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10 Effective Ways To Make Money With Your Blog

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10 Ways To Make Money With Your Blog

Every day people ask me “how do you make money with your blog”, so today I wanted to go over my top ways to monetize your blog.

First thing you should know is if you want to make money with your blog long term, then you will need more then one way to monetize it. You know the old saying mom used to say “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” lol who knew moms advise would come in handy with my blog

You need to understand that “blogging” alone will not make you money, but using some or all of the ways I share below will get you on track to making money.

My list includes some fast to start ways and some long term with a little effort ways to monetize your blog. So regardless of where you stand with your blog today, you can see results.

Also the list will help you whether you have a lot of traffic or not so much traffic.

Ex: Google Adsense will make you more money if you have a lot of traffic.

But selling an ebook with a high converting rate will make you money even with a small targeted amount of traffic.

Your goal should be to drive HUGE amount of traffic, because then even a small converting percentage will still make you a good amount of money.

Top 10 Ways To Make Money With Your Blog

1. Google Adsense

This is the easiest way to start making money with your blog, and it is very simple to set up. But the two biggest issues I have with Adsense is.

It takes a lot of traffic to make some decent money with Adsense.

If your selling your own product or affiliate products then you want to see what is being sold in your Adsense ads, chances are it will be in direct competition with your product.

I go into more detail on why this is bad here Stop Stealing Your Own Sales

What I have used instead that I am happy with is Chitika Ads

Cool thing about Chitika ads is they look similar to Adsense but they ONLY show up for traffic that comes from search engines.

So your regular readers never see the ads, great Adsense alternative.

2. Banner Advertising

Ok, I have a love hate relationship with selling advertising on my blog. I do it and I do pretty well with it, but at the same time selling ad space is not the best long term way to monetize your blog. I much rather you sell your own product and use the ad space to promote your own products, this way you will make more money and won’t have to worry about always attracting advertisers.

Banner advertising also needs a big following on your blog to attract the big advertisers and make decent money.

Another issue with selling ads is it can be a pain to track all your advertisers and when they need to repay or end an ad. Unless you use something like OIO Publisher that will control all your ad selling tasks automatically, they even find you advertisers in their marketplace.

3. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is one of my favorite ways to make money. Affiliate marketing works like this… someone has a product and they let you sell the product for a commission and the best part, is they have marketing material and websites for the product that you can use, also they do all the follow up and or customer service needed.

This is the best and fastest way to make money with your blog, and you don’t need a big following to start making good money. As long as your product is targeted to your blog readers you can get a decent conversion and you will be in the money.

I talked about this on Breaking Into Top Internet Marketers With No List

Best places to go to find high quality affiliate products is ClickBank or Commission Junction

4. Sponsored Reviews

Getting paid to write a sponsored review on a product or website is another great way to make money with your blog. Some people have issue with this because a review should come from honest use of the product or service, others who have no issue with this do very well.

I have written a sponsored review and see no problem as long as you have at least reviewed the service or product and feel it is something you would review any way, and that you state that it is a Sponsored Review so your readers know this up front.

Sponsored Reviews and ReviewMe are two places you can get set up to do sponsored review posts.

I recommend you offer this as a service on your blog and collect all the commission.

5. Selling an eBook

Selling ebooks on your blog has been around for ever and there is good reason…It Works!

I Launched My First eBook a few months ago, and have been very happy with the results.

I suggest that you first build some success and have proof of that success before you set out to write and sell an eBook. Selling an eBook that is solid and helpful will make it much easier for you to sell to those visitors again in the future.

6. Selling WordPress Themes

This is something I am working on releasing soon. Once you have a nice theme or brand you can them build a WP theme around it and offer it up for a small price.

There are 3 BIG benefits to selling a WP theme…

You make money

It is a great way to build backlinks to your blog. Since each theme sold will have a link back your blog as a reference.

This is also nice way to get some free advertising and traffic.

Nice 1-2-3 Punch…right?

7. Offering Consulting Services

Once you see some results with your blog then you can start to offer consulting services to help people get the same results you have gotten.

Again I have to emphasize that you need to FIRST have some success and proof in the service you are offering.

This is a great way to offer support to your readers and also get paid for your time.

I offer my services offline, since most offline business don’t have a blog or social media presence, so taking it offline has big potential for you..

8. Build Your Email List

We all know how powerful email marketing is and will continue to be. Once you connect and build that relationship with your list, it is the best way to make money online…Period!

Building a list takes time and patience, but great way to help the process go faster is to put that sign up box right in your readers eye balls over and over.

Make it the first thing they see and the last thing they see… Guys think of it as a hot girl, you know what we see when she walks towards us, and you know what we see when she walks past, right? Lol Ladies this works for you to ha ha.

Now that you have visitor’s seeing the list form, you have to be offering something so good they have to opt in. Keep your offer very targeted to your blog, and make it great… this will be your first impression to new opt ins, and this will make or break your ability to sell to them in the future.

9. Merchandise

This is a simple way to make some money with your blog, you won’t get rich, but any money is nice.

Selling t-shirts with your blogs logo can work and if you use a site like Zazzle.com they make it very easy to design sell and even set up your own store front… very cool.

10. Donations

Yes asking for a donation does work, again this won’t make you a huge amount of money, but even if you made enough to cover gas each week it would be helpful.

If your readers enjoy your content and learn something from it, then they will be more motivated to donate.

I have used tipit.to on this blog and on my other sites before and have made enough for my DD Ice Coffee addiction each week…lol

So set it up and place your “Donate” button on your blog and see what happens.

Ok so that’s my small but loooooong list of ways you can make money with your blog.

Like I said earlier, there are many ways to make money, just try not to focus on just one way.

Your goal is to get to the point where the only things your sell or promote on your blog are all yours. So that way you can make 100% of the commission.

Have any different ways to make money? Let me know in comments.

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http://www.rooniehernandez.com Lisa
Hi John Paul,
I have heard to monetize the blog as soon as it is set up and have also heard to do it one step at a time. Like make a product first, then build a list, then affiliate…you know, become experienced at one thing before you try another.
What are your thoughts on this?
Thanks for the info on the traffic, too!! Appreciate all of your help!
Lisa~
P.S. Your comment box is only showing 1 line at a time and it's hard to read
http://www.blogengage.com/story.php?id=55371 Vote on this article at blogengage.com
< strong>10 Effective Ways To Make Money With Your Blog…
10 Ways To Make Money With Your Blog Every day people ask me how they can make money with their blog, so today I wanted to go thru my top ways to make…
http://www.johnpaulaguiar.com John Paul
Lisa with a new blog you want to focus on content and traffic and building your list. Then I would move to affiliate sales, since it is the easiest to get started with.
Once you are doing that you want to work on your own product and hopefully sell ad space .
The comment box looks fine here.. the simple box id Disqus new look. lol
http://www.johnpaulaguiar.com John Paul
Gert TY for the comment. Yea the donations button is fine.. just don't make it super annoying and big.
Like I said in the post, I was making enough to buy my ice coffees all week, and I drink 2 med a day
http://www.gertchappell.info Gert Chappell
Hi
This post has got me thinking about different was to make money from my blog that I hadn’t thought of but the donations one has got me wondering if its a good idea.
Do you actually make enough from the donations to say that its worth doing and do people think its a little bit cheeky.:-)
Gert
http://twitter.com/Cleverlychangin Elle
Great job on this post. This is the best post I have seen on monetizing a person's blog. I will be applying some of your tips to my blog. Thanks again!
http://www.johnpaulaguiar.com John Paul
Elle TY for the comment. I'm glad you liked the post, I hope it helps
http://www.wilsonusman.com/ Wilson Usman
Damn this is good info Paul. I really think more people should know about this. Gotta go spread the word now…
http://www.johnpaulaguiar.com John Paul
Wilson..TY for the comment. I'm glad you liked the post.. hope it helps you.
Spread away buddy
CJ
Great post Paul!
Hesham was right about you. I'll definitely be stopping by regularly!!!
CJ
http://www.johnpaulaguiar.com John Paul
CJ TY for the comment. Glad you liked the post. Yea, Hesham is a good guy
http://webblog123.co.cc/2010/06/10-effective-ways-to-make-money-with-your-blog-money-dummy-blog/ 10 Effective Ways To Make Money With Your Blog | Money Dummy Blog · Make Money Blog | Tips on How to Make Money from Your Blog
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http://www.bizchickblogs.com Tia Peterson, BizChickBlogs
LOL OK so have you really made money with donations? And are you going to take me to Dunkin Donuts when you come to Blog World (are you coming to Blog World)?
Anyway, this is great advice and why I listed you as the blog money guy. Very informative. I will have to check out Chitika. Good luck with your theme!!! I made a few back in day. Don't have the patience for it any longer.
http://www.johnpaulaguiar.com John Paul
lol yea I used it on here for 6 mnths.. button was pretty big.. made me a lil money. Dumped it because edited the look and button wasn't fitting.
Do you have Dunks in Arizona? if you do them we are def visiting,,alot,,lol
I'm trying to get there.. so we will see what happens.. if I do, Ill let you know,, so we can go together.
http://www.bloggingassets.com Blogging Assets
I find that affiliate marketing and direct ad sales are better than services such as Adsense. The only time I'd use Adsense is on a niche blog, on my current blog I don't have any advertising due to the fact that I want to create the best possible experience for my users.
http://www.johnpaulaguiar.com John Paul
TY for the comment. I agree, Adsense only works well on sites with either Huge traffic, or on a blog that you don't have “all” the info the reader is looking for, that way they have a reason to click a link and leave.
http://www.mmosocialnetwork.com/BloggingTips/10_Effective_Ways_To_Make_Money_With_Your_Blog Featured in MMO Social Network
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http://www.lifenotion.com Derek Jensen
John Paul,
The point that I think too many people don't take advantage of is building up your mailing list. Here you are building up your readers where you can be sure pretty much that you will be connected with them. Here is the opportunity to really connect with your audience and gain benefits on both sides. (rewarding on all levels)
http://www.johnpaulaguiar.com John Paul
Derek,, TY for the comment. Yea building your list is been covered 1000 times the past few months, if your a blogger and not building your list, then you need to rethink what your doing.
http://www.websitebegin.com Joe Boyle
I don't agree with donations. Asking for donations is like saying “I'm broke, give me money!”. If you have given some quality services, the average reader may do something else, of value, like buying your ebook, which will provide them with more content.
Otherwise, great post!
http://www.johnpaulaguiar.com John Paul
Joe..TY for the comment, glad you liked the post.
As far as donations, you see it as saying I'm broke, but most people don't see it that way. Steve Pavlina is FAR from broke, and one of his first links is a donate link.
A donation is something small, $1-$5, most people can afford that, they may not be able to afford one of your products.
It is just another way for your rears to show their appreciation for the great content and support you offer.
It works great on some blogs, and doesn't work at all on others.
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http://www.websitebegin.com Joe Boyle
Thanks for the clearing up of the subject
It really just depends on the kind of person you are. I think you should have to work for my money, therefore proving that donation links will never get clicked by me.
Once again, great article, and fantastic list!
http://www.johnpaulaguiar.com John Paul
It's not about you… you need to take yourself out of the equation if you want to make money online, even with donations.
Glad you like the rest of the list
http://blogconduit.com/2010/06/blogging-for-profit-carnival-for-june-28-2010/ Blogging for Profit Blog Carnival for June 28, 2010 | BlogConduit.com
[...] Paul Aguiar presents 10 Effective Ways To Make Money With Your Blog posted at Money Dummy [...]
http://ileane.wordpress.com Ileane
Hey John, I've heard of most of these. I think the easiest for me to start with would be Sponsored review. DragonBlogger has some success with this service and so has Klaus from TechPatio. I think there are a few plugins that are good enough to sell also.
Thanks for the links and the encouragement!
http://www.johnpaulaguiar.com John Paul
Ileane.. TY for the comments. Yes you won't make that much until you start to get big traffic, but it will be nice money to start with. I would recommend only throwing in a sponsored post once a week to many may turn off some of your readers.
Let me know how you do with it
http://www.johnpaulaguiar.com John Paul
Ileane.. TY for the comments. Yes you won't make that much until you start to get big traffic, but it will be nice money to start with. I would recommend only throwing in a sponsored post once a week to many may turn off some of your readers.
Let me know how you do with it
Jason Webb
This is a really creative post, Nowadays, consumers know what they want and what they need so it’s in our best interest to give it to them in the simplest form possible.
http://twitter.com/Brandon_Connell Brandon Connell
One thing I have issue with on here is selling wordpress themes. Basically, it would be much wiser to give away wordpress themes instead. By offering your wordpress theme on the wordpress extend page, you have a huge distributor to get your themes in hundreds or even thousands of hands. If you have a license to use your theme that requires the link back, then you can build massive amounts of your preferred anchor text which would result in first page Google rankings. You then benefit from the traffic that those rankings convert, and you would be able to sell to them.
http://www.johnpaulaguiar.com John Paul
Brandon.. in the end your selling themes. Doesn't matter what steps you take to get to the point of selling themes, as long as you sell them lol
It is just another way for people to monetize their blogs, and get a nice back link at the same time.
Your plan is great, but for some it would be much easier to sell a theme on their blog, then rank for WP theme keywords and drive a whole new group of traffic to their blogs and include a link back within the theme.
But either way works.
http://twitter.com/indblog I Need Discipline
Sponsored posts is my favourite way of making money. I also am starting to make a tiny amount from sponsored tweets on Twitter.
http://www.johnpaulaguiar.com John Paul
Thanks for the comment.. Yea sponsored posts are good way to make money, but don't go crazy with it, your readrs will see that and stop visiting. Keep a good balance between reg posts ans pson posts.
Yea I been doing well with twitter CPC for 6 mnths now.. so nice easy way to make some extra money for people.
http://www.johnpaulaguiar.com John Paul
Thanks for the comment.. Yea sponsored posts are good way to make money, but don't go crazy with it, your readrs will see that and stop visiting. Keep a good balance between reg posts ans pson posts.
Yea I been doing well with twitter CPC for 6 mnths now.. so nice easy way to make some extra money for people.
alfonso
The best info that I like the most is number 4, writing sponsored reviews. As a newbie to blogging, I think this is the best way to test the waters on how to make money blogging. Like building a house, laying out the foundation by learning the basics first is what will prepare you for the ultimate success in the end.
Thatsblog
Thanks for your submission to the Eighty Fourth edition of the Blog Carnival: Blogging. Your post has been accepted and its live: ThatsBlog.com
http://twitter.com/jkingblogger James King
All good ideas. One of the most important things with WP themes is offering good aftersales support.
If you've bought a theme the developers who create these themes offer excellent support. It is vital.
http://www.johnpaulaguiar.com John Paul
James..TY for the comment. I agree that good support after you sell a theme is important, but support after selling ANY product or service is important
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http://www.johnpaulaguiar.com John Paul
James..TY for the comment. I agree that good support after you sell a theme is important, but support after selling ANY product or service is important
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http://www.facebook.com/people/Robi-Irawan/1538908044 Robi Irawan
Is that True that blog must be having good PR like PR 4 up to get started making money on blogging activity ?
http://www.johnpaulaguiar.com John Paul
Robi.. if you want to make money with advertisers on your blog, then you need a good Alexa score.. But you can make money with your blog other ways that traffic doesn’t matter to much.
http://passionforexcellence.blogspot.com/ Marianne
I’m new to blogging and found this post extremely helpful, not only in defining some of the terms I have heard thrown around, but answering my questions about the best ways to begin producing income through my blog. I agree with your approach and look forward to reading more of your thoughts. Thank You!!
http://www.johnpaulaguiar.com John Paul
TY for your first comment Marianne. hopefully first of many
Yea there are many ways to make money, but with a new blog, focus on content and building relationships first, then try to make some money.
http://www.smartfatblogger.in Suraj KV
Hi John, I enjoyed this article.
If you could provide me details on how and where to sell an eBook? I would really appreciate it!
http://www.johnpaulaguiar.com John Paul
Glad you liked it. You can sell your ebook on your blog.. thru social media.. look for ebook sites you can even add it to ebay and amazon if you like.
Sherryl Perry
Thanks for the tips John Paul. I had not heard of Chitika ads before and I will definitely look into them. I strongly dislike AdSense ads for the exact reason that I think Chitika may be a good fit for me. I want to control where the ads show up. One of the things that bugs me the most about some blogs is that the content is riddled with ads. I can deal with distraction in the sidebars but please people limit the number of links you have in your content. (Like you do. )
http://www.johnpaulaguiar.com John Paul
I agree.. Chikita isnt perfect but they are good at popping up for ONLY Google traffic and not your normal traffic or SM traffic. I get turned off by to many ads in posts to.. looks like crap and makes you feel the bloggers cares more about making money from u and not sharing.. There has to be a happy medium to both.
http://www.johnpaulaguiar.com John Paul
Hey Chris Yea that post is like a year old.
But you can do the donation thing with just a Paypal button… or Google other tipping sites.
I believe theres a wordpress plugin called, Buy Me A Coffee or something.
Kathy
Hey. Can you let me know your thoughts on giving away ebooks instead of selling them? I understand giving them away helps add value to the site but once you’ve done that you can’t make money out of it right? Kathy
http://www.johnpaulaguiar.com John Paul
Kathy giving away ebooks is great way to give back to your readers. But once that book is given out free.. you cant then try to sell it.
I say put together a small ebook with good info and give that free.. then write a more detailed longer ebook and sell that.. that way you are giving back to your readers and proven you know what your talking about all in the free ebook. So when you come back with a paid ebook it will be much easier to make sales.
http://www.createfinancialwealth.com/about-us Dave Allred
Some great ideas Paul. I’ve done almost everything on the list and so far, the most profitable have been Adsense, Banner ads and Sponsored Reviews. However, I think I’ll take your advice and offer the reviews as a service instead of relying on Sponsored Review Networks to find the clients for me.
Also, another idea for monetizing your blog would be to offer a home based business opportunity on it. I use my homepage as a splash page and have many of my blog generating traffic to it.
Thanks for the post once again!
http://www.johnpaulaguiar.com John Paul
It all comes down to the type of blog you have and the type of traffic. Some work well for me, may not work for you.. so test test.
I woudn’t promo a home biz program unless my blog ONLY about having a home biz.. if not then dont do it. It will come off spammy.
http://www.johnpaulaguiar.com John Paul
Thanks Sunil.. Hope they help.

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