So, you’ve set up a blog, and you’ve garnered a lot of loyal readers – how can you take it to the next level? Of course, transforming your hobby into a fully-fledged business model isn’t always a walk in the park; it takes true skill and dedication. We all know that blogging primarily relies on giving away fresh, relatable, and imaginative content for free. But add the right marketing tools to your arsenal, and it won’t be long before you start profiting from your passion project.
1. Write sponsored posts
If your blog already generates a significant amount of traffic, sponsored content is an avenue that is well worth exploring. Creating a sponsored post involves advertising on behalf of a brand in a way that seamlessly blends in with the rest of your content; the reader should not be able to distinguish this form of advertising from your regular content – an art form in itself. The brand itself pays for this form of promotion. Generally, brands will approach bloggers with a request for a sponsored post about a specific product. Depending on the size of your follower base and the quality of your content, this could be an extremely lucrative path, so it’s well worth considering any offers you receive.
However, you don’t have to wait for them to find you! Make a list of companies whose products are relevant to your readers, then go ahead and shoot them an email. With some persistence, you could attract the attention of some major sponsors. Always remember: for a sponsored post to be profitable, the services you promote should be relevant to your readers and fit thematically within the scope of your blog.
2. Use affiliate marketing services
Affiliate marketing is an interesting option for bloggers with a solid readership. Using this form of advertising, you can promote selected retailers that are relevant to your blog and earn money for conversions via a link, and sometimes simply with PPC (pay-per-click). As this option requires the reader to click on a link, there is not so much legwork involved on the blog owner’s part – aside from having a great blog and then choosing which websites to advertise. Thankfully, this is a network that makes the selection process easier, as it essentially acts as a matchmaker between advertisers and publishers. If you can find a brand that is happy to work with you, this is a move that can benefit the readers, advertisers, and your blog.
3. Offer paid membership
Many successful blogs offer exclusive “members only” content that can be accessed for a fee. This is an excellent way to retain readers and earn money simultaneously, but be careful! Restricting access to your blog will peak your readers’ interest, so you have to offer them something of extra value. An example of exclusive content could be a product or information that’s hard to find elsewhere on the net. It could also be access to a special forum or instant messaging service, or exclusive discounts or deals.
4. Sell a product or service
If you have specialist knowledge, you can use your blog as a platform to sell this knowledge in the form of a private class or an online course. Similarly, if you can offer your readers an interesting product, such as an eBook, then your blog posts can center on this theme. We’ve written before about the importance of doing your research and keeping your products relevant and up-to-date; you don’t want to waste time and money flogging a dead horse, so if you do choose to pursue this path, select your wares carefully.
5. Build up a subscription base
Whatever your niche may be, you can find a way to reach out to your readers on a personal level. By creating an email subscription, you can offer people relevant news while advertising products, services, or promoting other sites that could interest them – the earning potential here is massive. The key to building up a solid network of subscribers is delivering interesting and unique content on a regular basis.
The average inbox is flooded with emails every day, so yours needs to stand out, to offer the reader something different. Maybe you could write a newsletter in the form of a bite-size recap of the month’s top stories, seasonal competitions, or weekly deals. Whatever it is, make sure you offer an incentive for the reader to open that email: think freebies, games and quizzes, additional information. The more valuable the content, the more likely people are to hit subscribe, and subsequently, read your newsletters and click on your blog, which will, of course, assist in some of the previous points.
