Blogging Part 3:
Monetize your blog

So time is money and I'll just get right into it.

There is this common misconception that you have to be among the biggest bloggers to earn any kind of living off your blog.

But I am here to debunk all of that because even if you're just starting out, there are a ton of ways to start earning a living off your blog.

So in this lesson, I'm going to break down how you can monetize your blog in three ways, by offering professional services, by partnering with affiliates and by creating sponsored content.

So let's get started.

Now, you might be thinking, hold up Kendall, Are we talking about real money or cover my monthly Netflix subscription money?

So no, I'm talking about actual full time income from blogging.

Some studies have shown that bloggers can make upwards of hundred thousand dollars annually, after only two years of building traffic and a solid subscriber base.

Crazy right? $100,000 a year, just from blogging.

Now, I'm not saying you have to quit your day job, blogging can also earn you a nice passive income too.

Studies have shown that bloggers can earn an extra $500 to $2000 a month, even in their first year.

And that's some pretty good extra cash, so let's start making money.

And just a heads up before we get into it, you'll need to upgrade to a Wix Premium Plan to start earning money off of your blog.

So if you haven't, go ahead and do that now and I'll meet you back here.

Are there certain types of blogs that are more likely to earn you money? Yes.

At Wix, we found that these are some of the top earning categories for blogs right now, they include business and finance, marketing, health, nutrition and food, lifestyle, fashion and DIY and crafts.

If your blog doesn't fall into one of these categories though, don't worry about it, it doesn't mean that you can't earn money off your blog.

No matter the focus, there are a ton of ways to offer professional services that work with your blogs topic and audience so, here's an example.

With my blog truck it, I could offer consulting services for other food truck bloggers, or sell an ebook of my favorite food truck recipes.

Just brain storm ideas and see if they work with your topic.

So, let's try with one of the top earning categories I just mentioned and come up with some ways that each one could turn a profit.

For business and finance blogs, you can create and sell downloadable guides and financial planning or budgeting templates.

Keep in mind, if you're still growing your audience it's a good idea to offer some of your guides for free to new subscribers.

For health, nutrition and food blogs, you can offer and sell downloadable recipes, cookbooks or weight loss and meal plans, or even sell access to some of your workout videos.

And for DIY and craft blogs, try video courses or how to guides where you walk viewers through a project step by step.

When it comes to finding the right thing for you and your blog, think about the content you download and what you think will be a natural extension of your own brand.

Also, take a look at what your competitors are doing and then try to take a step further, to make it your own.

Whatever you offer should add real value and deliver on whatever promises you're making when you make the sale to your audience.

Giving readers the feeling that they've been mislead or overpromised is the fastest way to lose their loyalty, so, be aware of that.

But let's talk some other money making ideas.

So most successful monetized blogs have tapped into the power of affiliate marketing But what is affiliate marketing really?

It's connecting with other bloggers or retails and related niches and agreeing to mention their products or content on your site, for a price. And it works.

61% of online shoppers in the US, say that they have made purchases after reading a blog post, so it's really a win win.

How this works is that within your blog posts, you'll include links to other brands' pages and then they'll get feedback on how much traffic you brought to their site and pay you based on that.

Your partner gets an increase in traffic, your readers get more of what they love and you get paid.

Sounds pretty good.

The commissions you get are typically based on the number of clicks, sign ups, purchases, or any combination of them. So I could promote food festivals on my site and get a commission every time someone buys a ticket.

Or I could promote a specific truck. And to do that, I could just reach out to potential affiliates with the idea, lock in a special promo code for my readers and get a commission every time someone uses that code to buy something.

If you're having trouble landing an affiliate, check out sites like CJ affiliate and ShareaSale.

They have huge networks of potential partners and can connect you based on your industry, your niche, your readers' interests and site size.

Once you do partner up with someone, make sure to hammer out the details of your agreements.

Deliverables, deadlines, payments, all of these are important.

Lock in all the specifics before you start your professional relationship together.

Because remember, it's still about offering value to your readers, not straight up advertising for advertising's sake.

So be picky with who you partner with, because they'll become an extension of your entire brand.

And keep that in mind, as we move on to this next money making method Sponsored posts are another really smart way to bring in some revenue for your blog.

The whole process is a lot like partnering with affiliates, but rather than having your income be based on clicks, like with affiliate marketing, sponsorships usually involve one payment upfront for your blog or social media post.

So you can take the guest work out of your paycheck.

But here are some things to keep in mind when you're running sponsorships.

If you can, try or look for series sponsorships, or deals where you can create multiple posts and get paid more.

And when you reach out, explain to them why they should sponsor your blog.

Tell them about your audience or what sets you apart.

Don't try to hide your sponsorships from readers, be upfront and honest about disclosing them.

And no matter what, don't compromise your own voice or integrity.

Only sponsor products you believe in and only say what you believe too.

Otherwise it could hurt your relationship and trust with your readers.

Here's another, don't wait around for sponsorships to come to you.

Take initiative by reaching out yourself to companies you want to partner with.

Show them some of those affiliate marketing results and traffic numbers, to show potential sponsors the benefits of partnering with you.

So these are just three ways to make money and earn a living off of your blog and you don't have to be a famous blogger to do any of them.

But if you want to get even more ideas on this, we have a whole list of creative ways to make money by blogging on the Wix Blog and I have a link to it in the resources and activities tab.

Alright, that's it for now, to take your next step of turning your blog into a money maker, I'll meet you back here for the next lesson on scaling your blog.

I'll see you there.