Monetizing your blog/website
Whether you’re an entrepreneur, businessman or a hobbyist, don’t waste your content. Start getting paid!
Monetizing one’s blog is something that takes a lot of determination, perseverance and patience. It doesn’t happen overnight unfortunately even if you are trying your best.
The most important factor in it is the number of people visiting your website which is directly related to the quality of your content, post frequency, your social media strategy and SEO.
Prerequisites
- You must have your own website
- Hosting
- Domain
- For any blogger, using third-party domain is very unprofessional. (e.g. .wordpress.com or .blogspot.com). You must buy your services to be professional
- I don’t recommend anyone to use Blogger. I had a bad experience and had to move to WordPress and moving is extremely hard. So start your blog from the first day on WordPress.
Ways of monetizing your blog
1. Google Adsense
For monetizing your blog, the best ad platform is Google Adsense. For that, you have to only have a Gmail account and apply for approval for your website. Unfortunately, due to many Pakistani’s making fake accounts and trying to get false approvals, Adsense has recently put a limit on all accounts applying for approval from Pakistan. When I was in Pakistan, I wasn’t getting approval but the moment I applied from Canada, I got it instantly.
After getting approval, you have two options:
1. Using Auto ads (Google inserts ads on your website whenever it wants) – It’s not recommended as often it inserts ads on top of your header.
2. Using Custom ads (for that you have to create ads yourself. CPC, PPC, CPM, in-post ads, text/image, responsive, size, colors, location are some things to specify) After setting up Adsense, you have to install a plugin on WordPress called Ad Inserter. In its settings specify exactly where you want ads. You will have to enable ads manually in every blog post.
The earning from Adsense is honestly really low and it can only be transferred to your Paypal account or your international bank account once you reach USD $100 so it can take a really long time to actually receive your first income from there. I was really surprised to find out how low it is at first. But then I thought its worth it as its a passive income for me as I’m not blogging for the money. I’ve been doing it as a hobby so even if I can cover my costs (hosting, domain) from it, its worth it. There is scope in it as your income grows as your audience grows.
2. Affiliate Marketing
You put other company’s ads on your website. Whenever someone purchases from your link, you get a percentage from the sale. Amazon Affiliates is one of the best-known programs.
3. Paid posts
Writers, artists, businesses and company owners reach out to bloggers to raise awareness about their products. Bloggers can in turn charge money.
4. Sell products on your website
Bloggers can easily create a marketplace on their website using plugins like Woocommerce. This way they can easily sell products online through their website. They won’t have to pay any retailer as they’ll be selling directly. This is a great option for a blogger who is also a poet, author or artist. Direct links to their work can get them sales. Some other ideas:
- E-books
- Online courses/workshops
- Images, Videos, or music which people can use
- Apps, plugins or themes
5. Sell services through your blog
This is a great advantage of having a blog. Once you’ve built your credibility, eventually you can focus on selling your services. It could be anything that you’re good at. You could start mentoring/counselling services related to your subject of the blog. Money can easily be transfered through services like PayPal and services can be exchanged free of charge over the internet.
So if you feel you possess an expertise which is in demand, just advertise for it on your blog and start providing online coaching on your favourite subjects.
6. Collaborate with brands
It is pretty difficult to earn a full-time income only from blogging so its a good idea to have different avenues for earning. Collaborating with different brands to come to a win-win situation is a good way.
For collaborating with brands, every popular blogger must have a media kit in place which clearly states:
- About the blogger & blog
- Engagement/following
- Price list for paid posts/publicizing brand
- Contact details
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About
My name is Nadiya Najib. I am a lifestyle blogger and write at:
It’s about living an inspired life. I write about relationships, organizing, genealogy, travel, social issues and well-being. Through my blog, I encourage people to take out time to do things that make them happy!
I have over 10 years work experience in Marketing from England, Pakistan and Canada. I have been single-handedly managing digital media for companies for years. My website is my own identity where I write about things I’m passionate about. I started it as a hobby some years ago and started monetizing it after moving to Canada last year.
My social media pages are:
I have 17000 followers on Instagram. I started this page last year.
I believe if you have a job, you have to do what your boss asks you. You will most likely not be passionate about what they want you to write about. In the corporate world, we also keep switching jobs. Even if there’s something you like, you have to move on in life. When you leave a job, it feels like you have to suddenly resign from everything you built like your own but you have no control on it the day you leave.
My blog gave me a sense of identity. It is something that I could call my own and not be worried about disconnecting from it. Freedom to write about what I’m passionate about and managing it exactly as I want are some things that I value the most.
