Blogging

Making Money on Your Blog

Written by Kristin Marquet for Gaebler Ventures

Many bloggers do not know how to or bother monetizing their blogs because they do not think it is lucrative enough. If you run a blog, continue reading to learn how to start generating revenue almost immediately.

Blogs are one of the most cost-effective marketing strategies out there. You can easily increase your bottom-line by monetizing your blog.

Display advertising - Working with advertisement networks that provide CPM display advertising is a great way to get started monetizing your blog. These networks pay per advertisement view, not per click. Check out www.tribalfusion.com for more information.

Contextual Advertising - Contextual advertising such as Google Adsense is one of the easiest ways to monetize your blog. Yet, there are many other network options – Adbrite.com, Adtoll.com, and Yahoo Publisher Network. Adbrite.com offers a variety of ad formats with payments made every 60 days. Adtoll.com is a great ad network because it allows you to sell ad space on your site. Adtoll.com pays 75% revenue and has a minimum payout of $20.00 for paypal.com users. Yahoo Network Publisher offers a variety of ad sizes and filters out your competition's ads. Minimum payout is $50.00 via paypal.com.

Niche Advertising - Niche advertising is ideal for most blog owners. Companies that wish to advertise on your blog directly through a banner or text ad or sponsorship are usually complimentary to the site. To have advertisers approach you for advertising, consider the following: the blog must be professional and have a downloadable media kit available. The media kit should include rates, demographics, traffic stats, available ad sizes, previous testimonials, and contact information.

Affiliates – Affiliate programs have been around for a long time. Large companies such as Macy's, Match.com and Amazon, offer generous benefits each time a sale is made through your affiliate link. If you publish a women's fashion blog, affiliating with Bluefly, Match.com and Sephora would be appropriate as women interested in fashion are interested in clothing and may also be interested in dating and beauty products. Check out Hydranetwork, Commission Junciotn and Clickbank for more information.

Sell Your Own Products (informational books, eBooks, and videos/tangible products) - Selling your own products is a great way to monetize your blog. If you have written a series of articles, package them and sell them as an eBook. If you publish a women's fashion blog and make handmade jewelry as a hobby, create an online store for all of your products for your visitors.

Consulting/Coaching Services - Depending on your blog's topic, you might be able to sell consulting/coaching services. If you write about business, you could offer hourly or retainer based business-consulting/coaching services. If you write on women's fashion, you can become an image consultant/fashion stylist with the right training. If you write about web design, consider offering web design services.

Kristin Marquet will be receiving her MBA from Harvard University in Fall of 2010. She has worked in the marketing and public relations field for over 10 years.