Small Business Websites
How to Generate Income from a Website
Written by Charles Mburugu for Gaebler Ventures
A website is normally used as a medium of relaying information, and/or selling products and services. If you own a website, there are several things you can do to earn an extra income for yourself.
To succeed in your efforts of monetizing your website, you should consider the content of your existing website, as well as the target audience.
You should also know the number of visitors who regularly visit your website. Once you have this information, you are in a position to decide which idea best applies to you.
Google Adsense
You can make money by including Google Adsense to your web pages. Google delivers image and text ads that are relevant to your site and its content. When someone clicks on an ad, you will earn a portion of the amount Google is paid by the advertiser. On average, you could receive anything between 2 cents and to a dollar per click. The payment per click is dependent on the keyword. If you are a new website owner, it is advisable to start with Google Adsense. These ads keep growing in popularity and are easily customized and installed on your web pages. You just copy and paste a block of HTML.
Affiliate marketing programs
Affiliate marketing refers to making money selling other people's services or products. Each program you sign up for should provide an affiliate link which you can use to track your referrals. Most affiliate marketing programs pay commissions for each sale made or for each sign-up generated. New internet marketers should consider affiliate programs. Most are free to join and normally offer marketing resources and tools that are readily accessible for use.
Selling advertising space
Consider selling advertising space on your website. You could sell classified and/or banner ads. If you wish to make more money, sell sponsor ads and position them towards the top or in a special section of your website for the best visibility.
Rent web pages
If you have sufficient web space on your server, you could consider renting web pages to other people. You can also give the web pages away at no cost, but include your advertisement or banner on them to generate some income.
Special access fee
Have a dedicated part of your website which people will have to pay to access. People will be willing to pay for your content if they consider it valuable. The content could be reports, ebooks or software.
Sell your own services or products
Of course, these services or products should be relevant to your target audience. You should also be able to securely accept payments by credit card directly from your website. Forms of payment such as ClickBank or Paypal are preferred. You should make sure your product is delivered as fast as possible.
Publish an ezine
Allow people to subscribe to the ezine directly from your website. Besides the direct sales of services or products you are promoting, you could decide to sell sponsor or classified advertising in your ezine.
Charles Mburugu writes for us from his home in Nairobi. He has a graduate degree in Business Management from Kenya Institute of Management. He is interested in writing about branding, CSR and intellectual property.
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