably sized audience, there are plenty of opportunities to make some money. The big question is, are you realizing the potential of your blog and website? If you do, not only can you make a little income on the side, you might end up with a fully-fledged, viable business that could lead to more success than you can imagine. Let’s take a closer look at everything you need to know.
Position yourself
The first step is to think about why you are blogging and find an absolute position for what it is you do. Take lifestyle blogs as an example – there are millions of them, all offering the same old thoughts and advice, and it’s going to be tough to cut through the noise. Instead, think about working out your niche. Who are you trying to appeal to? Can you explain what your blog does in one clear sentence? And ask yourself one difficult question – why, exactly, do people want to read your blog?
Focus on your ideal audience
Once you know what your blog is about, it’s time to start talking in a language that your audience understands, and that appeals to their needs and desires. In your analytics, look at the topics that are attracting the most visits, and where you are enjoying lower bounce rates. There’s a reason this is happening – because it’s what people want to read about. The next step is to give them more of those topics, and research other areas that will interest those people.
Develop product ideas
We’ll explore advertising on your blog in a moment, but first of all, you want to think about developing concrete products that you can sell from your blog. If you are offering marketing advice, for instance, you could create a complete guide for beginners, and sell it as an ebook. If you write a lot about crafts, you could start making and selling them online, by setting up an ecommerce store. It might be worth investing in something like WooCommerce development if you are working with WordPress to setup your store and start making actual sales.
Realize your advertising potential
Once you have a loyal and regular readership, your blog is valuable to advertisers. So, take advantage by selling advertising space on your blog. As long as your subject matter is relevant and your audience is large enough, many marketing departments will be happy to pay good money to rent a space. You can also think about setting up affiliate advertising with the likes of Amazon or using Google’s AdSense to get started. While you won’t make a lot of money, it’s a decent entry point into learning about online advertising on your blog.
Build an email list
The final point is an important one – and bear in mind it’s the toughest nut to crack. But if you want to start making serious money from your blog, you have to start building an email list. Once you have thousands of subscribers, it will give you the opportunity to sell products or services to all of them. Good luck, and feel free to leave your comments below!
