Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase .

Getting your blog monetized

Welcome back to part 5 of my 6 part mini series on Blogging.   Today we look at different ways to monetize your blog.

Whilst there’s no guarantee that your blog will generate a six figure income…ever, there’s nothing to say it won’t either. Here at Spendaholics Anonymous we err on the optimistic side and are holding out for that golden egg 🙂

So – you have followed parts one through four of my Blogging series and have built your lovely WordPress website and are hosted through Bluehost (right?) and you’re creating awesome content so …What’s Next?

Where does the Money come from?

Affiliate Marketing: 

Becoming an affiliate is STOOPID easy.  Anyone can sign up to be an affiliate from Day one.  I currently operate as an affiliate for Amazon, CJ.com, Clickbank, JV Zoo, Ultimate bundles, Bluehost, Awin (Esty & Ali express), Linkshare (Rakuten) and Shop style collective.

I don’t use all of these on the blog.  Some are for my email marketing and some for my sales funnels, some are solely for Facebook (I like a little bit of whimsy).

That’s an impressive list but honestly just Google “interest” + affiliate (insert whatever your interest is, for example Golf + Affiliate). You will be amazed at the possibilities.

Adding affiliate links into your blog is as simple as copying the URL from the product on the website you are researching;  Highlight the keyword in your blog text; Hit the “Link” symbol (looks like a chain link); paste the URL; APPLY.  Voila – Done like dinner.

Sales funnels:

Clickbank is my Go To for items to use in my sales funnels.  On the Blog site (specifically) I may include a link to a new book release.  Once a subscriber goes and gets the book they are in the funnel and the book owner takes over selling webinars, etc for which I receive commissions. I also operate my sales funnels outside of the blog – just for clarification.

Email Marketing:

Every week I research problems and pain points and then look for ways to help solve those issues. That’s, of course, if I don’t already have first hand experience in the matter!    While I’m researching I’m obviously cognizant that I too am in the money making market, (although that’s definitely secondary) and so, if there’s something available that can be applied to the situation to solve a problem, then I will send out an email to my list, speaking about the issue, detailing steps and offering the solution.  A good example of this would be “How do I build an email list?”  There’s an excellent product on JVZoo right now called Leads2List that works through Facebook ads and places your Facebook subscribers directly into your email list.  Its DIRT CHEAP TOO!  Why wouldn’t I promote that, especially if I’m using it too and seeing good results?

Another question might be “What’s the fastest, easiest way to start a Side Hustle?”  I see this question on Quora.com and I write an answer. I try to be as detailed as possible but really – are you just looking for an easy fix?  Perhaps a “made for you, plug and play, all access backstage pass?”  OK – then I’ll steer towards “Side hustle Secrets”  a PLR package that’s ready to rock. Perfect for someone who just wants to hit the ground running without all the legwork.

Any subscriber that clicks links (Do Not Use CLICKBAIT – I can’t stand that!) and possibly purchases the solution, means I get paid.  Woo Woo!

Ads on your site:

This is a touchy subject for me because everyone uses Google Adsense but…Google HATES me.  OK – The Google’eers don’t find my site easy to navigate, blah, blah.  I thinks it’s AWESOME!

Anywhoo – if you’re a “chosen one” then it’s easy to put a little code in the posts that enable Google to target your audience with their ads – for which they will pay you every time someone clicks on the ad.  Once again – Do Not Use Clickbait (your page jumping around so a click is inadvertently delivered by the reader or hiding the “read more” links so someone thinks they are reading on but the arrow was actually pointed to the ad.)

Another side to this is – when I reach a site that’s just pop up after advert after Pushy Sales Promo – I just leave.

There’s a saying – everyone loves to shop but No one likes to be Sold.  It’s a fine line so walk it with finesse.  Less is more and your readers will appreciate that you care about their experience more than your wallet…. I think?

When will I start seeing some Moola?

Could be today.  Might be tomorrow.  This could take a while. Maybe never.

In truth – you’re not going to make a fortune if your only reader is your Mom.  Building your Blog, nurturing your audience and creating a presence takes time so…take your time.

Don’t give up your day job until you have enough consistent readers and enough material to see regular amounts trickling in.

I won’t lie – my first month I made less than $100.

But…Guys – I made $100 by typing on my laptop, talking to you awesome lot!  BONUS!!  I was SOO happy.

I know some bloggers who started making thousands of dollars a month after just a few months of blogging. There are bloggers out there who began later and are making hundreds of thousands of dollars a month. There are also other bloggers who aren’t making any money.

As you can see, blogging is not a get rich quick scheme. However, if you are serious about it, you never know what it may turn into.

It all depends on you, the effort you put into it, whether you have the time to learn how to monetize your blog, and more.

 

I hope I’ve given you enough to go on but if you want more, have questions or need further explanation then just add a comment and i will happily respond.

 

NEXT TIME on Spendaholics – Driving Traffic.

 

XO

Anna