Most of us have some passion or hobby that we enjoy but never make money from. If you love sharing your opinions and ideas with like-minded individuals, then you might consider starting a blog on it.
Spending time crafting fun, engaging content using your expertise is enjoyable, but you could use the blog to make some extra cash if you want. While these approaches won’t necessarily net you the big bucks, they can help you make a supplementary income, so give them a shot!
Paid Advertising
Putting ads on your site might seem very commercial, but it can be lucrative, and if you choose the right widgets and banner ads, then you can create a stylish site that’s not overly pushy. You’ll still be able to get extra revenue from brands and businesses, without much effort on your part.
There are paid advertising solutions for almost every niche, so you can find one that suits your blog. For example, if you write about business, recruitment, or careers, then you could make money through job search adverts from platforms like Connect Lensa. Everyone who clicks on an ad will make you money, meaning that you can make a passive income from this stylish, curated widget.
Advertorial Content
A more subtle approach to advertising, which can still net you an extra income, is producing advertorial content. These articles look like your usual posts but are written about brands that you want to promote.
While you’ll still have to disclose the fact that the company paid you to write the content and praise its offering, in every other way, the content looks like it usually does. So, you can update your site and get paid for doing it. It’s better not to make every piece advertorial, or your blog will look disingenuous, but a few pieces could net you a lot of cash to spend on the things you love.
Merchandise
It’s not just theme parks and blockbuster movies that have merchandise- blogs can have it too, particularly if you have a catchphrase you use regularly or a loyal fanbase that wants gear. Merch is one of the more difficult ways to make money using your blog, but it can be rewarding and great fun! Consider using a dropshipping provider to reduce your costs and ensure that you never have any unsold inventory lying around your house. If your blog is themed around a specific niche, like cooking or pets, then you could consider making merch for these sectors to benefit your audience and build your brand even further.
Keep Creating Amazing Content
Blogging is a great way to share your views with the world and potentially make some extra cash, but with more than 600 million blogs out there, there’s stiff competition for attention. All the strategies listed above will help you to make some extra cash from your blog, but to maintain your success, you need to keep posting great content and connecting with your audience.
Your readers are the ones who will buy your merch, and that brands will want to target, so you need to keep them happy with regular posts, interesting insights and content they can rely on. Your audience sees your blog for free, but they’re the ones that will make you money, so never forget about them in your quest to monetize your blog.