You have spent the last few months or years raising your blog. You now have a decent audience, and numbers keep going up. Perhaps this is the right time to start making some money out of it, but what kind of options do you have?
1. Displaying Ads
Google’s AdSense program is probably the most popular in this field. It is based on CPC (Cost Per Click) and you get money whenever your visitors click on the ads. Obviously, this is not a get rich scheme, but based on the amounts of visitors you get, you might end up with a decent income that keeps going up.
There are a few other alternatives to Google’s program, and each of them comes with specific rules.
2. Affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing involves recommending a product. If someone buys it through your link, you get some money out of it. It works on a simple principle – bring a friend, and you earn a commission. Obviously, those products will not sell by themselves.
You have to review those products, and more importantly, they must be relevant to your audience. Otherwise, it is only a waste of time. Amazon is probably the largest name on the market when it comes to affiliate marketing.
3. Selling sponsored posts
If ads are not your thing, you can get money by posting about specific products, services, or companies. While ad networks do not give you too much control over what goes on your WordPress blog, this idea does.
To start this venture, you might want to put out a page that provides details about traffic, visitors, social media interactions, and so on. You can approach companies for sponsorships as well. In some countries, you may need to disclose the fact that certain posts are sponsored. It is all about the law.
4. Writing reviews
This option is pretty similar. You can write paid reviews and help your visitors get some hints about one product or another. How does it work? You will need to test and try products before writing about them. Sometimes, you may get to keep those products. Other times, you are paid for writing about them only. There are also situations when you could keep the products and still get paid for the reviews.
It is imperative to stick to products that are actually relevant to your blog or niche. Otherwise, you are wasting money – plus, you are less likely to get any deals anyway. If you run a blog about the latest cameras on the market, it is pointless to review a new toothpaste.
5. Creating an event calendar
This option works great if your blog grows fast and you have a good audience. Coming up with an event calendar could get you some earnings from companies willing to advertise for their events. For example, you have the calendar and the upcoming events in your niche. You could get paid for displaying particular events – or perhaps even write a few words about what is going to happen.
Based on your audience, many businesses will be willing to explore it and reach to it. Of course, the more you narrow your niche to a certain audience, the easier it is. But then, your events will be limited. Try to find a middle option – specific industries, particular areas, and so on.
6. Offering your writing services
You have an audience – people follow you. Some of them are interested in what you write about. Some others want to be like you, and they try to learn from you. Some others are interested in dealing with people like you. As a blogger, you clearly have some experience, and you know what you are doing, hence the possibility to offer your writing services.
Freelancing is an easy and a quick way to make some money. According to James Scholes, you do not need to make any investments. You have proven yourself, so you can start getting customers over your blog.
7. Selling WordPress themes
You spend lots of time online interacting with your audience and thinking about new topics to write about. But at the same time, you probably love a bit of design too – sometimes, you have to. No matter how professional or well developed a WordPress theme is, it always needs a few adjustments. This is when you get into coding and details in order to change its appearance.
At this point, you probably ask yourself – how about developing your own themes? You do not have to learn how to code from scratch, as you can base them on other themes. Chances are there are a few bloggers among your followers who would love to try them out.
Obviously, you can get into deeper details, too, and learn how to use a WordPress theme framework for a head start.
8. Creating a job board
A paid job board is an excellent idea if you have a solid audience. No matter what you write about, chances are, there will be companies interested in some of your followers. How do you make money out of this idea? Job entries must be paid for. Every listing has a price.
Creating a prolific job board is fairly simple, and it can provide a great source of income. The more specific your niche is, the better. This way, your WordPress website could become the go-to website for anyone hunting for jobs in this field.
9. Selling WordPress blogs
Raise a blog for a few months or years. Come up with relevant content and set it up right. Make sure there are options for expansion and establish a good social media presence too. At that point, you can sell this virtual business online.
If you do it right and you focus on it, you could come up with a solid audience and loads of high-quality posts within a year. It could become a good business venture if you start more blogs simultaneously and work on them on a daily basis.
The bottom line, there are, indeed, a few good ideas to make money out of your WordPress blog or website. There is no such thing as a get rich scheme, so each of them involves work and dedication. You must be passionate about blogging and actually enjoy the niche you are in. Things will kick in naturally then.
