In fact, turning a part-time, hobby blog into an income generating asset is fairly common with a bit of luck and some hard work.
At the very least, you should be able to make enough to cover your basic expenses for a domain and hosting. You might even be able to replace your income (and then some).
Keep in mind that the strategies listed below range from easy and passive, to ones that require a TON of on-going work (so make sure you pick something that suits your site and lifestyle preferences).
There are 23 total tips in this guide, but let’s start with the ten most popular (and predictable) site monetization tips.
Another 23 ways to monetize your website
1. Sell text-link ads – There’s still a demand for text-links ads (believe it or not). But please keep in mind that these violate Google’s Terms of Service (which means you run the risk of getting penalized).To avoid it, simply keep the ‘nofollow‘.
2. Set up “infolinks” – Infolinks are a great alternative to AdSense advertisements, that are very easy to setup. However, the downside is that they aren’t high converting, and the payouts (on a per click basis) are also quite small.
3. Use monetization widgets – These are also very similar to Google Adsense, so they’re worth trying out as an alternative.
4. Set up RSS feed ads. – Exactly what they sound like. Ad space for sale in-line with content from an RSS feed.
5. Give away premium content for extra $$$ – If you are producing mind-blowing, awesome content that visitors can’t get enough of… you can always try asking them to pay for some of it! (Crazy concept, huh?!) I’m personally fine with paying for premium content. However, don’t ask people to pay right away. Instead, stay focused on growing an audience and visitors first.
6. Start a private forum or coaching class(es) – Most of us have unique skills that others can benefit from. Setting up a simple forum or classes is an easy way to (a) help others and (b) generate recurring income at the same time.
7. Create a job board – Setting up a job board on your website is another simple, easy way to collect additional money when people accepting different job offers from various companies or individuals.
8. Offer consulting – Offering consulting gigs and providing services can help you bring in decent sums of money while other forms of ‘passive’ revenue take a little time to build up. You can offer these services via email, forum and or even Skype.
9. Add “hire me” page on your website – Your new website or blog is also a perfect place to feature your freelancing services. Showcasing samples or evidence of past work will help greatly increase your chances of getting hired.
10. Sell or rent internal pages – These aren’t very common, however, you might be surprised at what people would be willing to rent or spend money on!
11. Display pop-ups advertisements – Pop-ups can be extremely annoying. However, they’re also another easy way to make some quick money.
12. Use content lockers – ‘Content locking’ is similar to hiding or protecting pieces of content until a visitor takes some action to redeem it. For example, maybe you want them to pay a small amount, or perhaps click on an advertisement.
13. Display audio ads – These are relatively new and are becoming increasingly more common. Personally, I haven’t tried it. But I have read some articles and it definitely looks promising.
14. Sell an e-book – This one is a no-brainer. Many people sell e-books through their site. Some examples: If you have a website about recipes and cooking, you can easily create and sell your own recipe book. The same applies in almost every single other niche.
15. Create a conference around your website – Lots of work, but a huge potential payoff as well.
16. Set up a teaching program – Kinda like a cross between selling your own content and offering consulting or services.
17. Host paid webinars – Similar to the last tip, which is largely a mix of consulting through content.
18. Create a membership site – Yet another tier on the ‘info-business’ model that has the added benefit of bringing in recurring revenue.
19. Offer coupons (with affiliate links) – People are eagerly looking for discount & promo codes for everything from clothes to travel vacations. If you can (find and) offer a valid one, you can also get a cut of the revenue too.
30. Host polls on your website – Hard to believe, but easy to do!
21. Offer writing gigs – You can easily make $20 – $30 per 500-word articles writing for other companies or individuals. There’s also a huge potential for fluent speakers of different languages, as many companies want their websites translated by those who speak the native language.
22. Create a paid directory/business page – You charge people for listing or submissions to the page.
23. Just copy what others are doing – My personal favourite!😉
P.S. If you know any other ways to monetize websites, let me know. I’ll add it to the list and credit you by putting your name under it.
Add to our knowledge if they more you have, by commentting.
If you wish to use this infographic on your website, feel free to do so.
